Halloween (and everything leading up to it)

My sick baby girl :(

Not the best pic,but the best one I had..

Alex at the pumpkin patch. I think that's his friend Jacob?

Elyse's first Halloween

First, the entire first grade class got to walk to the pumpkin patch last week on one of the days they actually had school (they only had shcool Monday and Wednesday). On Tuesday I had a parent teacher conference with Mrs. Barlow, Alex's teacher. She told me how much she loved Alex and how she thinks he's the greatest! She told nme how smart he was and how she felt that he was going to grow up to be some kind of prodigy and she'd be so proud because she taught him in the first grade. He is a very smart boy!! He loves Mrs. Barlow and I'm so happy she loves him, too. I always get nervous, because I never know how people are going to react to Alex. He has SO much energy!!

On Wednesday they went to the pumpkin patch. Alex brought home an awesome pumpkin!

Friday was the annual Bradford Halloween party. Elyse had woken up not feeling so well. Me, being an awesome mommy figured it was teething :/   . She was super fussy, needy, slightly boogery, diarrhea. I just didn't think a whole lot of it. Go me!! We went to the Halloween party. I was dressed as a witch. Cam and Alex zombies. Jonathon a monkey (the same one Cam has been the past two years) and Elyse was my little black cat. We had Jumbalaya, which is one of my favorites! Lots of treets, which is always amazing, and the kids got to play with cousins and friends. We went home Elyse hardly slept. Woke me up often.  Saturday, she was the same. Super fussy. We all stayed home and lounged around the house all day. Sunday, Elyse was still pretty fussy. We all went to church and Danny came home after sacrament meeting with Elyse and Jonathon so they could take a nap. Elyse slept, Jonathon did not!  When Danny picked Alex, Cam and I up from church I noticed Elyse was running a fever. I took her temp and it was 100.1. Being very low, I didn't think anything about it. I noticed that I couldn't see any teeth under her gums trying to poke through. Ive had three different kids teeth. I know all kids are different, but none of them ever ran a fever before the teeth were just about to poke through. Ruling out teething, I just thought she had a mild infection her body was trying to fight off. We go to Grandma and Papa Bradford's house for dinner. Elyse, still cranky and slightly feverish. We go home, I give her motrin becuase fevers spike at night and I put her to bed. She again didn't sleep much. Monday came. After having so many days off of school and Elyse not sleeping, I had a hard time waking up! I got Alex off to school, the bus was 10 min early, so we'd made it just in time. I did laundry all day, while Elyse slept most of the day. Her fever was gone all day, but came back after I put her to bed. The same thing Tues. I had a refill on one of her antibiotics, so I decided to start giving that to her on Wednesday, because when she'd woken up her fever was back. The last time she had a fever for three days, we ended up in the hospital for an entire week! It was horrible. Thursday, Halloween. I got Alex ready for school. Putting his Halloween costume in his back pack and sending him off to school. It was the first day Elyse woke up with out a fever. I noticed a bit of a rash on her forehead. It wasn't a rash i'd ever seen before, but wasn't super worried. I figured it could be a fever rash. She had a blow out later in the afternoon, so I stripped her down and noticed that the rash was on her back, too. I texted my mom the pic, and she said "that looks like strep.". I of course felt horrible. It totally explains her behavior in the past week. Cam went to his preschool Halloween party. When I picked him and Christopher up they told me it was the best day EVER! They had capri suns instead of water to drink, with lots of treats! They were so cute! Doodles, Elyse, Jonny, and I came home. ELyse went to sleep, Cam and Jonny played outside while I cleaned the house. Alex got home from school. I threatened the kids that if they made a mess in my freshly cleaned house, there would be NO trick or treating. Needless to say, they kept the house clean! While I was sweeping my always dirty, no hope that they'll stay clean for longer than five minute floors, I saw a penny on the floor. Don't have any idea why, but this inspired me that we should go visit Aunt Alene. Completely out of the blue thought. I texted mom, Lara, and Nadja that I was going to take my kids over to see her and that they should come, too. She LOVES when we bring our kids over to her house. We have A LOT of kids between just the three of us! My four, Lara's five, Nadja's three. It's a lot of kids. Brenda got our pics, the kids got candy and then we left to meet Danny at his Parent's house to start the trick or treeting extravaganza! We did that neighborhood then wen't to Collette's neighborhood, because we wanted a coke, lol. We got home about 8:00. Danny went to bed, Elyse took her medicine then went to bed. Jonathon fell asleep in the car, so I put him in his bed. Alex and Cam played for a llittle while, then they too, wen't to bed. I watched "The Conjuring" by myself. Not the smartest move. It was just as scary the sceond time. Elyse has scarletina. A form of scarlet fever, go me!! She is on her third day of antibiotics, because I had some in the pharmacy, so I started giving them to her.  My kids are eating their Halloween candy and all is good in the world again! 

