Dayne's First ER Visit...

Just thought we'd give you a peek at our 7 Hour ER Adventure this afternoon...

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It all started during my afternoon round of Spring Cleaning...

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I found a bottle of Floor Cleaner that someone had mistakenly put away in the Upstairs Cleaning Closet. (It belongs in the Main Floor Cleaning Closet because I use it on the Hardwood Floor of our Front Entry.) I set it in a basket of things I was collecting at the top of the stairs and planning to put away on my next trip downstairs.

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Big Mistake.

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A half an hour later

(after my casual, obligatory phone call to Poison Control ended with an urgent warning),

we were met at the doors of the ER and quickly escorted to the front of the triage line.

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Daynen was given an IV (the WORST part of the whole thing!) and a 9 ounce bottle of charcoal to drink. Thick, black, disgusting CHARCOAL!

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Of course, he did not like it at all, but we were told the alternative was an intibation(?) tube straight to his stomach, so I had to beg and force him to drink it.

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(This smile is only because Kaden is a great photographer and can be a really funny distraction.)

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Fast forward several LONG, EXHAUSTING, HOURS full of blood tests and toxicity reports...

(Peek-a-boo around the corner of the Hospital Bed only lasted so long...

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And then he was ready to get OUT of there!)

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Sure, he flirted at the Nurses and smiled at the Doctors...

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(so proud to finally get that DANG bracelet off!)...

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even smiled for his Chest X-Ray... which he thought it was a camera...

(Hee Hee! I guess I have him well-trained!)

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but let me assure you, this busy, curious boy was NOT happy to be cooped up, bored, un-napped, un-fed, poked and prodded...

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I couldn't blame him! After a few hours, I started feeling a little irrational myself!

(Thanks to my dear and FAB-u-lous friend, Cheryl, who brought us reinforcements in the form of a sandwich and some warm milk for a bottle! Sooo appreciated! We were both starving!)

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Moral:

ALWAYS keep your cleaning solutions up HIGH out of reach...

(really, every single second!)

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Trust us, the anecdote is NO FUN!

On the ball!

Looky what my Kade-o did!

I've been wanting to create an Image Gallery in his Sports-themed Bedroom,

so I set him loose with my big camera.

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He had a "ball" being creative and only needed a little help here and there!

(I should have taken pictures of him taking the photos, but Matt had my other camera in St. George. Oh well...)

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We tweaked the Images in Photoshop to make them look "antiquey"

(which he thought was so cool), and plan to frame them together on his wall.

He can hardly wait for them to come back from the Lab!
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Guilty...

It's well after midnight...

The good, responsible, practical people of the world are all sleeping.

Me?

No. Not even close...

I'm wide awake...

running a hot bath

(which I am nearly giddy to go soak in!)

and eating Strawberry Ice Cream

with Caramel Sauce on top.

That's right...

Caramel... LOTS of Caramel!

Why?

Because that's what the baby says I want to eat at this late hour...

Oh, the indulgences of pregnancy!

This evening's concession will likely be the sole cause of an entire jean size increase...

Trip to St. George... April 12, 2008.

Matt just returned from another weekend Bike Trip...

Gooseberry and Paradise Canyon with his GHS buddies Hanson, Pugh, Taylor and Payne.

Check out his cool flick!

Ready, Set-ty, Spa-GHETTI!

As Staker Family Tradition dictates, we had the Birthday Boy's favorite Dinner...

Daynen will really eat anything, but he loves Spaghetti!

I'm not a fan, so I don't make it often, but my big boys couldn't have been happier!

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Trev perfected his "twirling" skills...

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And after a long day swimming, Kade really packed it in!

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Dayne was just thrilled that he was allowed to feed himself... that's twice in one day!

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...Must be his Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Little Man! We are so glad it was a fun one for you!

What a Bea-U-ti-ful Day for the Birthday Boy!

I can not believe that our sweet baby boy is one! ONE! Already! So crazy that it has gone so fast!

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We woke him up this morning singing Happy Birthday, which he thought was sooo great!

