Christmas Elves

If any of my neighbors received queso last night - or at any point this week from two little boys and all they say is "Happy Birthday", please know it was my boys. Also please forgive the packaging if the chips come to you smashed or the queso lid is cracked. It meant they fell on the way up to your house - and don't feel bad - it's probably not icy, it's just them!

Crazy...

My magical, stress-free holiday season has snowballed into crazy chaos for another year. All this end of year tasking is making me lose my mind - gifts, accounting, perscription refills, trips to the doctor, regular life, etc.

Why do we do these things to ourselves?

I just finished and mailed out Christmas Cards. McKell was helping and Safari has the stamps to prove it. Now, if Safari ever gets lost someone will just have to look at her back or her head to see where she lives.

I'm in the process of making queso and chips for our neighbor gifts, I've spent all week working on the bookkeeping, realizing I'm terribly disorganized, attending to a three-year-old's needs - she's had a staph infection in her leg and a croupy cough and cold. For some reason I was determined to make (or copy) my friend's cranberry wreath - which I LOVE and is so pretty, but time I should have spent doing other things..

I have so much to do that I start getting frustrated and get that balled up feeling in my chest where I don't know whether to scream or cry. And as I'm typing this, why does the dog have to bark so much? She must be protesting her new look.

But I'm done, I need to slow down and enjoy time with my kids. So tonight we'll make some hot chocolate with candy canes 'stirrers', watch a Christmas movie, and I'll drink up my kids Christmas excitement.

I'm going to take a cue from the weather outside and be still...

So much to catch up on, yet so little time

I have much to post about - Fall Festival, Halloween, Disneyland trip, and Thanksgiving for the main events, and lots of little stories to remember every day life over the past month. Since this is my journal of sorts, I really should spend some time backlogging for memories sake. But, there will be time for that later. Right now I am going to record my evening so I can pull up these memories when my kids are older.

I always thought our house was crazy loud. Tonight I think it took the cake. I'm not sure why the kids are so wired - could it be Christmas excitement already? It's only December 1st. Is it the anticipation of Prince Caspian coming out on DVD tomorrow? I think that's partially the answer for one little boy of mine. Post-Thanksgiving return to school? Maybe. If this is what the kids were like at school today, I should send an apology note tomorrow.

I fell asleep reading with Tyler on the couch this afternoon. He has the most boring 'reading mastery' books for school. I don't remember how or when this happened but when I woke up McKell had put herself in bed and was napping and Tyler was having some sort of pretend Transformers battle (for those worried souls, Ellie was safe in her bed).

This evening as I was preparing dinner I had four crazies underfoot: one baby who was screaming and trying to get away from a sister who was trying to put her in a box, and the other three playing in boxes pulling each other around the room saying they were on a cruise and arguing as to whose turn it was next.

During dinner I had one boy proudly declare, "I can eat my noodles without even chewing them". Which was great fun and then I turned to him and all the noodles were spit onto the ground because he was 'choking'. He then went to get a drink and spilled it all over the table, onto the ground, and all over his brother's homework (which was supposed to have been put away). He then was jumping around and knocked his plate full of food all over the ground. He then blamed Austin, who then blamed Tyler, and then McKell piped in and said it was a ghost.

I started the night with a clean house - spic and span. Now, well, the kitchen looks like it usually does every night - like a tornado, with sticky noodles and juice on the ground.

Thankfully, in the process of this post, the kids are now all working together on decorating the boxes, they are even including Ellie. This is usually how the day winds down, they end up playing together. It has become quiet and the dog is in her kennel. It will be a good night... The baby just toddled up to me with the third blow out tonight and the kids are running around saying, "Gross, her diaper is leaking".

Not my favorite thing...

Many people know of my obsessive clean hand policy. Some things I don't like that I have to grin and bear on a daily basis:

• Sticking my hand in the peanut butter jar - really, I dread every morning opening the lid - maybe that's why I don't like peanut butter

• Having my arm 'stick' to the table from dried, sticky milk.

Anyway, there are lots more and we don't need further proof that I have issues, but let's just say a new one up there that is going to cause me much grief is the freezer - sticky, mashed banana containers that exploded in the freezer and dripped down the door and now is stuck to everything. To boot, the freezer needs to be de-frosted again. Someone forgot to close it when they put the ice cream away - and I know it wasn't me because I don't like ice cream (yes I'm serious, one pint could last me over a year). Why I didn't buy a self defrosting freezer I don't know. I almost cried when I saw the mess from two inches of frost and all the mashed banana explosion. Defrosting the freezer takes HOURS and is SUPER messy and makes me wonder why I don't have permanent scars all over my hands from jamming them into the sharp shelves.

Something I won't get to til at least next week.

The Fall Festival is on Thursday - it will be a great event but even nicer when it is over. It's a busy week - Fall Festival , Grandparents in town this weekend, Family Pictures, Halloween, getting ready to go to Disneyland (yeah...next week).

To my friend Brooke, please do not give up on me. We NEED to get together. It's been so busy it's unreal. I think of you often and want updates on your family and yourself.

Ok, off to fold mountains of laundry, plead for more festival volunteers, homework and try to love on my kids a bit before they go to bed.

My McKell

In our family we don't have the 'terrible twos' we have the 'trying threes'. Our children are really fun at two, they still have cherubic faces when they get into trouble. They are easy to please and can turn any object into a play thing.

