It's Monday

I can't think of much to write this morning, and my About Me topic is one I have little to say about so I'm at a loss here. My energy level is dwindling with each passing week of pregnancy. I get done what I need to, but that's about all I have the desire to do. I do manage to get up every few minutes to wipe Zach's nose. We have another round of colds going around here. I determined early on when we had our first colds that this is going to be a winter of sickness for us. We were quite healthy last winter, so I suppose it's only fair that we catch everything going around this season.
Zoe and Emily are getting along great with each other, playing in their room together, but they have also developed an attitude toward the rest of the family. I feel bad for Eleanor who enjoys being with them, but they don't want to be with her. It's sad to see her playing by herself when everyone is around. She doesn't seem to mind as much as I do though. Zoe and Emily are back to school today after a long weekend, which means that Eleanor gets to be the big sister for awhile and have access to whatever she wants to play with. Yesterday, Eleanor asked if Zoe and Emily were going to school after we got up...I think part of her was hoping they were.
The washer just stopped. If I want to get done the laundry before bedtime, I better go switch the loads.

About Me:
Talk about your ancestors...Remember those binders full of geneology under our bed? Well, I have intentions of going through them once I dig them out. Matt tried putting up our shelves on Saturday, but the glue he bought didn't work, so the books remain hidden. I do know that a lot of my ancestors came from Canada and England. Maybe that's why the only country I've had any interest in visiting is England. I remember doing a speech in speech class in college about some ancestors on my mom's side (through her dad) that owned a castle in England. But the details have left my memory. Whenever Matt mentions Canada, he includes in the same breath that it is my native land. I would like to visit Prince Edward Island someday...mainly because of the Anne of Green Gables books. Family History/Geneology is not one of my strong points, but whenever I come back from the temple I do have a stronger desire to get into it.

My mother

Matt had work to do in Canada this morning, so he spent the night in a hotel there last night. I decided it would be fun to stay at my parents' home with the kids since the kids are off from school today and my parents are off from work. It was fun...until bedtime. Around 8pm, Zoe and Emily were wound right up, playing tag and hide and go seek. I ignored them for as long as I could, and then we got their beds made and told them it was time for lights out...if they gave us any problems, then we were going home. They went to bed very good, Zach fell asleep as my mom rocked him, so we put him in his bed, and then I layed down with Eleanor so she would settle down and go to sleep. Eleanor decided she'd rather settle down with her grammie, so my mom ended up laying down with her until she fell asleep. All the kids are asleep, yay!...until Zach wakes up crying around midnight I believe (the early morning is a blur by now). I put him in bed with me and Eleanor, but he's still not happy. My mom comes in to get him, thinking he is still in his bed. She finds him crying next to me and takes him downstairs to rock him. He falls asleep again and my mom puts him in bed with her and my dad. He wakes up again a little while later around 3am. I decided it was time to take Zach home so at least some people in our family could get some sleep. By then, Zoe was the only one sleeping! I found it interesting on my way home with Zach that a lot of people are either awake in their homes at 3am or a lot of people sleep with lights on in their homes. I personally do not like any lights to be on when I am sleeping. So far, none of my children have needed night lights on to sleep. It is as dark as it can be at our house throughout the night.
I don't know if Zach missed home or his pillow, but he slept great the rest of the night (I mean morning). Zach and I went back to my parents home when we woke up and stayed until around 12:30pm when Zach was miserably tired and needed a nap. My mom is going to bring the girls to McDonalds for dinner and then bring them home to babysit while Matt and I go out for datenight. So, I am enjoying more quiet time right now :-)

