The Season for Snow Cones

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

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

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.

I

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.