Archer's First Loose Tooth

 When I was a kid my dad was in the U.S. Air Force so we went to a lot of bad and rookie dentists.  The result being that as adults Ashlee and I both have a bit of dental phobia and totally and completely dread going to the dentist even for routine things like sixth month check ups.  We also were raised to be very dutiful so we always go to our routine checkups without fail.  Ashlee and I even have the same toothy nightmare where all our teeth fall out.  So it may be surprising how obsessive

 I become when one of my children have loose teeth.  I just love to pull out kids' loose teeth and will check very often once a tooth becomes even the slightest bit loose. 

McCoy is the worst screamer ever even when you are just checking to see if a tooth is loose.  Archy may have learned from McCoy because he screamed and wailed too.  Archer's adult tooth was already growing in crooked and behind the other teeth so the sooner it came out the better.

I pinned Archy between my legs and while he shrieked I popped that little tooth out. The moment it came out Archy stopped wailing and calmly turned to me and said, "That didn't hurt." Then right away he tried to whistle.  He thought you needed a gap to whistle and was disappointed that he couldn't whistle.  He was really excited to have the tooth fairy come and McCoy told him the first time the tooth fairy comes she brings you five bucks.  I didn't remember that but McCoy sure did.  

Archy holding on the paper towel for dear life

What can that be in his hand?

It's a wee tooth

Archy showing the aftermath

Count Chocula and Crazy Carltons

I had the opportunity to spend the night at the Carltons. Rhiannon had told her kids I would be making breakfest, I am not sure why but she did. Never one to disappoint, I purchased a childhood favorite and a virtual no-no at their house: A sugar cereal. And a Halloween one to boot. Count Chocula. It was the first time for most of them and I barely remembered the taste and was surprised to see Marshmallows in it.

It may be 6:30 ish in the morning, but this guy is all smiles!

Declan dressed for the occasion

What is sweeter than Count Chocula?  Two brothers sharing a chair.

Z showed up after most had left the table. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the back of her head. I would have frightened even the Count.

Oh no, it has turned a sweet Archer into a menacing foe. The artwork which Rhi was really taken with was by DC Comics.

October 2014-General Conference

Another L.D.S. General Conference has come and gone!  I meant to do some cutesy stuff but ran out of time. This conference everyone picked a favorite treat and I put them in paper bags (that is what I meant to make cuter with pictures of the general authorities and scrapbook paper etc.) and stapled shut with the name of a speaker at general conference. So when that speaker came up we had that treat that matched the speaker.  We also played the much loved conference bingo game, which I find much easier to just laminate the paper and use wet erase markers, than to use tokens to cover the squares.  October is a hard month for us as we always seem to have the boys in away football games  so we miss some of Saturday's sessions.  Conference is a lovely break from the usual church routine and whats even better we can watch it in our pajamas. The kiddos really look forward to general conference every six months. I guess because I treat it like the Mormon holiday it is--lots of tasty treats, relaxing, and home time.

Archer, McCoy, Declan with bingo cards, treat bags on mantle, red tin with bingo candy

Declan's chosen treat-Doritos 

(he usually picks some kind of chip)

McCoy is the first one to get bingo!

Archy wanted a cookie for his pick

so I picked out Mint Oreo Fudge Cremes I had them at book club 

for the first time last week and they are so good

Every General Conference since Quinton was little he always picks his beloved Bugles, we first had them when he was five and the treats that year represented gospel things and the Bugles were Moroni's trumpet you often see on top of temples. We have them twice a year (both conferences) as they aren't really a top pick when you think of chips.  Quinton really loves them though.

McCoy always picks caramel apples 

without fail, which I am glad about because I love caramel apples.

During some of the sessions Eddy helped me cut out quilt blocks and the scraps do make a nice mask.

Zany with her pick -stuckers

Besides cutting quilt blocks, I managed to do a bit of simple embroidery on a dish towel. This design is a Aunt Martha's Iron-On Transfer. This pattern struck my fancy, is that little plate showing off a naughty dance move to a innocent teacup or is he flashing some plate parts he shouldn't.  Who knows? 

Redwork Tea Towel

After Conference I always feel a bit like I do at buffet, stuffed and needing some time to digest.  There was so many great teachings and remindings and it was really nice to hear some speakers speak their native language. Although I think I would prefer to read the english rather than a voice over in English but the voiceover was better for the kids. One surprising takeaway for me from conference is I need to establish a long term exercise plan this was from Jorg Klebingat's talk oh yeah, and maybe not so many treats!

#72

Quinton started playing tackle football in 3rd grade and he is now in 8th grade and plays for the middle school.  He is in a really athletic grade so there are talented kids to compete against to get a starting position.  He wears #72 which was his namesake's (Pa) high school number.

Part of the 8th grade football team (Quinton far left #72)

Quinton hasn't hit his growth spurt yet and is one of the smaller guys so to make up for that he has really worked on his technique and making sure he completes his assignments. He is on the starting offensive, left tackle, and sometimes he plays on the defense as the defensive end.

Quinton and #55 sub in and out for each other 

In the huddle

Quinton holds his guy

Heading to the line

Quinton's football team has one game left in the season and so far they remain undefeated. The team they are playing here (La Plata) is from Silver City, New Mexico and in ten years Quinton's school has only beat them once until this day as they soundly beat them.