About Me:
Tell about your mother...As you can probably tell from this post, my mother enjoys being around her family, even at 3am with a crying grandchild. She is the only mother I know who looks forward to spending every Friday night watching her grandchildren. She is the type of grandmother any child would love to have, we call her the marshmallow. She can't say no to beautiful eyes and pouty faces. I have accused my mother in the past of being too nice (my teenager days). My mother would go out on a limb for anyone...maybe not a tall limb since she is afraid of heights. She thinks about everyone else before herself, which is sweet, but maybe not always in her best interest. Which is why I told her we're not going over to her house on Sunday after church like we usually do because she is going to need time to herself by then.
I take after my mother in personality, but my mother has light skin and hair, and blue eyes, whereas I have darker skin, brown eyes, and dark brown hair.
My mother has a talent for jigsaw puzzles. She puts together puzzle, after puzzle, after puzzle. She finds it relaxing and enjoyable. She loves to watch movies. Her favorite month is January when she can relax on a cold, snowy Saturday and put a movie in, and eat chocolate of course!
I've always seen my mother as one who has a strong testimony of the gospel. She is faithful and obedient. I have never doubted my mother's testimony or commitment to the gospel.
I love my mother very much and I am very glad she is who she is. I love spending time with her. I'm glad she is close by...what would I do without our girls' night out when I really need it?!

Back to reality

I had a very nice birthday. I didn't spend as much time at home as I thought I would, but I was able to do a little bit of everything I wanted to, which was nice. We had a nice family celebration in the evening. It included whiney children, bickering children, tired children, and crying, but after my day by myself, it didn't seem to bother me as much. Being alone was nice, but by the end of the day, I was missing the commotion of the children. I did enjoy having the house stay clean all day after I cleaned it up in the morning after Zach and Eleanor left. I could get used to that happening more often.

About Me:
Tell about your favorite aunt. I have 3 aunts, all my mother's sisters. One lives in Pennsylvania, the oldest of the 6 kids. I don't get to see her very often, but when I do see her, I enjoy her company and learn more about her. Another aunt lives somewhere here in Maine. She lives a very different lifestyle than myself, so I basically only see her at funerals. The aunt I see the most and know the most about lives in Maine as well. She and her family are members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints. She stays home to raise her children (8 at home, 2 grown and live out of state). She is very good at making her home welcoming and comfortable. She is very handy around her house and I admire that. I think she is the quietest of all her siblings, but she always comes up with funny things to say when she gets talking. She just became a Pampered Chef consultant to earn some extra money and to get out of the house more (can you blame her???). My mom is having a party for her on Saturday. I'm looking forward to seeing her and hearing all about what's going on in her wonderful family.

Happy Birthday to me

32 years ago, my parents welcomed my arrival :-) I am looking forward to my birthday today. My very thoughtful mother took the day off from work to take care of Zach and Eleanor, so I can have a day to myself. I'm going out for breakfast this morning with my parents, Zach and Eleanor, and then I get to say goodbye to them until we gather again for dinner. Zoe and Emily will take the bus to my parents' house after school. What to do with myself? I'm thinking that eating, relaxing, and shopping are part of my plans. I snuck into my package from Matt's parents this morning to see if there was money, and I wasn't disappointed. Thanks Janet and Steve! Matt is taking me to Pizzeria Uno for lunch and then I'm going to enjoy some shopping. It will be nice not having to worry about cranky children, children needing to use the bathroom, or children wanting everything they see. And, I get to shop for something more exciting than diapers. I had a dream last night that I bought a new skirt...maybe it was a vision. The evening will end surrounded by my family...and empty lobster shells :-)

About Me:
What instrument do you play or wish you could play? I played the saxophone when I was in school, and I enjoyed playing in the band, but I haven't played it since the end of my junior year in high school. I took piano lessons for 3 years as a child, but I hated to practice and I wasn't too fond of my teacher, so the most useful I am with the piano is playing with one finger during Primary when needed. I would like to be able to play the piano, and I have tried practicing at home on my keyboard, but the keyboard keys are more narrow than the piano keys, so I can master something on the keyboard, but then I have trouble playing it on the piano. Eventually, I would like to master 4 hymns that I could play during Sacrament meeting. Maybe when all the kids are in school, I will make the time to travel to a piano and practice.

Get out and vote

It's Election Day. Here in Maine, it's a beautiful day to get out to the polls. How blessed we are to live in a free country!

