Update

My doctor's appointment went well yesterday. I had a morning appointment with my regular doctor, but I had to reschedule for the afternoon, so I ended up seeing the midwife. I was in and out of the office pretty quickly, which was nice. The midwife commented on my very thick chart as I was on my way out and said, "We'll have to start a new chart for you when you come back for #7." I just smiled. Then the lady at the billing office commented on how I seem to just breeze through my pregnancies with no problems. She wondered if anything ailed me, like heartburn and I told her that the first 3 months are rough with morning sickness, but other than that, I do pretty much breeze through the rest of the months. The midwife was impressed that she could still see my ankle bones. I've had little trouble with swelling through my pregnancies. I only swell if I sit too long. Matt watched the kids at the park while I went to my appointment. I think I've actually gone to all of my appointments for this baby without any kids. How have I managed that?!

Jenn gave me a bag of clothes for Kate yesterday. Kate took over my job of going through them.



Kate loves to put things on her head, so Zach's "new" hat was a must to try on!

Kate has officially been fired from the job since she left all the clothes laying on the floor and I had to pick them all up.

Matt and I went on date night again last night! Can you guess where we went to dinner? If you answered Pizzeria Uno, you are correct! We talked about trying out Chili's, but we just couldn't resist what we already love. We went birthday shopping for Eleanor and bought a new battery for our phone. Now I can pick up the phone and not have it go dead on me or have it go dead in the middle of a call! :-) The lady at the Children's Place asked me when I was due...and I couldn't lie...so I told her the 4th of July unenthusiastically expecting a comment I didn't want to hear...BUT she actually said that I didn't look big, that my tummy looks small...and she became my new favorite person.

Matt took the kids canoeing this morning, but they didn't last long. It was cold and windy. Kate was quite upset that she didn't get to go. She held her arms up to Matt as he was leaving and started to whine when she realized that he was leaving without her. She was all ready to go with her hat and one shoe on, too!

But her siblings had a hat and TWO shoes on, so they got to go...although I notice that Eleanor is not actually wearing her hat, which is actually Zach's hat. Eleanor is in need of a canoeing hat...a.k.a combat headgear.


Emily is having her birthday picture taken this Tuesday since she missed her appointment last Tuesday because she was sick. I wanted to get her hair cut before her picture and decided today was the day to do it. Eleanor wanted her hair cut, too and since she'll have her picture taken a few weeks after Emily, I decided she should get her hair cut, too. Then I noticed that Zach was in need of a haircut, so he got elected to come along, too. Then when I realized that my hairdresser won't be back to work for another month from shoulder surgery, I decided that I would get my hair cut, too since I couldn't stand to wait another month. And Zoe came along for the ride, to get out of the house. Kate wasn't sad when I left. I guess getting a haircut is not as exciting as canoeing. We went to Mastercuts in the mall. The mall parking lot was packed and the hair salon was super busy, but I was determined to get haircuts so we settled in and waited. Zoe and Emily brought their Nintendo's to keep them busy. Zach's name was called after awhile (I'm not sure how long because I couldn't see a clock) and he walked bravely to the chair. I insisted that he wasn't going to cry during his cut...and he didn't. He cooperated through the entire haircut and he did great! He actually wanted another haircut when he was done. Soon enough, Zach. That's one difference between girls and boys, boys need more haircuts! When Zach was getting his haircut, one of the stylists commented that I look like I'm about to deliver any day now...she became my least favorite person. I told her that I was actually due in 8 weeks, but having 6 kids would make me look otherwise. She said it wasn't how big I was, but that I look like I'm carrying very low...she went up a few notches on the favorite list. So now when people comment on me looking like I'll deliver any day now, I'll assume they're saying that because I carry low. I've always carried low. Boy, girl doesn't matter, and from experience it doesn't mean I'll deliver early either.
Emily went next and then Eleanor. They both got their hair cut a little above the shoulders. And then I got a trim, which doesn't look different, but it feels lighter, which was needed. When I got home, Matt asked me if I actually got my hair cut. He always says that a good haircut is one that doesn't look like it has been cut. The kids were very good as they sat and waited for each other and then waited for me. Here they are with their new cuts. I didn't have the girls' hair styled, so this is what they look like today and every day from now.

8 weeks and counting

I'm looking very pregnant. Which is why I've decided that if any stranger asks me when I am due, I'm going to say "tomorrow". Because if I say "8 weeks" they will either say, "Are you having twins?" or "Do you think you'll go that long?" because I look like I'm going to deliver any day now. Why not tell them what they expect to hear?

I spotted our first bird eating from our feeder today. I think it's either a female rose-breasted grosbeak or a white-throated sparrow. I love watching birds, but I'm not good at naming them. My goal is to try to figure out which types of birds are visiting our feeder.
And I was so happy during dinner this evening when I spotted our first hummingbird! I pointed it out to Matt and Zoe, but when Zoe turned around to look, it flew off. It came back when Zoe was done eating, so Matt saw it and I tried to show Zach, but he wasn't seeing it. He went up to the window and then the hummingbird flew away. I think I'm going to stay silent from now on when I see a hummingbird, so I can enjoy him or her. The kids are on their own to spot them. I am so excited that the hummingbirds have returned!

