Oh What A Beautiful Morning

I forced myself to stay up last night and do my share of my transcribing job. I collapsed into bed around midnight. Around 4:00 Ben woke up pretty miserable with his cold because all the medicines I was always told to give all of my kids including Ben up until 6 months ago, is now highly illegal. I worked with him for about an hour and then crawled back into bed for a couple more hours.

Brennan left around 6:30. Sometime between 7:00 and 7:30 the boys crawled into bed and all over me for about a half hour. I let the girls sleep in because they're fighting off colds but by 8:00 I was asking, begging, pleading, bribing, threatening them to hurry and eat, get dressed, brush their hair, brush their teeth and leave. Anna made the whole carpool wait, again. In the midst of making breakfast and lunches for the girls Ben was beside himself and if anyone so much as looked at him he screamed and flopped onto the floor. He wanted me to do something with his sippy full of juice which I never did figure out and evidently my not doing what he wanted ruined his life forever and he went in to complete melt down mode rolling all over the floor screaming, kicking etc. for about 20 minutes or so. I was dangerously close to joining him.

After our less than cheery morning, we went for a walk and the sun was shining and guess what, it was a beautiful morning.

Spectacle

I dream of the day I can go to church without being a spectacle, you know without my daughter (sadly, my oldest) bringing an entire jar of peanut butter for a little church snack, without my cell phone blaring the tune of "OH WHEN THE SAINTS, GO MARCHING IN..." and me running out as fast as I could with the wrong bag and the girls running out to tell me I grabbed the wrong bag and didn't bring me the right bag, and Brennan loudly investigating a foul smell. I think that day is still a ways off and after today's church service we can go ahead and add another scene to the list.

Actually it was all very cute and sweet, but awkward nonetheless. We were all sitting on our row managing to keep things to a fairly low level of disruptiveness (evidently that isn't a word) when in walks a young man with some friends all of whom sat right behind us. This particular young man is a 23 year old with a full beard, mustache and hair down to his shoulders. Benny absolutely lit up when he saw this guy and excitedly began pointing to him and saying "Jesee!" (Jesus). He told Brennan several times and then climbed over his siblings to get to me and tell me. He would then sit and just grin at this young man. He was honestly so thrilled to see him and could barely contain his enthusiasm. He pointed him out to several people seated nearby. Roughly every 10 minutes or so of our 70 minute meeting he would start the whole process over again.

I think this guy got a kick out of it, I hope we didn't make him too uncomfortable and disrupt the meeting too much. I wasn't exactly sure what to do so we just kind of kept trying to interest Benny in his pacifier. Again, very cute, very awkward. We love Benny.

Blogging 101

Okay for all you savvy bloggers out there, I have a few questions:

1. Is there a way to change my template without having to re-enter everything on my sidebar?

2. Is it simple to make my own header?

3. How do you have just a plain background?

4. Am I old if I don't just know all of this already?

Article on Praising Kids

Here is a long but fascinating article that my brother, Davis, emailed me. My other brother, Ryan, linked to it on his blog, but just case you haven't seen it check it out. It's a realy interesting read.

Allergic Reaction

Look at that face!

With my super savvy medical mind it only took me about 32 years to figure out that my skin reacts badly to bandaids. Armed with my new found knowledge I try to avoid them; however, I will on occasion use them on my heel while breaking in new shoes.

Yesterday I was putting a bandaid on my heel when Nate came in and started thoughtfully observing me. After a few seconds he said, "I thought bandaids make you sneeze?" I was totally confused and asked, "Why would bandaids make me sneeze?"His perfectly logical reply was, "Dad said you are allergic to bandaids."

Patriotic Program!

Today we got to attend the 1st grade's patriotic program. It was really cute. They sang a lot of songs, including each of the armed service songs. Abby is so cute to watch because she LOVES to sing and perform, but still gets quite self-conscious so she just gets this shy grin as she sings her guts out. She knew every word and really poured her heart into it. We love Abigail.

