I've Been Tagged . . .

8 Random Facts About Me:

1. I think: my brain is in a fog. I don't know if it is lack of sleep or just not used enough in an intellectual sort of way. I forget too many things.

2. Sometimes I: wear control top to hold in all my rolls around the middle.

3. I said I would never: have a child that has snot running down their nose and then wipe it with their shirt. Well, having five children changes everything. There are a lot of things that I said I would never do that I do all the time.

4. I will never: like bell peppers. Tried as much as I have, they are still awful. The smell, the crunch between my teeth, the flavor, all bad. I still remember my brother-in-law Allen taking a green bell pepper and taking a bite out of it like you would an apple. He did it just to show me how he would eat ANYTHING, and that memory still sticks out vividly.

5. The first concert I went to was: . . . still haven't been to a real one.

6. I love: my children and my husband. They bring me so much joy.

7. I love: to paint. I'm not very good at it nor do I do it very often. But, when I do it is something that makes me very happy.

8. Right now I would give anything to: feel rested. Actually, maybe not. Then I would have to give up everything that I love and that brings a smile to my face. I am tired because I have a baby that gets up a couple times a night and I stay up late blogging or reading or scrapbooking.

Okay...I tag: Tonia, April, Kim, Becca, Trisha, Mandy, Angela, Michael, and Anyone else that wants to be tagged!

Here are the rules
1: Each player starts with 8 random habits/facts about themselves
2: People who are tagged need to write a post on their blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3: At the end of the post you need to choose 8 people to get tagged and list their names.

Camie is a snaggle-tooth

Camie was so excited to come home from school and show me she had lost a tooth, thus making both top front teeth missing. It was close in being a "snaggle tooth" because the first tooth was starting to peek through. I think she helped the second tooth along quite a bit.

So, the tooth fairy forgot to come. how does that happen? Camie was so upset the next morning. I tried to give excuses for the tooth fairy like "maybe you went to sleep too late and when the tooth fairy came you were still awake so she had to leave" or "maybe it was too cold outside and she thought she would wait for a warmer night". Well, that one backfired on me. She insisted we make the tooth fairy a little sweater with a note. What size sweater do you make for the tooth fairy? So, the next night the tooth fairy forgot again. How that one happened is beyond me. So, Camie was in tears and I was feeling really bad for her. I swiped my hand under her pillow and asked her to check again to make sure she hadn't just "missed" where maybe the tooth fairy had put the money. Sure enough she check again and the money was there. Whew! That was close! Can you imagine the tooth fairy missing two nights in a row? If she's not careful, she'll be in the unemployment line!

A Day at a Ranch

Can you tell we like going to this ranch? The kiddos were so excited for about a week from when I told them we were going until we actually went. They really like riding the horses. I was very surprised Spencer liked riding the horse. he kept getting back in line and bragging about riding the horse. They didn't really like the cows on the "hay" ride. They got too close. Spencer was actually shaking and really clinging to me and hiding his face. Nathan was great. He didn't cry even once. He was a little worn out when we got home and made up for the lack of crying at the ranch by screaming the whole evening at home. I need to remember that he is only two months old and still a new baby and activities like this can be quite over-stimulating for babies. you'd think after five kids I would know this, but also with having five kids the babies learn pretty quickly that they have to be on the go a lot. As much as I'd like I can't stay home. I do have four others that like to get out and have some fun.

Trunk-or-Treat

A week before Halloween we had our ward Halloween party. Evan was home and able to go with us. It was so nice to have his help. It is amazing what two adults can accomplish and how less stressful and more enjoyable it can be.

Spencer got his first real taste of Halloween. He was still quite timid but used the words "trick-or-treat" well enough to fill up his pumpkin. The kiddos had a great time and really enjoyed having Evan home.

I think it wore them all out.

Pumpkin Carving

The last time we carved pumpkins was when Danielle was a baby, so that was about four years ago. I remember it well. I had not carved pumpkins with children before, and I was excited to have them carve their own and make it a great happy family event. Taneal was four and Camie was two. How wrong I was. It ended up I held the crying baby and Evan carved the pumkins impatiently while Taneal and Camie went off and played because they wouldn't touch the yucky stuff inside and they were too young to use a knife.

