Grateful #22: Self-Entertaining Children

We didn't go to the store today. We didn't even go for a drive. And most of us didn't even watch any television. We played. Played with cousins. Baked pies. Visited. Baked some more. And the children? They played outside.

Digging holes.

Wonder if they remember that book, Holes, I read to them a few years ago? Probably not.

Not just Camie. But Danielle. And taneal. And even Spencer. Along with their cousins Eden, Emma, Landon, and Lauren.

They dug and dug and then dug some more. And they got even dirtier. But they had so much fun digging and playing and digging and talking.

And I was grateful I got to help bake and cook and take care of only Nathan and Gavin. The other kids were self-entertained. I just had to provide food and drinks and a few trips to the back pasture to see their progress.

A beautiful day.

Grateful #19: Memories and Pull-Ups

Last night we went and saw my niece, Rebecca, perform in the play Beauty and the Beast. I left the two little ones with my sister and took Taneal, Camie, Danielle, and Spencer.

And suddenly, as we were about to leave to go see the play, I had a flashback. I saw myself at Spencer's age, with the same problem that Spencer still has, and I decided to prevent the problem I had almost 30 years ago.

I had him go put on a pull-up.

You see, I had a bed wetting problem until I was about 10. I was such a sound sleeper. My parents tried everything. Doctors, medications, experiments, everything. And I still continued to wet the bed.

Why my parents let me, I don't know. But they let me spend the night with my school friend when I was about 8. Yes, I was still bed wetting at this point. And my friend's parents didn't speak very good English. They decided to take me and my friend to a late night movie. And the movie wasn't in English. It was in Chinese or something like that. But it had sub titles.

Can you imagine what would happen at a late night showing with sub titles for an 8 year old? You got it. I fell asleep. And I wasn't wearing a pull up. Yep, you got it there too. I seriously peed on that nice and squishy and super absorbent theater chair.

And you better believe I was so horrified at what I had done that I didn't tell a single soul.

I left that super wet chair for someone else to discover while I was nowhere to be found.

I still can't even imagine being the next person to sit in that seat.

So as we were preparing to go to the play to watch my super talented niece perform, and as the memories flooded back, I had Spencer quickly go slip into a pull-up.

So nobody would have to sit in a chair filled with pee.

What a surprise that had to of been 30 long years ago. Some unexpected girl on a first date with a really hot guy.

Only to discover her pants dripping wet. And stinky.

Memories and pull-up.

Prevention.

Gavin's first words

At 14 months, Gavin can say:

Ma ma
Da da
Nah nuh (hungry)
Go go go
Doo (dude)
No (nose)
Na'an (Nathan)

Family Pictures Fall 2011

These are the family pictures we just got back from my friend who is an amazing photographer. Still trying to decide which picture would be most fitting for above the fireplace.

Grateful #15: pictures

I love pictures. Especially pictures of my loved ones. Today I receive the pictures we had taken a few weeks ago by my very talented friend, April. She was able to capture personality, beauty, and amazing pictures and give them to me to enjoy. I have really enjoyed them, looking them over and over and over. She did an amazing job. These are something I will treasure the rest of my life.

I am blogging from my phone as I lie in bed ready to sleep. I don't have the pictures on my phone so I can't upload them right now. I will try to do that tomorrow. But I do have the Christmas card I was trying to create, and it contains one of the pictures I really like. Enjoy, I sure am.

Camie's Birthday Party

This year was Camie's turn to have a birthday party. She decided (or maybe I talked her into it) to have a Halloween theme party because there are so many fun things to do with a Halloween theme.

 These were the party favors that went home with each child. Inside them was sweetened popcorn in fabulous Halloween colors.

 Some of the food: mummies

 Cheese ball

 The whole gang enjoying the creepy food.

 The kids LOVED the dry ice in the punch and how it smoked.

The played the mummy game where they had a time limit to wrap someone in toilet paper. Camie had so much fun with this game.

