Enjoy

Ben keeps walking up to Craig and telling him he would like to go to Chomper's. (For your information, Chompers is a local hamburger joint we frequent for their frozen treats). Upon asking Ben why he would like to go there we discovered that it was because he really wanted an Oreo shake. The following conversation ensued:

Ben: I just weally want one because they are so good.
Craig: (as he lifts up his shirt to show his growing belly) There are too many Oreo shakes in this belly.
Ben: No that's hair.

And now you have a lovely visual of my husband's round and harry tummy--enjoy!

What's wrong with me?

It is currently 1:11 a.m and while I should be in bed, I am blogging. I have a really bad habit of staying up way later than I should and doing a whole lot of nothing. Actually I think that the only reason that I stay up this late is because I enjoy the solitude of being the only one up in my home and having the opportunity to do whatever I want without the interruptions of normal life.. And while I know that being up this late may interfere with my "normal" life, it's a habit that I just can't give up. And that my friends is why I am wondering--"What the heck is wrong with me?"

Sisters

I don't know what I would do without my sisters. They are my best friends and I am so blessed to have them in my life. Without sisters:

* I wouldn't have this cool looking new blog (thanks Kristy)

* I wouldn't feel like pureeing fruits and vegetables to use in my cooking (thanks Wendy)

* I wouldn't derive such pleasure from hearing the reaction of a certain someone when we say things like "Stay away from sperm" (thanks Heather)

*But most of all, I wouldn't have the comfort of knowing that someone knows everything about me and loves me unconditionally despite my flaws and weaknesses.



I truly am blessed to have sisters who are my best friends and who I can stay up giggling with all night long!

Superpowers

One of my favorite TV shows is Heros on NBC. Craig and I love to sit down and watch the show together. Today while I was driving to SLC, my thoughts began to wander and I started thinking of the show, which led me to think that I could use a superpower or two to help me through my daily life. Rather than listen to Hercules (oh the down side of a DVD player in the car) I decided to continue on with my little day dream of having my very own superpowers. During the course of this daydream--in which I could loose weight without effort and control the minds of my children to do whatever I asked them to--I determined that my superpower of choice would be to freeze time. If I could control time, maybe I could get everything done that I wanted to in any given day. Who knows what I could do with all that time--maybe my house would get clean, maybe I could read a good book without interruption, maybe I could spend some quality one on one time with each of my children every day without being distracted by life, and maybe, just maybe I wouldn't feel overwhelmed every day with the list of things I need to do that only seems to grow and never really shrinks. Yes, I am certain that if I had a superpower that this is what it would be. But it goes to reason that if I had superpowers, there would be a super villian out there just waiting to mess with my new found bliss. Which means that I will have to go on being normal and just hope that I can make it through the day with the powers that I somehow find inside of me.

Second Chances

Life is full of lots of little surprises--like sometimes you can be certain that you really dislike somebody only to have that all change in one afternoon. There's this girl--let's call her Matilda--who I had been around and worked with before and she really rubbed me the wrong way. In fact, I would go as far as to say I didn't even like her or her attitude, and I wasn't afraid to let my opinion be shared. I was also certain that nothing could really make me change my mind. I had other people tell me that they liked Matilda and that she was really great to work with and I heard plenty of good things about her, but like I said, I was CERTAIN she was a bad apple. Well, recently I had the chance to work with Matilda again in a new setting and I was amazed at the difference. She was dependable, she was reliable, she was helpful, and she was even fun! And here, I had her pegged for something totally different. I guess my reason for posting this is because I know I have many more "Matilda's" in my life and I think this experience made me realize that all of them deserve a second chance!

My least favorite job

If you had to ask me to pick my least favorite job around my house, the answer will always, and without hesitation be changing the sheets on the bunk beds. More specifically the top bunk. While there are many jobs that I would rather not do--sticking my hand down the kitchen sink to find out what is making that odd sound and only to find the slimy remains from our previous meal or perhaps hunting down the strange smell coming from somewhere in my kitchen--the bunk bed sheets will always take the cake. I don't mind the bottom bunk all that much, but the top bunk is just plain torture. I will admit that on more than one occasion I have broken a sweat because of the work involved. I will also admit that I have been physically injured while changing the sheets, and after weeks of pain, I even had to visit the doctor, which for me is a feat in itself. Now maybe it's just me and my lack of skills, but I really just don't see how anyone can change the sheets of a bed that they have to be sitting or laying on at some point and actually enjoy that job. For those of you shaking your head and laughing at me, and my stupidity, I welcome any tips, tricks, or techniques that have helped you perfect this horrendous task. I also welcome any similar stories so that you can share your least favorite jobs with me. Happy cleaning!