This year was a little different. Evan wasn't home, but tried to talk me out of carving with the kids. I felt they were older and maybe more capable. I bought four pumpkin carving kits ($1 each at Walmart) and hoped that the knives/saws in the kits would be safer. I was right with that part. Basically, Camie and I carved the pumpkins. Taneal thought it was too hard and Danielle and Spencer didn't even give it a try. Taneal did cut a lid and partially clean out her pumpkin, but lost interest quickly. Camie stuck to it and even gave her pumpkin whiskers. For those of you who know Camie, that she stuck with it is not at all surprising. She loves to outdo her sister and to do grown up sort of things and this was perfect for accomplishing all of the above.

Characters from a book

A notice was sent home from the school that friday (Halloween) was a dress up day as a character from a book. Children were going to be allowed to wear costumes to school as long as they were a character from a book that was a book before it was a movie. They emphasized that parents were to not go and buy anything, they were to be creative and use stuff from home. I let my kiddos be creative.

Camie wore the dress up that my mom made her for Pioneer Day party. She was Laura from Little House on the Prairie. Taneal dressed up as Cowgirl Kate from the book we have here at home. She did not want to wear her Halloween costume (kids at school seem to think a 3rd grader is too old to be a princess) although I thought she would make a great Ella from the book Ella Enchanted, which was a book before it was a movie. She insisted otherwise. I liked how my girls went through several books trying to figure out what they wanted to be.

Happy Halloween

Halloween was a lot of fun. We went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood with the Humphery's family. While out, we joined the Monsons and their two boys, then the Williams and their three girls, the Nichols and their three children, and some of their friends. We ended up with a HUGE group that probably scared the people whose doors we were knocking on because of the massive numbers of children in our group. Remember, in my neck of the woods you have a lot of children if you have three! It was a lot of fun for all the children, but so hard for me to keep track of my five. Danielle liked the front of the group and Spencer hung in the back with Camie and Taneal somewhere in between. Nathan slept through the first part of it and woke after a while. I wish I had a picture of that scene, the one where Nathan wanted attention and Danielle and Spencer were too tired to walk: Nathan in the front carrier and Danielle and Spencer in the stroller. My muscles were sore the next day. But hey, Halloween is for the children (or at least it should be, you should have seen the teens and adults dressed up--scary).

So now to the costumes. Taneal and Danielle were princesses. Spencer has been trying to dress up in the girls dresses, so I thought if I made him a "prince" costume out of the same fabric, he would wear boy dress ups instead of girls. It seemed to work, he was happy with his prince costume. I made Camie a princess costume and then she changed her mind. I refused to make her a witch costume after I had already spent all that time on her other costume. So, she still wore the dress and put on a hat and some green face paint and a nose and made the princess costume into the witch she wanted. I love that part of Camie. Nathan was Frankenstein, the same costume Spencer wore when he was a baby, and still so cute.

Decorating cookies

Lately life seems to be so jammed packed with things to do. We wake up at 6:30 and Taneal and Camie catch the bus at 7:30. Then reading lessons with Danielle, meals cooked, kitchen cleaned, soccer practice three nights a week, homework and then bed. We needed to break the schedule and have a little fun. So, I decided to make homemade sugar cookies and let the kids decorate them. Wow, right? In a lot of families this is probably a weekly occurrence. Well, it can be pretty messy with four children and greasy frosting(Nathan isn't too involved yet). And, being the only adult referee, messes don't get cleaned up as easy and quickly, so we avoid messy projects. But, sometimes the messiness of a project needs to be overlooked and just have fun. so, I let the kids use the cookie-cutters and cut out the dough, I colored the frosting, put it into decorating bags, and let the kids have at it. it was so much fun and they loved it!

I should relax and do things like this more often.

Angels Among Us

I really believe Heavenly Father watches over us and answers our prayers. Many times He uses people around us as His instruments. When I first had Nathan, my prayers were answered by the meals friends brought over, by the kind deeds people did, and by the thoughtfulness of those around me. And He extends His love and help to us even in ways that we haven't asked.