When they turn three, well...it's not so cute. McKell is three and it's been 'trying' the past four months. She throws tantrums, screams, goes through incredible dramatics, and turns the tears on when it's convenient for her. She is also incredibly tired. I'm stuck between giving in and having her take a nap and waiting it out and putting her to bed early. If she takes a nap she is MUCH more pleasant to be around, but will stay away until 10:30 pm, no matter the length of her nap or the time of day she goes down. If she doesn't take a nap - YIKES...this is what I have to deal with:or

I really try hard to be patient. I start to go crazy when she screams and throws herself on the ground or stairs and becomes completely irrational. It usually occurs between 4pm and 7pm and occurs at least a few times in the evening, most evenings. It's a pleasure to hear the tantrums when we are doing homework, piano, or reading. Most times Ellie stops what she's doing and just stares at McKell's theatrics.

Tonight was one of those nights and I was exhausted (see my earlier post) and ready for her to be cooperative and just go to bed - I had deprived her of her nap and usually she'll go right down after the bedtime routine.

Tonight she kept coming out of her room with various excuses - she needed water, she couldn't find her pacifier (yes, she still uses one and I can sleep at night, and I've already accepted the fact that all our kids will need braces), her night light was off, the list goes on. I was getting so frustrated - I just wanted to have a few moments of quiet before moving on to the next task.

The last time I heard her door open I was ready to be really firm and just lay the law down. She comes out says, "Mom, I can't go to bed. You're my best friend" I, of course, caved and let her sit on my lap for a few moments and then we went and laid down in her bed together. She and I fell asleep holding hands. Could I really say no to this brown-eyed cutie?

Night at the Park

A few weeks ago we went to the park as a family. It is one of our favorite things to do. We all really love getting out, kicking or throwing the ball, swinging kids on swings and just enjoying the time together. Ellie likes to swing, but only at turtle speed. If she goes too fast or too high she will hold her breath till her face turns bright red and her whole body will shake. As soon as you slow down she'll get that big grin back on her face.

McKell is a tough cookie! She has to do everything the boys do. The boys were playing on some sort of apparatus where you hold onto it and spin around. I thought it was too high for her to hang on but she insisted. I put her on the equipment and she held on better than her brothers.

It was fun to spend some time outside before the cold weather comes. I sure love these guys. They all make me smile.

Football Tickles

Austin falling to the ground

Sand in the eyes

Do you ever feel like this?

This is how I'm feeling tonight. Not for any particular reason, just tired from the every day running around. Life is busy, kids are busy, dogs are busy...

I try to prepare ahead of time and get lunches made the night before, clothes all laid out the night before, my day planned the night before and I always end up running around in the morning. I hate that - I feel bad rushing my kids around and every time my hopes for a peaceful morning is overshadowed by the clock on the wall.

Tyler told me this morning that he doesn't like taking showers in the morning. When I asked him why he said, "Because it only gives me 5 minutes to eat breakfast".

Let's not speak about this

What has been consuming all my 'free' time for weeks?

The Fall Festival at school. It is a carnival and the main school fundraiser for the year. There have been three 'co-chairs' and now it's become one...me. I'm not sure what happened but I was given the official honor this morning - even though it's been in my lap the entire time.

I just spent two hours emailing and coordinating for this event happening on October 30th. Two hours that I didn't have and now will be really tired tomorrow when I go work out. I've already spent lots of other hours in meetings and emailings.

Let's not speak of this. I get sad when I realize how much of a time commitment this is and how I really don't have time for this, but alas, I signed up for it so I must do my best.

Labor Day Triathlon

This past Labor Day we cheered Austin on in his first triathlon. Aunt Vic, a super-athlete, always is competing in races and triathlons and Austin has been asking her for months to find a "kid's triathlon" that he could do. She did some research and found one in a nearby town on Labor Day.

Austin had been training for a month or so - swimming, biking and running. It was so cute to see him run with Randy. He would run by in his sunglasses and hold up two fingers in a 'peace' sign. I was impressed - he'd run three to four miles with Randy.

We signed him up for the longer distance (at his insistence) - it was a 150 yard swim, 4 mile bike ride and 1 mile run. It was geared for kids 10 and older, so he was the youngest by at least three years.

On the big race day, Austin and Aunt Vic got up early and headed down to the race to set up all his gear. We met them down there (just in the nick of time - we were running to the swimming pool) - Aunt Mary and Uncle Jake came too - and cheered him on. He was the last one into the swimming pool (thankfully - I was afraid he'd be mauled) and the last one out. The last two lengths of the pool he was the only one in there, so the entire crowd was cheering him on. He stopped, stood up, and looked at all the people cheering for him. It was so cute.


He then did the bike portion - I loved that we could go virtually anywhere on the course and see him. He looked so determined.

He then finished up with the 1 mile run. I was hoping the weather would hold out until he finished the race. It was a cold and stormy day and we could see the clouds moving in the entire race. Austin looked TIRED while running, but he finished it! He was exhausted, but when he saw the finish line he sprinted to the end (I think it was because he knew he was getting a medal). Literally two minutes after he finished it started hailing and a complete downpour. We were drenched and cold.

