Supermom Strikes Again!

Playpen

2012-01-31T13:34:00.004-07:00

So far everyone is getting along. And the big kids seem to be enjoying the baby toys.

Da Da

2012-01-12T19:12:00.003-07:00

Audrey, 8 months old.

Christmas Traditions

2012-01-08T17:34:00.006-07:00

I love the traditions of my childhood and I am enjoying passing those traditions on to my children. And of course, establishing new traditions in my own home. Here are some traditions from my childhood that I am passing on to my children:

We always got a new pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve before bed. This year I sent my kids down to get their PJ's on and they were amazed that new pajamas had "magically" appeared on their beds! It was fun to play Santa's advocate.

On Christmas Eve, after a Family Home Evening lesson with the account of the Savior's birth in Luke 2, we always played board games, had a fire in the fireplace, and ate goodies. It is such a cozy memory. We did that this year as well. We taught the kids how to play Sorry and it was so much fun to play it with them now that they get how! What a fun age!

This Christmas we also discovered the magic of "The Polar Express" with children who truly believe. We discovered how much fun it is to get gifts for our children and help them pick out gifts for one another. It was fun to decorate Christmas cookies and have a game night with friends.

Other traditions include a dramatic reading of "The Grinch," and coffee cake for breakfast on Christmas morning. Everyone stays in their pajamas all day long, right? It was so fun to watch the kids go from one new treasure to the next all day. Audrey looked like she really wanted to just roll in the piles of wrapping paper all over the floor...that paper looked so TASTY!

The kids received so many fun and thoughtful and generous gifts: Hungry Hungry Hippos was the request of choice from Santa (Whew! That was only $13!). The kids also got nerf guns, new gloves, new coats and shirts and pants and socks, Build-a-Bear stuffed animals from a secret Santa, books, coloring books, puzzles, and so much more! I got some new kitchen items including a scale, new silverware and Chris got me a dock for my iPod! I suppose my new haircut counts as a Christmas gift as well. I am one step closer to being back to my original hair color. Oh yeah, and Chris himself installed a new (used), WORKING, and free dishwasher for me on Christmas Eve! I love having a dishwasher again! And I thought on a new budget, we would be having a simple Christmas.... Not so! We are too blessed!

December

2012-01-07T21:24:00.010-07:00

Its been awhile and I have some catching up to do. Here are some happenings from the grand months of November and December.

Leah had her first visit from the Tooth Fairy. The tooth pulling experience was apparently very traumatic, and now she will not allow any force to be executed on future teeth, which must come out by themselves. She is planning on capturing the tooth fairy to use it for pixie dust, and is devising traps and fairy houses, so you'd think she would want the tooth fairy to come back again soon...

Speaking of teeth, Audrey has two. They are sharp. She is fulling crawling and pulling herself up and has quite an appetite. We all love her; Love to give her kisses and hugs and make her smile. She did not care for Santa.

Leah turned 6 and finally got a Rapunzel Barbie. We also had a birthday party and did crafts and made playdoh...I managed to underestimate (yet again) how much work it is to have that many 5 and 6 year olds at the same time. I also made the ugliest pinata known to mankind. If you can tell what it is supposed to be, please enlighten me. It took me over a week to make that thing out of newspaper and flour and glue, and we were happy to beat it to a pulp in the end (but it was surprisingly sturdy and Chris had to get out his baseball bat).

Samuel is always ready to strike a pose and make a silly face. He keeps us smiling. And brimming with pride. But he usually forgets what he meant to do in the bathroom and we find him 30 minutes later playing in the sink water with his lower half stark naked.

We've had several visits from our favorite friends, the Swensons of Las Vegas. It is a fun, noisy crowd! That Samuel and Anna get along really well...remind me to keep an eye on them when they are 14.

Chris and I went on a "field trip" with my coworkers to see a fellow TA perform in "Savior of the World" in Salt Lake, and it was fabulous. It was so great to spend a night out (without kids) and in the company of great people!

More coming soon!

Tightening the purse strings

2011-11-16T12:28:00.003-07:00

Here are some top signs that money is tight:

Red box is too expensive
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is a luxury of the past
You are eating the end slices from the loaf of bread
Today's plate scrapings become tomorrow's baby food
You leave the baby's diaper on until it is completely saturated
The kids have more in their piggy banks than you do (that 5 dollar bill is soooo tempting...)
Your daily Dew fix has been replaced by a healthy dose of Excedrin
You take the whole family to Sam's club when the free samples are aplenty and call it lunch
You turn away the canned food-seeking Cub Scouts empty handed
You start buying fattier milk because it costs the same but has more calories
Cracker sandwiches, endless possibilities. Who knew?
You start eyeballing your furniture wondering what it would fetch on Craigslist
You plan on doing your Christmas shopping at the Dollar Store

See and believe

2011-11-10T14:40:00.004-07:00

In case you needed proof that my six-month old is crawling.

How did she get to be six months already?

And as Audrey is about to get her first tooth, Leah is about to lose her first tooth!

This week at our house

2011-11-05T12:14:00.003-07:00

Halloween in a nutshell

2011-10-31T23:43:00.000-07:00

Here is our unruly bunch. Leah was the most proud and the most practiced Rapunzel since Mandy Moore. And Samuel was a cute little pirate named Jake. All we are missing is the cowlick. Audrey was my little Dalmation this year, as was Samuel when he was that age. I am pretty impressed with myself for sewing Leah's and Samuel's costumes, the Jake vest I made without a pattern. I did Jake for $0 and Rapunzel for about $15 (except for the hair...that was pricey). I also did a couple comissioned costumes this year--pictures coming soon, but that is why I didn't have time to make a costume for myself. Oh, well, it was fun, and we have 365 days to get ready for next year....

At our house we have the law of candy consecration, which means that all Halloween loot goes into one candy bucket from which all can pick their one peice after dinner. This serves a couple purposes: it helps us monitor the candy, it eliminates posessiveness and "fairness" of who got more tootsie rolls or pixie sticks, and most importantly it give the grown ups equal access to the candy.

How to make bread

2011-10-05T21:40:00.004-07:00

Would you believe that she has never seen Rachael Ray?

Her stage presence has improved quite a bit in the year and a half since her first cooking video here.

(*There is a gem at 3 minutes, 10 seconds...*)

Audrey frowns on command

2011-09-27T12:34:00.000-07:00

Inchworm

2011-09-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

I blinked, and now my not-yet-five-month-old baby is trying to crawl. I am not prepared for this development. See for yourself: she has the legs figured out, so its only a matter of time until she pushes off with her arms and then never stops. She wants to go places, thats for sure. Is it normal for babies to crawl before they can even sit up by themselves?

Some close-ups of those irresistible baby cheeks and afro-hair. She is generous with her smiles! Coming soon--teeth! And solid foods! Won't that be fun!? (Does it seem to anyone else that this baby is growing up too fast...?)

Perhaps only the Grandmas will truly appreciate all four minutes of the baby-trying-to-crawl video.

Poduncadick 2011

2011-08-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

We survived Poduncadick! August 11-13, 2011 (Perseid Meteor Shower), Strawberry Reservoir, Utah.

5 Popes

7 Duncans

5 Fosdicks

2 Days

3 Tents

6 Adults

11 Children

Lots and lots of dirt

We had a blast on our camp out where the children truly relished in the dirt. We pitched our tent at probably a 30 degree angle, amidst trees and stumps, but managed to sleep pretty well owing to our 2 inches of memory foam. Fun, not as relaxing as I had hoped, but I did manage to finish a book. Audrey was the easiest--she slept all night twice, and managed to stay quite cheerful and comfortable in the 80 degree days and 40 degree nights. It helped to have so many willing baby holders. We had only minor injuries and one potty accident. The kids tried all day to catch a pot gut, but in vain. We enjoyed the campfires and board games, french toast and fajitas, shooting stars and full moon, surprisingly decent flush toilets and most of all the company of fun friends. It was really nice to leave my iPod behind for two days and never look in a mirror once or brush my hair. I was the only one to get a lobster red sunburn, lucky me. It took a full week to clean up all the gear and I lost track of laundry loads at about 7. It was a great experience and I'm already looking forward to next year's camp out.

Some photo highlights:

New Blog Design and Header

2011-08-22T01:15:00.002-07:00

So...do you like the new blog design? I got a super cute Supermom Mother's Day card this year from my mom and was inspired to use the cute designs (and "S" logo!) on it to make a new blog header and background, and here it is finally! It probably would have been much faster if I actually had the real photoshop, and not just Elements, and if I actually knew what I was doing in it. It has been fun, but I have now stayed up super late and will regret it tomorrow...Anyway, what do you think?

"Eventually" has come--Audrey at three months

2011-08-20T20:09:00.007-07:00

Daily checklist:

1. Sleep
2. Cry
3. Eat
4. Poop
5. Spit up
6. Smile!

7. Repeat.

Audrey is such a sweetheart. She is getting better at sleeping most of the night. She can hold up her head for a little while, loves tummy time, and she can accidentally roll from her front to her back. Chris is an expert at tickling her and getting her to laugh. "A smile behind every binkie" is what he says, and it is true! We get the greatest comments on her awesome hair--if I had a nickle... She can wiggle 360 degrees around and get herself stuck in the bassinette-time to move to the crib!

I finally bit the bullet and moved Leah and Samuel to the basement and put up the crib in the upstairs bedroom, which is now the baby's room! (She has previously resided in the living room her whole life!) It was a big project to rearrange all the bedrooms--the basement has actually been a work in progress for several months, involving moving the weight room and reallocating all the rooms and closets in the basement. But now that everything is in its place, it is so nice to have a nursery with crib, rocking chair and changing table all in one place.

Leah and Samuel are having a blast with their baby sister. She recognizes their faces and instantly grins. Thery are very protective. They always tell random people (cashiers, waitresses, people at the front door...) all about their baby sister-her name, how old she is, that she spits up a lot, etc. It is quite entertaining. We are so glad she is part of our family!

And a video!

1 jumbo marshmallow=28 birthday candles

2011-07-28T17:20:00.004-07:00

Yesterday we had an awesome birthday bash. I like to do something different every year on my birthday, and this year I wanted to have a campfire (if you know me at all, you know that I am somewhat of a pyromaniac). The torrential rain ceased just in time to set up my new firepit on the patio and roast marshmallows with friends. We had a blast! I had friends come from all walks of life, friends from home, from college, from work, neighbors in the ward...It is so nice to be loved by so many people! Thank you all for making my birthday so wonderful and memorable!

We all know that marshmallows + chocolate + graham crackers= yummy deliciousness. Let the record show that s'mores made with dark chocolate is pure heaven!

Audrey's Baby Blessing

2011-07-18T09:31:00.005-07:00

Audrey was given a priesthood blessing by her dad in church on Sunday, July 3. One of my favorite parts of the blessing was when Chris blessed her to be "physically and spiritually triumphant." It was a special day for all of us! We were very blessed to have family and friends join us for the occasion: Grandpa and Grandma, the Stansfields, the Coombs, Aunt Sue and Uncle Jess, Aunt Janet and Uncle Grant. Audrey was so beautiful in the little green dress that I wore for my baby blessing nearly 28 years ago. (Can you tell who is who?)

Celebrations, Part 1

2011-07-06T14:32:00.010-07:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. We are so glad to have Grandma and Grandpa visiting to celebrate with us. After iPod Scrabble wars, we started off the weekend celebrations by attending the Best Neighborhood Party ever, with tons of food and sweets, fireworks, volleyball, movie, and good friends. The kids loved the sparklers and glow sticks, and even Audrey was mesmerized by the fireworks.

On Monday, we enjoyed watching the kids as they enjoyed the parade, (while I not so discreetly wished I could have been selling otter pops at $.46 profit each.)

Then we did sparklers at home and had root beer floats. That's American tradition at its best!

Quintessential Housewife

2011-07-06T14:13:00.005-07:00

I wasn't pregnant anymore, but I was certainly barefoot for the Father's Day's shrimp buffet I provided for my loving husband. For a girl who doesn't like seafood, this just shows how much I really love this guy. I made him shrimp cocktail, shrimp scampi, and coconut shrimp. The kids enjoyed the shrimp too, while I had tater tots for dinner.

Endings and Outings

2011-06-12T17:46:00.009-07:00

May was a big month for Leah. Not only did she become a big sister again, but she graduated from Preschool and finished a year of Ballet!

