Pumpking Picking

Last Saturday we went in search of pumpkins. We found a trailer selling odd shaped and odd colored pumpkins, but they were only $2 so we decided they were for us. After digging through piles, we picked what we thought were unique but not too weird pumpkins. We decided our family could share three. The biggest one the kids named "the brain". Sam posed on the front step on "Orange Day". Monday his preschool had orange day, and Sam brought the pumpkin he had already decorated with Honey. This was a fun day for him because orange is Sam's favorite color. As fun as it was, everyone is counting down to Halloween and the Halloween class party.

Hair and Homework

School is definitely in full swing these days. Routines are finally becoming routine and that makes all the difference for us. And with that comes the kids requesting their own sense of style.

After 7 years of having his parents part his hair, Nathan has decided to comb it all forward with hair gel. He thinks it looks much cooler this way. Corinne has also taken a liking to a new hairstyle. We have not done pigtails in two weeks. The classic Cori look for the week is her hair combed neatly and pulled into an elastic headband. Much more mature for a girl in kindergarten.

Nathan is now used to the greater load of homework. Everyday he has math homework, spelling, and needs to read for 15 minutes. This Monday I looked in his backpack to discover a perfect day. All of the work returned was 100%. Two spelling tests, a math test, and a piece of homework. He did a great job. The next day he received a coupon for pizza because he had turned in a reading calendar.

Corinne is also adjusting to the long kindergarten days. She says she doesn't sleep during rest time. Every piece of work she brings home shows that she is putting her very best efforts into everything she does.

Yes, he really does.

From little Ava (Sam's friend) and her big brother to the dance instructor, and a stranger in the store, inquisitive minds want to know, does he smile that way all day long, even when he is waking up? As proof, I snapped this picture of Andrew laughing when I went to get him out of the crib the other morning. He really is an absolutely adorably sweet and smiley baby. He even smiles when Timmy sits on him. Now Timmy has a new game, though. He gets Andrew to lay across the top of Timmy while Timmy is on the floor. They think they are wrestling just like the big kids, it puts them both into a giggle fit. Andrew has a smile for everyone he sees. Someone at dance class told me they think he has already learned that as my child he will get much more attention with smiles than a tantrum. I don't know if that is the reason, but I love holding this little guy; his smiles are definitely contagious.

**Oh, and for the record, the day this was taken he weighed 16lbs. 14 oz, exactly 10 lbs more then the day he was born.

** A New Calling

For the past year at church I have been the Primary Chorister. Basically that calling entails teaching the primary children to sing. It has been good for me to be in primary with the older three, and have the opportunity to teach them songs. We are almost ready for the Primary Program that will be the Sunday before Thanksgiving. When the children have a song "program perfect", they earn a part of a pizza party. For example, today we earned the song "When Jesus Christ was Baptized", and now they have earned plates. Actually they have earned the crust, sauce, and cheese already, next week we will be earning the toppings for the pizza. I love the primary songs, and all the primary children have come a long way in learning them. I have not been released from this calling, I will continue in it but now I have something else to do.
I used to teach early morning seminary, but I do not have anyone to teach. I have been wondering when they would give me something else to do.

As many of you know we have been waiting for our new building to be built for quite sometime. It is finished. It is absolutely beautiful. Today was our last Sunday in the old building. Besides a better layout and more functional building, we will have a few things we didn't have before. There is a baptismal font in this building, as well as an actual nursery. There will also be a fully stocked church library. It has every picture (hundreds of pictures), video, DVD, manual, pamphlets, etc that you can imagine. It will also have chalk, crayons, scissors, and office type stuff. We will have 24 sets of scriptures, a copy machine, a paper cutter, some televisions (including a large plasma TV) and a projector. I am excited to have all these things to help with lessons. We will also be able to check out items for home use (no, not the plasma screen TV). And that leads up to my new calling, I was called today to be the Branch Librarian.