Unce Lynn

Two weeks ago, on Saturday, our sweet Uncle Lynn made his way up to heaven. When Grandpa Bowler passed away, Uncle Lynn took over the roll as Grandpa. My kids call him Grandpa Uncle Lynn and Alene, Grandma Aunt Alene. As of my last post, he was in the hospital. He was there for three weeks then just a couple days before he passed on he was moved to Nathan Addleson Hospice, a hospice facility to care for terminally ill patients. They basically just keep them comfortable until they pass away. I did not get to visit him before he passed. The day my mom and sister went, Danny said he had to work. Though it saddend me, I wasn't dragging four kids to a hospital. I was so bummed, because my mom called while they were on their way, and Danny said he had to work, so I dropped it. 20 minutes later I go into our bedroom to put Elyse down for her nap and Danny was like "(sigh), when are they going?" they were already long gone, so I could've gone after all, but I didn't want to drive in by myself. I wish I could've seen him before he was gone, but I'll just have to wait longer. 

The morning I heard of his passing, tho I knew it was going to be soon, still broke my heart. He'd passed away late Saturday night, so my mom just sent out a text because she didn't want to wake us up. I woke up the Sunday morning my kids had their primary program, and saw I had a text message. Once I read it, tears started flowing down my cheeks. I cried and cried. I didn't want to upset the boys, so I tried to keep it under wraps, tho I was unsuccessful. I told them that Grandpa Uncle Lynn had died and was in heaven now with Heavenly Father and all of the angels. They were just like "ok?". The kids have never had anybody die who's really close to them before, so they don't entirely get it. They get that his spirit left his body, and his body is burried, but they don't understand why that is sad. I guess, in a way, it's not. He is no longer suffering or in pain, but we'll miss him so much. So, after crying what felt like forever! I decided it was now time to get ready for church, though it was still about four hours away, getting four children, and husband, and myself ready ready for church takes me all day! I don't know what I'll do when we change to 9:00 a.m. this winter. I'll have to wake up at 5:00, lol! We invited both Grandma and Grandpa Bradford and Grandma Markosek to watch the kids NOT sing. I told Alex he was sitting next to the president of the church (Bishop) so he had to be extra good. And he was. Cam went up there and was almost there though the entire program. He got scared and came down just before the last song. I was proud of them. They did good, even though they didn't want to sing. We had a bit over a week before the funeral. The funeral was the best I've evewr been to. It wasn't sad at all, which I loved! The speakers were all AMAZING!! All their stories had me laughing so hard! First Fara, his daughter, (my cousin) spoke. She did so well! Then Ezekiel "Zek". I don't think I've ever met him before, but he was my favorite. I don't know what it was about him, but he stuck out to me. He was so funny!! He was talking about how he'd been called as Bishop two or three times then he decided he was going to grow out his hair and start drinking coke so they wouldn't call him anymore, lol! He just made me laugh with his stories. Somewhat elaborate stories. He said he lived in Lynn and Alene's basement and there was only one lightbulb with water seeping in through the walls. This made me laugh. Then Dr. Moses followed by Batch. They were all such fun/good speakers. The graveside service was very sweet. They did a military tribute (they'd done one during the funeral, too) because Lynn was a verteran. A few of his indian family sang a warrior song and a happy song? I think that's what she said they were... After the graveside service it was back to the church where I completely stuffed myself! Gotta love luncheons :) 

I sure will miss Uncle Lynn. I really feel so bad that I didn't visit him more often. In the next life, I'll drive him nuts with my visits, because I cant fix it now!  I would go to his house every few months. Not enough when they lived so close! He is my favorite ;) Every time we went over, my kids would climb on top Alene and Lynn. GIve them hugs, eat all their food, play with all their dog toys, because they have dogs, not young children. Climb in and out of their doggy door. Follow Terry around the house, because he's usually walking around getting ready for work. And Lynn would always offer to by the kids ice cream at Inside Scoop, but usually when it was time for us to go, it was because my kids were tired and ready for a nap. The last time we were over, tho, we got to go to the Scoop. It was a lot of fun! 

