When I Grow Up

The other day as I was making lunch, Hannah told me that when she grew up, she only wanted to be a mom. I was touched by her comment and remembered last year when Hailey told me the same thing. I was complimenting Hailey on her grades and I told her if she kept it up, she'd be able to go to any college she wanted. And that she could be whatever she wanted to be. I remembered a comment she made about really liking 'doctor stuff'. I told her she could be a doctor or nurse. She replied that she only wanted to be a mom and nothing else. She told me she knew it would be lots of hard work, but that is all she wants to be. I have never been more proud!

So here we are, Hannah and I, talking about being a mom- when Nathan chimes in, "When I grow up, I want to be a mom and a monkey."

I explained, "Nathan, you can't be a mom- only girls are moms. You can be a dad."

He understood, "OK, when I grow up, I want to be a monkey dad!"

Thanksgiving Vacation

It has been ten whole days since I last posted...I am having withdrawals. :) Seriously, though- we left town for Thanksgiving. Am I the only one that needs a week before and a week after a vacation to get things in order? We had a good time in St. George. We got there Wednesday and my in-laws weren't there yet, so we decorated the house....not with Christmas decorations.

You see, in anticipation of the arrival of 25 extra people in the house, my MIL and FIL e-mailed us the rules of the house:

HOUSE RULES
1. Don’t climb up the garage stairs.
2. Don’t open any cupboards.
3. Put toys back after done playing with them
4. Don’t open the house refrigerator.
5. Don’t run and jump in the house
6. Don’t mess with stuff on the shelves
7. Hang towels up in garage after shower or bath
8. Don’t leave dirty clothes on the house floor
9. Don’t get into the tools or shelves in the garage
10. Don’t run up and down the out side rocks on the hills
11. Put water bottles back in the garage fridge
12. Leave the buttons and remotes for the t.v.s alone
13. Always ask permission before doing anything
14. Don’t mess with the fireplace
15. THE PIANO ROOM IS OFF LIMITS, unless you ask
16. Don’t go into antibody's bedroom but your own.
17. Don’t go into grandma greats area unless you ask her
18. NO cryin' NO fussin' NO NOTHIN'
19. Do play with the toys in the garage
20. Do play football at the park
21. Do play foosball
22. Do built a fort
23. Do go for a hike.
24. Do watch movies
25. Do watch football
26. Do eat all the turkey you can
27. Do eat all the goodies you can
28. Do have a lot of fun, and smother grandma with kisses

So my quick-witted, smart-alec BIL retorted with this:

I just have a few very important questions about the rules that I hope you can clear up for me before we head down there!

Questions 1-4 (kitchen facilities)
Rule #2 and #4 seem to imply that we are not to use the kitchen. Does this mean we are absolved of any responsibilities pertaining to food preparation and/ or clean-up? Also, will there be enough room in the garage fridge for milk and bottles? And again because of the inference of Rules #2 and #4 will there be a spigot and/or hose available outside for us to refill our family water bottles? Will there be a secondary microwave outside of the kitchen area for use?

Questions 5&6 (TV)
Rule # 12 states we cannot use the TV remotes or buttons. Will there be a designated channel changer person on hand to accomplish this since we are free to watch the television? Will there be a remote-less/ button-less television provided in the garage for the kids?

Questions 7-10 (outside play)
Rule #10 refers to rocks and hills. Will these specific sites be designated and clearly marked? I recommend the use of electric fences and/or collars to barricade the area. Rule #20 states we must play football at the park. I know since time began, the ”Jefferies Turkey Bowl” has been a family tradition…will we need bring our own equipment or will that be provided? Also, will Grandma and Aunt Juanita be cheering in their outfits this year? If so, I’ll be sure and score some touchdowns…nothing like making the gals do some push-ups! Will we be able to bring our designated family water bottles to the park or are those to remain on the family premises…rule #11? Go “Jefferies Turkey Bowl 2007!!”