I will be setting up the new library. Nothing is numbered yet, and I just started unpacking yesterday. I will be creating an inventory of everything we have, and forming a check out system for items. I am so excited. I know it is going to be a lot of work at first, organizing, labeling, and doing the inventory. But I feel like a kid at the beginning of a school year. I have a fresh start with all new items, just waiting for me to organize them. I am hoping to have most of it set up by the time we have church next Sunday. I have asked a couple of young women to come help me on Saturday with labeling everything. Having been a props manager many times in theatre, I think this has similar organization and I enjoy doing this kind of a thing, so I think it will be good.

My only concern is the stigma I fear goes with it. It doesn't matter what church you go to, every congregation has a crazy lady. I have always sort of looked at the librarian as the token crazy lady calling. I have been reassured that I have been asked to do it because of my organizational skills, not because I am the crazy lady in the congregation. With the state of our file cabinet, I worry that I lost my organizing ability when I had children, but I will pretend it really is the reason. Just in case I go totally OCD on people putting things back and such, I told Jeff to warn me if it looks like I am headed in a total-nutso-control-freak direction. So if you notice less blog entries, it is because my computer time is going to be focused in excel spreadsheets for awhile.

Green Day

I had an on going nightmare as a child and teenager, it sort of evolved with each stage of my education. When I would have it, it was often times difficult to get back to sleep. In 1st grade, the dream would be that I forgot my snow pants and boots, or shoes for gym class. By third grade, it had evolved into a forgotten diorama, or art project. In middle school, I dreamed I had book reports due on books I hadn't read, or tests on subjects I had not studied. In high school, I would have 20 page research papers due and not realize it until the teacher was asking me to turn it in. In college, I would dream that I had forgotten to attend a class that I had signed up for and would have to take a final in a class that I had never attended.

These nightmares may not seem like much to you but I would wake up in the night and make lists of what I needed to have done, and double check that I had done them. I still make lists of what need to be done, sometimes I make lists of lists. It is enough to drive someone crazy (specifically Jeff).

Then before I knew it, something changed. I still have nightmares but they have morphed into a whole new generation. They began about 3 months before Nathan started preschool. And they have evolved. First I dreamed that I had forgotten to teach him the alphabet, and as his learning has approached a new level, so goes the dream. As each child has entered school , moved up a grade level the dreams change right with them. During the night I wake checking calendars to make sure I haven't forgotten a project, and in the morning I find myself asking Jeff about the weather and what the kids will need for outside free play.

In order to stay organized in the morning and ease my nightmares, we have rules. Everyone must lay clothes out the night before on school nights. Backpacks must be ready and waiting, homework completed, and they need to let me know if they need to have anything for the next day. This includes book orders, library books, cold lunch if they want it. Everything must be set out, right down to their underwear and mittens. I hate looking for things. I hate being late. And I feel horribly guilty when one of the kids misses out on something like show and tell or library day because we were not organized.

Thursday night Corinne was laying out clothes. She is as obsessive as me about having everything ready before she goes to bed. She has taken it to a new level though, because she coordinates socks, shirts, pants, underwear, not only by color and style, but by when she bought them. For example, she likes to wear her new underwear with her new pants, and old underwear with older pairs of pants. I find her organization obsessions slightly familiar. She can have a pile of clothes in the corner of her room that need to be picked up, but she focuses her energy on making one little part perfect. She is so much like her mother, it is shocking sometimes. So last Thursday she showed me what she had chosen. She always gets a second opinion. Her outfit actually surprised me because she had matched one of her newest pair of jeans with a T-shirt that she has had for over a year. These were her favorite jeans with embroidered butterflies, sparkly jewels, and hearts. And she matched it with a lime green t-shirt. It was late, and I just told her if that is what she felt comfortable wearing then it would work great. It wasn't that it looked bad or clashed or anything, she just didn't usually pair those items together and I did not want her to change her mind when she woke up.

