It has come to my attention that my children are becoming debaters.
I ask them to put a toy away.
"But I didn't take it out!"
"Really!? I am very much aware that you didn't take it out! Will you please put it away for me?"
"BuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuT! I didn't take it out!"
"Wrong answer , this is where you say... Oh yes I would be more than happy to put that toy away for you, my most wonderful mother who birthed me and then nursed me for 12(+) months, 3 of which you said you thought your nipples were going to fall off because of thrush, and has taken care of my every need for so long, it would be the least I could do."
Child stares at you and then catches on somewhat and says
"Fine I guess I will put the toy away"
"Oh thank you so much, for being soooo willing to help!"
But what you really say in your head is "You better say fine,child, because I am sick and tired of listening to you complain to me about the injustice of you helping me with things that you think your siblings should be helping me with. So help me, I am going to lose it one of these days!"
Just saying, some days are better than others!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
TOFW-Phoenix
I get to be a "Time Out For Women" team member for this years event in Phoenix. I am so excited to help spread the word to help women of all faiths come and participate in this uplifting and gratifying experience. If you are interested in buying tickets let me know and I can help you get a group discount of $10 off the price.
I went last year right after we moved here. I got to go with my sister Wendy, and it was so worth my time. Here is a link for who the presenters will be here in Phoenix http://deseretbook.com/timeout/event/156
I went last year right after we moved here. I got to go with my sister Wendy, and it was so worth my time. Here is a link for who the presenters will be here in Phoenix http://deseretbook.com/timeout/event/156
Monday, May 16, 2011
A Servicing We Go
A couple of months ago I felt this strong need to find ways for our family to increase our efforts to be involved in service opportunities for our community. I went to http://www.volunteermatch.org/ , I put in a few key words and, bada bing bada boom, I found this wonderful organization.
I was drawn to this organization for many reasons. One of the main reasons stems from their mission statement which is this :
I was drawn to this organization for many reasons. One of the main reasons stems from their mission statement which is this :
"Family homelessness is damaging to everyone it touches. Save the Family empowers families to conquer homelessness and achieve life-long independence.
• • •
We envision communities free
from family homelessness."
from family homelessness."
I love the fact that they are striving to help families to know how to be proactive in the choices they make, enabling them to better understand how they can conquer, as they put it, homelessness and achieve independence.
They have this program that asks for volunteers to bring in sack lunches, snacks and sack dinners on a daily basis for the families they are helping. I was drawn to this particular program because it was easy for me to know how I could involve the children in this service. And this morning we were able to put all the planning into action.
The younger girls helped me make the bread the past couple of weeks. This morning everyone was able to have a hand in putting together the sack dinners. Lucy helped with putting the cheese sticks in, Kady the dessert, Sera the carrots, Emma chips, Kady and Lucy sandwiches to dad to put in the bag, Eliza was the cheerleader. I made 15 peanut butter and jelly, 15 ham and 10 chicken salad. It was so exciting for me to see the girls be excited to help those who may be struggling temporally right now.
For scripture study this morning we just read one verse, because I did not take into account how long it would take to put all of the sack dinners together. Nonetheless it was one that came to my mind quickly, and it fit the mood of the morning. It is from one of our standard works. From The Book of Mormon
Mosiah chapter 2 verse 17
"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."
Whatever struggles we may have as individuals or families, I have found that one of the easiest ways to find a solution to, or lighten those burdens or struggles is to reach beyond ourselves and help those who may be struggling themselves. At least, that has been my experience.
On another note. I was watching a program this afternoon while little people were still sleeping. The programs title was family dinner time. The guest was a lady who apparently is a guru on helping families have more meaningful dinner time. As I listened to the host and guest speak, I thought how I have been doing what they were talking about since before I even got married. I had a very prideful moment.I even called Jared and told him that he married a genius! Here is a link to my post I did a long while ago about meal planning It is well worth looking at, mostly for the funny movies. Happy full moon!
p.s. If anyone is interested in me doing a list of meals we eat here for your own meal planning idea, or even a more detailed approach to how I organize meal planning let me know.
p.s. If anyone is interested in me doing a list of meals we eat here for your own meal planning idea, or even a more detailed approach to how I organize meal planning let me know.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Princess Ballet
Lat night the 4 older girls and I went to the Ballet with my Step- Mom and one of my nieces. The girls had such a great time. I was so impressed with Kady's ability to be so attentive to the performance. She even seemed to understand when the end was drawing near of an act and would get her hands ready in anticipation to clap. So cute!
We got to go back stage afterwards and the girls got to meet some of the main characters.
On the way home we talked about the performance. We talked about how the boy ballerina's costumes were a bit distracting for them. Emma said it was AK(higher voice inflect)WARD(lower voice inflect) I got a chuckle out of their embarrassment, as I could see myself back when I was a younger girl.
As you can see in the picture they wore their princess dress ups. Grandma Palmer made all of them for birthday presents, except Kady's. We got Kady's at a garage sale.
My attempts at cleaning the home yesterday were fruitless. It seemed that if I started cleaning something I would be sidelined with little people doing mischievous little things. Like painting themselves with play makeup and nail polish. I thought I had gotten rid of all of the nail polish and makeup from Emma and Sera's beauty kits they bought last week. Oh well!
I decided it was not worth it to clean. Instead we made some more bread for our service project we will be doing on Monday. More on that Monday.
The girls had so much fun "forming" their loaves. I learned a new trick from good ole BYUtv the night before. To get any air bubbles out of your loaf you are forming you slap in down on the counter. Eliza especially liked throwing her loaf down. The loaves were not perfectly formed but at least I know they literally had a hand in helping with making the food for this service project we will be doing.
I played basketball this morning. I have not played since just before I got pregnant with Daniel. My lungs got a good stretch today. The women I played with were so much fun and I look forward to playing again next week. I think it would be good if I practiced my shot sometime this week. I had forgotten the finesse you need when shooting the ball and may have over shot or under shot my share. But I did have plenty of perfect shots that went in so gracefully.
Today the girls all worked so hard in getting our home ready for the Sabbath. I find that cleaning goes so much better if I am there guiding them along. This is very tedious for me. Repetition is the key. And a lot of fake smiling. I know that one day they will just automatically do these things naturally. This thought helps me to persevere through these formative years. Because frankly when you help some children, what you really feel like doing is pounding your head against a wall. But fake smiling works better for me.
We got to go to my Dad's tonight. It was sort of a time to say good bye to my Step brother, his wonderful wife and their son. They are some of the best people I know. We did a BBQ. I love BBQ's so much, especially the combinations of hamburger's, hot dogs, potato salad, and baked beans. It is so magical to my taste buds. Really I could eat this meal at least once a week, if I didn't know how unhealthy it is.
We got to go back stage afterwards and the girls got to meet some of the main characters.
This picture is from my step moms phone.
On the way home we talked about the performance. We talked about how the boy ballerina's costumes were a bit distracting for them. Emma said it was AK(higher voice inflect)WARD(lower voice inflect) I got a chuckle out of their embarrassment, as I could see myself back when I was a younger girl.
