No Guilt Here!

I tried before, but couldn't go through with it! I felt too bad for the kids. It's not right to make a bond, and then just rip it apart. That's what I thought about giving our little Maltese away. When we got her, she was pretty good, but just like with my children, we transformed this dog into not such a good one. She was peeing all over the rug, barking every time the door rang, jumping on everyone that came to the door, and licking my legs constantly. I was reaching my limit. About a month ago, my niece was going to take Lexi home with her, but the boys were so sad about it, it broke my heart. So, I backed out, and I felt really bad for my niece Ashlee, but I felt like a horrible Mother taking their pet away from them. Anyways, after washing the rug for the millionth time, I begged for Scott to find a new house for her. A lady from his work really wanted her. So, last night, without telling the boys, Scott took Lexi and gave her to this lady. My children went through the rest of the night, this morning, and now this afternoon without even notice Lexi is gone. They don't even realize that we no longer have this pet anymore, and it's not like she was low profile. Like I said, she ran up to everyone that walked in....the kids had to change her pee pads, pick up her poop, fill her dish with food, etc. So, needless to say, I am feeling no guilt for getting rid of her! Scott and I are going to see how long it takes for these boys to even notice. It really cracks me up that I actually was feeling bad for these people! I guess I'm not the only one that does not love dogs.

I also don't feel guilty about dropping my precious children off at school today, and heading for the beach. It was perfect! I actually got a little burnt, and it's kind of nice to have a little more sun on my fading skin. It was really nice going with only 1 of the 5 boys. Don't get me wrong, I love going to the beach with my kids, but I got to park for free, carry one chair and light bag, and keep an eye on KC. There were no fights to break up....very peaceful. I went with some friends from the ward. I told Pam, aka "The Kid Whisperer" that it would be nice for her since Charlie wouldn't be all over her.....this is what Pam gets when she goes to the beach with us.....

Unfortunately, for Pam, it seems that KC has the same affection for her that Charlie does, and was on her for the most part of the day.....sorry Pam! Anyways, it was a fun day, and really nice! We will definitely have to do it again.

I understand that I am not the most normal Mom in the world.....let alone normal person in the world. Anyways, if you know me, you know I love my food, and have a fear of not having a food accessible when I am craving it. So, I keep a lot of yummy snacks on hand. I would think that my kids would appreciate it, and I think they do, but they actually crave healthy food, which is great, just kind of foreign to me. Here are a couple of examples.....when I take the kids to the beach, my staples are licorice, chips, and oreos. My poor children beg everyone for their grapes, apples, melons, etc. Charlie was heard saying, "Mom, why do you always bring junk, we need healthy food!" So, when they started school, I always put at least one serving of fruit in it. For some reason I didn't have any fresh fruit on hand and ended up giving them all processed stuff. Charlie told me that day that he traded his chips for some kid's apple......how pathetic am I! I know, loser Mom. So, I learned my lesson!

Goodbye Summer

I had it all planned out. Get all of the school preparations out of the way so we could get as much beach time/fun time as possible before school had to start. School started on a Wednesday this year, so we were going to take the boat out Monday, and say our goodbyes to the beach on Tuesday. Things sometimes don't work out as planned. The Thursday before, we went to the beach (of course). When we got home, I found out that my sweet Grandma had passed. I knew Grandma (Grammy as I called her) was not doing well, and was suffering greatly from Parkinson's. She had a calm passing, as my grandfather was putting her in bed for a nap, she gently laid her head back and took her last breath. I did not think I would be as sad as I have been. Sad, just because I miss her. I don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings, but she is the best Grandma EVER, and I am not sure what I did so great to be rewarded with her! I can not recall one time I heard her raise her voice (a trait I did not get from her). I remember when I was little and would get in trouble by my mom, I would cry for my grandma. I know my grammy has always loved me, she showed me constantly, and I could feel it all the time. Here are some of my fun memories with my sweet grammy.You can tell by this next picture that she didn't love the style I gave her, but I remember being so proud of it, and she acted like it was great!Here is a copy of a paper I had to write in Middle School. I think the topic was "Who Do You Admire?" My paper was about my grandma.Here is a picture of her doing my Jane Fonda workout video with me....
Grandma loved to play the piano, and one of my favorite things to do with her was to sing while she played.....one of my most favorite memories......
I had no idea that this picture was taken, or that she had done this. I was probably about 15 or so, and there she is "loving me"....typical....So, instead of going to the lake and beach, we packed the car and headed to Orem, Utah. I was grateful that Scott could take the time off of work and take us. Grandma's funeral was very nice, and you could tell that she made friends easily. Here is a picture before the funeral with one of Grandma's paintings (another talent I did not receive from her), some of her pictures, and a huge bowl of cinnamon bears, her favorite...... The next picture is of my mom, her brother, some guy (I have no idea who he is) and two of my Grandma's sisters......Grandma looks an awful lot like both of them, so when I saw them at the funeral, it was like seeing my grandma, they are beautiful women with gorgeous skin (hoping I get that!)
The song that I have on my playlist right now is a song that my grandma listened to over and over again on the busride she took to marry my grandfather (he was in the military during the war, and she had to travel to him) . It is called "Sentimental Journey", and I got to play it on the piano as they took her casket out of the chapel. Even though I had not visited Grandma for a while, I miss her everyday, and can't wait until we hug again.


