Xander's 3!

With Curtis at AT (annual training), we had to make sure Xander's birthday was extra fun. At first I didn't know what to do, but the day just sort of fell into place and ended up being amazing. You ever have one of those perfect days, where you just have fun and don't have to yell at your kids all day? That was today, and I'm so thankful!

Xander insisted on opening presents BEFORE breakfast. Of course, I let him. He was very excited!

He got some sand toys for his birthday, so after breakfast he went and got his swimming suit and said we were going to the beach to play with his sand toys. I relented and took an unplanned trip to the beach. What's better than going to the beach on your birthday?!


For the record, Tayla started the sand fight by dropping sand on Xander's head. It was the friendliest of fights until Xander finished it.The aftermath of the wet sand fight. This was the only time all day, I had to somewhat scold the birthday boy.

I was going to make a special cake for the birthday boy, but I wanted to do it on a day when other people would be with us to celebrate. So today we went to the store and let Xander pick out a pre-made cake. I was hoping for chocolate cupcakes, but he picked the white cake with funky strawberry goo in it because it was a FOOTBALL cake. No one really ate it but Tayla, but oh well.

Cake Wrecks

Thanks Robyn for this hilarious blog! http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com
A place where they show the life-size cake of Lenin's corpse, the Food Network Challenge cake that caught on fire, monograms gone bad, and other local bakery misspellings.

There are some amazing cakes, and some not so much....



Let's take it step by step here:

1. Start with an airbrush. 'Cuz ya gos ta show off yo mad skillz.

2. Realize you don't know how to do anything but wonky lines with said airbrush.

3. Pull out trusty icing bag and try to fake us all out with hastily splooged border and stars.

4. Add red, white and blue sprinkles to distract viewers from step #2.

hahaha This website made my day. Thanks again Robyn!

Creepy Crawly

WARNING: This post is not for the queasy or the arachnophobic.

Wednesday: I notice a large welt on Xander's arm that is bigger than a quarter. It is swollen and throbbing. I could literally see it blinking red then white. I asked him if he banged it on something, but he couldn't tell me anything. It had a perfectly round shape so I figured it was unlikely that he banged it on something perfectly round. So my next thought was that it was a spider bite.

Thursday: The spot on Xander's arm looked better. It wasn't swollen or throbbing anymore. Phew, I don't need to worry about it.

Friday: I got the stomach flu and wasn't all with it. But I noticed that Xander got another round spot on his leg, just like the first. And a smaller one on his upper thigh (or just under his butt). I thought, oh great, this is some kind of infection that is spreading. I considered taking him to the Doctor, but I was ill so I didn't leave the house.

Saturday: The spots on his legs didn't look better, actually they developed a white center. Yuck. So I'm thinking, perhaps this really is a spider bite, possibly a hobo. I start looking up hobo bites on the internet. They all look nasty and pussy -- google it, you'll be afraid. As I am doing this, Xander picks up a snoopy stuffed animal that we have and starts waving it around saying, "Mom look, a big ugly spider, a big ugly spider." He said this about 5 times before I finally looked. And just like he said, on the nose of snoopy was a BIG UGLY SPIDER! After screaming at him to put the snoopy down, I compared the spider with the hobo pictures I have pulled up on my computer. IDENTICAL MATCH!


(Depending on your computer screen size, this picture is a little smaller than the actual size. They look way more bad ass in person.)

If you are unfamiliar with this particular spider, here is some basic information:

The hobo spider is also known as the aggressive house spider. Hobo spiders are found generally in the northwest part of the United States, western Canada, and throughout Europe. The hobo spider usually prefers dry and warm climates and will sometimes live within houses. Hobo spiders are moderately large spiders. The male hobo spider is about twelve to eighteen millimeters.

About 50% of Hobo Spider bites are 'dry,' meaning that no venom is injected and nothing happens to the victim. In fact, often times the victim does not even realize that he has been bit. Typically, when venom is injected, the victim will experience an immediate redness which develops around the bite then begins to disappear within a few hours. Very often, for the first 24 hours, the bite appears to be no worse than that of a mosquito; then it begins to blister in the center. Within 24 to 36 hours the blister breaks open, leaving an open, oozing ulceration.

