And they lived fearfully NEVER after

I'm very proud of how I've never allowed any of our children to sleep in bed with us.

I have nothing against anyone who does, but it's just not a good thing for our family.

I want my room to be a sanctuary for sleep. That can't happen if I have little feet kicking me or a child's head hogging my pillow.

HOWEVER...

I broke that rule. This morning, last night... whichever time it was.

I LOVE thunderstorms. But after who knows how long it had been shaking our house, I finally woke up... TERRIFIED. Just for a second. 'Till my reason caught up to my wakefulness. Then I realized what it was and was very afraid it would wake the kids.

I laid in bed awhile longer... listening (and watching the VERY BRIGHT flashes of light make shadows dance on the walls). The storm was fierce! It felt like it was RIGHT above our roof. I started making plans for all the 'what ifs' that could happen.

What if.... the house catches on fire? Plans for who to grab which kids. Who to grab their phone and call 911. Who to go wake up our downstairs neighbor. What else to grab? Where would we live in the meantime? How would our landlord react?

What if... a house nearby catches on fire?

What if... the power goes out? What if it's out for a long time (I'm imagining charred trees and loose live wires) What would a power surge do to the DVR?

Then after another loud boom..... "AAAAHHHHHHHAAHAHH" coming from the boy's room.

I remember my terror and multiply that by a hundred and rush to comfort my baby (who's not really a baby, but still needs his mommy)

Blake had JUMPED out of bed, RAN to the door and got lost and scared in the corner. I open it and find him behind the door crying hysterically, crouched and SHAKING like a leaf. I hold him long enough for my touch to soothe his franticness, then guide him to my room. I go back and get Cody, who is too scared to even cry. (I think he's scared because of Blake's dramatic reaction, I don't think he even has noticed the thunder).

I thought of my rule for .....hmmmm.... half a second. I realized that they would only be soothed while a parent was with them, so that could be in their small beds, or in our bed. And of course this is only a one time thing.

So all 4 of us (Gwen surprisingly slept through it all.. and she doesn't even have a fan to drownd out the smaller booms) cuddled together, and I could feel peace return to my little one's hearts. They knew nothing bad would happen as long as mom and dad were there to protect them.

We dozed for I don't know how long, before I started falling off the bed. At which point I realized that all was quiet outside. So... my rule jumped forefront in my mind again. I led the kids back to their beds and we all slept peacefully ever after...

'till they woke up earlier than I'd have liked, having blissfully forgotten all about the terrible scare.

Blake's Best Bits

The scene: Blake trying to get food, that is stuck on his palate, off with his finger.

Blake: "HEY!" (with surprised eyes)

Me: "What?"

Blake: "I can feel my brain."

Facebook Status Updates

I find it easier to post small updates to my facebook. But I always feel like my posterity and other family members that don't use facebook, would also want them posted here. So I'm going to try to copy/paste them here when I remember. (sometimes I will add more than the small post allowed on facebook if the story needs more elaboration)

Here's two updates from recently.

"10 AM at the Van Tassell's house: Gwen wants her binky, Blake wants a drink, Cody wants ice cream, I want a nap. Congrats Cody... your outrageous request is granted, sorry everyone else."

"Blake's looking through a booklet that disney sends me when they want me to order more movies. He inhales sharply then whispers "Dr. Doofenshmirtz." I don't know if I should feel proud that he has a great memory and can say such a long weird word, or disappointed in myself for letting them watch so much TV. (FYI - that's the evil guy on the Disney Channel "Phineas and Ferb" cartoon)"

Cute Stuff

I've forgotten to post about some of the cute things the kids have said or done. I have a spare moment to write about some funny things I was reminded of this morning.

The scene: Blake is bothering Cody.

Me: "Blake you're acting crazy. Please stop annoying Cody."

Blake: "Mom, I'm not a crazy guy."

Me: "You're not?"

Blake: "No. I'm just an old guy."

The scene: I'm talking with Blake about letters and the sounds they make.

Me: "What does your brother's name start with?"

Blake: "It's Co-te. (Cody) It start with an 'm'."

The scene: I'm asking Cody what sounds animals make.

Me: "How about.... a bird?"

Cody: "Tweet, tweet, tweet."

Me: "How about...... a frog?"

Cody: "Wibbit, wibbit, wibbit."

Me: "How about.... Buzz Lightyear?"

Cody: "Fshewwwwwwwww." (with flying gestures)

"Ow bow (How about)...... Woody?

Howdy, Howdy, Howdy!"

McKees' Garden and Pet

We took a trip to the pet store with some friends today. Blake calls it the "animal shop." They had lots of cool fish and even a monkey. I held a Shih Tzu puppy while the guy cleaned its container. And behind the store they have goats and sheep that you can feed, and a few other animals you can look at.

The most memorable animal however was a Cockatoo. He seemed pretty upset whenever we turned our back on him. He would screech as loud as a fire alarm, but add in the echo of the room, it made my heart jump. Cody was hysterical, Gwen was crying, and Blake ran out covering his ears. I tried to calm them down by downplaying the situation. I told them the bird was crying, that it was just sad. But they didn't care. It was too loud.

Dustin just got home and asked me about it so I told him basically what I wrote above, and then Cody comes up and says "Bird, loud, crying, I scared." If this means that he'll never ask us for a bird, I'm OK with letting this traumatizing experience surface every now and again.

Summer 2011

In no particular order, here are some things we've done/experienced this summer:

Moved to Pocatello (loving it by-the-way)

Gwen sleeping 12hr/night

Fix car

Blake and Cody having a blast in our back yard

Splash park in Rexburg

Swimming in Rigby Lake

Go to the Temple

Fireworks in Idaho Falls

Make train table (boys love it)

Procrastinate washing dishes by hand

Paint and distress headboard (didn't love it)

Fix car

Enjoy thunderstorms

Cody learned to say Cheetos (sounds like 'shadows')

Fix car

Install new washing machine

See a couple movies at the discount theater

Paint and distress headboard (love it this time)

Go to lots of parks (especially the one we can walk to, which I love)

Dread washing dishes by hand

Gwen learned to roll back to front, and front to back - a few weeks later

Dustin start 3 week Anatomy course

Loath washing dishes by hand

Enjoy more thunderstorms

Watch all types of fun shows with the DVR that comes with our rent

Make friends in our new ward

Visit with family that lives in Rigby and Boise

Phew... we've been the exact amount of busy to be fun, but not stressful.

It's been my most favorite summer so far because of ONE reason. I spent it with Dustin. He hasn't had a job since we moved so we've done so much together, and the kids have had lots of time with him.

Now that school has started, we wont have near as much time with him over the next 4 years. But at least we started it all with a wonderful summer.