The Butterfly Palace

Well I began my day doing my normal routine. Tuesday is housecleaning day. About 8:30am I received a call that the baby I watch wasn't feeling to good so he would not be coming today. I finished going about my duties, and finished cleaning the house. About 10am I found out the little girl I watch was spending the day with her grandma so she wouldn't be here either. WOW!! A surprise day off. A day with just Nate. What a beautiful surprise!!

Ok so now the decision of what we would do. Money is tight right now, so I had to decide on something that wouldn't hurt the budget. After much thought I called the Butterfly Palace, and they informed me that Stone and Taney counties got in for $5. What a deal. The girls had been with school and loved it, so I knew I had hit the jackpot. Who wants to just sit at home when you have a day off??? Not me or Nate for that matter!!

We get ourselves dressed and head out. Of course it was about lunch time, so we ate at the place every child adores...McDonald's. That's the cheapest meal I have paid for in a long time. We get in the car and head to the Butterfly Palace or Butterfly Palish as Nate called it. This was the most question asked 10 minute trip I think I have ever had. All the while I am trying to make him understand that I have NEVER been there either, so we will find out about it together. We pay our $10 and start our adventure together.

First was a 3D movie. I thought this was the part that Nate would hate and never sit still for. Personally I don't even know why I try and think what Nate will do because it is never accurate. He sat through the 15 minute movie without moving, except to say WOW. It was neat. Like watching a discovery channel show about butterflies except it's 3D.

Next we got to enter the area where the butterflies were. How beautiful. I thought it would be bigger, but it didn't need to be. There were birds that came very close to you, and the butterflies fly either above your head or right on your clothes. They loved Nate's bright orange turtle ninga shirt. Then I put a little perfume (the chances of that being my purse was a miracle within itself) on his shirt. He would be really still and they would sit right on his shoulder. It was awesome. Perfect.

Then they had an area of where they kept aquariums that had centipedes, turtles, frogs, and all kinds of lizards. Boy did he love that. We went through that section a FEW times. It never got boring, at least not with him.

The final area was a dark maze that had mirrors, and you had to find your way out. He did NOT like that. To be completely honest neither did I. I felt lost and all I could see was myself in all these mirrors. But I did a pretty good job of not letting him know mom did not like this either. Next came the tears...."NO I don't want to go...I want to stay here!!". So I had to use my secret escape plan of ice cream. We went to Andy's Frozen Custard and each enjoyed a custard cone. Yum Yum.

My only disappointment in the day is that I forgot my camera. Boy did I cuss myself! But no one can ever take this day away from me. When you have kidS, it's rare that you have a one on one day with them. It was a memory that will not fade quickly. I'm so blessed!!

Sadey and Nate's Bday.

Well I have been meaning to write a blog since Monday, but this is the first chance I've had. Busy Busy Busy.

Saturday we had Sadey and Nate's birthday party, and it was great. I have to say that I out did myself on their cakes this year. I'm not that great of a cake decorator but it is something I love to do for my kids. A special made cake from mom. I always search my ideas on the net, and decide on the one that will not make me insane. I usually add my own twist to it too. I personally thought they turned out pretty good, and they tasted really good. So I was happy with it. Of course there was drama in the whole process of the cake baking, there always is.

Sam hates that I just don't buy a cake for them, he just doesn't get it. I baked both cakes and the HSM cake went smoothly, and when I pulled the TMNT cake out of it's cooling pan it broke in half. Fun. Thank goodness Sam was at the grocery store and picked me up the eggs to make another cake. So I just baked another one and greased the pan the "correct" way and it came out nicely.

The kids had a great time and got lots of toys and clothes. So blessed. Thanks to all. And they really enjoyed the cake. Nate got a huge piece and only licked the frosting off of the top and sides. Sadey doesn't eat much of anything, but she did her best and enjoyed it.

Saturday night was the night of the huge wind and rain storm, and we were one of the lucky ones who didn't lose power. We had a yard to pick up, but we were so blessed not to have any damage or flooding.

Monday was a BIG day for the Deaton Gang. All the kids had dentist appointments for the first time. Well except Dev, she had been before. As I was getting all of us ready for the day, Sam walked in the door, NO work due to no power on the job site. At first I was stressed about it, but by the end of the day I was thankful for his help. We got to the dentist office and Nate was the first one called back. As soon as that kid sat in the chair he started freaking. It ended up the dentist didn't even look in his mouth due to Nate's protest, and told me to bring him back in a month. Next was Sadey and Devyn, they did great. No cavities, great teeth, and learned a lot about caring for their teeth. They will be returning in a month for sealers. Finally was Luke, he was great until they went to put the napkin around his neck. Don't ask me why but this completely freaked the child out. So yes, I had another child that wouldn't let the dentist look in his mouth and will be returning in a month. Very dramatic. Everything seems to be so dramatic in my family, WHY? It drives me crazy.

Anyways, Luke's cough had become increasingly worse, and we decided to try and get him into his Dr. while he was out of school. They had an opening and we had a few hours to kill, so we had lunch together and then walked around at Branson Landing. It was such a beautiful day. The weather was perfect and it was just great being with MY family. It's rare that we are out somewhere with just us. So I lived it up and didn't want it to end. The kids enjoyed walking by the river. It was gorgeous, relaxing, and created a great memory for me.