The bad news is that on my way to the program I managed to slam my camera into the car door and ruin it! Eliza was kind enough to drag her two little kiddies to the program and came to the rescue by having her camera with her and snapping some photos for us. Thanks, Lize!

Look carefully she's right there in the middle bottom row.

Abe, Abby (with matching but totally unrelated -other than some shared klutzy genes- bruises, Belle and Ben.

Presidents' Day

We had a fun President's yesterday starting with a trip to the newly renovated State Captitol. I had big plans of taking all kinds of pictures. Uh, I finally remembered at the end when we were in the lovely cafeteria. Somehow I missed getting a picture of Eliza, Brennan and Abby. Anyway, my Dad is a State Senator so we got to go watch him in action for little while on the senate floor and then he joined us for lunch. It was so neat to catch a glimpse of what goes on there and to see the beautiful building. Good times; however, trying to move two almost-two-year-olds who insist on walking every step including huge staircases unassisted, and 6 big kids (with a healthy genetic dose of ADD) through the Capitol with our fearless leader, Mom, (who with her impeccable navigating skills led us through more than a few detours:)) and then once Dad was with us and couldn't walk two steps without seeing someone who wanted to chat with him, was like herding 250 head of cattle through New York City.

Macy (SIL) and Rex (nephew)

Dad, Mom, Abe (nephew) and Lucy (niece)

Nate and Ryan (brother)

Molly (niece) and Anna

After our Capitol adventure Rex came home with us and Lucy went with my Mom for a nap and then joined us at our house. The kids had so much fun playing with each other. During mine and Ben's nap Abby, Nate and Rex watched "Night at the Musuem" and while I slept on the couch my subconciousness happily registered the three of them cracking up the whole time. It was so cute.

Ryan and Macy came to pick them up that evening and we enjoyed visiting and trying to convince them to move closer to us while the kids soaked up every last second with their cousins. It was a perfect day!

Tag?

Okay, while I feel so special to have been tagged, and love reading others' tag posts, I feel a little weird about doing it myself. However, I'm going to ignore my weirdness and just do it. Here goes:

1. 10 years ago I was living in our first house, expecting our first baby and working as a legal secretary.

2. To do list: lose 700 pounds, talk Brennan into one more child and then have twins and therefore get my 6 kids I've always wanted for the price of one final pregnancy, make my laundry/mud room not the pit of despair.

3. 5 places I've lived: basement apartment in Sugarhouse; different basement apartment in SLC; house in Farmington, UT; Mesa, AZ; Gilbert, AZ.

4. 5 jobs I've had: Dairy Queen, United Savings Bank/Western Mortgage loan document clerk, Title Company person, legal secretary, and my current and favorite occupation -- SAHM.

5. If I had a billion dollars I would, pay off home, set aside missions, college (some, I want my kids to pay for some), weddings, etc. maybe buy some new furniture and get our home just the way we want it and then maybe start a foundation or two. I also think it would be so fun to just help random people with random expenses, like pay for someone's medical expenses, pay the bill for a cute family at a restuarant etc.

6. Bad habits, too many to list. The main one is not productive enough, kind of lazy and undisciplined.

7. I love, people. I love meeting new people and I LOVE talking and laughing with the people I love.

8. People may not know that I love, order. I'm kind of incapable of it, so I do really appreciate those rare moments I have it for a second.

Weekend Goodies

So the other day Anna was getting ready for school and she asked me for some hand-sanitizer to take with her because she was pretty sure she had to dance with a boy for Gym. Cracked me up.

Abby had a water spray bottle and Nate was teasing her. She told him he better watch out or she would spray him with "peppermint spray". I asked her what peppermint spray was and she said that Anna told her it's what police spray in bad guys' eyes.

I told her it was really pepper spray. Nate asked if police only sprayed it in bad guys' eyes and I said, "Yeah, they spray bad guys and Nateys." He smiled and said, "Mom, you're teasing me, they don't really spray Nateys." About three minutes later, he said, "Mom, I know you're teasing me, they don't really spray Nateys." Again three minutes later. Poor little guy, 99% sure, but that 1% was eating him up.

