It's 4:34am...

...and I am waiting for Korben to finish his chicken nuggets. That's right, nuggets.

To preface: Korben has had a horrible cough for 2 days now and for 2 nights I have not gotten a lick of sleep due to non-stop coughing and occasional puking.

At 3:30am I started looking for 24 hour urgent care centers. This was after a steam shower, vicks, cough medicine, inhaler and a vaporizer having ZERO effect on said cough. Guess how many 24 hour urgent care centers there are in Utah County? ZERO. ZIP. NADA. ZILCH. A billion kids in Pleasant Grove alone and ZERO 24 hour centers. Really?

Around 3:50 the crazed google search for home remedies started. I found one. We tried it. It worked. (Click Here for Remedy) It didn't completely get rid of the cough - but for the first time in hours Korben was getting a few minutes in between coughs. For good measure, Mike gave him a blessing and we said a prayer together. Mike was skeptical about the blessing because through the whole thing, Korben kept saying ,"In the name of..." over and over because he didn't want Mike's hands on his head. We both had a hard time holding our laughter in, but I like to think that God has a sense of humor - especially when it is 4am, you haven't had any sleep so are slap happy, and you are dealing with a special kid like Korben.

So in reality the home remedy definitely helped, but I imagine the blessing is what now has Korben sleeping - cough free for exactly 12 minutes so far.

Oh - and the nuggets were the first food he specifically asked for without prompting in 2 days. How can you deny a kiddo that?

It is now 4:52. It is silent in the house and I am off to hopefully get my first really good sleep in days. Yay!

Korben's Thoughts

Korben has hit one of his bursts of speech development again and the result this time around has made for lots of laughter. All of his little conversations stem from something he has been taught, or seen, but his take on all of it is quite amusing:

1) After playing Mario Kart Wii at his cousin's house:

K: Mommy we need to buy Mario Kart Wii.

Me: Well that costs a lot of money Korben.

K: Does it cost 1 cent?

Me: Nope, it costs a lot more than that.

K: 3 cents?

Me: Nope, even more than that.

K: 100 cents?!

Me: Korben, 100 cents is the same as 1 dollar. Mario Kart Wii will cost about 200 dollars.

K: >with raised eyebrow< Hmmm...Well then Daddy needs to go to work.

2)Monday morning:

K: Mommy?

Me: Yes, Korben?

K: I am a Mormon - just like Jesus.

Me: >stifling laughter< Yes Korben, yes you are. :)

3)After talking about families at school and having Jared live with us for 8 months:

K: Mommy, you are my mommy and Kate.

Me: That's true Korben.

K: And Daddy is daddy and Mike.

Me: Yep - that's true too.

K: And Logan is my brother.

Me: Yes he is.

K: And Jared is my other brother.

Me: Haha - no Korben, Jared is your uncle.

K: Oh. He's my uncle brother?

Me: No, just your uncle. :)

4) After hearing the Easter story and watching Tangled:

This one had us laughing for days. For our Easter FHE we made a cute craft where you make a paper cup look like Heaven (with blue paper and cotton balls) and then you can pull Jesus up into "Heaven" (on a string) after He is Resurrected. After his was finished, Korben started singing the flower song from Tangled as he rose Jesus to heaven and then said:

"Mommy, Jesus died. And then He was in the tomb. And then 3 days later Rapunzel sang and Jesus was alive again." (It worked for Flynn Ryder so I suppose he figured it would work for Jesus too.) Haha

5) After learning about different titles for girls and boys at school and having parents with a 9 year age difference:

K: Daddy, you are an old man.

Mike: Ok...ouch.

K: And Mommy is a young lady.

Me: Hahahahahahahahaha...Oh, sorry Mike. :S

6) No idea where he got this:

Me: Here you go Korben.

K: Why, thank you Captain Mommy!

7) We have been working with him for a while to not say "water like ice" when he wants ice water:

K: Mommy, can I have water...WITH ice?

Me: Sure Korben. You can also call it ice water.

K: Um... That's just silly Mommy.

I just love my Korbenator.

The other day he wanted to take pictures - so here we are in all our glory.

The Curious Tale of Wiggles Jr.

Once upon a time there was a fish named Wiggles Jr.

Now, to understand this tale there are a few things you should know:

1) Wiggles Jr. is a Tiger Oscar Fish. He is about 8inches long and will eventually be about a foot long. He is named after our first Tiger Oscar that we owned in Washington (see Wiggles here)

2) Oscar fish are commonly called the "puppy dog fish" because a) they beg for food, b) they will "play" with people, and c) they respond to and know who their owners are.

