ALL HET UP OVER NOTHING

Birthday and Loveday

2012-02-16T13:29:00.000-08:00

Hub had a Birthday. He is the new scoutmaster in our ward so he spent his birthday money on scout/camp stuff and then even got to be on the winter campout for some of his special day. The kids spoiled him rotten with multiple cards (I think Syd made about 12) and Ethan even gave him two Pokemon cards ( not completely altruistic--now that Hub owns a couple cards Ethan always is trying to talk him into playing Pokemon with him). Mitch made him a fortune teller where Hub always ended up being 'awesome' or 'amazing' and Ike gave him a coupon promising that the next time they played Risk Ike wouldn't lose his temper (another sneaky gift--since Ike was hoping it meant they could play Risk that day). Noelle's card had a picture of her and Hub in the sunshine that made Syd cry because 'where me in the picture?'
Hub is a great hubby and father and deserves more than one day a year where he gets spoiled. I guess there's always Father's Day....

Then three days later it's Valentines Day. I can't complain since my birthday is a week after Christmas, but dang, I'd like to spread out some of these special days a bit more!

Mitch's 'box' is the milk jug, Ethan wanted a dragon, and that other thing is Ike's musical instrument he had to make for his monthly project. He didn't make a box because he's in 6th grade and is too cool for that? So he was the only kid in his class who had a grocery bag be his box. I honestly didn't complain!

Syd and Noelle looking 'loving' and holding the valentines balloon they talked Hub into buying. And then popped 5 minutes after this picture was taken.

Hub and I had a special dinner together while we let the kids watch a movie and then we all did the chocolate fountain. Hub pulls that out a couple times a year and the kids love it. I'm not super fond of the mess, cuz I'm not fun like that, but since Hub does all the cleanup I can't complain. Told you he was special.
All in all, it's kindof nice having occasions to look forward to in spite of the extra work it brings. Now what to do for President's Day?

I need me some padded cells

2012-02-10T20:38:00.000-08:00

So we've had some doozy days of late. My little angelic girls, whom I usually relish during the school hours while the boys are away, have taken up some incredible fights with each other. They wrestle, they yell, they have big dramatic cries, they race to see who gets to hug me first in their distress....ugh. I've had many instances where I've locked myself in my room and bathroom to finish a phone call or have a shower and try to ignore the sobbing and pounding on the door.
Then the boys come home and pick on each other for picking on each other. The irony would be amusing if it wasn't so annoying. So I've had some not-so-nice feelings lately about my otherwise perfect brood. But then I looked at some of the pix from my cell (which didn't transfer great to the blog so peer really closely) and I remembered that I actually really like my kids. And I like hanging out with them.

This is from Ethan and me grocery shopping at Maceys right before the Super Bowl (he was going for the 'patriotics'). He was in heaven since they had a ton of samples and free hot dogs! Ethan's fave food is hot dogs so he was one happy camper. They also had face painting and balloon animals and we had to make a long trip longer by waiting for the dragon to be painted on his face. Sure, the kid knocked down a bunch of stuff in the store and his balloon had popped before we left but he has such a fun outlook on life I can't help but enjoy spending time with him.

This is Mitch right after his performance of a Shel Silverstein poem in school. He happened to choose the longest one about Cynthia Sylvia Stout not taking the garbage out. He amazingly memorized it on his own with no complaining and performed it well. He's one of those smart kids who doesn't need to brag about it and is a great and patient friend. His greatest desire in life is to be checked out of school for no good reason and I like him so much I may just give in one day.

This is Ike at the BYU b-ball game against Gonzaga. We had Grandpa C's excellent seats on row 4 and Ike was in heaven. He's old enough now where we can have somewhat more mature conversations about kids in his class and why he shouldn't eat so much junk food. He actually will talk to adults now and is excited about earning merit badges.

I do get some good one-on-one with the girls but no great cell phone pictures to post as evidence. So the moral of the story? When all the kids are yelling and fighting I shouldn't lock myself in a room. I should lock each of them in their own padded cell (cause you should see Syd throw herself on the floor when she's mad!) and then visit them one by one so I could remember how awesome they are. The end.

The last week of January

2012-02-01T21:11:00.000-08:00

After months of healthiness I was actually relieved to have some sickness in the family. We all have to have our turn, right? Variations of a cough, fever and colds visited everyone but Hub. He must be living right because he rarely gets sick.
Fortunately we still managed to squeeze in our basketball games. Ike and Mitch are playing and having a great time. Ike vacillates between feelings of thinking he's Jimmer and can't be stopped to beating himself up if he doesn't score double digits. Mitch does a great job and has only scored one basket for the other team this year. He's on a team with lots of friends and they all put in a great, sweaty effort.

Some of us were able to also attend Noelle's first dance performance. I was worried that she would be a no-show due to some of her 'issues' with not wanting attention (she refused to get her preschool pictures taken, her eyes or ears tested, etc). She ended up being just fine and told me she didn't even need us to pray for since she wasn't nervous at all. And who wants wasted prayers, right?

She goes to a dance studio with several first cousins and second cousins. (she and Annie were mice, Kylie and Madeleine flowers)

I spent a lot of time and hairspray on Noelle's curls and by the time the show started it was pretty deflated as you can see. Next time I'm giving her a home perm before the show.

That was all.

Now we move onto February. This month is very exciting because it's short and brings us one month closer to spring. Hurray!

Birth Order

2012-01-24T13:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes Hub and I like to play pretend and wonder how different our family life would be if our boys came after the girls. Or if Ethan was the oldest boy and Isaac the youngest? Or if we staggered boy/girl/boy/girl/boy. Would their personalities be much different? Would our house be as battered? Would there be as much fighting or (heaven forbid) even more? We will never really know so it's best to just focus on making the present birth order work. Those times after dinner when all three boys somehow manage to happily throw balls at each other in the basement while the girls go off in their room and play Barbies and there's harmony for about ten minutes......those are the priceless moments.

And let's be honest---after being the mom that was wrestling with her boys at most public venues for several years it's finally MY turn to be the mom with the quiet, listening children at library story time. And how would I know to appreciate that if I hadn't had the beanbag-jumping boys first?

love these girlies

Miss me yet? Anyone? Anyone?

2012-01-18T15:50:00.000-08:00

I can't just keep on doing 3-month recaps so I'm skipping all of that and just pretending like life started today. I will however leave you a tidbit of photo evidence that the holidays did occur at our house. And that we still have not become a photogenic group.

on our way to deliver neighborly treats. Ethan obviously is exuding holiday cheer...

sadly this is the best shot of everyone at Temple Square. See why we don't send out cute Christmas cards?

Now back to TODAY. My Martin Luther King Day resolutions are to resume weekly blogging to preserve our family history. And to not say any bad words. And to make my kids eat more vegetables. And some other good ones that I don't want to share because you might steal them for yourselves and that's cheating yourself of proper introspection.
I now have to batten down the hatches for the impending snow storm and then get ready for a fun YW activity at the mall. Which means we need to eat dinner earlier. Which means I've got to scrounge up some more veggies to fulfill resolution #3.
Peace out.

3 Month Catch Up

2011-10-24T15:06:00.000-07:00

So I took a little bit of a blog sabbatical. And then I kept on accumulating blog-worthy events and pictures and they multiplied like rabbits and before I knew it there was too much too say and no desire to say it! But my dear SIL Laura reminded me that blogging is a form of family history and my guilt drove me back. Lucky for you.
Here is my desperate attempt to capture the last few months in pix:

Ethan and Ike were the only soccer players this fall. That was OK with me since I don't think we could have squeezed more games and practices in without me having to hire a nanny.

We had a great trip to Lagoon with the Kloepers. Too bad my camera battery died before everyone got their picture taken. The sad news was the Ethan was a hair too short for all the big kid rides. We're using that as a bribe for him to consume more calories before next year. Everyone had a great time and a new generation of roller coaster lovers was born.

Noelle had her 5th Birthday with ensuing party. The kids were amazed that Hubby could walk on his hands. I love easy entertainment.

Our fam on the new Payson temple site. We got to see a lot of the prep for the groundbreaking ceremony occur and it will be fun to monitor the progress.

We've been able to go on a few autumn hikes. I lovelovelove warm fall weather! In the bottom pic you may be able to tell Mitch's funny smile has some metal in it. Yep, he got braces. We will be opening his mouth for Christmas, my Birthday, Hub's Birthday, Syd's Birthday....yeah, you get the point. Those things are pricey!

And it wouldn't be fall without a trip the Big Red Barn pumpkin patch/hayride! CC and I took the kiddies and some additional cousins while all the hubs were at the BYU game. It wasn't as chaotic as the shear numbers would say. But I did need to go to bed earlier that night....
*And now I'm as caught up as I'm going to be.

Two Weeks of being Party Animals

2011-08-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

We have been on a whirlwind of family fun lately. We got to babysit a couple of cousins for a weekend and at the same time my NJ sis and fam came a callin'. So we have crammed all sorts of crazy fun into our last bits of summer vacation.

Some of us visited the Sweet's candy factory. It was pretty fun despite the drive and trying to bribe the toddlers to wear hair nets......I won't look at taffy the same!

Have to hit Santaquin canyon for the August Birthdays. Syd loves family gatherings where she can just play in the water jug and eat chips.

My sistas from the same mista

Cousin carnival party. I think it's sweet how Ike and 3-year-old Claire like to hang together

Same carnival party with Cold Cocoa. I look so awesome because I think every party she plans I end up being the 'fortune teller'. She probably needs to google some new party game ideas......

And now on to Di and Bry's fun idea of a marshmallow gun party. Even Noelle loved making a gun

Getting ready for war

Ethan going down from his attempts to storm the castle

Mitch and Hub. Mitch was more into posing while Hub was more into stealth

Second week of sitting through a hot parade. It's worth all the salt water taffy though since now we know how cool it is to make it!

And that was a glimpse of some of our fun. My phone has pix of the ice skating Mitch and I did today and of the park play dates, the water fights and the splash pad and of all the fun we've had just playing around with the cousins (and I can't be expected to download both camera and phone pix in one day!!) But how great is it that from both sides of our families my kids have over 50 built-in friends? Cousins rock.
And now we have one week left to acclimate back to a life where we don't go somewhere fun everyday and we have a set bedtime and we don't need to pack the bugspray and camping chairs when we leave the house. Wish us luck!

Old news--C Fam Reunion, New news--Ike Birthday

2011-08-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

My fam had our annual reunion mid-July. Great fun as usual. So I thought I'd post some pix of it just to prove that it happened.

So much fun to play at Jumping Jacks with all the cousins and aunts. The uncles weren't as fun because their big bodies kept on slamming into the little bodies......

Uncle Jordan leading a group of kids in a haka.

Hub needing to comfort Syd because she's 2 and her sleep cycle was in desperate need of repair due to the late hours and short naps the reunion allowed

a sampling of the rapt crowd listening to a puppet show. I think. It's already been too many weeks and I can't remember what we did for sure....

Now on to more recent events. My big baby Isaac turned 11. He didn't request much besides Legos, books, clothes, fruit, a panda, a bunny, and gummy candy. He was able to score on most accounts.
The highlight of his party was this:

Basically Hub gets to hit the kids with a swimming noodle while they fight back with pillows. Not really #1 on my list of party games but to Ike it was mandatory. They liked it so much that I'm thinking of hiring Hub out for your parties as well. He comes with his own noodle.

that's all for now.

'Y'ike

2011-07-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

I am providing a treat to you all today by posting my pix in the x-large format. I'm feeling extra generous today.

Our summer is trucking right along. I really don't know what we do all day. If you asked Mitch he'd tell you all we do is chores. But then if you looked in our house you'd know that wasn't true. We have managed to play a lot with friends and cousins and neighbors. We are doing our month-long swim lessons right now taught by Hub. Noelle has mastered the cannonball. She is so proud of herself. She also is riding her bike without training wheels. The boys play soccer and dodge ball in the basement (which is why we will never ever put pictures on the walls down there) and 4-square and other games together. But they also like to fight a lot. I keep on telling myself (and them) that they will be best friends one day. None of us can imagine that yet.

Our kids have reading charts where they pick their prizes and I assign how many reading hours it will take to 'earn' it. This was done when I was growing up and I know many people have similar programs. Ethan had to read 8 hours to earn a hike to the Y. We ended up going on the 4th of July to celebrate our freedoms like being able to hike on steep trails in the heat of the day.

We went with our cousins to the North. Notice how there is no kid under 7 in the picture. That is because my blessed sister had some foresight and volunteered to stay home with the wee ones.

Photo evidence that we made it.
I have ruined all my street cred as an awesome hiker because I had to stop for a good rest not long before the top due to some fear of passing out. Don't know if it was the heat or my old lady-ness or what, but I had to let the whining youth pass me up before I continued on. I will have to re-establish my mountain goat status on another hike to Timp soon.
Anyway, Ethan has given up on the sweaty time-consuming rewards and is back to the much simpler ones like that Godzilla flavored snow cone he wants!

We do leave the house. Occasionally.

2011-06-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

A major highlight of the summer is the trip to Lake Powell with Hub's fam. It's always exciting to see how much stuff we can pack in bags and coolers, actually fit it into our van, then transfer it all onto a boat and then transfer it again to the houseboat and then unpack it all and then do the reverse order in a few days time.

This year Ethan and Mitch got to go down early with the old folks. They got to do some hiking.

Noelle must have picked up some modeling tips from the womb when I used to watch ANTM....

Hub and Syd trying out the water. It was a bit cold for some of the kids. Syd didn't appreciate it. And Hub's arms got super tan by the end of the week in case you're wondering.....

Ike liked to do some fancy jumps off the back of the houseboat. This move was called The Ballerina.

Noelle and cousin Dayton trying to sneak off on a jet ski.

The ever popular tube.

Sometimes the kids just wanted to play in their life jackets on top of the bunk. Go figure.

Boys on the tube.

I only took photo evidence of the good times. No pix of the broken boat, the tantrums, the afternoon wind storms that drove us inside for hours....And that my friends, is how history becomes distorted. But that is a topic for philosophical days. Moving right along....

It's the end of June and we finally made it on a family hike. We are so lucky to live 5 minutes away from some beautiful canyons, lakes and trails.

Hub set the self-timer and didn't quite take his sunglasses off in time.

Told you that Noelle wants to be a super model.

Our little cheeseball kids.

Isn't the scenery lovely? And you can kindof tell that Ethan only picked up two sticks to take home. It's a miracle.

Now you know we're alive, healthy and have been adventurising. I'm pretty sure I just made up that word.

Here we go again

2011-06-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

Summer started and we have yet to turn the AC on or find our slip'n'slide! That is the positive spin on the somewhat turbulant weather. The negative side would tell you how much it stinketh to watch track meets and t-ball games swaddled in winter wear.

Here are my boys on the last day of school. Mitch was the only one who was truly pumped it was the last day.

***We've had a lot of stuff going on since the start of our break. Isaac received his Arrow of Light and now is excited to become a Real scout. He will begin with a bang by attending 11-year-old scout camp this weekend. Thankfully Hub is his scout leader so some good bonding will be going on. (except I heard there have been lots of bear sightings where they are going! Should I pack some bear mace for him??)

***Ethan is loving t-ball with a gaggle of his friends. He's on the Cincinnati Reds and just asked me yesterday 'What's a Cincinnati, mom?" He's the first of my boys who actually wanted to wear the baseball pants and cleats to have a full-on uniform. He might be the smallest on his team but he can hit pretty dang far. Sometimes he's an awesome outfielder too when he's remembering to stand up and pay attention to the game.....

***Ike and Mitch have given up on baseball and are doing track. Track meets are waaay too long, but it's fun to develop a talent for running. (says the lady who hates running) Our track pictures are a little too blurry for public posting. That tells you how fast my boys are.

**We had our family pictures taken by a non-charging family member. Why? Because it would be foolish to pay money when you have children who refuse to look at the camera/smile ever. Sadly this is why Noelle and Sydney have very outdated photos on our family room wall.

***And it was our 13th wedding anniversary! Hub is still very excited to be married to me as you can tell in the picture below.

More later if I feel like it.

New England tour 2011

2011-05-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

I know most of you have been anxiously awaiting my recap. Well, wait no longer. I am really holding back on the deets and about 140 pix since I know most blog readers don't have an attention span for a post longer than a paragraph. (not me though--I love reading all your wordy ones, I promise!) So if you're feeling deprived after reading this call me and I'll give you the 90 minute version......

My parents view from the front door of their 'mission' home. Granby, MA is a beautiful little town.

Reuniting with my parents.... Erin is super talented with the self-timer on her camera.

An old fashioned walk in the MA woods. We even got lost. But I was able to use all my navigation skills I learned at girls camp to bring us to safety. Maybe that is just my version, but Erin can tell hers on her own blog.

BOSTON

Very beautiful Boston Public Gardens.

Picture of the New England Genealogical Society just to show that I can do family history even if I don't live in Utah.

