Logan

Maybe he was tired of Lawson's whining and drama and thought he would try to outdo him in the pain category or maybe he wanted a new weapon to use on his brothers...regardless of his reasons...Logan is the newest patient at our house! Friday night he was out playing soccer in the backyard with Lake when Steve came home and turned it into a game of dodgeball. Logan went into the playhouse on the swingset for cover and when the ball sailed through and out the back he dove to get it and jumped from the top and braced himself when he hit the ground. New fracture on the same arm he broke in 2005. Of course this is also the same arm he is used to doing everything on earth with! He was so brave and didn't really cry...just lots of Ouch! Ouch! A few tears escaped but that was more from dissapointment that we wouldn't be going to grandma and grandpa's house as planned. He had the whole trip already planned out with swimming, mini golf, and a playdate at the park. He was already saying this on the drive to the hospital. Luckily this break didn't require surgery. Last time we had to send him in twice which was horrible. They set it (IN A WHITE CAST!!) and we were home at midnight. He goes back this Friday and hopefully they will get a smaller cast and differnt color because there is no way I can keep that clean enough to send him to school. The pain is geting less with each day although his frustration is mounting. He feels enough better that he wants to do things and is finding it difficult with one hand. I helped him play Star Wars Wii on Saturday morning and althought I was doing my best....it wasn't quite good enough. He was a good sport and didn't yell at me when I couldn't make the characters move around like he can normally but I suck! My skill level (or lack thereof) did make him laugh.... he would tell me to push A on my half of the controller and I would have to be reminded where A is! He would say push AA and I would be clueless. I think I need to hire a tutor. Since he had already figured out a way to play less than 12 hours from his injury (having to have me hold one control) I think that he will find a way to play Wii before his cast comes off.

Lawson

It was finally time to get the last Williams boy into the hospital to get the tonsils out. From the beginning Lawson was a "wait and see" kid. Dr. Donzelli our favorite ENT said that they were borderline in needing to come out so we would see if over time he would not need them. That sounded pretty good to us considering Lawson makes the least likley candidate for patient of the year. He has a tendency to over dramatize pretty much everything. But with 3 or 4 cases of strep last winter and lots of loud breathing...we decided it was time to get them out before he got any older and the surgery would become more risky. He didn't dissapoint! The week up to and even the day of the kid wasn't nervous at all. He sailed through the pre-surgery check-up and even the early morning check-in at the hospital. It was all easy up until the dreaded hospital gown! He refused no matter what I promised or threatened him with. I offered him $1 to put it on and the frustrated nurse even offered to match it! Eventually the nurse offered him the treasure box and I pulled his clothes off by force (oh and and they let him wear his Crocs into surgery) and that seemed to do the trick. I think he was just finally at the nervous point and needed some control. Poor kid. He went into surgery without much hesitation but woke up in tears. He did quit crying as soon as I held him and I was hoping we were home free. Not that easy. After a popcicle we got realeased and made the trip home. His brothers were soooo happy to see him and they all hugged on the stairs. I was afraid we were due for another trip back to the hospital during that one with my half drugged patient but he survived the love. Fast forward to night...decent...woke every few hours. Not so bad for just having surgery. Next day needed some extra attention but then it started escalating in the drama. You really would have thought they cut an arm or leg off. Maybe it was because he was older than the other boys when he had this done or maybe it was becuuse he had some sinus procedure done at the same time...I'm just not sure but he took much longer to recover and with a lot more drama!! Finally Friday evening Logan took over the injured spot and Lawson has been fine ever since. It's a good thing because I was truly out of sympathy!! Here is my little patient!

Happy 4th of July!!

Although it rained all day and we really didn't think the church backyard bash was going to happen this year but we took a chance and went to the service at 5:30. Toward the end of the service the weather cleared off and the party was on! The church had hotdogs, concessins and lots of activities for the kids before the big firework show at 9:30. We did face painting, chalk drawing, art projects and more. The favorite of the boys was one of the blow up slides. I think they went on it at least 10 times! We can't wait until next year!!

