Update

I CANNOT believe there are only 7 more days of school left.  It’s actually kind of stressing me out because there’s a LOT to do between now and then.  Soccer season should be wrapping up here, but since week after week games have been rained out I’m pretty sure we’ll be doing make up games ‘til the Fall season.  With four of our kids playing it’s been kind of crazy.   Ben’s games are Tuesday nights, Nate’s Wednesdays, Abby’s Thursdays and Anna’s Saturday mornings.  Whew.  On top of the games all but Ben have soccer practice plus the usual things like Nate’s Karate twice a week; Abby’s Ballet and Activity Days, Piano and Play practices; Anna’s Young Women’s and endless homework – it’s a busy time of year!  It’s all fun stuff though so we’ll keep going, going going.

Joshua makes life around here anything but dull.  He wants to be “a-side” (outside) every second of his life.  Our neighbors have a little girl 10 days older than him named, Daisy, and Joshy loves her.  He always walks over to her yard saying “De-sey”.   Daisy is a doll and she happens to love me which I love.  The only problem is, is that I’m pretty sure if we put her on a scale it wouldn’t register anything.  Whenever I pick her up I’m always unprepared for how little she weighs and have almost launched her into space on several occasions.  Anyway, back to Josh, he’s a chatty, cheerful, opinionated little guy who gives us lots of reasons to vacuum, mop, sweep and smile.   I can’t get enough of “wub you, Mama”.  We love Joshy.

A month or two ago Ben became aware that ice cream trucks existed.   It kind of changed his life, the thought of playing outside and someone just driving up with a truck full of cold refreshing treats was just almost more than he could take in.  Then, a few weeks ago, the myth became reality.  The kids were all playing outside when the siren song of the ice cream truck floated into our neighborhood.  They all came running in begging for money.  I told them they’d have to use their own.  Ben didn’t hesitate, he ran faster than I’ve ever seen anyone run, right into his room for his little San Francisco Trolley wallet.  He solemnly turned it over to Anna who would help him handle this most important transaction.  He came inside with a blue popsicle and the look of 100% pure joy.  I honestly wonder if we’ll ever be able to top that moment for him.   We love Ben. 

Nate has been learning about biographies at school.  He decided he really wants to write biographies of some of his favorite athletes.  The other night when he went to bed he wrote his first one on LaBron James.  Since my scanner seems to have bitten the dust, I’ve typed the entire biography (as written) below:

Once there was an amasing NBA basketball player.  He is amasing.  I new him all my life he’s my favroite player.  He used to be on the Cleveland Chavliers and he was a great player then.  But now he’s on the heat and he is number six.  He is realy good.  He’s friends with Wade.  I love waching him playing assits with Wad and aleups they gest rock with each other.  LeBron is amazing.  His family is pritty cool.  His kids names are baby brons he has a wife.  He grow up playing and he is way better now.  Now he makes everything like dunks, aleups, threes, inside shots and gest everything he can do he hits them all the time.

I think that perfectly illustrates so much of what I adore about Nate.  He is so sincere and takes him self so seriously about things he’s passionate about.  Just re-reading his words I can see the light in his eyes when he tells me about it.  We love Nathan.

Abby is our child who currently has the most going on in her life, and yet it never stresses me out.  I just know she’s got things under control.   It’s hit me lately how much she’s grown up this year.  Her hair is long and always done now.   She’s looking long and lean and comfortable in her skin.   Abby likes planning ahead.  She and her friends often draw pictures of what they’ll look like as adults, and what their houses will be like.  She has even picked out the neighborhood she wants to live in.  It’s close to the grocery store and the school so what’s not to love?  That way her kids can walk to the store and buy candy when they want to and she can walk them to school and get her exercise.  Her friend wants a not too big house, but with a big yard for some animals.  Abby found the perfect one for her.   I’m thinking about turning the big decisions for our future over to her.   We love Abigail.

