Kindergarten is coming

We got the shoes

And the backback

And Danielle is VERY excited

So why am I having such a hard time with this?

I don't feel ready to send Danielle off to all day kindergarten. I really going to miss that sweet girl. Thank goodness we still have 7 weeks before school starts.

Happy 4th

I love holidays. The 4th of July is a fun one for me. We started out the celebration with painting our nails. I found these really cool nail polish pencils that allow fine detail. The girls were so excited that I painted flags on their nails.

The morning of the 4th we headed over to the pool. It was fun having Evan come with us. And because he was there to help me with the children, I was able to get Danielle swimming. She was so excited! After two hours of swimming laps she still hadn't had enough and was so disappointed we had to leave.

The rest of the day was spent making cool treats and doing a few crafts. We made fruit pizza and put blueberries, strawberries, and pineapple on skewers. We grilled hamburgers and I took a wonderful nap.

I really like doing the flag craft with my children because it gives me a chance to explain things about the flag such as the symbolization of the red and why we have 50 stars. I also like to explain how the flag should never touch the ground and if a flag is hung outside it should be taken inside and never left out in the dark unless a light is shined on it. I think too often we forget to pass on things to our children simply because we forget. This craft serves as a reminder to me each year and the kids also have fun with it.

I took this picture to show how we really fill up the van. Wow! I still can't believe I have 5 children.

We topped the evening off with a city fireworks show and some of our own sparklers. It was a fun day.

I like how Nathan just got into watching the firework show. Usually my babies scream and are scared. Not him.

Happy Independence Day! I am so thankful for our freedom and to those who gave so much so we could have that freedom. God Bless America.

Fix it or Get even?

My dad called me this morning to say hello. I have a really great dad. He is full of wisdom and understanding. He teaches me many things and what I like most is how he gets me thinking.

This morning I was talking to him about how we were going to go to the free movie today at a local theater and how the first time we went Spencer acted horrible, I mean not so great, and then the second time we went Spencer did so well. It was a learning curve for Spencer. I'm glad we have the free movies this summer because if it doesn't work out, I can leave and it didn't cost me anything.

The movie experience escalated to disciplining children and I like the perspective my dad put on it. He said he learned this from his dad. When disciplining, think, "am I doing this to fix the behavior or get even?"

I like that.

That is a good perspective to take when disciplining children. Why are we doing what we are doing? To fix the behavior? Or get even?

Hmmm.

Summer Fun

I consider our summers here about like the north considers their winters--We stay indoors. It is too hot to really play outside unless it is in the water. So, if we aren't at the pool, we are inside. And I have some pretty creative children who make the summer fun, fun, fun.

Taneal and Camie have been reading the Harry Potter books. Taneal saved up her money and bought a cloak/robe. I made one for Danielle with some fabric scraps that I had and we haven't made it to the store for more black fabric so the Camie and Spencer improvised.

Taneal is the mastermind, Hermoine Granger. Taneal thought up the game to play, complete with the Hogwarts express (the stair case) and every flavor beans. She rounded up all the kids and got them all playing.

Spencer played like he was Harry Potter with the lightening scar and all.

Danielle is up for whatever they want to play as long as she is included.

And Camie is the creator. She creatively made their brooms by taking a stick and taping hair ribbons to the bottom as the bristles. Camie has always been super creative and can make anything out of just about nothing. Her mind never ceases to amaze me.

First Kiss

Nathan and Brooke are so cute. Brooke is my friend's Jana's, little baby. Jana and I were due a week apart, but the babies ended up being a month apart. Jana and I got up the courage to start swapping baby sitting

even with the babies. We started for about an hour to see how it went and now we are up to three hours. It usually goes well. Nathan and Brooke really like each other, Jana got a picture. So fun.