The view of the Boston Harbor on the ferry. Very cool.

Great self picture on the ferry. Look how happy my dad is to be there! You don't know it, but we are freezing our patooties off. Somebody should have told us to wear our coats.

JERSEY SHORE

We got to meet up with my Italian sister, Diana, and her fam in New Jersey. We had a fun time on the beach and driving through the slums of Trenton.

Chillaxin' on the air mattress at Diana's house.

It was a great trip and we had fun at every turn. I love traveling without children. I highly recommend it. And a shoutout to my wonderful Hub who took a couple days off of work to take care of the Crazy that goes on at the homefront. Did I tell you he even took care of my roommom duties by decorating a teacher door? And that there was a nice crockpot dinner awaiting me when I walked in the door? He's awesome.
the end.

Mothers Rock

2011-05-08T11:44:00.000-07:00

I love Mother's Day. It means spring time. It means another holiday in which I can buy stuff for myself and tell my husband he's off the hook. It means school is close to ending and I can stop making my kids do homework. It means I get lots of cute pictures and crafts from my kids. It means I can try to guilt them into being kind by reminding them it's my special day.
But it's also a good time to reflect on all the good moms I know. My mom is Top Dog, of course. She has no match. I can only hope somebody will eulogize me someday and say I was somewhat like her. Hub's mom is also a great mom. She schooled my man into being a great husband and father.
Then there are my good sisters and sis-in-laws who are also wonderful moms. And all my friends who do justice to the title. And my friends who aren't moms yet but are great examples to all the wee ones in their lives. Am I leaving anyone out? I just want everyone to feel the love today. Even if you take your mother's day picture on your front porch and your eldest child is being grouchy and stands a foot behind everyone else. (Isaac was immune to the Mother's Day guilt trip lecture)
Please note my traditional flower pot arrangement. Check in with me in July to see if it's still alive.

Spring Break Cheap Mormon Style

2011-04-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

It's hard to be fun when you don't want to spend money (hello new brakes and rotors on our van!) and you don't really want to mess up naptime (hello most sacred hour of the day!) or bedtime (hello other most sacred hour of the day!) or mealtimes.....so we really had to use our imagination this week to make the kids think it was the Special Break they were deserving. I didn't make them do much homework. And they didn't have as many chores. So that was special. We went to 3 different parks. We went to the track. We went on a bike ride. We went to the library.
But we did manage to sneak in a few trips that were more than 10 miles away from home.
****The BYU Museum of Paleontology AKA The poor man's Thanksgiving Point

My sis and I went with 10 kids. Then we went to the Bean Museum because we hadn't gone insane enough.

Couldn't resist this picture of Sammy crying. He wasn't a fan of the poor man's dino museum.

***Hub took a day off to accompany us to Discovery Gateway. This one was on Isaac since he scored a 6-person-pass at school. Good thing because I can't imagine paying 60 bucks to fight with the rest of Utah County to play with some legos. Just kidding. It was a fun place but waaaaay too crowded. It was fun running into a couple of neighbors there.

(yes, Ethan is wearing a Santa hat in the above pix. He wore it all through spring break. I'm picking my battles, people!)
**We also had a couple soccer practices and a soccer game where the sun actually shone. It was a little bit of heaven after enduring games where it was snowing.

** And the week capped off with Ethan's Birthday party. As you can see and probably know from your own experience with birthday parties, it takes everyone to open up a gift.

And that was our spring break.

Misc. Meanderings

2011-04-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

Exciting news for Ethan. After running around like Nanny McPhee (snaggletooth anyone?) his two front teeth are now the property of the Tooth Fairy. They were dangling from his gums for several days but he wouldn't let us just pull them out. I tried to 'accidentally' bump into him a couple of times, but that didn't even work. Weirdly they both fell out in his sleep, one night right after the other. Probably from his forceful snores!

In other Ethan news, please note his great haircut. He loves to have a buzz and I finally gave in. Kindof. I couldn't quite go as short as a buzz because of some mental issues I have, so instead I opted for the 'starting-to-grow-out' buzz look. And apparently I missed lots of spots and Hub has banned me from any future buzz cuts that occur in the family.

And after 21 days of being potty trained, Syd finally voluntarily told me she needed to go. I finally feel confident about her future in unders.

And lastly, I think I am emotionally ready to start my own Facebook account. I've been missing out on way too many coupons..... I held out from reading Harry Potter for years because it was too trendy and that's why I never did read the Work and the Glory series. But it's time to pick a new cause to boycott. Maybe it'll be Walmart again? Anyhoo, get ready to friend me!

Where I've Been If You Even Care

2011-03-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

We have had some busy times. I’ve been partying hard-- hanging out at the Hale with some oldie but goody friends, chillin’ with some ward gal pals, rocking out at the Battle of the Bands in support of my talented nephew (I missed out on the groupie thing as a teen so I’m just doing it now that I’m 34. Never too late!), sneaking into the dress rehearsal of our local beauty pageant, cheering on my boys at the Derb (actual photos of that one), my continued love affair with Jimmer and last but not least----POTTY TRAINING. So it’s good all those other things were in there or I would have declared myself criminally insane and gone off to live in the land of straight jackets and forced meds.

My life is consumed with Syd’s bodily functions. Is she crossing her legs for fun, or is it because she has to go? What has her input been compared to her output? How many little princess unders can I wash I one day? After a whole week of power struggles and creative diversions to make her actually stay on her Elmo potty seat I think we’re getting the hang of it. Can I hear a Hallelujah?

And here are the aforementioned Pinewood Derby pix. Hub was so disappointed in himself that after 3 years in cub scouts Ike has never had a winner. Ike didn’t really care, so it was nice that Hub felt bad enough for the whole family.

Isaac's face of excitement and Mitch's famous hotdog car that was actually fast.

Checking out the competition....Mitch's hotdog car and Ike's retro car are in the middle

Ethan wanted a part of the action so they let him race his stuffed triceratops.

Syd wanted to disrobe while we were there. She just gets away with what the rest of us want to do.

Trying to make Lemonade.....

2011-03-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

Let’s break down last week, shall we? Our washing machine became a leaker. Being as it’s a senior citizen my hopes aren’t high on how we can maintain our relationship. Our microwave died right after heating up the cornbag that I put in my bed every night to warm up my toes.( Hmmmm, maybe I’m the senior citizen?) Then there’s the chunk of fence Ethan pried off because he couldn’t quite remember how to use the latch…..And last but not least, Noelle ran around the house with a broken pen. Inky fingers weren’t enough and she somehow managed to step in the ink as well. I will be googling ‘ways to remove ink from all flooring surfaces’ when I get up the stamina.

However, on the good side Hub and I left the house sans children for several hours to see the Jazz lose. A loss doesn’t feel as bad when you’re sitting on the front row and get complimentary food…. And Sydney got a new dresser for her Birthday to help alleviate our bloated dresser problem. Sure, we actually put Noelle’s clothes in it, but when you’re two you don’t really care about those things. Isaac started a spring soccer league, Mitch was invited to do a basketball shootout, Ethan went on a field trip to the Scera Theatre that caused him to lose sleep because he was so excited…..so I guess there have been a few positives around here as well. And tomorrow I get to go hang out with Isaac at school while he learns about his ‘physical development’. Wait, that should probably go in the top paragraph with the trials. Pretty sure this is going to rank right up there with broken washing machine. Especially in his mind.

Anyhoo, this here is our life as we know it. Anyone relate?

Special tribute alert

2011-02-25T20:16:00.000-08:00

Syd had a big Birthday today and I wanted to do a special tribute post, but then I felt bad because Hub’s B-day was two weeks ago and I never got around to his….and you know how he gets about that sort of thing. So I think I’ll play it fair and just mush them together. That way everyone gets ripped off a little bit.

bad picture of Hub in front of the Jefferson Memorial

Hub took off to DC the day after his Birthday so his celebration included packing and going to bed early. But that does bring to mind one of his great hidden talents. He is a super packer. Whether it be luggage, cars or meals----that man knows how to fit it all in. I like to just stuff and squish stuff into bags, but Hub has super powers of spatial cognition where everything fits just right.

He’s pretty fun too. He often will ask the kids what they want to do (dangerous territory so I rarely ask such open-ended questions) and then he’ll actually do what they say. Even if it’s horrible like playing Chutes and Ladders.

Unfortunately Hub is not a showoff so his many skills and talents may be surprising to some. Did you know he is great at math and writing and Frisbee golf? He’s good at most sports but he is also artistic and likes to draft house plans. He enjoyed framing our basement and using power tools. He also can sing and dance. But those skills probably won’t be shared outside of the home…. I could go on, but we’ve got to get onto Syd….

Syd and her new baby with matching 'creepy big eyes' as Ike puts it....

Who is now 2! She showed off her age by climbing out of the crib yesterday with nary an injury or a nap. Aarrrgh. She looks like an angel, but definitely is more on the devil’s side of late. She can hit, pinch, scratch and scream like a girl twice her age. She’s mastered saying ‘my turn’ even when it’s not, and can blame others for her messes and smells. She’s also very sweet and will give great hugs and kisses when we’re sad. She’s Noelle’s shadow most of the day and I love watching them play kitchen, house, church, beach, dance class, etc.

Syd spent her birthday playing in the snow, cleaning bathrooms with me, hanging out at Ethan’s class, not napping, and playing at the McDonald’s playland with her sibs. She’s going to be getting a new dresser when we get around to ordering it. I am enjoying her being two and not knowing she’s supposed to have a big shebang birthday party. Unlike Ethan, who knows that his Birthday is in exactly 53 days and wants another dinosaur party or go to Chuck E Cheese or Disneyland….

So that was my Birthday twofer tribute. Hope it was awesome for you.

Evidence of my domesticity

2011-02-15T12:23:00.000-08:00

Some of you may not believe I have great homemaking skills. Maybe due to the fact that I can't thread a sewing machine, I don't use exotic spices and my craft supplies consist of a box of crayons and a tablet of construction paper? Well, today I am going to prove you wrong with my photo evidences (is that plural? or should it be 'evidi' as in 'cacti'? ehhhhh, I'll google it later). Anyway, enjoy!

EXHIBIT A: Proof that I do not let a penny go to waste. After spending LOTS of pennies on this jar of Nutella (those commercials where the kids eat it on whole wheat toast sold me!) I made sure that we didn't prematurely throw the container away. I think after this picture was taken I still managed to make it last on another whole loaf of bread.....

EXHIBIT B: Hub had a Birthday and wanted some weird fruity thing called pineapple upside down cake. Bless his heart though-- he remembered he was going out of town the next day for several days and the rest of us would not be able to consume the leftovers so he opted for a more family friendly mint ice cream cake. I think the picture actually makes it look prettier than it really was....

Exhibit C: Valentine's Day containers. Ethan wanted a simple box that he basically mauled with markers. And by the time it made it to school on Monday he'd added pirate flags and toothpicks and all sorts of paraphernalia. Ike went for the classic milk jug look. Replete with blond wig, Santa hat, and warthog teeth. Mitch was the smart one who kept his from last year. I even think there was still candy in it......

Exhbit D: I am most proud of this accomplishment even if my jealous sister said they looked 'homemade'. I found an online tutorial for no-sew tutus and made some for my girlies for V Day. It was embarrassingly easy and quick and I'd make some for the whole family if I could get my boys into ballet.

There are a ton more ways in which I am a homemaking goddess and would induce Martha Stewart into salivating with envy, but I only had pictures of the above. Use your imagination to wonder what I do with my ground wheat.....

For Real?

2011-02-10T13:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Noelle came running to me upset. “Waaah! He isn’t turning off! Throw him and my zhu zhu pet in the garbage!” After a few more dramatic sobs (she knows it’s Oscar season) she was able to tell me that she was referring to her FurReal dog. You’ve seen these? Cute, little creatures whose heads and tail vibrate upon touch? Not really for real, but close enough for our purposes. Anyway, I tried to push it’s little button to turn it off but it didn’t work. The dang tail kept on wagging and the loud vibrating noise was starting to get annoying. I started hitting it against the table hoping to abuse it in to submission. I threw it on the floor. I read the tag for instructions. Nada. I couldn’t take out batteries because there are none? (How the heck does it vibrate then?? Magic?) This thing was possessed! Just like her zhu zhu pet—months ago Noelle received a zhu zhu pet that was beloved. Until it started going off and on by itself. In the middle of the night. So Noelle’s love turned to to hate. Nobody likes a possessed toy. And now she had two!

I really didn’t know how to fix it. I tried putting it under the couch pillows to muffle the sound but you could still hear it. Naptime was here and figuring out the possessed FurReal wasn’t high on my priorities, so I did the only thing I could think of. I put it on the porch and hoped it would die or some neighbor kid would come steal it. 6 hours later it was vibrating loud and strong. Still on our porch. Hub arrived home, picked it up, tweaked the tail and fixed it. How come he is always the hero?

etc.

2011-01-31T12:51:00.000-08:00

My SIL recently posted a picture of her messy laundry room that embarrassed her husband. My laundry room is messy too but not as fun to photograph as this picture of Ethan's bookshelf. Sadly this isn't the Before picture. It's the After picture as in after he said he cleaned his room. Sure enough, his floor was spotless because everything was stuffed in the closet or on his bookshelf. This picture does not do justice to his paper airplane collection, btw.

And here is Noelle modeling the latest in her own fashion line. I hope Walmart is looking for some new innovative designs. Pretty sure you could offer this as a rollback.

Reality Bites

2011-01-26T20:46:00.000-08:00

I hate to post without a picture and had nothing really relevant to upload.....so I thought I'd go to the irrelevant extreme with this picture of our Christmas tree. This tells you a lot about me. I love to get my Christmas decor down ASAP. This year was no different and though it takes Hub and me and all our kids to pick a tree from a lot and haul it home and cut off branches and decorate it.....It really only takes me to rip it down and toss it unceremoniously out our back deck come Dec. 26th.
Anyway. I just want to say that my poor ten-year-old had a sad realization the other night. My boys love to go all deep at bedtime. That is normal, right? You pester them all day about what happened at school, scouts, b-ball practice, etc. and you get detailed answers full of enlightenment like "I don't know" and "I'm not sure" and "fine". But then, when you're just so excited to put them to bed and have your own freedom, they want to talk about all their issues.
So Ike's 'issue' the other night was that he will never get to be free. He was just doing the math that he will be in school and college, go on a mission, come home and get his doctorate (OK, I added that part) and have a job and he will never be 'FREE'. Summer breaks don't count because they are too short and then most jobs don't give you a summer break.....So it was kindof sad because he is right! His life is mostly planned out and nowhere in our goals is where he gets to be a bum. I tried to tell him that he wouldn't really want to be free for more than a couple of days at a time but he wasn't convinced. BTW, his idea of what freedom is involves playing computer games, football, basketball and eating when you want. Without ever having anyone tell you to stop or making you clean your room. (Probably not exactly the freedom some of our ancestors fought for, but you never know!) I had no more words of solace because then I realized I was never going to be free either! I'll always be worrying about my kids and my husband and my family and friends and my bank account and my stained carpet and the plight of those who text and walk at the same time...Dangit, why did he have to go so deep on me??

Heat Wave

2011-01-18T10:11:00.000-08:00

The above picture evokes many memories for me. The primary one being that despite the smile on my face, I was super-duper ornery. It was 9 in the morning after a night of pretending to sleep in a tent with my kids during my family reunion. We were trying to load up the 200 pounds of belongings we'd had to bring and there was no easy way to the parking lot. Plus there were wasps flying around and our van's storage space seemed to have shrunk over night. And the kicker was that it was already about 102 degrees. Maybe my memory is slightly faulty on that. But for storytelling purposes I'm sticking with it.
Enter January 2011. Two weeks straight of temps in the teens, gunky air, inside recess for restless boys on the verge of ADHD. But guess what? Yesterday we hit 50. We pulled the new Christmas bike out of the garage and miraculously none of the other bikes had flats! We hit our favorite drag-- the local church parking lot (Since we are in such a righteous neighborhood we have two churches with adjoining lots--makes for great bike riding). And today is another winner. Give me those ornery hot days of summer anytime over the dreary gray days where your fingers feel frostbitten just opening the car door.
Catch you later---I'll be laying out on the top layer of snow in my bikini.

A Non-Gamer's guide to Games

2011-01-06T13:57:00.000-08:00

Now that the holiday season is over and we are partied out, I can offer my expert advice on fun games to play. My disclaimer is that I am NOT your typical game person. I can’t shuffle very well and I can’t ever remember the rules to most card games but I am an awesome person with perfect opinions. And with that, here is my guide:

GAMES THAT I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU NEVER PLAY

*Monopoly

*Life

*Settlers of Catan

Nothing personal with the above games (actually it is), but they all require too much TIME. Fun games should not take longer than 15 minutes and they also shouldn’t require enough brain power that you’d miss something if you had to go change a diaper, make a sandwich, or carry on a conversation with someone across the room.

