6-10

Have you been dying to hear the rest of my list...poised on the edge of your seat...I bet you haven't gotten up from you computer, or slept, or showered since my last gripping post.....oh who am I kidding...no one enjoys my blog THAT much...

6. Number 6 on my list of must dos for a fabulous vacation is, as in the famous word's of Alan Jackson..."a lot of front porch sittin". My parents have an amazing front porch. Here's the view from their porch....



What you can't see in these pictures is the amazing porch swing I'm sitting on...I could spend hours on that thing, my Dad often takes his afternoon siesta out there. I love that front porch and the time just sitting around talking with no distractions.

7. Which brings us to #7. Always eat at least one item of food that makes you look like your papa:

I was just telling my Mom that I don't know what it will be, certainly not a mustache (I hope), but I need something that my grandbabies will recognize as my signature...every time those boys see a mustache or figure out away to give themselves a moustache they think of their Papa!

8. Give your baby his first hair cut! First hair cuts are always memorable, why not have one on vacation! Joel was a trooper. She didn't cut off as much as I would have liked but he does look a lot better!

9. Number 9, in no particular order, is spend some quality time driving around the farm on Granny and Grandpa's GoKart and Golf Cart! On Tuesday morning we got up and packed to head down to Bowling Green. Of course right before we left Gabe decided to lose his breakfast all over my Mom's beautiful white Ballard Design's slipcovered chairs. Thankfully, Mom was very gracious and Biz does amazing things! When we finally made it down to BG, we went through the drive threw at Zaxby's (you know I love me some Zaxby's) and then headed down to Greg's parent's farm where they were researching buying some transportation for the farm.

The boys had a blast on this:


I have to admit...I think the adults had just as much fun on this one as the kids did...all though...if you are ever on one of these, be sure to avoid these:

(Look quickly...I don't really have a weak stomach,
but this picture really does make me want to barf)

Yes, that's what you think it is. A fresh cow pie. (Ethan had a hilarious revelation the other day..."Mommy if cow's make cow pies...then I make Ethan pies"...."Why yes Ethan, that's true, HA!") Greg and Sam had the unfortunate luck of "not seeing" a few of these down in the pasture...let's just say everyone got a bath after riding that day!

We also really enjoyed the new Golf Cart that Kathie and Larry purchased for the farm. We even managed to get Greg's grandmother, who is pushing 90, on it and were able to take her down to the creek, which she hadn't seen in two years. Gabe told her we were taking her on a date, we all got a good chuckle out of that one!

10. Number 10 is probably my favorite tip for vacationing. Always, always, always, save some time for some pampering! Thanks to my sweet mother-in-law and sister-in-law I was treated to a massage, facial, hair cut and color, and a make up treatment! Here I am before:

And after:

I'd say it's an improvement! It wasn't a huge change but she did darken up my color and give me some more layers. Greg's happy so I guess that's what matters!

Well....stay tuned....11-15 are coming soon....

Google Reader

P.S. If you are reading the previous post in google reader, please ignore spelling...I posted before I did spell check and google does not update....

Okay....read on....

Home Again, Home Again Jiggity Jog

Well, we are finally home. Bags have been unpacked, the car has been cleaned out, the mail has been gone through....we are so glad to be home, but had such a wonderful time on vacation!!

To recap, I'm going to make a list of my Top 20 things to take/do on vacation...I guarantee doing/bringing these things will lead to a fun filled vacation full of memories!!

1. The first thing you absolutely must bring on vacation is a stomach bug!!
Oh the joy, when 15 minutes into our drive Ethan threw up. Luckily, I could tell he wasn't feeling well before we got in the car and suggested he bring a bowl and thankfully he has good aim. We did manage to quickly pull over in the parking lot of a chiropractors office, clean him up, rinse out the bowl and get it back to him before he vomited again. Oh the joys of being a parent. At that point I thought for sure we were going to have to just turn around and go home, but when we mentioned it he cried. So being the good parents we are (I actually felt rather guilty) we decided to continue on the road but not before stopping at the grocery store...which leads me to...

