Naptime Optional

I Know the Scriptures are True

2011-11-13T19:31:00.001-07:00

Once a year at church the children have the opportunity to put on the Sacrament Meeting program. In all the moving around these past few months we also moved wards (congregations) twice, and weren't sure if the kids were going to get a chance to be in the program this year. But we lucked out and arrived in our new ward just in time for the kids to be able to participate.

The biggest part of the program consists of the all the kids singing the songs they have been learning all year. Since grandparents were not able to attend the program this year I had the kids sing some of their songs to send to them.

First Day of School-the baby's story

2011-08-09T10:49:00.000-06:00

Harrison's Mouse ears from our trip to Disneyland. Has nothing to do with the story about the first day of school, I just haven't posted any of our Disneyland pictures yet.

I forgot to mention the BEST part of the first day of school.

Harrison's ears being embroidered. Sadly, many of our Disneyland pictures are blurry, because I still didn't quite get the correlation between aperture and depth of field.

Once we had dropped the kids off and had arrived back home Harrison jumped out of the car and ran full tilt into the house screaming "I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

First Day of School

2011-08-05T14:23:00.000-06:00

School is back in session!

In Utah most of the elementary schools were Year-Round, which meant the operated on a track system and depending on what track you were on you started and ended school in July and had your "summer" breaks during other months of the year.

I actually kind of hated the year-round schedule and was looking forward to being on a traditional school schedule once we got to Arizona. But the school district we are in does a modified track schedule in which we start end of July and have long breaks in October, for Christmas, and in March. The explanation we were given was that it's too hot in July and August to do anything so you may as well be in school during the hot months and be out of school to enjoy the wonderful weather months. I guess it makes sense, but I'll be honest that I wasn't thrilled about returning to school so soon. Especially since I have to drive the kids to and from school everyday until our home is completed. With traffic and the waiting to drop off and pick up it ends up being a good solid hour each way. That is 2 hours everyday spent commuting to and from the school. I cannot wait for the day our house is done and they can walk 3 minutes down the street. It will feel like I have found an amazing extra 2 hours in my day!

Today was a BIG day for Zoey, as it was her first day of Kindergarten. First day of big school!!!!! And she COULD NOT have been MORE excited. She started counting down the days weeks ago. She is my little social butterfly and she has been dying to spread her wings and fly! Being the only girl sandwiched between two boys I think she was excited about having some girls to play with.

I'd like to point out that this would be an ideal time to link back to Adam's first day of Kindergarten. But I can't. It was a great day. Harrison, barely walking at the time, wanted to wear a back pack just his big brother. The pictures of them walking side by side together were priceless. I also snapped a picture of his teacher putting his name tag on him. The only problem......I got home and realized there was no memory card in my camera. I didn't get a single picture of my oldest child's first day of kindergarten.

Her chosen ensemble for this all important first day of school was a Hello Kitty shirt and, of course, a princess backpack.

Adam was a tad bit less excited. This was his first time back at public school after a year of home school and I think he was a little nervous, even though he didn't want to admit it. He barely tolerated the obligatory first day of school pictures.

Heading towards the school.

We dropped Zoey off first. She didn't show even the slightest amount of trepidation. In fact she seemed annoyed that It took me so long to get out of her classroom.

He is starting 2nd grade, and still he looks so little in comparison to his backpack.

I was thinking like a mom and not like a photographer so my aperture is open WAAAY too wide and all these pictures turned out blurry. But blurry pictures is better then no pictures, which is what he got his first day of kindergarten.

Being greeted by his teacher, Mrs. Hunter. We are closing in on the second week of school here and I can honestly say I LOVE LOVE LOVE this teacher!!!! I like Zoey's teacher, but I LOVE Mrs. Hunter!!!! She is such a PERFECT fit for Adam and I feel so blessed that he is in her class!

The after school line-up.

Zoey making her way to the car.

Here comes Adam!

The consensus: it was a GREAT first day of school!

Happy Birthday Harrison!

2011-07-29T14:21:00.001-06:00

My baby has turned 4, and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

For weeks now I have been telling him that I want him to stay 3 forever. He would always respond with a sad face and say "I WANT to stay 3, mom. But I just can't. I don't know how."

His siblings were VERY intense about what he was opening.

To celebrate we went to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, which I DO NOT recommend.

The kids had a blast.

But it was OVERPRICED and the food was terrible! I couldn't even force myself to finish mine. The chicken tasted like it came out of a can. Yuck!

Luckily we lucked out with our next activity. We visited the Sea Life Aquarium which cost us 1/4 of what it did to eat, and was 400% more fun.

In my next life I want to come back as a seahorse.

On thing you may not know about Harrison is that he is freakishly good at Angry Birds. Here is something else you may not know, my mom has always helped me do my kids' birthday cakes in the past. (She has been decorating cakes for more years then I've been alive.) And by "help" me I mean I bake the cake, take it to her house and then watch her decorate.

Since we have moved to AZ now I was on my own. Thank goodness for the internet. I thought Angry Birds would be easy enough even for a cake novice like myself. So I Googled it and found these super cute Angry Bird cupcakes. And I thought, I could do that.

So I did.

He LOVED them!

And just like that, without my permission, my baby is really 4 years old. Maybe with any luck He'll stay 4 for at least another year, or so.

Mommy Guilt: Tooth Fairy edition

2011-07-10T20:33:00.002-06:00

My almost sister Andria once wrote a blog post about Naming Ourselves. She posed an interesting question about what names to we give ourselves, and asked what other names we could give ourselves that would give our lives greater purpose.

I commented that I wanted my name to be magic maker, because I believe in making my children's lives magical, fantastical, memorable.

At least I strive to. But let's be honest. I'm a mom. Sometimes I'm tired or cranky or out of ideas.

This was the state I found myself in when my oldest child lost his first tooth a little over a year ago. Yes, he left it under his pillow. And yes the tooth fairy left him a dollar. But it wasn't until later that I discovered that there is a whole cottage industry out there devoted to making losing that first tooth REALLY special and magical.

You can buy tooth fairy doors and pillows and even official tooth fairy dollars.

After discovering all this I, of course, felt like a horrible mom for not knowing sooner, and planning far enough ahead to have all this prepared by the first lost tooth. But I figured it was too late now so I gave my self a pass to be a little "less magical" when it came to the tooth fairy.

On Monday Adam lost his third tooth.

And then the tooth fairy forgot to come Monday night.

I mean how hard could it be? I had already given myself permission to do the minimum required in this department and here I was failing at doing even that.

Magic Maker indeed. Real tooth fairies don't just forget to come.

Then she forgot to come the second night, too. Well, sort of. She woke up at 5:00 in the morning and realized she hadn't come. So she jumped up out of bed and prayed that she had some cash in her wallet.

Luckily she did. So she made an early morning visit and then climbed back in bed.

Around 7:00 Adam wandered in with a sad look on his face.

"Mom, the tooth fairy didn't come. I looked under my pillow and the tooth was still there and I didn't see anything else."

Okay, yes I left the tooth. I couldn't find it and I was afraid I was going to wake him up so I left the tooth and the dollar.

So of course I said, "Oh really? Maybe she decided she would leave this one for you since you lost it on the Fourth of July so it was extra special. I'll bet she still left you a dollar. Go check again."

He leaves only to reappear a few minutes later. "I lifted up the whole pillow and even reached down into the pillow case. Nothing. She didn't come."

Me, in my head "YES SHE DID!!!!! I got up way earlier than I wanted to in order to make sure she came and now I'm getting no credit for it??? Go look again! I put it there less then 2 hours ago, how could it possibly be lost already?"

Me, out loud. "I'm sure she came. Let's go look again, together."

He was right about his dollar not being under his pillow. Or in the pillow case. We finally found it all wrapped up in the sheets with his teddy bear. How he managed to do that in only a couple hours I have no idea.

Talk about an anticlimactic visit from the tooth fairy.

So much for magic maker.

What Characters

2011-06-30T20:21:00.002-06:00

Kids are still on cloud nine from going to see Cars 2 last weekend.

While at the grocery store the other night I saw toys of some of the new characters from the movie. My littlest has a birthday coming up so I bought a few fully intending to give them to Harrison for his birthday.

But it's been blistering hot this week. And the AC in our car only sort of works. Which means we haven't gone anywhere. And most their toys are still packed. So in a moment of weakness I got the new cars out for them to play with.

They couldn't get enough of telling me ALL about each of the new cars. Mind you, I saw the movie, too. So I happen to know who all these new characters are....but they had to tell me anyway.

Zoey tells us all about Holley Shiftwell

Harrison tells us about Francesco. Listen closely to him say that he is Italian. He says it Italy-an. Cracks me up.

Adam talks (and talks and talks) about Fin McMissile.

And, since Adam got to go twice, she needed another turn. So she tells us about Professor Z. (Because Z is for Zoey, too.)

And I'm pretty sure that Grandparents are the only people who actually watched all of those. :)

Something a little different

2011-06-06T16:01:00.002-06:00

A short time ago I got a flickr message from Bob Kramer, the man behind Rat Rod Studios. He was doing a series of pictures with Father's Day in mind and was looking for pictures of kids working on cars. He had come across this picture in my photostream and was requesting my permission to use it.

I looked at his work, thought it was fun and unique and thought why not. This was the final result.

I LOVE it. So glad I could help, Bob!

He has a dream.....

2011-04-21T16:03:00.003-06:00

Last week we were in Arizona. (Oh how I miss the warm weather!!!) During our 10 day adventure (which included MUCH travel time in the car) the kids managed to watch Tangled at least a dozen time.

Okay, maybe not quite THAT many times. But it was a lot.

Which is why this little ditty was stuck in EVERYBODY'S head pretty much the entire time!

Kids change everything

2011-03-24T12:10:00.003-06:00

Me and my honey at the Oregon coast. Note to self-when you lean back to take a self portrait with your phone you give yourself a double chin......

I have been married for 8 years now. I've been a mother for nearly 7. Yes-life came at us fast.

And in the 8 years we have been married, aside from our honeymoon, we have never gone away together, just the two of us. Never. Honestly.

The kids have slept over at grandma's house now and again giving us a night to ourselves. But it's not the same as really going away. Because at home even when the kids are away responsibility is always just around the corner. There is always something that I feel like I need to be doing because the kids will be home soon and everything is harder to get done when the kids are home.

So 4 weeks ago when my husband told me he had to travel to Oregon for work and I booked a flight to go with him it wasn't only exciting-it was monumental! 6 days and 5 nights without kids. Without the pressures of what need to get done around the house. Without church responsibilities or play dates. No dishes. No laundry. Just us.

Okay my husband has technically been working....but I have had no responsibility. :)

But you know what-everything we've done has been filled with "Oh, the kids would love this."

That's right-we have spent nearly all our time thinking about all the things the kids would be enjoying if they were with us.

Like on our drive to the coast there is a long tunnel we had to pass through. "Oh, the kids would love this."

On the beach we came across this:

Then we spent the next 10 minutes talking about how much our own little Zoey would have gotten such a great kick out of that. Being 5 it's likely she would've thought somebody had put it there just for her. Because childhood is magical like that.

When we were driving through the little coastal town trying to decide where to eat we ate here:

Yes, we ate the the Bliss Hot Rod Grill.

Not because we thought they would have the best food in the entire town. But because we thought the kids would love it.

And I was more than a little disappointed that another family was already sitting at the table inside the car....

Because wouldn't the kids just get the biggest kick out of that?!?!?!?!

Dance, baby dance!

2011-03-01T20:54:00.004-07:00

It's dance recital time again. Good things for dance recitals or I may never update my blog. :)

Zoey, of course, took dance again. The girl LOVES LOVES LOVES it. And for extra fun this time around Adam also took a hip hop class. So it was dance fun for all!

All the good pics were taken in the dance room before hand. They did the recital in the auditorium which is way fun for the kids to be up on stage but way crappy for taking pictures and video. But what do ya do. Oh-you take pictures and video in the dance room before hand! That's what you do!!!!

The pout is on purpose-they danced to It's a Hard Knock Life and they were supposed to be pouty orphans.

