My life with the boys

Design-problems

2011-06-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

And yes, I know my blog is horrifying. Not that I don't like the girl power background, I just never updated the rest of my design so its just not flowing at all. Maybe tomorrow I can fix that, but I just felt like I should tell you all that I know my blog is, at present, borderline visually offensive.

The Pressure... and a tube top

2011-06-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

Before I decided to start blogging again I had all sorts of (I thought) good ideas of what I could blog about, but now, nothing. Maybe its the pressure of feeling like I need to be profound or funny or clever, or maybe its writers block. Whatever it is, its annoying.

So again I sit here, today with 6 loads of laundry to fold, but with a clean kitchen this time, and here I am trying to think of something to blog about that isn't "I'm always behind."

I just got a fabulous dress from Ross last week, but I have to tack down some elastic from the smocking and take it in a little so it will fit, and that's next on my list after I finish this and fold my laundry. I hope I get that far. One question, in case anyone besides me reads this: I found a super cute tube top the other day. I have no intentions of ever wearing a tube top by itself, for several reasons which you'd all appreciate me for. But, I am seriously toying with the idea of wearing it over a t-shirt. I tried it on over a white half sleeve tee and I thought it was super cute. It is white and grey striped so I could wear it with white or grey, or maybe even another color, if I was feeling crazy, and I imagine it looking cute with a t-shirt, half-sleeve, or long sleeve shirt. My questions is this: is it a total fashion no-no to wear a tube top over a shirt? It is a billowy woven cotton, and of course I would wear it over a fitted knit shirt... I don't really follow fashion trends, and I don't know or normally care about these sorts of rules, but before I break down and wear it, I thought I would see what you fashionista's have to say. But if I keep thinking about it, I might just break down and buy it anyway.

Begin Again, Again

2011-06-06T14:38:00.000-07:00

I want to start blogging again. Its 2:40pm already and I still haven't taken a shower (I probably shouldn't admit that I am still in my pj's, too). Plus there are 3 loads of laundry to fold and lunch dishes in the sink, so I have no time to type anything funny or meaningful. So let me just say this: I love corduroy. If I could have only 1 fabric for all my projects, that would be it. Curtains, couches, pants, skirts, jackets, throw pillows, bedspreads, tablecloths or runners, the possibilities are endless, really...

I know, what a profound thought to re-begin blogging.

The Last Decade Countdown

2010-09-15T11:07:00.001-07:00

Ten years ago, almost to the minute (if my memory's correct), I did the best thing of my life. I married Sam for time and all eternity in the house of the Lord. Here's my countdown of the last ten years:

10 - Years

9 - jobs

8 - years of schooling

7 - rain jackets

6 - bikes

5 - homes

4 - boys

3 - schools

2 - Subaru's (plus 2 other cars, I had a hard time with the 2's) and

1 - amazing spouse later,

I wouldn't change a thing.

I love you Sam and I can't wait for all the decades (and happily ever after that) to come!

The Chewy Saga

2010-06-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago Henry went to a friend's house for preschool. They have pet chickens and Henry fell in love. He begged for chickens. I am not ready for this whole pet thing to start, but I am really not ready to even consider chickens. So I told him if he could take care of all his responsibilities for 2 weeks (his room cleaned, toys picked up, and chores done daily) then he could get a fish. If he takes good care of the fish we could go from there, fully expecting him to not be able to (is that terrible? We are talking about giving Henry a living thing here, are we not?), but willing to follow through if he did.

A few days later a fly was caught between our window and screen and Henry decided that that was his cage and that he was our pet fly. He named him Chewy. Apparently Chewy likes to eat sprinkles; that is according to Henry and my niece who also recently (in a freaky coincidence) had her own pet fly named Anna. So I now have sprinkles in my window sills for whenever Chewy gets hungry.

Chewy has been lost a few times. The first time Chewy got lost Henry was so upset he was moaning Chewy's name and crying, calling for Chewy out the window. You'd have thought Chewy was a dog. About a half hour later Chewy "came back" and Henry was chasing him around the living room, beside himself with giddiness at the return of his beloved pet. Chewy has been lost several times since then. But Chewy always returns. A few times Chewy has brought along family members. He has brought over his dad, his son, his mom, and several friends. Once Henry brought up Chewy, caught between his thumb and forefinger and showed me that Chewy had lost a wing and 2 legs. I was wondering if Henry would start to suspect something when Chewy later returned with all his legs and wings. But Henry said something about there being lots of Chewy's, so that answers that. Here's the kicker for me though, that night in his bedtime prayers Henry asked Heavenly Father to bless Chewy to feel better. That's a new one in our house.

Chewy's popularity waxes and wanes, but Chewy seems impervious to this. He keeps returning; prancing around the living room waiting for Henry or Miles to chase him around, gloating at Sam and I that we have to be much more sneaky about our pest control methods. Meanwhile, the fishbowl complete with blue rocks and a tiki man statue still sits empty, but Henry is happy...

The just got home from vacation blues...

2010-06-02T11:04:00.001-07:00

It seems its almost more work to recover from a vacation than to get ready for it. So we just had a great weekend away. Hot dogs, watermelon, peanut butter s'mores, crownies (cookie brownie combo), a ton of chips, BB guns, the beach, and lots of A-team episodes. We had fun. Yesterday I woke up ready to regain control of my house. Then about an hour later got back in bed and stayed there most of the morning. I think my weekend caught up with me. Little sleep and lots of junk food apparently don't go well in a 30 year-olds body. So yesterday I got a few loads of laundry done, enough to get everyone dressed yesterday and today, but none of it folded. I feel mostly better today, but I still have no food (a few eggs, half a cup of milk, no yogurt, no cereal, no fruit...), a ton of laundry, unpacked suitcases, and a bomb of a house. And what am I doing with my time? Blogging. Shame on me. Shame on me for "wasting" my time, for treating my body so badly in the name of vacation, and for complaining. Today I will fold all my laundry, and wash a significant amount more. I will go grocery shopping and I will unpack my suitcases. If I get the chance I will clean. Next time I go on vacation I will try to keep the motto "moderation in all things" and get more sleep.

How do you do it?

2010-05-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

Okay all you fabulous, talented, hard-working ladies out there. And yes, I am talking to you, too. I want to know how you do it? You blog, sew, scrapbook, read, make jewelry/hair accessories, cook fabulous food, exercise, do photography, decorate your homes, do woodworking, paint, help other people, and many, many more things; and your kids are taken care of. Your houses are clean, your laundry is folded and put away (enough of the time). You check and reply to your emails and do your church callings, too. And I want to know how you do it? I am not looking for words of encouragement. I am not being hard on myself, and I do recognize I have a young needy baby at the moment. I want to know how you do it. Do you stay up late, get up early, neglect your housework on and off? Do you wait until your husband is home and let him take over the kids awhile, put them in front of the TV, drop them off at grandma's, get a babysitter, or trade with other moms? How organized are you to get all this done?

I am finally starting to feel like I might be able to handle life again, but that just means I can buy and prepare meals, stay caught up on the laundry (enough), and get everyone where they need to go. That doesn't cover all the other things on my to-do list. So again, I am not looking for affirmation, just how it works at your house.

I am waiting your juicy tidbits of wisdom or confession. (You can email me if you don't want your answer going public :)

Chocolate Cake vs. the Gym

2010-05-14T17:29:00.000-07:00

First of all, no explanations or excuses about my blogging habits, I've said it all before.

I have 2 great goals/desires for myself. I want to bake delicious food. I love to bake, and always have. I just got a book recently (Bakewise by Shirley Corriher) and I have been reading it more intently than any textbook I have ever read. It fascinates me to discover what each ingredient in baking does and how it effects your final result and then use that to fine tune a recipe to get just what I want. I don't want to be the best (home)baker. I used to think I did, then I realized that I don't want to be compared to anyone else and their baked goods, I just want for me and those I serve to thoroughly enjoy what I bake.

My other desire for myself is to get in shape. I have a few goals and numbers I am working on specifically, but mostly I just want to be more active and healthier.

There is a conflict of interest here. How can I spend my time trying out new recipes for pound cake, from-scratch brownies and lime cream tortes when I am trying to be healthier and even lose a few lbs in the process? I can't give it all away (the food, that is), I don't have enough self-control to do that. After all, part of the reason for wanting to bake is to eat it, right? Maybe I need to get up earlier and burn more calories to make up for it... I don't know. I am too passionate about these goals to to give up on either one yet. Any ideas?

Waving the white flag and a good piece of pie

2010-01-21T10:22:00.000-08:00

I surrender! I spent almost a week of my life in my kids bathroom singing songs, reading books and shouting the accolades of chocolate chips and dinosaur stickers for naught. Wednesday night Miles started showing signs of progress in potty training; but after Miles got up from his nap Thursday afternoon we went back to 0, zilch, nothing. I was back to "running to the potty" every 10 minutes, followed 3 minutes later with cleaning up the floor. Worn out, increasingly discouraged, and overwhelmed with all I had not accomplished that week, I gave up Saturday evening. I am not a quitter, but I know when to say uncle. I only decided to try potty training because he was showing signs that "the experts" claimed made him ready. He wasn't. So we gave up for now, we're friends again, and we'll resume it in a few months when conditions will hopefully be more ideal. I have been known to get on a soap box about potty training, but there's nothing like a good piece of humble pie to teach you to keep your trap shut and realize that no matter how much you've learned you will still be surprised.

Catching up - part 2: November

2010-01-14T14:51:00.000-08:00

November began with Henry's birthday. I like to make creative cakes based on whatever my boys are into or request. Henry requested cupcakes with chocolate frosting and m&m's on top. I had to do something creative so this was it:

it says: : "Henry turns 5 today!"

Henry probably has the most personality crammed into one little body I know. He has a passion for living life to its fullest (for good or bad), that often proves to be contagious. He keeps things lively around here that's for sure. We love you Yanni!

On Henry's birthday we started a family round of swine flu, paired with a dead washing machine. Kincaid got sick first, then Henry, then me, then Miles, and finally Charlie (who was only about 5 weeks old at the time). Needless to say I was a mess by the time Charlie came down with it. Luckily, and miraculously, Sam was able to stay healthy and help me restore sanity. Thanks also to my wonderful friends for all their help and support during our rough time (Amber even came over to help fish a toy out of Miles' nose. That is true friendship right there!).

Later in the month we blessed Charlie at church. The day before Sam, all his brothers, his dad, and a few grandsons shaved their heads for and with Sam's mom, to support her and her battle with cancer. It was quite a sight to see so many balds heads around Charlie during the blessing. My dad and cousin with their full heads of black hair (or dark brown depending on who you ask) really stood out! It was great to have everyone's support, you guys are awesome and we love you all! We had not yet taken a family picture with Charlie, so I took advantage of the occasion. This is the best we could get, but at least we're all in it.

Here is mom and Charlie on blessing day.

Here is Charlie in his blessing outfit. What a handsome little man!

Next was Thanksgiving. I was a little busy celebrating (stuffing my face) to take many pictures, but I got a couple. Here is Charlie almost 2 months old wearing his Thanksgiving outfit.

My sister Kristy and her husband Aaron and their 2 girls came up for Thanksgiving. It was so fun to see them and hang out! I even got to get in a thrift store shopping trip with my mom and sister, just like the old days. It was great. Here is a picture of Caid, Miles, and Henry with my nieces on Thanksgiving. Do you see the resemblance? Poor Henry looks like the odd man out. The cousins had a blast together all week. Thanks for coming guys!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It seemed like a good idea...