Playing Catch Up....

July 6th,2009
I will be the first to admit that I have definitly been neglecting my blog. You would think that I would use the excuse that I have 4 small children but that would really be stretching the truth (I do still have the 4 small children) a bit. The reason??? Facebook!!! I have become addicted. When a friend first introduced me to FB I couldn't understand what the attraction was....I just didn't "get" it....well...obviously almost 700 friends later....I get it. I made a deal with my friend Steph that we would both try to play some catch up on our blogs so here we go. I'll be posting some of the events that I missed in the last few months....watch for Easter, the boys 6th birthday and the last weeks of school. Now that I've promised in writing I guess I will have to do it! See you soon!!!

Spring Kindergarten Concert

The boys did a great job at their spring concert. Every year the music teacher coaxes and trains the newest students into a performance. It is followed by a reception in the classroom where the kids have been instructed to host and serve the parents. Really a great experience on that one. I have such little gentlemen! It was adorable last year and just as cute this year (even though we had the exact same songs times two!!) Here are some snippets...it's long so watch at your own risk. My only complaint is that I'm not sure what someone was thinking when they did the placement. For Lakes concert he was in the front row and I was in the back. Sounds good except the tallest kid in his class was next to him and kept elbowing him back behind him. This child was also the loudest. Poor Lake...but he didn't seem to notice. Then the next concert Lawson was in the back row (he is my smallest guy) and Landon in the 2nd row...of course both behind the tallest kids in the class. Go figure...so the camera didn't get them all that well but you get the gist of it. They are wearing olive green sweater vests over white shirts in case you need help spotting them. Landon is behind the girl in the pink dress and Lawson is behind the tall girl.

Go Hawkeyes!

Every since Logan was born and then the little boys Steve has been grooming them to be sports fans. More specifically Iowa Hawkeye Sports Fans. He has succeeded into the Hawkeye fan part but as far as the other goes...not so much. Landon is the exception though and loves basketball. He says he wants to be a basketball player when he grows up. Pretty big dream considering his miniscule size. Today he and Steve went to see Iowa play at Northwestern. Landon says his favorite part was the m&m's and Coke! Go Hawkeyes!!

Playdates

Since we have 4 kids I typically think that we don't need playdates. I kind of figure that since my kids are roughly the same age they can play with each other and I can get some stuff done. Yesterday was the exception. We needed some computer work done so my friend Dina sent her computer expert husband over. I told her to bring her son since he and Landon are in the same class at school and are friends. I have never seen the boys have so much fun! They played Wii for 2 hours. The funny part was when Carter went home he told his mom that "They have the coolest stuff...when can I go back?!" Ironically they never looked at, picked up, or talked about any other thing that the Star Wars Wii game which he already has at home. It had to be the boy factor....Hey Dina...maybe you need to add to your brood?!

Day Off Number 1

When the boys have a day off from school and Steve happens to take a day off he likes to fill the day up. I prefer hanging out at home and just enjoy not having to supervise dressing, pack, load up, unload, reload 4 small boys. But since he was home we went downtown. We spent the day at The Field Museum and had a full day. Here are some shots. The boys loved it and another trip is planned again very soon!

Logan's catch-up birthday!

I forgot to blog about Logan's 7th birthday party. We invited all the boys in his 1st grade class plus our 3 little interlopers and had a Ben 10 bash! We played Comet Toss Space Game, Ben 10 Wii, made alien face masks and did Shrinky Dink Art (I didn't know until recently that they still made this stuff!! The kids loved it!) We had alien space punch and of course Ben 10 cake! I was really hoping to have this at another location this year but Logan insisted he wanted it at home so we invited the bare minium for comfort and partied on! Here are a couple of photos...I forgot to take pictures this year but I think he will live!