Adam's class danced to Walk the Dinosaur, and this is Adam's dinosaur stance. The kid cracks me up.

Mike was out of town so I was on my own to take both pictures and video. Wow was that fun.

I took video with my phone when the practiced in the dance room, and my phone usually takes pretty good video but it's pretty blurry this time. I did use my real camcorder during the actual performance. But I can also send the video from my phone directly to Youtube while the camcorder actually requires me to like pull out cables and download it to my computer and stuff.....so for now you get the blurry rehearsal videos in the dance room.

Look at it this way though, at least I blogged. :)

Person, place, or thing?

2010-12-08T19:10:00.002-07:00

At daddy's birthday dinner tonight the kids were playing 20 questions. One round went a little like this.

Son: It's a thing
Daugter: What kind of thing?
Son: Um, it's something electronic that you carry with you and can charge.
Daughter: Is it a cell phone?
Son: Sort of. It's a kind of phone. It's made by AT&T.
Daugter: Is it a computer?
Son: No. Computers are made by HP.

Santa Clause is coming to Town

2010-12-07T22:29:00.005-07:00

I enrolled Zoey in the Community Ed dance class again. The girl LOVES to dance. And this really is a cheap option and I happen to really like the teacher.

Tonight was supposed to be their Christmas recital, but a few weeks ago on a dance night we had a "blizzard" (hardly!!!!) and the school district cancelled all evening activities. So the teacher bumped the recital to next week, which is when we will be in Disneyland.

Which means I took my camera tonight and took lots of pictures as they practiced in their costumes.

Zoey is the only one wearing her Santa hat because they didn't stay on very well. But she had barrettes in her hair so we pinned hers on good.

And I only had my 50mm lens and the dance room isn't that big which means I couldn't get far enough back to get a picture of the whole class. But I got lots of cute close-ups of Zoey. :)

I also snuck a shot of the token boy in the class. Isn't he adorable?

And, of course, a video of the dance, which will melt even the heart of the Scroogiest Scrooge.

Thank you! Thank you!

Snow Fort

2010-11-29T21:28:00.003-07:00

Forgive the crappy title. I'm tired and my brain refused to think of something clever.

Last week while I photographed my new nephew my brother-in-law entertained my kids in the backyard. He was appalled that they had never built a snow fort. And so, he built them a snow fort.

And then showed them how to make snow balls.

And then pushed them over into the snow????

All I know is that they played outside for 2 hours. Which means Uncle Justin is welcome at our house any time!!!!

Precious

2010-11-23T10:37:00.002-07:00

I love how 3 year olds perceive things. I love how they talk, seriously. Today in our Language Arts lesson we read and discussed Rumpelstiltskin. After reading I asked them to illustrate a couple key parts of the story. My 3 year old kept coming and showing me his drawings of Rumpel-skeleton.

Why can't they stay 3 forever?

Missing the mark

2010-11-19T12:40:00.002-07:00

Once upon a time....Zoey had a toothache. Well, it was less a toothache and more a mouth sore of some sort. It was bad enough at times that it would make her cry. So we had a LOT of this on hand to combat the problem.

At one point Zoey was crying again. The medicine had worn off and I was scrambling to find something to ease the pain.

Harrison was so tender and worried about his big sister and wanted to help. He dashed off to his room and returned with this:

History in action

2010-11-10T19:14:00.005-07:00

This was our history lesson yesterday. You may not believe me now but this is Egypt.

First we smoothed out the dry land.

Then Adam etched the Nile through the middle of the land.

Then we put some rich, dark soil into the Nile's river bottom.

And then we let the learning begin.

Thank you grandma for whispering the answer.

The moral of the story, in order to make learning fun you have to make a big mess for mom to clean up by herself later.

Oh wait, is that the moral?

A tale of a witch and two skeletons

2010-11-05T16:12:00.003-06:00

Lots of changes at our house in the month of October. But somewhere, in the midst of it all, we found the time to enjoy a few fall activities.

We ventured out to Wheeler Farm for their hay/corn maze and tractor ride. Which was highly over-priced but made the kids happy.

I took my camera with, ready to take some amazing fall pictures....and then discovered I had left my memory card at home in the computer. I believe it may be time to invest in whole slew of memory cards so that I always have one handy.

Luckily cell phones these days are also equipped with cameras. Perhaps not the amazing shots I was hoping for, but I still managed to at least preserve the memory.

The elusive rooster.

The hay/corm maze literally took 3 minutes. And it only took that long because I kept making them stop to take pictures. Wanted to get my money's worth, you know.

I think this was "mom, why do you take so many picture? This hay is making my butt itch!"

At least I have 1 child who is always willing to pose for a picture.

Later on in the month we met up with some friends at Gardner Village

It is an eclectic little shopping area that decorates for the season with witches. Lots and lots of witches.

My own little witch fit right in.

These are her favorite shoes ever! I have lost count of the number of times I have filled in the toes with a black sharpie.

We have a little tradition at our house. In the morning I ask the kids what kind of cereal they want to eat that day. My oldest will make a choice and I can ALWAYS count on the youngest to pick whatever it is his brother is having. Every single morning. So I was not the least bit surprised when he also wanted to dress exactly like his older brother for Halloween.

In their black stocking caps when you were walking behind them they just looked like thugs.

And then because I am all sorts of crazy we took the kids up to Ogden to their Haunted Dinosaur Park. Unlike Wheeler Farm it was worth every single penny.

I did have my camera this time but I suck at night time photography and didn't get any great shots. Just snap shots.

The dancing skeletons beneath the black light.

With the triceratops, in case you couldn't tell.

And just for fun, this is how little they were LAST time we came to the dinosaur park.

Need a closer look?

Can you even stand the cuteness?

Okay, back to the present

And that was all the fun this mom could stand for one month!

Grandma trying to get "the shot"

Prima Ballerina

2010-10-26T15:55:00.002-06:00

Zoey recently completed a community ed dance class. She has been BEGGING to take dance lessons for months. For awhile I got out of it by saying she could only be in preschool OR dance, but not both. (because with 3 kids who has that kind of time and money? Really?)

So she patiently waited until preschool was over...

(Zoey with her cousin Moira at preschool graduation)

...and then started right back in with the questions. Usually it went something like this "mom, don't you think it's time for me to start ballet?"

I debated about a dance studio. But they can be expensive. And on top of the expensive class cost there is another charge for costumes. And they usually do a recital in December, and we're going to Disneyland for Christmas and will be out of town.

I also considered the possibility that even though she's been begging for dance lessons she'd lose interest in a month or two.

So-we went with community ed.

I did spring for ballet shoes, though. Because they were BOGO at Payless.

Getting Ready for the First day of dance class

She LOVED it!!! She looked forward to Tuesday. She talked ALL day about going to dance class. She would come home and practice. She was smitten.

At the end of the 6 weeks they did a little recital. The dance were all short because they'd only been in class for 6 weeks. But it was just right.

This movie was actually the practice in the dance room BEFORE the recital. Because during the actual recital she got put on the back row so the video isn't as good. This one was just taken with my iphone, the real camcorder in my bag still.

All my pictures from the day of the recital are from my iphone, too. I had decided to leave my good camera home, opting instead to take the camcorder (I can't work them both simultaneously. Go figure!) And then the good video I got was from my iphone anyway so I really should've left the camcorder home. But, you know. This is life as a mother.

A Prima Ballerina is born!

Little Sweety

2010-10-11T13:57:00.004-06:00

My kids don't play house. At our house when one pretends to be the dad and one pretends to be the mom they say they are playing Little Sweety. I have NO idea where they came up with that because I don't call them that. But, that's what it.

So the other day they were playing Little Sweety and I heard Adam say, "Let's pretend that the dad snores, because all dads snore."

And now a random picture of Adam because there aren't nearly enough of those on this blog.

Glnslost

2010-10-11T13:52:00.002-06:00

The other day Zoey was making up nonsense words. Adam told her "That's not a real word."

She said, "Oh yes it is. Every word needs a vowel and it has an "o" on it. So it's a word."

Isn't it obvious?

2010-10-11T13:44:00.002-06:00

Parts came home for the annual primary(children's Sunday School) program a couple weeks ago.

Zoey's part is "God is the Father of my spirit and I know I am special to him." It then asked that she name 1 way she knows she is special to Heavenly Father.

So I asked her, "Zoey, do you know that you are special to Heavenly Father?"

"Yes." she replied.

"How do you know you are special?" I asked her.

"Because He loves me."

"But how do you KNOW he loves you?"

"Because everybody does."

What do you want to BE?

2010-09-21T10:03:00.003-06:00

At the risk of being completely obnoxious I am going to write again about something my child said that made me, as a partial mother, think I have the world's smartest kid. Because, well, it's my blog so I can. :)

Yesterday Zoey (who is 4) said "Mom, HE rhymes with BE."

Adam said, "Yea, like He got stung by a bee."

To which Zoey replied, "No Adam, I mean be spelled B-E like to be something. Not bee
B-E-E which is what can sting you."

And I wish I could take credit for teaching her that. But really I have no idea where she learned the difference between the two.

And now a random picture of Zoey because hey, people like pictures.

Point, Shoot, admire

2010-09-08T21:04:00.003-06:00

I have started something new. I have decided it's okay to blog out of order. Crazy, I know. I may even start even eating breakfast for dinner! Oh wait, we already do that...

So-since I'm blogging out of order these days on my other blog I wrote about the Ogden Union Station Photo walk. I mentioned that I took Adam and it being his first photowalk thought it only fair to share some of his pictures, too. Because I find it fascinating to see the world through his eyes.

Locked Door

Railroad Crossing

Pacific

Now I have to mention-I LOVE the vivid colors in this photo-and this (and all his photos) are SOOC. I swear I didn't bump the saturation or the vibrancy. Just downloaded the memory card straight to flickr!

Christmas lights in tree

And-a picture (or two) I took of him taking pictures.

Is he cute, or what?
Although in another year or two he is going to start rolling his eyes at me when I try to call him cute. :)

Why, why, why

2010-07-15T16:54:00.002-06:00

I, too, would like to know why the people explode!

And yes, it is nearly 5:00 and he is still in his pajamas. Such is life.

1 Dancing Princess

2010-07-15T16:51:00.002-06:00

Just a few posts ago I told you about my daughter's need to be the star of the show.

Now I have proof.

Went to an outdoor concert recently and this time I had my phone with me!

All things pretty

2010-07-11T13:15:00.002-06:00

I think Zoey has been reading a little too much Fancy Nancy. She is obsessed with all things pretty these days.

She has been listening to a CD from the library that is about a Princess Tea Party. They sing a song about manners and etiquette. So she was dancing around the house yesterday singing it at the top of her lungs but she was singing "manners and eloquent" I told her the correct word was "etiquette" and tried to explain what the word etiquette meant and why it went along with manners. After my long motherly explanation she simply looked at me and said "etiquette doesn't sound like a pretty word. I only sing words that are pretty" and then went back to singing "manners and eloquent"

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Later she came downstairs with a stuffed dog she got several years ago. She got is a few years back at the Kued Super Read-a-Thon party, meaning her two brothers had the exact same dog. So at the time I had written everybody's name on the tag. (a very motherly thing to do, I know) The kids also went a step further and gave their dogs names, which I also wrote on the tags for them.

Zoey's was named Ruff, and until recently this name has suited said dog just fine.

Yesterday she was in tears as she carried Ruff downstairs. The conversation went a little like this:

Zoey: Mom, I don't want this dog anymore.
Me: Oh yea, how come?
Zoey: I just don't want it anymore.
Me: Ok. We can give it to somebody else who will love it.
Zoey: I still like the dog but I just don't like's name. It's not pretty.
Me: Well, you can give it a new name if you like.
Zoey: But Ruff is written on the tag!!!!! How can I change it's name ton something pretty when it's name will still be on the tag?????
Me: We could cut the tag off if you'd like.
Zoey: (more tears) But then how will I know which one is mine?
Me: Because yours will be the one without a tag.
Zoey: (tears slowing down as she ponders this.) So then I could give it a pretty name?
Me: Yes. You can give it a pretty name.
Zoey: (smiling) OKay

And off she skipped.