As you can see in the picture they wore their princess dress ups. Grandma Palmer made all of them for birthday presents, except Kady's. We got Kady's at a garage sale.
My attempts at cleaning the home yesterday were fruitless. It seemed that if I started cleaning something I would be sidelined with little people doing mischievous little things. Like painting themselves with play makeup and nail polish. I thought I had gotten rid of all of the nail polish and makeup from Emma and Sera's beauty kits they bought last week. Oh well!
I decided it was not worth it to clean. Instead we made some more bread for our service project we will be doing on Monday. More on that Monday.
The girls had so much fun "forming" their loaves. I learned a new trick from good ole BYUtv the night before. To get any air bubbles out of your loaf you are forming you slap in down on the counter. Eliza especially liked throwing her loaf down. The loaves were not perfectly formed but at least I know they literally had a hand in helping with making the food for this service project we will be doing.
I played basketball this morning. I have not played since just before I got pregnant with Daniel. My lungs got a good stretch today. The women I played with were so much fun and I look forward to playing again next week. I think it would be good if I practiced my shot sometime this week. I had forgotten the finesse you need when shooting the ball and may have over shot or under shot my share. But I did have plenty of perfect shots that went in so gracefully.
Today the girls all worked so hard in getting our home ready for the Sabbath. I find that cleaning goes so much better if I am there guiding them along. This is very tedious for me. Repetition is the key. And a lot of fake smiling. I know that one day they will just automatically do these things naturally. This thought helps me to persevere through these formative years. Because frankly when you help some children, what you really feel like doing is pounding your head against a wall. But fake smiling works better for me.
We got to go to my Dad's tonight. It was sort of a time to say good bye to my Step brother, his wonderful wife and their son. They are some of the best people I know. We did a BBQ. I love BBQ's so much, especially the combinations of hamburger's, hot dogs, potato salad, and baked beans. It is so magical to my taste buds. Really I could eat this meal at least once a week, if I didn't know how unhealthy it is.
Here are some pictures from today
When I was going through Daniels clothes today the girls found a shade hat for him and decided to put it on him. I just let the picture tell how he may be feeling.
Eliza insisted on having goggles to wear. If you click on the picture you will see how they distort her eyes and ears.
Then she would flip those goggles up
So cute and funny
Emma enjoying the swimming
Kady enjoyed wearing goggles too!
Miss Lucy right after coming out.
Eliza demonstrating perfect form!
Bleeping Out The "D" Word Can Be Tricky
So I think I may have been experiencing some depression since we decided to load our lives up in Michigan and head on over here to the beautiful land of the sun.
I have thought a lot about the "D" word for a while now. The other day I was reading a fellow bloggers post on the subject of depression here. I realized that some of what she talked about is what I have been experiencing. Especially the thought of something is not right.
I think I am having a hard time processing everything that happened in such a short time. Especially with our move. I kept on telling myself to just focus on getting everything done, that I think I missed out on being able to put some adequate closure on that chapter of my life.
I am not sure on how to do that now, so that is why I am writing about it. I know there will be a time when I have found how to make that closure happen and I will have figured out how to move on.
The kind of depression I think I am experiencing is that I am not sure how to connect with this new environment I am in now. I find myself asking who am I? Do I fit in here? It's like I am the new kid at a school and I still have not found where I fit in.
I know I am on the road to bleeping out the "D" word. I look forward to getting to that point. I am just not sure what avenue to take. I have never been one to be depressed, but I do know that I feel generally off.
So for me I ask myself-- is it just the fact that a whole lot of change happened all at once in a very small period of time, or am I chemically imbalanced? I don't concretely have the answer to those questions yet.
What do you do to help bleep out the "D" word? If you have had similar experiences I would appreciate some feedback.
I have thought a lot about the "D" word for a while now. The other day I was reading a fellow bloggers post on the subject of depression here. I realized that some of what she talked about is what I have been experiencing. Especially the thought of something is not right.
I think I am having a hard time processing everything that happened in such a short time. Especially with our move. I kept on telling myself to just focus on getting everything done, that I think I missed out on being able to put some adequate closure on that chapter of my life.
I am not sure on how to do that now, so that is why I am writing about it. I know there will be a time when I have found how to make that closure happen and I will have figured out how to move on.
The kind of depression I think I am experiencing is that I am not sure how to connect with this new environment I am in now. I find myself asking who am I? Do I fit in here? It's like I am the new kid at a school and I still have not found where I fit in.
I know I am on the road to bleeping out the "D" word. I look forward to getting to that point. I am just not sure what avenue to take. I have never been one to be depressed, but I do know that I feel generally off.
So for me I ask myself-- is it just the fact that a whole lot of change happened all at once in a very small period of time, or am I chemically imbalanced? I don't concretely have the answer to those questions yet.
What do you do to help bleep out the "D" word? If you have had similar experiences I would appreciate some feedback.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
A day of rest
Tuesday was spent finishing up the the bits and pieces of organizing what I wasn't able to get to Monday. I just intertwined that with just relaxing. It was nice. Very needed after the very productive day I had on Monday. I am a big advocate for rest when it is needed.
I went to the store after I got the kids to bed, and before volleyball. At one of the stores, I was trying to get some strawberries that were on sale. Ones that were not moldy like the ones that they had out. The produce guy was called to help. This older man comes out. This is the conversation we had:
Produce Guy (PG)- What can I help you with?
Me- I was wondering if you had any fresh 3# packages of strawberries in the back?
PG- Nope! I just put out the last of what we had an hour ago
Me- Okay thanks
PG- Do you want to come in the back and see for yourself?
Me- Oh no, I trust you!
PG- Are you sure?
Me-Yes!
PG- I was just trying to get you in the back (moving his brow up and down as to suggest he wanted to make some advances)
Me- insert nervous laugh-
PG- Will that be all?
Me- Yes, thank you!
Interesting to say the least. I don't think I will be asking for the produce guy at that store for a while.
At volleyball tonight, we pretty much played for 2 hour s straight. I told Jared that there was not one spot on my body that didn't hurt, when I got home.
He massaged my feet, as I just laid like a log on the bed. He is so good to me. Bonus is that he is sexy!
Today I am going and getting adjusted at our wonderful Chiropractors. We love him! Then i will spend the morning at my sisters.
My brother-in-law and sister-in-law spent their night at the hospital. He fainted last night when getting ready for bed, and cut his head in the process. The docs say that it is some kind of summer flu thing that's been going around here. They are home now, but still have 5 kids to take care of. calls have been made and help is on the way.
Lucy and Eliza came in this morning around 6:30 with their bathing suits. For some reason the squirrels in their heads told them that I said we would be going swimming today. They misunderstood, because we will be going swimming on Saturday. They seemed disappointed. Disappointment is okay.
Alright, I am off to save the world. Have a fabulous day!