Candy Corn Parfaits. It is cheesecake moose. I really have no idea how to spell that word. At first it looked like mouse. I know I don't have it right.

This is the dart game we played. They threw darts at the balloons. And it was so much fun!

This is the cake that Camie wanted.

And this is the popcorn that I put inside the witches' brooms.

Witches fingers from string cheese and slivered almonds.

 It was a super fun party and Camie felt like a super star. Mission accomplished.

Grateful #13: My Little Helper

A little too much help in the kitchen. He pulled the bowl of flour mixture onto his face!

Grateful #12: Good Nurses

My family has had the stomach bug recently. It has been bad. Nathan started first, threw up for about 3 hours and then slept through the night and seemed almost back to normal in the morning.

Before nathan even woke up, Gavin started in on it. Around 1 the school called because Danielle was throwing up. The only problem was Gavin was still throwing up, even as I buckled him into the car to get Danielle. I went ahead and got Camie. She started throwing up a few hours later. By Friday morning we were all done except for Gavin. He was still vomiting everytime he drank anything, within a few minutes.

For a 13 month old, that is scary. I called my sister who is a nurse, and asked her what she thought. She asked the doctor who was at the ER with her, and they said the give Gavin a small dose of the Zofran that I took while pregnant. That did stop Gavin from throwing up and enabled me to get him hydrated. But he still wasn't eating.

Today he kept the vomiting up. And spencer also took his turn in there. Even as I was going to the store to grab a few items, Gavin started throwing up in the parking lot. It was horrible.

I have done more laundry, washed more bedding, changed more sheets, and scrubbed more carpets and washed more sinks than probably ever.

Taneal and I are the only ones left to get this.

Gavin really scared me with how much and how frequent and how long he had been vomiting. I called the pediatrician, along with my sister, and they both suggested I take him to the ER.

So that is what I did tonight.

The doctor didnt really do anything different than I was already doing. They gave me a prescription for Gavin to have his own Zofran. But they kept telling me to continue doing what I had been doing because I was keeping Gavin hydrated with how quickly he was vomiting. I received a peace of mind and also and way to go. Which I really needed amidst the bleakness going on within the walls of my own home.

It is pretty hard to take care of that many throwing up children all by myself. And I was succeeding. It was pretty bad. The nurses at the hospital were feeling for me and I really appreciated that. It was what I needed.

If I do have to get sick, I just hope it waits until I get Gavin better.

I am grateful today for good, supportive nurses. The ones at the ER that I visited and also my sister who gave me the advise of Zofran that kept my baby hydrated.

Grateful #11: Humor

Oh, the weather outside is delightful,
But in here it's really frightful.
And there is not place we ought to go,
So let it flow,
Let it flow,
Let it flow.

A few years ago we had a similar throwing up bug. It hit us all at once. I remember laying in bed with blankets laid out all over my bedroom floor and children sprawled all over and just wondering how we were going to survive. This time it was a few days before Christmas.

And then Evan started singing the above song.

I was thankful for that moment and how the humor just lifted the mood and made things almost comical. Almost.

Which is exactly what we need now.

A little humor.

Camie started in on the vomiting and then bawled. She said she had just gotten over pneumonia last week and missed 4 days of school and now here she was throwing up and missing even more school. I hugged on her, sweet talked to her, hugged her some more and still she just bawled.

And then I started singing. Camie got quiet for a minute and then suddenly shouted, "I just want to throw this pillow at your face! I can't stand it when you sing that song!"

I ignored her comment mostly, I did stop singing. But I did something else that was a little funny, and suddenly Camie burst into laughter.

Laughter is the cure for pretty much everything.

So glad to see the humor in our situation. Because I have the right to bawl, just like Camie, because our situation is pretty bad. But we will get better. Just hopefully soon.

And thanks so much to Tisha for the Chicken Noodle Soup. We had it for supper tonight. And the Popsicles from Wendy were a pretty big hit,too!

Yah, we're loved!

