Max's Hair.......

Even though it is against my nature to have lots of hair on my boys.........I have let Max's hair grow and grow and grow. He did have that hot Mannly Wilder look. He totally rocked it. Then I couldn't take his hair in his eyes or the ragged back that looked like mutilated Barbie hair. I took matters into my own hands.........yes, I tried to give him a trim.

His dad said that he looks like a bowling Amish boy. I hope not.......but some of the curl did get clipped off.......oops. I would hate to have to shave his head.

Daycation!

Wednesday we decided to surprise the kids with a day off of school. We had an adventure instead of busy work. Everyone loved it. I am convinced we should do it every week. We couldn't travel as far as we wanted because we are being held hostage by Little League. Our first stop was the Swinging Bridge in Buckhorn Wash. The sights all of the way were gorgeous.
Dad and Mad

Captain Morgan and her tipsy crew

Peek a boo Dad

Demons and..........

Angels pictographs

Little Grand Canyon

Time to ponder 4 long years of life.

Originally we planned to go to the Arches....where we have been trying to go for 8 years, but something always comes up. We found out that we might like this place better and can't wait to go back.

What I Did Today by L. Max Nugget aka Almanzo Wilder

I think it must be time to sciz the old noggy Max.............you really do look like Almanzo..........

Today Max said 'Cheese' really close to the camera!

Hugged Space Puppy
Pushed Space Puppy in a stroller, took him out, wrapped him in a blanket, patted his back and said 'ssshhh puppy sh'.

Max threw a clean load of laundry down the stairs towards the laundry room...........this is because I let him throw dirty laundry down the stairs when we are cleaning.......it keeps him occupied. I guess he couldn't smell the fresh scent of Snuggle......poor olfactory distinguishing.....sad.

Pulled out a new box of diapers from under my bed and threw them on the floor.

While I cleaned these up he moved on to the bathroom where he pulled out a box of Q tips, cleaned his ears and threw the rest in the tub.

One of multiple meals where he needed his clothes changed after and a sponge bath.....even though he demanded a full on tub. (See the Manly Wilder likeness......freaky.)

Colored on a whole pad of paper.........and the table.

Refused a nap.........bit me for an hour while I tried to force him to indulge in a sleepy bye.

Mugged with Mom

Emptied the sippy cup drawer

The joys of natural man........chocolate pudding

Rubbed his rump all over dry wall dust

Rode the four wheeler..........refused to re-enter the house

Threw himself prostrate on the ground like he was at a sit in ...in the sixties and screamed like a girl..........

Finally had a full on tubby, scribbled on the walls with bath crayons, slid the gorilla, horse and zebra down the water slide. Cried when it was time to get out even though he was covered in goose bumps. Lotioned...........(I'm sure heaven smells like a lotiony baby....). Collapsed none too soon....he only beat me by seconds.

Ready For Paint........

The Family Room............known to me as the Queen's Quarters..........I found this great gigantic semi reclining chair/bed at RC Willies..........in zebra print. I plan to lie back on that with a roaring fire, plasma screen, surround sound a full season of The Office and a fountain Coke.....maybe some rice noodles. The children can attend me with paper fans and witty cracks. I will not raise my booty for a whole Saturday.............ya right.

War territory........library or Jack's private farm land? If I have a library downstairs then I will not feel compelled to go out and buy all new hard wood, matching book shelves. If I have to move the library upstairs where.........gasp ANY old Joe could see it, well then we all know what I must do.............matching dark wood shelves with moulding, alphabetize the books by genre.......

Okay I would do the alphabetizing anyway.

The paint in most of the basement will match the upstairs. I know........all that wall and not a drop of creativity spent. It's a shame really. I might go a little nuts on the bathroom and not do light brown. We contemplated teal for Ri's room but decided to go with unoriginal...........then we can change the bedding and decor every year.........Yippie.

I've Been Tryin' To Get Down To The Heart Of The Matter.........

Even if, even if you don't love me any more. Thanks Don Henley. What I'm really trying to say here is that auditory issues aren't my only problem. You could make a fairly firm case for me falling somewhere on the Autism spectrum. My inability to cope with sick and unnatural things spills over sensory boundaries to tactile peculiarity. Come on now...........I know some of you have the same thing going on down at your house!

Velour.............
Better known as Satan's track suit. This stuff is made purely of hebee gebee's. When I was little I had this shirt that I called my spaghetti shirt. It was royal blue velour and had rainbow colored lines on the stretchy knit material cuffs. If I wore this shirt I was P.O.'ed for the day! I can't bear the feeling of velour rubbing on my hands. I could literally crawl out of my skin. My kids have had baby outfits made of velour..........if I ever dress them in one..........yeah, I have to wrap them in a blanket in order to hold them so that I don't get any direct skin contact.