Preschool Graduation, with Miss Carol and then with friend Julia:

Leah's Ballet Recital, pictured with Miss Jennie and Miss T (Tiare):

To celebrate the end of one season and the beginning of the next, we visited Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point. There is something about that red window pane that lends itself particularly to photographing my not-so-little-anymore girl.

Now for a fun summer and then on to Kindergarten!

All in a day's weekend's work

2011-06-11T19:18:00.009-07:00

This weekend we put together this:

While the kids did this:

And resultantly fell asleep before dinner:

There was another one of Samuel reposing stark naked on the hall floor, but alas, it was inappropriate for Blogger.

I must say, experience has taught us much about working together peacefully. We worked for 5 hours in the hot sun and got most of the shed put together, stopping only to referee the kids. After dinner and putting kids to bed, we went back outside to work a little more in the daylight we had left. By then it was windy and chilly and buggy, and the pieces we were putting together got tricky. By 9:30, we were running the car headlights to see in the dark, and by 10:30 we were jump-starting said car by light of iPod. iPod doubling as access to jump-start instructions and flashlight. (What did we ever do before WiFi and portable devices?)

In a former life, this comedy of errors would have made us frustrated and contentious. As it was, we were really quite amused and cooperative. And spending all say in the hot sun doing manual labor makes one sleep like the dead, indeed.

Then and Now

2011-05-31T05:46:00.002-07:00

How is it that such a tiny little person has turned my life so completely upside-down?

I used to fit into all the clothes in my closet. I used to have all my kids potty trained. I used to have an organized work and babysitting schedule. I used to get enough sleep at night. I used to be able to take a sleep aid and sleep even better. I used to take 15 minute showers at my leisure.
I used to have a perfect balance of anti-depressant and anxiety medications. I used to have an appetite. I used to enjoy playing with my kids and reading them stories. I used to feel loving and familiar toward my kids. I used to feel like I was in control of my life.

Now only half my clothes fit. Now I have a newborn using half a dozen diapers a day and a Samuel who's new nickname is Mr. Pottypants. Now I have a kindergartener and an infant and have to figure out a work schedule and daycare schedule all over again. And in the mean time, I'm not making any money at all. Now I am always tired and grouchy. I only get to take power showers and teaser naps, and I only sleep in three hour increments, if I'm lucky. Now I have to start over on finding a combination of antidepressants that is effective. Consequently, I don't enjoy food and my kids are always disappointed that I don't feel like playing with them. Now my kids are giants and strangers to me. I feel impatience and frustration toward them instead of love, and I feel like I have to reinvent my relationship with them. In fact, I can't remember feeling loving toward anyone or anything, not to mention feeling like laughing or smiling. I feel anxious that I have no control over my house and my children and my life.

Whereas I used to have life pretty much figured out, now I am starting completely from scratch.

Roller Coaster

2011-05-27T18:15:00.003-07:00

This week I was part SuperMom, and part SuperGrouch. SuperMom is cheerful and on the ball, gets out the door on time, goes on walks, plays with her kids, and stays on top of the dishes and laundry. SuperGrouch is tired, grumpy, emotional, impatient, ingores the dishes and the laundry, makes frozen pizza for dinner, and yells at her 3 and 5 year old.

This week I cleaned out and scrubbed the fridge...
But I also impaled my three year old with a shopping cart and had his eyebrow glued back together. (What is it with my kids and shopping carts?) It turns out I could have saved myself a copay and fixed his face with neosporin and a bandaid.

This week I took my kids for a long walk and play at the park...
But at the park Leah got a bug bite on her foot and it was swollen and red and hot for 2 days.

This week we had a family outing to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point and had a blast and brought a picnic lunch and didn't buy any fast food at all...
But Samuel got a puffy itchy face from petting all the animals and on the way home we had to stop at Babies 'R Us and get a new carseat for Audrey because the one we bought last month was DEFECTIVE and already BROKE!

This week I vacuumed the carpet...
But its already dirty again.

This week I took the kids to story time at the Library...
But story time is on hiatus in May and we have overdue books and the kids have susequently been watching their Library movies for three days straight.

I feed the baby a dozen times a day...
But when she doesn't poop for 2 days, she is very fussy and that makes me very fussy.

Momnesia

2011-05-21T09:04:00.003-07:00

I think I lost brain cells giving birth.

This week I have said the following stupid things:

I can't remember lunch.

Where did I put the baby?

Go left. I mean right. Which way is right?

Was he naked when you got here?

Did I pee today?

Audrey's First Week

2011-05-15T10:38:00.006-07:00

Audrey is now 9 days old, and my mom is leaving today--the nerve! Mom has done wonderfully taking care of us--she has successfully proved herself and will have her Grandma License renewed in full for another year. She has done the yardwork, the laundry, the cooking, the dishes, the breakfast shift, the mending, the window washing, and so much more. I have been able to get naps when I needed it. It has been so nice to have her here. Tomorrow Chris will go to work for 10 hours and I will be the one in charge of all of us! That will be interesting...

The first couple days were impossibly exhausting for me, having had a physically demanding delivery and being expected to feed a hungry baby constantly with...nothing! for 3 days.

Now that the pump works, Audrey is a wonderful baby. She is an excellent nurser, although she thinks that if she is awake, she needs to also be eating. Otherwise she wants to be asleep--we took her with us on some errands to get her to have some awake time, afraid that if she were to sleep all day it would consequently result in being awake all night. She slept completely through all of her public appearances! The store, the baby carrier, the carseat, the park...she slept through it all. I am teaching her from the start that I will not be a human pacifier and that I intend to get sleep at night, thank you very much. When fully fed, she will sleep for 3-4 hours at a time in the night, which is delightful. Should I worry that it won't last? What if I become accustomed to four hour sleep segments, only to have my baby suddenly revert back to nocturnal again? Ahhh!

Audrey has already projectile pooped on me, resulting in a wardrobe change for the both of us. That was gross. And after nursing, she promptly falls into a delirious, drunken partial sleep in which her eyes flutter, she spontaneously smiles, and she drools milk. Priceless.

Having a baby in the Spring has been a dramatic and much needed contrast from my first two winter babies. I have been able to get out of the house--it has been so nice to get sunlight, go on a walk, sit in the grass, not having to worry about wind and snow and bundling up in layers. And I want to get out of the house! Knowing that I am predisposed to depression has also prepared me better--I know what I can handle and what I can't; when to say yes and when to say no; what will help me feel human and what will make me want to hide in a dark cave. (Trying to avoid the urge to hide in a cave this time around...) Even so, with my well-behaved kids and my peaceful baby, and my supportive husband and my mom here to help, I am still exhausted--my entire body hurts and my emotional core is particularly tender. But that's just part of the package.

Here are some photo highlights of Audrey's first week on Earth.

What I got for Mother's Day

2011-05-07T18:00:00.004-07:00

This!

Meet Audrey Margaret! Born: May 6, 2011.
7 lbs 10 oz, 20 inches.

Chris, my awesome nurse Allie, and Flavia de Luce kept me company all day. Labor and delivery seemed eternal and were exhausting, with Audrey to blame for coming out face first. Ouch. (for me, not her.) It was especially hard to be nauseated the whole time. I threw up no less than four times in the process.

Narcotics don't seem to agree with me, so I was up all night itching instead of sleeping, doing things like vowing never again to eat orange jello, looking up Audrey Hepburn movies I need to watch, and researching the famous people that share a birthday with my baby girl. Notables include Sigmund Freud, Orson Welles, and George Clooney. In case you wanted to know.

Grandma is hard at work cutting the big kids' hair, washing dishes, and truly earning her grandma license, and she's only been here a matter of hours. Now time for me to get some sleep.

Waiting

2011-05-01T16:45:00.004-07:00

Soon. Baby Sister will be here soon. We had a family photo op this morning. Chris thinks I look good in my maternal roundness. I'm glad someone thinks so.

37 Weeks

2011-04-22T11:36:00.003-07:00

3 weeks to go. Gosh I hope it doesn't take that long.

I had a dream the other night that I gave birth to a three year old, and the next day to a newborn. I had one of those kinds of dreams with Samuel, too. Strange. Well, this time, the newborn was a boy with lots of red hair and big ears and in my dream, I thought he was so goofy looking that the only appropriate name for him was Charlie. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against goofy-looking people, red-heads, or people named Charlie--this was all my subconscious.

All about Samuel

2011-03-31T20:38:00.001-07:00

Meet my sweet Samuel!

Samuel is such a friendly guy! At the mall or in my building on campus, he will walk up to random passersby and start a conversation. Icebreakers have included: "I have a haircut," "It was my birthday, but my birthday is over now," "Grandma Benac died," and "My mom has that iPod, too! Do you have mad birdies?" For a long time, he thought that all salt and pepper haired gentlemen with glasses was Grandpa. I kept reminding him that it was probably someone's grandpa, but not ours. After that, he would excitedly point out the same type of person and say "Look! Somebody else's Grandpa!!!" His lack of fear around strangers reminds me of myself at that age..

Samuel is calculated and careful. Playing UNO with the kids, Samuel is the one who will put his cards down and pause the game in order to meticulously straighten the discard pile. How may three year olds do that? He will also sit and play Angry Birds on end and actually get good scores!

He is so animated. Last week he was riding in the shopping cart playing Frogger on my iPod, and every time his frog got hit by a car (like, every 15 seconds...), he screamed and squealed. All the little old ladies were truly smitten. When we watched Toy Story 3 the second time, he, very convinced that this is all real, shouted out a warning to Buzz as he approached the questionable vending machine, "No! Don't go in there!" Everyone in the movie theater heard it and laughed.

He is also very concerned and expressive. A few weeks ago we were teaching the children Lehi's dream in the Book of Mormon. They were very interested in the story and seemed to understand the symbolisms that we were explaining (this kind of attention span is very rare, trust me!). When I told them about the mists of darkness and what it would mean and how sad it would be for one of our family to be "lost" in a modern day mist of darkness, Samuel burst into tears and said "I don't want to get lost in the mist of darkness!!!" Lets hope he keeps that righteous ferver!

At the mall play area last week, the kids were playing and had taken off their shoes. A few minutes later, Samuel came to us crying. We didn't see him get hurt, so were curious what was wrong. He announced "That kid took my shoes!" We looked, and sure enough, another kid playing had the same pair of Walmart shoes. We showed Samuel his own shoes sitting on the bench next to us and he was appeased.

He's emotional, too. But most of that is probably being three. We are teaching him how to use words instead of emotions when something is not his way. He likes to melt down and cry or yell or hit at those moments, but he's learning that I don't tolerate it at all. We can usually nip it right away. He has definately learned that when Mom starts counting to three, he better get his booty in motion, because three means a spank. He tries to protest, but by the time I get to two, he is repentant and quick-footed. When I announce what is for lunch or dinner, he tells me if it is his favorite or not, meaning if he wants it right now or not. So for example, today it was "Spaghetti is not my favorite. Chicken nuggets feels me better." And of course tomorrow, chicken nuggets will not be his favorite.

Samuel is (finally!) a big boy, and he is so proud of it! Every night at pajama time he protests a night time diaper because "Big boys don't wear diapers." And whenever I take him potty in public, he is very concerned that we have to use the girls bathroom. This week I called him "sweetie pie" and he corrected me in all seriousness with "I'm not sweetie pie, I'm big boy pie."

Samuel is quite a gymnast and a daredevil. Just look at my post last month about putting up the rings in the basement. We are planning on getting him in to a gymnastics class very soon.

Samuel LOVES babies! It is so cute to see him dote over some little stranger in a stroller wherever we go--we're working on learning about personal space. I think he is going to really enjoy being a big brother!

Samuel plays until he is completely wiped out. Here is some photographic evidence that by dinner-time, Samuel-who-didn't-nap will fall asleep anywhere.

To-Do List

2011-03-31T16:20:00.000-07:00

Ugly Fence, meet Stain.

Assuming that we will start having nice days soon, do you think I will be able to put all five gallons of stain on the fence before having a baby?

Before you answer, here is what I did this week:

Made a quadruple batch of banana bread and delivered loaves to friends,

Took apart the drawers in the kids dresser and replaced the bottom wooden boards that were broken and tightened all the screws,

Jury-rigged the bassinet with wooden dowels on the bottom because two out of four were missing (that one only took 1/2 hour!),

Installed wooden-slat blinds in our bedroom (without instructions, and with two helpers),

Washed all the bedroom curtains,

Sewed black-out fabric onto the kids curtains,

Moved the dresser and set up a baby changing station,

And I'm still working until the semester is over!

