Hot Tubbin' with Roo

One day I was about to wipe Andrew down after dinner when I realized something. First I realized a wash cloth would not do justice to the mess he had created. He was definitely going to need a bath, after the graham cracker facial and shampoo he had created. I also realized he was smaller than the other kids were when they were in the "smear food in the hair" stage. The sink was already empty of the dinner dishes, so I decided to see if I could give him a quick dip in the sink, like when he was younger, instead of bending over into the bathtub. He loved it. It was strange to have such a small baby sitting up in the sink. I am usually past bathing a child in the sink, long before they know how to sit up. I thought my plan was genius and was looking forward to many more nights of bathing him in the sink when I was suddenly reminded of one minor detail.

Andrew is not a newborn baby. Not only can he sit up in the sink, he can splash a lot of water out of the sink, enough to thoroughly soak, me and dump standing water on the kitchen floor. So although he loved splashing in the sink, I realized this would be the last time I bathed him there. Timmy solidified my decision, when he walked into the kitchen and saw Andrew. He squealed with delight, and proceeded to begin to strip himself down, under the false impression that I was going to allow my almost 2 year old to jump naked in my kitchen sink. Now there is no doubt in my mind, this really was Andrew's last kitchen sink bath.

All Wrapped Up!

This year there will not be a lot of presents under the tree. That's OK though because we are going to have a great Christmas! I am really excited. Santa let me know that he thinks he has the perfect plan for our family this year. Even though there will not be a lot to unwrap on Christmas, the kids will have plenty of opportunity to open presents, they get one each night in fact.

I saved all the Christmas books that we have and packed them away last year with all the decorations. Now we have over 30, so it is plenty to let the kids unwrap one or two books each night and then we read them before bed. It is a fun way to change up bedtime a little. My original plan was to have all the books wrapped and countdown until Christmas. But I tried on multiple occasions to go wrap the books and with Timmy and Andrew's help it has not gone well.

So instead the box of books is in our bedroom and each night Jeff slips in and wraps a book quickly while we are getting ready for bed. It's probably better this way, I am sure that if Timmy found a stack of wrapped books they would all be unwrapped fairly quickly.

The kids love unwrapping a book together and then I read it while Jeff brings around the medicine and vitamins. We have read classics like "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" and "The Nutcracker" and we have read silly ones like "Olive the other Reindeer" and "The NutQuacker".

We even have some of the touch and feel books like, "Santa's Suit", and "How to Build a Snowman", so Timmy and Andrew have had fun, too.

But Timmy likes the wrapping paper as much as the books. One day when Jeff was on the phone with me he snapped this picture of Timmy wrapping himself and Andrew in the wrapping paper that we are using to wrap the books.

Sick Kids

The last couple weeks were very busy. I have had all of my kids sick within the same few days, but this is the first time I have had four children all sick at the exact same moment. Sam had double ear infections, Andrew had RSV (or some random respiratory issue that acted like it), we didn't actually run the test to know that for sure. But he was using the nebulizer every few hours. Timmy had issues with the tubes that were recently put in his ears, and he threw up. So he had to have ear drops in his ears which suprisingly he cooperated with, and was unexpected for a toddler. Nathan was recovering from an asthma attack and had a bit of a cold but didn't miss any school.



But worst of all was Cori. She has never been as sick as she was last week. She missed a full week of school (from Weds-Weds.) She had a high fever for 6 straight days. We kept her on ibuprophen and tylenol round the clock and her fever still remained between 101-105. It was awful. I found my self running from child to child, and there was no chance of keeping the house remotely clean. I have never seen Cori so weak, she just layed there and moaned. She couldn't keep food down and horrible stomach pains. I hated not being able to help her.



Thankfully we have an amazing doctor/friend who made repeated house calls both by phone and in person. But he does put us in a difficult postion. What can I possibly to do to thank someone who does so much for our family? On Sunday he came and drew Cori's blood for some lab work that needed to be done. He let her lay in her own bed while he did it, so that we would not have to take her out in the cold to the hospital. (and he was really good, it went fast with only one poke and no bruising). A plate of cookies just doesn't cut it. He is the best doctor I have ever worked with, and he goes so much beyond the call of duty. And his wife does so much for me on top of what he does, I have no chance of repaying all of their kindness.

I'm Back!

I have missed blogging about so many things. Our computer is working again. I am not sure what changed but I am glad because there is no way we were going to be able to get a new one. I don't really know how long this is going to last, but I will take it while I can get it. With our luck it will break down completly the same day our van dies, which should be any day now. Anyway, I am not sure how much backblogging I will do, but I will try to update everyone (Like all five of you out there who read it).



** I was working on this blog entry and a couple others when the computer died, I am just going to post them as is today, weeks later, before my computer dies again.

Our Computer Died

I had so many entries I wanted to make while still in November. Last week was a crazy week and lots happened. A week ago Sunday, Jeff taught his newly learned turkey craft to his kids and nephews at my sister's house. Monday was conferences for all three older kids, it was hectic and busy but everyone's conference went well. Both Monday and Tuesday, I spent the evenings volunteering at the school Book Fair. Then we were out of town for thanksgiving. While in the cities, Cori lost her tooth after biting into an oreo truffle. Jeff and I were able to spend the morning in the temple on Saturday. We also went to a fabulous play at the Guthrie (the best theatre in the world!). Everyone is sick. We still put up the Christmas tree last night, along with decorations. Tonight we will begin the first day of unwrapping a Christmas book each night to read each night between now and Christmas.
Unfortunately I will not be able to blog or post pictures of these events. Our computer died. I hope we will be able to get it to work. Right now I am using the old laptop to post this. It is extremely slow and too tedious for me to take the time to make blog entries, let alone download pictures. Hopefully I will at some point be able to come back and expound upon the previous things mentioned. And I will hope things will be working so I can blog about upcoming exciting events. The older three have a dance recital this week, Cori's class play is next week, Andrew has learned to scoot from room to room to add to the mischief of his partner in crime. And much, much more.
But I guess for now I will have to take a break from posting.

Sam's Program

Sam, of course, stole the show yet again. He is so cute!!! The kids were able to dance however they wanted during the chorus part of one of the songs. Sam had a complete "Mr. Cool" look on his face as he disco danced his way through. His rhythm was absolutely dead on, and he did awesome. Both teachers commented on what a great kid he is and how they love having him in class. Sure, I know preschool teachers are paid to tell parents how brilliant their children are, but they really meant it. Sam is a great kid to sit and have a conversation with, and he can be quite the charmer. he knew all the words and actions to every song and performed quite well. Of course, it was also fun to see all of Sam's friends up there with him. Some of them were in Cori's class last year, most of them were in Sam's last year, and it is fun to see all of them grow up so much in such little time. I did not get any good pictures during the program but Sam posed for me afterwards ,and he and Ava stopped for a picture. Next year Sam will be in kindergarten and Ava will still be in preschool, I must say it is sort of difficult to imagine them not in the same class, they have been best buddies for over half their lifetime now. They are so cute together.

Afterwards Ava came over to play for awhile and they discussed yet again their wedding plans. They have gotten quite a few details nailed down. They are going to get married in the temple, and have a reception on a boat (just like Bonnie's wedding). Sam is going to dance with Ava. They are also going stand in front of everyone (boys on one side of the room and girls on the other) while holding hands and sing a song to everyone. At Ava's request Sam promised that he would not kiss her in front of her dad (that would just be to weird). It was so fun to listen to all of their plans. They are so cute together, as Jeff pointed out it will be sadder than Kevin and Winnie, when/ if they go their separate ways.

