Samantha just let go of the couch and took her first unassisted steps!
(I've got to pull out Joshua's baby book and see who wins the early walker award.)
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Samantha is 11 Months Old!
I can't believe that Sam is 11 months. We're about to hit birthday season here at our house...which is always a fun, busy, crazy time that includes way too much Chuck E Cheese. Anyway, here are some 11 month photos of Sam. In the first, she is playing with her brothers. She loves playing with her siblings and is getting pretty good at imitating the things they do. She loves to "color", drive cars, use the play tools, do acrobatics (basically, sticking her bum in the air and yelling "peek-a-boo" in samlanguage), brush her hair and teeth, and "cook." It's adorable.
Sam is supposed to be smiling at me, but instead she's playing peek-a-boo! Sam is cracking us up right now with her talking. I swear, she has her own language....maybe she should have been a twin?! Last week, I took her to an indoor park and she learned the joys of climbing (and knocking other kids down (which is quite funny considering she UNDERweighed every kid there by about 15 pounds)). Anyway, every time she got to the top of a structure she would triumphantly say, "ee day ah!" To which I would respond, "Yes, you did it!" But then I'd get the Look. Sam's patented, precocious look that says, "Seriously? You haven't got a clue. Stop talking now." I waited to see if "ee day ah" was a fluke, but no, she says it every time she climbs onto anything...followed by the Look. Another favorite is "ew dice mo." I thought maybe, "screwdriver"? (Insert the Look, here.) Most kids, you struggle to understand, but I don't think she wants to be understood. At least she says some normal, English baby words, too--mama, dad, no, hello, etc.
One final picture...I had to get EmJ in here, too. Sam learned how to get on the leopard seat and is completely proud of herself! I love her expression in this photo, though, still kind of grinning, but starting to get irritated that EmJ is hovering. With her constant mothering, Sam wears this face for EmJ quite a bit!Walk before you Run
I decided to post these videos, despite my less-than intelligent commentary, because they are fitting with how I feel today...
Samantha can push something and walk, but not run...and yet, she continues to try to run. The part I can comiserate with on this particular morning is the tantrum throwing. (Go ahead, read the following two posts, you'll see!)
Just a note: I did not take these videos to showcase Sam crashing, though it's funny. She turned 11 months old on Friday, and I was trying to record some of her tricks and babbling. She was a less than willing performer. Hence, just the crashes.
Samantha can push something and walk, but not run...and yet, she continues to try to run. The part I can comiserate with on this particular morning is the tantrum throwing. (Go ahead, read the following two posts, you'll see!)
Just a note: I did not take these videos to showcase Sam crashing, though it's funny. She turned 11 months old on Friday, and I was trying to record some of her tricks and babbling. She was a less than willing performer. Hence, just the crashes.
Bad Attitude
This morning, I laid in bed and planned for the best day of my life. My plans grew complex, and my laugh grew more maniacal with each passing thought. The best day of my life will be the day I get to repay my kids for all they do...
This will occur the night before a drivers' test, a big game, the senior prom, or some other important event.
I will...
*start crying for no apparent reason (every hour on the hour, all night long)
*fall out of bed (every half-hour, on the half-hour)
*tip-toe into their rooms and stand over them, with my face inches from theirs, until they wake up with a start. I will then whisper, "I have to go to the bathroom." (at 12:45)
*ask for milk (at 1:15)
*ask for water (at 1:45)
*ask for candy (at 2:15)
*ask for a new pair of shoes (at 2:45)
*ask for multiple other things in a voice so whiny and choked with emotion that they couldn't possibly understand me (at 3:15)
*tip-toe into their rooms and stand over them, with my face inches from theirs, until they wake up with a start. I will then whisper, "My foot is asleep." (at 3:45)
*tip-toe into their rooms and stand over them, with my face inches from theirs, until they wake up with a start. I will then do my best imitation of an unreasonable sleepwalker. (at 4:15)
*after I fall out of bed at 4:30 am, things will be mysteriously quiet. Silent. For thirty minutes. At 5 am, their alarm will go off, and I will run into their rooms, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, to ask if I can watch a cartoon and demand my breakfast!
The second best day of my life will occur on the first time I go to visit my children in their own homes. They will have slaved to make me a beautiful, tasty dinner. They will be proud to show off their skills.
I will...
*Take one bite of food, make a face, examine the food, spit out my bite, then push the plate away and say, "This. Is Gross."
*Five minutes into the meal I will get up from my seat and start wandering around the house. I will jump on the couch, give the la-z-boy a couple of good roundhouses, turn a cartwheel for good measure, and practice my sliding on the kitchen floor.
*I will move without rhyme or reason from one subject to the next, never allowing them to respond to my first question or request, which they couldn't understand in any case because I was speaking with food in my mouth.
*After sliding on the kitchen floor, I will ask what's for dessert. If it's something good, I will return to the table for exactly 22 seconds, take two bites of food, then leave the table and resume turning cartwheels.
*During a lull in the conversation, I will suddenly break into tears because, "I really wanted you to make chicken nuggets, but you didn't make them for me. And also, I fell at school today and scraped my knee."
