Look at the difference that 3 days can make

The first picture of our tree was taken on Tuesday this week, and the second picture was taken today. 3 days OR 72 hours later. Can you believe the difference?

This might be a stretch, but I have always believed that when something is wrong or you are facing a hard situation and it seems like the end of the world, usually waiting 3 days will fix the problem altogether or at least put things in perspective so that it doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore.

I first got this idea from a religious stand point referring to when Jesus was crucified. Possibly the worst day this Earth has ever known. 3 days later He was resurrected. Possibly the best day this Earth has ever known.

So when you are having a bad day and it seems like your world has come to an end, just give it 3 days.

Where NOT to spend Labor Day

First of all I want to let you know that if this title sounds familiar it's because it is. Please refer to my post from October 31, 2008 entitled: Where NOT to spend Halloween.
With that said, I will continue: I was SO excited about having a day off today from work, school, etc. I had a few projects that I wanted to get done. (BEWARE: I am in a throw-anything-away-that-isn't-nailed-down kind of mood right now.) For some reason I just have a bunch of changes/improvements that I want to make and I am not opposed to getting rid of anything that stands in my way. So, I sent Guy to Home Depot first thing to pick up a gallon of paint for our new "study". (We already have an office so I thought a "study" sounded much more sophisticated.) Basically we have two empty bedrooms upstairs now that the kids have new rooms downstairs. One of them is Guy's office and one of them is going to be "the study". This will consist of moving my computer out of my bedroom and across the hall, moving Hannah's desk upstairs and moving my glider/rocker upstairs. This will be the place where homework is done, for certain people who can't tolerate a single distraction (Hannah). We thought this was the best use of this new space that we have because Guy and I weren't quite ready to buy matching lazy boys to make an upstairs TV room. Give us a few more years on that.
Anyway, I got a bit side-tracked, but my point was that we were busy with projects inside and the kids were thankfully playing outside. At lunch-time our neighbor invited them to eat lunch with her kids and that helped out a TON since we were on a roll with the painting and didn't want to quit until we were done. So, finally at about 3:00 we got to a point where we could wrap things up for the day and get ready to go to my mom and dad's for dinner. I was just about to get into the shower when I heard LOUD crying and pounding at the front door. When we opened it up we found Brandon upset and standing in a pool of blood. His toe was bleeding like crazy. He was trying to explain what had happened but all I could understand is that he had been playing in the neighbor's basement with his friend and something cut his toe and he pulled it out. I have NEVER seen anything bleed as much as this thing was bleeding. I couldn't even get a look at it because blood was literally pumping out with every heart-beat. I first ran in and found a paper towel but quickly realized that wasn't going to help at all. I then managed to find a big gauze compress and wrapped that around it. I decided that since Guy was right there I had better go over and try to figure out what he cut it on since I knew we were taking him to Instacare and they would ask me (probably 6 times at least) what happened. After looking around the basement with my neighbor, neither of us could figure out what in the world he had hurt himself on. She felt bad that it had happened and kept apologizing, and I felt bad about the trail of blood up her stairs and out her front door. I decided that it was more important to get him to the doctor quickly than it was to keep trying to find what he hurt himself on.
Once we got there, Guy carried him in and luckily we were the only ones there at the moment. That NEVER happens. The nurse came out to take a look at it right in the waiting room - I still hadn't even really seen it at this point. When she pulled the blood-soaked compress off, I was shocked to see a tiny 1/2 inch cut in the side of his toe. I think the nurse was surprised too considering how much blood was on his foot. He was being pretty brave considering how much it must have hurt. He did say he could feel his heart beating in his toe.
They weren't really sure if it even needed stitches but they wanted to get his vitals and clean it out, etc. First they did an x-ray since we thought it was from glass, just to make sure that there weren't any pieces left inside. They took him in a wheelchair and he thought that was pretty cool. The x-rays ended up being clean - nothing inside the cut. Then the doctor came in to wash it out which is usually done while the area is numb, but because she wasn't sure if he needed stitches she didn't want to put him through the shots to numb it up. Anyway, she started irrigating the cut and then she realized that it was quite deep and did need stitches after all. That's when Brandon broke down and started crying. He knew that meant shots and he didn't want any part of that. He was good though and held still for her while she numbed it up. At this point Hayden had seen enough and Guy took him out to the waiting area. Once the doctor got working on his toe and started distracting him with questions he was just fine. It didn't take long at all for her to put in 2 tiny blue stitches. I was actually relieved because stitches are a lot easier to take care of than a cut that keeps opening back up, even if it is small.
Brandon was cute when he asked the doctor if she thought he should stay home from school tomorrow. She told him that she thought he would be okay. Bummer!
The gal that came into to bandage him up was so cute with him. She even gave him a ride out to the car in a wheelchair. He felt pretty special!
All in all it was actually a good, productive day. I was glad that Guy was here to help me out though because dealing with that stuff alone is no fun at all. I know it sounds silly, but I was also SO glad that I had just barely cut his toenails this morning or I would have been WAY embarrassed. Guy joked that it is the same as always wearing clean underwear, just in case you get into an accident :)

