This Blog is Dead

That's right D.E.A.D.

You can now find me at nutsaboutletters.blogspot.com .

While you're there, feel free to Follow Me so I don't look like a total loser. Plus, there will be some really great giveaways soon. You have to Follow Me to win. I'm mean like that. Nice too though since I will be giving away items for FREE. Ya know what I mean Vern?

Oh, and my email address has changed. meshanf@hotmail.com is now meshanfoutz@gmail.com . Total transformation baby.

P.S. For those of you who are old timers to this blog and have noticed that I'm very sporadic when it comes to posting: I made my new blog in such a way that I HAVE to post at least weekly. If I'm not held accountable I would never get anything accomplished. What a loser. :)

Track Break(s)

I love year round school! The kids go for about 8 wks. and then are off for 2 wks. It breaks up the monotony. My sweet husband is nice enough to let us go somewhere for a few days every time we have a break (if someone's not already coming to visit) even though our fundage is low. These little trips serve two purposes; 1) helps refuel the "single mom" 2) gives Trey some peace and quiet to study.

Lehi & West Jordan, UT:

This past break we went to UT to visit my sister-in-law and my mom. Brent and Markelle were nice enough to let us stay at their house and eat all their food. We went to the aquarium one day and the kids loved it. Here's Atticus looking into one of the tanks. I'm glad my mom was there to help with the kids, sometimes I forget how hard it is taking them places without Trey.

The weather wasn't the best so another day we went to an indoor play area at one of the malls:
Atticus loved this big globe. He kept saying, "ball" and hugging it.
One night we got together with my uncle Cavette's family. I haven't seen most of them for about ten years and it was fun to catch up! The kids loved meeting some new cousins and were sad to leave them.

The lovely hosts for the weekend, Brent & Markelle:

My four and their cousin Jackson. He is SUCH a cutie! It was so fun to see his little personality.
On the way to and from Lehi we stopped in St. George to see our dear friends the Gunns; Danika, Abe, Lia, Hazel and Olive. So fun! Even though it was great to see family and friends, hang out, watch Pushing Daisies, go to the aquarium and eat food I didn't cook myself, I must say my highlight of the trip was Sheri Dew. Markelle invited my mom and I to a tri-stake fireside with Sister Dew as the speaker. She was fabulous and I could have sat and listened to her all day. She spoke on the influence a righteous woman can have and she really inspired me. Thanks to Brent who volunteered(or maybe Markelle bribed/threatened him?!) to watch all five kids while we were gone.

Farmington, NM:

Paige had her State soccer tournament the same weekend as Halloween so we hopped in the car and went to support her and had such a fun time dressing up with the whole family for the ward Halloween party. The green are for Scorpion pride for the soccer game. I miss my family!

Panguitch, UT:

Beautiful picture, for sure. Panguitch is the halfway point for Danika and I to meet up so we've gone for two track breaks now. We hang out at her in-laws cabin with our eight kids and have a great time. One night we did facials and nails. So fun and girly.
Our eight ragamuffins. Everyone has a playmate; Jonas & Abe, Clara & Lia, Nora & Hazel, Atticus & Olive. And what do we do in Panguitch with eight kids and no husbands? Play soccer, do science experiments, go to the park, play with dead kitties, try new recipes, watch movies, paint nails, read books, bathe stuffed animals in the sink, play with magnets, do facials, attempt to go to the grocery store(FYI: not a good idea with 8 little ones under 8), go on walks, have pic-nics, stay up late talking, take naps, put on plays, and laugh a lot.
Places to visit ASAP: AZ(Trey's family & my cousins), CA(my friend Rachel), NM again(it's just soo far)!!

"Bro Time"

Chuck E. Cheese's... where a kid can be a kid!!

Jonas cashed in some of his reward dollars to go on a date with Trey daug. I asked where they were going for their date and Trey corrected me, "Actually we're not going on a date, we're having bro time". So, "bro time" it was. They decided on Chuck E. Cheese's and ate pizza and played games. When they got home (WAY past Jonas' bedtime) Trey told me they had so much fun and that it was long overdue. Jonas was glowing with happiness when he walked in the door, it was so cute. After Jo went to bed I asked how it went. Trey said that Jonas was very well behaved and he seemed so grown up. They chatted about life and being "boys" and they already planned their next outing.

