Just in time for pictures

For the last while Sam's had a few loose teeth. Problem is that they really have not gotten any looser (more loose, less, or lost. boxes, boxen, moose meecen). Every once in a while we'd point out to Sam that he needed to wiggle his teeth if he wanted them to come out. We'd try to keep him motivated, but he would loose interested in wiggling and we'd remind him again later. Sam being the kid that was nearly in tears 2 years ago when all his friends were loosing teeth and he was not, you'd think he'd want to get them out. I guess he's no sucker for peer pressure.

(This is Sam attempting to make his teeth loose. He tried to tie the floss to the door and it wasn't staying tied. So i told him I'd hold the strings and he could just fall back. He laughed more than anything. He was having too much fun.)We might have the genetics stacked against the boys to having healthy teeth, but the root system is amazing. I was in 3rd grade when i finally lost my front top teeth. And Ethan was the same way. So tomorrow is picture day for the boys and Sam (being in 3rd grade) had been working more on his teeth over the last week and they were getting pretty loose, but still not out. Tonight i put the boys in bed, a little earlier since they got to bed later last night, as i left their room Ethan said his tongue felt weird and Sam said something about wishing he would have gotten his teeth pulled. I said just go to sleep both of you we're all tired and we need the sleep. As per usual, Sam was up and out of bed about 15 minutes after i closed the door. When i got upstairs he said his tooth was bleeding, and it was. (Timing is everything for a kid right?) And it was not too much more work to get the tooth out. As he was working on getting the tooth pulled, Ethan came walking into the hall with a tooth in his hand. He had pulled one of his molars. Well that just motivated Sam to get his tooth out faster and sure enough it was out within a few minutes.Poor Ryan. He was so wanting to add to the fun of the evening, and he kept trying to tell me "Mom, MOm, MOOM, look my tooth here, see, it's uh, it's uh, it's flat." I said yep, it sure is lets keep it safe right there for now. Ok. He said ok.

Well with Sam's one front tooth gone and the other one loose and not being held back because of the first one, Sam was determined to get it out as well. At one point Sam said "I wish my hands were bricks so i could just whack my tooth out." It took another 20 minutes of old fashion pushing and pulling, since he didn't have hands that were bricks. And out it came. Funny kid. And i thought he was hard to motivate.

Live Wild Stuff

This morning because Ryan hadn't been feeling good during the night he slept in. Stayed home from school. When he woke up after getting the extra sleep we ate breakfast together. As we were eating breakfast i was noticing how much wind there was and how many birds seemed to be riding the wind. As Ryan and i watched out the window we saw lots and lots of these birds. I'm guessing it's a western meadowlark. At least from what I've been able to find on the internet. And as we watched out the window i saw a streak of a bird of prey fly by. A few weeks ago i saw what i think was a peregrine falcon or something in that family but it was too far away to be totally sure and i certainly didn't get a picture of it. this time i got a picture of this bird of prey. then i got a picture of two of them.As we were watching the acrobatics and dives and such of the birds i was running from one room with a window to the next trying to get a good picture. I was so wishing i had a really good camera that had a good zoom so that i could get some cool pictures. that way i could identify really what kind i was seeing. we have seen a few different kinds over the summer. some not to far from here, but my camera only does so far a zoom. Amazingly enough, today our house was the perch of choice. so we got to see them really close. it was pretty cool to watch. we actually saw 5 at one point. I'm not sure how many were flying all over but i know there had to be at least 5. the birds of prey were chasing the meadowlarks and getting mice and or lizards. One of the birds we saw flying up to the top of the house defiantly had something in its clutches. i did get a picture of that but it's hard to see. But as i was running from room to room to get that good picture i saw one fly around the back of the house headed for the front of the house. thinking i could get a picture of it flying away i ran into the extra room in the front. and as i came running into the room i saw that the bird had landed on the house just outside of the window. i frantically took half a dozen pictures.how cool is that? it's a kestrel. (in the picture that i got both birds one is male and one is female). sure we have snakes from time to time and even some creepy spiders and critters to worry about, but we also get these. when i showed the boys the pictures Sam said we sure get some good live wild stuff. Yes, yes we do.

wink, wink!

Today as Ryan and I were sitting eating lunch Ryan asked if he could see my eyes when they were closed. I said yeah and closed one of my eyes so he could see my eyelid.

Me: what are you looking at?

Ryan: nothin, i just wanted to see your eyes closed. Mom, did you know if you blink one of your eyes that means you have an idea.