(Phew! I'm tired!)

I have six weeks left, and I would go nuts if I sat around rubbing lotion on my belly and timing contractions waiting for Baby Sister to be born, so I made a to-do list. It includes things like organizing baby clothes, fixing the mailbox, putting together a shed, painting the trim on the back door and restaining the fence, making matching summer dresses for Leah and Baby Sister, organizing and dejunking our closet...and a few more. I'm not even going to bother planning my garden until after she's born, because its been known to snow here in late May. Who knows if the garden will even happen at all this year.

When I was at this point before Samuel was born, I scrubbed the couches and had Chris bring me every light fixture in the house so I could throw away the bugs and scrub away the dust. Maybe that should be on my list, too.

So, which do you think will come first? Five gallons of wood stain? Or Baby Sister? The race is on...

Baby Sister, 33 weeks

2011-03-30T16:06:00.005-07:00

Here are some pictures of Baby Sister at 33 weeks (last week). She measured about a week big, and if I remember correctly, that happened with my other pregnancies, and by delivery time they measured a week small. The doctor said she is about 4 1/2 pounds. I can't wait to meet her!

So far, we still haven't decided on what her name is. I like a lot of little girl names, but I just don't know which one is right! I am hoping that I will know the minute I look at her cute little face. Every day, I have a different favorite name. This week I have cycled through: Abbie Rae, Lexie, Gracie Margaret, and Margaret Hannah. Chris is kind of tired of my baby naming indecision, and is now saying "Yes, honey, that sounds great!" to everything I come up with. Who knows what we will end up with! Plus, I am still holding on to a sliver of hope that she could be blond, and that will definately affect what her name is, don't you think?

In the face picture, it looks like there are some bubbles under her chin, which I at first thought were hands, but they are the umbilical cord. Cool, huh?

New Installation

2011-03-14T19:51:00.007-07:00

Check this out! We have these two gymnast kids and IKEA has these awesome play rings for $10!!!! Add 30 minutes of joist-finding and drilling, and we have two happy kids and the awesomest basement on the block!

To register or not to register?

2011-03-09T09:19:00.000-07:00

We are the happy custodians of Lola's Van while she is oversees and the time has come to re-register it. I have been dreading this moment, knowing how much it costs to get all the tests and pay all the fees, not to mention we need to replace the windshield in order to pass the safety test. (I am looking in to whether or not our insurance will cover it, but it doesn't look like it...) Well today I got a statement from the Washington State Department of Licensing with a summary of the charges to re-register the van in WA.

I'll let you decide...

Utah
$1.00 Uninsured Motorist Identification Fee (Don't I already pay this on my insurance?)
$2.50 Driver Education Fee
$6 Title Fee (transfer title to new state)
$80 Uniform Statewide Age-based Fee (for 6-9 year old car)
$17 Utah Safety Test
$25 Utah Emissions Test
$178 New windshield (to pass safety test)

$309.50 Subtotal, plus
$--? Registration Fee (to be determined—about $100 for our Honda)

Washington
$3.00 Filing Fee
$30.00 License Fee (road construction/maintenance)
$20.00 Vehicle Weight fee (highway improvements/transit)
$0.75 License service fee (computer system that provides licensing services)
$53.75 Total

Big Belly Pic

2011-03-07T21:11:00.002-07:00

30 weeks down.

10 to go.

Compare to 16 weeks.

Why does ten weeks seem so long right now?

Performances

2011-03-07T20:19:00.003-07:00

All About Leah

2011-03-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

Meet my beautiful daughter, Leah.

One of the most distinctive things about Leah is that she is insanely imaginative. She can make-believe out of anything. Balloons that have lost their float, a paperclip, a square of (clean) toilet paper, a clothes hanger, a 2 inch flooring sample. She will find a way to create an imaginary world around it. Her fingers are her friends, with constantly changing identities. As of today, they are elephant fairy butterflies; they play and sometimes even argue and hit.

She also interacts with a TV show or movie, singing and dancing along with the characters, playing the storyline again by herself later. Today I whipped together a 30-minute fairy skirt out of some leftover fabric, truly homemade, but she thinks it is the greatest thing that has ever happened to her. And she is now playing "Fairies." Again. That girl doesn't need a whole lot to have a good time.

Leah is really worried that she hasn't decided yet what she will be when she grows up. Some days she want to design buildings and build bridges. Other days she wants to be a dogcatcher. But every day she wants to go to the moon.

One of her latest announcements is that when she grows up, she is going to have a teaching studio where she teaches people how to be superheroes and fairies (and even superhero-fairies). It will have a rainbow roof and a blue door. I am trying to convince her to charge more than $1 for her classes, because I think they sound great.

She is constantly asking me when she can go on her first rescue mission to save people from bad things like fires, floods, falling out of trees, being captured, etc.

Leah is curious. She asks profound questions and wants to understand the world. Recent words she has asked us to define are nocturnal, extinct, comfortable, decay, drowning, hoodwinked, cave, tornado, and more good ones I can't remember. She even knows a handful of Spanish words thanks to Dora and my elementary spanish vocabulario. She also wants to understand how the body works. We got a children's human body encyclopedia at Christmastime, but that wasn't enough, so this week Chris brought out his college anatomy textbook and we showed her where babies grow and how they get out. (At least she doesn't want to know how they get in.)

Today she was shocked (like, jaw-dropped) to learn that sticks are made of wood and that wood and paper come from trees. And yesterday, the little girl who wants to protect the butterflies from the birds was equally shocked to learn that we eat cows and pigs and chickens every day.

She'll ask us deep questions about what happens in a flood or an earthquake and we will start explaining how things work. Then she'll surprise us with a question like, "Where do the fairies go when their building collapses?" or "How will they fly away from the flood if their wings get wet?" I think she's smart enough that at some point in time she will filter out the imaginary from the real, so I'm going to keep giving her real answers.

Leah is determined and loves learning. She is looking forward to swimming lessons this summer where she has decided she wants to swim without floaties. And now that she knows kindergarteners learn how to read, she asks me weekly how long it will be until she can go. (And she asked me what kind of garden they have, too).

Leah is creative. She prefers artistic projects such as doodling, glueing, cutting, constructing fairy houses out of cardboard boxes, etc. When Samuel gets his hands on my iPod, he goes right for the games, but Leah goes for the doodling app and the letters flashcards.

Leah is conscientious and helpful. When she wants to, she will help me clean or put away laundry, frantically scrubbing walls with a brush, sorting through the laundry as fast as her little arms will go, remarking "Look at how fast this is going!" She always wants to help bake or sew. She is a cheerful helper.

She recently heard a dentist tell her story-time group that you should brush twice a day. Now every afternoon she concernedly observes "We forgot to brush our teeth this morning!" I simply tell her that we always forget in the mornings and run out of time. So this morning I made it a point to brush teeth as part of our getting dressed routine. As soon as she had rinsed and spit, she declared "Now we need to floss." Smart girl.

Leah is also very silly--a characteristic she got from her silly parents. Leah is a good friend, always making new friends wherever we go, and never thinks about being shy unless someone reminds her to. And she is a great big sister. (Most of the time.) She is nurturing and wants to take care of the people around her. She is emotional and sensitive like girls always are, and is recognizing that it is hard work learning to control your emotions and deal with disappointments.

Oh, there is so much to say about my little girl!

One week at a time

2011-02-14T16:42:00.007-07:00

Every week, I turn to a new page in my calendar. My life is measured by Fridays in the lab at work, by laundry day, by preschool days, by story time at the library every Thursday, by Sundays at Church when my dresses are a little tighter than the week before.

Every week the ticker on my blog moves ahead. My belly gets a little bigger. I get a little more tired and have to slow down a little more.

Every week, the sunlight lasts a little longer, it gets a little warmer and the sunny, nice days become more commonplace. Every week, the promise of spring gets a little bit closer. (And with that, the promise of meeting our new baby).

Every week Samuel makes a new discovery about his body, resulting in a new stage of what can finally be termed "potty training." One week I was simply setting a timer. The next week, he figured out how to go. The week after that, he figured out how to tell us when he had to go. This week, he is protesting a diaper at night time and challenging himself to stay dry at night. (Yes! This kid a month ago would have rather gone in a diaper his whole life!)

Every week, the idea of our tax return falling into our laps gets a little more real. We are that much closer to a new dishwasher, or new insulation in the attic, or a shed. And that much closer to a little lower balance on our credit cards.

Every week Leah learns to sight-read a couple more words.

Every week my house gets a little messier.

Every week the Christmas lights on the outside of my house look that much more out of place.

Every week, the crack in the car windshield creeps another half a centimeter, and the registration renewal date gets a little closer.

Every week, my roots grow in a little further and I remind myself to get that taken care of.

Every week I pick up a couple new books from the library.

Every week, two month old baby Zeke gets a little stronger and that much closer to heart surgery. I thought I was melancholy, but I'm not going through anything like this family.

And that is how I measure my life. One monotonous week at a time, waiting for Spring.

Funnies

2011-01-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

Leah: "Ahhh. It's not too cold right now. Is it spring?"

Leah (prayer at dinner): "Please bless Grandma Benac...that she will do well...in Heaven."

Samuel: "I don't want to go in the toilet. I want 'nice try.'"

Mom: "What are you eating?" Samuel: "Boogers."

Incentives. Or rather, full-on bribery

2011-01-24T15:06:00.003-07:00

I know I'll be spending a fortune on diapers for Baby Girl in just a couple of months, but I do not want to spend a single penny more on diapers for Samuel. Come on, kid, get motivated! (PS--vote on your favorite Baby Girl name on the left)

We have tried the whole gamut with this kid, and I can not seem to get him motivated. "Oh, you pooped your pants. Now you can't have your new truck!" And straight-faced he says back: "I don't want my truck." "I don't want a marshmallow." "I don't want my bouncy ball." "I don't want to be a big boy, I want to wear a diaper." "I like taking cold showers." Ok, not really, he's never said he likes the cold shower, he mostly just squeals in terror and clenches those little white butt-cheeks, but it seems like he might as well be asking for it when he poops his pants daily!

I just plain out asked him "What do you want me to give you as a reward for going poop in the toilet?" fully expecting to give him whatever his little three-year old self designs to ask for. And then the poop happens in his pants and said reward is denied and stubbon three year old is completely indifferent.

Today I said "Samuel, you can't play with play-doh until you've pooped in the toilet," and "After you poop in the toilet, I'll get you a donut and you can have your bouncy ball back!" Well, he managed to get some of it in the toilet this morning and promptly asked for his bouncy ball, then his donut, then play-doh. Is this the trifecta of potty perfection? Will it work tomorrow?

So here is my question: I know it is different for every kid, but what was the "clicker" incentive that convinced your kid it was worth it to go in the potty? Was it wonderwoman underpants? Was it a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese? Was it as simple as fruit snacks or a single chocolate chip? Or was it fear of a punishment?

Birthdays

2011-01-13T20:33:00.007-07:00

Both of my children had birthdays in the last six weeks, and neither of which has been documented on the eternal blog. So here goes.

Leah turned five!

It's funny because whenever she tells someone how old she is, she says, "I used to be four, but now I'm five."

Aunt Rebecca and cousin Paul celebrated Leah's birthday with us, and took us to the Ogden Train museum, where the kids had a blast. For her birthday dinner she requested "salad," which means fruit salad, and garlic bread. She also was very pleased with her "Strawberry Shortcake" cake, which was really just a cake in which I added strawberries to the center filling for fun. I totally winged it, and it tasted great.

There was also a party with a bunch of five year olds, but I guess I was busy enough that the camera did not make an appearance at that party. You know what they are like: cake and ice cream, a bunch of kids most of my readers won't recognize, and an elated birthday girl tearing the paper off her gifts.

Samuel is three!

I was in Dallas for Grandma's funeral when he turned three, but we figured he wouldn't really know the difference if we celebrated a couple days later. He specifically requested a Spongebob birthday, which surprised me because I don't think we really watch Spongebob at our house. On the other hand, he does get a lot of Dora and princess exposure, so I am really glad he didn't ask for Dora or Ariel. It was fun to decorate (and eat) Spongebob. The trick is to frost the cake, then trace the image with a toothpick before icing the face on it.

The video displays the excitement of a little boy turning three, followed by what three year olds do best: be silly! Compare to this video of when he turned two.