The girls have been taking longer than usual at night to settle down and go to sleep after they are put in bed. After about the 5th time of telling Zoe to get in bed and go to sleep last night, I hear Eleanor say, "Mom, you're grumpy!" Boy was she right!

About Me:
Describe your conversion to the gospel. I actually did this two days ago, so check out my Sunday post if you haven't already.

Famous

Zoe and Emily are in our local paper this week.


About Me:
What were prices like when you were young? The thing that comes to mind is walking to a local store as a child to buy penny candy. I can picture myself sitting in my room, enjoying delicious swedish fish and grape flavored swedish fish after a walk to the store. You could buy pre-made bags of candy or fill up your own bag. I would often buy the .50 or 1.00 bags of swedish fish.
There was going to be a candy store opening up in our town, featuring "penny" candy, which rumor had it that the candy would actually cost 5 cents a piece, but the store either never opened or wasn't open for long. Our children have the experience of spending one of their precious dollars on ONE candy bar, which doesn't happen very often. They have more fun going to Target and spending their money at the $1 spot.

My Testimony

I was raised as a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, and I am still an active member. I developed a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout my childhood, but as I grew into a young woman, I regretfully kept one foot planted in the church and the other foot planted in the world. Because of this, I made many choices that led me away from my Heavenly Father instead of toward Him. It wasn't until I was 21 going on 22 (when I met Matt) that I made the choice to have both feet planted in the church, the start of my true conversion. This choice included repenting for the sins I was committing, praying and reading my scriptures daily, attending church weekly, having Family Home Evening each week starting when Matt and I got married, and being ready and willing to serve in the church. Doing these things has strengthened my testimony of the Savior and His gospel, and has increased my desire to follow Him and to keep His commandments. I know that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints is the only church upon the earth with the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as he was praying in the sacred grove. I know that Joseph Smith restored the gospel to the earth and became the first prophet in the latter days. I know the priesthood has been restored to the earth. I know that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. I know that reading the Book of Mormon will bring us closer to our Heavenly Father and to our Savior, Jesus Christ. This will bring many blessings and much happiness into our lives. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and He cares for us. I know our burdens can become light if we seek our Heavenly Father's help. Daily prayer will keep us in tune with the Holy Ghost. I know we are eternal beings. I know our families can be together forever if we participate in marriage or sealings in the temple. I know our families will be blessed as we pray together, read scriptures together, and have Family Home Evening together each week. I know that as we pay our tithing, we will receive both temporal and spiritual blessings. I know our Heavenly Father doesn't ask more of us than we can handle. I know we can receive many blessings, including personal growth and happiness as we serve in callings. I know we will have peace as we choose what is right. I know that I have a Savior and I know He lives. I know that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, I can repent of my mistakes and return to live with my Heavenly Father again. I am truly grateful for this sacrifice. I know that Gordon B. Hinckley is our prophet today. I know that if I follow his counsel, I will be led on the strait and narrow path leading back to my Heavenly Father.

Random pictures

The duck that didn't get away...


Matt took Zoe and Emily canoeing this morning. The girls were very cold when they got home!






Mr. Buckethead

Roar!

About Me:
If you could be an animal, which one would you choose and why? I'm very content being human, but for the sake of the question, I would be a lion (lioness). I would be muscular with beautiful fur. I would spend 2-3 hours hunting for food and then spend the remainder of my day lounging around and sleeping. I can handle that. I would have 2-3 cubs every 2 years and only be pregnant for 110 days or so :-)...but would deliver with no epidural, not so great. I would be surrounded by family and friends, which would be great, however I would only be with my sons for about 3 1/2 years before they go off on their own. I would be able to run fast and leap far. I would take pride in supporting my family by getting food and taking care of my cubs.

Lion joke:
Where do lions live?