FUN GAMES I RECOMMEND FOR ANY PARTY:

*25 Words or Less

*A to Z

*Anomia (new find from faraway sis)!

*Catchphrase (wouldn't be conference weekend without it, though I think I have most of the categories memorized by now)

All the above games are fun word-speedy- yell out games that make me break out from my demure nature. They’re great for a group and can often get those other demure people involved.

So go return the that Settlers of Catan expansion set Auntie Beulah bought you, and invest in some of my game suggestions.

(Of course, if you really are angry that I dissed some of your faves or wondering why I didn’t recommend SkipBo, then you and Hub can get together for game night anytime. He’s up for anything. As evidenced by the fact he played High School Musical Monopoly Jr. with the kiddies…..bless his heart.)

Perfect Timing

2010-12-26T20:44:00.000-08:00

How great is it that the MS truck is coming tomorrow morning? Everyone is a little more willing to part with their junk now that they've got some shiny new toys to play with!

We had a fun week-before-Christmas mainly because for once most of my shopping was done in advance. Remind me to do that again next year.
We ventured to our capitol city for a trip to the Planetarium. We walked on the moon.

And we found strange life on Mars.

Then we went to Temple Square for the annual cold walk. We also had a chance to wish Joseph Smith a pleasant birthday and give him a foot massage.

We also enjoyed a trip to the bookstore and a fancy restaurant courtesy of the grandparents. ('fancy' meaning there was no playland and a tip was expected. I was hoping that by calling the place fancy my kids would behave like it was fancy. Unfortunately we will always still feel the need to crawl under tables and dump salt and pepper shakers no matter the locale.)
We visited some relatives, went sledding, had our traditional Christmas Eve pizza and lit candles at the cemetery. Finally the big day arrived and there was much happiness in the land. Again, this Christmas was mainly sponsored by the LEGO company. (props to Hub who has the patience to help the younger two boys put their sets together)(but lets go ahead and give me props too for helping Ike do a big boy puzzle. I hate puzzles over 25 pieces.....)

We'll go ahead and also thank the Disney Princess franchise for coming in a close second and providing lots of things pink this year. (Syd is holding out her sucker stick for me to throw away. Yes, that was her breakfast.)

We've had a wonderful Holiday season with lots of fun activities combined with celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. I hope yours has been just as enjoyable. Merry Christmas a day late!

Need Me 4-Wheel Drive

2010-12-21T12:56:00.000-08:00

School was cancelled today due to the monstrous piles of snow we've received in the last couple of days. This was the last day of school before Christmas break so it's really not like they were going to miss anything educational. However, I was a little bummed because I spent a lot of time calling around scheduling refreshments and decor for Mitch and Ethan's class singing program and it was all for naught. Plus they were disappointed to not get to do the program they've been practicing for weeks. But all the snow playtime and the relaxed indoor time has made up for it. Plus it's nice to see all the neighborhood come out and help shovel snow and dig each other out.
As far as interesting life tidbits....Hub was at a pet hospital helping with their employee benefits and a lady came in the waiting room with an injured hand and an injured cat. Apparently there was an aggressive dog issue. Anyway, she saw Hub in his business attire, knew she was in UT county and asked if he would give her cat a blessing. And he did. Should this story make me laugh? It did. Hub insisted it wasn't as weird as it sounds.....

Scary Santa Sightings 2010

2010-12-08T12:57:00.000-08:00

We had a jingle bell rockin' weekend with 3 Christmas parties in which we graced everyone with our presence. Ethan was so quick to get on Santa's lap that I almost missed the photo op.

Mitch was slightly more reluctant and when asked what he wants for Christmas he mumbled, "I don't know." He only likes to show enthusiasm when computer games or Cheetos are involved.

This is as close as Noelle got to Santa at the first sighting. (he's somewhere on that stage behind her)

By the last party she got a lot closer. You can actually see them in the same frame....

Isaac has not sat on Santa's lap since he was 6 months old. I'm sure he'll do it by the time he's a deacon and it's considered one of those funny things to do.

And then there was Syd. After the screaming when I got within a few feet of St. Nick, I knew it was a no-go. Her clingy monkey posture during the rest of the party/parties was a good indication that it wasn't happening. No surprise from the girl who has yet to stay in nursery.

In other Christmas news....our ward puts on a creche each year. It's a great production and the choir performs and lots of work and people are involved. This year the primary has a part in it too where they sing and do a live nativity. It was optional so I knew my older two boys wouldn't sign up. Unfortunately, Ethan had no qualms. I got the phone call telling me what part he is and that I needed to get him a costume. I was hoping for shepherd or wise man or even an angel (we have a Hannah Montana wig that I'd make him wear) But guess what he is?? A cow. Yes, you read correctly-- a bovine. I think someone in the primary presidency hates me.
He has brown clothes. Can I just call that good??

5th Grade Envy

2010-12-03T10:32:00.000-08:00

My photogenic eldest is in 5th grade. I ain't no spring chicken, but for some reason I have very clear memories of 5th grade. My teacher, Mr Wilson, who didn't appreciate me for correcting his use of the word 'snuck' instead of 'sneaked' (though I think snuck is now an accepted word because everyone else thought like Mr Wilson as well)....there was the Christmas play where I played Mary though it wasn't the Mary you're thinking of...and the general feeling of coolness being one of the older kids in school.
Now that Isaac is in 5th grade I also have realized how much more fun it is to help him get his homework done. (OK, 'fun' is pushing it. I'm not that lame. Let's just say 'more satisfying') Little kid homework is very tedious, especially after the first couple of kids---handwriting practice, letter sounds, math fact families.....boooring! But Isaac has brought home stuff this year that has tested me. I had to google an e-tutorial on partial quotient division because I'd never heard of it. You should have seen me hunkering down over the laptop trying to figure out what the cute tutor was talking about. But once I got it I felt awesome. Like I won a race or something. Now he gets to write a state report with an outline and notes and everything. 2-3 pages of fun! I'm so excited to start writing this. I mean, to have HIM write it, of course....I hope I get 100%! I mean, I hope Isaac gets 100%....Dang. This really tells you a couple things about me. I either really need to go back to school (just 5th grade thanks, I'm not really into over exerting my brain by going back for a doctorate or anything). Or somebody needs to start rewarding my daily victories with letter grades and medals. Too bad for my girls that today's lunch is probably going to be in the C- range......

THANXGIVING

2010-11-26T12:37:00.000-08:00

Hub started the day off with his annual mental breakdown where he goes and plays flag football in the frigid temps. There were only 6 crazies out there playing this year. When you have to wear 7 layers of clothes and your cleats don't fit with the thick socks you're wearing then maybe it's a sign it's too cold??

Another highlight before the Feast was when Ethan broke his bedroom window by tapping the ice on it with a metal horseshoe thing he had. We love him dearly but would be glad to send him away for a few years until the cause and effect part of his brain clicks in. We nicknamed him The Mischievator when he was 2-years-old and 4 years later it is still an apt name.

On to the big dinner.....One of the great things about coming from a large family is that there are enough of us to constitute a crowd even when most siblings are elsewhere. We had a crowd of 28 for our small dinner this year and though we greatly missed those who were absent it was also nice that for once everyone had their own chair at the table! My sis planned the deets and there were added elements of competition. Who can resist tackling others while hopping on one foot? Not me. Name that tune, hoola hooping, talent shows and games made it a fun family day.

We came home to read from our own thankful jar. I love hearing what the kids came up with and how poorly they spelled it. Then we had our first video chat with my missionary parents and my faraway sister....So despite the broken window and the other ornery moments (I really needed to tie some of my boys up due to their incessant need to wrestle each other) I have much to be thankful for. We're healthy, we're warm, we have wonderful family and friends and we're blessed with the knowledge of the true gospel in our lives. The slices of pie I had for dinner, breakfast and lunch are just bonuses.

Got All the Time in the World

2010-11-21T17:00:00.000-08:00

Ugh. A few weeks ago I berated my SIL for not having a blog. ‘It’s a great way to keep family and friends updated on important family events!’ I said. She whined about the time it would take. I countered with saying how you could whip out a post in ten minutes and you don’t even need to upload pictures or use cute/colorful fonts (though who doesn’t appreciate that?!) Then I realized that I have been the most slackerish of slackers lately and those ‘ten minute’ posts I swore upon haven’t been happening on my end because I have felt so busy.

We had a sacrament meeting talk today about prioritizing our time and one of the points was that some people base their self-worth on how long their to-do list is. So I am resolving to not brag about how busy I am. Or to whine about it. Because either way, we all have the same 24 hours in a day and are the stewards of how that time is spent.
So yeah. I’m bringing back the blog. Look at me now! Updating you all on the fact that my fam is watching The Wizard of Oz (we have amended our Sunday viewing options to include musicals—genius on my part since we’ve exhausted our library of VeggieTales. Also musicals take twice as long to watch and make me feel like my kids are getting cultured!) We just said farewell to our wonderful weekend guests (former neighbors) and there are some wet snow clothes drying in our laundry room. First big snow fall and Ethan couldn’t resist running out there in his Sunday shoes…..
I do have one more meeting to go to tonight, but I also skipped one this afternoon. See how I’m the master of my schedule already?
Hope this update was worth the wait. Sorry no pix or fun fonts. Next time, I promise.

Macabre

2010-10-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited it's HALLOWEEN TIME so I can say 'macabre' a lot! It's definitely a fun word to say and unfortunately my life is not gruesome enough to warrant using it frequently.....
You may find this image macabre:

Yes, we have lots of strange naked body parts floating around our house. This is what happens when Hub buys the dollar store version of Barbie and not the real deal.

Here is another image that is not really macabre, but a little gross in its own right:

We were trying to teach Syd how to trick-or-treat and for some reason she only wanted to put the stinkiest, smelliest shoe she could find (courtesy of Isaac) in her bucket. Hopefully she'll get over her foot fetish in time to accept more edible ware.
Here's another winner picture:

We attended a Halloween party where I wanted us all to go with a theme. This was hard since we are not one of those families who actually plans their costumes more than, say, two minutes in advance. So during dinner before the party we came up with everyone wearing old family reunion t-shirts and adding binocs and sunglasses and being a.....wait for it..... Mormon Tourist Family. You may say 'lame' but I say 'awesome!' The macabre part of this picture is that Hub still actually owned two fanny packs that he and I could add to our costume. Don't really wanna know why he was still hanging on to those.....
No more macabre pictures. But my challenge to you is to incorporate the word macabre into something you say today. It'll make you feel like a really creepy French person. And who doesn't want that? ciao.

BLAHgging

2010-09-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

Yeah, it's true. I've got the blogging blahs. I have so much wisdom to impart, so many beautiful pictures to post, and lots of inspirational anecdotes to share. There's just this little thing called 'LAZY' that is getting in my way. So instead I'm throwing you a few bare bones for you to gnaw on until I get off my duff and feed you more (at least I can provide you with some great imagery!)

So Noelle had her 4th Birthday. We threw her a Dora party. Love this age because the games are simple, no decorations required and due to some food allergies of a guest the refreshments got to be simple as well!

We went to ColdStone on Noelle's Birthday because we were just looking for a special occasion to use a gift card we had. Syd obviously enjoyed her cone.

Noelle got some LEGOs for her big day. Her brothers were so jealous.

In other news, a few bros, nephews, a SIL and I hiked Mt. Timp. As you can see in the picture the moon was still up when we started. It was a beautiful fall day and an awesome hike. And the mountain goats at the top were the cutest things EVER. If you know me in real life you know that I use the word cute sparingly. So that should tell you how dang cute those goats were. And the hike was really good for your buns. Just ask mine.

There was a school carnival in the midst of all this stuff. Ethan is the only kid who will allow his face to be painted. You might think it's a rose, but it's really a fire breathing dragon. Stood in line for over an a hour for that baby.......

We went on a family hike to Stewart Falls. Sadly the funnest part of the hike for the kids was the beginning where they could play on this amphitheater. Noelle's legs stopped working at some point on the hike and Syd thought the hiking backpack was not nearly as fun as being embraced by her mama the whole time. So Hub and I got an excellent workout.

We capped last weekend off with a dinner and farewell to my parents who are going on a mission to Boston. It is very important that we visit them often to get our fix of entertainment, food and babysitting so we will be accepting donations to help send us there. Thank you in advance.

And that's all she wrote.

Back to normal

2010-09-09T13:14:00.000-07:00

I've given myself some time from that last blog post to acclimate to being boy-less during the school hours. And I have to admit that it ain't so bad. Just me and the girls are here chillin' for 6 hours everyday. Let's include naptime and maybe this isn't such a bad thing......On the other hand, once 3:30 hits all those peaceful bits of the day become distant memories as the kitchen is torn apart in hopes of finding better snacks. Then there are the backpacks and lunch bags that seem to have bred overnight and seem to never quite make it to their designated homes. And there is no great place for the homework folders and info sheets and just random papers that seem to be sent home. Good thing we have a recycling box. Then we must also throw in an after-school meltdown. Or two. Or three.
And then there are the soccer games. All the boys are playing this year which can be quite the challenge logistically. But we made a spreadsheet to show which game Hub and I would attend so each child feels equally loved. Just kidding. Mitch doesn't really care if anybody watches him since he's more into playing keep away with the ball and Hub is Ethan's coach so that leaves Isaac. And the girls get to play in the dirt. Fun evenings all around.
So yeah. Those peaceful hours of just me and my girlies doing girly things---Bring 'em on. I need me some peace.

ME SO BLUE

2010-08-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

Remember all those days this summer when they were driving me nuts? And they made the house a lot messier? And we actually had to start turning the dishwasher on EVERYDAY? And they fought over LEGOs, movies, who gassed (my kids new word for flatulence---and I admit I love it!), what to have for snack and anything else they could think of? And I would make all my empty threats and finish off with, "I can't wait for school to start!!"

Well, I didn't really mean it. Insert frowny face here.

See, even Syd is sad they're going to be gone all day being socialized by people not nearly as qualified for the job as their mother. In my next life I'm going to home school....

A boy's best friend

2010-08-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors went on vacation. And while away they asked us to take care of their dog, *Skip. (Being as I don't have their permission to post about their dog I feel I must change his/her name to protect his/her identity. I'm a responsible blogger that way). Anyhoo, it's been great for all involved. Skip stays in his yard (OK, yes, Skip is a male--this his/her stuff was going to drive me nuts) and keeps his bodily waste on his side of the fence while my boys get to play with him and take care of him and feel the love all boys should have for doggies.
As you can see in the above picture Ethan has a healthy respect for him. He prefers to admire Skip through a fence or at least 15 feet away. And Noelle knows that you need to always be out of jumping reach of animals. Here she is perched on our garbage while the boys and Skip were in the garage waiting out a thunderstorm.

But alas, this fun 'chore' has come with some follow up begging of "When are we going to get a dog of our own?" And I have to realize that taking care of the neighbors' dog once a year isn't going to cut it.
Hub and I grew up with dogs and have very fond memories of them. But we both didn't grow up in suburbia like we do now. Our dogs had room to run and relieve themselves and bark away without many people even noticing. So it's hard to transfer that childhood memory of doggy ownership into the reality of our current living situation. However, considering the amount of dogs in my neighborhood, it really must not be that hard.

Anyway, the idea is definitely on the table. And one day it may happen. But for now I am quite content with letting the neighbors go on vacation as much as they want so my boys can steal a little bit of Skip's love.

Killing Time

2010-07-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

Syd is just showing off her future dreams of modeling......
Hub is gone again to commune with men in the woods. And some bad stuff happened like my cell phone coming into contact with water. And wonder of wonders, not working! And I tried to not have a tantrum about it, but I failed. And then Ike threw a tantrum this morning because some of his new Space Mission LEGO pieces were missing. And every other child has also surpassed their quota on tantrums. But that just means we're tantrummed out, right? Or maybe we're just stocking up for a rainy day.
But for the Good News Minute---Ike had his 10th Birthday!

Isaac is so great with Sydney. If I had to hire a nanny I think I'd really just hire him. And since he's my kid and I think it's part of his responsibility to help out around home I wouldn't even have to pay him! See how I just got a free nanny?
Having a ten-year-old is nuts because I look like I'm only 18, but what can I do? He celebrated by seeing The Sorcerer's Apprentice, had a sleepover, ate apple crisp, Alfredo and pizza (not in that order). And he got some new books, clothes and LEGOs. He's easy to please.
Now we're off to kill some time at a rockin' new splash pad. Good thing I don't own a cell phone anymore because it'd probably get wet.....

....and the kitchen sink. Again.

