Family Pictures 2009

A photographer friend took our family pictures this fall.
Location: Civil War battlefield & cemetery site.

I am very pleased with myself for orchestrating the outfits. They all actually look good together! At least I think so. If you don't, keep it to yourself. ;-)

Our youngest, 2 1/2 years, was very uncooperative. Zero smiles. When we got the CD of all the photos, she kept pointing at the screen while saying,
"She wasn't happy. She wanted her Mom & Dad. She didn't want the pictures."
I agreed.

Overheard in the Car

Observations by the four-year-old; comment by the two-year-old.


NE: Ewww! It smells like crabs in here!

Me: Crabs? You think so?

NE: Yes! I think Daddy and Uncle Matthew got crabs and ate them in the car on the way home from the airport.

Me: chuckling and confused (Uncle Matthew is half-way across the country.)

AE: Yah, it stinks! I think Uncle Matthew pooped in here!

Me: laughing so hard I'm crying


Of course I had to call Matthew, and inform him that our two-year-old thinks he needs to work on his personal hygiene.

Our First Break

Boys will be boys, the saying goes. And ours has now officially been inducted into the
Royal Order of Boyhood.

He broke his first (and hopefully last!) bone.

Being left-handed, this left elbow break was a bit inconvenient. The writing difficulty was nothing compared to the torture of missing out on PE at school, though!

Some lessons learned:
Humans cannot fly. Gravity is real. Showing off can get you hurt.

I was inside, and didn't see the actual event. But from eye witnesses I've gathered that the kids were taking turns swinging really high and jumping out of the swing. ED said that this particular time, he thought while in mid-air, "Wo. I'm really high. This is going to hurt." It did. He landed just right (or wrong), and heard the crack. It was a Saturday. We got to spend four hours in the Emergency Room.

Misnomer

Names our fourth child has been called:

Noomee


Nemo




Namer or Namee



Nawmee


Nay-Nay



Nie-oh-mee


Nummy




Numer



Wyoming

and last, but not least,

Mary
(multiple times by another four-year-old)

It's Late

And my hubby is asleep. And for only another 2 1/2 hours. So, I really shouldn't have the computer on eight feet away from him.

But I told myself that I'd post something today, so here it goes. Obviously, it's going to be quick.

We got a new computer over the weekend. While the added memory and speed of the processor are GREAT (our dinosaur was a whopping five years old), the transfer has been a bit challenging. Our printer still isn't connected right. We need to install a new "driver"? I used to think I was computer savvy. I'm not even pretending anymore.

Sshhh. Don't tell my mom. She still calls me with computer questions. (Though she probably won't anymore after reading this!)


A friend and I swap houses once a week to clean. I've said it for years, "It's easier to clean someone else's house than my own." You've probably said it, too. Well, we're not kicking against the pricks anymore! And I love it!! My Tuesdays are now pretty tiring, though. It has been a long time since I cleaned for three hours straight without getting distracted. And, OH, what can be accomplished in three short hours! My life is now a whole lot less stressful.

Part II

The two-year-old is currently choosing to whine and play in her crib instead of sleep for the second day in a row. I'm not OK with this. At least I know she can't get into anything. And I can turn down the baby monitor, so I can pretend she's sleeping. I guess this just means she'll go to bed at a decent hour for the baby sitter tonight! Yes, I just said baby sitter. We thought this crazy busy year would be date-free out of necessity. But we're meeting at the temple--30 min from D's work & 2 hrs from home--for a stake-wide meeting. He got 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night; do you think he'll stay awake during the meeting? :-)

LL turned six last week! She's a big first grader. (not size-wise, just meaning "grownup") Being so young, we almost didn't start her last year. Then we almost pulled her out at Christmas. Then we almost had her repeat kindergarten. All of this unbeknown to her, we thought. But her behavior and the teachers kept convincing us that she's fine right where she is. Just yesterday she came home declaring that she's glad she's not in kindergarten anymore because they're babies. Maybe all of that "almost..." last year wasn't such a mystery to her? Last night I announced that it was reading time, and she asked if I would read a book to her. Before I could respond, big sister AM said, "No, remember? You can read all by yourself now!" LL just replied, "Oh, yeah" and went over to the bookshelf. I do still read to my children, though. Don't you worry.

