The Past Two Weeks In Review

What a busy couple of weeks!!!

1. 1/2 day of school all week long - Kids loved it, I hated it

2. Parent Teacher Conferences - Adrian' s grades are amazing - 4 A's, 1 B, 1 C (was an F)
Elijah's were just below the average on his testing BUT a PLEASURE TO HAVE IN CLASS!!

3. Tricities - 4 1/2 hrs of Adult Time with Annette - Loved it & it was much needed

4. Motel with 2 little hyper boys, mtn dew & the babysitter was sleeping = Mom walking in at 11:00 pm and the boys still bouncin around... Adrian finally crashed at 1:00 a.m. & was up at 4:00 a.m. (very short night)....

5. Chilli feed on Sunday with my mom, Nick & Kids...

6. Halloween Week - Dress up week at elementary school

7. Cinnamon Rolls for Adrian's Harvest Party

8. Halloween Story with props for Elijah's class & treats for Harvest Party

9. 1/2 day of school on Friday (kids loved it, I think it was stupid)

10. Helen Pugh passed away on Tuesday - My cousin Kelly's Mother - in - law

11. Lori Montgomery passed away on Tuesday - Close friend of the family

12. Made dinner for Kelly, Steve & his family & delivered it - Thursday Night

13. Halloween shopping with the boys ....aghhh!!!

14. Halloween Party, 1/2 day of school, Helen's funeral programs

15. Made Maz & Maleighs Halloween gifts (adoreable)

16. Finish printing Funeral programs & pictures

17. Grocery shopping

18. Go to Kelly's work on Programs for 2 hours - bring them home to finish

19. Bake Potato Soup, Rolls, Apple Cake

20. Trick or Treaters - only about 25 or so

21. All my kids dressed up oh my goodness -

Eric - Joe Dirt
Vanessa - Dorothy
Jenn - Football Player
DeAndre - Pussy Cat - Tights and all ( OH MY GOODNESS) Pictures to follow
Kevin - Missionary in Training
Adrian - Harlem Globe Trotter
Elijah - Matt Hasselback

22. Sunday Breakfast with the kids - Bisquit Gravy, Hashbrowns, Bacon

23. Finished Funeral Programs

24.... REST!!!!!!!

Pumpkin Patch...

Well, what started out as a few people headed to a pumpkin patch ended up as a BUNCH of people headed to a pumpkin patch.

On Friday, our boss called & said if anyone wanted pumpkins to go to this location & you could get all you wanted. Well Heather & I put our minds together (scarey I know) and decided it would be fun to have a small hay ride & go to the pumpkin patch, come back to the office & have some homemade chili & rolls. Well, what started off as small ended up like this :

There were only a few adults up there with all those kids *lol* The rest followed in cars. We went thru 3 Big crockpots of homemade chili, 48 freshly baked rolls, 2 bags fritos, 1 bag of lays potato chips, 24 hotdogs, 2 pumpkin pies, 1/2 of a 13x9 Apple Streusel, some cookies. It was amazing, it was good & we had a blast. They were already trying to figure out how we could make it bigger & better.. I love Wilbur Ellis, they are so family oriented..

Here's a few pumpkin patch pics :

Here is the pickup loaded down with everyone's pumpkins!! Thanks Jason, we were just gonna throw em' in with kids. That didn't happen :)

I HATE ADHD... I HATE ADHD...I HATE ADHD!!!

You have no idea how I wish there was a cure for ADHD. Although you know it's not their fault for some of their actions. It still sucks!!!! Tonight is night #2 of a meltdown... Friday night we had a great evening with Jenn, D, Kevin & the boys. We bbq'd ribs, had a salad and chips , watched "How to Train Your Dragon" , popcorn, candy, the great old movie night. I will never let the boys have another movie night again unless we start at 6:00 so they can be in bed by 8:00 . One little thing sats him off. Adrian went from crying, to screaming, to pretending he couldn't breathe, to talking to himself, to pretending we are a monkey, to rocking in our bed, back to crying & then screaming and eventually in 30 - 45 mins. we crash hard!! I'm exhausted.. I'm at the end of my rope. The worst part is Elijah can't go to sleep cuz of all the chaos. Friday night, Elijah had to sleep with me cuz it was a solid 45 mins of Adrian throwing a fit... Tonight isn't quite as bad so I turned on a fan in Elijahs room hoping to drowned it out.. The hardest part is ignoring it!!! I should walk away.. Do you know how hard it is.. I do but it takes all my energy not to go in and spank him... I shut the door & it's worse .. I'm suprised the neighbors haven't called CPS.... Frustration is a word that I use quite often.. Now tomorrow he will wake up and be a totally different kid....AGHHHH I HATE ADHD!!!!!!!!!!!

