...Christopher Robin and I walked along, under branches lit up by the moon...

Flashback Tuesday

2012-01-31T12:30:00.002-07:00

Here are some old pics we just took off Miguel's phone. These days it is logistically hard to go anywhere due to our numbers and ages, but its good to see these pictures and remember that it is worth it! Making memories together is one thing that keeps me going.

Denver Zoo, 2010:

One of my fave walks got too long so we had to trek through a farmer's field to get back to the car (notice Maia's hands in the second picture):

In the ER when Isa broke her leg (not a happy memory, but it sure makes me appreciate these sweet healthy kids):

We half-heartedly joked that we were having a broken leg date. We were both miserable, as I was pregnant at the time and feeling sick as a dog.

Our trip to upstate NY:

We did some LDS church history sites, and the leaves in New York were just gorgeous. (I was still feeling VERY queasy all the time)

The Sacred Grove.

Niagara Falls. I was very surprised and impressed.

The town Niagara-on-the Lake was so beautiful.

Loved the vacation spots on the St. Lawrence River. We want to take the kids there some day:

We went to see a Ballroom dance team with my nieces and nephews. It was really good.

A visit to a local farm:

Miguel's work party, always fun.

Visiting friends in CO:

The ward I grew up in had a reunion. It was so nice to see many people I hadn't seen for years. They had lots of fun activities and treats. Of course, Grandma is always a treat.

Summer parades:

We all ran a 5k and my brother-in-law Juan ran it with us in spite of the altitude.

Last year's party:

The County fair:

Amusement park time with Grandma and Grandpa:

Fishing with Grampie:

Emerson was born and immediately started attending Kaedon's baseball games:

Windy City

2012-01-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

We had a crazy wind storm in December. It felt like our house was about to blow over. The roof creaked and creaked all night and Miguel said the windows were bending in and out. Amazingly the kids slept through most of it. When we woke up, many homes in our area were devoid of shingles and/or siding and many vinyl fences had broken to bits. Quite a few people in our neighborhood lost windows (one family left when their window broke and the wind was blowing like crazy into their house-- one family had a sliding door blow in and had leaves covering their floor). There were also many stop signs and street signs blownn over. We only lost a small amount compared to everyone else. We thought we were okay until last week when it snowed and water started dripping in our living room! Almost two months later there are still homes without shingles or siding or windows (most have plywood to cover the hole). Many, many of the businesses in the county lost their signs.

We were without power for the day, so we lit the pilot light on the stove with a lighter and had grilled cheese and hot chocolate. Some new friends came over for the day and hung out in our cold house. It was a little disconcerting having Miguel gone and no way of getting in touch with him. It was hard not being able to find out what was going on in the outside world. When the wind died down in the evening we got in the car and went to Cafe Rio for dinner with grandpa-- there were lots of people there sharing crazy stories. My grandma, 90 years old, was without power for 2 days! Many people in older sections of town lost trees or had trees fall on houses, cars, or garages.

We did get out of church the day after the storm and got to go clean up the neighborhood together. There were national guard trucks carrying away debris by the freeway-- it was piled as high as the cement sound barrier and probably 10+ feet deep as well. We're just glad we're all safe.

Vinyl fence and roof missing in background:

5 homes just in this picture missing shingles:

Both these houses missing siding:

The entire side of this house devoid of siding:

Way to Bee

2012-01-24T11:52:00.003-07:00

Kaedon worked hard and won his school spelling bee again. Three out of four of the kids in the final four (it started out with 14 kids) were from our ward, and they went round after round without any errors (20 total rounds). I was really impressed with all of them and it made the spelling bee more fun to watch, but it was also more nerve-wracking.

I told Kaedon to ask for one clue about the word even though the word might seem obvious, just to make sure he understood which word they were asking for. At the beginning he got the word "scissors." He seemed unsure whether to follow my advice or not (I was feeling a little unsure myself, since it seemed so straightforward), but, after a pause, he asked for a definition. There were a few giggles as she defined scissors as "two sharp metal cutting implements placed together....etc." He ended up winning with the word 'ergophobia' -- the fear of work-- he thought that was funny.

When we have prepared for these bees, I have looked for tips on practicing for a spelling bee and there doesn't seem to be much information out there. Here are a few tips we've learned by trial and error:

1. Practice all the words on the sheet given to you for the Bee with someone who will call out the words for you. Mark the ones you miss and go back and practice those again.

2. When you miss a word, have your parent/helper show you the word on the page. For extra reinforcement, write or type the word yourself. You can put the word into Merriam Webster's search page and look up the definition too.

2. Make sure you are getting the correct pronunciation. Merriam Webster's site offers audio clips of the words being pronounced correctly. This is important because many tricky words have weird pronunciations, like the word uitlander, pronounced ate-lander.

3. Learn basic definitions of the words you are studying. This makes the words have meaning to you and will make you a better person regardless of whether you win or lose. We made a basic silly story including words we were having trouble with or didn't know and seeing them in context can help you remember their meaning.

4. Learn the rules.   Lots of kids get out just because they don't know the rules.

5. Make sure you understand the word. In the actual Spelling Bee, when you hear your word, say it back and ask if you are pronouncing it correctly. Ask for definition, part of speech, or anything else before you start spelling to make sure you understand which word they are asking for.   Last year a girl in our Bee got out because she thought the pronouncer had said "rive" when she said "writhe."

6. Go slow. DON'T be like Akeela right now. Pause before you spell and think about it a minute. Then spell each letter slowly and clearly.  This is important because once you've spelled a letter, there is no going back. You can start over, but you have to use the same letters you already used.  It was sad to watch some really smart kids think they had to spell really fast and then accidentally say an incorrect letter.

7. Do your best and be a good sport! As long as you do that, you are a winner.

8. If you want to step it up a notch, learn basic etymology, like the rules for Greek based- words, French, etc. You can buy extra study lists for National Bee level words at www.hexco.com.

For more tips, check out : http://www.spellingbee.com/

A Night in the Life

2012-01-24T10:13:00.002-07:00

We have been really tired lately. REALLY tired. Here is how our night went last night:

8:30 pm - The oldest four kids in bed, I start getting Emerson ready for bed
8:35 pm- Isa out of bed, asks me what I'm doing, says she's scared
8:36 pm- Ava out of bed
8:37 pm- Kaedon out of bed, asks what everyone is doing
8:42 pm- Isa, Ava, and Kaedon back in bed
8:45 pm- Isa asks for a drink (usually at this point everyone else asks for a drink, too)
9:30 pm - I put Emerson down for the night
9:31 - 10:10 pm - I read, then go to bed
11:01 pm - I hear panicky footsteps and realize Maia is beginning a sleepwalking episode, so I hurry to her room to try to keep her from waking the others (she seems to have combined sleepwalking/night terrors, because she screams and runs around - the other night she screamed to Kaedon "I ate your door! RUN!") I lie down with her until she calms down a little bit, then Miguel comes and takes a turn.
11:52 pm - Maia comes in our room asking for a tissue because she has a runny nose.
2:02 am - Emerson starts to cry, escalates into a high pitched scream...the doctor told me not to pick him up, but its hard to listen to him scream, so I get up to close my door. I realize Ava is in our bed, so I take her back to her bed.
2:21 am - Emerson miraculously stops screaming, Ava tries to get back in bed with us (not that I mind snuggling with her, its just too tight of a fit to get any sleep), so I take her back to her bed, this time she starts crying and tries to follow me back to my room...I put her in her own bed and threaten her with death.
2:22 am - I'm pretty sure Emerson heard Ava screaming because now he is screaming again.
2:31 am - Emerson goes back to sleep.
6:20am - Emerson awake for the day.

Most of our nights lately have drama like this. This is just a delectable sample. :)

Don't you think I should be paid more? Its a good thing they're so cute.

These pictures are from last weekend when we let them have a sleepover in the living room. This is the night Maia woke up screaming and telling everyone to RUN! She had a dream that she ate the door to Kaedon's tent. I think almost everyone ended up going back to their own beds that night of their own free will. :)

Funny

2012-01-12T11:12:00.001-07:00

Here are some funny things my kids have said lately:

I tell my kids to put lotion on each day so their skin won't look like a crocodile's. The other day I was sitting down and Ava got a brush and started brushing my hair. She said "we don't want you to look like a crocodile. We want you to look like a Ariel." [from the Little Mermaid, which she hasn't even seen]

The other day I said we needed to go to Old Navy. Ava said "Old Ladies?"

We were taking cookies to Ava's angel nursery teacher, named Sister Bailey. Kaedon asked who they were for, misunderstood, and said, confused, "Sister Bay Leaves?"

I told Ava if she got potty trained I would take her to Chuck-E-Cheese's. Later in the day she told me "I'm going on a bacation [vacation]." "Oh really?" I asked, confused. I didn't know she knew what a vacation was. "I'm going to Chuck-E-Cheese's because I went on the potty." (don't I wish it only took once?)

One day Maia said to Emerson "say Mom." He immediately said "Mom." Immediately. Plain as day. Totally an accident. But funny. Of course, the kids have tried many times since to get the same results to no avail.

We passed an unfortunate soul on a corner with a cardboard sign asking for donations. I had my littlest three with me and was waiting for the inevitable question. Of course, nice and loud, my 5 year-old said "who is that grown-up with only gums, no teeth?" (she thought only babies had just gums)

Kaedon and I went out on Black Friday to do a couple of odd things. We were surprised by all our unexpected deals and couldn't wait to get home and tell Miguel. First, we got free parking downtown, which we were pretty stoked about. Next, I got some $19 jeans at GAP. Then, we were crossing the street when we saw several adults waving signs saying "free hugs." My first thought was-- weird, weird. Why would I hug a complete stranger? But they seemed pretty nice and we were caught up in the excitement of the day, so when they asked us if we wanted a free hug, I surprised myself by saying yes! One of them hugged Kaedon and the other hugged me and then we traded while we laughed. I was surprised-- it was quite fun! We laughed the rest of the day about our "free hug."

I don't want to leave Isa out. On my birthday, her alarm went off at 4:53am. I got up and she and Maia had their light on and they were getting ready to go make me breakfast in bed. I'd had a rough night with the baby, so I thanked them for the kind gesture but asked them to wait until at least 6 before they got up. They came bringing this in at 6:07:

Cornflakes, a big glass of milk, a small blob of cherry pie, chocolate wafers, and an extra large carrot. I guess they've been watching what I eat (minus the carrot) for breakfast a little too closely.

They put Emerson in a present bag for my birthday, too.

What Really Matters

2012-01-12T10:28:00.002-07:00

I've had a few occasions this last few months to think about what really matters. One of my cousins passed away suddenly in September. She was only a couple of years older than I and living in Denver when she died suddenly at work. An autopsy yielded no information.

She and I played together a lot when we were growing up. I have some fun memories with her as she was the closest girl cousin to my age on my mother's side. I also remember when she went to college and I was still in high school she invited me to stay with her in Provo one night. She took me around-- introduced me to her friends and I think we went to a Divine Comedy show.

As the years have moved forward, I got married, moved away, and began a family. Our family seemed to grow each year and we stayed busy with our kids, friends, family, and church. I rarely thought about her. She never married but worked in Denver in security for a tech company. When I did see her, I didn't go out of my way to speak to her mostly because I didn't know what to say. My last memory of her is at a family dinner where she sought me out, asked about my kids and was really friendly and kind.

At her funeral I found out just how much she meant to the people around her. She had been a wonderful sister, daughter, aunt, and friend. She had numerous unfinished projects they found that she had been working on for friend's children. It was clear that she was a tremendously good person who did a lot of good for others. I overheard her dad telling someone that he felt she always felt a little on the outskirts and unaccepted by some. I realized that unconsciously I had been rejecting her because I didn't know how to relate to her, but that was precisely what she needed! Someone who is different than me for whatever reason has an extra need to feel accepted and loved. I feel really badly that I didn't make more of an effort to reach out to her and now its too late.

In the course of a few months, we also found out my sister was getting a divorce and this was really sad, too. We really love her husband and will miss him as our hearts go out to both of them. It was an emotional time as they came to get their stuff that had been in our basement and both stayed with us for a time. Just a couple days before Juan was to leave, his shed got broken into and nearly all of his possessions were stolen or ruined. He had a positive attitude in spite of the fact that he could now fit all his earthly possessions into one car. Even his personal paintings (painted in college) were stolen.

Then we heard from Colorado than an ex-boss of Miguel's had gotten killed while riding his bike home from work on his birthday. I had helped coach his daughter's soccer team when Miguel and i were first married, and he had helped us go to England, including helping us while we were there. He was always so kind and sensitive about Miguel's mom, who suffered with cancer and died a short time after we returned from England. We both really liked him and felt so deeply sorry for his wife and two college age daughters. We made a trip to Colorado for the funeral and again I wondered why I hadn't done more to stay in touch with his family.

I also realized that I made plenty of time in my schedule to go to these funerals, but hadn't found the time when these people were alive to spend with them. I don't want my loved ones to have to go that far to get my time and attention. :)

I read a friend's blog each year as she remembers her sweet baby that died six years ago. Each year I cry as I look at their beautiful son and see how much they love him. One thing that struck me that my friend said is that one of her fears through losing their son is a worry that they wouldn't be changed, that they would forget. (www.babysolomon.blogspot.com) As sad as I am about these events, I hope that I won't forget-- that I can use this to make a positive change in my life and the way I treat others.

In light of this resolution, we had some family over for our annual Halloween dinner. I called my grandma who only lives fifteen minutes away and a cousin I haven't seen for years. My cousin couldn't make it, and my grandma had some dental work fall out that morning, but she came anyway and I was glad.

My sister and I both got a chance to wear the "Elvis" wig I bought at King Soopers a few years ago. :)

Crazy

2011-12-11T22:10:00.000-07:00

I started writing poems (if you call them that) when I was a teenager. It helped me deal with some of the angst. I still like to write them, but for different reasons. Mostly I want to capture moments so I'll remember them. These may be horrible, and maybe I'll re-think sharing them, but for now, I thought I'd share a couple. If anyone has any suggestions to help me improve these it would be appreciated. Miguel is not the right one for me to ask because he only likes rhyming poems. Here is a recent one:

I wrote this one about Ava, who was getting into everything after Emerson was born (who can blame her? As my dad likes to say, she "needs input" and I wasn't providing it!). She also went without a nap many days, which made her a little more defiant. Now she's doing great. This is only the tip of the iceberg of things she did.
Indian Princess

You threw a
Two year-old tantrum
In Target yesterday,
Stuck your whole fist
In a jar of vaseline,
Colored on the computer desk,
Painted red war paint
Marker in streaks up
Your belly,
Spit a red jelly bean
On the bathroom rug,
Left a crop circle of oatmeal
In the living room,
And poked the baby
In all sorts of delicate places.
When I returned home today
I found a snip of your hair
Lying on the stairs
And your defiant (this is war!)
Stare--brown-eyed--
Peering at me from
Behind your shorn
Locks.
They said you cried
Inconsolably when you
Found I'd gone;
Now you're asleep,
At peace
(Cute as can be).
And in the soft quiet of the warm,
Cricket-singing-
Starry-summer-night,
I can see where you pressed your
Nose
Against the glass,
Your two hands on either side--
As you were
Watching--
Waiting
For me.
My hard heart melts
For my
Little Indian Princess
Who
Loves me
After all.

