Just a Little Bike Ride

The boys love riding their bikes. We are so lucky to live around wonderful bike trails. The other night we decided to head out on the bikes. This was Owen's first ride on his bike and not in the trailer. He is amazing. He about eat the pavement once but he did not even miss a beat. He just kept going. The boys are growing up so fast. (you will notice Lizzie opted to stay home and listen to music)

Barlow's go back to school

Another Year Set to Begin

As I sit here tonight looking for ideas for creative lunches, I am struggling to think my sweet little Hayden is heading to all day school in just two days. Today he had Open House. It was the first time he met his teacher, Mrs. Bailey. She is so super sweet. She is a quiet, sweet, tender teacher. I made her a cute little candy bouquet and as he went to give it to her before the open house, he shook he was so nervous. She almost teared up to think he was that nervous. We are lucky in first grade this year, we are starting the year with 14 students... What a great class size. And several are LDS, so I am excited he will be able to bond with some other LDS boys this year. His buddy Carter is in his class too. So he is happy about that.
It is still hard to believe that we are all growing up so quickly. As my Grandfather reminded me last night, the kids aren't the only ones getting older... Monday will be hard. I don't know that I am ready for Hayden to be away from me for six hours a day. But I think he is ready and that is all that matters.

Update on the Target Saga

This morning I received a phone call from the Administrative Assistant at the Target District office for Las Vegas. I was told that she "empathizes with my situation" which in retail speak means I don't give a crap. She then told me I needed to send my complaint in writing and gave me the info on who to send it to. (already done.) What a joke. They will "coach" him on his behavior. Again, retail speak, tell him he got a complaint, if that much. I am so sad to think they are not taking me seriously. And I am clueless... I have never complained about someone before, nor did I ever have any one complain about me to any of my DM's. So I don't even really know where to go from here. I am up for suggestions. I will let you all know what response, if any, I get from the letter that I sent.
amy

BOYCOTT SILVERADO RANCH TARGET

Everyone knows I love Target. Even more, I love the Silverado Ranch Target... So you have to understand just how upset I am to be writing this. Today, I thought I would finish our back to school supply shopping; with all four kids. No big deal, they are generally good when shopping. We were at Target had most of what was on our list and we were waiting. I STOOD near the Mens section, off to the side with Owen sitting in the front of the cart and Camden standing in the basket. WE WERE STANDING THERE. I actually still had my hand on Camden to get him to not hit Owen when a gentleman (I use the term loosely) by the name of Travis walked up put his hand on Camden's shoulder and address CAMDEN( A two year old): "You need to sit down." he said to Camden, not to me... HELLO parent, adult, over the age of two... Don't you think I should be the one being spoken to. I looked at him directly and said, "If he's not sitting for me, he's not going to sit for you." I then told him when we moved he would sit. That is when he told me that if I wanted to use his cart, he would need to sit right then and if I didn't make him sit now, I could leave. So that is exactly what I did. When I got home, I called the store to get information for the District Manager and guess what they had no idea who it was or how I could get a hold of her. RIGHT!!! I did get the information from a very nice gentleman at the new Henderson store.
I think had he approached me, not my child, I would probably be okay with it. He needs to sit, I understand, it's not safe but don't TOUCH MY CHILD and don't reprimand my child. At Gymboree if I would have tried something like this, Heather would have lost it. Not to mention, at the Meadows the parent would have kicked my tail. In retail there is a way to redirect childrens behavior, we discussed it many times on conference calls and in meetings, this was definitely not a way I was every told to do it. It's just unprofessional to approach a child like that.

