Well That Backfired!

Stephen got a new calling a little while ago. He's now got meetings he needs to attend the whole morning before church, lots of paperwork stuff to do during church, and tithing/fast offerings/more paperwork stuff after church. I've been apprehensive about how this will all work out to say the least. In all honesty I doubt I'll EVER be even close to on time again.

This morning I decided it was time to lower the boom on these naughty big boys that are teaching Lincoln how to be a naughty boy. I got them bathed and into separate rooms to get dressed. I explained to each of them that they would not get a bite to eat till they were completely dressed for church; and, when it was time to leave we were loading up and driving off. Lincoln is dressed by me so he got a full breakfast and I squeezed in a quick bowl of Fruity Cheerios. Those things are SO good! Garrett got himself dressed and managed to slowly eat half a bowl of cereal. That kid eats SOOO S L O W, dinner can easily take him 3 hours. Poor little, helpless, gonna be 6 next week, Gabriel just couldn't get his own socks and shoes on. Ohhh, wah wah wah. He'd flung his socks all over his room in a fit and couldn't find one so he wah wah wahed about that for a while. Finally he found it then wah wah wahed about how he can't put his own shoes on. It was 8:40 when this was all going on; we have to leave at 8:50 to get there close to on time. I just quietly decided that I wasn't going to fight with him and he'd go to church in whatever state he was in. I truly believed I'd be taking a kid to church wearing one sock and no shoes. I had to laugh to myself because I knew this would be the Sunday they sang Happy Birthday to him in Primary and THAT would be hilarious to see.

He managed to get everything found and on just in time, but not in time to eat. He grabbed two baggies of snacks left from yesterday's trip to Thatcher and thought he'd eat them in the car. NO WAY!! I'm mean, hot, and T I R E D. He was going to live with this natural consequence and hopefully make better choices next Sunday. If he doesn't I should have a good picture. :-) He was only allowed to eat that food after he'd reverently walked out to the car at the end of church and gotten buckled in. Oh how I hope this makes an impression so that next week will be more efficient.

You may be thinking, "Uh why did we have to see a picture of your lovely summer pregnant feet?" In the process of giving my kids natural consequences I COMPLETELY forgot to put my own Sunday shoes on and that's what I ended up wearing to church today. Nice. Note to self hang the nice shoes on the door so you don't forget them and look like an idiot.

Thoughts on the Monsoon...

I only had the camera in my phone...it does not do these justice.

I figure if I'm going to get ripped off on the rain at least we're sent some pretty sunsets.
This was a bright, vibrant, beautiful sunset!
We pulled over and all five of us sat there and watched it.

Oath

Since I missed a MAJORITY of Stephen's graduation, when he told me about taking the oath in front of the board I decided to go. Yes, that made me weird and I was told that I'd be the only "regular person" at a fire board meeting. I was ok with that and promised to sit quietly and behave...which is much more than I can say for all the kids I farmed out. Gabriel was at his "summer school" classes. My mom took Garrett to swim lessons and Lincoln got to hang out at home with a babysitter.

I had to hurry to get there on time. It felt like I'd driven too far and missed the road somehow...just then I found the road. I parked one minute late, grabbed the ignition half of my keys and got in quickly. It was nice to be able to sit and watch him take his oath uninterrupted. After the oath I stayed for a little while to just see how the meeting went. I'm very glad I did. As each issue was discussed the board brought up very good questions, and the chiefs had very good explanations. It was very obvious that both the board members and chiefs try to make decisions based on the good of the community they serve, not their bottom line. I appreciated that that will be the employment environment Stephen will be working in. They were also honest, moral people that consider ethical ramifications of each decision. My Mr. Straight and Narrow will be a good fit in that kind of environment and I know that he'll never be asked to compromise his standards or do anything questionable. That's a comfort.

He's with a good district, and working with lots of good people. The meeting was actually pretty interesting. I loved watching the tact that was employed in describing a specific group...I think I would have used different descriptors. ;-)

At family night this was explained:
-We will risk our lives a lot for a life that is savable.

-We will risk our lives a little for property that is savable.

-We won't risk our lives for something that is already lost.

Safety is a BIG thing and knowing that he'll never be hurt or killed by running into an empty building that is already lost has brought peace to my mind. I'm struggling with several things with the kids right now. One day I thought I was about to break and had the terrible thought I could end up alone with them. My next thought was, "Oh no no no I was NOT sent single parent kind of kids." Knowing what a priority safety is brings comfort and calm to my mind.