I realize this isn't politically correct. I'm sorry.

I wrote this one a couple of years ago about Kaedon. One of the things I've loved about having kids is how it has changed my whole perspective on life. I know I give up a lot of things to be a mom, but I wouldn't change a thing! My happiest memories come from being with them and watching them grow up.

Pace

I used to walk

Like a metronome

Marching at one hundred beats

Per minute,

Sure

That my life was a

Perpetual

Train-catching

Exercise.

Then you came along,

A little

Bundle of

Random curiosity

With nothing

On your agenda but

Noticing.

Your blue eyes

Helped me to see

The wandering bug,

Autumn trees

Dripping sunshine leaf by leaf,

And you, the biggest

Miracle of all.

Without you,

I’d be on that train somewhere,

Watching the countryside

Whiz by in giant

Puddle-blurs--

I’d have missed your

Little smiles,

Wispy angel hair,

And watching you fall asleep

With a stick in each hand.

You are my adagio masterpiece,

The one who helped me

See a forest full of

Trees.

happy

2011-09-19T09:32:00.005-06:00

I am in a happy, fulfilling stage right now. I am loving my busy life that is full of so many rewarding opportunities and happy times with my kids. Emerson has been a super happy baby and has added such a fun spirit to our family! I always felt there was one more cutie meant for our family and he reminds me every day of what a good choice we made in having him.

Having five children has been busy but rewarding. There has been a huge difference this time as the oldest two kids have turned into great helpers (with the proper incentives :)) and we've had so much support from our family and neighbors. We've still had our moments, as I will blog about later, but we've had a wonderful time with our new little guy.

Here our some pictures of our summer in rough chronological order:

Ava put diaper creme on Emerson's head. She's been a busy girl, as I'll expound on later. :)

Emerson has loved the swing! This is the first time I noticed him really "noticing" his toy and batting at it. So cute!

BLESSING DAY!

I love these pictures with my grandparents:

Emerson was blessed on Isa's eighth birthday, so she got a little party too. She enjoyed sharing the special day.

Summer fun:

My cute nieces!

Kaedon is loving having a brother.

Grandma has been such a life saver! Grandma time is enjoyed by all.

Maia graduates from preschool!

Emerson at 3 months:

Isa's blessing day was so special. I opted not to have a big get-together after the baptism, and I was so glad! It kept the focus on her and the actual ordinance instead of me worrying about my house. (plus, we had just had a get-together for Emerson's blessing)

Tried to take pictures at the temple of Isa in her dress. The gates were locked, but I had just spent a bunch of time getting my kids ready and I was not going home without some pictures! The kids could squeeze through the gate, but I couldn't. So all these are through the bars of the gate. It was wild.
Ava was running all over and I was threatening like crazy, ruining the mood. :) I had to hand Emerson through the gate to Kaedon. Kind of limited as to where I could take pictures, but better than nothing!

The background is unposed...I was threatening them again to get them to come :) Notice Maia skipping.

I LOVE Ava's face in these! Obviously she is having a good time unhindered by Mom.

I'm still such a rookie at this... I noticed so many times I wasn't paying attention to where I was cropping. Oh well.

Emerson at 4 months. He is a big boy! My biggest yet. 96% for length and 91st for weight. 17 lb 10 oz at his 4 month check! Crazy. SOOOOOO cute!

Isn't he delicious?

Kaedon turned 10! We had a gross things birthday party. Very fun and wild. We just read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (loved it), and this is our graveyard cake. Very easy! Got the stuff from Michaels, the graves are just ground up Oreos.

First day of kindergarten!

With her friend:

Emerson doesn't stand much of a chance. Already being dressed up like a princess.

Isa's long awaited Daddy daughter date to Mary Poppins.

We've had a sad occurence in the family since I started drafting this post-- I'll have to write about it later. If there is anything I've learned the last few years, though, happiness isn't something that happens to you, its something you choose. We may not be able to control what happens to us, but we can control our attitude. We can be happy even when things don't always go the way we plan.

Harry Mania

2011-08-08T11:55:00.005-06:00

Isa just turned eight and wanted a Harry Potter birthday party. It was too much fun-- I took on a little too much considering I have a newborn. Oh well-- it was sure fun. Sure love my cutie and will post more on her baptism later.

Got a lot of ideas from my friend Jen's blog. I made wands myself-- so fun but way more time than I had! (google: instructable Harry Potter wands) Fun to hear my kids saying "stupify!" to eachother all day. They like to point their wands at Emerson and say "Cutify!" Kaedon says I should make Emerson a shirt that says "Accio mommy!"

We made the owl portion of the invitations with my mom's Cricut (or rather, my mom and Isa made them). We got the imitation seal stickers at Michael's and even dowloaded a couple of Harry Potter fonts for the written part of the invitation. We punched small holes in the owl's feet and tied the invite on with twine.

Our favorite was putting a drop of food coloring in the bottom of the potion bottles and then I filled them with Sprite (poured from a large glass bottle that I had pre-filled) and watched them magically change color. They loved drinking out of their potion bottles-- only cost 1.25 at Michaels and I let them take them home. We just printed labels found on the internet. It was a bit problematic getting the labels on the round bottles.

A BYU Harry Potter spoof that my kids wanted me to play over and over-- it made us laugh:

Emerson

2011-06-06T22:54:00.000-06:00

We are loving our little guy to pieces! He has been such a good baby. I'm trying really hard not to think about him being my last.

Make your own announcement

The Boy Who Must Not be Named

2011-06-03T16:24:00.000-06:00

...Now has a name! (After only three weeks!)

Miguel gave a talk in church on Mother's Day and introduced himself as Lord Voldemort's father. Thank heavens our child now has a name and in no way resembles the One Who Must Not Be Named.

We did have a panic attack in the hospital because we hadn't officially discussed boy names at all. (long story!) We emailed some friends and family and I posted a couple baby name polls on two different baby name sites. Asher was the favorite name amongst those polled on the sites, but all our friends liked Emerson.

Some other names I like (though Emerson was/is my favorite) are: Ezra, Coleman, Elijah, Stockton, Benson, Taft (no intention on including all of ETB's names), and Cohen. Miguel was not crazy about any of these names (when I suggested Coleman he said it sounded like a camp stove), and none of them seemed to fit him anyway.

We almost named him Asher, but found out in the hospital this is the name of one of Miguel's best friend's babies. (We are so good at paying attention to this stuff-- we just saw them 8 weeks before he was born but didn't clue in until Miguel's sister told us this detail in the hospital) Also, I actually called him Asher one day before we had officially named him, and all our kids flipped out. Not one of them liked the name. A couple of them even started crying.

We went through so many names, but alas, we kept coming back to the same two. There are so many nice names, but it seems like his name was meant to be Emerson. We added Rafael as his middle name since that has always been one of Miguel's favorite names and is the name of an uncle of his that died.

Its a BOY!

2011-05-16T23:30:00.000-06:00

If you read one of my previous posts, you would know that our basement flooded 9 days before I was due. I was definitely big an uncomfortable, and felt sicker this pregnancy than any other to date (even threw up the night before the flood). But that notwithstanding, I really enjoyed this pregnancy and wasn't ready for it to end. I also wanted to get our house back in order before the baby came!

The water in the field by our house got so high it looked like a mini pond. There were even ducks on it for a week or so.

I had a doctor appointment the Friday before I was due, and the doctor was really pressuring me to get induced. My platelet count had dropped (normal is 130-400,000) to 97,000, which seemed to make her nervous, though I've had this problem with all my pregnancies and its never been a problem. For the abovementioned reasons I wasn't ready, but I was also terrified of being induced. I had heard so many stories about induced labors that lasted really long, were really painful, or had complications. I also had a secret reason of my own: I really wanted to try to have this baby without an epidural. I tried to go without an epidural with Kaedon, but his labor lasted 28 hours, and I only lasted 24. I tried again with Isa to no avail. I was afraid if I got induced, they would make me lie down to monitor me and my chances of dealing with the pain without the epidural would be very low.

I told her I wanted to wait, even though I was excited to have this baby and to find out if it was a girl or boy. On Sunday we got a call from her right when we got home from church, and she basically gave me an ultimatum: get induced when I tell you to, or choose another doctor. She said she had been worried about my platelets suddenly plummeting and then dealing with a postpartum hemmorhage.

So for the first time I walked into a hospital to have a baby and I wasn't in labor! It was a strange feeling. It was actually pretty nice. Before we left, Kaedon wanted to take some pictures with me as if I were in labor already-- we had fun with this.

One thing on my to-do list that I never got to was take some maternity pictures. I got some really cute maternity clothes this time and don't have a picture in any of them! I also wanted to document this special time, as it is my last. So, I was kind of embarrassed, but I asked Miguel to take some pictures of me in the hospital before they actually hooked me up to anything. Still feeling a bit wistful about being done with this special era of my life.

They tested my platelets and they had gone down to 87,000-- they had dropped almost 10,000 in just 16 hours. In order to get an epidural, they have to be 90,000 or higher or the risk is paralysis. After a few minutes, the nurse did come in and hooked me up to Pitocin and to the monitors. They also broke my water. She and the doctor wanted to know how long my shortest labor had been, and I told them 10 hours. I wondered if it would go longer than this with the induction.

It wasn't too bad at first, and I hadn't slept very well that night, so I tried to rest/sleep for the first couple of hours I was on the Pitocin. By then I started having to do some things to deal with the contractions, but they still weren't too bad. Miguel went to get some lunch at noon since we figured this was his chance to go before I really needed his help.

The nurse let me walk around, which really helped me deal with my labor with Maia but hurt worse since my water was broken and there was no cushioning there anymore. I also tried the medicine ball, and my sweet nurse would rub my back during contractions.  It really helped. She said she could stay with me for 30 minutes, the most I've ever had a nurse stay with me. She told me about transition, which she said is the hardest part of labor, but said she would help me through it, then she explained the birth and said she'd help me through that too. She asked if I would like to get in the tub and I thought I might like to try that, so she filled it up for me. When I got in the tub I was only a 7 and normally my body takes a few hours to progress from that point to a 10. It helped for about a minute and then the contractions got really hard to take. About this time I heard the nurse call the doctor and I thought she was calling her way too soon.

About this time Miguel showed up and I was in a lot of pain. I thought it was because I was lying down in the tub and thought I'd do better if I could get out and sit on the ball again. So I waited for a break in the contractions but they just seemed to be coming right on top of eachother and were really painful.   I told him I needed something to bite, so he got me the spoon out of the ice chips they had given me earlier. It didn't help a whole lot, so I asked if I could just squeeze his hand. He was so patient while I squoze the heck out of his hand and constantly changed positions because I was so uncomfortable. At one point Miguel said I almost bit his hand but this point is still under debate. :)
My sister-in-law sent me some texts with encouragement in them, and it helped by taking my mind off things a bit.   She said "you can do hard things" and I thought "no I can't!"  In another she said "its just like running a race" and I told Miguel "this is WAY harder than running a race!" (see-- took my mind off things) I started thinking "other women can do this, I can't." I just thought if I either got out of the tub or begged for the epidural all would be ok-- but I thought I still had 3 hours left with the worst still to come.

Then she said "soon it will be over, and then it will be over." This may sound kind of silly, but it made me feel really emotional as I realized she was right. Even in my moment of greatest distress, I realized what a great blessing it is to have children and for a moment, I didn't want it to be over! I guess this is one of the challenges of parenthood as well-- sometimes the hard things can remind us of the really great things we have that won't last forever.

I had only been in the tub 20-30 minutes when I had this crazy urge to push. It was so strong its as if my body was going to push that baby out without my consent!

We waited until the contraction ended then the nurse and Miguel helped me out of the tub and hustled me over to the bed-- just in time. The minute I got the bed that baby was coming out! The nurse and Miguel delivered him right then and there. The nurse hit a button with her elbow to call for help. Another nurse came in and said she thought she had heard a baby cry. The first nurse said she needed help and the second one said "but I'm not sterile!" to which she answered "I just delivered this baby with my bare hands!"

They put him on my chest and I thought they said "she" but that didn't seem right to me for some reason, so I looked-- and sure enough, we had a boy! Its been a month now and I still can't believe it some days.

He was so cute-- and eight pounds, 21.5 inches! My biggest baby until now has been seven and a half.

It took 30 minutes to recover from the trauma of having him, but ever since then I have felt great! I still can't believe I did that! I feel like if I can do that, I can do anything. And in the end it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The after-birth high lasted a couple days but I have recovered physically so much quicker and felt so great I have been tempted to do too much right from the start.

We made everyone wait to find out the gender till they came to the hospital (I asked our kids beforehand, and this is what they chose to do-- thought it would be fun). The look of shock on Kaedon's face was priceless. (he was convinced it was a girl)

Since then we have been enjoying him to bits! He has been such a good baby. Its fun to have so many helpers-- it has been so much easier than last time. I forgot how sweet and soft and miraculous these new littles ones are.

Before I had kids, I loved to do adventurous things. Since then I have mostly given up kayaking, backpacking, travelling, soccer, and other assorted activities. I'm sure I'll get a chance to do those things again some day. The funny thing is one does sacrifice a lot to become a parent, but it is so worth it! Having kids has been the greatest adventure of all. I know soon it will be over, and I don't want to take a single minute for granted.

I'm So Vein

2011-05-15T22:23:00.000-06:00

This pregnancy has gone so much better than I ever expected.

My legs bothered me so much my last pregnancy that I had to do my dishes in shifts and wasn't able to cook much at all. My last few pregnancies I have to do as much as possible sitting-- I do my hair and the kids hair while sitting on the floor, for example, I also remember having to sit on the floor in an aisle in Wal-Mart when they hurt so bad I just couldn't stand it anymore. (I've had to sit in many stores over my pregnancies, but usually I can find a spot that is more inconspicuous) My last few pregancies were each hard that way-- in the sense that my legs hurt to stand for more than a few minutes at a time, especially in one place. Each time they've gotten worse-- I really thought I'd have to ask for help this time. I decided before this pregnancy that since this was to be my last, I wasn't going to complain, but try to enjoy it the best I could. I was surprised that with the help of some compression hose, I was able to function pretty well the first 6 months. At this point, our relief society brought a meal a week for a month, as did some other thoughtful ladies. This was so sweet and so appreciated! This gave a boost to morale and helped us make it through to the end. A little sympathy and moral support go a long way-- its so nice to know that people will be there for you if needed.
I don't think I'll be feeling to vain about my veins any time soon. I hope I don't gross anyone out too much here...sorry if I do. Its just crazy to me how much my legs have changed through 5 pregnancies. They looked normal before I had kids, and even looked pretty normal after having just one. But of course each child has been well worth it!