The next morning I went in the bathroom to fix her hair and she had the clip she wanted laying there. It was green, but not the same green as her shirt. I confirmed with her that this was the clip she wanted. I did not have time to do her hair twice. She replied that she knew it did not match perfectly, but she wanted to wear green in her hair. I asked her why, and she told me that it was green day. I had completely forgotten. When the kindergartners have a color day they are supposed to wear that color and be able to spell it in front of the class. I asked her if she could spell green, and of course she could. Then she skipped off to school, unaware of the anxieties she had just eased.

She had completely gotten ready for the school day with out a reminder from me. She had gathered everything she needed to make her day feel like a success. I know I still need to watch calendars and be aware of these days approaching, but it is a new found freedom to realize your children are going to be able to help you keep track of these things, things that are only a big deal when you forget to do them.

** As a further example of our mother-daughter obsessiveness: I also think that you shold note that Corinne and I agreed that she should sit in the big GREEN chair for this picture taken after school.

Sam's Field Trip

Sam was able to go on a field trip today with his preschool. It was very exciting. The class visited the firestation and the public library. He had a great time. When he was done the firemen gave him a coloring book, a fire hat, and a sucker that said, "Stop, Drop, and Roll". The sucker is long gone, but he is looking forward to coloring in his book after his nap.

Andrew is 6 months old!

Andrew is 6 months old today. I can't believe it! Time has gone by so quickly. He is scooting around a lot, and loves to roll although he has not attempted to leave the room where I set him down. He loves to get to the edge of the rug in the living room and play with the tassels. I fed him oatmeal today for the first time and he seemed to enjoy it. I think he wants something with a bit more flavor though. He waves "Hi" to people. He loves to give kisses and zerberts. He smiles at everyone, but his biggest grins seem to reserved for his big brothers and sister. He is as pleasant and happy as babies come. The pictures posted above from top to bottom are 6months, then 4 months, and the day he was born. He is still my smallest by far, but he is definitely trying to catch up. I think he is going to be tall and thin. which seems to be the direction Sam is heading as well. I love watching him grow and interact with others. What a blessing it is to have him in our family!

My Little Smurf

This week Timmy has figured out how to open doors. He has managed to do it before but I thought it was a fluke. But now he is doing it all the time. It makes nap time difficult because if he is not asleep he tries to just leave the room. I know I will have to get the safety nobs back out. I don't remember the real term for them, Nathan named them "norbobs" and that is what we have referred to them as ever since. This morning Timmy managed to open the bathroom door, and then open the toilet and use the toilet brush and toilet water to "clean" the bathroom. I thought this would be the grossest thing I would have to clean up. I was wrong.

I was working on making tonight's dinner while I was making plans for tonight on the phone with Jeff. Timmy was helping and very disappointed when after waiting patiently for me to finish what I was chopping, he discovered it was celery, not his favorite item to come off the cutting board. I finished the conversation with Jeff and turned around to discover a blue Timmy. In the time it took to wrap up the conversation, Timmy had managed to get into the spice cupboard get blue food coloring climb back down and continue to stand next to me without me noticing. As I hung up I turned to tell him something and realized what he had done. He had blue pouring out of his mouth, his hands were completely blue as were his feet and the bottom half of his legs. There was blue sprayed all over the kitchen floor. What amazes me most is that he was able to do this in a matter of seconds while I was standing right there!

So obviously I had to throw him in the bathtub. After trying a variety of different soaps to scrub him clean, I realized the food coloring had dyed the bath water blue and as he was sitting in it, the rest of him was blue. It sort of worked like a tie die, in that he is just a light shade of blue except in the creases where he is more of a navy blue. I have now finally lightened the color enough to not have him looking to strange, unless he has his shirt off - then he looks like a smurf. And I have no idea how long it will take for his hands and lips to return to normal.

After bathing him, I began the clean up on the kitchen floors. That surprisingly was much easier to get off then I thought.