**Note in the picture that Ava's arm around Sam (that was not posed I promise!) She did that on her own.

Fall Program Turkey Craft

The preschool here has a wonderful way of dealing with all the chaos that insues from having a million different Christmas concerts and activities that a family has to run to each year. They don't have a Christmas program. It is a christian based preschool, and they do teach about actual Christmas, not Santa. But as for a program of any kind they moved it up and we have a Fall Program instead. They do halloween and thanksgiving songs. It is super cute and has been a great way to kick off the holiday season each year as it is always the Friday before Thanksgiving.

Cori attended Sunny Days for two years, and Sam is in his second year. That means this was our fourth Fall program that we have attended. I love them, they are super cute and the teachers are great. They always end with the kids each making a crafty snack to share with their parent or visitor. They also do a craft type thing at the spring graduation program. We have attended 3 of those at Sunny Days. So if you are keeping track that means Jeff and I have now attended 7 parent programs at Sunny Days. This does not include Nathan's preschool class programs or all the ECFE class things that I did when we had just three kids. So you can imagine we have had plenty of practice going to these. Never the less we had a break through today. I was holding/wrestling Timmy and that left Jeff to help with the craft portion of the program. He is a very patient father and has attempted many of these crafts without much success. Even today Jeff had to hand over the plastic glove that was supposed to be turned into a turkey by helping children add tissue paper to each finger and the body filled with popcorn. Still continuing to be a good sport he helped Sam fill his plate with the items to make the Turkey Treat out of oreo cookies, candy, and frosting. To my surprise he managed to put it together and it looked quite similar to the example turkey. I was so proud that he has come so far in his preschool craft making ability. We were sure to show Mrs. Larson and she congratualted him on a job well done. Jeff was so pleased he took a picture so I could blog about it. It was sturdy enough to make it all the way home!

Nathan's Homework

Sometimes when Jeff is helping Nathan with his math homework, Jeff has to have me help instead. It is not that Jeff can't do second grade math, it is just that Jeff doesn't always understand what the teacher is asking. I think the course of "Math for Elementary" has come in handy because up until now I have still been able to get not only what the teacher is teaching but how the teacher is teaching it. Yesterday was the first day I had to look up a definition in order to help Nathan, I am sure it will not be the last time I will need to study myself in order to check a child's home work.

The question was "What is this shape called? Give two reasons why." Jeff had no problem identifying the shapes (obviously). But to Jeff, the second part of the problem seemed a little silly. "It is just the way it is." As I discussed with Nathan the possible answers, let's use a triangle as the example. We all know what a triangle looks like, but what are the reasons that make a shape able to be classified as such. I pointed out that it had no curves, three sides, and three angles. Nathan wrote down "3 vertices". Now I figured he was probably right, because I can't imagine where he would have come up with and spell correctly the word "vertices" if he had not learned it in math class. I knew that "vertex" was a point when graphing, so I assumed that there was a connection there. But I knew that the definition did not come quickly to my mind so I had to look it up and then check with Nathan. I asked Nathan what the word "vertices" meant, he explained it was the points on a plane shape (or shape's that were flat). He said it was plural for "vertex". I am sure I knew all of that once, it sounds vaguely familiar. He was so proud when he realized I was not asking to quiz him, but for my own understanding. He told me I could blog about how he knew something I didn't know, so I snapped this picture and promised I would blog.

Blog Stalker

I thought I would give my own definition of a "blog stalker" as referred to in the Seven Things post. A blogstalker is someone who is reading my blog without commenting or following my blog. I am doing this blog as more of a family journal and it is more for my own use than anyone else's enjoyment. Even still, I can't help but wonder who is actually reading my blog since I rarely get comments. (Thanks to those that do acknowledge!)

I am guilty of doing the same as I blog hop, I find myself reading blogs of cousins, friends, or random person connected to someone I know. I feel silly leaving a comment, but I am still curious enough to read their blog. If you have found my blog from a random connection please leave a comment. Although the blog is more of a personal family journal and I am not writing it for anyone but me, I would love to know who is reading it. Maybe that is hypocritical expecting others to comment on my blog when I do not reciprocate but it is my blog, so there!

Seven Things

Seven things to do before I die:


1. Finish my College Degree
2. Travel to Fiji
3. See a show on Broadway
4. Go to a fancy spa and have everything done (facial, eyebrows, massage, and I don’t even know what all I would do)
5. Finish each child’s baby book
6. Go to Disney World (preferably with my children when they are still little)
7. Become a grandma (I know this is a long way off, but hopefully my death is a long way off, too!)


Seven things I cannot do:
1. Make apple pie as good as my mother
2. Keep caught up on the laundry
3. Hit or catch a baseball (I’m trying!)
4. Shuffle Cards
5. Knit or Crochet (I’ve tried but I can’t get my fingers to work)
6. Lose enough weight
7. Get enough sleep


Seven things that attracted me to my spouse:
1. He’s kind to everyone
2. His kiss
3. He's really smart
4. He thinks I am really smart
5. He was so easy to date, because he played no games.
6. His commitment to the same standards that I wanted in my life
7. He makes me smile


Seven things I say most often:
1. Seriously.
2. . . . kind of a thing
3. You know what I’m sayin’?
4. Do you need to lose a privilege?
5. It’s time to clean up.
6. Do you know where I put my keys?
7. My kids are so stinkin’ cute!


Seven books I love:
1. The Scriptures
2. Harry Potter
3. The Giver
4. Gathering Blue
5. The Golden Goose
6. Spoon River Anthology
7. Much Ado About Nothing (technically this is a play)

Seven movies I could watch over and over again:
1. Princess Bride
2. The Truman Show
3. Ever After
4. Star Wars
5. Mary Poppins
6. Monsters Inc.
7. Ella Enchanted

Seven people I'm tagging:
1. Melissa
2. Nancy
3. Jessica
4. Emma
5. Lori
6. Stefany
7. You (Blog Stalker)

"Song for a Fifth Child"

I stole this poem from my sister's blog. I absolutely love it. The end part of the poem I have had memorized since I was quite young. My mom had it embroidered and hanging in our home as far back as I can remember. But Jessica found the rest of the poem. It is so fitting for our own little Roo!

"Song for a Fifth Child"

Mother, oh Mother,come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo

but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't (his) eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs.Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Gratitude

Every Tuesday night we feed the missionaries. I figure that if I make sure another mother's son is getting fed every week, then hopefully someone else will return the favor with each of my four boys in 13-20 years. The set of Elders we have right now are really good guys. The kids enjoy having guests for dinner as well. During dessert each week the missionaries like to share a message. It is usually very short and adds a positive spirit in our home. Then we end with a prayer and send them on their way. This week their message included a challenge. They talked about how as we are nearing thanksgiving we have a great opportunity to make ourselves aware of many of the blessings the Lord has blessed us with. They challenged us to make a list and to share with our family and friends the fact that we are grateful to our God in Heaven for the many things he has given us. Next Tuesday, after dinner we will discuss with them the list we have made. I thought this would be a great place to post my list. I am aware that my Heavenly Father has blessed me in more ways than I can possibly imagine or list, but here are some of the things that I have recognized.