2. If you even think you might have a puker on your hands, invest in these for your vacation:

[photo from Glad.com]

I personally do not trust my children's aim to always be as good as Ethan's. I purchased the HUGE 8 cup size. What I liked most about these was the handy dandy lid...had he puked again, we could have just thrown a lid on that sucker and been on our way, not to mention, they came in a three pack which meant all my sympathy pukers got a bowl as well!

3. Number 3 on my list of fabulous things to bring on a vacation is a baby with EXPLOSIVE DIARRHEA...we were about here:

[photo from Monticello.com]

When we smelled something, we hoped was the fresh smell of a nearby farm...but no...it was the fresh smell of Joel's derri air (how do you spell that?). This was our car as we pulled into a cute little church parking lot:

I thought for sure we were goners....

So we get Joel out, get him all changed, the boys run off some steam and then potty behind the van, and then my dear husband has a great idea...."Heather, pee in one of those big bowls you just bought...then we won't have to stop again for hours!"...can I just tell you...I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually entertained the thought...I crawled in the back and was so close to giving it a try when two cute little old ladies came out of the church and were staring us down...I just couldn't do it after that.....I really think having all boys is starting to get to me!

4. Well we finally made it to Louisville after 11.5 grueling hours, we were exhausted. It took all day Saturday for us to recuperate, not to mention that now Ethan had a 101 degree fever! On Sunday everyone seemed to be feeling better and we ventured out to do #4 on my list:
If you live in the Louisville area I highly recommend Incredible Dave's. We had a blast. My Dad even convinced Sam and I to try this with him:

[picture from newheights.biz]

It was exhilarating! I finally even worked up enough gusto to try a back flip complete with perfectly pointed toes....my children were very impressed! Later on in our vacation Greg and I went on a date and ventured back over to Incredible Dave's. Greg was my hero, winning over 2000 tickets on "Pop a Shot"! I also discovered that I am pretty good at this game:

I guess 12 years of viola is finally paying off!


5. Number 5 on my list of memorable things to do on vacation is the Kentucky State Fair. The Fair wasn't as fun as any of us previously remembered....but we did enjoy some good old fashioned fair food, complete with Country Ham sandwiches, Cotton candy, corn dogs, tater chips, shake up lemonade (which totally disgusted me as I could literally feel the sugar going down my throat, but the boys LOVED it!) etc. We did enjoy the exhibits, the boys enjoyed "Safety Town" put on by the State Police. I remember the commercials for "Safety Town" from when I was a little girl!

After all the exhibits and food we decided to head to the fairway...GiGi bought enough tickets for the boys to ride several rides. Ethan was still not feeling totally "right" but thought he could handle one of these rides:

[photo from Ontariocountyfair.org]

The first time around he did pretty good and decided he wanted to ride again...the second time around he didn't look so good. I quickly got him off the ride and looked for something, anything the child could puke in...lucky for us there was a large potted plant right beside the ride operator...not so lucky for him....Ethan lost all of his fair food AND it was 90 degrees out. I did my best to water everything down, but I eventually just had to walk away....YIKES!!

Well...it's taken me over an hour to compile this list...you'll just have to wait until tomorrow for the rest!!! Stay tuned!!

Something to leave you with....

Well, I won't be posting for a couple of days but I wanted to post this video I found on YouTube.  The song in the background is my favorite right now, and the story in the video is about the girl who wrote and is singing the song.  Very inspirational....

I feel like a Miracle Grow Commercial

It's 10 AM.  I have the beds stripped, the washer running and the dishwasher unloaded, reloaded and running, and scrubbing bubbles is soaking into my shower tiles, so I thought I would take a moment to blog, not to mention let the hot water heater catch up before I attempt to take a shower!

When my Mom was here over the Memorial Day Weekend she helped me tremendously with my landscaping and curb appeal.  We dug up, threw away, replanted, transplanted, re-sodded, etc...it was quite a job (and really, she did most of it).