Hoping this would be the worst clean up of the day, I called Jeff to let him know what had happened, and next thing I knew Timmy was running into the kitchen, without his diaper. I immediately hung up with Jeff, but before I could grab him, he pooped on the floor. I told him not to move, but it startled him so he took a step back, and stepped in it. I grabbed him, cleaned him up, then cleaned up the floor again. Hopefully, that will be the last time I have to mop up the floor today. Bad things come in threes, right? I have to admit it could be worse, mostly I admit that so Timmy does not have to prove it to me. On the upside, I guess that means Timmy is feeling better. And through out it all he was still just as cute as can be.

Update on Timmy

Intellectually, I understand the procedure Timmy had was fairly simple and routine. But emotionally when it is my own little baby going through something like this I can't help but be awake all night worrying (which I was doing when I wasn't awake because of one of the kids).

When the nurse called yesterday to get the registration and pre admit stuff done, she mentioned that they didn't usually do such little children here. It made me a little nervous, but the ENT doctor and our family doctor both thought it was fine to do it here. It is not the first time he was put under so I was not as concerned that he would react badly.

While waiting at the hospital this morning the anesthesiologist came and talked to me. All my concerns faded when I recognized the anesthesiologist. It was the same person that did the last two c-sections for me and the gall bladder surgery. I really like him. He is experienced and confident in what he does. I just get the sense he really knows what he is doing, and he has a good track record as far as our family is concerned. He has a calming sense about him. It is reassuring to have a familiar face. He let Timmy take his frog with him, and told me he would hold Timmy on his lap while he did the gas so that Timmy would feel safe.

It went really well. The nurse said he was the best baby they had ever had as a patient. He never cried, and was always quite pleasant. The doctor said there was a lot of fluid in his right ear, but no infection. He drained the fluid and thinks this is going to help. Timmy wanted to get down and walk right away when he woke from the anesthesia, but he was still quite wobbly and unsteady (which is to be expected). We were home this morning and are taking it easy now. We will have a follow up appointment in November.

Lunch Out

While we were out of town we were able to go to lunch. Jeff and I talked about what a different experience it is to go to a restaurant with only two of the kids. When we had only the first two children, it took every ounce of energy to take care of them. Going to a restaurant was quite the undertaking. Now taking two out is relaxing. It made for a nice lunch. Now that is not because we have suddenly become experts on taking to babies into a restaurant. I think the dynamics of our family has just changed. Timmy and Andrew get tons of attention from their siblings, and from us, but the attention focused just on them helped them to be extra good. Also Timmy didn't have anyone to argue with and can't get into mischief as easily when their parents aren't distracted by something else. Timmy also like sitting at every possible spot in the booth. And he had no problem downing down a lot of chips and salsa. Don't get me wrong, I love doing stuff with all the kids, but it is nice when we get to do something one on one.

Playing and Waving

Timmy loved going to the doctor's appointment. He waved to everyone he saw. We had plenty of time to play with the magnet boat table that he loved. We discovered while we were there that Andrew is waving at everyone, too. Timmy waves to Andrew all the time, and Andrew now has the "Timmy wave" down exactly. He was so cute waving and smiling at anyone who would walk by.

Timmy's Appointment

Today we had to go out of town for Timmy to see an ear, nose, and throat specialist. He has had a lot of ear infections (like 5 in 6 months) and we wanted to look into getting tubes. One of my biggest regrets with Nathan is not getting tubes placed sooner. Partly because I was focused on Nathan's respiratory issues, and partly because more time in the hospital seemed unnecessary, I avoided the tubes. The tubes made such a difference, and the procedure was really simple and the recovery went great. So now as we have seen Timmy struggle we do not want to make the same mistake again. I talked to our fabulous family doctor on Monday when I was at the clinic for yet another ear infection. He referred us to the specialist. When we met with the doctor we asked a few questions and all of them seemed to point to the decision I was already assuming we would make. The doctor told us he would be at our local hospital tomorrow and he would like to go ahead and do the surgery right away tomorrow morning. So we made a few quick phone calls to set up childcare for the other kids, and Timmy and I will be headed to the hospital early tomorrow morning. Jeff will get the older kids off to school and join me at the hospital. It is always a little unnerving to me when we have to have a child put under for a medical procedure, but I expect all to go well. I really think this is going to cut down on antibiotics he has been taking, and make for a happier, healthier Timmy.

