A jungle birthday party and my idea of slightly overboard.

So Kirsti's party was today and was a huge hit.  I had 12 kids (plus my 6 for 18).  I thought I would give you an overview of what I consider "a slight bit overboard" on birthday parties.  If you look closely at the background, you can also see what happens to a house when mom is busy planning a birthday party for two weeks.

First of all, the cake.  She wanted a 3D monkey cake and she got it!  I had extra cake mix so she had some cupcakes, too.  Good thing, because I had to write happy birthday somewhere!
This cake was made from a 3D Wilton Teddy Bear cake pan with the ears cut off and reattached lower and hand molded Rice Crispie Treats for the hands, feet, and tail.  I came close to just adopting it and making it part of the family; I loved the outcome that much. Also, it took nearly as long as my labors to get it here.  Especially since the first go around fell apart.  When in doubt, use this recipe for 3D cakes, I guess, because that is what made it  work.

Next came the goodie bags.

• I designed and made the actual bags myself.  Fabric stores now sell gorcery bag material and mine carried it in zebra stripes.  Awesome!!  
• I also designed and made all the monkey masks.  This site has great blank templates for masks.  I'll be coming back later in the summer for crafts.   
• The foam puppets were bought in bulk and separated out.  
• The monkey keychains were the craft.   I judge age appropriate craft by my kids' ability to do it, forgetting they have extra practice in crafts, but it turned out okay and the kids liked them. You can make your own with this pattern.  Due to a lack of brown beads in all three local craft stores, I special ordered the beads. Kwik crafts had a fantastic deal and they arrived 2 days after the order was made.

Then there were the decorations.

• I printed out coloring pages of animals and enlarged them onto poster board with my tracer.  What?  You don't own a tracer projector?  I'm on my second already.  Then I traced over the lines with a sharpie, colored them all, and cut them out.  
• I filled 23 balloons with helium, 5 of which survived till the end of the party.  
• I also bought animal birthday hats, animal shaped paper plates with matching cups, some table covers.  
• God provided the rest of the decor, it was lovely.  I wrapped all our presents to her in brown paper with animal print ribbon and thought it looked fantastic!

And finally, the party itself, where I forgot to take pictures until lunch time).

• We began with coloring bookmarks backed with animal print that I laminated during the party, added a hole and some hemp rope.  
• Then we played pin the tail of the Zebra (I was particularly proud of the zebra I made, almost wanted to adopt her, too).  Then onto the beach for an elephant race. Basically you reach between your legs and take the hand of the person behind you who does the same until there is a long chain and then race.  
• We settled down for the keychain craft and then headed onto the beach/sandbar for several minutes of play.  
• Then pizza, pinata, cake, & presents.  (Sadly I could not think of a word for cake that started with "P".) 

Was that as exhausting for you as it was for me?  Probably not.

Too many hours to admit to prepare, 2 hours set up in the morning, 3 hour party, 1 hour clean up.  Four more years till her next friend party.

Here is a picture of the birthday girl opening our family presents because we ran out of time before the party ended.  Happy birthday Kirsti!!

A fringe benefit of an ED physician father and the dangers of attacking a submarine.

This morning the kids and I headed out early to explore a submarine museum before swim lessons. We met a couple families there and had a wonderful time (although I'm sure the other patrons were not as thrilled by our 12 children's attendance). Anyway, after looking at the exhibits and playing with old controls and walking through the 1st nuclear powered sub, we let the kids run outside the museum around the displays of old subs before loading up. And that was when my 7 year old had a collision with a submarine. Surprisingly enough, she lost.

(Look at the bottom of the post for a picture of the offending sub)



Luckily I have a doctor on call for just such accidents. What? Aren't you prepared for nautical disasters that happen on dry land? You really should have a submarine/pedestrian accident plan. As we headed home, my oldest alternated calling our home phone and her dad's cell until Peter woke up enough to hear ringing and answer. I explained that there was a gash right at the hairline, not long, but deep enough to need something done, that we were headed home, and that I had accidentally taken both sets of car keys so he couldn't save time and meet us at swim lessons. I also had to explain that I was unable to tell from the front of the Suburban if she was still bleeding in the back of the Suburban.

We arrived home to find Peter just out of the shower. He looked at the wound and said, "You didn't tell me it was gaping!" to which I replied "Why else would I have called you? It's not like I tend to overreact." (Which is totally true, you'd think after 13 years he would know that if I call with a medical problem it is REALLY a medical problem- I think bleeding makes for a great story and fevers don't count until they top 105.)

