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.

Soccer Season Ends

So I am a little late posting this one. The last week of March soccer season ended. This was Taneal's 4th season playing with her cousin and aunt as her coach. Taneal plays so well and really enjoys the sport.

Camie also played. I don't have the pictures yet, my friend used her fancy dancy camera and got some great pictures. I am just waiting to get them from her and then I'll post another way past due post. Got to keep the journaling up, right? Better late then never.

Poop

Being a mother sort of gets you used to poop, right? I have been changing diapers for 9 years now and only once had a 4 month break between Camie and Danielle. Poop. Day in and day out. Poop. At church a few Sundays ago all my children were quietly sitting on the pew listening to the speakers and really doing well. I was smiling looking at my children thinking how peaceful it was not to be reminding my children to be reverent and listen. I had Nathan on the floor by my feet. I looked down at him to smile at how content he was playing. And that's when I saw it. Poop. All up his back. Soaked through his onesie onto his Sunday shirt. I couldn't pick him up without touching the poop. I just sat there looking at him trying to figure out how I was going to exit the chapel discretely. Nope, wasn't going to happen. I just quickly picked him up, held him straight out so as to not get the poop on myself, tripped over a few bags and feet, and went straight to the car. The only change of clothes I had was a basketball onesie, so that was his church attire for the rest of the meeting. Even after 9 years of diaper changing, poop still is a big deal.

If only . . .

If only everyone valued life a little more. I recently received this email from good friend and I really liked the perspective. I wish abortion wasn't an issue, if only people valued life and took more responsibility:

A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said: 'Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even 1 yr. old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together.'

So the doctor said: 'Ok, and what do you want me to do?'

She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this.'

The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady: 'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too.' S

he smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request.

Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care of 2 babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the other one is born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is. There would be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms.

The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How terrible! It's a crime to kill a child!

'I agree', the doctor replied. 'But you seemed to be ok with it, so I thought maybe that was the best solution. The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point.

He convinced the mom that there is no difference in killing a child that's already been born and one that's still in the womb. The crime is the same!

Only a Fever

Word sure travels fast.

Danielle woke up this morning with a temperature under the armpit of 102.4. Later this morning we received a call from the health department saying that one of the children on swim team had a confirmed case of swine flu, we were exposed.

After talking to the health department for a while, they said we MUST take Danielle into the doctor tomorrow, but unless she got worse, there was no reason to take her to the hospital today. Maybe we have it, but I really doubt it.

I was supposed to do sharing time today and I handed it off to someone else to do it so we wouldn't have to go to church today, just to be safe. I guess word spread and everyone seems to think we have swine flu. All we have is a temperature and a little girl who is running all over the house playing as if nothing is wrong.

So for those of you who live near us, we will stay completely home this week, unless the doctor tells us otherwise. I do not want to spread anything, so we will play on the safe side. We do not have a diagnosed case of swine flu, just a fever. I will take Danielle to the doctor tomorrow and if anything develops, I'll keep ya posted.

Cute, little Spencer

My first boy. And Oh, what personality. He often runs around the house in this silly hat and sunglasses. He just loves them, and I enjoy watching him.

If you are easily grossed out, do not continue reading. I must share something Spencer said, because it was so gross but so typical. I don't know that it is blog worthy, and after I post it I will probably be embarrassed that I posted it, but I am thinking of it as more for journal purposes that might make me laugh MANY years to come as I read it.

We have a nose-picking and eating problem. See a two-year-old post here. The problem still exists.

I feel I have tried everything. I have tried things that I never imagined I would stoop to trying to solve the problem. And yet, the nose picking, eating, still remains a problem.

The other day, I caught Spencer picking and eating, gave him my newest threat idea, and asked him, were you eating your boogers? He said that he was not. So, I asked him where the booger he had just picked went. And he responded, "I didn't eat it, I just licked it!"

Ohhhh! So gross!

Swim Team

Yes, summer is upon us. Yesterday we started swim team practice. Taneal and Camie are both in it this year again. Taneal was so excited. Camie, well, she was excited, but unwilling to show it. She is a lot like my little brother, Charles. While in High School he got to go to Peru with my parents to pick my brother up off his mission, and when asked how it was, "yah, it was okay."

Camie was giggling, swimming so well, and having a ball at practice. When I asked her what she thought of it, "Mom, you know I don't like swimming." Yah, right!