Ill-fated photo shoot

Do you ever have those days where you are trying to get the perfect picture of one of your kids and it just doesn't seem to work out? If not, I have a perfect example for you. I was just going through my picture files and I found these gem's from Sarah's birthday--I hope you enjoy!

Below you can see the best shot of the day--the funny thing is that it was the third one I took so I put Sarah through the torture of this photo shoot for nothing. On second thought, maybe I can use these as leverage over her when she is an obnoxious and unruly teenager, so it may not be for nothing after all!

Any guesses-part II

I told you to watch for a new contest coming soon, and it is here sooner than even I thought it would be. Todays contest topic:

Guess which one of my children got stitches

That's right, apparently we have been waiting to long in between emergency stitch trips and today was the day to break that dry spell. At approximately 4:45 someone was cut somewhere and we had to take a quick trip to the doctors office. Thankfully we were able to just go to our doctor instead of enduring the nightmare that we all cal Instacare. (Nightmare because of the wait time, not the care we receive.) And just for the record, my someone is doing just fine and will have a nice looking scar to help him/her remember this lovely day.

Points will be awarded in the following categories:
Guessing the correct child-5 points
Guessing the correct number of stitches-10 points
Guessing the location of the stitches-15 points
Guessing how the injury was obtained-20 points

Good luck to all and please no cheating this time!

Glimpses

Every once in a while I get a glimpse of what one of my kids are going to be like when they are teenagers and it always makes me sad. Today I got that glimpse from Ben. He got invited to go to a picnic at the park with a few of his friends--without mom. He got to pack a lunch and they even came and picked him up. As soon as he found out what he was doing he thought he was so cool (I might have thought otherwise due to the fact that he was packing around a princess lunch box--but hey who's judging.) Anyway, as I was helping him get ready to go, he decided that he wanted to wait outside on the porch all by himself. When I told him that I would come and wait with him he announced in a somewhat embarrassed and strongly annoyed voice "No mom, I'm going to go with my friends." I can't believe that my 3 year old is already embarrassed by me, I know I'm obnoxious, but come on--he's three.

Moments like this make me realize that I am losing my grasp on these kids and that they are growing up way too fast. It also makes me sad to know that the not so distant future, where my kids would rather be with their friends than with me, is creeping up way to fast. Does anyone have a cure for that?

Any guesses

Madeline is quite the little artist and sometimes she amazes us with her creations. At times it's because of the care and thought she put into her project. At times it's because whatever she created really was quite good. But then there are our favorites, the ones that cause us to raise our eyebrows. This one is definitely an eyebrow raiser, but it makes perfect sense, if you know what it is. Which begs the question--what do you think it is? **All guesses will be eligible for a reward!

Halloween

I think that I love Halloween more and more each year. Maybe its because of the excitement leading up to it and the time, effort and frustration I put into making their costumes. Or maybe its because my kids really are at such a fun age and I love being able to celebrate with them and to see them not only enjoy each holiday but also finally understand it. Or maybe, just maybe, it is because it breaks up the mundane routine of my life and lets me ignore "importatn" things like the dishes and regular evening routine. Whatever it is, I love it and I love the family time and the memories that we make together.

Our Halloween festivities were limited to the school parties and trick-or-treating this year and that was plenty. (A special thanks goes out to my ward activity leader for bucking the trunk-or-treat trend:) I think that this was my favorite year for costumes: Andrew was a wizard, Madeline was a snow fairy, Ben was a dragon, and Sarah was a Bear. I will have to say that it kind of bugged me that Sarah's costume didn't really fit into the mythical and magical theme, but when Craig bought it he came home so excited to have a little " Sar-bear" for Halloween, that I didn't have the heart to change her costume, although I did seriously consider it. Overall, it was a great day and another handful of memories that I have to figure out how to hold on to.