About Me

I'm starting a new series using my journal jar. I hesitate doing this because a lot of what I'll be writing about is my childhood and since I have the worst long-term memory in history, there just won't be a lot of detail. I think this is one reason why I am so good at keeping up with photo albums and scrapbooking (although the more children I have, the more behind I keep getting!) Pictures and keeping a record of what's going on in our family helps me to remember better. Sometimes Matt will be amazed at how well I can remember something we did several years ago, but it's usually because I had just read about it in my journal. So, we'll see how this goes...the first strip of paper asks: Did you have a bicycle? Yes (that was easy) What was it like?...well, it had a frame, two wheels, a seat, handle bars, and peddles! The older I got, the more speeds my bike would have. I can picture in my mind the photographs of me learning how to ride my bike. I remember falling as many children do as they learn to ride without training wheels. But I was persistent and became a successful bike rider, I even mastered the peddling with no hands...which we as parents of course discourage our children from doing! I loved riding my bike with two of my closest friends that lived on our road. I can picture the houses we would pass and the people who lived in them. Riding my bike in the summer was a favorite activity. I would ride my bike to the town next to ours to play baseball with one of my friends. I remember riding my bike down our road on Labor Day one year, sad that summer was ending and nervous about the first day of school coming the next morning. I'm glad I had a bike to ride and a place to ride it. I wish our children could do the same, but we have to pile their bikes in the car and go into town to ride, which means they don't get to ride them as often as they'd like to. But, we like where we live, so we'll just have to deal with it.

Zach is sitting on the table, turning the kitchen light on and off...my cue to get off the computer and get on with the day.

Good news

No broken bones for Eleanor :-) She actually started walking fairly normal, and was jumping around the room when we were waiting for the nurse to come in. Matt was ready to leave without having her checked, but I figured since we were there and she consistently pointed to the back of her ankle today when asked where she hurt, we were having her checked out. She probably has a bruised or sprained ankle. The nurse put an ace bandage around her ankle to help Eleanor feel better. Eleanor proudly showed her bandage to Zoe and Emily when we got home.
My mom, after reading my blog this morning, left work to watch Zach for me. That was a huge help. She also came over to our house when it was time for Zoe and Emily to get home from school. It was nice not having to worry about getting home at a certain time. Thank you again, mom!

The witch, butterfly, cat, and teddy bear

Wondering why Eleanor is being pushed around in a stroller? She hurt herself when I sent the girls out to the car while I finished getting Zach dressed. I heard her crying and found her climbing back up the steps. She had lost the toy ring she was wearing and was saying she wanted to find it. I walked past her to get Zach in the car and she started to follow me, but she was limping and complaining that her toe hurt. When we were at the mall she seemed fine being pushed around in the stroller. Zach was tired and cranky, so we asked Eleanor if Zach could sit in the stroller. She said yes and got out, but after trying to walk, she cried and said she couldn't walk. After several attempts to get information out of Zoe and Emily, they finally told us that Eleanor fell when she was trying to get in the car (the word pushed was used, but I'll leave the guilty unnamed. We checked Eleanor's legs before leaving the mall (we weren't sure which leg or area of the leg to check). Nothing looked swollen or bruised so we headed home. Unfortunately, our experience with children not wanting to walk on a leg has resulted in that leg being put in a cast. Since Eleanor still won't walk this morning, I'm going into the emergency room with her and Zach today...after I have my own lab work done that I'm scheduled for, which will take an hour just for that. I'm still not sure what hurts on Eleanor. First she said her toe hurt, but when I asked her to point to where it hurt, she pointed to the back of her heel. When I pulled her pant leg up to check her knee, she freaked out. I'm mentally preparing myself to be at the hospital all.day.long today. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Halloween

Zoe has a Halloween party at her school this morning, so I'm going to go help out. I'm not sure if they're doing anything other than eating goodies, but that's a good enough reason for me to join them :-)

This evening, we'll take the kids to our local mall to trick or treat. I like going to the mall because it's warm, there's plenty of candy, and the kids don't have to wear a coat over their costumes. It's fun to see the other costumes that kids are wearing as well. The girls are very excited that it's Halloween!