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Although apprently her obsession with all things pretty does have it's limits. The other day she told my mom, "Grandma, I figured something out. There is Father's Day and Mother's Day, and Garbage Day, and Laundry Day."

I, for one, do not find garbage or laundry all that pretty. I'm so glad that she ranks those two items right up with the day to Honor her Mother.

More Zoey-sims

2010-07-08T19:38:00.002-06:00

Zoey was walking around the kitchen with a bag of chips. I asked her to sit up to the table or take them outside to keep the crumbs off my floor. She ignored me and got crumbs all over the floor, so I asked her to sweep.

She pulls out the broom and says "Mom, since I'm a princess you are my wicked step mother because you have been mean to me today."

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Mom, you are a bad mom because you need to read your scriptures to make you a good mom.

Mother

2010-06-22T17:16:00.002-06:00

The children learned a song in Primary last year (Sunday school for children ages 3-11) called The Family Is of God.

I was playing a CD in the car the other day that included this particular song. One of the verses is all about mothers. The words are:

A mother's purpose is the care, prepare, to nurture and to strengthen all her children.
She teaches children to obey, to pray, to love and serve in the family.

Apparently I'm not living up to the standard because when the song had concluded she said to me, "Mom, when you forget what it is you are supposed to do you can listen to this song because it tells you all the things a mom should be doing."

My husband blames me

2010-06-22T17:12:00.003-06:00

We took the kids to the Off Broadway Theater last night to see Robin Hood. My friend Kelly was in the play and so I thought it was a good opportunity to expose my children to the theater.

Zoey, however, was not impressed with merely sitting the audience. At the ripe old age of 4 she felt she deserved to be up on stage. When I told her that that just was not possible she settled for dancing in the aisles. Yes, literally. It started during intermission and lasted clear through the second act. As far as she was concerned the laugh and applause was all for her!

My only regret was that I left my cell phone in the car. Even crappy cell phone video of the rising star would've been better than none, which is what I have.

Pretty

2010-06-15T21:05:00.001-06:00

I can't help it. I think my daughter is beautiful. And I try to tell her enough so that she knows she is, but not so much that she thinks that being beautiful is the most important thing.

But one Sunday morning I was just completely overcome by her beauty and couldn't stop myself from blurting out, "Oh Zoey, you really are the most beautiful 4 year old I know!"

She responded, "Well mom, you know, I do have a lot of friends who are awfully pretty, too."

Blame it on the genes

2010-06-15T21:01:00.002-06:00

The other morning I decided to make blender pancakes. So I tromped downstairs to find some wheat. Adam, always the inquisitive one, followed me down and asked me what I was doing. So I showed him the wheat I had just retrieved and, figuring this was a prime teaching moment, said "This is called wheat. I grind it up and it turns into flour."

He rolls his eyes a little and says, "Yea mom, I know. That's what Millers do."

Meantime Mania

2010-05-28T14:05:00.002-06:00

I HATE mealtime at our house. I mean HATE. I don't know how to convey in the mere written form how much I despise eating time. I detest it with every cell in my body. It brings the whine out in the kids and turns me into the ugly yelling mommy. I HATE mealtime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My kids are, right now as I type, sitting at the lunch table. Yes, it's after 2:00. No we didn't eat lunch exceptionally late. They have literally been sitting there for an hour and a half. Why you ask? Because, in an effort to bring some sanity to the table I decided that I was going to put the responisibly of eating all their food back on my children. Instead of the begging, pleading, yelling, threatening, crying that usually goes on at mealtime I decided that I would stop trying to make them eat. Instead I explained to them food costs money. That daddy works very hard for the money we use to buy the food. And that when they don't eat I throw food away, which is like throwing money away, and daddy works too hard to simply throw away money. So, whenever they don't finish something on their plate they are required to get money out of their piggy bank and give to me, to pay me for the food that I am now throwing away.

We have a family goal and we are currently saving for a trip to Disneyland. The kids get paid for odd jobs around the house or for toys they don't want anymore (a great way to dejunk I tell you!) and every precious penny goes into their banks so that we can go to Disneyland.

Realizing that if they are forced to pay me it will take us that much longer to get to Disneyland they don't want to give in. But, they don't want to eat, either. So instead they now sit at the table for hours, merely staring at the food on their plate. And teasing each other. And fighting with each other. And whining about their food.

It drives me INSANE!!!!!

Somebody please PLEASE tell me how you manage mealtime at your house. Seriously my next step is going to be a forced month long fast. Maybe if they get hungry enough they will eat anything I put in front of their face.

Some people's children

2010-05-27T14:46:00.001-06:00

Adam: Mom, how long does it take to count to infinity?
Me: Forever
Adam: Have you ever counted to infinity before?
Me: No
Adam: Then how do you know?

Remember

2010-03-30T20:57:00.002-06:00

On the way home from school today-

Adam: "Mom! Guess what! I was 'it' today."
Me: "Oh yea? What does it mean to be 'it'?"
Adam: "I've been 'it' before and I told you last time"
Me: "I know, but I like hearing about your day so tell me again. Refresh my memory."
Adam: Deep, long sigh. "Ok. But mom, will you write it down this time so you can remember so I don't have to tell you again next time."

And the winner is......

2010-03-25T16:07:00.003-06:00

Adam has always had a fascination with cameras. While the other two children are always more than willing to flash me their cheesiest "CHEESE" grin Adam typically asks, no BEGS if he can take up residence behind the camera.

So for Christmas in 2008 Santa brought him a Polaroid Pixie. And, not really to my surprise, it was an awful camera. Sure, it may have been "kid friendly" but it chewed threw batteries in literally 10 minutes, took blurry, grainy pictures, and half the time it wouldn't even recognize that the SD card was in. In short, it was a complete waste of money.

Of course this didn't prevent Adam from wanting to drag it with him just about anywhere we went. And when he didn't have it he would bemoan "I sure wish I had brought my camera with me."

I assumed that the fascination would wear off eventually. When it didn't I started looking more in earnest for a decent point and shoot that was still kid friendly. I discovered there are actually quite a few rugged cameras out on the market, but all were a little out of my budget for what I typically spend on a child's birthday.

So I did what all good moms would do-I starting watching ebay for used/refurbished cameras. My brother recommended an Olympus 770, which is an archived model that is shockproof, waterproof, and crushproof. He also found a used one on ebay for $100. Still a tad more than I would typically spend on a birthday, but loads cheaper than the new ones I was looking at.

Which is why I got REALLY excited when I found one on the local classifieds and the guy agreed to sell it to me for $80. I did a little happy dance and ran to the bank to get cash.

And then the seller started ignoring me. He wouldn't return my phone calls, text messages or emails. After several failed attempts to coordinate a pick up location I gave up, finding myself back at square 1. No camera, and a birthday fast approaching.

So I started looking at new again, telling myself if I swallowed the high price it would be an investment that would survive all 3 kids for years to come.

So now I had to make a decision. After much research I narrowed it down to four rugged camera choices:

The Olympus Stylus Tough 3000

The Canon Powershot D10

The Pentax Optio W80

The Panasonic Luminx DMC-TS2

And after much study came to one conclusion: Camera makers come up with the worst names for their camera models! Why can't they just call it "Canon Tough Camera 1" and then next year's model can be "Canon Tough Camera 2" and so on. But hey, what do I know?

The one conclusion I didn't come to was which camera to actually buy. There were so many variables. Price, picture quality, video quality, manual setting options, not to mention how rugged they ACTUALLY turned out to be in the hands of real users and not just in a test lab setting.

I poured over reviews and opinions for days and days finding myself right smack in the middle of analysis paralysis when my brother-in-law brought my attention to the day's woot. A teal Kodak C180 10.2 MP camera for $50. And at that price I forgot all about ruggedness and decided to buy the cheap camera and with what was left over get him a neck strap! I know, I'm a sell out. But at least now I can afford to give him a little birthday cake with his camera.

Photography as Life

2010-03-21T13:25:00.002-06:00

Note from Nicole-this post is actually a something I wrote for my other blog, have decided to cross post this at my other blog, The Nicole Show As I read back through it again I though that since so much of what I learned at PhotoCamp had to do with my relationship to my kids that I should cross post it here as well. For you crazy readers that stop by both blogs (all 3 of you) sorry for the repetition!

I probably should've Googled that title before using it. I'm pretty sure somebody has it Copyrighted, because that is all the rage these days. Ever since the days of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten it seems everybody is taking whatever it is they like or are good at and make it a metaphor for life. I'll be the first to admit that it's a bit "Chicken Soup for the Soul"-ish. Canned stories that are meant to force emotion out of you. I hate forced sentimentality. Which is why I almost talked myself out of writing this blog post.

But I the more I pondered on it the more I felt it needed to be written. I had an amazing day today at PhotoCamp Utah and I am bursting. I need to take a moment to reflect on and be grateful for the time I spent. I need to take a moment to be still and to really internalize the messages the universe sent me today or else by tomorrow it will be life as usual.

The biggest lessons I took away from PhotoCamp today have very little to do with photography. I did learn about light modifiers and speed lights and composition and photoshop-and these things will help me be a better photographer. But I learned so much more, that if I let it, will help me be a better person.

Today's first lesson came from the morning's first keynote speaker, Bruce Hucko. He was talking about spending time with the Navajo years ago, teaching art and photography to kindergarten students. He showed a picture of a young child jumping high in the air and talked about how all the mesas in the landscape and how the children would run and jump and how when friends would come visit him they would watch the children with worried expressions and say "Aren't you going to tell them to be careful?" Bruce's response was "Why would I put doubt in their minds when they know they can do this? They've been playing on these mesas since the time they could crawl."

And that's when it hit me! Doubt is a learned trait! A child thinks they can do anything! Every child thinks he is a great artist, a great singer, a great story teller, a great climber, a great dancer, a great photographer. I quickly took stock of the ways I may be planting the seeds of doubt in my own children. How often do I force my own doubts and fears upon them? And why do I do that? I teach them to compare themselves. I teach them to second guess their abilities. I am the one who teaches them they are "not enough". And I don't want to send my children that message anymore! Because they ARE great!

The next lesson I learned came during the "Take Hot Shots not Head Shots workshop taught by Todd Keith and Renee Lee of BellaOra Studios. Renee was talking about photo composition. She was talking about all the extraneous stuff that ends up in our photos because we aren't paying attention. She said "If something is not adding to your photo, it's distracting from it." That hit me like a ton of bricks! How often do extraneous "things" end up in my life because I'm not paying attention? I've been feeling run down and worn out a lot lately. I keep promising myself I'm going to cut back, slow down, simplify. But not going to this will hurt so-and-so's feelings. Not finishing that will let so-and-so down. And so on and so on. But to what end? Anything not adding value to my life or the life of my family is distracting from it! Things have GOT TO GO. If they are not fulfilling or leading me to the life I really want to be living they are merely a distraction. It is beyond time to simplify and get back to what is important.

While all of today's presenters were awesome in their own right and I learned so much from each one I have to say that the highlight of the day was keynote speaker Zack Arias. I can not think of enough superlatives to describe his presentation. But on thing in particular that he spoke about stood out for me. He showed example after example of gorgeous pictures and then would tell us that just to the right of frame was a dumpster. Or that just behind was lovely wall of vines was broken bottles and that the whole area smelled of urine. Or that spitting distance from a lovely green hill a couple is standing on is a massive construction site. As I listened to him talk I realized I walk through life with a MASSIVE wide angle lens. I focus on the dumpster, the urine, and the mess. Motherhood really is just one giant mess. And most the time that's exactly what I'm focused on. I walk into a room and see the crayons strewn all over the floor and miss the one of a kind art project that is lying next to them. I walk out into the yard and see the sand from the sandbox dumped all over the patio and completely miss the imaginative play my children are engaged in. I look at childhood and see all the mess and miss all the magic. I need a change in perspective. I need to focus on the beautiful.

