Sick

I have a lot on my mind. But after this week, the cold I had been putting on back burner has officially taken over and I am pretty miserable right now. Hopefully a good night's sleep will be the cure. I have way too much to do tomorrow...including writing about the life-changing week we had.

Love 'Em

I have a lot to write about from this past weekend. But what I am about to write is the only thing occupying my mind right now. As you know, yesterday was Casey's birthday. I was excited because there was no school, and we were going to have an extra special day. We had all our plans in place and we were all looking forward to it.

Then I woke up to the phone ringing. It was my friend informing me that a boy in our ward had passed away.....Our good friend's son, Randy's scout, and one of Casey's friends. It wasn't until noon that I had anymore details. He had passed in his sleep, due to a seizure in the night. At this point, I was determined to not tell Casey. After all, I didn't want to him to always remember his twelfth birthday as the day his friend died.

The kids were playing outside together, enjoying the spring weather when a kid from Casey's class rode by in his bike to tell Casey. He thought it was a joke and ran inside to ask me if he could go to hi friend's house. I couldn't lie to him and I told him. Boy how I wish I could go back. I wish I had made them stay inside. But I can't think of 'what if.'

Instead, I will realize that my little boy did more than turn a year older on his twelfth birthday. He grew up. He struggled with the news and shed many tears. We continued with our plans and there were smiles along with the tears. We stayed up late talking and crying. I could see that it was really affecting him, but I know with time, it will get easier for Casey.

For the dear family that lost their son, I cannot imagine the pain. They are one of the most amazing families I know. They lost of part of themselves yesterday. I pray that they will find peace and comfort throughout this tremendous trial. And I pray they will feel our love, and our Saviour's love during this time.

The compassionate service coordinator in our ward said, "This will change lives." She is absolutely right. It has already been an amazing teaching opportunity. And out of all Randy's scouts, only three are active in the church. So what a great time to teach those young men about the plan of salvation and bear his testimony of the atonement.

And for me, it has been pivotal. As you can imagine, with six little kids, I sometimes dread mornings. I know it means another day of getting kids off to school, making meals, cleaning up messes and dealing with tantrums. So as each child wakes up, I sometimes feel a bit of, "Oh boy, here we go again!" But I can see now, I have it all backwards. How I have taken for granted each morning that they wake me up. What a blessing it is to have each day with them. I am determined to love 'em more and appreciate the gift they are to me.

The BIG 1-2!!!

Twelve years ago my first child was born at 10:04 AM. I can hardly believe it is has been that long! At that moment, I never could have imagined it could get any better. What a ride it has been! He is no longer a little kid...boy how time flies!

Come Out, Come Out Whoever You Are

OK all you lurkers out there...I know you are there! Stop hiding. I would love to hear from you! Finding comments on your blog is kind of like mail in your mail box. We look forward to them! And today I have a special request from everyone:

We are going to have our family pictures taken on the beach and I was wondering what everyone thinks we should wear. I'm a little anal about picture outfits....

I was thinking of white shirts -maybe white dresses for the little girls (I know, Dad, dark or bright colors are better...but I've seen some really sharp beach photos with white....) khaki pants (rolled up) and bare feet. Or I could go with some spring colors- maybe light aqua, and lime green- maybe just as accents. Maybe some brown in there. I don't know. What do you think? I have been shopping and can't seem to make a decision (kind of like my current camera dilemma!)

And once you come out of hiding, you can feel free to leave comments anytime, not just on this post! Thanks in advance for all the comments! :)

What's Up, Doc?

My friend Natalie watched my kids a couple weeks ago so I could go on Hannah's field trip. When I got there to pick them up, she asked Nathan if he wanted to tell me what he ate for a snack. He got pretty shy and wouldn't tell me. So Nat took me into the kitchen and showed me her tub of spinach.

She had been making a salad for herself, and he wondered what she was eating. She let him try a leaf fully expecting him to spit it in the garbage. He loved it and asked for more! So she got him a bowl and filled it with raw spinach....no dressing. He ate that and two more before I got there. As I stood there talking to her, he polished off two more bowls or PLAIN RAW SPINACH! FIVE BOWLS OF IT! I mean, I love spinach, but I have to have some raspberry vinaigrette dressing to go with it.

She told him at their house they call it rabbit food. So the other day, when I called him a monkey like I always do, he corrected me: "I'm not a monkey, I'm a bunny!"

Earn Your Keep

I firmly believe in instilling a good work ethic in my children. We don't live on a farm, but they still have chores to do...EVERY DAY. It isn't easy keeping our house clean. In fact, I usually settle for 'picked up'. Nonetheless, I hope it is teaching them something. They are part of this family, and doggone it, they'd better earn their keep!