Me: You mean wink. if i wink that means i have an idea?

Ryan: Yeah, if you whisper and talk to somebody and then wink that means you have an idea.

Me: oh yeah, that is an interesting way to put it. Can you wink?

Ryan: mmmm, i fink so.

(at this point i pulled out the camera and Ryan showed me lots of different winks..... just wanted to show you just a few of Ryan's "Ideas".)

Interesting connection. Funny kid. Here's hoping you all have some good "ideas" of your own. wink, wink!

Only brush the ones you want to keep.

The other day after Sam's visit to the dentist (with yet another pulpotomy a.k.a. baby root canal) Ryan made a few comments about his teeth that made me worry. First, it was when he asked for yellow gum (stride's fruity something or other, a.k.a. the non spicy kind for Ryan). After he had been chewing it for a minute he said "mom i only can chew my gum on this side cause it doesn't hurt." I quickly asked him if it was because his mouth was tired or was it because it hurt. He said, it just was hurt some. Great! Then later that same day when he was running around he told me if he runs too fast it hurts his teeth. I kinda laughed that that was what he linked it to. But i took what he said more seriously. I said lets go brush your teeth and take a look in your mouth. He opened wide and to my great relief he had his molars breaking through. Whew! We have talked to the boys lots about making sure they are brushing all their teeth really good. We have them doing a rinse, and they are taking their daily vitamins with fluoride. So because of all this dental work that we've had to have done over the year i think the boys get it. I had to kinda smile the next morning when Ryan prayed: "please help my teef to grow safely." Yeah, i think they get it.

(Ryan showing his molars in the back)

Sleepless in Saratoga

I'm sooooo glad we have dental insurance! We are taking Sam in for an emergency dentist trip since he woke up 4 times through the night complaining about his tooth and he woke up like this: There is nothing in his cheek either! But at least he smiled for the picture! Sad part is the boys were going to go on a "boys trip" to see the Long family in Idaho, for the reunion. When we told Sam that he'd have to skip the trip to go to the dentist he got pretty sad and said that he felt bad that he was going to disappoint his brothers. We are sad that it turned out this way, but at the same time glad that it has worked out for us to get it taken care of now, rather than having him suffer with it the over the weekend. Good thing Idaho isn't too far away so we can do a make up trip later.

I only cried a little

Ryan started kindergarten yesterday. I am having a hard time believing that my baby is in school. What happened to the years? And now that all the boys are in school, what am i going to do with myself? I have had a list going in my head and i thought i was excited for this day, yet i find myself wishing i still had some time with the boys here. Where is that pause button?

As some may or may not know, Ryan is a sensitive little soul. He definitely is the baby of our family. And as much as i try not to let him be spoiled the way all babies of the families are, we fall short from time to time (admitting the problem is a step to solving it right?). He is a mama's boy on top of that. Ethan and Sam didn't care where mom and dad where when it was time for nursery and school. They loved it and were excited to go. Ryan, on the other hand, has the equivalent of all three boys not wanting to be away from mom and dad. It has been a fight to get him to go to nursery/primary 80% of the time and even going to preschool at grandma's wasn't easy at first. I know it's only a matter of time for him to get adjusted, but it sure pulls at my heart stings to see him sad. Yesterday his first day, he only shed a few tears, as did I. Lucky for me someone had mentioned that they wore their sunglasses just so their kids wouldn't see them cry. He didn't see me cry. Blake did and he laughed at me. When we went into the school to make the changes the principle was the one that helped us. She walked down the hall with us and showed Ryan his new class room, and where his cubby would be' and where the drinking fountain is, and where a cute little window that is low enough for the kindergartners to see out. He sure liked Mrs. Holbrook. Later when i talked with the office to make sure i didn't need to fill out any other papers, Mrs. Holbrook with there. She said that when the kindergartners were taking a tour through the office Ryan waved to her and she waved back. She had told him that she would be riding the bus home with him that day to make sure all the kids knew the rules (since it's a bus of kindergartners). Ryan got off the bus with a big ol' smile on his face. Later when i was asking him what his favorite part was he said it was the bus. But he did say he liked kindergarten OK too. (Mrs Holbrook is the lady in the dress in the back ground by the bus).