One Year Old

It was Sarah's birthday a week ago and I can't believe that my baby is one. Actually, in some ways, I am thrilled that she is one and in others I am so sad because it means that I am officially out of the baby phase of my life forever (baring a horrible accident or a complete lapse in sanity). I also am thrilled because I think one year olds are a ton of fun and I can already see more of her personality shining through every day. I love seeing the little tidbits that make her unique as they start shining through and I can't wait for all the fun that this upcoming year will bring.
I will have to say that one of my absolute favorite things about her right now is her eyes. The way they light up when she smiles always makes my day and the way that I can tell how she is feeling or what she wants just by looking into them gives me a lot of peace and satisfaction. I am so glad that she is in our family and that she loves us all so much and I am also so grateful that she is no longer a little baby--now all I need is for her to finally start sleeping through the night!

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know why, but I can't seem to ever get a grip on my life and I feel like I am so busy with the mundane that I am missing the important. I have wanted to blog multiple things for over a week now and either haven't had the time (or perhaps the desire) to do so. Here is my attempt to recover the days that I missed. I know that the things I post may be boring to you, so feel free to skip any of my ramblings.

Little Sisters

If you look at the job description of little sisters, I'm sure that somewhere it says: "annoy your big brother in every way you can." Yesterday Madeline was able to perform that part of her job to the best of her abilities. Andrew was all sorts of upset at Craig and I after we had a run in about him not cleaning up when he was asked. He was completely distraught by the consequences we dolled out and ran to his room in tears declaring he just wanted to be alone. A few moments later, this sign emerged sticking out of his door:
We let it be and decided we would rather have him cry in his room than bother us with the tears and complaints. However, Madeline had a different plan. She carefully removed the sign so Andrew wouldn't know she'd been there, turned it over and replaced it with this:
It stayed up for a while until Andrew realized what had happened and then he was all fired up again. Craig and I just cracked up, we couldn't help our selves, which only added to the tears. I guess that we both thought it was nice for Madeline to finally win one with her brains instead of her brawn.

Cornbellys

For the past several years we have had a family tradition of going to the Vineyard Pumpkin Patch. We really love this place and have had a lot of fun with it, but this year we decided to try something new. We met my brother and his family at Cornbelly's, which is the pumpkin patch at Thanksgiving Point. While it didn't rival Vineyard in cost, it certainly had a lot more to offer and we had a lot of fun there. They had so much stuff for the kids to do that we ended up staying there for more than five hours, and we didn't even get around to everything that they had to offer. One of the favorite activities was the corn pile, which is comparable to a sand box, but it is full of corn. Every single one of my kids loved it and we kept coming back to it for more fun. We also loved the hay ride--especially the night time one, the spider's web, the cart races, and so many other things. Andrew and Craig were thrilled to stay later than the rest of us and try out the haunted Corn Maze. (Which made me a little sad because it just means that Andrew is growing up.) If I had to guess I would say that our Vineyard tradition might be gone and that we will be heading back to Cornbelly's from here on out. However, next year I will remember to pack a dinner.

Product Endorsement

One thing that drives me absolutely crazy is a ponytail that won't stay put. I absolutely hate the feeling of it slowly slipping from where I carefully placed it. This is especially true while I am running, I can't stand having to constantly tighten my hair. The elastics I have been buying generally slip when I wrap them around my hair two times and my hair just wont fit through if I try to wrap it a third time. That doesn't keep me from trying though and I have ruined many a hair elastic because of it. The good news is, I now have a solution to this annoying problem. While my parents were at the St. George Marathon Expo, they picked up several free samples at the Goody table. These particular elastics are called STAYPUT and are designed to hold hair 52% better. The great news--they actually work--no more tightening ponytails while I run, and they work especially well for Madeline who has a tendency to play so hard that her hair can't stand up to her activity level. As I was searching for this image, I also found out that there is a whole line of STAYPUT products for both women and girls and I am very excited to try many of them These elastics have become one of my new favorite things and I thought that I would share my excitement with all of you. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Are you a real men?

As I have mentioned before, Andrew is rather particular about the way he looks. He has no desire to wear anything that does not scream preppy. He also rather enjoys wearing colors that are typically reserved for girls. Purple happens to be his favorite color, and he doesn't mind pink all that much. In fact if I ever see a shirt (with a collar of course) in either of these colors I always snatch it up for him because I know that he will really enjoy it. I have however wondered if his desire to wear pink and purple would disappear once other boys started making fun of it. Today I think I found the answer. He wore a purple shirt to school toady and at lunch time, he walked by a younger boy who just looked at him and said: "Are you a real men, 'cause real men don't wear pink and purple." (that's a direct quote, not a typo in case you were wondering). Andrew just laughed and shrugged it off and couldn't wait to come home and tell me the story because he thought it was so funny. As he told me the story I just had to take a minute and be grateful that I have a little boy who is so comfortable with himself and who he is. Not only do I not need to worry about him growing out of wearing pink and purple anytime soon, I also know that I don't really have to worry about his self esteem and that gives me a lot of peace of mind. Besides that, I think he looks great in any color--especially pink and purple.