One of my favorite things are the urns she purchased and then filled with plants.  They have been so pretty and I love to look at them when I come up the sidewalk.  The urns hold, white impatiens, trailing vinca, and caladiums.  We picked them out for all their green and white and because my front yard gets almost no sun, so we definitely needed shade lovers.  Mom lovingly planted them for me while she was here and then added a good dose of miracle grow, with instructions for me to follow up after a week....well of course I forgot....but luckily my urns look beautiful.  The funny thing is is that the pants have grown very differently in their respective pots....in one the impatiens are HUGE and the caladiums are average, in the other the caladiums are HUGE and the impatiens are average.  It's so strange.  I had a light bulb moment one afternoon and thought, I bet I just need to switch their positions on the porch, which I did...it has made no difference.  My theory is that 1.  the damage is done, no amount of switching them is going to make them look the same...or 2.  it had nothing to do with the sunlight and their is some other factor at work.  Either way, I still love the way the look....check them out for yourself:

Large caladiums....you can hardly see the impatiens.

Average sized caladiums and HUGE impatiens.

I should have taken the pictures the same direction so it would be more obvious...oh well....but you can definitely see a difference.

Off to go scrub some shower tiles!  Happy Hump Day!

Joel's Birthday

Well I finally think I figured out this slideshow stuff.  Greg and Nancy took close to 240 pictures of the birthday boy, don't worry I weeded a TON out.  

Yesterday we celebrated Joel's birthday in Hawaiian style.  We had a nice time, but poor Joel had his well baby earlier in the afternoon, which meant shots and a very tired cranky baby.  Probably bad timing on my part.

At his appointment he was 20lbs 10 oz which puts him in the 25th percentile.  He was 28.5 inches long also putting him in the 25th percentile.  I'm not sure of the numbers on his huge head but it was in the 90th percentile.  My kids always seem to be petite with huge heads.  

Hope you enjoy the slideshow from his big day!  Don't quote me on this, but I think you can click on it to make it bigger....okay....off to lay down, I have a terrible headache....

Check Back Soon....

Joel's B-day pics are coming....I promise!!  I'm having trouble with Google, but I'm working it!

He won't need therapy....yet.....

I haven't forgotten to post about Joel's birthday....it's just that....well....we never actually told him that it was his birthday....well that's a half truth....we wished him a happy birthday on the actual day, but then we didn't have a party....I feel guilty....don't make me feel worse.....

I have big plans to celebrate his "golden birthday" (he was one on the 1st of August, hence the golden day), we just haven't gotten around to celebrating. It's not that we don't want to....it's that our dear friends the Kules always seem to be busy, and since Jillian is pretty much Joel's only age appropriate friend...we are waiting for her ;0)

In the mean time, here's a funny picture of Gabe as well as a funny story:

Me: Gabe, will you always be my baby?

Gabe: No Mommy, I'm a big boy now....

Me: When you grow up are you going to get married?

Gabe: When I grow up I'm going to marry you Mommy, because I LOVE you soooo much!!

Me: Oh, Gabe, I can't wait for us to get married....

Pause....as we both think about marriage, him growing up, etc (or at least that's what I was thinking about!)

Gabe: Mommy....I can't wait to be a grown up....

Me: Why is that Gabe?

Gabe: 'Cause then I'll get to spank people....

(I'm cracking up at this point)

Me: Who do you want to spank Gabe?

Gabe: (With the biggest onoriest grin I have ever seen)....I wanna spank ETHAN!!!

Ahhhh brotherly love.....gotta love it!!

Gabe chipmunk cheeked!! Those cheeks are full of grapes....dangerous....I know....but I had to get a picture before I told him to NEVER do it again!

Toys-R-Us

**I just realized, I totally fibbed....we actually got 16 toys for that price...that makes each toy less then $10 a piece....I'm still amazed!**

Ethan has really been struggling to understand that he has to save his "store" money in order to be able to buy "cool" things.  In an effort to give him a visual image of something he could save for we ventured out to Toys R Us.  Did you know that right now they have all of their Clearance items marked down an additional 20%?!  We spent a grand total of $157.59 and basically completed our Christmas shopping!  We still need one last "wow" gift for Ethan and Gabe and haven't purchased anything for Joel, so we aren't completely done, but we are pretty DARN close!!  We bought 13 gifts for $157.59....amazing!!!!  We are ecstatic.  I think the most exciting thing is that since we have been saving ahead for Christmas we had this money in our "sinking funds" so we didn't think twice about dropping some dough and didn't even have to consider putting it on our credit card.  Guess who's going to be shopping at Toys-R-Us every July from now until eternity!?!