Birth in the bowling alley

2011-05-15T12:54:00.001-06:00

Things got kind of crazy before our sweet new baby was born. I induced some of the craziness by adding too many things to my to-do list and then having mild panic attacks when I would think about all the things I needed/wanted to get done. One fun thing I was able to do was make some decorations for the house. I wanted to decorate the nursery-- for the first time we have a proper nursery! Its so exciting. But its a little complicated to decorate a nursery without knowing the gender of the child (I didn't dare complain, since this was my idea). So I made some decorations for a boy room and some for a girl room. I also got a killer deal on some fabric for boy curtains. Miguel thought I was totally crazy, since he was convinced we were having a girl.

Here are some of the projects I did. My mom helped me with the vinyl lettering-- we spent a couple of days on it since we were both learning how to use her new Cricut and software.

I wanted to do some kid-friendly art but buying actual art was too expensive, so I took some color copies out of books and then used scrapbook materials and frames I already had. The first one I made was so fun I made several more. The first few pictures are of some I made for the kids' bathroom (the Curious George one hangs over the tub and says "a little dirt never hurt." (to remind the momma)

( ... "Even longer," said Pooh. )

The picture below is a copy of one I drew in college for my parents. This is a hobby I hope to resurrect some day when I have more time.

A quote board by the loo :) -- messages for a captive audience.

I've always wanted to make a "hero wall." I hope I can rotate pictures through.

Miguel painted the beadboard and finished the woodwork in the front room, and it looked so good I bought a bunch of paint and roped him into painting our kitchen and dining room too.

He also put glass in our kitchen cabinets and some other cabinets that were supposed to have glass but had never been finished. All this has finally made this house feel like home! Its been so exciting.

I was also able to take the older kids each on a date before baby's birth. I don't know why I waited to think of this until I was nearly eight months pregnant. Isa went first, I let her choose her activity. She chose swimming. So I had to squeeze into my suit (not pretty) and couldn't wear my tights, so I got some good stares at the pool. I think one of the side effects of my veins has been poor temperature regulation-- I get really cold. I was so cold and miserable, but she was having so much fun I tried to put on a happy face. At one point she wanted to go into a shallow area and play on a water playset thingy. I tried to stay down in the water so I wouldn't get so cold but my belly kept bumping the bottom. I felt badly that I wasn't playing with her, so after a few minutes I started army crawling throught the shallow water toward the playset. A group of 9 year-old boys must have thought I looked like a good target, because they started blasting a steady stream of water at me from the top of the playset with the built-in water guns. They didn't let up, either. Finally I got UNDER the playset, but as soon as I started out the other side with Isa they began shooting me again. Fun. Isa was so giggly and cute and didn't let on if she knew I was miserable, but I swore to myself I was taking swimming off the acceptable date activity list for the other kids.

Kaedon and I just happened to be alone one afternoon since my girls went to play at their cousin's house, so we had an impromptu date. I had learned my lesson with the swimming, so I gave him what I thought were some safe options. We went to Boondocks and he chose bowling, which I thought sounded great. Then I threw my first ball and thought I was going to have the baby right there in the bowling alley. I forgot how loose my joints get and that bowling ball did a number on my pelvis. Kaedon started out with something like three strikes in a row. I told him he was lucky not to have my genes-- I am terrible at bowling. I told him that on my mission we went bowling as a district and all the elders were amazed (as was I) when I bowled three strikes in a row, then I proceeded to bowl a whole bunch of gutter balls in a row. Oh well. Poor Kaedon, I shouldn't have told him that story just then because he and I bowled a bunch of gutter balls after that. It was kind of anti-climatic. I learned how to contort my body so it didn't hurt so bad, but it definitely didn't help my already terrible bowling skills. So I took bowling off the acceptable date activities for Maia. That night in his prayers, Kaedon said thanks for the dessert he had that day and for being able to play "Poptropica" on the computer. No mention of our stellar date. So much for sacrificing my body for my children's enjoyment.

I took Maia to Chuck-E-Chesse's. She has had so little one on one time the last two years she was like a deer in the headlights. I thought she would go crazy running from one thing to another, but she just stood there looking around, as if she didn't know what to do. I had to make suggestions. She was so cute. We tried Skee-ball and that was a big mistake. The balls she threw were landing on nearby Skee-ball lanes and not in our own-- with a loud bang. When she wanted to try a hoops/basketball game I thought it would be similarly disastrous, but it wasn't. She kept swishing the ball over and over, like a little Jimmer. Who knew my little 5 year old princess daughter had such a skill. It was quite cute. No babies born in Chuck-E-Cheese-- hallelujah.

This is turning out to be the longest post ever. I'm sorry. I know this sounds like I spent a bunch of time with my kids at the end of my pregnancy, but its not true. I was so busy trying to get things done, then we had a little mini-disaster that kept us busy until I delivered. With more rain here that we've had in 50 years, we grew a lake in our basement. It flooded one room that is lower than the rest. Then, with one week till my due date, I told Miguel I would just die if the rest of the basement flooded. The next morning it did. We spent the wee hours of the morning hauling stuff out onto the driveway. We called all our family at 5am to ask for help and they all thought we were calling to say we had the baby. They came and spent a whole day helping us dry things out, move things, etc. For a few nights after this I was in tons of pain and thought the baby might come early. I was just so glad I had that extra week to get our little disaster cleaned up and didn't have to bring a baby home to a huge mess.

A Rose By Any Other Name

2011-04-10T17:16:00.000-06:00

Anyone have any name suggestions? We still don't know if we're having a girl or a boy, and we still don't have much of a clue on a name. Ten days to go...aaaaah! Nothing like keeping it exciting. :)

A Bunch of Balderdash

2011-04-10T16:09:00.001-06:00

When Kaedon won his school spelling bee, he was invited to participate in our school district's preliminary spelling bee. All the top three winners from each school in the county were invited to participate, so there were about 155 kids there. We were given a list of words and their county of origin, along with a guide for each language. In all, there were over 500 words, some easy and some quite hard! We did our best to make it through each list and learn spelling, origin, etc while trying to keep in mind that Kaedon is still only in 4th grade and would rather be playing at any given moment than learning new spelling words. Some of the harder words were: schadenfreude (happiness in someone else's misery), uitlander (pronounced ate- lander), schottische, mnemonic....whew! I had fun learning about the word origins as well. It was quite fun. Kaedon started to get burned out, though.

He was pretty nervous at the preliminary bee, but he stayed calm and did great. He made it into the top 30, which qualified him to move on to the county bee, which included the winners from the 7th and 8th grade junior high students. He was pretty thrilled when a reporter from the small local paper asked him some questions afterward and he was quoted in the paper. He was the only 4th grader and only 9 year-old to make it in the top thirty. We were proud of his preparation.

In the county bee, we had the same list to draw from, but they could also draw words randomly out of the dictionary. I was pretty amazed at all the smart kids there, but in the end it seemed to come down to preparation. We were just happy that Kaedon had made it that far and didn't have any expectations for the night. That said, each time he stepped up to the mic I would get butterflies for him! Especially when the pronouncer started having troubles pronouncing the words and mis-pronounced his word, which was "tuckahoe" (she said "teck-a-hoe"). Luckily, since we'd studied that word, he asked her if she really meant ____ and she said yes, thank you for correcting me. He laughed and said "you're welcome" and the whole audience laughed. He made it to the final nine (they never did get to the hardest of the language-derived words), when they started drawing random tricky words from the dictionary. Six kids, including him, were eliminated that round on words like "thoracic" ( pronounced thorassic), stanchion, and his word-- ballyhooed (he asked for the language of origin and they said "unknown."). It was sure fun to watch some of these kids. The kid who won the whole thing was sitting next to him and told him it was his 3rd or 4th bee. (the tall kid standing behind him in the first picture)

If Kaedon never does it again, it sure was fun at least once to get so far and to learn some new words, meanings, etc. He had made a deal with me about getting extra computer time if he made it into the top 15, 10, or 5. At one point, I saw him turned around, counting silently but not very subtly how many kids were left and nodding his head as he counted each one. Funny how how little one cares about schadenfreude when contemplating a little extra "Poptropica."

This became a fun event for grandparents and even an aunt, uncle, and cousins who showed up!

Resolve: intransitive verb, to form a resolution : determine

2011-02-06T22:58:00.002-07:00

January is probably my least favorite month of the year when it comes to weather. The snow is great until Christmas, then it is no longer a romantic, ambiance-creating thing and more of an annoyance and a hassle. One thing I do love about January is the chance to start fresh. A line in a Christmas hymn stuck out to me this year: born to give them second birth. I love that after the celebration of Jesus' birth each year, there is a symbolic and real opportunity to start fresh and become more of the person I want to be. In my patriarchal blessing, it says that through my life, I need to utilize inner strength and determination to make good choices. (somthing I'm not always good at!) I realized recently this is perfectly encapsulated in the word "resolve." I love to make new year resolutions, something Miguel teases me about (stop making lists about it and just do it!). But they help me.

I often think the story in the Odyssey of Odysseus and the sirens-- how he planned ahead to have himself tied to the mast of his ship, his men's ears plugged so they would not hear the siren call that had ruined so many other sailors. Its so much easier to decide something before it actually happens. Especially hard things. Its so easy to lose resolve when I'm tired, hungry, etc., and so much easier to just use a little foresight to plan for such times so I can push through them and be better.

Already we've gotten some needed projects done. Its been so exciting! I've also been spending more time with the kids, trying to replace some time wasters with more productive time, and get ready for baby. Poor Miguel-- I've gone a little crazy with the nesting, including buying a ton of paint (without actually starting to paint anything!).

One fun thing that happened in January was the school spelling bee. Kaedon and I practiced and he did quite well! I was amazed at his ability to remember the correct spelling of a word after missing it the first time. In the spelling bee, he stayed calm and remembered the words we practiced. He had learned some really hard words (so did I! and these words were supposedly eighth grade words?) they didn't even get to. Words like leviathan, kinesiology, tandoori, Mesopotamian, crepuscular, and entrepreneur. He was so shocked when he won it took a while for him to smile. I was really proud of him for working hard and trying his best. He said he got a lot of attention at school that day. :)

We Need a Little Christmas

2011-01-02T22:20:00.001-07:00

We had a great Christmas. Santa and Dad have been very good to us. We also got to spend time with family eating lots of junk and playing games. I got Miguel (and I) a camera after many anguished hours reading reviews because I really don't know much about them. Now at least I know how to BUY a camera, which is good. Today we finally broke it out and I realized that what I really want is a friend's skills in a box. (see: http://www.bphotogenic.com/ ) Great camera, but now I'm going to have to start a new hobby if I really want to get the most out of it. These are a few of my first "test" shots-- the kids were watching TV and I was dying to see what kind of pictures it would take. Now I've had to get a bunch of books from the library to learn a few things about taking pictures. I mainly want to be ready before the baby comes, so we can take nice pictures and not pay someone else an arm and a leg.

One of my favorite nights we went to visit my nearly 90 year-old grandma with my parents. We had an impromptu dinner and then sat around the table playing a new digital Scrabble game of my mom's, when my grandma said "now we need to play something with the kids." (they had been banished to another room to watch Little Einsteins...a little too familiar these holidays) We all got up and went in the living room and played three games - one with a simple yardstick and two with some forks and knives from the kitchen drawer. They were all figure-it-out games, and I felt pretty no-so-smart 20 minutes into the first game when I still didn't get it. We sure had a good laugh. I just loved that my grandma wanted to involve the kids, taught us some simple games that didn't require anything expensive, and I laughed harder than I have in a long time. We've also had a wonderful time introducing these games to friends and learn a fun new charades-type game to boot! We then enjoyed teaching the charades game to our family. :)

We had a birthday party for Miguel's dad and we got together with some friends we haven't seen for a while. They always make me laugh and make me want to be a better person. It was sad to see Colorado friends leave again, but I'm trying to be grateful that I do still get to see them once in a while-- what a treat.

Maia has said some things that have made us laugh recently.

She came home from church one day and told Miguel that Jesus doesn't have blood, so his heart "doesn't plump blood, it plumps love." She also had a dream I got killed by a gummi bear (sugary things have about killed me the last couple of weeks-- maybe it was a premonition!).

Ava has been saying cute things now that she can talk so much better. The other day she had barely woken up when she sighed and said "Kaedon...[sigh]....likes me."

Miguel took the kids sledding. I wasn't going to go because I was feeling pregnant and tired but I was glad I got to watch them have fun.

"Mommy made me a birthday!"

2010-12-28T16:02:00.003-07:00

(Ava to her dad after seeing her birthday decorations)

I can't believe Ava is two today. It has gone by so quickly! She has been a real whirlwind and a joy. I can't imagine life without her.

She is still super busy and active. Her latest thing has been to color on everything-- walls, carpet, cabinets, tables, you name it. She always admits to it and acts very contrite ("that was naughty" she'll say in this cute downcast voice), then does it again right away. She brought me a book to read one afternoon, and lo and behold, on each page was at least one little scribble, usually over the princesses eyes. With each page turn she would say "Ava did it. That was naughty." So cute but I think its getting time to lock away the coloring things!

She is way into princesses right now. I was so relieved when Isa survived her early childhood without getting too into princeses and barbies, yet each of my girls has gotten successively girly. I thought I'd have a hard time with it, but when its a certain child's personality, I can't help but find it cute. (thank heavens!) She wants to dress in princess dresses each day, and some days goes from one to another in quick succession. One day she looked down in obvious pride at her pink sequined self and said "I'm bu-ful. (beautiful)" If you ask her if she's beautiful when not wearing a princess dress she will always say no (with a 'duh, Mom' kind of look on her face).

She keeps us laughing when she spots princesses everywhere, even in unlikely places. Here are two recent ones:

Whenever we see this Stainmaster Carpet ad in Costco, she says "look, Mom, a princess!"

She gets so excited when I use this soap. She calls it princess soap.

Two of her favorite things are gum and band-aids. She is happy as a hippo if she has both at once. She got band-aids from her compassionate aunt for her birthday and in less than an hour had used the whole box (mostly on her tummy).

She has been loving attention from her dad lately and said to me the other day "be better. Daddy come home." I asked her if it would be better if Daddy came home and she said "yes."

