The Epiphany

Quinn pulled all the books off the bookshelf (no biggie) but one of the books lying on the floor was my yearbook. So I started perusing it and thats when it hit me.... EVERYONE thought they were cool in highschool, but NO ONE was! Point in case - picture above.

Who Wants to be a Doctor when they grow up?

The poor guy, he has worked 24 days straight. These aren't short shifts we're talking 12-16 hour days with an hour commute each way. In fact, Bekah made the comment the other day, "I haven't seen dad for a couple of days, is he out of town?" sad, but true. Well, he is trying to be the good, attentive dad (and he is!) but when he sits down with a kid... this is what happens. I have to laugh because on the other hand he is ADHD with projects (so he won't fall asleep). Our leaves have been mowed and mulched so many times that we had to borrow leaves from the neighbors just so he could mow some more. Then he has been building with the kids and encouraging projects (like pottery and shelf building), that quite frankly I'm not brave enough to attempt with all of them, and then their are the Christmas lights - let me just say 'the Griswold's." He's managing to keep up, but that vacation when residency is over just can't come soon enough!

One day Kaid was doing something a little naughty - not too bad because I can't remember what it was and I was laughing at the time and made the comment, "did the devil make you do it?" He looked at me and said, "what's the devil?" (Let me defend myself here - not only do we go to church every Sunday, have FHE, and read scriptures, but I try to teach my kids right from wrong and to be somewhat nice, decent human beings...) some how the devil lesson was skipped (or that was when he was standing on the back of the couch singing snowman for 337th time that night instead of listening to my carefully prepared FHE lesson) Anyway, I told him the devil tells you to do naughty things and Jesus tells you to do nice things... so fast forward a couple of days - every action or word he makes is prefaced with I'm listening to ______ (and he fills in with the appropriate person). And to think they were going to remove the word 'devil' from the Webster dictionary for lack of use!

A Little Tradition

OK, so we have a tradition that at Christmas we go to the store and each kid gets to pick out their own tree ornament for the year. We write their name and the year on the ornament and it is forever more their own. The next year they lovingly take their ornaments from their box and put them on the tree (oh no more fighting over who hangs what - it's lovely! - AND the most important thing...when they move out of the house - they take their ornament box with them.) Here's this years picks... Can you guess who the owners of these beauties are?

Anna truly believes diamonds are a girls best friend.



Save the Whales - Bekah



Baby Lexsie is the princess of the house


Quinns world is still seen in black and white.



Leave it to Kaid to find the goofiest, funniest thing out there!

I can totally see him as an old man with plaid shorts, black socks with his sandals, and a t-shirt that says 'I'm hot!'

Sick and Twisted Mind

I just discovered something about myself. Background: I made all the content, happy kids get up and go with me to Sams Club today. Now Bekah really is old enough to stay home alone, and old enough to keep a kid who is napping with her... but I made them all come with me. Something I do fairly often - then we had lunch at Sam's (a bonus part to my plan - not to have to cook/make my kitchen dirtier). Of course while we are walking around Sams I get several comments along the lines of, "are they all yours?" I parade down the toy isle past some really naughty acting kids and preen when the mother says, "she has 5 and her kids are behaving". And then while eating a nice gentleman came and complimented their behavior (Nice work kids!) That's when it hit me... I make them all come with me because I like the attention! Of course I'm proud of my kids, but as a mother we all know you don't get very many Kudos and so to remedy the situation I load all my kids up in the car, drag them to some store and march them around on parade. Of course there are the times the experiment doesn't work and people are whispering behind their hands as I drag crying, screaming, noisy, ill-behaved children out of the store embarrassed. No Kudos there. But those times it does work my sick and twisted mind really gets a kick out of it.

Sex Education

I've come up with the cure all to under-age sex.... In the schools all they need to do is show a video that goes something like this. Sex leads to babies. Babies grow into young children. Young children get sick in the middle of the night and want to tell you so they come stand by your bed - right by your face and vomit (this is where the video needs to be graphic). They throw up all over you! And then dramatically end the video showing the mother stumbling to the bathroom at 3 am covered in vomit.

Yep - it was a goooood night.