All is Well

I just wanted to thank everyone who has checked in on the kids and me. So, thank you so much for your thoughts and phone calls and visits. I am so lucky and happy to have the friends that I have made.
Owen is feeling much better. He still has a cough that sounds like he is a 80 year old chain smoker. It took him a full week to feel better. He is still run down and wants to sleep alot. But overall he is back to his crazy fun self.
Hayden can finally eat again. It turned out his illness had nothing to do with his trip to the baseball game. He had a tooth infection. I called the doctor a couple of Thursdays ago and said he was starting to have problems with it but they dismissed me like I didn't know what I was talking about and scheduled an appointment a week later. So three days into the week, his jaw swelled, his tooth abscessed and his fever spiked. Huh, mom did know what she was talking about. I will be glad to return to the Gubler Family Dental practice, I really don't care for this dentist. Anyway, I started him on antibiotics that he had left from something (they were still good) last Tuesday afternoon when all was clear to me and he has reacted very well to it. He can again eat. His Church pants were super baggy today.
I will be happy to have his personality back to normal. He still needs to rest.
Camers is doing great !!! He spent time over at "rampa bUUUsses" Grandpa Bruce's house last night (He says it so cute)no accidents and no accidents in nursery today either. I just can't tell you how excited I am that I don't have to buy diapers. Even more, I don't have to change diapers anymore. He thinks he's pretty cool. It helps that the Nursery Leader and workers praised him too. My baby is growing up... YEAH !!
And finally... Lizzie is all set for Middle School. We went on Friday and picked up her schedule, found her locker and classes and all that fun stuff. Wow, Del Webb is a NICE school. She is excited she has a friend in her first period class and her best friend in her PE class. A sweet little girl in our Ward has the locker under Lizzie's. That's right Lizzie scored a top locker.
So as I said, all is well. Lane is working in Phoenix this week. I don't really understand that one, but oh well. He is staying at a hotel with a kitchenette so I made him a weeks worth of meals and froze them so he will eat well this week. Not to mention I will have to do minimal cooking this week. But that is where we are. Life starts getting crazy this week. I head into the school to start getting stuff together to sub. (and get my PTA stuff together too.) Again, thanks to everyone for the prayers and thoughts for the family. They are always appreciated.

This week's Project

One of my close friends had a very beautiful little girl two weeks ago. Today was her baby shower. I have been planning since last November what I wanted to give her. Jaynee is a very special person. She is a wonderful friend who I love to spend time with. And I actually take the time away from the family to head to dinner or lunch with her. Which is something I rarely (very rarely)do. But I enjoy talking and laughing and having adult conversations with her. She is also Owen's teacher. So sending my precious Owen off to school is easy knowing he is in a class with a teacher that loves him as much as she does.
As you can tell, I wanted to do something very special for her. I am not a very crafty person. I love to do it, but I am not very good. I have NEVER in my life used a sew machine. Anything I have done up to this point has been done by hand. But, I wanted her gift to be special. I decided a few months ago I would make her a hooded bath towel. Then to go along with it, I made a couple of receiving blankets with burp cloths. My burp clothes weren't that cool though, I had to make them square, I couldn't cut the kidney shaped ones. I am pretty proud of myself. My stitching isn't straight and it is definately not perfect, but it is definatly from the heart and made with love.

On to the Next Stage of Life

As I celebrate the arrival of my good friend Jaynee's sweet little princess, I have begun to ponder how we are beginning a new stage in our family. Lane and I sat with Frank, Jaynee and Khloe for a little while Sunday, it really hit us. They are at the beginning, and we have moved on from the baby stage. Although she is a gorgeous little one, and I love holding her. I am not envious, nor do I feel the yearning for another. Lane and I bought our last box of diapers last month. Owen is in preschool, Hayden is in first grade and Lizzie is beginning Middle School. Life is changing. Normally I am not big on change but these are good changes.

Camden is almost completely potty trained. I know we will have an occasional accident, but he is doing very well. I think he misses his diapers. Every now and then he will ask for one, but then we let him pick out a new pair of underpants to put on instead. He is the cutest little guy, but now he looks even older with out his diaper bulge.

Owen is still in preschool, I am happy to say he is staying at Wolff for the time being. (We'll see how the progress goes.) The big change for Owen is he is learning to ride a bike. He has been riding it throughout the house. This is a great thing considering yesterday he was flat down again with a fever and the horrible cough he has.

My sweet little Hayden is starting first grade. For the past three years, we have had half day school. He is getting a little nervous about starting first grade. He picked out his backpack. A very cool Bumblebee Transformers backpack. And after about 6 stores, I found a lunchbox that matched. This is something I am very weird about. They have to match. He keeps reminding himself that Carter and Kiley are in his class next year and that seems to be calming him. He is also looking forward to the new bigger "park" (playground). I know he has a wonderful teacher who will be great with him, so I know he will be just fine. Not to mention starting on the 10th of Sept, until track break, I am there too. Then off and on. It is my home away from home. Camden thinks he has free reign of the school.