She can be quite the handful at times-- probably more demanding than any of my kids. She is also my first to really hit or grab toys from siblings. She loves to scream at the top of her lungs when she feels she has been unjustly dealt with. She is my first to really throw tantrums. And yet I think she's so cute I just want to eat her up. Is there something wrong with me? I guess I can finally understand those parents who look on lovingly while their little terror goes about terrorizing others. Not that I ever want to be that way, but I finally get it.

She can be quite sweet too, I guess I need to give her some credit. She is the first one to give hugs/kisses if someone gets hurt or is sad.

Between wanting to eat her right up and strangle her, all in the same moment, we're sure glad our little two year-old came into our lives.

We're having a....baby!

2010-12-02T15:05:00.001-07:00

I wanted to wait a bit longer to tell everyone this time, since I had an early miscarriage (only 5 weeks-ish, but had taken a positive test) this summer. I know this is nothing compared to how long others have gone, but I was nonetheless sad and feeling guilty since I had run my half marathon while pregnant and hoped I hadn't been the cause.

So I wanted to make sure everything was okay before I told anyone. Our family figured it out pretty early, but its been a fun surprise for others.

So far, its been a great pregnancy. I felt pretty sick at first, but the nausea has eased to tolerable levels and my legs have been less painful (not less unsightly--whew!) than last time. I have felt so much more relaxed since I'm not as busy as last time, not moving house right before a birth, and not in as much pain! Its really been a huge blessing. I thought I'd have to ask for a bit of help this time, but we've been able to function much better than expected. I'm sad this is my last baby, but also feel so pleased to be having him or her! This is a little sweet bonus that I wasn't sure we'd be able to have. There is also lot less pressure knowing I don't ever have to go through this again! I think I've genuinely been able to enjoy this pregnancy (not at first...when I was sickest I wasn't enjoying anything). I always look at my kids with appreciation during each pregnancy, as I see how much can go wrong. I feel really, really blessed. I would love to have kids forever, but I am definitely at the point where I don't feel I can give all of them what they need if I kept going. So...I'm super happy and excited about this baby, while finally feeling closure that its okay for us to be done having kids. Whew! Sorry for the whirlwind of words.

Today I had my 20 week ultrasound and as far as I could tell, everything looked good. I don't have an appointment with my doctor until next week to get a more official okay.

I (clenched jaw) decided I didn't want to find out the sex of the baby, but to let it be a surprise. Miguel, on the other hand, definitely did want to find out. But, I'm behind in this argument 3 and 1/2 to 1/2, (we found out with all but Isa, and even then Miguel knew but I didn't) and this is our last baby, so I was preparing myself for a knock-out fight (okay, not really).

Well, today I showed up for my ultrasound, and...no Miguel. He's never missed one of these before, but he had forgotten about the appointment. I had the devilish thought NOT to call him, since I knew I would automatically get my way, but decided to do the right thing and remind him. He was 30 minutes away, and the sonographer thought the appointment wouldn't last much longer than that, so we decided it would be best if he stayed at work. He asked to speak to her on the phone and she kept listening to him and laughing, so I'm sure he was bribing or threatening her or both.

I was a bit sad to do it alone...but chances are his powers of persuasion (when of course I want to know what the baby is-- so easy to give in!) used on both me and the sonographer would have had the desired effect. So.....we're having a baby!

What's Going On

2010-11-18T22:24:00.002-07:00

Some Halloween pictures. I was feeling really exhausted that night, so I didn't gussy them up quite as much as I usually do. We did have our spooky dinner, which was fun. We found the costume Maia is wearing that day and had bought it on sale for Ava for next year. Maia was able to sqeeze into it and she looked so cute we let her wear it.

I love Ava's new "camera face!"

This one is probably my favorite. It makes me laugh:

Ava fell asleep eating lunch! This girl never stops. She has been saying the cutest things lately and also has been coloring on everything.

We're in that horrible hair-in-the-eyes phase...at least it motivates me to do her hair each day.

Isa has gradually progressed to wearing a boot. It was a blessed day when we gave the wheelchair back. Its amazing how heavy that thing gets! I learned new appreciation for anyone who has a child with disabilities. She still limps around, but at least she can walk.

She still doesn't speak much to anyone other than friends or family. I tried taking her to a pyschologist to see if that would help, and it has a little. She was filling out a form for parent teacher conferences about her strengths and weaknesses as a student. One of the questions asked which rules the student was already good at following. She was having a hard time thinking of one (she can be a little "cheeky" to use the English phrase), so I started going through some hypothetical rules to give her an example, such as no running in the halls or raising her hand to talk. She said "well, I hardly ever raise my hand to talk." Okay, oops, I guess I wasn't thinking about that one. Almost every rule I mentioned, she'd say things like, "but I do run in the halls sometimes." This was just not working out. Finally, I had a stroke of brilliance. I said, "do you ever talk out of turn or interrupt the teacher when she is talking?" She acted frustrated and said, "but Mom, I hardly ever talk at all!" "Exaclty. So if you hardly ever talk at all, then you can't be talking out of turn, can you? I think we have found a rule you obey VERY WELL." She giggled about that for quite a while, and wrote it down with a huge smile on her face.

We went on a trip, just Miguel and I, in October. This is HUGE news, if you know us at all. We never leave our kids. I have been dying to blog about it, but all the pictures are on Miguel's phone, since dummy here forgot the camera., So, here are the highlights:

1. A couple of days in upstate New York when the leaves were brilliant. (Loved the people, too)
2. A quaint old B & B that we never would have taken kids to.
3. Church historical sites which we tried to rush through because we were pressed for time. Ironically, I was the one getting frustrated at the missionaries (poor kids, they were like vultures...we were pretty much the only tourists) who cornered us at each location and bore their testimonies like crazy. It got to be a joke Miguel teased me about, wondering what had happened to me, and me dreading each new site and almost (this is horrible!) laughing at our final church site as a missionary started crying as she was bearing her testimony. I know where I'm going.
4. Niagara Falls. Stunning. More stunning than I had imagined. More touristy too.
5. Niagara-on-the-Lake. Charming town I'd never heard of before.
6. Toronto. A little disappointing. Still, I was determined to do gourmet in a big city, so we trudged through Chinatown and some rough parts of Toronto at 10pm at night to go to a Spanish tapas restaurant. Worth it.
7. Our friend's wedding. Entertaining (at 28, marrying a beautiful girl with teenage daughters who weren't sure about him yet), beautiful, biggest Chinese buffet I've ever been to (I ate every fried thing in sight and no veggies), so great to see his family again, who we bonded with in England.
8. Tim Horton's. Disgusting.
9. Thousand Islands region. Too bad we were out of time-- it was breathtaking. We want to go back with the kids some day.
10. Running out of gas on our way to the Syracuse airport, being helped by a stranger, then being told at the airport that Miguel's flight had left at 6am in the morning (booked wrong by his travel lady at work) and that there was no room on the flight home on a standby basis. Then forgetting the liquid restrictions and having to chuck our brand new maple-leaf shaped bottle of maple syrup. Miguel said he wasn't willing to pay $25 to check a bag for a $13 bottle of syrup, and who can blame him? At least they didn't lock us up for trying to sneak it through.

Pictures to come later, I guess.

Nothing else going on around here worth mentioning just yet.

La Rota or The Mysterious Girl in the Purple Striped Cast

2010-09-27T15:15:00.000-06:00

We had an adventure a few weeks ago and I've been to busy to write about it!

I got a call from the school at one o'clock in the afternoon on a Wednesday, just as I was putting my girls (okay, and myself) down for a little nap. I could hear the secretary's message vaguely from upstairs, and she seemed concerned. She asked me to call right away and said it was regarding Isa. Since that seemed a bit unusual, I roused myself out of my almost slumber to call her.

She said Isa had hurt her foot in P.E. and could I come and get her immediately. When I got to the school, the first thing I could see was Isa's face, which looked white from pain and streaked with a few tears. She is my little tough-ie, so when she cries about pain it is a big deal. The secretary had a bag of ice on her leg near her ankle, and when she lifted it up it was obvious that Isa's leg was broken. It was bulging above her ankle and her foot seemed to be hanging unsupported. It is a bit distrubing to see that, especially as the mother.

I carried her to the car and drove home, trying not to panic. I called Miguel at work and he kept telling me not to panic, but he didn't see her leg! I madly threw a few dishes in the dishwasher while I talked to him in the phone, called the neighbor to see if she would take the other girls when they woke up, etc, then we went to see the doctor.

At this point I was afraid Isa was starting to go into shock (me too!). She was white as a ghost, staring into space and had the cold, clammy hands one hears about. The nurse had me wrap her in a blanket and lay her down, and the doctor came out after just a few minutes and told me just by looking at her leg that he couldn't deal with it in his office. He said we'd have to go to an ER and have an orthopedist set it under anesthesia. (He took some X-rays at his office to confirm, and I overheard him telling trthe ER doctor that both the tibia and fibula were broken and offset by 75%)(and this is all from a freak accident in P.E. where she bumped into a boy and then he fell on her leg)

I'm still in adrenaline/panic/survival mode, so we hustle to the ER and wait. And wait. The ER was packed. Isa was so brave-- I didn't see her cry at all. We joked that we were having a broken leg date. Miguel eventually showed up with the other kids, and he got to go in while the orthopedist set her break. When we first arrived, the X-rays from the first doctor hadn't, so all the docs were asking to see the pictures I had taken of the X-rays on my phone.

After he set the break and I felt I had been wrangling Ava way too long, we ventured into her room to see how things went. Miguel was white as a ghost now-- said it hit him when he saw his little girl all hooked up to machines and engulfed by that large bed.

She has been wearing a cast up to her thigh and unable to walk for almost three weeks. It has been a long three weeks! She has been a real trooper. She's learned to use a little wheelchair-- cute to see her maneuver all around. We have to carry her a lot and I have to go to the school three times a day-- to drop off, pick up (and now I appreciate handicapped access- its not very good where I drop her off and its a huge pain lugging the wheelchair 25 yards and back each day), and take her to the bathroom at lunch. I have gotten swallowed alive by my other chores and my other kids have been a bit neglected.

She did have a mini-breakdown one day, and ranted about never wanting to go to P.E. again, just wanting to walk and take the darn thing off, but overall she has been really good. The attention started to pour in a few days after her accident, and she enjoyed all the visitors, balloons, coloring kits (and I enjoyed a meal brought in by a friend!), and other things to keep her entertained. Her teacher even stopped by. At school she said the other kids follow her around in a little herd at recess. A semi-pro football player singled her out for attention at a school assembly, and everywhere we go she says that people comment on her cast.

Since she has such troubles talking to others, this has been a blessing in disguise. That said, I'm ready to get my life back in a few weeks!

All this happened right before we had company from Spain coming to visit...we went to Yellowstone together. (another post!)

Kaedon wanted to make her breakfast in bed the day after her accident.

Sisters give siblings better mental health, study shows

2010-08-16T09:53:00.000-06:00

Sisters give siblings better mental health, study shows

Home Run Fever

2010-06-07T22:19:00.001-06:00

May was the craziest month we've had in a while! Kaedon and Isa both played soccer, and Kaedon tried baseball for the first time. I have to admit, I was relieved when Isa finished soccer. I felt that I was a terrible coach and I'm pretty sure the parents thought so, too. She was super happy about me being the coach, even though it was so laughable at times. Usually Miguel had to work during our practices, so I'd spend an inordinate amount of time chasing little girls when I was supposed to be coaching. For one practice, only two girls showed up. One of those girls was Isa. Maia had to use the bathroom 5 minutes into our practice, so I asked Isa to take her and they didn't come back for 20 minutes! At a different practice, I took some popcorn to help occupy my kids and it was more of a distraction than an occupier. Ava wouldn't share, then spilled a bunch of popcorn in the playground wood chips. Isa kept sneaking over to the wood chips during practice to pick out some popcorn to eat. The girls didn't listen to me anyway and were all goofing off (this is the norm)...I think its because of my commanding personality. Then Maia yelled to me that Ava was up to her knee in mud. I ended up giving Isa a time out (embarrassing in front of her friends), and leaving the girls while I retrieved Ava from the mud pit. Of course my periodic retrieving of Ava didn't help the orderly practice part. Aaaagh! I don't think I'll coach again any time soon. (I'd do it for Isa, but...)

I've been surprised at how much fun it has been to watch Kaedon play baseball. The first time I attended one of Kaedon's games I was amazed that half our town was there. Baseball is a big deal here. Its been quite fun watching the games, as most the kids hit the ball and the scores are quite high for baseball. It also helps that Kaedon's team is really good.

Kaedon has had no training whatsoever in baseball prior to this season, and it was hard to watch him bat or try to catch the ball next to some of these kids who were born hitting home runs. Its hard not to feel guilty as a parent for somehow denying your child's inner Babe Ruth. That, coupled with the fun and excitement of winning all but one game this year, has made it more challenging to try to keep the proper perspective.

I have whole elaborate theories about sports and competition and bettering oneself, but its easy to let them go out the window when it is exciting to win, or when, as a coach, you feel pressure from parents to win. Competition can be the polar opposite of compassion/charity for others, especially if the goal is just to be better than someone else. We can't NOT try our best, though-- because in the end we do our best in order to help others do their best.

My favorite moment this baseball season is when Kaedon was on third base in a tense play-off game against his friend's team. Kaedon was on third base and his friend was defending it. His friend reached over and gave Kaedon a discreet little fist bump a minute before Kaedon ran home. Thats the real kind of home run I want to see, I just have to keep reminding myself that. :)

2010-06-07T21:43:00.001-06:00

A Narrow Escape and Quotable Quotes

2010-03-24T16:26:00.004-06:00

My sister and her husband just moved back to the US (California) from Australia. It will be nice to have them closer for a little while before they travel the world! They played with my kids and were really good sports.

We also met my other sister's boyfriend and he seemed like a cute, nice guy too. Late at night, our topic turned to poo and such, and so I hope he comes back.

During the festivities at my parents house, Ava escaped! My parents live on a corner, facing a busy street. I'm so glad Ava chose to go down the non-busy road, but what a scare! Three young rescuing-angel teenage boys saw a baby in the street and went searching for her parents. Since my parents don't normally have a baby at their house, they followed a family on a walk, who said she wasn't theirs, and tried several neighbors before returning to my parents house. We didn't even know she was gone! I am ashamed to admit it. So glad she is safe! That was a close one.