Yesterday, since we were changing the boys to the early schedule, we took them into the school. So this morning was Ryan's first time riding the bus to school with Ethan and Sam. He was excited all morning, and didn't seem to be reluctant at all. I was feeling optimistic that making the change for the boys to all go on the early schedule, so they could go together, was the exact thing that would help Ryan. That was until he was about to set foot on that bus. He was running up to get on the bus behind Ethan and Sam, and then it hit him that i wasn't getting on the bus with him. He turned around and instantly started to cry. I went up to him and gave him a hug and said "you gotta get going, Ethan's going to sit by you on the bus, and then you're going to be with your class." And i tried to push him towards the bus. He wasn't too keen on that. Ethan realized that Ryan wasn't behind him, and came back out to help Ryan. I walked up the stairs with him, and then said good bye, gave him a kiss, and got off. As i came home i was praying that Ryan was OK and that he would settle in. I got a single ring from the school on my phone, but no one was there, about 5 minutes after i dropped the boys off at the stop. Ethan was trying to call me since Ryan cried to whole bus ride to the school telling the bus to turn around. Ethan was trying to be a good big brother. He went into the office and started to call me but the secretary said, no don't call you mom she will just worry, and she said she would help Ryan and he would be fine. They all walked to where the kindergartners were getting ready to go in. The secretary told Ethan he could go to his class. Ethan started to walk away reluctantly, and Ryan started to cry for Ethan. Ethan went running back, but the secretary told Ethan Ryan would be OK and that he needed to go to his class. I was worried when the secretary told me all of this, that Ethan would be pretty upset and worried about Ryan. I was glad that he was so concerned about Ryan (proud moment). When i picked Ethan up from the bus stop after school he told me all about the morning. I was able to tell him that Ryan did OK. He stopped crying, and did have a good day after that. Ryan will no doubt know how many people love him and care about him over time. I am just hoping that Monday will be a better day!

snake you, snake you, snake you very much!

This last weekend we were up in Idaho for grandpa Murdock's funeral. As we pulled into the drive way Saturday night i saw a snake! Even though we were in the car i lifted my leg and yelled snake! I told Blake to back up and look at it. Sure enough there it was, trying really hard to cross the driveway. It was a rattle snake, no doubt about it. You could see the rattle on the tail. Blake backed up far enough so he could use the light from the headlights. And got out of the car and headed for the garage to get the shovel. Yes crazy, i know. As soon as Blake was out of the car the boys yelled "lock the doors!" (I'm not sure how that was going to help or why they thought they should lock the doors--the snake wasn't going to come open the door in the first place.) So there we are the boys and i in the car watching Blake go after this snake with the shovel. Adrenaline pumping and all! The snake only coiled up once and Blake was able to get it once it was trying to slither away! As Blake was getting the rattle snake we saw a second snake on the front lawn! YEAH I know FREAKY! So i quickly pulled the car into the driveway and told the boys to go into the house and just stay inside. The boys ran into the house and watched from the front window, yelling from time to time. I ran upstairs to get our BB gun (yeah, hind site being what it is, that wasn't going to work). I got back outside as Blake tried to load the BB gun with the pellets (hands shaking like crazy) we decided the other snake was gone. It took off as soon as we saw it. So Blake finished taking care of removing the snake from the front yard and i got the boys in bed.
(this picture is totally zoomed in--you can kinda see an ant by the tail. I just wanted the picture of the tail.)
By the time Blake had come back in and said good night to the boys i think our adrenaline rush had finally subsided. My theory of the evening being too cool for the snakes to be out went out the window as we discussed the event. Because we hadn't really eaten dinner we had our usual bowl of cold cereal when we don't want to fix anything and it's late. And we cleaned up a little bit more from our trip and then as we were heading up the stairs Blake said he wished he would have been able to get that second snake instead now he was going to just worry about it being out there. As he was saying this i went to the front window and was looking around. And low and behold there on the drive way was the second snake. We had just finished discussing that running over the snake with the car would have been the easier/safer way to go about getting rid of it. So i went and got in the car and ran over the snake. As i backed up further to again use the headlights for lighting Blake got closer to see if i had gotten it good enough to kill it. And it was a bull snake (or gopher snake). We had read and heard that those are good snakes to have around cause they will kill the rattle snakes and here we are killing it. I know, kill first, ask questions later wasn't the smartest way to go about it, but when i see a snake after seeing a rattle snake there is too much adrenaline pumping to pause and check the snake out! The bull snake wasn't as big as the rattle snake and we have decided that the bull snake must have been after the rattle snake in the first place. So to the bull snake that is decaying in the dirt not to far from here, I am sorry.
(the second picture here is the bull snake)