At the very end of the day, when many had already bailed out, Anna Day gave a brief but moving presentation she called Journeys and Destination. Earlier in the day Bruce Hucko had alluded to the fact that life is about the Journey when he said a good trip back home to Moab (from Salt Lake City, a 4 hour drive) takes him about a week. I kind of chuckled and secretly cringed inside a bit at the overused cliche. But Anna's presentation brought the idea into sharp focus for me. She showed image after beautiful image and talked about how this was NOT the image she had come to get. One beautiful picture of a butterfly on a purple flower she caught while desperately heading towards a bathroom. How often do we miss the MOST SPECTACULAR parts of life because we are barreling towards some specific destination? For me right now I often find myself saying things like "well, as soon as all the kids are potty trained" or "as soon as all the kids are in school" or "I can't wait until the kids can do such and such for themselves" There is always some point in the future I am trying to just survive to and in the meantime I am missing this journey. I'm missing the superheros and princesses and galactic battle ships. I'm missing the joys of mis-matched socks and mispronounced words. In the rush to be somewhere else I'm missing the now.

I feel a debt of gratitude to all the fine folks who worked hard to put on today's event, an event pulled off entirely by volunteers! A very special thanks to Jeremy Hall whose baby this really is.

And a heartfelt shout out again to Zack Arias who came out to Salt Lake on a completely volunteer basis, sacrificing time with his family to spend a little of his time with us.

********************

Archives of some of today's workshops, included Zack Arias Keynote speech, can be found at the PhotoCamp Utah website

AAAAAND last but not least-you can go here to see the video that inspired Jeremy Hall to send the email that brought Zack Arias to PhotoCamp Utah! Don't miss it!!!!!

Adamisms

2010-03-18T07:59:00.002-06:00

My oldest never ceases to amaze me. I know I'm a bit biased because I am his mom but I think the kid is brilliant. He is always coming to me and telling me his "big idea" or something he has "figured out" by thinking things through logically. I should be keep record of more of what he tells me but I'm a mom and I'm busy and distracted and well, I just don't always do what I should. And I always tell myself "Oh I'll remember." But I always forget.

But here are a few from recently that I haven't forgotten.....yet.

Adam spent quite some time setting up a little "show" as he called it. He actually used all his Pixar Cars toys to set up a scene and then made us all tickets to attend the show. He stood at his bedroom door and took our tickets, which were apparently front row tickets as he directed us sit on the bottom bunk bed. (Not an easy thing even for me, and I'm short!)

And then, before the show began, he looked at me in his matter-of-fact way and said "I have worked hard on this and you are going to be so impressed that after you see you are going to want to get your camera." (and, of course he was right. Movie to follow.)

**************

Yesterday I took my kids downtown to the Children's Museum. Something I've done dozens of times before. But for some reason yesterday the kids were particularly impressed with the tall buildings. As we drove into town they just kept saying wow. At one point we were on a walking bridge that went over the street and Adam look at me and said "Is this New York City?"

**************

I made cinnamon rolls Monday night for Family Home Evening treats. They have been sitting on my counter, tempting me for days now. So this morning I fed them to my kids for breakfast. (I never feed my kids sugar for breakfast) The younger two dived right in. Apparently they knew mom had lost her mind and they wanted as much of that sugary goodness in their bellies before she came to her senses.

But Adam, always the responsible one, said "Why are you giving us cinnamon rolls for breakfast? Don't you think they are desserts?" As it is, he ate all his cereal and his yogurt first and then just a little of his roll. As he climbed down from the table he said to me "I am saving the rest of my cinnamon roll to have as dessert after my lunch."

Really? Whose child are you anyway? If you ask my husband he says that Adam is me, incarnate. But trust me, I NEVER complained about having a cinnamon roll for breakfast!

Beware what you wish for

2010-03-10T20:54:00.001-07:00

When Zoey was saying the prayer on dinner tonight she included this little nugget.

"and please bless that we can grow up to be mommies and daddies"

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

2010-03-02T20:02:00.003-07:00

I must start out by saying that my "embarrassment meter" is bit off. In retrospect I'm pretty sure I was a HUGE nerd during my school years. But I didn't know I was a nerd so I didn't care.

See, I don't know when I should be embarrassed. I act with reckless abandon and only later do I think that perhaps my actions were embarrassing.

I tell you this because apparently my oldest son's embarrassment meter works quite well at the ripe old age of 5 and I am trying to figure out how to back myself off a bit so as not to mortify him before he is a teenager.

Today is Dr. Seuss's birthday.

You may recall that a few years back my kids dressed as Dr. Seuss characters for Halloween.

So this morning I dug out the Thing 1 Thing 2 logos. In my mind it was appropriate to wear to school. It is Dr. Seuss's birthday after all.

This may be a good time to mention that a week or so ago they learned about Pirates in preschool and Zoey went all decked out in her best Pirate garb. And, in my mind, that was totally normal, acceptable behavior.

I convinced Adam to wear a red sweater to school and just before it was time to walk out the door I safety pinned the Thing 1 logo to both his front and back. I, too, was wearing a red shirt and I told him I was coming to his class later and I would come as Thing 2.

He said "When are you coming?"

I told him I would come after his study buddies. (The 5th graders come in each Tuesday to read with the kindergarten students."

Upon hearing I wasn't coming in my Thing 2 attire until after he met with his study buddies he suddenly became very agitated.

"I want to take this off, mom."

I couldn't understand his reaction but he was nearly in tears. I tried to explain that he could simply take his sweater off if he wanted (he was wearing a t-shirt beneath) but this was NOT good enough. He wanted Thing 1 off, and he wanted it off NOW.

I complied and started to unpin the Thing 1 logo. As I was taking the one off his back he said "Did you want me to wear it?"

I told him that I thought it would be fun but it was no big deal. At that he started to cry even harder. "I want to do what you want me to do!!!!"

By now we were running late so I once again reiterated that it really wasn't a big deal and we just needed to go. I told him it was fine if he didn't want to go to school as Thing 1 and that I wasn't disappointed. REALLY it was fine.

As we walked to school he walked behind me the entire time. I kept trying to get him to walk beside me but he refused. I finally realized it was because I had told him at home that he needed to stop crying or everybody would see his red eyes and now he was embarrassed about that!

Moms! They just don't get it!

I would like to add that Zoey attended preschool today as Thing 2 and didn't seem the least bit scarred by it. Apparently her "embarrassment meter" is more in line with mine.

You're my what?

2010-02-19T12:45:00.001-07:00

Overheard at lunch

Moira: Adam, when I say to you that you are my BAB then you have to say back to me that I'm your BAB.
Adam: It's not BAB. It's BFF
Zoey: Yea, because we are friends forever so it has to be BFF
Moira: Adam, you are my BFF
Zoey: No, just me and Moira are BFF. Adam has to be a BFF with a boy.
Harrison: (in his super cute 2 year old toddler voice) Who is my BFF? I want a BFF.

Snow

2010-01-04T10:16:00.003-07:00

2 pairs of Snow pants, 60% off at Shopko: $24
2 pairs of Gloves, 50% off at Kmart: $9
2 pairs of Boots 50% off at Landsend: $35

4 hours of warm outdoor play with dad: Priceless

Far, Far Away

2010-01-01T19:05:00.002-07:00

Yesterday....

Me: Hey kids-get your shoes and socks on
Kids: Why?
Me: Because it's time to go
Kids: Where are we going
Me: (singing) Far, far away, on Judea's plain
Kids: We're going on a plane?
Me: No, that's just a song
Kids: Where is Judea?
Me: No, I was just singing a Christmas song. We're going to Kmart
Kids: We have to take a plane to Kmart????????
Me: No, we're taking the car to Kmart.
Kids: Then where are we going on a plane?
Me:Just get your shoes on!

And we're back!

2009-12-27T22:17:00.002-07:00

And we've missed much! The kids haven't stopped being funny or insightful or clever for one second. I somehow just stopped writing about it.

But I'm not going to get into that here. (I did get into that here if you care. If you don't, then read on.)

Part of me knows I needed the break. But another part of me is sad that I missed out on nearly 6 months of kidisms. Things that I swore I wasn't going to forget, that I'd write down, to catalog to be remembered for eternity.

But I'm a mom. I barely remember what I had for breakfast this morning. So, much is lost in void that is my mommy brain.

I do remember clearly Adam's first day of kindergarten.

Too bad I have no pictures. That's right. I walked him to school, snapping pictures all the way. Only to get home and find out I had no memory card in my camera. Tears were the result (and not the "oh my baby is growing up" kind of tears, either.)

And I do remember this precious little gem from Mike's birthday earlier in the month.

I overheard Adam giving Zoey the following rundown.

"We have to do whatever daddy says today because it is his birthday. And whoever's birthday it is is in charge that day. But when it's nobody's birthday mom is in charge."

Glad he knows how things work around here.

Modern Princess

2009-07-09T11:37:00.003-06:00

Adam and Zoey are playing princess. Well, Zoey is playing princess and is trying to convince Adam to be the knight that comes and saves her. He finally concedes and comes riding up on his valiant steed and says in his most knighly voice "I am here to rescue you princess"

Her response? "Just a second, my phone is ringing."

I can only imagine she is video conferencing in all her best princess buddies so they can see her brave knight in action.

Brand Conscious

2009-07-09T11:28:00.002-06:00

On Saturday I bought Adam a new pair of shoes. He needed dress shoes but Famous Footwear was having their buy one get one half off sale so of course I offered to buy him a pair of tennis shoes, too. He is starting school next month and will need them.

So, of course he picks out a pair of Sketchers that have lights that blink. I tried to talk him into a different, less ostentatious pair, but this was love at first sight. I'm too cheap to buy brand name shoes for my kids when they grow out of them in 6-8 months. But I was getting them half off and I also had a $10 voucher from their rewards program. So it brought the fancy shoes down into a price range I could stomach.

The next day I heard him call to Zoey, "I'll be right out. I just need to put my Sketchers on." I was taken aback. While shoe shopping the day before the word Sketcher had never been said. I merely called them tennis shoes. So how did he know they were Sketchers? So I asked him.

Of course he looked at my completely dumbfounded and in his very best "duh mom" voice he said "Because they have a big S on them mom." I think he may have even rolled his eyes at me.

But this did not clear things up for me, since the only television he watches is PBS. So whatever his exposure to the Sketcher's S logo it was limited. And yet he still knew that his shoes were Sketchers. And he's only 5.

Damn, those marketing people are good!

Flashback Friday

2009-06-26T07:00:00.002-06:00

I decided to do Flashback Friday over here today because I realized I never showed off my kids Halloween costumes. Yes-Halloween in June. Because I worked so stinkin' hard on those costumes I need to make sure at least 2 other people see and appreciate them.

I have this thing with doing themed Halloween costumes, so all the kids are dressed in coordinating costumes that somehow relate to one another. Last year (2008) it was Monsters, Inc.

Are you ready for the cuteness? Do you think you can handle it?

Wow, what adorable kids! Nice lookin' costumes, too. Their mom must be really talented. (or have a grandma who is talented who helped out a lot.....you decide.)

It's important!

2009-06-09T15:09:00.000-06:00

Adam just walked into the office where I'm working and said to me "Mom, I need to discuss something with Zoey. May I take her up to my room? It's important."

Because I have cute kids AND a new camera

2009-06-04T08:29:00.004-06:00

I so don't have time for blogging today. But I'm dying to show off some of my pictures from our trip to NV.

We spent a day in Virginia City and there were just so many old things to take fun pictures of.

I was IN LOVE with this red brick wall. Amazing how something as simple as a wall can make me so very happy.

And this car graveyard was so photogenic.

And this was just funny to me.

And because she's so gosh darn cute!

Excited with a side of skepticism

2009-06-02T16:37:00.001-06:00

About a month ago I got an email that basically said hey you have a great blog and we would like you to tell your readers all about our blog. At first I was like wow! Somebody likes my blog. And then reality set in and I realized my blog likely met some keyword search critera and that nobody actually READ my blog before sending me that email. Because well, as loyal my followers are (thanks for that, by the way) there are barely a handful of you. In other words, I'm hardly what you could call and influential blogger.

