I get my camera back any day and I now feel like I can blog again. I've been busy and wanted to share but it's just boring without pictures.
A few things to look forward to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
...............................Uhhhhhhh.............................

Ok, well. I guess I haven't been as busy as I thought. Guess I better go find something to do. :o)
Happy Halloween BTW!

Just venting....

I was reading a friend's post with pics of her little one at the dentist...and instead of writing a post on her comments page, I figured I'd just come here and share with all of you Ash's nightmare of an experience. He had been complaining about a tooth hurting so we took him in. He had been in a few months back for a checkup and I knew there were a few "problem" areas. (Yes it took me that long to get him in, just list it under the other terrible parenting things I've done in the past and will do in the future...) So we got him an apt with a dentist. I guess when the dentist people come to the school every year they don't explain what could happen when you go to the dentist because once the dentist laid him back and started shoving tools in his mouth, Ashton freaked!! But held it together...for a minute. He wasn't "introduced" to the tools that would be used. He was told to raise a hand if it started to hurt. He held up the wrong hand and the dentist rudely corrected him.

I'm totally jumping ahead....So I'll back up. We are taken back and the assistant tries to confirm with me that  I wanted silver. NO! I want the white! NO SILVER! I thought I made that clear, and apparently didn't. You'll see why later. The dentist comes in and says he'd need a root canal. UGH! the bottom of my stomach gave way after that. And the feeling of a nonqualified parent instantly replaced that. I will take FULL credit for not being harder on my sugar addicted child about brushing regularly, but that doesn't justify a dentist to get all jerk like on my SON! I assure you now, he brushes twice a day and even encourages his siblings to do likewise. But then who wouldn't after a visit like this.

As we're sitting, I hear the dentist on a patient next to us. An older man, and he is asking him something. The man doesn't respond and the dentist keeps asking, insisting on an answer. Finally the man answers and the dentist then goes off about wanting to know why the man didn't answer. Totally lecturing this poor man. He seriously wouldn't let it go. I felt embarrassed for the man and the way he was being treated.

It was then our turn and the assistant came back in with a box full of silver crowns. (I didn't know that's what they were for, so i didn't question it.) And she drops them, scattering them EVERYWHERE! Mistakes happen so I start to pick them up, she said not to. Ash then got the dreaded shots and was left to get all numb like. It was funny watching him make fish lips and smacking them together and poking his cheeks. Hard!

They come in and instantly shoved a drill, mirror, water, and suction in his mouth. OH and a wedge to keep his mouth open. He freaked a little and started shaking. Mr. Dentist sternly told Ash he "can't do that" and if it hurt, to raise his hand. SO, he raised his hand. But it was the wrong hand. Apparently the dentist didn't like that hand and corrected Ashton's mistake. SO, he raised the other hand. "Does that hurt?" he asked Ash and he shakes his head yes. He continues to drill and asks Ashton if it hurts. And Ashton continues to raise his hand. Dentist man was getting annoyed with how much Ash was raising his hands and even tested it. He would, without touching the tooth, turn the drill on and ask if it hurt. When Ash raised his hand, he and Miss Assistant would laugh. He took the drill out of the mouth and did it again. Ash said yes, then shook it, no. Again, the two nut heads thought that was funny and stuck all those tools in again and started drilling.

Ashton was crying, shaking, and clenching. Totally scared to death! ANYBODY could see that. Unless of course you were the dentist and his assistant. When it came time for putting a crown on, they pulled the silver things out and stuck it in his mouth, DROPPED it, then panicked a little, telling Ashton not to swallow, "don't move", and trying to snatch it out with tweezers. (Ashton has a terrible gag reflex, just like me! And I was waiting for it and everything else from the day to come up.) Finally they sat him up and told him to spit it out. After choking on it, he spat it out and was allowed to take a break. He saw the blood  on his bib and got worried. The doctor did nothing to sooth his worries or explain to him what was going on. Just another shot, and another filling to torture through.

This continued on until he recieved two SILVER filings, leaving behind a tear streaked face, and a stupid cheap toy that broke an hour after we got home. Didn't even get a toothbrush. (Not that he needed one. I just thought that was part of the deal.)

The last thing the dentist said to me was, "he probably needed nitrus, so when you bring him in next make sure you mention that." YA THINK!????
And the last thing the assistang said/asked me, "do you want me to go ahead and schedule apts for the rest of his work"?

Uhhh...."NO, I'll just call you later." (or not.)

I don't know why I didn't stand up for my son and explain to the Dentist that this was his first cavity visit, or tell the Dentist to explain to Ashton what he was doing or putting in his mouth, or insist on the white fillings like I had wanted in the first place, or to talk nicer to my son, or even request a little compassion for Ashton's sake....But I'm still angry now and HOPE I get a "survey call' asking me how my/our visit went. It was such a bad experience but wonder if I was being overly observant/sensitive with it being my child. Although that dentist definitely proved to this child that going to the dentist is a very bad thing. I'm gonna need a saint to rectify this one.

How I made a Lego Batman Cake......

I started with the people. Because of the thickness, the more days they had to dry, the better.

 Robbin

 Joker

 Batman

 Batgirl's head

 Ta-da

 Lemon juice and food coloring

 Painting the windows

 We're going for the "building-looks-on-fire" image....It'll come together later.

