Keeping life interesting

The kids and I ventured to Target today while Matt went to a service project. The kids were very good for the most part. We shopped for 2 hours before Zach had a meltdown because I wouldn't let him open the bathroom door because it was a heavy door and we would have waited a long time before he would give in and let someone else open it. Since Zoe and Eleanor were waiting by the cart on the other side of the door, I opted for the tantrum and Zach didn't disappoint. He screamed and continued to scream while I put him in the cart. A lady nearby was watching and had to make the comment that I sure had my hands full. After 2 hours of shopping, making a bathroom stop which included keeping Kate away from the toilet paper, and listening to Zach scream, which gets on my nerves even when I'm not tired from shopping, I just glared at the woman and walked away. I just didn't have it in me at that point to smile and nod and agree. Zach was an angel as a 2 year old, but he is proving to be a challenging 3 year old as he wants to do everything by himself and if he doesn't get his own way, the screaming begins, and I must admit that it doesn't stop until I give in to him. I know, I know, I should ignore his screaming and he'll learn that the screaming will not produce the results he wants, but the screaming DRIVES ME NUTS! So I am willing to get out of the car after shutting Zach's door to stand in the pouring rain after opening the door, so Zach can shut it. I also did that because after buckling Zach in his seat, after shutting the door that he wanted to shut, which I didn't realize at the time, Zach unbuckled himself and of course he was screaming. I am trying to avoid these tantrums by making sure Zach gets the opportunity to do things himself when he wants to, but he is painfully slow and it takes so much longer for him to do things, but we do get along better when I am patient and wait for him to complete the task or wait for him to realize he needs help. So anyway, back to Target. Zoe tells Zach that he can open the door before we leave and he quiets down. The only thing left on my list to pick up are light bulbs, so I find someone to ask where they are, and we go get them...on the other side of the store. On the way back to the check-out area, we pass the guy who told us where to find the light bulbs and Eleanor thanks him for helping us find our way. It was so cute, but the guy didn't hear her. Remember the lady who witnessed Zach's tantrum? Well, she was behind us as we approached the check-out and she told Zach that she knew he could smile because he was now happy and she smiled at Zach and then at me. I smiled at her and was thankful that she didn't hold a grudge from my earlier glare. If she would have commented about my hands being full at that point, I would have smiled, nodded, and agreed.
I haven't mentioned the fact that halfway through our shopping trip, we grab a bunch of boxes of fruit snacks and Kate is determined to open a box and help herself. I'm realizing now that I should have opened a box and let her hold a package of fruit snacks since she doesn't know how to open it, but instead I got her out of the cart and put Zoe in charge of following Kate around. This worked for awhile and then I held Kate while Zoe pushed the cart, which was full and heavy, but she did a good job. The kids had fun spending their money on this shopping trip. Eleanor picked up 7 fun things at the $1 spot, Emily bought a new nintendo game, a butterfly necklace, and a diary, and Zoe bought a bag to hold her nintendo and games, and she bought a pair of earrings, and Zach bought a water bottle. Eleanor just loved the fact that every time she found something she liked at the $1 spot, I told her she could get it. It's definitely more fun to go shopping when you have lots of money to spend!

So what do you do after a 2 1/2 hour shopping trip and getting everyone and everything into the car in the pouring rain? Go home? Not this starved, pregnant mama. We head to Pizza Hut for lunch. My original plan was to pick up pizzas after our shopping adventure and eat pizza at home, but by this time I was hungry and we would have to wait in the car for our order to be done, so eating in seemed like the best thing to do. Because taking it home would mean waiting, getting everyone and everything in the house, and getting everyone seated at the table with plates, cups, napkins, and I just couldn't wait that long to eat. The kids were excited when they found out we were eating at the restaurant and we ventured in. We looked like drowned rats, but I was too hungry to care. We got a nice round table that fit us perfectly. People stared at the wet, very pregnant mom getting her 5 children seated and settled in. And after I sat down, the panic set in. What was I doing? What if Zach had another meltdown, what if someone needs to go to the bathroom? There's 1 of me and 5 of them! Oh well, we're here and we're not leaving. And as it turns out, everyone was on their best behavior and we had a nice time. Kate decided to soak herself with her water, but she was already wet and that was better than having her scream because I wouldn't let her drink her water by herself. And Zach had fun using his fork and butter knife, they kept him happy, no screaming. :-) Zoe was concerned about the mess Kate was making and every time Eleanor spoke (who is naturally loud), Zoe would tell her to be quiet. It's good that Zoe has learned that we should have good manners when we're in a restaurant.