The Unbroken Circle

2011-01-07T22:12:00.007-07:00

January 1, 2011, American Fork Hospital, Utah

Grandma had suffered mutli-organ failure, including damage to her lungs, heart, liver and kidneys. She was on a ventilator, which was forcing air into her lungs, and she was sedated so as not to choke or gag on the tubes. There was existing damage to her lungs from previous bouts of blood clots, and the other organ damage was due to reduced oxygen levels and a suspected virus. After receiving a priesthood blessing from Uncle Bill, the tubes were removed at about 2:45pm. Once the tubes were removed, she was able to breathe independently, and her oxygen level was remarkably high, although her blood pressure was very low, about 40 over 30. I think that would make anyone pass out; Grandma did not wake up at this point.

She seemed to sleep very peacefully, although her legs were jumpy as always, and she sneezed a lot. Gradually, her breathing rate decreased until after a while, there was no longer a blood pressure reading, and she stopped taking breaths. It was evident at this point that her face was no longer pink with life. It was about 4:00pm when the nurses turned off the monitors. I don't think we noticed the actual moment that she died, it was so gradual and peaceful.

During the hours that we sat with Grandma (my Aunt/Uncles and cousins), we looked at pictures of her as a young child and a young woman, we told stories, and sang hymns. We kept inviting her to set the record straight if we messed up any of the facts. I even offered to change my hair back to blond if only she would make her dying wish known, but she did not respond. The last hymn we sang was “Abide with me, Tis Eventide”.

We did a tally of how many there are in her progeny. There are 6 kids, 26 grandkids, and 49 great-grandkids, with 4 on the way. She came to Utah to spend Christmas with my Aunt Sue in Lehi, and was beating everyone at cards, shopping my cousin into the ground, playing with her new iPod until the very end. She was blessed to go quickly, without pain and prolonged suffering. That is a pretty good way to go.

When she was a young mom, she had a major illness during which she had a near death experience, viewing her body from above, conversing with the Savior and her daddy, and at that time asked to stay on earth and raise her children and finish her earthly mission. That she did indeed. I can imagine a similar greeting for her this time, only having completed a good and faithful earthly mission, she is rejoicing in going home to her parents, her husband, her infant daughter, and the hundreds of ancestors she's done temple work for over the years.

January 7, 2011, Plano/Dallas, Texas

Today was Grandma's funeral. It was a beautiful service. The flowers were beautiful. The people were beautiful. The music was beautiful. All of her children spoke and the granddaughters sang "I know that my redeemer lives." Funerals are always bittersweet, because of course we will miss our dear Grandmother, but we are happy that she can go home, she is released from her failing mortal body, she can be with loved ones on the other side, and we have the vital knowledge of eternal families and the resurrection.

Grandma was a friend to everyone. She was a missionary. She was always optimistic. She was a storyteller. She was adventerous. She was a go-getter and a problem solver and a giver and an entrepreneur. She never quit. She was beloved.

She has now taken her much anticipated and well deserved place in the family circle that exists around the glorious heavenly throne. There is a place for all of us in that circle. It was Grandma's wish that "God be with you 'till we meet again," for we will in fact meet again. And we will form an unbroken circle around the throne of glory.

Grandma would sign off "Keep Prayed Up."

Pictured Below

1: Elizabeth and I in our graduation robes in '05. One of the many times Grandma bounced right out of the hospital.

2/3: Benac Reunion in Park City, Utah, July 2006.

4: Grandma, Rebecca and Paul visiting my home in Provo in December '08.

Backstage Pass

2010-12-20T12:30:00.001-07:00

Being a rock star is hard work.

16 Weeks plus Thanksgiving Dinner

2010-11-28T22:48:00.008-07:00

Here is that standard side-shot of the pregnancy-in-process. I was very full after having just eaten Thanksgiving and its fixings, therefore it was a very good opportunity for the obligatory photo. Before you comment on whether or not you think I'm skinny for 16 weeks, please see the rules.

We had a superb time with the Swensons of Las Vegas for the Thanksgiving weekend, and all 6 children ages 5 and under got along famously. The little 2 year olds were especially cute admiring Ben, who is only 2 months old; the 4 and 5 year olds mastered the art of imaginative play famously. The adults were fully occupied by keeping all the little ones fed and clean (and making sure all the bleeds had band-aids), followed by keeping the kitchen clean, and discovered that engineering ginger bread houses is best left to engineers. There is hardly the need to leave the house much when there are more little kids than adults.

Liz showed me how possible it is to be a mom of twice as many kids as arms and to keep a house organized all without losing your mind, and I think it all comes down to that iPod touch...

We are especially grateful for good friends; For the option to simply sit around and swap stories; to laugh at ourselves and analyze family dynamics, figuring out why everyone needs therapy and how we will mess up our own kids and ensure them a spot in therapy, too; For good friends who have to like you even though they know all the dirt there is to know about you. And now our kids have no choice but to like each other by nature of being 4th generation friends. Isn't that great?

Criteria

2010-11-24T08:23:00.003-07:00

It's kind of like a quiz. To see what baby names you can come up with that fit my criteria.

1. Traditional but not too popular. And not made up. And it has to be spelled normally, like you could find it on a license plate keychain.

2. Our first two have biblical names that are two syllables. That works, but is not a requirement. Obviously we are not doing the same first initial for everyone; that's not my style.

3. It has to work with our last name and our other kids names. I've had perfect strangers advise me not to name any of our children Richard. I think I'm smart enough to know that. And I'm even going to make sure their initials don't spell something weird.

4. It has to be gender specific. That rules out Taylor and Jordan (and many others).

5. And I have to like it. So even though the name Jared fits the criteria, it makes me think of the Subway guy.

Everyone has a right to name their kid whatever they want, so of course I don't intend to offend anyone. These are my personal preferences for my kids.

Can you think of baby names that fit these criteria? Hopefully you will think of some that I haven't thought of yet. And vote on the sidebar on what you think it will be, a boy or a girl. We will probably find out the baby's gender some time after Christmas.

Pregnancy Rules

2010-11-04T12:30:00.000-07:00

Three simple rules. That's all.

1. Prego is an Italian word meaning "I pray" and is used in response to "thank you." It is also a popular and very tasty brand of pasta sause. Please don't use this word to describe me.

2. Please don't tell me "You're so small!" It seems about the same as saying "You're huge!" Likewise, "You do not look __(number between 12 and 40)__ weeks!" seems just as pointless. Why do people feel the need to comment on the size of your middle, small or big? I'm putting in my time and feel as pregnant as I am supposed to.

On the other hand, if you feel that you absolutely must comment on how a pregnant woman looks, "You look terrific!" is always nice to hear, whether or not it is true.

3. Horror Stories. Yeah, I know my fair share of pregnancy, delivery, and misscarriage horror stories. There is a time and a place for swapping stories of this type, but please not in front of me while I'm pregnant.

I feel like pukeing constantly and I have never felt more tired in my life. Soon I will be comiserating about sciatic nerve pain, eventually about kicks to the kidneys and my hips being sore from sleeping, and having to pee every 20 minutes. And the reflux. There are more things that I have blissfully forgotten that will soon come back to memory with fondness. I'm not complaining, I'm just telling you so that you don't have to ask me how I'm feeling unless you really want to know.

If you are itching for a way to help me out, I'd be happy to lend you my first two children so that I can take a nap, provided that they are returned with Cafe Rio take out (hold the cilantro) and that Samuel comes back potty trained. There is also a mop in my closet that could use a pass on my kitchen floor, because I'm really not in the mood for mopping right now.

The oven and the baker

2010-10-27T20:28:00.004-07:00

My Halloween costume this year was the way I announced my pregnancy to our ward. Some people didn't get it. They'll figure it out eventually.

Here we are:

365 days to decide

2010-10-27T08:32:00.000-07:00

Ever since (before) last Halloween, Leah has been periodically announcing what she wants to be for the next Halloween. Here is a not quite comprehensive list of the past year.

Jessie (again)
A dog

Ariel

Tinkerbell

A fairy

Snow White

The Incredibles family

Mickey Mouse

Dad

Cinderella

A pumpkin

...and lots more I didn't write down.

On October 1, I asked for a final answer so I could make her a costume. I asked her every day after that to make sure she still wanted to be that thing. And here we are: My little pink Unicorn!

Coming soon... Samuel the (nice) bat, and Jenny's oven.

Press Release

2010-10-17T19:12:00.003-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

F0sdick Industries
Provo, UT

October 17, 2010--Fosdick Industries, dormant since 2008, announce that developments for Product C are currently underway. At this early stage of product development, it is unknown whether the newest product will be packaged in pink or blue. Jenny Fosdick, CFO and Architect of Product C is hoping to diversify the portfolio with an unprecedented tow-top this time around, and possibly pink packaging.

Products A and B have expressed opinions about the name for the newest development; among the contenders are “Tree” and “Charlie Brown.” The board, which meets in Provo, UT, is currently accepting additional nominations.

Fosdick Industries introduced their first prototype in 2005(pink), followed closely by the second in 2008(blue). Product A has shown progress in literacy and counting. Product B has yet to master waste management procedures. Critics are hoping that with such a lapse in product deliveries, perhaps the newest model will sport more advanced features than previous models.

At only 10 weeks into the project, the Architect has been displeased by data input rejection, however development associates assure that this is normal and good and will not hinder product development. Current development needs include lots of substance input in the form of carbohydrates and chocolate, as well as lots of rest.

Research and development teams anticipate that 1 prototype will be completed in May of 2011.

Happenings

2010-10-14T07:07:00.004-07:00

Chris is studying for a major certification exam, so we haven't seen much of him lately. Poor guy--he is so stressed. Come Saturday evening, he will only have to worry about finishing his last semester of grad school instead (haha).

Leah is loving preschool and having fun with her little friends. She is so creative and imaginative, and always a problem solver.

Samuel is almost a big boy (except he insists on wearing diapers). He is such a sweet little guy, knows all his letters, loves to be read to, and has been really cuddly (love it!).

I'm busy with work and the kids. We have been going to story time at the library every week, and it has been a lot of fun for the kids. I am enjoying working with the Young Women of our ward. Its amazing how quickly fall snuck up on us! I am loving the cooler weather, but I haven't started on Halloween costumes! I better get on that... That's about it for us! I feel like I'm forgetting something...

If you're tired and you know it

2010-10-04T18:51:00.004-07:00

7:00PM

This is what happens when Samuel doesn't take an afternoon nap. He managed to fall asleep despite the current conversation about icing gingersnaps with chocolate so that we could eat them for dessert.

Kitchen Helpers

2010-10-02T16:27:00.004-07:00

Jumbo Zucchini

2010-09-22T07:45:00.003-07:00

Jumbo zucchini, a plethora of peppers, one lonely stalk of broccoli, and a single gnarled carrot.

Bread

2010-09-13T19:12:00.004-07:00

Some facts:

Within 72 hours of milling wheat, 90% of its nutritional value has dissipated.

All-purpose white flour has to have vitamins replaced which were removed in the milling process. Only the endosperm remains in white flour, while essential nutrients, oils, and fiber is found in the bran and germ.

Any "whole wheat flour" you purchase at the store is missing lots of the nutritional value of freshly-milled-today whole wheat flour.

When you buy something that is marketed as "whole wheat bread" chances are you are eating enriched white flour, and that it has carmel color added to make it darker colored (to trick you!) and of course, it has high fructose corn syrup in it. If you want true (store bought) whole wheat bread, the first ingredient should be "Stone ground whole wheat flour."

(source: http://www.healthbanquet.com/fresh-milled-flour.html)

Ok, so since I've recently decided to be uber picky about the bread I buy and eat and feed my family, I've discovered that there is no bread on the market (that I can afford) that meets my expectations. Hence, I have decided to make my own bread. Secondly, since I have decided that there is no wheat flour on the market that meets my expectations, I have also decided to mill my own wheat berries.

I have a great recipe (thanks to Aunt Sue for lending me Pantry Secrets, which you can make in just 1 hour!) and today I bought a grain mill (ok, the hand crank kind, but it's what I could afford for now...) I just baked my first loaves of fresh-milled whole wheat bread and they are beautiful and delicious. This bread is better tasting, has way more nutritional value and is therefore better for our bodies (I am a huge advocate of fiber!!!), and is infinetly cheaper than store bought bread.