I went to the store after I got the kids to bed, and before volleyball. At one of the stores, I was trying to get some strawberries that were on sale. Ones that were not moldy like the ones that they had out. The produce guy was called to help. This older man comes out. This is the conversation we had:
Produce Guy (PG)- What can I help you with?
Me- I was wondering if you had any fresh 3# packages of strawberries in the back?
PG- Nope! I just put out the last of what we had an hour ago
Me- Okay thanks
PG- Do you want to come in the back and see for yourself?
Me- Oh no, I trust you!
PG- Are you sure?
Me-Yes!
PG- I was just trying to get you in the back (moving his brow up and down as to suggest he wanted to make some advances)
Me- insert nervous laugh-
PG- Will that be all?
Me- Yes, thank you!
Interesting to say the least. I don't think I will be asking for the produce guy at that store for a while.
At volleyball tonight, we pretty much played for 2 hour s straight. I told Jared that there was not one spot on my body that didn't hurt, when I got home.
He massaged my feet, as I just laid like a log on the bed. He is so good to me. Bonus is that he is sexy!
Today I am going and getting adjusted at our wonderful Chiropractors. We love him! Then i will spend the morning at my sisters.
My brother-in-law and sister-in-law spent their night at the hospital. He fainted last night when getting ready for bed, and cut his head in the process. The docs say that it is some kind of summer flu thing that's been going around here. They are home now, but still have 5 kids to take care of. calls have been made and help is on the way.
Lucy and Eliza came in this morning around 6:30 with their bathing suits. For some reason the squirrels in their heads told them that I said we would be going swimming today. They misunderstood, because we will be going swimming on Saturday. They seemed disappointed. Disappointment is okay.
Alright, I am off to save the world. Have a fabulous day!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Blow it out your old wazoo!
I have been busy all day organizing and shifting food storage stuff. It has been a great work out. I carried about 34 cases each filled with #10 canned food. Most of it was wheat. Some was, dehydrated carrots and apples, oatmeal, rice, beans, dry milk and sugar. I had been storing most of it in our guest bedroom closet, which could be a room in and of itself. I never dreamed I would have so much space, ever!
The girls were such a big help when I needed it.
So to my title. I wake up around 4:45 in the morning to get ready to go walking/jogging with my friend. We meet around 5:25ish. I wake this early so I can have time to feed Daniel before I leave so I don't feel like I have two extra jugs to carry.
I use my husbands fancy cell phone for my alarm. He is so kind to set it for me every night. Apparently last night he forgot to set it. But that is okay because he apparently has his own alarm clock in the form of a loud trumpeting toot-toot that comes out his old wazoo. When he had awoken himself he saw the time, which was just before the alarm would have gone off. He checked the alram and saw it was not set.
I was unaware of this until I had come back from walking and he told me of this tender mercy, as he called it. I thanked Heavenly Father for such a humorous tender mercy.
The girls were such a big help when I needed it.
So to my title. I wake up around 4:45 in the morning to get ready to go walking/jogging with my friend. We meet around 5:25ish. I wake this early so I can have time to feed Daniel before I leave so I don't feel like I have two extra jugs to carry.
I use my husbands fancy cell phone for my alarm. He is so kind to set it for me every night. Apparently last night he forgot to set it. But that is okay because he apparently has his own alarm clock in the form of a loud trumpeting toot-toot that comes out his old wazoo. When he had awoken himself he saw the time, which was just before the alarm would have gone off. He checked the alram and saw it was not set.
I was unaware of this until I had come back from walking and he told me of this tender mercy, as he called it. I thanked Heavenly Father for such a humorous tender mercy.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Two for One
This will be a quick entry.
Yesterday I got to help out at the school book fair. I had a blast watching kids come up with only a few coins in their hand and then asking if this was enough to buy the handful of books they were holding in their other hand. I told them that today was not their lucky day and that it was not enough. They always looked puzzeled. It had made laughing inside every time. Gotta love kids!
Emma helped her friend out today. On the way to school her friend went to look back while riding her bike to school and got to close to that edge of the path and fell onto her handle of the bike. Emma first thought to go to get her friends mother but then she says "Mom I had a strong feeling to not go to her Mom but to a friends(name being withheld) home that was closer. So I listened. I knew that was the Holy Ghost telling me what to do!" There's more to that story but this is a quick entry :)
I was so grateful that she heeded those promptings. This was one of those times where I felt so happy we have talked about on so many occasions to our children, the importance of listening to those promptings we get. Her friend was taken home and all is well!
After the girls got home from school we headed out to my sisters. Her second daughter was the empress in The emperors new clothes. It was the epitome of a play full of beginner actresses and actors. I loved it! My niece was very good at actually putting some kind of emotion into her delivery and I was very appreciative of that. Especially since 99% of her fellow cast members did the same monotone influx in their voices. I tried adding some pep to a few of their songs they sang by clapping my hands to the beat, but no one else seemed to catch onto my vision. So after a few awkward times of trying I stopped.
Today was filled with fun. My brother-in law took 5 of the younger kids to Home Depot to make a mother's day gift for Wendy and I. Jared stayed and helped clean their home and then my sister, her 2 older girls and Emma went out. We took the girls to lunch.
On our way back home we stopped at Costco. Enough said on that.
We made eggo waffles for dinner. They are on sale right now at costco for 5.99 for a 60 count. Yes I stocked up, and yes my freezer is now 1/4 full of them. It looked like the sign said the sale goes until May29th.
Jared has cleaned our home and it smells wonderful! The girls asked me what I want for breakfast tomorrow morning. I actually told them I would not like them to make me breakfast and that in fact I do not want anyone to come in and wake me up, but rather to have them help their father later that day to make me a delicious dinner and cookies. If the day is going to be to celebrate me I want a say in how I want it to be celebrated. I think I will ban the whole breakfast thing on the sheer moral that THIS IS THE ONE DAY I WANT TO SLEEP IN AND GOSH DARN IT I DESERVE IT! That's all.
I am looking forward to all of the special love I will get tomorrow. Real quick before I sign off. The music leader for our primary in our congregation, she called Friday morning and wanted to record me singing my favorite primary song. She said last year she did this for Mother's day and then the kids had to guess whose mother was singing the song. Such a brilliant idea! My kids will definetly get mine. Here are the words to the song I sang
"I want to be kind" slightly adapted by me
I want to be kind to everyone
For that is right you see
So I say to myself
SELF
remember this
kindness begins with me
I sing this ALL THE TIME!
And now for a special tribute to a few special people who if it were not for them I would not be the mother I am to the children I have.
Yesterday I got to help out at the school book fair. I had a blast watching kids come up with only a few coins in their hand and then asking if this was enough to buy the handful of books they were holding in their other hand. I told them that today was not their lucky day and that it was not enough. They always looked puzzeled. It had made laughing inside every time. Gotta love kids!