2010-07-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

The above is just a sampling of some of our summer fun. You name it, we've done it. (OK, not really. But somedays I feel that way) I would blog more about it so you can be super jealous of our fun-ness, but then that would mean I'm home. And when I'm home there is just way too much noise and mess and sunblock to apply and forty loads of laundry to do. And let's just be real--I'd rather use my computer time to read your blogs than to upload 300 pictures to mine. L-A-Z-Y is my middle name, I know.
We survived Lake Powell, a night of camping at my fam reunion (the first time all of us have been in the same tent and a lesson learned to never do that again), a baptism, lots of swimming time, park time, family time, friend time, hiking, rock climbing, viewing Toy Story 3 for me and the boys, viewing Eclipse with my sisters, and other stuff that I can't remember or didn't take pictures of. I hope you feel updated. Because that's all you're going to get!

Lo and Behold

2010-06-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

We're so proud of Syd's new climbing skills. It keeps us all alert to know that whenever we turn around she's in a dangerous place.

Father's Day was fun. How can you not love being a dad when you have two older boys who pose for pictures like this?

We like to tour BYU with my dad around Father's Day since he was Employee of the Month there for 39 years. (does that lie even make sense? Maybe Employee of the Year would have worked better....) See how he's yelling like the screaming toddler he's holding? You know you're a good dad when you can emote with the wee ones.

And lastly...it's the time of year we try on the life jackets to make sure they still fit for the upcoming trip to Lake Powell. For some reason this is a blast. And we'll wear the life jackets around all day. Don't believe me? Keep looking.....

You never know when a tsunami will hit while practicing the piano!

JOB POSTING

2010-06-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

   Nearly a month into our summer vacation! For the most part we're loving it. Most days feel too busy but there have been a few days where I feel like we're scrounging around for something fun to do and praying for the return of Wipeout to TV. Sadly, I'd love to share the memorable times with you all but I noticed a definite lack of worthy photos in my album. So this is what we need------

WANTED : Family photographer/videographer. Willing to work without pay and be available at all times. Has to take great action photos. Bonus if you can get face shots. Preferably over the age of 10. Also great if you can photoshop normal smiles for my boys. And give me a nicer hairdo.

   This would solve many a problem. For example, Mitch had a very fun food fight Birthday party. It was very hard to take photos, video and hand out Jello-Jigglers to throw all at the same time.
   Ethan has had so much fun at tee-ball. Hopefully he'll remember the good times because nobody is taking pictures. Hub is too busy trying to keep Syd off the field while I'm coaching. Then there are Ike's track meets, Mitch's games, swimming parties, park days, tender outside moments with the girls....
   And when we do take pictures? They turn out crappy. Sorry to use harsh language.
So please apply.
Meanwhile here are a few samples of what we have......

Can't Compete

2010-06-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

So we were at the library today and I was trying to check out my contraband (3 books over the family max of 25!) when Noelle says wistfully, "I wish she was our mom." I whip my head around to see who she could be talking about. Definitely wasn't the older grouchy librarian....not the balding man....that left the chick who looked maybe 19, in a bright floral halter dress, bright red lipstick and black curly hair. Yep. Noelle was staring right at her. It wasn't like she was doing anything fun in the library like creating balloon animals or ribbon dancing. She was just standing in line for the computers. That made Noelle's judgement rely solely on physical appearance. And apparently mine doesn't measure up. Not enough lipstick? (or any?) Must I dress up to go to the library? My shallow 3-year-old wants to trade me in for a younger, more vibrant version. As long as Hub doesn't feel the same way, I can live with that. (happy 12th anniversary to us tomorrow!)

The Season for Snow Cones

2010-05-28T18:51:00.000-07:00

It was the first official day of SUMMER VACATION today. All children slept in until 8. I can get used to this.......

We've been/will continue to be busy with various sporting events of our choosing. Ethan and Mitch are doing baseball, Ike is doing track, Hub is going to take over swim teaching duties (I'll let you know how this experiment goes by the end of the summer) and the little girls are along for the ride. Good thing Noelle is good at picking up new friends at the baseball field, or we'd have some really long nights.

As a bonus here are a few recent photos to be entitled Things I Love.

Kid Picnic Table----who cares if you spill your milk or get crumbs everywhere?? Not me! Bring on the ants----better outside than in, any day of the week!

Kindergarten Graduation---Easily the most superfluous event of all. I don't remember anybody getting very excited when I graduated from this grade, and there's no way my mom brought me flowers and balloons like I witnessed some moms doing. Fun anyway to see the little ones dressed up and hopefully they'll be that excited to wear graduation caps in 12 more years.

Spontaneous Dancing in the backyard--Need I say more?

Last Day of School Blues-- This was seriously the fastest school year for me. Mitch will not miss 2nd grade, but Ike had a great year with a teacher who focused on art and PE and reading--everything he loves. So I kindof think his 'sad' face is genuine. (though he'd never admit it!)

Trivial Matters that Matter

2010-05-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

After Mitch and Ethan hanging out at Lego.com, Ike checking his scores on espn.com and trying to beat the computer at chess, it was my turn for the computer. But alas, my turn was cut short as I noticed out the window Mitch and Ethan making several trips to the garage. When I saw Mitch running with the pogo stick I had to go investigate. A scene straight out of our family favorite movie The Sandlot was in play. A ball had landed in our neighbor's backyard---A backyard with two barking dogs. The neighbors weren't home but the boys could see the ball through the fence and thought if they used enough brooms, pogo sticks and smarts they could retrieve the ball themselves. Meanwhile the dogs were barking enough at the fun things being jimmy-rigged their way that I thought doggy seizures were imminent.
That little paragraph was just to share a moment of the excitement that is our life.
***Onto some more exciting news...we had Mom's Day. Love this day. Here's me and my brood.

And here is this year's Mother's Day flower pot. The flowers are a little too planned out this year and I am suspicious that Hub was influencing the kiddies too much at the gardening center.....

***I was in charge of our family night treat this week and went all out by making some peanut butter bars. I didn't have a recipe I loved and didn't feel like reading everyone's reviews on allrecipes.com where they 5 star the recipe after changing most of it (does this bother anyone else?!) So I went to our ward cookbook. There were two nearly identical recipes, but one called for a whole cup less of sugar. I was in a healthy frame of mind and made that one. 5 days later this is still sitting on my counter:

Moral of the story: Cut out a whole cup of sugar and be amazed at your ability to not chow down on peanut butter bars. Of course you might get angry that nobody else will eat them either....

***And in more unrelated news....Syd had the most awesome hair this morning. I just had to share. (Her loud outfit was not supposed to be part of the picture, but she was playing 'dance class' with Noelle and had to wear a leotard over her clothes.)

Oldish News

2010-04-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

Some important family events occurred recently. Mainly that Ethan celebrated his 6th Birthday. He wanted breakfast in bed. He received a bowl of scrambled eggs with about 1 cup of Ketchup mixed in. He was a happy camper.

Noelle demanded breakfast in bed too. We let her so she and Ethan could keep each other company. Seriously, if you don't read the paper or have a TV wouldn't breakfast in bed be a little boring? Unfortunately, they kept company so well together that little breakfast was eaten and lots of jumping on beds happened. Breakfast in bed is a tradition that started and died all on one day...

Hub had a great idea to do a lot of spring cleaning over Spring Break. He made a massive list with the promise that once it was completed, we would enjoy a family trip to Pirate Island. Then he went to work the rest of the week.......So the kids and I worked hard to complete the list and we enjoyed our time at Pirate Island. Though waiters dressed up as pirates were not a pleasing novelty to my young daughters. And it made me feel like I had to tip more just because they were in costume and I felt sorry for them.

Back to the Birthday since I'm about to curse moving these pictures around....Did I mention that Ethan had a LEGO party for his Birthday? It was a good time. He also lost 2 teeth recently. That doesn't have anything to do with his party, but I thought I'd throw that out there.

And with the coming of spring is the desire to be outside all the time. Poor Syd thinks if she grabs her sandals and bangs on the sliding door somebody will have pity on her. Usually it's not me.

The End.

Jazzed up about keeping it real

2010-04-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

I can’t even fake it anymore. Remember when you’re dating someone you kindof put on a pretense of being a funner person than you really are? You hear the stories---mostly about how the woman pretends to like all sorts of sports or camping and she pretends like she doesn’t mind getting dirty. Maybe she’ll also pretend to like his dog and family. Then once they’re married all bets are off. And the man….he’ll go to concerts or plays and will try to cry during a chick flick and will insist he wants lots of kids. But he too will change his tune once the vows are said.

*DISCLAIMER*The above examples are all contrived for illustrative purposes only. Not from anybody I really know. Or they would kill me.

For the most part, Hub and I were honest in dating. But I will admit that I used to pretend to care about one thing more than I do now after 11 years of marriage. And here it is in bold letters: I DON’T CARE WHAT POSITION THE JAZZ ARE IN GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS.

For heaven’s sakes can you draw out this nightmare any longer?? The Jazz seriously play about 17 times a week and their standing adjusts accordingly. By the time I have returned from a potty break they have just moved a ½ game ahead of Dallas. Or ¾ of a place behind the Suns. Or 8/11 of a tie with Houston. Maybe if I cared more my math skills would kick in and I could understand how you can be half a game behind anyone. It seems like a half a game would end at half time, right?

Anyhoo, as Hub delves into his analysis of which teams Need to Win for the best case scenario for the Jazz I ponder how much I have changed.

First Dating Response: “I totally agree that the refs really ruined it for Team X. We won’t even go to that Shakespearean play tonight so we can see if Team Y can pull it off. And let’s eat some beef jerky together.”

Married for 5 years: “ Bummer about the Jazz choking tonight. I’ll even change the diaper so you can sulk in peace.”

Current: “Whatevs. I hope they lose so we don’t waste anymore precious TV time on them. Can’t you just check the score during the commercials of Dancing With the Stars?”

And that is where we are. Hub has no delusions about my interest in the standings. In fact, he’ll start off each long winded report with a “I know you don’t really care….but” So as long he can get it off his chest and isn’t offended that I’m typing on my blog while ‘listening’ then we’re cool. At least we can still eat jerky together.

PS. Is it just me or is Kyle Korver too good looking to be playing in the NBA? Shouldn't he be doing Calvin Klein commercials somewhere?

A title to beat all titles

2010-04-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

There really is no adequate title for this post. That is truly the hardest part of a blog.
Moving on....we had a super Easter. Noelle consumed her candy and tried to consume everyone else's in a matter of hours. Wonder where she got the sweet tooth?

Above is Syd helping put away the baskets. She didn't seem to care that she only got a package of mac and cheese. She did get some sugar intake by default as her sibs can't seem to dump a box of Nerds in their mouths without leaving a few morsels on the floor.

And speaking of Sydney....she is in that awkward hair growth stage. Bangs a little too long for bangs, but not quite long enough to be grown out. Thus, I introduce The Unicorn.

If we position her at the right angle in front of the TV we sometimes can pick up HBO.

And in case you were wondering why we have the ugliest dining room table in existence, it's because we have an Ethan in our home. 99% of the scratches and paint on our table are from him. The latest was when he got a grand idea to use a Sharpie to draw a smiley face on his napkin and it obviously bled through. After trying lots of things to clean it off I kind of have accepted it. It looks like the kind of face you'd want on your dining table. The kind of face that might actually eat vegetables and whatever else is set before it. I might keep it around just to buoy up our dinner time spirits over here. In fact, you may want to borrow Ethan's artistic skills for your own tables. I'll rent him out and all proceeds will go towards purchasing a new table for me to enjoy once all our kids have grown and left the home.

Various Items of Excitement

2010-03-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

In no particular order (especially since I am too lazy to rearrange the downloaded pictures to make an accurate timeline...) here are some exciting photos of recent items in our life.
The above picture is Hub and I exercising our greed in a family Easter egg hunt. It's OK to be greedy when other adults are doing it and when there are treats and money involved. BTW, it is very exciting to have a hunt in a field with lots of weeds and farm equipment. Fortunately I didn't see the news story about an outbreak of Lyme disease until later that night...

Syd and Noelle playing with their babies. I can't get over how girl play is so much more nurturing than boys. Not once did their babies fly across the room and crash into anything and there were no explosions involving lots of spittle. Bring on the babies!

Ike and Noelle posing after the Rocket Derby we had in in lieu of the Pinewood Derby this year. I'm not sure how it went since I had to attend the caucus that night and left Hub there with all the kids. And they were ornery. So his report of it being not as fun may have had a biased slant.

And can you say Hello YELLOW? We painted our kitchen after years of being content with a boring-but-safe cream color (actually called Toast of the Town just so you wouldn't believe it was too boring). The yellow is a lot more dramatic than we thought we were doing, but we're used to it now. Or rather, we are pretending to be used to it because after 12 hours of having our kitchen in shambles there is no way we are re-painting for another ten years. (and for the record, the above picture does no justice to the brightness of our new walls. Trust me!)

We're prepping up for another grand conference weekend/Easter. I must admit I prefer my special weekends a bit more spread out, but we'll make do. The bonus is that you don't have to buy any extra treats if the kids have their baskets handy, right?

Home Alone....kinda

2010-03-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

You know me, never one to say a negative word---so when Hub went out of town last week I only focused on the positives. Didn't once think how I was going to do all the kiddos at church or how I would have to move bedtime up three hours for sanity's sake....Instead, I sent him on his way with a wifely smile and a suitcase full of trail mix and jerky (no, he wasn't going on a campout. He was going to Washington DC. I don't think there is a destination where Hub wouldn't think trail mix and jerky is appropriate fare.)

Many of you are old pros at being deserted by your man. I am not. So I took solace in a few little things. Like not having to cook a dinner with red meat for a whole week. On the same vein, not having to make sure there are leftovers worthy of co-worker envy for Hub's lunch the next day.

I didn't feel any guilt about the kids watching TV on a school night if it meant they were going to get ready for bed quicker. (The kids were actually better behaved than usual since their spidey sense knew how fragile I can be with no other adult relief in sight) We played more and cleaned less since I figured we'd just save all our energy for one good cleanup right before Hub came home.

I had a good friend come visit every night to reward me for a completed day. Her name was Ms. Dryer's Girl Scouts Thin Mint ice cream. She can be a really good friend. I highly recommend you invite her into your homes.

Anyhoo, we survived. Hub came home and from the pictures he took and stories he told I am not really sure what actual 'work' was done, but hey, you know me--not one to say a negative word....

Hub hanging out at the White House. Just waiting for the snipers to get him.

Cry me a river

2010-03-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

I'm going to have to hook Noelle up with an IV to maintain her fluid levels. With the amount of crying she does lately dehydration is just moments away. Holy cow. Is this normal? Here are some snippets of the traumatic things that happen here:
Me: Noelle, time to get in your pjs.
Noelle: WAAAAAHHHHH

Me: Noelle, I made you a sandwich for lunch.
Noelle: WAAAAAHHHHH You cut it in squares instead of triangles! WAAHHHH

Me: I brushed Syd's teeth.
Noelle: WAAAAHHHH I was going to brush Syd's teeth! WAAHHHH

Please contrast with how the same conversations would go with her brothers...

Me: Boys, get in your pjs.
Boys: I don't have to! (throw a toy, break a toy, kick somebody--but then gets in his pjs)

Me: Boys, I made you a sandwich.
Boys: Wrong shape! I'm not going to eat it! (throws his plate, crumples the sandwich into a gross soggy ball---but then eats it after exerting enough defiant energy)

Me: I brushed Syd's teeth.
Boys: (No comment. Because really, who wants to brush someone else's teeth??)

The irony is that Noelle rarely cries when she actually gets hurt. She's tough that way. She only cries when the most minuscule perceived injustice is inflicted upon her. It drives me crazy! Irrational crying is meant for hormonal teenagers and pregnant women and postpartum women and women anytime-they-feel-like-it, not for little girls who have no real issues!

Is this a girl issue? Am I strange to prefer angry destruction to histrionic tears? Give me holes in the wall over sobbing over spilt milk any day......

end of feb stuff

2010-03-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a great title to suck you in.....
Ike was selected to participate in a local school basketball shootout. He did it last year and was pretty pumped to try again. He has no problems shooting solo baskets in front of a crowd, but please don't ask him to say a prayer, talk, scripture at church. Anyway, he did well and got over not placing in the top 3 after a few minutes of self-defeating ranting. And in his defense our basketball court had snow on it again so there was some lack of practice facilities!

Then we had Syd's first Birthday. Fortunately for her and me, she had no expectations. Noelle was the one pretty stressed about making sure Syd had any actual gifts. Syd spent the morning at the doctor screaming through all procedures (I'm pretty sure the Doc was faking when he said her heart sounded fine. There's no way he was able to hear it over her cries!) She got 6 shots, then spent the next four hours sleeping off the memory.

Here she is fighting for some space to actually be the one to play with her new toys.

Here is the obligatory cake and ice cream. As you can tell it started out in a bowl. I always try...

Syd is a joy to have in our family. We all love her robot walk and her squawky laugh. There are some areas of needed self-improvement in the sleeping department and friendliness to others. But don't we all have things we need to work on? And that, my friends, was the end of feb stuff. On to March! Oh, and we are very sad the Olympics are over. Our family enjoyed cheering for our country in a variety of sports. Interestingly, the men in my house must be rubbing off on me because figure skating was one of the least favorite around here. And that is really the end of feb stuff.