Rock O'Bama and George Washington

I am amazed by the things my kids learn at school. They seem way ahead of what I was learning in small Iowa schools back in the day. The other night the boys had all gone to bed except for Landon who decided to watch the Presidential address with me in my bed. The man announced "THE PRESIDENT of THE UNITED STATES" and Landon turned to me and said "Where is George Washington?" I explained that George is dead and won't be attending and now Barack Obama is president. He said "Oh..Rock O'Bama? I said "Yep!" He then sat back and watched. Well...not bad for a kid who is 5. We went out for lunch on Sunday and celebrated George's birthday so I guess he wasn't too far off!

Things I love...by Landon Williams

1. Mom
2. dad
3. teacher
4. pets
5. brother

A few notes about Landon's work. Did you notice that "Mom" is captitalized and dad isn't ? Did you also notice that the teacher comes before the brother? Also pets come before brother and we don't have any?! Lastly "brother" means what? He has 3 brothers but said "brother?" Hmmmmm.....

Logan...my own Picasso!!

We recently signed Logan up for an art class. He resisted at first because in his words "I already know how to draw!" We made him go and of course he loves it. I think that he is showing real talent. These pictures are cartooning of a cat's emotions... (I know...I'm biased...I'm his mom!) You be the judge...Here is some of his work...

Who needs Guitar Hero when you have Wii Boxes?

The boys love, love, love the Superbowl. Why they like it may surprise you though. Is it the sport of football? Is it the food? Maybe the commercials? Nope...it's the half time show. Last year they got hooked with the halftime show with Prince and this year they love Bruce Springsteen! Here they are rockin' out complete with their box instruments. I guess it is time to make Steve unpack the Wii Rockband that he got for Christmas. It looks kind of pathetic to make the kids pretend wtih cardboard boxes!

100 Day is here!

Well...4 projects later 100 day is finally here! Now if we can get through Logan's party this weekend I will be able to breathe and relax for a day or two!!

Something to make you say "hmmmm"

Logan just came into my office with a can of Pringles potato chips. He asked me what a seal is. I I looked at what he was talking about and he pointed to the lid where it said flavor seal. I explained that it meant the lid to keep the taste fresh. He then proceeded to lick the paper lid and said...it doesn't taste like anything!! He did it all so fast before I could stop him from licking it but it WAS funny! He pointed again to the FLAVOR SEAL labeling. I guess that is what you get when you have a reader!

Words of Wisdom from Logan

This is what I was just asked....?!

Logan: "Mom did you know that fleas mainly live in the woods?"

Me: "Really?"

Logan: "Yea...so you really don't have to worry about them getting you!"

Hmmmm....I didn't realise that I had been losing sleep over fleas...

**Disclaimer: We have never had nor thought we had fleas in our house.

Should I be Worried?!

Whenever I hear a door close when one of the boys go into a bathroom I get a little concerned. It usually means a clogged up toilet from stuffing rolls of toilet paper in the toilet or they are taking something in there they don't want me to see. Nothing good ever comes from them closing a door and since none of the boys are known for their modesty when it comes to the bathroom this is a bad thing. I won't bore you with the details of the things I've seen. Let's just say that I feel like I live in my own personal version of Animal House. The other day I heard the door...went to investigate and found the above. Landon had been trying on my make-up. I guess I can take solace in the fact that he didn't do a good job with it AND my toilets aren't clogged!

My Trend Spotter

I've blogged before how my kids are fascinated my infomercials and always tell me what and why I need the things that they see on tv. Logan has been telling me that I need a Snuggie for quite sometime now. I will admit that they look comfortable but I didn't really think it would do much more than the zillion blankets that we already have around here. Fast forward to yesterday as I sat child free listening to CNN while working on some paperwork. (Paperwork sounds better than reading Face book doesn't it?!) On comes a blurb on the popularity of the Snuggie. I guess it has hit America by storm. So either Logan has a real talent for spotting trends or the whole country in one of the biggest recessions are purchasing things like a 6 year old!? I cut and pasted an article from USA today also for your reading enjoyment. Hmmm I wonder how long it takes for shipping....?