Kate was in a mood at dinnertime. I was lingering at the table after everyone else was done, still eating jell-o when Kate threw her cup and it landed in a container of balsamic vinegar, which splashed all over me and my jell-o. Nice. I had it all over my face, hair, and clothes. I knew I shouldn't have worn the jeans today that I wanted to wear to the doctor tomorrow. Thanks, Kate!

It's Wednesday, not Tuesday or Thursday

Emily stayed home again today. This is the first time having a child home from school 3 days in a row because of a sickness. The plan is for her to go to school tomorrow. She was feeling much better today and acting more like herself. :-)

I've been a bit confused with school lunch this week. Poor Zoe missed pizza Tuesday yesterday because I told her they were having Italian dunkers, which she doesn't like and so I made her a lunch. She never said anything. Then today I told her she was having waffles, which she loves, so I didn't make her a lunch...and she had to eat Italian dunkers. She made a comment this evening about waffles tomorrow and I looked at the school calendar and sure enough I have been a day ahead the past two days.

The past few days I have gone outside with Zach during Kate's nap time to push him on the swing. He loves to swing! And he loves to be pushed in Kate's swing, so during nap time is the best time to do that.

Here are some cute pictures of Kate and Zach.



I love Kate's hat. She tries and tries to take it off, but it won't budge. Love it!

I organized our food pantry today. When I went grocery shopping last night, I wasn't sure which spices I needed and already had because we had spices here, there, and everywhere in the food pantry, so I ended up buying all the spices on the list. So I wanted to get our spices all in one spot so I knew what we had. The little spice containers are now in a small bin inside the door and the bigger spice containers are in a shoe box. The bulk size spice containers are behind the shoe box. Mission accomplished.

Zoe and Emily have discovered that they can send messages to each other on their Nintendo's. They had fun doing that this afternoon.

Zach and Eleanor had a fight this afternoon over Zach's hat. Eleanor wanted to wear it, but Zach insisted it was his and he wanted it back. I decided to try a sharing method that Priel was telling me and Esther about when we were visiting her. I took the hat and told Eleanor and Zach that they were going to share the hat. I gave it to Eleanor for a second, took it back, and then gave it to Zach for a second. Then I let Eleanor have it for 2 seconds and then gave it to Zach for 2 seconds. I got to 4 seconds and Eleanor started to laugh and thought it was a great game. She insisted that they could handle it from there and they took turns giving it to each other. And then they played tag and whoever was holding the hat was "it". And then Zach ended up with the hat, Eleanor moved on to something else, and they were happy again. Wow, it worked!

Look at this delicious dinner I made.

Mom's Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwich
BLT Salad
Strawberry Jell-O
Matt wasn't here to offer his opinion, but I thought everything was delicious. The Jell-O was a big hit with the kids. Zoe liked the sandwich, but didn't care for the dressing on the salad, so she added Thousand Island dressing. I'm not sure if Emily tried anything but the Jell-O, but since she has been sick I gave her some slack. Eleanor turned her nose up at everything but the Jell-O. And Zach tried the sandwich, but could only tolerate a few bites and ate some of his Jell-O. Well, it felt good to have a real meal on the table and again, I thought it was all delicious!
Oh, and Kate. Kate refused to sit in her chair, she wanted to stand. I fought with her a few times on it, but then gave in and let her stand. She enjoyed the sandwich I gave her and enjoyed Eleanor's salad and was very happy that she got her way.

Weird, annoyed, nervous, and impressed

Zoe went to school today, but Emily stayed home again. She is doing better, but she still hasn't totally bounced back from this illness. She ate more today and even played on the computer a bit, but for most of the day, she sat in my chair or laid on the floor and watched movies or played with her new Nintendo. It's nice to have my chair functioning again!

The hospital called this morning to pre-register me for when I go into labor. Weird. I wasn't expecting the call and it seems too early to be thinking about going into labor, but I guess it's good to be prepared.

I couldn't find one of my flip flops this morning and then I couldn't find one of Zach's sneakers a little later. Weird. I checked the hat and mitten box to make sure it was empty because I wanted to bring it out to the shed when what did I see? Shoes! Mystery solved.

Judy and Jerry Booth came over to Visit Teach today. They brought Emily a birthday present and some cookies, Zach got a new truck since the wheels of the trucks they got him for his birthday came off when he started to play with them, and Eleanor has a present waiting to be unwrapped on her birthday. Emily showed signs of feeling better when she wanted a cookie after Judy gave them to her. And Emily is also back to fighting with Eleanor!

The black flies are out. They are not biting yet, but just having them around is annoying. They like me for some reason. Tons of them were swarming around me today and now I feel like they are still around me even though I know that they're not. It's annoying.

