The Sarge of 4 Has Now Moved...to a new SITE!

Hello All,

The transformation is now complete and the Sarge of 4 has moved to it's permanent site.  To check out the newness go to
http://www.thesargeof4.com/

I will not be posting any more to blog spot....so if you would like to continue to read about the Red's crazy adventures, Sissy Lou's dumping, Belle the Wonder Dog and Gus the hot dog.....oh and the embarrassing tales of Jesse and I, then please head on over to the new site!

The Sarge!

MOVING!!!

HI everyone, just wanted to let you all know that my website will be moving!!!  If you have me saved on your desk top, or favorites, my new web address will be:
http://www.thesargeof4.com/

It should be up and running in the next few days!!!
I thought I could just redirect from this site, but turns out I was wrong....so off to bigger and better things!!!!  Please update my web address to continue getting the sarge's latest post!!!
Love to all!!!

Crazy Weekend with Crazy Kids!

This weekend was full of adventure, friends and mischievous behavior......and I'm ready for SPRING BREAK!!!
We have had a series of several visitors over the past few days which was great, but caused my children to become little aliens!
We love company, and so do they, and to show how much they love company they like to act as crazy as possible!
It all started last Wednesday when our brother in law Uncle Steve came to visit.  The Red's love Uncle Steve and think that he is their playmate.  So poor Uncle Steve was dragged to the basement everyday to play with the Red's.  One of those days Eli got the bright idea to play pool.  But instead of using a stick he grabbed the balls and banged them against the railing of the pool table which resulted in one of the inlays of mother of pearl to shatter!

Uncle Steve left early Saturday morning and we prepared for our next round of guest.  They would be arriving late that afternoon and in the mean time we had our very first baseball practice for Andrew's team.  After practice we headed over to the sporting goods store because we were informed that this years league requires a cup!  Seriously....a cup....for my precious 6 year old!!!  Hilarious!
That afternoon when our guest arrived the kids ran around for a little bit, excited,  and then disappeared.....except for Sissy Lou.  Our guest had brought their little dog with them and Sissy Lou was infatuated with the dog!  I mean, we have never seen her so excited about anything!!!!!  She chased the dog around for the rest of the day screaming "puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy"......you get the point!
I guess I should point out that this was an older couple who's kids are all grown with kids of their own. We did warn them before they came...promise!

Later that evening after supper The Red's went to the basement to play their play station and Sissy Lou joined them.  Only a few minutes had passed before Andrew came running upstairs telling on Eli and Sissy Lou for dumping out a tub of popcorn and spreading it all over the floor.  You see, Uncle Steve had bought a tub of popcorn from Andrew from the boy scout sale back in the fall and this was the first time we'd seen him to deliver it.  Being nice, Uncle Steve opened the tin and shared his popcorn with my crazy kids and then decided to leave the popcorn for them.  Only problem is he left it downstairs......
When we got downstairs to check out the destruction, Sissy Lou was sprawled out on the floor doing her own version of snow angel in popcorn.  IT WAS EVERYWHERE!!!!!  Jesse pulled out the wet/dry vac and got to work while I sent the kids to B.E.D.!!!
While getting them ready for bed I went into the Red's bathroom only to look down and see something wet and shiny on their rug.  Beside the wet/shiny spot I see my kitchen scissors (which belonged in the kitchen not the bathroom).  So I stuck my finger in the wet/shiny spot and smelled......nothing.......puzzled I went to find Eli (don't know how I knew it was him, but I just knew) and asked him what my scissors were doing on the bathroom floor and what that wet/shiny stuff was on the rug.
He looks at me with his big puppy dog eyes and says: "Mom, I'm going to tell the truth" (I guess trying to prep me).  Me: "Alright Eli, tell me what you did".  Eli: "It's the ice pack".

It took me a second to put two and two together, but earlier in the night Sissy Lou had bumped her head (go figure) and I had given her one of those cold boo boo packs.  She loves them, and carries them around with her.  I guess she had put it down and Eli had grabbed it up.  My conclusion is that his precious curiosity had gotten the best of him and he had to see what was inside of that ice pack....so he cut it opened and poured the geled substance on the rug in the bathroom, then placed the empty, cut ice pack back into the freezer.

Today is a new day and I was hoping for an uneventful day!  Our guest left this morning and we have just laid around being bums!  This afternoon I happened to walk into the Red's room and I was graced with the sight of Eli's name written in RED marker on the CARPET! 

