The snake was found and it's back in the wild...

Yes! It took until 4pm today, after leaving no stone unturned, we found the snake behind the dresser in the closet of Jr. and Isaac's room! After playing with the snake for about an hour, we finally got Jr. to let him go. New rule: No creatures in the house, EVER!

My first day of school went well...oh, and there's a snake on the loose in my house right now, (yawn)

This is a funny story. Yesterday, Susy came over to my house to study with me, and saw a snake (about 12-16 in. long) in my front yard, so we decided to catch it for the kids to see. The fix-it guy across the street helped us get it into a container. So, we taped this wire mesh colandar to the top of a glass bowl, and he was in there with a little water, he could breath just fine. He kept snapping at us up against the glass. He was a very intelligent creature. We looked him up on the internet, he is from the rat snake family of snakes. He is non-venemous because of his round pupil (not like a cats) and his markings. So, the kids came home and they looked at him all afternoon. Jr. took him and showed him off at scouts last night. I was doing homework, while Jared put the kids to bed, so I didn't know what happened to him from there. Well, I get a tap on the shoulder at 2am. It was Jr. telling me that they had put the snake in a bigger container (a plastic tote with snap on lid), and that he wasn't in there anymore. So I wake up Jared (Sr.), and we go down there to try to find him. We searched EVERYWHERE for about an hour, but couldn't see him anywhere, so we finally gave up. I had to pray my way back to sleep. Jared had to go to work this morning. I don't know what to do now, but one thing is for sure: I am now convinced that having a house full of boys is going to be the end of me.
Any suggestions?

Mary has a new cute hairstyle

Can I just say, I'm having so much fun

My virtual math class started on Monday, and I am having so much fun!!! Who knew I love math? Not even me! My mind has been starving for this kind of stimulation for YEARS!We went to the Rock Bridge Memorial State Park (Suzy and I) a couple of days ago, and here are the pics...it was beautiful! We stayed for about 5 hours, had a picnic and took a hike to see a natural bridge made of rock (thus the name Rock Bridge park), and the "devil's icebox" cave. Most of the time was spent letting the kids run around in the huge creek bed while Suzy and I visited. They caught a crawfish, a green slippery frog that got away, and a small fish.












Jr. brought home the crawdad and the fish. The fish died and he fed it to the crawdad, who was very happy to oblige. Then Jr. and Isaac decided yesterday to catch some more crawdads at the creek behind our house. They caught 17 of them. They had them in a clear tub, inside their bathtub until I made those rascals return them to the creek today.

Cub Scout fishing trip

Jared took Jr. and Isaac to the cubscout fishing trip recently, and they had a lot of fun. They threw all the fish back into the lake.

Mary lost another tooth

Last night Mary lost her first top tooth...her smile is so cute now.
Rusty is getting ready to walk. He will take a step or two, but still likes to crawl mostly.
This week Isaac will go to the orthodontist for impressions. He will be getting a palete expander like Jr. had.
It's looking like we are going to try Tommy's ability to be in kindergarten and see how it goes. I need to take him shopping for school stuff this week.
Sam wanted me to pull one of his teeth after seeing what happened to Mary. It was cute.
Have a good week!

Tommy turned 5!

We had a fun birthday party for little Tommy boy on Sunday evening. He was a happy little camper. We invited Suzy's kids to share in our cake and ice cream. Monday was pretty good for me. I worked out, then I had a lot of energy to tackle the housework. Tuesday was OK, I didn't work out because Isaac got into the strawberries and sugar after we told him to go to bed, and he was in our room half the night crying of a belly ache and throwing up in our bathroom sink. That'll teach him. LOL
We spent the afternoon at chuckeecheeses. I just decided to take it easy and be a Mom. When we got home the kids wanted to play outside so I got a bucket of suds and they washed the van while I painted the inside of the garage.
I worked out this morning, so today is going to be a great day for me. I hope you are all doing fine! Love ya now

