More veges, please!

Tonight I put Benjamin's dinner plate in front of him and he said, "I didn't get any cauliflower or squash!"

Who are you and what have you done with my child?

He ate it...the carrots and broccoli, too...but not the baked potato, of course. He's still working on that. Last night he sat at the table from 5:30 until 8:05. The culprit--bean soup.

It was a delicious bean soup, but I can't post the recipe for fear that you will make it and then blame me for the trouble it causes your digestive system.

The end.

The Boss

A little update on the Boss's developing language skills. I think that the first attempts at verbal communication are hilarious, and Sam is not letting us down. She sings ("pee day to you"), and counts ("two, dee, eight, nine"), and commands ("sit down!"), and has recently begun speaking in "sentences." Two of my favorites...

"Mae me?" "Mae me, po?" --Lay with me. Lay with me on a pillow. Meaning--I will not stay in my bed unless you lay right next to me. I will choose the pillow that you lay on, the blanket that you cover yourself with, and the book you will read, even if it's 3 am.

"No cheese yet!" --No cheese yet. Joshua was trying to do a state puzzle, and Sam stole the Wisconsin piece (with a picture of cheese on it). She ran to me, and stuffed the piece down her onesie (a perfect hiding place--we find all kinds of goodies and missing toys in her onesie). I told Joshua to just finish the puzzle and put that piece in last. Sam added, "No cheese yet!"

She has also begun teasing her brothers. They deserve it, and she is the Boss, so I just sit back and watch with amusement. Multiple times every day, she runs to me with something clenched in her little fist and then shoved tightly in her armpit (hey, it's as good a hiding spot as the onesie), yelling, "Mine, mine, mine toy, mine car!" Following closely on the heels of her declaration, come one or both of the boys, yelling, "Sam stole my car!"

This girl cracks me up.

Sponge-Gob

We arrived home from the cabin (see previous post, seriously, it's funny) just in time for a lively party with Luke's family. Here is a "before" shot of Luke, his brothers, and his parents. Aww, nice little family picture. But then someone brought out the clippers...

"Smithers, massage my brain."

Even Willie and Gus joined in on the fun.

Whoa! And Mom! Doesn't she look great with a mohawk?

The "after" shot.

The other "after" shot. Psst...Luke...you were supposed to wear a wig so nobody could tell you were bald.

And my bald boys with a bald Grandma.

People at church today kept asking if my boys had lice.

Now, lest you think we're pretty dysFUNctional...We had this party in support of my mother-in-law's fight against the evil Sponge-Gob (aka ovarian cancer). She is an amazing woman, and I hope that when trials come to me, I handle them just like her...with a mohawk and a whole lot of junk food!

Today in primary, the teacher was talking about service. Knowing the reason for the baldness, he decided to use Willie as an example.

"Willie did some service for his Grandma. What did you do Willie?"

"I shaved my head."

"Why did you do that?"

"Because we had a party!"

The Cabin

We decided that a weekend away was in order, so we packed up on Friday, picked the kids up from school, and headed out to the Cabin--aka "The Loveshack". Sam wanted so badly to have her own backpack...I finally gave her one and she started sobbing as soon as she realized that it was too heavy...but we snapped a photo anyway.

We arrived to a freezing, yet rat-free, cabin after dark, ate macaroni and cheese, freezer burned tater tots (how long have those been there?), and juice that may or may not have been rancid...but everyone was alive in the morning, and we were grateful for the free meal. After dinner, we lit a fire and started our Macgyver-a-thon. All the Macgyver you can handle. Luke suggested naming the baby Mac. No.


Oh, yeah, we also found this in the freezer--spoon left in the ice cream container--yuck! We made a quick run to the guest book to figure out who'd been the last at the cabin...culprit? Jason?! Somehow I doubt that, we'll have to check further back...

In the morning, after a rare breakfast of cold cereal (heaven for the kids), we hiked down to the beach. For poor Samantha, that hike down and back must have been like running a marathon. I swear she takes 5 steps for my every 1. We walked the dock, talked big about how we were going to go there in the summer and dive off, found a ton (literally) of shells, skipped rocks, listened to Luke tell memory after memory, and searched for himit crabs, no hermick crabs, no hermin crabs. (That was an actual conversation between my three brainiacs.)