Anna just tried out today for a competition soccer league.  She made it and we’re excited for her to take her talent to the next level.  There are several girls from our neighborhood on the team, so it will be fun cheer them all on.  She’s so excited for Summer.  She’s done really well in her first year of Junior High, she’s worked really hard and deserves a big fat break.  Pre-algebra has been a thorn in both our sides.  She’s actually fortunate to understand it, but the homework is overwhelming and she’s so meticulous it takes a long time.  This teacher gives homework every chance she gets including every Friday.  Grrrrrr.  I’m proud of her for sticking it out.   She was invited to a special awards breakfast by her English teacher because she got a perfect score on her end of level test.  We love Anna.

It kind of blows my mind that Brennan and I are responsible for these 5 colorful, sweet, unique individuals I just wrote about.  We are so, so blessed.   Someday, Anna, Abby, Nate, Ben and Josh, when you’re old enough to understand how many mistakes Dad and I made and how many flaws we have, I hope as you read these posts you’ll feel how very much we love you all.  Not that loving you is a feat, you’ve made that easy, and not that loving you should compensate for our failures, it’s just that every person should know their parents loved them.  Every child should know that their parents were the luckiest parents in the world to get to be their mom or dad.  So please know of all the parents in the world, we – Dad and I, are certainly the luckiest. 

Benny’s Last Day of Preschool

 

Benny has been anticipating being done with preschool for months now.  It's not that he disliked it, he loved preschool, it's just that he feels it's more than time to move on to Kindergarten.  I keep explaining that due to summer vacation, it will be a while.  I also keep explaining that summer vacation is a really good thing.  Anyway, Ben's preschool class had a little program and it was good stuff.  Here are two clips of the highlights:

 

Itsy Bitsy Spider

 

Tryant King, II

Remember how I used to describe this adorable little boy as the tyrant king?  His charming smile

and his big blue eyes framed by the world’s longest eyelashes almost made you forget that he was ruling with an iron fist.   Well, fortunately that little boy still has that smile and those amazing eyes, but he eventually accepted his place as a faithful, loyal subject to the one who dethroned him –

Tyrant King, II

 

Don’t be fooled by TKII’s big, soft brown eyes, and his chubby little man hands, or his rolly-poly-ness, or the way he smiles with his whole body.   Also, don’t fall for his sweetest little “Tank you, Mama”.   It’s all a part of his plan for total world domination.  He does not mess around.  And, for an aspiring world conqueror you’d be surprised at his attention to detail, some would even say his managing style is that of a micro-manager.  For instance he insists on wearing shoes all the time, but not just for him, I have to wear shoes, ALL the time.  He brings them to me and struggles to get them on for me.  I usually oblige him but then as soon as he’s not looking I sneakily slip them off.  This does not get past him – ever.   When I’m on the phone he repeats, “Ah kalk” (I talk) over and over again until I let him.  Once he has the phone he’s all laughter and smiles. 

Anytime he finds a ball of any kind you better be ready to be receiving that ball.  If you hear a little voice saying “Hie, hie” (hike, hike) you can plan on a football hitting you upside the head if you weren’t watching.  If he finds a basketball and starts saying “shoot!, Shoot” just drop whatever you’re doing and take him outside to the basketball hoop. 

All day long he says “a piece” knowing surely somewhere there’s a piece of gum or candy that someone is holding out on him. If he catches someone eating something he feels he should definitely be a part of he says, “Ah hum” (I want some).   If he can’t get someone to produce a piece of something to his satisfaction he then starts on a campaign for an “ahhh pop” (otter pop).

Today he found  a sample can of baby formula (maybe time to clean out the pantry) and pitched a fit for about 20 minutes because I wouldn’t open the can.

Oh, and when he’s going down for a nap or bedtime, he does so under major protest until he’s gotten a hug and kiss from every single member of the family.