As I left I discovered that I'd actually put the wrong half of my keys in my pocket. GRRRR! I was SO embarrassed as I walked back into the lobby. However, I did get to meet and chat with the receptionist...she's a really nice lady. She called a couple of the on duty firefighters over to help me. Have I mentioned how embarrassed I was. I didn't tell them who I was connected to, but they knew I was one of the new guy's wife. Poor Stephen is hitched to such a bumbling wife. They had the door popped open REALLY fast. The guy said, "I was a thief before I did this." Hilarious! I thanked them and they assured me that they wouldn't tell. {;-D That night when I told Stephen how fast they opened it he asked if I'd told them, "Wow last time I did this it took a lot longer to open it." That's a different story I'll tell you another day. Each key for that car costs nearly 100 bucks (bought online for cheaper) so obviously we don't have a spare. We'll be getting one of those very soon...because I'm bumbling and my brain is being sucked out at an alarming rate these days.

Long Ramblings on Graduation

STEPHEN GRADUATED!!

It has been a grueling 14 weeks while Stephen completed the fire academy. About mid way through he told me that he ate lunch in his truck everyday so he could get some studying in. I felt bad that he had to sacrifice the camaraderie the guys that stayed inside were enjoying. Try as I might there was really no way to get any peace and quiet for him to study in at home. Once the book work was done he began eating lunch with the other guys. I was glad he got a few weeks. He did well academically, despite the lack of study time, so he led his group onto the stage for the badge pinning. Poor guy carried a heavier load here at home than I would've like, but when I'm pregnant I'm pretty much useless. He's always kind about it though.

Our camera didn't like the lighting so many of our pictures didn't turn out well...at all. I'm pretty sad about that. I wasn't able to get pictures of everything I wanted due to the 2 hour wrestling match I had with Lincoln. Now I discover not many of the few I did get didn't turn out. Grrr! This is a big thing; I wanted it well documented dang it. I'm blessed with the world's most amazing friends, one offered to take Lincoln for me....about an hour into it I was thinking, "Dang, I should have left this little critter." I wanted him in the pictures after...not thinking about all the pictures I'd miss in the meantime.
I guess normally the chief pins the badges on the new firefighters. The training officers talked about how important families are and as a nod to them each guy, and the one girl, got to choose who would pin them. Stephen chose me! You may think that's a given, but there was one guy that had his wife and dad fighting over who would get to do it. He never made the decision and just let them fight it out. I will tell you there was a very hurt wife from that situation. It made me sad to look into her eyes. Stephen thought it was crazy too and said, "The wife should always win in that situation." That's one of the many reasons I love him. I'm grateful I got to be part of such an important event. This night was the beginning of a new career, and life for us; we both got to be a part of it and that made it even more special.

The whole combined class. There were recruits from 3 different agencies represented. This was kind of a record breaking effort in collaboration. The 3 agencies pooled resources and had a combined academy. It's hard to see the sculptures in the middle of them, but one of the recruits made each of those bases. The red thing hanging in the middle is each department's emblem...hand crafted by him. He did an amazing job!

That Stephen of mine is a smart guy, he had to speak for a few minutes, because he was Valedictorian. He'll kill me if he knows I told, shhh. I was standing in the lobby with Lincoln, when he saw Dad and I wouldn't put him down to run to him that Lincoln got mad and LOUD. So, I missed part of Stephen's speaking part too. I had my Dad running the camcorder and oh how I pray nothing went wrong with it. I haven't had the time to check it yet. What I did hear was great. By the end of the night Lincoln would have NOTHING to do with me. He wanted to cuddle his Dad and that was final. These boys sure love their Dad.

Here's the reason I decided to haul all three kids with me. I wanted the family picture at the end of the night. Stephen said I looked like I was mourning because I wore black. I explained that it was navy blue and not black and that I'm pregnant and limited on what I can wear. A large portion of my maternity clothes are dark solid colors because that's what I have to wear for work. A large portion of my regular clothes are also dark solid colors. I was working full time when I was pregnant with Gabriel and most of these clothes were purchased, thus the dark solid color. He said he didn't care but noticed that most of the other wives were in bright little sundresses. I then pointed out that I can't wear cute bright sundresses even when I'm not pregnant. :-) I had wanted to try to get out and get a new outfit that was brighter colored, but that ain't gonna happen with the boys in tow. Oh well, it is what it is. At least we all made it and I think the navy coordinated with his clothes quite nicely. :-D

