An Original, Inside and Out

Anna has always had an opinion all her own (and usually very different from mine) on everything under the sun, especially regarding what she wears. Each night the girls ask me what the temperature will be the next day (could be snow could be sunny) so they can pick an outfit for the following day. Two nights ago I told them it would be nice and warm the next day so if they wanted to wear shorts that would be fine. A while later Anna practically flew up the stairs. She was beaming and bursting to show and tell us what she had come up with. Evidently the only suitable outfit she could find was a pair of white shorts and a white shirt. She knew that that combo would be too plain so she scavenged the basement for some fabric and tape and whipped up this little number:

I was kind of stunned and unsure of how to react. I have never read a single parenting book that mentioned what to do when your child tapes fabric to his/her clothes. She kept saying how excited she was to show her friends. On the one hand I felt like she did a pretty great job considering the resources available to her and I felt very proud of her creativity. On the other hand I was a little worried about the very reactions she was anticipating and the possibility she could be totally crushed. Oh and to be totally honest, the thought of what people were going to think of this child's mother did cross my mind. Brennan and I praised her creation and sent her floating down to bed. We then sort of wondered together what in the world we were supposed to do. After consulting each other, checking our own pride and calling my wise Mom and sister we decided to support her but gently prepare her for the possibility of mixed reviews. She was totally undeterred by the fact that it may not be a hit with everyone and proudly went to school in her original design the next morning.

She came home completely satisfied and said most people liked at least some of it and then asked where the rest of my fabric is. I congratulated her on her triumph and said that perhaps someday we could get some fabric and ribbon and other things and pretty up some shirts but once was enough for this week.

Whew, another parenting pop quiz over with, I just hope we passed. We love Anna!

Food, Family & Fun

Tonight we took advantage of the beautiful weather and a beautiful little forrest park. We roasted hotdogs and s'mores, had a little lesson, and just enjoyed each other and our surroundings. Here are a few photos:

My dear Dad tending the fire, he's the the best fire guy around.

Ben and Brennan sitting by the fire

Some cute kids

My nephew, Abe, loving every minute of the FREEZING cold stream!

Jane Doe

Brennan is rotten with names. He actually totally remembers people and their faces but don't be shocked if at any given moment he can't tell you the names of our children. Just kidding, sort of. Well, today he came home from church and told me that a lady had pulled him aside to tell him she enjoyed the lesson I taught. With little hope I asked him who the lady was and not surprisingly he had no idea what her name was. Right about then Abby piped up, "You mean the lady with white hair, Daddy?" "Yeah." "Oh it was Sister Kirkham, Mom." I found it all so funny and started laughing hard but Brennan was really kind of shaken and humbled that his 7 year old is a little more dialed in than he is.

Bikes and Scooter

Here's a video that won't change your life, but it's my blog and I can post what I want to. :) I really just wanted to get some footage of Benny on the scooter and there's some of the other kids riding around too. In fact, I pretty well just covered it so you don't even need to watch now.



Bikes and Scooters from Andrea W. on Vimeo.

Advice Worth Taking

I have a wonderful wise aunt (actually I have a lot of wonderful wise aunts), who suggested that in our family prayers we pray for each family member specifically. I know this seems fairly obvious and I remember doing that in my family growing up. I often pray for each of my children by name in my prayers and sometimes in our family prayers, but more often it was "please bless the girls at school" etc.

I've tried to follow my aunt's advice and take the time to pray for each child and any special blessings they might need that day. It's really added such a sweet dimension to our family prayers because now my kids do it when it's their turn to pray. There's nothing sweeter than listening to one of the humans I love most pray for another of the humans I love most. I've been amazed at their perceptiveness as to what their siblings might be in need of and the frank sincere way they pray for help for them.

I was absolutely blown away when the other night Anna said, "please bless Mom and Dad and give them the strength they need to raise us." She didn't say it in a "PLEASE clue my idiot Mom and Dad in" kind of way, she was so sincere as if she had a tiny moment of insight to the huge responsibility we feel. Anyway, I think we'll keep this tradition and thank you, Liane, for the tip!

The Difference of a Day

This is going to sound cheezy, (I've found that a lot of cheezy things are actually true) but I am constantly amazed at the difference a day can make.

