The Locked Cupboard

Our kids, some more than others, love to snack. We repeatedly find Jenna in the kitchen helping herself to whatever is in her reach. And if it's not in her reach she finds a way! It has gotten so bad that Jason decided to move all the snacks into the cupboard above the stove and put a lock on it. Now Jenna finds herself with a stool but no where to go. Jason tells our kids, "If you want something to snack on then eat a piece of fruit." Okay, I agree but. . . what I don't get is what then made Jason do the following. See we just started Eric on oatmeal and I wanted to start introducing him to fruits and vegetables. Since Jason was on base I asked him to pick up a few jars of squash, sweet potatoes and peas. But what does he come home with? I open the grocery bag and find, no kidding, coconut pudding, banana apple dessert and banana pudding.

To Jason, I say this, quoting the movie Ever After,

"If you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners corrupted from infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded, sire, but that you first make thieves and then punish them?"

So basically, let's get Eric hooked on sweets now, and then when he gets older let's punish him for being not being able to live without them. Needless to say, I quickly locked up Eric's desserts before he too entered this corrupt system.

A Date With Myself

It's a dangerous thing to give me a book. I can't sleep. I don't eat. I don't notice anything beyond the characters and plot of the book. It's wonderful and terrible at the same time. It's always amazing the time you can find to sneak in a paragraph here or a page or two there when you want to. And I did. This book had me at the get-go. It's called, The Thirteenth Tale. I loved it and now I'm paying for it. The condition of the house is proof. But it was worth it. I feel like I had a date with myself (I know that sounds wierd) and I had a great time. Hurry, quick, I need another one.

To my husband and kids who I somewhat neglected today and who didn't complain. Thanks!

Saved by the . . .Insurance Co.

I love our homeowners insurance. We've had a few storms this winter, a lot of rain, wind and hail. A month or so ago we noticed water marks in our Master bedroom and in the hallway. Uh oh. I was worried what that might mean for our pocketbooks. KA-CHING, right? Long story short, thanks to our insurance company, we are getting a new roof and new siding. We get new siding because they couldn't match the color to what we have now. You see it's a real unusual color. . it's white. Anyway, the roof guy came over today and we looked over samples and learned all about the different kinds of siding and roofing. Pretty exciting. I don't think it would have been as fun though if we were paying for it ourselves. It looks like we'll have a new house in a couple of weeks. What a blessing this is to us for resale since we will probably be putting our house on the market next summer. As I walked through the kitchen I told Jason that I knew something else that might help with the resale-the stove. It's old. I mean really old and besides that it doesn't work very well. He didn't even blink, probably because he realized how many thousands of dollars we just saved with our insurance, and said, "Well, let's start looking."

To answer the question that Jenna constantly asks me all day long, (so much so that I'm beginning to develop a complex) which is, "Are you happy?" I can definitely reply, "Yes. I'm happy!" Thanks insurance company.

I'll post a before and after picture when it's all finished.

Say "Cheese"

We need to get our family picture taken. My mother-in-law has been asking for one and the last time we had family pictures taken was a week before I was due with Eric and I was "great with child." I'd really like to have that one replaced ASAP. There's a problem. I have to trick Jason. See, he has an aversion to getting his picture taken. I take that back, not all pictures just POSED pictures. According to him it's, "Now smile and be phony." Okay, I can understand that. So I just have to find a photographer who can capture the "real" us. That might be even scarier come to think of it.

A friend of mine has a photography studio in Alaska. Since we are heading up there this summer I thought maybe we'd have our pictures taken during our visit. Last night, as I was looking at his work on his website I did a double take. Many of the pictures in his portfolio included people I knew. "Hey, I know her. . .and him . . . and them." Except everyone was older, but in a good way. Girls who I taught as teenagers were married. Families I once knew, now included spouses and a bunch of kids. I think that's what I love about pictures. They capture moments in time, whether posed and unposed and help us to REMEMBER. Now I just have to convince or trick Jason. Hey, if I can get my picture taken while 10 months pregnant then Jason can put on his phony smile and say, "cheese." Or I might just have to hire him his own personal jester to help capture the "real" him.

Those of you who used to live in Alaska, check out Stanton Photography and enjoy a trip down memory lane.

My Phantom

I'm tired. I got up a little earlier than usual with Eric. He's usually a great sleeper but today he wanted to eat around 4:30 am. It wasn't that big a deal because he quickly downed a bottle and went back to bed. I did the same and as I snuggled back under the covers I debated over whether to turn off the alarm and forget the gym. After all, I was up extra early and I need my sleep. That's when I heard Eric crying. I got out of bed to check, thinking maybe he was still hungry and found him fast asleep. I climbed under the covers trying to go back to sleep when I heard it again, more crying. Once again I got up to listen and heard nothing. Was this all in my head? Was I imagining it? I told a friend about my experience, that I kept hearing the baby crying when he wasn't. She replied, "Oh, you mean phantom crying." Yes, that's it! I'm validated. Now I know that as moms, our hearing is extra sensitive. We need to be able to hear when our babies need us. I don't mind that. What I do mind is getting up when they don't. Okay, maybe I am a little crazy.