3) Oscar fish are quite strong.

~~~~~~~~~~

Our tale begins last week when Wiggles Jr. started to get very aggressive about eating his food. He is by far the most animated about begging for food out of the 3 Oscars that we have. Last week I dropped in his pellets like normal and ended up taking a full face of fish water as he lunged for them (with amazing speed I might add). It only took one fish water bath for me to start dropping in the pellets with an outstretched arm and a quick jump back with each feeding.

Fast forward to a few days ago where our curious tale unfolds:

I was talking to Kara that particular afternoon when Wiggles Jr. started performing his "I'm desperate for food, please feed me" dance. Without thinking too much about it, I grabbed some pellets, opened the lid, and at arms length dropped them in the tank. Within seconds Wiggles lunged up, up, and apparently had no sense of just how powerful he was because he jumped right out of his tank and flew straight towards me. I yelped (okay screamed) as his giant fish body came flying at my face and then fell to the carpet landing right at my feet. I yelled to Kara "Oh my gosh the fish just jumped out of his tank!" and threw the phone with one goal in mind - SAVE MY FISHY!

In a panic I looked for something I could grab him with (because as much as I love the thing, I was NOT going to pick him up with my bare hands). With no net in sight I ran to the kitchen thinking a bowl would do the trick. I reached down to scoop him up and instead of calmly sliding into the bowl like I imagined, about a foot up he decided to freak out and flipped out of the bowl, onto the piano, back to the floor and started flipping his body all over the carpet. Now realistically I know he was simply practicing some self preservation, but in my mind at the time it was more of a full on fish assault. If I had remembered that Kara was still on the phone and could hear everything, I might have exercised a little self control and decorum- but let's face it, I turned into a complete sissy-face and in between yelps was screeching, "Come on fishy, I'm trying to save you!"

I'm glad to report that our story does have a happy ending, and that after only one more fruitless try with one bowl, I was able to rescue him between two. Although he did give his best effort to escape them, he is again alive and well in his tank.

A few notes:

1) After Wiggles Jr. was safe and sound and my heart had slowed down a bit, I remembered that Kara was still on the phone. When I picked it up, I was answered with hysterical laughing which could only mean I had put on quite the show in my great fish rescue. I realized the whole thing-mainly my reaction, was simply ridiculous. Now don't get me wrong - it would have been sad had the poor fish died (let's be honest though, it would have served him right for his overzealous eating habits). The whole thing probably only lasted 30 seconds or so, but to me (and the fish I'm sure) it felt like a lifetime. Who knew a fish could evoke such sheer panic in a person? A little dramatic on my part over a silly fish? Probably.

2) I hadn't realized that throughout my hasty rescue, Logan had been standing by watching the whole silly thing unfold. After I sat down and he realized it was all over, he marched straight to the tank whipped out his finger and in his sternest voice possible demanded, "Fishy! You stay in your tank or you are going to have a time out!" This brought on a whole new round of laughter and was a delightful ending to an otherwise all to serious (to me) event.

3) Before this instance, Wiggles was the target of much bullying from the other two Oscars. He has, however, apparently gained a new sense of self assurance since his brush with death and has the other Oscars cowering whenever he comes near. So death defying stunt in fish = newly confident fish and current king of the tank.

~~~~~~~~~~

This story is, to date, the most odd thing that has ever happened to me. And that my friends, is the Curious Tale of Wiggles Jr. :)

Easter 2011

As our boys get older, all holidays seem to be more fun. Korben is excited for each holiday for at least a week in advance and that excitement rubs off on the whole family. This year we were lucky to have an addition to our fun - Max joined us while Kara was in the hospital having her baby (Yay!)

On Friday, Korben was thrilled to have an Easter party at school. I found a cute craft online and we had a blast making little bunnies for his friends. When he got off the bus he had whiskers on his cheeks, bunny ears, and a name tag that said, "Raisins". He soon informed me that "his real name was Korben, but his bunny name was Raisins." Haha

On Saturday we had an Easter Egg Hunt. The weather was perfect and the boys had a blast. We colored eggs in the afternoon with our neighbors and we got to see a brand new baby - so the day was pretty much perfect.:)

Baby Zane Auzro Hill - Isn't he a cutie?

The Three B's of March

Bed

Nearly every night we have a battle with Logan as to where he is going to sleep. Don't get me wrong, I love that Logan loves his brother - I do not love that he insists on sleeping in his brother's bed. Most nights it starts with lots of giggling, leads to someone getting hurt, and is followed up with numerous threats from Mike & I. But on occasion, Logan waits till Korben is asleep and then sneaks into his room - and this is how we find them.

I like having them in separate rooms for a lot of reasons, but a bunk bed is being considered. :) Bump The other day Logan had a run in with the cement. The worst part was that I could have prevented it had I immediately followed my instincts. Luckily his face is healing nicely and I don't think there will be any scarring. I suppose this is just one more accident to add to the long list Logan is making for himself. I took a picture, but it was day 3 of the healing process and doesn't actually look that bad. I did want to point out his disgustingly long lashes though. The ladies aren't going to stand a chance against him.Birthday I had a wonderful birthday complete with treasure hunt, a yummy cake (made by my 3 favorite boys), a delicious dinner, girl time with my sisters, and the exact gift I wanted. 26 years old - I am officially rarely ever the youngest in a group setting. This is odd for me since I have always seemed to be one of the "babies" whether it be in callings, at girls nights out, or just among friends in general (probably something to do with getting married at 18). This could possibly be less about my age and more of a result of being back in Utah - the cradle robbing state. LOL. All the same, Happy Birthday to Me.

A Little About Logan

At 3 years, Logan is a joy to have around. He keeps us laughing with his silly faces, his ginormous smile, and his funny antics. Here are a few captured moments of the cuteness:

Nothing like a cheeser smile :D

And making funny faces when playing with cousin Landon...

And sharing the goodness of Nutella (a.k.a. "Chocolate Bread") I feel bad because I often overlook the growth in Logan since standard milestones come so easily to him. We seem to document all of Korben's accomplishments and yet just expect them from Logan so don't make as big of a deal out of them. I am proud of Logan and love to see how much he grows and changes each day. So here are some snippets of Logan's growth (The Star Wars theme isn't necessarily "growth", just something he does often):

President's Day

For President's Day, Lindon Elementary had a "Patriotic Sing". Korben's class sang "This Land Is Your Land". He did such a great job - unfortunately the teacher stood right between him and I so the video didn't turn out. However, Korben was very obliging to give me a solo performance when we got home so that I could share it with the family. :)