*I will excuse myself to use the bathroom. On the way, I will comment on the garbage "that stinks", the refrigerator "that stinks", and the bathroom. "This bathroom stinks. Who was supposed to clean it this morning. You must have forgot. This bathroom stinks." The bathroom commentary will occur WHILE I'm using the bathroom....and will suddenly cause everyone to be done with their meals.
*I will find something to complain about, even if they serve Twinkies for dessert.
*On our way out, I will knock their mailbox off the post and do doughnuts on their front lawn. Just for kicks.
This will occur the night before a drivers' test, a big game, the senior prom, or some other important event.
I will...
*start crying for no apparent reason (every hour on the hour, all night long)
*fall out of bed (every half-hour, on the half-hour)
*tip-toe into their rooms and stand over them, with my face inches from theirs, until they wake up with a start. I will then whisper, "I have to go to the bathroom." (at 12:45)
*ask for milk (at 1:15)
*ask for water (at 1:45)
*ask for candy (at 2:15)
*ask for a new pair of shoes (at 2:45)
*ask for multiple other things in a voice so whiny and choked with emotion that they couldn't possibly understand me (at 3:15)
*tip-toe into their rooms and stand over them, with my face inches from theirs, until they wake up with a start. I will then whisper, "My foot is asleep." (at 3:45)
*tip-toe into their rooms and stand over them, with my face inches from theirs, until they wake up with a start. I will then do my best imitation of an unreasonable sleepwalker. (at 4:15)
*after I fall out of bed at 4:30 am, things will be mysteriously quiet. Silent. For thirty minutes. At 5 am, their alarm will go off, and I will run into their rooms, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, to ask if I can watch a cartoon and demand my breakfast!
The second best day of my life will occur on the first time I go to visit my children in their own homes. They will have slaved to make me a beautiful, tasty dinner. They will be proud to show off their skills.
I will...
*Take one bite of food, make a face, examine the food, spit out my bite, then push the plate away and say, "This. Is Gross."
*Five minutes into the meal I will get up from my seat and start wandering around the house. I will jump on the couch, give the la-z-boy a couple of good roundhouses, turn a cartwheel for good measure, and practice my sliding on the kitchen floor.
*I will move without rhyme or reason from one subject to the next, never allowing them to respond to my first question or request, which they couldn't understand in any case because I was speaking with food in my mouth.
*After sliding on the kitchen floor, I will ask what's for dessert. If it's something good, I will return to the table for exactly 22 seconds, take two bites of food, then leave the table and resume turning cartwheels.
*During a lull in the conversation, I will suddenly break into tears because, "I really wanted you to make chicken nuggets, but you didn't make them for me. And also, I fell at school today and scraped my knee."
*I will excuse myself to use the bathroom. On the way, I will comment on the garbage "that stinks", the refrigerator "that stinks", and the bathroom. "This bathroom stinks. Who was supposed to clean it this morning. You must have forgot. This bathroom stinks." The bathroom commentary will occur WHILE I'm using the bathroom....and will suddenly cause everyone to be done with their meals.
*I will find something to complain about, even if they serve Twinkies for dessert.
*On our way out, I will knock their mailbox off the post and do doughnuts on their front lawn. Just for kicks.
More Bad Attitude
I love it when we're sick. Love it.
I love being sneezed on. I love telling kids not to wipe their noses on their sleeves, only to have them do it three seconds later. I love waking up mulitple times at night because I hear coughing, coughing, more coughing. I love it when babies refuse to sleep. I love it when Luke sleeps through everything, and I just let him because he has to get up at 4 am and do whatever it is he does all day, which may or may not be productive or bring bacon, but will surely be fun. For him. I love the week after we're sick when Luke gets sick. I love it when he stomps around the house complaining about people who don't take care of themselves, don't wash their hands, and pass him their germs.
In my world, there will be no boogers.
The End.
I love being sneezed on. I love telling kids not to wipe their noses on their sleeves, only to have them do it three seconds later. I love waking up mulitple times at night because I hear coughing, coughing, more coughing. I love it when babies refuse to sleep. I love it when Luke sleeps through everything, and I just let him because he has to get up at 4 am and do whatever it is he does all day, which may or may not be productive or bring bacon, but will surely be fun. For him. I love the week after we're sick when Luke gets sick. I love it when he stomps around the house complaining about people who don't take care of themselves, don't wash their hands, and pass him their germs.
In my world, there will be no boogers.
The End.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Nothing much...
I don't have much to blog about tonight, but I'm up late babysitting and it's been a while since I've posted.
If I was a good blogger I would do the following:
1. Post a picture of Emmeline and brag about how cute she looked today. She's gorgeous. And though I know she'll come to hate her chicken legs, I'm completely jealous of her long and lean look. Add some grace (today she tripped over her own feet while not even moving and also hit herself in the face with the refrigerator door) and she'd be darn near perfect.
2. Post a video of Emmeline singing and playing the piano. You cannot even tell that she's singing the same song that she's playing. Tone deaf=Hilarious
3. Post a picture of Joshua with the book, "The Boxcar Children." He's into "chapter books" right now. Every time we go to the library, he checks out the thickest book he can find. He has no desire to sit still long enough to learn how to read, yet he's obsessed with the idea of reading. Luke started reading the Boxcar Children to him a few days ago, and he's in heaven.