You know the saying "God only gives you as much as you can handle".....Well, I'm there...I'm done...no more PLEASE!!!!! 
I only want to find the man/woman who invented Spot Shot so I can lay a big fat wet kiss on them and tell them how their invention has saved our lives!  Seriously, the stuff can get out anything...including red marker! 

I'm hoping the mischievous nature of Eli has passed and we can get back to some normal behavior.....WHAT am I talking about....THAT is his normal behavior!!!!

And just to sum up our crazy weekend.....When Andrew got up this morning the first words out of his mouth were: "Hey mom, I prayed to Jesus that he would give you another baby"!
OH LORDY LORDY LORDY, HELP ME, HELP ME, HELP ME!!!!!!

Sissy Lou...The Artist!

Sissy Lou returned to her regular self last night.  Guess she thought life had gotten a little boring around the house so she had to liven it up a little.

Andrew came running down the hall saying "mom, look what Sissy had" as he held up a black (non-washable) marker.  Then I see Sissy Lou herself toddling in the room with her legs and toe nails painted black.  I jumped up and headed down the hall to see what else she might have colored.  I have already had to repaint this hallway once because Andrew colored green circle down it when he was 2.

When I got down there I saw that Sissy Lou stayed away from the walls and instead colored my hardwoods black. 

I was thinking, no big deal, just get a rag and wipe it up....yea, it wasn't that simple and my magic erasers had disappeared (or I had used them all...I keep them in bulk).  So I went to the next best thing....409!  It took it right up...except on Sissy Lou who I scrubbed in the shower later. 

While I was hard at work scrubbing my hardwoods brown again, Sissy Lou ventured into the kitchen where she opened a drawer and fished around until she found something that felt good. All of a sudden I hear this load beeping and I take off running.  Sissy Lou had activated our alarm system with the remote control!

I didn't have much time so when I grabbed the remote from Sissy I hit the off button and prayed I wasn't too late.  It was then that I felt something slimy all over my hands......VASELINE!  I had a small tube of Vaseline stored in that drawer for when Andrew gets a nose bleed (which is often).  She had it smeared up her legs, arms, floor, remote control, and key rings....hey, at least it helped the marker come off a little easier!
That girl is busy, busy, busy!  Please pray for me!!!!!! : )

Go and See It!

The other night we had a "go and see it" with the Cub Scouts...oh wait....Tiger Scouts now...oops.  This glorified field trip was to Wave 3 News (our local news station) for the little tigers to see how the news is made.  Curious myself (and hoping to run into the weather guys) I decided to join in...guess I should explain the weather thing..I follow the weather religiously and it drives Jesse nuts!  I read the weather blogs, and watch the weather channel and even have the weather guys at Wave 3 as friends on facebook...yes I know it's crazy weird, but that's me!

Anyways, back to the "go and see it".  The whole family loaded up and headed downtown to meet the other scouts. We piled into the news station and were given a guided tour.  I guess I didn't realize that they would actually be doing the news at the time we were there so the fears of what the Red's would do didn't start until we arrived. 

The first room we entered was the control room with lots and lots of buttons. Andrew was standing in front of me, but Eli was becoming elusive and freaking me out a little.  I could only imagine him pushing some important button and shutting the whole place down.  Sissy Lou was in my arms and kept saying "down, down" and I kept saying "no, no"...that's all I needed!

Next up was a series of not so important rooms that led to the "important" room....where the news takes place.  Cameras, wires, news casters, were everywhere and there we all stood in the corner grasping our 6 year old scouts mouths as they filmed the news.  They went on break and I see where Andrew was standing.......out front and center of the news casters desk as the news man talked to the scouts. 

It was then that I noticed where Andrew's finger was...UP HIS NOSE....digging out some of that precious gold!  Then he does the absolutely most unthinkable thing....in front of the news guys...HE EATS IT!!!  MORTIFIED....I slipped to the back and hid and let Jesse take the looks. 

Hey, it could have been worse....the cameras could have been on Andrew!

Just another remider that The Sarge Of 4 will be moving to a new website soon!  Keep a look out for the new info!  If you are afraid you will loose the Sarge you can always become friend on facebook so you can get all the post and new web address!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sarge-of-4/118453054884863

Would You Be Sad?