We finished the celebration with a pancake breakfast at IHOP with Aunt Mary, Uncle Jake, Aunt Vic and all of our wet, cold family. There's nothing better than hot chocolate and balloon animals to finish off a triathlon!

Way to go Austin!

School Pictures

It's two weeks into the school year, but hey, at least I have documentation of the kids first day of school. Ok, I only have the boys first day - I haven't taken any of McKell's preschool days yet. All the mom's had cameras at preschool snapping away. I was holding onto a very wet and stinky baby, still in her pajamas trying to get out of there.

Anyway, the boys are at two different schools this year - one made it into the Charter School (it's a lottery system) and the other didn't, so I am the shuttle bus this year. It's not so bad. I have super nice friends and neighbors that are willing to take Austin home from school most days of the week so I don't have to wake up Ellie and disturb her naps. Next year both boys will be at the same school - they are building a larger campus. I know there is an end in sight, even if it makes for a long school year.

I love the kids in uniforms. They look so cute.

We're still here...

We are still here, running around crazy but still here. It's been a long two and a half weeks - filled with SICK kids - all four of them, each with different ailments and many trips to the doctor, swimming lessons, internet issues (meaning NO internet...for two weeks) start of school, preparing for a company party at our house on Saturday and mostly re-doing our entire yard. Yes, it was actually convenient that the kids were all sick - they just wanted to watch movies, sleep, drink 7-up and eat saltines.

Our family worked our tails off for the past two and a half weeks - we ripped up all the bushes and plants in the front and back yard and put down weed barrier (a cloth), planted new plants, reset the drip systems, planted a garden, planted fruit trees, weed trimmed the entire path up the mountain and laid new bark down. It looks so amazing and tidy. It literally was exhausting every night and we worked from sun up to sun down on Saturdays (and most week days - Ian and I). Many mornings I would wake up with a pile of wood chips on my pillow that had been in my hair. It also was so nice that my sisters came up to help two weeks ago. I know it wasn't the most fun way to spend a Saturday by any stretch of the imagination, but they helped out tremendously! Thanks ladies!

We planted a garden in garden boxes using the Square Foot Gardening method by Mel Bartholomew. It sits right up against the house and is easy to put a barrier up for pesky deer and my pesky dog that seems to think she can walk all over the garden. We are growing fall vegetables - sugar snap peas, several lettuce varieties, radishes, onions, and parsnips. Everything starting to come up and I'm already planning my spring and summer vegetables for next year.

We also planted two peach trees and two apple trees. They are a good size right now and the garden center thinks we will see fruit next year. We actually already had a peach tree but didn't realize it because there were always so many weeds around it.

I've also been doing a lot of canning - I made 42 jars of strawberry freezer jam and canned 27 bottles of peach jam. My sister in-law has an amazing peach tree and we picked peaches that were ripe and needed to can them right away. I still have at least two more rounds of peach jam to produce (as requested by my family, which also includes homemade bread) - thankfully I have a break before the next round is ripe. I also have some friends that want to learn, so we are going to have a canning party. I never thought I would can - I remember peeling peaches with my mom growing up and saying, "I'll never do this" Well, we all change and I actually really enjoy canning. My friends and I also plan on canning apples and apple pie filling at the end of September.

Right now I am trying to get everything coordinated for a company party on Saturday. I think I have most things under control - ask me again on Saturday afternoon. It should be fun for both adults and kids. It's a nice way to end the summer.

It's a busy time of year - then again, every time of year seems busy. I over-committed myself to school events (i.e. Fall Festival co-chair) and with sports, music, homework, church callings, everyday life and book-keeping it seems like a daunting task - trying to stay on top of things. It forces me to be more organized and plan better, things that will help me in the long run but that I have a hard time doing right now.

I've been having fun getting up with my friends to exercise in the mornings. It's been really fun and motivating. We get up between 4:45 am and 5:15 am to exercise. It also proves to be very therapeutic and I always leave glad that I woke up early - for the exercise and the discussions. I always leave motivated and really enjoy being around them. We started back in March and tried to to it the best we could in the summer (with 11 kids between the three of us) and are back into a routine for the school year.

The boys really LOVE school - I can't believe my boys are in 2nd grade and kindergarten! McKell is very excited to start preschool next week. She so desperately wants 'something' of her own to do. I'll post pictures and more on that later. Of course, Ellie is super cute and will turn 1 year on Sunday. I can't believe my baby is going to be 1! She certainly is a good girl, she's been in the car so much already this school year (in fact every meal yesterday was on the run - soccer, school, etc.) and she just smiles with her cute chubby cheeks and sparkling blue eyes, she melts my heart.

Off to pick up from kindergarten.

Too late...

I just found a Butterfinger wrapper in the washing machine which led me to investigate the previous load...ah yes, at least I found out before the dryer started. I really should remember to check all of the pockets of the boys pants.

More Gross...

While I'm attending to my unpleasant task, the baby is eating the dog's half-chewed treat, which reminds me of other things I've pulled out of her mouth this week...

• pennies
• bugs
• sequins (I really don't like art projects)
• chewed up slimy green regurgitated granola bar wrappers from the dog (which has to be the #1 worst thing I've ever pulled out of a baby's mouth)

Advise: Postpone getting a dog until you do not have babies...

Gross...