4. Post a video of Benjamin saying, "meenie meenie miney mo catch a giger by da toe let it go you are..............................................................IT!" This is how we choose who gets to say the mealtime prayers. Or rather, he chooses.
5. Post a picture of the eternal bruise on poor Samantha's forehead. Combination crazy crawl, trying to go to fast, climbing on everything, and smothering brothers have led to many a crash these last couple days. She seems to land on the same side of her head every, single, time. I would also post a video of her going up the stairs...we actually seriously tried to get a video of this, but a certain 4 year old got in the way...She sneaks off to the stairs, then starts giggling like a mad woman when she hears Luke or I coming to get her. It's her new favorite game.
6. And finally, I'd post a video of Samantha eating. As soon as I put dinner on the table yesterday, Sam started bouncing up and down in her high chair, whining for it. She proceeded to bat my hand away at every offering, until I finally spooned some mac and cheese (homemade, tasty) onto her tray. A few seconds later, the begging began again. I couldn't believe how fast she finished. On about her fifth helping I turned to hand her a sippy cup and she was eating with her face almost IN the food, noodles in both hands, grabbing a new handful with the left hand as she stuffed her face with the right hand, and so forth. She looked like something from a hot dog eating contest, and she ended up eating a full adult sized portion. It was insane.
And that's what I'd do if I was a good blogger. But instead, I'm going to head off to bed...
If I was a good blogger I would do the following:
1. Post a picture of Emmeline and brag about how cute she looked today. She's gorgeous. And though I know she'll come to hate her chicken legs, I'm completely jealous of her long and lean look. Add some grace (today she tripped over her own feet while not even moving and also hit herself in the face with the refrigerator door) and she'd be darn near perfect.
2. Post a video of Emmeline singing and playing the piano. You cannot even tell that she's singing the same song that she's playing. Tone deaf=Hilarious
3. Post a picture of Joshua with the book, "The Boxcar Children." He's into "chapter books" right now. Every time we go to the library, he checks out the thickest book he can find. He has no desire to sit still long enough to learn how to read, yet he's obsessed with the idea of reading. Luke started reading the Boxcar Children to him a few days ago, and he's in heaven.
4. Post a video of Benjamin saying, "meenie meenie miney mo catch a giger by da toe let it go you are..............................................................IT!" This is how we choose who gets to say the mealtime prayers. Or rather, he chooses.
5. Post a picture of the eternal bruise on poor Samantha's forehead. Combination crazy crawl, trying to go to fast, climbing on everything, and smothering brothers have led to many a crash these last couple days. She seems to land on the same side of her head every, single, time. I would also post a video of her going up the stairs...we actually seriously tried to get a video of this, but a certain 4 year old got in the way...She sneaks off to the stairs, then starts giggling like a mad woman when she hears Luke or I coming to get her. It's her new favorite game.
6. And finally, I'd post a video of Samantha eating. As soon as I put dinner on the table yesterday, Sam started bouncing up and down in her high chair, whining for it. She proceeded to bat my hand away at every offering, until I finally spooned some mac and cheese (homemade, tasty) onto her tray. A few seconds later, the begging began again. I couldn't believe how fast she finished. On about her fifth helping I turned to hand her a sippy cup and she was eating with her face almost IN the food, noodles in both hands, grabbing a new handful with the left hand as she stuffed her face with the right hand, and so forth. She looked like something from a hot dog eating contest, and she ended up eating a full adult sized portion. It was insane.
And that's what I'd do if I was a good blogger. But instead, I'm going to head off to bed...
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Little Mo with the Gimpy Leg
I wish I had Samantha's hair. And, as requested, some video footage of Sam crawling...or hopping...or monkeying around...or something. She has been doing this for quite some time, and I keep waiting for her to crawl for "real", but I'm thinking she will go straight to walking. She's showing all the signs--walking on the furniture, walking holding one hand, climbing on everything, the squat and reach, and the controlled sit--so we'll see! This kid is reminding me more and more of Joshua...oh my!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Our December
As the Christmas festivities end, I thought I'd do a quick recap of our month.
December 1st--Luke climbed in the attic to pull out the Christmas decorations today! He's cold and dusty, but our house will soon be a beautiful winter wonderland!
December 2nd--Joshua is excited to go pick out a Christmas tree. In his own words, "We're going to go in Grandpa's truck to the forest and cut down a tree with a moving saw with an oval and a button."
December 3rd--The house is decorated (inside), the tree is up, and my Yankee Stadium ornament stands near the top of the tree--second only to the star in prominence!
December 7th--Luke says, "I'm too sick and it's too cold to hang Christmas lights." We're about the only house in the neighborhood without lights (and they never got put up this year), but we've got a homemade wreath on the door! It's not very purty, but it's festive.
December 8th--The Christmas cards have begun trickling in! This is one of my favorite parts of Christmas, though I wish more people still used snail mail (says the girl who posted her family letter on her blog...)