Surviving the heat

Thank goodness for a neighborhood pool. We are able to go swimming almost every day. It is so much fun for the kids, a lot of work for me, but worth it. I never imagined I would be able to take five kids to the pool by myself, but I surprised myself. I do the big "no" and put a life jacket on Danielle and Spencer. I would like to be ablt to work with them and teach them to swim, but I really feel like I have my hands full with holding Nathan. i would go crazy if I didn't, I do what it takes for me to feel safe. Taneal and Camie swim well enough that I only need to do spot checks on them. and I hold Nathan. It works well. We pack a lunch because the kids get so hungry after about an hour. They eat and then swim until Nathan has had enough. It is the only way to survive the heat.

Awesome Swimmers

Swim season is OVER!!!! We had a great swim season that started the last week of April and went through Saturday, June 27th. Taneal and Camie have become amazing swimmers. Camie placed fifth in her backstroke of about 50 girls. She can haul! Taneal surprised us with her butterfly stroke. She has such an amazing time that she made it to an additional meet called All Stars. Both my girls were the youngest in their group and did amazingly well. Even though the Saturday meets started at 6:30am and went through the blazing heat of 3pm, they were so fun to attend and see how great swimmers they were and how well they improved their time. There is nothing better then watching your children succeed. I am glad that the season is over because practice four days a week and swim meets on Saturday is a lot to do for ten weeks. But it is so worth it.

I really liked this picture of Taneal doing the breaststroke.

Hopefully I can get Danielle and Spencer swimming this summer so they can do swim team next year. If we are going to be sitting up at the pool every day they might as well participate and learn some great swimming skills.

Camie doing her terrific backstroke.

This is Camie standing on the block adjusting her goggles before it is time to dive in.

Busy Boy

My little Nathan is all over the place. He is like none of my other children. He has figured out how to open cabinets and drawers, and can even reach into the drawers (all my drawers are up high) and pull things out. He can't see that high, but knows things are inside. Last night he got into Evan's drawer in the bathroom and pulled out a razor.

He climbs really well, too. He loves the stairs and climbs up them super well, but still hasn't figured out how to come down the stairs without falling. The other day I was in the kitchen with my back turned and thought to check on Nathan. I turned around and he had climbed the stool and was proceeding to climb onto the kitchen counter.

Ever since he was about two months old I have noticed he has more energy then I have ever seen in a baby. He kicks his legs and always has something moving. When he sleeps he sleeps hard (not long) and wakes up already going 100 miles/hr. I have tried and tried to get pictures of him doing all his things, but I can't seem to get a picture that isn't blurred. Nathan is always on the move. One of these days I hope to get one of those fancy cameras that will capture the moments.

Today at the park he stood on the cement and stood up without anything helping him. He still isn't very stable, but very able. As soon as he gets his balance a little better, he'll be walking. And, he has a lot of determination. I'm curious just how long it will take him.

This baby is so fun to watch. He plays chase (crawling) and laughs so easy. But he is busy, busy. He is the type that just makes you smile.

Spencer's Birthday

My little boy had his third birthday. He is such a sweet boy, so kind and gentle. He has these thick, dark, and long eye lashes that surround some of the most amazing chocolate brown eyes. He is just so lovable and squeezable. I can't get enough of him (okay, sometimes I can).

Today we celebrated his birthday. His sisters talked him into asking for donuts for breakfast. I told them there was no way I was going to drag five hungry kids to the store to get donuts first thing in the morning. So Evan was a sweetheart and did it for me. We had yummy donuts for breakfast.

For supper we had Troy and Becky and their family over for a dinner of Spencer's choosing. No, it wasn't a cold hot dog fresh out the the package. We had chicken strips with biscuits, mashed potatoes, and cucumber and carrots. He pretty much ate most everything on his plate and asked for more. Cute boy.

Spencer insisted on having a Go, Diego, Go birthday cake. I loved that he knew what he wanted. And, although I'm no pro, I do enjoy decorating cakes so this one was fun. Spencer really liked it and that was my goal.

He really loved all of his gifts. He got a cool bug vacuum that really sucks up bugs. Tyler, his cousin, took him to an empty field and helped Spencer find bugs. Spencer was so excited to go spider hunting. I do have a boy. And thanks to Tyler for helping him where I didn't want to.

