Max's Epiglottis is Back

So weird!! The sad part is he has had it enough times now (3-4) that he can verbalize that he "has epiglottis" when it's stuck up.  He says it feels like something is in his throat and it hurts to swallow. It usually only lasts about 30min-hour but I have yet to get any explanation from a doctor as to what's causing it to happen.   They are all clueless.  This time I actually got pictures to prove it in case we ever need to go back.  

Poor guy.  

Snow in September - What?

We had an early snow storm this week that dumped about 16" of snow.  Thankfully it is supposed to all melt by next week but this is just too early for me.  It should still be Fall.  

At least the boys were excited. 

First Day of School

July 4th

We spent July 4th out at Grandma & Grandpa's house shooting bows, playing baseball and camping out.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day.  

 Max

Roscoe & Jasper

  Max, Carter & Sam

 Owen & Bo

 Bo

 Max

Blog Name Change

I think I should change the name of my blog to

SEALED WITH A KICK

It seems way more telling at this stage in the boys' lives than - This That & Carrot Tops.

The boys can not keep their hands and feet to themselves.  They are constantly touching each other.  At the table, watching TV, riding bikes, going on a walk, playing cards, grocery shopping, riding in the car.  You name it and they've found a way to make it a contact sport.  

 It's not always malicious.  In fact, often times it is pure joyous play.  But regardless of the motive, it always happens and always involves some combination of a kick, elbow jab, blind push from behind, sucker punch to the gut, wrestle take down, or one of my least favorites, a ball grab (Sam) or an uninvited punch to the junk (Max).

Yep, you heard me right. A walk-by, full on, punch to the baby maker.  And unfortunately this is actually Max's preferred method of greeting  Bo and Wes'  friends.  Don't get me wrong, he gets in serious trouble for this type of behavior but when an alpha dog needs to be heard, he barks right on through that bark collar.  

However, my half full glass of optimism and I are just thankful he doesn't walk up to them and hump them from behind.  That might require a little more than just a new blog name.

So . . .to the obviously kid-less barista at Starbucks who looked at me like I'd lost my marbles when I ordered a "16 ounce cup of patience" last week . . .  Just wait.  Karma is a bitch.  You are going to have girls.

Maxism

The cutest way I have ever heard anyone say they need a haircut:

Max:  "Mom, My hair is too big for my head."

Hand, Foot & Mouth - The Never Ending Virus

Unfortunately we brought home a nasty souvenir from California. We got home late late Thursday night and by Friday morning Max was running a temp and complaining of a sore throat.  He had white blisters on his tonsils and felt miserable.  Saturday afternoon he broke out it red sores all over his hands, forearms, feet, legs and mouth.  He looked awful.  The next day Sam started feeling really tired and slept all afternoon.  By Monday he also had fever and polka dots.  He hasn't had nearly as many as Max, but his are way more painful.  He has been a whiny mess.  Socks, blankets, dogs . . . anything that touches his sores makes him scream like he's dying.  And holy hell, when he stepped on a lego, I thought the house was going to come down.

As you can tell, it's been a great few days and to top it all off, Bo started running fever last night.  Yay.  It's going to be a fun rest of the week.

Update . . .Bo's fever also turned into hand, foot and mouth.  His sores were the fewest in number but he missed almost a week of school just like his brothers.

2nd update . . . Sam & Max developed some other whart like flesh colored bumps on their stomachs. After weeks and weeks of them not going away, and Max;s beginning to spread onto his upper thigh, I finally took them to the doctor and they got diagnosed with Molluscusm.  Apparently it is in the same family as hand, foot and mouth.  Sam's sores eventually turned red and sore.  It is now June 24th and they are finally starting to go away.

3rd update . . . It is now the end of June and all of the boys are starting to lose their nails - fingernails and toe nails.  They are separating from the cuticle at the base of the nail, turning white and just dying and falling off.  The boys keep picking them off because they aren't even attached anymore.  It's really quite disturbing.  I thought maybe they were all vitamin or mineral deficient in something but after a little research I found that this is another side effect of really bad cases of HF&M. It is called nail shedding and it is really not cool.

California - Universal Studios

Universal Studios was awesome.  The Transformers ride was AMAZING!!!  A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!  It was by far all of our favorite ride the entire trip.  I still can't get over how cool the special effects were.  I wish I had more pictures but this is all I have.  The rides are all inside so you can't see them.  The park is basically just a bunch of big buildings which are not exciting to take pictures of.  However, once you enter the ride - pure 3D & 4D epicness.  

 

California - Knotts Berry Farm

I am so glad we did Lego Land before Knotts Berry.  The biggest roller coaster at Lego Land was the small one at Knotts Berry.  Had we done the parks in reverse, I think the boys would have been way more hesitant to attack the big rides. but instead, they were already warmed up and primed to hit every ride they could.  Size or thrill factor did not scare them.  Grandpa and I on the other hand, were not as adventurous.  

The first ride of the day was a roller coaster that had individually spinning cars.  The cars twisted and spun as the roller coaster sped along the tracks.  

The park was basically deserted so we never had to wait in any lines.  Wes took advantage of this by riding on all the insane rides too.  Nobody would go with him but he had a blast.  This one shot him out of the gate from zero to mach gazillion in seconds. His summed it up with, "that was intense."
 

Bo and Sam rode on their first loopy loop roller coaster.  I love that they are fearless.  Max was too short to ride this one but he would have if he was allowed.  He is fearless too.

Bo was the only one tall enough to ride this vertical drop.  It takes you to the top and free falls you to the bottom.  No thank you.

California - Lego Land

It has always been Grandma's dream to take the boys to Disney.  After lots of research we all decided to skip Disney this time but to go to Lego Land, Knotts Berry Farm, and Universal Studios. I think we made the right decision.  We all had a blast.  

Marcia rented us all a house in Carlsbad with a pool.  This was our home base for 5 days.  We did Lego Land on Thursday & Friday, explored La Jolla and the coastal highway on Saturday, spent Sunday at the beach, and then hit the Lego Land water park on Monday.  

 Lego Land Sea Life Center = Lame!!

 Sea Lions in La Jolla