Quinton's three point stance

Playing football in Arizona is a hot, very hot endeavor. When practices start in August we are still often having 110 degree days and then you add full pads in synthetic fabrics that don't breathe and top it off with a helmet; this equals stank. Stink, stank, stunk.  Teenage boys after football practices/games have a very unpleasant, strong odor. When we were playing a team, forty-five minute drive away, I overheard a mom tell her son he couldn't ride home with her but would have to take the bus home because he stank too much.  (She was serious and he did ride the bus home.) I can only imagine what that locker room must smell like-blah! When Quinton gets in the car after a game Zany immediately wrinkles then covers her nose and says about twenty times, "Quints pooh."  Meaning he really stinks and you should change him.  If stinking was a sign of hard work, than Quinton is one of the hardest workers on the team and we love to watch him play but maybe we will drive home with the windows down and let some of that hard work dissipate!

Our Patriarchs

Remington the Pug and Pa

Meet our newest "old dude" Remington! He just celebrated his 64th birthday.  These two are now just separated by a mere year. They are thick as thieves. Pa is quit strong to carry him with one arm, I always need both. 

I asked Pa, " How he felt about being replaced as the family patriarch?" He gave me a grumpy look and I quickly said, "You know Remington the Pug just had a birthday and now he is older than you! That made Pa smile he sure has a soft spot for my pooch. Who can resist his little bug eyed begging.

Happy Birthday Remington!

Wishing for a Mullet

It's homecoming week around here which means lots of fun activities and a big football game with a formal dance (high school). At the middle school level, they are dressing up as various things each day wacky hair day or disney day. Quinton came home all excited to dress up 80's style since the theme was 1980's.  I was surprised he was so enthusiastic about it since that is something he normally wouldn't care to do. So he was asking Eddy and I what he should wear.  We both gave him some ideas and I told him to go find his dorky painting/work pants as they are the lightest denim he has and I would show him how to peg them. I still had my 80's skill because I pegged (fold and tuck narrowing the ankle) a pretty mean pant leg after all these years.  In fact, I was in eighth grade in 1989.  How weird is that! Now will Quinton's  junior high son in 2039 dress up like 2010's for homecoming week?  I hope so, it sure is nice to have an expert on the subject give you first hand advice on what to wear.  Quinton is sporting a polo shirt with popped up collar, light wash denim jeans pegged of course (did guys peg pants too?), tube sock with strips (can't see those), nike high tops and sunglasses. Quinton really wanted a mullet wig but sadly we didn't have one.

Quinton is all his 80's glory

As he was sitting at the breakfast table in all his 80's stylings, 

Quinton asked, "Did they have black socks in the 1980's?"  I paused in the buttering of toast and replied, "No, no, they didn't have black socks in the eighties they hadn't been invented yet."  

HE BELIEVED ME. 

In fact, I then said, "Yep the color black hadn't been invented yet."  Picture me rolling my eyes, what did he think the eighties were horse and buggy days? Eddy couldn't remain silent and said to him with a bit of exasperation, "Of course they had black socks in the eighties!"  

To me, the eighties were my childhood and early teen years so I am quite fond of them. Which is probably why I so enjoy the TV show The Goldbergs, a funny comedy that takes place in eighties currently on season 2. Maybe I should let Quinton know that his generation isn't the first to make neon so popular that kids wear it daily. Who I am I kidding he wouldn't believe me or would he?

The Pretzel Queen

 Zany and I spent the morning at the park at one of her friends birthday parties. After the park I thought we would pop into a grocery just to grab one item before it is no longer for sale (grocery sales run Weds. to Tues around here I have no idea why).  Usually at this grocery store they have car carts for kids to sit in while you shop. Unfortunately, there is only one and it was no where to be found.  Being close to nap time Zaynzley was not an understanding person and she began to wail and scream and refused to get into a regular cart.  I tried to bribe her with the free cookie the store gives out to kids. She didn't even care. I thought if I can just quickly get the item and get out of here in a few minutes that would be great. Now you have to understand something about Zaynzley she has a set of pipes on her in other words she can be deafeningly loud. I was trying to talk to the butcher about the item I wanted and due to her volume I literally couldn't think or understand what the butcher was saying.  It was like she was the superhero Black Canary with a high powered sonic scream that could shatter objects and incapacitate enemies (or mothers). 

Black Canary

Yes, I was one of those mothers who has a loudly crying kid at a store annoying all of the other shoppers. Fellow shoppers were wondering why didn't I just leave and put that crying kid to bed.  While waiting on the butcher I went to get Zany her free cookie from the store bakery. She was still at top volume and I handed her the cookie hoping she would quiet down. She took the cookie and I heaved a sigh of relief; then she threw the cookie about eight feet and it shattered all over the tiled floor of the yogurt aisle.  Now she was really embarrassing me (in all my years of being a mother [thirteen plus years] I have never been so embarrassed by a child at a store). I gathered up the larger pieces of cookie and hurried down the yogurt aisle spying a small rack of pretzels. In utter desperation I offered her a bag of pretzels. She seem interested so I opened that bag of pretzels real fast, (yes I am also one of those mothers who feed kids food before I have even paid for it).  She began eating and silence was enjoyed by me and the other shoppers.  I got that item from the butcher and we headed home where I put her down for a nap. Zany insisted on taking her bag of bribery to bed with her.  I let her.  It was so not worth the fight and I didn't want to bring back her superhero alter ego the Black Canary.

See even superheroes get tired and hungry 

Lovely snack come to bed with me!

Fast asleep at last! 

I  hope she won't miss the pretzels I snuck away while she slept.

Be gone Black Canary, now I know your kryptonite--pretzels!