Anna's Birthday

Anna, what a beautiful young lady you are turning into. How time flies. It seems not long ago the ER doctor was racing upstairs to deliver you... now you are 6. I remember how you were when you where about 2. Very persistent. Like you would sit at the bottom of the stairs and cry for what seemed like 18 hours because you wanted me to carry you up, or how you would get out of bed 700 times a night, just to make sure we weren't sleeping. Now, that persistence has turned into a girl who can and will do anything. When you have your mind set on it - you keep trying and practicing and working on it until you have it. You are learning to read and the way you will sit and read books for hours after a full day of school astounds me. You are perhaps the most courageous person I know. When you were asked to give your first talk at church I thought, 'hmmm we'll see....' So you prepared a talk and we practiced at home the words and talking loud enough people could actually hear you. Then on Sunday you walked to the stand trembling, but all alone. Your hands were shaking and your voice was trembling and you shouted a fantastic talk! I was crying so hard and laughing hysterically at the same time that I totally ruined the spirit and mood that was there. I love you Anna. Happy Birthday.

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

OK, so there have been several incidents lately that made me ask Kaid, 'What where you thinking?' Of course this was stated accusatorily and with sarcasm. Then I started letting him tell me what he was thinking and now... I have a better understanding of boys. Some examples.

Example 1

I hear from the bedroom a pathetic cry, 'help! help! help!' and I go in and Kaid is hanging from the blind cord. Don't worry just his foot was actually stuck.

Me: what were you thinking?

Kaid: I was playing Indiana Jones

Me: OK - reasonable, let's not play Indiana Jones

Example 2

We get in the car to pick the kids up from school (I walk from one side to the other and get in- that's how long it took).

Kaid: Mom I wrote my name!

Me excited: you wrote your name!!!!! (the kid refuses to write his name. He is 4 1/2 it's time to learn, but until this incident he was allergic to pen and paper.)

Kaid: Yea, right here

Me: Right where.... the back seat of the car?

Kaid: YEAH

Me: What were you thinking?

Kaid: well, I didn't' want Bekah to sit in my spot, so I wrote my name on it.

Aside: Now every time he gets int he car he tells me, "we only write on paper - huh mom."

Example 3

I was wrapping presents and Kaid takes the brand new roll of paper into the toy room.

I follow him and see that he and Quinn are having a lovely time tearing it to shreds and ice skating on it.

Me: 'Um I needed that to wrap your Christmas present."

Kaid: 'Oh"

Me: What where you thinking?

Kaid: well, I was thinking it was a fun toy...

Example 4 - The classic Kaid

I was at the computer paying bills (Quinn and Kaid where happily playing trains). Out of nowhere WHACK! Kaid hits me - hard - it hurt!

Me: What where you thinking?

Kaid: Ummmmmm (shrugs shoulders and looks bewildered) I don't know.

Me: Well thanks for the honesty

So now it is kind of a fun game - I really am interested in knowing what he was thinking when he does something that appears to be really stupid and I am dreading the 'dumb boy teenage years' even more.

Whining Wednesday

Ok so 1st complaint. This is a hair dressers version of below the shoulders. Hmmm looks suspiciously above the shoulder to me.

On the up side - I had a very large donation for locks of love.

2nd. my toilet has over flowed -

upside - I have a toilet and it was only filled with clean unused toilet paper.

3rd. Marker all over the couch and coffee table -

up side ummmmm my couch and coffee table will be really really clean when I'm done getting the marker off.

4th. Craigs paycheck won't clear the bank and I have to make yet another trip to the bank to straighten it out. -

upside when it's cleared there will be money....

5th Quinn destroyed one of craigs palmware cd

upside- craig is married to me so he can't be mad at me forever.

6th Insurance companies YIKES the most inefficient run companies in the world!!!!!!

upside - we have health insurance.

7th it's only 9:30 in the morning.

upside - the rest of the day can only get better.

Thanks for letting me whine. I feel sooooooo much better!

I thought this was cute - just because it is a little sampling of everything that goes on around here.

Don't Watch this Video if you have less than 3 children...

OK so this started out as a video to remind Lex how much Quinn loved her as a baby and to show how much alike I think they look. But it turned into a reminder that babies really are very resilient! And there is a reason that the more babies you have the bigger they get! Anyone that has fewer than 3 children could be very scared by what they are about to witness. Those with larger families will understand.