After we got home and Matt was home, I went to the grocery store, alone. What a difference that is!

What the kids are saying these days

There was a change at our house this morning and it didn't go unnoticed by Eleanor and Zach. Instead of "blue milk" (milk container with blue cap) as Zach calls it, we have "red milk" (milk container with red cap). The "red milk" was oohed and aahed over by Eleanor because she loves red! It just made her morning. And Zach was pretty impressed, too. A permanent change? No, so hopefully the "blue milk" will be welcomed back in a few days with the same love and acceptance it used to get.

I love it when Zach says, "Yes please". He sounds so polite and sweet. And then when he says, "No please" it just makes me smile. I should teach him to say no thank you, but his "no please" is just so cute.

Kate loves to say, "Hi", "Hello", and "Bye". And she waves while saying her greeting or goodbye. She says, "Mom" and she knows she is talking to me when she says it, so I hear it more often from her these days. It's sweet to hear her call "mom" when she wants my attention. Kate was mocking Zach this evening by screaming (in a fun, copying way) after Zach screamed (in a mad, I'm not getting what I want way). It was so funny! Kate would scream and then laugh. To her it was a fun game, but Zach was not impressed.

5 weeks and counting

The requested belly shot...

I have had these overalls since I was pregnant with Zoe. From experience, in a few more weeks I won't be able to button the top button on the sides. I'm glad to know I'm not bigger now than I have been with previous pregnancies. :-) I never pay attention to my weight when I'm pregnant, so I have no idea how much I've gained with each one. I do know that by the time I deliver, none of my clothes fit comfortably and I am ready for a wardrobe change!

Matt and I went to see "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" this evening. Tonight was the last night our local theater was showing this movie, so we decided to have datenight a night early. We both had low expectations for the movie from the reviews we have heard, but we both thought it was better than we expected. It was nice to get out as always.

Sisterly Love

Kate has bonded with Zoe. This morning I was holding Kate, but the minute Kate saw Zoe come into the living room and sit down, she quickly got off my lap and went to cuddle with Zoe. It was so sweet!

Kate saw another opportunity to cuddle with Zoe while she was sitting at the table.

Kate just couldn't get enough of Zoe this morning.

Today was a day on the go. Eleanor had her 5 year check-up with the doctor at 8:30 this morning and she was a great patient. She was even excited to get shots...until she realized the pain the first two caused and then she wasn't so excited about the last two. Those 5 year old shots are so sad when the crying starts before the shots are given. Eleanor obviously didn't realize at first the pain the shots would cause, which was nice, but she was well aware the second time around and she cried and tensed up, which made the shots hurt worse. Poor thing. Her arms were quite sore this evening, but she refused to take medicine. Hopefully, she'll sleep through the night and wake up feeling better in the morning.

We went to story time after the doctor's appointment, then we went to get ice cream because you can't expect your 5 year old to endure 4 shots without a reward!, and then we went to the park. There were quite a few kids at the park for Eleanor and Zach to play with, so we ended up staying there for an hour and a half. We left the house a little after 8:00 this morning and got home around 2:15. I must say it is nice having the Yukon to be able to have days away from home like this. :-)

My Mom came over to watch Eleanor, Zach, and Kate this evening so I could attend Portfolio night with Zoe and Emily. They each had the opportunity to show me what they have been working on this school year, and they have been busy! Zoe's 3rd grade folder looks micro next to Emily's 1st grade folder.