This ulceration 'scabs' over within three weeks from the initial bite, leaving a permanent scar. If the bite is delivered in fatty tissue, the lesion may be very deep and extensive, not healing for over two or three years. Systematic reactions to Hobo Spider poisoning include severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, soreness and flu-like symptoms.

Ewww! So I think, I should catch the damn thing to take with me to the Doctor if I decide to take Xander in. I proceed to try coaxing it into various containers. My knees were literally shaking and I thought I was going to vomit right there. (Wouldn't be a stretch because I was sick the day before.) The spider ended up getting spooked and scurrying farther into the toy box, until he was completely hidden by toys. Just so you know, if you think spiders are silent, hobo spiders are so big that you can hear their legs scurry on the plastic toys. It made it even more dramatic for me. So I start pulling toys out of the box, one by one trying to find this stupid spider. I get about half of them out, when I decide I'm in way over my head, and maybe I should just call somebody. So I break down and call my in-laws, who are native to Idaho and have some experience with this sort of thing. They tell me they'll come right over, which is about 1.5 hours later. (Curtis was at annual training for the military and a can't even reach him on the phone -- a lot of good that does me.)

In the meantime, I cover the toy basket with aluminum foil and put a heavier box on top and take the whole thing outside. I take a shower and melt down -- this was way too much drama for one Saturday morning.

When the in-laws get here: They trapped the spider in a clear plastic "Tupperware" type box. And immediately started find spots to hide sticky traps. We stripped the sheets off of Xander's bed and washed them. After examining the bites, my in-laws thought we should take Xander to the doctor. We took him in to Urgent Care and brought that big ugly spider with us (alive). The Dr. said to watch for flu-like symptoms such as a fever. She said the bites will probably open up and scab. In which case I treat it like a cut -- Neosporin and a band aid. She continued to make me feel faint and nauseous, by telling me all the things I need to do to the house to prevent spiders and about how when a spider bites you it's venoum is used to break down and digest the food. So his bites are basically going to breakdown the flesh. I also let Xander hold the SEALED box -- it kept him busy and holding still. So he's shaking the spider. Then the doctor opens the box with the spider in it to try to count the bands on its legs. It was really nasty and I thought I was going to either have a panic attack or be sick. Oh and the Doctor said to keep Xander out of the basement for a while. I said, that's not going to happen, our whole apartment is in the basement. Yikes! I'm definitely going to walk around with my shoes on for a while and look before I stick my hand in dark corners. Uhh, I am totally freaked out!These are two of his bites. The 1st one is on his arm and it looks like a dry bite -- no venoum. The other one is on his leg and it looks more pussy, like it could turn black and open up like a blister. Time will tell.

Lunch at the Park

In our new town, the school district prepares free lunches for kids every weekday in the summer. They serve them in 7 local parks at lunchtime daily. We frequently take advantage of the program. Today we biked to the park, played for a while, ate our lunch, and biked back home. It makes for a fun morning. And the best part: no dishes to wash after lunch!

Notice that there is a stick in the water. Xander puts it to rest there while he takes a drink. Are all little boys "stick magnets?"

This is Tayla saying, "han." (Meaning: take my hand, mommy, so I can step down) I love when she says that!

The Love Dare

Give-a-way. The Love Dare. It's the book that the guy follows in the movie, "Fireproof." Wouldn't that be a fun book to get you hands on?

Curtis and I watched the movie and giggled about the cheesiness of it. However, I liked the message and I liked watching the "Dares" that the man does to try to save their marriage. It'd be a fun date-night movie. Although it's not a blockbuster hit of a movie. :-)

Swimming

This week we went to the Aquatic Complex. Half price family night -- Awesome. ;-) It was just me and the kids because Curtis was at AT (annual training). We had tons of fun nonetheless!
Here's the kids' section. They it's a 0-1.5 foot depth pool with lots of spraying stuff and a water slide (my kids don't use the water slide).

Here's Xander chasing Tayla around -- a favorite past time.

Xander drinking the water. It's hard to close your mouth when you're having so much fun. Needless to say, he choked on a lot of water that night.

Taking a break while they do a safety check. They were freezing their tushies off, but still smiling!

