Maybe...

I think just maybe we might be over this flu that has been hanging out at our house for TWO weeks. Everyone, except for Ansen, was hit hard. Everyone had different symptoms and was sick for different amounts of time. I am glad to have it over with...hopefully...cross your fingers for us!

Enough Already!

Jayden**Day 9 of running a fever and feeling awful. Last night she and I spent the night on the couch. I wish I could say we slept but we did everything but get some shuteye. Her stomach was hurting so bad and her fever was at 104.9! The advice nurse and I had some wonderful conversations last night at 2 and 4 a.m. So off to the Doctor this morning we went. She has the Brisbane/10 influenza. This is the strain that is causing A Lot of problems here in the Northwest and the strain that this years flu vaccine doesn't really protect against. So she is on medication for the pain in her belly and on something else to keep her from getting ear infections and strep throat (common side effects of Brisbane/10). I sure hope this works. I want my Jayden back. Braley**Can you believe she is well? I know the powers that be have a hand in this one. But Braley is on the mend and back at school. This is a picture of her after her "100 Days" party at school. She made this Fruit Loops necklace and has been wearing it all afternoon. I thanked her for not trying to eat her necklace and she asked why she'd try to eat it. I explained that she was wearing junky cereal and she said she thought it was clay beads. Needless to say, she has been smelling the cereal for about 20 minutes and I am just waiting for her to make her move. Ohhh, she will regret it.Ansen**Life has been tough for this little guy the past week. His sisters have not been in the mood to play and that is driving him nuts! Try explaining to a 2 year old why he is the only one being left out of early bedtimes and extended baths. He believes that he should be on every fever reducer and cough suppressant that the girls are on. He tells everyone who happens to come to our door that, "I not feel good." But thankfully a few new cars was enough get him to play by himself, with me or Barney. He can't wait until his sisters are better. I am so glad tomorrow is Friday. Goals for this weekend: 1) Get Jayden feeling good. 2) Teach Braley the difference between junk cereal and clay. 3) Let Ansen outside to run, run, run! 4) Keep Jason and I healthy!

100 Days Of School

We were given some really good ideas for the ladies 100 day projects and I had BIG plans and then....well, they were sick, I was tired, we couldn't leave the house because they were contagious, they didn't want to do it, we couldn't agree on an idea, the school burned down? Are you believing any of those excuses? Some of them may be more true than others, but in the end we just ran out of time. So over dinner last night I hatched a plan in that mommy brain of mine and these are the two outcomes. Quick and easy. Perfect for sick ladies not caring at all if we had 100 of anything.
Jayden: We, and by we--I mean I, made a simple color pattern (on a piece of tag board that she was assigned to put her items on) of tag sale stickers. On each sticker I wrote the name of something I know Jayden loves. We (Jason and I) hit everything from people and places to food and animals. If I do say so myself, we did a pretty good job naming things that Miss Jayden loves.
Braley: She wanted to take some kind of food. Who's surprised? So we counted out 100 Swedish Fish and shipped them off to school with her. The best part is that she will share them with her class and they won't come home. I really don't need to hear 100 of my favorite candies calling my name. Although I wouldn't mind 10 or so.

A Whole Lotta 100's

#1-100: This is my 100th post! Yippee, yay me! When I started this blog I wasn't quite sure that I would enjoy trying to document our lives, but it really has been fun and I am officially hooked. So thank you to all of you who convinced me I needed to do this!

#2-100: Jayden has had a fever of 103 degrees since Thursday. She doesn't get sick beyond the normal cold very often so this really stinks. I talked to the doctor and she said that there is nothing she can do. Dr. Smith just said we had to wait it out. She officially missed her first full day of school since she started Kindergarten and it was traumatizing. She had also had to miss one of her friend’s birthday parties. You know your little lady is sick when she doesn't even care that she can't go to a birthday party. My poor Kahau.

3-100: Braley decided to join her sister in the "fever over 100" club last night and today we could cook an egg on her forehead. It is hard when Braley is as sick as she is today because we have to be really careful with her fluid intake. The normal Sprite or 7up is out of the question so we pump her full of popsicles. Today both the ladies took super long naps (unheard of) and have watched TV. all day (super unheard of). So hopefully Brays will be on the mend by school on Tuesday--thank heavens for Presidents Day.

#4-100: The kids have been in school for 100 days as of next Thursday. They all have to bring 100 of something to school to celebrate the day. Any ideas? I'd like it to be unique but I am fresh out of creativity due to my lack sleep over the past few nights. I'd love some ideas. (I know how creative you all are so I expect some good ideas ASAP)

Here's to 100 more!

Today I Love You Because...

...because you are home!! Not traveling today...yippee. You sing in the shower and never sing the right words (on purpose). You put cinnamon on everything you eat. You love fire hot Red Tamales and black licorice (yuck). Your favorite show is Jepordy and you are pretty stinkin' impressive. You never make a decision without looking at ALL the options. You work hard. You are always willing to try new things. You look so handsome all dressed up. The kids think you walk on water and, most days, I do too. Today *I love you* because you make me want to be better.


...because you always are positive. Everyday you tell me you've had "the greatest day ever", "coolest friends around", "bestest parents of all" (thanks for the ego boosts). You love your sweats and ponytail but you also like to get all glammed up. You are growing your hair out (again) so you can cut it all off (again) so you can donate your hair to Locks of Love (again). You love to sing and right now Hannah Montana is yor favorite cd. You are working hard on memorizing the Articles of Faith and you are doing a good job. Today *I love you* beacuse you are caring.