Veteran's Day

Craig was invited into Bekah and Anna's school today for a special celebration. It started off a little rocky because Bekah wanted Craig to wear his uniform but Anna did not (she was afraid it would be against the rules). I explained that dad couldn't just wear the top half of his uniform, and he couldn't just wear the bottom half because people would really laugh at him half naked. So Bekah (who helped plan the celebration) asked her teacher if he should wear his uniform. The teacher asked, 'Can he still fit in it? Most veterans are old and can't fit in their uniforms.' Anyway, Craig got all dressed up and yes, it still fits. Kaid saw him and asked where he was flying to this time, Quinn just kept pointing to his head and grunting (he wanted Craigs hat). The neighbor told him he was dashing, and Anna's friend said, "Mr. Craig can do everything! He's a doctor, he flies airplanes, he fixes everything, and he's even a dad!" Then to top it off Craig was seated front and center! People kept asking him if they could take pictures with him and of him. Of course Craig was more than embarrassed by the attention and compliments. The funniest part of the day though is that Anna wouldn't make eye contact at the assembly (we're not sure if she was embarrassed or not), but Bekah escorted her dad into school with pride. Craig then visited the classrooms of both girls and answered questions - where he was the coolest visitor (mostly because he had been to places the kids actually knew about and he brought in his helmets and gas masks). Overall, it was great. I'm proud that Craig was able to serve our country and I have an even deeper respect for our freedoms because he has served. I am proud to know that my children also have a developing respect for our country and all that it stands for. Thanks to all those people who have helped to preserve our great nation!

OK - so I hate having something so negative as the first post people see for very long .... so I want to tell everyone how great Bekah is. First of all she is now 10 (and that is a great age for a mom with several other - smaller children). Tonight I had enrichment and Craig was working which means a family of 6 had enrichment. I told Bekah the situation and she said she would babysit the kids at church for me so I could go. What a great job she did. She packed a bag of things to play with, snacks for everyone, she took potty-breaks with the kids and played games with them, and when it was time to go she made sure the room they were in was all cleaned up and got the babies all buckled in their car seats. But the part that makes me the proudest is that she did it all on her own with a smile, and patience, and a great attitude. What an awesome daughter I have!

Soap Box

OK so I am sick and tired of Halloween. Why have all the holidays turned into holi-weeks. Has anyone else noticed that we don't just dress up on one day go to school, have a party, come home and do some trick or treating all in the same day? Now we trick or treat the Sunday before Halloween, we have a school party on a second day, the ward trunk or treat is on a third day (for better attendance?) and I'm sure there are other things you do on several more days - dress up for dance class or party at work day... Halloween has lasted a full week! And childhood obesity is all an all time high But, it's not just Halloween - what about thanksgiving or Christmas? I'm not talking about the feel good, do service, think of the savior for the month of December. No I'm talking about the month of December filled with shopping for gifts for people you barley know and can't afford, I'm talking about going to holiday party after holiday party so you don't offend anyone, I'm talking about seeing Santa at the mall, at the church, at school, on the street corner. Heck even voting day isn't a day anymore - you have voting for weeks before, absentee ballots, voter fraud, pols, solicitors. As far as I'm concerned the only people who deserve to absentee vote are military personnel who are over seas! These holi-weeks and holi-months are just too much! Oh yeah the ultimate irony is that on Oct. 31 - halloween DAY - there are no activitys. That's the day we stay home and pretend that it's not halloween...

Halloween in Ohio

They do this crazy thing in Ohio where you trick or treat the sunday before Halloween. So last sunday we hit the dusty trail... Of course this means we actually spend a whole week on halloween activities (a bit much if you ask me!) But, here they are...

Lexsie just wanted a nap - I carried her the whole way. And of course as every good mom knows I dutifully pushed the empty stroller with my other hand.

Quinn a ghost - whoooooo. Craig carried him the whole way (He got the short end of the stick as far as carrying kids goes)

Kaid was a Ninja Turtle.

Bekah was a Grecian Godess. Most people thought she was a roman queen.

Anna was also a Grecian Goddess. She had so much fun trick or treating with her friends.