The Multipurpose Baby Monitor.....

A few weeks ago Adrian & I switched rooms. He is now in the front of the house & I in the back. I had troubles sleeping at night for quite some time due to the fact I couldn't hear anything. Not good for several reasons.. The neighborhood I live in is a little quirky at times & Adrian loves to get up in the middle of the night / early morning hours and sneak candy, cookies, what ever he can find. He used to have to walk by my but not any more.

#1) Adrian didn't realize I could hear him in the bathroom / kitchen / living room / his room
#2) When he did realize it, he tried turning it off & waa laa it makes a terrible noise on my end (busted)
#3) Learned not to flush the toilet ( but it still picks up the noise of him walking) Busted!!
#4) Still hasn't figured out I can hear him in the kitchen - even though he's really trying to be quiet ( Busted)
#5) Let him keep the cheese stick but conviscated the candy at 4:22 this a.m. and that will also explain why I am posting at 4:45 a.m. as he watches Top Gear on t.v.

So I honestly will say this baby monitor has been worth the $19.00 dollars I paid for it..

Parenting 101

Well, I've officiallyhad come to the end of my rope in parenting. I was at the point I had no more patience & something had to change. It's him or me. I've talked till I'm blue in the face, I've tried the vinegar swishing in his mouth, I've popped him in the mouth for talking back, you name it & I've tried it. I'm throughly frustrated. I've cried more tears than you can imagine.

The comment that broke the camels back.....

"Adrian I'm going to take your skateboard ($135.00 - New from Nick for no reason skateboard)away from you for a week for once again being disrespectful to me." (Adrian replys) " Go ahead take it away - you never take us to the skate park anyways.....

**** Do you know how many countless hours I've spent at a skatepark while he skated? Did I not travel all over on a Saturday afternoon to different skate parks from Ephrata to Leavenworth??? Did Nick not just spend $135.o0 on a skateboard for each just because ***

As I'm screaming at the top of my lungs cuz I've had it, it comes to me , Wait!!!

I'm the mom.... I'm the adult... I make the rules .. I enforce the rules... I'm in control & I'm a survivor.

Well, we not only lost our skateboard but he now only has in his possession a bed, a dresser & some clothes....

I got control & explained in a very calm voice that I'm tired of his lack of appreciation, I'm tired of him expecting everything, I'm tired of his combativeness, & basically I'm tired of the whole situation.
Therefore, I am the mom, I make the rules & he will either live by them or he will not be living under my roof ...

I would like to report 1 week later & it is amazing... I'm getting pleases, thank-you's, I've only heard a few BUT's & have heard alot of ok's. I think about 4 days after his loss I might have even heard a sorry slip out.. it was pretty meek but I'm almost sure I heard it *lol* He has earned back his bowling ball & a remote control car but I still have a closet full of toys, the X-box, the toy box full of cars, the unlimited amount of legos, and 2 skateboards in my possession!!

Mom wins this round!!!!

Happy 6th Birthday Mazlin!!!

Today is Mazlin's 6th birthday. We've been blessed to have her in our family for just about 1 1/2 yrs. She is such a beautiful little girl. Jenn & D had a birthday party for her at the bowling alley. They blindfolded her when they left home & she was trying to guess where they were going for ice cream not knowing there was a whole party waiting for her at the bowling alley. It was priceless when they took off the blindfold. ( No pics - I left my camera in Wapato when we went to Seahawk Game - Haven't got it back yet :( .

Happy Birthday Mazlin - We love you very much!!!

Food Bank...

Today, I was humbled. Heather & I and two other employees from Wilbur delivered the food to the food bank. We walked into a little building with a wall of shelves that had different types of can goods stacked on them. As the guys unpacked the truck, Heather & I sorted & put the food we had raised away. I was amazed at how little food they had, how much we were able to help & how the food was dispursed to families. It gave me a whole different outlook on donating. They had lots of Tuna, lots of vegies, pretty good supply of soup but the Pastor was excited to see the flour, the sugar, the peanut butter, the Hamburger Helper. They try to limit each family to a once a month visit. They have a standardized list that tells them what to give & then if they have the extra's (flour, sugar, pbutter & etc.) the families can ask if they can take some.. The thought of someone getting excited to receive a jar of peanut butter, has given me a whole new perspective on a lot of things.

I'm so grateful for what we have....

Wilbur Ellis - Warden High School Homecoming Food Drive

Tonight we held our 2nd annual Wilbur Ellis - WHS Homecoming Game Food Drive. It was amazing!! Last year we may have raised 30 cans total. This year we raised 600 Lbs of food!!

The signs, banners, radio advertisements, facebook & school announcements paid off.

Thanks to the Warden Community for giving back!!! It was truely a success!!!