Summer Skating

This summer we decided to head back to the roller rink for some fun skating. The kids absolutely love it. Nathan is a little difficult since he can't skate yet and doesn't like to sit still. I go ahead and rent Spencer skates but he hangs with me most of the time. Taneal is starting to get the hang of it. She is such a first born. She is cautious, tries to do everything perfectly, just can't let go of all the rules and feel the movement. But she's getting it and I'm having a good time watching her figure it out. Danielle can really skate. Of all my kids, she picked up on it the quickets and smoothest. I don't know if it becuase she has always had great coordination or if it is becuase I introduced it to her at the right age. Whatever the case, she is good. She was so wonderful with Spencer. I didn't even ask her, and she spent probably an hour holding his hand and skating around the rink with him. It was so cute and sweet. Camie thought she would be nice and help Spencer, and they just kept falling. I don't know if it is becuase Camie doesn't quite have the balance like Danielle does or if Danielle is just the perfect height for Spencer. They are all just great kids and had so much fun. We will continue to go back until the kids don't want to.

My Little Artist

Spencer has really taken off with his coloring and drawing and writing letters. Usually when my children turn 4, I start a reading program with them that teaches them all their letters and sounds and how to write them. I stared the program with Spencer because he was asking to spell words, writing his name every where, and seemed really interested in learning to read. I was a little hesitant because everyone told me boys were much harder and not ready as early as girls, but that was proving wrong because of the interest SPencer was showing. So, we started the lessons, Spencer has done really well, and then I decided to stop at about lesson 15. He was getting it, getting a little frustrated because it wasn't what he wanted to be doing. And we have plenty of time to restart later. But look at the creations he has been making since we started. All my children seem to really take off with the art as soon as we start the reading lesson becuase it teaches them to write their letters, such as "s" and "e", which are pretty difficult to write for a new beginner. Once they have that coordination down, the whole world of drawing opens up and this is the results I get. I love their creations and Spencer's are so unique.

A Bull in a China Shop

Evan calls Nathan "A Bull in a China Shop" because . . .

Well, that kid is into everything. He has colored my grout with crayon. I guess I should be happy to have rainbow grout, but it frustrates me. And my belly is so big that I have a hard time getting down and scrubbing, so it will just have to wait. He has gotten into the fireplace that I thought was clean because we don't have fires in it and managed to get soot all over the carpet. I meant to get out the carpet cleaner or even spot clean the areas, but reason after another reason has kept me from that. And he has colored all over my walls. My children NEVER have colored my walls. If they did, it happened once and I made sure they realized they should not even think about doing it again. Nothing fazes Nathan and he repeatedly colors my walls. I have tried everything, even Mr. Clean Magic Eraser won't take the marker off. And then the lock. Mr Nathan can unlock the front door and go out. Not a good thing with a 1 year-old. So, we replaced the lock with a new lock that only can be opened with a key. And guess what that little guy figured out? How to unlock it with the key. SO, we have the key hung up out of reach to where the older kids can reach it but to where Nathan cannot. That little guy is one handful. He is so cute and fun to watch and play with, but my, my house is paying for it. I have survived 4 children before Nathan and have never experienced anything like him. And I am having another boy. Three boys! Spencer is sweet and kind and gentle. Nathan is just as Evan described, "A bull in a China shop" Oh, I love that little guy, which is why he has survived!

Did I mention the shampoo dumped out on his bedroom carpet? Or the toothpaste smeared into the carpet in the hallway? The dent in the wall from his head as he jumped off the couch?

Stubborn!

Talk about one stubborn kid!

Today Nathan got really excited and just happened to be sitting on Taneal's lap through his excitement. Well, as little children can be when they are happy, especially Nathan, they lean forward and throw their head back while squealing with delight. Nathan pulled that little stunt and whacked/head butted Taneal right in the mouth. She bled a little and then swelled. He got her good. The thing is, he is always so rough and usually doesn't realize he has even hurt someone. I wanted him to know how much he hurt Taneal, so I asked him to give Taneal a hug and tell her she was sorry. He replied with a sassy, "no!".

