No More Pacifiers

Naomi has been asking to go to the "cake store" about 15 times a day for the last week and a half, so I made her a deal. I'd bake her a cake and she would throw out ALL her pacifiers. She took me up on it. She put her pacifiers in the trash and we took it out to the curb. Then we had a three layer triple chocolate fudge cake with chocolate whipped cream filling and chocolate glaze icing to celebrate.

While she was eating, she kept saying, "Own cake." We were lucky she shared with us.

The next morning, we were up early watching the garbage truck take the trash away and waving at the driver. She's asked for them a couple of times and has needed extra hand holding at bedtime, but overall has handled the change pretty well.

Totally Unrelated Things

Rachel learned a lesson yesterday about setting things on the burners of the stove.

We don't usually have Fruit Loops in the house, but they were on sale and they are one of Stan's favorites, so I indulged. For the last three mornings, Michael has been asking for "hula hoops" for breakfast.

By the way, did you know Fruit Loops have trans fat in them? Eek! It is a good thing I make the kids mix them half and half with Cherrios. I am hoping all the cholesterol absorbing oat bran zaps the trans fat.
I think I spend too much time reading cereal boxes.

The other day, Michael asked what the little balls on the orange tree were. There are a lot of buds, a few opened flowers and a smattering of teeny tiny oranges. I showed the "baby oranges" to Michael and Naomi. Mo said, "Awww...to-o-oot (cute)."

Later that same day, she was looking through an old photo album and found a picture of Stan at his brothers wedding 17 years ago. He was wearing a tux with a pink cummerbund and Naomi hollered,

"Daddy! To-o-o-ooot!!!"

Hiking for FHE

The kids take turns choosing our FHE activities. It was Gwen's turn and she wanted to go for a walk. I suggested a hill not far from the house. We got there just as the sun was setting.


Naomi picked me some flowers. Rachel tried to get her to curl her fingers around the bouquet, but she said it was too "pokey".




The big girls were there, but camera shy.

Michael was happy to have his dad there to get the grass seeds out of his socks.

The Joy of Siblings

Naomi's life is full. She has eight people at her beck and call and enjoys every one of us. She is also learning some of the advantages of having six siblings. She tattles on a regular basis. She started tattling before she could even talk with grunts and hand signals and I guess I gave Her Royal Cuteness too much sympathy because now she tattles when she wants attention, first thing in the morning, when she's bored and last thing before bed.

This morning, during the early breakfast Rachel got for her, she put on her sad face, used her pitiful voice, and said, "My-my" (short for Michael). I pointed out to her that there was no point in tattling on Michael because he hadn't done anything to her - he was still in bed. Stan said, "Yeah, Michael has an alibi."

She has discovered another perk (at least a perceived one, because it has yet to work) in having lots of kids around. She has gotten old enough that I have been trying to get her to finish her food at mealtimes. We will have a conversation sort of like this -

Naomi - cookie?

Me - After you finish your (fill in the blank).

Last night at dinner, I told her she needed to eat the rest of her noodles before she got any more fruit salad. She replied authoritatively, "My-my eat it." The other morning, I was trying this tactic with toast and after a minute, I heard her from the other room, saying in her most persuasive voice, "Le-e-elly, to-o-o-oast. Toast, Lelly?

Lately...

...Rachel has been playing basketball with the young women at church.

Here is Kelly making a mustache for her self in the bath.

...and a random picture of Naomi sleeping under blacklight.

Too Many Blogs

I felt like simplifying my life in a minuscule way today, so I merged my Phraseology blog for Tuesday Musings into this one.

I haven"t deleted Phraseology yet - maybe someday I'll use it for something else.

Two Yummies

Rachel made yummy homemade doughnuts...



...and doesn't Naomi look yummy in her new hairstyle? I told her she was getting two ponytails today because she is two!

The Backyard

Saturday, the kids finished the tunnel they were digging between two holes - their big one, and a smaller one. Somewhere in between the two, they ran into a tunnel the rabbit dug out of the chicken coop.