Sponges........
Okay I can't fathom that could be used for contraception.......what a diabolical creation. Sponges were not meant to be touched by human hands. When I own a robot to do all of my chores I will then buy her sponges. Until then I do not use them. Right now I have to stop blogging to ball my fists so I can't possibly feel sponge.................ugh. Dry sponges are even worse! Whose with me on that one? Let's hear a little cheer. Sponge also covers many forms of synthetic foam material. I can sleep on an egg carton mattress per say, but only if someone can get it onto the bed and covered with a sheet before I touch it.

Packing Foam.......
You know the kind made of a zillion little foam balls pressurized together and molded into a shape..........that stuff makes noise when you touch it. Not only will I not touch it because I do not want to illicit either the squeak or the rubbing sound (grit your teeth, you can get through this...) but I don't appreciate being in the same hearing range of ANYONE touching the foam. These are the times at Christmas when I excuse myself and go to the bathroom and contemplate my true skin age until the packing foam is discarded.

Socks........
After years of self talk and fits of rage I can now wear socks without going off the deep end. I try not to wear them........but sometimes you just have to man up and put on a pair of socks. When I was little I can remember days when I had to wear socks and I could barley function for the day. They are so restraining I feel like I have to fight someone near me just to get free. The WORST thing you could do with a pair of socks on your feet...........get in bed. Oh OH OH!!! Oh just stop the mental imaging........ggggggrrrrrrr. That is like being in two jails at the same time. The socks are already there and THEN you have covers on your feet. That is like putting a plastic bag over your head......how can you even breath?

Dirt...........
Thank goodness for garden gloves and work gloves. Dirt on my hands......oh the dryness and tightness of skin. If I ever find myself in such a situation.........I'm shuddering hold on..........I have to ball my fists up so I can't feel the skin pulling. This might have some bearing on the 12 open bottles of lotion around the house.

Warm air on my face...........
It feels like suffocating. Warm air in my nose, gag, in my mouth yuck. I have to shut the vents in the car so they warm air can't penetrate my orifices. It's like breathing some one's saliva.

Mechanical Pencils........
Okay this is mostly an auditory issue. I like mechanical pencils because they come in such cute designs and they are always sharp BUT.........they make a high pitched noise when you write on some kinds of paper with them. This is a true statement. So in many cases it's better to err on the side of a pen.

Chalk............
First of all if you touch it there is that dust like film that makes your hands dry. Yes that is a problem. Then the sound.......I think that sound is probably played on the airwaves of Hell. The rubbing sound is the one I am talking about, not the high squeak you get now and then.....that's nothing. It's the RUBBING that I can't deal with. I always felt immense peace when my teacher would put that little sleeve on her chalk. Then I knew it wasn't touching her hand. It was the only way I could fathom becoming a teacher.........I knew I didn't have to bare hand chalk.

I know there are other people out there that agree with some of these, or something LIKE these. Don't think I'm the only nut. I'll have to cover my social issues at a later date just to reaffirm that I do fit somewhere on a social spectrum disorder in the DSM.

Basement

Yay basement! The plan was to put the girls in one big bedroom and keep the boys upstairs in the biggest bedroom..........but now everyone wants their own room. I am trying to figure out how to do what they want and still have a library. Library..........that's what really counts. Looking from Riley's bedroom through her closet into the front bedroom/library, or as Jack considers it, his room.

Bathroom.......

Riley and Mad's room with sheetrock. The saw might stay if the girls show an interest in wood work.

From the hall into the family room. Yippee! I can't wait for the fireplace and flat screen.

The guys we hired are working so fast! Today they are already taping and texturing. I have to go pick out carpet and paint and get the girl's bedding............and convince Jack that I need a library more than he needs a bedroom in the basement.

Hazel

Some sweet Maddy mouth.........

We left church the other morning and the snow was really coming down. Mads looks up and says "It's hazeling!!" I think she meant a mix of snow and hail.......because the snow was little icy bits.
Then at dinner she was praying and she asked for her 'scarf ' to be blessed. That would be the owie on her foot that she thinks will scar and mar her beauty.
She also asked in her blessing on the food that we would be 'pretcted from drinking alcohol' because she has been obsessing over the song 'Whiskey Lullaby'. She doesn't want us to die from alcohol poisoning. I tried to tell her not to worry........but she does.
Yesterday as we were doing errands she was trying to speak Spanish....she gave up on French for now. I said 'goodbye family' in Spanish. It made her cry......neither of us are sure why. Then she tried to get rid of the tears running down her face so her dad wouldn't see, because sometimes tears make you embarrassed.
She is also in love with reading. She thinks I should time her like I do Ri and Jack. She has been reading 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'. So far she has made it into the volcano and taken one of the forks........they have found water and are still traveling. I'm not sure why she likes it, but she does...........don't worry, she is a genius but she hasn't read all of it alone. I read the hard words like 'journey and volcano' she reads things like 'the, and, to, am, can, is, it, me, be, I, a, you'. It is beginning to feel like we really are journeying to the center of the earth.......slow going.