NE, who turned four last month, continues to tell me every day that she's almost old enough to go to school on the bus. In fact, yesterday at the YMCA she announced to the Kids Gym staff that it's almost her birthday. This might be a very long year for her. Preschool starts next week, so I hope that will stave off the blues. She has a style all her own, and knows exactly what she wants to wear and how her hair needs to be done. I usually don't fight with her on such things because, heck! you're only four once! And she gets her fashion sense from her father, anyway. (That came out sounding like an insult, but it's really supposed to be a compliment. I get the most comments on my clothes when my husband dresses me!) NE is currently taking swimming lessons and practices blowing bubbles in the bathtub.

AE has taken a chapter from NE's book. We now have two mess-maker extraordinaires in the family. There are little scribbles on every flat surface of the house, and books are not safe with her unsupervised. She wears a skirt everyday (or "kurt" as she calls it), and sometimes matches. Boy, have I gotten lax! Or maybe I've learned that this phase doesn't last very long, and I'd rather fight about what food goes in her mouth than which outfit she picks out. It's not like she's wearing halter tops and fish net stockings--I do still purchase all her clothes! She is in the very fun (sarcastic) stage of "no, I don't want to wear a diaper, but no, I also don't want to go potty in the toilet." The other day while I was changing her poopy diaper, she kept telling me, "Don't, Mom!" I told her that I wouldn't have to wipe her whole bum if she put her poop in the potty instead of in her pants. She then proceeded to walk around the house asking everyone if they put their poop in the potty. Are we turning a corner? Only time will tell. I really haven't wanted to push the potty-training thing (are you noticing a parental pattern here?) because she is only two, but when she talks about it so often, I think I may as well give it a go. Stay tuned.

Not MIA Anymore

I've been neglecting this blog for so long that I'm out of the habit of even clicking on it! I hope to change that forthwith. You may not care, but my kids are growing up and I need to document their comings and goings somewhere.

So, the biggest item of note is that D has begun his residency/internship. He is now officially the busiest man alive, and survives on 3-4 hours of sleep four nights a week while working two full-time jobs. I am doing my best to remember some wise (and quite comforting) words spoken to me right before this crazy schedule began: "As you worry about your husband's schedule, realize that it is temporary." I didn't expect this person to say "as you worry". I expected "Don't worry!" But that wouldn't be realistic.

ED just started piano lessons today. He loves being in fifth grade--king of the school--and acts like he has everything under control (except for his bedroom!). As a fifth grader, he will get the opportunity to participate in the "news" on TV and raise the flag out in front of the school. Privileges galore! He is now our most voracious reader. We were very surprised by a reading aptitude test result putting him at two grade levels below where he should be. Either he doesn't test well, or the test was inputted incorrectly. Something's up! Even though I've inquired about it, I don't really care. I know how well he reads.

We finally convinced AM to get her hair cut in a really cute A-line bob with it stacked short in the back and hitting just below her chin in the front. It is fun and sassy--just like her personality. After a summer of swimming, her hair was pretty damaged. She has more homework than the other two combined, and brings home a very heavy backpack almost every day. Gratefully, she's one of those that thinks schoolwork is fun (crazy!), so there's not much complaining.

And that's where this installment ends. To be continued!

Loving Being Frugal

I've been meaning to write about my latest love: couponing! I continue to be amazed about paying less (or nothing!) for an item just because I handed the clerk a piece of paper.

This love has been growing for quite some time. After researching and playing around a bit, I am almost at the point where I refuse to pay for certain items. Like deodorant. I currently have a stash of seven roll-ons and four sticks, each of which cost me less than 10 cents!! What a rush! And I'll never pay more than $1 for a box of cereal again. There's just no need with the sales and coupons available. I have approximately 20 boxes in my son's closet (because they won't all fit in my pantry!), and the most I've paid is 89 cents. Half of them were free!

The whole idea of using coupons has always intrigued me, but I've only recently learned how to use them effectively. Thanks to a bunch of great blogs, I now find out what's on sale, which coupons to use, where to get them, and then I go and save A BUNDLE!

It means that my shopping cart looks a little odd, though.

Take my recent trip to Walgreens, for example. I purchased 11 packages of diapers, four toothbrushes (something else I'll never pay for again!), three rolls of paper towels, four boxes of cereal, and two cans of nuts. With the sales and coupons and "Register Rewards" (money back), the receipt says I saved $49.78. I paid just $3o.83!! If divided evenly, that's just $1.27 per item! $1.27 for a pkg of diapers. Yeah, I'm good.

So, I thought I'd share some of the sites on which I have come to rely, because though I am bragging a bit here, I couldn't do any of it without the help provided by these great sites!