Special Days, lots of 'em

2010-02-17T08:15:00.001-08:00

I meant to do a tender birthday post for Hub. But his Big Day was last week and there's an expiration date on stuff like that so you'll just have to trust me about how super he is. He requested strange things like carrot cake and he got some trail mix and V8 and jerky in addition to the dress clothes he needed. I don't know many people who would get excited about v8, but that's what makes Hub special. He didn't want a big fuss on his birthday and I had to gently remind him that he doesn't get a say anymore. Birthdays are all about the kids even when it's not their birthday, so they made him great cards and made sure he got plenty of play time. The next day we had a romantic time at the movies though Mitch was sitting between us (we saw The Lightning Thief with about 200 other of our closest elementary school aged boys) The C fam tradition of hiding gifts continues

The other problem with Hub's Birthday is that it is 3 days before Valentines Day. So I felt a little overwhelmed with specialness going on around me. We had to make two V-Day containers this year, do the Valentines for three classes in addition to the homemade ones for the grandparents, and then I got to come up with games for the parties in Ethan's and Mitch's classes. So by the time we actually had Valentines on Sunday I was a little over it already. Thankfully Hub got me some great treats to remind me the importance of that holiday. Ike and Mitch with their creative 'boxes'
And then there was President's Day! Another day filled with specialness. Like a couple loads of laundry and a trip to Walmart. I did educate the children with some details of Lincoln's assassination since I knew that would be the only part they'd really be interested in (next year I'm sure they'll be ready for the finer points of the Emancipation Proclamation).

Maybe next year we can spread some of these holidays out a bit better so everybody gets their own separate tribute post. Or at least Hub.

The "where we at" post

2010-02-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

Unless you are blessed to talk with me daily, you may miss out on some of the fascinating aspects of our lives. So here is a little update on each of us.
ISAAC
4th grade. City b-ball started and he loves it so much that he went out and shoveled our court so he could get in some after school practice. What were we thinking pouring that cement on the north facing side?? Last game he informed us that he had an "all time career high" of 20 points. Can you tell he watches Sports Center daily?
He is a go-getter in denial. He refused to take piano lessons, but somehow hovered enough over Mitch's lessons that he has now surpassed him in the book.

MITCHELL

2nd grade.This is Mitch's favorite spot in the house: anywhere the laptop is. He also really gets into book series. Since finishing Harry Potter he got Hub to read him the Percy Jackson books. Now he is into mythology and would get excited whenever he heard someone talking about Haiti. He thought they were saying "Hades" the god of the underworld. He is our resident goofball and can make us laugh with his weird words of affection.

Ethan
kindergarten. Ethan loves school and learning new things. He also is constantly building with legos.

The other day he surprised us by putting Valentines up all over the house with his special perler bead creations attached to them.
He can be thoughtful like that when he's not busy arguing w/ Ike over dumb stuff. Those two...

Noelle

3 years-old. Very into any make believe game: house, school, store, church, bus, train, doctor, restaurant, sigh. You name it, she'll insist you play it with her. She has made it through two whole Sundays of Sunbeams. So maybe the crying the second Sacrament Meeting ends will be over soon?

Sydney

11 months. Officially now prefers walking to crawling. She also is partial to stairs. Still hates strangers, high chairs and bed time. Mitch told me her first word was 'Benadryl' (see what I'm saying about Mitch's goofiness?) but I'm pretty sure she is still in the ma-ma da-da stage.

Hub/Me
ancient. After 3 gruelling (my word, not his) years as the EQ prez, Hub had a blessed few months calling free. Now he is in scouts and teaches primary. Add that to my calling and we really look forward to the nights where nobody has to go anywhere. Thankfully Lost has returned to the airwaves and mandated a weekly date night. The kids have to be in bed minutes before 8 so Hub and I can relax and share "What the-" moments because the show is so dang confusing. I highly recommend sharing a TV show with your spouse. And making sure you have a treat to eat while watching. There's my Dr Phil advice for this post.
There. And that's us in a very long nutshell.

Tra la la

2010-01-30T19:41:00.000-08:00

Here is a test for all of you who wanted a second chance to improve your SAT score:

1. TRUE/FALSE A doggy whistle is to a dog as Sydney is to her family.

Answer: duh.

This sweet babe of mine has learned to project her vocals in ways that would make true sopranos green with envy. Hub, who has very delicate ears except when it comes to some of his i-tune selections (Hub voluntarily listened to Willie Nelson today! This made my innards go berserk. I cannot stand the man's warble. This would have resulted in a serious musical discussion but as Hub was doing dishes at the time I thought it best to let him finish his task. I'll bring it up later when he's not so anxiously engaged in my housework), is ready to have her vocal chords surgically removed.

Mostly the screech occurs in the high chair when the desired food is not put into her mouth in a timely fashion. But it can also occur when she should be sleeping peacefully. Or when something is taken out of her possession that might maim her. Or whenever the H she feels like it. (that's not swearing, is it?)
I think it's directly attributed to the fact that she is our only child who didn't accept a pacifier/plug. She has more opportunities to practice her octaves. Our home has also gotten exponentially noisier with each additional child. It probably does take extreme measures to be heard around here.
Meanwhile, if the dogs in our neighborhood start howling you'll know Syd's just conversing. Please tell me she'll grow out of it and become a nice throaty alto by time she's 1!

Silver Lining

2010-01-21T08:01:00.000-08:00

I encourage my children to share. And this is why various members of the fam were sick off and on for over a week now. Lots and lots of germ sharing going on over here. The Clorox wipes and Lysol spray did nothing but provide a false sense of security before the next person got sick. You can really get down when there is so much bodily upheaval going on around you (I like me some good sick euphemisms) but I was looking to make lemonade out of the lemony week and here's what I came up with.
* I went to Los with my good friends for a belated Birthday dinner. (sorry you missed it R!)
*We watched enough Disney channel to own stock in the company but the distraction sure helped.
* The library called and actually bought one of the books I requested! I thought they were just humoring me when I filled out a request form. It was a Dumb Bunny childrens book by Dav Pilkey in case you wondered. But now I know that my tax dollars can really be used to buy books I'm going to be filling out lots more forms.
*Nobody was sick for SEPs, though I don't think I would have minded missing those.....
*Speaking of SEPs, Mitch's teacher said he hasn't been burping in class anymore. We're so proud of him!
* Hub's got a career waiting for him in nursing. He took care of us like a champ.
And probably the most exciting thing of all that happened last week-----get ready for it----I'm talking HUGE--------Like winnning a trip to Disneyland huge-------
* I discovered one last Kara Mint Truffle leftover from the Christmas candy!!!!!! It was like a Christmas miracle a month late.
So take that Mister Germs. You're going to have to bring on some bigger guns (Smallpox maybe?) to get me down.

Choosing to take offense

2010-01-11T09:56:00.001-08:00

You know when you have those lessons in church on not being offended? And if you're like me, you always think, "Well duh. I'd never go inactive over a quarrel about cream." (google church history if you're confused) I still think that. But sometimes I think there is some benefit in choosing to be offended. As long as your salvation and church activity are not on the line.

For instance, Hub prefers homemade granola for breakfast. I took on making this soon after we married and even use the same recipe from his mama. Recently, he informed me that he'd make the next batch. He tried to leave it at that but my housewife defenses were on high alert and I demanded further explanation. Bless his heart--this was his carefully worded response, "Well, I know you have a lot going on and sometimes I can tell that you were really rushed when making it." Again, after further interrogation techniques on my part (waterboarding is highly effective) he said that my last batch was not mixed well and there were clumps of brown sugar. And he hates clumps.
What would you do? A more righteous person (and a better wife) would apologize and tell her husband that she would make the time to create the perfect batch of granola and even throw in extra raisins for good measure. But me? I ain't that woman. So I sniffed and said fine, YOU make your own granola. And he did. And I didn't have to. And we were both happy. And I did notice that he took twice as long to make it as I did. So maybe he was right about how 'rushed' I am around here....

And while I'm sharing examples of marital discord...we were playing Catch Phrase, on my Birthday no less, and one of the clues Hub gave to describe the word 'showoff' was to say his wife was one! What the?! I think he really meant 'life of the party'. But since it was my B-day and he'd done lots of super great things for me that day I took the high road and chose to not mention it again. Until now I guess....

Making the most of the climate

2010-01-04T09:28:00.001-08:00

Over Christmas break we had two of the most beautiful sunny days to actually enjoy the snow. Here are some of my excellent photos combined with descriptive captions for your viewing pleasure.

SNOW TIME AT G-MAs

Big bro and fam building big snowman in field

Syd believes it is never too cold for a ride down a slide

wouldn't be Christmas break without being pulled behind a 4-wheeler w/ the cousins

SLEDDING BEHIND OUR HOMEEthan trying to convince Syd how great snow tastes

pulling kids constantly up a hill means no need for that Jillian Michaels DVD

Mitch still found a reason to have a tantrum in the midst of a fun sledding trip

FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT YOU MISSED MY BIRTHDAY
evidence of my Birthday cake on Noelle's face

What's next?

2009-12-26T12:47:00.000-08:00

The fun has been had. Now Ethan wonders what holiday is next. My birthday wasn't a satisfactory answer. Neither was Human Rights Day. It is sad to say goodbye to a fun holiday season. But I'm all about moving on. So yes, all our decor is packed away. Don't judge me---I know you just disguise your jealousy of my lack of seasonal clutter by calling me a scrooge.

The new pjs.

And bless those of you who do Christmas cards and newsletters. I actually enjoy a good newsletter. After all, isn't that just like printing out your blog but in a bathroom-readable format?
Here is the darling photo of the kids that would have gone on the Christmas card we didn't send. Again it makes me wonder how everyone else gets all their children to look photogenic with props and matching outfits and Santas in the background...seriously. Do you drug your kids?

my favorite of the girlies (dresses courtesy of Auntie T who bought them a year in advance. The sizes actually worked!)

To sum it all up: we had a great Christmas. Everyone was cheerful for the most part. We endured/enjoyed a million parties though we still have one more to go. Hub got his fill of assisting boys with Legos and 3-D puzzles and I got my fill of keeping Syd and Noelle out of Legos and 3-D puzzles.

Ike set a Santa trap that didn't work (he placed a bell ornament precariously on a limb so when Santa bumped it the bell would fall, thus waking Ike up---the flaw in the plan occurs because Ike's room is in the basement far away from any tiny jingle noises) but I'm really thinking we're close to the end of the Santa illusion with him. Sad.

We forgot to make any cookies (I'd made too many various batches in the weeks prior) so we left Santa all that we had lying around--some stale pancakes. He didn't mind them one bit. And nobody dug too deep in the garbage to discover otherwise.
Anyway, it is sad to say goodbye to such a fun time of year. But really, who doesn't get excited about Human Rights Day?

Nice Box

2009-12-18T12:23:00.000-08:00

I am counting this as putting the Nativity out. After getting out all the decorations, transporting a couple of nativities to and from our ward creche, re-hanging ornaments and constantly picking up the more child friendly decorations I just couldn't quite get myself to pull this baby out of the box. Not to mention I HATE the sound of styrofoam.....So, I think we can all just look at the picture on the box to remember the reason for the season and not need it in a more presentable form. I should get props for clearing a spot off the top of the piano--even if it was just to display a box.
And I'd meant to share this before---Syd and Ike are good buddies. He babysits her while someone else is babysitting him because she is soooo into stranger danger. Even when the strangers are people like grandparents. But she's OK if Ike is the one holding her and taking care of her when Hub and I aren't around.
So maybe their bond has extended into adopting each other's facial expressions?? Exhibit A:

Syd's toothless smile because she only had a couple and was embarrassed to show them.

And here is Exhibit B:

Ike's toothless smile because he didn't want to appear too cheesy for the school photographers.
Notice the similarity?

Hello December

2009-12-08T10:25:00.000-08:00

noelle and ethan enjoying the snow--I'm pretty sure they only go outside because that means they can come back inside after 10 minutes and beg for hot chocolate

December 8th. We have had over a foot of snow, a fresh Christmas tree, two Christmas parties under our belt, front row seats at the Provo winter parade, neighbor gifts already coming, holiday tantrums, visits with Santa, a trip to the Forgotten Carols w/ the YW, viewings of The Polar Express, the Grinch and that free animated video The King is Born... I think we could have Christmas tomorrow and be OK. Except there may not be any presents under the tree. Oh well, can't have it all.

Decorating the tree....decorations courtesy of various preschools and elementary schools. I'm pretty sure that in a couple of years we will not be able to see the actual tree due to all the kid crafts adorning it.

Mitch asking Santa for the second book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Bless his scholarly heart. Please note Isaac in the background. We have not been able to get Ike near Santa since he was 6 months old. Noelle was similarly adamant about not getting within three feet of the scary dude. Please forget that Ike is 6 years older than Noelle.

The whole fam at the Christmas parade. We got enough salt water taffy and tootsie rolls to last us the rest of the winter.

Gratuitous picture of Syd. Next year she can play in the snow, not eat the tree, and throw her own holiday induced tantrums.

Not quite The Plaza

2009-11-30T13:44:00.000-08:00

Goodbye turkeys on our wall. Hello Christmas decor...

(please imagine darling pix of Christmas decor here since I'm not really all that on top of it and am slightly dreading pulling out the dusty boxes)

It's been a great couple of weeks. What do Donny Osmond, BYU football and RSL all have in common? That's right--huge wins. We'll take any reason to party over here.

Thanksgiving break was spent enjoying family on both sides and partaking of good food and fun. A lowlight was when I attempted to arm wrestle a pregnant lady and another SIL and stalemated (is that a word?) both times! Totally pumping iron until Christmas so I can have a surefire win and feel good about myself.

Another lowlight was Ethan's middle of the night journey to the ER for breathing difficulties. We can officially say he has asthma. Bummer. He spent a couple nights at the hospital. I had a hard time with him there because in a perfect world there should be no need for a pediatric wing in a hospital. In my mind he was pitiful and looking like this in his hospital bed...

But really he was usually like this.....

The big Cheeseball loved the hotel aspects of the hospital--"Mom, look my own bathroom!" "They bring you food Mom! Like in a restaurant!" "I get my own remote control!" He also didn't mind the one-on-one with mom and dad where we spent lots and lots of hours playing tic-tac-toe, reading and coloring. He's home now and hopefully there won't be another visit to the Hospital Hilton.
That's our update in a nutshell. Gotta go do some pushups now.

Voted Most Popular

2009-11-23T21:23:00.000-08:00

She's the family trophy. They fight over who gets to play with her. She can poke their eyes, scratch their faces, spit on them and they don't try to get even.
My kids, who can be so mean to each other, turn all lovey-dovey when she crawls by. She cries and they will do their best monkey faces to make her beam her 4-teeth smile at them.

Seriously....if I'd known she could turn a hardened 9-year-old boy into a softy, then I'd have had her sooner (don't think about the math on that one too much)

Sadly I know from first hand knowledge that her years as MVP of the house are short. Soon it will stop being so cute when she grabs their toys/food/LEGO creation/ear/hair/nostril and she will become a threat. Her funny sounds will turn "ee-nnoying" (as Ethan pronounces it). Her messes will be her responsibility and not to be pawned off on more responsible sibs.

So my advice to you Syd, is to live it up!

They behave themselves while sleeping

2009-11-13T13:27:00.001-08:00

Ethan with Brownie Bear, the pass along germ friend from kindergarten

Two weeks until Thanksgiving and I haven't even peeked in our Thankful Jar to see what everyone's written. Probably because I've had to help them spell half of the words, so it's not like there'll be a lot of surprises....
But there is one word that I've added to the jar that I haven't in years past. And that's the word 'teachers.' Ethan came home from kindergarten today and in the midst of his after-school chatter it came out that he had to put his head on his desk. Apparently he was running around with his jacket on his head and that wasn't appropriate. It also came out that he and the person he sits next to had to be separated due to some excessive talking and less excessive working. Bless his patient teacher.

Ike has a great teacher that plays football with them at recess and brings tarantulas to class. What more could a boy ask for?
Mitch loves his teacher because she's not as strict as all the substitutes he's had. Too bad for him she's having a baby soon and the strict subs will be permanent.
The church teachers are also to be commended (haha I just about typed the word condemned instead! Maybe they feel that way?!) Afternoon church is asking a lot out of my antsy kids and no matter how much I try to bribe them every week to behave, it ain't really translating into sitting still and listening for three hours.

We've had our duds (for some strange reason Ike couldn't handle his second grade teacher who had been a Young Ambassador at BYU. That alone qualified her as an excellent human being in my book, but what do I know?) but for the most part I am thankful for all those who try to patiently and lovingly teach my kids. Even when they run around with jackets on their heads.