Emma helped her friend out today. On the way to school her friend went to look back while riding her bike to school and got to close to that edge of the path and fell onto her handle of the bike. Emma first thought to go to get her friends mother but then she says "Mom I had a strong feeling to not go to her Mom but to a friends(name being withheld) home that was closer. So I listened. I knew that was the Holy Ghost telling me what to do!" There's more to that story but this is a quick entry :)
I was so grateful that she heeded those promptings. This was one of those times where I felt so happy we have talked about on so many occasions to our children, the importance of listening to those promptings we get. Her friend was taken home and all is well!
After the girls got home from school we headed out to my sisters. Her second daughter was the empress in The emperors new clothes. It was the epitome of a play full of beginner actresses and actors. I loved it! My niece was very good at actually putting some kind of emotion into her delivery and I was very appreciative of that. Especially since 99% of her fellow cast members did the same monotone influx in their voices. I tried adding some pep to a few of their songs they sang by clapping my hands to the beat, but no one else seemed to catch onto my vision. So after a few awkward times of trying I stopped.
Today was filled with fun. My brother-in law took 5 of the younger kids to Home Depot to make a mother's day gift for Wendy and I. Jared stayed and helped clean their home and then my sister, her 2 older girls and Emma went out. We took the girls to lunch.
On our way back home we stopped at Costco. Enough said on that.
We made eggo waffles for dinner. They are on sale right now at costco for 5.99 for a 60 count. Yes I stocked up, and yes my freezer is now 1/4 full of them. It looked like the sign said the sale goes until May29th.
Jared has cleaned our home and it smells wonderful! The girls asked me what I want for breakfast tomorrow morning. I actually told them I would not like them to make me breakfast and that in fact I do not want anyone to come in and wake me up, but rather to have them help their father later that day to make me a delicious dinner and cookies. If the day is going to be to celebrate me I want a say in how I want it to be celebrated. I think I will ban the whole breakfast thing on the sheer moral that THIS IS THE ONE DAY I WANT TO SLEEP IN AND GOSH DARN IT I DESERVE IT! That's all.
I am looking forward to all of the special love I will get tomorrow. Real quick before I sign off. The music leader for our primary in our congregation, she called Friday morning and wanted to record me singing my favorite primary song. She said last year she did this for Mother's day and then the kids had to guess whose mother was singing the song. Such a brilliant idea! My kids will definetly get mine. Here are the words to the song I sang
"I want to be kind" slightly adapted by me
I want to be kind to everyone
For that is right you see
So I say to myself
SELF
remember this
kindness begins with me
I sing this ALL THE TIME!
And now for a special tribute to a few special people who if it were not for them I would not be the mother I am to the children I have.
My maternal grandparents
My husbands maternal grandmother
My in-laws
My paternal grandmother
My husbands paternal grandmother
My Mother
My Dad
Happy Mother's Day!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
The Path
My walking partner this morning was sick. So after feeding Daniel I plopped back to bed at 5:25 with my work out clothes on and sneakers. I fell right back to a deep sleep with no covers on. An hour and 20 minutes later I woke up.
I told Jared that I felt like I hadn't slept that good in a while. After the 2 older girls left for school I got the rest of us ready for an adventure. We have some beautiful paths and trails in our neighborhood so I figured since I was still in my work out clothes I would use my new hand me down free jogging stroller I got from a friend. Eliza and Daniel rode in the stroller while Lucy and Kady rode their bikes. Kady actually has been using one of our self made balance bikes.
We were off. The sun was nice and warm. I could feel my bottom reminding me how far I have to go till I don't get whip lash from it when I run. And I could see in my shadow to the west of me how bouncy it is. It just gave me more motivation to move. Lucy took off and was far ahead of us. I got really nervous at one point because apart of the path goes under one of the main roads and it is a fairly steep hill, especially for a little rider.
I prayed real hard that if she did go down that hill that she would be protected, or to help her to remember to stop to wait for us. Kady was my buddy. She had to stop frequently to tell how hot she was or to move her hair out of the way of her eyes. Her helmet kept on shifting her hair. I encouraged her along the way.
I was so relieved to find Lucy waiting patiently for us to go down the hill. They walked their bikes down. After passing the 2 underground parts of the paths we came to a part of the path where on one side were bigger rocks that went down a small drop off, and on the other was nice soft sand. Kady kept looking down when she was riding and would move uncomfortably close to the drop off which put me on edge. I reminded several times how she needed to stay from the edge and how unsafe it is. She would redirect her course and move to a safer place on the path.
About a mile and a half into the path there is a little play area. We made a stop to play and refuel ourselves. The sprinklers were on. Lucy say's to me "Why can't we go in the sprinklers?" I said "because you just said you couldn't!" She then realized she needed to rephrase her question and asked " May we play in the sprinklers?" ABSOLUTELY!, I replied
They had a blast running cooling off. Eliza was not too keen on the idea so she watched from a distance. After a nice refuel we loaded back up and headed back home on the path. Again Kady was somhow drawn to that dangerous edge. It finally dawned on me to get down to her level and look her in the eyes and explain why I needed her to stay on the safer side. She did not have anymore issues for the remainder of the ride.
When it came time for the path to under the road instead of walking this time they rode their bikes the whole time. I prayed so hard that they would be safe, and they were. I was so thankful. We we got home we were all so hot and sweaty. But we had such a great time.
I have thought about this all day. How the whole path thing is related to our lives. Do I complain about my journey or do I embrace it? Am I careless in my actions or thoughts to bring me close to those dangerous drop offs? Am I staying focused on what is most important or am I focusing on things that don't matter. Am I proactively making efforts to re-balance which path I am on? How I have a loving Heavenly Father who is quietly encouraging me to keep on going and don't give up and believing Him and trusting what He tells me?
Our paths are all different. Some have lots of curves and others lots of hills. Some have beautiful trees and wildlife while others have barrenness. What do I do to help others when they hit a bump on their path? Am I willing to help when needed?
I feel like the more I make time to listen in those quiet moments of reflection I realize how much energy I use up in worrying about small stuff that in the grand scheme of things really doesn't matter. And then it is as if I get a better understanding of how I can do better and am instructed on how to correct the path I am on that will keep me farther away from those drop offs and closer to those sandy softer banks. And then sometimes there are times where a hill comes and the answer is to just ride it out and trust. I love introspection.
We finished our day off with the girls getting in their swim suits and having a mud party in the back. It reminded me of their mud sliding they did at our Michigan home. Oh by the way we had an offer on our home and it looks like the mortgage company is going to take it!!! We just need to wait for paper work stuff. One mortgage sounds much better than two. Happy Cino de Mayo!
I told Jared that I felt like I hadn't slept that good in a while. After the 2 older girls left for school I got the rest of us ready for an adventure. We have some beautiful paths and trails in our neighborhood so I figured since I was still in my work out clothes I would use my new hand me down free jogging stroller I got from a friend. Eliza and Daniel rode in the stroller while Lucy and Kady rode their bikes. Kady actually has been using one of our self made balance bikes.
We were off. The sun was nice and warm. I could feel my bottom reminding me how far I have to go till I don't get whip lash from it when I run. And I could see in my shadow to the west of me how bouncy it is. It just gave me more motivation to move. Lucy took off and was far ahead of us. I got really nervous at one point because apart of the path goes under one of the main roads and it is a fairly steep hill, especially for a little rider.