Questions 11-14(garage)
Will the tools be placed out of reach of the children…rule#9? Rule #1, Will the shelves and stairs in the garage be blocked? (Refer to questions 6-9 for effective barricading ideas.) Since our suitcases will be in the garage, will we be required to change there as well? Does the following: coloring books, teddy bears, puzzles or games… qualify as toys and are they allowed inside the house? Will there be a list available of approved in-house items?

Question 15-17(grandma’s area)
About rule# 17-Will their be a pager, cowbell, dinger, secret knock, COM link, or other communication device provided to contact grandma before accessing her area? Will there be appropriate signage describing the boundary and extent of her area? As a suggestion, a GPS unit on grandma would be very helpful so that we know where she is at all times.

Question 18 (piano room)
Rule # 15…I’m confused…so we can access the piano room whenever we want?

Questions 19&20
Rule # 13 states we must ask permission before doing anything. Does this apply to everyday mundane tasks like stool passing, urination, breathing, and the like. Is there an appeals process in place if our request is denied?

Thanks for your time in answering these questions. I want to make sure our family does our part in making this the best thanksgiving and Jefferies Turkey Bowl ever!

Needless to say, we had to capitalize on this. So when my in-laws arrived, the house was plastered with signs- everything from "NO TRESPASSING. VIOLATORS WILL BE SHOT. SURVIVORS WILL BE SHOT AGAIN." (attached to string- roping off the piano room.) to
"REFILL WATER BOTTLES HERE" (pointing to the hose outside) to "OFF LIMITS" (on the cupboards) to "DID YOU ASK? PLEASE INDICATE YOUR INTENT." (on the toilet). A "DO NOT CROSS" line was placed in the garage to restrict children with toys from straying out of the play-zone. It was all in good fun, and we all got a good laugh from it. The kids were actually pretty good about following the rules. Especially considering the volume and ages of the kids: 12,11,9,8,7,7,5,5,5,5,4,4,4,3,2,1,1....that's 17 kids under 12. 14 of them under 8...no wonder my in-laws were nervous!


Wednesday night, we had a birthday party for my nephew and then played some Guitar Hero and American Idol on a borrowed Playstation. Good times. :)

Thursday, the food was great and so was the company. My SIL got some thoughts together from each of us about my husband's grandma and read them as a tribute to her. It was really touching. She is the only grandma I have ever really known. I never really knew either of my own grandmas. Randy arranged a game of dogdeball- using flour-filled pantyhose. Other than the crying kids, it was great fun!

Thursday at midnight, my SIL, Traci and I hit the outlets for some Black Friday shopping (sorry, Jen) We had a great time- returning at 4 AM to find we were locked out of the house! We felt like teenagers trying to get into the house. Finally, my BIL heard us and opened the door. We stayed up a little longer thinking it was best at this point (5:00 AM) to not even go to sleep. But finally, we gave up and fell asleep around 6 or so. 7:30 came all too soon. It was time to get up and go to the temple. My BIL took out his endowments. Let me say- I do not recommend doing a session on 1 1/2 hours of sleep! It was nice to be there as a family. We hadn't done that in many years. Come to find out later- it was Hailey, the good daughter that she is, that locked the front door.

Saturday was the big kickball game and picnic at the park. Everyone played- except one SIL who was home with a sick kids. Did I mention that a little stomach bug went around? Oh , yes. Luckily only three kids got sick there. Four others got sick after they got home. So, back to kickball....it was a riot! Randy and his sister got quite competitive. And Randy is just plain good. He can peg a moving target like you wouldn't believe...and HARD. He just about took her out a few times! Even the kids had a good time. The rule is- you can't get a child out under the age of 8. The older kids were really cute. They would run after them, but intentionally not tag them. So it was fun to watch the little ones kick the ball and run with all their might. And the look on their face when they made it safely to base, was priceless.

That afternoon, my MIL and I did a little shopping at a boutique while Randy and his dad took the kids to a lake.

Sunday morning, we packed up and headed for home. The drive was nice. There was a lot of traffic, but it has been worse. Luckily the weather was good. For some strange reason, though, I had the hardest time staying awake...:)

So here I am...Wednesday night, just getting back to my routine- if you can call it that.

I Can't Talk About It

I forgot to post one of the funny things Nathan said this week...