December 9th--Luke puts a vast majority of the human race to shame as he complains, "I didn't get anything done today. I slept in until 4:15 (a.m.)."
December 10th--Joshua comes home from preschool and announces that his class is going to go "killering."
December 11th--Since my Christmas shopping has been done for quite some time, I start wrapping gifts. The kids join me in the fun and waste only three rolls of scotch tape.
December 12th--Luke goes on an impromptu road trip with his brother and comes home quoting Napoleon Dynamite. This is all fine and dandy until Joshua starts commanding me to "Bow to your sensai. BOW to your sensai." He has also picked up the phrase, "Forget about it!"
December 13th--Ah, the ward Christmas party.
December 13th--No, seriously, Santa came to the ward Christmas party. When Joshua heard the jingle bells and reindeer hooves he ran wide-eyed up to the stage to be the first to see Santa. It was pure magic. Santa appeared, Joshua got in line, waited impatiently for his turn (I believe he was third...), and climbed right up on Santa's lap to tell him what he wanted. At this point, I became involved with the other kids and lost track of Joshua. However, a few minutes later my brother-in-law offered a report. He apparently saw a slumpy, slouchy Joshua walking slowly down the hall. When he said hello, Joshua dejectedly replied, "That wasn't Santa, it was just Bishop Doty."
December 13th--The magic of Christmas came and went for Joshua, courtesy of the ward Christmas party.
December 14th--Thanks to a weekend full of Christmas parties, our fridge, freezer, and counters are full of regifted leftovers. We resolve to eat it all and resume grocery shopping in 2009.
December 15th-24th--Giant snowstorm hits the northwest, and I am glad my Christmas shopping is done. Luke, however, braves the ice and snow to go to his favorite stores--Staples and Deseret Book--to finish his Christmas shopping. (Santa brought each of the kids a package of dry erase markers??) While we are homebound we also build a couple of snowmen (one in the church parking lot), make snow angels, eat snow cones, argue about whether or not school is cancelled (oh, the horror, Joshua didn't get to go "killering"), finish making Samantha's stocking, get sick, and enjoy time together relaxing.
December 23rd--Time for the family to go "killering" and deliver Christmas goodies. We got stuck in the snow despite our 4WD, and ended up devouring most of our goodies, which is probably just as well, since it was the sick, contagious children that prepared them. One bit of good news: In wrapping the plates of goodies, I used the last of the saran wrap from the ill-fated "decorate the honeymoon car" fiasco at Lindsey's 2005 wedding. Finally.
December 24th--Christmas Eve and it's attendant festivities were wonderful. The kids visited Great-grandma, and my sister's family came in to town. After dinner, we acted out the Nativity. Emmeline made a wonderful Mary, Joshua, a shepherd, Benjamin...well, I think he and Henry were Batman or Captain Underpants or something like that.
December 25th--Christmas was so much fun this year! The kids enjoyed opening gifts, and also watching Luke and I open gifts from them...which was adorable. Benjamin was the first awake, Joshua the last (see December 13). When we finished our morning, we headed to my parents' house just in time to talk to Zack (calling home from Brazil). I only got to speak with him for about 2 minutes, but it was wonderful to hear his voice. He's amazing. We enjoyed spending the rest of the day with family.
December 26-27th--I enjoyed a girls' weekend with my mom and sisters! How wonderfully relaxing, although I realized that I will never be fully relaxed in a spa environment...laser tag, yes, cucumber water, no...I don't think I'm normal...Anyway, it was so nice to talk with my mom and sisters, eat well (with no prep or clean up), and sleep well. Luke was so awesome to bring Samantha back and forth to the hotel so she could eat. We also went to see "7 Brides for 7 Brothers"! It was fantastic.
And, that catches us up! Happy New Year! I look forward to the joy, fun, and surprises that 200 will bring!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!!
Dear family and friends,
Breaking from the ageless Christmas tradition called "sending-a-family-letter-telling-everyone-how-wonderful-your-kids-are", this year I thought I'd ask my children a number of questions and thus let them write the family Christmas letter.
Emmeline Joel
How old are you now? six and a half
What is your favorite food? um, grapefruit
Favorite song? I am a Child of God
Favorite thing to do? art
What is one thing you learned in Primary this year? I can't think of something. I love singing time and we learned the sign language of I am a Child of God.
What is one thing you learned in school this year? I'm learning how to read and write pretty and count.
Goal for 2009: Learn how to spell things without asking anybody.
Dime Joshua
How old are you? four and a half
What is your favorite food? chocolate and pizza
Favorite song? When Jesus Christ was Baptized
Favorite thing to do? ride my bike and play on the swingset and ride my bike
What is one thing you learned in Primary this year? When Jesus Christ was Baptized
What is one thing you learned at school this year? learning how to make turkeys and playing with Avery
Goal for 2009: learn how to write big A's
Benjamin Vosco
How old are you? four (He is actually 2 1/2.)
What is your favorite food? pizza, doughnuts, uh, I like Sammy's toys!
