Taj and Isabel had free tickets to Six Flags Over Texas for reading during the school year. Sei scored free tickets from work. We decided while the older boys were at scout camp that we’d brave the heat and the crowds and go to Six Flags. Livie stayed with a friend 1/2 the day and my brother and SIL for the evening. Thanks again Cheryl, Woogs and Lissette!!!

Y’all- SIX FLAGS ROCKED! It rained all Monday nite and was still raining Tuesday morning. I checked the weather radar and the rain was moving away from Six Flags. We decided to hope for the best. We got there and the parking lot was empty compared to how it usually is. We didn’t even have to take the tram from our car to the gate.  There were NO LINES at all. For example, Isabel and I road Batman: The Ride which is one of the newest, fastest, coolest roller coasters there, TWICE in a row without waiting. We rode, got off, ran back around and got back on. Usually you would wait an hour or more just to get on. We rode most of the roller coasters at least twice. And Taj was awesome! This was his 1st time and he was barely tall enough to ride everything. But boy did he RIDE!! We road coaster after coaster after coaster. Even Shock Wave and Flashback which have loops that take you upside down. It was rad.

I’ve been going to Six Flags since I was little and I can’t ever remember such a small crowd and so little heat. It was cloudy for most of the day, but didn’t rain again until 9pm- when we were walking to our car. And by “rain” I mean POURED. We were drenched, soaked to the core, by the time we got to our car. But wow- it was so great!!

Oh- and Tony Romo was there too. He came up to Judge Roy Scream (awesome coaster) and got on right after us. I text my dad and he said, “Tell him to keep his arm in the car.” LOL Taj was cute. He yelled, “Hey Tony!!!” as the coaster cruised by.

Anyway, it was a really fun, great day. We weren’t grumpy, hot and tired when it was done. We were happy and talking about all the awesome rides we rode. We rode probably 20 rides and 1/2 of those twice. Awesome.

How has your summer been so far?

I haven’t posted in quite a while! It’s been a fun, busy summer so far. We’ve gone to the pool at least 4 times a week. Taj and Liv have gone to 2 different Vacation Bible Schools. I’ve been couponing. The older kids have been at the ex’s for 2 weeks.  I’ve been playing basketball twice a week.  Sei’s been working. And working some more.

Tristan, Alec and Isabel come home today. They will be home for a week and then go back to the ex’s for a week. Then come home for 2 weeks, then go back for 2 weeks… It sucks. And what sucks more is that they come home tonite, but Tristan and Alec leave for Boy Scout camp early in the morning. Thankfully we’re picking them up early on Thursday because Sei’s cousin is getting married in Oklahoma. So, at least I’ll get to see the boys for 3 days before they leave again… And it is better than them being gone 6 weeks in a row. They are only gone 5 total. Taj and Liv hate it though. Kelsea and Karlea won’t be coming this summer. That’s a long story… Can I just say that some people are the most selfish, miserable, sorry excuse for a human being? Misery really does love company. Well Misery, we aren’t hangin’ with you anymore.

Indy the dog is doing good, but she’s a punk. She’s mellow for the most part, but for some reason likes to eat my leg. Hard. I have 3 bruises from her biting me this week. BIG bruises that hurt. We’re working on that… And for some reason it’s only me she likes to eat. Boo! I have news for you Indy, if it wasn’t for me you would starve in a yard full of poop. Just sayin’…. She also ate 2 of my shoes, 1 of Liv’s and 1 of Taj’s. We took Livie to get new church shoes since she only had one left. It was so funny watching her try on shoes. She’d put them on, spin on one foot, and then tell me if they were “good s’finners.” (spinners)  She tried one on and said, “No, this isn’t good. It doesn’t s’fin.” She’s so entertaining. She’s also a pretty good swimmer now! And Taj is a fish. It’s nice to have all my kids potty trained and swimming!  

We had Father’s Day early for Sei since he had to work and the older kids would not be home either. He got a George Foreman grill, some goggles (lol!) and a massager thingy that goes in his carseat. The kids also all picked their own card to give him and wrote him really sweet things. He’s a lucky guy!

Oh! I forgot. I have lost OVER 20 pounds in 33 days. Yes- in 33 days. I’m on hcg drops and it’s been awesome. I fit in all my shorts. I bought a new swim suit. I feel healthy. I have energy. I am stoked. And Sei says I’m hot. You can read more about my hcg journey at: www.mattressbutt.blogspot.com . It’s truly been a lifesaver and I am DETERMINED to keep it off!!! I am exercising and I have learned to eat better. I can do this!!

We go on vacation to Utah soon. I am stoked to see Sei’s family and to see old friends!!! I miss Utah. A lot. I haven’t found my place here like I felt like I had there. I think we’re just now getting a chance to catch our breath here after all the court crap, so hopefully things will get better and this will seem like “home” again.

We spend a lot of time at the pool. If Sei is off during the day, he takes the kids. If he’s working, I take them after the kids I babysit are gone. Livie LOVES the water. She has no fear. Taj was the same way. He was full blown swimming with no floaties or help last summer when he was 4. Well, Livie is very independent and competitive so she’s been swimming sans floaties this month- at age 3. Impressive? Yes. Scary? Yes. Now she wants to go to the pool without her floaties. Yeah… that’s not gonna happen. Not this summer. I still get nervous with Taj because he loves to swim underwater picking up dive sticks, but everytime he disappears to find them I get nervous because I can’t see him. It’s kinda funny because I want my kids to know how to swim, but makes me nervous once they know how. Am I weird? Yeah, don’t answer that.