Greg and Heather Plus Eight....Eight Years that is!

I should have posted this picture yesterday....as a comparison of then and now.

Speaking of another plus eight...

Greg and I enjoy watching John and Kate plus Eight. It's refreshing to know we aren't the only ones running around like chickens with our heads cut off!

One thing that she mentioned recently in the show was feeding her kids "Organic Fluff" sandwiches. At first I thought, Fluff sandwiches, really, from Kate?! But then I did my research....tablespoon for tablespoon, marshmallow fluff is actually healthier then strawberry jelly! So guess what we've been having in our house the last couple of days....Fluffernutter sandwiches!! So yummy!

Don't knock it, 'til you've tried it!!

On a totally unrelated note...the boys had coupons for free pizzas at UNO's, so last night we decided to "cash them in". YUCK!
We will never eat there again. The food is terrible and the prices are insane; plus the whole place was just depressing...dark, smoky and just plain gross. Never again!!

8 Years

Wow a lot has happened in the last 8 years. My girlfriend Beth did this on her blog on her anniversary, I'm a total copier. So here goes, a summary of our last 8 years:

• June 29, 2000, we are officially married in the midst of a training meeting. I wasn't even there. Greg's commander and my Mom were the "witnesses" and the Chaplain signed the paperwork. The next weekend we moved Greg into our first home on Fort Knox.
• July 22, 2000 the BIG DAY! We were so cute and fresh faced weren't we!!
• Mid October I surprisingly find out we are pregnant! We are totally shocked but totally happy.
• Mid May I graduate from Western Kentucky.
• June 2, 2001 Samuel Dinwiddie Spencer is born.
• Late June we move out of our house at Fort Knox. I move in with my parents, Greg goes to the CCC at Fort Leavenworth for six weeks.
• September 11, 2001.
• September 29, 2001 we move to Fort Riley, KS. In October we finally decide we have had enough of post lodging and sign a lease for a trailer in a trailer park in Manhattan, KS. Three weeks later we get a call that a house has come available on post.
• Early November 2001, we move to 400B Holbrook, Fort Riley, KS. I HATED that house! When I found bats, tics and brown recluse spiders in the house near my baby, we decide to get pregnant again so that we can get a bigger house.
  
• March 14, 2002 I found out I'm pregnant.
  
• July 2002 we move to 44554-1 Wofford Drive, Fort Riley, KS.
• November 2, 2002 Ethan Mark Spencer is born.
• January 2003, Greg goes to NTC in California for a month.
• March 2003 the war begins.
• April 28, 2003, Greg leaves for Iraq.
• October 24, 2003, Sean McWilliams is hit by an IED and Greg takes command of Alpha Company, 1-13 Armor.
• March 22, 2004, Greg comes home from Iraq.
• April 2004 we go on a cruise, FABULOUS!!
• June 5, 2004 we find out we are pregnant!
• October 2004, Greg goes back to NTC for a month.
• January 21, 2005, Gabriel Neal Spencer is born.
• February 2, 2005, Greg goes back to Iraq.
• October 24, 2005, Greg leaves command.
• November 2005, three soldiers from our old company are killed and one of our dear friends barely survives an IED blast.
• January 24, 2006, Greg returns from Iraq.
• April 2006, the movers pack our house and we move to 5991 Denty Place, Fort Belvoir, VA.
• May 2006, Greg leaves for a 10 week class in Huntsville, AL.
• June 2006, we join him in Huntsville.
• August 2006, we return to Fort Belvoir on a mission to get a different house on post.
• November 2006 we move into a new house, 9550 Kezia Trail, on post.
• December 9, 2006, we find out we are pregnant.
• August 1, 2007, Joel William Spencer is born.
• February 2008, Greg leaves for 6 weeks for a test fire.
• April 18, 2008, we close on our first house and move ourselves, all 15k pounds.
• May 2008, Greg starts ILE.
• July 22, 2008 we celebrate 8 years of marriage.

Baby it's no wonder we've had a rocky couple of years, look at all we've done, accomplished and been through together. I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else.

This morning Greg told me he would marry me all over again every day of the week and twice on Sunday. It made my heart flutter. I love you baby!