Well then. So, I told him he could either tell Taneal he was sorry or he could stand in the corner (our type of time-out). He marched over and stuck that cute little nose of his right in the corner. After about a minute, I asked him if he was ready to tell Taneal he was sorry. Again, the sassy little, "no". I told him he had to stay in the corner until he was ready to say sorry. Remember, Nathan isn't even 2. About every two to three minutes I would ask him if he would tell Taneal he was sorry and he refused. He ended up staying in the corner for well over a half hour! Finally, he started bawling. I told him so sweetly that I wanted him to get out of the corner, he just needed to tell Taneal he was sorry. He fell to the floor, face buried in his hands, and fell asleep. This kid doesn't hardly take naps anymore! And here it is at 11:30am and he is sleeping because he tuckered himself out by refusing to tell Taneal he was sorry for giving her a fat lip. That is one stubborn kid.

And if I remember right, Taneal was the same way. If she had it set in her mind that she was or was not going to do something, it didn't matter the punishment, she stuck to what she wanted. There was one night when she was about 11 months old and she refused to lay down in her crib. She would fall asleep kneeling, holding onto the side of her crib but would not lay down. After I thought she was good and asleep, I would carefully lay her down and she would wake right back up screaming and stand back up until we did this over and over and over. We were up nearly the whole night. I have learned a thing or two since then, and I should have just let her fall asleep kneeling down, but I was all concerned about her safety and blah, bah, blah. So glad to not be a first time mom again with this stubborn little boy. I can actually sit back and think of the situation as very funny and not get all stressed out. He will grow up, just like Taneal, and will never outgrow that stubbornness, but embrace it for good (I hope). If he turns out as good as Taneal has, I will be one lucky mom.

Taneal was pretty insistent on me taking a picture of her fat lip. You can hardly tell, she had ice on it for a while before the picture was taken. She also wanted me to whiten her teeth in Photoshop, but I couldn't figure out how to do it and ended up turning them blue. Sorry Taneal, I tried!

Summer Karate

A friend of mine from my old ward is quite the community coordinator person. She decided there weren't enough things for the children in her neighborhood to do to keep them from getting into trouble, so she arranged with a local Tae Quan Do school for five weeks of free lessons, twice per week. Wow! We do not live in the neighborhood, but because we know her and are in a neighboring neighborhood, we were invited to partake. Danielle and Spencer are in one class, Camie in another with some of her friends, so she is absolutely in heaven, and Taneal is in another class. My kids LOVE it. You can see just how much Spencer loves it in the pictures, he has the biggest grin through the whole class. Danielle thinks it is great, also. Camie loves being with her two church friends. And Taneal takes the karate very seriously. She claims she has the highest kick in her class and that to graduate at the end of the five weeks she has to break a wood board. I really have a hard time because I have to sit at the studio for 2 hours with Nathan. We have to sit still, he cannot leave my side, and we can't make any noise. It is worse then sitting through Sacrament Meeting! I usually leave frazzled and reminding myself that this is a once in a while opportunity and my kids love it. If I had to pay for it, it would be somewhere around $600/month for 4 children. I really need to be seizing the opportunity, so I can endure the silent, no movement torture of my 23 month old for three more weeks, right? If only he liked watching movies. But he isn't quite 2 and I guess it is a good thing that he would rather move and play then sit like a vegetable. And we can't go outside because of the heat and humidity combined with a very pregnant momma wearing compression hose. But lets end on a positive note. The kids are having a blast this summer. They love the karate lessons which also require homework of cleaning their room, doing whatever I ask them the first time, and using good manners including ma'am and sir. It is fun seeing Spencer struggle, not wanting to do what I have asked him but knowing he has to for his class. They are learning good skills and I am loving their excitement.

Danielle's Birthday

Danielle turned six yesterday and she really wanted a birthday party. I really am not feeling up to much these days, I think that anemic thing is really taking a toll on my energy level. Plus, I know what it takes to throw a party, which is a whole lot of work. It is all worth it, of course, but if you don't have the energy to give, it takes a lot of options away.