Tayla spent a lot of time getting splashed up here; climbing up and down the stairs. Xander -- not so much; he wouldn't even get near the spashers.




The kids lasted for nearly 2 hours. The only downside was that Tayla kept running around and falling -- skinning up her knees and bloodying up her nose. She had worn herself out to the point of clumsiness.

Muffin Tin Monday

This week's theme for Muffin Tin Monday is dips/sauces. If you don't know what a Muffin Tin Monday is, check out Michelle's blog: http://michellesjournalcorner.blogspot.com


For my muffin tin, I made pizza rolls out of crescent rolls, pepperoni, and cheese. For dips/sauces, I have pizza sauce, vanilla/cinnamon yogurt, chocolate pudding. Items for dipping pleasure include pizza roll, strawberries, and vanilla wafers. The vanilla wafers were new to my kids and they were skeptical about eating them until I told them they were cookies. :-)

Aldous Lake

Last weekend we took the kids camping/hiking/backpacking. The place was Aldous lake (I think it's about 30 north of Dubois, ID and close to the Montana border). There was a 1.3 mile trail (only accessible by foot) leading to the lake and our campsite. We loaded our packs with all of our camping gear (Curtis's was 75 lbs, mine was about 35 lbs, but I also carried an awkward 30+ lbs of cooler) and hiked the 1.3 miles with the kids. Xander hiked all of it by himself carrying his backpack black bear with shoes that were too small for him (sorry buddy). Tayla wanted to walk, but Curtis ended up carrying her on his shoulders for most of the distance.

When we reached the campsite at the lower lake, we set up camp and cooked dinner over the fire. The mosquitoes were terrible! By the end of the 24 hour trip, we were covered with bites (except for Tayla -- apparently mosquitoes don't like baby blood.) They loved our faces and hairlines, our elbows, and Xander's legs. The kids went right to bed without a peep -- they must have been really tired from the hike.

The next day, we decided to hike another 1 mile uphill, to the upper lake. We carried the kids on our shoulders for the entire distance. The lake was worth the hike. It was pretty how it was nestled next to the mountain peaks. The kids had fun throwing rocks into the lake and listening to the echo of their voices off the lake and the mountains. As we hiked back to camp, Tayla fell asleep on Curtis's shoulders completely folded in half. We aren't sure how she could sleep like that! She was so tired! We got back to camp and put her in her tent and she slept another hour.

We decided to only stay one night because we had to get back home in time to speak in church on Sunday. So we packed up and hiked the 1.3 miles out to the car. Xander's feet hurt by this time, so I ended up carrying him on my shoulders with my pack. Curtis carried Tayla and his pack (a total of 100 lbs for 1.3 miles). I think I have a super duper husband!


This is us at the trail head. Notice that Xander has a stick in his hand. He traded them for better and better sticks along the way. He is a dawdler on the trail unless Tayla is chasing him.
What a cutie with his black bear made into a backpack! He carried that bear the whole day! Such a big boy, hiking all by himself. We saw his confidence grow as he stepped over big rocks, logs, and bridges. I think this was a great character building trip for Xander. Not only did he become more confident with his agility, but he battled the mosquitoes, pee'd on sticks, and helped with the tents and campfire.

Tayla wanted to hike. We let her walk some of the way when we could stand going at Tayla's slow pace. She kept tripping and falling. By bedtime the first night, her legs we all scraped up so I decided to put her in Xander's jeans the next day to protect her legs. (She doesn't have any pants except for leggings which are not appropriate for camping.) I am definitely getting her a pair of jeans for this fall, if not sooner.

This is probably our favorite picture from the trip. Isn't she so cute! This is Tayla sleeping in her sleeping bag for the first time ever. I expected her to wiggle out of it, but she was cozy and went right to bed. In the morning we found her sleeping bag on the opposite corner of the tent as her air matress and we found Tayla in the bottom of her sleeping bag.
Here's all of us hanging out in mom and dad's tent at about 6:30am. Too early to get out of bed!

Yummy muffins for breakfast.


They could have done this all day! This is the upper lake that we had to hike an additional 1 mile past our campsite.

And this is how Tayla fell asleep folded in half!