Camping

My children think they love to camp. I view camping more as too much work for the little amount of fun it brings. It is fun to be outside and getting away from everything, but it also brings so much work. I probably need to change my attitude, but that is where it is right now. I am working on attitude changes in other departments and this one is near the bottom of my list.

My children occasionally ask if we can go camping and finally last night Evan gave in. We have tried to go camping over the last year and with a new baby and this and that it just hasn't happened. So, last night Evan pitched the tent in the back yard and we camped out. It took about 20 minutes of set up and the kids really had a good time. All 7 of us piled into our tent and slept in sleeping bags. Camie, Danielle, and Spencer really enjoyed seeing the stars. It was pretty hot and we were all tired. Taneal and Evan were the sensible ones and fell asleep pretty fast. The rest of us had a hard time. Nathan was up at least every hour or so the whole night. But I had agreed to camping so I stayed the whole night. Would an attitude change have helped Nathan sleep better?

Around midnight Evan finally got up and went inside. Funny boy considering this was his idea. But, we camped, had an hour or more of clean-up, and hopefully the kids were satisfied. I don't think I let on to the kids that camping is not my thing right now when there are so many other jobs to be done. They seemed to really have a good time and I am glad we did it.

Berry Picking

Yesterday we went to a local farm and picked berries. I had never done this before, so it was a lot of fun and really interesting. I really didn't know what to expect or how hard it might be. It was really fun and not hard at all. I was surprised how fast our baskets filled up. Danielle and Spencer really enjoyed helping. They picked more berries then I did. I left my stroller in the van that was in the shop, so I was wrestling with Nathan. I have great plans of making blackberry jam. Last night I made this yummy fruit salad made from some of the berries we picked.

Spotlights for Primary

I work in the Primary at church with the little children. I love what I do. Today I was gathering info and taking pictures of six children who will be spotlighted next month.

My favorite was one little four-year-old boy.

One of the standard questions is " where were you born." The normal answer is "Utah". Not this time. Check out his answer: "In the hospital and I was in my mommy's tummy and not in an egg. It was really gross. I'm not sure how I got out . . . " I stopped him there and told him he was gonna have to ask his mom. He looked at me like that was a good idea so we went on to the next question.

Oh how I love to be with children. They make me smile.

Enough Already!

We are sick again. We have been sick more this month then in the last four years! The first week of May possible swine flu. The second week we were all throwing up. The third week I lost my voice completely. Now this week, we have colds. I even took Nathan to the ER Sunday because I thought he wasn't getting enough oxygen. He was, I'm just a little paranoid. This morning he woke up with his eyes completely glued shut and a huge booger mustache (sorry to be so graphic, but it was bad, never seen it that bad before) Today we went to the doctor and Nathan has eye drops, Danielle has antibiotics for an ear infection, both got cough medicine, and I wish I could take it all. As a nursing mother, drugs are prohibited. *sigh*.



And the culprit(I think):
Nathan likes to suck on everything. During swim team we play at the park and Nathan swings. And he tries to suck on the swing. After many attempts I finally give up. He has gotten sick first, and I can't think of anywhere else he would be catching stuff.

Sanitizers here we come. Would it look too funny if I sprayed the swing with Lysol?

I'm ready to have my family healthy again. I'm ready for something other then Kleenex and drip buckets. I want to have some fun! Good health, watch out!

Negotiations

This morning Spencer did not want to eat his oatmeal.

It was seasoned and sweetened to perfection with just the right hint of cinnamon. MMMMMM.

Yeah, well, Spencer did not think so.

He started crying saying that he needed me to feed him. Danielle jumped in and offered to feed him. I was happy. Of course, Danielle is one that requires feeding herself, so this was a funny sight.

I was in the other room feeding Nathan. A few minutes later Danielle and Spencer march into the living room announcing that they were done. And then Danielle comes to my side and says, "I told Spencer if he hurried and finished his breakfast we would go and get donuts."