Swim team is a great opportunity for my girls. They learn a lot. It is like taking swim lessons for eight weeks straight, with meets on Saturdays where they race against their own time from the previous weeks. They become very confident swimmers and I feel much safer at the pool because I know they swim well. It teaches them to do well at one of the healthiest sports out there. And, summers here must be spent in the water to make them bearable. It is just too hot.

Swim team is a hug commitment from the parents. Practice is Tuesday-Friday. Camie is at one pool and Taneal's practice starts at a different pool 15 minutes later. The practice is 1 hour. So, I get to play at the park with Danielle, Spencer, and Nathan 4 days a week during dinner time while the girls swim. Saturday meets begin at 7am and end around 1pm and we must volunteer (or forfeit our deposit). This lasts for 8 weeks. Swim team becomes our life for two months. But, it is so worth it. I hope to do it each year.

And yesterday we began again. Here we go!

Nathan is crawling!

It's official. Nathan started crawling today. I knew it was coming. He has been up on all fours rocking for about three weeks. I knew it was any day now. It could have been yesterday, he fooled us a few times. But, today he really did it over and over. I don't think he has realized the great skill he just acquired. He takes his sweet time. It is so darn cute!

And at 8 months, he is my earliest crawler. Not that I am comparing, I would never do that to my children. He is two months earlier then all the rest!

Washer and Dryer

The day after the company all went home from the cruise, I decided I needed to tackle the laundry. There was a lot of it. I threw in a batch of whites, the most needed clean laundry. After that load I threw in jeans. As I went to throw the next load into the dryer after finishing the two loads mentioned above, I thought I saw blue sparks in my peripheral vision. Naw, the dryer wasn't even turned on, I was imagining it. Then I saw the sparks again. I must really have a good imagination. So, I finished the transfer from the washer to the dryer, shut the door, and a bunch of sparks flew. Yah, I carefully unplugged the appliance and knew my luck was out. The clothes I had just taken from the dryer smelled like smoke. I think angels must have been watching over me because we just about had a fire.

I had loads and loads of laundry to do, I think I figured it was approximately 12, not including bedding. I imagined taking the laundry to the laundry mat. Not so fun with three kids in tow, one a baby. Doing laundry at a friends house? I had a few offers, but I would be there for two days straight. I called Evan. And we made our way to Lowes and bought the most AWESOME washer and dryer!

This is a picture of SOME of the laundry. It looked much bigger in person. Isn't that silly that I took a picture of my dirty laundry?

Let me give you a little history of what I have been using. I preface it by saying that laundry is my most dreaded chore of the week. It takes two full days. I tried to make laundry happier by saving some of the tedious folding while watching American Idol. I still dreaded the task. Evan and I were married 13 years ago. Right after we were married, Evan's brother gave us their "old" dryer that was going out. We didn't have hook-ups in our apartment, so we let my brother use it. I think he got frustrated with it and eventually bought his own and gave us the dryer back. Well, I'm married to a Black (last name, of course) and they know how to fix things. And fix this dryer, he did, over and over and over, until last week when one too many sparks flew.

Now to the washer. The washer isn't quite as bad. Well, maybe it is. It just isn't as old. We bought the washer a week after Taneal was born, so that would be 9 years ago. It was a good washer. It had it's first repair two months after it's initial purchase. Evan has repaired it three times since then. About four years ago something got in the washer. I don't know if I somehow managed to wash a screw driver or what, but it tore the inside of the washer up, scratching it all over and chipping the paint away. Well, exposed metal yields rust. We started getting rust spots all over our clothes. Evan painted it with the really good kind of paint that is supposed to fix things like that. But, eventually the paint wore off again and more rust spots. Even if I was super careful and got the clothes out as soon as the washer stopped, but the rust spot still kept a-coming.

I guess we'd had it. I had had it years ago, but with a husband who fixes things, you appreciate what he does and are grateful that he know how to fix things, at least grateful most of the time. And so our trip to Lowes was a glorious day. It was like Christmas times 10! And I walked away happy. I went home and tackled those 100 loads of laundry (okay, I'm exaggerating there, but it felt like it) and finished 2 weeks worth of laundry in 1 day. It was glorious.

I never thought I would be so excited over a new washer and dryer. Aren't they a beauty?

I didn't even save the folding for American Idol.