Sam wanted to go swimming.

We got back and warmed up in front of the fire while playing...wait for it...Super Mario Brothers!!! The kids were hilarious, especially Sam, who would literally jump every time we told her to. Joshua also moved the controller with Mario's movements. Benjamin did the best...I think he got to the middle of level 1-1. Luke and I both made it to 8-1...a level which neither of us have ever passed.

The best part of the weekend, however, came on Saturday morning. The kids were playing in their room and didn't know that Luke and I were awake. They locked their door, and Luke saw a perfect practical joke opportunity called holding-the-door-shut-so-the-kids-think-they-are-trapped. The kids had the following conversations while Luke and I tried to contain our giggles outside the door (we're obviously easily entertained).

"It's all your fault!"
"No it's not, you locked the door!"

"Maybe we can break the doorknob off!"

"It's not moving!"

"Let me try!"

"That was my idea!"

"Just kick it!"

"We're going to be in here FOREVER!"

Not once did they think to just yell for us. I'm not sure if it's out of respect for the fact that we were still sleeping, or if it's because on some subconscious level they KNEW they were being punk'd.

So, eventually, EmJ says, "Let's stop and think."

(Little footsteps retreating from the door.) Luke and I quickly ran into the bathroom and locked the door. The kids returned to the door and, voila, it opened! "Oh, it just opened, we just had to stop and think!"

The kids came out and Luke yelled, "I can't get the door open."

EmJ, "The same thing happened to us. We were pulling, and tugging, and banging, and then it just opened."

Willie, "Hold on, I'll kick it open."

Hi-yah!

Sorry for the broken cabin bathroom door...

Lessons

EmJ learned an important life lesson today...

There is never enough bacon!

Willie taught me an important life lesson today...

A man rode up behind us on his bicycle. The kids and I moved to the edge of the sidewalk so he could pass us. As he rode on ahead, Willie asked, "Who was that?"

"Nobody," I replied.

"Well, he's somebody!"

Thanks, Willie.

Isn't that Cute!

So, it will come as no shock to any of you that I am vehemently opposed to giant flowers and bows being placed on the heads of infant girls. Yuck! This horrid Utah tradition has spread and is consuming the world.
(Speaking of Utah, when I opened up the Ensign this month there was a lovely, large picture of a poor little baby WITH A GIANT BOW ON HER HEAD in the magazine. So don't tell me this is not a Utah conceived plot!)
However, I have a great many family and friends that are or were or have been sometime in their lives, Utahns, and I love them despite it all. I even love them when they put giant flowers on their baby girls.
And since you undoubtedly all disagree with me on the flower thing, go ahead and visit my sister, Lindsey's, new blog:

http://www.accessoriebylindsey.blogspot.com/

She makes some adorable things, that you will all love! I particularly like the Yankee bow...duh!

Finally some Good News

Tttttthhhheeeeee Yankees Win!!!!!!!

Plan of Salvation

Pardon me for waxing sentimental and spiritual for a moment...it's been a long day!

I've been thinking on the Plan of Salvation today. In fact, there has rarely been a minute that it has left my mind. For those of you who read this blog and are not LDS, the Plan of Salvation, or Plan of Happiness, is the term used to refer to Heavenly Father's plan for his children...probably very similar in many respects to other Christian theology. Quite simply, our Father's plan was to provide a Savior for all of His children, that they may, through the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ, return to live with Him one day. In fact, the very first song that most LDS kids learn (okay, I'm totally stereotyping...it's the very first song MY kids learn) says,

I am a Child of God and He has sent me here.
Has given me an earthly home, with parents kind and dear.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way,
Teach me all that I must do to live with Him some day.

That knowledge that I am a Child of God and that He loves me was and still is the very foundation of my testimony--the things that I know to be true. If I live worthily here on earth--be good, go to church, vote Republican, repent for being sarcastic on my blog, etc--then my reward will be great. Eternal life with my family great, but I have to do my part here on Earth.