I remember when mom broke her leg. She was talking about how she wanted to go visit Lynn and Alene, but she was unable to drive and she couldn't climb the stairs to get into their house. So, I messaged Alene on facebook asking her if she and Lynn could come outside for a couple hours, until it got hot, so mom could visit. She said they could, so we went over there bright and early on an Aug. morning. Cam who was a year and a half, and Alex who was three and a half had a blast running in the yard. We stayed until it got hot, then we left. It was so fun for the kids and the adults to get out of the house even though it as only on the front lawn. It was fun though! 

When I was younger I'd occasionally clean their basement because they were unable to walk up and down the stairs. I wasn't allowed to throw anything away, though, lol. I will always remember and cherish our visits. I'll continue to visit Aunt Alene until she is reunited with her husband.   

Not Much Going On

The other day was back to school night. Danny was able to go with me this year, which was nice! We went to Alex's class room and sat at his desk. Mrs. Barlow gave her little speech about what they've been doing so far this year. When she was done she talked to all the parents who were in the classroom at the time, about their children, individually. She came to Danny and I and was talking about how Alex was well behaved, really smart, and how he was a hoot! She said one day she was talking to the class when Alex got up to get a drink of water. She informed him that we don't get up to get a drink of water when the teacher is talking and what he said, made me laugh..."but, we do if we're thirsty." Is what he said. She said she had to try not to laugh. She's never seen such a logical six year old. Alex is very logical. It can drive me crazy sometimes. She enjoys having him in her classroom. That's important. He loves her so much, too.

On Sunday I told the kids we were going to church and what Alex said was classical! What he said was, "mom, did you know we were Americans?" I simply replied, "yes, why?" Alex then says,"did you know that since we are Americans we can choose if we want to go to church or not?" I of course rolled my eyes and told him that he had to go to church "because I said so" and he replied, "but, we're Americans!" It made my day and completely made me laugh my butt off!  The things he comes up with! 

Cam started preschool last week. His first day was rough... He told me he cried and whined the whole time. When I asked why he said " they were rude.". I don't know why he thought that, but I told him to not play with the "rude" kids next time. His second day was much better! Tomorrow is his third day. Hopefully it goes smoothly. He goes with his cousin/BFF Kissy (Christopher). I can't believe I'll have two kids in school next year! 

We've all been fighting a cold/cough for the last two weeks. All of us "older ones" have seemed to be getting over it, but Jonny and Elyse. Jonathon has had a really stinky smell coming out of his nose. It smelled like an extremely stinky, wet dog. He reeked! I take the babies to the dr. Elyse is just having a hard time getting over her crud. Jonathon had something stuck up his nose. I had no Idea... All I knew was that he smelled so bad. Dr. Mendoza told me he'd try to pull what ever was in his nose out, but if he couldn't we'd have to go to the ENT. So, they strap Jonny to a board, not before Mendoza called all the medical students he's mentoring in to "come smell this little boy and watch me pull something out of his nose". So, there was three students, Dr. Mendoza, me, and a nurse. All in a small exam room. I looked away as Mendoza dug in Johnny's nose with some tweezers. With in a few seconds he said " I got it!". "It" was a dime sized piece of sponge!! It was lodged up in his nose for probably two weeks.. So, they asked me if I wanted to keep so said sponge, and I said "that's disgusting.. No thank you" and it was done. He has a pretty severe sinus infection, due to the sponge, so he has to be on antibiotics. Of course Lin's pharmacy did not have the antibiotic he needs and had to order it. It makes me nervous knowing how bad his infection is, knowing he's without medicine until tomorrow afternoon, but there's nothing I can do.

Last but definitely not least. Uncle Lynn was life flighted into the hospital two Friday's ago.He had sepsis caused by his gal bladder. That Saturday my mom got a call from my cousin Fara saying that he'd taken a turn for the worst and wasn't expected to make it through the night. So, Lara, my mom, and I went to Vegas to say goodbye. He was in the icu and it was after visiting hours, so Lara and I didn't get to see him. They were only allowing people in one at a time, and by the time his siblings and children got to see him he was very unstable. I was bummed I didn't get to see him but so happy I was able to go to the hospital to see a lot of my family that I very rarely see. As far as uncle Lynn's health. He's still in the icu. He's off the ventilator, but is still very critical. He had a heart attack that Saturday, which was why he was moved to the icu. They are unable to move the infected gal bladder due to his poor health. He's in a lot of pain and they aren't 100% sure why. It makes me sad. Uncle Lynn is an amazing man! Hopefully there will be some resolution to all his "health issues" soon. I hate to see anybody I love and care about suffer so much. That, as of now, is life, my friends!