While we were at my parents, my mom was using the bathroom when she heard some frenzied knocking at the door. Maia, in her four-year old way, was saying, "I gotta go potty!" My mom hurriedly sprayed the bathroom with some of that fruity bathroom spray that our family does not possess (she has a very nice smelling house in general anyway) and let her in. Maia asked her "Grandma, did you poop or pee?" "I pooed," my mom replied. "Wow, Grandma, your poo smells GOOOD!" said Maia in a congratulatory way. I hope my mom will not be embarrassed that I just advertised this story to the whole world. :)

Not to be gross here, but I guess I'm on a streak, so I may as well keep going. A twenty-year old skinny Hoover salesman came over and gave us a terribly long schpiel about a really expensive vacuum. The only reason I did it is they promised to carpet clean a whole room. It turned out to be more than I bargained for, as he was at our house for three hours. At one point during his demonstration, he was trying to communicate the dangers of dust mites, and therefore the need for a good vacuum to obliterate them. He told us in a sinister sort of way that many people experienced an allergic reaction to the dust mites. He said "its from the dust mites FORNICATING!" I think he meant to say "defecating." Since I got the whole presentation twice (don't ask) I got to verify that I did indeed hear him correctly the first time. It was so hard not to laugh.

We got an ecology book from the library and Maia and I attempted to make ourselves a little smarter during the day while all the others were away. She was so cute, inquisitive, and grave when we read about any animal eating another animal. The result, though, seemed a greater appreciation for our bodies, for nature, etc. Last night at dinner, Maia said a super long prayer thanking Heavenly Father for everything. She ended with "thank you that Isa is so special, thank you that Kaedon is special, thank you that Mom is special, thank you that Dad is special, thank you that Ava is special, and thank you that I am the best of all." Miguel was laughing so hard he was shaking.

What's Going On

2010-02-27T16:34:00.012-07:00

Here are some of our recent goings on:

We had a birthday party for Miguel's dad. What a fun guy.

I made the mistake of looking up party suggestions for Maia's princess party. She turned four and has been such a patient kid this last year I decided she deserved an extra fun party! So we went all out (all out for me): red carpet (alas, I didn't get a picture!), cheap Snow White cut-outs in the doorway, a wishing well they threw a coin into at the beginning and pulled up a basket at the end for their party favor. I also asked my too kind friend to make the cake, and she went all out! I felt bad she went to so much work, and the cake collapsed on the way to my house. She rescued it beautifully -- it was sure fun! I even broke down and dressed up as the queen, in an old dress I could barely zip up! All in all, pretty fun.

Playing "pin-the-lips-on-the-frog."

Isa lost her first tooth, then she lost her second tooth a few days later! She was so excited to put her tooth in a special tooth fairy pillow her grandma gave her. I also tried to braid a heart in her hair for Valentine's Day.

Kaedon earned his Wolf badge in Cub Scouts and was able to have Grandpa witness this special event as well as speak at our recent Blue and Gold Banquet. My dad did such a great job- he spoke for the 100 year anniversary of Scouting. It was so fun to have him there. We forgot our camera! Darn it. Here is a picture of the cake Kaedon and I made for the event.

One

2010-02-27T15:56:00.006-07:00

Ava turned one three months ago! I have some really cute pictures of her in a dress Miguel's family sent us from Spain. She is sooooo busy! She plays in the toilets, climbs on the table (dumps out the cereals, etc), dumps out the garbages, empties my cupboards, turns off the computer while I'm using it, eats crayons, rips the kids homework, it goes on and on. She does what all my other kids combined did at this age times ten! (playing in the toilet is new, even for us!) All this notwithstanding, we are enjoying her to bits. At least she has a sweet temperament while she is destroying the house. If I tell her no, she actually acts like she cares. (this is new) :) She is wild for books, though she will only sit still for a minute. I have to read them with lots of entertaining noises or be really quick about it! She is a sweet, busy girl! We sure love her.

Happy Valentines Day

2010-02-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Merry Christmas

2009-12-22T08:29:00.003-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Thankful

2009-12-08T21:33:00.002-07:00

This November we had some sad moments as we thought of multiple friends who lost children. One was a high school/college friend of mine who I ran into at Costco a few months ago. I hadn't seen him since my wedding, and lo and behold, he had five beautiful girls and a beautiful wife whom I had never met before. He seemed proud of his cute family. Then one morning a month and a half ago I was walking with a couple of women in my ward, when one of them mentioned a tragedy that had occured in a nearby town when a man's friend ran over his child with a dump truck. They had been digging a pit for a trampoline and the homeowner's friend ran over his fifteen month old with the dump truck. Her father found her a few minutes later and she was still alive for just a short time. In the course of this conversation I realized this was the friend I had run into at Costco! I felt so sad for their family, I just couldn't stop thinking about them all month. It was one of those times I wished I could just make it better!

One of my sister's best friends also just lost a little boy Kaedon's age to a rare type of tumor.

We tried a little something In November (inspired by some friends in Colorado) in conjunction with these sad events connected to things we were grateful for-- ie if you were thankful for your healthy body then you would do service for someone who was sick. It ended up being such a wonderful experience for all of us.

It was a great lead-in to the Christmas season and I must admit, I wanted to keep going! Hope we can continue the same tradition each year.

A Getaway!

2009-10-22T14:00:00.002-06:00

I was going to wait to post this for a bit in order to avoid blog overload, but decided I'd rather be caught up!

We took a much needed vacation last week-- we have had quite the year, and Miguel had yet to take a single vacation day in almost a year. It was time! Needless to say, we had the most wonderful vacation to date. Its getting harder to get away with school and sports schedules to work around, and our summer was a little crazy! Our next one has to be Colorado-- I'm just dying to see friends and babies and babies of friends!

Another Smilebox, I know, I know. At least I can burn it to CD for a sort of scrapbooky-thing.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Our summer in pictures

2009-10-21T15:05:00.004-06:00

Okay, okay, so I'm addicted to Smilebox! I signed up for a free trial membership and have to squeeze it in before I can't use it anymore. Enjoy our summer in pictures.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Kaedon's Baptism

2009-10-21T14:52:00.011-06:00

Kaedon turned 8! What a great kid he has always been-- very kind and such a good big brother! It was so wonderful to see who showed up at his baptism! Our families were there, including my grandparents, some friends, and my mission president and his wife. What a surprise, though, when some friends from Colorado showed up! It was so wonderful to have so many loved ones to share his special day.

Make a Smilebox invite

Milestone Mania

2009-07-05T14:26:00.006-06:00

We have still been so busy! But here are some of our most recent milestones:

* My sister got married! She married such a great guy. We are so excited to have him in the family. Next order of business: get my kids some cousins! Ha ha just kidding. Not really.

* On the night of my sister's wedding party, Ava got her first tooth! My kids have all been late teethers, with Isa being the latest, getting her first tooth at one year. I was doubly surprised when she got her second tooth the very next day! What a surprise.

* We lost our first pet. I wrote a whole post on the sad ordeal, but decided not to publish it, its just too sad. One of our little lambies ate a poisonous plant and died a slow, sad death. When she was dying it was so hard to watch her suffering. In the final stages, it started to pour down rain on our poor little lamb. The kids stood out in the rain holding umbrellas over her while she died, even though they were getting soaked themselves. Kaedon had a good cry, but now our little pet is at peace, our first little grave consecrating our new place for future generations of pet casualties.

Little did we know how soon our lambie would have companions! My sister gave Isa two kitties for her birthday. One of them died just a few days later. It was also very sad. Then the other one ran away! We are not having a good track record here.

* Isa turned six! She has been such a fun girl to have around.

Cute grads

2009-06-15T23:04:00.010-06:00

My cute sister graduated a couple of weeks ago. What a great student she is...we are proud of her! She has always been such a sweet girl. I was a teenager when she was born, and being around her made me want to be a mom! She was so cute and fun. I missed her so much whenever I went away, especially when I went to college and on my mission. It has been fun to live close to her again and be able to hang out. We were able to meet her right after her graduation, after hiking my kids up a hill to get to where the grads were. Halfway up the hill, I realized Maia had brought her babies. Of course, I ended up being the carrier of the babies. When I met Miri, she took them for me. It was quite the sight-- she looked so diginified in her graduation garb, and had a baby on each arm. It was making us laugh. We were still laughing when my mom took our picture (I relieved her of her baby watching duties for a moment).

They also had a graduation party for the kindergartners. The bus used to pick her up right outside our house, and my neighbor was kind enough to take a picture of her on the second to last day of school, right in the middle of our move. We will miss our awesome neighbors.

In the Nick of Time!

2009-06-15T22:23:00.013-06:00

We went to get our last box and found this posted on the door of our rental:

The auction date is in a week!

We never heard a word from the bank, a realtor, or an attorney about the house while we were living in it. My neighbor said her brother-in-law had been watching its price on the MLS! (while we were living in it!) We had no idea it was listed. It must have been listed in some form for quite a while for it to be in the "to-be-auctioned" stage. We're just glad we didn't have to try to find another place to rent before we moved.

[I took out the picture of our house, just for safety's sake. Now you'll just have to come and see it in person!]

Its a little bit of an odd shaped lot, but sits on almost an acre with some open space behind it.

As far as gardens go, all we had space for in our old house was a little wimpy strawberry patch. I hope we won't regret planting this much! (a lot of beets! my father-in-law planted them, thinking Miguel likes them, and none of us do)

We did this house so we could have some animals and plenty of space for the kids to play. We have been absolutely exhausted after going back and forth working on it and moving for a month, while getting kids to school and feeding lambs, but it feels so great to finally be in our own place!

Farmer Ava

2009-05-24T17:19:00.004-06:00

We started looking for houses eight months ago. We decided to look for horse property, not because we want horses, because we want to raise a few small farm animals for the kids. What a roller coaster! I think it was a roller coaster for many reasons. First, we've moved a lot, and we're really tired of it! Second, we've done some major house projects and don't want to spend our kids' childhoods fixing houses (so that ruled out any major projects). Third, moving nine months pregnant AND with a new baby...ouch. Plus, Miguel had to work a ton at first, and I started feeling pretty isolated. Fourth, I miss my friends in Colorado, though it has been more wonderful than even I imagined to be near our family again. Fifth, we almost struck out three times. The third house we put an offer on went under contract with someone else before it fell through and gave us a chance. Sixth, the kids had a hard time in their new school, with Isa's selective mutism returning en force.

Lastly, about 4-5 months ago we started receiving foreclosure notices addressed to the owner of the house we're renting (we didn't open his mail, much of it was in postcard form). We even received a hand-written note on the door from an investor wanting to buy our "distressed" property. Of course we have dutifully paid our rent each month, even though we didn't know if we would be evicted any day and not have anywhere to go (with four kids and way too much stuff!). When I asked the property manager, he said he hadn't heard from the owner for months. Just a couple of weeks ago, our neighbor, who works for the government, looked up our rental property on the internet and it is indeed in foreclosure. Eventually the owner also admitted this to our property manager, who told us to get out as soon as possible.

Of course we had been looking for a place for months already, with no luck. We had a really difficult time finding horse property, even a half acre, in our price range. I started to get desperate and kept expanding my list to include things I previously refused to. We looked at a couple major fixer-uppers, tried looking further north (but the commute is just too long!), looked at going through a builder, even considered other counties such as Utah and SLC county.

I reached a point a couple of months ago when I was experiencing all sorts of anxiety relating to our housing situation. Conference gave me some much needed perspective and peace-- I appreciated all the talks about hope in the face of uncertainty. One day in particular I had to ask for some extra help and Heavenly Father really helped to ease my burden emotionally. Things also started getting better from that point on.

I had really been resisiting looking at certain new homes because of their size. I would really rather spend time with my family than cleaning a massive house (though we don't have a small family any more and some homes aren't practical because they are just too small or only have a couple of bedrooms). I was also thinking that the larger the house, the larger the price tag and energy bill, and we really want to be out of debt as soon as possible.

That said, a home popped up on our search one day that just seemed too good to be true for the price. (I've discovered that if the price seems really good, its usually a bank deal) Our poor realtor, who has been hanging with us through thick and thin, agreed to show it to us. It is new, and big, but the price was quite a bit better than the old, small house we almost bought in January. It is also built with a special kind of insulation that makes it twice as energy efficient as the average home. It was a short sale, and we offered less than the asking price (half of what the original owners paid) and got it (after it went under contract with someone else then fell through)! I kept praying that if it wasn't right, it wouldn't work out, but it did.

So, I guess we are homeless no more!

We were so excited that we bought some fruit trees and aquired some "pets" before we even closed! We've been keeping them in our backyard at the rental until we move in to our home next week. Our neighbors have been really patient with our "pets" escaping their enclosure while we are gone or occasionally bleating early in the morning or late at night. :)

The home we purchased was really dirty, so we've been cleaning it (and I have been remembering my sweet friends who helped me clean our Colorado house...thank you, thank you!) and trying to get ready to put in a yard. We've also been moving things into the basement. Our dear parents have been helping at great personal cost-- we appreciate them so much. Couldn't do it without them! Its been another difficult move. I really don't know what I'd do without the help we've received.

Adventure

2009-05-24T16:44:00.005-06:00

When I was a kid, most of my favorite books were adventure novels. I loved Anne of Green Gables, but I also loved sword-weilding, evil-fighting, rough-and-tumble adventures like the Black Cauldron.

We recently celebrated 9 years of marriage. As I thought back to our nine years together, I think one of the words that most aptly describes our time together is adventure. Here are some of our adventures in statistical form:

Number of homes we've owned: 3
Lived in: 6
Number of children born to us in 9 years: 4
Number of pregnancies: 4
Family members we've lost: Miguel's mom, an uncle and a cousin
Number of times we've moved: 7
Number of times we've moved with a baby under six months: 3
Number of interntational moves: 2 (if you count moving to England and back)
Number of countries we've visited together: 14
Number of collective callings we've had: 19
Percentage of said callings as president of an auxiliary: roughly %10
Number of years without an air conditioner: 9 (soon to change! YES!)
US Family Vacations: Maine, San Diego, Southern Colorado, South Dakota
Number of homes that we've had to do some serious cleaning and fixing before moving in: 3
Lifetime friends we've left behind in our moves: too many to count
Types of pets: fish, snails(also too many to count!I know, gross), Triops, lambs, kitties
Collective number of advanced degrees obtained since we were married: 3
Number of jobs Miguel has held: 2
Number of times we've been robbed: 1
Cost of the robbery: $2,000

I think this all adds up to equal adventure! One thing is for sure-- we've never been bored. What a fun nine years.

Oh Baby!

2009-04-23T09:44:00.009-06:00

Our baby is growing. Ava is still so fun for all of us!

I had to get a picture of her in her blessing hat thingy before she outgrew it. Cute, just too bad I had some troubles with the camera!

She squeals and squeals. It is so cute. I don't remember any of my other babies squealing so much. For some reason the noise I was making made her laugh.

