Mom wins!

Me to child: "You know how I feel about that but if you want to keep running your mouth we can see how that'll work out for you." Thursday can only get better!

Cheerleader Dad

Comic relief one night.  Man, the family had so much fun and such a good laugh.  My belly was on FIRE we laughed so hard!

Homeschool Day 1

Day 1 of homeschool - Coach Gautreaux claps hands to wake up sleeping 9th grader barking orders to get up and get ready for PE. This is gonna be a BLAST!

Allergic Reaction

Cameron woke up Saturday with one of his lymph nodes about the size of the golf ball bulging out of his neck. He couldn't talk, turn his head, or move. It appeared to be an allergic reaction but he hasn't yet had anything to eat or drink and he wasn't itching and didn't have a rash anywhere. Another part of me wondered if it wasn't a terrible case of strep. So Jason and I took him to the ER totally prepared to stay awhile with the flu epidemic. But we were the only ones there and were taken right back. They weren't too convinced it was an allergic reaction but treated him for it anyway with Benadryl, Pepcid, and Prednisone. Within in minutes we literally watched the swelling decrease to nothing, he was moving and talking, and felt so much better. We have no idea what it was but are prepared with our epipen in car it happens again.

This is how Jason occupied his time in the ER. It kept Cameron and I entertained for sure :)  In case the volume is hard to tell, he is teaching us how to protect ourselves from hospital intruders.



and another....

Happy 8th Birthday, Colton

This day 8 years ago, I had just given birth to my youngest baby. My first contraction at 17 weeks, lots of bedrest, and so much support from family and friends, we carried him to 36 weeks. Born at 6lbs 3oz with red hair and refusing to follow the first rule of life... to breath. He is the same today as he was then - follows the beat to his own drum, says and does anything that comes to mind (good or bad), and makes his own rules. LOVE this kid!! Looking back at his pictures today has brought tears to my eyes. He was such a hard child to raise and still his sometimes, but his beautiful eyes and extravagant personality shine so much brighter than the trials. I can't wait to see the path God leads him on!

The Toy-Box that Talked

If my kids' toy-boxes talked, they'd surely request to not be a trashcan or dump.  They'd ask that the only thing they store for little Gautreaux children would be toys and nothing but toys.  The toy-box would request that things inappropriate not be hidden inside or shoved into crevices between toys.  They'd give this following list of things that are NOT acceptable for toy-box storage.

• the two missing wheels to your toy-box (check that picture above)
• socks without a match
• trash
• kids meal toys
• random wheels that don't seem to belong on any car owned by the child
• food or candy
• food or candy wrappers
• dress-up clothes, because those go in a special place for better protection
• loose limbs to Barbies or action figures
• loose heads to Barbies or action figures
• books
• broken sunglasses
• old cell phones
• shoes
• crayons
• toothbrushes
• panties and underwear
• game pieces
• schoolwork or craft projects
• Mom and Dad's keys
• anything liquid, especially nail polish
• tangled jewelry
• wadded up duct tape (this could be an entirely different blog topic)
• DVDs
• electronics, including iPods

The toy-box is something to be cleaned when your child is not around.  I read the above list to my children and they admitted to the above items.  They even justified some these items for very important needs!  I admit, the toy-box is one thing I will not miss when my last child outgrows his toys.