Our Eternal Family(Not only our marriage, but each child that has come into our family)

The Temple

A Home (especially in these economic times)

Jeff's Job (it's frustrating at times, but we are glad he is employed)

Good Health (this includes having access to the best doctor and Nathan's improved health)

Scriptures (the actual books and family scripture reading time each night before bed)

Primary Songs

Our Prophet and inspired leaders to help guide us as we try to become more like the Savior

Extended Family that is such a great support (parents, siblings, grandparents, and many more)

The Morgan Family (They really are dear friends and amazing people, and have helped us numerous times)

The Phelps Family (The originals and their "replacements")

Countless others that have touched our lives

The opportunities that have helped Jeff gain his educational degrees

A New Church Building (and a country that allows us the freedom to worship in it)

My Children's Teachers - All three of the older children have great teachers this year. It brings such peace of mind when you send your child into another's care that you trust.

My Freezer- This is an example of my Heavenly Father's individual concern and love for me. When I found out I was expecting a fifth child, I was really concerned with how I would handle everything. One of the concerns I had as I prayed was how I would even keep food in the house, it was getting more and more difficult to go grocery shopping, and I couldn't even complete a simple task such as keeping enough bread in the house for a week. We looked at our finances and as much as I wanted a freezer we could not find a way to afford it. Then a friend of my mom's who was moving asked my mom if one of her kids could use a freezer because they would not be moving it. I know my freezer was an answer to the plea of a discouraged mother, and I am grateful that Heavenly Father hears my prayers even when it is as strange of a request as a giant freezer.

There are a million more things but if I waited until I had time to post them all then this would not ever get posted.

Little Roo sits up!

It was very tricky to get a picture of this because he kept waving his hands in excitement, so every picture was blurry. I had just finished stripping him down from a major blow-out, and was going to get him some clean clothes. Next thing I know he is sitting there waving a clean wipe at me! Yay Andrew!!!!!!! (The little girl in the background is the adorable and oh so sweet Ava, Sam's friend)

Our Family's Birthday

Today is our wedding anniversary. We plan to postpone having a date for when we are in the cities for Thanksgiving. That way we will be near decent restaurants (that won't bake my salad), and have access to a babysitter. We still planned to celebrate our family's birthday.

We have explained to our kids that our anniversary is the day of the year we celebrate the beginning of our family sort of like a birthday of our family. So I bought some fun sparkling drinks and picked out a family favorite for dinner, that way we could have a happy family meal with no complaining. I planned to make chicken fajitas, and my fresh garden salsa with chips. I was also going to make a treat of some kind. I was going to mop the floor and and have the kitchen spotless.

Nine years ago today, we started our family and it certainly has changed and grown over the years. I can't say that life is at all how I would have thought it would be. Really, I look back and realize that I am quite lucky. I had no clue what was headed our way. However I did one thing very right, and that is marry the most wonderful guy on the planet. There was no way for me to possibly imagine how much more I could love Jeff now then I did nine years ago. At the time I loved him with my whole heart so the idea of more love was impossible to imagine. But in the time we have been married, Jeff has been able to step up and prove himself as the best father and husband imaginable on multiple occasions. From getting up with sick children, to helping an over emotional tired pregnant wife, he has been amazing. I can't even list all the ways he has been there for me. No matter how tired or sick he is; he always manages to put the kids and me first. He is kind and caring, soft-spoken and has integrity like few I've met. He is committed to our Heavenly Father, and keeps me grounded. And after nine years he can still make me laugh.

Once when we were in school in Utah I was chatting with a friend and she explained to me that she loved her husband even more now that he was a father. She said that her son Tyler had been up all night with the flu and she was pregnant so her husband took care of their toddler and cleaned up the messes, even though he had class to get to the next morning. I have to admit at the time I found it funny that she could say she loved her husband even more because he cleaned up vomit. Obviously this was conversation was pre-children. For now I know exactly what she means.

Jeff and I may not have the money we thought we would by now. I don't have the college degree I planned on having years ago. Our house is smaller, and a little more cluttered, and a lot noisier then I imagined. Our location is definitly not ideal, but even with so many things not as imagined I am so grateful. We may not have the picture perfect suburbia life we imagined but we have something else. We have absolutely proven ourselves to each other that we will love each other even though life is hard. We enjoy each anniversary even though none have been a picture perfect anniversary (although anniversary #5 was really nice). He is still my very best friend, and I trust him complety.

So I planned a fun family dinner and pictured us sitting there eating by candle light in a perfectly cleaned kitchen and telling them all about how much we loved our wedding day. Our family anniversary celebration is not happening as planned. I was sick this morning and was finally starting to feel better this afternoon and hoped I would pull something together, but when I brought Cori home from school, she began throwing up all over the driveway. So things are not going as planned. And to top it off, Jeff is working late. He told me not to worry about dinner or the state of the house. He would pick something up and be here to help as soon as he can. I really love that guy!

Brothers

I know I have mentioned Timmy's love of food quite a bit. I should point out that there is one thing he loves more, and that is his little brother Andrew. They are absolutely adorable. Timmy completely dotes on Andrew. He brings him anything the baby could possibly need. Timmy say Hi and talks to him all the time. Timmy loves to hold Andrew, and lately Timmy's favorite game is to lay on the floor and pat his stomach until I lay Andrew on top of Timmy. Timmy then "wrestles" with Andrew. Timmy is very careful and gentle, and Andrew gets a fit of giggles over the whole thing. Andrew really reciprocates Timmy's love. Andrew has big smiles for Timmy and you can tell he truly loves his big brother. Andrew's face lights up when Timmy pays attention to him.

Yesterday morning I was playing with Timmy and Andrew was watching. I realized Andrew was completely thrilled to just watch the enjoyment on Timmy's face. There was not a hint of jealousy. I felt a little guilty that I had just left Andrew on the floor and that my focus had been purely on Timmy, so I switched and began playing peek-a-boo with Andrew. Out of the corner of my eye I watched Timmy's reaction. He was just as thrilled to watch Andrew get the attention. He began to play peek-a-boo with Andrew as well. The two of them are amazing, they are happy by the mere fact that the other is happy.

When it was time to go pick Sam up from preschool, I began to get Andrew ready. Timmy bought the car seat over, as well as Andrew's blanket. When Andrew was all buckled in, Timmy crouched down like he does almost every time and gave Andrew a kiss. Words really cannot describe how adorable they are.

Andrew and Timothy, if years from now you are reading this, I want you to remember something. Timmy, your life was not complete until you could fill the role of big brother. Something changed in you the day Andrew was born. I know you were just a baby, but you were different from that day on, you were happier, and you loved Andrew more than anything. It was as if you had just been waiting for him to join you on this earth. And Andrew, your big brother was the world to you, you admired and looked up to him even as a baby. Every sound you made, and thing you have learned, like scooting, waving, playing with toys, has come as you have tried to be more like Timmy. I know that eventually an argument or jealousy will come, and I will be sad when it happens. But I want the two of you to remember that you were meant to come to this earth so close together for a reason. I can't claim to know all the reasons, but I think one reason is because you two were meant to be as close as brothers come. You wouldn't be who you are without your brother.

Breakfast

Growing up in my house we did not eat a ton of cold cereal. And I can honestly say I have still never eaten Lucky Charms. I actually haven't eaten cocoa krispies or any chocolate variety and the idea of fruity pebbles makes me cringe. The most sugary cereal I will eat is Honey Nut Cheerios, and I prefer to eat it in the evening. It seems odd I know, I have no problem having a slice of leftover birthday cake, or on an ideal and rare morning a slice of my mom's apple pie. (By the way, my mom makes the best apple pie on the planet.) So I know it is not the dislike of sugar in the morning. Growing up eating oatmeal and cream of wheat for breakfast, we had a layer of brown sugar on our cereal. And I still love a bowl of hot cereal (except ralston - I will never like ralston!) If my dad was home he would often cook up eggs and toast for breakfast. When I was in high school, I did not like the idea of fried eggs at 5:00 in the morning. I attended early morning seminary and that meant an early morning breakfast. Now I love my dads eggs and toast but then I avoided it. Most mornings consisted of a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice, although if given the opportunity I have and will always prefer leftovers for breakfast.



