The New Fluffy

14 July 2008
It's been a little while since my last post because I've been so sick. I went to the ER with flu symptoms that I've had for about 4 weeks now. They treated me for dehydration and sent me home with some immodium. It didn't help - much. I got an antibiotic later but it's not really helping either. I hope that Jared gets the health insurance sorted out soon so that I can go see the OB on the base and get it figured out. Tyler drew this picture for me to help me feel better. It says, "Dear Mom, This leads to the treasure of friendship."

Well, some days I feel better than others and I found some time last week to fix up Tyler's fluffy. It was really getting ragged. He called it his halloween blanket.

Yesterday Tyler woke up really excited to dress as a "hero" so he put on his Superman t-shirt and his red cape. (He wore them all day.) When Derek saw the cape, he wanted one too. So I put Tyler's Batman cape on him. It was really cute.


This is what Tyler does when you tell him to keep his eyes open for the picture.

Lawn Mowing in Texas

5 Jul 2008

Jared made me promise that I would mow the lawn every week while he was gone. I agreed and now I'm paying the price. Our yard is only 1/2 the size of our yard in Orem, but it's all hilly and it has this awful, woody, weird grass and it's really hot and the mower vibrates my hands too much and there's red ants and lizards and huge bugs and green dogs...

Kids in Texas must have bug collections that rival the Smithsonian.
I'm really tired.

Barfin'est Family Ever!

4 Jul 2008

Well, based on our plans, today was going to be a really great day. And it eventually was, it just started out crappy... and barfy. Tyler needed to eat the rest of his potatoes from last night before we could go to the neighbor's for their 4th of July breakfast, but he gagged and threw up. I guess it was the smell of the barf, or Derek's poopy diaper, or the vitamins that I took on an empty stomach, but then I threw up. After a lot of cleaning, we evenually made it out the door and were only 1/2 hour late. The breakfast was fun - there were lots of kids - and it was nice to get to know some of the people in our neighborhood.

Afterward, we were planning to go up to Austin to spend the evening with Joseph and Emily but I was still feeling so sick that I couldn't get up the courage to drive 1 1/2 hours each way. So we stayed home and made a 4th of July cake. I thought that it would be kind of sad and pathetic for me and the kids to make a cake all alone but it really wasn't. The kids had fun decorating and eating it and I had fun watching them. At one point Tyler said, "Everyone who comes to our 4th of July party is going to love this cake." That was the only sad part - oh, and the part where Ralphie didn't get any (see the background), that was sad too.

After the cake, Tyler asked what time we would go see fireworks. I had planned on getting some fountains and things at Walmart but they weren't selling any. I found out later that it is only legal to buy and set off fireworks in designated fireworks areas. They hate brush fires here (go figure) so they pre-burn all these fields and then let people go there for "Driveway of Fire" en mass. So, I decided to pass on the personal fireworks but I'd never even considered a large fireworks display. Thanks to my trusty friend Google I found the park where they were doing the city's fireworks show and we headed out. Of course it was 15 miles away and there was tons of traffic but I magically found this triangle shaped grassy area next to a canal (so it had less trees in the way of the view) about 5 minutes before the show started. There were a few other cars there, but not many. We laid out a blanket and the show was great. There was even a big family right behind us that turned on their stereo and made all kinds of fun comments and I kind of felt a little bit like we were at home with our family on my mom's lawn. It was nice. I thought it wouldn't be, but it really was.

This is what Tyler does when you ask him to look at the camera.
This is what Derek does when you ask him to look at the camera.
Tyler took this picture.
This photo makes the sky look really blue. It wasn't, it was really dark. Weird.

Maybe The Kids Need Lessons Too

3 Jul 2008

"I'm not eating that!!!"

I made some real dinner tonight: BBQ shrimp (on the Forman grill because our BBQ was broken in the move), mashed potatoes, salad and grape juice. It took me 4 1/2 hours to convince Tyler to eat. It is now 10:30 p.m. and both my kids are up for adoption.

P.S. The photo is not my baby. It's just a picture I found on the internet but it captures the scene quite accurately.