Sunday afternoon, Stan noticed a Cooper's Hawk (also called a chicken hawk) in the back yard, looking appraisingly at...THE CHICKENS...who were all huddled in the coop, until I stepped out to take a picture.

I don't know WHY (Did they think I would protect them? Was it just a coincidence? Did they feel the strength of their numbers?)...

...but then they all came out in a clump and stared back at the hawk.

I guess they must be scary chickens, because at that point, the hawk turned all it's attention to the family of lizards that have been reproducing in the woodpile.

Shooting Guns and Pictures with the Young Women

The Young Women and their leaders (me included) went shooting. Here is a picture of the place we went to. Can you guess what it is called?

The Rock Pile!

The YW had fun climbing...

...and I had fun taking pictures while I climbed after them. I love using the macro setting on my camera and taking pictures of flowers.

This is the first range we shot at - a twenty five foot range. We shot (correct me if I am wrong any of you who went) six shooters, 12 gauge rifles, a semi-automatic, and a forty-four, my personal favorite.

We had two brethren that were the brains behind the gun safety classes and brought most of the guns and ammo. They were great - thanks John and Rod!


After a while, we went to the shotgun range and shot at clay pigeons. The Beehives had a complex plan in place so that they all got to fire off an equal number of targets.

The Mia Maids disappeared to chit chat in the back of a car.

This past week...

Naomi turned two!

Happy Birthday Mo!!!

Heather sang with the fifth grade chorus at a school function. The microphone was turned up all the way when her principal started talking, which was a bit of a shock to the kids sitting up near the speakers. I love the look on her face. If you look closely, and if you can tell past all the greenness, she has one eyebrow up and one down :)

I got a newish, not too different haircut.

I had fun messing with the colors on these - which do you like the best?

At the Park

Now that I've finished the camera manual...here are some pictures :)

The four younger kids and I went to the park while the older ones were at their piano lessons.

Here are some of my favorites.

Gwen pushing Mo on the baby swing.

Michael living it up on the slide.

Kelly climbing and looking cute.

Gwen on the monkey bars!

Mishmash

Here are a few things from the last while.

First, some art work of Kelly's.

We check out so many books from our local library that, the other day, the head librarian thanked me personally for keeping their circulation numbers up.


For more on this, go here.

Speaking of my birthday, one of the things Stan gave me was some time alone to read the camera manual. I got myself some lunch from Rubio's, sat in a parking lot and ate, read and practiced, until it got too dark...

Michael got a couple of magnifying glasses for Christmas and here he is using one as a dress-up accessory.

Saturday most of us went with Stan to get some fresh air and sample puddles for fairy shrimp.


Finally, here is a video of Naomi getting her diaper changed. Don't worry, it is G rated. We start our bathroom readers out young.

I think it is appropriate...

...that on Valentine's Day Stan's romance website made it to the top.


If you type the words "romance marriage" into Google, he comes up first, out of the entire planet.

Congratulations, Handsome!

Surprise!

Today, Summer's Sunday School class took a field trip out to the church parking lot in the rain to put magnetic flames on our van. Robert is not behind Anthony because he is shy, but because their teacher/photographer asked him to move over so that the flames showed up in the picture.

Wasn't it nice of them and their intrepid leader to help us feel more at home in our new, unadorned vehicle?

Thanks again Bill!

Snack Time

I sent the three youngest outside for a while today while I cleaned the kitchen so that any mess they made was out there and didn't demoralize me. Michael wandered in after a while chewing on something.

Here's how the conversation went -

Me - What are you eating?

Michael - I think it is a rotten nut.

Me - Where did you get it?

Michael - Off the chicken food.

Me - WHAT?!?

Michael - I mean off the top of the chicken food bucket...

It turns out it was a pecan from off our tree that had cracked open. Who knows how or why it was on top of the chicken feed container, but it came in handy for a banished-to-the-backyard, hungry boy.

My kids think I am crazy!