Evan has been gone for nearly three months for training with his new job. We are so grateful for this job, he was unemployed for eight months before. He left a week before Nathan was born. He was able to come home for a few days during the birth and for a few days after the Hurricane. I traveled to my parent's house and was able to see him for one day where we blessed Nathan. It has been hard having Evan gone because I miss him so much. It has also been hard having five children, one being a newborn, and all eight and under, all by myself. I guess I shouldn't say "all by myself" because that isn't true at all. My mom came and helped out before Nathan was born while I was on bed rest. My mother-in-law came for two weeks right after Nathan was born. My nephews have been doing my lawn. I have wonderful friends that have been such a blessing and help. I have not done it all on my own. Heavenly Father has been watching over me and giving me help when I have needed it, even at times when i didn't ask.

I like to call those whom Heavenly Father sends to help, angels. There are angels all around us. Many of those angels are right here in my home. Taneal is such a great helper to me. She helps in ways that an eight-year-old can help. She is able to get the kiddos cereal (which has sometimes been for supper), can warm up chicken nuggets, can put shoes on the little ones, can help with some of the cleaning, and can do little things that make such a big difference.

Camie has been wonderful with Nathan. She loves babies and is so good with them. She is always asking me to hold Nathan, I rarely have to ask her for help because she is already helping.

And last night my angel surprised me. Taneal was busy preparing a Family Home Evening lesson. I was trying to get supper cooked. Nathan was very fussy and had been so all afternoon. Camie tried to help with him but he still wouldn't stop crying. I couldn't get him to sleep or even comfort him, hard as I tried. I finally put him on the couch and let him cry because I had to get supper finished. My sweet Danielle, who is barely four, found Nathan's binkie and laid on the couch with him holding the binkie in his mouth so it wouldn't fall out. She probably spent a half hour on the couch with him until she finally fell asleep with her hand still holding the binkie in his mouth. She was my angel that night and I am so thankful for her and for my loving Father in Heaven who used her to help me when I really needed it. I took a picture because I want to remember this moment and how I really felt the love of our Father in Heaven.

My true boy

What do all these things have in common?

My little Spencer has turned them all into guns! And where did he learn this?

Yesterday he started shooting me with a dime!

Got Milk?

Bran Muffin Recipe

When Nathan was born, several meals were brought to my home. I was so appreciative. The food was so good and it was so nice to not have to worry about preparing dinner. One of the ladies in my ward brought muffin mix over for breakfast. She had it already mixed up, just needed put in the muffin tin and baked. Pretty cool. And, on the lid she had a note that gave the instructions that also said the dough could be stored in the fridge for up to 3 MONTHS! Wow! Well, I cooked up the muffins and they were so good. My children loved them. So, I finally got my hands on this recipe and thought I would share it. It does make a large batch, but not to worry, it lasts in the fridge for 3 months.

Bran Muffins

Combine and let stand:

2 Cups boiling water

2 cups Kellogg's All Bran

Cream in a large bowl:

1 Cup Shortening

3 C Sugar

4 eggs

In another bowl combine:

5 Cups flour

5 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp salt

4 Cups Kellogg's All Bran

1 qt buttermilk (wait to combine this)

To shortening mixture fold in 1 qt buttermilk and the dry mixture alternating the two. After that is all combined, add the first mixture and stir completely. Be careful, if that mixture is still hot you may need to add a little at a time to keep the batter from curdling.

Store in an airtight container(s) and will keep in fridge up to 3 months.

Fill muffin tins/cups 1/2 full and bake at 400 degrees 15-20 minutes.

Spencer singing

Spencer has always loved to sing. i remember at his 1st birthday, after everyone had sung happy birthday to him, he started to sing it. He could hardly talk, so to hear the little guy carrying somewhat of a tune mixed with sounds remotely close to "happy birthday" was pretty impressive. He sings all throughout the day. This is a video of him singing "I am a Child of God", one of the songs he sings a lot.

Nathan loves his bath

So this little boy can be screaming, arching his back, and just plain grumpy. As soon as you lay him on the bath mat and start the water, he starts grinning. As he is getting undressed, he is happy. As soon as he touches the water, his breath catches for a moment, and then the legs and arms start splashing. For being 9 weeks, that is a lot of emotion. It is so fun to give him a bath because he smiles more during his bath then any other time. Click on the triangle to watch the video.

3 week pictures

There is an amazing photographer in my ward who took pictures of Nathan. I am so excited to share them.