Grateful #10: Sanitize Function

Today has been one of those not so great days. But Only because I am up to my elbows in throw up and poop. I thankfully haven't been hit yet. But everyone else in my household seem to be afflicted with one or both of those ailments. Which means a lot of washing and cleaning. Because of the condition of my home today, I will keep this short and sweet.

I am thankful for the sanitize function on my washer. Not really sure how it sanitizes, but it say it does, and i want to believe that it does, so we will just say it does.

Hopefully we keep out sickness contained to just my household. This stiff is nasty. You don't want it.

Grateful #9: Service

There was a lot of service going on around here today. Not more than normal. But Today I really noticed. Because I am trying to think about what I am grateful for. And this is one of those posts that I have to recreate, so I hope I can do it justice.

Today I am thankful for service. I have friends that serve all the time. It is something daily. Service sometimes becomes so commonplace that we forget to be thankful for even the small acts of service. But today I am going to focus on even the small:

Jana - She called this morning and asked if I needed anything at Costco since she was headed that way. Maybe some freezer bags for the chicken order I was getting?

Wendy - happened to be at my home when I was going to put a turkey in the oven. I realized I didn't have any turkey bags, so she ran home and got her turkey roaster for me to borrow.

Nicole - my kids took off from me on the way home from school. My kids are on bike, I am on foot pushing a stroller carrying 50+ pounds. Nicole patiently waited with my children in front of my house while I ran in hopes to keep up.

Valerie - picked up my 80 pound chicken order so i didn't have to wait in the car for 2 hours with three boys.

Spencer - played with Gavin while I bagged 80 pounds of chicken. Yuck. Raw meat is so gross!

I know I am missing so many little acts of service that transpired throughout the day. It is those little acts that make the world a better place. I did a few small acts myself, and I am going to list a few of them. Because I want to completely loose all blessing received from doing those acts. No, just because I want to show how small things really do make a difference.

A boy got his shoe strings caught around his petal on his bike and was thrown off. Thankfully he wasn't hurt, but I helped him untangle his shoe lace and get back on his bike.

I watched two children for two different ladies. Hopefully they enjoyed the break and were able to be renewed. And if not, maybe they accomplished something that would have been a little harder with a child in tow.

I walked the 5-yr-old neighbor girl to school. Made sure she got there safely. And I hugged her, along with my children, and wished her a good day. She came over after school and played.

I didn't do much else, other that cook and clean and all that normal everyday stuff.

I really do believe it is the small acts of service that can make life a little easier for those around us. And in so doing, making things a little brighter for us in return.

Grateful #8: Deadlines

This is a lame-o post, but today I am thankful for deadlines.

I really shouldn't preface a post by telling you how boring it is going to be. Of course you aren't going to read it now. It's going to be downright mun drum. But that's okay. Because in a few months I will be able to do this post justice. I just need to practice a little patience.

Today I spent pretty much the entire day focused on a project that had to be done by midnight, because that is when the sale ended.

I am not really a procrastinator. Pretty much not at all. I get stressed and uptight when I procrastinate things. And then I get grumpy and irritated and quit having fun. So I try to not push the clock and then we have happiness.

I finished the project by 8pm. 4 hours to spare. That was cutting it too close for me. But I couldn't have really sped things up, I didn't get notice of the sale until a few days before. And I soon as I decided I was going to do the project, I started formulating those creative juices in my head. So I didn't really procrastinate much at all. Right?

I have been wanting to do this little project since August. Now it is November. And with the holidays coming, I needed to complete it before the holidays started. This fun little deadline got me to do it. And I can't wait to get the final product in the mail in a few weeks.

After Christmas I will share with you what it is. I would love to give a preview, but that would ruin the surprise.

Grateful #7: Scriptures

I can usually whip out a blog post in about 5 minutes or less, unless I include a bunch of pictures. Of course if I write a post and then for some reason it gets deleted, or lost, or corrupted, I have such a hard time recreating that post. The first time I write something it CAN have humor, emotions, etc. But when I try to recreate the same thing, all the good stuff is lost, all the stuff that makes it meaningful and interesting to read.