We were sitting at the table enjoying our bowls of 'eatmule' (oatmeal) when he said, "I had a big dream last night."

"What was it about?" I inquired.

"I can't talk about it." He said, matter-of-factly.

"Oh? Why not?" I asked.

"My lips are gone."

I'm Not Old Enough

Tonight was our stake's 'Priesthood Preview'. I would not have known what this was- or much less known this occurred if it weren't for the fact that CASEY WAS INVITED! I can't believe were are almost there. I remember back when he was born thinking, "When I'm 32, I'll have a deacon!" But I feel like I have been stuck in a time warp. Surley, not that many years have past. I don't feel old enough. It seems like just yesterday I was thinking this same thing about his baptism. And now, in just four short months, he will receive the priesthood. I worry that he will be a squirrly little deacon squirming on the front pew. But as he sat, tonight, on the front row with all his fellow pre-deacon friends, my fears were calmed. I have known most of these boys since kindergarten and every one of them displayed a sense of reverence for the things being said. Sitting on the stand were current deacons on one side, and return missionaries on the other. Every deacon wore a white shirt and tie and every RM wore a suit. The deacons sang "I Hope they Call Me on a Mission" and "Armies of Helaman" their voices not yet changed. Then the RM's stood and sang, "Called to Serve". Wow. I was in awe. How much they grow up in those few short years. From a little shaggy-haired boy to a clean-cut man. The contrast was amazing. I am not ready for the coming years. If the next 11 years go half as fast as the past 11 it will be too soon. I am terrified of the challenges that lie ahead and the temptations he'll face. But as the Stake President made them promise to strive toward a mission, I knew that he too, will someday stand and sing, "Called to Serve".

Aaaaahhhhhh......

That's my sigh of relief. I am so glad yesterday is over. Yesterday was the school's Jr. Engineering day. I somehow signed up to be in charge of it. The USU Engineering Department puts on these awesome fairs at schools around Utah. I had to coordinate with the teachers who would be teaching the modules and make sure they had lesson plans and everything they needed. I also had to advertise, get volunteers and collect some supplies. It was pretty time consuming the past couple of weeks. And those two weeks happened to be Randy's busiest as well. Between I-15, Riverdale Road and UDOT's engineering conference he has been swamped. Yesterday I spent the entire day at the school, and thankfully, my friend took care of my three little ones so I didn't have to schlep them along all day.

All in all, the day was a success. The students loved it. They spent the entire school day in rotations, learning and experimenting with different hands-on science experiments. Some if their favorites included: making rockets, a Van deGraaf generator, playing with bubbles, learning about colors and light, building retaining walls, propelling cars with balloons after learning about the laws of physics, and playing with robots.

One of the stations about hearing, had some voice pick-up head phones. This allowed the students to hear how they sound to others. Hailey was shocked to hear herself. She finally realized that she can't say her 'r's. I have tried for years to work with her. Speech therapists have given me packets and ideas to help her, but she didn't even realize that she didn't sound right. She told me yesterday that to herself, she sounds just like anyone else. But that hearing herself in the headphones, she could tell it wasn't right. Now that she knows what she sounds like, maybe we can make some head-way.

Randy got back just in time to eat before we all headed back over for the Reflections awards. All the kids did a great job. I was especially proud of my own. Hannah and Casey got certificates and a gold dollar for participating. Tyler and Hailey won. They got certificates and 10 gold dollars.

Tyler's cheetah sculpture....

Casey's pencil sketch...

After the reflections awards was the Jr. Engineering Family Fair. The kids could bring their families back and explore any of the exhibits. (During the day they could only see the ones in their grade rotation.) That didn't go as well as the daytime. not that there were any problems, it was just different. The open house style didn't allow the instruction and teaching before the experiments. A lot of them lost the effect. Hailey commented that it wasn't as much fun. The kids still had a good time, but we were ready to leave when it was over. We were rounding everyone up, and Randy had most of the kids in the car, when Nathan decided he didn't want to leave. He kept running from me. He turn a corner and in seconds I heard crying. He and Tyler soon came back and then I saw the blood. One look and I knew this was trip to the Insta Care.