2010-01-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

I don't know what it is about me, but every time I have a baby, I suddenly decide the older sibling needs to be potty trained. I have spent more time nursing while sitting just outside the bathroom door singing songs and reading books than I care to admit. Anyway, here I go again. Today is day one of Miles' potty training. It's going so terribly that I almost didn't post this so no one would ask me how it was going if I decide to give up. We have had 11 accidents and 1 success. That was after the first 5 hours. I was thankful for nap time so I could put him on a diaper without guilt and spend some time in the rest of the house that didn't involve cleaning puddles. I go cold turkey straight to undies (I believe pull-ups are the enemy of potty training until they have a good handle on the concept, but I do use them or diapers during naps and at night until they consistently wake-up dry) so I know to expect a lot of accidents at first, I just don't remember having to take Caid or Henry to the bathroom every 5 minutes and still have this many accidents. I have tried telling myself to give it one week before giving up, but he's younger than the other 2 were when I trained them, and if I wait I can do it in the summer when Sam's home, Charlie is a little less attached, and Miles will be spending more time outside, cutting down consistently on clean-up. Can you appreciate the temptation? Plus I thought I picked a week when I had nothing going on, but I was grossly mistaken and that adds an extra wrench in things. Anyway, I am mostly just venting. I don't really intend to give up yet, but I will have to rely on pull-ups more than I hoped. I will enjoy the next hour, then back to the grindstone and give it at least 2 more days before I let myself really get discouraged. Wish me luck!

Catching up - part 1: Halloween

2010-01-08T15:01:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately I have no funny stories or clever words to share, but because I love looking at pictures of my kids, I am posting about the last few months at our house to try and catch up. First, Halloween: Our pumpkin carving was done in waves. Sam's brother and his family host a big group pumpkin carving party every year at their church. We decided to go this year and carved 2 of our pumpkins then.

Henry was the only one really interested in carving the pumpkins, well besides me, but Charlie was only a couple of weeks old at that point so I ended up with him 90% of the time. Sam was less than excited about being left to take over, so he let Henry go at it all on his own. Luckily they now have kid-safe carving tools that are surprisingly effective.

The preschool I am doing with Henry went on a field trip to a pumpkin patch and I invited my sister and her kids to come along.

I was hoping to get a great "pumpkin patch" shot of the 3 boys (Henry, Miles and Charlie) and I together, but the boys didn't share my enthusiasm. This was the best I could get. Henry wouldn't get in the shot at all and this is the closest Miles would get to me. Oh well...

Along with some other fun things, the boys each got to pick out their own pumpkin out of the pumpkin patch to take home. So that night commenced round two of our pumpkin carving. Miles and Henry were both excited to carve their own pumpkins.

Halloween day itself was fun. After we finished our Saturday chores (Saturday is a special day, right?), we took the boys over to our parents to show off their costumes. My mom and dad had a fun "fishing game" set up for the boys to play to get their treats from them. They had a lot of fun with it. Luckily I thought to take a picture of the boys with my parents while we were there because the rest of the day I spaced it and that was my only shot of them in their costumes all day. I kept meaning to put them all in their costumes again and do a re-take later, but Charlie has now grown out of his and with it being January now and I still haven't done it I guess it's time to move on... Here's the boys and my parents, and then a close-up of Charlie in his. Kincaid was the red power ranger, Henry was Buzz Lightyear, Miles was a firefighter, and Charlie was a pirate.

Happy Halloween!

What?!

2010-01-07T09:42:00.000-08:00

After finding myself saying some interesting things in response to (my) life's interesting situations, I decided to make a list of things I've said that I never thought I would (have to) hear myself say:

1. We do not paint on the door with yogurt.

2. We do not pull our pants down in front of other people. That is not a game.

3. Please don't pee on your outside toys.

4. "Get off me you bodaggit" is not really a very nice thing to say to the Bishop. (That's a line from the movie Napoleon Dynamite, in case you're not as obsessed with it as much as certain members of our family.)

5. How did you manage to drop: Thomas, my watch, your sword, Lightning McQueen... in the toilet?

6. I'm pretty sure the neighbors do not want you decorating their tree with your underwear. What? Oh, well trying to get your underwear caught up in the neighbor's tree is not a game.

7. You threw your underwear over the neighbors fence? (see #6)

8. The toilet brush is not a sword, we do not play with it.

9. Me: Don't fill up on fruit, we're having dinner soon. Kincaid: What's for dinner? Me: pancakes.

10. I am not a napkin, please don't wipe your face/hands on me.

11. I am not a tissue, please don't wipe your nose on me.

12. You have cheese in your eyebrow.
13. Why are you cuddling with your brother's dirty diaper? (at least it was only a wet one)
14. Who put the whoopie cushions under our pillows?

15. Putting a clean pair of undies over the dirty ones is not changing your underwear, you have to take the dirty ones off first. The same goes for socks.

There are so many more, but I keep forgetting to write them down and then I can't remember them. Oh well... life with kids is crazy, huh?

I plan on adding some more pics and updates soon, but I am still figuring out our new computer. Happy New Year!

He's Here!

2009-10-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

Announcing Charles Ezra Adams! Charlie (now 3 weeks old) was 9 lbs 10 oz and 21 & 1/4 inches long. Everything went great and everyone is doing well. When he was first born he looked almost identical to Kincaid and Miles, but he is looking a lot more like Henry now, though he seems to have blond hair and blue eyes. We're thinking maybe he'll be the missing link that connects Henry with the other 2 (at least in appearances). Kincaid still enjoys being the oldest and is usually a very good helper and often a just-as-good tormentor to the younger guys - luckily Kincaid has some mercy and Charlie has, for the most part, been spared. Henry is the most smitten with Charlie and often coos and fusses over him. He gives Charlie quite a bit of love and affection. Miles gets a little jealous at times, especially since I can't hold him as much and he sees me holding Charlie all the time; but usually he is very good about it. He knows that with Charlie here now he's not the "little guy" anymore and that he is now one of the "big guys" and he loves that. Overall he is doing really well adjusting; everyone is.
Sam took a week and a half off from work and my mom took a week off from work to help me, but now everyone is back at work and I am going on day 3 on my own with them all. So far so good, but I forgot how much time you spending sitting around feeding and holding new babies. I guess I'm not supposed to do too much by way of housecleaning and such just yet, but sometimes I just sit there and stare at all that needs to get done and that's about all I can do about it in that moment. I remind myself "to every thing there is a time and a season" (or something like that) and that Charlie won't be little forever so I'm trying to enjoy it all and not worry too much. Here are some pictures of Charlie in his first few weeks:

The boys were all getting over colds when Charlie was born so they wore masks into the hospital to see him. They thought they were dressing up, they loved it. They discovered it's a little hard to drink root beer or eat Rice Krispy treats through them, though they tried.

I love this picture of all 5 "boys" together the day Charlie was born. They seemed more excited about the Rice Krispy treats and root beer than Charlie, but Charlie didn't seem to mind (although my mom might have when she took them home and the sugar hit their systems).

Here is Charlie and mom.

Here is Charlie at 6 days old. This was the sticker from our new vacuum. They weigh almost the same amount, but Sam thought Charlie deserved it more.

Here is Charlie at 2 weeks old in Henry's favorite outfit (see the dinosaurs? The slippers are pretty cool, too.)

Here is a picture I took of Charlie today at 3 weeks. He is one handsome little devil (well, he's still an angel right now).

4 days and counting...

2009-09-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

So there are only 4 days left until I have this baby and I have a list of things I have/want to do first. The problem is I got Sam's nasty cold and all I want to do is sit or lay down and do nothing, which is probably what I should be doing so I don't go into the whole surgery recovery with a new infant and no sleep thing with a cold on top of that. Some of the things don't really matter (we can set up the crib when we get home, right?), but some of them are important to me and can't wait (like I'd like to be able to use my camera and video camera at the hospital, and we probably should at least get the infant car seat out of the attic before we leave for the hospital). I guess I will just take it one item at a time and see what happens. But, for all you first time moms out there: I finally discovered all you really need to have done before the baby comes is a car seat and something to bring the baby home in. I guess the whole scheduled c-section thing is a blessing and a curse. You know when you're having the baby so you can plan, but you also know when you're having the baby so you can procrastinate. Oh well, it'll all be fine, I am just excited to get him here and see what he looks like and finally pick out a name.

30 Things I Love...

2009-09-15T11:25:00.001-07:00

In celebration of my 30th birthday (I LOVE my birthday!) I am making a list of 30 things I love. Things you may or may not know about me and probably don't ever care to, but here they are anyway: (they are in no particular order)

1. My birthday

2. A really good dancing/driving song

3. The first sounds and smells of lawnmowers after a long, wet, rainy winter

4. Food

5. Baked goods

6. Anything with chocolate

7. My husband

8. The little seats in public restrooms where you can strap in a younger child while you help the older child take care of business

9. The smell of barbecues on a sunny day

10. Being a mom of all boys

11. The feeling of the sun on my skin

12. A bowl of cereal and milk just before bed

13. Singing (mostly when I know people aren't listening)

14. Kincaid

15. Henry

16. Miles

17. Having an empty laundry basket and no clothes to fold

18. Looking at my toes when they are tan and newly polished

19. Hot cocoa with hazelnut or almond roca flavoring and lots of whipped cream

20. Shopping (without children and with money to spend preferably)

21. Sweater cardigans

22. The color green (more specifically lime-avocado-ish green)

23. Getting a new pair of great fitting jeans

24. Playing the piano (and singing along, if no one is listening that is)

25. My in-laws, all (30+) of them

26. When people ask me if this is my first baby and then the look on their face when I tell them it's my 4th

27. Baking pies and muffins in the fall

28. My parents, 4 sisters, and their spouses and children

29. When Sam plays with my hair or puts his hand on my arm or the small of my back

30. Fred Meyer's Playland and the race car shopping carts that make my shopping experience so much easier

Garden update

2009-08-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

Since my last update my wise mother-in-law advised me to water my tomatoes like crazy and I should still get some. I did and I now have 8 beautiful tomatoes growing (I even left the ones Miles picked out in garden and they are almost red now. I don't know if they will be fit to eat or not, but in case your child does the same thing, you might still be able to use them). I also have 2 pumpkins (so far), 4 big zucchini, and 2 cucumbers. I am not ready to enter the blue ribbon contest at the fair quite yet, maybe next year, but I am seeing the fruits of my labor and it is oh so satisfying.

Boo-Hoo!

2009-07-14T19:20:00.001-07:00

I have to lament. I had (notice the past tense here) 4 small beautiful tomatoes growing on my tomato plants; until Miles decided to pick them and throw them around the yard. Those look like the only ones I was going to get too. He also decided it would be fun to pluck the blossoms off of my squash and zucchini plants. My spinach is dead, and I am in a constant battle with bugs to save all my pumpkin, squash, zucchini, basil, and cucumber plants. I had such high hopes after seeing everything do so well up until the last week. The good news is my carrots still look really good and I already have 4 zucchini. I am so sad for all we lost (and may still lose, unless I refuse to let Miles play outside if Sam or I is not out there, but that is not entirely possible at the moment- I'll show pictures later), but at least its better than my first go around. As long as I get a few decent Halloween pumpkins however, I think I will be okay.