I forgot to mention that Grandma is 1 of 11 children, many of her siblings have already left this earth, and I know their reunion was very sweet!

My Brown Eyed Boy

5 years since this little boy has been here. He has been so excited about his birthday. Earlier this week, we went to the beach, and had his 'beach birthday' celebration. Grandma brought slurpees (frozen kool-aid), and 2 big cookies for his big day. I brought a box of Airheads, which is a treat, because they love them and I don't get them very often. So, we handed out Airheads to any kid that wanted them, all they had to do was say happy birthday to Charlie. Charlie's favorite part every year is when they sing Happy Birthday to him. It was especially special for him when they sang "happy birthday cha-cha-cha-charlie" He was in heavenCharlie was so happy. Here is a picture of him and brother and cousing eating the cherished icees......

Now the next ones aren't much of a surprise...it is something we have expected would happen eventually.......

By the looks of this picture, it seems that Curtis is about to get cuffed by the Sheriff! Then it looks like George is blaming it on Ashlee.....

Luckily, none of the Cuillards were arrested. Some teenagers were busted with alcohol. So, of course, George walked to them and yelled "busted"! Isn't he sweet?

So, I have discovered 5 is too old to take the kid with you to pick out his presents, and buy them without him knowing. He caught me getting everything. I was too lazy to come back to the store and get it later. Anyways, everytime he opened a present, he said, "You said you put this back! You didn't"

He is a typical 5 year old boy....goofball!!Earlier this week I asked Charlie what he wanted for his birthday meals. He said "ice cream for breakfast, McDonalds for lunch, and Pizzatopia for dinner" SOOOO,

KC was the first one to get to the ice cream It's too bad Charlie wasn't having any fun :(
His day was complete with his dinner at Pizzatopia! He made cupcakes with me, and said that was one of his most favorite parts of the day. I love 5 year olds! Charlie is a unique child. He never, ever stops talking. I am afraid he might not hear well, because he does not know how to speak in a normal voice. He screams everything. He is very straighforward and tells it as it is. Charlie adds a lot of action in our house. I love my little Charlie Brown Eyes!

Getting Desperate

I love summer, I love not having to rush from place to place, I love the warm weather, I love vacations, etc., etc.......BUT I could really do without the non-stop fighting. It is out of control. I feel that I have been a complete failure as a mother. I don't mean to be such a complainer, but it has NEVER been this bad. I feel that I am constantly yelling at one kid or another. My 17 year old niece, Ashlee, is staying with us, and I am convinced that after staying with us she will be going home really appreciating her own family! Poor girl, I don't know how she can deal with us! Anyways, the part that is overwhelming is the tattling. The kids tattle when someone does something not to them, but to another kid. So, someone gave me the idea that everytime they are about to tattle, instead of telling me, to write it down. This morning I woke up to it....the yelling, the teasing, the chasing, the broken glass! I had had it. We went to the store and bought what we call "tattle journals". Our first day has not been exactly successful. Poor Charlie, who is one of the worst tattlers can't write yet. Luckily, Ashlee was his scribe and helped him out. George would freak out anytime anyone wrote anything about him. It was just one of those days....again! I admit it, I threw a tantrum and FREAKED out. Not a proud moment, but it is a quick fix for when I am at my whits end.....I think it scares the kids a little bit. At least it got Curtis to ask what he could do to help me out. Luckily I had to teach a Turbo Kick class and then train a client. It gave me time to recover a bit. I finally got home around 8:30. I announce to Scott that I needed to take a short break as a mother, and he got to do kid duty tonight! After showering and eating, I finally sat down. The boys brought me their journals. I've always had a good idea of how these kids treat one another, but now I have written proof. George is not the easiest sibling to get along with, but I don't blame him when his two older brothers gang up on him. They are mean! So, I started reading their "tattle journals". Curtis's consisted mostly of George doing things to Charlie....only one thing George did to him. James's was the exact same. So, the rule is, you only write about offenses against you! The best was when I opened George's journal and it started with, "James is writing lies about me in his journal" . Poor George. I'm discovering that George is a very smart kid. I am also finding out that George freaks out a lot due to his older brothers's torture tactics. I don't know how great these "tattle journals" will be, but it at least gave me a good laugh at the end of a stressful day!

