Brand New Smile

Rhon's tooth was loose first. Brynster's brain must have made the tooth come out, so her little sister wouldn't lose a tooth first. We are all very excited for her. It was a long time in coming. Three days after her 7th birthday. She was the last one to lose a tooth in her classes.

Brynster reads this blog. She reads it when I'm looking at it, and she knows how to get to it on her own. This new development has dramatically reduced what I feel comfortable writing about. Also, she pointed out that Dare's post was much longer than hers. Now I feel guilty and I can't say what I want. So along with the tooth news, I thought I would write more about #1 (edited for her eyes). I'll have to tell her this is much easier if I don't feel pressure. Oh wait, you're reading it, I don't have to tell you anything!!!

What I love most about you:

*You are a great eater. You will try new stuff and like it. You never give us trouble at the dinner table like everyone else. That is HUGE.

*You love to laugh. You tell Dad all the time to make you laugh. He will say one word, and you are cracking up. You get the dead-horse laugh all the time. Dad will pretend he is trying to start a car, and we are both uncontrollable. I'm trying not to laugh right now. And you will go from crying to hysterics in a snap.

*You have a phenomenal memory. School comes very easy for you. Almost too easy. You say that you are bored at school. I love that you can tell me about ancient Egypt, religions of the world, Mesopotamia, etc.

*You are a great big sister. When you are not being selfish, you will do anything for your sisters and brothers. You like to read books to Mads, and you help keep SCM happy in the car.

*You make and keep friends easily. You are very likable and your friends love you.

*Your long eye lashes and huge smile. You also have a double jointed jaw, like a snake, which enables you to turn that cute little mouth into a enormous gaping hole, that you can cram tons of food in. You get that from your detachable-jawed Dad.

*You like me, and you are one of my best friends too.

I'm BAD

"I'm seven, Mom.  That means I'm almost ten."

That is how Brynster imformed me that she was growing up way too fast.  I love that she is able to mostly take care of herself, but I worry about her not needing me anymore.  I love that she wants to read all the time, but I am sad that we hardly read together anymore.  I am happy that she takes care of her little sisters, but nervous about her bossiness.  I love that she enjoys to laugh, and laughs so easily, but I am sad when she tries to be sad, and can't laugh.  I'm glad she has a strong will, but it frustrates me when she cries about not getting her way.  It is so great that she has such a love for learning, but she will soon know more than me.  It is wonderful that she is aware of other people's feelings and cares so much about other people, but I cry when she gets her feelings hurt.  

Brynster is 1 in a million.  They don't come better than her.    

Dare Devil

"No...no no.  Dare, don't do it...........Wow, I'm impressed"

And so begins the story of Dare.

When she was little, people would ask if I wanted a boy.  I thought... I don't need a boy since I have Dare.  Examples:

*She ran around with unmatchable energy.

*She started her hobby of jumping off things at about 18 months.  Counter tops, bunk beds, picnic tables, and flights of stairs.......just to name a few.

*She used potty humor from a very young age  (and still does).  One of my favorites is when she said Brynster should take "honey-nut poops" to school for snack.

*She used to burp like a fog horn.  

In contrast, Dare is girly too.  Examples:

*She would wear dress-up clothes everyday, all day, if I let her.  The skirts work well as a parachute while jumping off things.

*She loves lip stick, and pink clothes.

*She cries about EVERYTHING.

*She wants to grow her hair really long.

Dare is smart.  Examples:

*She can do Rhon's addition facts, and often answers her word problems for her when I read them out loud in the car.  She grasps the concept of subtraction too.

*She can sound out words. 

*She constantly surprises me with how much she remembers.

Dare has an awesome sense of humor.  Examples:

*She calls people names.  That isn't necessarily funny by itself, but she makes the names up.  The names are what's funny.  "Wack Job" is still used by us today.

*When I was giving her a hug one time, I said "I love you, Dare."  And she responded, "I love marshmallows."

Dare's funny story of the day.... it has a little background, but I want to remember it all.