I prayed real hard that if she did go down that hill that she would be protected, or to help her to remember to stop to wait for us. Kady was my buddy. She had to stop frequently to tell how hot she was or to move her hair out of the way of her eyes. Her helmet kept on shifting her hair. I encouraged her along the way.
I was so relieved to find Lucy waiting patiently for us to go down the hill. They walked their bikes down. After passing the 2 underground parts of the paths we came to a part of the path where on one side were bigger rocks that went down a small drop off, and on the other was nice soft sand. Kady kept looking down when she was riding and would move uncomfortably close to the drop off which put me on edge. I reminded several times how she needed to stay from the edge and how unsafe it is. She would redirect her course and move to a safer place on the path.
About a mile and a half into the path there is a little play area. We made a stop to play and refuel ourselves. The sprinklers were on. Lucy say's to me "Why can't we go in the sprinklers?" I said "because you just said you couldn't!" She then realized she needed to rephrase her question and asked " May we play in the sprinklers?" ABSOLUTELY!, I replied
They had a blast running cooling off. Eliza was not too keen on the idea so she watched from a distance. After a nice refuel we loaded back up and headed back home on the path. Again Kady was somhow drawn to that dangerous edge. It finally dawned on me to get down to her level and look her in the eyes and explain why I needed her to stay on the safer side. She did not have anymore issues for the remainder of the ride.
When it came time for the path to under the road instead of walking this time they rode their bikes the whole time. I prayed so hard that they would be safe, and they were. I was so thankful. We we got home we were all so hot and sweaty. But we had such a great time.
I have thought about this all day. How the whole path thing is related to our lives. Do I complain about my journey or do I embrace it? Am I careless in my actions or thoughts to bring me close to those dangerous drop offs? Am I staying focused on what is most important or am I focusing on things that don't matter. Am I proactively making efforts to re-balance which path I am on? How I have a loving Heavenly Father who is quietly encouraging me to keep on going and don't give up and believing Him and trusting what He tells me?
Our paths are all different. Some have lots of curves and others lots of hills. Some have beautiful trees and wildlife while others have barrenness. What do I do to help others when they hit a bump on their path? Am I willing to help when needed?
I feel like the more I make time to listen in those quiet moments of reflection I realize how much energy I use up in worrying about small stuff that in the grand scheme of things really doesn't matter. And then it is as if I get a better understanding of how I can do better and am instructed on how to correct the path I am on that will keep me farther away from those drop offs and closer to those sandy softer banks. And then sometimes there are times where a hill comes and the answer is to just ride it out and trust. I love introspection.
Pictures that were taken almost a year ago in Michigan
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Conversations in my head
I found the camera and took a picture of Emma's eyelids today. She told me that when she was returning something to the office today the nurse asked her if her eyes were okay. Emma told her she had put on eye stuff yesterday. The nurse suggested to her that I should take her to the local drug store to get some eye makeup removal. Not going to happen. If good ole soap and water can't get it off then it aint coming off.
Today I had to draw upon those inner conversations to the max, because I had plenty of opportunities to freak out if I wanted to. Some of them would included,but not limited to, 3 little ones at a bathroom sink they had just filled to the brim with water and then taking many barbie dolls and other small toys and were sloshing them about. I took a BIG deep breath in, and screamed to myself that water damage was not taking place or any other kind of damage. Well, except brain damage, since I have reminded repeatedly that the combination of toys+water+bathrooms do not go together.
I only said, with teeth gritting and my mouth perched slightly open "This is not a good choice!"
Ken's leg was damaged when I was shaking him out of water, his leg hit the sink. So now he is a one legged, tattoed guy. Some child had drawn circles around his arms. At least he always has a smile on his face.
Let's see, another one would be that Sera complained the entire time she emptied the dishwasher. That would not have been bad had she emptied the dishwasher in 5 minutes like it normally would take. But she took almost 2 hours. I nearly flipped on this one, but instead went to time out in my room several time to avoid me taking control and doing it myself.
This morning before school the kids were running around and Emma was carring Eliza doing somewhat of a horse trot thingy and she dropped Eliza on her head. I went to my pantry and shut the door and screamed at the top of my lungs. When I opened the door I had 5 little girls standing there asking what I was doing in there. I told them I was letting some air out. Kady said "you okay Mom?"
Daniel recently started sucking his thumb. I think he is a very proactive child. He must have gotten sick of waiting for me to feed him and figured sticking his thumb in his mouth could help soothe him while he waits for me to help everyone else. He is such a great little person.
Today the dominant conversation in my head was "Why do I even have the kids do anything? It would be so much easier if I did everything because I know it would be done the way I would do it and as fast as I would want it done!" So I answered myself, because I don't like to leave myself hanging, "Indeed it would be easier, but that is missing the point. "I know!" I replied back to myself. And I sigh. "Why can't they just get it? Why don't they want to just get it done so they can go and play and have fun? Why drag it out? Come on people!"
At least my bread turned out wonderfully. Kady and Lucy helped me. We did that for school today. We talked about the importance of the different ingredients and if you mess up the ingredients then it would be gross. It was soooooo good! Who would have thought that accidentally adding 1 extra tablespoon would make such a huge difference. We took a loaf over to our neighbors and I even shared some with a couple of traveling sales men who were trying to sell me some freezer dried food storage stuff. Lucky them!
todays yesterdays
Eliza pooped 10 times today. 10 times!!!! I think that is an all time high record. I am beginning to think she may have gotten a parasite from drinking the water table water she sat in. I thought it was teething but it has been a few days. She sticks all sorts of gross things in her mouth.
We didn't eat dinner until 7pm. That very rarely happens, but I told the girls I was not able to make dinner until they got the dishes done. While I was getting dinner stuff prepped the girls all got bathed. We had waffles with bacon and eggs. Lucy and Kady cut up strawberries to top the waffles with. It was delicious! Emma and Sera decided to take their time in getting ready after their bath so they missed out on helping cut up strawberries. I am confident that one of these days it will sink in their heads that with certain things taking your time does not pay off. At least that is one of the conversations I like to have in my head.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
" I Wana win!"
My friend and I walked on the equestrian trail this morning. She is very adventurous. Me not so much. I should have enjoyed the walk much more than I did, but I allowed myself to be too distracted from all of the little critter holes along the path. I really do hate when things jump out at me. More of that huge sudden burst of adrenaline. The one where it instantly makes all of my sweat glands start to drain, including the ones in my eyebrows. Thankfully, nothing did jump out.
I brought with me my new food storage weights. I had a great idea last Monday after I was putting away some cleaned out empty juice containers. They have some nice grip handles on them and I thought how these would be really nice to convert to weights.
So yesterday I opened up some of my cans of dried beans and filled those empty bottles up. From the way my arms felt afterward I would say they will be an effective tool in toning my arms back up. I am going to try to figure out a way to convert the other 2 bottles I have into leg weights. Maybe I can find some heavy duty velcro and strap them on.
