Favorite part of the day

Is it wrong for me to LOVE the time when all of my children are sound asleep in bed? It is so quiet, peaceful, and relaxing.

Back to the doctor

Kate has conjunctivitis in her left eye. Whether or not it is viral or bacterial is yet to be determined. Right now it's looking viral with a clear discharge, but the doctor said viral conjunctivitis most of the time occurs in both eyes, whereas bacterial conjunctivitis occurs in one eye. I was happy that this doctor wasn't quick to put Kate on an antibiotic until we are sure it is bacterial, she called in the prescription and I will get it if I need it.

Kate

Kate heard her first "No" this evening as she was playing with the printer cover...she would open it, I would shut it, then she would open it again. It seems like I was just going through that with Zach!

Kate is at the bumps and bruises stage. At church today she pulled herself up to standing as she held on to a table. She did good for awhile, but then she lost her balance and landed on the floor. Her mouth was bleeding and of course she was not happy! She bruised her upper gum.

Kate discovered my parents' stairs today. She would have succeeded at climbing them if she didn't have tights on that were too slippery on the hardwood floor and step.

This evening Kate was bugging her siblings as she tried to steal the toys they were playing with. This did not make them happy and they were not thrilled with the idea of having to move instead of having me pick Kate up. Personally I'm enjoying this new independent Kate! So her siblings will just have to deal with their new annoying little sister!

Halloween part 1

The kids and I went to our annual Halloween party at church this evening. It was a success as usual. When I asked the girls what their favorite part of the evening was, Zoe spoke right up and said, "The singing!" (brave adults dominated the karaoke machine while the kids danced and watched). The girls all agreed getting candy was a highlight and then Eleanor in a very excited voice summed it up, "EVERYTHING was the best!". We ate pizza for dinner, sibling pictures were taken with a polaroid camera and then the kids decorated a page to put their picture on (of course Zoe & Emily argued over whose page the picture was going on since they had each done a page, so I claimed the picture and put an end to the argument, and there was a pinata. Poor Zach missed out on everything as he slept on the couch the entire time. I went around and filled his bucket full of goodies at the end, so he had yummy treats to eat when we got home. By the time 9:30pm rolled around after baths and getting them ready for bed, the kids were pretty much begging to go to bed! And now it is almost Sunday morning and I must get to bed myself. Goodnight.

Just me and Kate

Kate & I went on a field trip with Emily this afternoon to the Fire station and the creative playground. I was afraid it was going to be a nasty day today, but it turned out to be beautiful. It was funny to see all the boys in Emily's class hovering near everything at the fire station that was talked about and asking TONS of questions! Emily tried to see things, but she was usually in the back behind the boys. I think some of the girls weren't interested at all and some of the girls got tired of the boys asking question after question after question. Emily can now say that she has been on a fire truck and she saw a truck shoot water. We walked to the playground and the kids recited a poem they know about leaves as we walked through a pile of them. When we got back to the school, Emily's class got together with their 4th grade reading buddies, so I listened to Emily read. I think Emily might have a crush on the 4th grade boy who is her buddy. As she was leaving she was sad and said she misses her buddy already. I couldn't believe how big the 4th grade class looked! Do they really change that much from 3rd grade to 4th grade?

I think we are ready for Halloween! We dug out the Halloween boxes at my parents' house this afternoon. Zoe is going to be a cat (although she doesn't like the cat ears that Mom and I came up with...they were red devil ears that Mom put black socks over to make them cat ears that we will attach to a headband with an elastic, worked for us!), Emily is going to be a witch, Eleanor will be a dancing witch and she has agreed to wear a witch hat, which I think will complete the outfit, Zach will be a bear, and Kate is going to be a pumpkin. Everybody has everything they need and we are set for another year. :-)

Kate and I are home alone! My wonderful mother is keeping the kids overnight at her house. Kate and I are going to watch the movie "Gracie" and enjoy the quiet. :-)

Weigh In

Goal Weight: 121
Weight last Friday: 128
Weight today: 127.4

You didn't know that?