Anyway, it isn't often you get treated by a towel wearing doctor while laying on his unmade bed. Peter deftly numbed her with lidocaine and put two staples in her head. When I asked her if it hurt, because it looked like it hurt, she said it felt like Dad had stapled her. She was less than happy when I told her that is exactly what happened. She also didn't appreciate the Frankenstein reference I made.

I gave her some ibuprofen and tried to convince her a band-aid would make it better enough to not miss swim lessons. We were in and out in 5 minutes, tops. All told, we were only a couple minutes late for lessons, but Kirsti opted to sit out; which was probably for the better as there was still a slow trickle of blood running down her forehead.

The sub on the right is the one that ran over our little girl (or more accurately that she attempted to run over):

Six Births and One Epidural Part 4

Shocked. Incredulous. Honestly, a little scared and angry. I looked at the pregnancy test and saw two faint pink lines. Two? Two. Two! I counted to nine over and over, but the result never changed: my husband’s graduation from med school was just overscheduled with the birth of our fourth baby. I was waiting for the first day of my cycle to switch from the mini to regular birth control pill. That day wasn’t going to arrive for 18 more months.

A little over seven months later I was eight and a half months pregnant. Two weeks earlier I’d flown half way across the country with three children and my mother (a story that deserves its own post) to attend Peter’s graduation in Missouri. Peter had met us there with the moving truck and then continued on to PA. We both flew back to Utah to await the baby’s birth.

My official due date was 2 weeks after Peter was due to begin residency across the country. A lot of math, frustration, and scenario brainstorming had led us to one conclusion: we had to have this baby early. Factoring in Peter’s start date, time to travel from Utah to PA, and recovery time for the baby and me, we had a “no later than” date 2.5 weeks before the due date. Somehow we convinced the doctor to schedule an inducement.

The day of the inducement, I woke up feeling odd. I had a tightening feeling that came and went. It wasn’t painful, regularly spaced, or consistent in duration or intensity. My mother began to worry after 3 hours and suggested I go to the hospital. Mostly to humor her, I went. The doctor met us there to check me out. I was ready to give my mom an “I told you so” after being sent home. I wasn’t, after all, in any sort of pain. Instead the doctor informed us I was dilated to 8.5 cm.

Not yet in a delivery room, the nurses offered a wheel chair as transportation. I declined in favor of walking. I remember the nurse proclaiming in awe to her colleagues that I was walking to my room while dilated to 8.5. Soon we were settled and the doctor broke my water. I had my first painful contraction and directly afterwards felt ready to push. It seemed only one large push before our baby was born. It was the easiest labor imaginable.

Some things I learned:

• This was the only birth my mother-in-law was able to attend. Want to get bonus points as daughter-in-law? Have a relatively pain free labor where you can joke around through the whole thing and let her watch.
  
• After four kids, delivering the head and then waiting to deliver the body is next to impossible. That baby comes out like a projectile.
  
• If you can mildly walk down a hall, smiling and joking, while minutes from delivery, you increase your chances of getting the best delivery & recovery room in the hospital.
  
• Nurses talk. I was visited at every shift change by all the new nurses asking if I was “the one who had that labor.”
  
• After a labor like that you will be paranoid the next baby will fall out in the middle of washing dishes or something.
  
• Travelling across the country with a 3 day old isn’t as bad as it seems- they are still sleeping a lot.
  
• Always listen to your mother.

A Conversation While Driving in the Car...

Kirsti- Mom, you haven't ordered a jump rope yet. When we get home will you order a jump rope?

Me- We can look when we get home to see what they have online.

Joseph- When we get home will you order a pizza?

Kirsti- Joseph, we already had dinner, remember?

Joseph- I know. We can order the pizza as dessert.

Me-We're not ordering a pizza!

Kirsti- No, Joseph, she didn't promise you a pizza. She promised to order me a jump rope. Remember, Mom, you promised to order a jump rope. You haven't ordered a jump rope. Will you order one when we get home?

Joseph- Why is she going to order you a jump rope?

Kirsti- We were at the store and she said she didn't like the ones they had and she would go home and order one from the computer. She has to go online and type "jumprope" and then a package or something comes with a jump rope in it.

Joseph- Oh. Mom, will you order a jump rope when we get home?