Eleanor spotted a bee in the house and sure enough there was a wasp in the kids' room. Normally I would keep an eye on the wasp until it got somewhere that I could spray it with raid to kill it, but today it didn't bother me. I wanted it out of the house, but I didn't obsess about it. I thought about throwing a shoe at it, but it was near the window, so that wasn't going to work. When the kids were getting ready for bed, Eleanor noticed it on the floor, so when it was on her blanket, I picked up the blanket and opened the door to put the wasp outside. It took a few shakes, but it finally flew off. This is huge progress for me!

I drove the SAAB for the first time this evening to the grocery store. I know how to drive a stick shift, but since I had never driven this one before, I was nervous. Matt kept telling me to give it a lot of gas to get it going, but I didn't succeed the first 2 or 3 times and kept killing it. I finally gunned it and got off to a jerky start, but I was moving. And as I was driving down the driveway I wondered how many times I was going to kill the engine in town when I had to stop and then go. Oh well, I was on my way and there was no turning back. The shifting of gears went smoothly, especially with the "shifting for dummies" light that comes on and tells you when to shift up. And I didn't kill the engine in town :-), but I haven't mastered a smooth take off yet.

I actually went to the grocery store tonight with a list. That is rare for me. But I got on allrecipes.com and printed an ingredients list for several recipes that I had picked out several weeks ago and had saved to my list of recipes. I liked how the ingredients on the list were grouped together in categories such as produce, bakery, dairy, condiments, spices, etc. It made the shopping easier and I didn't have to backtrack because I knew exactly what I needed in each area of the store. Very nice! I always feel better after grocery shopping when I come home with meals and not just random food...which unfortunately doesn't happen the majority of the time.

Still sick

Both Zoe and Emily stayed home from school today. Zoe's cold is doing much better, but poor Emily hasn't improved much since yesterday. She's hasn't thrown up since Saturday night, but she is very tired and she has eaten very little. I thought she would be up and around today, but she wasn't. Hopefully tomorrow.

Kate has a cold, too, but it hasn't slowed her down much.


Besides doing laundry today and taking care of 5 kids, I cleaned out our bird feeder which hasn't been used in awhile and has been hanging from a branch on a tree. I brought it inside and started scraping the old bird seed from the bottom. Then I lifted the top and discovered a wasp's nest and a wasp. At first I thought the wasp was dead, but then I saw a slight movement. It stayed where it was and I brought the feeder back outside. I plopped it on the ground, grabbed the rake, and removed the wasp and nest while standing as far back as I could. Mission accomplished. There is hope for Eleanor to get over her fear of bees...it just may take 30 years! I put new bird seed in the feeder and put it near our hummingbird feeder where we can look at both through our kitchen window. No signs of birds today. When I was outside, I noticed several wasps flying around looking for their nest. I wonder where they will build a new one.

This evening, Zach discovered the fun of pinching his nose and then letting go to see how long he could keep his nostrils closed. He looked so funny!

A long day

The kids and I stayed home from church today. Emily slept most of the day and ate very little, so it looks like she'll be home tomorrow, too. Zoe has a bad cold, so she spent a lot of the day in her bed reading. She has really gotten into the Nancy Drew books and can read a book in a day now. Eleanor and Zach played together most of the day, and Eleanor also made a paper chain. Now she is the one anxiously counting down the days until her birthday on the 15th. It is a good thing that she doesn't have much longer to wait because she is VERY excited to turn 5! Kate played, wanted to be held, and took a good nap today. She is becoming quite the climber. She gets on the table a lot now and she can climb onto the computer chair to play with the keyboard. Not good, Kate!

Matt noticed this morning that the Yukon has a flat tire. That seems to be the case a lot with the Yukon.

Emily's birthday continued

Emily enjoyed the ride in the car, and Zoe did too. They had Matt put the top up on the way home though because they were cold! Zoe, Emily, Eleanor, and I left around 11:15 to go to the YMCA for Emily's friend party. Because of my procrastination, we ended up inviting all of her classmates from school, which is mostly boys. Emily didn't really want to invite the boys and neither did I, but I waited too long to have Emily collect addresses from the girls in her class since the kids can only bring invitations to school if they are going to invite the entire class. Which is annoying because I always only want to invite the girls, but I can understand their rule. So I sent the invitations with Emily to school hoping that none of the boys would come. Only one parent called me to let me know her daughter was coming and Emily said two of her girl friends said they were coming, so we expected 3 girls. Two of the girls showed up and a boy came (Megan, Jenny, and Ben). The grandma of the boy had left me a message yesterday, but I didn't get it because I'm very bad about checking my messages (but I did get your message Janet and I separated the gifts and wrapped them like you asked :-). It was a pretty quiet group and they got along well. Zoe and Eleanor also came to the Y and my parents came to help out since Matt stayed home with Zach and Kate. We ate pizza, Emily opened her gifts from her friends,