Stinky Feet

The title of this post may make you wonder about the personal hygiene of my family, but let me assure you that no one's feet really stink, at least not at the moment, it's just a game we like to play. (Which may make you wonder about the sanity of my family, but that's another story entirely.) It is a game that I have played with every one of my babies during diaper changes that just makes me smile, let me explain: Whenever I have a restless and unruly child (the kind who would rather roll around and grab their own stinky diaper and play with it than actually sit still,) I start sniffing the air and ask them "Do you smell that?" Now you might assume I am speaking of the real smell I am dealing with,but my babies all know better. As soon as I ask the question, they all hold still and start grinning. While they are holding still, I keep sniffing and looking for the source of the smell, (the whole time taking care of diaper duty). I eventually land end up at their feet at which point I take a big sniff, push their feet out of the way and make a face like I have smelled the worst thing in the world and say something along the lines of ""EEEEW, stinky feet!" This silly game works without fail every time; I am able to take care of business and I also get some of the best smiles and laughs of the day. I know it is a stupid game, but it is one of those ones that I love and I will miss when Sarah has outgrown it. But rest assured, once she has outgrown it, I will never miss the reason for the game in the first place!
Happy changing!

Any suggestions?

Once again, I find myself very intrigued by music. If I had to guess, I would say it is due to the fact that my runs have been getting longer and more lonely. The current play list I have has ceased to inspire and distract me as well as it used to--in fact, some of the songs are beginning to annoy me and I've even had to remove a few old favorites because they currently make me want to gag. I am posting this in hopes of finding a few new favorites; I hope you all come through for me! Thanks in advance!

Speaking in Code

Every year, usually around the end of September, I tell myself that I am going to make my kids Halloween costumes. (Which is code for, "I would like to pick out patterns and fabric and pretend that I actually can make my kids Halloween costumes, but then I will soon realize that I am not capable of doing so and that I need my mom to bail me out and do most of the work.") The only problem is that every year I forget that I am speaking in code and end up with some intense frustration at my lack of skill and ability. Luckily my mom is always patient with my little pity parties due to my lack of abilities and is always willing to bail me out of the projects I never should have attempted to do on my own. And lucky for my kids, she always does a way better job than I ever could and they end up having great costumes. I think that this year's costumes may be my favorites yet. And while I do have pictures now, you'll have to check back on Halloween to see them because I don't want to spoil my Halloween post. But when you do see them, I would appreciate it if you could speak in code and let me know how amazing I am for sewing my kids costumes, (which is code for "Wow your mom is incredible, I can't believe she had enough time to put up with your crap and make those too!)

THANKS MOM!

**On a side note, only Andrew and Madeline's costumes were made by the two of us, ( yes I really did sew a little bit) the other two were made with much love and care by Wal-Mart!

Out of the Ordinary

Our trips to St. George are fairly redundant. We always climb on the same rocks, get treats at the same places, go on the same hikes, and basically have the exact same trip, with a few minor variations, two or three times a year. This trip was no exception but we definitely found a few things out of the ordinary on one of our oldies but goodies!

We always like to go climb around (I think hike is too generous of a word) on the red rocks. My kids favorite thing to do there is go through what we lovingly call "the big crack," which is a narrow crack in between two pieces rock where we can climb through and then end up on top of the rocks. I personally think the kids love it because they walk through face forward and then laugh at their parents (or more appropriately Craig and I since we are the only parents who have yet to take them through) who have to literally drag themselves through while facing sideways. On this particular trip to the crack, we were quite surprised to find a sofa waiting for us at the beginning. My kids thought it was the funniest thing that they had ever seen.

But far better than the sofa, was the desert turtle we found while exploring. We have never seen anything but small lizards and beetles up at the red rocks so we were quite surprised to find this turtle on our path. The kids were completely fascinated with it and were actually sad that we made them put it down!


And finally we took a trip to visit the "Dragon in the Drain Pipe" who seemed to be drooling and blowing steam today which gave everyone but Sarah a good piece of entertainment.

So many out of the ordinary things made this trip to the red rocks an especially memorable.