Now he has a year of probation. I have more anxiety about that than I did about the academy. During that probation time all they have to do is not like you and declare you're not a good fit to get rid of you. That's a little scary. He's good at getting along with others, understands the rookie hoops he'll be jumping through, and is conscious of what and how he says things. Everything should work out, I'm just high strung and a worrier. **His shift is the one that works Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's...Here's to the Rookie.** The kids are young and won't even notice a change in day. :-)

You can't really see Lincoln's jammies...they have fire trucks on them and glow in the dark. They are hand me downs from Gabriel. *Side Note: When Garrett wore these jammies the glow in the dark FREAKED him out and we had to put them on inside out.* I just thought it was funny that those are the jammies he's wearing considering where we'd just come from. The other day Stephen asked, "what's up with all the firefighters outfits?" I can honestly say they're all from when Gabriel was this size. I just thought they were cute and bought them...6 years ago. Which coincidentally is about the first time this career crossed Stephen's mind.

Many years ago he thought this looked like a career he'd like. He did a little research into it, but nothing like he did before he applied for this job, and kept it in the back of his mind. He was crazy busy with work and school at the time...and babies shortly after that...and wasn't able to pursue it. Well, work stopped and he wasn't crazy busy anymore. I've learned there's a fine line to tread during employment transitions. I felt I needed to support him in his endeavors, but at the same time didn't want to encourage the beating of a dead career horse. Fortunately, he still had this in the back of his mind and when he was ready to let go of some dreams, worked through the feelings a bread winner has to work through, and take a leap in a TOTALLY different direction, he was willing to do it with all he had. In order to make a sound, informed decision he called and talked extensively with every firefighter he knew (including one call to Idaho). He spent many hours on the internet reading things from leadership within the industry. Once he decided he was going to apply he spent several more hours researching and learning about the two departments that were hiring. We were blessed that these two departments made a change and only required applicants to be EMT certified. That meant he took a 4 week, INTENSE, EMT course at the beginning of the year. From that he had a month-ish of interviews with a heavy dose of praying (meanwhile his wife was discovering she was pregnant) and she added another heavy dose of praying. Then we waited for a call, and she finally told him about the new one on the way. We couldn't believe he'd gotten on. It's normally a long process of repeated tries to get on with a fire department, we were prepared for that and brought to tears, ok I was, when he actually got on. Within a couple of weeks he started the academy and has been doing that for the last 14 weeks. His department just added on two more weeks of training...puts some kinks in a couple plans, but we'll adjust, he has a job after all. Getting him employed has been pretty much all we've done this year. He's happy and ready to work. We're happy and ready to have a life back.

This morning Garrett said, "Dad, someday you'll be a firefighter." Stephen responded, "I am a firefighter." Garrett laughed and said, "No you're not! You're a person."

Yes, he is a person, a great husband, Dad, and human being. It's nice to have the less stressed Stephen back.

"It's A Dry Heat"

This morning while dropping Gabriel off at school...at 8:00 am...I noticed it was already hot. I was relieved that I'd left the cooler on before we left.

When we got home and opened the door we weren't met with the cool rush of air and I expected, "Dang, I thought I'd turned that cooler on." I ran back to switch it on, and discovered that, I wasn't crazy, it was running. I believe the "dry heat" has left. {:-/

Happy Monsoon.

It better rain on me. I get irritable when it gets humid and I can see the clouds raining everywhere but my part of town. As long as I get a nice rain at the end of the day I can get through the rest of the day. Gotta go...time to start my rain dance.

Good News, Bad News...

Good News: Our health and dental insurance cards arrived in the mail last week and I made A LOT of appointments to get us caught up on everything that we've had on hold.

Bad News: (but really it's me being a wuss) I'm now driving to a lot of appointments in 185 degree heat...ok I exaggerated...a little.

Good News: The big boys did fantastic for their first trip to the dentist, even the older one that I was a little worried about.

More Good News: The office is close to our house!

Bad News: Gabriel has 5, count them 5, cavities and Garrett has 2.

Good News: The new insurance will cover a ton of it.

Bad News: Gabriel has some serious issues with needles. Stephen has to hold him down for a puny flu shot. Cavity repair is going to be difficult for all of us involved. I asked for a tranquilizer to give him. Funny how they don't give those for kids.