I found Emma downstairs, filling the washer. When I came back several
minutes later, she was unloading it. Then she loaded it again, and so on...
It kept her occupied for a good 15 minutes or so!

What American Accent Do You Have?

Who says we have an accent here? I thought this was kinda fun!

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The West Your accent is the lowest common denominator of American speech. Unless you're a SoCal surfer, no one thinks you have an accent. And really, you may not even be from the West at all, you could easily be from Florida or one of those big Southern cities like Dallas or Atlanta.
The Midland
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The South
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Signs of Spring

I was loving the nice weather we had this week...until it started hailing on us today.

I realized that I love the sound of my kids laughing...OUTSIDE. When they are laughing in the house it means one of two things will happen: either something is going to get broken, or someone will end up crying. It always seems they are having a great time, but it quickly escalates out of hand and without fail, it doesn't end well. So with the nice weather this week, I sent them outside and I cracked the windows open. I enjoyed the sound of their laughter in the distance, all the while they were releasing some of the built up energy they have been storing for the past 4 months.

Nathan, Emma, and I went to Subway for lunch today, then popped over to Dollar Tree just for fun. Nathan dressed himself this morning in his "Get Your Head in the Game" outfit.....basketball shorts and a basketball tank top. Luckily, before we left I had tricked him into putting on a 'hootie' as he calls it. So I didn't look like an absolutely neglectful mom. :) It's a good thing I did, because as we were checking out, someone said, "Look, it's snowing." It was actually hail....which Nathan and Emma thought was pretty neat. But it was freezing! I want my spring back!

We went to the park on Wednesday. Emma LOVES the swing! She couldn't stop laughing!

Woo hoo! My tulips and daffodils are poking their noses through the ground! :)

Count 'em: 1...2...3 kids....It's more fun when you don't follow the directions! (They even do flips!) Good thing I don't have Mindy's doctor...I would have switched docs right then and there! :)

Shhh, don't tell anyone, but Casey rode his rollerblades to school....in case you haven't heard the story, Casey got in trouble for this last year for doing this. Because apparently, the school has now decided what modes of transportation you can and can't use to get TO and FROM school! (I realize this isn't Casey, but he was working on his country report when I was taking pictures. :( )

We went to a park and they had all these wood bears they carved out of the stumps of the dead trees. I guess they thought it was cheaper to pay someone to carve a bear than to remove the stump! Nathan liked them, anyway......he stopped to pose on every one and made me take his picture!

It's FFY

Are we the only ones that occasionally have FFY night? You know, Fend For Yourself? In other words- find whatever you want for dinner. These are usually our 'left-over' nights- but sometimes there isn't enough to go around, so I allow corn dogs and PBJ.

Well, the other night, Emma did just that. I guess she was tired of waiting for me to understand what she wanted and she fended for herself:

OK, so she didn't make the sloppy joes, but she did get her own bun and scooped the slop onto it. She came down stairs with sandwich in hand. At first I thought someone else had made it for her...but then I realized everyone else had been in the family room with me the whole time. And today, she poured her own cereal.

Now if she could just learn to do the dishes!

Viva Italia!

Today was Casey's report. Of course, Nathan woke up sick again. Never mind that he was running around at the park yesterday having a grand 'ol time after I decided not to go to the ribbon cutting. So here we were again...Nathan crying and laying on the couch and I am supposed to go watch Casey's report. I wasn't about to miss this, but there was no way I could ask a friend to watch a sick boy. So I checked Hailey out of school so she could babysit. Shhhh...don't tell anyone (all she missed was lunch, recess, and art, so I don't feel bad.)

It was kind of a mad dash to get there on time. Randy got home about 9:50 and the report started at 10:45. He still had to make pizza dough and change. I went to get Hailey and came home to cut the buffalo mozz, only to discover it was so soft, it was more like ricotta. So a quick trip to Wal-Mart for an American version of fresh mozzarella, and back home to slice it.

I made it there just in time. He did a great job! He started out with an Italian accent, which quickly turned Jamaican-ish. So he dropped it altogether. He did really well presenting his PowerPoint. I was a little worried last night as he was pretty much just reading the bullet- points. But today, his personality shone through and he was a huge success.

Randy talked about the people and the language and demonstrated how to toss pizza dough and how to make fresh pasta. We handed out the cheese samples and the Ferrero Rocher 'gold balls'.

After it was done, his teacher stood up and complimented him on several different things. She was impressed by his detailed outline (I congratulated Randy for that...) and use of attention grabbers, ie. his accent and mention of points of interest to various classmates (one girl loves fashion designing, and he mentioned how she would love Milan.) And he played some Italian music while talking about the Opera. She said it was one of the best presentations they have had. She gave him 105/100! Way to go, Casey!!!!!