(Ok, I confess that the milling was kind of a workout. It took me 20 minutes to grind enough flour for these two loaves, so I will definately be investing in a NutriMill in the near future, but for now Chris will do the milling for me, but not even a day in advance, mind you).

Ingredients: Freshly milled whole wheat flour, Sugar, Salt, Yeast, Soy Lecithin, Water. That's it!

I am hooked, and I feel so liberated!

A Rant on Luxuries and Necessities

2010-09-02T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well. We crunched the numbers and realized that we were spending too much money. Thus, we decided that since Samuel has allergies, is still wearing diapers, and eats more than his older sister, and thus costs more to maintain, he would be the one to go.

Just kidding.

Actually, we decided to have a budget and stick to it. We figured that was a more permanent solution to our predicament than getting rid of one of the kids.

Here's what we did. You have to budget for things that only happen once or twice a year, so if you are going to have to register your cars for $350 once a year, then you have to put away 1/12th of that ($30)every month, same with clothing, car maintenance, etc. So then we totaled up our monthly expenses for our tithing, mortgage, household expenses, insurance, utilities, car maintenance, entertainment, personal spending, clothing, etc, and whatever was left would be our grocery budget. Oh, yeah, and that's while paying down those credit cards and trying to put a little away in savings while we're at it!

Well folks, magic number is $290/month. Does it sound that hard to feed a family of four on $290/month? It doesn't sound that bad. But looking over our expenses for 2010 thus far, we had been spending and average of $600/month on groceries. So, does it sound so hard to cut your food budget in half? Yes! That is a major change of lifestyle for us. I guess we just like to eat.

But what are necessities? Is dishwasher soap a necessity for people of my generation? Or do we have the patience to wash dishes by hand if need be? Do you have the determination to make powdered milk and homemade bread? What do you break your budget for that you absolutely cannot live without?

I'll answer that. Dish soap, homemade bread, powdered milk I can handle. But I've already learned that diapers must be in the budget because I cannot live without those (I mean, I can't live with Samuel without those, and we've already decided to keep him.) And WiFi. I don't think I can live without that. What about you?

So here we are. Buying potatoes because they are dirt cheap, foregoing the $2.50 box of fruit snacks because that's a lot for processed sugar(!), finding ways to put zucchini in everything because they keep appearing in my backyard garden (okay, I know I planted them there, but there are just so many...), and the list goes on. I find myself keeping track of how much money I have left while I'm grocery shopping, and I'm asking myself, do I want to spent $4 on a can of french fried onions, or do I want to buy toilet paper?

To live on $290 a month, we absolutely had to make a dinner menu. I got the basic breakfast foods and lunchy type things, but planning out our dinners and getting only those ingredients made a huge difference on how much I spent at the grocery store. Plus, I am more organized each night at dinner time because I know what I'm making, and we have lots of leftovers (hence, I also planned a leftovers night!) My latest victory is that I finally mustered up the guts to price match at Walmart and probably saved $15 on 2-week's menu. Way to go me!

So, that's what's been on my mind lately. End of rant.

Daredevil Kids

2010-08-19T07:38:00.005-07:00

This is us swimming in Washington after 14 hours in the car. Samuel goes under water with his mouth and eyes open and comes out smiling every time. That kid has no fear, which worries me.

A New Skill

2010-08-18T16:47:00.005-07:00

How do you teach a four-year old how to jump rope? I'm not sure. I just had her watch me jump rope and she practiced and figured it out in a day!

Here are my little show-offs for your viewing enjoyment:

Explanation: Samuel is wearing underpants during our 3-day attempt at potty training.

Lots of driving, a hierarchy of needs, and a farewell

2010-08-10T20:25:00.005-07:00

We ventured out to Seattle, WA last week to bid bon voyage to Chris's mom Pearly who is moving to Turkey for a two year job assignment.

After 14 hours in the car, driving straight though the night with our Honda Civic packed to the max with people and stuff, here is what we did first:

-visit with Mom and eat lunch

-go swim suit shopping,

-then take naps.

I hadn't realized that we would be in a hotel with a pool, so of course didn't have my suit. (I needed a new one anyway, I just didn't expect to be swim-suit shopping tired and cranky and in 24 hours of grunge and body odor, with two tired and cranky children.) For the record, Samuel is a little swimming-pool daredevil and is not afraid to go under. And he always comes up smiling. He would jump right in to the deep end if I didn't stop him.

Anyway, it was nice to sleep and swim in the pool, but the best part was spending time with Lola and getting in some quality Lola-grandkids time! She spoiled us with buffets and toys and gadgets that she is leaving behind in the states. We also celebrated Chris's 31st birthday. You will notice in these pictures that my kids are always tired; we really ran them to the ground in order to get the most out of every day!

Additionally, we brought her van back to Utah with us for our family to use while she is away! That meant driving two cars home, which is 36 hours I don't care to remember (except there are 5 pounds stuck to my gut that won't let me forget). We had to stop at a mall and buy books on CD to keep us each awake in our separate cars.

We are glad we were able to visit Lola one more time before she ships out. We will miss being near her, and I know she is making a lot of sacrifices to leave the states, her home, her friends and family, her job, but it is such the right place for her right now. We will miss you, but we are so happy for you, Mom!

Fruits Vegetables of my Labors, and my 300th post

2010-08-09T15:04:00.003-07:00

Happy 300th post!

I've been working on a garden since March. I am kind of lazy though, and mostly garden in my pajamas when it is convenient (aka not 100 degrees outside), and rarely pull weeds. As a result, my strawberries are really sad, and my cabbage was eaten by slugs and has now rotten. On the up side, my corn will be plentiful soon, my carrots are growing, and my two surviving tomato plants look promising. And I have lots that I am already picking! I have pulled one onion, 1 beautiful head of lettuce (which I am going to serve for dinner tonight), perfect green onions, lots of plump zucchini, and hoards of jalapenos. What am I going to do with jalapenos?

One thing is for sure: when my work lab needs 60 pounds of zucchini this fall, I will be providing most of it from my back yard!!!

Coming soon: details of our latest adventures, trips, and birthdays!

High Fructose Corn Syrup Inventory

2010-07-22T06:36:00.003-07:00

When I took a nutrition class at BYU about 6 years ago, I learned that most "wheat bread" is really not made with wheat flour; it's enriched white flour, with carmel coloring added to make it look darker. It didn't really have a whole lot of nutritional value. At that point in time, I resolved to only purchase bread which listed as the first ingredient "whole wheat flour." I have done this very successfully. I have been a careful consumer, and although we have paid more per loaf of bread, the result is more than just peace of mind. True whole wheat bread has better fiber and protein content. We are a very fiber-conscious household, and if we can get more than 4 grams of fiber per slice/serving of bread, bagel, tortilla, or pasta we feel like we've found the nutrition jackpot--this usually means anything that is designated as "whole wheat" or "whole grain."

Well, it's time to find a new loaf of bread again.

I have recently resolved to eliminate High Fructose Corn Syrup from my diet. It is an unneccessary sweetener in so many of our regular groceries, it almost makes me sick. If we consumers change the way we shop, the food industry will hear us. That is how we can make a change.

Take for example rbST. If you look on your milk carton, I guarantee you that it says "Made from cows not treated with the artificial growth hormone rBST." Ask my brother, and he'll tell you that artificial growth hormones as a principle are not bad, but the point is that consumers changed the industry overnight. When a large body of consumers changes the way it shops, the industry changes in response.

So with that said, I am changing the way I shop, and we are changing the way we eat. I've been the primary grocery-shopper for my household for 7 1/2 years (and for the last year and a half, I have also been a paid grocery shopper by trade), and I have come to rely on some favorite brands. Here is a list of all of our favorite, regular foods in my house that I now intend to replace with their non-HFCS sweetened couterparts. Well it is all about to change. And this is going to be painful.

Sara Lee Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Yoplait Yogurt
Smucker's Strawberry Jam
Sweet Baby Ray's Barbeque Sauce
Kraft Barbeque Sauce (all varieties)
Heinz Worchestershire Sauce
Hunt's Ketchup
Wishbone Italian Salad Dressing
Slim-Fast
Mountain Dew (and all other sodas)
Keebler Fudge-Stripe Cookies
Mr. Yoshida's Original Gourmet Sauce
Keebler Club Crackers
Keebler Fudge Stripe Cookies
Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
Applesauce, most brads (unless it says "All Natural")
Frosted Flakes Cereal

This list only represents the things I currently have in my house and intend to replace as soon as present stores are depleted. Few of our suspected-guilty favorites made the HFCS-free cut, including Cheerios, Peanut Butter, Bulls Eye Barbeque Sauce, Life Cereal, Quaker High-Fiber Oatmeal, Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce, Hunt's Tomato Sauce, Campbell's canned soups, etc.

While it might be hard to enjoy foods sweetened naturally instead of with HFCS, it is all a matter of conditioning. If you are conditioned to the taste of super-sweet applesauce, naturally sweetened applesauce will be hard to adjust to (hard to "swallow" if you will). That's why we're switching. I don't want to be accustomed to unnaturally sweetened products anymore. I want my children to appreciate the tast of applesauce for what it is: apples.

Once we've conquered HFCS, our next battle might be switching to free-range chicken, or grass-fed cows, but I can't wrap my brain around them all at once.

Here are some resources (from both sides of the debate) to educate yourself before you jump down my throat. I don't like debating, I just know what irks me, and HFCS irks me.

The movie that started it all: Food, Inc.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/25/corn.syrup.sugar/index.html
http://www.labelwatch.com/addinfo.php?aid=456;
http://www.sweetsurprise.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-fructose_corn_syrup
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fructose-corn-syrup/AN01588
A list of HFCS-free foods: http://www.stophfcs.com/list.html
http://www.ehow.com/list_5851584_list-high-fructose-corn-syrup.html

I welcome your input on your favorite HFCS-free brands.

I earned my title today, thank you very much

2010-07-08T16:47:00.005-07:00

For a self-proclaimed "supermom," I don't have that many days that demonstrate my supermom-ness. Except for maybe today.

Today I....

Gave the kids baths
Cleaned up vomit several times (which is why they got baths)
Camped in a tent in the back yard with the kids
Swept and mopped the kitchen and hallway
Scrubbed and bleached all the garbage cans in the house
Cleaned the kitchen counters and ran the dishwasher twice
Washed and put away more than four loads of laundry.
Organized our bedroom closet, picking out the things to go to DI (and those blue capris that I thought were goners actually fit me instead!)
Rounded up all the winter gloves and hats and scarves and put them in their own bin. (Okay, I know it's July....)
Got out the sewing machine and did all the mending that has been on my to-mend list forever, including make Leah a pair of cut-offs (and with a double needle, ooh, la, la!)
Made cookies (with two preschoolers helping, mind you)
Cleaned up after the cookies
Had a steak and potato dinner ready when my husband came home at 6:00

Okay, so I guess if I delivered the cookies to my visiting teachees with a hand made card, I would get a few more points. I did pull one weed tyring to find the garden hose, but theres a lot more I didn't pull. And Samuel is still not potty trained....

Wait, I'm trying to make my case for Supermom.

Well, the night is young, maybe I'll still manage to get to the gym!

Vacation Part 5: Everything Else

2010-07-07T19:23:00.005-07:00

Here are some of the other fun things we did on our trip to Illinois. Our other adventures included canoeing with Grandma and Grandpa, visiting the DuPage Children's Museum with the cousins, going to the Naperville Municipal Band concert in the park (every Thursday night!) and Jessica and Leah playing together famously at every turn.

Vacation Part 4: Project!!

2010-06-29T16:26:00.009-07:00

What happens when you put two ambitious women in the same house for 2 weeks, one with a stylistic vision and the other with a credit card, and nothing to do but watch and entertain a bunch of little kids?

Redecorate the bathroom and hall!

The project consisted of stripping the wallpaper, scrubbing the paste off, spackling, sanding the spackle, masking the woodwork, painting the walls (3 colors) and the ceiling, selecting and installing a mirror, light fixtures, switchplates, drawer pulls, and lastly cleanup.

Total Cost: $250
Time: 4 days
Trips to the hardware store: 5

Mom trusted my vision of what would be a good look for the bathroom, took the leap of faith on some new, vibrant colors, and on painting the oak bathroom cabinet, and it turned out great!

BEFORE

(circa 1995)

Hall...

Bathroom....

AFTER

Hall...

Bathroom...