Thoughts on boys

2009-06-10T16:15:00.001-07:00

So since I recently discovered that I am going to be the mom of 4 boys, I have several thoughts on my mind. The first is people's reactions when I tell them that I am expecting another boy. I found it humorous, and honestly sometimes almost upsetting when everyone wanted us to have a girl. Most were people who didn't know we liked the idea of having all boys and just figured, well I won't guess all the reasons why I think people wanted us to have a girl, let me just say I assumed they were all well-intentioned people who wanted us to be happy. And while it did get a little old to hear "I hope its a girl" from pretty much everyone (no exaggerations), I have to admit that I also at times had similar thoughts. (Just to clarify, and I am going to be perfectly honest, I always wanted and thought I would have mostly or all boys. I have nothing against girls. I wanted a boy with the first 3, but only because I wanted at least mostly boys. With this pregnancy I loved the idea of all boys, but I was having a great time thinking about having a girl and shopping trips, pedicures, buying a bunch of cute girl clothes, passing on my womanly experience/pseudo-wisdom, planning a wedding, etc.) So I mostly understood and only rarely got even slightly bothered. What I am finding now that surprisingly bothers me more is that when people find out I am having another boy they feel they have to offer condolences, even after I've told them I am excited and always have been about the idea of having a bunch of boys. They say things like "at least you have everything and you don't have to buy anything new... at least you are already in the groove and know what you're doing (as if that's really possible no matter how many children of the same gender you have)." I even had one sales clerk apologize to me when she found out I was having another boy (I only had Henry and Miles with me at the time, too. She didn't even know this was boy #4). She realized halfway through the "sorry" that maybe that was not the appropriate response, and asked me how I felt about that. But even after she found out I was thrilled she added the "at least's". I am sure I am over-reacting, but its on my mind at the moment and I'm in rambling mode, so you get it all. Speaking of rambling mode, this is getting way too long and Henry wants a turn on the computer so I need to hurry and finish. Thank you to all of you who were excited for me and offered genuine congratulations and positive remarks about me having another boy. It helped to hear from people who understood how happy I was and would celebrate with me. And just in case someone reading this is afraid maybe they said something that bothered me, please don't think a thing about it. I know I don't understand what its like to have a girl or both genders and I totally get that everyone meant well and really did just want me to be happy, and there is a very good chance that it didn't even cross your mind that I would take it that way. I am not hurt or upset, I just find the whole thing interesting. Henry is hanging off my arm now, so I will save my funny boy story for another post. Stay tuned...

P.S. I recognize that for whatever reason it is not always socially acceptable to care about what gender you're baby is and that you really should just hope for a healthy baby. I recognize that. But I also recognize that that is what everyone hopes for so why is not ok to say how you feel about having one gender or another. Of course I, like all parents, will love whatever my baby is, boy, girl, healthy or otherwise. But lest I sound ungrateful or too caught up in the unimportant details I am adding this disclaimer. :)

New name for the blog?

2009-05-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

I had my ultrasound today. I thought maybe I would have to change the name of my blog, but much to the (seeming) dismay of everyone but us, we are having another boy. 4 Boys! We are very happy and excited. It means easy room arrangements (2 per room), nothing new to buy (although I am sure I'll think of something), and not ever having to buy princess plates or own a barbie movie. I must admit I was a little disappointed about some of the things I was looking forward to in the possibility of having a girl, but I really love having boys, and since you can't have everything, I am more than satisfied with what I got. Thanks to the other 3 of you who voted. I was excited to check my blog periodically and see I wasn't the only one who voted. :) Congrats to whoever (Kandy?) also voted for boy along with me.

Spring

2009-05-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

Spring is a time of renewal. So I am going to renew my efforts toward blogging. First of all, I am going to take a selfish approach and instead of trying to get pictures or think of things I think are funny, I am just going to ramble out whatever is going on in my mind or my life, so at least I have it recorded somewhere (that was the original idea, but the pressure of it being out there in the world made me feel obligated to entertain everyone). It might still be interesting, entertaining, and even funny at times, but not on purpose. Anyway, I rambled on about that more than I meant to already. I'll probably still be a terrible blogger (how's that for a self-fulfilling prophecy?), but maybe I'll be better?!

Second, spring is when you work in the yard. I am so proud of us. Usually we just cut back stuff that looks dead, or take out stuff we don't like or don't know what it is or how to take care of it. But this year we actually have a plan and have gotten some things done. We now have grass in our front yard, instead of spots of dead grass, spots of moss, and a big patch of dirt where our tree used to be. We also have 3 blueberry plants and negative space around them, as opposed what used to be next to our driveway, which was crammed with way too much stuff, most of which was overgrown and/or partly killed (because of our lack of skills and the 2 feet of snow last winter). And finally we (dun-du-nu-NUH!) planted a garden. I tried once 5 years ago at our house in West Seattle, but for several good reasons it was a terrible flop. After all my work and sweat and time we got 3 carrots about 2-3 inches long and 1 or 2 cherry-sized tomatoes. After that experience I was a little nervous about going through all that again only to discover that I really do have a brown thumb and am destined to kill anything I try to care for (luckily my children seem to be heartier and more resilient than plants). But after going through all my excuses, I gave in and gave it one more shot. If all goes ideal, in a few months we will have carrots, potatoes, spinach, zucchini, basil, cilantro, tomatoes, cucumbers and our very own homegrown halloween pumpkins, orange AND white. If all goes terribly wrong we will have a patch of dirt in our backyard that will make me very angry to look at until we fill it in with grass again and move on enough that I can laugh at it. I'll keep you posted. Speaking of

posts, this is getting too long, so I am going to end. Happy Spring and best of luck with whatever projects you are undertaking.

P.S. This weekend is the father and sons camp out for our church. Sam may or may not take Miles with him, the verdict is still out, but can I just say that one of the bonuses of having all boys (at least for now, it may all change in 2 weeks - I'm sure I'll post about it) is that for one 24 hour period every year you get peace and quiet and the house to yourself and nobody complains about it. I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but I can't wait!

Happy New Year!

2009-03-04T11:29:00.000-08:00

I'm behind on blogging (again). I had so many ideas of blogs, but in the interest of just moving on I am doing just that. Here is a cap of 2008 in our house:

-Sam finished all of his requirements for his special education endorsement. He now has the piece of paper that says he is qualified to do what he's been doing for over 8 years.

-We bought a mini-van. A white one. Yes, I am a mini-van mom. sigh... Two things I never wanted was a mini van and a white vehicle and now I have them both all rolled up into one. But honestly, the whole circus of trying to buckle all 3 boys into the back of our wagon was getting out of control and I was getting desperate. You do what you have to do. Lest I sound ungrateful, thank you to my sister who made the mini-van and all of its comforts possible (I didn't know you could actually, as a family, get in a car and leave without someone getting gouged, screamed at, or body slammed, let alone in less than 13 minutes).

-We didn't move, or even switch callings at church. That's a first our whole married life.

-I discovered I love Tide. I love how clean my clothes are and how nice they smell, even days after being washed.

-We didn't go camping, once. My goals was at least twice, besides the ward camp out. We got none, including the ward camp out.

-We made some trips: in February Miles and I went to visit my sisters in Utah; In June all 5 of us went to visit Sam's sister and her family in Tennessee; In July Kincaid, Miles and I went to Idaho for my mom's side of the family reunion (a first since I was pregnant with Kincaid); in August I got to be a unit mom at girl's camp (a whole week of outdoors with a bunch of ladies ages 12 to grandma - what a blast!); in September we went to California with most of Sam's family for Sam's Aunt Karen's wedding and spent 2 days in Disneyland while we were there (I'm not sure what was more magical, Disneyland or seeing 26+ Adams' all travel together in one plane, cram together in one bus [with their 50 pieces of luggage, 18 car seats, 6 strollers, 7 carry-on bags, and 4 leashes] and go together to various other places over the weekend without losing anyone or anything except a stuffed Piglet). A note: I think IHOP is rethinking their" kids eat free with paying adult" policy after the Adams' family ate every meal there that weekend.

-Kincaid started first grade and therefore, all day school. He loves it and has an awesome teacher.

-For my birthday Sam bought me a membership to the YMCA and I have been going 4-5 days a week every week (except Christmas break) since. I haven't really lost any noteworthy weight or inches, but I feel great and have more energy, and can now run up the stairs or across the street to the neighbors house without getting winded.

-I went to my 10 year high school reunion. Weird that I'm old enough for that, but we've already covered that subject earlier. I hear from most people what a drunken waste of time and money theirs was; but honestly, I had a blast! Everyone seemed genuinely excited to see what everyone else has been up to and sincerely happy for and supportive of what everyone chose to do. I think I was tied with one other person for who had the most kids. I got a few eyebrow raises and 2 "I'm sorry's" when I told people that I had 3 boys. But one of the I'm sorry's was from someone who is the oldest of 3 boys and remembers what they put their mom through and the other one was so stinking drunk I am not sure he even knew who I was. Apart from the drunken "I'm sorry" I am looking forward to my 20 year reunion, and wishing that there was going to a be 15 year one too.

-Henry has spent most of the year in what we call "Yanni-land." Yanni is his nickname because that is what he called himself before he could say Henry. And Yanni-land is an imaginary (or possibly 4th dimension) world that he co-exists in most of the time. I will need to get a video of him in it some time, it is hilarious.

-Miles turned 1. He is finally walking (although that was in 2009 in the past week, not 2008) is not allergic to peanut butter, is a major climber and is into everything. His favorites are the used Q-tips from my bathroom garbage and the toilet brush. (And yes, I do close my bathroom door, but there are 3 other bathroom users in the house and I can only spend so much mental energy thinking about closing bathroom doors).

-Thanks to Sam's "new" (acquired summer of 07) job, he can ride his bike to work and home everyday and he only has to leave 5 minutes before he needs to be there.

-Thanks to becoming a science/special ed teacher Sam has discovered deep down he may just have a repressed scientist.

-In November we removed the tree in our front yard. We are planning to fill the muddy void with new grass this Spring and then maybe our front yard will look decent again.

I am sure there are plenty more noteworthy things that happened in 2008, but this is really long and I ran out of thoughts, so mercifully for those of you who are still reading this, I will end. I apologize in advance for anything I left out. Happy 2009 (yes, I know it's March).

OLD

2009-02-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

Is anyone else weirded out by being an adult? I mean seriously, I don't feel different than when I was 18, but I was recently looking at my life and what it consists of. The following is a list of things that make up my life now (who is this person?):

I tell stories about things I vividly remember and then realize they happened 15 years ago; I am watching my sugar intake and trying to find ways to get more fiber in my diet; I have 3 kids; I have thought about getting a girdle (don't tell anyone); I drive a mini-van; kids that I babysat are married and having kids of their own; I drive my kids to swimming lessons, t-ball games, and play practice; I am almost in my 30's; I am researching preschools; I own a tube a Preparation H; I look 10 years older than everyone else in the mall stores I like to shop for clothes in; I have (not am) a babysitter; I have said (more than once) "I remember when you were little" while someone in their teens rolls their eyes at me; I am Mrs.______ or Kincaid's mom when I go to school; I am not only a member of, but I "go to the gym"; I have found myself having conversations about laundry detergent, vacuum cleaners, and brands of diapers; the only thing I remember feeling passionate about lately is potty training; I have asked my husband "do these pants make me look chubby?"; I consider staying in bed after 8am sleeping in; The last 4 movies I remember seeing are either animated and/or have an animal as the star character; I get excited about the latest toasters, dishwashers, refrigerators, and/or microwaves; I cry at any sentimental thing I see (corny TV commercials and Disney movies especially); I got a wheat grinder for Christmas, AND it was just what I wanted;... and the list keeps going.