Halloween Party

We had a lot of great and yummy food! Bekah and Grandma Sandy made a brownie black cat. Anna and Grandma Sandy made a bread and dip Mummy. And Grandma managed to find boogers and zit poppers.

Monster Eyes

Grandpa Bob and Grandma Sandy brought all sorts of great things for us to play with. Grandma made monster eyes to eat in a cup of hot cocoa!

Moment of Crazieness

Well I had a house full of kids and out of my mouth popped; "who wants to paint pumpkins?" Uhhh duh - this is what happens when you give a paint brush, orange paint, and a soggy paper sack to a one year old.

Probably only a grandparent will appreciate this one!

This is what you get when the 10 year old is having model shoots! I think it's too cute~

Thanks Aunt Stacy for the new Rain Gear - We have had plenty of opportunity to use it!

Pumpkins

Today we took a family trip to Ramseyer Farm. What fun we had! There were things for all the kids to do. Quinn rode the little wagon ride 7, 983 times. Anna and Bekah did the corn slide 438 times and Kaid spent 5 hours petting the animals. It was great. Of course we coulnd't leave without finding a pumpkin for each kid.

The Grand-Daddy Winner of them all was the 60 pounder (that's more than any of our kids weigh!) Craig couldn't resist!

A Mothers Job(s)

I was in the shower thinking - yes I do most of my best thinking in the shower ... now the secrets out about why I take such long showers - anyway I was thinking of all the jobs I get the privilege to attend to today. So I made a list. Feel free to add any I have forgotten.

Magician - I am to magically make a drink appear at any time and any place.

Spelunker - reaching into the abyss of a toilet to retrieve a toy counts

Mt. Climber - It takes 3 trips up a very long and steep set of steps to get all of my sleeping kids out of the car and into the house - more if groceries are included.

Chauffeur - yes I'm in the front, they are in the rear (where is the sound proof glass?)


Bus Driver - 8-10 kids could ride a short bus (short bus? hmmm)


Clown - I thought I was playing with my kids - Craig thought I could be accused of being MR


Merry Maid - Yes I'm a horrible mom - I make the 7 beds each day (but they actually look good when I do it!)

Detective - 'Did you bite your brother?'

Hunter - I am in charge of getting rid of any pests that are trying to infiltrate our house this fall. Mice, Chipmunks, Moles, and Wood-Peckers.


Counselor - Kaid said, 'your making me mad mom' I reply, 'I'm glad you feel comfortable sharing your feelings, but I don't care. Now it's still bedtime.'


Nurse/Doctor - based on the severity of the wound


Movie Critic - You can't watch Sponge Bob for the 7 billionth time because it's a show that makes you stupider not smarter.



Massage Therapist -when those legs are hurting from growing pains
Sanitation Worker - Diapers - 'nuff said

Phone Book 'What's so and so's number' (I didn't know I could be an inanimate object)
Religion Professor - why did God make bad people?

Journalist - scrap booking our current events

Nail Tech - I get to cut and color my kids nails on a regular bases

Police Man - 'Are you chewing gum? Your banned from gum!!!! Remember when you got it in your toes!)

Nutritionist - 'No you can't take just tootsie rolls in your lunch today'

Child Development Expert - We all know it takes a lot to really, really scar your child for life

Research Assistant - New Math (I wasn't all up on the old math -where is the homework hotline number?)

Weather Man - don't forget your coat

Fashion Consultant - A swimsuit and rain boots are a huge fashion faux -pas in kindergarten.
Interrogator- Did you wet your pants - denial - I know you wet your pants - denial - Just go in and change.

Treasure Hunter - I always know where x marks the spot - yes, your shoes are out by the tramp, your book bag is still in the car, your favorite toy fell behind the toilet

Interpreter - a 1 1/2 Year old

Cow - I'm nursing

Ghost Buster - I get rid of any scary entities in bedrooms at night.

Pack Horse - How do I end up with 3 back-packs and 2 babies to carry home from the bus stop?

Natural Disaster Rescue Worker - Natural Disaster = Toy Room, Rescue Worker = 'Don't throw the ball to the baby she can't catch it!'

Geek Squad - I'm the first person they call when Reader Rabbit has dissappeared down the rabbit hole because some innocent child (Quinn) started hitting buttons at random.

...and this list was developed all in the shower this morning. Productive Shower!