We get to the Dr., and he informed me it was good I had brought him in because Luke was headed for bad news if we didn't start treatment. We had been doing his breathing treatment for a few days, and the Dr. said he sounded tight and very congested. So he told us to continue the breathing tx and start him on a steroid syrup. He also wrote him for an antibiotic but told us not to fill it unless he started running a fever.

I feel so sorry for him that he has to do the tx and steroid. It makes him crazy and me crazy. He turns into hyper child with super powers. Along with a big attitude. I kept him yesterday, I'm sure his teacher will be thankful for that. We did his breathing treatments with much argument, and he didn't get a fever all day. So he went to school today. To be honest it wouldn't surprise me if I get a phone call to pick him up. Ohhh well. His cough is just terrible. Poor little guys has had to deal with this crap since he was 6mo. old. He has gotten so much better due to singular, but it still sucks for him.

So anyways, it has been an eventful few days and I hope I get to relax a little today. Who am I kidding at least the thought was nice...........................

TEN YEARS

On Saturday Sam and I have been married for 10 years. WOW. We have been through plenty of rough times, but all in all it has been a wonderful 10 years of marriage. I think probably the roughest part is we didn't do it the "right way", and had a child when we got married. So not only did we have to learn each other but also had to learn to be parents. But obviously we don't mind being parents...4 kids later. I truly adore being a wife and mother.

Sam and I usually like to have a weekend together for our anniversary, but I don't believe that will work out for us this year. So instead we had Dev's friend spend the night Friday and took care of 5 children. Friday night was nice. Our kids get along pretty well, so they just played in the room and it was extra exciting due to DD's friend who stayed over. The kids had McD's for dinner and Sam made us grilled steak with stuffed pepper...yum yum. He is such a good cook. He also got this spicy humus dip, and it was awesome. I enjoyed a bottle of wine and he had his usual beer, but he did find Flying Dogs In Heat Wheat beer which is so good. It was just nice to be at home and enjoy a good dinner with him. It would have been better without children, but I will take what I can get.

We got up Saturday, did our yard work then got dressed and went into Branson. We had promised the kids the night before we would take them to the new PetCo in Branson...yes that is what is fun for this family:)!! Plus we had DD's friend all day, so we wanted to get out of the house instead of listening to them in a bedroom all day. Anyways, the pet store was nice, and we got to shop at Kohl's (which I love). We went to the Walmart, yes another exciting adventure for us Deatons, and I didn't like it. It was too big. We took Dev's friend home and invited mom over to watch the Gator game and enjoy another great dinner. Mom and I had so much fun watching that game. We just got goofy over our Gator boys. It was a very exciting game. Loved it.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was watching HBO Sunday night. It was the new season for Entourage, and True Blood is a new show this year. It was awesome.

So it was a nice weekend. It's always crazy to me that I have been married this long and have a child 10 years old too. Time flies by. I'm so thankful to have my family, and hope that we enjoy the next 10 years together too.

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day Weekend....the last great weekend of the summer. Makes it great for so many reasons...the greatest is you know to live it up because it is the last holiday weekend of the summer. Kind of depressing for me because the last couple of years it has also been the last weekend we go to the lake and swim. We all know the dreaded winter will be here before we know it so of course my family spent our time at the lake.

We started our weekend off by going to Sam's parents house Friday night and spending time with them. It was nice...Sam made the best grilled hamburgers I have ever put in my mouth. And I am not lying here, they were done perfectly and had feta cheese all through it. YUM YUM. I also tried a new Moscoto wine that was very good.

Saturday we had to get up early because we got a new garage...YEAH. This house had the same wood garage since the 70's, and it finally gave up the fight during one of our many rainstorms this year. The wood got so heavy that it disengaged itself from the motor and tore apart in a many places. We got a steel back door with a new motor and even a key pad...the extra security:)!! It's great. Love it.

They got done with the roof around 3ish, and we packed up for our weekend at the lake. The nice thing is mom lives right on the lake...it's perfect. Of course we had a cooler packed for a week, and no food in it:)!! Our car seriously looked like we were gonna be gone for awhile, but that's what it's like when you have 4 kids. Anyways...after getting to moms, Dan and Andrea got there shortly after. Always good times hanging out with them. We headed down to the lake. It was beautiful...a little windy so the adults stayed out of the water and hung out on the dock enjoying our beverages. The kids don't care what the wind is like they just want to be in that water. They love it.

We had a great dinner, and enjoyed some card playing. I truly thought my boys would sleep in...that's what I get for thinking. They got up before 8am. We watched some sponge bob and then took Bronson (my brothers awesome lab) for a swim, and then hung out at the pond for awhile. Truly a way you want to wake up if it has to be early. Beautiful is the only way I can explain it. We had a late breakfast because all the other lucky people got to sleep in. We enjoyed looking at some pics of when Dan and I were little...fun. And then we packed up our stuff and spent the entire day out at the lake. It was PERFECT. The weather was sunny and warm and the water felt perfect. Dan and I had a diving competition and I hate to admit it but he did a lot better than me. Only on the "no splash" mine was prettier!!

We got home and enjoyed a meal and fell asleep early. Thank goodness I had Monday off because I really needed some sleep. We all (except Sam he had to work) slept in until 10am...it was soooo nice.

Our weekend was great...being with family and on the lake. We missed you dad. Just glad you made it through Gustav!!!! Thanks again Dan and Andrea for the gifts, and mom for the food and hospitality!!