Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Ever have one of these mornings?

Every morning I greet my children as they get up with an enthusiastic "Good Morning, (insert name here)! How are you this morning?" How they respond is usually a good barometer of their grumpiness or happiness for the morning. Sometimes I'll get a "pretty good" response, or a "grrrrrr" as they swat at me. This morning, every time I asked Levi how he was doing, I got this:

I wonder how today's going to be?

Monday, March 9, 2009

Caeden is Seven!

Oh my, what's going on here? When do these boys find the time to grow up?
Saturday was Caeden's birthday. We love the little man - and although his teasing is paramount to his life, our family wouldn't be the same without him. He is our "vocally expressive" child - in fact, his dad used to call him the "Scarlet Demon" when he was a newborn! He would put his whole body into his cry and turn a deep scarlet color as he expressed his displeasure. It's a trait that still continues today. But he loves and squeezes and is always so eager to be a helper. He loves back scratches and hugs and to be told that he is, and always will be, "My most favorite Caeden in the whole world!"

Meeting Caeden

My 4 boys (in 2002)

At FairyTale Land, age 1 (and, no, this is NOT Levi.)

Caeden showed a passion for candy at a very early age! He is absolutely his mother's son.

Caeden loved this bear (he named him Rhett - we don't know why!)


Caeden has always been a fan of soft squishy things, especially dinosaurs!

Checking out dino bones at the museum is great fun for Caeden!

Caeden goes to great lengths to keep up with his brothers and friends!

So, here's to you, Caeden! Know that we love you dearly and we're so glad you're part of our family!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Jordan's stitches

Be careful of what you say...
Just a few weeks ago I was talking to someone about their daughter getting stitches, and I made the casual comment, "We haven't had to do stitches - yea!" I should have knocked on wood.
Jordan went to the winter camp with the scouts and at about 8:30 pm Friday night Aaron calls me and says something like, "Now, it's really not serious, but could you find me the nearest Urgent Care center to the camp?"
"What!?!"
"Well, Jordan was working on his wood carving merit badge..." Do I really need to go on?
So now he has a sweet little finger splint and a few stitches. On the plus side, he ended up going back to camp that night and finishing the wood carving badge the next day, as well as his fingerprinting badge. (They let him get it even though he was only able to take impressions of 9 fingers.) And he came home with a great story of his first winter campout!

Monday, February 23, 2009

It's a hard life for the 1 year old...


Poor Levi... He saw me put his favorite blanket in the washer last week, and he was really troubled about it. For the next few hours, if I couldn't find the sweet boy, I'd look in the laundry room where he was checking on his blanket. Boy, was he happy when it came out sweet and clean!

Cute, academic man!


Oh, what a week we've had... Right now 4 of us have colds, and the last time I tried to post while on cold medication, I ended up rambling on about the similarities between water boarding, torture, and using a nasal aspirator on a baby. So to avoid another such entry, I'll just post the pictures of Zachary and his glasses!
Zach has an awesome teacher this year, and she wanted all of her "glasses-wearing" students to know how great they are, so she wore her glasses for a while and took this picture so that they would know they're a part of a great group...
Gotta love the glasses!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Sweet Jacob...


I Love This Boy!
There are times where I think that the reason Heavenly Father has blessed him with those trips to the emergency room is to remind me how much I love him... because there are times that I am ready to give him away! He's a busy, curious, talkative, loving, sweet little man, whos curiosity and busy-ness and affinity for the sweet things in life and talkative-ness (and willingness to repeat way more than he should!) gets him into trouble. Oh, but how we love our little men!

As for the story behind this latest accident...
The last Sunday in January, I was released as our ward's Relief Society president. (In my own warped way of thinking this really has something to do with it, I promise!) I remember when I was set apart for this calling almost 2 1/2 years ago, I was blessed that my family would be kept safe while I served in this capacity. Yes, I know, Jacob fell from the bonus room while I was president, but the fact that he even survived makes me feel that the blessing still was in effect! Anyway, after church, I had one last appointment that I had set up before my release. So I return home from that visit at 5:00 pm, thinking, "Well, I'm done. Time for a break." My boys were obviously thinking something else, because at 5:25 pm, they came sliding down the stairs on and in their sleeping bags, the 4 oldest all together (in my defense, that is definately against the rules!), and Jacob got rolled over on the way down. Pop goes the collarbone. I guess I no longer qualify for that blessing of protection anymore... But did it have happen so soon afterwards???

Friday, February 13, 2009

I know I shouldn't let him do this, but...

the kid is so skinny, and the doctor always gives me a hard time about how he's in the 10th (or lower) percentile, and if he's still hungry, then let him eat...
I come in the kitchen after chasing the boys around trying to get stuff organized for tomorrow's school day, and I was just hoping that Levi wasn't up on the counter trying to pet the fish again (that's why he's all wet!). Well, he wasn't playing with the fish, he was finishing off dinner out of the skillet. The kid just can't stop climbing, and nothing left out is safe!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Star Wars a cappella...