My children can have a birthday party every other year because if we did it every year that would be five birthday parties each year, not to mention all the holidays. That is fun, but exhausting. So on their year off, we still have a family party, they get to pick the menu for the day, I get them balloons, make them a special cake, and make the day special. For supper we have Troy and Becky and their family over and the birthday child really feels special. We just do without the big party. This year Danielle wanted a party, so what to do. She didn't have one last year so if she wanted one, she could have one. Taneal and Camie and I got together to plan what to do. I was resistant because of all the work involved, but Taneal and Camie assured me they really would help. And I knew they would help because they help out around the house all the time. They are great kids. So we decided on a tea party. I ordered some crafts from Oriental Trading, Taneal planned the menu for the tea party, I made the invitations, and then we all pitched in to pull it together.

And Danielle had FUN! Many of her friends came. The food was so cool looking. Taneal, Camie, and my niece Audrey were all servers at the party. They even dressed up in black and white with an apron. They each took two or three children and made sure they had all the help they needed with the crafts.
And I got to sit back and enjoy, only stepping in to do things like the cake, cleanup, preparation, etc. It was so much fun and I LOVE having bigger kids that are able to help. The party ended up being all fun and stress free. You can tell from the pictures how happy Danielle was, which was the goal. And now my little girl is 6, feels absolutely special, and had a very fun party that was all about her.

Taneal came up with some really great food ideas. She had a magazine that she borrowed from her cousin Audrey that had most of the ideas in it. The oranges are full of jell-o. There are bananas wrapped in a fruit roll-up, cut and sprinkles placed in middle. We dipped marshmallows in chocolate and then put sprinkles on them. The strawberries are dipped in cool-whip with sprinkles. And the cake. Why I decorate cakes is beyond me. They never turn out. This one was leaning all over the place, I couldn't get the frosting to match the sprinkles, and it felt like a disaster. But Danielle thought it was wonderful, so I guess that it why I keep doing it. If I was getting better, then it would make more sense, but I have less and less time so I keep getting worse and worse. Maybe when I am not pregnant or with a toddler in the house, I will be able to spend the time making beautiful cakes, but for now we will have to suffice with a thrown together cake that would only make a child happy. Success there, too. I made a separate cake for when Troy, Becky, and Audrey came over for supper, didn't want to have them eat a half-eaten birthday party cake.

Happy birthday, my sweet Danielle, It was not only a great day for you, I really enjoyed it, too. Thanks for sharing!

You Know You Have A Big Family When . . .

. . . You no longer fit in a mini van. I NEVER thought I would fill a mini van. And I really NEVER thought I would outgrow a mini van. And here I am with baby #6 on the way. When Evan and I got married, we pictured our family with 4 children. I am surprised I am having this many, very thrilled that I am having a house full, and still amazed that all these children are mine and call me mom. I still feel like I am 21 years old. How did this young mom get this many kids? Maybe I'm not so young, but I feel it.

Anyways, back to the reason of this post. I have been driving a mini van for years. It has been plenty big, plenty maneuverable, and a great fit for me. I am afraid of bigger cars, the first time I ever drove was in my parent's back pasture in the neighbor's Suburban, and I totally wrecked it. It was horrible! Big cars are, well, BIG. And I don't want any part of that. So, when we found out we were expecting #6, my first thought was oh, no, we won't all fit in the mini van. We have to get a BIG car. So, we looked for a while and this is what we found. The first two weeks were tricky, I was so nervous. But now I am used to it and I really like driving it. It is nice to be able to take friends with us places, the radio tells me what song is playing, the kids are further back so I don't hear them as well, and I feel a tiny bit powerful on the road. Is that okay to feel that way as I drive with a half grin thinking I am bigger then most everyone else? The kids love it, too. There is lots of cargo space making going to the pool, grocery store, on vacation, etc all so much easier. I really do like my new ride and now we have room for my whole crew.

And I like the little decals I bought at Target. They aren't anything fancy, but I really like them. Something to personalize my car.

Peanut Butter Sandwiches

Lunch has always been a little difficult for me. Okay, maybe not just a little, but A LOT!