Jeff delivered our minivan a couple of days ago. The evening before he came was a church function that I had a lot to do with, so it had consumed my time, thoughts and energy the day before he came. Nine people living in a house takes time, thought and energy, too, but the house didn't get any of mine for a couple of days, so it was a disaster - really. Dishes from maybe three meals, at least six loads of laundry in the living room waiting to be put away ( at least it was clean and most of it folded by Heather and Gwen). Anyway, you get the idea.

And this brings me to why my kids (not for the first time, either) thought I was crazy - I didn't want to drive it until the house was clean! Kind of like not wanting to take pictures until I read that camera manual! I tried to explain that the house being so messy was bugging me so much that it was making me nervous and I didn't want to drive a vehicle that I was unfamiliar with while I was nervous. They just rolled their eyes (a couple of them are getting pretty good at that).

So yesterday, Rachel set up Michael's new carseat and she and I cleaned Naomi's old one. Then, AFTER the kitchen was clean, I installed them both and we were ready to go. While I was trying to figure out how to move one of the seats in the van, I found an ancient Cheeto that had drifted down to the depths of the seat's inner workings. Now, I have to say the vehicle was really clean. It even has that "new car smell," which I have really been enjoying. It would have taken a manic, infant-car-seat-installing crazy woman to find that Cheeto and I guess I was the first one of those near the car since the Cheeto was dropped. Either that or the last person to notice it tried to get it out and gave up.

Not me!

It took a wad of gum, a chopstick and countless tries, but I got it out.

This morning, carseat-installed and Cheeto-free, we took off. I am feeling a bit disloyal to the station wagon that has been such a great car for us, but I am not looking back. I love this van:) Thanks Jeff!

Goodbye to our lovely station wagon!!!

We will be getting a new-to-us car, well minivan, next week. I have mixed feelings about it. At 212,000 miles the wagon and is getting up there, but I sure love that car. I think I have loved it almost to death. On the other hand, our brother-in-law Jeff got us a great van at a really good price. I took one for a test drive at a local dealership and really liked it.

I'm not the only one with complex feelings. The kids had quite the variety of reactions.

Summer was very excited to be picked up from high school in anything but an old station wagon with flames on the side. I don't understand why. The wagon is cool. Oh well, you can't account for taste :)

Rachel had fun looking through the brochure and picking out features and colors.

Heather is looking forward to plusher seats than the wagon has, but wishes we could have gotten the green one (there wasn't one available with seating for eight and I couldn't figure out who to leave behind!).

Gwen was really upset. She likes how she can tell it is our vehicle from all the way down the block and now we will have a silver minivan, which is a bit more common than a station wagon with flames on it. She doesn't like change and told me getting a new vehicle was going to ruin her life and then added, "It is already ruining my life just thinking about it."

Kelly was happy about the change because, as she pointed out, "I don't like our old car and I want a new one." She also came up with a way to solve Gwen's problem. Kelly suggested we put a big shark fin on top of the new car because it reminds her of a shark.

Michael said he is excited, but that he doesn't know why.

Naomi has no idea how her life is going to be impacted when we instate
the "no eating in the new car rule" - poor kid.

A couple...

...of recent Michaelisms.

Last night, I asked him what he wanted to thank Heavenly Father for in his prayers and we went through the same routine we do every night.

Michael:What can I (say thank you for)?

Me:Anything good in your life. Every good thing is from Heavenly Father.

Michael:You tell me.

Me:Well, you could thank Him for Daddy's job, or our house, or something from nature, like animals or flowers...

Michael:I want a WEIRD animal, like a cheetah or an elephant.

Me:That would be fine (a smile spreading over my face at the "WEIRD" part).

Michael:Or, I know, a cheetah mixed with an elephant.



And then today, I overheard him telling Kelly, "If you put lipstick on a pig, it still doesn't make it a princess."

Too much NPR in the car I guess...



P.S. Update on the camera - I am about 23% through the manual - wish me luck!

I love blogging.

