Summer...as of yet.

Summer is rolling along and we are finally finally getting some warm weather.

(Too bad I will be ready for  fall in about two weeks- I hate heat.)

This little girl is consuming my life and I couldn't be more happy about it.

She makes me smile every time I see her.

Here she is with flat hair.   WHAT?

She just isn't the same without her Saylor Curl.

Oh, and for the record, even though Saylor loves her diapers...who needs toys really...I have personal vendetta against Huggies.  They are worthless.  I am tired of cleaning up "mustard"that should have been contained.

And for Saylor...she has a personal vendetta against pink eye/clogged tear ducts/green eye goop.

I've tried the drops and they don't work any better than just letting the goop run it's course.

...hence why my daughter has a tear in almost every picture I have taken of her in the last month.

Stevie-D had some moles removed last week and "had" to grow his goatee back due to the stitches getting in the way of shaving.  (hee hee hee)

Unfortunately he also "had" to buy this hat to protect his face from the sun.

Love the goatee...hate the hat.

I told him he looked like a migrant worker.

He's getting revenge for my comment by shaving for church this weekend.  Blast!

This cat is haunting my dreams...and staring at me while I cook dinner.

Not loving the cat.

But Andrew is.

(sorry Andrew, I took a picture of the cat instead of you.  Please forgive me.)

Colby is soaking in summer.

His face tells the entire story.

Carter is swimming.

Let me type that again...CARTER IS SWIMMING.

I spent hundreds of dollars last summer trying to get this kid to swim - float- ok, just get in the water.

Two lessons at our new teacher's pool...swimming, floating... the whole enchilada!

HURRAY!!!!!

Colby...well at least he has the whole - just in case I get captured by ewoks and tied to a spit - stance down pat.

But he is having fun.

Carter is loving the water!

(I hope he has a child that refuses to swim.  It would be a nice payback.)

Hades Has Frostbite

I've used the term "hell has frozen over" before.  But to be more exact this morning, let me say that the deepest darkest part of hell where Hades himself sits on his fiery throne is enjoying an Arctic ice storm.  In fact, Hades is wearing earmuffs.

Why???

Because...we now own a cat.

It's my sisters fault.  I was at TJ Maxx looking for pirate sheets for her. (We do this for one another...go to TJ Maxx and check out deals.  It's usually very therapeutic...and does not involve CATS!)

If it wasn't for my sister (who is older I might add...yeah, I know that was a cheap shot), I wouldn't have been at the TJ Maxx parking lot with my husband and children when a stray kitten darted out in front of us.  

I could have let the kitten live it's (most likely short) parking lot life without a second glance, but my husband and his deep compassionate eyes bore holes into my soul...and for one tiny itsy bitsy moment I felt bad for the stray kitty.  

I should have kept my eyes shut.  

I know better than to look at Steve when he is trying to convince me to do something with those deep dark puppy dog eyes. 

(That's how he got me to marry him.  I'm a schmuck-really I am.) 

Anyhoo....we ended up taking the stray dirty kitty to the shelter.

And then to our own detriment, we let the kids walk around the shelter and look at the animals.  I wish I could blame that on my sister too, but she had nothing to do with it.

It seems a little heartless now, but we didn't buy the stray dirty kitty, we found a nice clean one that was already fixed and ready to take home.

(that was my decision...they stray one was WAY too hairy...and this one was cuter)

So...here is Gary II.  

She is named after my sister's stray cat who lives in the gully behind her house.

I should have named her JaNae, seeing it was JaNae's fault we have her and all.

Look real deep into Andrew's eyes in this picture.  

It's a mix of love, adoration and the knowledge that he convinced (aka swindled) his mother into getting him a cat.

I'm warning all girls that will know Andrew during his teenage years right here and now. 

LOOK AWAY FROM THE DARK POOLS, LOOK AWAY!

They are genetic, they have power over women, and they can get whatever they want!

As for me and Gary II, we are learning to tolerate each other.

She now understands she belongs outside or in the garage and I understand I should never wear tassle pjs in her presence.

Colby Extermination Services

Do you have a pesky vole or other small varmit problem?

Traditional extermination procedures failed in the past?

Then Colby Extermination Services is for YOU!

He's cute...he's four...and he's effective!

And, you can pay him in chocolate or white rice.

No harmful pesticides or chemicals used!

Procedure is quick and slightly humane.

Cleanup service not included.

Father's Day

What makes a Dad special?

Is it being there when we are born?

Or is it being there when we are sick?

Is it passing down talents?

Or is just looking like us?

It is telling us stories and taking us on outings?

Is it teaching us sweet skills?

Or is it being worth looking up to?

Is it being a great playmate...

or  just putting up with us?