Cindy tagged me so I get to tell you 6 things about myself that most people wouldn't know and then tag 6 people and leave a comment on their blogs. If you check out Cindy's list, I am #2,3,4,6 too. I suppose I need to come up with my own list though. I thought about going into my wild past, but I know none of you would believe that I would ever do such things so I guess the dorky side of me will have to come out.

1) I like listening to the music from "Jack's Big Music Show" and "Doodlebops" as much as my kids.

2) I like listening to talk radio. It doesn't happen very often since trying to listen to the host talk while your kids are trying to talk to you is a recipe for a very grumpy mother who has no clue what is being discussed on the show.

3) I like watching sports and if we had tv I would find watching a game quite relaxing in the evening. I actually enjoy sports more than my husband does. Go Red Sox!

4) I am not a talker. There are many days when I have to force myself to talk to my family because I get too content lost in my own thoughts. I like being quiet...unlike my children!

5) Traveling abroad does not appeal to me. I'm quite content being in this country. But having said that I do think it would be fun to visit Prince Edward Island.

6) I still like to dress up in a costume for Halloween parties. It's fun!

So I'm supposed to tag 6 people, but I'm not playing by the rules...tell us 6 things we don't know about you and then leave a comment here so I can check it out. :-)

Beauty all around

I've lived in Maine almost 33 years now and I think this Fall season has been the first that I have truly noticed the beauty of the Autumn leaves. I have always been a summer fan, so I think in the past when summer was over and Fall was here, it bummed me out because it was getting colder and the dreaded winter was coming. I focused on the weather. The older I get, the more I love the Fall season and I am so thankful to live in such a beautiful place this time of year! The colors of the leaves are now gold, yellow, brown, and maroon and I enjoy looking at them as I drive around.

We went to Walmart this afternoon because I thought Zach was getting low on diapers, but after returning home I realized that it was Kate who is getting low on diapers. Dang! If I was the type of person who saved everything I would still have the receipt to do an exchange, but I'm not and I don't. Oh well, at least Kate can wear Zach's diapers if we completely run out.

Matt will be proud to know that I stopped at Exxon today to buy gas instead of Irving. Our town's newly re-opened Exxon now has full service at self service prices and this came in handy today when I had cash and didn't have to leave 3 sleeping kids in the car to go in the store to pay for the gas...I mean get 3 sleeping kids out of the car to pay for the gas.

My Mom treated the kids and I to kids night at the Ground Round this evening. Kids night is great because the kids' meals are cheap and our table noise blends in with the rest. Kate had her first experience with the "balloon man" and her reaction was to panic for a second and then keep looking at me to make sure this weird guy wasn't going to take her away. She actually did better than Zach used to when he was in the high chair. Zach would cry and insist on getting out of the high chair to sit with me. But tonight Zach enjoyed the "balloon man" and the dinosaur balloon he got. Zoe got a flower balloon, Emily got a butterfly balloon, and Eleanor got a rabbit balloon. Eleanor refused to eat until she had a balloon and Zach stopped eating as soon as he got his. The food was delicious as always and there were no tears the entire time...even when Zach spilled my water all over Zoe. There were tears however after we got home when Eleanor's balloon came undone. Zoe & I fixed it the best we could and I drew on 2 more eyes and eyelashes since the other eyes disappeared. Then Eleanor noticed that the belly button was now on the back of the rabbit, so Zoe did some more twisting and made the rabbit look like it is laying on it's side. Acceptable. Eleanor was now willing to go to bed. Survival of day 2 complete.

Daddy or a cat?