Cinderella

I am lucky to have the parents that I do because it comes with a lot of perks! On Monday (probably to help me celebrate my anniversary) they added yet another one to the growing list. They took me and the kids to the production of Cinderella at Tuachan, an outdoor, open-air theater in St. George. While the adults didn't think it was the best show we have ever seen there (I don't think anything will beat Cats) the kids absolutely loved it! Even Sarah was captivated at times. She loved the singing and dancing and she especially loved the horses. I also love getting the chance to expose my kids to fun things like this and am grateful to my parents for giving me that chance this past week!

Marathon Day

I have now been left out of the fun on marathon day for the past two years. Last year, it didn't really bother me (perhaps because I was three weeks away from giving birth) but this year it was a sad day for me. I wanted to be out there running and just proving to myself that I could do it again. I was jealous of my mom, dad, brother and Rabid who were out there doing their thing. (Before I go on I must say that I was quite impressed with each of their times!) Despite my sadness, and jealousy, I was able to make some of my own memories. Craig and I took 3 of my kids and 2 of my brothers kids to the Mayor's walk. We got up at about 6:15 and headed to the starting line of this local "race" that is put on to promote healthy lifestyles where they fed us donuts for breakfast--Do you see the irony?After our great nourishment, of which I did not partake, we were off for the two mile "race" And yes, I believe we set a new PR, 54 min 42 sec, (beat that Rabid!) Despite the lack of running and the frustration I was feeling because of it, I did love getting to do this "race" with my kids. It is something that they look forward to every year and I have been grateful to have done it with them for the past two years. But from here on out, they are on their own because next year, I have better plans, and they don't include crossing the finish line backwards or while cartwheeling!

Six Years Old

I think that the post I felt the most guilty about neglecting was Madeline's sixth birthday. I was actually in town for her b-day, but was so busy with every day life, that I didn't have time to post. Thankfully, I have the time now and can take a minute to think about how lucky I am to have such a great little girl. She absolutely cracks me up and drives me crazy and I don't know what I would do without her. I can't have a conversation (or watch a movie) with her without hearing a million questions because she is so curious and she wants to learn about EVERYTHING! She is also good at just about everything that she tries--OK change that to everything she puts her mind to because she really stinks at cleaning her room. She is also way too busy, between school, gymnastics, dance and choir, she is totally booked, but she loves them all so much that I don't have the heart to make her quit any of them. I also actually think it is good for her to be busy because it keeps her out of trouble. I know that I could go on and on talking about her and how much I love her, but in the interest of time and fairness, I will just finish up by listing six things I love about her
* She is so much FUN! (Largely because she has a slightly michevious side which can also get her into trouble.)
* She has so much grit and determination--she'll do what she wants when she wants and isn't afraid of the consequences.
* Her smile can light up a room and she gives the best hugs (I know that was two, but I couldn't help myself.)
*She is not afraid to be herself and she is so comfortable and content with who she is.
* She puts her whole heart and sould into everything she does. (You should just see her face while she reads a book or watches a movie)
* She is so open to love anyone and everyone and is so happy and willing to share that love!

I really do love the zest for life she carries around with her, it's somewhat contagious and she has a way of bringing fun and energy to any environment she ends up in. I am so lucky to have a little girl like her and to be a major recipient of all that love she has to give. She brings me more joy and happiness than I ever thought possible and although I know that she will always keep me on my toes, I also know that she makes me a better mom because of it!

I LOVE YOU MADELINE!

I'm Ba-ack

I have just returned from a great week in St. George. I love it there and even though our trips are fairly redundant, I am able to make some great memories with my kids and we really have a blast together. We always go down for marathon/conference weekend and since the kids had half of the following week off school, I decided to extend my stay for a whole week. Craig left on Sunday and my my mom and I stayed the rest of the week. I can't tell you how nice and refreshing it was to just be able to have a week off of real life, but I will say that I missed blogging. There were a few posts that I wanted to get done before I left, but since I didn't you'll have to endure reading through a lot of old posts--that is if you feel like it!

New day, new look

Let's just say that I have never been totally happy with the way my blog looked, so I am trying out some changes, thanks Heather for the inspiration--hope you're not mad. I also hope you like the new look, who knows how long it will last!