Money Saving Mom is by far my favorite. She alerts you to various deals, and outlines how to shop at CVS, Walgreens, and Rite-Aid. She often lists the best deals at Target and Wal-Mart and other national chains.

BeCentsAble has a feature called Grocery Gathering that I rely on heavily. It lists which blogs outline the best deals for local stores. (i.e., there are two blogs listed that tell me what to buy at Bloom, two for Giant, about ten for Safeway, etc.) I click on the blogs, scroll through the listing of the best deals and which coupons to use, print off my list, and off I go!

Ebates pays as you shop online. It takes just an extra click or two to find out if the site I need is associated with ebates. Very simple! I had a $10 off coupon code for JCPenney (it's actually still valid, if you're interested: GR8DAD), so I went to Ebates, searched for JCPenney, and then I was in. Easy as pie. I got $10 off at JCPenney, $5 for signing up with Ebates, and 40 cents for doing the shopping through Ebates. They pay you a percentage of your purchase.

What has been especially fun is that ED and AM, my 10 and 9 year olds, are getting into it. They are great helpers in the store! I give them the coupon, and they find the item. They are excited about it, too. "Wow, Mom! You mean just by giving them this coupon, you can get stuff for free?" AM helped me find a bunch of deals at Target the other day. With the sales, manufacture coupons, and Target coupons, we were almost paid to take items off their shelves! She came bounding in the door, shouting to D to come see our haul. I've never seen a nine year old be so exuberant about mayonaisse and salad dressing!

Mother's Day Card

Fill in the blank card from my 3 1/2 year old:

I love my mom because she gives me food.
She makes my favorite food which is mac n cheese.
Once day when I am a grown up I will buy her a cheezit.
God made mommies because I don't know.
My mommy drives slow.
When my mommy prays I feel good.


I can't wait for the cheezit!

Check Your Books at the Door

My friend has her children hand over their books as they walk in the door from school every day. WHAT!? you ask? Yes, it's true. The children are not allowed to read until their jobs, homework, and even sometimes playing with friends is done. She doesn't have to kick her kids off the TV or the Wii; she has to limit their reading time. I use to say that if you have to have a problem, then that's the one to have!

Until I entered her world.

Staying up two hours past bedtime...
Using the bathroom for 30+ minutes...
Setting up a camp chair in the sun because mom said "Go outside"...
Fibbing about how much homework is in the backpack...
Missing dinner and asking, "Why didn't you wait for me?"...

TO READ!

It's still not the worst problem in the world, but it can get annoying at times.

But here's the rub: I know how they feel. I would rather read than do the laundry or the dishes, too. And I stayed up until 3am one night last week to finish our bookclub book. Obviously, I'm being punished by having children take on my bad habits! :-)

Moderation in all things, right? I guess I need to adopt that as my motto.

You're not feeling down, are you?

Click here.

I dare you not to smile!

Have a happy,
me.

MARCH

March started off with three commemorations: my birthday, AM's birthday, and our house's birthday! Four years ago we moved to the east coast. We still aren't quite used to the climate. I wonder if this will be the year I figure out how to garden.

The birthday girls:On my birthday nine years ago, I was doing all I could to relax and keep that baby in, so she could have her own birthday. (Of course, at that time we thought she was a he. We never did get a Caleb--unless you count our little nephew.) She cooperated, and was born at one in the morning!

This year, our birthdays fell on a Friday and Saturday: perfect! My honey pampered me on Friday (even took the day off work!!), and we pampered AM on Saturday. We went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore in the morning. It was really fun. Then we came home and rested a bit before partying some more in the evening. (We had gotten up early and the birthday girl got car sick.) She requested lasagna, garlic bread and root beer for her birthday dinner. Quote from our nine-year-old: I really liked the presents. I loved my dinner. I especially liked the root beer. It was sooo good! I also went to the aquarium which I saw many animals, and I also got sick which that wasn't good."

Here are some photos of her day:




The professional photo at the top of this post was taken a week before her birthday. It is very appropriate--she's an avid reader!

Shimmy, Shake & Wiggle

Turn up your volume, and get ready to chuckle!



This girl's got STYLE!