A few days later I got yet another email requesting that I promote a website and this time I didn't let it go quite so much to my head.

So you can imagine the skepticism I felt when I received the following comment on my blog.

Congratulations!

Your blog has been nominated for the 2009 Utah Baby Guide Blog Contest. The blog that gets the most votes wins! Voting ends June 30th, 2009.

Congratulations! You have a great blog!

Kindly,
Jessica Taufer
Editorial Director
Utah Baby Guide
j.taufer@utahbabyguide.com
http://www.utahbabyguide.com

Especially since I've had spam comments in the past. (before turning on word verification) Comments that served no other purpose than to get you to click over to somebody's insurance site.

My suspicion was furthered by the fact that my other blog also got the same comment. And when I've been spammed in the past both blogs got hit.

But finally my big head telling me "this one might actually be for real" got the best of me and I clicked to it.

It does look like a legitimate site. I think. And my Sister-in-law's two blogs are nominated in different categories which leads me to believe that maybe she nominated me (Thanks if you did!!!!) Or maybe she didn't. Who knows.

Her blog Orange World is nominated in the Discount/Giveaway Blog category. And her blog Orange You Special is nominated in the Product Blog category.

And so this is the part where I shamelessly beg for your vote. Because hey, it would be cool to win something! Plus you don't even have to register. Simply email contest@utahbabyguide.com and tell us the web address of your favorite blog for each category before June 30, 2009.

This blog is nominated in the Funny Blog category

My other blog is nominated in the Personal Blogs category.

And I guess it would be nice if I told you their website. Because that's what a courteous blogger does, right?

So you can visit the Utah Baby Guide at, surprisingly enough, http://www.utahbabyguide.com/

I'll stop begging now. Since it's likely all really a hoax anyway. Thanks.

There may still be hope yet

2009-06-01T11:12:00.002-06:00

The kids started in with the bickering early this morning. After playing cars together for about 10 minutes Zoey decided she wanted to play something else.

Of course this made Adam mad. He thinks Zoey should do whatever he wants her to do AT ALL TIMES. And he was NOT done playing cars and thought that Zoey needed to continue playing with him.

So he comes to me and starts laying it on think with the oh pity me act. "Mom, Zoey said she doesn't want to play with me anymore and that really hurts my feelings. It makes me so sad when she won't play with me and she shouldn't hurt my feelings. It's not nice."

Of course, by this time Zoey has followed him into the office as well and so he starts telling her how she is being mean and when she doesn't seem to care he smacks her with a throw pillow, sending her head backwards into the wall. Ouch!

Amazingly enough somewhere within the arguing and blaming they agreed long enough to pick a movie they wanted to watch.

So, after the head banging I sent Adam to his room. He cried that he didn't want to miss the movie (which I hadn't even put in yet) so I told him he'd better hurry to his room because the faster he got there the faster he could come out.

I then turned to Zoey and asked if she was ready to put the movie in. The same Zoey who was crying because her brother smashed her head into the wall. The same Zoey that was just yelling at her brother telling him "quiet, I don't want to hear it!" as he told her all about his hurt feelings. The same Zoey that parroted me when I told Adam to go to his room. "Yea, go to your room for being mean!"

This Zoey looked at me with those big blue eyes and was close to tears when she said "Mom, we can't put the movie in yet! Adam is still in his room and he doesn't want to miss it!"

Priorities

2009-05-28T10:36:00.002-06:00

I stepped outside just now to take a dirty diaper to the curb. As I approached the house again I heard frantic crying coming from inside and, I have to admit, my first reaction was "I hope they didn't get anything on the floor, I just mopped it yesterday."

If that's not a sign of a wonderfully caring mother I don't know what is!

Turns out Harrison had climbed up to the table and tried to help himself to some of my Cherry-Vanilla Diet Dr. Pepper. Which, he of course, promptly spilled.

Good news though is that he managed to spill it on his shirt, which did a good job of absorbing most of it, and not a drop of it landed on my freshly mopped kitchen floor. SCORE!

Life and laundry

2009-04-29T09:00:00.001-06:00

Having kids is like being a dirty shirt in the washing machine on a never ending wash cycle: constant agitation with no spin cycle in sight.

Prozac with a side of Zoloft

2009-04-28T18:00:00.004-06:00

Where does my son come up with these things????

Adam: Mom, I want to watch Bedtime Stories (which is the answer to yesterday's Name that Movie Monday, by the way.)

Me: Okay

Adam: But I'm a little stressed and don't know if I can watch it.

Me: Why are you stressed? Do you want to talk about it?

Adam: Well, I'm stressed because I really want to watch 2 more movies today but I don't want to turn into a couch potato. So what should I do?

He's 5 people. 5 short years old. Somebody please tell me they also have a stressed 5 year old so that I don't go to bed tonight worried that my own 5 year old is weird.

Dictionary Please

2009-04-27T10:47:00.003-06:00

The kids have spent the morning playing with the toys my sister brought them from her honeymoon.

Zoey just came crying to me. With Tears in her eyes and a whine in her voice she said to me "I don't want to play with Adam anymore. He is angry and I don't like him when he's like that."

Adam came trailing in, also upset and crying. His whine was "Zoey won't play with me anymore."

Me, knowing how things usually go down when these two play together I asked him, "Well, why doesn't she want to play with you? Where you being bossy."

To which he responded, "No, I wasn't being bossy. She just wouldn't do what I wanted her to do."

Gorgeous

2009-04-24T14:29:00.001-06:00

....which is quite a bit harder to spell than you might think.....

Trust me, this hurts me more than it hurts you

2009-04-21T21:22:00.004-06:00

Took my 5 year old to his pre-kindergarten doctor appointment today.

First he totally failed the eye exam.

Then he told the doctor that he's not a good eater. (at least he was being honest)

And then came the REALLY fun part-his immunizations.

The Medical Assistant felt pretty confident that she could hold his legs AND give him his shots (all 4) if I would just hold his arms. Apparently she's never met my child. It only took her a moment to realize, as he was simultaneously screaming and crying at a decibel level just above that of a screaming banshee, while thrashing around violently, that she would have to call in backup.

Despite my reassurances that it would be over quickly and that he could have just about anything he wanted when he was done it still took 3 of us to restrain him. I tried to get him to sing with me and when that didn't work I tried simply singing calm songs in his ears. It didn't work.

Once they were finished and opened the door to go get the candy bowl two more medical assistants walked in to coo and coddle over him and make sure he was okay. One was even in tears she felt so bad for him.

Needless to say I was not his best friend today.

He limped around the rest of the day and made sure he told everybody he saw that his legs hurt because he got shots today.

I like to look on the bright side if anybody should ever try to kidnap my child I now know they won't get far.

(does that make me terribly morbid that I would even have that thought?)

Mother of the year

2009-04-20T10:31:00.002-06:00

Adam is frequently bored these days. He seems to need constant brain stimulation or else he starts whining or picking on his younger siblings. For the first time I am starting to question my decision to not put him in preschool because I think he is just not challenged enough anymore and needs to be learning new things. Thank goodness he starts school in a few months.

Car rides are especially painful to him. 2 minutes into any drive the barrage of questions begin. "Are we there yet? How long is it going to take to get there? Why do we always have to go places in the car?"

So the following conversation from a day of running errands should not come as a surprise to anybody.

Adam: "I am tired of riding in the car. Why is this taking so long?"

Me: "Because I like to torture you. It is my goal in life to torture you."

Adam: (in an extremely whiny tone) "Well, why do you want to torture me?"

Me: "Because it's my prerogative as a parent to do so."

Murphy's Law

2009-04-15T21:05:00.002-06:00

Murphy's law is an adage in Western culture that broadly states: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

I am learning (the hard way, because it seems the only way I know how to learn) that Murphy's Law is especially true in parenthood. Or maybe in the case of parenthood it could be reworded to be "A child can and will make any bad situation exponentially worse."

I know I've written about potty training before. But with Zoey finally making the switch from diapers to big girl underwear it really feels like I'm experiencing all the joys of potty training for the very first time again.

And so tonight I bring you Murphy's Law of potty training.

~The earlier to decided to begin potty training the more likely your child is to be the last person in their nursery class to be potty trained.

~If your wishful thinking entices you to buy underwear in size 2T your child will outgrow them before they have a need for them.

~The later your own child potty trains the more likely you are to be in play group with THAT MOM whose child does everything SO EARLY.

~Should you be desperate enough to check out potty training DVD's from the library (or worse yet, shell out real money for them) you will find that the more annoying the song the more likely it is to get stuck in your head. And yet, have exactly zero effect on your child's desire to use the potty.

~The newer your carpet the more likely your child will pee on it. Okay, who am I kidding. Your child will pee on the old, ugly carpet, too.

~Your child will ALWAYS wait until the last possible second to tell you they have to go to the bathroom. Which is usually when you have filled your shopping cart to the brim, have been waiting in line for 10 minutes to pay and you are next up.

~And they will ALWAYS have to go at the location with the dirtiest bathroom.

~The length of the line at the restroom will be in direct correlation to how frantically your child is crying "I gotta go! I gotta go!"

~Or worse yet, the restroom will be closed for cleaning.

~When playing outside your child will never pee their pants while standing on the grass. They will always, instead, be sitting in the sandbox.

Anyway you slice it parenting is not for the faint of heart!

Weatherman

2009-04-14T12:34:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was just warm enough to give me real hope that spring was actually on the way. Although it was only around 55 degrees the kids all wore shorts and played outside in the sandbox for hours.

Apparently the kids are as ready for warm weather as I am.

Adam: When can we get the swimming pool out to play in again.

Me: Well, it needs to get a little warmer first. Today it's only 55 degrees outside. It needs to be at least 85 degrees outside before we get the swimming pool out

Adam: Well, when will that be?

Me: I don't really know. You'll have to ask the weatherman.

Several hours later, as I folded laundry Adam sat deep in thought. Out of nowhere he said "Mom, can I have a (he asks for something I don't understand?"

Me: You want a what?

Adam: A weather chart, like you and daddy have, so that I know when it's 85 degrees.

How can I say no to that kind of request?

Easter

2009-04-12T22:24:00.004-06:00

We tried this year to help our children understand the true meaning of Easter. Of course they are still quite young so I mostly was just trying to reinforce the idea that Easter was about Jesus.

So the Easter Bunny came to our house Friday night so we had bunny goodies Saturday morning so Sunday could be just about Jesus.

We have a home evening lesson on the Resurrection.

We went to church for a special Easter service.

And I had this great idea to show my children the Lamb of God movie. (A movie produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints depicting the last week in the life of the Savior.)

I was feeling like such a great parent when I told them that after dinner we'd pop popcorn and watch a very special Easter movie.

Soon we were settled in on the couch together and I popped in the movie.

You can imagine my dismay as the opening scene appeared on the screen and Zoey asked "Where is the Easter Bunny"

I guess there's always next year.

If you'd like to receive your own copy of the Lamb of God visit mormon.org and then click on the Free Media link located about half way down the page. You can then request your free copy of this beautiful movie.

Men in Black

2009-04-02T21:13:00.003-06:00

In case you somehow missed the memo, my sister is getting married soon. I mean really soon.

And this post today is dedicated to all you mothers of boys. Because I find it as unfair as you do that when I walk into the store I am bombarded by frilly, fluffy, lacy, dripping with cuteness things for girls. Boys are cute, too! And I am just as willing to plunk down dough for cute things for my boys.

And here is the proof: my boys in the suits I bought them to wear to the wedding.

Now if that isn't just dripping with cuteness I don't know what is!

Take that all you puffy pinkness.

Let's hear it for the boys!!!!

Happy Day

2009-03-17T07:51:00.000-06:00

It's my Blog-iversary

Celebrate

2009-03-16T07:59:00.002-06:00

If you read my other blog you may remember that I practically begged you to head over to Blogtations to check out the best quotes on the internet.

Somehow I tried musing over at Blogtations that I was quotable and she totally featured a quote from this humble little blog on her amazing site.