I think one of the most horrid chores is to take the garbage out of the compactor piece by piece because it's jammed full of junk. This is the unpleasant task that I have to face. It makes me gag - not from the smell, but from the sliminess. I REALLY don't like to have sticky hands. I'm very obsessive about this.

I cannot stand to have messy hands or arms. I become unhinged in the sense that I cannot focus on anything else and I start scouring the place for the nearest bathroom so I can wash my hands. If I cannot make a break away to wash them, I cannot think of anything else - I can be in a conversation and have no idea what the other person is saying, all I'm thinking of is how I need to wash my hands and the anxiety rises within me.

Anyway, I'm sad I have to dig the trash out of the ripped up bag and get my hands and arms dirty. This is really gross to me - I would rather clean up chocolate milk throw up that has gone all over the wood floor that I have slid across in (yes, this is a real life example, and no, getting my feet dirty doesn't bother me) than dip my arms in a nasty over-filled trash bag. I can feel the heart palpitations right now...

Can't turn off being a Mom

It's 1:32 am. I can't sleep. I've just had the conversation of "Finish strong" with my almost 23 year old. I've come to realize that you can't turn off being a mom. I'm stuck in a parallel universe - raising little ones and one big one - almost 15 years apart - and having two sets of conversations.

One is the "Families share, do jobs (especially poop pick-up), say kind words to each other, try new foods" conversation and the other is "You need to finish strong. I can see your potential and I can't sit idly by and see you coast. You are getting an A in social awareness, what about other areas of life - are the scales balanced?"

All this comes about at 1am this morning after the above mentioned 23 year old comes back from a 'drive' the night before finals. I wrestled with whether I said anything or not but decided a conversation needed to be had.

I try to let him live his own life and make his own decisions. I try not to give too much council as I do with the little ones but have had an internal debate with myself on if my silence coveys to him that I don't care.

I don't know the clarity of thought b/c I was really irritated while having this conversation and I had been semi-asleep and of course I have the opportunity of having hindsight right now, but I did mention the following:

• You've got to finish strong - this isn't a sprint, you are doing an endurance race. You need to finish what you start with the same amount of intensity. This not only applies to school but to every other aspect of your life - if you commit, you follow through with intensity.

• Can you look back (specific to his school classes, but applicable to any situation) and say, "Did I give it my best"? I'm not looking for perfection; I'm not looking for 4.0s; but can you HONESTLY say to yourself, "I'm proud of my effort". When you don't do your best you short-change yourself the most. You rob yourself of achieving your potential.
  

• Friends will be there after the finals. Take the time to say "No". You need to learn to say "NO". Fun will always be there is some form or another, learn to finish strong.

I also said I loved him and that I cared too much to sit by the side and let him not know how I feel. I felt bad it happened at 1am , but have realized maybe this was the best time - no one else was awake and distracting me, no ganging up, etc.

I also had to throw in there that I would be bringing up this conversation when he had teenagers that come home at 1am. You know me -I have to throw in a joke to break the tension (I hate contention).

22 year-olds need praise, guidance and love just as much as 7 or 5 year-olds do. They are still trying to figure out who they are ...entering a 'no-mans land' - dancing between the carefree days of no responsibility and building a foundation for a future. They might have bigger bodies, but are just as sensitive - at least my 22 year old is. I'm glad he has a sensitive spirit.

Tagged

I was tagged by a friend and thought I would share a little bit about myself. I don't know who to tag, so if you wish to participate then cut and paste into your blog. I always enjoy reading what others put!

8 Things I am passionate about:
1. The importance of a good education
2. Working hard in ALL aspects of life
3. Eating dinner together as a family
4. Loyalty to friends and family
5. Making my interactions with others positive
6. Trying not to take myself too seriously
7. Creating a spirit of love and comfort in my home
8. Having a healthy family (exercise, food, sibling relationships)

8 Books I have Read (within the six months):
1. Under the Tuscan Sun
2. How to Motivate Your Kids
3. The Parenting Breakthrough
4. The Alchemists Daughter
5. The Teahouse Fire
6. The Great Influenza
7. America's Hidden History
8. Square Foot Gardening (yes, I read it cover to cover)

8 Things I Say:
1. Stop screaming, McKell
2. Is that how you talk to your sister/brother?
3. What time are you coming home tonight?
4. Being in a family means everyone has responsiblities
5. I love you
6. You rock!
7. You forgot something (I say this when they walk by without giving me a hug).
8. You're getting so big, I need to cuddle with my big footed boy or gray tooth boy, pretty princess (whichever applies to each kid)

8 Things that annoy me:
1. Whining
2. Disobedience
3. Picking up after everyone
4. Laziness
5. Starting off the week with dirty dishes in the sink
6. Zombies that the television creates
7. Customer service people that I can't understand
8. People who cannot drive and talk on their cell phones at the same time - speeding, driving too slow or texting as they drive.

8 Things I look forward to:
1. Bedtime and time to talk with Randy.
2. Family vacations
3. Slow days where we don't have to be anywhere and we can just have fun.
4. Seeing my children play with each other.
5. Hearing, "Your the best mom ever"
6. Balancing the books for the company (this may never happen)
7. Seeing my children have successes.
8. The day McKell stops screaming.