The Dog Days of Summer

Summer is a fabulous time. I have strong convictions about my children having the opportunity to be "bored" on these long summer days. While I definitely don't want them to be bumps on a log, what other time in life do you truly get to be bored all day long with absolutely no responsibility.

So far this summer we have made a few trips to the library, numerous trips to the pool (which I need to do more of, MAN is it HOT!!), and we've been doing something I LOVE. I love to read books and I really love to read books with my kiddos. This summer our quest has been to read books that have been made into movies. The first book we read was "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. (This is a great version of this book and includes original illustrations, which definitely helps little listeners pay attention.)

Greg would read Gabe books at night while Ethan, Sam and I would curl up in my bed and journey to Narnia. After 14 chapters we journeyed to Costco and purchased the movie.


We had such a great time popping popcorn and watching that movie. It was awesome to watch them watch their imaginations come to life. It was also really nice to show them that often the book is better then the movie.

Our latest book was "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", by Ian Fleming (who by the way wrote the James Bond books).


We had a blast reading the book. Even Gabe got to listen in on this one. Last Wednesday we finished the book and as a bonus found the movie free of charge at the library.


After swim practice on Thursday we came home and made fudge (their is a recipe at the end of the book, it's a British recipe so I "fudged" (HA!) and made this one instead) and then popped popcorn and settled in for a movie fest. Let's just say I had no idea that this movie was NOTHING like the book. Literally nothing like it, it has a flying car and the children's names are the same but that is where the similarities end, which is a shame because this is an excellent book. The boys loved both the book and the movie but definitely for different reasons.

On a side note, in the book, the children end up in a candy store in France, hence the fudge recipe. Last night as we were getting ready for bed Sam asked me why fudge is called fudge..."Mommy" he said, "is Fudge the French word for Yummy". Greg and I got a good laugh out of that one.

We are going to the library this afternoon. I think this go round we are going to read "The Swiss Family Robinson". I can't wait!!

Does Anyone Else Find it Creepy....

(picture from People.com)

That they both have the same bangs?!  YIKES!  Imagine if Greg and I tried to sport the same bangs....DOUBLE YIKES!!!

Vaccination Irritation

A measles outbreak has sickened more than 120 people in 15 states – making it the biggest outbreak in the U.S. in more than 10 years, Reuters is reporting.

According to federal health officials, most of the victims were not vaccinated against the highly contagious virus.

In a statement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak has been traced to travelers who became sick overseas, returned to the U.S. and infected others.

The news comes on the heels of public health officials stressing the importance of immunizing children.

"With the whole debate about vaccines — and now parents due to their personal beliefs not vaccinating their children — what we are seeing now is that we are going to have these epidemic outbreaks throughout the country," said Dr. Manny Alvarez, managing editor of health at FOXNews.com.

"If this continues, we will see outbreaks throughout the entire developed world — something we have never seen before," he added.

Last month, British health officials said measles had again become an epidemic in that country for the first time since the mid-1990s due to parents not getting their kids vaccinated.


"Until better global control is achieved, cases will continue to be imported into the United States and outbreaks will persist as long as there are communities of unvaccinated people," the CDC's Dr. Larry Pickering told a news conference.

Measles is caused by a virus that normally grows in cells that line the back of the throat and the lungs.

"This is a very contagious disease," Alvarez said. "It's very difficult to eradicate once you have it."

Typical symptoms include:

— Coughing

— Runny nose

— High Fever

— Rash (which usually starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body)

Measles remains a leading cause of death among children in poor countries.

"What you have to remember is that 250,000 children die from this virus every year," Alvarez added. "So, vaccinations have to be a priority for parents because at the end of the day if you get measles, you can live through it, but in some particular cases, you're going to have complications."

About 1 and 5 measles sufferers experience more severe illness, which can include diarrhea, ear infections, pneumonia, encephalitis, chronic neurological deficits and even death.

Details of the outbreak first surfaced in May when more than 70 people came down with the virus in nearly a dozen states.

States with cases now include Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington state, as well as Washington, D.C., according to the CDC.

This latest outbreak comes eight years after the virus was declared practically dead in the U.S., thanks to a vaccination program that began in the 1960s.