What a great way to celebrate my 1 day short of 1 year blogging anniversary. :)

Lasting Impressions

2009-03-15T09:20:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago we took the kids to the Open House of the new Draper, Utah Temple. It was a great opportunity to show the kids the inside of a temple and to talk to them about how important temples are. There was also an added bonus in that this is where my sister will be getting married next month so we got to tell the kids all about Aunt Natalie getting married here.

We took extra care to show them the beautiful chandlers in the Celestial room. We paused a little longer in the bride's room, telling them about how this is where Aunt Natalie would be changing into her wedding dress. We held each one up in the sealing room where large mirrors on each side of the room reflect endlessly off each other, a symbol of the eternal nature of the marriage that are performed in that room.

So of course I was please yesterday when Zoey said to me "Mom, do you remember when we went to the temple where Aunt Natalie is getting married." I smiled to myself and answered that yes, I remembered. She then went on to say, "I remember lots and lots of dressing rooms."

Note: I'm super paranoid about copyright infringement and so please go here to see pictures of the inside of the Draper Temple, including the sealing rooms and the Celestial room. You won't, however, find any pictures of the dressing rooms because, well, they are just rows and rows of lockers and who finds that interesting?

Flashback Friday

2009-03-13T12:31:00.004-06:00

Having neglected this blog far longer than I should I decided to do Flashback Friday over here this week. Hope you don't mind. (Of course you don't mind, you get to see cute pictures of my kids when they were babies! Who wouldn't like that?)

My Sister-in-Law Emily gave me a little Tigger baby outfit when my first was born. She gave it to me because it was Orange and her favorite color is Orange.

My mother gave me lots of stuffed animal tiggers because I sort of had this tigger fetish in late high school/early college (hence my email address to this day is still nikitiger, stemming back to those days.)

So, as a new mom, home from work for 12 weeks on maternity leave with my very first digital camera I got this brilliant idea for some photos when Adam was about a month old.

Adam and Tigger, best buddies

Peeking

When Zoey came along I pulled out the box of old baby clothes looking for anything that wasn't gender specific, came across the tigger outfit and thought, what the heck.

Zoey and Tigger, best buddies

Wiggly Zoey

2 kids

So of course by Harrison it was a tradition and we just had to do it yet again.

Harrison and Tigger, best buddies

Little tigger face

3 kids, how did we get so many?

Still

2009-03-03T21:26:00.003-07:00

The friendship is still strong. Just a few moments ago Zoey woke up crying. She was shaking all over and told me she had had a bad dream. I held her for a moment, gave her a kiss and then told me she wanted to go snuggle with Adam.

So, once again, I tucked her into her brother's bed where she calmed right down and is snuggling there still.

Child Prodigy

2009-02-26T14:26:00.002-07:00

Adam has always shown an interest in music, especially in the piano. I mean, I know ALL kids enjoy pounding on the keys now and then. There are so temptingly pretty. White and black, neatly arranged in a long line, making sweet melodic sounds when you touch them. Who wouldn't like to plunk a few occasionally? Plus there is always the added pleasure of slamming down the lid when you are done. Kids love that part!

But Adam has always approached the piano with tenderness. Even at a very young age he never pounded the keys with his entire hand. He instead would touch each key gently, one at a time, listening to how each key had it's own unique tone.

I often thought about trying to get him some lessons but as I asked around everybody told me that 8 was about the right age to start kids in piano lessons. That they really need to be able to read and sit still and concentrate before taking on the piano.

But on Sunday Adam wanted to sing a particular song as a family and went to the piano telling me he was going to play it for us. So I put the music in front of him and he said "show me how to read it so I can play the song."

Thus began an impromptu piano lesson about middle C. By the end of our short 10 minute lesson he was able to identify each note that was a C on the keyboard.

I tested him a couple of days later and he still remembered.

So of course now I think he is the smartest child alive and that I'd better rush him into piano lessons with a teacher who specializes in teaching gifted children.

Then of course perhaps he'll only stay interested for a lesson or two, thus wasting time and money in the process. In which case he would be demoted from prodigy child to prodigal child.

It will be super cool mom

2009-02-25T14:09:00.002-07:00

I got a new camera yesterday.

Today Adam begged me to come downstairs so he could show me something super cool. He wanted to show me how he and Zoey could sit on the ladder to the loft bed. He explained, step by step, how he would climb 4 steps, and sit just so and hang onto the rung above.

Once he and Zoey were both seated on the ladder rungs he said "Mom, I really think you should take a picture of this with your new camera. It will be super cool and be a really cute picture."

And you know what, he was right.

Fickle

2009-02-17T21:11:00.001-07:00

When I start to feel overwhelmed by all the little ones running around our house I often start to say things to the kids like, "I think we have too many kids. How about we send some back."

The kids always respond with a resounding "no! We need all the kids"

One day I was having this conversation with just Adam. I said to him, "Don't you think we have too many kids? I was thinking maybe we should send Harrison back."

His response was, "No, I love him toooo much."

I said, "Well, how about we send Zoey back then."

Even more emphatically than before, "No!!!!! I love her too much, too!"

I reminded him, "Well, you sure fight with her a lot."

He pauses a moment to think about that and then says, "Well, okay. I guess we can send Zoey back."

Good, clean fun

2009-02-17T21:02:00.002-07:00

The other morning as I'm getting out of the shower my phone is ringing. On the other end is the Primary President. (I'm one of her councilors, in case I never mentioned that.) She says "How was your shower?" I'm thinking to myself "How does she know I was in the shower?"

She then proceeds to tell me that she stopped by my house and Adam answered the door. She asked for his mom and he said "She's in the shower." So she asks if his dad is around, to which Adam replies, "He's in the shower, too."

Then Zoey, not wanting to be left out of the conversation I guess, says, "They're in the same shower."

At this point in the phone conversation the Primary President is laughing and giving me a hard time, all the while I'm freaking out "MY 4 YEAR OLD ANSWERED THE DOOR?!?!?!?!?!"

I need to have a serious talk with that child.

And when I'm done I need to have a serious talk with Zoey. I wondering what other family gossip she has let slip during sunbeams. One can only imagine....

Finally, my 100th post

2009-02-13T15:00:00.001-07:00

I've been neglecting this little ol' blog of mine for far too long. My kids are just as funny and cute and clever as always. And I've actually thought of writing here several times. But I was right in the middle of my 100th post and I really wanted it to be funny but was having serious writers block every time I tried to finish it so then I just started ignoring it all together.

But I'm back. And this is my 100th post! I already subjected you to 100 things about me on my other blog so I decided that here I would write the top 100 ways you know you have kids.

Of course, all my kids are still preschool age. So I imagine the list would be quite different if you have kids in school and especially if you have teenagers. But, even if you only have teenagers now they were young once so I hope that you may still find things you can relate to. So, for your reading pleasure I now present:

You know you have kids when:

Your home constantly looks like Fisher price puked on your floor
You've ever uttered the phrase "because I said so."
You find stroller reviews more interesting than car reviews
If swapping car seats from one vehicle to another were an Olympic sport you'd have a fighting chance at taking home the gold medal.
You have frozen chicken nuggets in your freezer
All the mattresses in your house are covered with plastic
You are considering a contribution to PBS this year because it's cheaper than a nanny
The kids are at Grandma's for the night, you are alone with your spouse, and all you can think about is sleep.
You can quote at least one Dr. Seuss Book
You've ever had a long, in depth conversation with a spouse or close friend about poop
You have a magnet on your fridge with the number to poison control
Which was sent to you by poison control
Because you've had to call poison control....
...more than once
You have the PBS kids lineup memorized but have no clue what is on Prime time television
Your digital picture count is in the thousands, and those are just of your kids
Your library card is your best friend
You've seen Toy Story at least 100 times
>You know all about Really Useful engines
You make up extra verses to children's songs
You realize now how smart your mom actually is
You haven't eaten a hot meal meal in (insert age of oldest child) years
You can name every Pixar movie in a single breath
You believe in Santa Clause
And the tooth fairy
And the Easter Bunny
And all other mythical magical creatures
Band-aids and kisses still cure everything
You've ever been felt so much love you where sure your heart was going to burst out of your chest
You have a detailed list of all the messes the Mr. Clean magic eraser doesn't get out.
You have ever had to clean vomit from a bed....
....or a couch.....
....or the carpet.....
....or the carseat....
....or hair.....
You've likely cleaned urine and fecal matter from all those same places as well
You know what tune every single Fisher Price Little People toy sings (It's "this old man" although each toy has different words to the tune)
A Good Night's sleep, what's that?
You dread family portraits
You feel way older than you should!
The laundry at your house is worse than the energizer bunny, it just keeps going....
.......and going........
.......and going........
.......and going........
.......and going........
.......and going........
.......and going........
.......and going........
.......and going........
.......and going........
.......and going........
You think naptime must be what heaven is like
You've ever found a sippie cup with chunky milk in it
Some days your little ones are the very reason you get out of bed in the morning
And some days they are the very reason you want to throw the covers over your head and stay in bed forever
You have strong opinions about breastfeeding (one way or the other)
You think Elmo is terribly annoying
But let your kids watch him anyway
Because they love him
Because all kids love him
The term "Fine Dining" has been removed from your vocabulary
A good meal is one at which nobody cries
You cheat at Candy Land, otherwise the game would go on forever
You lie to the pediatrician (Yes, he sleeps through the night, yes we have child gates on every staircase, yes I brush his teeth for 2 minutes 2 times a day every single day, yes she eats balanced meals from all 4 food groups, no she doesn't drink from a bottle anymore, etc.)
You're still reading this
You know at least one song about the potty
You've ever been at an all adult dinner party and excused yourself to use the potty
The list of emergency numbers you leave on your fridge for the babysitter is longer than the guest list at your wedding
When trying to watch a movie you have to pause it AT LEAST 24 times
You've ever watched a DVD with the subtitles on just so you could follow the story despite all the noise
You think finding a sale at Old Navy is better than winning the lottery
You tried to write off your Disney Movie Club Membership as a tax deduction, listed under "Qualified child care"
The words "potty training" send a cold chill through your entire body
You actually have a favorite kid's show
But won't admit it
You can finish the following line: "Clifford needed Emily, so she chose him for her own......"
Over half the songs on your ipod fall in the "Children's Music" genre
You're considering adding "jungle gym" to your resume
You now understand what your dad meant all those times he said "I just can't have nice things."
You've ever told your child that it "tastes like chicken" when trying to get him to try something new. (or maybe I'm the only one who does that.)
You occasionally just blow the crumbs out of the breakfast dishes and reuse them for lunch time because you are tired of doing dishes! (maybe I'm the only one who does that, too.)
You've ever silently sworn under your breath on Christmas morning about child toy packaging
You talk to your child's imaginary friend
You crave adult conversation
You wonder why you bother renting movies because you always just fall asleep during them anyway
The last time you exercised was.......
You secretly hope that other people find your children cute, even though you'll never admit it
Because, after all, your child is the cutest, smartest, funniest child you have ever seen
You can't recall the last time your shirt stayed clean for an entire day
You know that when kids get quiet it means they are doing something they shouldn't be
You can sing "The Wheels on the Bus" in your sleep
And sometimes you do
You're reading this sometime after 10:00 pm (because it's the only time the kids will leave you along long enough to get through this forever long list!)
You've read at least one of the items on this list out loud to your spouse with knowing kind of tone
At times you hear you mother's words coming out of your own mouth
You have ever had to utter the phrase "don't drink the bum water" (or something similar in nature)
You have ever pulled the remote control out of the garbage can
or the toilet
You know that the term "childproof" is only a myth
You can think of at least 10 more items I should add to this list (which I encourage you to leave in the comments)

Phew, I made it! Only took me 31/2 months!

Serendipity

2008-10-28T09:24:00.002-06:00

A week or so ago I bought Zoey a pair of fairy wings and a little fairy tutu. They were at the dollar store and she really wanted them and I thought hey why not.

They sat in the closet until last Saturday when she saw then and asked to put them on.