The loot: a squishy lizard (Jonas loves animals), a top (he's fascinated with them), stickers (for his sisters), and a bracelet (hmm, just because). When Jonas picked out the bracelet Trey said, "That's so nice that you're getting stickers and a bracelet for your sisters!" Jonas replied, "No, just the stickers are for them. The bracelet is for me." Of course Trey tried his best to persuade Jonas to give the bracelet away, but Jonas was adamant that he keep it for himself. Well, alrighty then. Trey let him keep it and tried not to make a big deal of it. After all, Trey has a bracelet and a necklace. They're just not as "girly" as this one. You can't tell from the picture, but it was glittery with pinks, blues, and purples. Special.

I'm really liking these dates we've started going on with our kids. It makes them feel loved and it helps us as parents get to know them better and assess their needs. Thanks to my dear friend Danika who always gives me good ideas on how to be a better parent!

Heart Celebrations

I made heart pancakes for our Valentine's Day lunch with Strawberries and whipped cream on top. It was just too much trouble (aka I'm lazy) to wake up early and make breakfast before church so we had cereal for breakfast and pancakes for lunch. Yummy to my tummy. Jonas enjoyed six.

Heart hairdos for the love holiday. I got Clara's idea from my cousin Britney, but it didn't turn out as cute as hers. Next year.

I got Nora's from Adopt a Do Hairstyles. Fun times.

We surprised Clara by showing up at school for her Valentine's day party. She loved it. It was so cute how all the kids wanted Nora to sit by them and they wanted to share their food and hold her hand when they went outside. Clara was a proud sister and Nora enjoyed all the attention.

Hard at work. We invited our friends over to make cards with us and I think it will become a fun little tradition. Next year I want to decorate sugar cookies as well.
It was hard for me to let the kids do whatever they wanted on the cards. Some of them turned out cute and some of them, not so much. Oh well, at least they had fun! We had a little card mishap and most people won't even get their cards until a few days after V-Day. Oops! By mishap I mean I procrastinated this project, thinking we would make the cards, address, stamp and send. Voila! No, it never happens like I plan. Ran into problems finding addresses, printing photos to go with the cards, wrong size of envelopes, two trips to Costco, one to Walmart and finally... done.
Clara and Jonas wanted to send their own notes to some of their friends and these are the people they chose and what they said:

Clara's messages:

To: Lucy, We love you. We hope you have a good day. We hope you miss us. We like you. You're a good cousin. Be nice to Everyone!

To: Lia, You're a nice girl. You're a good friend. I like you. Thanks for inviting us to your cabin. We have fun. Lots of Love.

To: Lily, I really like you. I miss you lots. I hope you remember me. I think you're nice. Have a good day. You know what? I like you!

To: Paige, I miss you Paige. You're a good part of the family. Thanks for being nice to me always. I like your name. You're a nice girl. You rock. I love you. Have love everyday!

Jonas' messages:

To: Abe, I like you. I got you this one because we're pen pals. Sorry for not writing back. Have a good day. You Rock!

To: Eli, I can't wait until I move back then I could play with you. You rock!

To: Cameron, Your my best friend! I miss you Cameron! I hope we're still friends!

To: Preston, You're cool. Wow your the best! I miss you Preston. You're nice. Don't get in trouble.

MyStyle

I asked Trey the other night what he thought "my style" was and this is what he came up with...

Bohemian, Retro, Eclectic, Vintage and Plain. Yep, plain. What? I asked him to elaborate because I don't really want to be a Plain Jane. He said because I'm not frilly or showy, I'm just down to earth and... plain. Good thing he likes plain girls. He really hates makeup and the times he compliments me the most are when I look very plain. T-shirt, jeans, hair in a ponytail, a dab of mascara. He likes to be able to see my freckles. While I'm glad he likes that I'm plain, I like to refer to it as "Simple". It makes me feel better.

Clara, on the other hand, is not so plain. She likes the bling, the bright, the bold, the glittery, etc... She would LOVE to wear makeup and sequined outfits everyday. I try to let her be herself, but we do have rules. She's not allowed to have makeup in the house. The other day I told her and Nora that they looked cute when we were eating breakfast before Church. She said, "Yea, good thing we are pretty enough to not need makeup." (Trey tells her pretty girls don't need makeup). I told her, "Yes, you are pretty, but no one needs makeup, they just like it." Clara looked at me with dreamy eyes and said, "I don't just like it, I love it! Someday I'm going to wear it every day!" Rock it girl.