This is a post that I am trying to recreate. And I just can't seem to get it. I have this really cool phone with a really cool app on it that allows me to blog wherever I am. So I blogged and don't quite know where that blog post went. Somewhere to oblivion. Tried another post the following night and same thing. And you know how hard it is for me to recreate blog post? And especially in the month of November where I am writing about thankfuls for that particular day? I am going to try to redo this, but please be patient with me if my post is very dull and unemotional. I am trying.

Monday, the 7th, we were reading scriptures as a family, and we read 2 Nephi 31:20. One of my children read it in their sleepy, monotonous voice, but fireworks went off in my brain as they read this verse. I made them stop, reread the verse, and then we briefly discussed it.

I have read this same scriptures I don't know how many times. A whole lot of times. And yah, I remember having read it before, but I kept reading and didn't think much about it.

That is what I love about the scriptures. They are written for us today. What was meaningful and profound to me last week or last year may not be what touches me this week. The other many times I read that particular verse in 2 Nephi, wasn't what I have needed to hear in the past. But today it was. It carried me, uplifted me, and was exactly what I needed TODAY.

I know the scriptures are true. They were written by inspired men. Prophets of God. And they are the word of God. They strengthen, redeem, and nourish my soul. No wonder we are commanded to "feast upon the words of Christ". As we do we will be blessed, instructed, and know how to be happy.

Grateful # 6: A Big Tub

Today I am thankful for my big tub that is in the master bath. I can put all three boys in it and assembly line bathe them. I start by dumping a cup of water over each of their heads. Then I add shampoo and scrub. Then I dump cups of water over each of their heads to rinse the shampoo. After they have blotted their eyes on a towel, I pull out the tooth brushes and tooth paste. And right there in the bath I brush their teeth. You got it, no spitting. I am a horrible mom and make them swallow their toothpaste. If needed we scrub dirty legs and arms and faces. Usually the splashing and craziness of three boys in the bath together gets them all squeaky clean.




Assembly line style. Just wait till you have six kids. You'd do it too!


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Grateful #5 children

Today was a busy, busy day. Between soccer games and then regular Saturday activities, today was just filled to the brim. But ya know what? It was fun. I thoroughly enjoyed my children today. Not to say I don't usually, but today was great! And for my "gratefuls", I am focusing on the daily things that I am thankful for. The somethings of today. And although I am thankful for things like cookies and cake and a clean house, etc., none of those things happened today.

My children happened today.

Two soccer games where Spencer played first with great defensive strategies and high energy. Danielle played the next game with some pretty cool moves and almost scored. Camie played with Nathan, spencer, and Gavin during the game so I could watch. And it was so much fun! Everyone with a good attitude. Taneal watched Biggest Looser on my phone.

Check out the stick Nathan found. He was shooting everything up with his new found gun.


We headed to Costco and the kids loved that I rolled down the windows to enjoy the cool breeze. Nice puffy clouds in the sky. Taneal took a picture of this one because she said it looked like a dog.



After the games we headed to Costco to get their $1.50 hot dog and drink. I also wanted to grab a few things. As we ALL got out of the car to head in, I realized I didn't have my purse. Yah, no money. Taneal had taken my purse out of the car earlier and I didn't realize it. So I scrounged up enough change in the car for the lunch, and we ate and had fun. Afterwards we window-shopped. It was fun to walk down the toy isle at Costco with absolutely no money, six children, and excitement. The kids were ooing and ahhing at everything. 13 month Gavin was even excited and he didn't know what was going on!

Later tonight we went to the school to play on the play ground and got creeped out by a guy hiding in the play ground equipment. So we didn't get to play. But we did go on a nice walk/bike ride.

Then we had spaghetti and meatballs. Everyone ate their vegetables with minimal complaint. And then we all pitched in and cleaned up.

No crying about going to bed.

Just a nice enjoyable day with my children. And I LOVED it!


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