Desperate times call for desperate measures

Tonight we were at my grandma’s 94^th birthday party. I was in the kitchen talking to my cousins and Craig, Ben and Sarah were hanging out around the corner. All of a sudden Ben came running to me and said “Dad needs the diaper bag—QUICK!” So I gave Ben the bag and a few moments later he reappeared to inform me that dad needed my help because there was an “emergency.” When I finally found them, they were in the bathroom and I just cracked up when I saw what they were doing.

Let’s just say that Sarah has been a bit under the weather and Craig didn’t want anything to leak any worse than it already had. He figured that this was the safest place to keep her until I was there to help because it definitely was a two person job!

Cold Waffles and Warm Milk

I know that my kids have the best intentions when they make me breakfast in bed, but let’s face it, breakfast in bed is a meal that most parents would rather do without. Today I lucked out and was served cold waffles and warm milk, and best of all, my waffles we smothered with peanut butter and syrup, a combination I have never once put together for myself. Now, while the food isn’t great, I can bear to eat it because I know how much love it was made with. And if I didn’t eat it I know I would crush the great pride that my kids took in trying to make my life easier because they knew I was up a lot last night. Let’s forget the fact that they could have just let me sleep instead of waking me up with their non-existent cooking skills. But the one pondering question that this morning’s breakfast in bed has left me with is why can’t my kids do the same thing for me when I make something new for dinner—like mashed sweet potatoes? What a double standard! Oh well, I guess I can at least be thrilled that they haven’t ever brought me cold cereal, because I don’t know if I could force down soggy Cheerios.

He only thinks he too cool.

Andrew has hit a point in his life where he thinks that he is too old, big and cool for “little kid” activities. This includes anything from playing a game to the clothes he wears (I am under no circumstances allowed to buy him anything without a collar.) But perhaps the “kid activity” that he is the most vocal not wanting to participate in is watching any TV show that he deems to young for himself. Since he has mastered his remote control skills, it is especially frustrating to him to have to relinquish control and let one of his younger siblings select a show and it is especially frustrating when it is someone like Ben who chooses such childish shows as Dora, Diego and Blues Clues. Yesterday Andrew was mortified when I let Ben select the show. He moaned and groaned and was quite upset as he promised not to watch such a dumb kids show. This is how I found him a few minutes later. He was just about as far away from the TV as you could get while still watching (which made for quite an interesting photo shoot) and when he realize what I was up to he informed me: “I am just watching this show because it’s so weird and I just can’t believe anyone would like something that weird.”

Birthday Party

We had Madeline’s birthday party on Saturday and it was great! I entered a drawing and won a party at Michaels Crafts and it was a blast. We had so much fun making birds out of Model Magic clay and Madeline felt like a little princess for the day. I can’t believe baby girl is turning six this week! I am also grateful that she has so many great friends that are so good to her--she really is a lucky girl and we are so lucky to have her!

Always good for a laugh

Despite the tremendous amount of work and guilt that motherhood creates, kids are always good for a laugh. In fact, I think there are at least three times on any given day when I have to turn my back to keep from laughing at my kids who are supposed to be in trouble. (After all, what kind of authority figure would I be if I laughed at all their hilarious, I mean bad, behaviors. They might stop taking me seriously and realize that I am not so uptight which is a role I have carefully crafted for myself.) I don't know how they do it, but they make me smile when I hear them giggle. I seem to snicker when I overhear conversations that detail their elaborate plans and schemes. I can't help but chuckle when they try to explain their perspective on life to me, but more entertainingly to each other. If I just sit and watch them for any period of time, or even just walk in on them doing whatever they are doing at the moment, at least one of them is sure to bring a grin to my face and a sparkle to my eye that will usually end up in a quiet yet deeply satisfying laugh. And their have even been times when I have been know to fall to the ground and end up snorting because of the crazy things they do and say. I guess I'm lucky because I have always said that I would rather laugh than cry and I think that on many occasions, I laugh so that I won't cry. But most of all I think that I am lucky because I have four fun and wonderful kids who even at their very worst are always good for a laugh!
Here is my belly laugh from today. This morning during the hustle and bustle of getting ready for school, Ben was the first one to hear Sarah wake up. He begged me to be able to go in while I finished Madeline's hair, a privilege I usually reserve for myself because of the great smile that is always waiting for me. But after his unrelenting requests, I finally succumbed and let him go say hi to Sarah. When I finally made my way in there, this is what I found waiting for me:


wouldn't it make you laugh too?

5.78

That's how many miles I ran today--and yes, I am proud of myself--it means I'm on my way back!