Last night was NOT a good one. The day was actually great. I got a lot done, Rex got to come play, the kids played outside and had a blast. Around dinnertime; however, things started to break down. Brennan left for a meeting, the girls were not happy about doing their homework, everyone was grumpy and emotional. As the night progressed so did the drama. I had explained Anna's homework many many times but she wasn't getting it and was in tears. Abby started having a panic attack because of her asthma which brought me to the brink of a panic attack trying to decide if I needed to figure out how to leave the three kids and take her the ER. She wasn't wheezing and was breathing fine so I decided to just see if I could calm her down. Ben was crying because he wanted Daddy. Nate thankfully did not cry, he was just mad because he had to stop playing Star Wars and go to bed. I tend to be a little bit dramatic sometimes so while it may not sound too bad, it was in my weary mind. We gave up on homework and my FHE plans and I finally got them all to bed. Ben gave up getting out of his bed and asking for Dad and fell asleep. Anna and Nate drifted off fairly fast. It took poor little Abby a while, but she finally calmed down and was able to go to sleep. Brennan came home and asked me why I seemed a little depressed. I sort of just laid on the couch until I could get the energy to go to bed.

This morning Anna finished up her homework and understood it in about 5 minutes. Abby was cheerful and breathing free and easy. Ben happily kissed Daddy goodbye. Nate has the whole day to play Star Wars. How did one night's sleep make the difference between the end of the world and a sunny new day?

(Oh and by the way, lest I scare any of you from having more kids last night is not typical, not unheard of, but not typical. :) )

Update

Friday night Chloe (Anna's bff) and Anna asked me if they could help me make dinner. I will admit that while I appreciated their enthusiastic desires to help it was Friday night and I really wasn't planning on doing anything too special for dinner. I told them as soon as I could drag Ben in from outside we'd figure out what to do for dinner and see if they could help. When I finally managed to come back in the house with a screaming Ben in tow the girls had written out lovely menus based on recipes from a cookbook they had found. When I broke it to them that I really didn't have the ingredients for their chosen meal they said, "But we already made the menu!" I reminded them that perhaps they should check with me before they make their plans (a common theme with us) and told them that I had some spaghetti sauce in the freezer that we could heat up and then with a few minor alterations to their menu it would work. They hunted down a tablecloth (sadly I rarely use one unless we have company), cut some forsythia and put it in a vase, set the table, baked cookies, helped me boil the noodles and heat the sauce, and prepared several fruits and veggies for side dishes. Before long they produced a meal that put me to shame. I wish I had 1/4th of their energy and creativity. We love Anna and Chloe.

Abby has become super tight with a darling little girl in our ward/neighborhood. They are in the same class at school and are on the same soccer team. Her name is Paige. I feel so blessed that both my girls have found a best friend who share their great imaginations. Sometimes they'd have a friend come over and unless there was some structured activity to do they were bored. Paige and Chloe are both so great at imaginative play, I LOVE it. Anyway we took Paige to the park with us on Friday. At first they were playing "Adventure Girl" from "medieval times". Don't ask me how they know what the heck "medieval times" is. They were running around the playground very dramatically and not at all self-conscious. Then they sat in the sand and pretended they were starring in their own televised cooking show as they made sand cakes. Such great stuff. I love overhearing what they come up with. We love Abby and Paige.

I can sum Nate's existence up in two words: Star Wars. Seriously there's not much new to report on him because I've already mentioned this new found obsession in my previous posts and we're still very much in the throws of the magical world of Star Wars. He honestly talks of nothing else. In fact the girls (who also have developed a great interest and affection for Star Wars) have each separately totally snapped and yelled, "NATE, stop talking about Star Wars!!!!" A statement I have fought long and hard not to say myself. In fact as I type this he is light-saber fighting with his cousin, Rex. This is his personal heaven, Rex and Star Wars. We love Nate and Rex.

Today when I tried to put Ben down for his nap he kept crying and saying, "bakah-ball!" (basketball). He could hear Rex and Nate playing and it broke his heart to be missing out. He's starting to say little phrases and I can't get enough. The other day at nap time he was resisting until I said, "Do you want Daddy to put you to bed and sing to you?" His reply, "Yes, Itsy Pidah" (Spider). Oh, so cute. This morning when a little boy named Connor got in the car for carpool Ben surprised us all by greeting him very casually saying, "Hi, Connuh." My absolute favorite thing though is whenever he's thrown a tantrum and has calmed down he comes and finds me and very sincerely says, "Sah-ey, (sorry) Mamma." We love Benjamin!