I struggle for stuff to write about

Well, people...This week I am struggling along. It's always like this in the summer months when the kids are home. The house won't stay clean, the kids look slavenly and sloppy. I probably ought to shave all their heads (except Mary's). Nobody would care! LOL

Yep. It's midnight here. I have been so nervous about Mary's condition that I can hardly sleep most nights. Last night I heard her cough quite a bit so I got up to check on her. She was fine, but I started worrying that she could be getting a cold and if she couldn't stop coughing she might bleed out and die. I was SO FREAKED! I couldn't get back to sleep. I went in there and put mentholatum on the bottom of her feet (I've heard it stops a cough) and sure enough, there was only one cough right after I put it on, and none after that or today. I don't know why I worry. Our lives are not in our hands anyway. Whatever will be will be, I'd say. Today I helped Suzy Pewzy to write a poem. That was fun. It was in iambic pentameter, 3 quadrains as well as a rhyming couplet at the end. Oh, what fun!

Here is a sample from Shakespeare:

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought

I summon up remembrance of things past,

I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought,

And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste:

Then can I drown an eye, unus'd to flow,

Fro precious friends hid in death's dateless night,

And weep afresh love's long since cancell'd woe,

And moan th' expense of many a vanish'd sight:

Then can I grieve at grievances foregone,

And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er

The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan,

Which I new pay as if not paid before.

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,

All losses are restor'd and sorrows end.

Very good, wouldn't you say? Do you love poetry like I do? Do you love to look back and cry about things? Then you've come to the right place friend!

Other news: I am still not really sure about Tommy going to school and it's driving me crazy! I pretty much know I want him to stay home another year, but Jared is very sure that he wants him to try to go, and that he'll mature over time and grow out of it. YIKES!

I'm so TOTALLY STOKED to start school on Aug. 25th. I'm taking biology and bio lab, did I mention that? I got all the kids school supplies tonight at the store, and I got my school supplies too! COOL! This is such a cool thing! I know I will love being a nurse.

Well, I have got to try the whole "sleep" thing. I am "so" not good at that right now. Like whatever!

Mary is home and doing fine

I am glad to report that even though we spent the whole day at the hospital, they finally let Mary come home tonight. She did great. She even ate a big bowl of macaroni and cheese when she got home. She will be sleeping in between Jared and I tonight (yeah, I'm one of those paranoid wackos) I won't get any sleep anyway. I need to be right there in case she has any problems or pain in the night. Thank you for all your prayers in her behalf. I know that our Heavenly Father is so merciful. I put Mary's name on the temple prayer roll when I went last Saturday morning. I know there were people gathered around those alters praying for her, and I am so thankful the Lord heard those prayers.
Her voice is a little different. She hasn't said too much (of course) but what I heard coming out of her mouth was so sweet and angelic. She is such a delicate and beautiful little angel girl.

Mary is getting a tonsillectomy

Today is the big day. Mary will be getting her tonsils out this morning. Pray for her! She has been going around showing everyone her huge tonsils the past few weeks, even at school. LOL She's so cute. I had fun this week painting Mary's room and Tommy's room. I got some really cute little painted wooden cutouts from Michael's to go on the walls (thanks for the idea Weezie). I registered for my first classes on Monday! I am taking Biology and Biology lab. I am so excited. I checked out a bunch of biology books from the library to get a head start. School starts on August 24th.
Tommy's teacher wrote me a note that said he was a shy, reluctant child. He was significantly paced slower than his classmates. He knows his ABC's and can count to at least 18, but he won't tell the teacher when he needs help, he just sits there waiting for her to come to him. He needs a lot of one on one.
So now I am wondering what to do with him. He'll be 5 next week. He is so young. He wants to go to school really bad, but I don't feel like he is ready yet.
I have to go get Mary ready to go to the hospital now. I'm going to give her a shower, dry her hair, put on smelly lotion, and paint her nails.
I'll blog more later!