Checking out at the grocery store today Eleanor was telling the cashier something, but neither one of us could understand her. That turned out to be a good thing since she was telling the cashier that when her Daddy dies she'll be able to get a cat. I'm not sure the cashier would have understood the fact that we tell our children that they are never getting a cat as long as Matt is around because he hates cats, but if he dies, well then we could get a cat. I think going down the pet aisle triggered this thought in Eleanor today. BTW~Matt arrived in Utah and is alive and well. :-)

We received "Mary Poppins" in the mail today from Netflix, so the kids watched that this afternoon. I always wondered why I didn't remember much from that movie and I think it's because I lose interest about half way through. That is one long movie! Zoe and Emily really like the movie and stayed with it until the end. Eleanor did pretty well too, but Zach wasn't impressed and wanted me to read books to him.

I bought 98% fat-free Turkey hot dogs for us to eat for dinner tonight (that are only 1 point each!) and the kids did well eating them considering Zoe is the only one who likes hot dogs. I even expected Zoe to say that the hot dogs tasted different, but nobody said anything negative about them. Lately I've been giving the kids a little bit of whatever we're having for dinner and telling them that if they eat what is given them than they can have dessert. I've never been one to cook different foods to please everyone, but I do allow them to eat whatever they can get themselves or foods that are quick, but that was starting to bother Matt, so now they are expected to eat whatever is made for dinner. It is nice because they are trying more things and eating more than just bagels and cereal.

Flying solo

Matt is on his way to Utah. He's spending today and tomorrow in Utah where he'll get to spend time with his family and then he's driving to South Dakota with his Dad and his brother to go pheasant hunting. He'll be home in a week, on Halloween night. Wish me luck! My morning has already had the challenge of listening to Zoe and Emily argue over who is going to be a cat for Halloween. Zoe had the idea first and now Emily wants to be one too, but of course Zoe doesn't want Emily to copy her. Having the same costume is NOT acceptable. I really wish they would have found their costumes at the beginning of the month when we first went shopping. I am just not the creative sewing mother who can whip up whatever they want and I no longer have money to spend on costumes. We'll have to see how this all works out.

In training

Eleanor has taken an interest in washing the dishes. This has Zoe and Emily very excited because on the days that Eleanor washes the dishes before they get home from school then they don't have to wash dishes on those days. The 4 year old passion for washing dishes doesn't last forever. Since Zoe was supposed to wash them today and Eleanor just washed them, she is going to be one happy child! I'm happy too because the more children I have washing dishes, the less time I spend washing them. :-)

Monday update

Let's see...what has been going on? We had an activity at our church Friday night. We ate pizza and salad and then had a financial seminar. I think most of what was said was a review for me, but a review is always helpful. The thing that keeps sticking in my mind are the definitions of needs and wants.
Needs sustain a life.
Wants sustain a lifestyle.
Can we afford the lifestyle we currently have or are we continually going into debt to maintain it?

Zoe, Emily, and Eleanor did a great job yesterday during the Primary Program...all the children did. We heard many comments about how well the children did and how much the people enjoyed it. I really didn't stress about the program until I woke up yesterday morning after having a dream about the program where everything was going wrong. In the dream we started out singing last year's songs and the dream ended with us singing songs from High School Musical (I think I've been listening to those songs too much lately). But in real life everything went pretty near perfect.

Kate is officially crawling. She can sit, then crawl, then sit again. She got into her first mischief last night. She pulled out Matt's church mail basket and almost got into the papers that were in the basket and then she discovered the paperback books that were next to the basket. So now we have Kate's toys in what used to be Matt's church mail basket and I'm still trying to decide where to put his mail.

Zoe and Emily have a half day today. When they get home, we're going next door with "the gang" to decorate Halloween cookies. I'm going to bounce back and forth from there and home to keep the laundry going.

Have a good Monday!

Weigh In

Goal Weight: 121
Weight Last Friday: 127.6
Weight Today: 128.0

I knew I would regret over indulging this week.

You're kidding, right?

I read this headline on Drudge and wondered what crazy part of the country is doing that...Middle school OKs birth control...and it turns out that mine is!