Children are perfect, innocent, and cannot sin. Therefore, when a child dies before a certain age (8), they return immediately into the presence of our Father in Heaven. What a perfect, wonderful, and comforting doctrine!! The last couple of days, many, many people have been praying for a miracle for a young friend of mine. Perhaps the miracle is that he now gets to be in Heaven, not having to experience the pains and temptations of mortality, awaiting the resurrection, where his little body will be perfect and healthy, and also awaiting the time that he gets to be reunited with his family. Though my heart is breaking for his family right now, I am in awe of Heavenly Father's mercy and love for His children.

I am a Child of God and so my needs are great.
Help me to understand His will before it grows to late.

I am a Child of God, rich blessings are in store.
If I but learn to do His will, I'll live with Him once more.

I am a Child of God, His promises are sure.
Celestial glory shall be mine if I can but endure.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, helf me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do to live with him someday.


*That Republican thing was just a joke...sarcasm...it's a bad habit!

Trunk or Treat

Happy Halloween!!! I love and hate Halloween...hate it because of all the work involved for one or two evenings of dressing up, love it because it ushers in the whole holiday season. We get to eat turkey soon, and hang Christmas lights, and the music, oh, the music!!! So tonight the kids headed off to a trunk or treat, while I sit here blogging, listening to the game, and congratulating myself for having spent $0 on Halloween costumes this year...man, I wonder if I can pull off Christmas for the same...

Sam is too sick to trunk or treat tonight (she kept saying, "No treat-treat, no treat-treat!"), so she doesn't get to show off the costume I've been slaving over! (You catching the sarcasm?) Actually, Luke and I are dressing as bacon and eggs again this year and Sam is my only child that would jump on the breakfast food bandwagon.

Batman. On Gus's terms only, though.

A tae-kwon-do guy. I think.

And a leopard. This is a completely EmJ costume. (I tamed it a little bit....) Her class is doing the play "Where the Wild Things Are" tomorrow, so she took it upon herself to be a wild thing. Very cute.

"It's high, it's far, it's gone. A thrilla by godzilla."

Yankees just took the lead.

So, that's it for me!

Happy Trick or Treating!

I love my family. They're all favorites. However, my cousin Jace holds a special place in my heart. As kids, we fought (and occassionally played ball), as teenagers he introduced me to his cool friends (because California boys are always better, right?), as adults he has become a good friend, a good uncle-cousin to my kids, and my personal chef (okay, not really, but if he ever lives near me, he's invited to dinner every night!). He is the one who came closest to living out my dreams of becoming a Yankee, and I adore him! So, I'm sooooooo so happy that I got to attend his wedding last week. Being there for his special day almost made spending 30 hours in the car with the kids by myself worth it. Almost.

Jace's beautiful bride, Angela. EmJ was enthralled with the bride and bridesmaids...princesses!
Willie and Benjamin were enthralled with the fact that there was a playground right outside the reception hall. Willie ruined his suit. That's my boy!

Angela about to throw the bouquet. I included this picture because it's the only one that shows her awesome shoes. (Seriously, girls, enlarge the pic.)

The groom/mother dance. Aunt Traci looked hot! (She made that observation herself...I'm just quoting her!)

First dance. Awwww!

Sam blended in with the decor, though she didn't show a lot of decorum...hiking up her dress, sliding around on the floor, and leaving the reception for good once she discovered that there was a park.

The boys and cousin Kiffyn. They were smitten...never mind that they have a sister the same age, Kiffyn's cooler.

Lindsey, Sam, and Kiffyn dancing the night away. I think both, no, all three girls are about to collapse from exhaustion.

And she did, as soon as we got in the car Sam was out. She slept well that night, as I recall.

I was exhausted, too, because not only did I drive for 30 hours to get to Bakersfield and back, but I had to lug that tummy around with me. 16.5 weeks and I already look pregnant? Not cool.

(P.S. Yes, that was an announcement. You can all congratulate me now, or say, "Neener, neener," if you already knew, or shoot daggers if I have seen you recently and not said a word!)

One final note. The Yankees won the night of Jace's wedding. (I would wager that if you go back to all the important dates in our family, you would notice a decisive victory trend.) Yes, our family creates our own Yankee magic!!!