I scored big this morning at the grocery store. I have been waiting for months for bacon to go on sale. Like 1.88 or less type of sale. Nada, until this morning. I happened to stop in the lunch meat department to pick up some cold cuts that were on sale but they didn't have any smoked ham left. "Oh well" I thought. I have learned that most things rotate every 12 weeks to go on sale. No big deal. I moved on and saw the sign.
Cue angels singing and there it was. Is this true? Am I really seeing a sign that says that this16 oz package of beautiful farmland bacon is on a special sale for just today for only .99 cents. I grabbed all of them except for one. I didn't want to be too greedy. The sell by date was for today. I just stick them in my freezer anyway, plus they all looked fresh and well. I love a great deal. The only bummer, if there could be one, is that I had just gotten a coupon in the circular for $2.00 off a package of this particular brand of bacon. I had the prompting to grab the thing but got distracted before I left. A learning moment again.
Sera came home today with some new things she bought from the book fair. ( with her own money) I guess she really wanted to get the same thing Emma bought yesterday. Unlike Emma, this turned Sera into a diva of sorts. She was all sorts of sassy tonight. It earned her an early royal spot in her bed.
"George how about we put the brightest of bright colors that scream hoochie momma to all the world!"
"By golly Fred, you are a genious!"
Sally tries to pipe in "Um, guys I don't think that Moms...." rudely cut off
"Fred, I think this will be a big seller!"
Unfortunately for Emma I think her eyelids will be hot pink for a while.
I made bread this morning. 6 loaves. Too bad I accidentally put 3 tablespoons of salt in it instead of the 2 it calls for. I should know better than to walk away to help a little one when I am in the middle of measuring. I didn't realize until after the fact, when the loaves came out rather small and then I tasted them and thought that they were extremely salty. Then I thought back of when I was measuring and realized my mistake. I hate wasting, but I can't stand the flavor even more. Baking will be on my agenda for tomorrow.
Lucy is reading now. It is always a thrill for me to see our children learn and get it. She has been reading these "Bob books fun!" books. Great beginner books. Eliza likes when she reads them to her.
Tuesday nights, for a little more than a month now, are my volleyball nights. It is my outlet. There are 6 teams. We are the "new team." All of the other teams seem to have played together for several years. We seem to not win very much. Out of all of the games we have played we have only won 2 matches. They happened to be against the team who when we first played them, decided to be very strict and unfair about the net rules.
If you ever wanted to see older women get fuming upset, then you should have been there that night. I thought one of my teammates was going to punch the other players. I really could have cared less. I mean really, I have enough things to worry about, I am not going to freak out about net or line calls. We lost to them, but the following 2 times we've played them, we crushed them. Sweet revenge...... or something. I don't know how we will do tonight. It seemed like last week we started to get into a nice groove. I hope it continues because it sure is a lot more fun to win than lose.
I brought with me my new food storage weights. I had a great idea last Monday after I was putting away some cleaned out empty juice containers. They have some nice grip handles on them and I thought how these would be really nice to convert to weights.
So yesterday I opened up some of my cans of dried beans and filled those empty bottles up. From the way my arms felt afterward I would say they will be an effective tool in toning my arms back up. I am going to try to figure out a way to convert the other 2 bottles I have into leg weights. Maybe I can find some heavy duty velcro and strap them on.
I scored big this morning at the grocery store. I have been waiting for months for bacon to go on sale. Like 1.88 or less type of sale. Nada, until this morning. I happened to stop in the lunch meat department to pick up some cold cuts that were on sale but they didn't have any smoked ham left. "Oh well" I thought. I have learned that most things rotate every 12 weeks to go on sale. No big deal. I moved on and saw the sign.
Cue angels singing and there it was. Is this true? Am I really seeing a sign that says that this16 oz package of beautiful farmland bacon is on a special sale for just today for only .99 cents. I grabbed all of them except for one. I didn't want to be too greedy. The sell by date was for today. I just stick them in my freezer anyway, plus they all looked fresh and well. I love a great deal. The only bummer, if there could be one, is that I had just gotten a coupon in the circular for $2.00 off a package of this particular brand of bacon. I had the prompting to grab the thing but got distracted before I left. A learning moment again.
Sera came home today with some new things she bought from the book fair. ( with her own money) I guess she really wanted to get the same thing Emma bought yesterday. Unlike Emma, this turned Sera into a diva of sorts. She was all sorts of sassy tonight. It earned her an early royal spot in her bed.
This was taken over 6 years ago when Emma got into my mascara
Emma walked in the door from school and had bright pink eyeshadow on. It matched her bright pink shirt and then later her sleeping beauty dress up dress grandma made for her. She later added the bright pink lipstick. I am just curious what the makers of these sorts of things are thinking when they create such a product. I know..."George how about we put the brightest of bright colors that scream hoochie momma to all the world!"
"By golly Fred, you are a genious!"
Sally tries to pipe in "Um, guys I don't think that Moms...." rudely cut off
"Fred, I think this will be a big seller!"
Unfortunately for Emma I think her eyelids will be hot pink for a while.
I made bread this morning. 6 loaves. Too bad I accidentally put 3 tablespoons of salt in it instead of the 2 it calls for. I should know better than to walk away to help a little one when I am in the middle of measuring. I didn't realize until after the fact, when the loaves came out rather small and then I tasted them and thought that they were extremely salty. Then I thought back of when I was measuring and realized my mistake. I hate wasting, but I can't stand the flavor even more. Baking will be on my agenda for tomorrow.
Lucy is reading now. It is always a thrill for me to see our children learn and get it. She has been reading these "Bob books fun!" books. Great beginner books. Eliza likes when she reads them to her.
Tuesday nights, for a little more than a month now, are my volleyball nights. It is my outlet. There are 6 teams. We are the "new team." All of the other teams seem to have played together for several years. We seem to not win very much. Out of all of the games we have played we have only won 2 matches. They happened to be against the team who when we first played them, decided to be very strict and unfair about the net rules.
If you ever wanted to see older women get fuming upset, then you should have been there that night. I thought one of my teammates was going to punch the other players. I really could have cared less. I mean really, I have enough things to worry about, I am not going to freak out about net or line calls. We lost to them, but the following 2 times we've played them, we crushed them. Sweet revenge...... or something. I don't know how we will do tonight. It seemed like last week we started to get into a nice groove. I hope it continues because it sure is a lot more fun to win than lose.
Well I am off to hopefully help our team win some games.
Last week on one of the teams we played against, had a former college volleyball player. I felt like doing what that guy is doing shielding himself from the hurt. She is really good and every time she goes up to spike I want to make a slow mo "mmmmmmmmwwwwwwwwaaaaa" sound, and then hide of course because as soon as she hits the ball it literally goes straight down...fast!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Oh The Excitement!
The best Easter picture we were able to get of the kids before church. I love Daniels smile.
