School Lunch

Tyler from the 1st Grade took these great shots of us eating lunch at Preslie's school today. Popcorn chicken, tater tots, pasta salad and peaches with chocolate milk to drink and a peanut butter bar for dessert. Delicious and nutritious for only $5.75!

H2O Insanity

Mack goes crazy to drink water out of a cup!

he works hard for the money

Dax has been putting in some crazy hours at work this past week. He has been up at 5:30 many mornings to count antelope from an airplane and he's pulled a couple of all-nighters to find the nocturnal creatures of the forest. This picture was taken at 5 am after a full night of trapping black-footed ferrets. He may be a little out of it, but still has a smile!

I'm still learning

Here is a salute to lessons learned (or re-learned) this week:

I learned that if I want someone to stop ripping, poking, bending, or writing on my stuff, I need to make the room that stuff is in off-limits.

I learned that I hate feeling pressured - to make a decision, to accomplish a task- especially if there isn't adequate time.

I learned that this was not a good week to volunteer our family to clean the church.

I learned that kids trash or outgrow clothes way too quickly to buy them expensive stuff.

I learned that husbands have their limits. Leaving them home with a baby that cries for an hour is one of those limits.

I learned that when my mommy radar goes off, telling me to go home and check on my baby, I need to listen.

I learned that I love (and miss) the conveniences of a city.

I learned that I need to learn to shop online better.

I learned I can live anywhere, if I have friends.

I learned that everyone needs a meal or two (or three) taken to them after they have a baby, even if the husband is perfectly able to cook. It isn't just about the meal.

I learned that it is going to get more and more complicated to move.

I learned that Trix cereal is freaking disgusting. Bleh.

I learned that I desperately need my in-laws to bring my stroller next time they come. This baby is HEAVY.

I've learned that I need to make more time to be with and talk to my husband, one-on-one.

I've learned that it is very tricky to be with or talk to anyone (especially another adult) one-on-one when you have a crazy baby attached to your hip from 8am to 10pm.

I've learned that I am much happier when I listen to fun music regularly.

I've learned that I am the luckiest gal around to have 3 beautiful, healthy children and a loyal, funny, loving, hard-working, always-has-my-back husband.

The ABC's of Kindergarten

A. Alphabet

B. Boy Trapped

C. Computer Lab

D. Desk at the Blue Table

E. Escaping from boys at recess

F. Friends

G. Garfield Bag Books

H. Halloween costume

I. Ice Cream party

J. Journal writings

K. Kindergarten Rocks

L. Library

M. Mastering the monkey bars

N. No front teeth

O. Oregon welcomes Flat Stanley

P. Pizza Hut coupons

Q. Quarters, dimes, nickels, & pennies

R. Rainbow Rug

S. Show & Tell every Friday

T. Ties her own shoes

U. Usual bedtime 9pm

V. Valentines party

W. Word Wall

X. Xcels at reading and writing


Y. Yellow school bus #63

Z. Zion's Bank field trip

recent mack pics

1. will not put his head back in the car
2. is starting to give little hugs- lays his head on your shoulder: love it.
3. never one without the other
4. loves to pull hair-doesn't work as well on Dax's buzz haircut
5. Mack's blogging position
6. getting to be a sturdy sitter
7. always grabs feet while lying down
8. careful with those little teeth, buddy
9. loves eating, but don't expect him to sit in his highchair very long for nothing...must be on Mom's hip at all times.

Gooney Monster: The Next Generation

When Lance was here Saturday, he walked into the kitchen to get a drink and we heard him say, "Holy Cow!" Dax looked at me and said, "He saw the kids' room." Yeah...it isn't the cleanest. Actually, it is ALWAYS a total disaster. I work on it with them at least once a week and a day later it is back to looking like this...

I've organized it and re-organized it dozens of times. I've tried to make it easy for them to put things away. I also go through things and throw away and DI stuff every few months. I have explained to them numerous times how to keep their room clean. I don't know what else to do.

So after Lance mentioned how crazy their room is, he said, "Looks like Gooney Monster needs to come visit." I had totally forgotten about Gooney. It was a big green cloth sack with eyes and a huge drawsting mouth that my mom made when we were little kids. Gooney came and ate all the toys that we would not keep picked up. I think he would keep them for a week. I can't remember. But bless my mama for being so creative. And for dealing with the messes of EIGHT children.

