Road Trip

10 things I learned on this year's road trip:
1. Rhon sings constantly when she is bored. She will make up songs if she doesn't have a real one to sing. The made up ones will annoy everyone else in the car.
2. "Neeee" means blanket. It only took Nate and me 20 or so minutes to give Mads what he wanted. He cried, and kept saying "neee". We tried everything. Water, candy, root beer, cookie, etc. but we were so wrong. Duh.
3. Seven people in one hotel room, for longer than it takes to sleep and shower, is too many.
4. Las Vegas is not a fun place to go to kill time.
5. If it is a choice, Brynster will always want IN-N-OUT BURGER. She may even be incurably sad until she gets it.
6. If you are away long enough, Arizona looks beautiful. Especially in spring.
7. Dare has absolutely the worst judgement when she is bored. Her spray candy was all over her legs, arms and the car. How does she not know better? I have gone seriously wrong with her. She also used crayon on her clothes and car seat. What the heck?
8. Space Dog is spoiled. Oh wait, I already knew that.
9. Nate falls asleep at the most inconvenient times possible. I already knew that too.
10. I was able to spend 48 hours straight with the 6 coolest humans on the planet.

How Depressing

This is what we did on Tuesday.

And this is was what we were doing yesterday.

This is what I woke up to today.

I guess it is a good day to go to Arizona.  Hopefully it is warm there.

#1

Today was the first day of spring break and I loved it.  I love having all my kids here.  Not having to worry about picking anyone up, making lunches, doing homework, etc. are all just bonuses.

This morning Brynster asked me if she could read the Book of Mormon.  I told her yes, of course. So she read the first 4 chapters of Alma!  She was even able to tell me what was going on.  She told me when school starts again, I need to wake her up at 5:00 so she can read before school.  I so wish I felt an ounce of that enthusiam for scripture reading.  I make excuses for not reading for 15 minutes, and she wants 2 hours!  I am so proud of her.  She is the perfect oldest child.    

Happy Easter!

Here is a play by play of church today.  We arrived during the announcements.  That is early for us.  We go to the back row of the overflow, as always.  I think Nate thinks people can't see him sleeping back there.  After a few fights over who gets to sit where, we settle down just in time for the opening song.  I am lucky if it is a song I know, so I can sing.  If it requires a book, no singing for me.  As soon as that is over Dare is asking for a snack, or gum, or a book, or crayons, etc.  This list is endless.  I make them wait until after sacrament.  It is going pretty well until Mads falls through the hole in the back of the chair.  I try to grab him and get out before the screaming attracts every body's attention.  Now I have to search for someone to give us the water because I was running out during my turn.  Brynster and Rhon are so good, thankfully.  They will draw pictures the whole time.  Space Dog, in the mean time, is getting increasingly cranky.  Nate is holding him.  When he gets up to stop the fussing, Mads decides to follow.  He roams around the cultural hall, and is careful to ignore my quiet pleas to get him to come back to his seat.  Dare asks me to color her picture for her.  When I say no, she starts wailing.  I try to pretend she doesn't belong to me, but I know deep down everyone already knows.  I give her the "take you to the car" threat and she calms down a bit.  Now this is a pretty mild sacrament meeting for us.  At the end, Dare and Rhon start crying because they don't want to go to class.  Nate says too bad, then realizes this might be a good thing because he could take them home.  So I say too bad.  They go.  Now it is nursery time. Not one of my kids has ever liked nursery.  And frankly, I don't blame them. Mads goes in with Nate while I feed the baby.  While I am feeding him, I hear Mads cry.  Turns out, he fell and split his lip.  That was the end of nursery.  So we and the boys hang out in the hall for the rest of Sunday School. Besides the 10-15 minutes I spend in the hall (again) trying to get Space Dog to sleep, the rest was mostly uneventful. Although, I wasn't in priesthood.  Sometimes I wonder what I am doing at church because I don't hear talks, or much of lessons, but I always feel happier knowing I tried to go, and made it through.  I feel like today was a success.   

Mt. Rushmore

R is learning about the Presidents of the US in kindergarten, and her class made this cute replica of Mt. Rushmore.  I thought it was a really cool project, and she did such a good job. She has such a great time in kindergarten!

PS-- R to the drive-thru guy today ..."Hey dude!  I like your accent!"  I really hope he didn't hear her.  

Another ESPN Watcher

Ok, my kids hardly ever watch TV (unless you count video games.....I don't).  But today was one of those days when you think that it might help slow life down a bit.  I put on one of our recorded "Super Why" episodes.  Since it was a recording, when it is over the TV goes back to the channel that it was on before I played it.  It was Nate's soccer channel which was playing sports news.  Mads did not watch "Super Why" (it was mostly for Dare anyway) but this is where I found him after it stopped.   

I love how he has his hands behind his head.  Is this part of a male's genetic make-up?  Oh yes, he IS naked.  I gave him the choice between a diaper or undies.  He chose neither.

                                                                     

"Owners"

I got a newsletter today from Rhon's kindergarten teacher.  It said she wants them to learn their address.  So I asked Rhon what our address was.  She didn't know it.  I told her she needs to practice because her teacher wants her to know it.  "Why does Mrs. Proud want me to know my address?" she asked.  I told her because it was important to know.  Then she said "Oh, right.  So if I get lost someone can return me to my owners."