For everyone who loved Star Wars like me... Here's something my sister-in-law found on YouTube. All the music is from John Williams (he's an awesome composer!). This just made me laugh this morning.

25 Random Things

OK, I've been tagged to post 25 random thoughts about myself on facebook, and since I spent way too much time doing this, I'm going to post it here, too! Enjoy...

1. Ok, the only reason I'm doing this is because I've been tagged about 4 times, so I figure it's about time I responded.
2. I have been worrying for days about not being able to come up with 25 things to say.
3. I really have no idea how facebook works. I just like reading about what's going on in other people's lives. If you want to find out about mine, you have to go to my blog.
4. I like to run, but I really don't think I'm much of an athlete. In fact, I'm the antithesis of an athlete. I have no coordination, and I'm pretty weak. But it feels good to sweat, and sometimes, when I run longer than the guy next to me (I've been on the treadmill at the gym since January), I like to pretend I'm better than he is. Of course, I'm usually humbled when, as I'm leaving the gym, I look over and see him benching 500 lbs.
5. My ankle hurts. As much as I like to run, it also makes me feel like I'm getting older - it seems I'm always pulling a muscle, twisting an ankle, or just being more sore than a 20 year old would be.
6. I should be paying the bills right now, but I don't want to, and so I'm also feeling guilty about not paying the bills.
7. I need to lose weight, but I know that means I need to give up baking treats for a while, and I think I have a true addiction to cookie dough.
8. Along those "losing weight" lines, I'm really tempted to try the "Acai Berry Diet" that is constantly being advertised online, and even though I know it's all a bunch of advertising bull and is seriously not a healthy way to lose weight, wouldn't it be nice if you really could lose 23 lbs a month?
9. I love to read. I want to be well versed and knowledgable in all types of literature, but a good mystery, or exciting action story, or sappy love story can pull me in at the drop of a hat. Or should I say a turn of a page. Anyway, when I get pulled in to a good book, I have a really hard time putting it down. I mean, really, really hard. Like, kids, how about a bowl of cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? And, if you're not bleeding, you're fine. And, the baby can nap just as well on the floor as he can in his bed, right? I'm truly a loser mom when I get pulled into a good book.
10. I'm afraid of drunk people. Because even happy drunks can turn mean and evil for no rational reason, and drunks behind the wheel are lethal. Which is why I don't like to travel on holidays.
11. I'm thinking that I'm going to post this on my blog, because if I'm going to spend this much time at the computer, I might as well multi-task!
12. I like to pray in my closet. Honestly, if I'm really going to pour out my heart, I just can't do it knowing that someone is going to be walking around me, or is watching me, or is waiting for me to finish. It just makes me too self conscious, so I hide in my closet to pray.
13. One thing that I'm really going to miss about being Relief Society president is the excuse I had to be involved in, or at least aware of, what's going on in everyone's lives.
14. The thing that I will not miss about being RS president is the constant guilt of not doing enough, being spiritual enough, or just not being enough.
15. I really hope I don't embarrass my family too much.
16. I'm afraid of ghosts. So if you die, don't come back to visit me. Just leave a note.
17. I love music. I can be really touched by a good song, or an inspired performance of a beautiful piece of music. Sometimes I can feel the spirit of a song when I play my flute, and even though no one else may hear it, it is just beautiful to me.
18. I like to leave a good impression, and I probably worry too much about it.
19. I hate those days where I don't make the time to shower and get and dressed. I just feel so grungy, and even if no one sees me, I feel gross.
20. I feel better in a clean room. I have a hard time starting a new project in a dirty room. I have to clean it first! I think I even sleep better when my house is clean.
21. I think I may have been a gymnast in a previous life (just kidding!). I actually get emotional when I watch those talented athletes perform, and I wish I could have been like that.
22. I love my boys, and if we could have one more, I'd actually want another boy.
23. Even though the previous comment is pure truth, sometimes I wish I had an excuse to be more "girly."
24. Making treats is one way I show my boys I love them. Does that make me disfunctional?
25. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't finish college. I really hope to get a degree before I die!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Whew! What a month!

Goodness! Where have we been all month? It'll take me days to update you... but for anyone who's interested:
Some of us sprained our backs while snowblowing the blizzard off our driveway (thankfully, it was minor - the doc prescribed ibuprofin and rest. I at least got some ibuprofin!), Some of us got new glasses (and he looks very handsome, by the way!),

some of us ate way too much homemade caramel popcorn,


some of us flooded our bathroom with bubbles,

some of us were released from our calling as Relief Society president, and she was oh so very excited at the prospect of having a little extra time when someone decided to break their collarbone... Oh, life never stops! I love life.