By the way, I did force myself out of bed to go to the gym. I really didn't have a choice. With all this crying in my head, I couldn't sleep.

Go Cards!

A couple nights ago our family went to a Cardinals baseball game. We went to watch Ryan and his class sing, "God Bless America." The 1st and 3rd grade classes in their school are given this opportunity each year.

Kate has done it a couple of times already.
What I want to know is how come I never had a field trip like that when I was in school? Our field trips always seemed to be. . . educational.

As we were heading to our seats Jason called out behind me, "Uh oh, I feel a nosebleed coming on." I quickly turned around to look, wondering if I had a Kleenex to give him. Then I realized he was smiling and more likely referring to the location of our seats. Unfortunately, he was correct in that assumption. Not only were our seats in the top section but our seats were on the very top row.

Ryan had a great night. Not only did he get to sing in Busch Stadium in front of thousands of people but his friend had special tickets to watch batting practice before the game and invited him too. So Ryan was given "field access." How cool is that? They even gave him a baseball to keep. The rest of the night was fun. The Cardinals had two home runs. We saw a line drive knock the glove off the pitcher's hand and a bat was broken in half after a hit. Oh, and I can't forget the fireworks and cotton candy. Even though we left at the top of the 6th inning it was a great night.

Boot Camp

I love that Spring is here and the weather is warmer and I can now wear capris and shorts, except there's only 1 problem. Nothing fits!!! OH, so that's the reason I been enjoying my sweats this winter. Okay, Eric is 5 months old today and I still haven't lost the baby weight. I've gone back to the gym but for some reason it's still sticking with me. It couldn't be the chocolate and peanut butter ice cream I had last night, could it?

After baby #4 I joined Weight Watchers online and between that and working out I lost the weight fairly quickly. As excited as I was to have another baby I was sad that I was going to lose the figure I had worked so hard to get. I worked out throughout my pregnancy determined to fight it all the way, that is until the last 2 months and then it was downhill from there. UGH! Since I've done it before I knew I could lose the weight again but that was before I was sidetracked by Christmas goodies and introduced to Mint Oreo Cookies. So 5 months have past and I'm still stuck where I was a few months ago. Personally, I think if you've endured that many pregnancies that your body should automatically be given a special award. Something along the lines of "weight loss without the work" or " pick the body you want". Come on, my body has already been through enough, I really think it deserves some sort of award.

Then last week I saw a flier for "Boot Camp" at the YMCA. I decided I needed a kick in the pants and signed up. What I needed something outside my comfort level and this was definitely it. It was so tough today that I immediately came home and rejoined Weight Watchers. No way was all that hard work (running and push-ups and planks, you know, everything I hate) be all for nothing because of what I was eating the rest of the day. It's Day 1 and so far so good. Wish me luck!

And no there won't be any "before" picture!!

Not My Fault

Sure, she looks innocent enough, but after Eric was born I quickly learned not to leave Jenna alone with him for a second. I know she means well. She wants to hold him and carry him, but the poor guy is completely helpless while Jenna is, quite frankly, dangerous! Today I heard Eric cry out and found Jenna squashing him like a flat pancake on the couch. He was face down, arms flailing, screaming his head off because Jenna had him pinned. As comical as it was, I hurriedly got Jenna off of him and asked her what she was doing. "He pulled my hair." She said this while pulling on her own hair. "Could it be because you were ON TOP of him?" I asked. At 2 1/2 she was already blaming her defenseless brother who, by the way, is only 5 months. I'm sure there will be paybacks when he gets older!

Here's another example of Jenna helping. It's a game she calls, "Pulling Eric around on the carpet." I'm not sure Eric is having as good a time as Jenna is.

Side note: It may not look like it but I do dress Jenna. She doesn't really stay in her P.J.'s all day. At least not most days.

Game Night

Besides candy, nothing propels my kids into action faster than the promise of playing, Settlers of Catan. Just mentioning the word "Settlers" mobilizes them into a flurry of, "Hurry, you clean that room, I'll pick this up, etc." I love it! Time together as family with the extra bonus of a clean house. Can life get any better than that? Some friends taught us this game while we were in Guam and we were immediately hooked. When we moved one of the first questions we'd ask people is if they knew how to play. Not that that was a prerequisite to becoming friends. If they didn't we'd just have to teach them.

