Foot Surgery

Not may people know that I've had problems with my feet for the past couple of years. The outside of my big toes have always ached after I've been walking around for awhile. So I finally decided to go see a podiatrist and have them checked out. I discovered that I had bunions. I've always seen research study commercials on tv looking for people to sign up for their free bunion surgery trials, but they would never show pictures of what they looked like. So I would imagine the worst thinking if they can't show pictures of what a bunion looks like, they must be so grotesque that it's been sensored from tv. I assure you, I don't have grotesque feet, just large knuckles on my big toes (which are called bunions). Any way, I had surgery this week to finally correct my most painful one on my left foot. Luckily they didn't have to do any of my other toes which can often be affected, so hopefully my recovery will be quick.

Gabe has been very helpful taking a few days off of work to stay at home and play "Mom". I am able to get around on crutches, but I can't do very much since I can't carry anything or anyone. Mason is enjoying the fact that I can't chase after him. Carrie and Catherine will be here for a day and then my Mom will fly out to help for 4 days. Hopefully after that I will be able to put more pressure on my foot so I can actually take care of my kids and the house.

I am posting a picture for your viewing pleasure : )

Copy Cat

Last night we were all gathered around the table and Brianna suddenly nudged me and said "look at Mason". She was cracking up and all of the other kids were laughing too. Mason was shaking and turning red like he was about to explode. I glanced over at Gabe on the opposite side of the table and he was silently acting out the exact motion that Mason was copying. I started filming, but every time I scanned over to Gabe, he would act totally innocent. The kids thought it was the funniest thing ever, but they don't get out that much so you can be your own judge : )

Aunt Catherine

Catherine has been visiting us this weekend and it's been a lot of fun! Our Wii has been getting a lot of use and the boys love to have someone other than mommy read to them.

Reading "Dinosaur Roar" for reading time

Tucker helping Mason read his favorite book

Never Say Never

Last Saturday we took the boys to Sportsman's Warehouse to look at camping gear and so Gabe could get some ammunition for his shot gun. When we pulled into the parking lot we noticed there were a few people who had set up cages and were selling their litters of puppies. I told Gabe we should take the boys over to look at the dogs, especially Mason since he usually just goes around the house all day saying "woof, woof". Hayden and Mason were so enthralled with them and they were able to get into the pens and pet some of them. The last litter we looked at were black labs that were 7 weeks old. We told Hayden that we were just looking so he didn't bug us about buying one. They were really cute though! Well long story short, one hour later we were back with the cash in hand and we are now officially dog owners! Those who know me well are probably in shock because I'm not your average pet loving person. But Gabe and I thought it would be a good opportunity for us to get out of the house more and spend more time as a family, and so far it's been great. Of course the potty training is not fun and Labs grow to be quite big, so we have quite the adventure in front of us. But at least I won't have to worry about hiding trash cans!

Finding a name took us awhile because we came up with so many different ideas, but we finally settled on Lincoln or Link for short. If we ever get a girl dog her name will be Zelda : ) So far Brianna and Hayden are the most interested in playing with the dog. Mason likes him, but Link is so playful that he knocks him over sometimes. Link loves to try to wrestle and he'll wrap his front paws around the kids legs and won't let go. Tucker is a little intimidated and would rather watch from a distance, but since he loves to do everything Hayden does that will probably change.

Hayden and Lincoln

Taking Lincoln for a walk

Life

My excuse for not updating our blog in 6 weeks is "life". So I'll do my best to update everyone on all of our lives for the past month. Brianna has a new haircut, Hayden and Tucker are still obsessed with Mario and Luigi, and Mason is growing so fast! He's not really a baby any more, but he's the baby of the family so he gets away with a lot.

Mason has a good set of chompers

Brianna built a block tower higher than her head!

The boys are wearing their Mario shirts but according to Tucker
his is really Luigi wearing a Mario costume.

I am getting better at staying on top of the house work, so now I just have my "mother's helper" come once a week, for my sanity's sake. I do schedule in 45 minutes for exercise a day, so that I can try to beat Kelsey at our exercise competition. I have to say, she is giving me a run for my money.

Gabe has a new position at work as supervisor over his team, so he's busier with meetings while still doing the same amount of work as before, and he's taking 2 classes at UVU. This is his last semester of classes, then he's done! He's looking forward to this summer when he'll get a break from school work. He just has his Senior project in the Fall, then he'll have his degree. I know Gabe has received a lot of razzing the past few years because of how long his schooling is taking, and he's had a good sense of humor about it. But I just want to let everyone know how much I admire him for sticking with it for all these years. He has never needed a degree for his line of work, but I'm sure all of his time and effort will pay off in the future. When he does graduate, he will have put in 12 years for his Bachelor's degree. Yea Gabe! (It's a good thing he never reads our blog because he'd be embarrassed).