Great Value

So, we are in the midst of an "experiment", if you will, here at the Galli home. When Guy surprised me on Tuesday by going grocery shopping while I was gone, he came home with tons of Walmart's new 'Great Value' products. They are much cheaper than the name brands, but for me the real test of a 'great value' is if it tastes good (or works good, for those non-food items). If it doesn't taste as good as the name brand stuff, it isn't worth it to me. So far we have been very happy with the chocolate ice cream (mostly me), the peanut butter, the syrup, and all of the cereals and crackers have been really good. I haven't tried the laundry products yet and I am pretty picky in that area so I will be sure to let you know (if you care, that is).
I had no idea just how many products he had brought home until I started to assemble them for a picture. He really went 'great value' crazy!

Happy Birthday Hayden!

I truly cannot believe my baby is 6-years-old today. It is bittersweet for me because it is really nice to have older kids when it comes to doing stuff and going places, but at the same time it feels weird to be out of that stage of life.
He will be going into 1st grade when school starts in a few weeks, and I don't know what I will do without him around. He has always been such a momma's boy and because he is the youngest I have always taken him pretty much everywhere with me.
Hayden is such an amazing kid and person in general. He always thinks of others before himself. He is kind and sweet to everyone. One time my brother Nate was trying to wrestle him and he yelled out, "No Nate, I'm a lover!" And that about sums it up. He doesn't want any conflict around him. He is honestly a total pleasure to have in our family. We joke that he is our "dessert"because not only does he rarely do anything wrong, but he is a total joy to be around. And his smile....it will melt your heart. He is just so easy to love, and you can't honestly say that about all kids. Happy Birthday Hayden! You're one in a million! We love you SO much!

Hayden's Birthday BASH

We decided to have Hayden's birthday party the day before his birthday since Saturdays tend to be really busy for everyone. He wanted a water party in the backyard, which is a good thing because he had a rather lengthy list of friends to invite and outside is the only way we could accommodate 19 kids (2 of them couldn't come so it was only 17 kids, including my 3).
We have the pool that we bought last year (it's 12 feet wide and 3 feet deep), we set up the slip n' slide, we have the trampoline that they like to put a sprinkler under, and just for kicks we filled 250 water balloons. We also put together a little treasure hunt because Hayden suggested it.
When the kids got here at 11 they immediately started swimming and playing on the slip n'slide. The pool was pretty crowded since, rather than breaking into groups, the whole mob of kids would move from one thing to another. After about 40 minutes everyone was getting hungry so I distracted them by pulling out the water balloons. As you might guess, it only took 17 kids about 4 minutes to completely empty that bin. All that was left to show for 2 hours of filling them was 500 teeny colorful pieces of latex all over the lawn, but everyone had a lot of fun throwing them so I guess it was worth it.
Guy's mom showed up with the pizzas just after 12:00 and she was welcomed by a huge group of starving kids.
After lunch, Hayden opened his presents and then we did the treasure hunt. I am always hesitant to do those because you never know who is going to feel left out, etc. I noticed Hayden wasn't enjoying it (because the bigger kids were faster), so I took him out in the front yard and showed him where a really tough clue was. He seemed to perk up after that. The treasure ended up being army dog tags (he wanted an army theme for some reason), and blow pops. I think everyone felt okay about it when all was said and done. You just never know though.
Hayden didn't want cake and ice cream, he just wanted popsicles. We still have an entire box in our freezer too because we completely forgot to get them out. Oh well, there was plenty of sugar served even without them.
Hayden had a good time and he got tons of fun toys. It was a really good party - but I am relieved to have all 3 kids' birthdays over for the year.

