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.

 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!

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. 

Pictures that were taken almost a year ago in Michigan

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!

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.

" 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.

 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!

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.

I have learned that it is just the nature of our lives.  I feel that those times when it all seems hard and frustrating are the times we can either learn and grow or just give up and feel defeated.  Of course sometimes it may feel as if it would be best to just give up, but I believe that it is not in our innate nature as women to give up, but to pick ourselves up off the ground (sometimes literally) and get back to work.  That's the trick to figure out how to get up and get back to work, to reach beyond our own abilities and trust God in knowing what is best for us and then doing.  A wise person once said we should "Go and do, not sit and stew."