"These Are a Few of My Favorite Things"

A few months ago at our family Women's Conference we were given a family cookbook which we all contributed to and is one of my new favorite things. We also talked about what each of us does for our dinner routines, etc. Several of my aunts and cousins seem to have this completely down and they inspired me to get my act together. I've always made dinner, and I used to kind of plan out the week but for quite some time I'd gotten out of that habit. So from about 4:00 to 6:00 each day I would just have that nagging question running through my brain "what am I going to make for dinner?" I would finally decide on something only to be short one stupid tiny yet significant ingredient. Anyway, the exciting conclusion to this exciting rant is that now Monday morning before I go on my weekly shopping adventure I actually sit down and plan our meals for the week and make my shopping list. It has honestly made my life like 30% happier.

I also bought a tuna drainer that fits nicely into a can of tuna and lets you turn it over and drain ever so incidentless as opposed to pushing the jagged lid down and just before you finish having it buckle and bend causing tuna juice to run down my arm and chunks of tuna falling into the sink. Anyway I think that $3 tuna drainer has added another 5-10% of happiness.

It really makes me wonder how many other things like this there are that I'm not doing or buying and thereby making my life much harder than necessary.

What are your happy discoveries?

My Boys

After Nate was sick for 7 long days, Anna got it for about 5 days. Many times I had to explain to Ben why he couldn't get too close to these two. Evidently he was listening and now when he is having a hard time and just needs some attention he comes up to me and says, "Mom, I sick."

I had to go help in Nate's class today and my sister kindly agreed to come watch Ben. She ended up having to come a little later so my sweet Dad came over to fill-in the gap. I intended to have Ben down for his nap by the time my Dad got here. Ben, however had other plans. He for some reason I'm still not clear about was really upset. Totally melted down and flat-out refused to go to bed or eat lunch or let me change his diaper. My Dad walked in and Ben went right to his outstretched arms. I left them together in the rocking chair. When I left Ben ate his lunch and went right to bed. Sigh. Very cute though seeing two of my favorite guys together. When he woke up I said, "Did Grandpa put you to bed?" Ben said, "Grandpa, here?" "No, Grandpa left." "Ahhhhwwwww!"

I mentioned before that our kids saw some of Star Wars (okay a lot. They saw a tiny bit of the newer ones that were on tv and then they saw most of the older ones) (Don't judge me I've had sick kids for weeks and so I am claiming lower standards due to being confined to the house FOREVER. Also I justify it because my parents who were very strict about what movies we saw took us to see the original Star Wars movie in the theatre and I was like 3). Anyway, I can't even begin to explain how obsessed my kids are now, especially Nate. He literally talks to me about Star Wars ALL day long. "Mom, how does Darth Vader eat with his mask on?" "Mom, does the Empire (emperor) have a light saber (sp?)" "Mom, does Princess Lia have the force?" "Mom, Ben is Yoda, and I am Luke Skywalker, who do you want to be?" The worst part is when I answer him and I'm not right he usually can bring up something from the movie to dispute my answer. For instance I told him that I thought maybe Darth Vader took his mask off to sleep and eat and stuff. He then said, "But I thought he couldn't breathe without the mask?"

That is just the tiniest sample of the never-ending questions and thoughts. I'm so afraid that he might be that guy that goes to all those conventions and dresses up and buys really expensive Star Wars collectibles. No offense to anyone who might do those things. :)

Anyway, my boys are great little companions and I really enjoy them even when they obsess about Star Wars and are only naughty for me.

Good Stuff

Abby came home from school with this: (sorry, it was a little too big for my scanner)

It's so funny to me how much of a nose she doesn't have, especially considering the genetic nasal potential that could be hers from both sides of the family.

This is just too good, it says:

"If I were the presedent I'd make shere the children were safe, and I whould want a pool a soccerfeeld and that whuold proble be all."