Now before I get a bunch of protesting comments, I do not think I am old. I believe that 30's is still very young, and I don't have any problem getting older. What gets me is the above description of things that I remember hearing my mom and other women I knew growing up talk about and realizing that's me now. It's just weird that I do/feel those things, some of which I swore I would never do. Is it just me, or is anyone else weirded out by this whole concept?

Henry's team

2009-01-30T15:21:00.000-08:00

Henry loves super-heroes and bad guys and saving people and all that. Lately he has been into setting up teams. Sometimes there is just one team, sometimes there are good guy and bad guy teams. Often he uses his legos and lincoln logs to make battleships and houses for his teams too. They can get pretty elaborate. Today he set up his team at the top of the stairs. After stepping over it enough times I realized that I don't have any pictures of his teams. So for posterity's sake, here is Henry's latest team. It's a small team, but I wouldn't want to go up against it.

No

2009-01-29T09:55:00.000-08:00

I am not even getting into how long its been since my last post. I just wanted to give a little update on Miles. He is days away from being 18 months and still not walking. He has been cruising since early December, standing since Christmas, and "walking" (taking steps for attention, not for transportation) for 2 weeks. I am not worried, but he is heavy and it gets messy having him crawl everywhere (think parks, doctor's offices, my floors after he gets into the candy canes, etc.) But that wasn't why I wanted to post today. I wanted to post his favorite word. He can say mama, hi, night night, bye bye, what's that, wow, uh oh, grandpa/ma (ba-ba), and a few others that escape me at the moment. But his favorite, his response to everything is no. I made a little video to show you. Please ignore my sing song baby voice, I know its embarrassing.

Can you see how it makes it kind of hard to figure out what he wants? I decided to make this video after he started crying randomly in the middle of a bite of oatmeal and after he calmed down he wouldn't eat anymore; he said no to everything I asked him and got mad when I tried to take him out of the chair. So for once I found my sense of humor and decided to capture it instead of bemoaning it. he could have kept going, probably indefinitely, but I ran out of things to ask him.

O Christmas Tree!

2008-12-12T21:29:00.000-08:00

I love our Christmas tree. For the last 3 or 4 Christmas's we have gone to the same U-cut tree farm and cut down our own tree. I love it. It isn't really far, but it is far enough away I feel like it's "trip." Which may sound like a negative thing to some people, but I think that's part of the fun. Plus its only $15 a tree, any tree, any size. Yea for cheap trees!

Here is Kincaid and Miles waiting out the drive.

Henry had other ideas about how to use that time.

Miles and I browsing the grounds for the perfect tree.

Here is our family standing in front of our chosen tree before we chopped it down. (And yes, the top does keep going above the top of the picture. More on that later...)

Sam took the term "chop" literally. He got out his Chuck Norris skills and went to town. The saw in the picture is really just for show.

After Sam chopped down our tree we hung out with some friends and family that came with us while they picked out their trees and cut them down. (Notice the word "cut" - no Chuck Norris skills involved.) While we were waiting a rainbow came out, so I took a picture.

So we (by we I mean I) discovered that trees look a lot smaller outdoors next to 20 or so foot tall trees than they do in a house. After Sam had cut about 2 feet off the top and brought it inside, it was clear it was not going to fit in the corner we had chosen. I don't know if you can see or not, but the tree is leaning against the ceiling, and still not straight up. Sam wasn't amused. But I am sure you could see that. (I love how Henry has his head cranked way back to see the tree).

We rearranged some furniture and did some more tree trimming (not decorating, trimming), and finally got it a size and shape that would work. It's a good thing we have vaulted ceilings. Sam says its ridiculous (because of its size. Its about 12 feet tall), but I love it. It is probably the largest tree we will ever have, well it is the largest tree we will ever have if Sam has a say in it, and I am loving it.

In lieu of ornaments, besides ones the boys make or we are given, we make gingerbread cookies every year and hang them on our tree. It is a long and messy project, but I enjoy doing it, and I love the way it looks and how our house smells like gingerbread and pine all during December.

So for FHE (and a few more evenings), we made, decorated, and hung our ornaments. Miles overheard me mentioning to Kincaid and Henry that any ornament that got broken they could eat, so he decided to help a few out.

Below: Mission accomplished. Notice the look on my face and the hand gesture toward Miles. I had to remind myself (well, actually Sam had to remind me) that there are more important things than perfect gingerbread ornaments.

We had to borrow a mega-huge ladder just to decorate and put the star on the top of our tree (Thanks Wes and Amber). But luckily the ladder reached high enough to allow us to reach the top, and with the star on the tree, there was a just enough room left above it to not touch the ceiling.

I love our tree!

Miles was less than helpful during the first night of ornaments, so this is what he did the next night. That's pizza sauce on his forehead and in his hair and a donut hole in his mouth. He was having a great time.

This is our finished project. We had to make some modifications from our usual methods of Christmas tree doings, but it was all worth it. I love this tree (did I already say that?). In fact I think this is/will be my favorite Christmas tree ever. I would even write a song about it, except that someone already has. O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, how lovely are thy branches...

Thanksgiving Day Pictures

2008-12-12T17:18:00.000-08:00

I didn't get nearly as many Thanksgiving day pictures as I wanted, but here are a few that represent what we did for Thanksgiving.

Breakfast, yum! Too bad that's the only part of breakfast I got a picture of.

Sam seems to think Thanksgiving day means yard work. It was not what I had in mind for a family holiday together, but we had just cut down a tree a in the front yard (hence the stump) and it was a mess, so I wasn't complaining.

I was a baking maniac on Wednesday. I made 2 pumpkin pies, an old fashioned crumb-topped apple pie and a chocolate turtle cheesecake. The only one I got a picture of was the cheesecake, but the picture doesn't do it justice. The cheesecake, when prepared correctly, is heaven on earth. I had some issues (I didn't grease the pan), so it was lacking in the aesthetically pleasing department, but really, does that matter all that much?

The only person who was still in eating position when I stopped eating long enough to remember to get pictures was Miles. So here is Miles doing what we do best on Thanksgiving.

Here are a couple of pictures of Sam's family after dinner. I totally forgot to get out my camera at my family's house (that was for dessert, I had several other things on my mind at the time: pumpkin pie with whipped cream and chocolate turtle cheesecake for starters).

Thanksgiving was tasty and wonderful. And because my and Sam's sisters were in town we spent a lot of time with our family's over the weekend so for the first time in 7 years I got to actually eat leftovers after Thanksgiving. I forgot how awesome that is.

Happy Turkey Day!

2008-11-26T23:22:00.000-08:00

The lover of food that I am, I couldn't miss the chance to post about a holiday that is (partly) about eating delicious food... a lot of it... all day. But I really wanted to take a moment (or a few lines) to say Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that you are all able to surround yourself with people you care about to celebrate all that you have to be thankful for (not to mention to stuff yourself full of seriously good food).

For the last 2 years for family night we made a turkey (see above) and on each feather we put things that we are thankful for. We have fun making it and it's a fun reminder: both to think of things to write down and to have a visual reminder of all that we have. We even ran out of feathers before we ran out of things to be thankful for. It is always nice to step away from the "I want" 's and take a look at what we have and how blessed we really are.

I spent all afternoon today baking and I have every intention of spending all afternoon tomorrow eating what I (and others) have baked, and I will enjoy every bite. What a fabulous holiday, really. But not just for the food. For the chance to take some time to think about and express gratitude for all that you have and to spend time with those you care about. And for the heaps of delicious food. I hope you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving wherever you go, whatever you eat, whatever you do!

Cold Medicine

2008-11-26T09:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I woke up with a sinus headache. I don't really know if that's what its called, but when I get one there is pressure in my head around my nose, my temples, and my forehead, and whenever I bend over my head feels like its going to explode. I avoid taking cold medicine at all costs, but we had some medicine that said it was for sinus pressure and congestion and I have been eyeing it for awhile anytime I have a sinus headache wondering if it would work. I took some. Then about an hour later I remembered why I avoid cold medicine. The rest of the afternoon I was walking around totally loopy and mentally out of it (I only took 1 pill!) and ready to fall asleep at any second, AND I still had pressure around my nose, my temples, my forehead and my head still felt like it was going to explode every time I bent over. How is that helpful? Its like that medicine they give you when you're in labor before they can give you an epidural. You still feel all the pain of labor, but you're really drowsy and mentally out of it so you fall asleep between contractions and then wake up to excruciating pain but you're so out of it that by the time you figure out what's going on and can try to cope the contraction's almost over and you get loopy and fall asleep again. Again: not helpful. What is it with medicine. At least now I know: that box that reads "For sinus pressure and sinus congestion" is not my friend. All its good for is if I need a better excuse than sleep deprivation to take a nap or act like a zombie.

A Tag

2008-11-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

I know this is lame, but... I wanted to try and be better about doing semi-frequent posts, AND I got tagged by my sister awhile ago so I am killing 2 birds with one stone and you all get stuck with an Emily-centric, somewhat unentertaining post. But I love these, and it's my blog, so too bad for you. :)

This is a series of questions and you have to answer each question with a one word answer. It was fun, and in some ways easier and in others harder than I expected.

1. Where is your cell phone? Dead

  2. Your significant other? Awesome

  3. Your hair? Fixed

  4. Your Skin? Pale

  5. Your mother? Amazing

  6. Your favorite thing? Food

  7. Your dream last night? Unresolved

  8. Your favorite drink? Undecided

  9. Your dream/goal? BA

  10. The room you're in?   Family

  11. Your ex? Who?

  12. Your fear? Loneliness

  13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy

  14. Where were you last night? Home

  15. What you're not? Decisive (it took me the longest to get the answer to this question)

  16. Muffins? Tasty

  17. One of your wish list items? Music

  18. Where you grew up? Washington

  19. The last thing you did? Surf

  20. What are you wearing? Clothes

  21. Your TV? On

  23. Your computer? Mac

  24. Your life? Wonderful

  25. Your mood? Mellow

  26. Missing someone? Someone’s

  27. Your car? Small

  28. Something you're not wearing? Shoes

  29. Favorite Store? Target

  30. Your summer? Busy

  31. Like someone? Husband

  32. Your favorite color? Green

  33. When is the last time you laughed? Today

  34. Last time you cried? Forgot

  35. What did you eat last? Candy
36. Favorite Music? Danceable
I am tagging everyone who is even slightly tempted to do this, to do this. It's fun to fill out, and its fun to read what people put down (in my opinion).

First Haircut

2008-11-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

Last week Miles had his first haircut. His hair wasn't terribly long, but the back was longer and thicker than the front so he was starting to sport the mullet. What's the problem with that, you say? Nothing really, if you idealize Chuck Norris, rednecks, or 80's hairstyles. Miles doesn't, yet. Here's a shot of the "before:"

Here's a shot of the mullet-esque back: (note: I know mullet-esque is not a word, therefore I have no idea if it's spelled correctly or not.)

In my experience, little boys often have a hard time with haircuts. The whole concept of having to sit still in a chair for longer than 5 minutes while someone is messing around your head with a buzzing machine and sharp objects that you aren't allowed to touch seems to be a tough concept for them. Surprisingly, Miles did awesome. I might even go so far as to say it was one of the easiest haircuts I've ever given.