(Please note that I did NOT promise to order a jump rope. I merely mentioned a jump rope might be fun, but when I saw the selection at the store I was unimpressed and said - half to myself- that I would check online to see if they had something more like what I wanted. Also note that after this conversation I bought 2 jump ropes for Kirsti's upcoming birthday: a double dutch set and a single jump one. Also please note that the above conversation- and millions more like it- are the reason I listen to talk radio in the car. As much fun as it is to have the same questions repeated over and over and over while I give the same answer every time, sometimes I need a break.)

On another note- here is Kirsti's (and her brothers') hair for crazy hair day and what it looked like the next morning. I think I should do this every Saturday night!:

Hannah Montana taught me a lesson...

...and if you've seen the movie, you'd be surprised that it was about letting children be themselves.

Let me be clear about something. I am not a huge fan of the Disney Channel. All their shows feel like extended commercials for merchandise or concerts. Plus, they have a tendency to take cute little kids and turn them into fantastic role models, like Spears and Lohan. I do let the kids watch some of the shows, I even find a few entertaining. However, I find Hannah Montana, besides having a ridiculous plot line and questionable acting, to be nothing short of a full blown Disney propaganda attack. So I was a little bit proud that my 12 year old had no interest in watching the recently released to theaters movie.


Cracks in her "I can't believe all the girls are so giddy to watch this movie" resolve quickly showed. I first noticed with her simple statement of "Mom, I heard that Hannah Montana movie isn't as bad as we thought." Over the next few days that statement, with slight variation, was repeated often. Finally I asked her if she was implying she wanted to see the movie. "Why?!? Are you going to take me?" she squealed. I quickly changed the subject, but the damage had been done. The next week was filled with, "Remember if you asked if I wanted to see that movie. Did you ask because you're going to take me?"


To make matters worse, my almost 7 year old joined her sister in wanting (and asking) to go. While on spring break in North Carolina she had missed a birthday party where they had rented out an entire theater to watch the movie. I think most of the other girls in her class had attended. "But you got to have fun with your aunts," just wasn't cutting it.


The final straw was the annual father-son camp out. Last year we had a girls' night- plus 1.5 year old Matthew- when the guys left. This year Peter decided to take all four boys. I decided it was time to take my girls to that movie: I only had to drive a half hour to find a theater that was still playing it.


The guilt started as soon as I saw how excited they both were with my decision. This obviously meant more to them than I had anticipated. They chattered nonstop to the theater, jittering legs and huge grins betraying their excitement. By the time we left the theater I had to admit Hannah Montana the Movie had surpassed my (rather low) expectations. As we drove home my girls joyfully reviewed their favorite parts; their happy spirit was quite contagious. I had learned a lesson.


I had been so determined that my children would not admire a TV celebrity that I had force fed them my opinions. Spoonful by spoonful of "ridiculous plot line", "terrible acting," "ludicrous outfits," and "preying on parents' wallets." I even took pride in hearing those opinions regurgitated out of their mouths. After all, my daughters were too sophisticated for the intense pandering of Disney.

I was so busy making sure they conformed to my ideal, I had nearly forced them to miss out on something they truly enjoyed. As we drove home I realized that I have limited time of unconditional adoration. I'm pretty sure stifling their personalities and belittling their interests cuts into that time. I need to be careful of my criticism, not just about my children, but about everything. Good thing to learn on something simple like a TV show.

My girls are not Hannah Montana robots. They aren't obsessed. They don't want to be just like her. They wanted to see a simple movie that all their friends had loved. They loved it. To show them I wasn't disappointed (a conclusion they could have easily drawn from everything I'd said about the movie previously), I bought them the sound track on the way home. We put on new pajamas and painted our nails while listening. A movie I was so resistant about seeing ended up creating a precious mother-daughter bonding moment. I guess I don't mind Hannah after all. I might even owe her a big thank you.

The (Card) Game of War

Sometimes, during brilliant bursts of (in)sanity, I come up with great ideas. So it was last night, when Kirsti and Joseph both kept pestering me to play war. Knowing that Joseph is at an age where he thinks playing games means he should always win and Kirsti is at the tender age of unmerciful taunting, I gently suggested they play each other instead of me. And it would have worked perfectly, if Kirsti had lost.

But the luck of the cards were with my 6 year old and the game of war quickly transformed into an all out war. As I jumped in to begin peace talks and negotiate a truce, they decided to escalate from screaming to an all out assault. So I decided it was time for them to learn to get along, by doing a mission together. Their mission? Put the skates (all 6 pairs) away in the correct closet.