Apparently her teacher mentioned that the White House has a bowling alley and all kinds of other extravagances. Abby felt that a pool and a soccer field would cover her basic needs and I LOVE that she would make sure the children were safe, that makes me tear up.

The kids saw part of one of the Star Wars episodes and since then Nate has been putting his little hand up saying, "I'm forcing you! I have the Yoda force!" So funny.

My new favorite Bennyism is on those rare but wonderful occasions when he doesn't throw a tantrum when I tell him "no" and instead puts his head down and in his best disappointed voice says, "Ahhhwww!"

The other day Anna said to me, "Mom, do you know who has me completely stumped?" When I asked "who?" She then named a family and then explained that the Dad is such a good guy but some of the kids are really "rude and sometimes inappropriate." I was really taken off guard by the fact she said, "stumped" and that she had noticed this. She's getting old.

Perhaps my favorite quote of the week though belongs to Brennan. When frustrated with the kids for spilling their water twice in one sitting he said, "You guys, I could put 4 champeezes at the table and they wouldn't spill nearly as often as you do!" That caught my attention and when I asked him what a champeez was he got a little sheepish and just grinned as I laughed harder than I have in a very long time. The kids just stared at us. I have been laughing all week about it and he just grins and shakes his head. I love that he has NO ego about that kind of thing and will either laugh at himself or good-naturedly stand by while I do and then tell everyone and publish it on our blog. By the way, he meant Chimpanzee.

Better Late Than Never?

I DREAD Tuesdays. I have this whole year, they are horrible. It seems like I'm always supposed to be in 1,326 places at once on Tuesdays which though it's crazy I have to admit in some ways it's nice to have most things on one day and then my other days a little bit more relaxed. However, the craziness of the day makes the real reason I dread Tuesdays even worse. Anna has ballet on Tuesdays. When she gets home from school we can look forward to something like this:

Me: "Hi girls, how was school? Anna, I need you to get ready for ballet so you won't be late."

Anna: "WHY DID YOU SIGN ME UP FOR BALLET???? I HATE ballet!!!!!

Me: "Honey, do we really have to have this conversation every single Tuesday? At some point can we just go with the fact that yes I signed you up and I believe we talked about it and you believe we didn't because I'm trying to ruin your life and that either way you're going to finish out this year and after your recital neither one of us will even say the word 'ballet'?"

Anna: "I'm not going."

Me: "That's fine, but you won't have any privileges all week."

Anna: "But I'm supposed to play with Chloe tomorrow!!!!!"

Me: "Then go get ready for ballet."

Anna: "OOOOOOHHHHH! I HATE ballet!!!! Why did you sign me up? (stomping down the stairs)

After 7 months of the above my dear child walked in yesterday after ballet and casually says to me, "Mom, can I take ballet next year?"

Are you kidding me? I know I should feel happy that she's finally seeing the light but instead I feel like this kid has some nerve!

Birthday Bash

Tonight we celebrated the big birthday. Unfortunately only my parents dared come to our illness infested house. We're so glad they risked it and joined us for this special occasion.

Golf clubs were a big hit!

He has a way better swing than I do and even keeps his head down. Brennan couldn't be more proud. (prouder?)

New bike and helmet, woo hoo!

Quilt made by Grandma and also a big hit!

the cake, and the happy recipient.

Happy, Happy Birthday Benjamin George!

Look who's 2?!!!! My baby, that's who! When I was pregnant with our fourth child I never could have guessed what he would bring to us and how much personality would be housed in that tiny little body.


Here are some of my favorite photos of him:

I know I just posted that one in the pool, but his eyes and pool match and I love it.

Ben is truly one of a kind. Almost every week at church someone stops me to tell me how much they love to watch him and how he seems to light up a whole room. It's hard to explain, but I'll try: he is exuberant, he is opinionated, he is happy, he's a handful, he is forceful, he's friendly, he's confident (like off the charts confident), he's stubborn, he's joyful, he's radiant.