Favorite song? my wonderful year song (It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year), Spongebob
Favorite thing to do? playing cars, music, and playing in dad's car
What is one thing you learned in Primary this year? water and crackers, and I play with cars, and I play with Clark
Are you excited to go to school? yeah...I want to go to Emmeline's school and Joshua's school
Benjamin is looking forward to becoming acquainted with the potty in 2009!
Samantha Raye
Sam is nine months old, and I can't believe it. Her favorite food is anything that she can pick up and eat by herself--including paper, fuzz, bits of play-doh, and table scraps. I'm pretty sure she doesn't yet have a favorite song, though she loves to dance and jump and clap. She goes along pretty willingly with whatever the other kids want to do...or do to her. She has now entered the performance phase of babyhood, and we are constantly asking her show off her skills and tricks--waving, pointing, saying no, crawling like a monkey, and babbling in a conspiratorial whisper. If I were to ask her the questions that I just asked the others, she would simply look at me and smile. She is always, always smiling.
Luke
Although I'm pretty sure I married a Peter Pan (sans tights), Luke grudgingly acknowledged his 32nd birthday this year. Luke is Luke, and you all know what that means--he wants to know everything about you, but won't share anything about himself. I'm not sure what he does with his days, I'm not sure if he even knows what he does, and I've learned not to ask questions. I do know that he enjoys teaching seminary, going to Tae Kwon Do, engaging in political debates with the neighbors, taking swing dance lessons with me, aimlessly texting his brothers, and riding the metro bus to...wherever it is that he goes every day. His goals for 2009 include finally deciding what he wants to be when he grows up.
Kirstin
Finally me--my life in two words, evidenced by cold dinners, breakfasts in the car, baseball caps to hide my unwashed hair, longing gazes at my scrapbooking supplies, a perfected potty-dance, and the exactly three paragraphs I get to read each night before exhaustion wins. As much as I complain, I really wouldn't trade this time in my life for anything (except maybe a Caribbean Cruise...). I am never lacking for entertainment, giggles, and thrills, and I haven't had a minute of boredom in at least five years! Aside from being a wife and mother, I am enjoying teaching the music in Primary, and, like Luke, have loved taking dancing lessons. I have lots of goals for 2009, including eliminating the phrase "I'm so tired!" from my vocabulary. But what I look forward to most next year is Samantha becoming a toddler, Benjamin being Benjamin, Joshua's entrance into the world of Little League, Emmeline continuing to have her eyes opened to the world of books, and Luke getting a real job.
And that's us! We are happy, healthy, and loving life. To all our friends and family, we love you so much and appreciate the dimension that you each bring to our lives. We also express our love and gratitude to our Savior, Jesus Christ, whose birth and life we celebrate not only during this Christmas season, but always. May you all have a very, merry Christmas!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Joshua's Preschool Thanksgiving
Once, there were 10 people who were super hungry and there were no grocery stores at all. Not even anywhere. So they didn't walk, they sailed for 100 days all the way across the huge lake. And then they ate pumpkin pie, lettuce, and corn.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Decisions, decisions
My mother-in-law recently told me how much she loves it when her good character traits manifest themselves in her children. It makes her so proud. She also confessed, though, that she cringes when she sees the bad ones--magnified.
Me, too. Although, this one is all on Luke.
Emmeline's school had a book fair today. Remember those?! My favorite time of the school year! So, being the good mother that I am, I matched the money that EmJ was willing to spend and told her she could pick out whatever she wanted.
WRONG!!!
(Note to self: Next time, pre-order.)
She got in the car after school today, and I asked her to show me what she got. She shrugged and said, "Mrs. ***** is going to help me find something tomorrow." I took one long look at her bloodshot eyes for the translation. "I had a melt down because there were, like, thirty-hundred-thousand books and I wanted them all, but I didn't want to part with all the money, so I tried to choose just one, but there were so many good ones that I just walked around with a pile of books and I tried to do the math in my head to see what I could get, but I don't know if $3.99 is three dollars or four dollars because you totally confused me yesterday, and I didn't want to settle for just one book if I actually had enough money for two, but even if I could get two I couldn't decide between the Fancy Nancy book, the Encyclopedia of Cats, or this really stupid calendar with pictures of Seattle on it, and then Mrs. ***** said, 'Five more minutes,' so I had to put all the books back and go to lunch and I was so distraught that I couldn't eat, and so my teacher said we could go back tomorrow and she will help be choose a book, which made me cry again because now I will be thinking about it all night long." (Breathe, EmJ, breathe.)
"Decisions are the worst."
Me, too. Although, this one is all on Luke.
Emmeline's school had a book fair today. Remember those?! My favorite time of the school year! So, being the good mother that I am, I matched the money that EmJ was willing to spend and told her she could pick out whatever she wanted.
WRONG!!!
(Note to self: Next time, pre-order.)