But, there was a catch; they needed to learn to get along together. So I totally tied their hands together. They thought it was great fun (at least for the 1st trip up the stairs).


And the plan worked. Well, at least it saved me a few runs up the stairs myself. After being released from bonds, Kirsti wanted to finish the game. I thought it would be good for Joseph to learn that sometimes he will lose a game, so I allowed it to continue (another brilliant idea). Joseph came in a few minutes later crying.

"Kirsti won't let us trade hands!!"
"Why would she trade hands, she's winning?"
"It's in the rules- if you get tied together and then untied, you have to switch hands."

Well, at least he is learning the art of negotiation.

Finding a missing library book

So the other day I lost two library books. I didn't actually LOSE them on that day, I just realized they were overdue and tried to find them that day. Which, in my house is no small chore. Although I have a library basket, it always seems to be empty. And, because I believe books should be "well loved," they are EVERYWHERE.

To find a missing library book I must first look in all the places books belong: the 3 huge bookshelves in the living room, the bookshelves in the girls' room, boys' room, and other boys' room, the playroom, the basement cupboards, the library basket, and the other 5 baskets of books.

If all these places prove useless (as they did the other day), I have to search the next tier of hidden books- dressers, under beds & couches & dressers (where I find all kinds of useful things like missing pairs of pants, candy wrappers, half eaten candies, a few monsters waiting to gobble children, and a grumbling mother realizing how the kids manged to get a clean room so quickly last week), cars, kitchen countertops, kids' backpacks and other such places.

If the book is yet to be found, it is time to search the "Really?" places. This includes bathrooms, laundry hampers, INSIDE dressers, UNDER couch cushions, BETWEEN mattresses, the garage, and closets floors(actually this probably is in the same group as beds because I often find the same things in them), etc. All the while thinking, "The book couldn't have just disappeared!!"

But sometimes it has done just that. And no searching can find the book. Of course, most times I've just overlooked it in the mix of books we own. Because I have a bit of a problem. Not helped by scholastic books fairs, $25 free super shipping option on Amazon, and the great used book store 3 miles from my house. I have baskets of "early reader, non-fiction"; "beginning chapter"; board books; workbooks; and "cover ripped off so I can't keep them out, but we still love the story so I will hide you in here". On a side note, I have taped together more books than I would like to admit.

And the illustrated classics? I have a half shelf devoted just to them. And an entire shelf to award winning books and authors. But my true weakness is books in a series. I did a quick count, I own 16 series of books and a few more where we own a few books in the series but not the whole thing. That is the list you see on the side (because I went to all the trouble of writing them down when I was counting). I also own lots of adult books, but not a single copy of any book written by my favorite author, Charles Dickens. You know he wrote so few... But that is a different story, I don't lose MY library books.

Anyway, I found one of the missing books (behind the girls' book shelf), but not the other. Not wanting to continue racking up a fine, I went in and confessed my crime and paid the $3 replacement cost. And 1/2 hour after getting home, Kirsti found the book. In a cabinet in her bedroom (that I had checked 3 times). I might take it back and try to get my money refunded, but I was thinking of going to the used book store to start a "Henry and Mudge" collection instead. After all, I now already own one.

December visitors

MIL reading with Kirsti * MIL kissing Matthew * Kirsti with her cousin (they sure had fun together, Kirsti is such a little mother)

Matthew enjoyed spending time with his same age cousin. * Peter's parents helping Joseph with his puzzle * Uncle Gordon on the beach with Joe (everyone else was wearing coats, he is just nuts!)

Me, my mom and my sister practicing our eye crossing * my dad is known for his great story telling (here he is entertaining Kirsti)

Jessica and Matthew on the beach (I told you we all wore coats) * my mom with my niece.


December was wonderfully filled with visits from family! My brother, Gordon, and his wife, Jessica, flew out to visit in the middle of the month. We had a lot of fun with them and were glad they were able to take some days during their vacation to share with us. Besides spending more time on the beach than is decent in the middle of winter (including going on the sandbar during low tide), the highlight of their visit was our day in New York City.

Two days after they left we (and by we, I mean Peter) picked up his parents. We decided to save the $150 per ticket and fly all our parents into New York. What we didn't realize was that meant 5 5 hour round trips instead of 5 1.5 hour trips (we won't make that mistake again!).