Yack and Whack

Kid #5 (Space Dog) is 4 months old this week.  I thought I would jot some things about him.  He started sitting up completely on his own a couple weeks ago.  He can stand up supporting himself with his hands.  He smiles at everything.  He spits up on me constantly.  Nate makes fun of me because I still act surprised when it happens.  I try to be prepared, but when he does it all day it's hard to catch every one.  It just makes me glad I don't spend a lot of money on clothes.  The girls always tell me I smell like puke.  I just say it's my new perfume.  He is a talker.  Ever since he was about 4 weeks old he would respond to you by cooing.  I've never heard so much from an infant. He is in bed with me every morning.  Nine out of ten times I don't even remember how he got there.  He is the biggest fake cryer I've ever known, and I've had three girls.  He has some of the worst old man fringe I have seen.  And his bald spot in the back squeaks when you touch it.  He will head butt me if I'm not watching closely.  I have gotten some fat lips and sore eye brows from this hard-headed kid.  So, he will spit up on me, and while I'm cleaning up, bang me with his head.  Nate calls it the "yack and whack".  Isn't he clever?  

P.S.  Congratulations to Lisa and Brandon!  Allie is one of the luckiest babies out there!!

"BeeBee"

                                          

I have good news and bad news.

I'll start with the good news.  Mads talking has been a long time in coming.  His ear infections as a baby affected his hearing, so that slowed the talking down.  Well, maybe not, but that is the excuse I'm sticking to.  In the last couple months, he has started to come around, and repeat pretty much everything.  It has been really fun.  The girls also get a kick out of this.  Our dinner time is filled with "say ____" (fill in the blank... laughter).  Bryn likes to tell him to say "goat" and then laughs histerically.  Amanda A. inspired me to write down some stuff Mads says.  I'll do it this way:

    "mom mass doo doo"        Momma's dude (my personal favorite) 

   "hi EEE" and  "by EEE  by EEE"      Hi and bye bye

          "a  mmm"                                      Apple

          "garrr"                                          Water (???)

          "burrp baaa eer"                          Root beer

          "Bee"                                             Bryn

          "Oneen"                                        Rhon-her real name

          "Daruh"                                         Dare -her real name

These are just a few of the really cute ones.  He says quite a few things that are perfect, like car. I think that was his first word.  

Now the bad.

Mads came in our bedroom this morning and woke me up.  This is bad news on so many levels. It means two things:  he can get out of his crib, and he can open doors.  I guess my extra hour of sleep on Saturday morning is history.  With him free to roam, nothing is safe, especially him.

By the way, "beebee" is what he calls himself.  Maybe it is baby, I don't know. 

SPRING!!! YAY!!!

I LOVE Spring.  All the seasons are great in Utah, but spring is the best.  I will probably say that about summer when it comes, but right now, spring is my favorite.

Here are some of the things I love:

• Flip-flops for me and the girls--  Nate has told me (decidedly) the boys will not wear flip-flops.  We shall see.
• Spring break--  We are going to Arizona.  It will be fun to get away, even if isn't to San Diego.
• Lower gas bill--  I wish this lasted.  I will be paying to cool my house off before I know it.
• Riding bikes, taking walks, scooters, chasing Mads in the street--  All the things that have been put on hold for 3 or 4 months.
• 3 of my kids' birthdays
• Longer days--  But I hate time changes.  That whole "Spring Forward" business sucks.  I know, I can't have it both ways.
• Tulips--  They just pop out of the ground!!
• Soccer--  This is my 3rd year in a row to have a 4-year-old playing.  It never gets old. Best entertainment out there. 
• Barbecue
• Working in the yard and garden--  We have tons of work to do, but it is family time, and I love it.
• Daffodils--  They just pop out of the ground too!!
• And many, many more things I'm sure I forgot.

My dearest friends

I have been wearing the same DVS Chocolate Milans for at least 5 years.  Nate bought them for me for Christmas, and I can't even remember when, it was so long ago.  I confess, I can't stop wearing them.  I have since bought many very nice, suitable replacements, but still, I turn to these.  I wish I would have bought another couple pair exactly like them because they look like trash and I know it. Someday I will retire them, and I will look back fondly and think of how they were the absolute most perfect pair of shoes ever constructed. 

Boxer Briefs

I am doing the potty training thing....again.  This time things are slightly different.  The other day Mads was with me when I was getting ready.  It took me about 40 minutes to shower, get dressed and feed Space Dog.  In that time Mads peed 7 times!  Three times on the toilet (yea!), once on my shoe, once in the shower, and the rest went on the floor.  Now it wasn't a ton each time, but it was a good amount.  How is this possible?  It reminds me of Zero and how he had unlimited amounts of pee to mark his territory.  We could spend all day in the bathroom!   Also he is hilarious with toilet paper.  I think wiping is his favorite part.  He will either tear off a quarter size piece or a 2 foot piece.  Then he just throws it in the toilet.  No actual "wiping" involved.

 The other different thing is not saying panties.  OK, I have been saying panties all my life and all my mothering life.  How do I stop?  I try so hard to say underwear or undies but inevitably I will tell the poor boy to "get your panties on" or "which panties do you want?"  Oh well, I guess this won't be the only issue he will have to deal with having 3 older sisters. 

By the way, UNDIES are the cutest things I have ever put on a naked bottom.

Stick 'em up

At preschool yesterday, our lesson was about police officers as a community helper and what they do.  The kids were very interested in all the pictures I showed them of cops in uniform, police cars, etc.  They noticed the batons and guns the officers wore.  They, as any 4-year old would, asked what they were for.  I tried to explain the best I could.  I learned later in class my best was not good enough.  As class time came to a close, I asked the kids what we learned about today.  They all happily answered correctly, "police officers."  So I then asked what police officers do.  It was very silent until my child, yes my Dare, says in her loudest, most excited voice, "They hurt people!"  I guess we will have to go over that one again.  Hopefully her grandpa never finds out she thinks he "hurts people" for a living.

I didn't mean to make her hair look like a crusty convict's.  But it worked well in this picture.