8 Things I want to Do before I Die:
1. Go on an African Safari
2. Go on Service Missions with Randy
3. Be Content with who I am
4. See my children married to the ones they love
5. Organize my house
6. Read all the classics
7. Travel more extensively - everywhere
8. Become more patient

8 Things I have Learned:
1. There will always be something for me to do
2. Do not wish away life
3. Being kind and smiling can get you far.
4. When I feel sorry for myself serve others.
5. Success means adapting to the changes life has for you
6. Attitude determines altitude
7. People always like food
8. Schedule time to play with my kids

Tired...

Ok, it's been almost a month since I posted. I have no new pictures because my camera broke and I am irritated that I have to pay to fix it - especially since I bought it just a year ago.

We've been to swimming lessons a lot .. they just got over on Friday (hallelujah!) We start another round the first week of August. Swimming lessons eat up a lot of the day and make Ellie totally thrown off on her nap. I'm glad they are over and that the weather is overcast. The kids have improved so much and Austin is a really good swimmer - Tyler can do it but still looks like he's drowning and McKell decides when she wants to swim and when she wants to scream on the side.

I've made a few observations over the past week or so:

1. I am supporting the economy by always running my washing machine. I always have a load of laundry to do...even when I think I've collected all the dirty clothes it never fails that I find a pair of the kids underwear, socks with BLACK feet, or all the church clothes bunched up with a half eaten piece of red licorice stuck on them.

2. I must really like to do dishes.

3. Three year olds make lots of messes...lots and lots... McKell seems to be in a super destructive mood. She gets into everything and breaks, dumps or smashes things. She always says, "Oops, sorry mommy". This morning it was her cereal and milk all over the floor (I'm sure there will be more as the day progresses) - right after I cleaned the kitchen, last week it was suntan lotion all over herself and the dog (the entire bottle), my make-up, twice - eyeliner all over the floor, dropped eyeshadow and powder so it crumbled every where. She dipped my blush brush in the lip gloss, so it's totally sticky and tried to put hairspray all over her hair, which resulted in some sort of mullet/hair plug look. She dumped cologne all over my side of the bed, broke three things at the garden center which we now have some terra cotta worm that is supposed to tell you when to water your plants but he's totally snapped in half - Austin tried to fix it by super gluing it and sticking it in a pot and she went by and snapped it again. I hope I survive her...

4. Feet and floors in summer are perpetually dirty. Our floors are horribly dirty all the time and so are the kids feet. We have started washing feet at night because they are so disgusting. Our floors are so bad (and I promise I wash and sweep them all the time) that Ellie has two permanent black marks on the tops of her feet from crawling all over the floor.

5. Taking four kids to ANY store isn't productive or helpful. Even if I have a list, it doesn't work well - I wind up with extra things I didn't know I bought (thank you McKell) and there are at least three trips to the bathroom - I usually have Austin take McKell and Tyler and it never fails, I can always hear McKell screaming as they are trying to drag her back to me b/c she wanted to play in the drinking fountain.

6. I have no patience. I try so hard to be patient and kind EVERY day and without fail, I get frustrated and lose it by mid-day. It's not really always my kids fault, I get frustrated at the situation and having no time/space to myself.

7. I get tired of making food. I love to cook but get tired and sad when I realize I do this three times a day, day in and day out. I would love to whip up some recipes I've been dying to make with more sophisticated ingredients. I know I would be met with, "This tastes disgusting" or "I not like it, I eat cereal" or gags and throw-ups on the plate.

8. I feel like my life sometimes is like the movie Groundhog Day. I do the same thing day in and day out - trying to throw in the mix an outing (which always goes much smoother in my mind) or some scholastically enriching activity (which I'm pulling teeth to get them to do).

And I just get tired.

Someday I'll open a book again, sleep all night, eat food that isn't cold or left overs from someone else's plate, and wear clothes without food or runny nose stains on them.

BUT...what do you expect with four little ones under 7. They are funny, energetic and imaginative. They are very confident and secure and know that they have lots of people that love them. I know that's the most important thing but I'm just tired.

I think it's a Large Coke and 2 apple pies day from McDonald's. And I'm off to Costco with the group...

Summer Happenings

It's been three weeks of summer vacation and we've been trying hard to have a balance of relaxation, fun and "skill building". I try to do two days of pool/swim, one park day, and an Adventure day. We have a chore chart and a "smart chart" with the daily routines. The kids do a pretty impressive job with the 'smart chart" (reading, worksheet, piano practice) and the chore chart. They have learned not to complain and to do their jobs before asking to do other things. We have also decided to read the Little House on the Prairie series this summer and into fall. The kids really like it and after ever third word McKell yells out the word I've just read and says, "Yeah" and claps her hands, it makes for a very LONG chapter. I've tried unsuccessfully to suggest and distract her with other things so we can actually read, so I hope to have the series finished before Christmas.

The past three weeks we have visited Kennecott Copper Mines, Hogle Zoo, This is the Place Heritage Park and the Utah Natural History Museum. It's been really fun exploring the Salt Lake area.

I've included pictures of the cute kids at our various adventure spots. All I know is that this summer thing is exhausting, but we're having fun and that Ellie is a champ. She frequently misses a nap when we are out and she doesn't scream or cry. She'll just smile and go along for the ride. What a sweet baby! Enjoy!


McKell wishing on a flower - the cutest thing I have seen!