By Maria Puente, USA TODAY
The Cult of the Snuggie threatens to take over America! Or at least, a substantial number — 4 million — of late-night couch spuds.
The Snuggie, an oversized fleece blanket with sleeves, stars in a ubiquitous TV ad so cheesy it's practically art, and apparently wildly entertaining. The ad shows people wearing Snuggies at a sporting event, cheering and high-fiving each other while dressed … sort of like medieval monks.

"Every once in a while, a product transcends advertising to become part of pop culture," says Scott Boilen, president and CEO of Allstar Products Group of Hawthorne, N.Y., which conceived and markets the China-made Snuggie.

Indeed, Snuggies seem to be everywhere. See them on Facebook — nearly 250 groups, pro and con; one fan club lists 5,999 members. Watch them on YouTube — nearly 300 parody videos posted, including one titled "The Cult of the Snuggie," with 146,000 views as of Tuesday.

My own bookworm

Every day Logan brings home two books from the school library. He loves to go there and was so excited last year when he got the privlege of two books rather than one. Each night we read them and he studies them thoroughly. His typical choices are non-fiction resource books about science, rocks or birds etc. Not easy read selections at all. Poor Steve gets the bulk of the job of reading those. I tend to take on the bedtime reading of Boxcar Children etc to all the boys. Much more fun! Now Logan is also a big thinker...this morning as we were leaving and he packed up his backpack with yesterdays selection he said "Mom...do you think I will read all of the books in the LMC before I leave Steck?" I told him he has a good chance!! Wait until I tell Steve about that one! I did some checking when I ran into the LMC director this morning at drop off and he will have to read 14,000 books...wow! Get reading Logan!

My companion of the week

Poor Lake has been the last victim of the germs that have hit our house over the last two weeks. He has been a good sport though and isn't as high maintenance as some of his brothers. Today he told me he wants to be my "helper" so I let him! I think he may have a future in cleaning...

The New Math Method

This is what I found when coming into the kitchen yesterday. Lawson and Landon had a pile of Hershey Kiss Chocolates lined up on a little wagon and were counting them. I stopped listening after 89...I have to say I hadn't thought of practice oounting with chocolate but it makes sense! Now I know where all of the chocolate goes. I guess anything for an education!

You know you are living in 2009 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7.. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

AND NOW U R LAUGHING AT YOURSELF

3 Down...1 to go...

Poor Lake was the latest victim of the bug that has hit our house for the last week. Lawson was first and missed 3 out of 4 days of school last week and ended up having pneumonia. Landon stayed home yesterday with a really bad cough and needed breathing treatments all weekend. He didn't want to go and pick up the boys after school...he thought they should just stay there! When we did pick them up yesterday Lake came home with a fever and fought it off all day today too. He spent most of the day just sitting on the sofa watching TV. He asked me about every half hour if it was time to pick "his" boys yet. When they were all home and the dust settled I heard Landon and Lawson searching for Lake and they asked me if I had seen him. I was working on a PTA project and didn't really pay much attention. Eventually as I heard them look some more I decided I had better investigate. Poor Lake had fallen asleep on the family room floor. Take a look...






The poor kid was so tired that he fell asleep while Logan played Star Wars Lego Wii Game on full volume and Logan was kind of trouncing on him!!

You're Fired!

Last week on the way home from school the boys got kind of loud and obnoxious and I guess I must have raised my voice louder than Landon felt was acceptable. He yelled out "Mommy...You are Fired!" I took all I could do not to laugh outloud. Logan was horrified that he would say such a thing and told him he couldn't do that. Maybe I have a mini Donald Trump here since he has the line down very well... If only getting a break from this thankless job was so easy...

Happy 9th Anniversary!