I don’t know about y’all, but I LOVE the summer. I LOVE the heat. Right now Uprinting is wanting to find the best summer photo out there. They are offering $250 in prize money and (yes, there’s more!!) a free 16×20″ Gallery Wrapped Canvas Print!

I love Uprinting. They are a sponsor of this blog and of my Eazy Mealz blog. They are also the company that provided my awesome 16 x 20 print of Seiuli that I won a while back. It’s perfect!  UPrinting.com is a leading online provider of business cards, color brochures and mailing postcards.

This pic is one of my absolute favorite. We took it last summer. We’re going to be taking more awesome pics on our vacation in July, but this one…. Wow, I love my kiddos… all 7 of them.

This weekend we hung out a lot as a family. Taj wanted to see some ducks and feed them. We went in search of ducks at a local park. Unfortunately the ducks were no longer hangin out at their usual hot spot. So we improvised and fed the birds. I have this cool new Vado from Newbaby.com that I love to use. So, here I was, the innocent mamarazzi trying to film her sweet kiddos when we had a little… “Boys will be boys” incident…

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Y’all gon’a make me lose my mind up in HERE, up in here
Y’all gon’ make me go all out up in here, up in here
Y’all gon’ make me act a FOOL up in HERE, up in here
Y’all gon’ make me lose my cool up in here, up in here

(DMX – Party Up)

Let me preface this post by saying – I love Taj and Liv. I do. They are awesome and I am so thankful to have them. The summer Tristan, Alec and Isabel went to Texas and I was pregnant with Taj was the worst summer ever. I didn’t know what to do. I was bored to tears, lonely, and fat. I am so thankful I have Tajy and Livie & I don’t ever have to send them away to anyone for visitation. They’re awesome. But holy crap- I had forgotten what it’s like to have 2 small children- and no older ones. I’m so used to having and 3 year old and 17 month old at home during the day. But at 3pm I kinda get a break because the older kids come home from school. I take Izzy to gymnastics and can run to the grocery store without taking the little ones with me. There’s other kids home to take Taj outside to ride his bike, jump on the trampoline, play Transformers, etc…

The last 5 weeks with the older ones are gone…ugh. There is no 3pm break time. Whaa. I am so glad I only have 6 days until my kiddos come home. I am so bored. Sooooooooooo bored. And not motivated to do anything. (Except blog, but that’s important!) I don’t wanna cook dinner. I don’t wanna clean the house. I don’t wanna go outside- even with our new beautiful yard. I just wanna stay inside, drink diet Dr. Pepper, and sit on my butt. Could I be a little depressed? Quite possibly…
I’ve tried to be proactive and force myself out of the house. I signed Taj up for swim lessons and he absolutely loves it. Livie and I are taking a Mom & Me class. Holy Gay!! I feel so stupid singing “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” as we walk along the pool wall. And Livie senses the gayness because she screams the entire time. Not because she’s scared of the water, but because she wants me to put her down. Since we’re in 3 feet water I can’t put her down. We’ve left “class” everyday early to play in the shallow water. She’s in heaven. But then she goes psycho when it’s time to leave. So, yeah, that’s always fun.
The kids come back next Thursday. They fly in a little after noon and then Kelsea and Karlea arrive about 3 hours later. So, we’ll go from 2 to 7 kids. And I am SO LOOKING FORWARD TO IT! Am I crazy? Maybe. I’m realizing that I’m just a lame little kid mom now. With the 1st three I didn’t know how awesome it could be to have older kids, so I rocked at being a little kid mom. We went to the library. We played at McDonalds. I made felt books! (When you read that say it like Lloyd on Dumb and Dumber “Our pets heads are fallin’ off!!) Yeah, well, I don’t know what happened to that mom. She got old I guess. Or figured out you could just buy felt books. You don’t have to make them…

With school letting out and hot weather coming (or in some cases it’s already here!!) I want to take this time to share some statistics with you. I’m not trying to depress or scare anyone, just to raise awareness.

~ In 2000, there were 3,482 unintentional drownings in the United States, an average of nine people per day.(U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

~ It is estimated that for each drowning death, there are 1 to 4 nonfatal submersions serious enough to result in hospitalization. Children who still require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the time they arrive at the emergency department have a poor prognosis, with at least half of survivors suffering significant neurologic impairment. (American Academy of Pediatrics)

~ Drowning is the second-leading cause of injury-related death among children under the age of 15. (U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

~ 19% of drowning deaths involving children occur in public pools with certified lifeguards present.(Drowning Prevention Foundation)

~ A swimming pool is 14 times more likely than a motor vehicle to be involved in the death of a child age 4 and under. (Orange County California Fire Authority)

~ Children under five and adolescents between the ages of 15-24 have the highest drowning rates. (U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

~ An estimated 5,000 children ages 14 and under are hospitalized due to unintentional drowning-related incidents each year; 15 percent die in the hospital and as many as 20 percent suffer severe, permanent neurological disability. (National Safety Council)

~ Of all preschoolers who drown, 70 percent are in the care of one or both parents at the time of the drowning and 75 percent are missing from sight for five minutes or less. (Orange County, CA, Fire Authority)

~ The majority of children who survive (92 percent) are discovered within two minutes following submersion,and most children who die (86 percent) are found after10 minutes. Nearly all who require cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) die or are left with severe braininjury. (National Safe Kids Campaign)

I have signed Taj up for swimming lessons and recently purchased a video thru a friend that demonstrates how to teach young children to swim. I want to do all I can to prevent a tragic accident. We all have different people that read our blogs. Let’s get the word out and keep our babies safe.