Learning the Deseret Alphabet at This is the Place Heritage Park


Hogle Zoo picture


Our happy, sweet baby.Tyler with his Narnian Centaur ears - he loves his goggles for this purpose!

No Teeth

I am delayed in posting this but I wanted to share "Austin-no-teeth" with you. He has the cute first grade teeth look. Along with that cute smile are two cavities. Yes, this boy gets to have two cavities filled in July. I'm hoping we can by-pass the entire shot conversation and he'll just be loopy and relaxed when he goes in, otherwise, this smile will not last for long...

It Happened Again...

I forgot to put the dollar under his pillow again.

He pulled his other tooth out at school yesterday and looks like a backwoods man. I don't think I'm going to get the Mother of the Year award anytime soon.

Ellie's been up literally every hour of the night crying because she has a really bad fever (the flu's been going around our house) and all she want to do is be held and then she'll whimper as well. I'm so deliriously tired it's not funny. How fast we forget when they don't sleep thorough the night. That is why I forgot the dollar.

She just fell asleep an hour ago and is crying in her bed again. Man, it's going to be a long day.

Just everyday life...

Dogs stink. Last night I was getting the kids ready for bed and all I could smell was that wet dog smell. I kept asking, "Why does it smell like wet dog?" I kept sniffing around everyone and everything. I finally went up to the dog - the dog smelled like wet dog because well, she was a wet dog and REALLY muddy. It had been raining all day - hard rain and she must have been running down the hill in the backyard and slid (she slides without the rain). So now we have this really dirty, smelly dog that I should just wash but can't handle a 90 lb. mass of chaos when wet, so we're loading her in the car and taking her to the groomer.

Other tidbits from last night.

The term "washable paint' applies to bodies. All the kids were painting after dinner last night and Austin suddenly asked, "Is this paint washable?" I said yes. He then took off his shirt and painted his face two different colors and painted an "A" on his chest. I videoed it but didn't have the camera - it's with Randy at High Adventure.

Tyler says to me, "Are you going to have another baby? You're tummy's getting big". Thank you Tyler. I actually thought I was looking better. I told him after you have a baby your tummy is big for a while and then tried to convince him that it was getting smaller.

McKell screaming at the top of her lungs and shaking because she saw a fly in the house. A fly the boys knowingly pointed out to her because they knew what her reaction would be. I don't understand her - she's super confident, not afraid of anything and then become incapacitated when she sees any flying insect. She howls like it was the worst thing it the world. It's going to be a long summer.

Austin trying to pull his loose front tooth out last night. He and Ian teamed up and said, "This tooth IS coming out tonight". They tried everything - even the old slamming the door trick, in which I saw and almost threw up it made me sick to watch. He got it out and was very excited about. McKell then thought she had a loose tooth. We wound up checking each tooth to see if they were loose. Shockingly, none were...

This morning I hear a 'where's the dollar?' Yep, I forgot. I made him look around his pillows and slipped it in on the side of his bed. He then said, "I think I should get more because it was the biggest tooth".

Off to control the masses.

Ode to Ellie

There are lots of things I should be posting about - our Memorial Day weekend (lots of BBQ's and rain) and cute Austin stories, but right now I'm watching Ellie crawl all over the place with her happy squeal and I just can't help myself - I have to post about how incredibly cute she is.

How could you not love this chubby, happy face? Every morning I wake up and she's sitting in her bed with a big smile. She sees me and gets the biggest grin. I love it. The only time she's cuddly is when she's tired or just woken up, so Randy and I love to get her and have her put her head on our shoulders.

Here are some fun facts on Ellie:

• She has the softest, chubbiest cheeks which are great to kiss and munch on.

• She loves the dog. Truly, she loves to crawl over to Safari and play with her tail. The dog is so wonderful, she'll just lay there and occasionally give me a look that says, "Does she really have to crawl all over me again?" Ellie will squeal like nothing I've heard before, its pure joy.

• She HATES her car seat. She screams as soon as she 'goes into position' to get in the car. She pushes against the straps the entire time and grabs at them, hoping one time her efforts will be successful.

• Ellie also HATES being late on meals. As you can tell from the above picture - this girl means BUSINESS when it's meal time. She gets very cranky if food is not on her tray when she gets in her highchair. She also likes to eat immediately when she wakes up. If she wants to eat and you aren't ready - watch out. She'll turn angry and it's not pretty.

• She loves being entertained by her brothers and sister. She'll just sit there and laugh at them. They dance around her, they sing to her, they hold her and she loves it all. It's quite helpful when they play with her in the car - she'll have moments when she'll forget she's in her car seat and really let out a few laughs.

• She's nine months old and still won't hold her own bottle. Confession: we've propped her bottle up in the car since she was two months old. It seems as though we're always in the car during a feeding, so I've just propped her bottle up with a blanket. She knows the drill, when her bottle comes and we happen to not be in the car, she'll put her arms down by her sides and just drink. We try to coax her hands up to the bottle and place them there but they inevitably fall to the sides. I'm not worried - it's more of a reflection of how often we are in the car.

• She LOVES Ian. She has to catch his eye whenever he is in the room. She'll look at him and smile. It's so cute. She won't stop staring at him until he acknowledges her.
  