Emily's folder contains a lot of artwork that she did in art class. This one is my favorite.

Emily's teacher wrote this sweet letter to Emily, and her classmates received one, too. It was hard to read the letter to Emily as I was tearing up as I read. Emily has been blessed this year with such a great teacher. I wish Emily could have her every year.

Zoe also has a great teacher and she will have her next year, too, along with the same class, so I'm happy about that. :-) Emily is anxious to find out who her 2nd grade teacher will be...if she passes 1st grade. Zoe and I assured her that she will, but I think she still wonders.

More cleaning and portrait pictures

I began decluttering/cleaning the living room today. It's fun getting areas of the room looking good and the way I want it to be, but then it is a pain figuring out where to put the stuff that I don't want in those areas anymore. I keep tossing things into our room, which of course will lead to decluttering/cleaning that room. Our room is not big enough to cram a lot of stuff into!
I have decided we need a new shoe organizing system. I'm thinking of getting shoe bags that hang from the closet rod in the closet for everyone and then have a shoe rack in the living room for each of us to keep a pair of shoes by the door. Right now all of our shoes are in a big bin and it.is.a.pain to find a pair of shoes, especially when they are at the bottom of the bin. The bin was a nice solution to getting the shoes away from the front door, but I'm tired of digging for shoes.

Eleanor and I had our Walmart outing tonight to get her picture taken. She was such a cute model and wanted to hold different colored flowers for most of the pictures. She was excited to eat at McDonald's and wanted a Sundae just like Emily had...and then asked what a Sundae was. She was a fun date.

Starting off the week tired

It was so nice being in the temple yesterday. I had a goal to bring a family name to the temple and I actually accomplished it! I'm great keeping up with journals and scrapbooks, but terrible at doing family history. I went to the temple with my mom and it was nice being on our own schedule. Usually we ride down with a temple worker and we go by her schedule. Our leisure schedule with a stop at the Ground Round in Augusta for dinner got us home a bit later than normal and we were both dragging today! But it was worth it I think. This was my last trip to the temple for awhile.
Matt and the kids had a good day. Matt made it to the dump, mowed the lawn, and made a potato salad for tomorrow's barbecue, the kids got to watch a movie (Land Before Time 2), so I think all went well.

I made it through half of church today tired and in a rotten mood, but by the end of church I was still tired, but my mood was better. Being at church and surrounded by loving people will do that. :-) It was one of those Primary days where 1 out of 4 teachers showed up and only 1 sub was prepared to teach (and that sub was my mom with a willing to serve attitude as I asked her on the way to the temple if she would be willing to teach a class if the teacher hadn't already ask someone else, which she hadn't.) But as always we survived and everything worked out in the end.
During Sharing Time, the older kids enjoyed making windsocks about their families. They drew a picture of their family and wrote 3 ways they can strengthen or help their family. Zoe liked it so much that she made another one this evening and then Emily joined her and I think they each made 3.
We had a potluck luncheon after church to celebrate Al & Mary Moore's recent marriage and to welcome Mary to our branch. I didn't get to visit with too many people since our family takes up an entire round table and I was too tired to get up and visit, but it was nice being there.

Field Trips

My mom took the day off from work today to watch Eleanor, Zach, and Kate while I went on Zoe's field trip to our local university. The 45 minute bus ride seemed like HOURS to the kids. We started our day at the Page farm & home Museum to learn more about simple machines. The kids used a drop spindle to make yarn, they used a machine to weave the yarn, they made a screw out of paper and a straw, they made a pin wheel, and they did something else that I missed because I was helping out another group as they were making screws and pin wheels. It was nice that all the presentations were hands-on and kept the kids interested. We then walked to the Union to eat our lunch. The kids usually get a morning snack at school, but they didn't get one today. Their teacher informed them that they wouldn't starve without a snack today, but we sure were hungry by the time we ate our lunch! We then walked over to the planetarium to watch a presentation on moon phases. As I was trying to stay awake, I didn't catch much of the moon phases, but I did see the footage of Neil Armstrong on the moon, and a picture of earth from the moon and that was neat!
A friend of mine went on the trip, so it was fun to sit with her on the bus and catch up since we haven't seen each other in awhile. Adult conversation!!!