Here's one more, just so you can watch baby sister do her own little wiggle:

mua ha ha ha ha ha ha

this is j's blog and d managed to get in and make a total mess of it!!! weeeeee!!! i can write anything here and she won't know it until someone else points it out - she can't take this stuff off can she? the thought that this scribbling of mine is going to be permanent is too exciting for words! asd;lfkjaokrwoirew9ogv bv!@#$$%^&. when she catches me at this i can just blame it on... the kids, definitely the kids... yeah, that's the plan - they spell better than i do anyhow. she keeps such a pretty blogometry that having a schmear of vestigial humanity every now and then won't hurt. i didn't go to work today because i put in too many hours and no overtime for this feller. does this email to everybody who is interested? i sure hope so - you know, spread the love hither and yon. sorry to get your hopes up people - just d. i have nothing neat or interesting to say other than it is nice to type something i don't have to turn in to a professor or a government official. i got to sleep in last night and thus i find myself with lots of energy. i thought i could either do something productive or i could screw up j's blag. i figure we don't stay in touch as well as we should, and by we i mean me because j does most of the envoy work for this house. so this is me making a notional effort to reach out. did you know that by the time it takes you to read this sentence, 20 million nutrinos have passesd through your brain? and by the time you have read this sentence they are half way to the sun? that's a quote from "coming of age in the milky way" - i read it at snow college.

wait a second - how does this work again? that's right, i get on here and i post something about the family. here goes: N is recently going through a growth spurt and by growth spurt i mean east german-esque growth spurt - this girl is only a few pounds lighter than L and a couple inches shorter. she is still as energetic as ever. three and a half with a new haricut to cover the mane mangling she pulled off last month... made j cry. she posted the pix. N is the kind of kid for whom we have used the kid leash on one occasion - in spite of the memories of the spastic kids i recall requiring restraint to keep from getting hurt. N is on the leash to spare the health and wellfare of any poor unsuspecting child she wanders too close to. my sister used one on one of her rambunctious boys and the image made me laugh - i thought we could get a bunch for all the cousins and they could pull a sleigh or a coal mine cart. AE is growing enormously also but she still has the hands of a neonatal but her hair has finally changed into reall person hair and not that whispy spider-monkey hair new borns start out with. she has caught onto the fact that she must weep, wail and gnash to get any attention. she will put on an apocalyptic-proportioned hissy to ask for milk. don't get me wrong, milk is tasty and loverly but a palsied convulsion? really?? i only do that when i want cheez its because they have real cheese AND milk - never just for just milk. rooky. AM is the reluctant prodigy - i have to threaten with a circular saw and branding iron to get her to sit and make a pathetic pantomime of piano practice once a week - she then takes off to her lessons and her teacher says she is doing so well... after having practiced once she aparently can play a whole song all the way through without looking at times. just to keep her on her toes, when she plays a song perfectly i say "yeah, but can you play it backwards? don't be lazy." one of these days she is going to pull that off and i am not sure what i am going to do - maybe demand she play it with broken fingers, her toes or with someone else's hands... it's tough being the lesser mortal in a house full of lovely people - you have to work so much harder to pretend you are worthwhile - sigh. L is a very gentle and tender child who is so enthusiastic and genuinely good - so i am making sure she toughens up, carries weapons to school and knows how to kill a man with a wet noodle and doll hair - kind of the mcgiver and rambo approach to parenting. she is taking swim lessons and she is really developing some great form - all of my kids can out swim their dad but they don't know that. actually, i am more of a breath-holder - don't knock it, when everyone is at the surface getting really tired and stuff i am conserving energy and staring up at them with my little smug blue-lipped grin. they don't know what they are missing out on. E is the moderator of mighty proportions. often we hear him saying "simmer down" or "knock it off". that is the sign of a kid who knows how to take charge. he is very maticulous about his things and works hard to be obedient. he is a really even keeled (sp?) kid. he is just so eexcited about learning new things and has a quuick mind. he must get that from his mom. julie just came in and caught me so i need to get off- until next time when she leaves the computer unlocked and exposed... ta ta ta toodles may your easter be full of bunnies and sugar hallucinations!

Can I schedule this to post at a later date?
Just trying to figure out all my options...

Learning English

This morning our 22-month-old kept saying "duhrt". After a while I realized that she was asking for something. She got quite insistent and somewhat frustrated when I couldn't figure out what she wanted.

I tried everything:
drink? no.
are you hurt? no.
something with your foot? no.

Then she got distracted by her sister. I thought the translating game was over.

Nope.

She then brought me into the kitchen pointing to the refrigerator. I opened it up and started over:
drink? no.
carrot? no.
cheese? no. (I realize this sounds nothing like "duhrt", but we were desperate at this point!)

Then the light went on (you'd think since this is my fifth child, I would have done this sooner). I put her down and say, "Show me".

She moves a couple things around on the bottom shelf and points to "duhrt".

YOGURT!

whew. Who says a stay-at-home mom doesn't need an education?

Another Chapter in NE's Book...

I laughed, and then I cried.



Perhaps you've heard of the book Pinkalicious. If not, go find it. It's great. Though we all love Pinkalicious around here, apparently one member of the family decided to take her love to the next level.

Introducing REDalicious:


She also decided to cut her hair so it would be "short and pretty like L...'s". All little girls want to emulate their older sisters.


We will be taking a trip to the salon tomorrow to see if it can be fixed without being completely chopped off.

Amazingly, almost all of the hair was put carefully in the garbage, and there was no lipstick on the walls or bedspreads or couches...or anywhere besides her face and hands!

I blame myself for this one. Whilst organizing the bathroom closet, I got side-tracked and left a whole heap of stuff (including, yes, you guess it, lipstick and scissors) on the counter. It was apparently too tempting for the three-year-old to leave alone.

All those beautiful brown curls!!! The hair will grow. The hair will grow.

you got the news twice...

Well, I'm not too sure how I posted that twice, but it's worthy of being repeated!

WOO-HOO!!!

We just received some great news! It looks like this:

Congratulations! You have been matched to an internship position.

This is the residency required for the doctorate. Derrell is among the 60% of applicants nationwide who got matched on the first go 'round.

We are so happy! We are so blessed! Thank you for your support and prayers. We need them.

The end is coming into view:

1. Finish Classes--April 2009
2. Defend Dissertation--Summer & Fall 2009
3. Complete Residency--Summer 2009 thru Summer 2010
4. Graduate!!--Fall 2010
   

WOO-HOO!!!

We just received some great news.  It looks like this:

Congratulations! You have been matched to an internship position.

This is the residency required for the doctorate.  Derrell is among the 60% of applicants nationwide
that got matched on the first go 'round.

We are so happy!  We are so blessed!

The end is coming into view.

1. Finish Classes (April 2009)
   
2. Defend Dissertation (Summer & Fall 2009)
3. Complete Residency (Summer 2009 thru Summer 2010)
4. Graduate!! (Fall 2010)
   

Thank you for your support and prayers.  We need them.

Two weeks ago:
The Snowman that turned into a Chair. (I don't think I ever wanted a snow chair when I was a kid!)

AE begged to go outside
with her cracker.
It shortly became
"Ritz a la mode".

Today:

And tomorrow it's supposed to get up to 70 degrees.

The weather is one of the nicest things about this area. We get some cold and snow, but nothing like the negative 40 temperatures of Anchorage, Alaska where a friend lives. The summer can be uncomfortable, but nothing like Melbourne, Australia where a friend is experiencing 115 degree weather presently. For the most part it is quite mild.

OK, I better be more specific. The weather is one of the nicest things to me about this area. It is WAY too warm for my hubby's tastes most of the time, but I think he's part bear. (hee, hee)

The Saving of the Cookies

I like to cook.

I'm not the greatest, but most of what I make is edible. The kids don't usually complain. I'm not very adventurous, but I am adaptable. Recipes are guidelines. If I don't have half of the ingredients, I just throw in what I do have. Some of the greatest compliments come when I have modified a recipe. What this means, however, is that I can never recreate my best meals.

It also means that sometimes I really mess up.

Unfortunately, because I never keep track of what I've thrown in, I don't really know what the problem is. Mayhem really breaks loose when I venture into a world almost completely unknown to me, like Asian food, or baking from scratch.

Such was the case one evening when I decided to make my family homemade cookies. A little bit of this and a lot of that. I was following only a partial recipe. After the first batch came out of the oven, I knew we had a problem.

Two people instantly came to mind: a good friend who has finally perfected her own (somewhat secret) chocolate chip recipe, and my eldest sister-in-law who represents a good homemaker to me. My friend lives a mile away, and I knew exactly where she was at the moment, so I tried her first. She couldn't hear her phone over the bath water she was drawing for her children.

I was somewhat reluctant to call my S-I-L because it was around dinner time in her part of the world. But, I figured my options were to throw out the dough or interrupt their dinner. I chose the selfish option, which luckily turned out OK. B-I-L wasn't home from work, yet!

It took longer for me to explain the problem, than for her to fix it. More flour!!! Thank you, LaD!

Can you guess which is the before-the-saving, and which is after?