I've always enjoyed playing games, board games, card games, whatever. Growing up it was mainly a card game we called Aunt Margaret (named after our Great Aunt Margaret who taught it to us-I don't think any of us have any idea what it's really called) and Sorry with my dad. When I married Jason I found out his family liked to play Scrabble. Let's just say the Scrabble dictionary quickly became my friend, especially the Qu section. Early in our marriage it was Rook (just don't put us on the same team) and Acquire, a game of hotel acquisition. I know sounds boring but don't let that fool you. It's an intense fun game. Probably 2nd on our list. Now I get to play games with my kids. Monopoly Jr., Sequence for kids, Sorry and Pictionary are a few of my favorites. The only one I really don't like to play is Life. If I do, I must be in a real generous mood. It's all that stopping for marriage, picking careers and buying and selling houses. In my opinion, it takes too much time and interrupts the flow of the game. Which is kind of funny because come to think of it that IS the game.

So last night after straightening up from the Sunday bomb we sat down with some of Kelsey's cookies (if it makes it that far in the process, it's usually just cookie dough) to play Settlers. When we introduced this game to our kids Jason and I would stop them, talk them through their move and show them different strategies, etc. But last night, after our favorite spots were being taken and our roads were being blocked, Jason and I exchanged glances across the table admitting it was now EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF! GAME ON

Garbage

Ryan came home from school the other day with a handful of garbage. The way he acted you would have thought he had found buried treasure!

"Look what I found in the street?"

"Ryan, why are you bringing home garbage?"

"We are learning about it in school. Reduce, reuse and recycle!" he exclaimed proudly.

He must have quite the lesson at school because I have never seen someone so excited about TRASH, especially picking it up! Besides the germ factor I was glad he wanted to do his part to help keep the earth clean. I'm all about encouraging the kids to clean. I do it everyday with their rooms, shoes, backpacks, etc. The difference is these things all have their place. The stuff Ryan is bringing home does NOT have a place here. So each day I've been tripping over plastic bags filled with trash, plastic bottles and pop cans. Ryan has even resorted to taking trash out of the kitchen garbage to put in these bags. This morning Ryan woke up upset because he couldn't find his bag full of garbage. After calming him down I reassured him that the garbage was in it's rightful place-THE GARBAGE CAN! I support keeping the earth clean but I want my house clean too!

Conference Weekend

I really enjoyed watching Conference this weekend. That is in between the kids asking me, "How much longer?" every 5-10 minutes. I understand where they are coming from. I remember when I was young trying hard to listen but coming away thinking, "What did they say?" I look forward to the day when Conference is no longer long and boring to them. If there is one talk that I want the kids to really try and pay attention to its when the prophet speaks. Ryan took the challenge and decided he would take "notes". So if any of you missed this address or forgot to take notes of your own, here's Ryans. President Monson spoke a little too fast for him so this is a condensed version of his talk.

Good Deed Gone Wrong?

Kelsey was very excited, no estatic, when she found out I was having a boy. This meant she was finally getting her own room, her own SPACE! After Eric was born we moved Jenna out of the crib into a big bed in a room she now shares with Kate. Jenna had no problem adjusting at first. Lately though, she's been waking up scared at night. While we went through night terrors with Kelsey, this fortunately, was different. Jenna seemed only to be scared of the dark, even with a night light on. The situation has worsened and now she needs not only a night light but a lamp and the hall light left on too. I don't know how anyone could fall asleep in there. It's like trying to go to sleep in the summer in Alaska.

One night Kelsey introduced Jenna to her bed. She sang High School Musical 2 songs with her, read her books and cuddled. Jenna thought she had died and gone to heaven. So now we struggle with Jenna even starting in her own bed at bedtime. Last night, in the middle of the night, I woke up to Jenna's cries and found her in the hallway outside Kelsey's door crying, "Kelsey's bed, Kelsey's bed." Poor Kelsey has tried to be a good big sister and now finds herself sharing not only her room but her bed too!

The funny thing is, Jenna doesn't seem the slightest bit concerned about sleeping in Kelsey's pitch black room as long as her sister is near.

Birthday Parties

Kelsey and Kate both have birthdays this week. I'm not a big fan of birthday parties. With that said, somehow both of my girls ended up with one this past week. Two nights in a row in fact. Can we say. . . sucker? It all started with Kate being able to invite 1 friend over. But she couldn't choose so I softened and she got 2. That party was really easy. Kate said she'd take care of everything. So all I had to do was cut up some fruit, roll up some smokies and turn on a movie. Okay, I can handle that.