What's under the bed?...
This is the last post for this series, yay! Under the bed is looking nice and empty :-)
My cross-country ski boots...I haven't been skiing for a long time because I'm either pregnant or taking care of an infant in the winter.
My baseball glove
Scrap posterboard
Purple and gray cardstock, unwrapped
A 2003 Kittens calendar that I used when I was Young Women's President, so it has all the activities that we did that year. Eleanor is looking at it and wants to buy all the kittens!

Happy Birthday, Leif!

Could it get any more eventful?

One of my fears almost came true last night. I hate to think of the tooth fairy forgetting to leave money for a lost tooth. So, I was grateful when Eleanor needed to go potty around 5:20 this morning. The tooth fairy still had time to put money under Emily's pillow before Emily had to wake up at 6am. Whew!

We've had a very windy weekend here. It was rainy Saturday, but yesterday was dry. We lost our power right after I updated my blog on Saturday, around 1:30pm. I left soon after that with Zoe and Emily to decorate at the church for our Halloween party that evening. At 4pm, we had a pizza party for the primary children and then we had our final rehearsal for our primary program, which we did yesterday. The power went off at church Saturday evening soon after we started rehearsing. But it didn't stay off for long, and we had power for the rest of the rehearsal and for our Halloween party. When we left for home, we didn't know if our power would be back on or not, but thankfully it was.
When the kids and I arrived at church yesterday morning, the power was off again. I pictured us doing the primary program in the dark, nobody being able to hear the children give their talks and scriptures without the microphone working. The power came back on, but then I received a phone call from the primary president saying she couldn't get off Bar Harbor because a power line pole was hovering over the rode and traffic was not allowed under it. Okay...now I am without the primary president and the primary pianist. Can I go home now??? We have a very talented young woman who was willing to play the piano during the program, Great!...but then I start thinking about a song that we're singing that we've done some changes to as far as singing a few verses at a time before the chorus, and we weren't singing the last verse until later on in the program and how am I going to explain all this to her as she's playing the prelude music on the organ, and sacrament meeting is about to start...I hand the task over to our music leader and hope for the best. Sacrament meeting starts, the primary president arrives (yay!), we do the program after the sacrament portion of the meeting, the lights are on, the microphone is working, we're only missing one child, the young woman is doing a great job playing the piano, the children are singing and doing their parts wonderfully, and we survive our 2006 primary presentation. It went exactly the way we wanted it to...once it got started :-)

What's under the bed?...
3-ring binders filled with geneology that my sister completed (bless her heart!)...these will go on the shelves that have been sitting in our hallway for about the last 2 years that are supposed to be up in our bedroom. The time is NOW to put them up (hint hint, Matt :-)

Halloween fun

The kids and I walked in our town's costume parade this morning...in the rain. Usually we just watch the parade, but this year Zoe wanted to be in it, so we all participated. I just have some advice for the clown passing out candy to the children...don't wear a scary clown mask with fake blood dripping down your face and expect the children to be happy to see you and take candy from you.

Full House

My house is full of kids today since Zoe and Emily don't have school today, so the teachers can have an inservice day, and I'm watching a 3 year old boy for a friend. He stayed overnight last night and so far things are going well. It looks like it's going to be nice outside today, so later I'll encourage them to go outside to play. I'm thinking it might be a good day to go on a nature walk to collect different leaves, cones, and other items to make something with. I'll save this activity for when they've had enough of playing with each other or when they ask me for an idea of what they can do.

What's under the bed?...
An empty Easter egg
A Christmas stocking
My baseball hat that I've been wondering where it disappeared to
More old photos and negatives

Innocent curiosity

I went to Emily's school this morning to help out during their special snack time they were having today. A little girl from a different class was in the hall and she asked me who I was. I told her I was Emily's mom and then she asked, "Why is your belly fat?"

Disappointment

Zoe and Emily had a fundraiser that we participated in (we meaning my mom and I!) and the items were available to pick up yesterday at Zoe's school. Zoe was VERY anxious to go get the items because she wanted her prize...for all the hard work my mom and I did for her. The lady had no problem finding Emily's box, but Zoe's box was nowhere to be found, so I had a very sad Zoe with no prize to take back home. She did very well though when Emily got her prize and was playing with it. I told Zoe that by the time she gets her prize, Emily's prize will be old and Emily will probably be crying for a new prize when Zoe's gets hers. I think that helped cheer her up a bit...plus the fact that I let her eat some chocolate. I hope her box is found soon!