• We call her Tyler Jr. because she looks so much like Tyler when he was a baby. She also has his happy personality too. Tyler likes that someone else in the family has blue eyes.

• She never tires of kisses - which is good, given that everyone in the family kisses her cheeks a million times a day.

We LOVE our Ellie and are so happy she's part of our family. Pardon my indulgence...

We are alive...I promise

I know, it's been almost two months since I posted. I keep meaning to, but the only time I have is late at night and I'm too tired at that point since I am up at 5:15am every morning. I do have some free time tonight - I think anyway, so I'll update on what has been going on in the Shumway Family lately.

Right now I'll touch on what I remember of the past two months. Time has flown by. It's busy right now and has been for a while - I think that's how families go. I've realized that the older my children get, the busier we become because of the activities and school schedule we have. It's hard to find time to do things other than home maintenance and preparing for the next 'thing' we have to do.

Here's our two months in a nutshell:

• Watched several soccer games and finished the season last week (not a moment too soon...ok, it actually could have happened earlier)

• Watched two school programs and went to a few 'fun' days at school (Teddy Bear day, etc.)

• Coordinated the kids summer activities (which is harder than I thought, and it gets more complicated every year - I am constantly trying to find the balance of being not too scheduled and having not enough activities - plus trying to find coordinating times for three kids swimming lessons is impossible. I felt so proud that I was able to pull it off and now I have to switch things up again).

• Hosted a wedding reception at my house. My sister Mary was married on April 26th. We had the reception outside and had my entire family here for a few days together (7 siblings and cousins, etc.) It was fun to see everyone and reminded me of our growing up days - wow, it was energy filled - we must have been super fun as kids b/c we are super fun as adults! :)

• Had strep throat up until two days before the wedding. I don't know about others, but strep throat as an adult STINKS!!! I felt HORRIBLE and am so thankful for good health.
  

• Celebrated 12 years of marriage to Randy. Every year I love him more and am so grateful and happy to be married to him. I really married a gem (to use my father-in-laws word) and had no idea how truly amazing he is (well I thought I did when we got married, but really didn't have a clue).
  

• Celebrated McKell's 3rd birthday. It was fun to have family around for that. My dad was supposed to fly out early the day of her birthday and his flight was cancelled, so he spent another extra day with us. He spoiled her with gifts and a Baskin Robbins cake. Those grandpas!
  

• Successfully pulled together a "Narnia" party last night in preparation for Prince Caspian today. Randy has been reading The Chronicles of Narnia with the boys for the past few months. Tyler is obsessed with Narnia (as those of you who know him can attest). The movie Prince Caspian comes out today and you'd better believe we are taking the family to it - we are picking the kids up at noon and then going over to the theater. So, last night we had a party where we watched the first Narnia movie, grilled pizzas, and ate cookies. Ian made a collage of pictures from the Prince Caspian movie and put them together for Tyler. He hugged the poster board and looked happier than on Christmas morning. Around 2am this morning, Tyler comes into our bedroom and says, "Dad, we need to go to Prince Caspian". He was so excited he had gotten himself dressed in clothes and wanted to go see the movie right then. He is darling. I'm excited for him to see the movie today.

• -Ellie learning to crawl. Yikes - she can get anywhere fast and is VERY opinionated when she can't reach something or if you are delayed in any way getting food to her.

Crazy Days

It's been a while since I've posted - lots of happenings around the house. Soccer season has started again - two nights a week. The kids are good sports about it - the others will play while they wait for their brother's game to finish. Randy and I were impromptu coaches for Tyler's game last Tuesday night. I coached the first half and Randy coached the second half. All the parents went up to Randy afterward and asked if he was coaching next week - was I not good at it? :) We'll see what happens this week. Our coach became MIA. Don't ask because I don't know what happened. All I know is that we now have the goal in the back of the van. Tyler's coach is a very nice man, but he doesn't communicate well and he came down to the game in a hurry, dropped off snacks, and took off.


We had Austin's 7th birthday on Sunday - Easter Sunday. It turned into a birthday weekend. We went to Benihana's on Friday night and had dinner, Randy took the kids bowling on Saturday afternoon and we followed it up with "Horton hears a Who". It was really cute - Randy and I did, however, fall asleep in the movie - we do this every kid's movie we go to. What I saw of it, I thought was cute. We then had a big dinner yesterday for Easter - Austin chose the menu - we had deep fried turkey, and all the fixings we usually have for Thanksgiving. McKell and Tyler LOVED the turkey and had two plates full. We had cousins come over - Jodi, Kevin and their kids, Mary and Jake, and Vic. Autumn said dinner was delicious - I think she only ate Monkey bread - when I saw her she had so much in her mouth Tyler said, "Autumn, I think you may choke" . Maybe her mom never feeds her rolls :) Just kidding, Jodi! Safari joined in the festivities and drank about 4 cups of oil (the deep fried turkey oil). She is now re-thinking her decision as she is banished from the house for the next five days.