The next night it was Kelsey's turn. Again, I said she could do something with one friend, which then turned to 2. Before I know it she is hosting a party of 5 (teenagers) with games, food and a movie. This is why I don't like birthday parties. This is where I start to stress. Now, not only is there more work involved but I'm going to worry about whether everyone is having a good time too. From what I heard they did. One of the games, Photo Scavenger Hunt, was a big hit. I think it would be fun to do for a youth activity sometime. Each team was given a digital camera and then took pictures of what was on their list. The more unusual, creative, clever. . . the better. Afterwards, I downloaded them on the computer and the teams got to choose which one they liked better of the two. Here are a few examples:

Scene from a Disney movie

Do exactly what the sign says (Neighborhood Watch-We immediately report all suspicious persons and activities to the police department)
Mimic a statue
Picture with an animal

So Long, Farewell. . .

I did it. Today is the day I boxed up ALL my pregnancy clothes and shipped them to my sister-in-law who is having her second. These clothes will longer to be worn or seen by me again! Yep, that chapter in my life is now closed. The box ended up weighing a good 45 pounds. Now if only those unwanted pounds I've accumulated with each pregnancy were as easy to get rid of. Sigh!

The Inevitable

We have a teenager in the house! I'll never forget the look on Jason's face when he asked Kelsey what she wanted for her birthday. Without hesitation she said, "Clothes, make-up and jewelry." The shock on his face: priceless! I think he even did a double take. Didn't he notice that her time in the bathroom had doubled? It seems he wasn't expecting THAT kind of answer.

When did our daughter become a young woman? One day she is playing dress-up and the next she's dressing up and accessorizing with stuff that isn't play. Today isn't much different than yesterday. It's what lies ahead that worries me. BOYS, dances, BOYS, Dates, BOYS, graduation. I'm not old enough or wise enough to have a teenager. Sure I have my own experience to fall back on. But do I really want to remember, much less bring up all the embarrassing stuff I did as a teenager just to reassure Kelsey that she isn't the only one. Am I ready for this? I guess I don't really have a choice. Bring it on-just please leave the boys and the hormones out of it!

GOTCHA!

April 1, 2008, a day Kelsey will not soon forget. An April Fool's joke that was meticulously planned and perfectly executed and on her 13th birthday too! About time. She got away prank free for the first 12 years of her life. No longer.

The Plan: Make Kelsey believe she was late for school, putting her in panic mode only to be taken out to breakfast.

It all started late last night after the kids were in bed. Jason and I started by changing the clocks in the house and car back an hour. We left Kelsey's and ours alone until the morning. When my alarm went off at 5:45 am I crawled into Kelsey's room and unplugged her clock and then plugged it back in so it would read a blinking 12:00. Fifteen minutes later I called, "Kelsey, its 7:00, your going to be late for school! Hurry, get in the shower!" Confusion. She looks at the clock and asks, "Is this a joke?" Uh Oh. Was the prank over before it even got started? She checks all the clocks in the house and decides it's not. (I had to keep turning away from her so she wouldn't see the grin on my face. I would not make a good poker player! In fact the whole time I had to keep reminding myself "Act normal, act normal." She then realizes that she's late and the panic starts. Perfect.

She spends the next 15 minutes running around getting ready. At one point she looks out the window and comments how dark it is outside. Uh oh. Jason and I tell her its because of an approaching storm. "And wasn't there a tornado is Missouri last night too?" I keep after Kelsey, "Hurry, you're going to miss your bus. What about breakfast? Do you want me to make you a bagel?" I then decide to be nice and offer to help her out and take her to the bus stop. We drive to the bus stop and no one is there. Kelsey starts to get worried but then says, "The bus is probably just making the loop, go to the next stop." Again not a soul in sight. Now what? She starts to get even more panicky. Even better! I tell her that I'll take her to school but we have to get all the kids (remember I have 4 more) up and dressed because dad has to go to work. I can see her calculating how long that would take. We go home, hurriedly get everyone dressed and in the car. Of course I am going as slow as I can.

In the meantime, Jason pretends to leave for work. Instead he heads to St. Louis Bread Company to prepare for Kelsey's arrival. On the way to taking her to school I look at the clock and tell her that she is in fact going to be late. Tears start to form out of frustration. She does NOT want to be late for school. Then I make it even worse. "Since your already going to be late, let me run this one errand. It will be easier for me to run in and pick it up now so I don't have to take all the kids in the store with me." She looks at me to see if I am serious. Of course I am. Now she's crying. My poor Kelsey. Of course I'm loving this. Does this make me a cold-hearted parent? We drive to St. Louis Bread Company and tell Kelsey to just run in and get me a $10 gift card. "Oh and by the way, get yourself something since it is your birthday." She looks at me incredulously. I can see her thinking, "I can't believe my mom. Why is she doing this to me?" Before going in she tries to wipe the mascara that is now smeared because of her tears. Then she starts to get mad and she begins to protest going into the store. I hold my ground. She eventually gives in but tells me that shes not getting anything for herself. Take that mom! She walks in and then see the registrar holding up a sign that reads, "April Fools! Happy Birthday Kelsey!" She laughs.

Oh yeah, we got her good!