Can anyone tell me?

When did my children grow up?

Summer

This summer was bittersweet. It was the first summer my kids have ever had a normal visitation with their Dad. So for two, two week periods this summer I have been wandering around the house aimlessly. Not really, school, work, and summer sewer projects always call to me. I traveled when I could, to ignore the gaping hole in my heart that is filled perfectly by Ashalee, Andrew and Adam. So, I did get to go to Florida, Asheville NC and Olympia WA. The scenery was awesome, but even better than the scenery were true friends who regardless of my neurosis (like tubing down death defying rapids, or worrying I won't make it hiking),still consider me a friend. Hopefully a life long friend. These are some of the most amazing women, and I consider it a privilege to call them friends.

Do I need any more reasons?

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=7369522&cat=105&lpid=14 (copy and paste into browser)
The divorce rate is rising exponentially. It's not like people need anymore incentive to divorce, but here is one more reason to NOT marry. My favorite part of this listing is the misspelling of excessively right after drinks hmmmm. Just thought I would be helpful. You know, doing my part to help prevent unnecessary pain by preaching abstinence from marriage. If the website doesn't work on your browser this is what the ad reads, listed under pets.


Husband Needs Good Home
provo, UT 84655 - Jul 31, 2009
My Husband needs a good home..
not housebroken.. Barks all the time.
Stays outside most the time. Drinks Exsessivly
Eats 22 hours of the day
if you can give him a good home please email me thanks

Friends

There are times in our lives where we see who our real friends are and set free those who are simply posing as friends, when in reality they are the furthest thing from a true friend. Thank you to all my friends who choose to love. You are amazing gifts.

South Dakota Crazy Hinton Reunion

I love my family even though they drive me crazy at times. I wonder if anyone else feels this way? They know your most vulnerable spots and sometimes use it to their advantage. Some have bathed with you, played with you, been disciplined with you and cried with you. None of us is close to perfect and I wouldn't want it any other way because many times it's our imperfections that bring us closer. Congratulations Hinton family we survived another reunion still loving each other regardless of our weaknesses, political opinions, bald spots, love handles and flatulence. That is no small feat! I love you ALL!

It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt!

Not all of my children go to their Dad's house every other weekend. Two of them stay home with me. But when their siblings are gone and there is no one to play with but boring old me they get antsy and start harassing each other. It is a known fact that when the regular routine becomes off balance children who normally behave, start acting out. These innocent looking children of mine.....



decide to drive each other, and in turn, drive me crazy. It usually starts out with the oldest most mature, namely Bella taking a quick cheap shot at Bombo. Look closely she is quick. What you don't see in this picture is the aftermath. Bella's paw strikes Bombo soundly on the nose, numerous times. And before her calculated assault he was just minding his own business trying to take a nap.

Bombo's response is one of shock initially. He tries to gain composure and moves over to the other side of the bed to finish his nap. Bella strikes again by biting repeatedly at Bombo's whisker's. This time Bombo lets out a half hearted(in human speak)very whiny protest "STOP!" as you can see in this next picture.
He then turns his head to me as to say, "are you going to do anything about her behavior!"




Bombo the much younger sibling finally snapped and decided to take matters into his own hands pinning his older but much smaller sister to the bed with only his mouth as Bella protests loudly. This reminds me of a time when I realized that I could no longer harass my younger brother because he could take me down faster than a speeding bullet, flat on my back. Live and learn Bella, live and learn. Like they say it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt.



After this fiasco Bombo and Bella were sent into time out to think about what they had done and to come up with five ways they could have handled this situation differently. I never received answers from either of them they spent most of their time sulking, as noted in the pictures below.






While in time out I did catch Bombo making faces at Bella, as shown below, so I added an extra five minutes to his confinement. I'll have to talk to him about that later.





For those of you who may think it must be enjoyable for me to have no disciplining, no fighting, no noise, every other weekend. Just remember my other two children. As angelic as they may look....







don't be fooled because the cycle of sibling abuse is about to start again; right in the middle of a nap. It's a rough life, I tell ya!








No animals were harmed (seriously) during this post.

One more reason I love this guy

Adam recently had a retainer put on his top teeth preparing him for braces. (I am taking donations for my ever increasing orthodontists bills:) While having the retainer fitted the dentist decided to pull one of his last remaining front baby teeth out so the retainer would work more effectively. On the way home from this very traumatic experience for Adam he hinted that maybe the tooth fairy should give him double the money, at least FIVE DOLLARS for how brave he had been . My sharpened, very perceptive Mothering Decoding Messages Skill (or MCDS) heard this. "Mom, I have been saving up my money for a new mp3 player and if you pay me at least FIVE DOLLARS I will have reached my goal and be able to jam out on my new mp3 player." I reminded him of the fact that he hasn't believed in the tooth fairy for years but that I think he did a very good job at not biting the dentist this time. I told him I would think about it and then dropped him off at school to finish the day and show off his new mouthful of hardware. Adam came in the house after school very upset and trying not to cry. I asked him if he was OK and he explained to me through his tears that he had left his newly pulled tooth on his lunch tray because he wanted to show it to the lunch lady (apparently him and the lunch lady are pretty tight?). Because he was so hungry he set it on his tray and in his haste to get out to recess to "protect the girls from bullies" he let the poor lonely tooth be dumped into the abyss of unwanted potatoes, gravy and frozen carrots. And because of the good mother that I am I tried my best to console him then sent him outside to play because maybe that would cheer him up. I just barely reached my room when I couldn't control my gut instinct to laugh, no actually it was more like a guffaw. It was the funniest story I had heard all day! (I know, not to empathetic.) Fast forward to bed time. Adam, my very sensitive and emotional fifth grader comes to me again with tears in his eyes wondering what he should do about the tooth fairy dilemma. He had no proof "except for a big hole in his head" and he doesn't think that will be enough to get his FIVE DOLLARS. I came up with an ingenious plan. I told him that the tooth fairy may consider giving him the money if he could write up a short proposal about what happened and why he thinks he should get the money. Maybe even a signed and notarized affidavit from the lunch lady and his best friend Aaron saying they did indeed see the tooth. He seemed less than excited because writing is not his strongest subject math is. With that we all went to bed. Morning time rolls around much to soon in our house and Ashalee has to be out the door by seven to make it to Tuachan. As I am sleeping I here a big bang coming from the stairs and Ashalee moaning. She slowly creeps into my room to tell me she was coming up the stairs and slipped on a piece of paper. She handed it to me and this is what I read.


For those of you that are having a hard time reading it this is what it said exactly the way he wrote it.

Dear Tooth Fairy,
I hope you get this note, because some thing happend to my tooth. OK I'll tell you the story, I wanted to show the lunch lady my tooth so I forgot to tak it off my lunch tray (when I was done) so it kinda ended up in the trash.
Your guy,
Adam Johnson

P.S. Can I have some mony with that?

That wasn't exactly what the tooth fairy was looking for but she couldn't resist. He clenched it when I read "your guy". I wrapped up three dollars worth of quarters(from my Vegas days:) in the note and wrote on it "thanks for clearing that up for me. The books are balanced again. Love, the tooth fairy" Then I put it in his retainer container. Things are now back to normal the drama has subsided for now. But I have to get one thing off my chest. Adam totally could have received his five dollars but apparently we really need to work on spelling and grammar this summer. Also, I had to knock one dollar off without the signed notarized affidavits, they were essential components to his case. He did earn three dollars for shear cuteness. One more reason I love my guy.