Yesterday Chloe, Anna, Abby and Nate put on a fabulous production of "Cinderella." Abby was Cinderella, Nate was the prince and Anna was a stepsister and the Fairy God-Mother, Chloe was a narrator and stepsister. I thought I was being called in for a two minute production, but about 20 minutes later I really regretted not having rolled tape! It was killing me. Anna spoke with a pretty darn good British accent, Abby had a dramatic crying scene and Chloe rebuked Cinderella for preparing Ball gowns that were "so last season!" Nate was a bashful prince, who was mostly mute with voiceover work by Anna and Chloe. One of the best parts was an original song by Cinderella about how she could be anything the prince wanted her to be. "I could be a cook, a dentist, a waitress, etc. Wouldn't Gloria Steinem be proud?

"My Funny Valentine"

I love Valentines Day. It was right during this time of year that Brennan and I fell in love. Our first date was Feb. 1, 1997 so this time of year brings it all back. Shortly after we got married I wrote the story of Brennan and me and if you can stomach it, here are a few excerpts:

"Let me admit here that from the first time I saw this Brennan guy, I was at once both attracted to him and suspicious of him. I could tell immediately that he was very charming and knew it. He had an air of complete confidence about him. He was tall and although he was very lean, he was nicely built with broad shoulders. He had short blond hair and incredible deep blue eyes. I perceived that he was used to being sought after and played it for all it was worth; hence, my suspicion. In spite of my perception of him, I couldn't help being drawn to him which bothered me to no end. In fact, I refused to accept the fact that I was affected by him as I was not the average girl that could be flattered and wooed to fall into his trap -- I was above that."

"I was in awe that I had talked to Brennan W. for 2 hours. Even though I had always had a little crush on him, I never ever really thought anything would come of it, but after our phone conversation I sensed that our paths would finally cross. I was right."

"...We roller-bladed to a near-by 7-Eleven and drank hot chocolate on the curb in front of the store. The whole evening was wonderful. We talked so naturally together and he was one of the few guys I had ever been out with that actually seemed interested in what I had to say. It was exhilarating to be with him, for never before in all my life had I been with someone whom I felt so free to be myself with. I never once checked something I wanted to say for fear it would not be recieved well or racked my brain to find something to say. Conversation just poured out of both of us and flowed as naturally as could be. He was charming, complimentary, fun and he emanated warmth. I felt vibrant and charming; I felt like I had a personaltiy, a charcteristic I, and many others, had often doubted I possessed on so many previous dates."

(my description of our Valentines date) "Everything thus far had been wonderful, but this night sealed our fate to spend eternity together and we both knew it. I wish I could adequately describe how I felt that blissful night, but I could never do it justice."

Everything I felt and wrote 11 years ago is truer than ever. There are so many other things I didn't know then that are what I love most about him today. He makes me laugh all the time, even if sometimes I'm too mad at him to laugh right then, I laugh later. He thinks I'm funny and laughs at me a lot. He is crazy, which I love. He doesn't waver, he gets anxious and stressed out in difficult times, but he always stays the course. He is loyal, not just to me but his Mom, his friends, my family, and me and our family. Even though he sometimes appears eccentric, he is actually amazingly balanced. He's the most non-materialistic person I know, except maybe my Mom. He is extremely tender-hearted and sensitive. He's the perfect husband for me. I love Brennan.

Funny

Last night I was trying to get Abby to get her homework done while I was making dinner. She kept yelling for Nate so I said, "Abby, why are you calling for Nate? Just get busy." She replied, "Mom, I need him - I don't have eleven fingers!" Evidently she was doing a little math.

Brennan took the three big kids to the high-school basketball game last night and when they got home Nate was telling me all about how they parked in an "eagle" spot, but they didn't get a ticket. I finally figured out he meant "illegal".

Update

Life is slowing getting back to normal here as we finish up four doses of antiobiotics 3 times a day. Everyone was a tinsy bit grumpy last week, but we're moving on now.