She's been wearing them non-stop since. She wakes up and immediately wants to put them on. And cries when I tell her she has to take them to go to bed. She insists that I call her fairy, not Zoey. And she walks around the house turning everybody and everything into frogs.

So, last night for the first time I put Peter Pan in for my kids. We've had it for quite some time but they have never been interested in watching it. But I told Zoey it had a fairy in it and she got all excited.

She watched for a while and then came to me, very distraught, because Tinkerbell didn't ever talk. And she wanted to see a movie where Tinkerbell talked.

And here's where the Serendipity comes in. Because just yesterday while running errands and listening to Radio Disney in the car I heard that the direct to DVD Tinkerbell movie was set for release today! Seriously, could that have been better timing?

Zoey's so obsessed about it that she came wandering into my room this morning around 6:30 and typically the first thing out of her mouth is "I want a sippie of milk." But this morning she peeks up over the side of my bed and says in her best whiny voice "Mom, I really want to watch a movie with Tinkerbell talking."

And so, being the softie that I am I have promised that as soon as I'm out of the shower we'll go to Target and buy the Tinkerbell movie. And it will be a cheap made for DVD movie probably with no plot. But Tinkerbell will talk in it and that will make my 2 year old insanely happy for at least a week or two. Which is proof that sometimes money can buy happiness...at least temporarily.

It's my blog and I'll brag if I want to

2008-10-26T21:50:00.004-06:00

I know you're all getting weary of the way I go on and on and on about how smart my kids are. But I'm really crappy about keeping a journal of all the funny things they say and do and somebody they may want to know and I know by then I'll have forgotten, so if I don't blog about it then it will be lost forever and then how will they know how smart they were? The point is, if you're tired of hearing about how smart my kids are then you'll just have to stop reading my blog because I'll likely just keep writing about it.

But don't really stop reading my blog. Because well, then I'd be sad. And I'd miss you. And you may not admit it now but you'd miss reading it, too. Because my kids are so cute and smart and funny. And I have a charming writing style to capture their antics. And it's the highlight of your day to read it. Or maybe it's not. But could you pretend it is? Okay, thanks.

So, where was I? Oh yes, my smart kids.

This morning Adam was playing with the letter magnets on the fridge. He asked me to help him spell Lion. Then he told me he was going to spell Lamb. So he sounded out the L and the A and the M. And then said "Look mom, I spelled lam." I told him he needed to put a B on the end of it to spell lamb. "No, mom, it's just l-a-m. There is no B." I tried to explain to him that some words were kind of silly and weren't spelled exactly the way they sounded. But he wasn't convinced. After about 4 attempts I gave up. At our house Lamb is now spelled lam because the 4 year old knows best.

This evening I had some vinyl letters that the kids were playing with. I was sticking them to their shirts and spelling words with them. I didn't have an entire alphabet. Just some random letters.

So Adam tells me he wants me to spell car on his shirt. I look over the letter and then tell him I don't have an R. He looks at the letters I do have, thinks about it for a minute and then says, "Okay, just spell vehicle then." And, surprisingly enough I had all the right letters to spell vehicle.

Seriously, where does he come up with this stuff?

Will the wonder never cease?

2008-10-19T09:22:00.003-06:00

This morning Adam was telling me all about his day at Grandma's house yesterday. He's talking along, telling me about this and that, and then he says "And eventually grandpa put his socks and sweater on."

I know that it shouldn't surprise me anymore. Adam is always using big words, and using them correctly. But it still catches me off guard and makes me giggle just a little. Because until you've heard a 4 year old use the word eventually, well, you just really haven't lived.

There's no June Cleaver here!

2008-10-15T13:39:00.000-06:00

I think Zoey must get up in the middle of the night, sneak downstairs, turn on the TV and watch old re-runs on Leave it to Beaver on TV-Land. I don't know where else she gets her ideas about how mothers act, because she certainly doesn't get such crazy notions from me!

Let me back track just a moment. See, for a very long time Zoey didn't play with girl toys. Like at all. She had a doll or two but they stayed on her shelf most the time because she preferred to play cars and trains.

But in the past few months she's been playing with her "girl toys" more frequently.

Here's where it gets funny though. She goes through a very specific ritual each time the "girl toys" are out. First she has to get all prettied up. She puts on her princess crown and her high heel princess shoes and all the princess jewelry. I mean all of it. Necklaces, rings, earrings, the works. And then, and only then, does she pick up her doll and feed it a bottle, or put it in the stroller to go for a walk.

And I seriously don't know where she has gotten the impression that she has to dress to the nines to take care of her baby. Because it certainly wasn't from me! Most days I wear sweats around the house, and my hair is in a ponytail, if I even bother to comb it. I'm really about as low maintenance as the come! In fact on Sunday I put on eye makeup and Zoey is so unaccustomed to seeing me wear makeup she actually asked me what was wrong with my eyes. I told her I was wearing makeup and asked her if she thought it was pretty. She pulled a funny face and told me no.

So you see, it's not from my stellar example that she gets the impression that mothers dress up in heels and crowns to take care of the baby. Which brings me back to my original assumption. She has a closet addiction to Leave it to Beaver. That, or she's just trying to overcompensate for my lack. I better start saving money now, she may need therapy someday.

Simply Amazing

2008-10-15T13:31:00.002-06:00

Right now everything is amazing to Adam. He finds ways to throw the word amazing into just about every sentence.

"Mom, I ate all my carrots. Isn't that amazing?"

"Zoey, it's snowing outside! Isn't that amazing?"

"Wow! Look how big the moon is! It's amazing!"

"I built a tall tower of blocks. Do you think it's amazing?"

Yes Adam, it's amazing. And so are you!

Would you like a hug with your fries?

2008-10-11T22:15:00.005-06:00

We went to Iceberg for for dinner last night.

I was sitting in the booth with the kids, Adam sitting by my side. He slides across the booth bench and puts his arms around me and says "I love you so much mom."

I said, "Really? For how long have you loved me?"

He says, "Oh, for a day or a two."

"Well," I told him, "that makes it the best day or two of my life!"

Guess that Costume

2008-10-10T15:07:00.002-06:00

Several of you have asked what my kids are going to be for Halloween this year. I haven't responded yet because it's top secret. Okay, not really. I just haven't responded yet because I just plain haven't gotten around to it.

But as I was working on costumes this afternoon while the baby slept I thought that instead of telling you it would much more fun if I made you guess. I will give you a few clues.

Clue 1: Harrison's costume, thus far.

Clue 2: The fabric (which is a thick upholstery-like fabric) I will be using for Zoey's costume, assuming I actually make it that far. The sewing is coming along painfully slow.

Clue 3: Ha, there is no clue 3! Because Adam's costume is already finished! (I'm borrowing it from my sister-in-law.) So I can't show it to you, that would be too easy!

But you should be able to infer what Adam's is if you guess what the other two are going to be because, and here is your real clue 3, all three costumes go together in a theme.

Have you guessed yet?

Didn't see that coming

2008-10-10T15:00:00.003-06:00

As if i needed more proof, a few minutes ago Zoey and Adam were eating fruit snacks together. Adam was sitting on the bottom stair and Zoey went over and plopped herself next to him and said "Adam, you're my best friend." Seriously. And it was so sweet I was grinning from ear to ear.

In fact, I thought it was SO cute that a minute or so later I said "Zoey, who's your best friend?" Without stopping to think she smiled very big and said "Adam."

So then I turned to Adam and said "Adam, who's your best friend?" He sighed deeply and rolled his eyes at me. I waited a couple beats and then asked him again. "Adam, who's your best friend?" Again he sighed and then looked at me and said, "I'll just have to think about it first."

Smile pretty for the camera

2008-10-08T13:46:00.006-06:00

I have hundreds of snapshots of my children. But the above portrait is the one currently hanging on my front room wall. Because it's the most current one I have. And this particular photo session was over a year ago. So, I thought it was time to update my wall portraits.

And then I remembered why it had been a year since we last attempted portraits. Because you know that old adage they use in Hollywood, never work with kids or animals? Well, it's because of kids like mine!

Because I pick out cute clothes and try to make sure they are napped and fed and I have brilliant ideas in my mind of how they are going to turn out. But inevitably they always turn out something like this:

I can still hear Zoey screaming as Adam tries to climb out of the picture.

or this:

What is up with that look on Zoey's face? And apparently Adam was concerned about being included in the picture.

Or my personal favorite:

Don't they just look tortured?

Why I can't I have a nice portrait like this to hang on my wall. I would order a HUGE canvas of that print.

Or one like this, because they may not smiling, but it still looks great! Because at least nobody is crying.

These girls sat in a truck. So why wouldn't mine sit in a wheel barrow? Why? Why?

Of course there are a few gems. See, we were trying to get Zoey to lean against the fence all coy like.

And, as you can see, she just wasn't getting it.

So of course, the older sibling felt it was his responsibility to show her how.

And he did a great job, too bad he's still holding that stinking train that I kept begging him to put down!

Oh well. Now you'll all understand when I don't send out Christmas cards with a family portrait on it.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch

2008-10-08T13:24:00.003-06:00

Okay, this really has nothing to do with chickens. I just didn't know what else to title this post. It could've just as easily been called knock on wood.

Because, you see, Harrison has now slept the entire night in his own bed for two nights in a row now! And he slept in his own bed for his nap yesterday and he is in his own bed taking a nap right now.

It's a beautiful thing. And sad, too. Mostly good. But he is my last baby. And there is something really sweet about a sleeping baby and I'm sure at times I'll miss his sweet sleeping self next to me in bed. Yea, call me crazy. I actually enjoy (most the time) my baby sleeping next to me.

But they hit a certain stage when they turn into wiggle worms when the sleep. And then it's time to ship them off to their own beds.

And that time has arrived. Is it always so bitter sweet when your kids grow up? And if I'm this sentimental about Harrison sleeping in his own bed what on earth am I going to do when Adam starts kindergarten next year?

Genius times 3

2008-09-28T20:24:00.005-06:00

Adam (who, remember, is only 4) asked me the other day "Hey mom, what does 2 plus 2 plus 2 equal?"

I said, "Why don't you think about it and see if you can figure it out."

He ponders a moment and then says, "I think that it equals 6. And mom! That is what 2 three times is."

The kid is doing multiplication and he's never even gone to preschool! I'm convinced that he gets his brains from me.

Can't see the forest for the trees

2008-09-28T20:22:00.003-06:00

Tonight while trying to get the kids into pajamas Zoey told me "Mom, we're pretending your bedroom is a forest."

I said, "Yea? What's in a forest?"

I was not sure she knew what a forest is, and so I was testing to see if she would say trees. Instead she said "A scary monster."

Yea, I guess forests might have those, too. Perhaps they've been reading too much fantasy fiction.

It's rhyming time

2008-09-23T21:26:00.002-06:00

You know how sometimes you get songs stuck in your head. Some repeating line and melody over and over and over and over again. Until you're so sick of that song you want to scream.

Since I have kids I get Dr. Seuss stuck in my head. Can't help it. The rhyme and rhythm glue themselves to the inside of my cranium, beating around inside my already crowded thoughts.

A classic that is often found bumping around my grey matter is "Bid D, little d. David Donald Doo. Dreamed a Dozen Doughnuts and a duck-dog, too."

Over and over and over with the ducks and the doughnuts until I'm not sure I should quack or bark or run down to my nearest Krispy Kreme.

Fox in Socks is bad, too. Because even in my head my tongue trips all over the words. "When Beetles battle Beetles in a puddle paddle battle and the battles in a bottle and the bottles on a poodle and the poodles eating noodles. This is a Tweedle beetle puddle battle muddle fuddled wuddle."

I won't ask you to say that 5 times fast because I'm pretty sure my older brother actually can. I think he just may have the entire book memorized, too. "Who sews Sue's socks? Sue sews Sue's socks."

And those Who's down in Whoville. You know how they are.

Don't misunderstand me, I actually really love Dr. Seuss. My daughter's bedroom is decorated all in Dr. Seuss. My kids were even Seuss characters for Halloween last year.

I just wish those catchy rhymes weren't so, well, catchy sometimes!