In celebration, Randy took Casey to Fat Cats tonight for some bowling, bumper cars and arcade games.

Our other kids have already been informed they WILL be doing their reports on Italy! One down, five to go!

Did I Mention...?

Let me just take a moment to brag about that guy I raved about last night....

For years, whenever I go to Randy's work or meet someone he works with, they tell me how great he is. The compliment is often followed by a remark about how he will someday be their boss.

Today was the ground breaking for the Riverdale Road project at 11:00. I was going to go, but Nathan was not feeling well and was really clingy. So I opted to stay home with him instead of sending him to my friend's house.

The phone rang at 10:55. It was Randy telling be to turn the TV on because he had been interviewed by Fox 13. I don't know how to turn the TV on! At least not to watch TV. I called Mindy and my parents and asked them to record it and I continued to fiddle with the TV. I don't know what I finally did, but I got it to work. The kids really thought it was neat to see Dad on TV.

I thought he did a great job!

After I took Hannah to school, I stopped by an open house he was presenting at. He told me that after the ground breaking, he had been interviewed by Channel 5 and KSL radio. I had an errand to run in Riverdale and when I was done, I stopped by his office hoping to catch him there. He was still out at the open house, and his co-workers were putting a star on his office door. :) Once again, they ooohed and aaahed over him. He is so good at his job and never gives less than his best. I was so proud of him today!

P.S. Autographs are available for purchase. Please contact his agent (me) for pricing.

The Most Wonderful Husband

Can I just tell you how lucky I am? Right now, Randy is downstairs working with Casey on his country report. This isn't just any report. This is the Big Kahuna. A ONE HOUR oral presentation on Italy! Complete with a homemade map and flag, and a PowerPoint presentation. They have spent countless hours researching and revising. And I haven't done a thing. OK, I did help Casey sew his own flag. ...move over Betsy Ross! And Helped him set up the handy dandy opaque projector to make a giant boot-shaped poster. And today, Randy was in Salt Lake and picked up some Mozzarella di Bufula (Buffalo Mozz) The big day is Wednesday...I'll write about how it goes that night.

That is not the only thing that makes my husband so remarkable. People ask me all the time how I manage six kids. The answer is simple. Randy.

He is so patient and willing. He never complains about the state of the house or the lack of clean clothes. Instead, he just pitches in and helps me out. And when I need a break, he is more than willing to stay home so I can have some time out.

A couple weeks ago, he took the day off work so I could go snowboarding with Hailey. I got home, showered, and left for a night with my cooking club friends. He didn't say a word about the fact that I didn't return until 3 AM!

Lately, my Saturdays have consisted of baby showers, baptisms and shopping. So he has been left home to do chores with the kids and shuttle Hailey to soccer games.

He helps with the homework, and other school projects and still has the energy to play with the kids.

When I was trying to figure out how I could get to the gym on a regular basis, he offered to put the kids in bed three nights a week so I could go without hauling six kids along.

And last Saturday night, he did something he dislikes even more than fruit with chocolate: he went shopping with me. He even picked out some pretty cute Easter dresses for the girls.

And the list goes on. Can I just say how much I love and appreciate him?!

Thanks, Randy! I love you!

Potty Update

Haliey was my earliest- potty trained at 25 months. Emma is only 21 months. She can't figure out how to get on the toilet by herself. She can sort of pull her pants down. So if she keeps it up, it will actually be me that is trained, not her. Not until she can do it all be herself. She continued to guide me into the bathroom yesterday. And this morning, she woke up with a dirty diaper and was crying. I thought she just wanted breakfast. Nope. She led me to the bathroom so I could change her.

Extra, Extra, Read All About It!

**********NEWS FLASH***********

For the second time, Emma took me by the hand, into the bathroom and pointed to the toilet. I helped her undress and sat her on the toilet. She did her job and said, "All done!"

I am not holding my breath. In fact, I am not necessarily encouraging it. Remember this post? We have a two week vacation coming up. But still, it is exciting to think she is catching on to what big kids do.

Hannah was especially excited. Dad said when Emma is potty trained, we can get a puppy.

Off Duty

Today was one of those days that make me wish I could clock out...for just a little bit. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate, and am fully aware of the blessings I have. I am grateful that I have a three year old that runs me absolutely ragged. And a one-year old that throws tantrums at the touch of a button. And an almost twelve year old that decides 7:59 AM is a good time to pull out his homework to finish- the day it is due.

The day started off as usual. Nathan needed his breakfast right away.

"Momomom" This is not to be confused with Emma's, "Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!"