Emily also had a field trip today to our local movie theater to see "Charlotte's Web". Her class finished reading the book together yesterday, just in time to see the movie today. Emily had fun, but she also stressed all day about the fact that she lost her parent pick-up note saying I was bringing her home after school, so she worried about having to take the bus when she knew I was going to be at the school to bring her home. When she didn't come into the lobby with the other children going home with a parent or other adult, Zoe and I walked down to Emily's classroom. We found Emily waiting in the bus line with a tear running down her cheek. Poor thing! I'm glad we rescued her before she got on the bus.

I meant to post pictures last night of Zoe and Emily's artwork for the "Kids in Motion." Here are the pink sandals that Emily decorated...


And the Hawaiian shirt that Zoe decorated...


I'll try to post more video footage next week. I'm off to the temple tomorrow. :-) Matt is still not feeling 100%, but he is well enough for me to escape. He had the house to himself today with lots of peace and quiet. I hope he enjoyed it!

"Kids in Ocean"

Tonight was Zoe and Emily's big "Kids in Motion" night. All.day.long Zach asked me when we were leaving for "Kids in Ocean". 5:30pm FINALLY arrived and we were off to the school.

Here's a picture of Zoe and Emily in their matching Hawaiian shirts before we left.


Eleanor thought it was going to be a party that she could participate in, which had her very excited. She took the news well that it was like a show and she would be sitting and watching. She was very good. Kate tried to join one class getting ready to perform with balls. We were sitting in the second row and she got past the first row before I heard my mom tell me to look at Kate. Kate turned around to look at me and I beckoned her to come to me, which thankfully she did. But she fought with me and then with Matt to get back out on the floor to play with the balls. She didn't succeed.

Here is Kate watching a different performance that didn't have her obsessed about joining in.


My camera doesn't take good pictures in a gym, so I took videos of Zoe and Emily performing with their classes. My camera takes short videos and there is no sound, but at least you'll get an idea of what Zoe and Emily did tonight. All of the classes sang "Surfin' Safari" together to begin the program. Zoe's class showed off their hoola hoop skills to the song, "Hot Hot Hot."


I'll have to try posting more videos tomorrow. It is taking too long to upload another video.
Zoe was definitely one of the best hoola hoopers in her class. She made it look so easy!

Emily's class showed off their dancing moves to the song, "Down at the Beach." After the performance was over, Emily stated how embarrassing it all was performing in front of everyone. She did a great job! And I think her class's performance was very cute.

On our way out of the gym after the performance I lost track of Zach. He was going with the crowd, but I think when he discovered that I wasn't near him anymore, he turned around and headed back and that's when I saw him. So when we were outside and ready to walk to the car, I counted children. A guy near me saw me and thought it was the funniest thing. I'm sure it did look funny, but I didn't want to leave anyone behind! Matt came to the performance, along with my parents, but I was on my own getting the kids to our Yukon and loaded in. Matt took his own car in case he needed to leave early because he is still sick. He made it through the entire performance, but he was feeling pretty miserable.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6 weeks and counting! Can you believe the 4th of July is in 6 weeks?! This baby is the most active baby I have had in the womb. Which makes me wonder how active of a boy he is going to be. I can hear other mothers telling me that if they had had their last child first, then they wouldn't have had any more children. Am I going to be saying the same thing?