Anyway, they came just in time to save the day. Since Peter had been out of town or working every day (except the New York trip day with my brother) of December, I was a little unprepared for Christmas. They watched the kids while I took several trips out to finish up shopping. Plus the extra help around the house ( including fixing the heat AND the 4 month broken toilet). Plus all the yummy food. Plus finishing the scarfs I had barely begun for my girls. Plus the great company. Thanks guys!!

Five days of Christmas preparation later, my parents finally arrived. Late the same night my sister's family arrived. Then there was the hustle of Christmas Eve, Christmas, the baptism, sister's birthday, seafood restaurants, confirmations, etc. My in-laws left the Monday after Christmas. My parents and sister stayed and partied longer. My sister left the 2nd, my dad finally had to go back to work the weekend after New Years, but my Mom was able to stay until last Wednesday.

It was so nice to have them all stay longer. I loved watching Matthew play with his cousin. She started vocalizing more (still getting used to hearing with her implant) and his language exploded while they played together. Plus my sister and her husband help keep her boring older sister and husband young (if I get brave I will post the pictorial proof). My dad entertained the kids with stories and my mom and I tackled my disorganized craft room. I tried to get them all to just come and live at my house, but no takers. Yet. But I'll keep working on them.

I left my pants in NYC

Have I ever mentioned we can be impulsive about day trips in our family? I'm sure I have. Well, since my brother and his wife are in town visiting and she had never been to NYC, I decided to spend Saturday making Christmas graham cracker houses. Then my husband adeptly pointed out we might want to take them to see some of the sites. So we did the houses the night before and I decided to take them into Boston. Finally, I had a glimmer of reality and realized they really wanted to go into the BIG city. We decided to make this trip. About 1 hour before we actually left.

Luckily, while my husband cleaned out the van so we could actually put our feet on the floor, he noticed it was a little chilly and we decided to dress extra warm. We FINALLY pulled out of the house, but made a "quick" stop at the warehouse store to buy a GPS. Because we have no idea how to get anywhere in NY and it isn't a good place to "just try to figure out."

Plus the night before, I got lost, on the road I drive down almost daily, trying to find Dominoes Pizza. Why didn't I have it delivered like I would normally? Thought I would save some time. But in my defense, there was NO lighted sign at the road and the building was down a long narrow drive that you would only see if you happen to look directly left as you pass it. I would still be driving around looking if I hadn't seen the delivery guy pulling out of the parking lot. Needless to say, the GPS was going to come in handy.

Finally we were off, with an early start of 1:00PM. While driving we tried to decide where we were going to go. I mean, there are so few options available...we decided top priority were for Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building. Our new GPS told us our arrival was 3:00. When I looked up the ferries, the last one went to Ms. Liberty at 3:30. Impulsiveness does have its drawbacks. So we hit no traffic, didn't get lost for the 1st time EVER, and found parking for the cheap price of $28. And Peter made me carry our new GPS, my old XM radio, and my cell phone. Plus my wallet, car keys, and extra diapers. Luckily I just bought a coat the contains about 300 pockets- this should explain the bulges in pictures (the candy I've been eating have nothing to do with it).

Did you know that they practically strip search you to get to the Statue of Liberty? Well, we had to take off our coats, shoes, hats, etc. And as we crossed the metal detector, the speakers kindly informed us the last ferry was leaving in one minute with or without us. What took us 3 hours to do at home, we accomplished in 45 seconds in NY. Mainly, loading everything back into my pockets and dressing everyone for the cold. We made it. It was beautiful. And COLD.



We headed back on the next ferry (COLD COLD COLD). Once back on shore we decided to walk around. Because obviously that is the easiest way to find places in NYC. I mean, everything is so close together. After making it to the 9-11 site, past the Meryl Lynch bull (yes, we joked about the kids being bull crap and took pictures of it), and then a few blocks more, we noticed a few things:

• First of all, Joseph was wearing pants with the adjustable waist strap broken. And no belt. Every three steps his pants were halfway off. Look closely in all the pictures, he is pulling his pants back up. THE ENTIRE NIGHT.
• Second, Matthew does not like me to carry him when Dad is an option. Sorry Peter.


• Third, Joseph will let me carry him. He is heavy. Too heavy to ride comfortably on my shoulders for several blocks.


• Fourth, Ryan thinks every cab in NYC is the Cash Cab. He thought for sure that if we would only take a taxi, we could play on the Cash Cab. Because there are only a couple million taxis in NY. Needless to say there were numerous "sightings".