It was great to start the day out with a nice brisk walk this morning. My friend and I talked about preparedness and children. Love it! When I got home I switched laundry and put in my 3 load for the day. I love my Mondays!
.Recently I have had to come up with creative ways to divert Eliza's attention from Daniel. She seems to like to smoother him with kisses and very tight squeezes. Occasional pile drives occur as well. In an effort to protect Daniel on Mondays when I am folding laundry I bring Eliza in with me. I wanted to test her ability to remember. I must say I was shocked a little when I first pulled out an article of clothing from the dryer and asked her who's it was, and she easily told me. So now that is our new game we play on Monday's together. "Whose clothes are these?"
Lucy and Kady wanted to play matching games and old maid for our "homework" this morning. Lunch was not very succesful. I tried serving leftover noodles from last night but they mostly complained about it. They did eat strawberries so at least they had something.
This was taken last month
We filled the water table up in the afternoon and the girls had a blast using their imaginations. Eliza again sat in it and was sopping wet. She came in without me realizing and went to sit on the bar stool and literally made a big sloosh sound with her diaper. I brought her back outside to dry off.
Emma had garden club today after school. It is such a great idea to me to do with kids. They have planted a "salsa garden", "cactus garden" and a "vegatable soup garden"
Next week they will be having a party and will have samplings of the products. I am excited to try it out.
Emma also decided to buy several things at their book fair today, with her own money. I was unaware that she had intentions to do so. Sera came home with a cute little tiny jeweled notebook. I asked her where she got it from and she told me Emma had bought it for her. She was excited because Emma told her she had another surprise for her once she got home from garden club.
Sera was so excited to see what it was. When Emma got home she pulled out this large poster of a little puppy with a pink bow in it's hair. Sera was beyond elated. Emma also purchased this, how to be a star beauty book. In my former mother life I most likely would have poo-pooed on her purchases, but have learned since that sometimes it is best to put your personal feelings aside and enjoy the moment. I know I am a late bloomer. It was a joy for me to watch all of the girls be excited and to watch Emma beam as she felt so happy inside to have shared with others what she had bought.
The girls played dress up and wanted to do a fashion show but we ran out of time tonight. Another night I suppose. Emma also got another free little puppy poster, becasue as she said "I got more than $10 of stuff" She decided to give that to Lucy. Emma told us several times how good she felt for sharing. That makes me happy, real happy!
Here are the girls doing a photo op after Emma dolled them up
We enjoyed delicious bake potato bar for dinner. Lucy made a huge mess putting her's together jsut the way she wanted. We always say "It's okay to make a mess, you just need to clean it up when you are done." So she did. Kady was sad that she didn't get to put her potato together so I told her that if she ate what was on her plate then she could have some more and she could fix it herself. She ate very fast so she could do that.
I was in charge of the treat tonight for Family home evening (FHE). My sister gave me a great suggestion to make chocolate jello with cool whip mixed in and then layer it with oreos. Super easy and everyone enjoyed it. Emma was in charge of activity. She chose to do a fire drill and talked to us about what to do in case of a fire. We decided where we are to meet if our home was on fire. She was very thorough. Sera was in charge of lesson and she talked about being kind and used Emma as an example.
Sera showing off some more. She was waving her hands around and speaking in a British accent.
I love it when everything seems to be going right and good. I don't know what other homes are like but if they are anything like ours we go through ebbs and flows of wonderfulness and then down right blah. Right now is the time where everything just seems to go just right and then something snaps and then the kids will seem like all they do is tattle tale and complain and want to hurt each other. I seem to be less patient and kind myself during those times.
Jared's Grandma came down Easter weekend with his aunt. Daniel enjoyed talking with her and getting lots of kisses from her too.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
"Little Hero's"
Last night as my husband and I sat on the very hard metal chairs for nearly 2 hours, we wanted to make sure we got the soft seats for today's 2 hour meeting for Stake conference. We thought people would be as passionate about getting the soft seats as we were, so Jared rode his bike with Sera in the trailor, up to the church to ensure comfortable seats. I guess people did not share the same idea, because when they got there around 8am there was only one other person there. The tech guy. The good news, we got the nice comfortable seats we wanted, and we now know when we need to get there to get them. Bad news, Jared and Sera waited nearly 2 hours until we came.
Conference was great! Well, at least what I was able to get from it with having 6 small children with us. Eliza enjoyed playing peek-a-boo with the couple behind us and then alternating leaning as forward as she could in the pew in front of us to turn her head to get the people's in front of us attention.
About half way through, I had the thought of "It is so nice that the children have been behaving so well."
Just before we stood to sing the intermediate hymn the kids started nit picking at each other and Eliza did her classic "NOOOO STOOOOP IT!" high pitch scream, whilst Jared would immediately put his hand over her mouth to muffle the scream. 2 of the kids left just before that song to go to the bathroom and upon returning, as we were singing the song, decided to stand up on the bench to sing the song or to poke a sibling. It is odd to me why a 9 year old would feel compelled to do that, but to each their own I suppose.
I quickly corrected their behavior yeah scratch that. Who can ever control their kids when you really want them to behave a certain way. But if I do say so myself they really did do well for being little. The older girls even shared what they learned.
That is another thing I am always fascinated with. That a young person who seems as if they have no clue on what is going on around them can grasp and pay attention and give a full detailed description of what they learned. It does help me to realize that our children really do hear us and are learning, even if it may not seem like it. If they got just one thing I consider that a success.
A minor mishap....
Emma was upset that I took the book she was reading away from her toward the end of the meeting. Sorry, sweet child, but when you get upset with 2 and 3 year old's for touching you when you are "trying to read", it means it is time for you to have a break from the book....annnnnddd sulking about it does not get you your book back (.) !
We had lunch and then the miracle happened. Every single person in this home took a nap at the same time. What universe are we on. The stars must have been in alignment or something. I awoke first. I had about 30 minutes to myself. I got some dinner stuff prepped and talked with a few people on the phone.
I was happy to get a call from a new friend. She recently lost her father. She is the only child. Her father and her were close. Anyway she has been going through the mourning phase and it has been hard, as you can imagine. Before he passed we would walk together in the mornings. Just before her father passed ,and since then, we have not been walking. I have missed that, but I knew she needed the time to process and mourn her loss. I told her that when she was ready to let me know. She called me today to let me know that she was ready. I am so elated that we will be walking again in the mornings. She is just such a delight to be around and it is a great way to start my day.
One by one peoples started waking up. Each came in with a smile and a "Hi Mom!" I love that, because it does not always happen that way. Sometimes when they wake up, you almost wish you would have skipped the nap, and taken the person you would have had, come 4 o'clock because they would have seemed more manageable. So I am grateful that all was well on that front.
I started getting dinner ready. Breaded pork chops were on the menu tonight with fresh peas and carrots, noodles with salt and pepper butter and a little cream, watermelon, and applesauce. It all turned out so yummy for me. The older girls and Jared were very complimentary and I always appreciate that. Everyone cleaned up dinner while I got Daniel down for the night.