we sang "Happy Birthday" to Emily,


and we ate cake. The popular question during the party was, "When can we go swimming?". The party was from 12-1pm and then I let parents know that Emily would be staying to swim after and their kids were welcome to join her (for a price of $3). All of the kids stayed to swim and they were very anxious to get to it! Even Emily could have done without the actual party I think and would have been content just to swim with her friends. The kids had a great time swimming and I swam with Eleanor...who decided to try out the water before I got to the pool area where my parents and the other moms were already there to watch. I hear that Eleanor stepped off the bottom step and went right under with her hands waving above her head. She was rescued, but not by the useless lifeguards. Before I heard about this incident, I wasn't impressed with the lifeguard sitting in his chair reading a book. And I hear that when Eleanor went under, the lifeguards were talking with each other and never knew that Eleanor was in trouble. The Y will be hearing my opinion about their lifeguards soon. So anyway, Emily and Zoe got to wear their new bathing suits today (which are the same style and pattern only different colors) that they each got for their birthdays. Eleanor has requested the same bathing suit only in a different color than Zoe and Emily's, which Grandma and Grandpa have already taken care of. We left the Y tired and excited to continue the birthday festivities as a family, including my parents. We went home to pick up Matt, Zach, and Kate and then we went to McDonald's. None of us were starving, but we were hungry enough to fill the tiny bit of emptiness in our stomachs. Emily was very quiet at McDonald's and I wondered if she was tired or if she was bummed out that she only had a few friends at her party. She said she was tired. We made it through dinner with only a minor spill of ketchup and Zach wanting to go potty and got mad when Matt insisted on taking him. When we were done eating, Zoe, Emily, and Eleanor rode to our house with my parents, and Matt, Zach, Kate, and I headed to the grocery store so I could run in to pick up a few things and then head home. I saw Zoe's and Emily's kindergarten teacher (Mrs. Pelletier) and stopped to talk with her for a few minutes...or maybe it was 10. I rushed around to pick up the 3 things I needed and hoped that all was well in the car. Kate was crying when I got in the car, and I'll mention that she cried a lot while I was at the Y this afternoon. We went home and was told by Zoe and my Dad that Emily threw up inside the house...all over my chair. I knew something wasn't quite right with her at McDonald's. My wonderful parents cleaned up after Emily and everything was taken care of by the time we got home. Emily felt well enough to open her presents.

New headbands.

This isn't a great picture of Emily, but I wanted to show off Zach's Hawaiian shirt. Matt wore one like it today, too. Zach loves it when he matches his Daddy!

Emily got a Nintendo DS like she wanted and a few games to go with it, plus other little things. She wasn't up for more cake and we weren't up for her breathing on the cake, so we will sing Happy Birthday to her as a family tomorrow if she is feeling better. Several of us finished off the friend party cake while Zoe and Emily played with their Nintendo's and the younger ones looked on.



Matt gave the kids a bath, my parents left, I cleaned up the kitchen, and we cleaned up the house, had family scripture and prayer, and then sent all the kids to bed. Matt told Emily to go into the bathroom if she even thought that she MIGHT throw up. She's on the top bunk, so she needs to consider extra time to get down from her bed to get into the bathroom. We said goodnight. Matt headed into the bathroom and I came into the living room. And Emily threw up in her bed. My first thought was to ask her, "DIDN'T DADDY JUST TELL YOU TO THROW UP IN THE TOILET AND TO GO INTO THE BATHROOM WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU MIGHT THROW UP???" but I didn't. I didn't say anything except the fact that she would need another bath now. She is now asleep on the floor in the hall in front of the bathroom. Everything she is laying on is washable. It was sad to hear her say how much she hates throwing up, and it's a very sad way to end a birthday.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! Thanks for all your help today!

Emily just threw up again.

Happy Birthday, Emily!

Emily is 7 today! She has been very anxious for this day. She made a paper chain a few weeks ago to count down to this day and now it is finally here! It is becoming a tradition to wake up early on her birthday. Kate woke up at 5:30, so Matt got up with her and then the rest of the girls got up and I got up a little before 6:00. Zach was the sleepyhead this morning, but he didn't sleep much later than 6:00. When Emily saw me, she excitedly asked me if she could open the 2 presents that were sitting on her chair from her Grandma and Grandpa. I said yes and they were opened in a flash. A new bathing suit and flip flops from Lands' End...just like she wanted! And they both fit. :-) Matt and I shopped at Target last night, so the kids had fun looking at the new diving toys, water balls, and sprinkler we bought. They each got a pair of goggles, which were a big hit! We found a lot of fun things at the dollar spot. :-)
A birthday would not be complete without taking a ride in Daddy's "new" convertible (although Emily didn't want to go to the library, she was assured a ride in the convertible would be fun!).

The younger siblings looking on enviously.

That is our day thus far. Here is a recap of yesterday.
I mentioned to Emily that she has 3 friends coming to her friend party today at the YMCA. The ever positive Emily replied, "That's okay...there will be a lot of cake leftover! Yes, we will be up to our eyeballs in cake after the day is over with a friend party and a family party. What is the planned FHE treat on Monday?...birthday cake!