Excellent

2009-04-08T22:18:00.008-06:00

Speaking of excellent, Miguel watched the two littlest babes while I took the older two to the "Five Browns." They were absolutely fun and entertaining to watch. And VERY excellent. Made me want to start practicing the piano again! One of our favorite songs was the Danse Macabre-- it was amazing! It is a classical piece based on a poem written about skeletons dancing in the graveyard before dawn. Sooooo fun! They don't have it recorded anywhere, and their five-piano arrangement was by far the best. I'm going to post a video of someone else playing it. If you don't want to watch the whole thing, just watch the last two minutes. Again, not as good as the Five Browns, but amazing playing and amazing song nonetheless.

Because I'm a computer dummy, I'll just give you the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9rn-HQzGf8&feature=related

Check out the five Browns here: http://myplay.com/video-player/the-5-browns/the-firebird-from-the-1911-version

Whatever You Do, Be Excellent At It

2009-04-08T21:53:00.003-06:00

I am a believer in "Good, Better, Best." I realized a couple of years ago that I physically CANNOT do it all. I cannot simultaneously be Wonder-woman and She-ra, and that is okay. I just need to decide what is most important to me, after analyzing the whole picture, and focus on those things. Some things that seem important are just not important. (like having white teeth)

That said, these days I just don't feel like I'm excellent at anything. You could say I'm the anti-excellent. I'm excellent at being in my PJ's until 5pm. I'm excellent at letting my kids make a mess and not cleaning it up.

A couple of weeks ago, (okay, okay, it was a couple of months ago, I'm just getting around to it...see what I say about excellent?) coaches from the BYU and U of U football teams came to our school as part of a week focused on reading. We barely dragged ourselves there, since Miguel had to work late that night. They read a favorite story to the kids. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed at the lack of respect shown while we were there. One could hardly hear them read, even though they had a microphone. People seemed more interested in getting their autographs than listening to what they said about the importance of reading.

I could tell the BYU quarterback coach, Brandon Doman, was tired too, and though I'm sure he believes in what he was doing, had probably dragged himself there too. He had come with two of his kids, who were being a little rambunctious. He seemed worn out and ready to go home.

But I could also tell just by looking at him that he is a good guy. And his kids, though rambunctious, looked well-cared for. He lit up a bit when someone asked him if he liked playing football. He said it was the most fun thing he had ever done. He also shared his belief that excellence is important. He said, "whatever you do, be excellent at it." Having had my brief stint in college sports, I understand how gruelling it can be. I also understand how difficult it is to balance sports with school, which he had also accomplished.

He left out the back door during the crazy last few minutes of the program, looking as tired as he did when he came. I wondered if he felt the time he had taken that night to inspire young people in school and sports had been a waste. But I left feeling inspired, that in my little corner of the world, I may not be doing things of consequence to many people, but I can still do my best. And those times when it seems no one is listening are sometimes the most important times to share ourselves with others-- even if it only helps one tired mom back on her feet.

Isa's Song

2009-03-23T21:44:00.003-06:00

Isa wrote a song. I thought it was so adorable! I love this stage of "phoentic spelling." I feel a bit reluctant to teach her correct spelling because I love the way she writes her words. Just in case you can't read her song, I'm going to type and interpret.

Wot [what] do you do on Sunday...you go to church and you eat lunch aftr...wot do you do on monday...you wach [watch] schos [shows] and you eat an appl...wat do you do on Tuesday you war [wear] green to school and you war green to Grandma's...wot do you do on Wednesday...you make some crafs [crafts] and you paly [play] with yore mom...wot do you do on thursday...you look at hawsese [houses] and feed the triops...wat do you do on Friday...you reed [read] book's and you wach [watch] a moovee...wat do you do on Saturday you kleenup [clean up] the haws [house]

She did this on a Sunday, before any of this had happened. I was amazed at her perceptiveness-- the fact that she knew Tues was St. Patrick's Day (we were to go to my parent's for a green dinner that night), and also that she knew at least one day we would go out to look at houses. Also that she knew Saturday is job day (I'm not that consistent about this-- I'm not sure Kaedon knows Saturday is job day!) See this link if your curious about Triops: http://http://www.science-city.com/triopskit.html. Ugly little creatures, thats for sure, but fun (one time!).

A Late Tribute

2009-03-23T21:16:00.003-06:00

I know, President's Day has come and gone, but I am still reading John Adams, and have been thinking a lot about the sacrifices the founding fathers made for us. I read a passage a few weeks ago that really touched me. I had been feeling sorry for myself, because my dear husband has had to work 60 hours a week for quite a while now, and has to travel every other week.

It just so happens that while I was feeling sorry for myself, with a new baby in a new place, that I was reading about a time in the Adams life when John was working for the Continental Congress and Abigail was pregnant. They had only lived together for half of the fourteen years they had been married, and she desparately wanted him to come home to Braintree, Massachusetts, at least for the birth of their child. (this was to be her last pregnancy) He wanted to be there too, but knew he was indispensable to the cause for American independence. She had to manage their farm alone, as well as their four children, and all this while rampant inflation made necessary goods all but unaffordable.

One night two weeks before she was to deliver, she had a "shaking fit," and wondered if the life inside her had died. Two weeks later, she delivered a sweet stillborn daughter. It made me so sad! I can't imagine losing a child, or the difficulty of living without a husband most of the time. To go through something like that alone would be so sad! She rarely complained.

Abigail Adams not only did her part at home, but she wrote letters of encouragement and inspiration to her husband. John Adams had to be one of the finest men of the day, and I can't help but think that he would have been half the man without her. (she told him 'affliction is a good man's shining time,' a quote from a favorite poet)

It made me realize that while we honor the men who founded our great nation, the soldiers who gave their lives, and the leaders who built a unique political system on a foundation of equality and justice, we owe an equal debt of gratitude to the women of the time! Who will know what sacrifices women made to give us the freedom we enjoy. "Remembering these years long afterward, Adams would tell Benjamin Rush they were 'times that tried women's souls as well as men's.'" (from John Adams, by David McCullough, page 172)

Cute little Cutie

2009-02-18T22:53:00.003-07:00

She is so cute, I know! Already growing so big. Sorry the quality on this video is terrible, but you get the general idea!

The Abominable Snow Shovel

2009-02-18T22:38:00.005-07:00

Do you ever have one of those dreams that someone is chasing you, and no matter how hard you try, you just can't shake them? One recurring theme in my nighmares is when I try to call 911, the phone won't work.

It has snowed a ton here, much more than we are used to. We weren't good snow-shovellers to begin with, AND Miguel has had to put in many extra hours at work. Even though the house was a wreck, I tried my hand at shovelling the other day. I was sure I looked awkward (hey, I never do it!) and of course imagtined that all the neighbors were staring at me. And the snow was dang heavy! I had envisioned clearing the whole driveway in a short time by running with the shovel through powdery snow. It was not like that. It was heavy. It hurt my back. I got the steps cleared and about two feet in front of the garage. Then I went inside. To heck with shovelling, this is the pits!

Coincidentally, the next night I had a dream that someone was chasing me and I just couldn't get away. I ran into other people's houses and hid in their closets, borrowed their phones (of couse the phones wouldn't dial 911), and tried escaping my attacker by running out the back door and through neighbors yards as fast as I could. At one point, I ran into a house afert passing a man who was standing in his driveway. After I passed, the man faced off with the "bad guy"-- he squared his shoulders, blocking the walkway, and raised....guess what? A shovel. For some reason, the guy chasing me also had a shovel. They had a pretty nasty fight with those shovels.

It took me a little while to put two and two together. I had a nightmare with a fight involving shovels! I think this is a sign that I should definitely NOT try to shovel the driveway again. I'd better just stay inside my messy house. I'm definitely safe there.

The Latest

2009-02-18T22:07:00.008-07:00

We couldn't go to the lake, so the lake came to us!

We were a day away from signing a contract on a house, when someone warned us we were paying too much. We decided to get an appraisal before we signed anything, which angered the owner, who decided to put it on the MLS for 20K MORE than he was asking us! Good and bad-- we got the appraisal back (which we had to fork out some dough for!), and the house was indeed priced about $30-50,000 to high! When we told the owner, he said appraisers don't really know what they are talking about. He's sure his house is worth what he was asking. We said, well, we can only pay what it appraises for and no more and he said...sorry! So, yes, we are sad, but our little investment in an appraisal may be the best return on our money ever! I guess we're out a house, but not the shirt on our backs. And now we get to enjoy the view of the lake from our back windows AND in our basement a little longer!

Two special days recently. The pictures say it all.

Conversations

2009-01-26T09:55:00.009-07:00

Seems like everyone around here is saying funny things these days. I just had to write them down.

This morning I gave Maia several choices for breakfast. Instead of choosing something I suggested, she smiled, looked at the cereal shelf, and said she wanted "cream-colored ponies."

Isa and Kaedon love to delay bedtime, but especially at Grandma's house. Grandma was kind enough to lie down with them in an effort to get them to stay in bed. The conversation they had was quite revealing, and I guess I'm glad that I don't know what they tell their primary teachers about us. My mom asked me if I knew Isa could spread her toes out wide. I said I didn't. While showing my mom this clever trick, Isa said, "If I were a cat, my claws would be out."

We finally sold the house! And let me tell you, those people made us work for all that money we gave them. :) We have also been trying to make a deal on a house we want to buy! So exciting. Miguel's new favorite phrase when dealing with a difficult person's request is to tell them to "go pound sand." (akin to telling someone to go fly a kite) I'm not sure he has actually used this phrase to a person themself, but he has been sorely tempted to use it many, many times!

Kaedon got to have lunch with the mayor! On the day he received his invitation at school, he arrived home, breathless with excitement. With a very grave look on his face, he told me: "I'd better not be picky."

My grandmas are so cute. While visiting recently with one of them, Miguel and I got laughing pretty hard. She told us about a friend who often used to say: "I'd rather die young than die when I'm old. That way, people will say 'Oh, what a shame!' instead of 'oh, what a blessing!'"

We Rode the Bus, Yes We Rode the Bus

2009-01-06T22:26:00.003-07:00

Yes, I finally broke down and put my kids on the bus! And guess what, they're still alive! And so am I. Something about bundling up four kids three times a day, one of them a newborn, did it. Plus, we're the last stop before school-- its only 5 minutes. I am a little sad to not be the first one to see them after school, or the last to kiss them goodbye, and I had a hard first day. But something about seeing them run off to meet the neighbor kids or burst in all smiles after school makes it all worth it. I'll take happy smiling kids any day. Better than sad and lonely. I guess I'll have to get over the fact that I'm not going to be the center of their universe forever....might as well start getting used to it now. :)

Best Christmas

2008-12-29T23:30:00.005-07:00

This was an awesome Christmas. Something about having our little miracle here at the same time we celebrate the birth of the Savior was so special. We saved our Christmas shopping for December 23 (and I even got a couple of things on December 27--so sad!), but it was so nice to simplify! Just a few less distractions. We have also been the recipient of the kindness of our family as well as some complete strangers! Our ward has been so good to us to bring us meals and check on us periodically-- a family we don't even know surprised us with dinner on Christmas Eve. We also got to see Becky, Gavin, and Eleanor when they came to Utah-- a highlight for all of us and a sight for sore eyes! My sister also surprised us by eloping in Figi on the day after Christmas! I'm so happy she found such a great guy, and that she saved me a really long plane ride. (j/k) :)

Sweet Baby

2008-12-19T10:49:00.006-07:00

After moving, I got in to see an OB that I quickly discovered I would rather not see, so after changing insurance I was able to see a doctor a friend had recommended. Because we still don't know many people, I've taken all my kids with me to various appointments (and had to be creative about explaining certain things, as well as offer some outright bribes for good behavior), including the ER yesterday (I'll get to that later).

I saw the new doctor on a Monday, and the very next day I went into labor! That Tuesday, I ran errands with my girls, and started feeling a really sharp, localized pain in my back and abdomen. It didn't come and go like contractions, but was constant and very painful. I tried laying down in the afternoon to get it to go away (I thought it was from carrying Maia around that morning), but nothing made it feel better. I also wasn't feeling the baby move and I had a fever. I was really afraid something was wrong! I really didn't want to go in (so inconvenient!, but decided that I probably ought to. I did end up calling my only friend in the immediate vicinity who was very nice about letting me leave the kids with her. I went to the hospital with my bag, though it wasn't completely packed, because I was sure they were sending me home! I didn't take cameras or anything else either. I called Miguel at work and told him to stay there, I was just getting checked and not to worry (he still teases me about this because I called him crying).

I'm sorry this is so long. Someone needs to help me learn how to abridge myself. I started having contractions on the way to the hospital, though they were light. At one point, I had to stop at a drive-thru burger joint to ask for directions to the hospital! The poor teenage girl looked like a deer in the headlights when I asked her how to get to the hospital-- at least she will always have that fun story to tell.

In the hospital, the L & D nurse was really nice (amazing how differently they treat you with a fourth baby than a first). I kept insisting that I probably wasn't in labor, that I just wanted them to check the baby, but of course they admitted me and strapped me up to all their machines and called the doctor. The machine showed that I was having contractions, and after an hour and a half of watching me they decided I was progressing and therefore decided to keep me!

My new doctor, bless his heart, actually came to check on me at 10 pm and I wasn't ready yet, so he went in another room and slept. Meantime, of course Miguel had arrived, my mom had driven down to take the kids (they actually stopped by...they weren't sure what to think), and my sister stayed with me after my mom left. Everyone tried to sleep a little, and the nurse came in about midnight to check me again. She said she thought I was pretty close to delivering, but wanted to check before we woke up everyone, so she asked me to give a little push and see what happened. Pretty quickly she asked me to stop pushing and she went to get the doctor.

The room was soon bustling with green scrub-clad medical people getting ready for our new arrival. The doctor and nurses were fiddling with his chair when I felt a funny sensation (I had an epidural) like the baby was starting to slip out a little bit. Everyone was pretty preoccupied, and I didn't want to bother them, but I thought I'd better tell them. "Um, I have a weird feeling like the baby is starting to slip out," was all it took and everyone was suddenly right there. Miguel said the baby's head was completely out already. Good thing I said something or that baby might have been on the floor! :)

One little push and she was out! To me, she is beautiful as can be, and has a different look than the other kids. (they are all beautiful as can be, I didn't mean that to come out wrong) Of course she is super sweet and has been a great baby so far. It has sure been fun having kids just a tad older this time, so they can enjoy her that much more.

It took a couple of days to get her a name, (another thing I went to the hospital without!) but having a couple of quiet days in the hospital seemed to help. It just seemed to fit her.

Since then, we've been beguiling away the time just enjoying her and enjoying each other. I have felt great except for my legs. I thought they'd get better after she was born, but they actually hurt worse for the first couple of days. Then I noticed a red, swollen,lump on one leg a few days after we got home from the hospital. The doctor said it was probably a blood clot. Since it was in a superficial vein, the doctor prescribed an antibiotic and wanted me to watch it for a few days to see if it improved.