So sweet dreams all my readers. I wish you pleasant dreams free from a dozen doughnuts and duck-dogs, too.

Are two yolks better than one?

2008-09-22T22:19:00.003-06:00

The kids wanted eggs for breakfast this morning. Boy was I surprised to crack the egg and find it had to yolks! I thought it was the coolest thing ever!

Apparently it tasted like a normal one yolk egg, seeing as I threw just as much egg away this morning as I normally do.

croupy kids blues

2008-09-21T08:52:00.002-06:00

Last week Harrison was sick. Diarrhea, croupy cough, runny nose. It was a fun filled week full of being cooped up in the house and long, sleepless nights.

I was see the light at the end of the tunnel around Friday. He was starting to sound better and be happier. I rejoiced greatly.

Yesterday morning Adam woke up sounding croupy and by noon Zoey was sounding just as bad. And if last night was any indication of how the rest of the week will go, it's going to be a long week. Fevers, croupy coughs, runny noses. I spent the night running back and forth between the two-I'd get one comforted and back to sleep just in time for the other to wake up crying. I spent the night rubbing vicks vapor rub on chests and feet, re-dosing them with tylenol, refilling water bottles, sticking heads in the freezer to help them breath easier.

So it looks like week 2 of being cooped up in the house and long, sleepless nights.

I know it could be worse. They don't have chronic or life-threatening diseases. For that I'm thankful. But a nice LONG nap sure would be nice.

Unfortunately I have to teach at church today so Mike will be staying home with the sick kids and he'll probably get that long nap instead.

And who says motherhood isn't glamourous?

Joe Jr.

2008-09-17T22:22:00.002-06:00

Remember that scene in While You were Sleeping when Sandra Bullock opens her closet and Joe Jr. is sitting on the floor trying on her shoes? Remember?

Well, today I realized that it was quiet. Too quiet. So I went looking for my two oldest children. I looked in all the normal spots only to come up empty handed. But then I realized there were some quiet noises come from my bedroom closet.

So, I walk into my room, open the closet door, and am greeted by this:

baby steps

2008-09-17T22:00:00.000-06:00

Harrison is starting to take his first unsteady steps. Beginning to venture out on his own. It's exciting because maybe in the future I won't have to carry him everywhere. Yet a little sad because it means he is growing up and will soon be a toddler, leaving his "baby" traits far behind.

BFF

2008-09-15T23:06:00.000-06:00

From the day we brought Zoey home from the hospital her and Adam were destined to be best friends! My whole pregnancy I worried and agonized about how Adam was going to react to having a sibling. Because not only was he our first child but he was also the first grandchild on my side of the family and a boy grandchild born to the son in a family full of sisters. This was the grandchild that would carry on the family name. So, needless to say, he was kind of a golden child that first year.

But all my worrying was in vain because Adam loved his baby sister from day one. And she loved him, too. He was always kind and gentle and sweet to her. He never seemed to get even a tab bit jealous of how much of my time she took. And was very protective of her when she cried. And I'm convinced they somehow communicated with each other and had this conspiracy to take over my bed.

When Adam was old enough to move out of the nursery at church and into the 3 year old Sunday School class he cried for weeks and weeks about Zoey not coming with him. It was quite traumatic for him to be separated from her!

Even now it never ceases to amaze me how well they play together. Of course there are disagreements and arguments. But for the most part they are like two peas in a pod. There are days that they will disappear into Adam's room together for hours on end, content just to be playing with each other. The bond they have is truly special. And it's just between them. As far as they are concerned, 3 is a crowd.

A few months ago Zoey was sick, and spending a lot of time in bed. But that didn't deter Adam. He hopped right up on the end of her bed and "read" her books all day. (He's only 4 so he doesn't really read, he quotes books he has memorized. It's really cute.) He even wanted to have his lunch with her, to keep her company.

And this is how I often find them when they are watching movies together.

And the kicker....the other night Zoey woke up crying. She said she had a bad dream. I tried to console her for a few minutes but no matter what I did she just kept crying and couldn't calm back down. I even offered to rock her for a few minutes. But what she really wanted was Adam. I kept telling her he was asleep but she kept asking for him. So finally I asked her if she wanted to go lay in his bed with him. At that suggestion she finally stopped crying. So I took her into his room, slid him over, and laid her down next to him. She settled in immediately and went right back to sleep!

I love that they love each other. Here's to the start of a beautiful relationship.

No, I'm 2!

2008-09-13T10:13:00.002-06:00

Whenever Mike or I have finished changing Zoey's diaper, or when I have finished combing her hair her we typically tell her that she is free. Meaning no longer contained, free to go play. She always misunderstands though, and every time, without fail, when we say "Zoey, you're free." she says, "No I'm not, I'm two!"

Jealousy

2008-09-10T15:56:00.003-06:00

Adam has an intersting way of dealing with jealousy issues. One that he came up with all on his own.

Adam has always loved to snuggle. So sometimes he still gets jealous when I am holding or rocking his baby brother. Or he gets jealous when daddy is throwing the baby up high in the air, because at 4 years old he is getting too big for some of those types of games.

So whenever one of the younger kids is getting some kind of attention that he thinks he would like to be getting he says, "you did that to me when I was a baby, too." I always assure him that yes, I most defiantly did do that to him when he was a baby, and the affirmation makes him happy enough that he doesn't cry or pout over the thing making him jealous.

Now if I could just get him to act so mature when it comes to sharing toys with his sister.....

Movie Makers

2008-09-04T21:06:00.000-06:00

I apologize for a post with SO MANY movies of my kids. Oh, wait, no I don't. They all make me laugh (because they are my kids, after all) and if you don't like them, just don't watch them. But you'll like them. Because, well, my kids are stinking funny!

At age 4 Adam already wants to be a movie maker. It's in his blood, he can't help it. My older brother made his first movie, The Time Machine, years ago with my parent's old 8mm camera.

And then there's the Snow White remake that my cousin and I made. Of course I was Snow White. And my younger brother had a cameo as the Dread Pirate Roberts. Yes, he was in this version of Snow White. (She'll laugh when she reads this, and say "Oh my gosh! I had forgotten all about that!")

After his cameo in my Hollywood blockbuster my younger brother later came into his own as a movie maker, too.

My college degree is in broadcasting.

So, it really comes as no surprise that my son has a desire to make movies himself.

A few nights ago I had my Canon point and shoot out that also has the ability to take short movie clips. I also had a purchased a new tripod (my bargain of the day that I found on a clearance table for 2 bucks after an otherwise unsuccessful day of shopping.)

They SO wanted to see what the tripod did. So I showed them. And the rest is history.

Below are movies taken BY my children. Adam would tell Zoey to go in front of the camera and he'd turn it on and tell her action! So, I apologize for the horrible lighting and the somewhat bouncy camera work. But I've been trying unsuccessfully for weeks to get Zoey to sing me a few songs and with one word Zoey would do it for Adam.

Hopefully you enjoy them a bit....because I find them tremendously hilarious!

How's it gonna take the picture?

Monkeys swinging in a tree

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Adam ABC

Popcorn Popping

Pop Goes my heart

Food Theif Strikes Again!

2008-09-03T14:16:00.002-06:00

Some of you who have been reading awhile may remember when I told you all about how Zoey steals the baby's food.

She's been at it pretty consistently, always getting busted for taking whatever I happen to put on the baby's tray. Apparently his food tastes better than hers, which is strange since I mostly feed them the exact same thing! Whenever she gets busted she tries to tell me that the baby didn't want it anymore.

Today for lunch I gave the baby a cereal bar. Not 2 minutes later I turn around to see the ENTIRE thing in Zoey's hand, with a big bite taken out of it. I say "Zoey, give that back to the baby!" So she sets the remaining cereal bar down on the highchair tray and then starts to spit out the half chewed stuff already in her mouth.

GROSS! So I had to quickly explain to her that she could KEEP what was in her mouth and just had to give back the un-masticated portion.

Sudden Obsession

2008-09-02T16:15:00.002-06:00

My 4 year old apparently is very obsessed with death lately. First came talk of the baby dying then today I walk upstairs and Adam says to me "Zoey and I are pretending to be dead."

I say "Why don't you pretend to be asleep instead, because I would be SO sad if you were dead."

He says "Well, we're just PRETENDING to be dead."

I'm not concerned so much as just really curious as to where all this is coming from. Can't say we've really had too many talks about death at our house so I'm not sure where he has picked it up. Guess I need to keep closer tabs on what they are teaching on PBS Kids.....

One step forward, two steps back

2008-08-31T21:53:00.005-06:00

My children have all been late walkers. I was sure Harrison was going to walk sooner than the first two. But he's 13 months old now and not walking yet.

But is starting to stand up ALL the time these days. (Of course every time I grab the camera to document it he sits down and laughs at me!)

I did catch a couple of him pushing Zoey's doll stroller.

And, totally unrelated to him walking at all, enjoy a movie of him playing with the ball shooter. Because I enjoy it.

What?

2008-08-30T08:48:00.002-06:00

Where does the 4 year old come up with this stuff?

Conversation at the breakfast table yesterday.

Adam: "Mom, why don't you want to have any more babies?"

Me: "Well, don't you think there are enough kids at this house?"

Adam: shrugs shoulders

Me: "Where would another baby sleep? We're out of room."

Adam: "Well, but if the baby dies you could have another baby."

Yea, I was pretty much speechless. And then I secretly prayed that he wasn't like psychic or anything and it was merely the ramblings of a 4 year old because I 1-don't want the baby to die anytime soon and 2-don't want to be pregnant or have another baby anytime soon.

A 4 year old's version of entitlement

2008-08-27T21:55:00.002-06:00

I never used to buy kids meals for my kids. Typically when we ate fast food they would each get an order of 99 cent crispy chicken nuggets from Wendy's. And if they were really luck an order of 99 cents fries to share. No soda. No toy inside. Just deep fried breaded chicken. And life was good.

Then, about 2 months ago, for some reason I still don't understand we went to McDonald's. (or, as my children like to call it, Old McDonald's) And I got them each a Happy Meal. With fries. And a drink. And a toy inside.

So tonight we grabbed some fast food for dinner because I was on a cooking strike and Adam ended up with an order of crispy chicken nuggets.

When we got home and I placed his nuggets in front of him the first thing he said to me was "Where is my drink that came with my nuggets?"

"We didn't get drinks tonight. Just the nuggets."

"Well, did I get a game or a toy with my nuggets?"

"Um, no toy either. Just the nuggets tonight."

"Well, I like when I get a toy."

How did I let it come to this? And how do we get back to where we were before?

Future rock climber

2008-08-26T22:11:00.005-06:00

Harrison is my climber. He still doesn't walk yet, but he climbs EVERYTHING. He curls his little toes around anything and everything and scales it like he's the most experienced rock climber around.

Last night he sat and watched the older kids playing on the slide until he just couldn't take it anymore at which point he wriggled out of my lap and went to join in on the fun.

This was the first time he had tried climbing the slide, and you see how easily and quickly he was able to do it. I'm telling you, future rock climber! Is that an Olympic sport?

A pig? Really?

2008-08-26T13:11:00.002-06:00

Adam was playing with this huge plastic ant outside this morning. Which is ironic, considering he is terrified of teeny tiny ants. He brings it over to where I am sitting in the swing with the baby and says "Hey mom, there are some ants this big and they could eat a pig. Isn't that amazing?"

Where does he come up with these things?

Just bodies

2008-08-26T10:27:00.003-06:00

I love to read the Shutter Sisters blog because I am really trying to learn more about photography and there are so many good tips and great ideas there!

One feature they have is the Superhero photo challenge. And, just like it sounds, it is a challenge to take a picture in a way that is out of the ordinary. The last challenge was to take a picture of just bodies. So I gave it a try. Here are some of my favorites from my mini photo session with my kids.

Okay, so I don't know enough about photoshop quite yet to clone out the outlet. But, other than that I really like this one.

So, take some just bodies pictures yourself. Then post them on your blog on put them on your flickr page and link to it here in the comments section. I'd love to see what you come up with!!!!