Dear Ms. Hudson

While I strongly question your taste in men (did you know he gets pedicures?...and I'm pretty sure he wears lip gloss), I appreciate your beau's performance thus far in the ALDS.

Thank you.

Tell him to keep up the good work.

From,

A Loyal Yankee Fan

Humans and Doorknobs

You know those days when you are CERTAIN that CPS has hidden a camera in your home, is going to show up at your door, take your kids, and sell them to China because they'd be much better off spending 14 hours a day learning some obscure art form like plate spinning or contortionism all while being indoctrinated with communism, than spending any more time with their crazed mother who is taking the short bus to the looney bin.

You know those days. Don't lie.

But then your child goes and says something profound to totally redeem himself, like...

"When I grow up, I'm going to be a human."

Really? Promise?

Or they do something like this...

Throw a goldfish cracker in the air to try and catch it in his mouth, hang out under the goldfish, watching intently to follow it into his mouth, bang eye on doorknob because goldfish drifted a little too far.

I didn't do it. CPS, did you catch that? He gave himself a black eye. But that hidden camera would have caught Luke and I laughing hysterically and calling America's Funniest Home Videos.

Benjamin's First Day of Preschool

A few weeks ago, Joshua came in the house and asked Luke to buy him a "drump" for his bike. A drump? Sure, but we can just make one. So, five minutes later, Joshua was showing of his skills with a sweet new drump in front of our house. (Yes, that is a girl bike. Yes, he would like a new one. Who wants to be the Christmas hero?)

Sam wanted to get in on the first day of school pictures.

Benjamin, on his first day of preschool!

Awww, all decked out!

With his teacher...Oh, that's me! He is doing great in his "preschool", but is very upset that it's not "real preschool". Sorry bud.

It's October!!!!

Alright, in honor of the playoffs starting (with a Yankee win) yesterday, I decided it's finally time to get the blog updated! So, at long last, here are the first day of school photos! (Sorry about the wierd layout...I'm not sure what's up.) Anyway, first off, we have our healthy, brain enhancing, first day of school breakfast--Crepes with whipped cream and chocolate!

Next, we have EmJ and Willie posing for the camera. Say cheese!

EmJ, in all her new outfit and messenger bag glory. (She just HAD to have that thing, and now she hates it.) I hate the Mr. Rogers sweater, but apparently it's trendy.

And here's Willie, later in the day, all decked out for his first day of PMK. Why do my kids feel the need to, literally, pose for the camera?

And lastly, Willie waiting at the bus stop. The bus was 25 minutes late, and we eventually just drove to school. He was so sad, but recovered when we got there and his teacher declared that the kids would be making a human train to chug to Kindergarten. Human trains make everything better!

Indian Dance

Remember when you took piano lessons when you were a kid, and you got to the end of the first level, and you played this song...

Little Indian, little indian
Round the fire he would dance.
Little Indian, little indian
Do the indian dance.

Best song ever, right? I bet you can still play it by memory.

Weeeeellllll, EmJ is nearing the end of her first piano book, so I checked for the Indian Dance. And to my suprise, political correctness has even entered the realm of piano lessons! It is now called "Tribal Song". I think in the last edition it was "Native American Dance." In the next edition it will simply be "Campfire Celebration."

My, oh my, oh my....

And

Why, oh why, oh why....

Would you pitch to Ichiro with 2 outs in the 9th when first base is open?! Why?!

I was having a perfectly good game up until that point. I was too busy picking my jaw up off the ground to go for Ichiro's homerun ball, which was only three seats over and a row back (I totally could have crushed that Asian lady to get to it). To make matters worse, I could hear Luke cheering from four sections away. (We don't sit near each other when the Yankees are in town.) I should have known, though, in the 6th inning, that things were taking a turn for the worse. It was at that point that Samantha mooched an entire tray of garlic fries from the lady in front of us, and EmJ announced to everyone around us that she was combing Joshua's hair and searching for lice. People cleared out pretty quick.

The end.

Yankees!

*Sam can say "baseball" and "Yankees" (biddeeeeeeeez!). Let the indoctrination begin.