I did have to resort to giving him a sucker, but he kept wanting to see what I was doing so he needed a distraction, plus he was he totally earned it.

After one very sticky hairy boy, and some slightly hairy bathtub water, here's what we came out with. So handsome!

P.S. Ignore the apron. I usually wear a more traditional black stylists apron when cutting hair, but I had just finished cooking and eating dinner and still had this on so I used it instead. (It's awesome huh? Come on, you know you want one too.)

Happy Birthday Henry!

2008-11-08T21:31:00.000-08:00

Henry just had his 4th birthday! Growing up my parents always sang Happy Birthday to us first thing in the morning. I carry on that tradition. Unfortunately Henry inherited my extreme dislike of mornings so he got mad at me for singing at him. He said he didn't want his birthday, he didn't want his friends, and he didn't want his pirate party. Luckily most of Henry's bad mood disappears once he has eaten something.

He wanted to have dinosaur chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. I did my best; but Henry was happy and that was all that mattered.

Henry wanted a pirate party. He was a pirate for Halloween so we decided he could wear his pirate costume and I would dress like a pirate too and we would do some pirate "things." The problem was Henry is very impressionable and I made the mistake of letting him watch 'The Incredibles' the day before so he didn't want to be a pirate or wear his pirate costume, he wanted to be a "super". So I dressed like a pirate and he wore his cape and his bike helmet (I didn't ask...). I felt a little silly being the only dressed-up pirate, but I went along with the plan.

We played "pin the eye patch on Skinny Bones Jones" and "shoot the cannons" (knock around black balloons), and went on a treasure hunt.

I really get into the cakes on birthdays so I wanted to make a cool pirate-themed cake. I went online and found instructions on FamilyFun.com for a pirate ship cake. It was so easy and I was pretty proud of myself with the finished product. I had way too much fun with that cake; seriously, I was almost sad to cut it. (The following picture is for bragging purposes mainly.)

The kids might have been impressed with how the cake looked, but really, all they cared about was eating it. "Cake, yumm..."

I had to put this picture in. I love how I caught the "Ahh" look on Henry's face when opened this.

Finally after everyone went home he decided to put on some of his pirate costume and take a picture with me.

Later that evening we had a family party. Henry got some more (boy) dress-up stuff. He loves playing make believe and hero stuff so he got some more options to choose from for his daily world-saving adventures.

I also made him a cape. He now has his own cape (yeah!). But he still mostly wants to wear Kincaid's old one (boo).

Kincaid had a little bit of a hard time missing Henry's party and then watching Henry get all the new cool stuff. But Henry is a great sharer and let Kincaid play with his new stuff (which later led to the new remote control car taking a bath. Lovely!) And we reminded Caid not to worry, because in a few months it will be his turn to get new stuff and for his brothers to take it and break it too.

Officer Caid is on the watch!

My parents came later that evening to celebrate with us. The boys and them had a great indoor football game.

Henry got to have an extended celebration also. Sam's mom came over the next day to celebrate and tell Henry happy birthday also.

We had a lot of fun celebrating Henry's birthday. Thanks to everyone who helped him have such a great day. At the risk of getting mushy I will say that we are so happy to have Henry in our family and all the fun and adventure and "flammy snuggohs" that come with him.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T16:52:00.001-07:00

Our Halloween celebration started on October 25 when we went to Sam's Grandma's retirement home to visit her and attend their Halloween party. (Well, actually it began on October 7th when I let the boys put up the Halloween decorations and start wearing costumes, but it would have begun in August if I would have given in to their constant pleading.) Here are the boys, great grandma and some of their other cousins:

Henry was a pirate, Miles was an elephant and Kincaid was a power ranger. Their cousin Colby was also dressed up as a pirate and him and Henry happily played pirate sword fights most of the party.

Kincaid found the cupcakes and that's what he did most of the party.

Saturday night our friends Sammy and Rodney (below as Jesse and Buzz Lightyear) threw a Halloween party. It was a blast. I didn't get pictures of everyone there, but here are some of the costumes: (FYI: Rodney made the Buzz costume. It was very impressive. Kincaid was jealous.)

This "Mulch" and "JoDeen." It was their wedding day, don't they look fabulous?

Wes and Amber decided to take a quick hike that afternoon and got lost along the way.

We went as Popeye and Olive Oyl. It's a shame I didn't get a close-up on my fake eyelashes, those were serious business. It took me most of the evening to figure out how to blink. I thought we looked great, but Sam said he felt like he looked like a member of The Village People.

On Sunday we went to my sister's house and carved pumpkins. I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures of it. But we only finished 2 of our 4 pumpkins so the boys and I worked on them some more Thursday night.

Here are the boys and their pumpkins. Notice Kincaid's costume has now been 'morphed' into a No Stall race car driver. No Stall is one of the lesser (or un) known race cars from the movie Cars and Kincaid wanted to be No Stall's driver for Halloween. Lucky for me it turned out to be easier to create than I thought. And even Luckier for me, Kincaid was happy with how it turned out.

On Friday Kincaid's 1st grade class had a fall festival and I volunteered to help and brought along my mom and Henry to join in on the fun.

After helping Kincaid's class my mom took Henry Miles and I out to lunch. Then we went home and she made some baked donuts with us. It was a fun day.

That afternoon I finally finished the last 2 pumpkins (the third times a charm I guess. Come busy week, come unfinished Halloween costumes, come power outages- I was determined to carve all 4 pumpkins.) Then we got dinner at the taco truck and spent a half an hour wrestling Miles into his costume and arguing with Henry about which costume and accessories he was going to wear ("I want to wear the (too small) Woody costume, or the (even smaller) fireman costume.") We finally got him into the (right size) pirate costume and happy (no small feat). We didn't have quite as good of luck with Miles. (And seriously, can we just once have a normal picture of the boys, or even just Kincaid? I guess this is just how they are going to record themselves in history.)

Although, once Miles was outside he was fine. And once we got home and he saw loads of candy and figured out how to unwrap a sucker all by himself I think he decided Halloween was really alright after all.

I love Halloween, but I am looking forward to putting the costumes back in the trunk and having my children go out in public looking normal again.

Happy National CUPS Day!

2008-10-21T11:24:00.001-07:00

Henry has announced today as a new national holiday. This morning he said "today is a howiday." "Oh?" I said, "what day is it? Is it National Tapioca Pudding Day?" (They have been watching a lot of Garfield and Friends DVD's lately, and that is one of the episodes.)

"No, it's National Cean Up Peopo's Messes Day."

I'm not sure how that makes today any different than the rest of the year, unless that means that those who normally don't clean up messes, do. So far no one in my house (except me, of course) has decided to celebrate the occasion. But I do love getting into holidays... Maybe Henry's smarter than he appears; maybe that's his way of getting me to clean up messes happily. So to all you moms, dads, and everyone else who is cleaning up someone's mess today, Happy National Clean-Up People's Messes Day to you! May you celebrate it to the max!

Pumpkin Fever

2008-10-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

I have been going crazy cooking pumpkin things lately. I know that's pretty common in the fall, and I'm sure that's because that is when pumpkins are in season; but I find it a little amusing since all my pumpkin comes from a can that's been sitting on shelves for months. Oh well... In the past week or two I've made pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin muffins, and I have my eyes on 3 more recipes: a pumpkin roll, pumpkin chicken (yes, I said chicken, I'll let you know how that goes), and a pumpkin cake that starts with a "crust" of crushed Nilla wafers and melted butter - how can it not be good. I am in baking heaven.

Important Words

2008-09-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

So Miles isn't really talking yet, but it sure seems like he started saying 2 words the past couple of days. Uh-oh and no. Any guess what I say to him most of the time? They say if you talk to your kids a lot they learn language faster. So it makes sense to me the words they learn first/fastest are 1. those that enable them to get what they want (mama, dad, please, etc.) or 2. those that they hear the most. I guess I need to expand my repertoire of what I say to Miles throughout the day. But really, what else do you say when they thrown their food, pull all the toilet paper off the roll, bite (lovingly, but ouch!), take all the fake moss-stuff from the plant pot and spread it around the room, eat dirt, try to stick their fingers in light sockets, or get into the garbage and start playing with its contents (and that was just this morning!).

Any ideas?... One day I will get a "ma-ma," I just know it.

Summer Fun

2008-09-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a pictures-only (mostly) post of some more of what we did this summer:

(More on that later)

If you hadn't noticed, there isn't a single picture of me. I was there for all of that. But I bet you can guess what I was doing.

Catching Up

2008-09-19T14:08:00.000-07:00

Has it really been almost 2 months since I last blogged? SO much has happened, and I took so many pictures, many of them with my blog in mind, but I guess that's why I haven't had time to blog about them, I've been doing them. So in all honesty, as sorry as I am that I am so behind, that really is a more than fair trade-off.

I have high hopes (but terribly low expectations) that I am going to go into greater detail and show you more pictures regarding all of the happenings this past summer in later blogs. But in the interest of just covering the basics, that's what I am going to do. In July (sometime), all the sisters-in-law on Sam's side of the family got together and camped at one of the sister-in-law's yard (yes, I said yard. I could have said property, and I wouldn't have been wrong, but that makes it sound a little more remote than the reality. You see the cream siding in the picture? That's her house.) We put up tents, one sister-in-law made some dutch oven yummy's for dinner and dessert, we started a fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, the whole bit (and without the help of any males - well except my 9 year-old nephew, he did a lot of the fire-starting).

Henry was the log fetcher.

No, I'm just kidding, but he really wanted to help, it was cute. We had tons of fun. Maybe we'll have to make it annual?

Also in July I took Kincaid and Miles and attended my own and my extended family reunions. I stayed a couple of extra days in Utah to hang out with my sisters. Its not very often the 5 of us all get together; it was great. I also hadn't been to my extended family reunion for about 7 years, so it was great to go there and see everyone and show off 2 of my handsome boys. Below is a 4 generation picture: My grandma, my mom, me, and the 2 boys.

The beginning of August was busy. I got back, then got ready for girls camp (I got to be a "unit mom", it was a blast!) but not before my ten year high school reunion. That was weird, but a lot of fun. Even more important though, Miles celebrated his first birthday. He liked the cake and the presents (and not just the wrapping paper), but he was really just all about the attention.

We tried to squeeze in some other adventures along the way. Thanks to our good friends we went on a hike. A serious one, in my opinion (although take into consideration the 25 lbs of Miles I have strapped on my back. That and the fact that I was the adult that was in the worst shape). It was serious sweat and work and pain, but it was a lot of fun and really beautiful.

In the beginning of September we went to California for Sam's Aunt's wedding and while we were there:

Yep, we got to go to Disneyland. For now this is the only shot you get to see. Like I stated earlier, I have high hopes that I get to come back later and post the rest of my great shots and tell you all the details, but for now: we got to go, and it was so fun. I was so sad when we were leaving the last night.

Again, the reason for the trip was Sam's Aunt Karen's wedding. It was in Newport Beach. It was beautiful: the temple was beautiful, she was beautiful; I am really glad we got to go. While we were there and all dressed up, matching and at this point still somewhat unstained, I tried to get a family picture. This was the best one. It's realistic and represents us though, right?

We missed the first day of school while we were gone, but when we got back Kincaid got to go to his first day of First Grade. He was so excited to take his lunch and get back on the bus. He loves it.