Not that you can tell by the last two weeks.

My first lame excuse is that I got a new camera. Usually people say they can't keep up on their blogging because their camera broke, but no, I am lamer than that. My camera broke (too much sand in the lens after all those lovely trips to the beach) and so I got a new one, actually two new ones. I convinced Stan to let me pick a nicer one than we had last time by offering to pay for a little less than half out of my fun money (Stan and I give ourselves a little bit each month out of the budget to do whatever we want with). He had a good point - why would we want to buy a fancy camera just to ruin it at the beach? So...I found an all-weather-internally-sealed-just-for-the-beach refurbished camera to buy in addition to the one I wanted and prepared myself to give up my fun money until probably the end of 2010. That means no more Wodehouse books, new beads, toenail polish or See's chocolate for me for a while.

So if you have stuck with me and read this far, you may be asking yourself what this has to do with my lack of blogging since I got this gorgeous new toy. I am intimidated by it! It has an auto setting, but it also has all other kinds of things - Dual Image Stabilization, Wide Dynamic Range up to 400%, Film Simulation Modes, Multi Bracketing Functions, 11.1 effective Megapixel CCD , 14.3x optical zoom 28-400mm, 2.5" tiltable" Wide Angle View LCD, etc., etc., blah, blah, blah - and I want to read the manual first. The whole thing - cover to cover. And this from a woman who only has time to read snatches during lunch and while I wait for kids to wander out to the car after school (and maybe at red lights, but I am not getting into that).

Even though I have no pictures to post,
I miss blogging,
so here are some tidbits.
Enjoy.

Rachel recently got contact lenses for the first time. She loves them. The first day it took her half an hour to put them in. The second day it took 20 minutes. The third day it took three. By next week, we fully expect her to be able to put them in in less than 23 seconds while simultaneously flipping crepes and mounting a running horse.

Speaking of crepes, Rachel made them for dinner this evening. She also sliced strawberries and made custard to fill them with. She quartered lemons and put sugar in a bowl to dust them with. Summer wanted to join the fun, so she made an apricot, orange, banana sauce to dip the crepes in.

The other day, I saw two dogs in the park and pointed them out to Naomi. I asked her if she liked the brown dog or the white one. She said, "Blue." Hoping to delve into her psyche, I asked her if she liked the big one or the little one. She replied, "Yeah." Oh, well.

We have been up to our ears in science projects. Gwen tested different solvents on permanent marker, so next time your toddler gets a hold of a Sharpie, call us and we'll tell you it is hopeless. Summer did memory tests trying to find out which of the five senses will help boost your recollection. Heather (oh let me tell you, this one was fun) tested the effect of chilling an onion on how much crying it causes.

I am trying to catch up on stuff. I still haven't had time to put away the Christmas decorations, but I did write this letter that I have been meaning to write for a couple of months -

General Mills, Inc.
P.O. Box 9452
Minneapolis, MN 55440

To Whom It May Concern:

Enclosed is a disgusting, crusty thing I found in the Cherrios I was pouring into my bowl for breakfast the other morning. I love Cherrios. My favorite way to eat them is with raisins and milk. I don’t love them with mysterious gray clods that look like they have been growing like stalagmites on your factory equipment just waiting to break off and ruin my appetite on an otherwise perfectly good morning.

Please accept the return of your appetite suppressing lump (maybe you could contact someone in the diet industry – they’d probably pay millions for the idea) and I would appreciate a huge pile of money to make up for intense mental anguish and physical suffering (nausea is the pits, is it not?).

Insincerely*,


*P.S. Actually, it was kind of gross, but I understand these things happen. I am returning it so that your quality control people can look at it and I’m hoping for a couple coupons for my trouble. I ‘m not really upset. Thanks for humoring me and letting me have my letter writing fun. I hope I didn’t ruin anyone’s day!

(Sincerely this time, )

Posh Toes: Free Toenail Polish Contest!!!

Posh Toes: Free Toenail Polish Contest!!!