When I was done we watched our Sunday movie. A little background on this. Back in February I thought that it would be nice to give some incentive to being reverent during our services at church. My proposal was that if they got through the whole meeting without getting any warnings then they could watch the movie and have as much carmel popcorn as they want. 1 warning- small bowl of popcorn and watch movie, 2 warnings- no popcorn, yes watch movie, and 3 warnings- no popcorn and no movie. It has worked out so far. We watch classics. Like Fiddler on the Roof, The Other Side of Heaven (thanks to this one, Lucy in particular, will burp after every meal to thank me for a delicious meal), Gigi, Tyler a real hero, etc.
So the caramel popcorn was made and it was movie time. We had 3 spills of popcorn before the movie even started. Probably within minutes of each other too. It was funny.
Tonight we watched a movie I DVR(ed) from BYU television. Actually a lot of the movies we watch have been recorded from there. The title "Little Hero's" Such a cute film. Before the movie was done I came upstairs to change Eliza's diaper so I didn't catch the ending. When the kids came up, Sera came and stood by me. She seemed sad about something, so I asked what what the matter. She started crying. She told me how sad she was that the girl's dog died at the end. Moments like these I cherish, and they are a great reminder that underneath all that energy of this child that there is such a tender, compassionate soul who really does want to look out for those around her.
I told her about a time when I was reading the book "Where the Red Fern Grows" It was the summer of 2001. We had a young boy with us for the summer. I wanted to do some things that would make learning be a fun experience for him. So we had gotten some books from the library. We read "Where the Red Fern Grows" together. We finished the book on a Saturday. I remeber because we were out on errands and Jared was with us. As I read the ending I could hardly read because the dog had died and I was sobbing so hard. Jared and the boy just laughed at me, in a kind way, probably a nervous laugh come to think about it. It was such a good book to me.
At story time, Kady kept on passing horrendous gas. Jared thought someone had pooped their pants. At bedtime, Eliza had grabbed her singing toothbrush and would press the button to turn on the music and then would turn it back off quickly. I turned it into a game. So when she had the music going I would smile and nodded my head back and forth and when she turned it off I would frown. Kady and her just laughed and it encouraged me to keep on doing it so I could hear them laugh. I love the sound of children laughing!
This picture was taken August of 2005, right before we moved to Nebraska. My dear friend came over to let us love on their new baby girl. We were able to get a picture just in time before Sera started shoving the baby away, "I am done!" is what she was trying to say.
About half way through, I had the thought of "It is so nice that the children have been behaving so well."
Just before we stood to sing the intermediate hymn the kids started nit picking at each other and Eliza did her classic "NOOOO STOOOOP IT!" high pitch scream, whilst Jared would immediately put his hand over her mouth to muffle the scream. 2 of the kids left just before that song to go to the bathroom and upon returning, as we were singing the song, decided to stand up on the bench to sing the song or to poke a sibling. It is odd to me why a 9 year old would feel compelled to do that, but to each their own I suppose.
That is another thing I am always fascinated with. That a young person who seems as if they have no clue on what is going on around them can grasp and pay attention and give a full detailed description of what they learned. It does help me to realize that our children really do hear us and are learning, even if it may not seem like it. If they got just one thing I consider that a success.
A minor mishap....
Emma was upset that I took the book she was reading away from her toward the end of the meeting. Sorry, sweet child, but when you get upset with 2 and 3 year old's for touching you when you are "trying to read", it means it is time for you to have a break from the book....annnnnddd sulking about it does not get you your book back (.) !
We had lunch and then the miracle happened. Every single person in this home took a nap at the same time. What universe are we on. The stars must have been in alignment or something. I awoke first. I had about 30 minutes to myself. I got some dinner stuff prepped and talked with a few people on the phone.
I was happy to get a call from a new friend. She recently lost her father. She is the only child. Her father and her were close. Anyway she has been going through the mourning phase and it has been hard, as you can imagine. Before he passed we would walk together in the mornings. Just before her father passed ,and since then, we have not been walking. I have missed that, but I knew she needed the time to process and mourn her loss. I told her that when she was ready to let me know. She called me today to let me know that she was ready. I am so elated that we will be walking again in the mornings. She is just such a delight to be around and it is a great way to start my day.
One by one peoples started waking up. Each came in with a smile and a "Hi Mom!" I love that, because it does not always happen that way. Sometimes when they wake up, you almost wish you would have skipped the nap, and taken the person you would have had, come 4 o'clock because they would have seemed more manageable. So I am grateful that all was well on that front.
I started getting dinner ready. Breaded pork chops were on the menu tonight with fresh peas and carrots, noodles with salt and pepper butter and a little cream, watermelon, and applesauce. It all turned out so yummy for me. The older girls and Jared were very complimentary and I always appreciate that. Everyone cleaned up dinner while I got Daniel down for the night.
When I was done we watched our Sunday movie. A little background on this. Back in February I thought that it would be nice to give some incentive to being reverent during our services at church. My proposal was that if they got through the whole meeting without getting any warnings then they could watch the movie and have as much carmel popcorn as they want. 1 warning- small bowl of popcorn and watch movie, 2 warnings- no popcorn, yes watch movie, and 3 warnings- no popcorn and no movie. It has worked out so far. We watch classics. Like Fiddler on the Roof, The Other Side of Heaven (thanks to this one, Lucy in particular, will burp after every meal to thank me for a delicious meal), Gigi, Tyler a real hero, etc.
So the caramel popcorn was made and it was movie time. We had 3 spills of popcorn before the movie even started. Probably within minutes of each other too. It was funny.
Tonight we watched a movie I DVR(ed) from BYU television. Actually a lot of the movies we watch have been recorded from there. The title "Little Hero's" Such a cute film. Before the movie was done I came upstairs to change Eliza's diaper so I didn't catch the ending. When the kids came up, Sera came and stood by me. She seemed sad about something, so I asked what what the matter. She started crying. She told me how sad she was that the girl's dog died at the end. Moments like these I cherish, and they are a great reminder that underneath all that energy of this child that there is such a tender, compassionate soul who really does want to look out for those around her.
I told her about a time when I was reading the book "Where the Red Fern Grows" It was the summer of 2001. We had a young boy with us for the summer. I wanted to do some things that would make learning be a fun experience for him. So we had gotten some books from the library. We read "Where the Red Fern Grows" together. We finished the book on a Saturday. I remeber because we were out on errands and Jared was with us. As I read the ending I could hardly read because the dog had died and I was sobbing so hard. Jared and the boy just laughed at me, in a kind way, probably a nervous laugh come to think about it. It was such a good book to me.
At story time, Kady kept on passing horrendous gas. Jared thought someone had pooped their pants. At bedtime, Eliza had grabbed her singing toothbrush and would press the button to turn on the music and then would turn it back off quickly. I turned it into a game. So when she had the music going I would smile and nodded my head back and forth and when she turned it off I would frown. Kady and her just laughed and it encouraged me to keep on doing it so I could hear them laugh. I love the sound of children laughing!
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