Good News: I took them to a pediatric dentist in hopes that it'd be a good fit, and THEY LOVED IT! It was a way child friendly office. Each kid got to pick the kind of sunglasses to wear while their teeth were cleaned and given a mirror so they could watch what was going on. Garrett had some major build up that had to be removed; he sat there calmly playing a game and didn't seem to notice a thing. Later the dentist told me it's just something that some kids get and to just make sure he's in every 6 months. Gabriel was satisfied with the explanation of how they will fix his 5, count them 5, cavities. Both kids loved the goody bags, stickers and prize they got to pick with their token. This place was a hit. Once again, we have been blessed with finding a good medical fit for our kiddos.

Bad News/Good News: I have 4 more visits to get all the cavities fixed. They only work on one quadrant at a time. That's a good thing for the kids and will prevent any kind of dentist apprehension, but means I have to schedule 4 more visits.

Good News: I have a phenomenal husband!

Bad News: Apparently his cavity prone teeth are genetically dominant. (The O N L Y dominant feature I have is my severe myopia! The kids can thank me for that later.)

Good News: In two weeks when he's out of the academy he gets to go in and find out how many cavities he's developed in the last few uninsured years, AND get them fixed. I just went in and am proud to say I'm still cavity free...and have NEVER had one. I don't have much I can brag about so this will have to do. :-)

Random Note: There was another mom there with a 5 year old girl. She looked at me and said, "I don't know how you do it with two at the same time." I chuckled and said there's one more taking a nap at Grandma's right now (then thought about all my friends with more and thought I don't know how they do it). I explained it is very noisy, destructive and a high energy kind of environment. She said she struggles with her one child "and she's an easy one". She then asked how long I've been in the area. I assumed she meant the city we live in and responded since 1992. She said, "wow I can't detect any kind of accent what so ever." Then I realized what she really meant. I told her that I was born and raised here in good ol' Arizona, but had moved around within the state. Stephen and I are truly anomalies (sp?); we were both born and raised in the state. It's surprising how many times I get questioned about where I'm from because of the lack of accent. I should be a news anchor, they wouldn't have to teach me how to talk first. ;-)

*The dentist was great, very patient and good with the kids. When they were all done she came over and talked with me about a few things. She was very surprised to find any cavities because the kid's gums and teeth appeared to be in such good shape. Since they were babies I've invested a pretty good chunk of money in the fluoride water at the store. She was the second Dr. to confirm that our water does NOT have sufficient amounts of fluoride in it. I have a shelf and when it goes on sale I fill the shelf up...sometimes I feel silly spending money on water, but it's good I did. I'm glad I haven't been wasting my money. Although, our cavity count would send a different message. She asked how many kids I have; I answered 3 boys. She smiled, she has 2 boys, and then talked about dental trauma in boys. It was actually really good information; like if a tooth is knocked completely out then put it back in. This grossed me out, so she said to put it in milk and call them to let them know that we were on the way for THEM to put it back in. She explained that boys have the ability to internally and externally injure themselves and to have the ER or Urgent care take care of them first (have a plastic surgeon fix the external injuries) then have them do the dental work after. She's suspicious that part of the cause for Gabriel's many cavities might be all of the soy/dairy free alternatives. I'm checking to see what the sugar content of rice milk, cheese, and coconut yogurt is. Gabriel whispered in my ear, "Will I have to get a shot?" I told him to ask the dentist how they fix cavities. He did, and she had a very good way to explain it, so I'm not going to have a fight on my hands...at least for the first time. ;-)

I'm, once again, SO happy we've been able to find a fantastic place to take care of the kids. I feel very confident that the kids will be comfortable with trips to get their teeth cleaned. I've never had any issues with the dentist and really wanted the same for my kids. Woo-Hoo.

Moving Out

All packed up.

Front pocket.

Main pocket.


After I'd had it yesterday and banished the big boys to their bedroom, Gabriel came out with his backpack filled and announced, "I'm moving out!"

I had to laugh because he didn't want to run away, but to move out. Notice he only packed toys no clothes, or food or any of those handy move out items. He's been informing his brothers that he's the oldest so he's really just like Mom and Dad. We keep trying to correct him and reinforce the concept that he's still a kid and needs to let us do the correcting. So far it hasn't stuck. I cringe every time I tell him I'm the Mommy not you...because...I've heard the same thing directed to me so many times. ;-/ Most of the time he's getting on them about something legitimate, but I already know all the answers so don't need help. (wink wink)

Today he decided he'll go ahead and stay for a few years.

Speaking of moving, every time he sees a commercial, for one of the home builders around town, advertising the great prices to take some of their homes off their hands; he'll look over at me with the biggest excited smile ever and say, "HEY let's go MOM! Let's move into a new house!" He really thinks it'd be great to move into a new house. Someday he will definitely get his wish...