...because you think you only eat dry ceral. Every morning I hear, "Honey Bunches of Oats. No milk. No spoon." I give you your ceral (and a spoon--you weren't raised in a barn) and about 4 bites into breakfast you always say: "Oh yeah, milk too please." Every morning. I love your dimple. It makes you look mischievous. Your excitement for Valenties Day (even though you can't eat any of the candy, chocolate or other sugary treats) makes me smile because I know you just like the idea of telling people you love them. Today *I love you* because you are infectious.


...because this morning you woke up in a really good mood even though you were up with a fever all night. You got out of bed and said, "Good morning mama. I'm not sick anymore." Also, I love that you carry around your Superman truck everywhere. Right now it is your favorite toy! I love that you have to wear you coat zipped ALL the way up and you always have to have your blankets tucked up all snuggley under your chin in order to sleep. You say things like, "I'm a superhero!" and, "to the rescue!" Today *I love you* because you make me laugh.

Year Of The Rat

So just to dispel the rumor that we are only MonsterJam attending, hillbilly lovin' Caucasian Americans, I just wanted to show you what else we have been up to.

We rang in the Year of the Rat at a Vietnamese New Year celebration in Portland. We not only watched the Lion dance, the Hat dance, and Vietnam pop singers (move over American Idol...), but we also visited with Buddhist Monks, purchased Buddhist prayer bracelets for the ladies (two each, yellow: to remind them to pray during the day, brown: to remind them to pray during the night), and had some yummy food.

Jayden and Ansen LOVED the Lion dances! Braley made a serious bee-line to a place against the wall the second they pounced off the stage and began creeping through the audience. Braley, what a chicken!...although I am pretty sure that is what I would have done when I was her age. She must get her "chicken gene" from me.

Oh, and the local casino was in attendance so the kids are now proud owners of their own set of Marti Gras beads.

So for the second time this year: Happy New Year!

A Monster Of A Time

Oh yeah baby. This weekend we, the classy and sofisticated Widing's, went out for a night of good old fashion hillbilly fun! We went to MonterJam! Jealous?

I am sure you are so jealous of our rich cultural experience and let me tell you something...it was something. What kind of something, I'm still not sure. But we had fun and we will possibily, maybe, kinda consider going again. Maybe! Just a few observations from the blessed event:
Required:
1. ear pluges
2. cigerette tucked behind one ear
3. lots of screaming and cheering
Not Required:
1. Jeans with back pockets
2. hygene
3. knowledge of this "sport"
So next time someone asks you to get all redneck and go to MonsterJam, I say GO! Just take 2 tylenol and ear pluges.

Traitors!

I have learned to love two things in the past few years that I swore I would never love. First, Oregon. It's no secret that Oregon was not my first place choice of where to settle down and raise a family. I thought it was a great place to visit but not live. It is always so gray and it rains ALL winter...ugh. But it has grown on me and truthfully the rain doesn't seem to bother me like it used to. (I still don't like it but....) The summers are wonderful and the winters mild. The people are friendly and the coast is beautiful. So I have learned to love Oregon, rain and all.

The second thing I love is my mini-van. I didn't want to look like a soccer mom and we fought the mini-van for quite awhile. Now that we have owned our own Mormon mobile for 2 years I don't want to even imagine life without it. I just love the dual sliding doors and the room to stretch out. Ahhh, it is truly a mother’s paradise.

So with my new found love for these two previous nemesis it would only be logical that instead of loving me back, they would work together to give me one heck of a week.

Let me set the scene for you. The boys and I are in our beloved mini-van on our way
to the drive through bank to make a deposit. I love the drive through bank, it's so easy. I unroll my window, make my deposit and then try to roll my window back up so we can drive away. The window won't roll up. That's odd. I try again and again. Nothing. The car behind us honks for me to move so they can make their deposit and just as I pull out from under the bank awning the heavens open and it starts pouring. The wind picks up so that the rain is blown into the car. Great. The boys start crying because they are cold and wet. Dang Oregon. If we still lived in Vegas or Hawaii or Florida this would just be a reason to work on my tan. If we still had the Oldsmobile I wouldn't have to worry about the window getting stuck because it had the old school windows...you know, the ones you roll down. Dang mini-van.

So I fashioned a makeshift window:The kids love our new window and have been proudly announcing that we have a "fake" window to everyone...how ghetto.A friend of ours is working to correct this situation for us. Thank heavens. So in conclusion, I do love Oregon and my mini-van, just not this week! This week they are both officially Traitors!

Hannah Montana Rocks

Last night the ladies and I went to Hannah Montana: Best of Both Worlds, Meet Miley Cyrus 3-D Concert. They loved it. Jayden and Braley invited their friends Jessica and Lisa (and their mom, Michelle) to come with us for a girls night out. The concert was fun. The ladies danced, they sang, and there was some serious simmy and shaking going on. We arrived about an hour and fifteen minutes before the show began and there was already a BIG line waiting to get in. There were little girls in long blonde wigs everywhere! It was about the death of Jayden to have to wait to see Hannah/Miley, but she practiced patience and rocked out for the 2 hour concert. Braley was a little unsettled by the 3-D factor, but once she got used to things swinging out towards her she was parting like a rock star. After the concert we went out for dinner. Apparently they all worked up an appitite singing and dancing becuase they pretty much licked thier plates clean (including dessert). All in all, we had a great night with great friends. Hannah/Miley rocks!!! If I wasn't such a mature mama I'd have to say that I was super impressed, amazed at what a fun show a 15 year-old can pull off, and had a really good time myself. The ladies a had fun night and, after they slept in this morning, they are now trying to watch Word Girl on PBS with their offical concert 3-D glasses on!