A good reason to cry

Kate has been very cranky lately, which I figured was due to teething and/or a minor cold, but it turns out she has Thrush. Which explains why she keeps spitting her binky out lately and she doesn't nurse as long as she usually does and why I have been sore nursing. I started both of us on the medicine today and hopefully we'll be feeling better soon. Kate also has a rash all over her body, but the doctor doesn't think it is related to the Thrush. When the doctor pretty much said that it's nearly impossible to diagnose what is causing a rash I made a mental note to never bring my children to the doctor to diagnose a rash. By the end of the visit the doctor said it is possible that Kate is allergic to yeast which would cause the rash...but who knows. When I looked up Thrush on the internet, I found a few sites that mentioned a rash, so I'm thinking it is connected.

The good, the bad, and the mobil

Things went pretty smoothly yesterday during our trip to the library for Eleanor's class until we left. Zach DID NOT want me to hold his hand crossing the street to our car. I had Kate in the snugli, the diaper bag over my shoulder, the library bag in one hand, and a limp 2 year old in the other hand while crossing the street. I'm sure it was a sight to see! Zach dropped his book just as we got to the other side of the street and he ended up laying beside it throwing a tantrum. Another Mom stopped to help, which was nice, but there really wasn't anything she could do. I got Zach into the parking lot, but then he plopped himself down again continuing his tantrum. He kept kicking his shoes off, so I had Eleanor pick them up along this long walk to the car. I had picked up free passes to the Children's museum in the library, but by now I was wondering if we should just head home. I finally got Zach in the car and drove up to the ticket booth to pay for parking. The lady inside the booth says to me, "Whatever you did sure made him mad." Yes, insisting that my 2 year old hold my hand while crossing the street DID make him mad.

We did end up going to the museum and it turned out to be a great time. I parked on the same side of the street as the museum so Zach could walk by himself which started things off on the right foot. It was fun to take Eleanor and Zach to the museum because it was a new experience for both of them and everything there was exciting to them. I would like to take Zach there by himself sometime or have Matt come with me, so Zach can stay in one spot for as long as he likes. He would get settled into an activity like the train table and the blocks, but then Eleanor would want to move on to something else. Eleanor really enjoyed the diner and being my waitress.

Kate and I had an evening on the town last night before picking up my parents at the airport. It was nice to get out, but having Kate fall asleep and then get woken up a few times and getting her out of a warm car into the cool air wasn't so much fun. We went to Burger King for dinner (I might regret that decision on Friday) and we went to Goodwill...where else would I go?

Kate update: She is starting to crawl! She has graduated from the sniper crawl to getting on her hands and knees. :-)

No good deed goes unpunished

The kids and I have been taking care of my Mom's cat, Fluffy, while my parents have been visiting my sister. We go over to my parents' home once a day to feed Fluffy and clean out her litter box. She is an old cat and reminds me of a grouchy old woman. The kids feel bad that she is alone so much and try to pet her and love her, but she hisses at them and tries to bite them in return. She will however let me pet her and she purrs when I do. It's funny how her personality changes from the kids to me. She sits in my Mom's chair and just glares at the kids (who would love to have a pet of their own and get so excited when they are near Fluffy), but turns into a loving cat when I'm around.

Now a word about Emily and homework. Emily is not as concerned about homework as Zoe and it's an adjustment for me. She'll do her homework...when I tell her to, but then she'll leave it on the table or on the washer where I found it this morning after she had left for school and she was supposed to hand it in today. I noticed that the back page of the homework wasn't done which made me wonder why she told me it was done this weekend when it wasn't. After school I asked her if she forgot something today. She said no and then I mentioned her homework.
Emily: "It's not due back until Monday."
Me: "Today is Monday. it was due back today."
Emily: "Oh"
Me: "I noticed the back page of your homework wasn't done."
Emily: "Oh yeah! That's why I didn't bring my homework back today"...clearly making things up as we go along. It was a good reminder to me that Emily is different than Zoe and younger so I need to be more on the ball making sure she is doing her homework and getting it back to school.