The First Day of School is The Best Day of School (unless it was a bad day..)

Yesterday was Alex's first day of school. It started off a little rough.. I got Alex on the bus. First thing, was, I was told by the school his stop was at Lyman/ Mesa View, which is literally right outside my door. The bus driver told me it was not, but was down the street. Though inconvenient for me, because I don't feel comfortable with sending Alex off to the bus stop by himself, I said ok. I could use a little bit of exercise first thing in the morning. I did not get a single picture of Alex, or Alex getting onto the bus. We load up the kids in the car and head off to the school. The bus beat us there and as we were walking I heard the first bell wring. Afraid I wasn't going to make it in time to see him and get a picture of him lining up for the first time, I start walking really fast!! I start looking for his orange shirt, but cant see it. I see his teacher and class all lined up and he wasn't there! I start panicking just a bit,"where could he be?!". I then spot him standing by himself, by the drinking fountain. His lip was quivering and I could see him fighting back his tears! It broke my heart! I called him to me and gave him a big hug and apologized for not being there. I started taking him to his teacher and the "helper" came and was dumb. I told her he was in Mrs. Barlow's class and she was like "There's no Zachary on this list." I was like "There wouldn't be because his name is Henry..." She was like, "Oh! I thought he said his name was Zachary and he wouldn't tell me his last name.". So, she kept talking and Mrs. Barlow started taking her class back, probably being rude, I left the "helper" lady to stop Mrs. Barlow so I could introduce her to Alex. I didn't want him to feel any more scared or lost! I think he growled at Mrs. Barlow, which is a normal "Alex reaction" to meeting new people. He's quite shy in someways, and super outgoing in others. I left him feeling terrible! Then we go to leave and Cam is missing! I start looking for his blue monkey shirt in the play yard, and he's not there. I then see him crying in a crowd of women. One of them knowing who he was, was pointing him to me. I go get him, then we leave. We head home and I'm so worried that his day is just going to get worse. When his bus came in the afternoon, he doesn't jump off right away, it was like a minute and I almost was at the door when he finally popped off. His bus driver, was like,"does he get off here?" I told him "yes, he does". I almost had a heart attack thinking he'd missed his bus, or gotten onto the wrong one when he didn't get off right away. He was all smiles and covered in paint! He said his day was "AWESOME!" ! I cleaned out his back pack and opened his lunch to see that all he ate was his cheese stick!! The ONLY thing he ate! So, he ate his lunch when he got home. He was a hungry boy... He got to borrow two books from the school library, which he thought was the best! We wen't to Grandma Trudy's and Papa Henry's for dinner, came home and then the kids went to bed. I'm so glad his first day is over and done with! It started rough, but ended great! Now, I'm ready for Cam to start preschool! He and Alex are really good buddies, so Cam drove me nuts most of the day! He's completely lost without his Alex! It'll be good for him to go to "school", though he told me school is "lame". He'll love it, though! There you have it! Alex's first day and Cam's first day without Alex, and my first day with a big, all day school goer (is that even a word??), first grader!

My Life Is So Excititng! No, Really. It Is!

Next Monday, Alex starts first grade. Though, I'm excited about school starting again, I'm not so excited about him being gone all day! Even though I love having occasional breaks from my kids, I genuinely like being around them. They make me laugh, and cry, and at least once a day, make me really mad. That's what family is all about, right? Lol! But, seriously, I would love to keep them all little and at home for ever. 

Elyse went to the dr the other day for two month immunizations. She's a few months behind, but it's all good! She weighed 16 lbs, in the 50%, was 23 3/4 inches long 17-20% and her head was in the 25%.  She's short and kind of chubby. She is growing so much! She is getting to the age where she wants to stand all the time. I'll try to cuddle her, and all she wants to do is stand. I told her to stop growing up, and that she didn't have to get big. She could stay a baby forever if she really wanted to. She gave me one of Danny's "you're stupid" looks. My children have all been born giving that look. I think it's genetic! She is such a sweet baby girl and we are so lucky to have been chosen to raise her. She is such a good little baby. She's not really fussy, which is awesome!

Cam is going to start pre-school. Assuming I can get him into one. I'm excited for him to go to school. I think he'll really enjoy it! I can handle a couple hours a day, two days a week. The perfect amount of time for my kids to be gone! I can't believe he'll start kindergarten next year! I'll have two in school. This makes me sad...