Wednesday

Today was more of a relaxing day, which was needed after my cleaning frenzy yesterday. Zoe went to school today and Eleanor is feeling better, too. Matt stayed home sick again. I worked on scrapbooking until I ran out of sheet protectors and paper. I finished reading "The Wednesday Letters", which was good and then started reading "Between Sundays" by Karen Kingsbury. Kate got a hold of the new book I am reading and ripped out a few pages. I wonder if our librarian is sick of me bringing back ripped books yet. After the kids went to bed this evening, I went over to my parents' house to play Phase 10 with my mom. I lost both games, but I had fun playing, and being out of the house for awhile was nice.

I took this picture of Eleanor feeding Kate some of her yogurt today. Kate loves yogurt, but boy does she make a mess when she eats it by herself! So having Eleanor give Kate little bites was encouraged, and cute to watch.

Nesting?

My goal today was to declutter the kitchen. There were a lot of toys hanging out on the cupboards and everything that was on top of the fridge except the microwave and my recipe basket needed a new place to hang out. Seemed like a simple enough task...until I got going. Clearing off the top of the fridge led to cleaning off the top of the fridge. I noticed cobwebs in the corner near the ceiling while cleaning and had to get rid of those. This led to cleaning that small section of wall all the way down to the floor, which desperately needed a cleaning! Cleaning the front of the microwave which is on top of the fridge required cleaning the inside of it as well. The top of the fridge looked neat and clean, so the front and side of the fridge needed to be decluttered. Decluttering the front and side of the fridge led to cleaning dirty spots off the fridge. And on and on it went. Cleaning the shelf that holds our plates, cleaning appliances, cleaning behind appliances on the counter, cleaning the top and front of the stove, cleaning the wall above the counter and stove, and cleaning the top, front, and sides of the washer/dryer. Don't forget the pile of stuff that is accumulating on the table to be put away where it belongs or to be put in a new spot. Meanwhile, the kids are watching movie after movie after movie, and Matt is sick in bed. The sickness caught up to him, which has me worried that eventually I'm going to come down with it as well. It is a nasty sickness and I don't want it! I think I should move out for awhile. Anyone willing to take in a nesting, pregnant woman? I bet your house will be cleaner when I leave. My kitchen looks great!

Because I don't have enough to do

And because I haven't done much volunteering in the school this year. And because it feels good to help others, I folded 600 "Kids in Motion" programs today. Kids in Motion is a program the school puts on every other year to show what the kids have been doing in P.E., Art, and Music. The theme this year is "Down at the beach". Matt brought home Hawaiian shirts for Zoe and Emily to wear during their performance Thursday night. Kids in Motion occurs on 3 different nights because of limited space in the gym and we lucked out that Zoe and Emily perform on the same night. :-) I really hope Zoe is feeling better by Thursday. She was acting better last night, but she didn't show much sign of life today. This sickness takes days to completely recover! Eleanor had enough energy to play on the computer a bit this morning, but she laid around and napped the rest of the day. Emily is anxious for Zoe to get better so she can have her pal back to go to school with and play with, just like Zoe was anxious for Emily to get better when she was sick.

Once upon a time...

Matt took Emily and Zach to church today and I stayed home with Zoe, Eleanor, and Kate. It was pretty quiet around here, especially when all 3 kids napped for 2 hours. I worked on scrapbooking for awhile and watched the birds. We now have a blue jay and a gray jay around. I didn't even know gray jay birds existed.
I found a couple of cards that were given to me and Matt on our 1 year anniversary, so I dug out the 1997 scrapbook (which is actually a 1996-1998 scrapbook) to put the cards in it. I flipped through the book and it was fun to look at the cards that Matt and I had given to each other before we were married and during our first few years of marriage. And it was neat to read about the different things we did together with no children! It's hard to believe such a time existed. I am so thankful to be married to Matt. When I read this paragraph from Sister Cheryl C. Lant's conference talk, "Righteous Traditions" today, I thought about my own conversion to the gospel when Matt and I decided to get married.

"Our personal conversion comes as we begin to live the way the Lord wants us to live—steadfast and immovable in keeping all of the commandments, not just those that are convenient. This then becomes a process of refinement as we strive to make each day a little better than the last. Thus our traditions become traditions of righteousness."