I Might Need Some Mom Lessons

3 Jul 2008

I went to college for 7 years to learn how to be an accountant and things worked out really well. However, in the meantime I somehow acquired the two cutest kids in the whole world. They aren't dying thanks to Grandma James and Grandma Cooper but I never really learned how to take care of them. Sure, when the thermometer read 104 I took them to the doctor and made sure that they were in bed sometime before dawn, but I was always so busy that I was content to make do with the bare minimum.

Now I'm home with the kids all day and I really like it except that I'm realizing that I don't know what to do with them or what to feed them. Last week Tyler told me that he couldn' t drink his orange juice because his tooth hurt. I ignored him and later that night Jared found a hole in his top right molar the size of a grain of rice. We brush and floss his teeth each night but he hasn't been to the dentist in two years. (I've been scared to take him because last time we went he had 4 cavities and it cost $650 - I know it doesn't make sense but that's the reason).

Anyway, before Jared left for Alabama he gave me an assignment to make up some menu plans so that our kids could start eating something he called vegetables. I googled "vegetables" and got pictures of all sorts of weird things in all sorts of colors (red, orange, green, purple, etc.). I'm not sure Jared knows what he's talking about. Just to same, I'm going to try. As motivation, I have collected some photos of our past poor eating habits.

Derek has shortened macaroni and cheese to just "cheese". The kids also love peanut butter and honey sandwiches and pizza.
Birthday cake is always a cause for celebration.
No one can resist Easter candy...
...or Halloween candy.

This is Rudy's. They claim to be the worst BBQ in Texas. Tyler is eating a sausage and Derek polished off 4 slices of Wonder bread.
The ever popular Otter Pop.
Derek is so starved for fiber, he regularly eats his blanket.
This is Derek crying for some fruit or yogurt rather than the cinnamon roll that I got him for breakfast (see the table in the background).

I will do my best.

Summer Time!

2 Jul 2008

We seem to be all over our illness now. I still have a headache but this morning Derek came and jumped on my bed and yelled "I want some souuuup!" I guess he's feeling better. He didn't really want soup though. He really wanted marshmellows. Tyler is having fun doing chores and homework so that he can earn time on the Wii and the computer. I rearranged the living room and gave away all of the moving boxes that were filling up our dining room. I think our house is really starting to look nice.

These pictures are actually from a few month ago but they were just so cute I had to put them up. To me they are the ultimate representation of summer.

Stomach Flu

1 Jul 2008

We have the stomach flu today and Tyler threw up on my new bed. It was gross.

Homemade Ice Cream

30 Jun 2008

Jared left this morning at 6:00 a.m. It was kinda crappy that we all had to get up at 4:30 to drive him to the airport but even worse that he's gone. We miss him and it's only been one day. We were all too sleepy to take pictures before he left so y'all won't get to see his super short haircut until later. He has called from Alabama 3 times and it's been so nice to talk to him. He says that its really hot and his socks are too small but he's too scared to go get new ones cause everyone is really "yelly." He says that he will have an internet connection to his laptop on Fri so he can get e-mails then (jaredbcooper@gmail.com). He will be back on Aug 1st.

A la Joseph and Amanda we have started taking pictures of our food. Jared made this ice cream from a recipe he found in his new Ben & Jerry's recipe book. It is fresh raspberry and it was really really good. This is the last picture I took of Jared before he left.

Our Last Night Out

28 Jun 2008

Since Jared is leaving for COT (commissioned officer training) on Mon (Jun 30th) we all went out to dinner and a movie on Saturday. We went to see WALL-E and we all really liked it. We give it an A++.

There was a clown at the restraunt who made balloon animals for the kids. Tyler got a black mouse. He has been obsessed with mice lately. He has this little skit in his head where he can conjure up mice friends that do kung fu with weapons to erradicate bad guys (ie. cats, elephants and other terrible creatures.) He is crying in this picture because he wouldn't eat his food so he didn't get any cake.
Derek got a Nemo fish balloon. Ralphie popped when we got home. Derek didn't really care but Ralphie sure did.
This picture is kind of dark, but it is of Derek being afraid of the giant Hulk statue in the lobby of the movie theater. It was a really cool statue but Derek wouldn't get close enough for us to take a good picture.
This is the statue.

Derek's Special Things

27 Jun 2008

Derek likes to put all of his special things in the back of his lego block dump truck to keep them safe. As you can see, Mom is very special to him.