Next, I celebrated my birthday. I won't say how old I am (not that I am worried about getting old...) just that I will be staying this age for most of the rest of my life.

A few days after my birthday Sam and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. (I still feel 17, and yet all of a sudden I have been married for 8 years, have 3 kids, and already went to my 10 year class reunion? This is really weird for me.) Sam's parents graciously took the boys for us for 24 hours straight (the first time we've been alone for 24 hours straight in I don't-know-how long). We went out to eat, shopped, worked out together, cooked together, shopped some more (can you tell who was the gracious adapting spouse?), and just enjoyed having some time together where we could actually focus on just each other for awhile and not have to divide our attention. It was wonderful.

So much has happened this past summer, so much more than I wrote. This picture, though, is worth a thousand words. We all felt this way at times, and I think Miles felt this way most of the time (I have several other pictures just like it).

It was all so much fun, but it was a tornado of fun. It is nice to be back home and starting to get into a routine again. At least until the rush of birthdays and holidays starts next month.

Life is not fair

2008-07-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

I was visiting at a friend's house this morning and Henry was having a hard time obeying rules. He was smelling their bathroom (according to Kincaid, I didn't ask...), taking the backing out from under their rug and running around the house with it in his mouth, he knocked over their guitar, threw his toys around the room, and found all the glass things at eye level he could (just so he could watch me jump up and get him I'm sure). So finally I made him sit on the couch. Well of course then he started to jump all over their couch and throw the throw blanket and pillows around (I guess he took the term "throw" literally, we really should think up a new name for those). Anyway, so I told him that we don't jump up and down on couches, if he wants to jump around he can do it outside. He looks at me says "But dere no couches outside!" Poor Henry. Oh well. I took the kids home and after watching Henry run across the street alone immediately after I told him to wait for me, then run behind a truck backing up, and I made him sit on his bed. While he was doing that he pulled all the blankets and sheets of his bed and threw them on the floor. So while yes, there are no couches outside to jump on (which was really cute of him to say at the time, and my main point of this post) and that seems unfair, I had a few bones to pick myself today.

Modern Wife

2008-07-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

So on several of my friends/families blogs I saw these tests they took that rated them on how good a 1930's husband or wife they would be. I was curious, plus I love surveys like that so I took the test for me as a wife, then for Sam as a husband. I couldn't figure out how to paste the results from the test website, so here are the numbers: As a 1930's wife I got a 58 - I am average. As a 1930's husband I gave Sam a 135 - very superior. I already knew Sam was a superior husband, now or 1930's. I guess average should be ok to me, but I thought I was a pretty good wife - either I was mistaken or I am a better wife for now, and not so much for 70 years ago. I am going to prevent giving myself a complex and decide that I am just a modern woman - that sounds better, right? Besides, who always prepares balanced meals on time, wears nightgowns instead of pajamas, doesn't wake-up crabby, and gets dressed for breakfast?

I am going to have Sam take the test for both of us too, then we'll see...

If you want to take the test too here is the site: http://www.magatsu.net/maritaltest/

Update: I had Sam take the test for us too and he forgot the actual numbers, but he gave me something in the 100's (very superior) and he gave himself something in the 140's or 150's (even more very superior). I guess at least in my husband's eyes I am a very superior 1930's wife (except for the fact that he mentioned he may not have been totally honest because he was afraid I might score lower, what a stinker!).

Tennessee

2008-07-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

Last month we took a trip to Tennessee to visit Sam's sister and her family and I am finally getting around to posting about it. We had a blast. Sam's sister Rachel has 2 boys the same age as Henry and Miles (I know I am using the names again, I keep going back and forth about it all, maybe I'll change it again later) and they play and get along really well with my 3 boys so we went down to visit and let the boys all play and check out Tennessee. First off, Tennessee is beautiful. I didn't expect it to be so green and hilly like here, it looks really similar, except the trees are deciduous, which probably makes their Fall even more gorgeous. We got there on a Tuesday afternoon after a very LONG day of airplane travel. I won't go into too many details except to say we had to get up at 3:40 am to catch our plane and it all went downhill from there until we landed in Tennessee. I now have some seriously funny (funny now, not funny at the time) stories about traveling, all experienced first-hand by yours truly. Tuesday night Sam's sister Rachel had a girl's night out planned with some of her friends. We went to a little club-type place in Nashville on music-row I believe they call it. One of Rachel's friend's husband is in a band and we went to see their show.

Here are the girls. Top row, l to r: Rachel (my sister-in-law), Allie, Laura, Kathy, Amber, Jill, and Katie. Bottom row: Kendra, me, and Munni. We had a blast! The band played until after 2 in the morning and we danced the night away. The girls were so fun. It was crazy having a bunch of married mormon moms out there all dancing away (some even got hit on and swatted on the behind - that was a bit awkward to say the least), but it was the funnest way to start my trip to Nashville. (The show and the dancing that is, not the behind swatting and yes I know funnest is not a word, but "best" and "most fun" just didn't quite do it for me) The band's name is Savannah Jack and they put on a great show.

The boys spent a lot of the time playing in Rachel and Jason's backyard driving around in the jeep, (Drool! I never even got to see one of those close up as a kid)

and playing in the water feature (which included disassembling it several times, throwing every toy and book they could find in it, peeing in it, and drinking out of it - in that order unfortunately. Did I mention that there were 5 boys all playing together that week?)

A couple of times we went swimming in a community pool nearby that Rachel's friend Munni so kindly let us use her pass to.

Kincaid had a blast and is getting more and more confident in the water. Miles wasn't minding the water and sunshine combo either. I'm pretty sure he was thinking "I could get used to this."

We also went to the Nashville zoo where we had a real southern meal including catfish, crawdads, cornbread, and good old red beans and rice. We also got to see the Opryland Hotel and the Opryland mall. The Opryland hotel was amazing! If I remember correctly it was 3 separate hotels that are connected by a huge arboretum. It had a river running through it that you could take a boat tour on. It had waterfalls and gardens and I don't even know how many restaurants. While we were walking around we saw 3 separate weddings going on.

You could stay at that hotel and go nowhere else and have plenty to do, look at and eat for quite awhile without having to go anywhere else.

Here are the 5 boys in front of one of the waterfalls.

This is my nephew Jacob and I watching the water fountain. If you catch it at the right time it does "shows" where they'll play music and shoot the water to go with it, similar to the fountain in downtown Seattle; it shoots up 200 feet sometimes (at least that's the number I remember).

We took the boys for ride on the carousel in the Opryland Mall. (It is really hard to get good carousel shots, what with all the crazy lighting and movement issues)

Back at the house the boys had fun and bonded, not only with their cousins Jacob and Seth, but with their dog George, too. They would play with him, try to feed him (Kincaid would ask to give him his dog food, Henry would just share his popsicles and other treats, lick by lick, mmm... ) It helped my boys get over their fear of dogs, it was great. Here's Caid and George having a moment.

At night after the boys were down we would stay up and talk, eat, and play Settlers of Catan (watch out Sammi, Rodney, Amber, and Wes, we might even be competition now). Rachel is an awesome cook and we had so much good food. I got a few new recipes to try at home, mmm...

On our last day in Tennessee Sam took a tour of Franklin, where the battle of Franklin and some other civil war historic things took place, while Rachel and I took the boys to Pump it up. It was nice to tire them out before strapping them in for a 6 hour plane ride. Here is Seth giving Miles a ride around the room. Miles was a little less excited about this idea than Seth was.

We went back to their house and finished packing and loading up and Henry got cozy and took a nap. (yep, that's George's bed. I don't know if he was really that tired or he was just getting his last moments of George time in.)

Here are all the boys just before we left (some of them were a little worn out, as you can see). They all did so well together and had so much fun. We all did. Thank you so much Rachel and Jason for all you did to make the trip so wonderful. We had a great time. And although we may not be moving there (any time soon :), we would love to come again soon.

30 Things I Love About You...

2008-06-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

So much has happened, and I hate to admit that I am almost as bad at this blogging thing than I am at my journal. One good thing though: I did take a lot of great pictures, thinking I would post them on my blog, that I otherwise probably wouldn't have.

S's 30th birthday came and went, and so did father's day. So, in honor of those holidays, I want to publicly declare that I am madly in love with my husband, and that he is the best man for me in the world, ever. And, since he's 30, here are 30 things that I love about him:

1. He's loves food as much (and maybe more) than I do.

2. He does the dishes, laundry, vacuums, mops, even toilets sometimes - often without me asking or nagging first.

3. The way he looks when he comes home from a run when his hair is all wet and curly and he is totally energized.

4. He is dang handsome.

5. He always strives do what he feels is right.

6. His obsession with writing utensils and things Made in the USA.

7. He has a great sense of humor.

8. He loves music.

9. He is always very supportive of me and my personal endeavors.

10. He has taught me how to laugh at myself.

11. He has great teeth and a great smile.

12. He is honest with me about his opinions; I never have to guess if what he is saying is how he really feels.

13. He is very logical and can explains things to me in a logical way that my otherwise artistic/emotional brain wouldn't be able to comprehend.

14. He loves our boys.

15. He treats me like he thinks I am amazing.

16. He looks hot with a mustache (that is saying something!).

17. He makes our family a priority.

18. He doesn't have expensive taste; and he has taught me to realize that sometimes there is a justifiable reason to pay more.

19. He is ticklish (even though he would never let me get away with trying to tickle him).

20. He is teaching the boys to respect me and women in general by treating me with respect and sticking up for and supporting me.

21. He is very passionate about the things he cares about.

22. I could make any combination of beans, rice, and cheese in a tortilla (quesadilla, burrito, taco, nachos, etc.) for dinner and he would be ecstatic.

23. He loves fruit, he considers it dessert (I have a very different definition of dessert, but I love that about him).

24. He holds very high standards and expectations for himself (he is probably too hard on himself at times).

25. How much fun he and the boys have playing and dancing and wrestling together.

26. I love that he taught me to notice and appreciate a great scream in a song.

27. His to-do lists.

28. His massive t-shirt collection.

29. How hard he tries to understand me and all my illogical emotions, even when I don't understand myself.

30. That he makes me feel like he is as madly in love with me as I am with him.

Team Sports

2008-05-14T19:19:00.000-07:00

I have been a bit preoccupied lately, but I decided to post about our newest adventure: team sports! K started t-ball last week and is loving it. Big S volunteered as his teams coach (hence the nickname "coach") and is having fun and doing a great job. I think the idea was a bit intimidating at first: he is not a huge sports guy and not really a team sports person at all, but when he heard that it was no scores, no outs, they each run one base no matter how hard/where they hit, and he gets a free t-shirt out of the deal, it sounded a lot more manageable. We are team #27 (they picked a name at practice yesterday, I haven't heard what it is yet - it must be terribly dynamic). I was thinking something "Electric" given the dynamic color of our shirts (they told us we were sage green - someone is either misinformed, color-blind, or both). See K in all his electric green home-run glory below:

There was a team for 3-4 year olds, but we opted not to sign H up this year. However, he has done almost nothing but play t-ball since the first practice. I felt bad at first for not signing him up, but he is having so much fun playing in the backyard, and sneaking out on the field whenever I'm not looking that he doesn't know he's not on the team. Oh the joy of obliviousness! (obliviousness is a word, right?)