 One of my favorites, the gutter!

 My all time favorite...trash bag!

 Gluing a thingys that hold the gutter to the wall.

 Tiny details....or big fingers. (like the color on my fingers from coloring fondant?)

 Trash can

 Trash can lid! Hee hee

 :o)

 Most (not all) the embellishments for the cake.

 Ok, so I was messing around with the royal icing and I had seen this done once (on a much more professional and perfect level) and wanted to try it myself. You drape the frosting from an edge and the let it dry. Then do the next layer and so on. Once it drys, you're good but if bumped it shatters!

 The hard part!

 The yummy part

 Squaring it all up.

 Cheeser. Gotta have proof I DID in fact spend this ridiculous amount of time making the preps.

 I was having to freeze and refreeze this cake. It just kept thawing out too fast! So much so that by the time I got the fondant on it, it started drooping and sagging and looking distorted. BUT...it's Gotham..nothing's perfect in Gotham. Right?

 Rice Crispies weren't a problem at all!

 So I bought this "impression mat" for brick pattern. L.O.V.E IT!!!! Totally made the whole cake!

 When I first cooked the cake and "assembled" it, it was WAY too small, so I rushed to the store for rice crispy stuff. Bottom level is just that, while the top (and soon to be shown second layer) was the cake.

 Angelle came over today to see me mess with fondant and try it out for herself. I totally took advantage of her artist abilities and steady hands and had her paint the cracks! PERFECT-O!

 Loving it even more now! Even the droppiness!

 Close-up of Catwoman and my awesome kicked in trash can!

 Batgirl

 Perfect imperfections!

The End!

Today is the day...I guess.

As soon as I changed Dylan's diaper this morning, he said he needed to "pee in toilet". I never object to that so off he ran. Nothing came out. So I put a diaper on him and he ran off to play. A while later he says he has to pee again and runs to the bathroom, rips his diaper off and I guess he peed because he came running back to tell me. (I was having to cook something) I praise him and he runs off to play....naked. A minute later he yells at me again and runs to the bathroom. At this point I'm figuring he's just playing so I don't give it another thought. He then comes running in yelling excititedly that his poop came out. I ran back to the bathroom, scared to find something unpleasant. Yup...he did, but no unpleasantness. I get him cleaned up and put "underwears" on. I'm not going to stop this one!!!!

Since then he has ran to the bathroom two more times. No accidents. (Fingers crossed!)

Since my camera broke, I feel like I've had nothting to blog about. But I'm going to sit down and bring you up to speed. Without pictures. My camera is in being fixed so I guess that's reason enough to post.

Ashton and his team has done so well with football. Up until this last saturday they had only lost one game. The game on saturday was a battle for the number one team to beat with playoffs. But they lost. Barely! 1:30 left to make a goal. 8 yards from the endzone....but the other team held them back. They boys played really well that day. They now have to continue winning until they face this team for the championships.

My big giant pumpkin is still connected to the vine. I'm not sure that it's growing anymore. But we're going to wait a little longer. Maybe at least until the vine dies. It weighs in at 71lbs. and measure 59in. around. Not huge, but not small either. The second largest pumpkin weighed in at 34lbs. That one is still definitely growing!

With canning and harvesting this year. I bottled: Tomatoes, Dilly beans, Salsa, and Pears. I still am waiting on my grapes to sweeten up to make jelly with. We have dried potatoes and apples. My next canning attempt will be applesauce.

In the last 3 months, Jared has lost 30 lbs. His method was exercise and smaller porportions. When Ash has his football practices (3times a week) Jared would just walk and run around the field for the 2 hours Ash would practice. I'm really proud of him. He also goes out on some nights with the kids and runs. It's fantastic for me, because he wears them out right before bed and makes nighttime routines that much smoother.

The road construction in front of my house is even worse than it was before. (I didn't think that possible) But the road has been since torn up and there's a lot of dirt ALL the time. And cars are now coming (after construction crews go home) and peel out in the dirt. Really bugs me! They are also leveling the lane where they want to extend the freeway lane and it's like THISCLOSE! It's less than 100 meters from my doorstep! With winter months coming up quick, I know that crews will work less, therefore prolonging it all. OR...if i'm lucky. Take 3 months off while a beautiful blanket of white covers up all the ugly.

Kid update: Mykael, I believe, has settled into junior high nicely. Parent teacher conferences showed that as well. Jaden is living up his last year of elementary and "ruling the school". Ashton incorporates football into EVERYTHING. School work, recess, cleaning the house, running with dad, and constantly tries to talk his little brothers into "playing" with him. Eli LOVES preschool. He got into the program they have at the school and his teacher adores him. I have to say his paintings are really cool! Dylan had a hard time adjusting to loosing Eli to school, but quickly got over it when he realized it was just him and I.

I feel like I need to say, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year now! So I'll just end it before I get any more cheesy.

Oh! and my Last Supper cross-stitch...I'm still working on the table cloth! (Once every few months!) So it doesn't look any different from the last picture I posted of it....forever ago. I was hoping to have it done by the same time I started it...November. Not going to happen. I'll just be more realistic and shoot for finishing it within 2 years!