Happy Birthday Brandon!

Today is Brandon's 9th birthday. I will never forget the events of the day he was born. It was so exciting - mainly because I had already been through it once before so it wasn't as scary as the first time, plus I was already a mom so I knew what kind of love I would have for my own child. He and I bonded from the moment he was born. The whole stay at the hospital I couldn't wait for the nursery to bring him into me - even during the night. I couldn't get enough of the way that he smelled, which is especially ironic because he is the child that inherited my super-ultra-sensitive sense of smell.

Brandon is not your typical kid. He is kind of an adult in a kid's body. He is very smart, but it isn't just that. He is SO observant and aware of everything that goes on around him. My dad calls him Radar for this reason. He constantly points out people to me in Walmart or wherever we are because he recognizes them and he thinks I should go and talk to them. He is Mr. Social at school, and quite popular (especially with the girls). He is constantly playing with friends and going to birthday parties. In fact, there have been times when he has had more than one birthday party scheduled on the same day. The mom of nearly every girl in his class has told me at one time or another that he is their child's best friend. And what really impresses me is that Brandon is the first person to stick up for the under-dog, no matter who it is. I was so touched earlier this year when he started talking about being best friends with a girl in his class who has a speech problem. I can't hardly understand her when I help in the classroom, but he has told me that he understands everything she says. This is one of his most Christ-like qualities, and it makes me so proud of him.

Don't get me wrong - I am only saying nice things here on purpose. We definitely have our challenges getting along with each other at home. But I guess as long as he is on his best behavior when he is away from home, and he saves his other behavior for when he is home and he knows he is safe and that we will love him no matter what, I can live with that.

Happy Birthday Brandon! I love you SO much!

At no point were the children in danger - Part 3

My dad has been very anxious to take the boat out for the first time this year, but the rain and cooler weather has kept him from doing that this whole month. So, yesterday morning at 8:00 I got a text from him that said "How about a dinner cruise?", which translated means eating KFC on Utah Lake.
We headed out at about 4:30 and were on the lake just after 5. We got out in the middle of the lake by ourselves and the kids just had to get in the water. So, after our 'open plunge', my dad just had to water ski. Every year when we take the boat out for the first time he has to see if he can get up on one ski and if he can he will keep the boat for another year. Good news - he got right up!
After that it was time to break out the KFC. Chicken strips, popcorn chicken, potatoes and gravy, coleslaw and biscuits. YUM! (once in a while at least).
It was at this point that we started discussing the boat that sunk a few days ago, and subsequently the person that was still missing. YIKES! We didn't really feel like getting in the water after that.
Hayden wanted to drive the boat, so after we finished eating we took off toward the south. After a while, somebody noticed a little bit of water on the carpet at the back of the boat. My dad stopped the boat and pulled the engine cover off to find a bunch of water in the engine area. Never a good sign in the middle of Utah Lake. We were literally miles from the shore in any direction. So, he and Guy started bailing water out with drink cups. At this point the kids were very interested in what was going on. Hayden kept asking where the big squirter was and I told him we weren't doing anything with it right then. He finally found it himself and handed it to Guy and said, " Will this work?" We all had a good laugh about that because it was the perfect solution to the problem. It sucks up water and then you squirt it out. So, as I drove us back toward the shore, Guy was sucking up the water and squirting it out the back. My mom finally took over driving so I could get some pictures.
Overall it was a really fun evening. The boat ride ended just like it always does, with Hayden asleep on my lap. That is the only hint of being little that he still has. I love it!
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for an eventful and exciting evening!