We had a family rule that if you dished up your plate at dinner, you had to finish what you ate. There was no wasting food. If you did not eat it at dinner, it was wrapped up and saved for whenever you decided you were ready to eat. I think the goal of this rule was to teach us to not waste food, and learn to dish out appropriate amounts. I think some of the kids may have hated this rule ,because if they didn't want to eat the food for dinner, they certainly would not enjoy it for breakfast. I, on the other hand, loved this rule. I would heap large amounts of my favorite dish, more than I could possibly eat, and that way I claimed the leftovers for myself, and could enjoy them for breakfast hassle free. After nine years, I think Jeff is finally getting used to my unusual breakfasts.



My children have not inherited my love of leftovers, except Timmy who loves food all time of the day and night. They have inherited Jeff's love of cold cereal. They want a bowl every morning and every night, and if they could they would eat it for lunch and dinner as well. As a general rule I don't purchase sugary cereal. My cupboard is stocked with Life, Rice Chex, Cheerios, and Kix. I had actually never even tried Life until we had been married for a few years. Sugar cereals still appear in our cupboards though. I might cave if there is a really good sale, and if Jeff does the grocery shopping with kids we might end up with each of their favorites. But this past week it was Honey who filled our cupboard with sugary goodness.



The appearance of sugar cereal boxes brings up an important question that many people have, I don't have the question, but I have watched each of the kids struggle with this question when they get to be about one and a half. The question is, "When eating a bowl of Lucky Charms, what should I do with all the pesky cereal pieces that have invaded my morning bowl of marshmallows?"



Timmy has solved this age old question. It is quite simple really. Take your bowl and spread the cereal all over the living room. Pick out and eat all the colorful marshmallows, and then leave the cereal in hopes that your dog or little brother will eat all the evidence before your parents find it.

New Church School

With a beautiful new building within walking distance of the elementary school we are able to start a church school. A lot of the Christian churches in our community particpate in a release time Tuesday mornings that allow the kids in their congregation attend their church for an hour in the morning. It is available starting in the first grade. Last year, Nathan just stayed with the teacher while almost his entire class attended different church schools. We are excited to be able to offer it to our kids now. We are allowing preschool kids to come as well. Jeff is getting them from the school to the church and then two other moms and I are taking turns teaching and running the nursery for little ones. We had one week of it, then it was canceled due to the snow day. Tomorrow it will start again. I think it is going to be great. We are expecting to have at least eight attending the class with about five in the nursery. I taught the class the first week so this week I will be in the nursery. Unfortunately Corinne cannot attend this year, but the other kids are very excited. I know it is a rare thing now days for a school to still allow release time for religous purposes so we are blessed that it is still an important part of this community.

Our Weekend

Well the weekend is done and overall I think it went well. Jeff's redo of a birthday went better. Honey came and brought balloons, pinata, and cinnabons, and presents from her and my mom. The kids viewed it as much more of a birthday then my failed attempt. Jeff and I did sneak out and went to the fabulous restaurant of Perkins. I hope you know that I just used the term fabulous with about as sarcastic tone of voice as one can have. The service was terrible, and they either baked my salad or left it under a heat lamp long enough to serve me a very hot plate with melted cheese on a wilted pile of lettuce. Luckily the cute guy I went out with made up for the lousy food and service. But it was yet another reminder of how much I miss regular restaurants. Nothing too fancy but even access to an Olive Garden, or Chipotle's would be nice.

Ah well, Saturday brought the final practice for the Primary Program, followed by a pizza party that the kids truly earned. Sunday we had the program and overall I think in the end it was a success. Of course my children were adorable and said there parts very well. Sam sang the scripture that he said instead of just saying it, but he did it unprompted and remembered the whole thing. He was adorable. All of the children sang beautifully. The final song in the program was, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me", it is such a wonderful song and the whole room feels so good when they sing it. However between the second and third verse, a four year old stepped forward as if he was about to sing a solo. Then when there was a quiet lull in the music before we finished the climax of the whole song, he loudly announced he needed to go potty. He is a cute kid, everyone chuckled, but it was a little tricky for me to keep a straight face and continue to direct the music. I knew if I chuckled the entire primary would break into a fit of giggles. But it is done now and all the kids feel really good about how it went. And that is most important.

The library and nursery are now basically fully running and functioning. The old building is completely cleaned out, and for all intents and purposes I would say we are officially moved into the new building. So I think the weekend can be considered a success. And as a bonus, Honey did tons of laundry so the start of my week is not quite so overwhelming in that area.

Snow Day!

Timmy likes the snow! He likes to eat it, and make footprints in it.

The other kids enjoyed it as well, I did not get a picture of Nathan's snowmen before they melted. Cori likes it well enough, but I think she is more in it for the hot chocolate that follows.

Sam's visitors

In preschool and kindergarten the schools have a fun activity to encourage reading. Each child gets a chance to bring a backpack home with a stack of books, the stuffed animal character, and a notebook to chart the characters travels. We have had Sparky the Dog, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Sam I Am (twice), and now this week our family had the priveledge of entertaing Arthur and DW. The kids loved having them visit. Sam slept with them every night and with every nap that he took. Arthur watched the boys play the Wii, and DW played with a little girl that we babysat for a couple of afternoons this week. They both came with to dance class, but had to watch the telethon at home. They even enjoyed a snowday on Tuesday when school was canceled. They had to wait inside while the kids played outside, and Nathan even built two snowmen all by himself. We were able to read lots of Arthur books, and take turns pushing a button that made DW sing. It was a fun week and Sam was so excited to bring them back to school to tell the others of the adventures he had shared with Arthur and DW.

November Regrets

One of the regrets I have this week is that I did not take a lot of pictures this week or last. There are a couple moments I wish I had just snapped the picture. Actually I am sure the lack of blog entries indicated this, but I have been very busy. We have had lots of sickness run through the house, and we have still had tons of things to do. I feel like we have been put through the wringer this week and am glad to see the week coming to an end.

Other regrets include the fact that I still have a stack of birthday cards sitting on the counter. Cori and I picked them out over a month ago. They are signed, all I needed to do was address and mail them, it did not happen. There is one for Nancy that Cori knew was absolutley perfect for Nancy, if Cori knew I hadn't sent any of them yet, she would be very disappointed. But if you are one of the November birthdays, do not feel alone, for there is a whole stack of you and Jeff's birthday wasn't much better. Between an asthma attack, no sleep, a telethon; Jeff's birthday was pushed to the side.

I have tried to redo his birthday today, and am hoping for a better outcome the second time around. Today we have a cake (the center filled with frosting where a kitchen helper helped himself), and Honey is bringing some presents. There is a whole plate of Jeff's favorite cookies with only two bites taken out of each one! The kids are trying their best to not fight and cry and everyone seems much more pleasent. And I think Jeff and I might even squeeze a date in, but we'll see!

Nathan's Asthma Attack

A breakthrough with Nathan's health occurred yesterday. Nathan had an asthma attack. Now that might not sound like breaking news to you. And I doubt it sounds like good news but I resigned myself to asthma being a part of his life a long time ago. And there really is good news in what happened.