This is exactly what happened when I married Matt. Instead of having one foot planted in the gospel and one foot in the world (from the age of 16-21), I stuck both feet in the gospel and it has been a process of refinement ever since. My testimony, choices, and traditions have become solely focused on Christ and the gospel because of that change. I am so thankful that my personal conversion happened before we had children and that our righteous traditions are in place as the children get old enough to notice. What a blessing and what a difference that makes in our children's lives! And of course it is a blessing in my life as well.

Blah, blah, blah

Check out Matt's blog for more details about our sick kids. I think the worst is over, unless Kate starts throwing up. She has had diarrhea the last few days and is taking more naps than usual, but no throwing up yet.
I get a kick out of Eleanor saying her butt is throwing up when she has diarrhea. Her cute sayings keep coming even when she's sick.

For the record, I think Matt is capable of taking care of our kids, BUT when he suggests to a very sick Eleanor this morning to go change her shirt that she just threw up on (all water) instead of going to get it himself and changing her, I knew I needed to be home today. Sick kids need their mom.

More birthday pictures

Eleanor made it through her birthday without getting sick, but she has been throwing up since this afternoon. Zach is on the mend. He laid around a lot today and took a nap this afternoon.

Eleanor's saying of the day: "Mom, I'm really bored with you...when can I go to school?!

Happy Birthday, Eleanor!

You have been waiting for your birthday since Kate had her birthday in February. Then Zach had a birthday, and Zoe, and Emily, and today FINALLY came for you to celebrate yours. And it is a big birthday because you are now 5 and you are so excited about that! You think you should be starting school tomorrow since you are 5 now, but I keep reminding you that you'll start in September, after summer vacation. So now you want to know if tomorrow is the start of summer.
When you woke up this morning, you came into my room and asked if you could sleep with me since Daddy was up rowing. You crawled into bed and asked me how much longer you had to wait until your birthday. I reminded you that today is your birthday and your face lit up and you were so excited! You wondered if there were presents in your chair that you could open this morning and I told you that you could go look. You suggested you'd go take a peek and then come back. You were so happy that there were several presents to open! I was worried that you would sleep in this morning and not have a chance to open your gifts with Daddy, Zoe, and Emily, but you woke up early (around 5:40am), so I guess I worried for nothing. When Zoe and Emily woke up, even they were excited that today was your birthday and they'd get to see you open presents.

A Webkinz cat...your favorite, just like you wanted!

Kate likes it, too.

And the bathing suit you wanted, just like Zoe's only blue!

You got the sandals to match that you wanted, but they are a tad bit small, so we are going to send them back and get a bigger size. You are okay with that. You also got 2 skorts, you love skorts! And you got a trinket box with 2 quarters in it from the Booths, which you call your locket. And then tonight you traded yours for Emily's which she got from the Booths.

We got on the internet after Daddy, Zoe, and Emily left for work and school, and we adopted your Webkinz cat on the Webkinz site. You love the fact that you now have your own pet to play with on the site. It didn't take you long to spend the Webkinz cash that you start out with and you were bummed that your cat only had 2 outfits. I played a game for you on the site to earn you some more cash and you spent half of that in the blink of an eye...on food. You definitely love to spend the cash more than you like to earn it. I'm glad you have your own Webkinz pet now. I've been looking forward to giving you one since February.

We went to your friend Lucy's house for a playdate. Usually we meet at church, but today you got to play at her house for the first time. When we arrived, you raved about how beautiful her house is and of course you were so happy to see Lucy. You opened the gift and cards that Lucy gave to you.





After awhile, you were anxious to get on their trampoline. You tried to stay interested in what Lucy was telling you about the pictures she made for you, but you kept saying, "Oh...can we jump on the trampoline now?"




Zach and Kate joined in on the fun, too.