*Benjamin has been working on finding a better outlet for his screaming and tantrums (like throwing sharp objects at the offensive person, food, article of clothing, piece of furniture, etc). Yesterday, I noticed him wiping his eyes on his shirt and muttering to himself, "Stop it! Stop it! No tears! Stop it!"

*Joshua loves Kindergarten, and tells me much more about school and his daily interactions than EmJ ever has. The problem, however, is that he starts talking in the middle of a thought and expects me to understand exactly what he's saying.
"...with the brown shirt" or "...except it wasn't a whole sticker book, just one sticker" or "...and I sat by him on the bus."
So I'll say, "You sat next to someone wearing a brown shirt and they gave you a sticker?"
And Joshua will look at me like I'm an idiot and say, "Just listen next time! The brown shirt guy doesn't even ride on my bus!"

*Also, Joshua has a new friend named Marcelo. He's Italian, and because he's Italian, Joshua feels the need to pronouce his name with a sort of Italian flair..."Today I played with (pause) Ma-chay-lo."

*EmJ refused to do any chores on Friday, because she was the "Helper of the Day" at school, and that's HARD WORK. You have to, like, walk the attendance all the way to the office and make it back without tripping on the sidewalk or missing the Pledge of Allegiance! So, heaven forbid you also sweep my kitchen.

*Samantha threw a deskful of papers into the toilet yesterday. I found her, started taking the papers out, and started scolding..."No, we do not throw anything in the toilet." Sam nodded her head and looked at me with a look that said, "I know, I'm so sorry this happened to you. I can't believe the nerve of some people!" I simultaneously wanted to laugh and throttle her.

*I promise I WILL put first day of school pictures up soon. I just haven't gotten around to unleashing them from the camera!

*EmJ attended a town hall meeting with Luke a few weeks ago. Of her first foray into politics, she said, "There was more stomping, yelling, and clapping than talking." Yep. Accurate. You should have brought the 50,000 tomatoes from our garden to throw at Jay Inslee. Nobody would have suspected the little Aryan girl.

*I roasted a chicken! Well, okay, Luke did all the dirty work...but it was tasty. The next day, I made chicken soup. And it was yummy! I even harvested all our carrots and onions for the soup. I was so proud of my little garden and my little chicken and the fact that I actually cooked two fabulous meals in a row....that's some kind of record, right?!

The End of Summer...

Yep, summer is over. I wish I was sad, but I'm definately not. I'm looking foward to school, jacket weather, the playoffs, and all that good stuff. We decided that, for our last summer hurrah, we'd take a little road trip (well, okay, Luke had to work and we just happened to stow away...). We went to Yakima (blech) to visit some dear friends (hooray). When it came bedtime, I made a little space for Sam on a crib mattress in the dining area. This picture is how I found her in the morning. It was very cute.

On the way home, we stopped at Snoqualmie Falls...it's a lot smaller than I remember...EmJ snapped this cool picture. I think I'm going to suggest that she enter it in the Reflections contest.

Then today, we went to Jetty Island. It's a manmade island in Puget Sound that you take a free ferry ride to get to. Though the ferry ride is all of 30 seconds, my boys thought it was amazing. The beach is fabulous, too. I predict that we will spend quite a bit more time there next summer. Hopefully on days that are not drizzly, windy, and cold.

And so, with summer's end comes Back to School! As you can see, we are all ready! I think I'm more excited than the kids. I can't wait to see Joshua's little face as he gets on the bus tomorrow!

Alright, time to get the kids in bed so they can be ready for school!!!!

Cookie!

The girls and I were at the mall the other day and Sam started yelling, "Cookie, cookie, cookie!" I'm never sure if she's saying real words, or if she means what she says, so I asked her if she wanted a snack. She nodded emphatically, so I whipped out an orange, peeled it, and handed her a slice.

She took one look at it, threw it across the mall, and shouted, "COOKIE!"

I guess she knows what she's saying.

Quiz

A gift certificate to a ritzy salon leads to a serious lapse in hair judgement. You...

a. tell the truth

b. hide under a rock for 3-6 months

c. blame it on your scissor-wielding toddler