• Fifth, Kirsti does not like the cold. Poor Uncle Gordon had to carry her almost the whole night. This is because her own parents were not kind enough. We would have made her walk. We made her younger brother, whose pants were practically at his ankles, walk a lot of the time. She for some reason brought her stuffed animal with her and it had to be carried, too.

So, after our legs were about to fall off from walking and our arms and shoulders from carrying the younger children, we decided we needed a new plan. Walking around in the hopes of eventually hitting on Times Square was not working. Even though we had no idea where it was. Go figure. Peter wanted to take a taxi. (Ryan almost exploded from excitement. "I know it will be the cash cab!!") We would only need 3 taxis to fit us all. I convinced him the subway would be a better option. Ryan was a little disappointed, until he saw what a subway was.


My conversation with Joseph went something like this:

"Is this a train?!?" Kind of. An underground train.
"We're underground?!?" Yep.
"Watch me circle this pole and then fall over when the car stops." Turns out even me, the queen of ungermophobia, can get grossed out by some things. And three of my boys sliding stomach down on a NYC subway car is just the thing to do it. (Luckily we were the only one in the car)



We finally arrived at Times Square where we ate pizza (yes, you observant people, that is pizza two nights in a row), took pictures, and Peter almost got stepped on by a police man when he lay down to get the right angle. Then we asked that police man how to find the Empire State Building and found out we only had to go down a mere 15 blocks and over 2. So we walked. And walked. And held up Joseph's pants. We did pass Macy's window display. Beautiful!


The Empire State Building was very cool. You know NY is big, but to see the lights going out as far as you can see on every single side? Awesome. We were definitely tired and frozen by now. We walked a few blocks to Penn station and caught the subway all the way back to our original starting point. If we had used the subway at the beginning, we would have had to walk about 3 steps to get there. That is about how far we walked from the station to our parking garage.


GPS took us out of the city and we got home at midnight. All in all a perfect family day.

Gingerbread Houses, if Gingerbread was made out of Graham Crackers

As a Christmas tradition, Gingerbread houses are awesome. As a reality, they are a lot of work. Because they involve mixing, cutting, baking, etc. So we use a simpler, lazier alternative. Graham Cracker Houses. One box makes 5 houses. I doubled the frosting recipe (but you could also half it easily)

Notes-

• Make one bag of icing per person, it is easier!!
• This is a great project for inviting people over (the frosting and graham crackers are cheap and the candy lasts FOREVER- even making 10, we had tons of leftovers)
• You can dye the frosting red and green (forgot till after I made the houses)
• The houses need to set for an hour before using, but put the rest of the frosting in bags right away so they don't also set
• Waffle Icecream Cones are great Christmas Trees

Cookie cutter houses are so boring!!

Wouldn't you rather live in this neighborhood?

(minus the frosting splattered EVERYWHERE)

You'll have to click to enlarge this collage:

1. Ryan likes to build walls 2. I have my white picket fence

3. Uncle Gordon likes lots of SNOW 4. Matthew enjoyed eating the candy the most

5. Kirsti added presents around her tree 6. Ethan likes the overgrown garden look

7. Elise added a little of Everything 8. Simplicity was the key for Aunt Jessica

9. Joseph takes us inside the mind of a 4 year old 10. Peter likes Candy Pavers, Stones, and Ponds.








Here are pictures of Uncle Gordon setting up the frosting, the mess left over, and what we did instead of cleaning up (which made the frosting set on the table=a lot longer to clean up)

What Kids Know Tag

Last tag. I told my friend I didn't want to know my kids' answers, so she tagged me in her comments. I asked the kids as they woke up so they didn't know each other's answers (except the youngest two). Please note that we are in the midst of nighttime wars, making them all sleep in their bed at night (this has been hard on the youngest two and the last few nights have been pretty tough battles). That helps make some of the answers make sense. Also, if you can't tell, Matthew is in the parrot stage. Answers are listed oldest to youngest.