Election 09

2009-11-04T09:08:00.000-08:00

(What I'll look like voting in a few years)

Another exciting election day is over. My little hamlet had a ho hum municipal election with only one mayoral candidate on the ballot in addition to a couple of city council positions. But a vigorous write in campaign was waged for mayor and the write in candidate won! How exciting is that?
And my dear uncle, in another little hamlet, had a hard fight to keep his position as mayor. He eked out a win and all is well. How exciting is that?

Gay marriage not happening in Maine, Bloomberg spending bazillions of his own money, major governor races in the east....How exciting is that??

I got to tally the votes last night. My alltime favorite election day activity. For one, you don't have to spend 15 hours at the same table as an election judge and fight with people over which precinct they thought they were in, and for another, you are the very first one to get an inkling of what the results are going to be. Sadly, you also see that some people are very inept at voting. Please, if it says mark two candidates then try to only pick two! If you mark three then none of them counts! We also had someone vote for everyone on the ballot. That is a very nice Christian sentiment but in elections they all can't be winners. Then there was one completely blank ballot that confused us. We heard later that an impatient wife assumed her husband was done voting and grabbed his ballot and stuffed it in the box before he'd filled anything out. Apparentely she didn't know that he needed lots of contemplation time?

My favorite was a write in candidate for mayor: Thomas S. Monson. I wonder if he knew he was in the running?

Stuffola

2009-10-27T15:28:00.000-07:00

Ike opted out of soccer this year to do flag football (one sport per season rule for sanity's sake). He loves it and has scored lots of touchdowns. Unfortunately, it gets freakin' cold during his games so Hub and I have had to swap fan duties. he's the blondie in the green shirt running w/ the ball

**We also had the annual carving of the pumpkins. The kids design their own and are in charge of scooping out the guts while Hub does all the hard labor. I have the job of keeping hands away from knives and watching DWTS. Good thing I can multitask.

**We had our annual C Fam Halloween party. Always fun--good food, good cousins, good games, pinatas and a spook alley the kids went through about 7 times each. Can't go wrong with that formula.
Ike as a beardless Santa

Mitch as Harry, courtesy of Auntie T

Noelle as a fairy

Ethan as Superman, courtesy of Auntie A (gotta love having loaning relatives)

Hub incorporated a radio into his costume so he could be anti-social and have one ear on the BYU game. From the final score, you'll know it wasn't worth it.

Syd doesn't believe in dressing up because she has too many of my genes in her. Now I have to stop messing with downloading pictures and feed my family. Wouldn't it be great if children came with stomach's already full? Just a thought for the next world...

Permy

2009-10-22T09:24:00.001-07:00

Did you know permy wasn't a word? I tried to use it in an exciting game of Scrabble last night with Hub, but it was a no go. I use it as an adjective all the time like "She has permy hair." And "How many permy teeth does your child have?" (OK, that last one wasn't true. I'm just getting creative now.) But who knew it wasn't a legit way to describe wavy hair?

On that note, you can tell this post has no real direction. So let's continue with the lack of theme, shall we?

Here's how I like my decorated Halloween sugar cookies:

A touch of frosting and one candy corn that is easily removed and given to someone who appreciates them.

Then there is Isaac....

We're still not even sure if there is an actual cookie underneath all the candy corn.

**And in Sydney news...

She's mobile.

She now can go get her own LEGOs to eat, follow me into any room I try to escape to but also entertains herself a little bit more.

She also can have a front row seat to her brothers' wrestling parties. As long as she is enthralled then I won't worry about her exposure to violence.

There actually have been some more eventful things happening, but a post with a picture of a sugar cookie and a complaint about my Scrabble word was all I was up for today. My prerogative, friends. (hey, that word would probably be worth a few good points...)

Oldness

2009-10-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

The last few days I have come to this shocking revelation: I am getting old. Here is a small sampling of the evidence redneck style...
YOU KNOW YOU'RE GETTING OLD
** when you don't cry when you get your hair chopped off several inches by a non-professional. (so my sis convinced me she had watched enough you-tube videos on hair cutting to know what she was doing. Not quite convinced, but you can't beat a free haircut!)

** when you about pass out from playing 4 straight tennis games. And you kindof want to throw up at the end.

** when you are chaperoning the YM/YW indexing party that is supposed to go until midnight and you are silently praying the whole time that the kids will just beg to go home early. And of course they don't so you take your anger out by beating a poor deacon soundly at air hockey.

**when you actually enjoy Women's Conf. and General Conf. and not just because you can watch them in your jammies.

I'm sure there are more reasons, but that might involve too much introspection and I said I was getting old, not mature!

Birthday Brainwashing

2009-09-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

Noelle and her Birthday loot

A real live princess dress! Now she can finally keep up with the cousins

Pink was the only requirement of her Birthday cake. Thankfully she doesn't know that cakes can come in sizes other than squares.

One of the most rewarding parts of parenting is you get to try lots of psychological tricks on your kids and see if they work. Then, if they actually succeed, you can write a book about it and get lots of money and be able to afford the therapy your child may need as a result of your psychological tricks. See how fun it can be?
Anyhoo, Noelle turned three recently. She was very excited to talk about all the things she could do when she was three. Like she wondered if she could go to school like 'brothers'. And if she could be on a soccer team. My mind started working and I decided to take advantage of this milestone and told her exactly what would happen when she turned 3. Here's my list:

When you're 3

You don't have tantrums

You love fruits and veggies

You actually take longer naps

You know all of your colors

You clean up your own messes

You don't imitate any of your brothers' naughty behaviors

You don't start eating until we've prayed

Your whiny voice is a thing of the past

You don't ask to get out of the grocery cart

You don't climb out of the grocery cart

And there were more if you can possibly imagine! Sweet Noelle is now on Day 3 of being three and the experiment was a complete flop. She didn't even try to eat any fruits or veggies to see if she all of a sudden would like them. Sadly, no book will be written about this.

Normal kid problems aside, we love having Noelle in our family to add humor and pink to our daily activities. If I had known girls were so much fun I may have had them first. But then I wouldn't have seen how great it is for Noelle to have big brothers and for them to have a little sister (or two)...so I'll just call it good.

$Feet$

2009-09-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

Pop quiz!

Question#1. Who gets a new pair of shoes every couple of months?

a. Me because I deserve them

b. Hub because he deserves them

c. Ike because he doesn't deserve them

Question #2. Who gets their new shoes from places that don't end in '-Mart' or '-arget' or '-ayless'?

a. Me because they don't sell Jimmy Choos at Payless.

b. Hub because WalMart doesn't carry Tevas.

c. Ike because he has Carnivore Feet that eat away cheaper shoes just by stepping into them.

If you answered C to both questions you are a genius.

Seriously. Look at these harmless feet:

He knew it was abnormal for me to take a picture of his feet so he's curling his toes in modesty

How could those beauties do such damage?? He doesn't even get a chance to outgrow his shoes before he has worn through the soles. The shortest lifespan was 5 weeks for a pair from Target. Sure the kid is active, but it's not like he's running marathons at recess is it? He's not rock climbing during PE is he? How the heck do his shoes get ruined so quickly? Maybe he puts them in the shredder.
This week he came home and showed me a flapping sole and a toe sticking out of the bottom of his shoe. I was busy this week! I didn't have time for an emergency trip to the Big City to buy him some fancy new shoes. Wear your Sunday shoes, I begged. No go. Wear those flip flops you never wear because you can't really run in them, I begged. No go. Wear your cleats and do some real damage during recess, I begged. No go.
I had to buy us some time before we could take him shoe shopping. So Hub used some glue and tried to glue the flapping pieces and I put duct tape over the hole. Don't judge us. Didn't you have to wear bread bags over your shoes in winter? (or was that just my older brothers?) Heck, your grandparents were probably feeling lucky to even own a pair of shoes. So what if my kid was wearing duct taped, glue spotted shoes?
Sadly, the duct tape wasn't up to MacGyver's standards and Ike came home with even a bigger hole. There was no fighting it; he needed new shoes before he wore holes through all his socks. Precious time was sacrificed and Hub went to several shoe stores on the way home from work to find the perfect pair of shoes that fit the criteria of athletic, on sale, and not too flashy (Ike is particular).
I try not to be jealous. But I can't really justify buying a new pair of shoes for me as frequently as Ike gets a new pair. Maybe if I started putting my own shoes in the shredder?

What type of fan are you?

2009-09-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight I fed my children dinner, lovingly yelled at them to not ride their bikes in the road, bathed them and read them lots of books before bed----all while the radio was on so I could every once in awhile catch the score of the BYU football game. Hub and Ike had driven several cities away to actually watch the game on TV since our satellite company is El Stinky and doesn't get Versus. So the question begs, why didn't I go too since I enjoy me a good football game? Simply put: Hub is the Rabid Fan and I am just the Healthy Normal Fan that realizes children don't watch a football game and they desire nourishment and bedtime. (and yes, I mean rabid and not the more benign term of avid as you will see why)

Here is how we differ in our fandom:

The Rabid Fan thinks you must be sitting in your stadium seat 10 minutes prior to kickoff and you don't leave your seat until the game is finished, no matter if the game is a blowout and you could beat the traffic home. The Rabid Fan also believes it's reasonable to endure blizzard-like conditions to watch a game.
The Healthy Normal Fan thinks it's OK to miss kickoff if you still need to find pockets to smuggle treats into the stadium. The HNF also knows that it is perfectly fine to listen to the last ten minutes of the game on the radio while you are speeding down 9th East. She also knows that if her toes are numb with frostbite then the Cougars will forgive her for going home early.

The Rabid Fan will always volunteer to go to a game and childcare and lactating spouses are secondary concerns.

The HNF knows that going to a game with a Rabid Fan spouse will result in several hours of childcare and maybe it's OK to miss the stadium experience while nursing...
The Rabid Fan will stay up late to watch postgame interviews and commentary and eagerly get the paper in the morning to read more about the game--as if he hadn't watched the whole thing already!

The HNF is pleased as punch to win, but doesn't need to relive every big play and see the same footage on SportsCenter.

The Rabid Fan gets a teensy bit angry when the Cougars are playing poorly and has been known to break things and utter words not fit for those little pitchers.

The HNF realizes it's just a game and will say in a chipper voice, "We'll get 'em next time!" when her team is losing.

See what I'm dealing with? The Rabid Fan just sucks all the fandom out of me. We could deal with our differences before the kiddies came along, but now I have to pull the Mother Martyr card and be there for them. Maybe one day we can all sit down and enjoy a good win together again, but as for now, I'll just be catching the score in between loads of laundry.
And in Rabid Fan's defense.... he would argue that is just a Better Fan than yours truly. And he does remember he has a family during halftime. I guess if being a Rabid Fan is his only flaw, then he ain't doing too bad. (is that a good mea culpa, sweetie? hope so!)

I hate to be too matchy-matchy so I just dressed my whole fan-ily in BYU gear but me (2007 so no Syd--don't worry though, she fits into the pink BYU shirt now!)

Title Schmitle

2009-09-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

I hate to deprive anybody of the fascinating aspects of our life so I'm going to cram it all in. Put your seatbelt on and enjoy the ride.

Life has been busy with soccer. It's so fun to watch kids run around and fall down and kick the ball the wrong way. Hub is coaching again this year which has its pros and cons. Pro being he's getting home from work earlier. Con being I have to watch the other kids during the games and that really cramps my self appointed sideline coaching job.

I cannot take action pix while holding a babe and yelling at my kid to kick it harder, so here's Ethan standing there

and here's a picture of Mitch standing there doing body inventory

Moving on....An exciting day occurred when I took Noelle and Syd to get their beauty shots at the oh-so-cheap Target Portrait Studio.

See how cheesy and happy Noelle can be when getting her picture taken?Well, that same girl didn't come to the picture party. She buried her head on the chair in the waiting room and sobbed that she didn't want to have her picture taken. And she absolutely refused to even go in the studio. Good thing she has a couple of older bros who taught me that difficult children were my lot in life, so I just said whatevs, no treat for you.

After that success story it was Sydney's turn! Syd was feeling very thoughtful and preferred solemn poses no matter how ridiculous the photographer and I acted, so again I just said whatevs, at least you sat there.

Speaking of Syd, does the above outfit bother you? Hub told me it was definitely a stay-at-home-never-leave-the-house-in-this kindof outfit. And Ike says it makes him think of cupcakes.

Moving on, yet again.....we had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Fireworks, family baptisms, parades, family dinners and fun and a big BYU win made life seem wonderful.
Then Mitch threw a big fat weird tantrum going back to school because he thought he swallowed his permanent tooth while eating oatmeal. I know, what the?! And I was just so desperate to get him to stop crying and get out of the car and get in the school that I started throwing out bribes and we were doing this negotiation thing through his sobs. Guess what I owe him for finally going to class that morning? A whole package of oreos. He knew how desperate I was and he drove a hard bargain. At least give me props for confessing my awesome parenting skills in times of duress.

Moving on....we ended the week with a fun trip to Lagoon. We hadn't been this year and the kids were crying in their sleep for bumper cars, sky rides and roller coasters. Favorite Uncle R scrounged up some freebies and we got to go with them. Now there is somebody deserving of a whole package of oreos....

THE END.

Backyard Adventures

2009-09-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

This has been the summer of the great divide. Dad and the boys go fun places and Mom and the girls stay home because frankly, leaving the house with Sydney isn't anybody's idea of a party. Hub, being the nice guy he is, felt badly about always leaving Noelle home. So last weekend he pitched the tent up in the backyard so she could have a pretend campout.

Noelle and Syd frolicking on everybody's sleeping bags

Everyone is so excited to be sleeping on the ground even though their cozy, comfy beds are just yards away in the house. Sneaky Hub was smart enough to haul a mattress outside to sleep on.

I had to reluctantly skip out on the backyard sleepover so I could hear Syd if she woke up in the night. Strangely, Hub didn't feel bad about not inviting Syd to his tent party.

Something about sleeping closely together and being in a tent makes our kids incredibly hyper. By the time everyone was actually contained in their sleeping bags and not giggling, Noelle was sufficiently tired enough to be freaked out that she wasn't in her own bed. At approximately 9:15 pm she called it quits and cried to go inside the house.

So once again.....Dad and the boys had a fun time sleeping in the tent while mom and the girls had to sleep in their own beds. Sometimes a great divide is what is best for everyone!

Got me some handy skills

2009-08-25T14:53:00.000-07:00

School has started! Here is the mandatory picture of the first day of school. I threw Ethan in there even though kindergarteners don't start for another week.
See how happy they are? Now, nearly a week later, their faces would show a little less enthusiasm but that is why we don't show pictures captioned '7th day of school' etc.

Ike and Mitch have graduated to riding their bikes to school. This is especially important on early-out day (for those not in the loop, this means one day a week getting out 45 minutes early for teacher prep). How I would curse when I had to wake up nappers just to drive the five minutes to school to pick up kids. Throw on the aggressive driving from mommies in the pickup zone and you would find me in a less-than-sweet mood.

So imagine my distress when Ike came home with a flat tire. I quickly reviewed our schedule and knew we were going to be hard pressed to find time for Hub to fix it. Never fear. I'm home all day doin' nothing but eatin' bonbons and watching soaps. I think I can fix a tire and only give up one day of driving the kids to school.

Holy cow. I should have paid attention to Hub all those times he did it. Or maybe I could have called him for instructions. But asking for help is for wussies. So I pulled out from my memory bank the times I watched my dad fix the tires on my purple Fancy Free bike with the cute basket on front. The tools I remember him using were a screwdriver and a bucket of water and the patch stuff. The screwdriver was for pulling the tire away from the inner tube. At least it worked that way for my dad. It wasn't working for me. I made lots and lots of guttural noises and muttered some oaths and Ethan started saying, "Maybe we should just wait for dad to come home...." and I kept on yelling, "No, I can do this!"and I was on the grass wrestling with that freakin' tire and finally I gave up and googled a video on how to change it. Did you know there is an actual tool you can use to pull the tire away from the rim? And it's not a screwdriver?? And Hub had one in his handy little bike kit in the garage? That Ethan had to tell me about? Fast forward hours later and I have successfully discovered there was not even a hole in the tire and we should have just tried pumping it in the first place. And the best part was that I had to drive to school to pick up the boys and left the nut/bolty things on the van bumper and forgot about them. Somehow I was blessed (because I didn't use very many bad words?) and the nuts stayed on the bumper the whole trip. This was a grand experience and I hope to repeat it very soon. But it's early out day tomorrow and we have two functioning bikes so I ain't complaining.

Tragedy in Suburbia

2009-08-17T20:54:00.000-07:00

Ethan wanted to earn some extra money. He quickly realized that 'earning' money by doing extra work was going to be impossible since he can't even quite finish the chores he doesn't get paid for. So like all smart kids, he decided to try to sell some of his junk in his own private yard sale while hardly lifting a finger.

He chose some nice toys that I quickly made him return to his room, but gladly let him try to sell his baggie of Lake Powell sea shells, a set of Uno cards so tiny a mouse could use them and a squirt gun that doesn't work.