We ate lunch with Lucy and her family and then we brought out Grammie's famous cake. You wanted us to sing the monkey version of Happy Birthday to you, so we sang the original version and then the monkey version.


After the cake, you opened your presents from Great Grammie. Lots of fun new toys and activities to do!

You did very well playing with Lucy today and you were great about sharing your new Webkinz cat. I think you would have traded it in a heartbeat for Lucy's real cat since you tried to steal Lucy's cat. You were very close to getting Lucy's cat into our car, but I stopped you. I know you were only going to borrow the cat, but you forgot one major detail...Daddy hates cats, remember? Oh and we shouldn't borrow things without getting permission first. Getting you into the car to go home was a chore, but I finally succeeded. If only Lucy lived closer instead of an hour away, we would visit more often. You definitely had a great time!

The fun didn't stop there, though. Since Daddy had Bishopric training this evening in Bangor, we decided to have our family party at the Ground Round before his meeting. Grammie, Grampie, and Great Grammie joined us. It worked out perfect since it was kids' night there. It only cost $2.44 for you and your siblings to eat! And you got a swan balloon.

And you got to open your presents from Grammie and Grampie. I'll have to post more pictures tomorrow since my camera battery just died. You love your new headbands. Since you got your hair cut, you love to wear headbands. You got a Dora t-ball set, and you told Grammie that you don't like Dora anymore, but I think you'll have a great time with the bat and ball. You wanted a Nintendo DS like your sisters, but you got something similar that is for 5 year olds. Not quite the same and you were disappointed, but you had fun playing with it this evening. Your sisters did, too! During dinner tonight, you were oblivious to the fact that Daddy took Zach for a walk and never returned. Zach wasn't feeling well and he ended up throwing up, miraculously in the toilet after Daddy brought Zach into the bathroom. Daddy waited outside with Zach while we ate. The waitress brought you out a piece of chocolate cake with a lit candle in it and we all sang Happy Birthday to you. We got an extra piece of cake to share and everyone had enough cake since the pieces were big and the chocolate was very sweet. You thanked the waitress for bringing you such delicious food that you loved. The waitress got a kick out of that. Your swan balloon popped before we got into the car, and you fell and scraped your knee after we got home, but overall you had a great birthday! It was pretty eventful all day long! I had to sit down and read for a bit around 4pm because I was tired and getting mad at everything and everyone. Poor Zach wanted to be held and cuddled and I got mad at him for that. I was tired. A tired mommy is no fun! I'm glad I took the break because it calmed me down and I was able to enjoy the rest of your birthday. Enjoy being 5! It is a fun age. We love you!

P.S. Zach hasn't thrown up again, so hopefully it was a one time deal.

Too tired to think

I am exhausted. The kids and I have been gone most of the day. I took Eleanor, Zach, and Kate to storytime this morning. It was the first time going in a long while and it felt good to go. The kids were very good. It will take a few weeks before they feel comfortable again to run wild and free. Zoe had requested more Nancy Drew books to read, so we had to make sure we picked those up before we left. I had Zoe make a list of the books she has already read and she has read quite a few. It's nice that she's a great reader and loves to read, but Zoe...do you think you could get your nose out of the book long enough to do...??? I never have to worry about her getting the 15 minutes of reading in every day for homework.

We went over to my parents' house after storytime, so I could finish organizing the clothes being stored in their attic. I managed to organize everything, get everything into boxes or zipped bags, and put back into the attic. And hopefully by Fall, I'll be ready to dig out the Fall/Winter clothes and put away the Spring/Summer clothes because right now I am sick of organizing clothes!

My new centerpiece

I was wondering what I was going to put in my new bowl. And when I wondered what I was going to do with the rocks that Eleanor and Zach painted today, there was the bowl waiting to be used. Perfect!

Here are a few of the rocks. Eleanor's face rock...

Zach's rock that kind of looks like a heart from this angle...

And here is my favorite rock that Eleanor painted...

And the other side of the same rock...