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And then my big boys heard the "word on the street"...

that our neighbors were opening their pool today... you would have thought it was CHRISTMAS! I've never seen them do chores so fast!

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We went over and swam for a few hours, which Dayne totally loved!

. One of his fave things to do...

.So perfect for his "special day"!

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Our neighbor Dad, Cy, showed up with a bag full of Cheeseburgers for a "picnic".

(Thanks again, Cy!)

.It was Dayne's first one ever and I let him feed himself... a rarity he enjoys!

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As you can see, he couldn't get it all in fast enough!

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Who knew Mickey D's could make such a mess...

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and taste so good!

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What a fun afternoon for us!

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The Invitations are in the Mail!

After much deliberation, Daynen's Birthday Party is scheduled for this next coming Saturday!

We are so excited!

I finished his Invitations on Saturday, and they turned out so cute I wanted to share!

The outside...

(Here's a closer up view... It says "Looky who's turning O-N-E"

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then you open to the inside...

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(which looks like this... and says: Come Party with us for Daynen's 1st Birthday!

Staker's Crib, our address, blah, blah you know the rest.)

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I've reserved the most a-MAZ-ing Balloon Guy to come!

http://www.balloonguyentertainment.biz/

He does 20 minute juggling/magic act, creates a 4-5 foot tall Balloon Character for the Birthday Boy and then awesome balloons for the rest of the party guests.

Check out his Featured Images Slideshow here:

http://www.balloonguyentertainment.biz/Archives/FeaturedImages/FeaturedImages.html

My big boys can't wait... who am I kidding? Neither can I!

Splish, splash... in the kitchen sink!

These shots of D bathing in the sink were just too cute... I had to post a few more!

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He had the best time splishing and splashing

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and playing in the faucet...

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I just LOVE those little pink cheeks!
(When else are dimpled thighs and cellulite so dang cute?)

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I'm going to keep these around... they may come in handy in a few years!

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(Who says blackmail isn't motivating?)

Ahhh!

Today was a very productive day... I will sleep well tonight!

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Aside from the exhausting and on-going processes of

growing a whole new person inside of me

and mothering 3 more-than-averagely-active little boys,

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I finished 4 loads of Laundry

(...all folded and put away!),

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deep-cleaned 2 more rooms in my house,

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(I am in the middle of my bi-annual "hard-core-deep-Spring-cleaning"...

I am sorting through every cabinet, drawer, shelf and/or nook and cranny...

I should finish this week!),

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dusted and vacuumed the entire upstairs

(the rest of the house I cleaned yesterday),

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assembled and delivered Daynen's Birthday Party Invitations

(except the handful that need to be mailed...

And, by the way, they turned out SO cute... I'll post pictures tomorrow!),

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finished and posted 2 sets of online proofs

(well, actually, Alli did that... I just helped! Thanks Al!),

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gave Daynen an impromptu bath in the kitchen sink

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.(after discovering that he LOVES spaghettios),
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did a mini-photo-shoot of my big boys cooking dinner,

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and helping with Kitchen chores

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(which I plan to tweak and then frame for a Counter-top Gallery),

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wired 9 Image Panels for hanging,

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ran a few random errands,

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bandaged up Kaden after he got what must have been the worst end of a dirt-clod fight...

(at least I hope it was the worst end! Ouch!),

had Coldstone Ice-Cream with the boys and my parents

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(...who surprised us with a visit while they were in town today!),

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completed the Design Template for the "Legacy Wall" in my Dining Room

(A project I have been working on forever! YEA! I am sooo excited to hang it tomorrow morning and finish it next week! I'll post photos after it's done, for sure!),

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played peek-a-boo with my littlest monkey,

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watched Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium with my bigger monkeys,

( for about 1/2 an hour) until they fell asleep and I
tucked them all into bed,

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caught up with my blogging friends,

and am about to take a long, hot bath

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(... which I totally earned!)!

Thanks to Alli for her unceasing 12+ hour "shift" at my house...

couldn't have done it all without you, Girl!