I watched lots of seasons of The Apprentice so I felt very competent in helping him set his prices and think of ways to attract customers....
Like having a cute girl dance curbside in cowboy boots.

Sadly, or luckily for all the moms in the 'hood, this wasn't a day for a lot of foot traffic and I didn't let him go door to door to peddle. We left his stuff outside while he came in for food and play. Awhile later he checked on his goods only to run inside and say, "Mom, Mom! Somebody bought some stuff!" He was very excited but then he said, "They just forgot to leave their money!" Sure enough, his water gun and the Uno cards were missing. The worst thing was that he was also missing a hidden baggy of change. He'd put it under the picnic table in case he had to make change for a large bill (his optimism was so sweet). I honestly didn't mind someone taking a couple toys we didn't really want but to steal Ethan's actual money was a whole 'nother ballgame.
Ethan was sad. But Isaac and I were mad. Isaac made some comments about catching who did it and punching him in the head (violence is often a great solution for a 9-year-old boy). I tried to think of ways it could not be stolen, but for three items to be missing at once was a little too coincidental.
Later I actually saw the stolen water gun in the front yard of a home while going on a walk with Syd. Hub gladly did the dirty work of knocking on the door as soon as he also saw one of the puny Uno cards on their porch (not the best criminal eh?) and we got an apology and an assurance to try to scrounge up the missing money.
The moral of the story is that I love to live in la-la land. Hub is always trying to get me to lock the car, not leave my purse in the car, lock the house, etc... I just don't like to think that anyone would like to commit a crime in my vicinity. And a kid stealing money left unattended in my front yard doesn't have to mean I live in the ghetto. But maybe it means that we don't have to unnecessarily tempt people who haven't yet mastered right and wrong.
This thief was old enough to know better, but he was still a kid. I'll get over my anger and am showing my willingness to forgive by not telling Isaac who it was. I don't want anyone to get punched in the head in my neighborhood.

Family Vacay without the fun ones

2009-08-04T10:01:00.000-07:00

In the span of four days this is what I did: I swept and sprayed out the garage (Ethan's favorite game is putting things behind the car tires so we run over them. Mostly harmless stuff like apples and sidewalk chalk. Harmless, but messy) I cleaned out the wastebaskets. I updated all the scrapbooks. I never made dinner. I only turned on the dishwasher once. I had company over until midnight (so what if it was my sisters?) I did my visiting teaching. I returned two pair of shoes. I went to a baby shower. I registered my kids for school. I got mad at Noelle for stealing candy from the checkout stand at Walmart. I got mad at her again for stuffing a check minus its envelope into the mailbox. I watched The Today Show. I went on walks and only had to fill one water bottle.
All of this happened while my men were doing this:

Yes, I gallantly volunteered to stay home from Lake Powell this year with the two little girls. This meant that everyone on the houseboat could be loud during naptime and there were no toddler tantrums to listen to. Win-Win for us all. Not to mention how much extra packing room there is when you take out all the baby stuff. I felt sad about missing the good times, but I felt really good about missing the bad times with a baby on a hot, overly-populated houseboat. And did you see how much I got done? And that I didn't have to make dinner? (I just gave Noelle her multivitamins and called it good)

And in other news....this here is a picture of our silverware drawer. Ethan was just itching to play and emptied the diswhasher extra quickly this morning.
Me (upon opening the drawer): Ethan, what the heck is this about?
Ethan (in his best 'duh' voice): I empty a lot faster when I do it that way.

Gotta love 'im.

Audience participation

2009-07-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

Raise your hand if you couldn't really say why you've been too busy to blog but then you downloaded your pictures and remembered where summer has gone.

Raise your hand if you had a blast wearing the same t-shirts with 60 other members of your immediate family. Raise your hand if you had to play in the water lots so you didn't die of heat stroke.

Raise your hand if all those members in your family got to make their own race car (that's our favorite palindrome) a la Pinewood Derby and we still can't stop talking about it.
Raise your hand if you had three kids enrolled in swimming lessons

Raise your hand if your 7-year-old has really great smoochie lips

Raise your hand if your 2-year-old thought that watching older brothers swim at the pool was worth a lot of snacks

Raise your hand if your 8-year-old had to celebrate his 9th Birthday early since he'll be at Lake Powell on the actual day.
You may also raise your hand if you now know where the 7-year-old learned to pose for pictures with smoochie lips.

Dis an' Dat

2009-07-08T15:56:00.000-07:00

I can't move my pix around today. So I hope this order suits everyone just fine. Below we have a lovely look at our favorite part of the Colonial Village we visited during the 4th festivities. It was not the neat printing press in which you could copy the Declaration of Independence. It was most definitely not the corn husk doll we waited in line to make for Noelle (upon completing the bland doll Noelle immediately threw it on the ground. I think she was hoping they could make her a Barbie version out of husks) Nope, the highlight was the snow cone stop right outside the museum doors.

Ike and Mitch have been great readers this summer. Mitch whips through his little chapter books so fast we sometimes have to make a couple trips to the library in a week. It was Noelle's book choice however, that had the librarian giggling. It was entitled 'When Your Parent is in Prison'. I guess she wants to be prepared for anything. (Notice the tat on her arm to go with her Sunday finery? My kids are addicted to them! Whatever happened to stickers?)
And finally we have Mitch in his tee-ball glory. He improved a lot this year and seemed to actually know what was going on. Next week we start with swimming lessons and move onto the family reunions and campouts. I love summer.

It's actually Walla Walla Bing Bang

2009-06-27T20:05:00.001-07:00

Holy cow. How does anybody get anything done in summer? There are way too many kids running around here. And they all want to be fed constantly and play constantly and wrestle constantly and then they end up crying constantly because some of the wrestlers are twice the size of the others. Did I mention that they are also making a mess constantly?

Anyway. We have had lots of play time counterbalanced with enough reading, chores, and book learning so our brains don't get squishy. That term was one I came up with a couple of years ago when I had no real good answer for why the kiddies needed to only watch a minimal amount of TV everyday. I might have tried a more scientific explanation if I'd known that I would be taken literally. The other day I overheard Mitch telling his friend that they needed to only play a 'little' bit of a computer game the other day or 'our brains will get squishy.' And he sounded so positive that it would actually happen I think he had his friend scared. Nobody wants a squishy brain. That's why I'm getting off the computer right now, while mine is still nice and firm. Ciao.

Wada Wada bing bang

2009-06-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

I am so not sure what inspired me to do that title.

Anywho, we have been up to a whole lot of nothing to write home about, but here goes anyway:

Mitch had his 7th Birthday. He's looking pretty darn cool, I know. He is sporting his new muscle-T outfit courtesy of Grandma C. My kids love their muscle-Ts. Probably because they are banned from the school dress code so they feel a little rebellious wearing them.
Mitch was an atypical B-day boy. He definitely did not want to be singled out by not having to do any chores and was the first to volunteer to clean the basement. Naturally the next day he went back to not wanting to do any work, but it was nice while it lasted. He also chose baked potatoes as a Birthday dinner. He's a good kid and we were happy to celebrate him on his day.

On another note--Sydney has graduated from sleeping in her carseat to sleeping in a playpen. The graduation to a crib will come when it is not being currently occupied by Noelle.
Syd had been starting to scrunch down so much in the carseat that I was afraid we would have large chiropractor bills soon. The top picture is just of a sleeping baby on a couch. Who can resist a picture of a sleeping baby? Obviously not I.Does everyone else use towels as a 'ramp' for baby? Or just us?

We've also been kindof grateful for the rainy weather which cancels baseball games and leaves more time to build forts inside. Hub built this fort that actually stays up and allows the children to all be in it together. My forts tend to consist of one blanket and a chair and if you move a muscle it's over.
Last photo of the post is Noelle. She is the fun stage of not knowing what it means to 'smile' for a picture. She knows you are supposed to do something to your face and this is the end result.

Young Love versus Old Love

2009-06-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

Do you like my title? It's not super relevant but I'm all about attention getters.
Summer vacay has been rockin' so far. There is something to be said for not having to haul five children in a car every morning by 8:35.
We have yet to turn on the AC, go to the swimming pool or to change any bike tires (though we have to pump Ethan's at least three times daily--but pumping beats the patches any day!) so I'm feeling great about things.

We are blessed to live near several parks and elementary school playgrounds. This means we can pretty much visit one and be the only ones there. Strangely the last two visits to different playgrounds we had company. Not the normal company you would expect at a playground, i.e. children, but teen lovers! I guess there's no place to canoodle once they kick you out of the hallways of the high school so they've resorted to embracing on the oh-so-comfortable wood chips at the park.
I'm not about confronting hormone-crazed teens. What if they attacked me with their jewel encrusted cell phones?? Or worse, what if they thought I was an old lady who wasn't hip? So I quickly send my children to embarrass them out. Which they always do. Nothing like a toddler staring right at you wondering why you're hogging the slide to dampen the desire.

And on the subject of love.....Hub and I had our 11th anniversary. We celebrated courtesy of Redbox and frozen yogurt once the kids were in bed. We don't have to go on gondola rides in Venice to prove our love I tell you. Now that I think about it...maybe we should have gone to the playground. Nothing must be more romantic than monkey bars and a twisty slide. Those teens are onto something. Can't wait for #12 to try it out!

Last Day of School

2009-05-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Don't they look miserable? They are very sad to have summer vacation. Even if they could have told you in February how many days they had left....
Isaac and Mitch had good teachers this year. They made thank-you notes for them and Mitch's made me laugh. It went like this:
Dear Linsey [her first name is Lindsay but I don't think she knew they were on a first name basis!] Your the best techer I ever had [he's in first grade. Don't let his kindergarten teacher get wind of this!] You are fun. Ill miss you. I hop you have a good class. Love, Mitchell

We had all sorts of end of year programs and fun. Below is Ethan. His preschool graduation was rather lofty. He had to say something about the French and Indian War and colonial soldiers. We had no idea what he was talking about, but he sounded smart.
Here is Syd proving that she can never say no to the trend of huge flowers on her head. Her blue tongue is medicine, not the purple popsicle you were going to accuse me of giving her.
And now we begin our summer plans. I have made a list of goals I would like to accomplish over the summer. On the list are things like learn a new language, teach all three boys the piano, become experts on the major wars, learn astronomy and identify the major composers of the Baroque period. On the more practical side I want them all to learn how to pump themselves on the swing, learn to jump rope past one jump, memorize the Articles of Faith and learn to love a vegetable. If we accomplish any of those things come August I will be a happy camper. But wouldn't it seriously be great if they became bilingual in a few months?

Nothing like a potty post

2009-05-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

I have asked my boys and they each deny it adamantly. They look at me with wide innocent eyes and vigorously shake their heads. Then they offer 'helpful' accusations and finger pointings at their siblings. Who then also deny it and shake their heads and finger point back. Then we naturally get into fistfights and the inquisition is over due to more pressing medical concerns.

What is the question?
Who the blankety-blank is missing the huge porcelain bowl when doing their bizness?? Every time I clean the toilets I have to save a Clorox wipe for the inevitable spot on the floor behind the toilet. Granted, I do not quite understand the difficulty of aim since I don't have the proper parts. But really. Seriously. How can you miss?

I do know that once I walked by the bathroom to see Mitch (yes, I saw him since it seems to take great effort to actually close the bathroom door. Like that extra push with the arm would take away a second of play time and we can't have that!) turn his body when he heard someone coming. And the WHOLE body turned, if you know what I mean. So I can seen how it can happen on occasion. But come on! Do I have to play potty monitor and crawl around the toilet after each use to find the culprit?

I must admit I like the idea that it isn't my kids. Maybe it's their friends. Or a stranger that sneaks into my house to use the toilet when I'm not looking. Yeah, that's it. There is a crazy dude running around the neighborhood framing my kids. Because obviously they have great aim. Just ask 'em.

Found in Washing Machine

2009-05-14T11:53:00.000-07:00

Notes to Self:

**Remind children to empty pockets before throwing clothes into hamper

**Do not put box of raisins in Mitch's lunch bag again

This, that, and the kitchen sink

2009-05-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

Life has been truckin' along. Here are some highlights.

**Hershey Track and Field. I think I was more excited for Ike than he was. Probably because he didn't know what it was and because I had such fond memories racing as a youth. He crazily signed up for the two long runs and did very well, though after the 400 meter he seemed very surprised that his throat seemed to burn.
Ike's second from the left

*Sydney has turned into a smiley more pleasant baby. She sleeps a decent amount sometimes. She was blessed a couple of weeks ago and we enjoyed having family and friends support her on the special day.
She has Thrush which means several daily doses of medicine. No matter what fruity flavor they stick in those bottles, my smart baby knows it's no good and I'm hoping enough is staying in her mouth.

*Teacher Appreciation It wouldn't be right for me to not share my artistic skills every May when I get to decorate a door at the school. This year we had the custodian. I received a very strange amount of pleasure at taping real garbage on the door.
*Mother's Day Hub and the kids picked and planted some flowers for our front walk. Again, that is a testament that I don't really have a landscaping vision. I figure that if they grow and are under the assignation of a 'flower' then they're good enough for me. Two days later they are all still alive except for the one that Noelle dug up this morning.
I received several "Happy Mother's Day!" shout outs from the kids. Noelle was a little confused and told me Happy Birthday a couple of times. Mitch had stayed up late to finish a Mother's Day booklet he'd started at school and Ike was very excited to try out his gift of a coaster decked out in the BYU logo.
I had the chance to actually think how grateful I was to be a mother. My kids are a great blessing to me and there's nothing I'd rather do than be their mom.

*Other stuff has happened too. But speaking of my lovely kids, one is throwing LEGOS in a huge tantrum right now so you'll just have to miss out while I gently admonish him.

The most important meal

2009-05-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

I am a victim of marketing.
I bought Special K because I remembered their commercials of fit, healthy women. And because the K looks so festive and red is my favorite color. And because it was on sale. Maybe that one should have been the first reason. Anyway, pardon my French, but Special K sucks.

I am not a breakfast person, but in order to maintain my nursing baby I am feeling obligated to try harder to eat some healthy meals.
Typical breakfast before baby: anything I could eat while driving the kids to school. This limited my options greatly so usually it was a cookie.
Typical breakfast now: old person cereal with a smidgin' of milk in the bowl to moisten the flakes. Usually it is Honey Bunches of Oats, but I was willing to try something new if it was on sale because I actually don't like the bunches part of Honey Bunches of Oats. (Am I picky?)
Enter Special K stage left.

One bowl is like eating crunchy air. No wonder they say it will help you lose weight. You surely can't gain weight if you aren't eating anything. Actually, I take it back. I think I would gain weight because in order to feel satiated I had a rice krispie treat and two pieces of licorice after my bowl of cereal. Maybe I should have checked the label to see if a serving size was actually one entire box?

I can't believe I'm whining about cereal. Should I just go back to my cookies? What do you eat for breakfast? help!

Tell your Torsion Spring you appreciate it before it's gone

2009-04-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

I am one of those people who don't ever think about how things work. There was a reason I majored in the social sciences and not in engineering. Anyhoo, our garage door broke this week and now I am well versed on the Torsion Spring and it's purpose. I also know it will cost more to fix than it's worth. I also know that it's a pain to not be able to access your garage. I hate having to go outside to get in the car. I don't like bringing in the groceries from the driveway. What if someone sees all the candy I buy?

When we built our house 8 years ago we made some silly decisions. Each decision was justified with telling ourselves repeatedly that this was a 'starter home' and we only had to endure bad choices for a few years. Obviously our starter home has turned into a retirement home and the mini-mantle over the fireplace and the cheap carpet we can live with. However our biggest regret is the fact that we didn't think we needed an outside door to the garage. How dumb is that? The only way to get into our garage is from our house or the now broken garage door. So until we pony up the money and have a garage door repairman come over we are dragging our garbage, strollers and bikes through the house and out the front door. So lame.

On a completely unrelated note, here are a few pix from Ethan's party. Please appreciate the 'plank' Hub came up with and the fancy pulley system for the pinata. Obviously Hub was the one in the fam to even know where to look when things are broken....

Ethan turns 5 and some Easter pix

2009-04-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

Spring break has been rockin' with all the rain, cold temps and Easter candy we've been eating. Fortunately we've been able to keep busy because we have a party to plan. Ethan's been waiting for this occasion for about, oh, 364 days. He's having a pirate party and here is some of the evidence of our craftiness:
Obviously you are viewing a cannonball pinata and some mini cannon balls. Maybe you can sew and scrapbook, but I can make an awesome balloon shaped pinata.

Ethan had Torticollis as a baby which made it look like he couldn't hold his head up straight. He had to go to a physical therapist and endure lots of exercises that made him cry. He also had to have an MRI and x-rays and other things that little babes shouldn't have. Now 5 years later his head is nearly straight:

Just kidding. We fixed him before his first Birthday. Unfortunately our digital library doesn't go back far enough to show how crooked he really looked.
Here are just a few random Ethan pictures to celebrate his life.