Rhon and Dare have had this thing with asking questions about Jesus.  They ask where he is, if he is old, what is he wearing, etc.  They also ask pretty weird ones too, like "if everyone has germs, does Jesus?"  So we were driving to get Rhon from school.  More background: Dare uses this time to talk and ask questions without any interruptions from her sisters.  Mads does not talk. Probably because she won't stop.  As soon as we pull out of the drive-way her first question is "are we almost to Rhon's school?"  (it's a 25 minute drive)  Some of her other regulars are "did you bring anything to eat?" and "why did Heavenly Father make ___?"  Fill in the blank with bees, wasps, snakes, and pretty much anything that can hurt us.  Ok, we are driving.  Dare farts.  She starts laughing and tells me she tooted.  Here is our exchange:

Me (with mock surprise):  "You did?"

Dare:  "Yup."  Pause  "Mom, did your mom toot?"

I have no idea why she asked about my mom.

Me:  "Yes Dare.  Everyone toots."

I bet you can guess what came next.

Dare:  "Does Jesus toot?"

I laughed because I know she was trying to be funny, but I also explained how we should talk reverently about Jesus.

I realized when I mention Dare in my posts, it is usually a bit negative.  She gives me trouble, I'll be honest, but she is so awesome too.  She is always fun and unpredictable.  She is one of my best friends.

                     

Earth Day

I am embarrassed to say I am extremely ignorant on the subject of Earth Day, and what it means. I learn mostly from what the kids learn at school.  Sad, but true.  I try to recycle, but it doesn't take too much effort because we have a special bin for it, and the city provides pick-up.  I realized how much more I can, and need, to do.  I need to be a good example.  When the kids are my age, it will probably be even more important.  So today I decided to make a bigger effort to take better care of the wonderful planet Heavenly Father has given us.  I need help..... I don't even know where to start.  Cloth diapers maybe?   Ok, I can't do everything!

Saturday is a Special Day

As I was "trimming our nails" (all 100 of them), I thought of the Primary song Saturday.  It sounds like such a great idea.  So perfect, so genius.  If only I could pull it off.  I am pretty proud of myself when I can get everyone's nails cut.  I know I should teach the older girls how to do it themselves, but I like things done right too much.  Plus, clippers can be so dangerous.  Ha!  I am so a fifth-time mother.  I've reached the if-they-hurt-themselves-they-will-probably-learn-their-lesson phase of mothering.  And why is my 4 year old so uncooperative?  She tries to be difficult just because.... um.... because it's fun?  I don't know.  And I decided to try and clip Space Dog's nails while he was nursing.  I thought it would distract him enough to get it done quicker. Because of this, he changed his routine.  It's normally suck, pull, detach, over and over.  This time it was suck, pull, detach, and glare, suck, pull, detach, and (stunned/confused) glare.  But I got it done.  Now all that is left is clean the house, shop at the store, brush our clothes (?), and shine our shoes.  And also, the writer forgot "prepare the lesson for the Primary class you said you would sub for before you realized you were going to church husbandless with two little church-haters".

New Club

I had a dream recently where I was married to Matt Damon.  He kept making me laugh, so it was probably Nate with Matt Damon's face.  Nate would say that was an improvement, I don't think so.  Aren't I sweet?  That is the reason for the picture.

I feel like I joined a new club of moms this week.  The ones that have a different kid in a different activity every night.  The club that Maria, Cyndie, Jeanne R., Mom, and more belong to.  Here is what we got going on:

Tuesday- Two T-ball games at 6:30, thankfully they are at the same place.  Also, I am teaching preschool, and doing a horrible job.

Wednesday- Soccer practice at 6:00.  Did I mention I volunteered to be the coach?  Bad move.  I almost forgot....Nate's new calling requires him to be at church every Wednesday night.

Thursday- One T-ball game at 5:30 and one at 6:30.  That doesn't sound so bad.

Friday- Nothing so far...oh wait, the visiting teachers are coming.  That means I have to clean up.  That is the biggest job yet.  Nate is not coming home from work.  He is going straight to the airport and staying with his brothers all weekend.  Happy for him, not so much for me.