During the night he woke up multiple times dealing with it, and then the next morning he decided to go to school. I talked to him on the phone when he was at school and he decided he should probably come home. So I had Jeff pick him up from school and he came home and used his inhaler. I was watching him and concerned at what point I should start different meds. As I heard him coughing downstairs, I wasn't sure how bad I should let it get. He wasn't wheezing yet, and he was not having what I think is referred to as chest retractions. That is when his belly sticks out and his ribs go in as he struggles to breathe. Just then he came upstairs and told me he needed his inhaler, and that his chest was really tight. He asked to see our favorite doctor and talk to him about it.

It was at that moment that I knew we had hit a major turning point. I no longer have to watch his every breath wondering when do I take him in, and when do we stay home. He is now old enough to not only give his own input but to be aware of his body. Obviously I brought him in, he had a treatment there, and we are continuing to need medicine. His oxygen level was between 94-95% which means we got there before it was bad. Most importantly, I was much more relaxed sending him to school today, knowing that he is now capable and responsible enough to help me help him when he is struggling.

Andrew makes music.

Andrew has discovered there is more to the living room then the tassels on our rug. Today he spent over an hour fascinated by the xylophone. He figured out how to hold the stick and hit the keys to make music. He was so pleased with himself. It was definitely fun to watch.

Cookie Monster

Recently at Jeff's work another attorney commented on how they hadn't heard of Timmy getting into trouble recently. After a few days of being under the weather, Timmy is back to his usual self. This morning he managed to smash three eggs all over the kitchen floor into very tiny slimy pieces. He got into the fridge somehow and gave Andrew a package of beef stew meat to gnaw on.

I made a birthday cake for Jeff and it was cooling on a rack in the kitchen. I still had it in the two round pans upside down, so you couldn't see there was cake. Timmy pulled out some hot pads, used the hot pads to flip the cake pan back over and then went and got a butter knife (even he knows he is not allowed to touch the sharp ones) and a plastic spoon. He climbed up on the table and ate the center of the cake.

Later in the day I was getting kids ready to get in the car to pick older kids up from school when he found more treats. He managed to take two bites from over a dozen snickerdoodles that I had waiting on the table for after school snack. Why is it the first two bites are always the best?

He then ran outside and took a tumble down our rock hill and so his forehead is covered in what looks like dirt smudges, but is in fact bruises.

Timmy is an interesting kid because although he has gotten into more mischief then his older three siblings combined, he is so sweet. He has the most adorable smile, and he is so squishy when I hug him. I can't help but laugh when I find him, because I know he is not intentionally creating disasters, he just loves life and wants to try everything.

I think even his hair has this personality. No matter how much gel, or how many haircuts, his hair has this impish tousled look to it. It will not fall in line. I try the little boy classic part, but it has a plan of it's own. He is my shaggy blond haired little cookie monster and I love him.

Who's up for a game of cards?

I love the game scrabble. I think it is a requirement in the family I was born and raised in that you have an appreciation and love for that game. I also love boggle, upwords, quiddler, banagrams, and other word games. I have always loved those kind of games. When not playing a word game I prefer strategy games. I love three stone, mancala, and chess. Sam seems to have inherited my love of the game of chess.

I did marry someone who also can enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and a good game. Unfortunately, his definition of a good game varies from mine. Jeff loves trivial pursuit, and games that you actually have to have knowledge to win. From twenty questions to balderdash, Jeff loves games that involve tidbits and random facts. I can already tell Nathan will soon be enjoying these kind of games with his dad.

So when Jeff and I try to play games with just the two of us, they are usually lopsided. His favorite games consist of me asking him questions and him knowing the answers for the most part and me feeling like a complete idiot. And when I play chess I have the ability to cream Jeff in about four moves, and scrabble he doesn't usually even try, I just play for each of us. The solution to our dilema of game playing compatibility is simple. We just need to play games that level the playing field with a lot of luck. That is done easily by playing card games. Not like poker or any face card game (I still have no idea how to play any face card games except solitaire on the computer). I am talking about games like UNO, Skip-bo, and of course our favorite card game - Phase Ten.


There is one other thing that Jeff and I have in common when it comes to our love of playing games despite the difference in what game to play. We cannot shuffle cards. That is right we are both incapable of shuffling. I practice and have come along way, but not far enough. As Jeff puts it, "I understand the concept I just can't make my fingers move the right way." I know what are the odds that two people have the same strange inability, but it's true. Neither of us can shuffle.

When we moved here we found a solution to our inability to play games together. We had some really good friends that came over all the time and played games with us. They seemed to have a never ending supply of games and we loved the company. They have since gone to college, got married, or just plain moved away. They sent in replacements though and we love having them, although we still miss our original game night friends. And luckily all of them have been able to shuffle cards, so when it comes to one of our turns to shuffle we would hand the deck back to them.

This year for Jeff's birthday I finally came up with a solution for our ongoing game dilemma. We now own a card shuffler, so I have only one final question. Who's up for the game phase ten? I'll deal.

Goosebumps

As I was doing Cori's hair one morning she shivered. She said, "I am so cold I have goosebumps."

Then she was quiet for a moment and looked deep in thought. She asked, "Does a goose ever get cold?"

I replied that I am sure they did and then teasingly asked her if she thought a goose could get "people bumps".

To that she replied,"The fact of the matter is, that a goose cannot get people bumps any more than a person can get goose bumps. People get people bumps, and a goose gets goose bumps, and that we all say otherwise is quite ridiculous."

So there you have it people, the world is ridiculous and wrong, and Cori is right. And I think it is adorable when she says the word "ridiculous".

Girls Lunch Out

Last Saturday, Jeff and I took turns taking older kids out so we could give them more individual attention. At Cori's request we spent some of our time at her favorite chinese restaurant. We also spent time setting things up at the church building and did some grocery shopping so we had a lot of time together, while the boys stayed home and played video games.

Cori really has developed a love for chinese food, but I like to think she also loves it because it is something the two of us share alone. We have fun as they bring us each part of the meal like we are in a five star restaurant eating a seven course meal. In reality, it is a hole in the wall restaurant and the food is marginal. We started with a "Pink Monkey Shake" which was new to us as usually Cori orders the "Pink Monster". We shared a bowl of wonton soup, I let Cori eat the wonton's out of it. Then we had crab rangoon dipped in sweet and sour sauce. Then they brought out the the main course. Cori discovered she liked my chicken that was coated in sauce better then her own, but their was pleanty to go around. We now know she has moved beyond the kiddie menu and is ready to venture her taste buds a little farther. I guess her love of wonton soup should have given me a clue. And of course, a chinese lunch out would be incomplete without a fortune cookie. Both of our fortune cookies fit our personalities well, and her lucky number was listed as 5 and mine as 8, and randomly enough those are our lucky numbers.

We had so much time talking about random and silly things. Then we talked about more serious things. Cori told me how sad it makes her that some dads leave their family. She said she dreams sometimes that dad leaves us and it makes her cry. She also acknowledged that when she is awake she knows that dad would never do that to us, but it still makes her sad to know that happens to other kids. Sometimes my heart just breaks when I see glimpses of what our kids are having to worry about. Gone our the days of wondering who we will sit next to at school, they don't choose that nowdays anyway. Now little ones have questions about divorce, abuse, pornography, abortion, and recently Nathan asked me about gay marriage. I wish there was a way to shield them from the knowledge, but in reality I know that I need to teach them everything I can so that they can be prepared to stand up against the struggles of their generation.

Never knowing if the next words out of their mouth will be about star wars and princesses or war, hardship, or immorality; we take the kids individually so we can sit and listen and try to teach right from wrong or maybe just enjoy a Pink Monkey Shake and a fortune cookie.