Halloween Package

After school today the kids were able to open a package from Papa and Grandma. They were so excited to get a package in the mail. The loved discovering what was inside. All kinds of Halloween goodies, and they loved every part. But the best part, a big sheet

of bubble wrap for everyone to jump and pop. That is the perfect after school activity when you've just eaten Halloween candy! Thanks Papa and Grandma!!!!! We are enjoying all the treats, and festive things to use with dinner!

Reading

When we met with Nathan's teacher for the first time before school began she asked me a question. She asked, "What is an educational hope you have for Nathan this year?" I responded that I really want him to love to read. He knows how to read, but he still considers it a chore. I love to read and have loved reading since as long as I can remember. I think that if a child loves books and learning, it becomes easier for them to be an academically good student. I can remember as a child sneaking a flashlight into my room so I could read after everyone went to bed. I would sneak books on my lap under the desk in class so I could read instead of listening to a boring lecture. I think that 2nd grade is a critical point in how a child views reading. I do not want to nag him, and I do not want him to think of it the same way he does unloading the dishwasher or setting the table. I want him to enjoy reading.

The week I met with the teacher is the same week we discovered Nathan needed reading glasses. I am not sure if it is the reading glasses, the teacher, or something else but Nathan is reading. Not just because he has to either. I have found him reading in his room, on the couch, in the kitchen, in the car, and pretty much everywhere. Hooray! And I think his spelling has improved from it. We practice spelling everyday, and he is now getting them right the first time we go through them. Yesterday, his teacher e-mailed me and let me know he is doing a great jov. This is part of the e-mail: "Nathan has settled in to school and is getting more work done than he did earlier in the year. I am especially happy with his independent reading. He uses that time wisely." He is becoming more focused and responsible at school and at home. And I am so glad that he is enjoying books.

Another Zoo Picture

I just saw the pictures Stefany took at the zoo. I just loved this one of Cori. So I decided to post it.

Peanut Butter

I love peanut butter. There is no greater comfort food, in my opinion. When I was struggling with my gall bladder during my pregnancy with Andrew, I tried to cut out all fat from my diet. The thing I missed most was peanut butter and honey sandwiches with a glass of milk. Jeff can attest that when I am pregnant it is not unusual to find me awake in the middle of the night watching HGTV, folding laundry, and eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich.

With that knowledge you might assume that peanut butter sandwiches would be a typical lunch here. Unfortunately, I have not seemed to be able to pass on the love of such a simple lunch staple to my kids. Nathan loves them, Cori will eat them if there isn't any other option, but Sam has always refused. Trying to coax him to eat lunch is not easy. He is not a big lunch eater. I usually end up just cutting up some apples, cheese, and crackers. He would love to live on bologna, but that is not an option. If cheese and crackers are not available, option 2 is a dinosaur cheese sandwich. But sometimes I don't have American cheese in the house. Today the typical conversation began of what to have for lunch. When those to options were not available, he asked if he could eat a bag of chocolate chips. What I wanted to say was , "Why would I let you sit and eat a bag of chocolate chips? Have I ever let you sit and eat a bag of chocolate chips? What makes you think today is the day your mother has lost her mind and will give you a bag of chocolate chips?". But I bit my tongue, I am trying to be the adult in the conversation and I knew those comments would get me nowhere. Then he smiled so sweetly at me and I realized he was not trying to be difficult, he actually thought that there was a chance I was going to say yes.