1. What does mom always say to you?

1. Quiet or you'll go to bed.
2. Get off the computer or turn off the TV
3. I love you
4. Go to bed
5. I don't know
6. I da-no

2. What makes mom happy?

1. When we go to bed
2. When I do my chore and take out the garbage
3. my smile
4. Dad
5. reading me stories
6. mom happ-ee

3. What makes mom sad?

1. When she has to clean up stuff she already picked it up (too true, Elise, too true)
2. When I don't get off the the TV when she tells me to (got grounded last night when I found him at 10:30 watching TV)
3. Me going to school
4. A lamp getting broken (Random)
5. When I have a bad dream, that makes you sad. Last night I dreamed . . .
6. Mom dad (sad)

4. How does mom make you laugh?

1. When she does something funny on accident
2. When she complains about me not laughing
3. tickle me
4. tickle me
5. Ha,ha,ha. You just made me laugh
6. Mom waff

5. How old is mom?

1. 32
2. 32
3. 31
4. 30
5. 29
6. Josive two

6. How tall is mom?

1. probably 5'2'' because I am 4'9''
2. 5'7'' (how does he know that?)
3. 62 inches?
4. 20. (Me: feet or inches?) Um...inches?
5. 20 and one half pounds
6. How taw mommy?

7. What does mom like to do?

1. drink hot chocolate
2. write comments on blogs
3. clean
4. yawn (Kirsti is on a random streak I guess)
5. clean the house every day, duh. (it was the duh that really got me)
6. cwap (clap) (it was either that or he was saying lap, as in "I want on your wap". I couldn't tell.)

8. What is mom's job?

1. To help us and clean the house
2. to stay at home and watch the younger kids
3. clean
4. cooking dinner
5. clean the house
6. mommy jab

9. What is mom's favorite food?

1. chicken, maybe?
2. teriyaki chicken
3. chicken and rice
4. Mexican soup
5. stir fry
6. bagel (Again, I think he was actually asking for a bagel, not answering the question)

10. How do you know your mom loves you?

1. you're always nice to us and help us in places and times we need help
2. because you give me lots of hugs and kisses
3. you give me hugs
4. you give me lots of hugs
5. I don't know how you love me, I only know how I love you
6. luh-you. Maw-maw luh-you.

Eye Doctors, Malls, and Black Friday crowds

I had another brilliant, well thought out scheme the other day. Two of my children were sent home with the "your child failed our vision screening test, how could you not know they were blind?" note. The third already wears glasses, just had them replaced two months ago, and was kind enough to tell us the NEXT DAY he sees much better when he wears his prescription sports goggles and regular glasses together. Anyhow, it only took being knocked in the head a couple hundred times before I realized I needed to make some eye appointments.


For some odd reason, I kept avoiding making the call. Could it be the thought of sitting with 6 kids in a tiny waiting room for hours doesn't sound like fun? Perhaps I dread finding out I need to spend a small fortune on accessories that I will then have to monitor constantly (where are your glasses?), fix (I just need to screw that in tighter), and replace (I mean it, WHERE ARE YOUR GLASSES?). Probably I'm just the master of procrastination. For whatever reason, I kept putting off making the call until guilt, and Kirsti's constant reminder that she can't see, finally got the better of me.


I took the 1st available appointment. 4 of them in a row (if I need to do the other 3 kids in school, I might as well do 1 more). For the Friday after Thanksgiving. Did I mention our eye doctor is in the MALL and it was BLACK FRIDAY? Yep, I am the well-thought-out-plan-making guru. Some might say this was punishment for not Black Friday shopping for the first time in years.


So I loaded up the kids and got there early so we could make the 4 mile trek through the parking lot. We arrived at 2:45 for our appointments starting at 3. We left the mall at 7:30. With the exception of 1/2 hour at the end, spent getting pretzels and walking around waiting for the glasses, it was all spent in a waiting room the size of my closet. Jealous?


Although gratefully, Matthew slept the 1st two hours in his stroller, the receptionist happened to have the American Girl movie for them to watch, I had them bring in books and coloring things and, thankfully, they all decided to be pretty well behaved most of the time. It could have been much, much worse.

Oh, and Ryan's prescription had doubled (which is why he saw better wearing two sets of glasses), Kirsti and Elise need to wear theirs all the time except when reading or on the computer, and Ethan got a clean bill of health.


And during the "extra" 1/2 hour I found a store with a great deal. Buy one get one free on everything AND spend $50 get $40 in gift cards. I would tell you where I bought the girls an outfit, but I'm embarrassed that I shopped somewhere so expensive (even if I did get a deal). You will just be LIMITED TOO your imagination.


Here are my kiddos with their brand new glasses. Sorry for the glare, I was a little tired.

Matthew's New Game

We might be the first parents in the history of parentage who spend exorbitant amounts of time encouraging our baby to cry.