This sweet child has brought us so much joy. He came during a difficult year for me. After he was born my amazing vibrant aunt and mother of 8 died, I was finally acknowledging that two of my sweet children were showing signs of anxiety/OCD, both my Grandpas died, and because of those things and other events my foundation -- my faith, was shaky. When I felt dark and heavy and hopeless he was full of light and love and hope. My little Ben, sunshine boy, positively radiated light and love. When I held him, or when he smiled, or when I watched him sleep I was able to shut out the clouds I had let gather round me and gradually heal. His effervescence was honestly pivotal in my journey through doubt and fear back to the light of faith and love. My faith is back only it's much stronger. I will forever be grateful to Heavenly Father for the gift of Ben at that tender time and that he was and will always be a reminder of all the blessings and love Heaven has to offer.

I guess that was a little heavy for a 2 year old birthday tribute, sorry!

We love Ben. Happy Birthday!

Stubborness and Stinkiness

Just a little update. Nate is really quite sick and has been since Tuesday. He is quite brave and easy to care for when he's sick except when his stubborn streak kicks in. For instance he's had a fever that really gets going if we don't stay right on tylenol or motrin. By Wednesday night he decided he'd had enough medicine and since then it's been a major battle medicating him. I literally can't force his medicine without Brennan there to help restrain him. Good times. I tried to take him to the doctor on Wednesday to rule out strep but he flat out refused. The appointment was last minute and I had about 5 minutes to drop Ben off at my Mom's and get Nate down there, I knew there was no way I could get there in time once he had decided he was not going to cooperate. I finally told him if we didn't go now we for sure had to go in the morning. Thankfully he stuck to his deal and cooperated the next morning. Oh and I was positive it was strep, it wasn't. It's funny that you can have 4 kids and still have no idea what you're doing as a parent!

In other news, I reached a new mothering milestone. My oldest child got a "purple card" at school which means she managed to breeze through green, yellow and red to the worst of all "purple." This is the big one where they have to call home. Evidently she giggles uncontrollably often and as you can imagine disrupts the class. Her teacher was nice about it and told me of all the the things to get in trouble for, this was definitely one of the better ones, at least she's happy. Oh dear, little stink!

I'm soooo ready for a nice mellow weekend. Yay for general conference, I love it, I need it!

Benny Singing Some Neil

Brennan is kind of obssessed with Neil Diamond so we've all become fans. This morning Benny was walking around singing. After several times I recognized it as "Coming to America" by Neil Diamond. I'm not sure why he had that on his mind because we haven't listened to or been singing it recently, it just must be in his blood. With some effort I finally got him to do it on camera. This will probably my last post for the day too.

Nighttime Prowler - HELP!

So lately we're having a problem of someone skulking around our house in the dark. It's my almost 2 year old. Last night we put him to bed at his usual bedtime of 7:30 and at around 8:30 Brennan asked me to see which one of the girls was lurking in the hallway. I turned the corner and didn't see anyone then as I headed back to the family room I almost tripped over Benny and his blankies sitting there half in the hall and half in the open hall closet. Psycho. I looked at him and he smiled up at me. In the middle of the night he suddenly appeared in our room. We took him back. At 6:00 am I thought I heard something. By the time I managed to drag myself out of bed I found his door open and he was nowhere in sight. I searched the whole upstairs while trying to keep from panicking completely. Just then Anna came up to go to the bathroom (don't get me started on the fact that there's a perfectly nice bathroom downstairs right next to the girls' rooms that they NEVER use) and reported that when she got out of bed to come up, there was Benny and his blankies sitting on her floor. Yesterday morning at around 6:30 am he went into Nate's room and sat on his head.

Now let me just say that this child has been such a great sleeper. He goes to bed at 7:30 pm and wakes up at 7:00 am end of story. Evidently he has turned into an insomniac. Mostly though it is really unnerving wondering if I'm going to hear him when he decides to come out and take a stroll through the house in the middle of the night. Brennan suggested I put a bell on his door which I'll probably do despite my worry about waking Nate up every time, any other suggestions?

"Hey Everybody it's Family Night"

Penny in the flour is my kids' favorite family home evening game. Every time it's one of their turn to choose the game for FHE, this is what we get to do. For those of you who have never played, you carefully pack a cup of flour and turn it upside down on a tray on the table. Then you place a penny on top of the flour and each take turns slicing a part of the flour away. If the penny falls on your turn you get to go in after it without using your hands. They LOVE this. In our family instead of trying to avoid making the penny fall our kids take huge swipes hoping to have to dig the penny out with their faces. Here are two of last night's participants: