A New Way to Play With Blocks

Michael got tired of making towers, so he stuffed his onesie with all 12 of Kelly's peek-a-blocks. He was so proud of himself that he staggered into the kitchen holding on for dear life to tell me he "put in pocket".

Weekend

We listened to General Conference yesterday and today at home. Yesterday, we worked while we were tuned in. Today, Stan and I sat blissfully still, the kids kept their hands busy with artistic endeavors and we all listened. Here are some samples of what the kids did.

Summer cut snowflakes out and let Heather tinge them with blue watercolor.

Rachel used both markers and watercolors to produce this picture of the redwood forest in Northern California. If you look closely you can see the banana slug in the bottom left hand corner.

Just FYI, banana slugs are edible.

Heather created a rainbow by first drawing with markers, then adroitly applying Elmer's glue.

Gwen crafted flowers with felt and beads. The picture is sideways. Just turn your head.

Kelly drew "two princesses and two silly men" with style and pizazz.

And, last but not least, our budding artist who is not defined by convention, nor limited by running out of paper - Michael.

FHE

We played soccer for family home evening last Monday. Everyone wants Heather on their team when we play because she is a rocket on the field.

We opened the envelope, and...

...it's a girl!!!

Why I am NOT going for the Mother of the Year Award

I was really excited about my ultrasound this morning. So excited that I forgot it was a planning day (which means a two hour earlier pick up time) for Summer. So excited that I didn't see anything I had on my schedule past 9:30 this morning, including picking Summer up. So excited that it wore me out. After I snacked the kids, I went to put Michael down for his nap, with the internet connected, with my cell phone at the other end of the house and with firm instructions to the other kids not to disturb me. I fell deeply asleep for A LONG TIME. Long enough to miss thirteen calls on the aforementioned cell phone and long enough for Summer to wait more than an hour to finally be picked up by her Dad who left work and dropped her off at the house before Sleeping Beauty (?) moved a muscle.

I woke up to find my sweet oldest daughter looking forlorn and forgotten in her bedroom. Poor baby!

After groveling for undeserved forgiveness and promising she could pick the flavors of shake we had for snack (a big privilege around here) I went to pick Rachel up. I was on the phone when I picked her up, but wanting to reassure myself that I wasn't too neglectful, I told my friend I'd call her back and turned to pay attention to at least one of my children for the day. I asked Rachel how she was, and she said one word, "Bad."

I thought, "Oh, no!" and asked what happened. Rachel started grinning and admitted that nothing was wrong. Her teacher had instructed all the kids to tell their parents that "because parents don't pay attention to their kids." Ha, ha!

I smiled about it with Rachel and admitted this may have not been the best day for this little demonstration since I had forgotten Summer and I already felt like a rotten mother. I enumerated all my wimpy excuses about being excited about the ultrasound, blah, blah, blah, and Rachel, getting to the heart of the matter, asked, "Did you find out the sex?"

I told her the doctor had, but that it was still in the envelope at home. Rachel, with a smile on her face and remembering having gone through this with Michael, groaned and exclaimed, "You are A ROTTEN MOTHER!"

Baby Picture!

This morning, I had my ultrasound. Everything looked great. Because of my age, I saw the perinatologist rather than an ultrasound tech, and he told me he didn't see any reason for me to have an amniocentesis, which was nice to hear. Here is the best picture. Isn't that a cute baby?
Oh, and for those of you wondering about the sex of the baby, the doctor took a picture, wrote down what he thought, and put it in this envelope. Happy peering :)

Hooray!

We have had

visits since we started the blog. As a thank you to all of you who have been paying attention to our ramblings, we'd like to invite you to dinner - TONIGHT! We're planning on eating in about 45 minutes, which would be 5:30 Pacific time, Sept. 17th.

See you then :)

Whew...what a relief!

For some schoolwork she had to do this week, Gwen wrote the following paragraph -

I like my school. It is my house, too. I am home schooled. I do school work there. I like it because I don’t have any weird teacher.

I am reassured...I guess. :)

Hiccups

Last night I was lying down still and quiet, waiting for Michael to go to sleep and I felt the baby hiccupping for the first time.

Heather's New Bunny

Last week, on our local freecycle list, someone was giving away a bunny. Since we had all the stuff (left over from Rachel's rabbit Bugsy before he met his tragic end) I asked Heather if she was interested. She has been wanting a furry pet. Stan and I prefer pets in cages since there is enough life running free around here and she hasn't been too keen on our suggestions of hermit crabs and fish.

Heather thought about it a bit, she is a very thoughtful girl, and decided, yes a rabbit would be wonderful. We picked the bunny up on Thursday from a family that didn't feel they had enough time to give her. She is named Sandy and is a sweet, velvety creature.

Written By Rachel

My cousin Ruby sent me a package in the mail with Larvets, a spicy worm snack, and butterfly candy a few days after I ate the cricket. (See The Candy was Yucky, the Cricket was Kinda Good) Everyone tried at least one bug except Summer, and everyone had a different opinion. Heather thinks they’re gross, Gwen said they taste like Hot Cheetos, Kelly said they’re yummy, I enjoyed them, and Michael was stuffing fistfuls in his mouth. Thanks from us all to Ruby, Aunt Stephanie, and Uncle Matt for the bugs they sent.

Where is his shirt?

Here is a picture of Michael when we got home from my OB appointment today. Yes, shirtless at the doctor’s office. Are you wondering why? Maybe we are even tackier than you thought. Maybe the AC wasn’t working and with 100+ degree heat, he was grumpy with his shirt on. Maybe I let him eat the lollipop the phlebotomist gave him when she drew blood for my test today (Where is the justice in THAT?) and his shirt was too sticky to meet the buckles of his car seat. Those would all be good guesses, but since you, a person of distinction and good taste, are reading our blog you will get the true story. Move over People magazine.

At each of my OB appointments, the nurse gives me a little cup, sends me to the bathroom and expects me to fills it with urine. Today, I told Heather, Gwen and Kelly to stand against the wall out of people’s way while I took Mr. Unpredictable in the restroom with me. Well, being the obedient girl I am, I filled my little cup and was getting dressed. I turned around just in time to see Michael, filled with curiosity, grab the cup and dump it all over his shirt. I quickly decided immodesty was better than a urine soaked shirt, so Michael was a beach bum at the doctor’s today.

The Candy was Yucky, the Cricket was Kinda Good

At the end of the school year last June, one of the kids' mothers gave everyone in Rachel's class a Hotlix cricket lollipop. She's been saving it and woke up this morning feeling that today was the day. She tried to eat the whole thing, but the candy was in her words, "Yucky" so she tried to get Michael to eat it. He wouldn't either, so she soaked the candy off and went straight for the good stuff.

Isn't she brave?

Here she is after chewing and swallowing. She survived! Our culinary expert said, "It was kinda stringy, kinda crunchy, and kinda good."

I've never seen...

...someone eat a drumstick like that!

Service Personnel Nightmare #1

I'm always driving cashiers crazy, asking to pay for $10 with my debit card, 52 cents in small change and the rest with a gift card. I'm never trying to be mean, just following my obsessive compulsive tendencies. I told Stan about my latest, and he told me he'd clean up after dinner without me if I put it on the blog. Who'd miss a chance like that?

Thursday, I drove a friend to another city to sign the lease on her apartment. She is starting college as a freshman on Tuesday. I was happy to be of help, but a bit nervous about making it back in time to pick Summer and Rachel up from school. After she did the paperwork and got the keys, we headed home, stopping at a Burger King before we got on the freeway. The drive-through line was long, so we decided to go inside to save time. It was a hot day and being thirsty, I ordered chocolate milk with my Whopper and was really looking forward to it. The drive-through would have been quicker than going in, but oh well (Murphy's Law). We rushed out to the car, buckled the kids in and zipped to the parking lot exit before we realized there was NO CHOCOLATE MILK in the bag! I considered going back, but there was already a car behind us, no room to turn around and the clock was ticking.

Well, I held onto my receipt, because somehow, someday I was going to get that milk. My chance came yesterday while Summer, Rachel and I were out running errands in 100+ degree heat. Rachel said, "Can we stop somewhere and get some ice water? I saw a Burger King and I saw my chance, so I whipped into the parking lot and told the girls, "We're going in." I took my receipt and went up to the employee that looked like he had the most authority and explained the situation. He looked doubtful and asked, "Another store?" I answered in the affirmative and tried to look both hopeful and slightly assertive (I wanted my milk!). He relented and said, "I guess I can do it this once." Then he waited expectantly for me to order something, but I just smiled and he trudged over to the fridge and got me MY MILK. Success! I did refrain from asking for some free ice water, so Rachel, Summer and I only got a swallow each. It didn't really quench anyone's thirst, but I had closure.

I used to think...

...that parents of boys were negligent when their kid's shirt was hanging out of his pants at church. Now I know the truth - it would take duct tape on the diaper to keep Michael's shirt tucked in for more the 12 seconds.

Here he is after church last Sunday, after mooching brownies and ice cream in the Young Women's room, and after playing in the landscaping while I opened the car and loaded it in the parking lot. He looks like someone without a mother, but I assure you, I was there for it all.

Do I have to?

Last week, I took the kids to the Scholastic Warehouse Sale. Most of them found something to spend their allowance on. I bought a computer program for them to share. After we got home, Summer asked if she could put it on the kid computer and I told her to go for it. She was gone for a while and came in and asked if she could click OK on the final button to install it. I said yes. She came back a minute later saying it wanted to install QuickTime now and was that OK? I told her it would be fine and she was gone thirty more seconds before she came back and announced, "It has a whole new set of terms and conditions and I read all of them for the first program and it took A LONG TIME. Do I have to read these, too?"

Mystery Fungi

Stan found this nifty blob in the back lawn.

All In a Day's Work

Kelly came to me the other day and told me her ear hurt. I told her to go lie down and tell me if it still hurt after a while (my stock reply to pain complaints).

In a few minutes she came and told me there was a bead in her ear. Never mind how she said it got there, after probing, she admitted she'd put it there herself.

Not wanting to spend 2 1/2 hours in urgent care, I decided to get it out myself. I tried a fingernail file, but the bead was a perfect fit for her ear canal and I didn't want to push it in farther.

I needed something sticky, so I pulled out some gum and started chewing. I stuck the gum on the end of a toothpick and tried to extract the little pink bead from her cute little ear. No luck.

But! The toothpick gave me an idea. I could see the hole in the bead and it was just larger than the end of my toothpick. I was able to poke the toothpick into the bead hole and get some leverage on the thing. Success at last! Who says staying home with kids doesn't take advanced skills?

Amusement Park

Yesterday, we took the kids to a local smallish amusement park. We go every year because the kids get a free pass for reading twenty five books from the library during the summer.

Michael and I just watched. He is too short for everything except the carousel, which was closed, and I am too pregnant. I refrained for drooling on the fences around the rides, but he just couldn't help himself.

Kelly had a blast on her first ever roller coaster ride.

Here is Gwen being buckled into the Ferris wheel with her Dad.

Heather and her big sisters liked the Ferris wheel, too.

Rachel enjoyed getting wet on the log ride.

Summer went on the gravity tower with Rachel. It shoots up and down, while leaving your stomach wherever you were two seconds ago.

Stan and I are happy to be done until next year. :)

Catch Up

A week and a half ago, someone took my purse. I was buckling Michael into his car seat, and they grabbed it off the front seat of the car. I didn't even see them. Anyway, I've been busy canceling credit cards, filing a police report and replacing my license, cell phone, glasses, etcetera, etcetera, instead of blogging. What a pain.

Here is Rachel with the guitar she bought at a yard sale for $25. She figured out how to play "Come, Come Ye Saints" on her own, just fooling around with it.


A few days ago, I let the three youngest play in the backyard in their pjs while I made breakfast. Kelly came in and announced they had been making dirt clouds. I could see something had been going on since the roots of her hair were dark enough to look like she'd had a bad dye job.

It didn't prepare me for Michael, however, who got the majority of the precipitation, as a result of being closest to the ground. Bath time came before anyone was allowed to eat.

I can't remember the occasion, but this was too cute to leave out.

No one gets in trouble around here anymore. Instead of being reprimanded, the kids are told to , "Hold still, so I can get a picture for the blog."

Gwen had a birthday a week ago. She made it easy for me in the cake baking department and asked for donuts. She is seven and more fun than ever to have around.

Michael thought this glue stick was lip gloss. :)

I made cookies and left them for the family and the missionaries to eat for dessert while Heather and I went to Enrichment Mtg. I guess they were a bit rich, because when I came home, Summer and Rachel had each left a sign on opposite sides of the bag of cookies. It was not a problem, though. I took the leftovers to Mutual and the YW polished them off.

Kid's Yard Sale

Saturday, the girls had a yard sale. Prices were reasonable.

We put six signs up around the neighborhood. Items were attractively displayed in the driveway.

I called families in the ward with kids the girls' ages who lived nearby. The event was staffed by professionals intent on making a sale.

But, despite all this, there were only three customers. The girls did make some money off each other, however. In a moment of weakness I agreed to let them each buy three things when the yard sale was over. Five girls times three things I had struggled to get rid of back in the house. It did end the day on a happy note, though. Next time it all goes to DI!

Baby Picture?

I had an ultrasound on Friday (it's too early to tell the sex, if you are wondering) and brought this picture home. You have to use your imagination to see a baby in the original and once it was scanned, it is nigh impossible to see a life form when you look, so, I enhanced it.

Three or Four Inches Off the Back!

Michael needed a haircut. He was working on getting the nickname Michael the Mess or Michael the Mop or maybe Michael the Natural Disaster (sometimes that one still fits).

Here are a couple “Before” pictures.

Here is “During”.

And here he is “After”.

If you look closely at the corner of his mouth, you can see some of the chocolate chip I had to bribe him with to hold still long enough for me to TAKE an after picture. He had enough holding still while he was getting his hair cut.