Peace Week

Last week was "Peace Week" at the kids school. They sang about peace, played games of peace, made peace arts and crafts, tie-dyed shirts, and talked about how to be peaceful people. It was all very Up with Peopleish (or hippyish!). I liked it.

Jonas throwing up the peace sign next to the shirt he made.
Clara posing among the peace shirts wearing her peace necklace she made.
All the grades gathered together outside to sing a song of peace: "We come from many places, we speak a thousand ways. But we still can join together and help make brighter days! Everybody say Peace!"Each grade formed a different letter of P-E-A-C-E-! and the local news stations came to film and take pictures of it from the rooftop.

Disney on Ice

My friend found tickets to "Disney on Ice" for 7 bucks so we took our daughters on a date. Clara and Nora cashed in some of their reward dollars and were in Heaven watching the show. I let the girls wear their princess dresses and when I was taking their picture Clara kept tilting her head to the side. I asked her why and she said, "Mom, that's what princesses do! It makes them look prettier!" Oh, silly me.

I had so much fun with these little cuties. I love having daughters (don't love the tude that comes with it though) and I'm glad they have each other. It was all very magical until we were leaving and I got trampled, dropped Nora, she fell on her head and got an immediate gigantic goose egg. As Trey told his mom, "the size of a melon". Poor baby. She was very tough though. Oh, and my friends daughter threw up in my car on the way home and she was sitting in Atticus' car seat. And um, we found out why the tickets were so cheap. They were at the very, very, tip top of the stadium in the nose bleed section. When I looked down I felt slightly nauseous so we scanned the auditorium and found some empty seats closer to the bottom. Luckily, we were able to stay in them the whole time. Still magical though, even with all the mishaps.

I started laughing when we saw Princess Tatiana posing for pictures with her head tilted. The other princesses came out too (with tilted heads), but we couldn't get close enough to take pictures.

Little bit of this, little bit of that

Atticus high centered on the jogging stroller today. This boy is all over the place. Much more mobile, curious and mischievous than my other babies were.

Jonas and I went and volunteered for Disneyland's, "Give a day, Get a day" program tonight. We were supposed to paint over graffiti, but it was already done before our scheduled time slot. They said we could pick up trash instead but we could only find a total of about 10 pieces. I told the lady and she said for us to go home and she would give us credit for our free tickets. I was actually kind of bummed though because I wanted to teach Jonas about giving service. I suggested to him that we do a different act of service on our own and asked if he had any ideas. He thought it would be really great to make Valentine's cards for everyone we know. So there you have it, our great contribution to the world.

The weather has been beautiful and we've been playing at the park almost everyday this week after school. I love it!

There's a really long and twisty tube slide that the kids love to make a train and go down together. They especially love it when I go down with them to bring up the rear, but we always get stuck halfway down when I do and have to scoot the rest of the way. Atticus is a little dare devil and loves to go down by himself but I have to keep an eye on him because he tries to crawl in and go head first.

Newsflash:

Parenting is no walk in the park. It's a never ending grueling trek through rough terrain. Of course there is beautiful scenery along the way, but this morning I just wasn't seeing it.

By the time I dropped the kids off to school at 9:00 I was thinking, "Woo-hoo, they're finally gone!" It was a horrible morning that began bad and got worse. I completely lost my temper and took it out on my poor innocent children. I hope they don't remember the times I loose it, but I know it's inevitable. Dear children, Forgive me. I love you. Sincerely, Your Mother

This reminded me of the other day when the kids were playing and Jonas was the dad. Clara and Nora were his daughters and he kept telling them to do something. They just kept jumping around and laughing. I could tell he was getting very frustrated and finally he yelled, "Fine then! I'm not your dad anymore!" He then came to me and said, "Being a parent is exhausting. I was only pretending it for a little while and I'm so tired!" Amen brother.

Tenacity

I was on the computer this morning and Nora came and asked me to do her hair. I told her to wait a minute and I would. Five minutes later, repeat scenario. Five more minutes, repeat again. I know, what a bad mom. The next time she came in she was equipped with mousse, hairspray, brush, comb, spray bottle, and ponies. Way to take matters into your own hands, girl! Needless to say, I stopped what I was doing to do her hair.

The hairdo.