It improved a little, but I was still having quite a bit of leg pain, and I was worried about a clot in a deeper vein. Again, so inconvenient, but since it was still hurting yesterday I had to go back to the ER so they could do an ultrasound on my leg. They noticed the superficial clot but nothing in the deep veins, though he noted that I "definitely have some varicosities." (thank you!) Its probably those that are still hurting.

So I have to continue to wear my fashion hosiery for the next four weeks and just make sure I don't sit or stand too much.

In the end, she is definitely worth it all! Amazing that once they get here, all of those aches and pains are worth it.

Moved in

2008-12-19T10:42:00.003-07:00

Okay, so this is so tardy. We moved into our rental house mid-November, after a sad goodbye to our dear friends. We were nearly homeless at Christmas with a new baby on the way, as our first rental house fell through when all our stuff was loaded on the truck! We didn't even have internet to look for another one, and didn't know what to tell the driver to do with our stuff! Fortunately I had a list of rentals and phone numbers from an earlier search, and we found one that we had originally discounted because it couldn't be occupied until Dec 1. They let us move in early (thank heavens, since Ava came early!). It is a newer home in a pretty new development. I'm loving it for now, because it has an unfinished basement, which means plenty of storage and less to clean! Its been so nice to have that with a new baby...much easier to maintain (if you can call what I've been doing "maintaining!"). We also have an awesome back yard with an amazing view. Its funny, though, our kids were so used to playing in the front yard at the old house that they still go out front when its time to play! We also discovered we have a huge ward, and we already know several people in it. We live across the street from a couple I knew before (don't ask how!). Small world.

Best Friends in the World

2008-11-09T14:04:00.005-07:00

What can I say to some of the most amazing women in the world? I have been feeling guilty lately for all the kind things you have done for me that I will be unable to reciprocate! Thanks for being there for me through some tough times, for making me laugh, for helping me relax a little bit (and realizing that is okay!), for feeding my family, for crying with me through my pregnancies but cheering for my new baby, for park days and ward picnics and babysitting, and putting up with me on my bad days. Thanks for inspiring me to be better-- for inspiring me to desire to help others, learn how to sew, to read more, and to make at least a little time for myself. You even inspire me to do my hair once in a while. You are amazing! I am really going to miss you.

On Moving Trucks, Yard Signs, and Goodbyes

2008-11-09T13:13:00.005-07:00

I know its been so long since my last post! I've been so sad about moving I just haven't had the heart to write about it yet. This is the longest we've ever lived anywhere-- nearly half of our married life has been spent here! Although I'm not attached to my house as a house, it has become home for me. We've been through a lot here, watched our kids grow and our family grow, and I've made some of the best friends I've ever had. Its also been a great ward, where I've really enjoyed serving, being served, and learning from the amazing examples all around me.

I enjoyed serving in Relief Society, intense as it was. There was a special spirit that came into my life at that time and I was definitely buoyed up beyond my natural abilities. I still feel my time was too short, but I learned a ton. One of my big concerns as we considered Miguel's job offer was making sure I felt we'd be doing the right thing. In the end, it boiled down to him being happy in his job and being closer to our family.

As our move date has drawn closer, it has become clear how much the friendships we've made here mean to me. The part of me that wants the comfort of the easy road (that is the loudest voice in my head lately) wants to ignore the right choice and just stay here. I have to remind myself that we really did think this through prayerfully and we are making the right choice, hence everything will turn out okay. (Even though, as Kaedon says, "change is hard! Why does Obama have 'change' as a slogan? it should be 'no change!'") :)

I've been reading a biography of John Adams (by David McCullough), a new hero of mine. In a world that mocks idealists, he was a shining star of sticking to his principles, in spite of all the hardships it entailed (his wife as well!). (refreshing after the recent political furor) Several years before the revolution, he was offered a position within the British government in Massachusetts. The man who offered him the job was similarly bright and talented, and lived a much more lavish lifestyle because of the job he had taken for the British. I'm sure this was a tempting prospect! But John turned it down, opting instead for the hard and tedious road that would lead to eventual American independence. If he had taken that job, undoubtedly he would not have been selected later to represent the burgeoning colonial government, and his part in shaping this great nation would have never existed. When the tide rose in favor of independence, his wife in a letter quoted Shakespeare to him:

"There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in the shallows and the miseries...And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures."

A good lesson in taking opportunities when the time is right, even if it entails some personal sacrifice.

In the end, I'm glad that goodbye isn't forever (if all of you would just move with us, that would be great.), and I'm thankful I can keep up with your lives on your own blogs.

So, I'm sorry for yet another introspective and serious blog post. In about another month I hope they'll lighten up a bit! :)

If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It

2008-09-11T14:10:00.005-06:00

After three kids and seven years of parenting we have finally reached one of those milestones: a broken arm!

After soccer yesterday, I was getting in a much-needed and long-overdue chat with a friend I hardly ever see. Kaedon was playing with her son while Maia and Isa rode bikes (and I intermittently made half-hearted attempts to get them to the car!).

Right when it was time to go, Isa took a spill on her bike. We pulled her out from under the bike, checked for bumps and bruises (there were no bruises or scrapes!) and got her to the car. She was crying quite a bit, but it was also a little past dinnertime and I figured she was tired and hungry.

In the car, I looked back at her and noticed her arm looked a little weird. (maybe this was mommy paranoia?) Just to be sure, I asked her (without giving away that I had a certain arm in mind) if either of her arms hurt. She pointed to the one that was already suspect. With no real reason to suspect a break, I just felt that something wasn't right.

We got home late, the house was a wreck, there was nothing to eat for dinner (we had already had cereal for breakfast and lunch...there are limits, even for cereal), the girls were both crying, I had an appointment at church in 20 minutes, and my legs were killing me. I normally try not attack Miguel for a few minutes, but when he walked in the door a bit later, I said "I NEED SOME HELP!" I canceled my appointment and sat in the recliner holding two crying girls while he made dinner. Even though there wasn't much of a reason to suspect a break, but I still felt deep down that her arm was broken.

Dinner and medicine helped the atmosphere at home tremendously. We decided to wait until the morning, and if her arm still hurt, take her in to be seen. In the morning, there was still no bruising or swelling, but she couldn't turn her hand over and her arm was still really tender.

We went to Urgent Care and got X-rays, and the X-ray tech showed them to me briefly before we went back in to see the doc. I couldn't see anything and felt pretty silly, thinking I had been overly paranoid. I was very surprised when the doctor came in, saying the arm was broken after all! (mixed feelings here)

I chatted with the doctor while she casted her arm. She would periodically ask Isa questions and Isa would only look very gravely at her cast without saying anything. After she left the room, Isa held up her arm and said "Mom, its on the RIGHT arm!" (incidentally, the WRONG arm!) Can't believe neither I nor the doctor even noticed. Isa said the entire time she was casting it, she was thinking "wrong arm! wrong arm!" (THATs why she was looking so serious!) So Isa actually got to have TWO casts for a little bit-- a pink AND a purple. We took a picture with my phone and sent it to Dad (who as yet didn't know whether she had a break or not) and Grandpa/Grandma. We thought it was a pretty good joke to appear to have two broken arms instead of just one.

Afterward, we got her a treat and some medicine and she got to watch TV all afternoon! She said "this is kind of fun!" What a cutie.

Scholasti-Mom

2008-09-06T15:00:00.006-06:00

I have a friend who will soon be a stay-at-home mom! In response to her request for ideas on how to maintain a brain as a mom, I thought I'd post a thought (or two). I don't mean any of this to sound preachy or soapbox-ish-- its just that kids and learning and kids' learning (I don't just mean intellectual!) are things I am more passionate about than just about anything else! If this is all obvious information, then take it with a grain of salt. :)

1. IF you have any, leave behind any preconceptions about "woman's work" being degrading. Women have made successful businesses as seamstresses, chefs, doctors, decorators, even "home organizers!" Doing the same things at home can be just as challenging and rewarding with the right attitude. All the other stuff aside, is there a more important job in the world than being a mom?

2. Let your child's curiosity lead you. Kids look at the world with such a fresh perspective. Things we take for granted, like the color of the sky and the blowing of a breeze are all new to them. As you help satisfy their curiosity, you may learn something that you would otherwise have taken granted! You can also stoke their curiosity by having some of it yourself. "How do flowers grow?" or "what causes the wind to blow?" may be questions that lead to an exciting mutual discovery. (I have learned more out of children's books at the library than I did in college! Physics, astronomy, math, literature, botany, you name it!) And teaching something really is the best way to learn it.

3. You don't have to go somewhere fancy every day, but find little learning opportunities as you progress through your day. I still remember watching Becky show Eleanor the moon once after a get-together and explaining a bit about its phases. No wonder she is so smart!

4. Periodically expose your kids to the best classical music, art, dancing, theater, science, etc (even if its on a CD or DVD!). They may not be as excited as they would be for Water World (and I'm not saying NOT to go to Water World, just to not do that exclusively) but if YOU are excited, its hard for some of that not to rub off. My kids love dancing around to the "William Tell Overture" as much as they do to more "cool" stuff.

5. Become a miniature child development expert. Researching the human brain and how it works not only helps in understanding each phase your child goes through, but can be enlightening in regards to human nature in general (including your own!).

4. Stay connected with the world through high-end journalism. I love to listen to NPR while I fold clothes or get ready for the day. I also love reading a couple of Wall Street Journal articles a day or sneaking in a bit of the "Economist." I like to think of it as learning from some of the brightest minds in America right there in my living room.

5. This is probably too obvious: challenge yourself with books and discuss them with others. :)

6. Mindless tasks don't have to be mindless. Agatha Christie once said that she planned her novels while doing the dishes. Some of these kinds of tasks are a great opportunity to think and plan without having to completely focus on the task at hand.

7. When within the budget, use travel as a teacher. We like to work in at least one cultural event per family trip. Going to the preserved home of a favorite writer or diplomat is more personal than just reading about him/her in a book.

8. Understand that you may not always be perfectly stimulated at all times (you probably wouldn't feel this in your job, anyway!). Raising kids does require some sacrifice, even if that just means changing the timing of something you really want to do or learn. In the end, it is so worth it! Imagine, as a kid, thinking, wow, my mom is an amazing, capable woman, who could do just about anything, and she chose me. What kid wouldn't feel the power of their own potential when the most powerful woman in his or her life sees him/her as a top priority? What will that child not be able to accomplish? And knowing that you've empowered someone else will contribute more to your being than just about anything else.

Back to School and Little Boy Grows Up

2008-09-06T14:45:00.004-06:00

Its that time of year again! Is it okay to say I'm so glad summer is over? I actually survived another summer pregnant with no air conditioner, and I wouldn't do it again! My family also survived a summer of pizza, hamburgers, and eating out. I hope my kids won't be ruined for life in a culinary or nutritional sense.

I was happy to have all the kids home when the summer began, and I enjoyed seeing them more often (and not having a tight schedule to keep). Each year as Kaedon has gone to school, I have gotten really sad at one point or another. I was also curious to see how I would do sending off Isa this year. Its hard to be sad, though, when I know she has been so excited! Half-day kindergarten keeps me so busy running back and forth that it is also hard to have time to miss her! We'll see how we do next year.

This year, I also have to admit, I am enjoying a little quiet time during the day, as well as having a little more one-on-one with Maia in the morning and Isa in the afternoon. Its actually nice to have a schedule again, which means I also get a little quiet time at night back as well. (Hence a Jane Austen or two-- I'm loving it!)

Kaedon had a birthday and lost a front tooth on the top, which made him look so old! He also seems to have grown a ton recently. All this has made me wonder what has happened to my little boy! Watching them grow is definitely bittersweet.

I'm five! I'm five! I'm five!

2008-08-05T16:28:00.002-06:00

I am so behind at this. Isa had a BIG birthday in July, and she showed the appropriate enthusiasm for her big day. Her grandma came to visit, she had a party with a few friends, and Isa kept us updated on what the "five year-old" was doing. (the "five year-old is having a party, Mom!") The night before her birthday, she told her grandma: "Grandma, if you forget in the morning that I'm five, I'll just shout 'I'm five! I'm five! I'm five!'" Very cute.

my dad

2008-06-16T21:41:00.003-06:00

My husband likes to poke fun at me about a few things I've saved over the years. Several of them relate to my dad. One of them is a candy bar wrapper. I was a teenager and I was off to EFY or something, and my dad slipped a giant candy bar into my suitcase. Another is a twenty dollar bill that is folded like a bird. It was a creative way of sending me money on my mission, but I could never bring myself to spend it. Ever since I was a little girl, my dad would fold paper (usually in church) in creative ways to keep me entertained. I've also saved little notes he wrote -- usually simple, telling me he loved me or inviting me to one of his killer French toast breakfasts. He is a gentle giant who loves nature, 8 tracks, books on most subjects, making things with his hands, and kids. He was always quietly kind, inspiring me in many ways just by sheer fact that he loved me and spent time with me. What a great dad.

The Grad

2008-06-16T21:28:00.005-06:00

We were able to attend Miguel's graduation last weekend. I was so proud! He put in so much work and it was very rewarding to see him and the other students honored for their efforts. What an accomplishment. (and now we can sort of have a life again!) :)

Fishing in Utah

2008-06-16T21:22:00.003-06:00

Seems like every time we visit Miguel's dad, he takes us fishing. The kids love it, and so do I. (Thats because I don't have to clean the fish!) He is a good fisherman AND a good grandpa.

Near Death Experience

2008-06-16T21:15:00.003-06:00

In Utah I had a near death experience. Too bad I was sleeping! This happened on I-15...don't know what hit us, but it dented the post (dang it, new car!) and left a bunch of glass in my lap. Is this a sign? Should I stay away from Utah?

Mom

2008-05-12T20:58:00.003-06:00

I love being a mom. When my kids are gone, I feel like a part of me is gone! I don't think there is anything more important that I can do at this time in my life. This Mother's Day, however, I thought I'd post a bit about my own mom and what she did for me.

1. She brought me into this world after nearly nine months of throwing up!
2. She put her own dreams aside to help me pursue mine and be there for me.
3. She always made me look cute. There was a lot of hair curling involved! (and hours at the sewing machine!)
4. She taught me how to read.
5. She survived many years trying to teach me responsibility; this means at least eighteen years (plus!) of putting up with me losing things and forgetting things.
6. She taught me how to clean a bathroom and do laundry, putting up with all the whining that accompanied such tasks.
7. She supported my sports endeavors financially and emotionally, even though she probably thought I was a bit short-sighted at the time. She rarely missed one of my events, and was one of my loudest cheerleaders.
8. She taught me how to play the piano, and ensured I practiced every morning at 6 am for 10 years! (I can still hear her shout from the other room -- "B FLAT!")
9. She drove me to a neighboring town for school for three years in elementary school...just the beginning of her teaching me the value of education.
10. She taught me values by word and example.
11. She took me to church, exposing me to ideas and people that would shape my life.
12. She continually instilled in me the value of being a mother, and instilled in me a love for children. I began life as a mother with some very clear ideas about what I would or would not do, and many of these ideas were formed at home. I always thought of motherhood as the greatest privilege imaginable, with limitless possibilities to inspire children, make then happy, and do good in the world. Yes, being a mom is frustrating and exhausting at times, but rewarding as heck. (I learned that word from her too)

There are of course many more, but I'd better stop. My mom is amazing and I'm thankful for all she sacrificed for me!