Then we move onto our biggest change... Lizzie goes to middle school. Okay, so not ready for this one. Although she is crazy about the Jonas Brothers and has had a crush on a boy from another Ward in our Stake, she is not a Middle Schooler. I don't want her to be a middle schooler. She is back to being my sweet, innocent beautiful little girl. She had a rough time a few months ago, but realized her personality changed when she started hanging around a couple of girls. She moved on to a great group. She is really looking forward to tennis with Amaya and Tessa. Her best friend Macy and her compliment each other so well. She has a few other really good friends. They are just down to earth GOOD GIRLS. I know she will be fine in middle school. But it did seem weird to watch Lane and her walk out of the huge school.
So life is changing. I am so happy to be home and able to watch it change. Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to subbing also. The greatest part of that is it is as much as I want. I can still be a mom... I am more organized as a working mom, so I think this will the best of both worlds for me. So as this Barlow Family progresses on to new adventures, I can't help but think of how lucky I am to have such a loving family to set off with.

The Excitement Continues

So our week of excitement has continued. Hayden has a good friend who lives only 5 houses away. They have been spending a lot of time playing outside and at each others houses. Saturday was no expection. They went back and forth, and in between. We are so excited for him to have a good friend so close. He can play and be a normal kid. Well, after playing all day, Hayden went with the Flannery Family to the 51's game. It seemed a little weird for him to be gone. We don't let any of the kids really go anywhere with anyone. But we decided to let him go. He had a blast. But he came home super thirsty. Long story short... About 2 I got a strange feeling and went into his room, he was burning up. He was dehydrated and heat stroked. He responded well to he rehydration and rest. We didn't have to visit the ER again but came really close. So, the week is over, and a new one has begun. We are going to hide I think for a while. We need to regroup and put the craziness behind us. Talk to everyone soon.
Amy

PS - Angie - be glad you took Brooke, I found out Owen is contagious for 3-5 days. I would hate for your family to get this too. Talk to you soon !

Another BIG Event

So as the week has progressed, we have had one thing after the other. Lane and I had thought our craziness had ended. At about 2:30 this morning Owen woke up with what I thought was an asthma attack. I am still amazed that such a small sound from down the hall can wake me up as quickly as that. Normally I would just give him a breathing treatment and put him back to sleep without waking Lane, but not this time. I immediately woke Lane. He brought Owen downstairs and we gave him the breathing treatment. It did not work. We gave him another. Lane got dressed It barley worked. He was able to breathe but still not well. So off they went to the Emergency Room. It turns out, Owen has Croup. He was the 4Th child into Sienna last night with it. Before he left another one was brought in by ambulance with it. This was only our second trip to the ER with our children, the first was when Hayden was only a few weeks old, so we are not used to it. What a scare. I am so grateful that he is okay, that it was something they could treat and send him home. I don't think I usually one to take my children's health for granted. I guess I needed reminder of just how lucky we really are.

Promotion Pt 2

Lizzie's Promotion Pictures

PROMOTIONS Part 1

Well this week has been huge in our family. Hayden has graduated kindergarten. He is officially moving to First Grade, all day school for my little man. He was so cute. He sang his little heart out. You can see him put all that he has into each song that he sang. He even did the "Can Can." I just can't tell you how cute he was. He was so excited. He is ready to go to first grade. I know he will have a wonderful teacher. We thought long and hard about who would be the best fit for him and I think he got her. He will have one of his best buddies, Carter, in his class. I think he will do well. Me on the other hand. I am not handling the changes happening in this house to well.

Fifth Grade Celebration and Sock Hop

It is finally over. Yesturday was the annual fifth grade celebration. Normally it is a Fifth Grade Dance, this year we switched things up. If it were a "dance" most LDS kids would not be able to go. So since I was in charge, I changed the name and added a few little things to it and turned it into a big party. Our theme was "Sock Hop." I had an amazing committee... I have to say publically this would not have been the "PARTAY" it was with out them !!!

We spent most of Friday afternoon and evening decorating. Kristen Truman kept everything organized and flowing. She is amazing. I have been so blessed to get to know her this year. She is the woman who does it all and looks perfect doing it !!! Thanks Kristen !!!