Kate was feeling miserable yesterday. She had a fever on and off and her eyes showed how sick she was feeling. She is suffering from a cold and teething. She just wanted to be held and she took several naps. It was nice when my mom called me yesterday to tell me she was home for the day and invited us over. It made it easier to just sit and hold Kate, and play Phase 10. :-)

Matt and I went on date night last night. We have been on a roll lately being able to get out together. I met him at his work and then we drove around in the convertible. We ate dinner at Bugaboo Creek and then went to Target. My pregnant body can only handle so much walking around these days so I was beat by the time we left there. But it was fun. We came home to watch the latest episode of "The Office" and I saw one episode of "Dirty Jobs" before I fell asleep. It was a delightful evening.
Kate was up at 1am this morning and I finally put her back in bed at 3:30. She is feeling better today, but she is not totally back to herself yet.

Out and About

Eleanor, Zach, Kate, and I enjoyed our first day of having the Yukon back. It was fun...and exhausting. Matt took a bus to Massachusetts today to pick up his car. It is very nice! Now back to our adventure. Our first stop was at church for a playdate with Courtney and her 3 kids. Before I talk about that though I have to mention Eleanor's conversation on the way. She asked if her Grammie was ever a baby. I said yes and then she realized that if Grammie was a baby, then Grammie had a Mom and Eleanor asked who Grammie's Mom was. I told her and then she asked if Grammie's Mom was a baby. I said yes and then she asked who her Mom was. It was so neat that Eleanor was catching on to relationships with family members that she has never met. A baby has a Mom...who was the Mom? It has me thinking about my ancestors, which is good because I have a goal to bring a family name to the temple in about 3 weeks and I have yet to work on the goal.
Now back to our playdate. It was nice to talk with Courtney and the kids had fun playing with balls, legos, kitchen toys, and other things. It was nice to be out of the house and to talk with another Mom, and to see the kids run around and play. We had a good hour before Eleanor started being mean to her friend, Lucy. Eleanor and Lucy are a lot alike and it seems like they either get along great or not at all. They both have strong opinions about how the play should go and if the other messes with that plan, watch out! I hate it when Eleanor is mean to Lucy because I know how much Eleanor loves Lucy, and no one likes being around someone who is mean. Lucy however is more forgiving than I am. And she was happy with Eleanor again before I was. I started picking up toys to get ready to go when Eleanor was having a tantrum and by the time everything was cleaned up, Eleanor and Lucy were having fun again. I was glad because I'd much rather end a play date on a happy note than a sad one, and I was planning on taking the kids to McDonald's for lunch and I wondered how I was going to justify that when Eleanor's behavior was mean and rude. McDonald's...now that was an interesting time! When the lady handed me my tray, she asked me if I would like help since I was holding Kate and would be holding the tray with one hand. I figured I could handle it and I did...until right before I got to our table and my milkshake fell to the floor. So because I refused the help, another worker got to clean up my mess. Kate had fun dipping her fries into Zach's ketchup and dropped one on Zach's leg, so I cleaned up that mess. Eleanor needed to go potty when we were almost done eating. I had her and Zach go to the bathroom at church so we wouldn't have to make any potty trips at McDonald's...so I sent her in by herself since it's a small McDonald's and we were near the bathroom. Zach decided to join her and I went in after I heard the stall door slamming over and over again. Eleanor came out and then Zach needed to go potty. I tried to convince him that he really didn't have to go, but then realized that if he did really have to go then I would be regretting the accident later, so I got Kate out of her highchair and we went into the bathroom. And he did really have to go. By the time we left, Eleanor and Zach were here, there, and everywhere and I vowed to myself to go through the drive-thru next time and bring the food home. Our third and final stop was at the grocery store, which was pretty uneventful...THANK GOODNESS! I even found a parking spot right next to the door. I'm sure I was purposefully blessed with that parking spot because a walk across the parking lot with 3 kids at that point probably would have put me over the edge!

I put our hummingbird feeder out today. :-) So our new game is to see who spots the first hummingbird.

Emily brought up the fact tonight that she'll miss this house when we move into our new house...whenever that will be. She said our house is comfortable and we know where everything is. It was nice to hear since we'll most likely be here a few more years. My new attitude is to make what we have beautiful...which is mainly geared toward our home and land. I am content right now with our home and life. We still have debts to pay before we can take on a mortgage. There are months when we can't pay the debts we already owe, so I don't want to take on another payment that we can't consistently pay. We have a house (as Matt points out every time that I say I want a house and then I have to correct myself and say NEW house). We are warm, dry, comfortable, and blessed. Our house is small enough that I know what everyone is doing most of the time and we spend a lot of time together (which has it's ups and downs, but I think overall it makes us a closer family). And I will have to read this paragraph over and over again this summer because during the hot, smelly, summer months is when I HATE this house.

Poor Kate has a cold and earlier she had a fever, and she keeps waking up. This night is looking to remind me of what is to come soon!