Funny Man T...

Trevan is right at that age where he says the FUNNIEST stuff!
He has us laughing out loud every day!

Here are a few of my recent "favorite" incidents and one-liners...

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Emptying the Dishwasher often turns into a duel of whirling weaponry... (namely the kitchen utensils the boys are unloading). One afternoon, Trevan suddenly took this defensive dueling stance...

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(with a soup ladle in one hand and a wire whisk in the other, mind you) ...

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and shouted in his most serious and warning voice...

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"BEWARE! For I will battle you with my soup spoon and my whiskers!"

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The other night before bed, Trevan had just gotten out of the shower and was running bare-bottomed down the hall to his bedroom to get his PJ's on...

I whistled to him and called, "Woot-woo! Look at that cute bum! You have your Daddy's cute bum, you know it?"

He turned around, totally disgusted and offended, and said, "NUH -UH! Mine is not so much so hairy!"

(No photo... we'll leave this one to your imagination!)

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One afternoon, Trevan sat at the kitchen counter, staring dejectedly at his PB&J sandwich.

"What's wrong, buddy?", Matt asked.

""I'm NEVER going to get big like you and Greg," he replied.

Note: Greg Schofield is our neighbor (our Alli's big brother) and my boys' ultimate idol...

He is the cool-est big kid they know! He's 17 and my boys adore him!

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Back to the sandwich...

"Sure you are, bud", Matt said. "You just have to keep on eating all your food so your body can keep on growing."

"But Dad!", he objected, "I'll never catch up! I just keep on having to go potty and then it all just leaks out!"

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One Sunday during Sacrament Meeting, Trev was looking thorugh some Gospel pictures and trying to sit reverently. As he came to this picture of the Triumphal Entry, he leaned over to me and asked, "Mom, is Jesus riding on a horse?"

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"No..." I whispered, trying to keep it brief. "He's riding on a Donkey."

He looked at the photo a few seconds longer and then smiled up at me, "Mom, did Jesus save the day?"

My heart melted... I put my arm around him and gave him a little squeeze, "Yes, he most definitely did save the day."

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After a LONG afternoon of running errands, we were finally heading home. As we hurried across the Grocery Store Parking Lot, I noticed T was lagging way behind. I turned around to find a exhausted little boy shuffling, sort of sauntering, trying his best to keep up.

"Hurry, Trev!" I said pointing at the cars that had backed up waiting for him to cross the crosswalk, "Run!"

"But Mom, " he said with sad little eyes welling with tears, "I'm all out of run! I just can't go anymore!"

He's such a big kid these days... sometimes I forget how little he still is! I left the cart full of groceries and Daynen with Kaden, ran back and scooped up my weary little guy, who is getting too big for me to carry, and buckled him in the car. He was asleep before I'd unloaded the cart!

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This is Trevan with his 3 best-est buddies.

Left to right: Danny, Rock (short for Rockwell), Trevan and Hudson.

They were all playing over at our house one afternoon when I overheard the following conversation:

Someone: "No, Batman is the best one"

Another one: "Nuh-uh, Superman, cuz he can fly and see through stuff."

A different one: "But Spiderman can shoot webs"

Trevan: "I think Jesus is the best Super-hero" I stop to listen...

One of the others: "Jesus isn't a super-hero, cuz he's in real life and Super-heroes are just for pretend."

Then Trevan again: "Well, Jesus is just LIKE a super-hero, except with better, real-life super-powers. AND he saves people, too."

Maybe he IS listening in Primary and Family Home Evening! :)

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Love that kid!

Hard at work... or hardly working?

Just thought I'd give you a peek at Matt's "rough day at the Office" on Wednesday...

Yeah... he said it was a little slushy... I felt bad for him... real bad!

That's my Babe in the white pants and bright green boots.  Woot-woo!  What a hottie!  He's a-MAZ-ing! 

He's at the Canyons with our buddy, Johnny-the-Man-Murphy in the brown and gray.  

They are a couple o' shreddas, fo sho!