We thought it would be fun to have a penny candy table. This is where the kids could pick out their own candy and fill a bag. We had candy necklaces, licorice, taffy, and bazooka gum to name a few. My sweet friend Angela took charge of this. Even though she was swamped with end of the season dance craziness, she found the time to help me. She is truely one of the sweetest, most beautiful woman I know. Thank you Angela for your hard work and friendship.

PTA has a new family who is a blast to work with. The Sanchez Family makes everything bigger and better. They donated In and Out Burger to keep the Diner theme going. It was amazing. Burgers and all the fixings. They also dressed the part. April spent the weekend making poodle skirts for herself and her girls and they were sooo cute. I can't say Thank you enough to these two. So much pressure was lifted when Robb said he would handle to food. THANK YOU SO MUCH !!! You went above and Beyond.

Also in the diner was the soda float station. It was equipped with the soda jerks and all. Robb Sanchez and John O'Connor looked the part and I think even enjoyed themselves while doing it. They served any ice cream or float you wanted. It isn't often you get men to these functions, and even less often you can get them to enjoy themselves while helping you out. Once again, too much fun. Robb and John from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU !!!

< div>No 50's party is complete with out the cotton candy. My darling friend Fawn came to the rescue on this one. She is the Cotton Candy Queen. She has her own machine even. She was up to her ears in cotton candy and kept a smile on her face. I was so happy to have her help. Her daughter is one of Lizzie's best friends, and I am so excited to have them be friends. Macy is a true friend to Liz. And in 5th grade that is hard to come by. Thank you Fawn for being a trooper and helping me out !!! Thanks.

Also, Thanks to Deb Marimberga for being a sport and helping where ever she needed. And she was the only other parent to dress up. I had planned on it but ran out of time. Deb is another amazing woman and mom. She is always there to help. I am so glad I had you to rely on. Thank you. Thank you to Lisa Detlaff also. Lisa was almost not able to come but I am so happy she did. Thanks for you help!!! Bridgette, you rock. You are so supportive and helpful. PTA would not be the same without you. Everything I have done, you have been right by my side helping me. Thank you...and John for everything.

It hit me Monday night how lucky I was to have a certain friend. My friend Lyn doesn't have a fifth grader, but she was there right by my side the whole time. She decorated, searched through out nasty shed for things, cleaned up, took pictures the whole nine. I am so lucky to have met her. She was a friend of a friend who has since moved away. But she is such a good friend, Thank you. I cannot begin to thank you for everything....

To Amy Koch, Michelle, Jenell, Alice, Nina, Lori, Karen, Sharon and Sandy THANK YOU !!! You were so kind to donate your time and energy to help our kids out. Thank you!!!

We had such a great time. The DJ was awesome. He kept the party moving. I enjoyed so much the opportunity of this and to be able to share this event with Lizzie was so great. Next time you have a sock hop to plan... I have the people who can pull it off !!!

This is my Life

I think this picture sums up my life. Friday I was getting the boys ready for school. I got them all bathed and dry. Hayden and Owen got dressed. Camden ran off before I could dress him. I picked up the mess in the bathroom. Quickly may I add. And this is what I came downstairs to.

Camden was stark naked, pizza box on his lap, eating right out of it. Notice the already eaten piece next to him as well as the half eaten pieces back in the box.
Again, you just have to laugh.

Old School Party Time

Hayden’s Safari




Hayden turned 6 on July 19th. Normally we have a huge blow out celebration, this year we went Old School. He is really into jungle animals, so we went on a Safari. We invited a few kids from Church and school to the Barlow Jungle. It was a blast !!! I have to admit I was really, really nervous. But all went well. We made safari hats, went on an obstacle course through the jungle to bring supplies to the lion cub, gave bananas to the monkeys, had a bug toss, and had jungle snacks. Lane and I have never done the decorating thing to this extent before, but I had a blast transforming the house to make my sweet little man happy.

This was base camp. Here you found the live worms, dried ants, snake eggs, croc teeth and beetle wings. To wash it all down there was some snail slime. It is amazing what naming foods something different does to it. The kids ate it up.

The kids putting bugs on their hats.

Owen on the obstacle course. They had such a good time with this. The girls rocked this one. My nephew Jacob won, but the girls all came in pretty close to his time.

The cake. It was supposed to be a crocodile. The legs didn’t work so it turned into a snake. (Not my best work, but the kids enjoyed it, Hayden loved it.)