It’s not that he is trying to be a tryant king, it’s just that he has an opinion about everything.  The saddest part is that he probably won’t be dethroned in the natural order of younger siblings, and his older siblings are putty in his hands -  which leaves it to me and Brennan.  Long live Tryant King, II!

My Favorite Things, Cont’d.

I can’t remember if I’ve done more than one of these posts, but I know I at least did one a long time ago.  (If I was a real blogger I would totally link to it.  A – I’m not a real blogger, B – Way too lazy.)  Anyway, so I couldn’t in good conscience title this post “My Favorite Things, Part II” because this could be part III.  It’s hard to be lazy and have a conscience.

Let’s start off with something that has kind of revolutionized our lives.   It’s even done it’s part in preserving our marriage.  There were few things Brennan liked hearing less than:  “Can you please get your scheduler/phone so we can calendar some things for the week/month?”  And, there were few things I liked hearing less than, “You never told me you were going out of town for the weekend, I can’t be here I’ve got a golf tournament.”  So, what is this revolutionizing, marriage saving tool you ask?  Google Calendar!!!  I know, I know it’s been around basically since the dinosaurs left, but for those of you who are even less hip and happening than I am you have got to get onboard!  I can put all of my appointments, kids’ games, practices, lessons,  etc. on my calendar from my computer and I can pull it up on my phone wherever I go.  That way when my child’s soccer game ends and no one seems to have brought the snack and I can pull my calendar up and see that yes, indeed, it was our turn for snack.  Perhaps my favorite feature though is that I all the events that involve Brennan needing to be home so I can go somewhere or needing him to attend, I just invite him, then hack his email account, accept the invitations and voila they magically appear on his calendar on his phone which he actually looks at.   With four kids playing soccer right now, this calendar has saved me.  We’ve only spaced two practices!!!

The second “favorite thing” is: 

I realize that wheat grinders aren’t the most sensational things out there, but until you’ve had the thrill of dumping wheat in it and having the loudest noise you’ve ever heard and then taking the top off and seeing a tub full of whole wheat flour – you just won’t understand.  Or, when you’re making homemade pizza and you pull your bag of ground cornmeal (popcorn kernels) to sprinkle on the pan before you put your whole wheat dough on it.  It’s like combining homemaking and power tools.  It’s fantastic.

Two Christmases ago, we got the boys these: 

They’re great, and many of you will be shocked to hear that our kids ride them inside.  Those babies have gotten us through two Winters.  One of the advantages of not having real wood floors I might stress a little more about that, but we just have a laminate.  Yes, our baseboards will need to be repainted, and probably sanded down to …okay so we may need new baseboards, but I’m telling you it’s worth it.  Even Joshy can cruise around on these and entertain himself for a long time.  However, for some reason they’re kind of loud.  There’s no motor or anything, just the noise of the wheels in motion gets loud and we’re doing loud just fine without their help.  So, for last Christmas Nate and Abby each got one of these:

Anna, Abby and Nate and their friends have literally spent hours and hours and hours on these riding around and around the dining room table, and they’re SILENT!!!!!  Abby and Nate often have a tendency to really clash – a lot.  However, I think there might just be hope for their relationship all because of the time they’ve spent laughing, crashing and riding their ripstiks around the dining room table together.

Finally, I’ve been baking a lot of whole wheat bread and we all love it.  It has been a little troubling though that the best way to eat this healthy wholesome treat is to smother it with butter.  I saw this at Costco one day and it was love at first bite. 

We also love cheese, but again there’s that whole troublesome fat/calorie issue so this my friends is the perfect spread.  It’s light and creamy and cheesy and delicious!!! 

That’s for this edition of Andrea’s Favorite Things!  Kind of lame and anti-climatic I know, but there won’t be any elves giving you each of these things.   