We had a fun weekend. Friday night we all danced in the kitchen after dinner. Ben was cracking us up trying to mimic all our moves. Saturday one of my former young women from Arizona and her cute friend stopped by for a visit. It was fun to catch up with her and see how well she's doing. Saturday night we went and played tennis with my parents. It's really humbling to get WHOOPED by your almost 60 year old parents. They amaze me with how active and in shape they are. Brennan and I hope to get there by the time we're their age. It was fun going out with them, we both really enjoyed them.

I'm so proud of Anna. She had HUGE amounts of make-up work from missing a whole week and most of it was math which is her least fav. Thankfully they got out early all last week for SEP Conferences and so she was able to work a little after school and then at night while still getting some free time in between. She really worked her guts out and got it all done. Her teachers (she has two that alternate days) told me how much they had missed her presence when she was sick. She got really good grades and I'm kind of blown away by her creativity/artistic ability. Neither Brennan or I posses either trait, so I guess thank you extended family members for passing those genes on. We love Anna.

Brennan was driving somewhere with the kids when Anna started talking about a boy in her class. Abby said, "Dad, I think I love him and I don't even know him." Woo Nellie, I think we're in for it. She informed me that she loves Cameron and Dillon in her class and got a big grin when she told me that Dillon plays with her hair. She always cracks us up. We love Abby.

Lately Nate has been asking me to use my ipod. It is my new favorite thing in the whole world to observe. He sits and plays with his play dough and sings along. His favorite is "Coming to America" by Neil Diamond. It is about the cutest thing ever to watch and listen as he sings a long while going about his business. We love Natey.

Ben and I are currently duking it out for boss of the world rights. He's winning. Wow. I have some stubborn kids, but they were nothing compared to the likes of Benny. Combine his stubborn streak with his independent streak and I'm toast. He'll sit and work on opening a popsicle for 20 minutes before giving up and asking everybody but me to help him. He insists on doing EVERYTHING all by himself. He is missing Mac pretty badly and I have to admit it was adorable watching the two together. My favorite part was watching Ben somehow understand that there was finally someone beneath him in the family hierarchy. He would speak in a high parental tone "Mon (c'mon), Mac, mon!" "Out, Mac, Out!" "No, no Mac." He was a just and kind leader, but he did enjoy his leadership role. Ben's favorite thing was to coax Mac to the laundry room and then race him through the kitchen to the family room. Ben would laugh so hard and run his little legs off while trying not to get trampled by big ol' Mac. We love Benny.

You Are The New Day

It's February! January is over and the sun is shining so beautifully today. This song that I've always loved came to mind and I thought I'd share it. The video is kind of cheesy, so just close your eyes and enjoy!

All in a Day's Work (actually this is just what he got done this morning)

Here's a sample of some of Ben's work this morning:

There's this lovely wall art.

And this floor art.

(Moon Sand that he was happily playing with alongside Nate when he decided he was done and throwing was the more fun alternative)

And this. More Moon Sand on the window sill.

But then there's also this:

On a Lighter Note - Look Who's Back!

Yes, we are dog-sitting our good friend, Mac. He's been with us for about an hour and so far Benny has yelled, "MAUCK!" about 2,343 times. Fortunately Mac doesn't seem to mind too much, yet. This will actually be a very nice diversion for the kids for a few days and the girls get out of school early all week so they'll have more Mac time too. Welcome back, Mac.

Mourning

For those who do not share my political obessesion, bear with me and let me just get this out and then I promise I'll move on. It's a sad day. I'm sad that my man Mitt didn't fare well last night and is most likely done, but mostly I'm sad not to have anyone to root for. I was never wild about McCain as a President, but I did respect him. I don't now, I don't trust him or respect him. Huckabee is likeable, but I think he'd get slaughtered in a general election and I think he's a little two-faced. Though perhaps not the perfect candidate, I feel like Mitt is a good and decent man with the right ideals and leadership skills to make the right things happen, but people just wouldn't back him. I didn't want to believe that Mitt's Mormonism would have much of an impact on his candidacy, but I have a nagging suspicion that is what a lot this boiled down to and that makes me sad.