I told the kids about Gooney and that they had until bed tonight to pick up any toys they wanted to save from Gooney's grasp. I think they thought it was just a big fun game because they were fine to get all their toys picked up for them, even if they were taken away. This is what our Gooney made off with tonight after the kids fell asleep.

Gooney will visit again in one week. I don't know if this tactic will work. Eventually, they might start to get it when they have no toys left. I am not sure, though, because Preslie said earlier today, "If Gooney eats all of our toys, we'll just get more for Christmas!" Um, no.

I'm still thinking about the specifics for our Gooney, like what it will take to get their toys back, or consequences for their continued tornado-like play habits. I realize they are very imaginative kids and get very into their playing, and I appreciate that. And we also don't have cable so their days consist of making more messes than kids that sit in front of the TV. But they've got to know that this is a ridiculous way to live.

The sad thing is, I wouldn't be surprised if I have to clear another path to their beds to tuck them in tomorrow night... More on this subject later...

911 is for emergencies only.

Last week, Preslie came running in to me saying, "Hunter is calling 911!" After I broke speed records to intercept the call before he dialed, I asked him why he was calling 911. He said he saw the landlord outside pushing a stroller and he knew the landlord didn't have a baby. We told him the stroller he saw was actually a wheelbarrow and that we only call 911 if there is a real emergency. "It WAS an emergency! He was stealing a baby!"

quick visit

Visitors are rare around here. I don't get it, either, because we live so close to everything that is hip or happening *wink*. Thank goodness my brother Lance drives truck for the oil field out here so he stopped by for a bit on his way home. Always great to see family!

Lance is the sibling just older than me. I am proud of him. He has been sober for 819 days. He has been smoke-free since January. Everyone has daily challenges, but I think addiction is a particularly difficult battle to fight. I saw this quote and instantly thought of him.

"Every day you make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you and ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb." -Sir Winston Churchhill

save room for dessert.

If I'd invited anyone over to have Macaroni & Cheese with us for dinner tonight, they would have politely declined. But, if they'd have seen what was in my fridge for dessert, it would have been another story. Hunter and I made our first fresh strawberry pie today. Love cooking with kids. If it weren't for them, you never get any great gems like: "Mom, I made a smiley face out of the rotten strawberry."

Carnivore

6 baby teeth gone. 2 permanent teeth, and counting.

1 funny little smile.

mama lessons

A wise friend of mine told me of a time when her nine-year-old son was two and she caught him in the fridge destroying what was once a beautiful Thanksgiving pie. Imagine the horror as she sees the pie smeared all over the fridge, the floor, and her son's face and clothes. "The damage was done," she told me, "and so I could either get mad, or go get my camera." She now has a priceless snapshot of her once two-year-old in action.

I have thought of that a few times this week as my 4-year-old has been trying to refine me into a strong, patient mother. Time after time, he has been into the fridge eating the shredded romano cheese. I should have ran to get my camera when I walked in to find several dollars worth of cheese piles on the kitchen floor. I should have kept my cool a little better when I found little pieces cut out of a scrapbook page I was working on. I did finally remember to get my camera when my son wanted to go outside and play with his sister but refused to put his own socks on, ordering everyone else to do it for him. The camera thing really works. It takes the edge off the frustration. He finally did decide to get some socks out of his drawer so he could go out.

Most parents go through the "terrible twos" with their kids. Is there such a thing as "the frustrating fours?" I think I'd trade it for the terrible twos right now! Every age has its stages, I guess, and at least he is just as cute and sweet as he is frustrating!

Camera Tricks

I came across the instruction manual for our camera (Canon Power Shot S2IS) and started browsing through it. We've had our camera for almost 3 years now and I never knew it could do this:

Or this:

Wow. I think I'm going to have fun playing with this.

General Conference

This past weekend we enjoyed watching General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Since we don't have cable, we watched it on the internet in our bedroom. Love technology! The big kids made it through most of it, thanks to some tasty snacks and some great conference activities emailed to me.