Silence

I live for this time of night. The kids are all asleep and it is so quiet! The other day I was thinking how I always have this calm at night after the kids are asleep that I can look forward to every day. And then it hit me today...that's not going to be the case in 9 weeks! I love my peaceful, quiet evenings. The vision of seeing all of my kids asleep and hearing nothing got me through a very crazy dinnertime and evening tonight! I really hope this baby is content to be held, so I can continue to enjoy these quiet, restful evenings while cuddling and reading a book. The thought of cuddling in the evening without siblings around is a nice thought, too.

Have time to kill?

You would think a mother of 5 wouldn't have time to kill, but with 1 kid sleeping and the other 4 watching a movie, no desire to do anything else, I do. So I checked out tickle.com and took a few tests.

Remember the Golden Girls?
I am most like Rose.



A rose by any other name wouldn't be as sweet — or as funny. So maybe you didn't grow up on a dairy farm in good old St. Olaf, and you don't regale everyone with endless stories of back home. But like Rose Nylund, you've got a heart of gold and are a super sweetheart.

A compassionate and sympathetic soul, you're a great friend who's always willing to lend an ear and a helping hand to your loved ones, strangers, and stray animals alike. The world is a better place because of you. So keep up your good deeds and positive attitude. It's a great addition to any scene.

And I took The Ultimate Mom Test

Recipe for: Lots o' Laughs Mom
Quote: "Last one in the swimming pool is a rotten egg!"

Ingredients:
1 ton of energy
100 giggles
1 basket of fresh ideas
50 bad jokes
10 good jokes
Smattering of silly nicknames
Zest for life (for flavoring)
If desired: pillow fights, water balloons on hot days, and costumes for the dog

Still a kid at heart, you're the Lots o' Laughs Mom who keeps the kids giggling, trying new things, and living it up. Your philosophy is that life should be a gas—most especially a kid's life! Which is why your kids' friends are probably jealous of them for having such a cool mom. And with everything you're juggling—inside and outside of your home—this is a feat worthy of the big top.

When it's time for a meal at your house, the enjoyment doesn't slow down a bit. Sure, you want to make sure your family eats right. But you love any food that jiggles, squiggles, or tickles. Playing with food doesn't have to be taboo—it just might be expected. And picnics, meals at the amusement park, or a backyard barbecue could all be part of the adventure.

You've got nonstop energy, that positive attitude, and endless new ideas. You can conquer rainy day boredom and chase down fun even in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Tip: Cook with the kids! Choose simple, tasty dishes with just a few familiar ingredients. Give each kid his or her own job (to take credit for!). Make putting together a meal part of your family's fun time together.

This Mom sounds A LOT more fun than I am. But I will agree with the juggling. Life is definitely like a circus around here! As I write this, the kids are bouncing off the walls...literally.

Never enough clothes

After dropping off bags of clothes and books to Goodwill this afternoon, I just had to take a look around to see if I could find some capri pants or shorts for Zoe and Emily. Yes I went through bags and bags of clothes yesterday, but they were mostly for Kate and some for Zach. I bought Eleanor some summer clothes Friday night and then found more summer clothes for her yesterday, so she is set for the Summer. But Zoe and Emily were in need of more (okay maybe not need, but I figured if I found some shorts/capri pants in their size, it would be fun to buy them since Zoe and Emily have the least amount of Summer clothes). And even though they insist that most of last year's shorts and capri pants still fit them, I don't believe them (as they suck in their stomachs to button them up). So I found a pair of capri pants and a pair of overall shorts for Emily and a pair of shorts that Zoe and Emily can share since the shorts fit them both...and I even found a pair of capri pants for me that I can wear now and after the baby is born. :-) Shopping for clothes is a lot more fun than washing them and organizing them!

Zach has a minor cold. He sneezed this evening and then I heard Eleanor yell, "Zach! Don't achoo on me!"

Clothes, clothes, and more clothes...and a car!

I have spent the day doing laundry (the last load is now in the dryer) and I have spent the day sorting through clothes that have been given to us, and cleaning out drawers and closets to make room for summer clothing. Today was the day for Matt to bring up his idea of each child owning 2 outfits (one casual, one for church) and I would have went along with it! I have dealt with A LOT of clothes today.

And Matt bought a new car!



A 1997 SAAB convertible. It's in Massachusetts, so Matt is hoping to go pick it up on Thursday. I am so excited to get the Yukon back! And I'm glad Matt will be driving around a car that gets better gas mileage with the gas prices going up the way they are.

Handsome Boy

Zach's first Sunday in a white shirt and tie. Doesn't he look sharp? He loves his tie and is very proud to wear it. He loves the fact that he matches his daddy. :-)


And here is Zach wearing a coat that I've been trying to get him to wear to church for the past 2 years. I guess his other church outfits just weren't good enough for this coat.

You look handsome, Zach!

It's great to be a mom!