Little M has no clue about any of this, he just likes to sit around, make noise and eat. Come to think of it, that's all anybody in our house likes to do, really.

Mother's Day has just come and gone and Coach S asked me at the end of the day what was my favorite part of Mother's Day. You know what I said? "When you made me sit down and eat lunch as soon as we got home from church while you and the boys cleaned up the house." Am I sounding like a mom or what?! I guess it means a lot when they realize that what would mean the most to you is recognizing all the work you do and giving you a little break from it. Happy Mothers Day to all you wonderful women out there who have shown me what it means to be a strong, capable, happy woman and mother. To my friends, sisters, sisters-in-law, grandmas, and especially my wonderful and amazing mother and mother-in-law. You ladies are the best! Can I just say I love my boys and I love being a mom?

These Days...

2008-04-30T19:19:00.000-07:00

Just FYI: Maybe I'm going a bit overboard on this, but to make sure I am keeping my family as safe as possible I am taking our names off the blog. I'll use initials or nicknames so those of you who know us will get the idea. It's sad that its even an issue, but this world we live in can get a little crazy. No, nothing happened, I just read some ideas about online/blog safety and decided I'd up it a notch. So this post is just to explain why I refer to everyone in nicknames or initials.

Trying to be a Good Mom

2008-04-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

K (see "Current Obsessions") is now back into Bob the Builder. On Saturday he saw a picture of cupcakes with Bob the Builder machines toppers and begged me to make cupcakes with different colored frosting for each of the machines. I said yes. Three days, no cupcakes and a very disappointed son later I decided I better be a good mom and follow through with what I said I would do. Here are our cupcake shots (notice each frosting color has a matching bowl and (almost) matching knife).

Several member of S's family (and mine too, actually), make funny faces with their mouths when they are concentrating on things. It's become a family joke. When they catch someone making the face, they say "You're holding your mouth wrong!" H has it bad. I tried to get a shot of him "holding his mouth wrong"; I call it his working tongue.

K had a different issue. Here is his working tongue (it seems to be working quite well, too.)

The finished masterpieces. For all you Bob the Builder fans there is green for Roley, Orange for Dizzy, Yellow for Scoop, and Blue for Scrambler (or for Lofty, in case you like Lofty better). They taste even better than they look. They are a new recipe I tried from my America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (I highly recommend it). It was easy and better tasting than any cake mix I've made. (And besides my favorite scratch chocolate cake, that's a first for me). Yeah!

M didn't get to help make or frost them, but he had a few good ideas of how else he could help with them.

Speaking of trying to be a good mom, I decided to try on my own and get some cute shots of M. Here are 3 of my favorites. I am fairly proud of them, given my limited photography experience. But I would love advice from all you experienced photography moms (or not) out there.

H was feeling left out and informed me that it was his turn. So he got his buddy and we took some of him too. Here's one of the best. Classic H.

Spring Break

2008-04-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

I am terribly late on this, but I have been trying to not spend so much time on the computer. More on that later, but following are pictures of what we did for spring break. Well actually first is a picture of one my favorite parts of spring at my house. I am not sure what this bush is called, but it blooms right at the beginning of spring and I love it! It is so full and colorful, I had to take a picture of it because I knew it wouldn't last forever (in fact the snow last weekend- yes, I said SNOW for all of you that aren't in WA - already killed a lot of the flowers).

So, on to Spring break: On Monday we just went shopping and got stuff done. On Tuesday my mom came over and we went out to lunch, and then to the park to fly some airplanes she got the boys. It was a beautiful day and fun to see her. S had the day to himself. He spent most of the day cutting back some HUGE "shrubberies" in our backyard, it was quite the project. We had so much stuff we cut off we filled ours and 3 other neighbors yard waste bins full (they even jumped in them to pack them in and the garbage guys wouldn't take one of them - sorry Jessica!) On Wednesday we sat around and did research for a bigger car - no results yet, we're still looking. Then finally decided to get off our fannies and go out for dinner and get K some new shoes, it was fun in the end. On Thursday we took the boys to Whirligig in Seattle. I had never been there before but they fill the Seattle Center House with big slides and bouncy houses and a bunch of other fun stuff. It was fun, but crowded. Luckily we ran into S's cousin and her family and they invited us to go with them to the Seattle Children's Museum downstairs. It was fun; I tried to get some good pictures.

After the Children's Museum we took the boys for a ride on the monorail. They loved riding in a train up high above the roads.

Then we took the boys to see the fountain. K had a blast running up to see and touch it. H wouldn't hardly get near it.

On Friday we took the boys to the Everett Children's Museum.

Friday night S and H had a jam session. It was quite the concert!

On Saturday and Sunday was our church's general conference. Saturday night all the girls did the usual banana splits for dinner at S's parents while the guys went to the priesthood session. Then the guys went to S's brother's house for a Wii (did I spell that right?) boxing match. I forgot who won.

Sunday we went to S's parents house for the afternoon session and stayed for the evening. The boys took full advantage of having Grandma all to themselves.

That was the big pieces of our week, and it was fun and busy. A little more than H could take I guess.

Batman

2008-04-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

I will post all about my Spring Break last week later, but something funny happened today I thought I'd share. The boys were running around crazy downstairs and I had already asked H at least 2 times to clean up his play food. So I went down again and told him (firmly) to clean up his food. He looked at me and replied (even more firmly) "Batman's don't clean!" (apparently they were playing super heroes which made him exempt from cleaning).

I then started counting "1.... 2...." He very quickly got up and started picking up his food.

(I guess while super heroes may not clean, they still have to listen to their moms.)

H is so funny sometimes.

Easter Week in Pictures

2008-03-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a bit late on this, but I am finally (for the third time) trying to get my Easter weekend pictures posted. (If you're reading this it means I was finally successful, yea!) We started our Easter celebration Friday night coloring Easter eggs.

Can you guess whose egg is whose? (Hints: 2 are K's and his 2 favorite trains of the week were Molly- a yellow train and Diesel 10- a brown train. H likes to copy K (his name is written on one of them, it's probably too hard to see), and my favorite color is green. In case you care, H and I made the the two-toned ones and S made the orange polka-dotted one.) We have serious talent in our family!

Saturday morning we went to our community Easter egg hunt. H took a while to catch on to the idea so he only got 4 eggs (man, there were some over-zealous "helpful" parents on the "parents encouraged to stay off" field. Did someone forget to tell them they only had Hershey's kisses and imitation flavored Tootsie rolls in them?) but he was happy.

K's field went on the count down for the 2 and under field and H and I had the camera at his field so I missed seeing him or getting any pictures. But he had fun and got some eggs too.

After the egg hunts the boys got to jump in a bouncy house.

While we were waiting in line for the bouncy house my friend came by to say hi and offered to take a family picture. This is one of a handful of family pictures ever taken of the 5 of us. (Thanks Kandy!)

The Easter bunny was there and H wanted to go say hi and get his picture taken with him. K shyly declined and went to the playground and watched us from afar.

Sunday morning began with the traditional "mad-dash to get everyone fed, clean, dressed and presentable for church while not completely destroying the house or losing any tempers." Oh, I mean the traditional "Easter basket and egg hunt." FYI: The Easter bunny is not totally lame at our house, the multi grain Cheerios are for M because he is now starting to eat finger foods and can't have candy yet. Although H has already managed to sneak him some.

Another cold and rainy Easter in Seattle!

(Notice H is wearing his swimming shorts, of course)

After church we went to my parents and ate bacon and waffles with fresh strawberries! (Yum, I hardly ever get bacon). My parents did an Easter egg hunt with the boys and their cousin. They got started too quick for me to get pictures. They each got a pair of PJ's along with some candy. (In case you can't tell, M's pj's have a crab on the shirt front and it says "Crabby." How fitting.)

After my parents we went to S's brother's house for dinner and another egg hunt. I made this rainbow layer jell-o thing that took me forever and looked beautiful. I should have taken a picture. Yes, it was just a jell-o dish, but there were 7 different colored layers and each had to set for at least 45 minutes before you could lay the next so it took me a LONG time to make it. Although I was flattered it got eaten as quickly as it did, I almost had to remind myself not to be sad as it was quickly cut into and mashed around and no one even stopped to look at the beauty that was my jell-o salad.

This is a picture of the boys and some of their cousins just before the egg hunt.

I had every intention of making a better effort this year to take more opportunity's to teach my children the true meaning and significance of Easter. I think we will do another Family Home Evening about it. But let me just say now that I know that Christ lived and died and lived (and lives) again for all of us so that we could all live again as well. As fun as candy and dinners and egg hunts and family parties are, there is nothing that tops the significance and wonder that is the real celebration of Easter.

The Discovery

2008-03-19T13:42:00.001-07:00

I thought I heard that adults don't get pink eye. I was misinformed. My cracked and burning dry but sanitized hands were in vain. And now S feels like he is getting a cold. Aaahh! So, despite my hopes of everyone being better, we're back to the old "getting better" phase, I hope. (But hey, at least now I know that H wasn't just a whiner about his eye drops, they really do sting.)

Today my oh-so exciting plans are to wash all the sheets and go around the house and wipe down everything with Lysol wipes.

Very soon I am going to stop complaining and find something wonderful or exciting to post about... I promise.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2008-03-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

While I don't think there is a whole lot of (if any) Irish in me, my favorite color happens to be green so I can't help but get into a holiday that encourages me to incorporate as much green into my day as possible. We started out the day with big green smiley face chocolate chip pancakes. K loved them!

H was less than fond of the idea. I had to force him to first taste a chocolate chip from a pancake before he would even taste a bite of the actual pancake. I took this picture after he finally tasted the pancakes and decided he would allow me to put one on his plate. (If this picture were bigger, you could see the huge tears on his cheeks.)

Our day was not entirely centered on St. Patrick's Day, however. I have a major itching lately to do home improvement projects and decorate the boy's room. I got an idea. K and I gathered whatever supplies we had around the house; and voila! The boys very own homemade Cars clock. It's not my permanent fix for the clock, but K is excited about it. He hasn't even let me put it back on his wall yet.

S went on a camp-out with the scouts at church recently which made the boys remember they had a small tent of their own. We discovered that it fit nicely on H's bed and there it's stayed. This is H taking a nap in the tent (one of the VERY few naps in the past 9 months). Every night the boys get excited about sleeping in the tent and (cheerfully even) take turns sleeping in it. Maybe this tent thing is a better idea than I thought...

For all you who haven't seen them yet, whether or not you wanted to, here is the first and only picture I have of M's teeth. It's hard to see them (especially in the midst of all that cheek pudge the camera so effectively enhanced), but they are there.

Can I just say that I am SOOOO tired of winter and everyone being sick? We've all been sick and busy lately hence the lack of posting. I almost thought about getting some pictures of our pink-eye adventures as of late, but decided to spare us all that visual image. Suffice it to say, we had several pink (and a few other colors I''ll leave up to your imagination) eyes. It wasn't so terrible, except I was so paranoid of spreading it that I was constantly washing my hands and using hand sanitizer. Which is all well and good except my hands were already dry and then they then started to dry out even more and crack; alcohol-based hand sanitizer isn't exactly soothing on open wounds. Anyway, enough said about all that... my whole point was I am so so so so ready for sunshine and warm weather and no more colds, coughs, dry skin, runny noses, gray skies and cabin fever. Yes I love the northwest, but even us born and raised Washingtonians can get a little crazy after 5 months of cold,wet greyness. Enough complaining. I said my peace. On to Spring!