Vacation Part 3: Tired

2010-06-25T23:34:00.004-07:00

25 ft of nylon rope: $10

1 old tire: Free

add 1 ash tree plus 25 years=

Years of fun and many more miles: Priceless!

Vacation Part 2: Monkeys and Manatees

2010-06-25T23:08:00.008-07:00

Brookfield Zoo. We saw so many animals. We especially enjoyed the monkeys jumping and swinging, catching grapes in their mouth from 30 feet away, and playing in the hay. Leah liked the big cats. I enjoyed the underwater viewing of the manatees and seals. The kids also enjoyed the carousel. Samuel slept through half of the day! While Mom, Dad, Frank and the littlest ones got stuck in the giraffe house, Daniel, Leah and I had an adventure getting to the train station during a thunderstorm. The kids wanted to experience a train ride home. A good samaratin drove us to the station, but just crossing the street we got totally drenched. I've forgotten about the spontanous, violent storms and the torrential rain!

At home, my kids were "monkeys" climbing in Grandma's backyard, and then "manatees" swimming in the pool. This is the life!

Vacation Part 1: Cousins!

2010-06-25T22:58:00.003-07:00

Morten Arboretum
Park with Paul
Bubbles!

Feat for Four

2010-06-01T08:58:00.008-07:00

About once every couple of years I get an itch to hike the Y. I keep forgetting how steep and uneventful a climb it is. To satisfy Leah's desire to "go on a mountain," and hearing her comment along the lines that a walk at Bridal Veil Falls isn't mountainous enough, I decided she needed to hike the Y, too.

We can see the Y from our house, and she agreed that it would be cool to go that high. We got her some real walking shoes (with laces!) specifically for the trek. (And she wore those pink sketchers for 48 hours straight after getting them). We had countless conversations about how it would be hard, but that we would keep going. We are trying to teach her the idea of working hard to accomplish a goal. As for me, I am trying to train myself that having little kids doesn’t have to stop me from doing hard and adventurous things like this.

Well, Memorial Day was the day that did not get rained out. Honestly, I thought we would turn around half way up. But we pushed ourselves and we encouraged Leah to push herself, and we made it all the way to the top! We had to pace her with a 30-second break at each switchback, but as we got close enough to see the Y, she renewed her excitement at being so close to our goal. Now she can look at the Y and know that she walked there!

Unfortunately, the kids were grumpy the whole way down and Chris had to carry Leah on his shoulders. I had Samuel in a too-small carrier on my back the whole way (30 extra pounds makes a big difference), and he fell asleep on the way down. I have to say going down was nearly as hard as going up as my legs were tired and shaky and I didn't have a lot of traction on the steep, dry dirt/gravel trail. I even got some war wounds-I turned my ankle and skinned my knee on the way down.

Here are some pictures to prove that we really did it! (Note the grumpy children hiking/not grumpy children eating ice cream)

Three quarters of the way up.

At the top.

Chris and Leah climbing on the rocks.

Chris rubbed his cone on his face, too. Happy Memorial Day!

Responsibility Sucks

2010-05-20T21:23:00.006-07:00

Literally. Sucks like a vacuum.

Alternate titles for this post:
A: That's what I get for _____.
B. Another case for baldness.

Pictured is my to-do list for this week. They are semi-big projects, the idea being I would plan to do 2 or 3 of these items each day and by the end of the week have the house in perfect shape for Chris and Leah's return. Really, I wanted to take the week off, too, and visit with friends, watch movies all night, and improve my guitar hero skilz in the privacy of my basement.

I'm thinking Disney World or Las Vegas would have been a lot more fun than what I ended up with. Responsibility. Choosing to stay home and make money instead of spend it. Choosing to clean the car, mop the kitchen floor, cut the grass (ugh!), and heaven forbid change the lightbulbs without anyone telling me it was the right thing to do. (For the record, I refuse to change lightbulbs when Chris is home.) So that's what I've done all week. I spent all day Saturday in the yard. I put away laundry and did the dishes (but those ones keep re-appearing on my checklist). I actually prepared my Sunday lesson the day before instead of during Sunday School. It is amazing how much of a difference it makes to take 24 hours to prepare instead of 45 minutes!

But alas, my comedy of errors began on Tuesday.

1. I cleaned out the fridge. I mean, take out all the food and wash the shelves and scrub the walls inside and out. I moved the whole thing and retrieved half of the alphabet from underneath it. Then as I was washing a shelf it spontaneously shattered into a million pieces. In the sink and the drain. That took an extra 20 minutes to clean up. That's what I get for cleaning out the fridge (see alternate blog title A). Cleaning the fridge wasn't even on my to do list. (PS--do you ever write stuff on your to-do list that you have already done just so that you can cross it out?)

2. While vacuuming a bedroom, I accidentally sucked up a sock. That took 30 minutes and some disassembling of the vacuum to undo. That's what I get for vacuuming.

3. Speaking of vacuuming, I moved all the furniture out of the living room and the family room to do the job right and realized that we already have traffic patterns after only living here a year. So I decided while all the couches are in the kitchen, I might as well go rent a carpet shampooer.

4. When I took out the garbage, some of the broken glass spilled out onto the stairs (see bullet number 1). I guess was I going to vacuum the stairs anyways.

5. Pour the dirty water from the rental carpet cleaner into the sink. Sink is clogged. Disposal is frozen. It's because it has glass in there. (Refer to bullet # 1) Tomorrow I have to take apart the disposal and get the glass out. That wasn't on my to-do list either.

6. Pour the dirty water from the rental carpet cleaner into the bathtub. Now I have to clean the bathtub.

7. Rental carpet cleaner stops working because the spinning brushes are caked in hair. My hair. (See alternate title B)

8. Laugh out loud and write a blog post about it. That's not on my to-do list, but I'm willing to make sacrifices.

I'm tired.

Samuel's Sentances

2010-05-18T22:28:00.004-07:00

It's just me and Samuel this week--Chris and Leah are visiting family in Pensacola and Orlando. It has been interesting to observe how Samuel is different when he is the only kid around and gets all the attention. I notice so many things about him that I don't notice when there are two kids. On the other hand, I can't always understand what he says, and Leah is not here to translate for me (she really does translate!) Here are some of my favorite things that Samuel has said lately.

Mom: What are you drinking?
Samuel: I'm drinking water.

M: Let's go have some breakfast.
S: Chicken nuggets.
M: No, how about we have some cereal or mush.
S: Mush with sugar on it! (sooger)

M: What color is that? (Trying to see which color he will pick of several on a blanket pattern)
S: Polka-dot.

M: Would you like water or milk?
S: Water. Milk. Milkshake.

S: I hurt me right here. (pointing and bringing the offending appendage for a kiss better)

S: Mmmm. It's yum.

S: I no want kisses.

So that's how it goes...

2010-05-14T20:48:00.005-07:00

I learned this song at Girl Scout Camp one year, but I could never remember more than one verse and the chorus. I still sing it every time I make cookies. So today (while eating my melty cookies and a glass of milk) I googled it to find out if it is a real song. Here are the lyrics:

They're made outta sugar, and butter and flour
You can bake 'em in the oven 'bout a quarter of an hour
But the thing that gives them, their magical power,
Are the Chocolate Chips inside
Boom Boom Boom

CHORUS:
Chocolate Chip Cookies, You gotta have more
You can bake 'em in the oven Or buy them at the store
But whatever you do Have them waiting at the door,
And I'll love ya till I die
Boom Boom Boom

You can't have one, You can't have two
Once ya start a munchinThere's a nothin you can do
So clean off your plate And eat the crumbs too
And go out and buy some more
Boom Boom Boom

Repeat Chorus

And when I die I don't want wings
I don't want a halo Or a harp that sings
Give me a book, a fire, And someone who brings me
Chocolate chip cookies all day
Boom Boom Boom

Repeat Chorus

And here is a "Music Video" so you can hear the tune. I have to say, this version is a little cheesy and if I were taking a picture of the inside of my oven, I would clean it first. (And what is up with pictures of Whoopi Goldberg?)

Mother's day paper chain

2010-05-09T20:28:00.006-07:00

1. For my Young Women's lesson today, I taught about keeping family history records. I am the link (and each young woman, for that matter) that joins past generations to future generations, and I demonstrated this with a paper chain. Then I shared some gems from Grandma Helen's book, the life story she printed a few years ago. I was demonstrating that the lessons taught by telling her life story are a treasure to me and my children because of the things we can learn from her, about her, and through the gospel testimony shared therein. It was a great Mother's day activity for me to read her book all morning and try to decide which stories to share. (And I needed to shed some worthwhile tears, of course!)

2. Today as I sat in Sacrament meeting, I noticed several familiar things that reminded me of my mother. Leah sat on my lap playing with my necklace and batting at my earrings. It reminded me of sitting on my mother's lap and doing the same when I was a child. I can picture her necklaces. Then Leah layed her head on my shoulder and I twirled her hair in circles around her ear. I always loved it when my mom did that, and now I notice Leah reaching for my hand and placing it on her ear. I will probably start picking through Leah's hair looking for lice some day, something I made my mother do for years after having head lice the summer before 5th grade. (Although I certainly will try to avoid a lice infestation...) Interesting what little things I picked up. Of course, there are big things, too many to name right now.

3. And for a little something from the one who first made me a mother. Today while Leah played with a toy train I heard her say, "This train can be INvisible and it can be OUT of visible." It amazes me her rationality with language!

As only a four year old can, she has quite an imagination. She thinks up all kinds of "What if" scenarios all the time. The other day, this is what she came up with: "Mom, what would happed if a person pooped in the street?" I responded that they would probably get in trouble by the police and could maybe go to jail. Then she asked "What would happen if a dog or a cat pooped in the street?" And I said "Nothing!"

And tonight she was playing with the magnetic letters on the fridge, asking me to pronounce the cominations that she came up with. "What does this word say?" I respond, attempting to pronounce phonetically "mosgrajkfi." "What does it mean?" "It's not a word, honey, it doesn't mean anything." Then she started singing a song about her made up words. It's the tune of "Are you sleeping" and it consists of letters, followed by "That spells ____." Well today her song was "Mosgrajkfi, Mosgrajkfi, That spells nothing, that spells nothing."

What moments have I provided to her that will permeate her childhood and be remembered when she is a mother?

(Pictured: $3 well spent at the dollar store.)

Medicine Cabinet Exiles

2010-05-06T11:11:00.002-07:00

Now I have nothing to give my kids if they get a fever or a runny nose. Better hit Walgreens.

The Bus Stop

2010-04-27T11:55:00.003-07:00

The bus stop is in front of our house. And not just any bus stop, THE bus stop. As in, the only bus stop in the entire neighborhood for at least 4 schools. This means 4 schools x twice a day plus some later buses because of after-school programs. 7 am and 3 pm and busy times of day. Sometimes I have to wait for two or three buses just so I can get into my driveway. It's not really that big of a deal, except when the school-goers leave trash on my lawn or in my mailbox.

So at first, my kids were always so excited to see the buses coming and going all day. They would hear the tell-tale squeal of brakes and rush to the window and watch with wonder. And then do it again 10 minutes later. Well, after a year of this, its not so novel anymore. This morning during breakfast when we heard the school bus pull up, Leah announced "I'm not going to go look at the school buses anymore. I know what a school bus looks like."

Leah's Cooking Debut

2010-04-09T20:09:00.003-07:00

I was inspired by Michelle and Kyla's cooking show, so we tried our own. Cookies always take 3 times as long as they should when you have a little helper. I guess practice makes perfect!

Leah chose the title for the movie.

Truths and Non-Truths

2010-04-02T00:00:00.001-07:00

Well, it did in fact snow on April 1.

I do in fact have purple hair.

But I am NOT pregnant with twins. I am not pregnant at ALL! You are all a bunch of suckers who believed me! Happy April Fool's Day!

The twins club

2010-04-01T01:23:00.004-07:00

I can't believe I've kept my pregnancy a secret for so long, but it's finally time to share the news!

With Carl and Lala having twins first, followed by us about 2 months later, this brings Grandma and Grandpa's grandkid total from 5 to 9! AHHH! I'm so excited!

A little red

2010-03-24T19:16:00.003-07:00

Project: Paint one half-wall of the bathroom.

Cost: $13 for 1 quart of paint

Supplies: Paint brushes, tape, drop cloths

Time: 4 hours start to finish

End result: Totally awesome! I don't know why it took me a year to get around to this. We wanted that wall to be red since the day we moved in. It's the curved wall in the hall bathroom, tiled on the lower half. It makes the little room defined, enclosed, comfortable.