I do not like sandwiches. I am not a big bread fan. Homemade bread is great, when it is fresh out of the oven and hot with butter melted on it. Otherwise, I really don't like homemade bread. My family really likes it, but I'll pass. I don't get why people would ever spend money at a place like Subway. All they serve are sandwiches, and since I don't like sandwiches, I don't go there. Lunch is pretty much sandwiches, making lunch a problem. Kids tend to do what their parents do, so my kids aren't the biggest fan of sandwiches either. This summer lunch has increasingly become a bigger and bigger problem. We have done the quesidillas, the burritos, the mac and cheese that fills the kids up for 1/2 an hour, the chicken nuggets, the corn dogs, etc. Evan takes the left-overs for his lunch. And last week all I heard from the kids was the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth over they didn't want that and didn't want that either and we don't have any food in our house even though the pantry is stocked. I finally decided if the kids didn't want to eat what I fix them, fine, go hungry. I am so tired of pleasing five young, picky mouths day in and day out for something as simple as what lunch is supposed to be. I am picky myself, so I am sympathetic, but enough already! And then Evan would come home from work and the kids would start crying complaining that, "mom didn't even fix us lunch today, I am so hungry! I haven't eaten since breakfast!" And Evan would give me the look of, "Are you seriously starving our children?" And then I would explain that I tried to fix them something and all I heard was complaining so I figured they could go hungry. Kind of the Love and Logic approach, right? Let them suffer the natural consequences? So not working.

So today I decided we are going to work through our problem. I am going to eat sandwiches. My children are going to eat sandwiches. And they aren't just going to be any kind of sandwiches. We will be unified in our menu, all eating the same thing every day this week for lunch. The lunch meat will freeze. The menu for this week: Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. Monday - Sunday this will be the only thing allowed for lunch. I will add a fruit or vegetable. And for those finishing their peanut butter and jelly sandwich, chips will be served. If there is any murmuring, the sandwich will be disposed of and the murmurer will then be dismissed from the table hungry. And there will be no complaining or the next day will hold the same fate.

Today is the first day. I had the weeping at first as I was spreading peanut butter on the six pieces of bread, but I was grinning. Then we all sat down at table and I had some surprised comments of how good the sandwiches were. Taneal's strawberry jam that she made at Activity Days last week was really good. Tomorrow might be a good day, too. But it will get old, which is what I am hoping for. And next week will be a beautiful week when quesidillas are allowed again. Maybe they will even enjoy the chicken nuggets. They are a treat, right?

Wish me luck with my week of sandwiches, I will probably need it. But I will stay strong and set the good example for my children to follow.

New Piano

After how many years of marriage and me feeling quite incomplete without a piano and at least 3 children who should be practicing daily, we finally found one. We shopped Craigs List, found a decent deal, and now I feel happy. My children are playing, Taneal, Camie, and Danielle. And I occasionally sit down and realize just how much I can no longer play any more. I love having a piano, I love hearing my children practice, and I really look forward to learning to play again.

Crib Graduation

My babies aren't able to stay in their cribs very long for 2 reasons:

1. I don't like getting out of bed early in the morning because a toddler is screaming that they are awake. If they could just get out of bed themselves.

2. Usually a new baby comes a long really quick and the crib needs used and I refuse to buy another one.



So, moving my little ones up to a toddler bed is always great. Nathan reached that 18-21 month age and so we graduated him to a toddler bed. The only thing is the toddler bed is very well used. This means the side rails are no longer in place and have been removed for safety. Nathan learned very quickly that there was nothing to hold him in bed, spent about two nights rolling off the bed, and learned where the edge of his bed was while he sleeps, so now he stays in bed all night. He has been in the toddler bed for about a month and is doing wonderfully. As soon as we put him to bed at night, he stays in bed as long as the rest of the kids stay in bed. He sleeps through the night and in the mornings he gets himself out of bed and comes and wakes me up. He is happy, I don't have to wake up to him yelling from the other room to get him and in the process waking up the entire house, and sometimes he even crawls into my bed and cuddles with me for a while. It is a great arrangement we have and I couldn't be happier. Yay to crib graduation!

Danielle's eye

This happened once before. It was right after Danielle had returned from a trip to California with just her dad. She came home with a swollen eye.