***In case you wanted to know, Cori's fortune cookie said, "People find it difficult to resist your persuasive manner." And mine was, "You will make many changes before settling satisfactorily."

My Television Stars!

Last night Corinne and Sam had the opportunity to perform one of their dances from last spring's recital. They particpated in the local United Way telethon. It was fun to get the old class back together for a couple rehearsals over the last few weeks and for the performance. Ido see all the kids in that class anyway, but not together. Ava and Aysa the two younger girls are still in Sam's dance class this year, and the three go to Sunny Day's together as well. Bailey is in Corinne's dance class this year so I see her Monday nights. But both of the kids classes this year are bigger and therefore more chaotic so it was fun to have the five of them back together as a reunion of sorts. Besides I love getting more use out of last years costumes, for some reason the more we use them the less I mind how much I paid for them. Nathan's class was unable to perform even though they practiced. Only three bothered to show up for practices and they had conflicts last night; coupled with the fact that Nathan had an asthma attack yesterday, it was better for all that they did not perform.

I thought the kids did well. Cori's cartwheel was one of the best one's she has done. Sam was the only boy that performed from the dance academy and therefore able to steal the show even while pulling at the backside of his pants throughout the performance.

And I am sure any of you who know me can imagine that I played the classic dance mom role standing right off the performing area so that I could line them up, straighten a bow, and a bow tie, be the last to wish them luck and the first to tell them good job. Eventually I might let go enough to just sit down and wait for the show, but I think we are still a few years off from that.

English Lesson of the Day

Can I just say I hate it when the word "literally" is used incorrectly. Literally is not the same as figuratively. People in general seem to replace the word "figuratively" with "literally", when in fact they do not mean something literally happened. The problem with using it incorrectly is that when I use the word correctly people think I mean figuratively. For example. "She literally pointed her finger at me and placed the blame." That means she physically pointed her finger. That would be as opposed to "She figuratively pointed her finger at me and placed the blame", which would mean although she did not physically lift her finger and point at me, she did so with her words.

Thank you for letting me share one of my pet peeves. As for the phrase, "I could care less" as opposed to "I couldn't care less", don't get me started. And by the way it is "probably" not "probaly". And yet I don't mind when people use little "quotie fingers" in the air.

Roo's been framed!

You may think by the picture that this entry is going to be about Andrew. But I know better. You see I know that there is no way that my 6 month old went into the kitchen , pushed a chair up to the counter, climbed on top of the counter and reached into the cupboard. And I know my 6 month old did not pull the tape off the closed bag of animal crackers and carry them into the living room. I also know that Andrew doesn't have any teeth, and so all though I found him gumming up his first cookie, I know he did not make this mess. Because if you look closely, the heads of these animal crackers have been bitten off, not gummed off. And although Timmy was nowhere near this mess, I did find some crackers hidden in his walker for later (heads still intact). And Timmy was contently drinking a bottle in the other room, and he seemed to have the attitude that he traded for it fair and square.

Now if there was any question to why I have a difficult time getting laundry done during the day, you can see what happens when I leave the living room and kitchen area.

Brag Moment

This blog is truly a moment for me to brag. You can skip it if you want, but it is my blog so I will write what I want. Realistically, I realize that the majority of my blog entries are me bragging about what great kids I have, but this one isn't about my kids.

Yesterday, Jeff brought me flowers, one of my favorite kind of roses. He is so sweet and thoughtful. I have a wonderful husband! I am so lucky. And now I once again have the desire to have a clean kitchen, because I can't have pretty flowers in such a mess.

**After posting this I realized between a previous post about having a bad week and then this one about flowers, some of you might think Jeff and I were arguing. Let me assure everyone, that is not the case. We are just as happy and in love as always, and he has been nothing but support this week. Just clarifying so no one reads incorrectly between the lines.

Bottle Time!

Andrew began holding his own bottle today! I will still love to hold and cuddle him while he eats but at least now if I have to set him down to help someone else he does not need to wait for me to eat. Congratulations Andy-Roo-who!!!!

Class Room Visit

Last week I had the chance to visit Nathan's class and read together. After Nathan read to me he showed me how he takes his AR tests on the computer. He managed to take two tests while we were there and get 100 % on both of them. We had a fun time. As a disclaimer to the picture you should be aware that we ate oreo cookies while we read thus the dirty teeth.

Trend-setting Kindergartner

Cori decided to try out a new way to wear her hair today. So not only did she do a typical ponytail, we added three of her headbands. She wanted it to look like a rainbow. I thought it was cute and it matched her favorite pair of jeans.

My Dad

Growing up in my house there were always random quotes taped places. On the door to the stairs when you came up from the basement was a large poster with the quote, "We teach them correct principles, and let them govern themselves". I suppose that is the best way to sum up my parents expectations of their teenagers. My dad had many "lectures" as we called them, we even had them numbered at one point. Although the actual number of each lecture is no longer strong in my memory, many of the repeated lectures have been rephrased slightly and are being used on a whole new generation.

As a teenager my dad taped different scriptures or quotes on the bathroom mirrors as well. When I go into my bathroom there are no quotes taped to the mirror, but when I am getting ready the scripture that says "Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated. " still runs through my mind. But don't think he was doing this just for the kids. My dad had and still has 3x5 cards everywhere with things he is trying to memorize or focus on. Sometimes they are in Japanese other times English, but if you look carefully next time you see him odds are there are some in the front pocket of his button up shirt. The love of quotes and 3x5 cards has been passed to most, if not all of his children. I have a file on my kitchen counter filled with cards. And I love putting quotes to memory. My most recent quote that I have purposely imbedded in my memory is, "The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare". There has been one next to the computer desk at our house for quite awhile. It is a quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley, the prophet of our church who passed away at the beginning of this year. It says, "You are doing the best you can, and the best result in good to yourself and others. Do not nag yourself with a sense of failure. Get on your knees and ask for the blessings of the Lord: then stand on your feet and do what you are asked to do."
I love that one. As much as I love quotes and 3x5 cards, there is one lesson that my dad gave me that is probably above the rest. He actually might regret teaching it some days because his children have taken it to heart daily as we call our mom.

It wasn't a long quote or scripture. In fact it was short enough that we had it memorized at a very young age. I think it was basically our family motto. It goes like this, "Call Home" and later I remember sitting in a family meeting and having our parents add a third word, so it became "Call Home Often". With six kids to keep track of (sometimes more depending on extra girls living with us), it was our responsibility to check in with our parents. We did this not only if we found ourselves in a difficult situation, not only if there was a change of plans, not only when we were upset, or when we had really good news. We were to call home often to let them know what was happening even if nothing was really happening. And so we did, and still do. Sometimes my mom's day consists of being on the phone while each of her kids call her through out the day, just to "Call home often".

One time when visiting our cousins in Denver, Tiffany, a girl that lived with us, my cousins and my sisters all went to the mall. I was fifteen at the time, which would have made Tiffany seventeen. We some how got separated (that is a polite way of saying ditched) by the others in our group. I think Jessica was with us but I could be wrong. The mall was beginning to close and we noticed a creepy guy was following us. We walked faster, so did he. We didn't know what to do so we were quickly headed for the payphones. I realized as we were walking that I could not remember my grandparents or cousins phone number. It started with 303, but in the city of Denver that is not enough to help you narrow it down since that is the area code. We looked for mall security or even another adult, but we saw no one. As we turned the corner suddenly there was my dad standing there. I was so relieved, I hugged him and quickly told him someone was following us. But as quickly as my dad had appeared, the creepy guy disappeared. I asked him how he knew where to find us, it was a big mall and I had not been able to call. His reply was that he was surprised I even had to ask how he knew.
I do know how he knew. And I know even more now as I have had experiences of my own as a parent. And just this week I was reminded again, that if we do our part to keep the lines of communication open and call home often, then when we can't find the number or find ourselves in trouble, our parents can be made aware of their need to call us.