Today we are at home, watching men dig up our front yard looking for a water leak. We got a call on Friday night, from the city, saying that since November 2007 we've been using over a MILLION gallons of water. They shut off our water (since we weren't home and they couldn't get a hold of us) and wanted to come out and try to find the problem. So, Friday night, we had a man from the city over for three hours trying to pinpoint where the leak in the pipes is. He wasn't quite sure, so we had another company come out on Saturday and he told us most leaks are in the first 10 feet of the pipes coming out of the house to the street. So, his work crew came out this morning and started digging in the area 90% of the leaks occur - our leak wasn't there, so he is now having his crew dig up the side of the house where the pipe goes into the house, in hopes the pipe connection that is faulty is there. If not, they will have to bring out another specialist to start pinpointing and mapping through all the areas of where the pipe is and start trying to find the leak - I hope it's not under the concrete patio courtyard we have in the front. That could be a nightmare.

Anyway, Randy and I were very, very sad on Friday night when we thought through what could be wrong. Initially we were upset at the outrageously expensive water bill, then our thoughts turned to where a MILLION gallons of water has gone to - we were thinking foundation damage, etc. It was a somber night. We don't think there is foundation damage. The professional said if there was, we'd see water in the basement, bubbling water by the house and we haven't seen any of that. We are still going to get the foundation tested, and I hope the water pipe is an easy fix. Then, we'll have to still deal with a water bill that is crazy. Life... But, in the grand scheme of things, this is nothing. I'd take water leaks any day compared to trials of others we know.

All's quiet on the Western Front...

We haven't been up to much lately - and that's just fine with me. I enjoy having down time in between crazy everyday life. The kids have been working hard earning benjies (reward mechanism with raffle tickets - they earn them for toys, etc). We introduced McKell to benjies last week (the boys have been doing it for years). She has bright pink ones - typical of her girlish moods lately. We reward them liberally when they behave, share, do their chores, etc. One of the ways to earn benjies is by staying in your room all night (we have a problem in this arena with all of them). The other day, I pulled out ten benjies for McKell for sleeping in her bed all night long. I was trying to encourage and excite her by channeling my inner actress and over dramatizing everything. She looks at me and says, "Mom, you silly. I not want benjies. I sleep in mommy's room, okay?" I told her that she earned them for sleeping in her room and proceeded to put them in the jar. She then said in a very demanding I-am-the-boss tone, "I NOT want them" and ripped them out of the benjie jar. Okay, McKell...

Anyway, the boys decided last night what they are earning benjies for. Austin wants a watch (he's so cute and only wants simple things), Tyler wants all of the Prince Caspian toys and three tickets (tickets for him, not others) to Prince Caspian (the new Chronicles of Narnia movie coming out in May). He's a bit obsessed. As for McKell, I don't think she quite understands the concept and even if she did, would demand her prize right away.

Tyler is infatuated with Narnia. The other day we were driving back from errands as a family and it was really quiet in the back seat. We looked back and saw Austin with his mouth open, eyes shut and snoring and Tyler just looking out the window. I asked Tyler what he was thinking about. He said with a big sigh, dreamily, "I was just thinking about Narnia". He tells me he does the same thing when he's supposed to be sleeping during nap time at preschool. He's so cute.

Not much else happening. We're gearing up for Spring Break - we aren't going anywhere but it will be fun to just hang around and play instead playing the hurry up game and carpooling.

Soccer starts in a few weeks, so we'll be busy during the week nights again. I hope Tyler has a renewed energy for soccer this spring. Last fall, well... let's just say he was more interested in pretending he was shot and rolling around all over the field. His games were painful at best to watch. You had Tyler rolling all over the field saying, "You shot me", the coaches son refusing to play, sat on the sidelines and fell asleep - every game, another boy who wanted to go play on the school playground instead and cried, and a coach who I'm pretty sure has never coached four and five year-olds before (and probably never will again) and didn't understand that 'goal tending' isn't allowed and doesn't really make a difference that age, and trying to teach real soccer skills to them is like herding cats - the kids just want to run around after the ball. It was comical at best. I laughed a lot while I sat there drinking my soda in my lawn chair.

McKell's independent, firey little self is evident in the following example. This morning I was getting breakfast for all the kids. Austin and Tyler come to the table and I have caramel rolls and grapes for them. They are excited for breakfast every morning and say things like, "Thank you for this wonderful breakfast" or "You are the best cook ever, mom". They are very agreeable and appreciative for breakfast - they'll eat anything I put out. McKell on the other hand, emerges from her room with a rats nest for hair and after looking at the breakfast options decides she doesn't want it. I asked her what she wants, she says, "Apple pies and Coke" (I think that's an indication of going to McDonald's with me too much). I said no. She was upset with every other option I put out there. She ended up with a bag of Cheetos, a chocolate chip cookie and orange juice.

Shumway life

Cute little Ellie

Recent snow day

January 2008

I've caved to pressure to start a blog. I know it comes as a shock to many, but we (Randy and I) are not great at keeping up communication. I hope this blog bridges some of the gap. As a quicky synopsis, here are a few of the fun things we have been up to in the past six months:

• Ian returning from his mission (He's going to the University of Utah and living at home right now - the kids LOVE it and so do we).
• Eleanor Kate was born on August 31st. She's a spitting image of Tyler and has the personality of all the other little Shumways - active and happy.
• Fun trips to Yellowstone for snowmobiling and a Disney Cruise and Disney World (by far the most fun vacation we've taken to date).
• Juggling life with five kids (yes, Ian's a kid still) and a dog.

I'll post some more later, but I am really tired and have to get up and do the carpool routine tomorrow.