This weekend we had a pretty intense conversation with the Red's regarding death.  There was a reason.........plus the fact they have had questions of their own.  What spurred it on was playing baseball.  They were throwing the ball up in the air and hitting the ball, which is great, but they weren't paying attention to their surroundings!

 A few years back there was an accident up at our local ball field involving a bat that was swung and hit a kid in the chest resulting in that child dying.  So we sat the Red's down and talked about "bat safety" and I told them the story above.  Not to scare them but to make them aware that bats are not toys and they can hurt someone.  (Sorry if you don't agree with my method, but I'd rather not live through what the other parents lived through).

They seemed to get the point and were more cautious the rest of the afternoon. 
The next day Jesse was driving the Red's somewhere and here's the conversation that took place:

Eli:  "Andrew, would you be so sad if I died?"
Andrew....not looking up from his DS answers: "No, I'd just play with your toys"
Eli not missing a beat replies: "Well if you died I'd just play with YOUR toys"

UM.....I think they missed the point!

On a complete seperate note.....The Sarge is MOVING!!!!  The Sarge of 4 will soon be moving to a new site!  When everything is up and running I will make sure to let everyone know the new web address!  As always, Thanks for reading!
The Sarge

Are You Smarter Than a 1st Grader?

A few weeks ago Andrew was sent home with some math homework to complete.  It was all about the "Fact Triangle", which I had never heard of.  And if you do know what it is don't turn your nose up at me yet....it's been a while since I've been to 1st grade ; )
Back when we were in school I had to walk five miles, with holes in my shoes, up hill and knee deep in snow just to get to the school house.....oh wait, that's not me, that was my mom and dad's story!  Did everyone's parents use that story?
Anyways I digress (as usual).....I promise I'm getting to the story. 
If you're not a teacher and have been away from the teaching process for a while you soon realize that teaching methods have changed....for the better!  There are new concepts out there that make learning easier for kids. 
Here's a little lesson in "Fact Triangles"......

Looks easy right...well the worksheets look something like this:

Blanks...that's all I saw was blanks....and well, I  was confused.....so I did what any rational mom would do and decided I had to run to the store.  I handed the homework off to Jesse and told him I'd be back and to "take care of it".  Surely he would be able to figure this "fact triangle" puzzle out....surely.

When I returned home I found a frustrated husband sitting beside an even more frustrated 1st grader.  They had been at the homework for a while and were almost done (~Whew~I dodged a bullet)!
So I slid the homework in Andrew's backpack and sent it in to school.  A few days later the homework was returned home again with a note from Andrew's teacher that read: "Try Again".  So of course I LAUGHED OUT LOUD!  I couldn't help myself.  I mean it is quite funny that two parents with College degrees couldn't figure out a 1st graders math homework......and the kicker....Jesse was the one who did it wrong!!!!!  HA! (He's gonna hate me for this post)!

Here's where he went wrong, he added the numbers around like this:

12 + 6 = 18

6 + 6 = 12

6 - 12 = 6

12 - 6 = 6

Where he went wrong was the 12 + 6 = 18, all the numbers should equal one of the numbers in the triangle. 

The only reason I know this is because I turned to my best friend "Google" and it pointed me in the right direction.

I helped Andrew correct his homework and it clicked right away with him.  The reason he had been so frustrated with Jesse is because he was learning one way in class and Jesse was teaching him another.  Then I wrote underneath the teacher's note "Sorry, Dad's fault"...*hehe*!

I am well aware that this post makes Jesse and I look like complete idiots, but it was way too funny not to share!
Wow......my poor kids, maybe we should get them tutors now!

How To Get Things Done

You could say that I am the smartest woman on earth......or the biggest klutz on earth, but I'm leaning more toward the beginning part of this sentence.

On Saturday I began cleaning the house like a mad woman, all the nook and crannies.  Not sure why, but I just started finding "spots" that I didn't like so one thing led to the next.  My eyes landed on my kitchen sink faucet and to a nastiness that had taken up residence between the faucet handle and the base.  So I got my heavy duty cleaners out and began scrubbing.  Not satisfied that I couldn't get to it all, I made the decision to unscrew the faucet handle and really give it a good scrubbing.
However, when I unscrewed the handle it just popped off.  Upon further inspection I realized that I had just broken a key piece in this faucet...*OOPS*! 