I liked hearing our new prophet and his counselors speak. I also must mention Elder Ballard for his shout out to young mothers. Wa-hoo!

getting into the groove

I am just starting to get back into scrapbooking since the baby. I used some new goodies from the warehouse sale. A simple page, but it makes me happy. And that is what hobbies are about.

Yard Sale

What is with my son packing up some of his toys (and his sister's) in a box and going outside to have a yard sale? I am pretty sure the movie Toy Story 2 had a big influence on his behavior. Firstly, I had to weed out some of the toys that weren't his to sell, and then some of his cool toys that he should not sell. I don't know why I bothered because I go out to the sidewalk with him and he sets the box down and 2 seconds later asks, "Doesn't anyone know that there is a yard sale here?" So I, being the mom that doesn't want my child to fail, offer to make some cookies that he could sell at the bus stop as the kids get off. He agrees and after they're made, we go rushing out there just as the bus pulls up. He sold 5 cookies and was happy with the money he made. (He and my daughter have been single-handedly keeping the vending machines at the grocery store in business.) The next day, a girl from the bus comes to our door to buy more cookies, and lucky for her (and my waistline) I hadn't eaten them all. Yet. So Hunter made another dollar without even having to sport his snowboots in public again.

half birthday

Our jabbery, smiley, slobbery little guy is 6 months old! We are getting very fond of this boy. He never wants to be lying down. Even in his infant carseat that makes him lay back, his head rarely touches the back of the seat. He can sit up a bit, eat baby food, grab at anything that comes within reach, roll from back to front, put his hands together in a big fist and then do an indian sound with his mouth. I love how he kicks his legs and arms when he is excited. I love his deep belly laugh. When I hold him, he likes me to make him tip backward and say wee, then bring him back upright. This is a fun stage when a baby's personality really comes out more everyday. I absolutely love it.

April Fools

Here is the extent of my April Fooling this year. Pretty lame. I am not the practical joker. I wish I would think of cool tricks (but not mean ones) to play on people, but nothing ever comes to me. I have only done one cool April Fools joke, ever. A few years ago, I found out Dax was going to be taking a test on April Fools' Day. I sneakily found out which class it was and emailed his professor beforehand to set up the joke.

Dax got to class and the test begun. 15 minutes into the test his

professor says, "Alright Dax, bring me your test. I know you were cheating."

Dax: "What?"
Prof: "I saw you cheating. You need to bring my your test."
Dax: "I didn't cheat!"
Prof: "I know, I know. Your wife put me up to it. April Fools!"

Warehouse Sale

I missed the last Making Memories warehouse sale because it was the week before Mack was due to be born. I wasn't so sure I wanted to try and do this one either, because my baby has to come everywhere his food source is and this is just not the kind of environment a baby belongs in. I debated on what to do and thought a lot about bagging it altogether, but part of me would not let the fact that I have a nursing baby stop me from having fun. So Dax and the big kids ended up coming to Salt Lake with Mack and me for the weekend and I dragged my sweet husband to Centerville to be with Mack while I shopped. For those scrapbookers who don't know about the bi-annual warehouse sale, it is at the Making Memories warehouse in Centerville and it is going on until Friday. Everything there is 50% or more off retail price. It is a ton of fun and a great way to stock up on supplies for the year (or decade). The door opens at 10am and this is my friend saving me a place in line out front when I got there at 9:55. I have to say that this was one of the more mellow sales I've gone to as there were not many boxes being jabbed into me. Don't get the wrong idea, everyone who attends is always very nice and polite, but the way you shop at the first morning of the sale is you and your friends each take an aisle and you frantically grab 2 of everything (or however many people are in your party), throw it in your box and then sort through it all later. Then you get in line for about an hour or more to pay for it all. I know it sounds crazy and that is because it is. If you go in the afternoon, it is almost dead and if you hate crowds and aren't into lots of ladies grabbing over your shoulder for stuff, then the afternoon is the way to go.

Then after the sale, we headed to Bajio Grill to regain our strength. It was fun having my husband and baby be apart of our girl bonding time; I am happy Dax was there. A big thanks to him for being such a great sport. We made it safely back home that

night and I quickly got the kids to bed so I could play with my new toys. I put the baby to bed on the floor in the front room since my scrapbook room is also the baby's room. Here is me with my sacks of goodies...
















And here is my happy pile of loot...