She got in the car after school today, and I asked her to show me what she got. She shrugged and said, "Mrs. ***** is going to help me find something tomorrow." I took one long look at her bloodshot eyes for the translation. "I had a melt down because there were, like, thirty-hundred-thousand books and I wanted them all, but I didn't want to part with all the money, so I tried to choose just one, but there were so many good ones that I just walked around with a pile of books and I tried to do the math in my head to see what I could get, but I don't know if $3.99 is three dollars or four dollars because you totally confused me yesterday, and I didn't want to settle for just one book if I actually had enough money for two, but even if I could get two I couldn't decide between the Fancy Nancy book, the Encyclopedia of Cats, or this really stupid calendar with pictures of Seattle on it, and then Mrs. ***** said, 'Five more minutes,' so I had to put all the books back and go to lunch and I was so distraught that I couldn't eat, and so my teacher said we could go back tomorrow and she will help be choose a book, which made me cry again because now I will be thinking about it all night long." (Breathe, EmJ, breathe.)
"Decisions are the worst."
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Nothing much...
I'm bored. Sick in bed bored.
Except I'm not actually sick. Here's the story...I jumped out of bed early Tuesday morning because Samantha was crying, and in the process I managed to give myself the charlie-horse of all charlie-horses in my NECK. We're talking paralyzing, incapacitating pain in my neck, back, arm, brain. Uck.
So now, I'm in bed with a heating pad on my stiff and sore neck, counting my blessing that Tuesday was a holiday and Luke doesn't have class today. He's a pretty good stay-at-home mom, not counting the pile of dishes in the sink.
At least I get to read a lot. And catch up on blogs. Speaking of, some of my blogger friends are giving away blog candy! So any scrappers, stampers...or those who have to buy Christmas gifts for your scrapper, stamper family members (ahem!)...check out these blogs:
http://scrampinmama.blogspot.com/
http://merrymusings.typepad.com/random_thoughts_of_a_conf/
Let's see, funny stories...
Man, I don't even have any funny stories. But I'm excited for Thanksgiving! Only 14 days...my mouth is watering...
Alright, time for my nap...again!
Except I'm not actually sick. Here's the story...I jumped out of bed early Tuesday morning because Samantha was crying, and in the process I managed to give myself the charlie-horse of all charlie-horses in my NECK. We're talking paralyzing, incapacitating pain in my neck, back, arm, brain. Uck.
So now, I'm in bed with a heating pad on my stiff and sore neck, counting my blessing that Tuesday was a holiday and Luke doesn't have class today. He's a pretty good stay-at-home mom, not counting the pile of dishes in the sink.
At least I get to read a lot. And catch up on blogs. Speaking of, some of my blogger friends are giving away blog candy! So any scrappers, stampers...or those who have to buy Christmas gifts for your scrapper, stamper family members (ahem!)...check out these blogs:
http://scrampinmama.blogspot.com/
http://merrymusings.typepad.com/random_thoughts_of_a_conf/
Let's see, funny stories...
Man, I don't even have any funny stories. But I'm excited for Thanksgiving! Only 14 days...my mouth is watering...
Alright, time for my nap...again!
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Armaggedon?
Nope. Unbelievably, we're still here.
Gotta get to work on that bomb shelter.
No, seriously, here's a seriously funny, true, and disturbing story.
Luke is taking an Economics class right now, and the class just got their midterm exams back. The professor (who is an admitted socialist (How an ECONOMICS professor can delude herself into believing that trickle-UP economics actually works is beyond me. Maybe she wants a spot in BO's cabinet?)) gave the recap on grades for the entire class--a few A's, more F's, mostly C's.
Luke just about got himself kicked out of college when he raised his hand and suggested that they redistribute the grades so that everyone was on equal footing and the kids that failed could gain "an edge."
I didn't know you could get sent to the principal's office in college.
He'll be enjoying his detention today.
Gotta get to work on that bomb shelter.
No, seriously, here's a seriously funny, true, and disturbing story.
Luke is taking an Economics class right now, and the class just got their midterm exams back. The professor (who is an admitted socialist (How an ECONOMICS professor can delude herself into believing that trickle-UP economics actually works is beyond me. Maybe she wants a spot in BO's cabinet?)) gave the recap on grades for the entire class--a few A's, more F's, mostly C's.
Luke just about got himself kicked out of college when he raised his hand and suggested that they redistribute the grades so that everyone was on equal footing and the kids that failed could gain "an edge."
I didn't know you could get sent to the principal's office in college.
He'll be enjoying his detention today.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Tagged...again
8 TV Shows I like to Watch
1. Baseball Tonight
2. Sportscenter
3. Law and Order
4. CSI
5. 24
6. Okay, I only have 5 for this category, two of which I watch with regularity...
8 Things I'm Looking Forward To
1. my next meal
2. baseball season
3. peace and quiet (aka, Joshua starting Kindergarten)
4. mashed potatoes and the Turkey Bowl (aka, Thanksgiving)
5. shopping, stamping, wrapping, caroling, lights, cider, and stars (aka, Christmas)
6. weaning Sam (3 months, 2 weeks, 5 days)
7. the day that Luke has a "real" job again (no mon, no fun, eh?)
8. our next dance lesson
8 Things I'm Passionate About
1. The Gospel
2. Luke
3. Emmeline
4. Joshua
5. Benjamin
6. Samantha
7. The New York Yankees
8. food, especially Twinkies
8 Things I did Yesterday
1. went to Wal-mart (yuck!)