The Lord is my Light

I fell asleep with Kate last night around 8:30, but was then awake from midnight to 2am. Laying in bed wide awake there was nothing to do but think. And thinking about our financial troubles was leading to depression. Being in the dark reminded me of an account I had recently read in the Book of Mormon where the people experience total darkness for 3 days after Christ's death. No light could be seen. I had the thought when I read this chapter that people who take their own lives must experience this darkness. A darkness that is so thick and consuming that it does not make room for hope or comfort. Making life not worth living anymore. After 3 days of darkness, the people in the Book of Mormon heard Christ's voice and one of the things he said to them was, "I am the light...". The word light must have stood out to these people in total darkness. Nothing around them could give them light and I can imagine they were craving both physical and spiritual light at this point. As I was thinking about this last night my depression started to fade and I was filled with the light of Christ. A light that gives me hope and comfort. A light that only comes from my Savior. My financial problems didn't go away, but they felt much smaller and manageable surrounded by this light. And I was able to go back to sleep.

Whirlwind of days

I am finally sitting down and enjoying some quiet. Yesterday was Zoe's last day of soccer, so she had 3 twenty minute games, a luncheon, and awards ceremony. Then we went to Jack's birthday party. Today was a crazy day at church having our last practice before our primary program next Sunday. Here are some highlights from the past 2 days.

Zoe played goalie during her last game yesterday. I must admit I was nervous for her since she wanted to be goalie while playing the white team - the team with mostly 6th graders who get many opportunities to score. Zoe chased after many missed goals, saved one goal, and missed other goals that gave the white team points. There were times when she didn't know what she was supposed to do, but overall she did well. I was proud of her for wanting to try a new position and giving it her best.

I like how Emily makes friends wherever she goes. She was bored at Zoe's games until she started playing with another girl who was nearby. She also made a friend at Jack's party and did not want to leave her new friend!

I was impressed that Emily went to the serving table by herself during the luncheon when she wanted something. In the past she would insist on someone going with her.

Kate had her first taste of cake yesterday, Mom you would have been proud! I was trying to enjoy my delicious piece of ice cream cake, but Kate was upset that I wasn't sharing, so I gave in. Eating cake is much more enjoyable when everyone is happy. :-)

I have an obsession with being in control which is why I ended up being in charge of the primary program again this year. I'm glad today's practice went well because at the end of last Sunday I was regretting my decision to be in charge.

Today was one of those Sundays where I had a list of things I needed to get done at church and a list of people I needed to talk to before I left, so it was busy. I do think I managed to get everything done that I could and of course enjoyed my meetings as well...except during Sacrament meeting when Eleanor decided to express her disapproval of Zach taking her book by biting him.

During some of Sacrament meeting I was in the Mother's room with Zach & Kate. Zach was ready for a snack, but I told him he would have to wait, that he could have a snack in his nursery class. It was so cute to hear Zach say "Thank you Mommy, thank you!" like I had just given him the best news ever!

Zach update

It is a rainy day here today. Zach & I had a chance this morning to cuddle and read books. It was nice to have one on one time with him. Zach loves to have me read to him, just like Zoe used to...and actually still does since she asked me to read to her and Emily before they left for school. Having Zach bring me book after book after book reminded me of Zoe at that age doing the same thing. Some mornings I hated reading right when we got up, but I'm glad I did it because now they are precious memories.

Zach did great again last night with no binky. He did cry for about a minute, but I think he was saying "drink" when he was crying, but the girls interpreted it as "binky" and then mentioned it, so then he mentioned it. But after telling him that he doesn't have a binky anymore, he cried for about a minute and then he was fine. I think being in the same room as his sisters helps to comfort him and it takes his mind off what he wants.

I love it when Zach asks to sit on me. He says "Sit you". The word "with" is never used in his sentences.