I have to force Steve to read my blog (maybe a good thing) so he probably won't see this but "Happy Anniversary" in case he does. Don't worry I got him a Hallmark card in case he doesn't see it! No big plans today. Lawson has pnenomia and we have no sitter lined up. What could be better than a January night spent at home with your kids anyway? Well...Maui maybe. When we got married we promised to go back to Maui every 5 years to celebrate. I know we both really believed it when we said it but 4 kids in 14 months really gets in the way of a lot of plans. Having 4 kids (especially triplets) never entered our minds 9 years ago either. Regardless...here we are and Hawaai will have to wait. Technically we have only missed one trip... Maybe next year right?

25 things about me

I've been hanging out on Facebook and got tagged by a friend. I thought since I'm tired and feeling lazy it would be a nice filler.

1. I am very competitive and love to win!
2. My whole life I planned on having only daughters but ended up with 4 sons and I'm glad.
3. I've always wanted to adopt a daughter from China.
4. My dad bought me a Kawasaki125 motorcyle in 8th grade as a bribe for moving.
5. My 1st job was detassleing corn.
6. I have a huge barbie doll collection from childhood.
7. I have studied Feng Shui.
8. Valentine's Day has always been my favorite holiday and my 1st son was born then.
9. I love Spring.
10. I got married on a beach in Maui.
11. I would love to move to Maui someday.
12. I fantasize about making my family go naked so I can catch up on laundry!
13. I'm often guilty of over-committing and I am such a joiner that even if I have no time available I volunteer anyway.
14. I love to garden.
15. I love color and use it freely in my decorating.
16. I am addicted to chocolate.
17. I make an awesome Chocolate Creme Brulee.
18. My boys tell me that they will live with me forever and I like the idea!
19. I had a huge crush on Shaun Cassidy as a pre-teen.
20. I love to shop...boutiques, grocery stores, gas stations, hospital gift shops...I can always find something to buy in any place.
21. I have bookshelves full of parenting books but never have had time to open even one.
22. I always wanted to name a son Wyatt after my maiden name. Steve disagreed.
23. I had my belly button pierced back in my 20's.
24. When I was growing up I wanted to be a fashion designer and ended being an interior designer.
25. I love it when things are organized but am not good at maintaining it.

My little artist

This weather is murder on your car! Dirt, salt and other misc. grime all over making my shiny black Yukon look dull, dusty grey. Well...apparently some little Picaso in my house thought it needed some sprucing up....Here is what I came out to today. A natural talent don't you think?! I think Lake is the culprit here.

A Historical Day through the eyes of a little kid...

We got up this morning and I told the boys that today is a very important day and that it is inaguration day. They were very curious and had lots of questions. First they wanted to know what an inaguration is. The best description that I could come up with on their level was that is a ceremony kind of like a wedding marrying the president to the country. That seemed to suffice for now. Then the questions started like how many stars the flag has...why do we have to wear red, white, and blue today? The questions go on and on. They were excited that he is coming to the Whitehouse from Illinois. My favorite though was when Logan said "If my dad were president he would make the whole country clean up!!" Then he said that he would vote for me for president and I asked him what I am good at and he said..."MEETINGS!!" I am not really sure what to think of that! I do know that I'm glad it is over because I'm tired of the boys fighting over how to pronounce Barack Obama and I would selfishly like more channels of tv for them to watch!

Hey 4 eyes!!!