We were also taught in our family that we have two homes to call home to often. As we pray and keep the lines of communication open even when nothing seems to be happening, then when we find ourselves in trouble He too will know where to find us and help us in our time of need.

So as I complete what has been a difficult week emotionally for me, in the large scheme of things, it really wasn't terrible. No deaths, no illness, nothing of that magnitude. And yet I find myself grateful for my Fathers, here on earth, and up above. Both whom when I needed them and could not bring myself to call, knew to call me and help me in ways that no one else ever could.

Election Day Dinner - part 2

I know you were all waiting anxiously to hear the results of our election day dinner. I should point out that since the missionaries eat with us most Tuesdays, we allowed them to participate in the vote. I was not feeling well when everyone finally sat down for dinner so I fed Andrew rice cereal, while everyone else ate. We had three missionaries eating with us because they are in a set of three until next week when one goes home. The missionary that will be going home did not win a single category for dinner. He admitted that even though he voted for lemonade and pizza, that what ended up winning was quite good.

The winning election night dinner of 2008:

Crepes (with whip cream, strawberries, blueberries, or syrup)
Corn
Bananas
Chocolate Milkshakes
Cupcake with a treat on it (candy corn and candy pumpkins)

Other than the corn, it wasn't that odd of a combination. Most people sliced their banana into their crepe. The kids had a lot of fun. I think this may become a family tradition.

Vote

I know many of you out there already know how I feel about this subject and based on my children's reaction to the DFL party have probably already arrived to the conclusion that I am a Republican. I should point out though that I do not vote a strict ticket and the opportunity to sway me is always a possibility for any candidate. I research, watch, and try my best to strain out candidate/ media slants on information as I receive it. I really don't think your vote should just be looked at as something you do to get the candidate that you want. The actual process of voting is as important as the outcome. It is a step we can take to show our support for the freedom of choice that we have in this country.


I suppose I should tell you the story of my first election opportunity and that will give you a little more insight to why this is such an important thing for me.


The November I turned 18 came quicker then I expected. It was not a presedential election year, and so that made it seem lesss important to me. I watched the commercials on TV and heard discussions in my college classes, but I did not do any looking into what candidates I really thought deserved my vote. I saw the commercials for Jesse Ventura on TV and at first was waiting for the energizer bunny to come rolling by. There was no way that I thought he could possibly become elected. His campaign ads, I thought were as detrimental to his campaign as his opponents. So as I left my evening class from the local college, it was raining. As I ran to the car getting wet I decided I would not bother going to the voting polls. Because I had not earlier I would have to register at that time, I was tired and had some studying to do. I decided that I was not informed enough to make a decision base on what I thought were the only two candidates. So I just went home. I could not believe it the next morning when I heard he had one. As I sat in my morning class, I heard so many of the people in my class laughing about how they had voted for Jesse "the body" Ventura, just because they could. They all admitted that although they had never bothered to vote before that they did this time just to be funny. That's right people Governor Ventura was elected by a bunch of stupid drunk college students. I know now that it is not only my duty to vote it is my responsibility. That way even if an idiot gets elected when someone from another state asks me, "How did that idiot get elected?" I will not have to feel guilty about my lack of vote. Lack of action is an action of complacency that I will not be a part of again. I am not saying that idiots won't be elected if I vote, but I however can at least tell myself I did what I could.

And so this morning when I had to break the news to Nathan that Obama would be our president, I did my best to explain that voting is important even though I knew that the candidate I had voted for had not won. We also talked about how we will respect our new president. We will pray for our new president. And if opportunities arise we will let the new president know that we still do not support abortion or gay marriage, but we will respect the position of the President of the United States.

Lollipops and Suckers

One of the benefits of a great halloween is the large bowl of candy that is left on my counter. I try not to be too strict with the candy. I won't let them have it for breakfast or anything. In general my kids are not big candy eaters. The older boys insist they dislike carmel, nuts, and unusual textures. So outside of crunch bars, peanut butter cups, and hershey bars there is a lot of good stuff for me to enjoy. Cori however has inherited my love for almound joys, three musketeers, and snickers.
One thing everyone in our family loves is suckers and lollipops. When given the choice my kids will pick a lollipop everytime. The kids have defined the difference quite simply. A lollipop is flat no matter the size and a sucker is usually round but also comes in shapes sometimes. The suckers and lollipops are always the first to disappear from any stash of assorted candy.

Nater - Gator Costume Revived

Nathan and Sam both wore this for their first Halloween. Timmy couldn't fit in it so he was a bear for his first Halloween. I just couldn't let this adorable outfit sit in a box, so I just had him wear one as his outfit for the day, and changed him into "Little Roo" for the night. Thank you to Aunt Nancy who spoils her neices and nephews long before they are even born.

Halloween Night!

The cast list for trick or treating went as followed: The part of Indiana Jones (he looked really good too!) was played by Jeff, followed by Kanga (Amy) and Little Roo (Andrew). Next came our own version of justice league of Spider Man (Nathan), Batman (Sam) and Super Boy (Timmy). But no Halloween entourage would be complete with out a beautiful ballerina in this case Claire from the Nutcracker suite (Corinne), such a classy little girl. We were accompanied by a clown/photographer (Honey).

I would have to call the night a success. The weather was absolutely perfect. The kids had a blast. Timmy loved the idea of going door to door and having them give him candy. At each house the other kids would shout "Trick or Treat" and when the candy was dropped into their bag they would yell "Thank You!". Each time Timmy would stand behind them waiting patiently, and when candy was dropped, he would turn to step away and say "You're welcome". At least he remembered to be polite.

The party was very enjoyable. The house was decorated really cool and even had a fog machine. The food was good but had creepy names. I made the "Vampire Punch" with raspberry sherbet floating in it, and brought "Mummy Wraps" made out of strips of tortillas, turkey, cheese, ranch and cream cheese. We can home to younger kids asleep from exhaustion and older kids wired on candy and party adrenaline. Tomorrow will definitely be a day to recover.

My Name is Nathan and I Approve this Message

I hurt my back on Wednesday and am having trouble lifting. So yesterday I realized I could not lift the pumpkins and carry them into the kitchen to hollow out and carve. I then had the great idea to carve them right where they sat on the front porch. It was a beautiful afternoon, and that way we kept the mess outside.

As I sat and carved pumpkins, the kids played in the leaves. Cori helped scoop quite a bit. She wanted me to take a picture of her pretending to eat the "pumpkin goo". Timmy enjoyed scooping the pumpkin and when I turned around he had a big glop and was eating it. In his defense we were scooping with spoons, and he thought it was after school snack. Although I truly hope he can tell the difference between my cooking and the inside of a pumpkin. Sam liked picking out seeds but lost interest quickly. Andrew was buckled in his car seat enjoying watching leaves fall around him and smiling at me while I worked on the pumpkins. Nathan did not want to go near the pumpkin. He declared how much he dislikes pumpkin goo and wants to never put his hand in a pumpkin. He said he would rather rake leaves.

With beautiful weather this late in the year, brings neighbors and lots of people out walking and enjoying the ability to still walk outside without freezing. The kids excitedly talked to anyone who would stop and listen. "Guess what, we're getting ready for Halloween. I can't wait. We are going to a party. We have costumes. Do you want to know what I am going to be?" They were all jumping with excitement.