I have a hard time with people who do not vaccinate. I understand why people are scared of vaccinations, but from the research I've read and from many discussions I've had with our pediatricians, I cannot find one concrete shred of evidence that supports a claim between vaccinations and autism.

This being said, it is concerning to me that out of a fear that has not been proven our nation could be faced with epidemics of diseases that should no longer be around.

One non-vaccinating Mom once chastised me saying, that I had nothing to worry about, since my children were vaccinated. I'm not sure this is 100% true. From my understanding of vaccines (which mind you is very limited) it is possible to receive a vaccine as a child but then not be totally immune to a disease. For instance, when Sam was throwing up every 10-15 days for a year, his allergist ran a test and found that his body did not respond well to one of his vaccines (I believe the Prevnar) and he had little or no immunity to the illnesses it was supposed to protect against. This is concerning to me. If he has little or no immunity to that particular shot (which I found out is not that big of deal know that he is older) what else is he immunity deficient against?!

Anywho, I'm off my soap box, but this issue does concern me. My children have all been vaccinated and I will continue to vaccinate them!

In the Heat

Instead of swim lessons, I decided this year we would try a pre-competitive swim team. The boys have LOVED going to practice everyday, which makes me very happy.

On Thursday, the boys had the first meet. It was one of my proudest moments as a mother. I was so filled with joy to see them push themselves further then they thought they could ever go and do it well!!

Of course at the end of the meet, everyone received ribbons. The boys really did very well. Here are some pics from the big meet!

Ethan swimming free style. If the kids are uncomfortable the coaches stay in the water with them!

Ethan swimming back stroke.

Gabe and I cheering for our boys!

Sam is "in the zone".

I LOVE this face. He is so proud of himself!

So proud of their ribbons!!

Competitive

I'm a fairly competitive person. Oh, who am I kidding, I'm stinkin' competitive.

On the last day of school Sam brought home a flyer about a competition to see who could collect the most Box Tops and Campbell's Soup labels. Since I will have TWO kids in school next year it is going to be a struggle to get enough to even make us competitive...so I was hoping if you were reading this and had a little extra time that maybe you could cut out your labels and mail them to us. If you are interested in enabling my competitiveness...I mean....helping our school raise money...please drop me a line at lifeinoz@yahoo.com and I'll send you my address!!

Before and After

I am a firm believer in "a place for everything and everything in it's place". Unfortunately with four children, this is easier said then done. For those who have seen my house, you know I'm not the "best" housekeeper in the world. By organizing I'm hoping thing will be easier to clean/straighten and by knowing exactly where things are I'm hoping to save myself a lot of time.

Ever since we moved in, I have really wanted to get our pantry painted, cleaned and organized. A couple of weeks ago Greg painted it and last week I got everything organized and labeled. I am in love with my new pantry. It is fabulous!!

The inspiration for my pantry redo came from some random blog (I can't find now). That blogger got her inspiration from another blogger (ain't the internet grand!). The original blogger used longaberger baskets to organize her chaos, the blogger I found decided that was too pricey an option and opted for cheaper baskets/bins from Pottery Barn (who are these people, both options are expensive!). Being the cheap person I am I opted for plastic baskets from Target (which by the way, will be MUCH easier to clean!! We are dealing with food). At first I picked up 15 white plastic baskets at 2.99 a piece (that was going to cost me $47.09 including tax, which was a little jaw dropping for plastic baskets). Luckily in the next aisle I found the exact basket in a lovely sea foam green on CLEARANCE! Not my first choice of color but at $2.19 a piece that brought my total to a mere $34.49, much easier to swallow.

So for my big reveal...

BEFORE

AFTER:

One of our cereal containers is in the dishwasher, that open space is not usually there.

Each basket labeled for ease of finding things.

Canned goods organized by type of food and shelf labeled for ease in finding and putting away. Especially helpful for little boys and husbands.

I love these little octagon containers from The Container Store. They hold breakfast/granola bars perfectly as well as popcorn and other yummy snacks. That far left container is full of all the odds and ends bags of snack items. The boys love having a snack from the "conglomeration" container!

This is key to an organized kitchen! Laugh and make fun all you will...call me Monica Gellar, but spices in alphabetical order will make your life 1000x times easier, especially after you train the other people in your kitchen to put them away the right way every time!