I remember when I got glasses in 4th grade I hated how they looked! I hated those things (except loved finally being able to see!!) for years until in 11th grade I finally got contacts. When 3 of the boys were diagnosed with a need for glasses I was dissapointed although not surprised. THey have mainly been troopers and have had them for about 1 1/2 years now. They do look sweet in them although I still wish they didnt' need them. It isn't easy to keep track of and maintain 3 pairs. Well...yesterday we added another person in our family to wear glasses...Landon. Now if you are thinking that Landon is my favorite or anything because he gets more blog time than anyone else ...he isn't (none are!!) but he gives me A LOT of material!! We went for a glass adjustment yesteday and as we were finishing up Landon became pretty distressed. "WHAT ABOUT ME!!??" He really wanted glasses. We have gone through this every time but usually a quick pair of sunglasses suffice and we are on our way. Not yesterday!! We had a really nice lady who took pity on him and offered to sell us a non-prescription pair to satisfy him. We had thought of this before but they tried to charge us the full price. This lady just did frames only. He is in love. He insisted on wearing them to school today and when I picked him up I asked if he really wore them. YEP! ALL DAY LONG they reported! Go figure... I spent 7 years trying to get out of them and he has spent over a year begging to get them and he doesn't even need them! Here he is...what do you think?

We survived!

I thought I would check back in at the end of our 5 day "vacation" and let you all know we are still alive and kickin' (meaning that in more ways than one!) We hit church yesterday and that was the first time I had been outside since Wednesday! We then went out to lunch to Mongolian Barbecue (not a big hit with Logan of course) and then shopping for a new phone. Steve has been bugging me to get a new one for a couple of months so we went shopping. He wanted me to get a Blackberry and I wanted an I-phone or just keep the basic model that I had. After hours of shopping we finally took a look at the I-phone and I convinced him that was the best one! Now the funny part of the story...Landon loves electronic things...computers, phones, TVs, remote controls...if it electronic he is all over it. At the first store the boys picked up these little paper cards that looked like a phone. Landon went around talking into it the whole time and calling it his "phone." It really was just a photo of a Blackberry with all the info on the back. At the next store it got more interesting. Since Steve was the one who needed convinced on the phone choice he spent some time looking at it with the salesman. Landon was there listening to the whole thing. He and the salesman were best friends before we were done. It took forever but eventually the new phone was choicen, programmed and ready to go. I still had my old phone and of course Landon started eyeing it. He asked for it so I gave it to him. I can't believe that we wasted money on gifts for the boys at Christmas! They played with my old phone all night last night and all day today! Of course it doesn't make calls anymore but it still takes photos and has games on it. The funniest thing about it now? Tonight after bath time...Landon kept insisting tha the needed his "I-phone" before bed. Steve thinks that he is confused thinking it is "my"/I phone but I saw the way he was listening yesterday...he knows what an I-phone is and my guess is that he will be the next one around her getting one! That stubborn streak of his works for him and takes him places!!

We're on a 5 day "vacation!"

Vacation may not be exactly what I think of the next 5 days are going to feel like but but I'm hoping if I can think of it that way maybe it will be more enjoyable!! Today it is so cold in Chicagoland that school was cancelled. This means that the winter party from back in December got cancelled again. Besides the cancelled party a day off from school should be fun right? Well...the problem is that we already have tomorrow off for a teacher work day tomorrow and Monday off for Martin Luther King Day. That makes 5 days of cabin fever with 4 little bodies that will be running, jumping, talking, drawing, and generally just major mess making in my house! I broke down today and gave them a new Wii game to play. That did buy me some quiet time so I'm trying to think of some activites for tomorrow. If anyone comes up with anything please let me know!

Wordless Wednesday...

Got this from my friend Ellen!

YEA! School is back in session!!!

Enough said!!

Happy New Year!!

We ended 2008 with dinner at home and a movie. We had planned to go to some friends house for a party but they ended up sick. I'm feeling like skipping the sickness is a great start to 2009 for us!! Get well Wishes to Outnumbermommy! We saw Madagascar 2 awhile back so Lawson asked Santa for Madagascar 1 for Christmas. We watched it and once again Lake fell asleep in the middle and Landon right before the end. While in Iowa we went to bedtime stories and the same two boys fell asleep during that too! We ate our favorite dessert from Hugo Frog's and called it a night! I'm still contemplating my resolutions for 2009 so I will have to get back to you on those! Happy New Year!!