I noticed the DFL volunteers were knocking doors in our neighborhood. With pumpkin goo all over there was no way for me to rush in with all the kids and pretend like we weren't home. I was already going through my mind the politest way to send them on their way. But before I had opportunity, the kids saw them and started talking to them. "Guess what, we're getting ready for Halloween." The conversation continued with all the kids excitedly talking to this lady, even Timmy was jumping up and down shouting in an obviously excited gibberish. Then suddenly Nathan shouted in a serious tone, "Wait!" Everyone froze, even Timmy.

We could tell this was serious. He looked at the lady and pointed at her Obama t-shirt. Incredulously, he asked, "Are you voting for Obama?" He practically spat the name Obama from his lips in disgust.

"Yes", she replied, "And do you know who your house is voting for?".

"In our house we vote for John McCain," he proudly declared. Cori, quickly supported him by saying we want John McCain for president and Sarah Palin for vice-president. The DFL lady responded that she was glad that everyone votes and quickly moved onto to our neighbor's house.

But while still in earshot, as were all the neighbors, Nathan continued. "I hope that our neighbors will not vote for a man like Obama. " I explained that lots of people will be voting for Obama, and he will probably win. But that what is important is that everyone can choose who they vote for, and that if they don't vote the same then we can still be friends.

Nathan did not drop it though, "Cosmo told me that Obama wants to let people kill babies. Doctors killing babies, can you believe it?" Cori had a look of shock, she said loudly "I know my parents would never vote for someone who would do such a terrible thing. John McCain needs to be president because we need someone who would never let such a horrible thing happen in our country."

I tried to explain abortion in its simplest terms. When a baby is still inside his mom some people think that the mom should be allowed to choose if the baby will be born or if it should die. She will go to the doctor and have the doctor stop the baby from being born. I think it is wrong and no one should do this, but some people think moms should get to choose. Obama is one of those people. "So he is a baby killer!", shouted Nathan. "Does Joe Biden know about this?"

I tried to calm them down but the shock of such an atrocity was not to be quieted. Even Sam was up in arms. I did not have the heart to explain to them that abortions happen everyday. They have watched me pregnant, and felt the baby move, they have seen ultrasound pictures from very early on, each of them have heard the heartbeats. As far as they are concerned anyone who supported abortion, was labeled a "baby killer". That label was completely from there own minds. Luckily, our neighbor responded to the democrat volunteer that he too was voting for McCain. I was so proud that my kids were politically aware enough and had listened to their parents enough to know who was running. But at the same time I was devastated to see the horror on their faces when they learned of abortion. I was relieved that I had decided to vote McCain, because for a little while I was undecided. I don't think I could have handled the scolding and disappointment I would get from Nathan. Well, my guess is that is the last time our home will be visited by the DFL.

Their father could not be prouder of how the kids handled the situation.

Spooky Halloween Story

Once there was a frazzled mother who did not know how to fit in all the fun things she liked to do for Halloween. Before she knew it, it was morning on Halloween day and she was not ready. She had to make a quick decision, should she pick up the house and do the dishes, or run out the door and hurry to do all the errands to make Halloween a success.
She threw some Halloween type clothes on the younger kids and decided to see how many errands she could run before picking her child and his best friend up from preschool. Menu labels had been printed, cut and glued, and dropped off at the location of the party for later that day. She had worked on things at the new church building. She even found the Kanga costume and made it work so she would be in costume with the rest of her family. The children were picked up from school, and the friend dropped off at her house. The mother thought of her list and was pleased with how quickly she had crossed four things off her list. She still had a lot to do though so she handed the baby his bottle and the toddler and preschooler a piece of candy from the school Halloween party. She hoped this would tide them over while she did the shopping for the food that she needed for that night. She tried calling her husband to check in with him regarding lunch plans. He told her that he was in a phone meeting at work and would need to call her back, so she hung up and went on her way.
Just then the phone rang, she picked up her cell and saw someone was calling from home. Her cellphone has an adorable picture of the kids that appears when the home number calls through. It seemed a little odd to her, but she thought maybe someone had stopped by and was calling. Although she remembered locking the door so even that seemed weird. There was no answer. "Weird", she thought. Then the phone rang again, she answered. There was a lady on the other and. The conversation went as follows:
"Hello", the mom answered.
"Hello", the stranger replied.
" Who is this?" said the mom.
"Who is this?" said the lady. The tone of this women's voice was quite rude.
"This is Amy, who is this and where are you calling from?"
"Never mind., it's none of your business."
"What? Who is this? Is it a wrong number? "
"Must be." Then the stranger hung up.

The mom tried calling back, but all she got was her own answering machine. The mom turned the van around thinking she should go back to the house and see what was going on. As she turned onto her street, she realized she could not go check, she did not want to leave kids alone in the car, nor did she want to bring them into a house with a possible intruder. She picked up the phone deciding she would have to interrupt her husband. Just then the cell phone rang. It startled her. She answered. It was her husband. She told him what had happened. She asked if he thought she should call the police. He said she should and that he would be right there.
The mom decided to park around the corner where she could still watch if someone entered or exited the house. She wondered how someone would have her cell phone, she remembered it was written in large print across the top of the calendar that hung in the kitchen. She called the police, they told her to wait there. Shortly after her husband showed up, followed by one police car, soon 2 cars, then 3 then a 4th squad car appeared. She did not even know there were that many officers in her small little town. So what seemed like the entire police force entered her home. They checked all over and said it was safe to enter the house. They wanted her to check to make sure things were how she had left them. It was then she had remembered the state in which she had left her home. After talking to the police and the police checking with the neighbors for anything unusual, the police left. They said there must have been wires crossed with cell phone.
Amy was not convinced. She second guessed where she had put every thing. She wandered around wondering who the lady was on the phone. She stared at her cellphone. Her husband pointed out that if someone had called from our phone it would show up when you pushed redial. He also pointed out that there home number is blocked so unless they manually unblocked the number, the cell phone would not have acknowledged that it had come from the home number. The only proof of her story was the phone log showing that someone had called her from her home number. Then she thought of something. She dialed her home phone number but with the area code of her cell phone number. A very crabby and rude but now slightly familiar voice answered. The mom asked the lady if she had called a wrong number about an hour earlier. She responded she had (not very nicely), the mom tried to explain that her home number was the same with a different area code, the rude lady did not care and once again hung up.


Things Learned from this Spooky Story.
1. Never leave your house embarrassingly disastrous, in case the entire local police department needs to search it.
2. Always lock your doors (All doors were locked except one back door which led to more paranoia).
3. Always be kind and acknowledge when you have dialed a wrong number. It doesn't take that long and you may save a frazzled mother a lot of panic and worry.
4. The captain of our local police department grew up in our house. Cori's bedroom was his. The Fiji room was painted by an artist in St. Paul, the police officer's parents had it decorated as a Tiki room for entertaining. The fourth bedroom downstairs terrified him when he was little. It was where his dad kept all the tools, and at that time had no window.
5. The neighbor directly behind us that never talks to us is the Methodist Minister. Which means all of the neighbors surrounding us are each ministers in one of the other christian churches in town.
6. If someone calls from the same area code as the number they are calling, the cell phone drops the area code of the number. If that number is programmed into your cell phone with a different area code, but the rest of the 7 digits are the same, then your cellphone will read that number as the programmed number. And although the odds of someone who shares the same home number with you but has a different area code calling the wrong number and accidentally calling your cellphone is rare, it is possible.