Who is she to offer donuts? I haven't bought donuts since November!

She looked at me with this desperate look which said, Mom, don't turn me into a liar!

The donuts do really sound good.

Maybe we'll have to go get them after all!

Lost Voice

I woke up this morning without a voice. Just sort of a squeak and whisper. I feel normal, just sound pretty pathetic.

Spencer isn't too happy. In quite a stern voice, several different times, he said to me, "Mom, quit talking like that!"

He doesn't understand. He keeps giving me these side glances like he is wondering if I am kidding with him.

Really, I'm not.

Sneak Peek

I've been busy compiling somewhere around 2000 pictures (just a guess) from the cruise and making them into a video. Just when I think I'm nearly done, I realize a big problem after another big problem and hours and hours later I think I am just about done only to go through it again. I am mostly having fun, and thought I would give you a sneak peek at 4 minutes of the 15 minute video. And, because of the song, it moves through the pictures pretty fast. The rest of the video that I am still working on won't go so fast. Enjoy.

On the Mend

It started Sunday. I was dressed for church and feeding Nathan when suddenly I was covered in throw-up. He continued to throw up every ten minutes (or so) for the next seven hours. I have never had a baby throw up like that. He was lethargic and not having ANY wet diapers. Thanks goodness he was still willing to occasionally eat. I gave him one more hour to wet or I was taking him in. And, I had just taken his diaper off because he had thrown up all over himself, when he decided to wet all over the floor. I have never been so happy to have pee on the floor. He stopped throwing up and was cranky on Monday, but all better. It was a short sickness.

Spencer started in Sunday night. Evan stayed up with him and took care of him. I was so grateful. Sunday with Nathan was hard and I really needed the sleep.

Danielle woke up Monday morning throwing up. I decided to keep Taneal and Camie home from school because the sickness came so fast and furious. They were fine of course, so I sent them to school on Tuesday. It is hard to have three fussy children who all want to be held all day. I was going crazy and wondering how I thought I could possibly handle three little children at once. I felt so bad that they felt so bad and all I wanted to do was hold them to help them feel better, but I didn't have the lap space and enough arms. I just couldn't do it all. I don't know who cried more, them or me. Jana was so nice to bring me dinner.

I got a call from the school nurse Tuesday that Camie threw up in gym. She was sick all evening and threw up into the night.

Wednesday morning (yesterday) she woke up fine and full of life.

I did not. It got me. It isn't too often that I get sick, besides pregnancies. That I remember, I've thrown up twice in my life, besides pregnancies. The last time I was really sick was when Camie was a baby, seven years ago. This was bad stuff. I ached all over. I didn't want to move or even exist. I was so glad Camie stayed home from school. I had her take care of Nathan as best as she could while I laid on the couch all day. I felt so bad for Nathan, he just didn't understand. He kept crawling around crying and I was too sick to do anything about it. My dear friend, Stina, brought me dinner. She is an amazing cook. I ate a little, the first I had been able to eat all day. Evan got home from work around 7pm and put the kids to bed for me and I slept all night. I think Nathan slept through the night. I never woke for him. And this morning at 6:15 when I heard Nathan calling for me from his bed, I got up and I feel great. It is a short lived flu, but horrible. It really makes you appreciate good health.

As I walked around my house this morning, I realized how much I do. Can we really use as many dishes in one day as were piled in the sinks and on every counter? When did my kids get out all those toys? Did they really wear all the clothes scattered throughout the house? Wow! What a mess! I know I constantly pick up and clean throughout the days. I finally got a look at how the place would look if I checked out. Not a pretty sight. I have my day cut out for me. And, I feel good. I will gladly put my house back in order to feel good again.

Let it Flow

Oh, the weather outside is delightful.
But inside it's really frightful.
And since we've no place to go,
Let it flow
Let it flow
Let it flow.

It started with Nathan. Moved to Spencer. Now it has Danielle. It is lasting about 7 hours. I'm keeping everyone home from school. You'd think it was the middle of winter, not the beautiful weather of May.