Boys and Sticks and Dirt

2008-02-29T17:02:00.000-08:00

I'm a day late on this because it is now, as I type, raining again. But the past 2 weeks have been beautiful here (definitely not typical February Seattle weather) and my boys have rediscovered the joy that is playing outside.

H put on his boots and found a stick. K got his new big truck and they went to work.

While I am less than thrilled about the new mud pile now sitting at the bottom of our slide (of course I told them to put the dirt back when they were done, but apparently hearing and listening are 2 entirely different things), I love watching my boys enjoy our backyard and get a little dirty once in awhile.

This picture has nothing to do with anything, except it was cute. So I put it in.

Various and Sundry

2008-02-25T20:20:00.000-08:00

Much has happened since my last post and I am going to try to get it all in as short a post as possible... so be prepared for a novel, or to just not finish reading this post if you get bored - take your pick.

First M's firsts. On February 9th M rolled over from his stomach to his back for the first time. He can now do it on purpose and is enjoying it immensely. His next first:

He earned his wings! M and I took a trip to Utah to visit my sisters. I know traveling with children can be hazardous to a person's health, but he was amazing! The trip down was ideal, almost unfairly (but I'm not complaining). The airport people let me cut in the front of the security line and most everyone I talked to wanted to be helpful to "the lady with the baby". Not only did he get his own seat on the plane (which we didn't pay for) - but we got our own row. And every row around us only had 1 person in it. He slept for all but the last half hour of the flight and then quietly and happily played with his toys until we landed. I don't think it could've been any easier. The flight home was another story... While it was not a nightmare, I just hope that none of you have to change a major blow-out diaper in an airplane lavatory. That is an experience I could've gone without.

My trip was a blast. I stayed up late, watched movies, went swimming, went shopping (and actually got to buy stuff), ate a lot of yummy unhealthy (and some healthy) food and spent time with 3 of my sisters and their families. I found myself facing my life with much more patience and humor when I got back, which I am sure everyone appreciated. My sisters took great care of M and me and we had a marvelous vacation, thanks guys!

M's final first: He got his first tooth! I discovered it yesterday, Sunday the 24th. It is still too little to see in a picture, but it's there.

Moving on...

K had his first school Valentine's Day. He made HotWheels valentines for all the kids in his class and a homemade one for his teacher. I missed the class party because I was on my trip and I feel like a terrible mom and wife for being gone on Valentines Day, but I don't think he even missed me. (I still like to pretend that the other 2 did though).

My final juicy tidbits. I have been tagged, twice (may be even 3 times) now, so I am going to just get them in all right here and now. If you are not interested in knowing anymore about me or the twisted inner workings of my mind, stop now, there is nothing left here of interest for you.

Since I am now all by myself... off we go.

Tag #1

10 years ago: I was a senior in high school (yes, the 10 year reunion e-vite has already arrived). I was in everything, doing everything, oblivious to a lot of things, having a blast and getting ready to move on and go to college.

On my to-do list: Fold the 6 loads of laundry I washed today before S gets tired of looking at them and wearing wrinkly clothes and does it himself. Trim the rest of my bushes before Spring comes and they get even bigger. Post these tags (I can check that one off). Bake cookies for the Bishop for substituting for my sunday school class for me.

5 places I've lived: 5 different cities in WA and Rexburg, ID. (I know that's 6, but I don't really claim Kent:)

5 jobs I've had: Chart and file clerk for a sports medicine clinic. Resident assistant in the on-campus girl's dorms. EFY (summer youth camp) counselor. Apartment manager. Currently a stay-at-home mom and hairstylist on the side.

If I had a billion dollars: I would buy a big, cool, old house and fix it up; get rid of our Subaru as fast as humanly possible and buy a larger vehicle (a 7 seater hybrid SUV) so I don't have to bruise anyone every time we buckle kids in car seats; and then put the rest in savings knowing that I finally can hope to feed three teenage boys (and their father) 10 or so years from now (we are already dealing with a constant "I'm starving," and he's only 6)!

Bad Habits: When I am tired at night (which is every night - see previous post) I am too lazy to put my clothes away so I just leave them in a pile on the floor until one of us gets tired of looking at them (too often S). I eat way too many sweets.

Things I enjoy: Sweets (baking and eating them), music, my family and the sun.

One thing you don't know about me: I have to think about this one..

(just FYI: The above was written last night, I am now finishing this Tuesday morning)

Tag #2

5 Things I did today: Woke up to a freezing cold house. Made waffles. Had a repairman come fix my furnace. Built a fort on H's bed. Spent all the money (and then some) that I was going to use to buy a new bath mat and bathroom towels to pay the repairman.

5 Things I need to do: My hair. My make-up. Get dressed. Fold my laundry. Make my bed.

5 Things I'll do when (not if) I strike it rich: See above + 4. Take my family on a hot sunny vacation. 5. Plant a garden and fruit trees and get a big wood play structure in my yard.

5 Places I've lived: See above

5 Memories I have with my family: Many a long and often exciting drive to Idaho or Utah for summer vacations. Having the car break down on over a third of those vacations. Going thrift store shopping on days off. Having most or all of everyone there at all of my music and sports events. Mad libs, back rubs, and sleepovers on the trampoline.

5 of my bad qualities or habits: See above + 3. I can get very self-absorbed. 4. I can get so zoned out on the TV or computer that my kids could be wreaking all kinds of havoc and I would be completely oblivious until its too late. (I wonder what I'll discover after I finish this post...) 5. (I am embarrassed to admit this but I know a lot of you out there do it too whether or not you'll admit it) I pick my nose.

5 Things people probably don't know about me: (and I thought one was hard) 1. I used to wish I was an ice skater - I've since discovered I am too wussy. 2. I used to and still do wish I was a singer - I would love to perform on stage. 3. I can make a sound just like a cricket. 4. I am overall a fairly easy-going person, but I worry too much about silly things that I can't do anything about (i.e. something stupid I said 2 weeks (or years) ago, if a drunk driver is going to hit me while I'm driving home at night, etc.) 5. I don't like raisins in any baked goods. I think they ruin the whole thing and have no place there.`

So Cailean, Amber, Hilary, Julie, and Cheryl - Tag, you're it! (pick one or none, I'm just trying to check this off my to-do list.)

That's it for now...

Sabotage!

2008-02-05T14:21:00.000-08:00

I will apologize in advance for the absence of any cute pictures in this post. A warning: I am venting.

So, over the past three months I have discovered that night is just like day, except its dark outside. I used to think it was a time when everyone slept and all was quiet and well, different from and perhaps even more magical than day; but its not. At my house, nighttime is just like daytime. People want to eat (meals or snacks), they have accidents, want to change their clothes (sometimes more than once), need help going to the bathroom, need their sheets changed, need help finding favorite toys or socks, having blankets put back on them when they wiggle around too much, want help making or fixing forts, and various other things I can't think of at the moment. Nighttime is just like daytime, except I get to lay down and close my eyes in between tasks.

So tonight I am (hopefully) getting some girl time and so I decided that I would try to get a cat nap in this afternoon while M was down so I could try and get a little ahead of the game in case I get back a little late (hee hee!). I was sabotaged! I was continuously interrupted. Every time I was almost asleep, someone woke me up. After a very frustrating hour, I gave up. So now here I am. And you know where they are? M is asleep, H is asleep, and K is quietly coloring a picture of his favorite "Car" of the week: Boost. Can someone tell my why it is that they choose to be quiet and self-occupied now that I am wide awake and any ideas I had of napping are far, far away? Anyone? Well, then I will go with my original thought: it was sabotage. I guess moms just aren't meant for sleep. One of these nights I know I will get to fall asleep at bedtime and I will stay there all-night (can you imagine?) and wake up to my alarm clock (instead of someone crying) and realize that I have been in my bed all night. I know it will happen, someday. Until then I guess I just have to settle for the fact that at my house, night is just like day.

I am now done venting. I will put on a happy face, suck it up, and stop complaining. I realize that I am not the only sleep-deprived mother (or person really) out there, so my self-pity is over. But for those of you who are still here reading this: thanks for listening. And in case you're bored tonight at 1ish, 3ish and 5ish am, I'll be up, so maybe we can chat?! (Okay, okay I'm sorry, I really am done).

Honestly...

2008-01-31T13:19:00.000-08:00

H and I were having a conversation today and I said, "H, I love you." And he said, "I love dinosaurs." "You don't love mommy?" "O' course I love mommy. O' course I love dinosaurs." (pause)

"You weird, right mommy?" "Yes, I'm weird." "yeah, you weird."

Word for word (or at least to my best recollection) that's how the conversation went. Although there might have been another "I love dinosaurs" in there.

I love what my kids say when they are talking honestly, even if it means I am weird and and less important than dinosaurs.

Enter Us

2008-01-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

Okay, I succumbed. I always thought that blogging was not for me. Like scrap-booking, it was fine for other people, and it was fun to look at theirs, but it wasn't my thing. Yet here I am...

I know some of you reading this are laughing at me right now (and that's okay, I'd be laughing at me too if I wasn't me). I realized that I am terrible at writing things down and keeping a journal. There are so many funny note-worthy things that happen in life that have not got recorded that I decided it was worth swallowing my pride, being willing to eat my words and try a new route. So here we go...

First, an introduction: (while I realize that most everyone reading this probably already knows us, I'm going to introduce us all anyway, so just humor me. Or skip ahead.)

S - my wonderful husband of 7 years. He teaches science (and some other things I think) in a middle through high school for kids with behavior problems and runs, rides his bike, writes or reads in his spare time. (He doesn't always have a mustache, that's another story for another day; it was a handsome picture of him and the one of the few of him not making a face.)

Me- My profile says more about my interests, I am just waiting for some spare time to do them. I was one of five girls (plus mom) in my family and am now figuring out what it means to be the only female, and how to live with males (keep your sense of humor and lots of food handy).

K - He loves art and anything with wheels. In fact, he said, "I like cars. I want cars." long before he learned how to say "mama". He let me know very early where I stood on the list of priorities. (There were no pictures of K not making a face.)

H - H is in constant mess-making mode. He loves dinosaurs, super-heroes, cooking and anything K is doing. He also loves being a big boy and a big brother to M, sometimes a little too much.

M - He loves putting things in his mouth and his big brothers. He is surprisingly VERY patient with all the "love" they bestow upon him; he puts up with quite a bit. (And no, he doesn't know any martial arts.)

Yesterday we got snow (about 3 inches)! In Washington that means that school is cancelled, no one goes anywhere (including work) unless its absolutely necessary and the only people on the road are those who are excited to finally try out their 4 wheel drive, have on chains (you think I'm joking), or transplants from other states who know how to drive in snow. I was born, raised, and have lived my whole life in Washington (except 2 years of college in Idaho), and I love it; but I realize that Washingtonians are wimpy about some things - and snow is at the top of the list.

I also discovered that I am getting old. When I was younger I could spend all day playing in the snow: building snowmen and forts, sledding, eating snow... But yesterday I didn't even go out at all, except to take some pictures. I couldn't get excited enough to even put on my snow clothes (too much work). K went outside for a little while, but only after his friend came over to get him, twice. H didn't want to go at all. I was pondering on our kids lack of adventurousness then realized maybe I need to be a little more adventurous myself, even if it means getting cold and wet and spending twice as much time putting on everyone's snow clothes than we'll actually be outside. I'll work on that.