Can someone who doesn't like to cook enjoy Thanksgiving?

Yes, yes you can. But you must invite the right dinner guests. So here is my shout out to all my company this year. Thank you Mrs. Smith for providing the pies. And Mr. Stouffers? Your stuffing is always a favorite at our home. The McCormicks gave the right touch to the gravy and Mrs. Rhodes, your rolls melted in my mouth. Finally, thanks to my assistants, Mr. Hefty and Mr. Reynolds. Without your help my turkey wouldn't be moist.

I am in awe for those who cook their dinners from scratch. I think if I had one thing to concentrate on, I might have had the patience to make something great. But when faced with the daunting task of making the entire dinner for my family, I'm glad I opted to let my friends help. Keeping me from slaving in the kitchen all day I was able to enjoy my Thanksgiving with my family. You holiday guests are nearly as dear to me as my everyday best friend, Betty Crocker.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

(and Kirsti wore that hat for days and all through dinner)

Halloween Costumes & Results of an All Candy Diet

This year I went with an easy, no-sew costume idea. All I used was felt, under wonder, fabric paint, and hot glue. You'll notice that my "quirky" dresser opted for a lollipop over a candy bar. And yes, we dressed as Almond Joy and Mounds just for the joke you could make.

Trick or treating was a lot of fun. I was worried when at dusk there were no lit porch lights. By the time we went out there were plenty of lights. Everyone in the neighborhood gave out candy bars (see diagram at right)! By the time we finished half the neighborhood, our bags were full and heavy (chocolate weighs more that smarties, I guess).

Anyway, today after an all candy 24 hour diet, my kids reacted quite strangely. The older three had to take turns. Not on the computer, or the wii, or even the TV. They took turns using my sewing machine and proudly displaying their creations. Then they spent at least 3 hours playing on the beach (except Elise who opted for rare, alone, creative time upstairs). This gave me time to clean up the house and catch up on old Clark Howard Podcasts. If this is how they react to candy, I think that is all I will ever feed them.

PS We had spaghetti with bread sticks and corn for dinner and now they are fighting. I think my theory IS true . . . .

Family Update

Thought I would leave a quick post on what our family is up to these days.

Elise has been doing great in middle school. She got all A's on her progress report and just found out she made it into Chamber Choir.

Matthew has learned the value of talking. He talks all the time and seems to add at least 3 new words every day. Last week he learned "uh-uh" and "ya". Now that he can tell us his opinion, he thinks he should always get his way! He is starting to put words together. His favorite song? We Will Rock You. I will try to get some video one of these days.


Ryan is enjoying school, too. Last week he finished testing for the gifted program. He was accidentally signed up for flag football (there are 4 Ryans in 4-5th grades and somehow his name got added to the list). That means he is doing tackle football and flag. His last tackle game is this Friday during the high school football team's half time. He really enjoys it.

Ethan loves, loves, loves football. He kept circling the play, always holding back, and then on his last game of the season, something clicked and he was in on every play. You can find him outside playing pretty much all the time. Only 2 more months till baptism time!

Kirsti has become a reading fiend. She can finish the Magic Tree House books, although her true heart is with Henry and Mudge. This is a picture of her school project. Those are strips of paper we wrapped into circles and glued onto a the pumpkin she brought home. We had a blast finishing this project together (although it did take a little longer than I expected).

Joseph has started preschool. It is 1 hour twice a week. He gets so excited every week. Matthew, however, gets upset every time we drop him off. He loves to tell stories and they totally crack me up. Today he told Peter and I about the billy goat gruffs. It involved "the highest number" of goats, grass that was made into necklaces, and jumping over the trolls.


He had two birthday cakes. The Pirate for his party and this one the week earlier on his actual birthday. For the last year, ever since he saw this cake, he has told everyone, "I am having a Transformer birthday." I knew he would eventually realize if I didn't make it, so I did. The picture was taken after some frosting surgery to repair Matthew damage to the cake.


Peter is doing well. Lots of recruiting and what not. They lost a doctor last month, which was hard, but a new hire starts Monday and another in November. And at least one in July. We are hoping for 2-3 more hires this year (which means lots more work). He is going to the American College of Emergency Physicians conference in a couple weeks and is hoping for some good leads while out there.

And me? I have 8 costumes to finish by Friday. I also have a basement to clean out, library books to find, 2 school parties and plan, and a wheat grinder to still buy. I'm keeping busy.