Saturday- Soccer game is at 11:00.  I am the coach, you know.  I didn't know at the time, but I will be trying to coach with one kid in the game, and 4 other kids on the sidelines (Nate in AZ, remember?) Impossible! Does anyone want to babysit?

                                                                                           

I have been trying desperately to have dinner at home every night.  Unsuccessful.  Last night we went to Carl's Jr.  I can't break my Jalapeno Burger habit.

I know it will only get worse as they get older.  I love having them involved and active, but I don't want to have a family who never eats dinner together.  Is there any middle ground?

Oh, I wanted to mention Mads' new thing.  He will bring me or Nate the remote and say "ball". He wants to watch ball on TV!!!!!  This is so funny to me.  Nate loves it, of course.  Now he can watch sports, and count it as quality time with the kids.  He has made some pretty big ManUnited fans out of our girls too.

The Many Faces of 2 Years Old

 
 

We were playing outside, and he started looking sad when I said it was time to go in.  

He loves being outside.  Sometimes he just wanders around.
 
 

He will try anything Dare does.  The problem is, Dare has better physical ability and 

more developed coordination.  Those two would run down the drive-way with ice on it. 

 I never worry about her, but he gives me a heart attack every time.  

 
 

It is so cool having a boy.  He brings so much to our family, and I know he will 

be an awesome big brother.  We just have to keep him out of the Emergency Room, 

and keep him from picking up some of the girls' bad habits (whining, crying, complaining, etc).

 

I'm in Love with a Boy Who Finds Joy in Sucking on His Toes

I've only known him 4 1/2 months.  We have nothing in common.  We can't even hold a conversation.  He is bald, and has no teeth. He drools on me.  He pukes on me.  He expects me to wipe poop off his butt.  He will bite me if given the chance.  His favorite pastime is sucking on his own toes, or cramming all 10 fingers in his mouth at once.  He screams if he doesn't get his way.  He is perfectly fine with taking up A LOT of my time.  I can't even tell what his personality is like (completely).  How can I love a person like this?  I don't get it either, but I do.

I really do wonder how it works.  How do we love one person so much, but be indifferent towards most others?  How is it that there are certain people who make you smile just by seeing them.  I know, very cheesy for me.  I will stop.   With babies it is even stranger.  There isn't anything I wouldn't do for him.

Family Thoughts

I have had a sick stomach the past few days.  I'm pretty sure it is left over from the weekend's puke fest.  But whenever I have a random belly ache, the thought occurs to me that I may be pregnant.  It has happened before, I have 5 kids after all.  But I realized yesterday, that news could be the worst kind right now. Horrible thought, I know.  But 5 is a pretty big number and the age closeness is tough.  We are done, but the thought of not having a baby is extememly difficult to digest.  One of my favorite things in the whole world is holding my babies.  Yesterday I held #5 while he slept in the afternoon.  I wasn't feeling good, so it was convenient.  What will I do with no baby to hold?  I love his smell.  I love how he slobbers all over my hair.  I love how he looks at me like I'm the coolest thing ever.  I am amazed at the love I have for this little person, but I'll go into that more in another post.  Then I start to ponder about my other kids.  I will never have this exact family again.  They have 3 birthdays coming up, and 2 half birthdays.  I will never have a 6, 5, 4, almost 2, and 4 month old ever again!  I know we have lots of fun times coming, and having an older kid family sounds very appealing, but I can't help but being sad about the time that is flying by. 

I haven't taken a picture of all 5 of my kids since our Christmas photo, which was nearly impossible.  So I settled for these.

AZ Highlights

 The girls were determined to swim even though it was pretty cold.  They swam 3 or 4 days for a few hours.  I had to tell them to get out, because I literally worried about the blue skin and lips.


                 We were all really happy to spend time with Great-Grandma.
                                                    Rock Band was fun.  This picture is staged.  If they were really playing, they would be staring unblinkingly at the TV with looks of total concentration.

Grandma looks happy to have so many "helpers".

 Complete exhaustion.

                                                

                                                            This is for you, Mom.

                                This doesn't have much to do with our trip, but have you seen the new bridge by Hoover Dam?  This is a pic of one end of it.  All I have to say is......NO FREAKING WAY.