The pictures don't do justice to my 1-afternoon project, since it is too small of a room and I don't have a wide-angle camera. You'll just have to make a potty stop to get the full effect!

All about Bobo

2010-03-20T13:14:00.005-07:00

Bobo is a friendly baby monkey in Jez Alborough's picture book "Hug". We affectionately call Samuel "Bobo" because he acts like a monkey and gives the best hugs.

Here's some pictures of the little guy. He is such a sweet heart. He gives the best hugs, talks constantly (in sentances!), sleeps well at night and still takes an afternoon nap, loves milk and stuffed animals and baths, can count and a-b-c, and smiles constantly with those adorable dimples...you get the idea. We love our Bobo!

Last week we had strawberry smoothies for dessert. With straws (a real novelty!). Samuel kept picking up his cup and trying to drink it like water, but it was too thick. Then as soon as I looked away, he picked up his cup and smoothie dropped onto his face. He had smoothie all over his shirt, in he eyelashes, ears, nostrils, etc. It was so pathetic. I was too sad for him and the smoothie was just too cold for me to take a picture before cleaning him up. He was a good sport and recovered quickly.

One time the kids were playing in the backyard with ice cream cones. I took Leah inside to go to the bathroom and when I came back out a few minutes later, Samuel had apprently lost the scoop of ice cream from the top of his cone. Being a good sport, instead of crying about it, he left the ice cream in the grass and proceeded to play in the sandbox, using his empty cone as a scooper. Very resourceful!

Piggy-back ride, anyone?

2010-03-16T15:31:00.002-07:00

Some overdue photos of Grandma and Grandpa's visit last month.

Leah's Latest

2010-03-16T13:35:00.005-07:00

"I'm the kid, and when I ask for juice, you're supposed to give it to me."

Leah went to a friend's birthday party recently, and one of the activities was face painting. Leah said she didn't want to have her face painted. When the hostess asked why not, she said that coloring is for paper and not for bodies. Way to go, girl!

A few weeks ago Leah was assigned to give a talk in Primary. Only nobody told us about it. So that Sunday after church, the leaders asked us if we knew about it, since we hadn't been there to help or watch with pride. "NO!" Apparently, she did a great job giving a totally impromptu talk all by herself. She talked about how we should go to church and be nice to people, etc. Way to go, girl!

And last week during the sacrament, she asked (rather loudly) about a black man in our ward, "Why does that brown guy have his eyes closed?"

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2010-02-07T11:17:00.002-07:00

Vera, George, and Dave?

Supermom meets Storage Closet

2010-01-14T16:45:00.003-07:00

Before

During

After

What this means is that I desperately needed to put away Christmas but didn't have anywhere to put it all!

Description: Installation of wire shelving, including 2 horizontal hangtracks, 5 vertical shelf tracks, 4 shelves 16"wide and 47" long(and room for another), plus a 35" shelf, and 12 shelf brackets. This project essentially doubled the storage capacity of my under-stairs storage closet, and magnified its accessibility immeasurably.

Project planning: 1 hour

Installation: 2 hours (That's it!)

Cost: it's not important (okay, it was twice what I thought it would be, but sooo worth it!)

Tools needed: Stud finder, pencil, drill, level, measuring tape, screws. (I would recommend a stud-finder that is a little better than the $8 kind, especially if you have loathful textured walls)

Helps: a half-dozen guys at Home Depot (not all at once...) and this 5-minute YouTube video.

Difficulty level: This was surprisingly simple! It was very important that I measured and mapped the wall first so that I knew exactly what kind of space I was working with and how many shelves I would get and where they would go. Then once I got the stuff, it was seriously easy to install!

Ta-Da!

Christmas in a (very large) nutshell

2010-01-14T10:29:00.013-07:00

So Lola (and Santa) has come and gone, Happy New Year is here, Samuel had a Happy Birthday, and I have a lot of catching up to do.

Christmas with Lola

Chris's mom Pearly, whom we endear with the Tagalog title Lola spent Christmas and New Years with us. Leah immediately latched on and shooed the rest of us out of the guest room, announcing "Girls only!" (I'm a girl, but apparently, I wasn't invited!) We had a wonderful time with Lola, who took us to "The Princess and the Frog," showered us with gifts, and filled our tummies with our favorite eats, including Cafe Rio, Tucano's, Wingers, Korean for Chris and of course, authentic Filipino food. (We have over 100 lumpia in the freezer!!!)

We had a family outing to Jumpin' Jacks, where in only one hour, you can wear out your children for an entire afternoon!

The blessing of Lola was not limited to food and fun. She also provided the parental reprieve we so desperately needed; evenings out, mornings in, dish-duty, diaper duty, snow-shoveling, you get the idea. And she certainly got on famously with her two grandchildren, who simply adore their Lola.

Leah was allowed to don her new Tinkerbell costume Christmas morning, which she wore day and night in the 48 hours following Christmas (when I made her dress modestly for church), at which point Lola bought her a Cinderella costume, complete with crown, magic wand and glass slippers, which she still desires to wear daily. (10 points: Can you count how many pictures in this post have her wearing the said Tinkerbell costume?)

Christmas with the Coombs'

We spent Christmas evening with our very best friends David and Michal, who showered us with gifts and, as always, good laughs. They love our kids as much as we do.

Christmas was a blast. We plan on going on some road trips this next year now that we have a portable DVD player for the car, our exciting Christmas present for the Napervillian grandparent contigency. Thanks Mom and Dad! (50 points: Anyone recognize the screen-shot?) And Chris has enjoyed not having any classes this semester so that instead of late night studying, he can do some late-night gaming on his new PS3!, which he got from Dad and Debbie.

My first attempt at homemade pasta was a disastrous failure, we're still working on all our new DVD's, the kids are loving their new toys and books, and the play table we got with all our Christmas giftcards has been put to good use. We are truly blessed to have such beautiful, healthy children, wonderful friends and family, luxuries such as toys and books and PS3's, but we know we owe all our gratitude to our Father in Heaven and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who provide a beautiful eternal plan.

P.S. Why am I not smiling in this picture? I had been vomiting for 24 hours on account of too much fudge.

Samuel's 2nd Birthday

2010-01-08T21:29:00.003-07:00

I'm posting this a year late (he just turned three when I write this), but I found the video and realized how much he has grown in a year, so I'm post-dating it. It is amazing to note the differences in language development and face-chubbiness.

By the way, the first part of the video is Samuel jumping off a bench at the mall. There is a little girl behind him wearing pink tights who, very obligingly, pulled him up to the top of the bench each time so he could jump off again.

Merry Christmas "Cheese"

2009-12-18T20:45:00.003-07:00

In the air there's the feeling of Christmas...

Happy Birthday, Leah!

2009-12-08T08:23:00.009-07:00

December 2, 2005

December 2, 2009

Here are some highlights from Leah's birthday. Thanks to all the grandparents for their kind wishes and birthday cash. The first thing Leah wanted to get with her birthday money was an Ariel doll. (which, incidentally, lost her head 2 days later and had to be replaced at Target's expense). We had cupcakes with army green frosting. I was trying to make it colorful and then added cocoa to make it extra yummy, and that equals army green (or moldy green, whichever you prefer). And I wisened up from last year, in which I invited 10 people to her party, and this year we invited four--an appropraite number, I think.

Here is a video of the singing and candle-blowing, followed by the unveiling of a Dora scooter from Grandma and Grandpa S0rens0n. Alas, riding to preschool was foiled due to our first dose of winter arriving the next day, and now we have 6 inches of snow. Someone recommended we take her to the church and have her ride around in the halls. Maybe? Or the JFSB where I work? We'll see. Incidentally, if you are in the market for a kids scooter, the Dora one may be purple and pink, but is more sturdy and has 3 times the weight capacity of the other scooters.

What does it stand for?

2009-12-04T08:57:00.001-07:00

Here are some pneumonic devices and abbreviations I still remember and use. Let's see if you know what they stand for. Answers to follow soon. (no cheating!)

Never eat soggy waffles.

Every good boy deserves fudge.

Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally.

A rat in the house may eat the ice cream.

C turtle.

My very excellent mother just served us nine pizzas.

Roy G. Biv.

NKOTB.

TMNT.

DKPCOFGS.

867-5309

And the last one is for my brothers. For 50 (totally arbitrary) bonus points:

Smashing pumpkins into small piles of putrid debris.

What are some of your favorite pneumonic devices?

In the words of the birthday girl

2009-12-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

Mom: Are you all grown up now?
Leah: No, I'm still just a little bit grown up.

Leah: I'm so exciting for my party, but I want it to start right now!

Leah (every five minutes): Happy Birthday Leah!

Leah: When I was in your tummy, I really, really, really wanted Ophie.

Leah: You're a mommy, and I'm the smarty pants.

Snipe and Dumbledog

2009-12-02T08:37:00.002-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4

I only had to show the kids "Potter Puppet Pals" once for them to start quoting it.

If you haven't watched this yet, now is the time.

Birthday Bash coming up

2009-11-22T21:17:00.003-07:00

Leah is going to be four next week! I can't believe it! Here is the cute little invite she "helped" me make today. Okay, she "helped" by picking out the paper with the birdies, and by choosing between red and pink. Other than that, you don't want to see her wield a glue stick.)

It says a little rhyme I made up in about 10 seconds: Here's a little birdie "Tweet" Listen to him more: "Join us for something sweet 'cuz Leah's turning four!"

Any little friends or relatives that are around are invited to come, too, if you want!

Fun with Photoshop

2009-11-20T18:58:00.005-07:00

Here is a little something I've been working on this week.

I was given the assignment to make invitations for Young Women in Excellence, and this is what I came up with! I think I will print the text on cardstock, and the torch and flames on vellum so that it can overlay the writing. I haven't tried it out yet, so I'm not sure how it will look, but its worth a shot.

Snippets, Inspired by Leah

2009-11-15T22:14:00.003-07:00

Requested by Chris.

Yesterday Leah got some fingers smashed in a door, not too serious, but it did require an ice pack, which itself required smarties.

So today when she bonked her head, she announced she needed ice. Then on her way to the kitchen for ice, she pinched her finger. The poor girl was very sad and very much crying. I said "You just keep getting hurt today."

She responded tearfully, "I get hurt everyday." Then we put one icepack on her hand and one balanced on her head and her first question was "What kind of treat can I have while I have ice?" Sorry kid--just ice.

She's much better at playing off her owies and announcing "I'm okay...I'm tough" when it isn't already bedtime.

Oh, and she is already telling me ideas for what she wants to be for Halloween next year. One day she said she wanted to be Jessie again, and then it was Ariel. This will be a fun year...

And lastly, is it normal for parents to be brimming over with so much pride for their almost-4-year-old to say two lines into the microphone in sacrament meeting, and spend the other 45 minutes playing with the girl next to her, sticking out her tongue, signing random sign-language words, and giving us thumbs up throughout her first Primary Program?

Hand Stamped Christmas Cards for you!

2009-11-12T09:47:00.006-07:00

I'm trying to make some extra Christmas Cash, so I'm selling hand-stamped Christmas Cards.

Elegant, embossed hand-stamped Christmas cards, using Stampin' Up! stamps, paper, and embellishments. $2 per card, or 12 for $20. Envelopes included. Choose silver emboss or white emboss. In your hands before Thanksgiving.

Colorful and whimsical hand-stamped Christmas cards, using Stampin' Up! stamps, paper, and embellishments. $2 per card, or set of 12 for $20 (set includes 4 each of 3 designs). Envelopes included. In your hands before Thanksgiving.

Colorful and whimsical hand-stamped birthday cards, using Stampin' Up! stamps, paper, and embellishments. $2 per card, or set of 12 for $20 (set includes 4 each of 3 designs). Envelopes included. In your hands before Thanksgiving. Stock up for the coming year, or give as a Christmas gift!

Call or email me today to order! jennyfosdickATgmailDOTcom
Order your own Stampin Supplies online 24/7 at www.stampinjenny.stampinup.net

Kangaroo as Ariel and other disguises

2009-10-28T20:44:00.008-07:00

What do Cruella DeVille, Little Einstein's June, Zorro, a monkey, and a mermaid-kangaroo have in common? Almost nothing.

I know its not the most attractive Ariel costume I've seen, but it really works for my three year old, who insisted that Ophie be Ariel for Halloween. It's amazing what you can accomplish with some construction paper and a whole lot of staples. (like the red hair and the purple bikini top???)