Jonny, dear sweet, Jonny. He is such a momma's boy! Alex and Cam are mean to him. They yell at him all day. He wants to play with them and do what they are doing.They are older and he looks up to them. I keep telling them that, but they just see him as an annoying little brother. It breaks my heart.. Elyse and I play with him, but he just wants to be a big boy like Alex and Cam.  There will be a day when they will see what an awesome little man he really is. It'll take a while, but they'll see. He has the sweetest little spirit I've ever seen. He wakes up with a smile on his face and runs out of his room just to throw his arms around my legs, giving the best hugs! He can throw a temper tantrum like no other. Throwing himself on the ground, and throwing his head into the floor. He always has bruises on his forehead because of this, but he'll grow out of it some day. Being a two year old is hard! Even his temper tantrums end with his big smile or a giggle. 

I sure do love my sweet little kids.   I feel like we won the jackpot with these four cuties! Though they can be really bad at times, I wouldn't trade them for anything!

Solids!!

The other day Elyse was sitting on my lap while I was eating some lunch. Though she doesn't have full control over her hand's yet, she was able to grab onto my food! She had a death grip on it and was not letting go! She'd only had rice at this point, so I decided it was time for her to try some other foods. Foods that tastes good! Later that day we went to the store to get some green beans and carrots so I could make her some baby food. Making food for the baby was a new experience for me. I always just bought the food for the boys, but Danny and I decided it would save us a little money if we made our own! I was a bit worried, that it would be hard and take forever. First foods are pretty easy, though. It's all single ingredients. Just steam, puree, and freeze! Very easy!  She absolutely LOVES green beans! I tried giving her a banana and you would've thought I was trying to feed her poison! She gagged, spit, and threw up! She is NOT a fan! I then decided to try carrots. Maybe she is like her mommy and just prefers veggies over fruits?? She doesn't love carrots, but she will eat them.  I'm cool with that!! Next she gets to try sweet potatoes! I think she'll love those!

Right now she doesn't do any tricks. She loves to "talk" through movies and t.v. shows. No rolling around yet. She doesn't even try! When Jonathon was her age, he was the same way. When I told the pediatrician he said heavier babies tend to roll over later. Elyse and Jonny were/are fat babies. They're adorable!! Elyse, like her brothers, is extremely spoiled!!  There is one thing I let her do that I never let the boys and that is because I've become lazy! When she wakes up to eat at 6:30-7:00, I put her in bed with me so I can get a couple more hours of sleep. Completely shallow, I know! She loves it and so do I! Sleep is my favorite :) I'm most likely creating a monster, though... When school starts next month, we'll get on a routine! This Summer has just been hard on routine!                       

My Bucket List

These are a few things I'd like to do before I die, in no particular order, of course...

1- See New England in the Fall. I've never been (ever) and I hear Fall is breath taking with beautiful colors and smells (nature). Living in Nevada, season's are pretty underwhelming.

2-Spend a week somewhere tropical. I'd LOVE to go to the Bahamas..

3-Go on a paranormal investigation.  I grew up in a house that was quite frightening. There was a spirit in that house that seemed to try to scare us. I remember being afraid of coming home after school, so I'd drop off my back pack on the driveway and leave. I'd love to help, at least one family feel at ease.. The only problem, I'm startled easily, and when I get startled I grab onto the nearest person, and I get the giggles, lol. But, I think 90% of "hauntings" can be explained to something environmental, not a ghost.

4-I'd like to renovate an old, rundown house. One built in the late 1800's, early 1900's. I LOVE old homes!! I love the character they have.

5-Take my family to England. I've always wanted to visit!

6-Own my own children's and woman's clothing store. Who doesn't love clothes??

7-Buy a boat. Boating is just fun...

8-Design some clothes.

9-Adopt a child (If only the hubby would agree, lol)

10-Become the crazy old lady at the end of the street "with all those cats". I know, kind of silly, right? I'm going to be wearing hot pink jeans, big grey hair, hightop sneakers. It'll be AMAZEBALLS!

Oh, and I'll drive around a  classic powder blue convertible. 

11- I want to deliver a baby or assist in delivering a baby. I just think it's amazing...

12-Visit all 50 states.

13-Go on a ghost tour in all 50 states. Ghosts are a part of History and their "homes" have some of the coolest stories.

14-I'd like to create my own nail polish.

15-Get a tattoo

16-Get my eyeliner re-done (permanent makeup) and get my lips and eyebrows done, also.

18-Go skydiving (probably just in door because I know I couldn't actually jump out of a plane.)

19-Own a second (or more) home somewhere. 

20-Own a big ol' shoe closet, chuck full of shoes!!! Love it!!!

There you have it, lol! It's not much, but i'd like to do these things before I die :)