There goes our record. We hadn't had stitches all year.... We washed him off in the bathroom and loaded up in the car. Randy dropped us off at the Insta Care and I called Cyndi for a ride home. Luckily, they were able to get us right back in a room. The doctor wanted to try DermaBond. I was skeptical, but agreed to try it. Unfortunately, it wouldn't hold. The wound wasn't a clean cut (Nathan's never are.) and it was very deep. There was tissue kind of bulging out of it. So he decided to stitch it after all. Nathan was really brave. He only cried a little when they gave him the shot to numb it. Although, I was upset that he didn't use a topical numbing solution before the Lidocaine needle. But I talked to Nathan the whole time and he was distracted enough not to know that they were passing a needle thought his head! It's a good thing. I think if he realized what they were doing, there is no way I could have held him down. He is just too strong. The doctor commented Nathan was his best patient all day. He really was good. After four sets of stitches, I guess he has learned the drill.

Did I mention, I'm glad yesterday is over?

Kids Say the Darnedest Things!

Nathan has been on a roll lately! Here some things he has said in the past few days....

He found a phone and said, "Mom, I have to call someone, seriously."
(I guess I use that word a little too much, seriously.)

I finally cleaned out the microwave. As he opened it to make his oatmeal one morning, he proclaimed, "Wow! It's absolutely clean!"
(You know it's bad when the toddler notices...or when the toddler is making oatmeal, for that matter!)

We returned home from an evening activity and all the lights in the house were off. But somebody forgot to turn off the TV. The room was glowing blue and as he walked in, he said, "Oh, It's so beautiful in here!"
(It's those aliens again...)

I was helping him clean his room and he jumped up, threw his hands in the air and ran out of the room screaming,"Run from your lice!"
(I didn't realize my problem was that bad!)

He says such funny things that sometimes I forget that Nathan is only three. And then he throws a tantrum, and I am brought back to reality...

Hannah walked up to me after church on Sunday and asked, "Mom, are you Dad's life, or his wife?" I answered, "I'm his wife. Well, actually, I am his life!"
(It's all the same...)

Hailey was talking up a storm at lunch one day and a girl said to her, "Your name should be 'Shut Up'!" Hailey made a quick comeback, "You finally learned my name!"
(I'm so proud of her!)

Aliens

Last week Hailey took a bath and used my shampoo and conditioner (She took more than one bath, this was just one of the times she took a bath..) When she was done, there were remnants of the conditioner in the bat hub. Nathan wondered what the gooey blue stuff was and Hailey told him it was alien goop. He got a little scared, so she continued to string him along. Next, she told him that the sound he heard in the hallway was the aliens- but it was really just the kitten playing with a tape measure. I don't know everything else she told him, but by the time I arrived on the scene, the damage was done. He was convinced that there were aliens invading our house! Anything blue he saw, he thought was left by the aliens. Oreo had some blue on one of his paws from a marker. Surely the aliens did that! And even though he tried to convince himself that his tongue was blue from the sucker he ate, I think he secretly was worried he, too was turning into an alien. She kept stringing him along by telling him other noises were the aliens. He got all freaked out and didn't want to go to bed. I told him I'd lay by him a while. I told him a story of "The Six Bears".

Just a side note- He loves to hear these stories I make up about Big Brother Bear, Big Sister Bear, Middle Brother Bear, Middle Sister Bear, Little Brother Bear and Little Sister Bear. I tell him all about their day which remarkably resembles his day. Every once in a while he'll ask, "Just like me?" But I don't think he has really realized that it IS him and his brothers and sisters.

So Anyway, while I was telling him the story, I was noticing he sounded a little congested, so when I was finished, I leaned over to listen to his chest. After a moment, I said "Nathan! I hear aliens inside you." He got this panicked look on his face and I realized I shouldn't have said that. So I told him I was kidding, and that it was his heart. He was fascinated. So I let him listen to my heart. Then he wanted to listen to the bed's heart, and the blanket's heart and his pillow's heart. I explained that only people and animals that are alive have hearts. So then he had to listen to my leg! When he couldn't hear my heart beat he said, "It left! Are you dead?"