It's Almost Over!

I feel like we are on a short break from school rather than summer break! Tomorrow is the day I dread every summer.....the first official day of football practice. Now, every Monday through Friday I have to get James to practice by 5:30. 5:30 is my favorite time of the day at the beach, and it is going to kill me to have to leave early. Oh well, if these are the problems I have, I will glady accept them. July is one of the best months ever, and it has come and gone super quick this year. I love, love, love the 4th of July. Usually because it is hot, you eat good bbq, and then we spend the night with good friends and family and watch the fireworks.

Steve, Melissa and family, Robbie, Jimmy and Liz

I love the beach, and have had some great beach days this last month......

Charlie was really upset that he got his head shoved in the sand, and then I told him he looked like "Two Face" from Dark Knight, and then he was stoked!I think all of my kids are in this picture, and 2 of them are hiding from the camera. I am not sure who some of the other kids are, but the kids have a blast hanging out with everyone!

On July 8th, my brother and his wife had their first child. A little girl named, Davie Malone Helfman. She sounds like an Irish little thing, but she is a Jewish/Mormon. Should be an interesting combo.

I've never claimed to be normal. This next picture cracks me up. This is genetic proof that I had no hope! My niece, Hanna, and I were taking self portraits.......I'm a bit self centered, so I didn't even notice my mother, who is masked in the background. She looks like a crazy lady with her mask and sunglasses....almost Michael Jacksoness! Then, I noticed my dad right inbetween mine and Hanna's heads. He is such a dork......now I know where my kids (and I) get it from!

We were lucky to get away for a week and take the boat up to Lake Havasu. It turns out they were having a "heat wave". It was 120 almost every day.

It was so relaxing to just float around in the lake. The boys were super impressed by my floating skills. They have no body fat, so they sunk like rocks.....I on the other had, can float forever! Now that is talent :)

Everytime I would try to get some quiet time, they would swarm around me. I actually appreciated that they wanted to be with me!

Aren't these next ones sweet?

By the looks of it, you would never tell that they were fighting NONSTOP!!!

George got up on the wakeboard!

Curtis and James love to fly across the wake

This same day, I started throwing up at about 5 pm, and didn't stop until 1 am. James and Scott were the only ones that did not get hit by this horrible, violent, stomach flu. BUT, Scott did pull 3 all-nighters, dealing with the sick ones. Two of them were back to back. We were all so tired, and not feeling super great......not super fun when it is so stinkin hot outside!

Here is George recovering on the boat..."the day after"

Here are some adorable pictures of the boys pouting.....

BUT, they can also be REALLY cute....at least I think so!OK, so this one isn't so cute, but makes me giggle. It is almost impossible to keep a diaper on this kid.....at least he would wear the life vest....you gotta pick your battles!

A couple of the days we beached right by this cliff, and all of the boys, except for KC, had so much fun jumping off of it This next one is not too bad for an old man......We may have had a lot of arguing, tantrums, and vomitting, BUT, I considered it a very successful vacation. Everyone came home in one piece, and I am so happy to say, we didn't have to go to the ER one time!

July is almost over :( We still have the beach, and hopefully a couple of days out on the boat. My niece, Ashlee, is staying with us for a week and a half! She is so sweet, and I love having her around. Lets hope August is as fun as July!