On the other hand, I have much more pride in Leah's Little Einstein's June costume, which she donned with perfection. Notice she even has pretend earrings!

Don't let this picture fool you into thinking that these two actually like each other and get along:

Zorro and Cruella were there, too. Can you tell we are recycling costumes here?

(Pardon the camera phone pictures--ran out of batteries!)

I have 300 children...

2009-10-23T16:23:00.005-07:00

"Are you having a bake sale?"

"No, I just have 300 children"

Well, it's actually 332. Or 334 if you count Leah and Samuel.

This is what I was asked today when I purchased over 1000 eggs at Sam's Club. I always get strange looks when I load up my shopping cart with 40 pounds of zucchini, or 20 bags of spinach, or 200 pounds of flour, or 14 half-gallons of ice cream. Those innocent bystandards must think I have a very unbalanced diet.

If you must know, I am not shopping for myself, I am a grocery shopper by trade, and I get paid to do it. I am the official food buyer for all the cooking classes at BYU, or "Food Procurement Specialist" if you want to sound official. There are 17 classes per week; 332 students, 4 instructors, a dozen TA's, a lab manager, and me! (And where would a cooking class be without its food.) You see, I'm quite essential, and I love being essential in a way that doesn't involve feces or diaper rash.

(Come on, you know how much I really do love being a mother)

And I'm needed as much today as I will be tomorrow, for there are always food emergencies. Such as "The students used too much parsley, and the lettuce froze at the back of the fridge," or "the students ruined their stir-fry so we need more millet" or "Someone opened the mayo and didn't put it in the fridge." You get the idea. Yesterday it was ice cream and honey, today its onions and cilantro. What will be the crisis of tomorrow? I can now identify such things as acorn squash, leeks, and mung bean sprouts (although I don't think I will have any.)

There was that one time the bottom of my onion box broke and I had onions rolling in ten different directions and into the street. Or that time when the ice on top of my two cases of broccoli melted and I flooded the walk-in fridge in a matter of one kickboxing class. And that one time I accidentally ordered an 11 pound block of cheese instead of 1 (1 lb) block of cheese. (parenthesis---overrated!)

When purchasing such things as 10 boxes of Red Hots Candies, 48 candy bars, 14 heads of cabbage, 12 pounds of tofu, 20 lbs of frozen raspberries, 32 tomatoes, or in todays case, 90 dozen eggs, I try to come up with answers such as "Oh, I just really like cabbage. I eat it three times a day" or "I'm on a chocolate-only diet." You get the idea. "Haven't you heard of the tomato/raisin home remedy?"

Whenever I explain the contents of such a grocery cart, I am always admired for having such an interesting job. It is so unique, yet perfectly fitting that someone like me should shop (albeit for groceries) for a living!

In a nutshell, it is a very cool job and I work with awesome people. I always know what is on sale. I occasionally get to eat yummy things. I have a chance to miss my children for 18 hours a week. (I get paid!) And of course, college student TA's make great babysitters.

Happy Harvest Cheese

2009-10-06T10:27:00.004-07:00

I finally put up some decorations!

I like Halloween, but I don't necessarily want to have a ghost, witch, graveyard scene. Plus, I like the idea of decorating for the fall season, not necessarily for the Halloween day, and this way I can leave the decorations up through November. The inspiration for this was the $5 corn stalk at the grocery store, which seemed to sum up the whole season. Then Leah helped me pick out the baskets, which we spray painted green and red. I elected to get real pumpkins and colorful squash, which were actually cheaper than fake, plastic ones (And I guess if we got really hungry, we could eat them). The baskets, paint, and chalkboard were only about $25, and those things I will be able to reuse every year!

Now the kids are playing with chalk on a little chalkboard in the house. That $.79 box of chalk will go a long way, I think. I plan to carve the big pumpkin on the left soon--it's at least 30 pounds.

Here is our new and improved front door. The kids wouldn't get out of the way, so I figured they could just be in the picture. Leah "helped" me right Happy Harvest on the little chalkboard, so when I told her to say cheese, she said "Happy Harvest Cheese."

Two Top Tens (Top Twenty?)

2009-09-15T19:04:00.010-07:00

Happenings lately at our house:

1. Leah's cute new haircut. I had to convince my mother that it is appropriate for her to look like a sophisticated little girl rather than a toddler. After all, she's almost four, attends Preschool, and has been potty trained for over a year. The picture was taken at Jumpin' Jacks, an indoor playground with inflatable jumping things that we did as a family activity on Labor day (Which was a great hit with both kids and with our coupon, cost us less than $11!)

2. "I'm sorry Samuel, you just can't throw poopy diapers around."

3. Searching through the cereal cabinet: "Mom, do we have any more kid food?"

4. We differentiate tummy aches at our house by saying hungry tummy ache or potty tummy ache. One day on the way home from the gym, and with the promise of icy cold lemonade, Leah announced: "I have a lemonade tummy ache."

5. "Leah, that zucchini is food, not a toy. We have plenty of toys in the house--you don't need to play with vegetables."

6. Leah: "Mom, why do you love me?" Mom: "Because God gave you to me. Why do you love me?" Leah: "Because God gave you to me." *smile*

7. Today I realized something vitally important, and it took me 26 years to make this observation: while a watched pot may not boil very quickly, an empty pot will never boil at all.

8. "Mom, why do we have to go potty every day?"

9. Playing with her toy kitchen and stuffing a stuffed animal in the toy microwave, "I'm making a dog for lunch." I asked her if it was going to be a hot dog, and no, its just a dog.

10. And as we speak she totally zonked out on the couch next to me. I was just too involved in blogging to go put her to bed, so she put herself to bed!

And its been awhile since I blogged about Stampin' Up! Here are 10 good reasons why you should get stamping this month!

1. Holiday Mini catalog is live and wonderful! View the pdf here.

2. New product line: Build-a-Bear Workshop stamps, paper, and sizzix dies.

3. New product line: Design your own necklace charms.

4. Awesome new product that I want for Christmas: My Digital Studio. It is software for making scrapbook pages, cards, and more with Stampin' Up!'s exclusive colors, patterns, papers, stamped images, even SU! embellishments that look three-dimensional! It is a must have!

5. Hostess promotion through November 30: hold a workshop totaling $250 or more and receive any item in the Mini for $10! (excluding hostess sets and My Digital Studio)

6. Limited time offer: Decor Elements Growth Chart. It is only available until September 30! $24.95

7. Join me for a Workshop at my house on Thursday, September 17! It will be so fun! I will be giving out inkpads to those who bring a friend. Plus I'll be holding drawings for catalogs, merchandise, and retired stamp sets!

8. Hold a workshop with me in September or October and I will give you your choice of Designer Series Paper. That is a $10 value! Also, you'll get a free catalog and hostess benefits. See also number 5.

9. It's not too early to start thinking about your Holiday projects! Plan them and get started before October and November hit and you get even busier!

10. Help me reach my quarterly minimum by September 30 so that I can stay active as a Demonstrator!!! Visit my Demonstrator Business Website for more information or Shop Online now!

The What's and the Why's

2009-09-05T15:18:00.001-07:00

I distinctly remember when Leah was going through the "What" phase when she was about two.

"Mom, what are doing?"
"I'm emptying the dishwasher."
*30 seconds later*
"Mom, what are doing?"
"Uh, well, I'm still emptying the dishwasher."

And now that I think Samuel is about to the "What" phase (Watching me inquisitively he says"What doing?"), I've noticed with much trepidation that Leah has just stumbled upon "Why."

"Time to go inside now."
"Why?"
"Because I have to got to the bathroom."
"Why do you have to go to the bathroom?"
"Uh, well..."

Naperville visit in review

2009-09-02T17:00:00.001-07:00

So I took several hundred pictures in the three weeks I was out of town, so you can't blame me for delaying so long in posting, and for having a hard time deciding which ones to put up. (Plus I have to argue with Blogger's awful format to make this presentation...presentable.)

Treat yourself to a self-guided tour of some highlights, including but not limited to Chris's big 3-0, a family bike ride, playing in the sand and water (notice the girls both have The Little Mermaid on their suits?), visiting the arboretum with Grandma and experiencing all the fun animal houses, and some general good cousin and grandparent time, etc. And I haven't even posted about the wedding yet!

Thanks to Jane

2009-09-02T14:27:00.006-07:00

I just finished reading Sense and Sensibility and thoroughly enjoyed it. It makes me want to use long, flowery words that I'm not quite sure of their meaning, and talk in a British accent, if only I could come up with something eloquent to say.

Here are a few gems I dog-eared as I read. Such a perceptive commentary on society! and how much does Marianne remind me of someone...myself!

On avoiding awkward pauses in social gatherings: "Lady Middleton had taken the wise precaution of bringing with her their eldest child, a fine little boy about six years old; by which means there was one subject always to be recurred to by the ladies in case of extremity, for they had to enquire his name and age, admire his beauty, and ask him questions which his mother answered for him[...]. On every formal visit a child ought to be of the party, by way of provision for discourse. In the present case it took up ten minutes to determine whether the boy were most like his father or mother, and in what particular he resembled either, for of course every body differed, and every body was astonished at the opinion of the others." (Vol 1, chapter 6)
The maturity of seventeen. "Marianne began now to perceive that the desperation which had seized her at sixteen and a half, of ever seeing a man who could satisfy her ideas of perfection, had been rash and unjustifiable." (Vol 1, chapter 10)
Ever heard people say that the baby looks just like someone on their side of the family? Mr Palmer got it (who in the 1995 movie is played by Hugh Laurie, of course...): "Mr Palmer maintained the common, but unfatherly opinion among his sex, of all infants being alike; and though she could plainly perceive, at different times, the most striking resemblance between this baby and every one of his relations on both sides, there was no convincing his father of it; no persuading him to believe that it was not exactly like every other baby of the same age; nor could he be brought to acknowledge the simple proposition of its being the finest child in the world." (Volume 2, chapter 14)
Ever try to argue with someone who just doesn't get it? "Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition." (Volume 2, chapter 14)

Next is Northanger Abbey while I wait for Pride and Prejudice to come in the mail.

What is your favorite Jane Austen?

Toy time lineup

2009-08-19T13:22:00.004-07:00

Within an hour of free play at Grandma's house, Leah and I found the Little Einstein Annie, who had been MIA since Christmas. She was lost in a box of toys, of all places. And now back at home, here is the whole Little Einsteins gang back together again. (If you are not Little Einsteins savvy like some of us, Annie is the one with blonde hair).

And here she is with a lineup of Trolls, which I collected when I was a kid. Aren't they cute? I even remember some of their names. Becky and I each got one for Christmas when Frank was serving in Bonners Ferry, ID, so we named our Trolls Bonnie and Ferry. The one with the mask and cape is named Calvin, after the alter-ego Calvin from the comic strip. The bride is named Bridely (don't ask), and Leah walked around all week saying that Bridely was Lala and Calvin was Carl and that they were getting married. There is a red, white, and Blue one that I named Liberty. I can't remember any of the other ones names, but I'm sure they all had names and family groups.

DC in a nutshell

2009-08-19T12:01:00.009-07:00

Here are some hightlights of DC:

Leah and I getting poured on while crossing the mall with Ruthie and Josh, and finding the promised carousel ride closed. Leah was a really good sport about running through the rain. After that she got to go inside a butterfly habitat, and that was very satisfying. Then Grandma and Grandpa took her on the carousel a couple days later, so double score!
Seeing the Marine Band and the Navy Band perform (I made mom her very own ring-tone of Stars and Stripes forever, recorded live from the Marine Barracks. How many can boast that?)
Went to the top of the Washington Monument, did a night walk of the monuments, and a guided tour of the Capital building
Saw Seinfeld's Puffy Shirt and Dorothy's ruby slippers at the Museum of American History
Stood inches away from the only DaVinci in the hemisphere at the National Gallery.
Went kayaking!
Emceed the family talent show at the pool party.
Shelled out 8 bucks an hour for a sitter who managed to put Samuel's diaper on inside out. (Explain that one to me...) Us small town Provo folk aren't used to $8 an hour anything...
My GPS Vanessa led us all over town and through the back roads to get anywhere, and Dad's van was too tall to fit in any parking garage in the city. Way to be a trooper, Dad!
My parents were truly glorious to help with the kids so much and give me some opportunities to sight-see without them.