Nope. Nathan doesn't give me time to answer between his 'Moms" they slur into one long Momomom. Yup- it's enough to drive anyone crazy. He has found it quite effective, apparently, because since it's inception on Sunday, he has used it no less than 150 times.

He chose his cereal- a little of each. The pantry makes for some tough desicions when you are a kid that likes to eat. Nathan discovered quite some time ago that it is easier to mix them all together for a tasty meal: Granola, Cheerios, Cranberry Almond Crunch, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Fruit Loops and some Coco Puffs. To go along with this, there is a magical recipe of spoons. He gets mad every time choose the wrong spoon. As was the case this morning.

I had Primary stuff to do today and a run to the store for diapers, and some TheraFlu for a friend. Why do I torture myself, you ask? Because it's fun.

Upon parking my vehicle, Nathan proceeded to show his German blood. He was not about to unbuckle himself and come into the store with me. Why not? There is candy in there. He knows we always get some. A three year-old's brain doesn't work like that, I have learned.

I really needed diapers, (I have been scrounging diaper bags and using Pull-ups that were too big, since Sunday....) or else I would have just gotten back in the car and headed home. I tried bribery but was unsuccessful, so I resorted to muscle. I wrestled him out of the car and carried Emma and Nathan into Wal-Mart kicking and screaming. Loads of enjoyment. I headed straight to the baby aisle. How is it possible that the store had NO diapers in the package I needed? It wasn't a difficult item. Pampers Cruisers: size 3. I looked for regular Pampers. Nope. Huggies? Uh uh. Huggies Supreme. Nada. Not unless I wanted to by a Super Mega Jumbo Pack. I never buy these. For two reasons: I like to use coupons when I buy diapers and it is cheaper to buy the smallest pack. Also, Murphy's law states that when I buy a Ginormous, Huge, Super Pack, my kid will outgrow that size diaper within a week of making the hefty purchase. So I grabbed the TheraFlu and left the store with no diapers.

There was a highlight to my day: I got my hair cut. Of course, nobody but me noticed.

I got home and got the kids ready for tumbling. This gets better every week. I decided to forgo my work-out today on account of the fact that I just had me hair done. OK, not really. I missed the class (because of my haircut) and wanted to watch the kids tumble. Hailey can land her 'fulls' every time now. WooHoo! She is now learning to tumble into them. We might go to Summer Games if she can get her pass: whip, whip, 4 back handsprings, and a full! She can do whip, whip- she just needs to put it all together. Nathan's tumbling ends 15 minutes before Hailey's. He had to go potty and ran ahead of me. When I reached the top of the stairs, he crawled out from under a bench where he had been 'spying'. He ran down the hall and hid behind things and every once in a while would peek out. We made it to the bathroom where he managed to get most of it aimed into the toilet. As we were cleaning up, one person left the stall next to him and someone else entered it. He walked out announcing that he needed to 'spy' and proceeded to crouch down. I quickly explained that we can't spy in the bathroom, and heard a few chuckles.

It was time to go home now. But not before stopping to color a picture, climb the climbing wall, play a game of air-hockey, and watch a little bit of "Never Ending Story" in the Jr. Lounge. I finally convinced everyone else it was time to go and retrieved Emma form the nursery.

Nathan was not ready to leave. Don't ask me what else he needed to do, because I don't speak Whinese (thanks, Nat!) I passed Emma off to Hailey and threw Nathan over my shoulder like a sack full of sugar...only he wasn't being very sweet, in fact, he was hitting me. We were headed to the car this time- kicking and screaming.

We reached the car, by now, Emma was giving Hailey a hard time, too. Hannah opened the door and got in., and Tyler followed. I stood there, still wrestling, while trying to convince Nathan to get in the car and buckle up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tyler slap Hannah. She started to cry, I reprimanded Tyler and Nathan, and put Emma in her seat and shut the door before someone could escape. Now I had four crying kids. And bedtime was still to come. I drove home, somehow able to tune it all out. Nathan was yelling at me the whole way home that he hates me now and Tyler's cries got louder by the second.

And I wonder why I have a headache right now.

I'm clocking out.

Past Sunday

Yesterday, Hailey asked me if it was fast Sunday.

I told her it was, and then Nathan asked, "Is it Sunday?"

I said, "Yes, you'd better go get dressed for church."

He replied, "Hailey just said it was past Sunday."

I Have No Life

Nathan gives new meaning to the phrase.

Hailey was playing a game with Nathan and Hannah. Nathan was pretending to be asleep in our window seat.

Hailey: "Come on , Nathan, it's time to wake up."
Nathan: "I don't want to wake up."
Hailey: "OK, you are going to stay there your whole life."
Nathan: "I don't have a life."