It's all of those things...and being willing to do those embarrassing things for us that nobody else would!

To the best dad ever! 

Dad, we love you.

Happy Father's Day!

Love, Andrew Carter Colby and Saylor

And to some other fabulous fathers we know...

We love you too!

Saylor 6 months

My talented friend took Saylor's pictures again.

What would I do without my own personal photographer?

Here is my girl in all her glory!

This one is my favorite!

(This one cracks me up. What is she...part anteater? )

 Love that it shows the color of her eyes- totally different than any of her brothers.

Thanks Kerrianne putting up with my fussy six month old.  

I appreciate you and love these pictures!

projects-and other stuff going on this week that have nothing to do with a project.

I'm not a decorator.  I don't have the talent to decorate.  

My excuse for this lack of talent, is that I don't like things cluttered up.  But I really just can't decorate.

However, I've always dreamed of having jars of candy on top of my cabinets.  So this week, I bit the bullet and tried to "do it yourself" with jars and various candy.

I'm way happy with the result...but be warned for anyone who likes this idea.  Candy is more expensive than you think it would be, even if you buy it in bulk.  (green jelly bellies especially...yikes)

Hopefully my children won't be too tempted to climb on the cupboards to steal a treat.  They've been warned of the consequences. Steve was grateful I didn't use swedish fish.  He prefers them stale.

My garden has also kept me busy in the last few weeks.

It's looking good, but the weather has been so cold everything is still small and slow growing

...except the peas.  

They are loving the cold wet weather.  I will never again have peas this fabulous.  

These ones are taller than my knees.  

Carter asks every day when we can eat them.

I'm enjoying the summer berry season.  

Waffles have made it onto our table more than could be considered healthy.

If you would like an absolute killer waffle recipe...and you don't mind a "little" butter, let me know.

 I looked out my front window this afternoon and discovered that my front porch has turned into the neighborhood "Dixon Nascar" bleachers.  Andrew and Carter were entertaining the rest of the kiddos with their keen RC driving skill.  

(cough cough on the driving skills)

Lastly...and definitely the most disgusting, Steve ordered a butterfly kit for the boys.  Ten tiny cute caterpillars show up on our doorstep last week.  Now they are just big fat gross messy caterpillars making cocoons in my kitchen.  Gag.  

...can't wait until they turn into butterflies so we can let them loose outside and birds can eat them!

(I am not a cool mom.)

I was cleaning the boys' bathtub this afternoon when Steve came in to say goodbye before going back to the office.  He smiled and thanked me for being so hardworking.

He called me hardworking.

He made my day.

(I would have jumped up and hugged him, but my hands were wet and covered in comet.)

I would rather be called hardworking over pretty, skinny, a fabulous cook...anything.

I have this innate fear that Steve thinks I'm lazy.  I know he doesn't, but I'm always worried that he does.  I'm afraid he thinks I sit at home eating chocolate and watching soap operas all day.

(the chocolate...yes, the soap operas no- too sleazy)

I apologize many nights out of the week over the house not being clean or dinner not being quite ready.  Not because Steve expects them to be, but because I want them to be.

My expectations are higher than his.

He's a saint. (I've said this before, but I mean it.)

Thanks for the hardworking comment today Steve.

I needed it.

insulin and hot water do not mix

When Carter was diagnosed, we were warned not to let him take a hot shower or bath right after receiving a dose on insulin.  The hot temperatures dilates blood vessels and speeds the absorption of insulin causing low blood sugars.

We experienced this fact first hand at the hot pool.

The first day I was scared.  We went through a 20 carb juice, two jolly ranchers and my nieces fruit snacks before Carter's blood sugar numbers were in a safe range.

(I won't go into the high he had an hour later...it makes my head spin to think about it.)

Here he is not feeling so hot...waiting for his blood sugar to go up.

Having a low does not feel so good.

The second day, we got smart. 

We removed his insulin pump entirely, gave 20 carbs to begin with and then let him swim his little heart out.

Thirty or so minutes later...we tested our plan.

Pricked a wrinkly little finger...

slurped up some blood...

waited patiently...

and SUCCESS!

147!

Take that diabetes!

Walker Family Reunion Part 3 - The Pool

The was a geothermal pool that belonged to the cabin association.

It was hot and wonderful.

We spent a good portion of our time swimming in the heat.

Not everybody swam.  The water was too hot for Saylor Girl.

Grandpa Walker gave rides.

Andrew did belly flops on request.

Colby showed off his "muscles"

...and then avoided the camera.

Unfortunately there was one small mishap.

It included my brother, the butterfly stroke, a nose and the side of the pool.

Good thing my brother in law Jeff brought his handy dandy durabond.