2. worked on a Christmas gift...and that's as much info as you'll get
3. took EmJ to a friend's house
4. had a stressful parenting moment (x10)
5. let the kids wash the windows
6. went outside to escape Windex fumes
7. made cheese quesadillas for lunch...and dinner
8. crawled under Benjamin's bed (see #4)
8 Places I like to Eat
1. Macaroni Grill
2. Olive Garden
3. Claim Jumper
4. Cheesecake Factory
5. Taco Bell
6. Sarducci's
7. Mrs. Field's cookies
8. IKEA
8 People I Tag
1. Whomever
2. Wants
3. To
4. D0
5. This
6. Fun
7. Little
8. Activity
1. Baseball Tonight
2. Sportscenter
3. Law and Order
4. CSI
5. 24
6. Okay, I only have 5 for this category, two of which I watch with regularity...
8 Things I'm Looking Forward To
1. my next meal
2. baseball season
3. peace and quiet (aka, Joshua starting Kindergarten)
4. mashed potatoes and the Turkey Bowl (aka, Thanksgiving)
5. shopping, stamping, wrapping, caroling, lights, cider, and stars (aka, Christmas)
6. weaning Sam (3 months, 2 weeks, 5 days)
7. the day that Luke has a "real" job again (no mon, no fun, eh?)
8. our next dance lesson
8 Things I'm Passionate About
1. The Gospel
2. Luke
3. Emmeline
4. Joshua
5. Benjamin
6. Samantha
7. The New York Yankees
8. food, especially Twinkies
8 Things I did Yesterday
1. went to Wal-mart (yuck!)
2. worked on a Christmas gift...and that's as much info as you'll get
3. took EmJ to a friend's house
4. had a stressful parenting moment (x10)
5. let the kids wash the windows
6. went outside to escape Windex fumes
7. made cheese quesadillas for lunch...and dinner
8. crawled under Benjamin's bed (see #4)
8 Places I like to Eat
1. Macaroni Grill
2. Olive Garden
3. Claim Jumper
4. Cheesecake Factory
5. Taco Bell
6. Sarducci's
7. Mrs. Field's cookies
8. IKEA
8 People I Tag
1. Whomever
2. Wants
3. To
4. D0
5. This
6. Fun
7. Little
8. Activity
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
A New Swingset
Hooray! We got a new pile of rust. You can kind of tell it's a swingset. Actually, in a small picture, taken from a ways away, it actually looks okay! No, seriously, we are all excited about the new, old swingset. We are even having a few days of sun this week to enjoy it before it cankers for the winter. You can see in the picture that the kids didn't even bother to go inside and take off their backpacks yesterday. After they had been playing for a while, I heard some screams and the kids came running in the house. "There's nobody on the swing, but it's moving and creaking!" "I think it's a ghost!" I had a good laugh, until midnight, when I was startled awake by two bloodcurdling screams. Seriously, I thought there must be an axe murderer in the boys' room. Or a rat. Or at least a big spider. Oh, no. Benjamin saw a monster and screamed and woke up Joshua who screamed. After I recovered from my myocardial infraction, I went to check on Samantha (who usually wakes at the drop of a pin) but she managed to sleep right throughthe shrieking banshees. This morning I asked Benjamin if he saw a monster last night. "Yes." "But it was just your imagination, right?" "No, it was skeery."
This next group of pictures is from a quasi-5K that Joshua and I ran last weekend. I was so proud of him! I love the picture of Joshua running with my dad (I was able to drop Joshua off and pick up the pace a little for the last mile) except I'll have to photoshop out the random guy (sorry random guy!).
And last, but definately not least, Samantha. She's upset in this picture because everyone is outside playing without her. LET ME OUT!! I love how much personality is in that teeny-tiny body.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
How many men does it take to change a light bulb?
Apparently, three. Plus, an unwilling preteen boy to actually do the light bulb changing. You see, we've got this random light in the ceiling of our stairwell. It's ridiculously high up, and thus, has been burnt out for the better part of our seven years in this house.
Yesterday, I heard some clanking, and low and behold, it's Luke with the ladder--trying to find a way to angle it on the stairs so that it's sturdy enough to climb. After about seventeen different tried and failed ideas, he headed to the neighbors' houses. Our neighbors (who, incidentally, are twin brothers) headed over, and the three grown men do what men do best. Spend an hour trying to find an elaborate solution to a relatively simple problem. Seriously, here are some snippets, "Do you have any duct tape?" "What weight is this sheet rock?" "Do you think one of the neighbors has a 25 foot extension ladder?" "scaffolding" "rig it up"...you get the picture. Finally, they ended up using brute strength. Duh. Oh, but even that wasn't simple. They had a full ten minute discussion about who weighed less and was more expendable--me, or the neighbor's boy--first of all, you could have just asked us how much we weighed; second, the boy is completely expendable so he wins automatically, even if I may weigh an ounce less. So, one man held the ladder at the base, two held it at the top, angled, while Travis climbed the ladder and changed the bulb. Whew! Saturday afternoon pretty much wasted...
Also, it finally happened. Joshua knocked over Samantha's high chair while she was sitting in it. This one defied description.