FRAMILY

So I know everyone out there has at least one friend, and hopefully more, that are too great and wonderful to be called just friends. You know what kind of friends they are--the ones you can go to for anything. The ones you can trust with a secret. The ones who love your children just because. The ones you can always be yourself around. The ones whose children you love--just because. The ones who will tell you the truth, even if it hurts. The ones who value your advice and opinion. The ones who are always going to be there for you (and you for them) no matter the time or distance that separates you. The ones you can laugh at nothing with. The ones who share your sorrows with you. The ones who care about the stupid little details of life that husbands just don't seem to understand. The ones who you can go without seeing for years and pick up right where you left off. The ones that would do anything for you and you in turn for them. I think that my list of what kind of friends they are could go on and on, but suffice it to say, they need a better term that just friends. That is why I have coined the term term--FRAMILY. (Which is new to me, but which I have heard may have been plagiarized from someone else. However since I am typing it, and putting it out there for the world to see, I thing that the credit should go to me.) The term is pretty self explanatory, it's a mix of friends and family. One of my framily members has a quote in her home that says "Friends are the family you choose for yourself." And I feel pretty lucky that I have chosen a great framily and that they have chosen me too! I hope each one of you out there knows how much I not only love you, but also need you in my life. So a special thanks to all of you for being so much more than a friend--I don't think I could travel my path without you.

Don't Step Back!

I have two questions: First, when did life get so busy? And second, does it ever stop? (Sadly, I think I know the answer to the second one but if anyone out there reading this would like to lie just to indulge me, that would not only be OK, but also greatly appreciated). Today I made the horrible mistake of taking a minute to step back and inventory all the things that I am responsible for or that are on my to do list. YIKES, I think I had better stop doing that.
I won't bore you with my list, but I will tell you it is long and I'm not quite sure that I can do it all, or at least do it all the way I like to do things. I am feeling pretty bogged down with my responsibilities and the sad thing is that I I have brought most of them on myself. I know I need to learn not only how to say no, but also how to not find new things to volunteer for. Or maybe I just need one more brain and another set (or two) of hands to help me out. Really, what I need to do is just not step back anymore. I seem to do better when I just do and don't think. So here is my advice to the rest of you--don't step back! Stay put. Do what you are doing and then do whatever else you want to get around to. Under no circumstances should you ever actually think about everything you have to do--it's like a big black hole that will suck you in and take you away. So now my little rant is over, after all, I have a big black hole to climb out of. Wish me luck!

I'm Du-uhn

Having little kids isn't always all it's cracked up to be. For example, they need your help wiping things for a long time--noses, bottoms, faces, hands, take your pick--the list goes on and on. Eventually most kids grow out of this phase of life and parents, rightfully take the time to celebrate the fact that they have reclaimed a measure of cleanliness once thought to have disappeared. Gone are the days of using your shirt, or even worse your fingers (don't cringe; any mother out there will have to admit to doing this on multiple occasions) to wipe a nose. Left behind are the times when you actually "spit-shine" your child's face. Your pants are no longer used as a dish towel, and even the tedium of wiping someone else's posterior eventually become a distant memory.
Sadly, I am not one of those lucky mothers who gets to celebrate these milestones. Now this is nothing that I expect seeing as I have ten month old baby, who coincidentally threw up into my hand just moments ago. In fact I won't even let myself think about having the luxury of not being her personal tissue/barf bag for a few more years. But I do have to take a moment and protest, the inability of one of my children to take care of certain hygiene issues on his own. Ben is now 3 1/2 and is completely paralyzed by the thought of wiping his own bum. Before I go on, let me mention that he is actually a very clean and capable child in most areas. He can wipe his own nose because he hates it dripping on his face; if his hands are sticky, he heads to the bathroom and immediately washes them--without being asked. He rarely seems to have a problem being dirty or sticky in any way--heck he doesn't even gets dirty when he eats an ice cream cone. Part of this stems from an excessive clean gene that he picked up somewhere along the line (I'm sure it is a Mathis thing, because I know it didn't come from me). And maybe his inability to wipe comes from this clean gene--at least that's my best theory. If I had to guess (and I'm usually right about these kind of things) I would say he actually won't wipe himself because he knows that he can't do as good of a job as I can--I think that skid marks might be the death of him. I really believe that this is all a cleanliness issue on his part and so I guess that I can oblige for who knows how much longer and continue to heed his call to come wipe him.
Which brings me to the last part of this little rant--his call. A day never passes in our house without the cry of "I'm du-uhn" (extra syllable added) echoing from a bathroom. That is Ben's calling card, his plea for help and once he has sent it out, he anxiously waits for someone to come wipe him. Sometimes his waits are much longer than others, such as in the below picture. We were in Newport Beach with my entire family this summer and Craig and I were both gone at the moment. Since we are the only two who really know about Ben's quirky bathroom behavior, the rest of my family just chalked his desperate pleas up to the chaos that 11 small children create. It wasn't until one of my sisters actually needed to use the bathroom that Ben was discovered, sitting on the toilet with tears in his eyes and a very weak call of "I'm du-uhn" escaping his lips. We're guessing that his total toilet time was about twenty minutes. Of course they had to take a picture, you don't leave that kind of trauma undocumented. So now my poor sanitary son will have his toilet troubles immortalized so that we can laugh with, because that sounds nicer than at, him forever.