Lots of Love

It was a fabulous Mothers’ Day weekend.  Even the weather was in on it, til Sunday, but Friday and Saturday were BEAUTIFUL.  Friday night the fun began when we grabbed some food from Subway for a picnic at the park.  Brennan and I played tennis with the boys while the girls watched Joshy.  Then they traded duties so we got to play with all of them.  Eventually Joshy figured out he was being distracted from the main attraction and insisted on being on the court with a tennis racket.  It was such a fun night.  Afterwards the kids came home and had a late night here with friends. 

When Brennan asked me what I wanted for Mothers’ Day, I knew immediately what I wanted.  Cold hard cash, and time all to myself to go spend it.  So right after Anna’s thrilling soccer game, I went shopping for several hours (with my sister for some of it) and topped it off by going to Café Rio all by myself for lunch.  It was FANTASTIC. 

After that Brennan and I had tickets to a late matinee Play called “The Hasty Heart”.  It was so so good.  I highly recommend it.  We were both fighting a losing battle to control our emotions.  We kept trying to talk about it but then we’d have to stop to regain composure.  It was kind of hilarious.  After that we had an Elder’s Quorum activity at the church so we stopped in for some soup and great company. 

Sunday morning I slept in – one of my favorite things in life.   By the time I woke up the kids were practically exploding with anticipation of presenting their lovingly made gifts.  Anna made me an incredible breakfast of cinnamon pancakes.  I don’t really even like pancakes, but these were to die for.  I could have eaten them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  She also made this beautiful card:

 

Abigail made this cool card at school:

you open it and then you open it another way:

She also made this beautiful pin and bath salts at Activity Days:

Nate’s class put together a cookbook, wrapped in homemade wrapping paper, they also colored this beautiful little booklet of a sweet poem.

He also bought me some lotion at his class store (they earn fake money for the minutes they read each month and then have a “store” at the end of each month) and made me this beautiful pin from clay.

And last, but not least Ben made this at preschool:

and on the other side, this little survey with his answers:

My personal favorite is his guess at my age.  So funny.

As you can see I was completely loved and appreciated.   What sweet, thoughtful gifts and cards.   We enjoyed a lovely day at church and then topped it off with dinner at my parents’ with everyone who lives in-State.  It was so much fun, my parents have to bring up the ping pong table and a regular large table just to accommodate all of us, so it’s always a wild and crazy time.  A perfect way to celebrate Mothers’ Day!

Easter

We had such a nice Easter.  I’ve struggled to find a way to celebrate Easter in a way that satisfied my kids’ expectations of fun and goodies, but more importantly - my desire/responsibility to  have my children understand and celebrate the real Easter.  I’m not sure we’ve got it completely perfect yet, but we’re getting closer. 

We started Saturday night, Abby and I blew a dozen eggs.  (We made two small holes on each end of the eggs and then blow the yolk and egg whites out.)  I’m about the only one who likes hardboiled eggs so to hard-boil that many eggs and decorate them and then have them sit in my fridge until I throw them away just doesn’t make sense for us.   Then the kids decorated them and we can keep them out to enjoy for a long time.

I also made sugar cookies for the kids to decorate.  They always love that.

I love how creative they got with their eggs and cookies.

Sunday morning the kids got up and searched for their hidden baskets.   When they found them they discovered some candy and some new church clothes for the special day.  

It’s always fun to watch the littlest take all the action in.

I went to choir practice and was so touched by the spirit of the music we sang.   I don’t know when I’ll stop being surprised by the power music has over me.  I felt so grateful to have a voice, to have a way to express the gratitude and reverence I have for Easter, for Jesus’s triumph over sin, and pain and death.   Made sweeter by the eclectic assortment of my devoted choir members, singing their sincerest praise. 

Church was beautiful, wonderful talks, heart-felt music, and inspiring lessons.  We came home and worked together to throw our feast together.  It was delicious.  My parents joined us for dessert and we all watched “Easter Dream” together.  I love that movie and it’s only 22 minutes long which is perfect for my kids.  We’ve watched it many times, but we love it.  It’s short and sweet and completely to the point. 

It was a lovely day.  I couldn’t have asked for a better one.  We love Easter.