Next month we are going to attempt our first camping trip with just our family. Since our kids are older it will actually be more fun and hopefully it will be a little easier (crossing my fingers). We are going to visit Goblin Valley for a couple of days, then hopefully Felicia and her family, (Felicia if you read this blog before I e-mail you, are you up for a visit? : )
We are looking forward to the family reunion in August, I am so glad Gabe's family has those because my kids and I love the opportunity to get together with all of the extended family, so I applaud the Roberts for keeping it going for all of these years.

Dessert anyone?

We had icecream cones for dessert tonight. Now that Mason is old enough to hold his own cone, he gets one too. Not only does he love ice cream cones, he loves to put on a show and make everyone laugh, and putting those things together can make a sticky mess.

Mason Swift

Mason is beginning to live up to his middle name. As some of you may remember, before he was born, Gabe was really intent on naming his Swift. We compromised and it became his middle name. As a baby he was really mellow and content with everything. We rarely heard a peep out of him. Now that he's 18 months he's definitely turning into a Gosney boy. He has his own personality, which lately has been quite comedic. But he still has his mellow side and he loves to snuggle and read books. His favorites are Dinosaur Roar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Pat the Bunny. When we went to Fruita we brought Pat the Bunny and he loved to just pick it up and read it all by himself.

Mason reading "Pat the Bunny"

Mason also loves to dance and listen to music. I peeked in on him at nursery last month while they were doing singing time. He was dancing so erratically in his chair that I thought he was going to fall right out of his seat. Who knew nursery songs could be so movement inspiring?

Fruita Colorado

The kids had a 5 day weekend last week, so we took the opportunity to go visit Grandma and Grandpa Gosney, oh and Catherine : ) The 3 older kids were able to visit the Dinosaur museum with Carrie. I'm sure they have the place memorized, but they love to go and always anticipate the trip when we come to visit. Sarah and Devon came up while we were there. It took Spencer awhile to feel comfortable around so many "wild hoolagans", but after awhile he fit right in. He and Mason took a bath together Saturday night and they acted like it was something they did all the time.

Spencer and Mason in the tub

Grandpa was a great sport and gave the kids bucking bronco rides. He probably needs an adjustment from the chiropractor after each of our visits.

Trash Can vs. Toilet

Well, I thought being in time-out and losing time playing the Wii would have an impact, but apparently it did not. So I have decided that since I don't enjoy cleaning out the garbage cans and the toilets for the same pupose, that I'll just have to out smart my boys. So I have removed the trash cans from their bedroom, the bathroom and the computer room. So if you come to visit, don't bother looking for them. But if you smell something funny coming from a toy bucket or behind the bathroom door, please tell me immediately : O

Potty Training, The Never Ending Story.

So I am feeling a little frustrated with my boys today concerning their bathroom behavior. Hayden has been potty trained for 2 1/2 years, and Tucker has been for 1 year. Of course the term "potty training" is quite relative to your definition of the phrase. Are they potty trained when they understand how to use the toilet? Or are they completely trained when they no longer have any accidents, including night time and don't use alternative places to "relieve" themselves?

I have observed that boys by nature like to take the simplest and fastest route to get something accomplished. I am not trying to stereotype or find fault, this has just been my observation. Lately I have been frustrated because my boys have been using the garbage cans to pee in. Of course they don't inform me of their choice, so it's not until a few days later, when I can't figure out where the pee smell is coming from, no matter how well I clean in and around the toilet, that I find the source of the odor. What puzzles me is that the trash can in the bathroom is right next to the toilet, so how much time are they really saving by using the can instead? But of course they don't limit themselves to just the bathroom trash can. They have sought relief in the garbage cans in the computer room and their bedroom.

As many kids do, my boys like to wait until it's absolutely necessary to run to the bathroom, so I can understand the allure of saving a trip to the bathroom when they can just use the trash can in the room they are in. We have told our boys this is not acceptable behavior and they have been punished each time. But of course their memories are short, so I keep finding myself "tracking down" the smell time and time again.

As a mother of 3 boys I would define potty training as: The process of teaching your children to use the toilet, and only the toilet until they are grown and out of the house. I would hope that I am not the only mother who has had this problem with her boys and I am sure that they will outgrow it at some point. But until then I guess I'll just have to chalk it up as one of the many "joys" of motherhood.