What's under the bed?...
Christmas wrapping paper!...I'm glad I found it since I will be needing it soon :-)

Late

The chain of late events started last night when my Arbonne consultant was an hour late to my party. I had the party at my mom's house, and the consultant had a hard time finding it. She had the right road, but the wrong town. We finally got in touch with each other and arrived at the house an hour late. The few guests I had at the party didn't mind the wait since we were snacking and chatting and having a good time without the party part of the evening. Starting the party late meant that we ended the party late and I got home late. I got to bed late, so when the alarm went off this morning, I shut it off like I normally do, rested before getting up like I normally do, but instead of resting for 3 minutes, I rested for 19 minutes, which resulted in the girls and Matt getting up late. They did manage to catch the bus on time and here I sit updating my blog on time, so hopefully the late pattern has ended.

What's under the bed?...
Leftover portrait pictures of Zoe from 8 months to 3 years old, and of Emily from 4 months to a year old...I'll put with my other leftover portrait pictures.
A shoe box filled with computer CD's and disks, which I will have Matt go through.

Rain, rain go away!

I went on a field trip with Zoe yesterday to the Fields Pond Audubon Center. You can learn more about the place here. We ate lunch when we first got there and then separated into groups. Our group stayed inside with another group to learn about different trees, leaves, and animals before having our turn outside walking the trails. When it was our turn to walk outside, we bundled up and started our adventure...in the rain. It's too bad the weather didn't cooperate because there were a lot of neat things to see and learn about, but the wetter and colder we got, the harder it was to pay attention to what we were seeing and hearing rather than how we were feeling. We ended up cutting our walk short and heading back inside to wait for the other groups to finish their indoor time. Most of us were soaked and cold by that point. It was a learning experience...I need a better rain coat if I'm going to be in the rain for more than 5 minutes, and it should be a long coat so the water doesn't drip onto my pants!
It would be fun to go back with our family sometime. There will also be other field trips to this center that Zoe's class will be going on since the school has received a grant to take trips to the center this year for free. Zoe's teacher was in the right place at the right time this past summer when someone told her the center was looking to adopt a school this year, and Zoe's teacher told the lady to check out their school. Zoe's teacher did comment as we were leaving the center yesterday that the rest of our trips to the center will be taken in good weather only...I'm glad.

We have survived 3 nights of Eleanor sleeping without her binky. I put off taking her binky away when she sleeps because during the day, she is so good about taking a nap when she's tired because she just asks for her binky and then goes to sleep. I came up with a plan to buy Eleanor something that she could take to bed to replace her binky, but wasn't sure when it would happen. We went shopping on Saturday for Halloween costumes when Eleanor spotted a stuffed dog that she wanted. I told her she could have it if she threw her binky away. She agreed. I knew she would be less excited about this when bedtime rolled around, so I prepared myself for the crying. She did quite well the first night. I think she had convinced herself that the binky was gone for that night, but it would be back tomorrow. She did ask to go potty a few times and brush her teeth a few times, and it took her a little longer for her to fall asleep, but there wasn't much crying. The crying came after church on Sunday when I brought her in from the car half-asleep and it was then that she REALLy wanted her binky. I put her in her bed and let her cry. She cried, and then screamed that she wanted to throw her puppy away...this of course would bring her binky back. I just ignored her and she finally calmed down and came out of her room to eat lunch. The last few nights she hasn't really cried for her binky, but again it has taken her longer to fall asleep and she insists on brushing her teeth a lot...any excuse to get out of bed! She has done a lot better at bedtime than we expected. So now she is potty trained and binkyless...as an almost 3 1/2 year old should be!

What's under the bed?...

A bucket full of coin papers and foam earplugs
Bubblewrap
A Christmas stocking
A few toys...bugs bunny and a blue heart