I discovered a new website this morning called Lookybook, which lets you look at picture books before you buy them. I think it would be neat to read these books to the kids on-line when they get in a groove of reading the same books that we already have over and over again. Plus, there are many books on the site that we wouldn't be able to get at our local library, so our picture book selection increases with this site. I like reading new books to the kids that we haven't read before. And as a bonus, Kate can't rip these on-line books. :-)

Zoe and I met at church this morning for a mother-daughter brunch (Achievement activity). The girls have been learning about table manners and they displayed them very well today. They also planned our nutritious and delicious brunch.
Here we are waiting for the activity to start.

And here are the girls singing to us mothers.

The songs and the entire activity were very touching and made me feel special. It was nice to have this one on one time with Zoe.
Here's a group shot of the girls and their mothers, and our primary president.

Zoe gave me this red rose at the activity. And it is displayed on our table that I cleaned off today, set at a different angle, and is now surrounded by 2 highchairs instead of 3.


Eleanor has inherited my fear of bees. Although my fear of bees has improved A LOT over the years. But poor Eleanor is at the stage of fear where she sees a bee and she runs in the house and refuses to go back out. When I heard myself say to Eleanor, "If you don't bother them, then they won't bother you" I had to chuckle to myself because I have never believed that saying. I stood perfectly still as a kid as a bee flew around me, it landed on my hand, and it stung me. I was not bothering the bee, but it definitely bothered me! We do have wasps that fly around our door and fly around the shed that need to be taken care of (if you know what I mean). And there was a time when I would have refused to go out, too!
Eleanor was talking about honey today, but she called it "bee stuff."

Matt and I watched "The Ultimate Gift" this evening and it is an excellent movie! One that touched my heart and I didn't want to end.

The day in a nutshell

8:24am: Leave the house
9:00am: Drop Zoe off at basketball
9:15am: Spend $90.72 on gas!
9:45am: Arrive at the park
12:00pm: Pick Zoe up...We survived the week of basketball, yay!
12:10pm: Drive to our hometown to deposit money in the bank
12:52pm: Arrive home to eat lunch. Zach slept in the car.
1:23pm: Leave the house again
1:50pm: Arrive at the park that is across the street from Matt's office.
2pm: Leave Matt and the kids at the park to go to my doctor's appointment.
2:15pm: Doctor's appointment. Everything looks and sounds good!
3:15pm: Meet Matt and the kids at Matt's office.
3:30pm: Leave with the kids to drop Zoe and Emily off at Patti's house to spend the night. (Patti is Emily's primary teacher.)
5:00pm: Arrive home with Eleanor, Zach, and Kate
5:10pm: Mom arrives to babysit
5:30pm: Matt and I leave for date night. :-)
6:00pm: Arrive at Pizzeria Uno for dinner. Very enjoyable!
7:10pm: Arrive at the movie theater to see what is playing. Decide to go shopping.
7:20pm: Arrive at Goodwill to buy the kids some summer clothes. I looked at the maternity clothes, but didn't find anything.
8:20pm: Arrive at L.L.Bean to buy Matt a pair of pants to wear canoeing and I got a pair of sunglasses.
8:35pm: Arrive at Old Navy to buy Eleanor and Zach each a pair of flip flops.
9:20pm: Arrive home
9:50pm: Watch the latest episode of "The Office" on nbc.com
10:35pm: End blog post and crash in bed!

10 weeks

Today was a cooler, cloudy day, so the kids and I dropped Zoe off at basketball and then came home. I did a load of laundry and cleaned the bathroom and then we were out the door again to pick Zoe up. This week has thrown my laundry routine off. I hate doing a load or two a day, but that is exactly what is happening this week...and the laundry basket is still full! Plus I had to wash the bathroom rug today because Zach waited until the last possible second to go to the bathroom this afternoon, and then peed all over his pants and the rug while he was getting ready to sit on the toilet. I am partly to blame for that accident since I knew he needed to go pee, but was too tired to fight with him about going to the bathroom, so I waited for him to tell me...which in the past has resulted in accidents. I know better.

We passed a sign today about an upcoming children's fair in town and I mentioned it to the kids and also mentioned that it is on Emily's birthday. Emily asked if we could go and I said that we probably could. Then Zoe pipes up with, "But it's on your birthday!" and Emily replies, "So, I can go out on my birthday, it's not like I'm grounded!" Her birthday is looking to be quite a busy day.
Our local paper has this page about the children's fair.

Is that Zach? I say yes from the knowledge that we were at the children's fair last year (you can see more pictures here) and he was wearing that hat and shirt, but the face doesn't look much like him. It's the mouth and chin that look different. He has no chin! I'll have to look at him from the side tomorrow to compare with the picture.

The countdown is on. We have 10 weeks left before our baby arrives. 10 weeks of sleeping through the night, 10 weeks of not nursing, 10 weeks of not carrying a fully loaded diaper bag around, 10 weeks of peaceful evenings to do what I want to do, 10 weeks of an extra seat in the Yukon, 10 weeks of blogging consistently, 10 weeks for "baby Kate" to be the baby (very sad!), 10 weeks of not carrying around a carseat, 10 weeks of only having 1 baby to take care of during Primary (Kate goes into nursery in August), and 10 weeks to agree on a name for this baby!