What will I do with myself? I may have to clean my kitchen and that makes me sad. :(

Also, my spell checker isn't working, and it's killing me, any suggestions on how I remedy that situation?

Let it Snow

There were two constants last week at our house -- sickness and snow. In my worried and wearied state of mind the two became somehow related and as the week dragged on each time I looked outside to see more snow piling up I felt a little like our mailbox must, under attack. It all started last Monday morning when Anna woke up and said she didn't feel well. By that afternoon she was officially miserable and not holding anything down. I braced myself for a 24 hour stomach bug to ripple through our family throughout the next few days. Sure enough, Tuesday Abby called me from school in tears saying she was sick. Nate came home from pre-school pale and saying "my tummy isn't feeling bery well." I was actually kind of relieved that it was all happening in such a nice short time frame and that soon it would be over.

Later that afternoon I left everyone home with Brennan while I ran down to the Church for my "Activity Day" activity (my church calling with 8&9 year old girls). Just as we started deep frying scones, Brennan called me frantic saying Anna's temperature was 105 degrees. I left my poor partner with twelve 8 and 9 year old girls and two oil spitting frying pans and raced home as I called the doctor. It had started to snow. They said I could bring her right down and quickly got us in and tested her for strep and a urniary tract infection. By now she was in tears saying her head was killing her and when the doctor examined her she complained of her back hurting. The rapid culture for strep came back negative as did the urine test. The doctor said although she didn't think it was meningitis, she wanted us to take her to the ER and rule it out. It was snowing hard.

I drove home and traded Brennan spots. He drove the snowy icy roads to the hospital. I looked meningitis up online and started to cry. They got there waited and waited and waited. I forced myself to stop crying and take care of my other two sick children and my non-sick, but ornery baby. I finally got them to sleep and waited for news from Brennan. He called several times saying they were still waiting. After several hours someone came in and explained they would test her for the flu and if that was negative they would do a spinal tap. We prayed for the flu. Our prayers were answered, that test came back positive. Huge relief. They waited longer for a doctor to come and confirm and release them. Finally, he came and said she had the flu and it would probably last 3 to 7 days. They drove home in the snow.

All of a sudden I had developed a cough and in the middle of that night Nate threw up all over himself and his bed. Brennan slept on the couch while Anna was on the loveseat. We brought Nate into the couch in our bedroom and Abby was in bed with me. They all had fevers. We woke them every three hours to give them tylenol or motrin. I'm sure it was snowing.

Wednesday is a blur. With new perspective, I remember feeling grateful to have kids with the flu. My Mom kindly took Ben to her house to give him and me a break from his cabin fever. That night I had a fever and chills the kids were still burning up if we didn't give them something every three hours and didn't want to eat.

Thursday Abby started throwing up. All of them had fevers. I didn't anymore, but had no energy and a horrible cough and congestion. Brennan took care of all of us. My Mom brought homemade Chicken noodle soup. It snowed, a lot.

Friday more snow. The doctor's office called and said that Anna's strep culture that was sent to the lab came back positive. She had strep throat. My Mom came and picked us up and the three of us got tested. Mine negative, Abby and Nate positive. We picked up some food and prescriptions and went home. My Mom watched home movies with the kids and I slept feeling like maybe there was an end in sight. Our neighbor plowed our driveway.

Saturday I washed every scrap of bedding and disinfected every possible surface I could think of and my Mom did more of my laundry. By that afternoon all of them had a temperature of 102. I cried. It snowed. We called our friend who helped Brennan give each of the kids a priesthood blessing.

Sunday lots of coughing, fevers first part of the day, but normal temperatures by the end of the day. The kids got off the couches and played. They even bickered. It was music to my ears. Things were finally looking up. The nagging worry Brennan and I'd had for 7 days finally started to lift and I realized just how heavy it had been. I looked outside and it was snowing. I started to feel despair again and then realized that the snow was evidently never going to stop, but my kids were going to get better. It's time for the two to part ways. Good riddance, sickness -- hello again, snow.

Too Much Politics?

When your 9 year old just rattles off the names of these six people, could that mean her parents are addicted?