As I looked at the jar of peanut butter, wishing that I could some how pass my love of such a simple solution to lunch on to each of my children, I had an idea. I asked what he thought about having a peanut butter and chocolate chip sandwich. He said he would rather eat a bag of chocolate. I told him that would not be an option, but to reconsider a chocolate sandwich. I then made a smiley face on the sandwich. I put the top on to insure he would not just eat the chocolate off. And then something happened that has never happened before. Sam took a bite of his sandwich. I was so excited I took a picture. Then I made one for Timmy. I couldn't believe that I was about to solve a lunch time battle with a hand full of chocolate chips. I almost called Jeff to tell him my amazing breakthrough. If you think I am weird for being that excited about Sam eating a sandwich, then you obviously have not tried to feed Sam lunch before. But then about half way through the sandwich Sam told me that he no longer likes sandwiches, including those with chocolate chips. Ahh well, back to the drawing board. But at least he tried it.

Boo!

What a fun night! When Cori and I came home from dance class and picking up some medicine and groceries, we found a surprise on our door step. There was a plate of cookies, a cute little bat, and a bag of treats.

There was also this poem:

THIS TREAT IS FOR YOU

WE HOPE YOU ENJOY

THE IDEA IS SIMPLE

ONE WE HOPE YOU EMPLOY

YOU PASS "BOO" ALONG TO 2

OTHER NEIGHBORS.

ALONG WITH ANY KIND OF HALLOWEEN FAVORS.

IF WE ALL DO OUR PART,

AND SPREAD THE GOOD CHEER

BY HALLOWEEN NIGHT IT WILL

BE VERY CLEAR,

WE'RE A FRIENDLY BUNCH,

WE LIKE TO SHARE FUN.

SO PLEASE DO YOUR PART

AND KEEP "BOO" ON THE RUN!

The kids were very excited and are already planning on which door step we will place the boo bag. The kids loved being able to have a cookie while we read our scriptures before bed. They were talking about the different people who could have delivered it so we could thank them. The kids are sure they know who did it because there is a family here that is always doing nice things for us. But I guess we'll never know! So whoever it may be, if you are reading this -- Thank You very much, we loved it! It really is a fun thing to do and to have happen to you so if you have a moment go ahead and spread the cheer to a family in your neighborhood, too.

We're Home!

As you can tell by the previous posts, we all had a great time. Jeff was able to get some work done at home and I think we can call the week a success. We miss living in the cities so much and it is hard to fit in all the things we want to do. We did crafts, played with grandparents and cousins, did some early Christmas shopping, got Jeff's b-day present. I even got to go to IKEA with my friend and have a girl's night out. Even with all we got to do it was hard to leave, there are always so many more things we can find to enjoy. But as this picture shows, it was time to head home with tired but happy kids who missed their dad. We had to get back to school, homework, and that ever looming pile(or in our case mountain) of laundry. Ah well, at least we could escape for a little while.

Playlands

Another favorite part of visiting the cities is the opportunity to eat at different restaurants. Jeff and I love being able to get a burrito from Chipotle's or maybe go on a date to a sit down restaurant, we also love the chance to eat ice cream at Cold stone or Bugaloo's. Our town doesn't really offer much in the realm of eating out.

The kids look forward to going to McDonald's or Burger King. We rarely eat fast food and there are not any play lands here. I am not exaggerating, there is not even a single slide to be found in a restaurant here, there used to be but it closed down. It is very frustrating that I have no place to let the kids run around once the weather gets cold. So while some kids beg to go to Disney world, my kids are begging to go to a McDonald's play land (that suits our budget better anyway). We managed to sneak two trips in this time, we went to BK with my mom and Honey came to McDonald's. It can be quite an adventure, in the McDonald's trip alone we had to take five trips to the bathroom , and I had to drive Sam back to my mom's to use the potty there due to his fear of automatic flush toilets. The good news is that with an adventure like that the kids slept almost the entire drive home.

World's Cutest Baby

I think the shirt says it all! He really is as sweet as he looks. I just love this little guy.