Having a good week

The weather has been very cooperative this week, so I have been able to drop Zoe off at basketball and then take Emily, Eleanor, Zach, and Kate to the park. It was already in the 60's this morning at 9:00! Things have gone pretty smoothly, except for yesterday when I was trying to figure out how to fold up our double stroller after using it at the park. I was tempted to just leave the stroller at the park after looking it over many times trying to find the magic button that would fold the stupid thing, but then I finally figured it out. Emily wisely told me that I should remember how to do it for next time. Grrrrr!

Zoe and Emily were extra helpful this morning. :-) Zoe got Zach dressed without being asked and then she wanted to get Kate dressed. Zoe and Emily washed the dishes like I asked them to and then without me asking they dried them and put them away. They cleaned up the toys while I was in the shower and they made me this sweet card.


Very sweet!

My mom was going to come over this evening, but since our house was as hot as a sauna, I decided we better go over to her house where it is nice and cool. I went through some more clothes while I waited for my mom to get home and then we ate dinner after she got home. The kids are never in a hurry to leave "Grammie's house", so my mom and I played a game of Phase 10 before I rounded up the kids to come home. It wasn't a peaceful game, but it was still fun. All of the kids laid down to sleep at 8:30 and I haven't heard a peep from any of them since. :-)

A week of basketball

A couple of weeks ago, I sent in an application for Zoe to participate in a basketball clinic at a local college this week. The pamphlet said that I would receive information back stating the registration times, there would be health forms to fill out, and a sheet of what to bring. I never received word back from the clinic, so I wondered if Zoe was registered or not. I brought her to the basketball clinic this morning a little early, not knowing if she was officially registered or not, but figured we would go and see. I assumed that the clinic was going to be at the gym at the college, so I got on the internet last night to print out directions. I found the gym this morning with no problem and there was lots of parking, which I wondered if I would have problems with since the college students have classes this week. We went up to the registration table and gave Zoe's name, the coach had her name on the list, he checked it off, asked Zoe if she brought water and a snack and she said yes, and we were good to go. A lot easier than I anticipated! I think all the additional information must of been for the overnight camps that were advertised for the summer. Matt was home today for Patriot's Day, so I didn't have to bring all the kids with me. :-) Zoe was very nervous at first since she didn't know anyone and most of the kids were boys, so I sat with her until it started. A few other girls trickled in and started shooting baskets, but Zoe just watched. Right before it started, she got up the courage to go get a basketball (which was flat so she went back and picked a different ball) and she sat back down. And then the coach blew the whistle for the kids to put their balls away and gather in the middle of the gym. The coach divided the boys and girls and then divided them into age groups, which was good because the clinic was for 3rd through 8th graders. That's quite an age span! Zoe started to feel more comfortable as she was placed with girls her age. I watched a half hour of the practice and then decided to enjoy some alone time since Zoe was doing well. I figured that she would be more likely to make friends during their breaks if I wasn't around and I was right. Morgan is her new friend. Zoe and Morgan are the only 3rd grade girls and the other 3 girls in their group are 5th graders according to Zoe. It was nice and much easier getting Zoe settled into the clinic today without the other kids. But tomorrow and the rest of the week, I'll be killing 3 hours with the kids while we wait for Zoe. It is supposed to be sunny and hot for the next 2 days, so I am planning on going to the park. The fun will be getting everyone ready and out the door by 8:15!

This afternoon the kids and I went over to my parents' home to visit my mom and so I could go through the many kids' clothes that I have been storing in my parents' attic. It's time to dig out the Spring/Summer clothes and organize the rest. We are very blessed to have several friends who give us girl and boy clothes as their kids outgrow them. It has saved us a lot of money! And the clothes are adorable. Matt gets annoyed every time we leave church and there is a bag of clothes sitting in our car, but those clothes keep Kate dressed and looking so cute. Matt locked the car doors this past Sunday, but it didn't stop a bag of clothes from appearing on top of the hood of our car! Yes I am constantly going through bags of clothes and constantly arranging clothes and rearranging clothes, but I am grateful for these clothes that we receive. So from all of these clothes that we have received, I went through most of what was in my parents' attic with a few boxes left over to go through in the near future. Zach won't have to wear his winter boots or church shoes out to play or canoeing anymore, he has a pair of swimming shorts, Kate is now the proud owner of 2 pairs of crocs, Eleanor has a "new" pair of sneakers, and the older girls can start wearing their capri pants again. :-)

Memorable moment of the day

Zach and Eleanor insisted on fighting through the family prayer this evening. Zach would tackle Eleanor, then Eleanor would fight back. They finally settled down enough to say their prayers. Zach prayed "that we'll be good" and then WHACKED Eleanor. Matt and I burst into laughter. Which is not the best way to discourage such behavior, but couldn't be helped!

Click on over to Matt's blog to read about his latest canoeing adventures with the kids.