And here a few more pictures from Easter because that's what you do on blogs.

Don't tell Sydney but the stuffed bunny she got in her basket was actually a present given to her at her birth. This one looks like Isaac has Torticollis

Off to finish up a few more cannonballs. This party is going to rock.

Easter goodies

2009-04-10T15:35:00.000-07:00

We are eagerly anticipating our two annual Easter egg hunts tomorrow. I'm especially excited to take out some family members during our adult hunt. Nobody gets in the way of me and my Reeses p.b. eggs.
These hunts are great fun for the family but the kiddies get waaayyy too much candy and treats and then I am at a loss as to what to fill in their personal baskets via Easter Bunny. I just can't condone that much sugar in one weekend. Especially when 75% of the children have no self control on candy consumption. (Mitch is the abnormal one. He still has good Valentine's Day candy hiding in his room).

So I got a little creative this year. Here are some items my kids will find in their baskets:
Some quick processed foods! My kids will be in heaven. I even got the brand name Mac 'n Cheese for Ike. I will generously tell them they can eat 'their' meals for lunch that day and I won't have to take time to make them lunch! Win-win for everyone. I know I am a genius.

My Fun-ness

2009-04-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

The other night I had some wakefulness after my 2 am bonding with Syd. I tried to force myself to sleep because it is such a rare resource but instead Britney Spears 'Circus' song kept on going through my head. Then I had to wonder how I knew most of the words to it.
Then I tried to think of some really great April Fools jokes for the next day. All I came up with was having the phone ring (gotta love having your cell phone call the home phone for authenticity!) and pretend the principal was calling asking Ike to take his job over for the day. Ike knew it was a joke and basically rolled his eyes at my fake phone conversation, but Mitch bought into it and then I felt mean when I had to tell him it wasn't real. The only other joke I came up with was saying there was a spider on Ethan's head. Pretty sad, I know. I shouldn't even try. This St. Patrick's day I dyed the mashed potatoes green and nobody would eat it because it looked like playdough.

On another note...having a baby is like the gift that keeps giving. Literally. It's awesome because she is 5 weeks old and gifts are still trickling in. Even an occasional dinner has been delivered. The wonderful gals in the YW gave me a surprise shower and I'm stocked with diapers for awhile (actually with Syd's energetic bowels I will be lucky if they last the week). The moral of the story is to have a baby and think about all the generous people you know while you are wide awake in the middle of the night.

Sydney wearing all her new hair flowers at once.

Cannot think of a clever title

2009-03-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

My computer has been getting dusty lately. Remember the days when I actually used it daily? When I had two hands to type? (Truth be told, it was dusty when I used it daily too but that's not something I'd like to share. oops, just did)
Here's our update:
THE BAD:
**Noelle has/had a horrendous cold that leaves her unable to make any noises other than "uhhhh" and "wanna watch Elmo". That doesn't seem very bad but say those two things with an incredibly pathetic whine that crescendos if you don't immediately respond and your nerves will start grating. Trust me.
**Syd seems to have been gifted with Noelle's cold and manifests it in gagging mucous and interrupted sleep habits. Lovin' it, I tell you.
** Went to register Ethan for Kindergarten and cannot find any of the kids' birth certificates. If you came to my house and stole them to sell on the black market please let me know so I can stop looking for them. Seriously. Where the heck could they be??
THE GOOD:
**Noelle is actually potty trained. After those first few days of He$$ she finally mastered that bladder and made her parents happy. (Sadly whatever money we would have saved on diapers has been negated by the incredible amount that Sydney goes through)
**We have new neighbors that seem nice. As evidenced by the fact they gave Hub a can of Sprite for helping them move in. There is a language barrier but I always wanted to learn Spanish so here's my chance!
**Sher gave me a ticket to the local scholarship pageant (it's not PC to call it a beauty pageant) and I actually went and tried not to think about leaving Hub home with 5 ornery kids. I only called home twice in an hour and a half!
**Dang. I really want to think of one more good thing....does it count that I'm excited we are just having a video night for FHE?
ciao.

What's one less hour of sleep?

2009-03-08T09:43:00.001-07:00

Baby Sydney is 11 days old. But I don't really think of it that way. I think of it as it's been 11 days since I had any good amount of sleep. Add the time change and a toddler sneaking into my bed before she should be awake and you've got me borderline mentally insane. Good thing I have some great coping mechanisms involving lots of TV for kids and sugar products for me.

In other family news.......Ike participated in his first Pinewood Derby. Our designer extraordinaire let us down and he wanted no part of this rite of passage. He reluctantly designed a simple BYU car. Fortunately his two younger brothers had enough excitement for the whole pack and Ethan could hardly sleep the night before (he kept on calling it the Pioneer Derby, but we knew what he meant).
Here is Ike holding his awesome car like it might be contagious with the Bubonic Plague. His enthusiasm is palpable!

Then there is the potty training. It is amazing how changing a newborn's bottom can make your two-year-old's bottom seem huge. Hub took it upon himself to start potty training this weekend. Wahoo. This means that once he goes back to work on Monday Noelle's successes and failures rest entirely on me. Did I mention how this was a unilateral decision? Anyway, Noelle was as excited about this decision as much as I was as you can tell from the first photo.

Doesn't that break your heart? Maybe it was a good thing that Hub started this and not me. His heart is a lot tougher than mine I guess.
But by Day 2 Noelle was looking like this:

I guess all the candy she was getting for doing basically nothing started to seem like not such a bad idea after all....

Out of Commission

2009-02-28T15:01:00.000-08:00

The latest addition to our fam was added Feb. 25. I'd love to go into all the gory deets, but it seems like people prefer sharing the delivery details rather than hearing them....so if you really want to know I'll tell you in person. The end result was Sydney. She's our tiniest at 6 lbs 15 oz, but also our earliest at 38 and a half weeks.

The above picture is of my two frequent visitors to the hospital, Ethan and Noelle. They were getting a little too comfortable with all the hospital equipment and I sense a future in medicine for both of them. If you peek into the background you will see my in my very stylish and modest hospital gown. Unfortunately none of the pictures where I look like Heidi Klum turned out so you will just have to take my word for it.

Upon returning home from the hospital, Baby Sydney (seems Baby will be her first name as far as the kids can tell) was immediately bestowed with the most honored stuffed animals. She also was given some hard toys like cement mixers and cars, but I removed them for the picture. And for her safety.
We are quickly adjusting to the newest member of the fam. So far she has been an excellent day sleeper, so-and-so night sleeper, and a very quick mover of her bowels. Was that too personal? Anyway, this may be the last update for awhile depending on my sanity level. Don't worry though, I'll be sure to post her first steps.

Art, LEGOs, and them pesky har-mones

2009-02-17T13:06:00.000-08:00

I hope my title just sucked you right in. Anyhoo, I've just been too busy living life to the fullest lately and have had to put my lovely blog on the back burner. But I'm back to give you a quick recap of what's been going down...
I got to help out with the Valentine's party at school and made this beautiful cupid for 'Pin the Heart on the Cupid.' I know that is dang creative ( CC so lovingly pointed out that we turn any party game into a 'pin the..' activity since it involves minimal prep). Ethan was disturbed that the cupid wasn't wearing any clothes. I pointed out that little clothing is required when true love is involved. (soo just kidding on that one! We won't be having that talk for a few more decades...)

Then there is the daily challenge of making Ethan clean up LEGOs. (Does it bother you I feel obligated to capitalize that word? LEGO people get really mad when you don't because it is part of their brand identity. I don't really remember where I learned that nugget of trivia, but I think it's true.) Ethan takes about 4 hours to clean these babies up because he gets distracted mid-clean by another ingenious building idea. Some days this obsession is welcome, but when we have a time crunch for cleaning it is not.
And then there are my preggers harmones. Not to be confused with hormones, because it is clearly more fun and countrified to say harmones. But I definitely can tell I have got some extra dosages runnin' through my body. I am usually not a crier. But I have found myself crying after reading a book! I also cried when Isaac accused me of cheating at Horse (I actually beat him so I guess he thought that was proof). And I cried lots when I looked out my window and saw two moving trucks.
Our good neighbors are moving to another state and I was in denial until the trucks showed up. I don't think I should blame that one on the harmones though. I think I would have cried even without them. Good neighbors shouldn't be allowed to move. Where's the president and his campaign promises when you need him?
I better go before I start crying again.

celebration

2009-02-10T15:23:00.000-08:00

It is Hub's Birthday tomorrow. I have to stop and think too hard to remember how old he is. After we hit that 30 mark something happened and the only way how I can remember how old anyone in the family is is to ask Isaac. Stuff like age matters a lot to an 8-year-old.
I would love to write a novel on the great qualities of Hub but I hopefully will have several more of his Birthdays to blog about so I'm going to be skimpy and share three little tidbits. Just know that it's not out of lack of material!
***Hub is the best father ever. He is an active participant in all things child-rearing and actually enjoys playing the torturous games of Monopoly and Life with them. He'll get up with kids in the night (if I nudge him 'gently' with my foot) and will share in the yucky stuff of diapers and cleaning sick kids and bedding. He also has been a very willing soccer and basketball coach.
****Hub likes to go camping. He likes it enough that it's worth it to him to do all the work so we go. That means I feel guilty while he packs the car full of gear that seems unreasonable for only a night or two away from home. He pitches the tent, does the fire, cooks real food on a camping stove (I'd rather just eat candy and save the cleanup), carries kids on hikes, and pretty much does all the hard stuff. He has a lot of strange camping gear and I'm impressed he knows how to use it all.

*** He is a perfectionist. I really tried hard to help him finish painting our basement, but then got offended when he said everything I painted needed a second coat. The above room is our playroom which required four different colors of paint and lots of taping. Let's just say by that point he was glad I had given up 'helping'.
He also has to refold his dress pants that I so lovingly wash and hang for him. Something about me not folding them correctly with the pleats....

That is all for now. Maybe you learned something new. Maybe you didn't. I'm just grateful I'm married to one of the goodest guys around (goodest being Ethan's choice word right now).
Happy Birthday Hubbers!

Wanted: A Momanny

2009-02-03T20:48:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I want to hire a nanny. But not a nanny for the kids because what's the point of having kids if they give the nanny all the love? But a nanny for me. A Momanny if you will. So I can have adult conversations when it's convenient. So when I hear things on the radio I can immediately converse about it with someone when the topic is fresh. Like the CA woman who just had octuplets. You know the story---it's first reported as a marvelous thing that she was able to carry all 8 babies and everyone is healthy. Then the next day the story is that she had done it before and has 6 little kids at home already. By donated sperm! And she lives with her parents in a three bedroom apartment. Now the debate is over family planning and what roles infertility doctors should have. What do you think?
Then I saw an ad for fried twinkies and really wanted to point it out to my imaginary momanny and wonder who in the world would eat a fried twinkie and live to tell about it? You? Gross, gross, gross. Unfried twinkies give me the willies when I think too much about them. Kindof like hotdogs. Sadly though, you'll catch me eating both on occasion. Then my momanny and I will giggle at my hypocrisy and tell the kids to be quiet while we watch The View together and get mad at that mean Joy Behar. Yes. I definitely need a Momanny.

Shower Power

2009-01-27T19:27:00.001-08:00

The above is a picture of me in my outside shower. What? You don't have one? And why is there foliage in my picture when we've received about 14 tons of snow this winter? I live in a magical place, my friend. And it's a place where I have very skinny arms apparently.
But back to reality. The other day Mitch begged me not to take a shower because I'm 'in there too long." To which I responded, "WHAT THE?! HAVE YOU MET YOUR FATHER?" (Which is very true. I swear Hub takes a daily 40-minute shower. The difference being Mitch is not yet awake and therefore cannot hold dad accountable) I also told Mitch that in order for me to be the best mom ever, which I am, I need my shower time and to not begrudge me my few minutes alone, dangit!
Don't most of your best ideas come in the shower? Mine do. I can whip out a super family night lesson in the shower. Or a great career idea. And if I had a computer in the shower I would be an awesome blogger. Let's not even get into the imaginary confrontations I have with people who never even knew they wronged me....
But these are very fleeting moments because even the shower cannot drown out the noise of a door slamming and a kid kicking at the bathroom door and reality comes rushing back. But I tell you--for those short minutes (no matter what Mitch would have you believe), I have solved many a problem and come up with many a great lesson. Are you a shower meditator like me?

ps Do you like my new profile picture? It's not too much, is it? I just needed to kick the winter blahs and I think I did in one quick download!

So Easily Amused

2009-01-20T13:59:00.000-08:00

I remember when one of my brothers(D-Dawg for those who know him) had his first kid. He made the comment that he couldn't remember what they'd done for entertainment before she came along because it was so fun to watch her talk and play. At the time I thought that was pretty sad and that he'd officially entered Boring Life With Children, but now I'm totally with him!

There is no greater entertainment in our home right now than our two-year-old, Noelle. She even has all of her brothers as captive audience members which ranks her higher than cartoons and potty talk. Just ask her a question and laugh hilariously at the answer that makes no sense.
Me: "Noelle, do you want a sandwich for lunch?"
Noelle: "Baby kiss Elmo."
Brothers: "HAHAHAHAHAH!"
Or just ask her to dance. Or to sing a song. Or to hide. Whatever it is, she ends up making everyone laugh. Sadly, I am afraid it is a stage and cannot last much longer. Her older siblings each had a turn being the toast of the town and are now mere audience members. Soon she will catch on that we are using her for cheap entertainment and she'll want to charge admission. Or like other great comics, she will revert to 'adult' humor and I'll have to ban her from her young audience. Maybe she'll actually comprehend our questions and respond appropriately. That will definitely take away all the fun.
Good thing we've got a comic in the wings to take her place. I'm 33 and 1/2 weeks and counting.....

My secret talents

2009-01-15T10:01:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you have noticed that lots of bloggers are good at photography. And if you have, then you also have noticed that I am one of those bloggers who is not. All those buttons on the camera are there to confuse me and take away my freedom. I rebel against them and then end up with pictures like these:

Isaac had his first basketball game last weekend and there were great shots to be had (please do not try to make that into a pun. Puns are not punny no matter what your grandma says). I happened to take all these non-great shots. Hub was too busy coaching or he would have redeemed me for posterity's sake. You may just roll your eyes at me and say, "How hard is it to push the flash button?" And I will tell you that if that is the little lightning bolt thing, I think I did and this still happened!
Since I don't really like looking incompetent then I leave my defense to you. Maybe I just like the mysterious look of this basketball game. Maybe the refs turned the lights out as a test to see how well the boys could 'feel' their teammates presence. Maybe I wanted dark pictures so you couldn't see Ike's sweaty face (he is the biggest heater head!) Or maybe this is one talent I just don't have. Nah, that's not it.
Next game I will try again and I am sure the pix will turn out better and you will actually be able to see Ike's red face. Of course that may mean that I am the one coaching and Hub's taking the pictures, but I won't tell.

Baa Baa! I'm a sheep

2009-01-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

Yes friends, it is true. I just hate to miss out on anything (unless it's joining Facebook) and so I have finally finished the Twilight series. It only took me a year and a half. It wasn't because I was a slow reader, because I actually read each book quickly, it was rather that I felt no need to rush into the next one. I was pacing myself, people. Like a good marathon runner would. And like all good marathon runners (or so I'm assuming since I really hate to run) I now am done and feel quite the accomplishment. Except I didn't win a trophy or get a free t-shirt from the experience.

So now I am In the Know like most of the female population and feel qualified to offer my deep insights into the books. For the two of you out there who have no idea what I'm talking about I will excuse you from this post and ask you to return next time for when I get back to being deep in ways you appreciate.

Thought #1: After all the raving about it, the next time I am at a museum and nobody is looking I am going to find a marble statue and hug it and kiss it. Seriously. No matter how sparkly great looking Edward is does it really sound appealing to cuddle to something hard and cold?? But maybe my cynicism is because I've never DONE it. So I will reserve full judgement until I've tried it and hope I don't get arrested.

Thought #2: I was really annoyed initially that Boring Bella could somehow snag the two hottest non-humans in all of Washington. Then it hit me that I was just jealous. How come no vampires or werewolves were fighting over me? Then it hit me again. Bella is the hero for all of us plain Janes out there! If Bella could do it, then why couldn't I? Then it hit me again. I'm a freakin' 30- something-year-old married mom of 4 plus kids and I was having these teenage jealousy issues? I really better stop reading before I start hanging out at the high school looking for my own Edward.

Thought #3: I really want Stephenie Meyer's bank account.

There it is. I thought they were a fun read for pure escapism. I even enjoyed the movie. But here's my final thing----the last book gets a little too honeymoonish for me and I started getting a little embarrassed about all the people I knew who had read about all that kissy-kissy stuff! Like my brother! And the pre-teens I know! I can't look anyone in the eye anymore since we all were witnesses to such personal moments in Bella's life. The end.