I took Emily to Walmart this evening to have her picture taken. It came out very nice. She was super cooperative with lots of smiles and it was super quick. We ate at the McDonald's at Walmart and then picked up a few things before coming home.
It has been fun having this one on one time with the kids as they have taken turns getting their picture taken.

Awake, asleep, awake...

This is one of those evenings where I sat in my chair to read, read a bit (I started "The Wednesday Letters" by Jason F. Wright), and fell asleep. And now I'm trying to wake up enough to tell about my day.

Lyme Disease. When I see this now

I think of Lyme Disease. Our neighbors' dog has recently been treated for it. So whenever I see the deer now, I tell Eleanor and Zach who run for the window to see and end up scaring the deer away.

I took the kids to the park this afternoon. Since the Yukon is running again after a fixed flat tire, and the black flies will eat you alive or at least drive you insane if you go outside here, I'd like to take the kids to the park as often as I can. Eleanor made a friend (as usual) who will be in Kindergarten this fall like Eleanor. As of right now there are more children enrolled for Kindergarten in the fall than usual (about 30 kids), so a new Kindergarten teacher (a 5th teacher) will be hired. Anyway, Eleanor had fun playing with her friend until her friend decided to play with Zach.
Eleanor: "My friend is playing with Zach...I'm such a dum dum."
Me: (chuckling because Eleanor's expressions are as funny as her sayings) "Why?"
Eleanor: "Because my heart is broken!"
She was playing with her friend again before long and neither one of them wanted to leave when it was time to go...pretty typical for kids at the park!

Zoe made brownies for the treat this evening.

I preheated the oven for her, but forgot to take out the stone that we would be using ( I keep our Pampered Chef stones in the oven when they are not in use), so I got the oven mitts and took the hot stone out of the oven. Zoe put all the ingredients in the bowl and mixed and then I finished mixing and poured it into the stone. I opened the oven door and grabbed the stone, screamed, and miraculously landed the stone in the oven. Note to self: Use oven mitts when handling a hot stone! I didn't get burned bad, but my thumbs and index fingers were sore this evening. They feel fine now. And the brownies were delicious!

And the last thing I'd like to show you before I go back to sleep is my 33 week pregnant self. Only flattering comments welcomed. :-)



And this is REALLY the last thing. Looking for a good read? I finished reading "The Choice" by Nicholas Sparks the other day and it was so good! It was a good story and it made me think about the experiences I have and the choices I make. I can still say that I haven't read a Nicholas Sparks' book that I don't like.

Happy Mother's Day

I woke up to 4 of the kids completely ready for church. What a nice Mother's Day surprise! Zoe and Emily had everyone, except Kate dressed and fed before 7am. Impressive. And very sweet.

Zoe and Emily gave me gifts that they had made at school.
My new paper mache bowl from Zoe...

And a story about me from Zoe (click on it to read it)...

A poem and thumb print picture from Emily (A teacher drew the pictures around Emily's thumb print...

An envelope filled with coupons from Emily. I can pick out a coupon at any time and she's supposed to do what it says. This one says she will play with me. I don't think she'll have trouble with that one.

And a note from Emily...

Not only did the kids get dressed and fed before 7:00, but they also made me this card...


During Primary today, we had the kids make pictures using the outline of their hands.
Here is Zoe's...

And here is Emily's...

I'm not sure what happened to Eleanor's picture, but she did make one.
Zach also made a picture during nursery...

And since Kate wandered into nursery before it started and our nursery leader said she could stay, Kate made a picture in nursery, too...

I also received a pink carnation after Sacrament meeting from the young men and since there were several flowers left over, the primary girls each got one, too. That made my girls very happy!

We went over to my parents' home after church for dinner, which was very nice and then we came home. Matt had made me a sweet card and he bought me a beach bag that I had mentioned I wanted. What a great Mother's Day I had! The many thoughtful gifts and being with my family all day was special. I hope all of you mothers had a great day, too. :-)