Do you use this?

I've got to know. Do you use this? Do you hydrate your nasal cavity? Please tell me!

Let me explain. I am a Bzzagent. I sign up for different campaigns, they send me the product for free, and I talk it up. Share coupons, etc.

Recently I signed up for the Afrin Pure Sea campaign. I'm not a nasal rinse gal, but I thought I would give it a try. "It cleanses the nasal cavity of impurities such as allergens, dust, pollutants, and germs, keeping your nose clean so you can breathe freely." Hey, who doesn't want to breathe freely? http://www.afrinpuresea.com/afrinpuresea/index.jsp

Well, we received the bottle in the mail just in time. Ryan was feeling the stuffy nose syndrome coming on due to his spring allergies. "Honey, I have just the thing for you! 'It is terrific and keeps your nose clean so you can breathe freely!'" He's a good sport, so he gave it a try.

About 20 seconds later he was gagging, spitting and swearing."That is awful!!! I will never do that again! You are so mean!"

Now I am a little gun shy about giving it a shot. Plus I don't want his snot germs that are now resonating on the bottle.

So tell me, do you use a nasal rinse? Would you be willing to do so? I've got some great coupons, if you do! I'd be happy to pop them in the mail.

BTW, Ryan wanted me to add that he didn't swear. ;)

Something Fun

My friend Casey is making something for me this year. I wonder what it is...

Now it is my turn!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.
This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year.
4. You will have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or maybe even some creation I haven't even invented yet (but heaven knows it will most likely be totally fabulous and creative... :). I may draw or paint something (no, I really won't do that). I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!

* *Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!* *

More Birthday Pics

Here's a run-down of the oh-so-fun party we had for Brandon, complete with game ideas for those of you in need. ;)



First, we played hot potato. Under each layer of aluminum foil was a paper with something on it like make a crazy face. Run around the circle. Sing your favorite song (which by the way got us the entire First Noel in a beautiful 6 year old voice.) We passed it around until the music stopped and whoever held it, opened a layer. Very fun!

We also made our own pizzas, and while we waited for them to cook, got out the marshmallows and toothpicks. Who can make the tallest STANDING tower?

Here are the lightsabors we made. They were really handy for the pinata, as we didn't need to keep switching the baseball bat.

These were easy to make. We cut pool noodles in thirds with a razor blade. (Previous to the party. We don't usually introduce razors to a bunch of rowdy boys.) Ryan then cut PVC pipe about 6 inches longer than the cut noodle, and inserted them in the hole. When the kids were here, we used colored duct tape for the handles and on the tips for grip. Then I supplied lots of stickers. This worked well even for the 2 girls, because pink light sabors with glittery heart stickers are awesome.

FUN FUN FUN party!

Happy Birthday Mister B!

Yesterday was Brandon's birthday! It was so fun, more pics to follow! I love Brandon SO much. He is full of smiles and love. Here is his 6 year old interview:

Do you have any nicknames? Buster Baxter and Mister B

What is your favorite thing to do? Build Lego stuff with my dad and that's all.

Where is your favorite place to go? Sonic

What is your favorite food? Little Ceaser's Pizza

Do you have a girlfriend? NO! (Emphatically!)

What do you want to be when you grow up? Just a regular worker dad like mine.

Walking Baby

She is way too little to walk. She looks like a little midget. hehehe. She's been working on it for a while now, but finally has caught on. Today consisted of almost ALL walking and not much crawling. Wow! Did I mention she claps for herself every time she falls? So Cute!

drowning your own kid

Yesterday when we got back from the zoo, we were all hot and tired. Since it was about 82 degrees outside, what better thing to cool off than go swimming in a 67 degree pool?

I really was planning on swimming, really I was. Alexa and I got ready and met the other kids outside the gate. When I stepped my foot in the water I instantly changed my mind. Ainsley and my nephew, Jake were really the only ones who got in. The rest of us swarmed at the oversized step, letting Alexa enjoy the ice water with our feet. I did the polar bear plunge once at girls camp and wasn't feeling I ever needed to do it again.

We were ready to go back in after 20 minutes, because let's face it. Freezing cold water isn't that fun. Brandon all of a sudden got the devil in him and dumped a bucket full of water right over me and the baby. "AHHHHHHHHHHH," we both screamed and after the initial shock wore off, I tossed Brandon in the pool. Head first.

Just so you know, this is our own pool. We have owned it for 3 years, and swam in it hundreds of times. Brandon has had years of professional swimming instruction and is usually a fish. But this time, he forgot how to swim. Whoops.

I knelt by the pool, baby in arms, yelling, "SWIM! SWIM!" But, he began to SINK, SINK, arms flailing. I started to get a little worried at this point. I put my arm out for him to grab, but he didn't get the hint. So I did what I had to, placed the baby on the deck (praying she wouldn't crawl in) and jumped in to save my boy. That I was drowning.