The next day it looked worse, so I took her to the doctor. He had no idea what it was so he scheduled an appointment with a pediatric opthamaligist. That same evening of the first appointment, Camie was mauled by a dog. Spencer was 3 weeks old and we had just moved from out-of-state one week prior to that. It was one of those moments in your life when the whole world is spinning around you and you can barely breathe. A newborn, a daughter with stitches all over her face, the nighmares, and Danielle with some weard eye problem. Evan was helpful and took Danielle to the Opthamologist. He presecribed all different kinds of medications. Between Camie's 4 oral medications and Danielles several, I had to make a list and a schedule to keep it all straight. Plus, I was up all day and night with a newborn and hadn't been to church but once, so I didn't have any friends to call for help. I hardly remember any of it other then I survived. We all somehow survived.

So when Danielle's eye flared again, I knew what it was, but I couldn't remember for the life of me what medications she took last time around. I have since started keeping a hand-written medical journal (because coumputers crash). We moved away from the doctor we saw, and I didn't even remember his name. So here we go again. I took her to the pediatrician. I told the pediatrician it was a cold sore on her eye. I think she didn't quite believe me, but gave me the benefit of a doubt. She came back in and and said she needed to refer me to a pediatric opthamologist. I asked if it was Dr. M, and she smiled and said yes, why? That was the same doctor that Spencer saw two months before with his eye condition. She got me an appointment for the next day. And the next day in Danielle and I walk. The Doctor just smiled. I asked him if he had seen anything like Danielle's eye before. He said it is quite common, he sees it about once a month. He said Spencer's eye he sees about once in a lifetime, he will surely never see anything like that one again. He remembered us well. He looked at Danielle's eye and made sure it was not IN her eye. He said it really is not a big deal as long as it does not get IN her eye. If it gets IN her eye, it is a whole new ball game and very difficult. So, we needed to give her some antiviral oral medication, antibiotic eye drops, and erithromycin eye ointment to put on the fever blister. Heavy medication all for prevention, no wonder I didn't remember any of it. She will likely have breakouts the rest of her life, similar to the ones people get on their lips, just this is on her eye. And each time she breaks out, I have to immediately start all the medications to prevent it getting IN her eye.

This time Danielle was older and able to leave it alone, so the scarring isn't nearly as bad. Last time she had a red spot under her eye for almost a year. This time, a month later, and the red spot is almost gone. Hopefully it is another four years before she has another break-out.

Compression

Compression hose have become a big, important part of my life. I have nasty, painful varicose veins that start at my ancles and go all the way up my legs. Unless you have experienced them, you have no idea just how painful they can be. They make standing unbearable. I only have them during pregnancy and I must say they are one of the worst parts of pregnancy. I would endure labor once a week to have relief from the varicose veins. I discovered compression hose. They help a rememndous amount. On days where I just don't wear them, I am in pain and so tired. The blood is able to pool in my veins and so when I wear the hose, it doesn't allow the blood to pool, pushing it right back up to my heart and giving me more energy. I don't know how true that is, but I do know that I have much more energy when I wear them. And I don't hurt. Two problems to compression hose. I'm not sure which one is worse. First, I am pregnanct in the summer, all summer. Compression hose are think. They take a good five minutes to put on. And, the bending and stretching and trying to reach my toes to put on the hose on is so difficult with a big, huge round belly. I don't bend very well and so it is hard to put the hose on. I can't ask for help because they are so hard to put on. The first few times it took me a good ten minutes to put the suckers on. And the second bad part about compression hose is the cost. These hot constrictors run about $100/pair. Ouch. For a pair of hose. But, the benefit is worth it. So, I may not look to pretty wearing my shorts with hose. I may be hot, but I'm off the couch and I'm not in pain. And in a few months I will have a sweet baby and the varicose veins should dissappear. And I can say "adios" to the compression hose.

Note: this is not a picture of me.

What's the Weather?

My sweet little boy, Spencer, asks me the same question each morning, "Mom, what's the weather?" He never tires of the same answer, "what do you think the weather is?" He grumpily asks the same question again and I give him the answer. He then asks me, "does that mean I need short pants?" I love that little boy. He knows what the weather is, we check it out together a lot. We talk about it and discuss what kind of clothing gets worn with different kinds of weather. And he knows what shorts are, but he likes to call them "short pants". I don't know why. I think the weather might just be a morning conversation piece, because he often asks me questions that I know he knows the answer to. What can I say, the boy is unique! But I like it!