As the saying goes...The proof is in the puddin'

I usually try to coordinate my trips to Trader Joe's with my visits to the gym since they are across the street from each other. I know I look gross and smell even worse but hey I'm a mom of four so who really cares?! And let me also pre-empt this post with the fact that my kids are generally really well behaved at the grocery store, I mean why would I torture myself right?

Today, my friends, they were in rare form. We were in the veggie aisle and while I was trying to sooth Kali from some unknown ailment Cam and Aidan were running circles around each other. I gave them the mean mommy look and told them to settle down, i.e I had taken my eyes off Riley. CRASH and then a bloodcurdling scream... Riley had pulled the cart over and it had landed on him. Riley has a great scream, a high pitched "you're killing me" scream that he uses on everything from "he took my toy" to "hey this grocery cart just landed on top of me". Needless to say the ENTIRE store came running to scope out the scene. I pulled the cart off of him and just held him for awhile (meanwhile still trying to sooth Kali who is also continuing to scream her head off, and I had miraculously managed to get Cam and Aidan to sit and calm down.) After checking him out, I hoisted Riley into the cart,and thinking that things had calmed down enough I could finish the trip.

Well we made it to the frozen section when Kali started up again... recall that I am still holding her on my hip...I look down to see and then feel her give one big grunt and then poop all over me. It was the biggest explosion I have had the pleasure of witnessing. It was all over the aisle floor and I was stuck I could only stand there and start laughing. Cam, the saint, ran to the one of clerks to ask for paper towels and returned to his mother still laughing. It was hysterical, Aidan was running around yelling about all the gross poop that his sister has just emitted, Riley was resting his head on the cart(which made me wonder if he had a concussion), Cam was running back and forth asking for more paper towels "because my sister did a REALLY big poop" and me...still laughing. Perhaps the laughing should have been our clue that I had indeed lost it because believe it or not... I continued shopping and finished my shopping holding Kali covered in paper towels and me covered in.. well you get the idea.

Here is the proof, and that ain't puddin':


Yes, I took a picture.

First Day of Summer?!?

Just some fun pics of the kiddos.



It was really hot here about a week ago so naturally the fire hydrant sprinkler had to make its debut.

Do you think Riley enjoyed the strawberries?

After reading about building a tree house in "The Dangerous Book for Boys", OUR boys convinced Tim into building one for them, what a great dad.

Hugo vs.Hart

So I finally took the plunge and started reading the unabridged Les Miserable's by Victor Hugo. I've been wanting to read it for ages so I set a New Years goal to actually do it and started a couple of weeks ago. If you don't know this book it's an epic, it's a 1400 page behemoth, it's, well, large. So it took some doing, I mean committing to it and I have to say I have been pleasantly suprised. I am only about 400 pages into it and so far, excepting a very detailed history of the battle of waterloo for no real apparent reason, it is really going. I am totally falling in love with the characters; I want to be just like the Bishop, I love Jean Valjean and his unpredictability, I weep for Fantine...... but sometimes, secretly, I would rather be reading these.....

I'm such a dufus.

I've kicked the gagging reflex!!!

So we had a wonderful time in Utah with family, conference, checking our old haunts at BYU, an overall great time...however all good things must come to an end and a family vacation just wouldn't be complete without someone(s) retching their guts out. And so on the eve of our departure our dear Cameron led out. 3am :"mom!! I have to throw up!"- Cameron always gives the heads up and always makes it to the toilet- no wonder why i love this kid. Later in the day when he seems to be feeling better we take off to visit our Alma Mater where in the HFAC Riley decided to show us his yakking prowess. I quickly jump into mom mode and pull out his shirt to catch the stuff, meanwhile impressing many a grossed out freshman. That night, it is our beloved Aidan who takes his turn at the porcelain pot, and around and around we go. Thinking that the worst has past, fools that we are, I wake up early this morning to the lovely sound of my husband spewing his guts. And so after two and a half days of playing nurse it has totally lost all charm and I'm ready to throw in the towel. The only positive aspect of this whole thing is that I've learned that I no longer gag when I'm forced to face my family's upchuck, whew what a relief!!!