He redeemed himself last night, though. We were at a wedding reception at the church and he began the dreaded potty dance. We started running for the bathroom, when all of a sudden he stopped and said, "This is Heavenly Father's house!", folded his arms, and walk-potty danced all the way to the bathroom. No compromise, no exceptions! That's my boy.
Yesterday, I heard some clanking, and low and behold, it's Luke with the ladder--trying to find a way to angle it on the stairs so that it's sturdy enough to climb. After about seventeen different tried and failed ideas, he headed to the neighbors' houses. Our neighbors (who, incidentally, are twin brothers) headed over, and the three grown men do what men do best. Spend an hour trying to find an elaborate solution to a relatively simple problem. Seriously, here are some snippets, "Do you have any duct tape?" "What weight is this sheet rock?" "Do you think one of the neighbors has a 25 foot extension ladder?" "scaffolding" "rig it up"...you get the picture. Finally, they ended up using brute strength. Duh. Oh, but even that wasn't simple. They had a full ten minute discussion about who weighed less and was more expendable--me, or the neighbor's boy--first of all, you could have just asked us how much we weighed; second, the boy is completely expendable so he wins automatically, even if I may weigh an ounce less. So, one man held the ladder at the base, two held it at the top, angled, while Travis climbed the ladder and changed the bulb. Whew! Saturday afternoon pretty much wasted...
Also, it finally happened. Joshua knocked over Samantha's high chair while she was sitting in it. This one defied description.
He redeemed himself last night, though. We were at a wedding reception at the church and he began the dreaded potty dance. We started running for the bathroom, when all of a sudden he stopped and said, "This is Heavenly Father's house!", folded his arms, and walk-potty danced all the way to the bathroom. No compromise, no exceptions! That's my boy.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Proposition 8
A friendly reminder, exhortation, pleading, bullying, encouragement...to any California residents who read my blog.
Vote yes on Proposition 8 on November 4th. Please.
And encourage, remind, exhort, plead, or bully your friends and family into voting "Yes" as well.
We are blessed to live in such an amazing country, but the only way to preserve the freedoms that we enjoy is to continue to preserve the family. The foundation of any society.
Thanks!
Vote yes on Proposition 8 on November 4th. Please.
And encourage, remind, exhort, plead, or bully your friends and family into voting "Yes" as well.
We are blessed to live in such an amazing country, but the only way to preserve the freedoms that we enjoy is to continue to preserve the family. The foundation of any society.
Thanks!
Barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen
Well, I'm most definately NOT pregnant, and it's too cold to be barefoot, but I have been IN THE KITCHEN nonstop these last couple weeks. Harvesting the garden and fruit trees has brought a flurry of domesticity to my kitchen. The kids and Luke need to enjoy it while it lasts. In the last couple weeks I've picked apples and pears, canned the pears (19 bottles from my two trees!), will can the apples tomorrow, frozed about 10 quarts of zucchini from my garden, and bottled three quarts of salsa from my meager tomato harvest. I've also discovered that baking bread is not that difficut with the help of the bread machine's dough cycle and a rolling pin (Yes, I've been married for seven years and I just got my first rolling pin). We've enjoyed homemade bread, hot dog buns, and cinnamon rolls near constantly, along with our new favorite breakfast, lunch, and dinner--homemade granola. I've even made banana bread a couple of times, and crepes...mmmmmm....crepes...(but my blender broke yesterday, no more crepes I guess).
Whew!
I fully realize that most of you reading this probably cook a lot, or at least regularly, but I don't, so I feel pretty accomplished right now! We haven't eaten frozen chicken nuggets in at least two weeks, it's some kind of record.
And that's it. Sorry there are no pictures today. But Luke's family will get a kick out of this one...
There was a visitor in Joshua's primary class today. In the car on the way home I asked what the visitor's name was. "John." For some reason (I can't even imagine why, "A"), this was hysterical to Gus, who started saying, over and over, "Jo-ohn." "Jo-ohn." "Jo-ohn."
Whew!
I fully realize that most of you reading this probably cook a lot, or at least regularly, but I don't, so I feel pretty accomplished right now! We haven't eaten frozen chicken nuggets in at least two weeks, it's some kind of record.
And that's it. Sorry there are no pictures today. But Luke's family will get a kick out of this one...
There was a visitor in Joshua's primary class today. In the car on the way home I asked what the visitor's name was. "John." For some reason (I can't even imagine why, "A"), this was hysterical to Gus, who started saying, over and over, "Jo-ohn." "Jo-ohn." "Jo-ohn."
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
weinerwheels.com
Well, he survived! I can't believe that Joshua is almost 4 1/2 and is in preschool. I remember when he was a baby, thinking I'd never sleep again. I remember when he was a toddler, thinking he'd communicate through screaming for the rest of his life. Well, last night he didn't sleep well, and he screamed almost all the way to preschool...we actually had to stop for a nervous-potty break halfway to school...serious anxiety! When I picked him up, though, he was smiling, and he talked my ear off about his day. All of a sudden he's so big!
And, I'm off to rescue Sam...the boys are mauling her...so that's it!
(Ewww, did you notice how badly my porch needs to be painted? Gross.)
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