I am well known for my "accidents" around the house, so I called Jesse (cause he was out playing) and told him this:  "Hi honey.....you know when I decide to do something that I have good intentions for and somehow I end up making a mess of things.......well....I broke the kitchen faucet....so you'll need to stop by Lowe's and pick up a new one.....and install it today....okay, love you, bye".
I could hear him chuckling on the other end of the phone, because he thinks my "accidents" are quite funny.  Just like the 3 different times I knocked the mail box over while mowing (yes, I mow, I like to mow...it gives me a good base tan for the summer...and yes I wear sunscreen)!
Later that afternoon in walks Jesse with my new faucet!  He pulls out his plumbing box and gets his plumber pants on (that's code for butt crack) and gets to work.  After a few minutes I had my new and improved faucet installed and ready to go.

He's not mad...this is just his "tough guy" face : )

Eli wanted to help with the installation!

Now......do you believe that I am a klutz and break things on "accident" or would you like to believe I know how to get things done.
Somehow I have a feeling that my stove, and bathroom tile might be subject to my "accidents" real soon.  I'm even thinking of letting Sissy Lou and the Red's in on the action to have some "accidents" of their own with the walls....they sure do need to be painted again.....
Those honey do list are too boring....try to liven it up a little and have a few "accidents" on your own ; )

I really am the biggest klutz...I just had to make myself look smarter than I really am :)

Worry....It's a Killer!

The other day I took Andrew for his routine 3 month check up for his ultrasound and blood work.  I have mentioned before that Andrew has Beckwith Weidemann Syndrome which puts him in a high risk category for developing tumors in his abdomen.  Since the kids with this syndrome are prone to these tumors (Whelms tumors...which are very fast growing), they must be screened every three months to make sure everything is alright.

Anyways, as I said, I took Andrew for his test and came home.  A few days later the doctor called with the results, which immediately made me catch my breath because she never calls....it's always the nurse.  As soon as I heard her voice my heart started pitter pattering and my mind began the downward spiral thinking.  I was trying so desperately to make the small talk with the doctor and at the same time my mind was racing out of control.  In a matter of seconds, (in my mind), I had my son....with cancer and on chemo already.  My fears were quickly relieved when she gave me the results and told me everything looked great.
When I hung up the phone I took a deep breath to calm myself and then I was awestruck on how quickly I let worry and fear take me over completely.
What just happened?  Where was my faith?  Where was my trust in God?

WORRY...it's a killer...of the soul!  It strips you of self control, rational thinking, trust, and faith. It takes you over and gives you anxiety.....for what exactly?  Things that we have fabricated in our minds.  Things that are all out of our control. 
CONTROL......loss of control causes worry....but when did we forget that WE are NOT in control....GOD IS!
It amazes me on how often throughout the Bible, God talks about worry, fretting, and letting Him handle things!
He all but begs us to lay our life down (which includes not only our heart and soul but everything in between..our house, our jobs, our kids, our spouse, our families, our church, our friends, our health, our MONEY).  He commands us to "Do Not Fret"!
So why is it that we consume ourselves with worry?

My Mom always used the phrase with me growing up: "Don't borrow trouble". How profound that statement is. 

The Bible says it this way: " But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:33-34.

Sorry for my ramblings everyone, not sure why this hit me so hard, but I felt compelled to share it with you today! So, "Let Go, and Let God", "Don't worry, Be happy" Had to throw that one in : )
And my most favorite:
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways submit to him, and he will direct your paths."  Proverbs 3:5-6

My prayer for each of you today is that God would grant you peace over your "worries", calm your pitter pattering hearts and allow Him to take over and direct your paths!
I love you all so very much and I am thankful for each of you!

The Rambling Sarge

Eli... My Little Stinker!

The other day while picking the Red's up from school, one of the teachers wondered over to me and said "I have a story for you".
With a *sigh*, I said, "alright, let's hear it".

Laughing a bit she tells me that While in class that day Eli was a bit squirrely and so she had him some and sit on the floor in front of the class with two others that had gotten in trouble.
After a few minutes passed, she walked up to the first two students and asked them if they were ready for their second chase.  They both looked at her and said "yes". 
Then she made her way over to Eli and asked him if he was ready for his second chance.  Eli looked up at her and said "no, not yet".
She said it completely took her by surprise and she had to turn her head so she could laugh.

Guess you never know what Eli might say.....little stinker!