Good News

2008-05-05T14:32:00.002-06:00

We are expecting our fourth child on December the 12th. Yay! We are thrilled, and so are the kids. Isa has been especially attentive, taking "care" of me, patting my tummy, and saying random prayers at random times for the baby. Maia does occasionally refer to wanting to "smoosh" the baby, but I suppose that is normal. Lets just hope she'll get over that in the seven months she has left. :)

Yes, I am over 30 now--I guess that is a terrible omen about such things as weight gain and tire-ability, but I'm optimistic (even though I have felt sicker than any pregnancy I've had yet!). Just glad we can finally share our happy news...

Good Life

2008-04-20T21:46:00.003-06:00

So....its probably no surprise to anyone reading this that I have had one of those weeks. :) I was feeling a bit "cross" (we have been reading The Secret Garden-- its sure fun to remember some of those commonly-used British words) and I got this YouTube link from a friend. Helped me to remember that when I think small, its easy to get discouraged about small things. When I try to remember the big picture and who I really want to be, the little road blocks don't matter so much anymore.

(And...if I can raise my "sons" to be like the great examples they spoke of, or like the singers on the clip, then all the parental sacrifices would be so worth it!)

Easter

2008-03-29T21:11:00.004-06:00

Its that time of year when I find various shades of pastel Easter grass in such unlikely places as the dishwasher and my shorts drawer. I don't remember the last time St. Patrick's Day, the first day of Spring, AND Easter were all in the same week. Kind of fun.

So my Mom does holidays amazingly well. For Valentines Day we always had a red dinner, for St. Patrick's we had green, and every other holiday was celebrated at my house with much festivity and style. My Mom always pays great attention to detail, with matching dishes (sometimes plastic or paper, but always festive), cute centerpieces, and theme-oriented food. This has always been great fun.

I have to admit, I enjoy it when someone else puts forth the work, but not so much when I am running the show. In fact, sometimes my expectations for what I need to do are so high I don't do anything at all. So, although my attempts were thrown together at the last minute and a bit weak this year, I was proud of our St. Patty's Day green dinner. Of course, it still pales in comparison to my Mom's fabulous green dinners. (Note that my centerpiece happens to be one of my favorite birthday gifts, minus the chopped off blossoms) :)

Easter, also very low-key. The Easter Bunny did manage to make it to our house, and I did put an Easter tablecloth on the table for dinner (one that my mom gave me, no less!). I felt pretty heroic. Also interesting that in the fresh snow on our walk outside were many rabbit tracks. Hows that for ambiance? Wish I could take credit for that one.

This Easter I've been feeling especially grateful for my previously little-noticed blessings. I've been more thankful for the food on the table (even if the mashed potatoes are green), that I have a healthy family to share it with, and a roof over my head. Most of all, I'm thankful for my Ultimate Hero, who was always concerned about the one, the one who no one else seemed to notice at times. He is still concerned about the one. I have to echoe the statement that I'm amazed "he would descend from His throne divine, to rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine." He rescues me every day, even though I'm not always paying attention. When I feel invisible as a Mom, I have to remember all the great things He does under that cloak of invisibility.

Quotes of the Day

2008-03-21T21:55:00.002-06:00

Kaedon talked for a few days about how fun it would be to be a king. I started to worry about him, thinking he had some issues with control or power. (or materialism) So, one day I asked him why he wanted to be a king. He said "so I could choose which animal is the symbol of my kingdom." So simplistic. Pretty cute little nature-loving dude.

Another one, heard this on "Car Talk," has special meaning for me this week. (don't ask) One of the Car Talk bros said to the other, "I'm not much of a bath man myself, I'm more of a cologne man [raucous laughter]." I love how hard those guys laugh at their own jokes. Makes me laugh just hearing them laugh at themselves.

We watched Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (fun, good movie, but I thought it was a bit heavy for my kids). In the film, Natalie Portman's character feels inadequate to fill shoes of "departing" Mr. Magorium--she is plagued with self-doubt. Only when she begins to believe in herself and that she has magic within does she revive the departed Mr. Magorium's store. At one point, Mr. Magorium says to her: "your life is an occasion. Rise to it." Them's inspirin' words.

No Words

2008-03-14T22:10:00.006-06:00

So...a few months ago I found myself thinking of all the amazing women I know and all they sacrifice for their families and the community. Every day it seems I see someone doing something quietly amazing for someone else. I wondered to myself how anyone who knew Mormons could possibly think of them as a Satanic cult. Then Mitt Romney came along and I saw that there are still so many prevalent misconceptions. I felt so frustrated....I wanted to be able to answer people face-to-face, yet this was not an option. So I tried to think of a way to answer back, so to speak. At the very least, I wanted to defend these people who I love so much and who are so good, yet so misunderstood. Yet, I didn't want to sound defensive. I thought about what Mormonism means to me, that its overriding theme is about being a better person each day, and trying to be more like Jesus Christ. I don't know the answers to all the anti-Mormon stuff out there, but I know that Mormonism has made my life better and inspired me to desire to be better.

So, I wrote an essay and submitted it to "This I Believe," which airs occasional essays on NPR. This January was the tenth anniversary for when I left on my mission, so its been on my mind a lot the last few months. I decided to write an essay about my mission, because it was so life-altering for me. I figured people not of my faith might find such an experience interesting (it may be commonplace to Mormons, but to others, its quite unique). I also wanted it to be personal-- about a person, an individual, and not a doctrine or a practice. Instead of arguing or getting defensive, I felt like I just wanted to show rather than tell someone what being a Mormon was all about to me. And I hope that people will see that its end result in my life was good, even if they don't agree with Church doctrine or want to become members themselves.

When I tried to submit my essay, it was way too long. (surprise, for those of you who had had your head talked off by me...sorry) So I had to cut it way down...it didn't end up sounding like I wanted it to sound, but I'm glad I did it. In the end, it was good for me! Made me appreciate writers (its so much harder to make the words sound effortless and the thoughts/ideas flow than I ever imagined!), and also made me think about my life, my religion, and why I do what I do. Also brought back some very tender feelings about the people I met on my mission, made me realize how rewarding it is to serve people. (little did I imagine I'd get the opportunity so soon after writing it!)

As I look around me, it seems everyone else learned lessons about helping others and unselfishness without serving missions. It seems I just needed an extra push.

The essay did not get approved for NPR (no surprises there), but it is published on the This I Believe website, under my last name.

One last disclaimer. I put something about being a mom at the end. It seemed to me that learning to love serving others naturally translated into being a mom. I love being a mom, it is another one of those amazing things that makes you look at the world in a completely different way. I wanted to share some of the great moments I've had with my kids (because of time and space I used experiences we have had for the last 6 years-- such as floating boats down little stream 1/2 mi. from our house in England-- but didn't have space to explain relativity, etc-- realized later I implied we have a stream, oops). BUT our life is far from as idyllic as I portrayed. I definitely have moments when I contemplate becoming a murderess, even though I love being a mom.

www.thisibelieve.org or click on "No Words" title above. (don't you love how I titled my longest posting yet "No Words?" Gotta love it.)

Shark

2008-02-26T13:47:00.004-07:00

It seems we have had quite the week. Throwing up for five days, a new calling, a shark (I'll get to that), and some little kid humor.

A couple of months ago, Kaedon told me "Mom, I have two rows of teeth!" I told him that no one has two rows of teeth and to quit telling tall tales. Several days later when brushing his teeth I noticed that he did indeed have two rows of teeth. His new tooth had come in behind the one he hadn't lost yet. Of course I felt really terrible and had to apologize. Incidentally, I've been trying to teach him not to jump to conclusions and assume people are liars without having all the facts about a situation. Funny, funny. Of course, I realized later that it is probably every boys dream to have two rows of teeth like a shark, so when it happened again a couple of weeks ago we tried to make the most of it. :)

As for our other drama, we had the stomach flu at our house for five days. (not nearly as fun as having a shark in the house) Each child had it at least four days, which accounted for some big mess clean-up and trauma. Isa appeared late Saturday night looking like a swamp creature with you-know-what all in her hair, on her face, and dripping down her clothes. Poor thing. I thought that was the last of it with her, but a nearly identical thing happened two nights later. Kaedon threw up in his bed and was embarrassed so he didn't tell us...we discovered it at bedtime the next night! Just when we thought all the puking and pooping were done, some one else would have another go at it.

I was wondering if the sick feeling in my stomach was my own distemper (thats what Miguel's dad calls it), sympathy pains (especially during clean-up), or the fact that the bishop had asked me on Sunday to be the new Relief Society President. That'll teach me a thing or two! (I'll never complain about my calling again!) I think I'll write about this more later, as I need to find the words. :) One thing is for sure, Rochelle is truly amazing.

Lastly, to add to the melee, I think Maia said some of the funniest things she has ever said. To describe her tears when crying, she said "I'm dripping." She called my contacts "stickers." (hey, that is what they look like to a two-year old!) I told her "you're whining," and she replied "I'm not whining, I'm Maia." (did her dad teach her that?)

From sharks to swamp creatures its always good to have a little humor to give the other stuff perspective.

Heroes

2008-02-19T13:32:00.002-07:00

...So, I've been reading a book about George Washington (if you call 5 mins a day reading)at night and also reading a book about the Civil War (while I walk on the treadmill). Interesting that George Washington was NOT PERFECT (don't know why I thought he would be)-- in fact, he was a man of fairly average intelligence and capabilities. (not super religious either-- though he did believe in God in a more passive sense) The big thing was-- he was always willing to do what he was asked to do or needed to do and then follow it through to the end. It was interesting to read how much Valley Forge influenced him and cemented in his mind the ideals of freedom for all. Turns out legends about the suffering at Valley Forge were true, that men did go shoeless, their feet leaving trails of blood on the snow. They were the most ordinary of the ordinary, they often were ill-equipped and shoeless, without good coats or clothes. I wondered if Washington's willingness to give up power when time came was influenced in part by his experiences with these everyday heroes who had sacrificed so much. Amazing how many men in world's history could not give up power, even if they had intended to at the start. I think Washington had learned to believe in depth of human courage and really believed principles of American Revolution.

Lincoln. I could go on and on. He is one of the big heroes for me. Humble, intelligent, a fighter for rights of people, overall great man. I read a story about how the proud George McClellan had returned from a dinner party and was informed that Lincoln and Seward had been waiting for an hour for his return so they could talk to him. A servant informed Lincoln 30 min. later that McClellan had gone to bed. Seward was furious, but Lincoln was calm. Said he would hold McClellan's horse for him if he would only help the Union win victories. (in Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson)

Lastly, yesterday, was reading about the battle of Shiloh. One of first big battles of Civil War as far as casualties go, was a huge shock for men fighting. Slept all night in a downpour between battles (Grant slept on field with his men). Next morning, as Union soldiers pursued Confederates, crossed yesterday's battlefield. Sight of wounded, dead, or dying was appalling. Wounded had gathered together in little groups through the rainstorm, suffering. Made me so sad! Good thing I didn't fall off the treadmill. Reminded me of BOM movie we watched other day, about how some of biggest heroes are just ordinary people. Made me appreciate how much some have sacrificed for freedom. They are my heroes.

Two

2008-02-16T10:07:00.004-07:00

So, my little cutie is two today. Amazing that the more children one has, the quicker time seems to go.

Just yesterday, at the breakfast table, she told her dad "I'm cute, Dad." She is cute! It is an age of contrasts-- just learning to be naughty but still so cute I could eat her up. It seems I'm just now appreciating the unique spot she fills in our family. I was so overwhelmed when she was born-- we were finishing the house (we're still finishing the house!) and I had two other cuties to take care of. My husband started his MBA just 6 months later. It has been so busy we've had to cut way back on any extras, but I've had also had some extra one-on-one time with the kids I wouldn't have had otherwise.

It seems for a while I took each of the kids for granted, assuming they'll all be here forever. It can be so easy to let the daily routine drag me down and close my vision to the long term perspective. But recent health events in our family have made me realize how precious each of my kids are, and how blessed I am to be able to take care of them!

Today I am grateful for Maia. She is fun, sweet, spunky and independent as all get out, and smart. Our family would not be the same without her.

Valentine

2008-02-15T10:37:00.003-07:00

So...I love poetry. A fun story played on NPR yesterday about a whimsical Valentine poet. His poem, "A Map of the World," is a beautiful expression of the enduring qualities of love. Here is the link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18990762

Reminded me of my husband, who loves to travel. We were sitting in my sister's potato chair in her room one day and laughing together. She has postcards and a map of the world on her wall. With his arm around me, he told her "have lover, must travel."

Love

2008-02-14T12:59:00.004-07:00

What a great day. I woke up this morning and my husband had left me a card with some chocolate. Amazing he still loves me considering he knows my flaws better than anyone else. What a good guy.

Today as I rocked my little cute nearly-two-year-old to sleep, I couldn't help feeling so happy. As a parent, you give and give and yet always seem to get more in return. Who can put a price on a little angel, soft cheeks and wispy hair, succumbing to sweet sleep snuggled trustingly in mom's arms?

I got to read with the kids at school today. They are just so cute! I love that kids just are who they are--no pretense. They seem to absorb love and learning so freely.

I just love kids! Even when they're naughty, they are just freely expressing what they feel, whether that is anger or frustration or whether they're simply tired or bored. While there is definitely something to be said for developing self-control, their simplicity and honesty are so refreshing! And they seem to have limitless capacity to love.

Why

2008-02-12T22:05:00.001-07:00

As much as I didn't want to blog (its much easier and more enjoyable to read blogs written by others, particularly my beloved friends), I have felt the necessity of doing this for several reasons. The main one is simply that I want to be able to let family and friends see what we're up to. I may just blog like crazy for one week and then let my procrastinating self take over. So, to my dear family, don't get your hopes up about finally getting more pictures and news from us. But we will try.

I had some grandiose ideas about helping to dispel a few misconceptions about Mormons too (sheesh, people have some big ones). I don't think anyone who isn't Mormon is going to read this, and those who are, already know we don't worship Satan. :)

First Day

2008-02-12T21:57:00.000-07:00

Well, this is my first try at blogging. Let's hope this isn't as disastrous as my record with other electronic media. I don't really have anything to say! Does this thing have a spell checker? This could get ugly.