I'm coffee

I found a link to this test on a friends blog, so I took it and here are the fascinating results.

Compared to other ice creams, coffee ice cream has a strong flavor, and it's packed with caffeinated sweetness. You're like that, too! You're always busy, and determined to stay focused as you move from one task to the next. You get frustrated when other people slow you down or hold you back, but when you're in control, you can find ways around any obstacle.


I'll leave the final judgment on this matter up to those of you who know me well, am I coffee or should I try again and see if I can be something really exciting like banana berry burst?

*One more thing, can you imagine me on coffee? (Even I don't think it sounds like a good idea!)

'Gotta love Costco

I've just returned from my regular trip to Costco and as always, I came away spending too much money, but finding some great stuff. Food, clothes, and best of all Eclipse. Gotta go read--maybe you'll hear from me soon, but if not, you'll know why.

Guilty Pleasure

OK, I'm going to have to admit it. I am totally obsessed with Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. I have only read the first two books, but I am ready to race to the store to get the third in the series because she has totally captivated me. When my sister Kristy thrust the books at me and ordered me to read them, I actually didn't think I would get that into them--I was so wrong. (Though I will admit that it took me a while to get into the first book--the beginning just seemed to drag on.) Once I did get into it, I couldn't stop reading and now since I don't have a copy of Eclipse in my hands, I have wasted more time than I care to admit visiting www.stepheniemeyer.com and filling my head with total useless information to tide me over until I can get to the bookstore and buy Eclipse (or until I can find someone to borrow it from.) I will say that I am slightly embarrassed to like a silly story so much, but I do and I can't stop thinking about it. I also have to hand out my compliments to Stephenie Meyer for such an amazing accomplishment--she really is a great writer who knows how to captivate her audience and leave them wanting more--A LOT more!

Cabin

There are definite benefits to having cool parents and I totally luck out because mine are so cool! They provide us with so many experiences and opportunities that I wouldn't have any other way. One of the many things, is their cabin that they are so willing to share. We got to spend a significant portion of labor day weekend there; first with friends and then with my family. We went up with some friends right after church on Sunday and had a blast, despite a few minor glitches in our plans. Right after we got there, they locked their keys in their car which wouldn't have been such a bad thing if they didn't have half of our planned dinner in there. We had to track down a police officer to come and rescue us and we didn't end up having dinner until after 9:00. Just imagine having seven kids waiting that long for dinner. Luckily we didn't lock our keys in our car, so we had plenty of snacks to hold us over until we could actually cook dinner--a bag of carrots has never been so appealing to little kids! While we waited, we took the kids to walk around Silver Lake and we saw a moose that was no more than 15 feet away from us. It was pretty cool and the kids made up a poem about Maroose the Moose:
Maroose the moose
Is on the loose
He is chasing a wild goose,
And his tooth is loose.

Lovely isn't it. Of course the rest of the night was a blast and the kids stayed up way too late, but it was so fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat. They had to leave pretty early on Monday morning so my family came up for the rest of the day. We explored a waterfall, hauled six kids on a two mile hike and laughed a lot. My favorite part of the day was wading through the stream below the waterfall to find my sister Heather's sunglasses that had fallen off the water. Andrew and my sister Kristy both fell in the stream and got totally soaked, but Heather and I stayed dry and best of all, I found her glasses. Oh yeah, my dad almost fell in the stream too but instead he just got covered in mud trying t5o jump across. It was hilarious. Too bad my camera batteries had died the night before because I would have had some awesome pictures of our fun labor day adventures.