And the story is not over, folks. Unless you are easily grossed out. Because swallowing all that water caused the blue snow cone he earlier consumed at the zoo make his appearance ALL OVER the deck. Yum. I guess I deserved it.

Ainsley's Baptism Day

Ainsley and Ryan before the baptism


Ainsley and me

Today was a big day for our family. It's an amazing thing to watch your children grow up, and today was one of those milestones that drops your jaw. Ainsley was baptized. It was an amazing meeting, with many family and friends present. We all felt the spirit so strongly and were grateful to be a part of this necessary step in her life.

Being so far from family, we were glad to have so many family members here. Ryan's dad and step-mom flew in from Utah for the day. Ryan's Grandma Joy flew in for a whole week of child-spoiling fun. My mom and grandma made it in just yesterday after a very long drive. Megan and Jake now live here. LOT'S of family around is wonderful. We have really missed that. We were almost going to have our brother-in-law Aaron here, but Ryan's sister is was just put on bedrest at 28 weeks with twins. He's a little busy. ;p

We also had so many wonderful friends come. Ainsley invited our neighbors (her best friends) and we were delighted they all came. For keepsaking purposes, I want to list and thank those friends that attended. The Smith family, the Marushak family, the Artis family, the Johnson family, the Zollinger family, the Stevenson family, the Oliekan family, Susan and Becca Webb, Janie and Sydeny Scholes, Brother Worley, Ainsley's primary teacher Kathy Bowman, and the full-time missionaries. Thanks you Thank you for your love and support. We love you!

Ainsley and her friends

It was very emotional, even Ryan had a hard time making it through the confirmation. And you should have seen Alexa's eyes when Ainsley went under water. Wow!

Well, congratulations, Ainsley! We are so proud of you and hope you remember how wonderful this day was for ever and ever!

GO MUCKDOGS!!!

Brandon started playing tee ball again this week. His team was supposed to be called the "Lug Nuts" but that sounded too much like the Love Nuts (hardly appropriate for a 5-year old tee ball team.) The team is named after the Batavia (NY) minor league team. The name is a great name...or it was until Brandon decided to practice what he learned at kindergarten earlier that day...the great art of rhyming words.

Brandon: "Hey mom, let's see how many words I can think of that rhyme with "muckdog"...we could be the buckdogs, or the cluckdogs, or the duckdogs..."

WHOA! Stop right there young man! You're the muckdogs...and that's all...no more rhyming words.

I missed the first game of the season thanks to the scout camporee ('camporee' is still one of the worst words in the English language, right up there with 'pink eye' and 'root canal' but that's another story for another day). In game 2, I could tell that the young team had already mastered one of the fundamental skills of baseball...spitting. By the time Brandon was done proudly manning his third base position, there was enough mud at his feet to make a small adobe house.

I'm sure Brandon has been blessed with his father's amazing athletic ability, but it hasn't really manifested itself yet. He just can't seem to help himself when he's standing there on a great big giant sand box. He spent a lot of his day spitting, of course, playing in the sand, making binoculars with his hands and searching for fighter planes. At one point, we looked over and he was jumping up and down doing scissor kicks. Um, Brandon, you're a muckdog player, not a muckdog cheerleader (speaking of, I wonder what the real Muckdog Cheerleaders look like...anyway...) He did make one amazing play at third base, then he spent time proudly removing his cap in a sweeping motion, bowing to his invisible crowd while the next two batters took their turns.

At the end of the game, it was, as is customary, snack time...and what better snacks for a baseball game than Cracker Jacks? On the way home, Whitney had the kids singing "Take me out to the ballgame!" Ainsley commented one time how a boy in her class once got hit in the "peanuts" with a baseball. Then, the kids started singing "buy me some penis and cracker jacks." I'm not so sure this whole muckdogs thing is going to be a good influence on my five year old...

Brandon's First Day of School (Again?)

Brandon had his first day of school on Thursday. Again. We had a couple of issues with him at Benjamin Franklin and decided to yank him out of there and put him in the neighborhood school. His teacher (Miss Ritter) was VERY stern. That's understandable, because we go to a traditional school. The curriculum is very hard and they need to learn discipline. HOWEVER, he is only in kindergarten. No rug. No feel goods. Nothing fun. No singing happy birthday or even recognizing it for that matter. He had straight A's, but he cried every day. His aide was HORRIBLE. The least likely Tiffany you would ever see. Not the cute cheerleader type you would imagine. Fat, miserable and MEAN! She yelled and one day while we there (at Brandon)and I was shocked.

So after speaking with the teacher, and nothing changing, we pulled him.

Great choice! He is LOVING his new class. Fun, nice Mrs. Fierro made him feel welcome and he was shocked by all the bright colors and the treehouse in the room. Wow! Also, he can wear whatever shoes he wants, and shorts (no uniforms.) Whoa. Amazing. The only tricky part is he is now in school all day long. Long for him, but INCREDIBLY JOYOUS for me.

Bathroom reorganization

Need I say more?