Shotgun Sunday continued

The rest of conference was today. It was very nice. The pull someone out of the audience and assign them a topic and time limit continued today, including the musical number. The stake president said "now we'd like to ask the ________family, who are sitting on such and such row, to come up and sing I am a Child of God the congregation will join them for the 2nd and 3rd verses. " I would have died. I probably would have made it through a talk okay but to sing? Wow. The spirit was strong and the meeting was wonderful. Also Elder Dellenbach's talks both days were really great.

Tonight we went over to my folks house for dinner. It was fun. Mom bought some new lounge chairs and Dad and I pulled them out to the back yard and sat and visited while we watched the kids play in the mud. There was a bit of a breeze and we had a good time sitting in the shade talking about "the fourth watch God".

A quiet Sunday morning?

http://cookingismypassion.blogspot.com/

Conference is this afternoon, which is a different schedule than I am used to. DH took H and E to the park to play. He's been working a lot and crazy hours and they've missed him. What a great daddy. J and S are doing their hair, picking out clothes etc. H is napping and I am almost ready. Have a blackberry cobbler in the oven for after dinner tonight. Kids clothes are ready for after a bath. I am dressed and church bag is packed so I had a minute. Wow, what a treat.

I haven't figured out how to put links on my sidebar yet...I know it's pretty pathetic but maybe soon :) But I have several blogs I love to go to and look at and this is one of the new ones I have been enjoying. I love to cook too and think it's so fun to look at so go take a look (Anna).

Shotgun Sunday, (well really Saturday night but that didn't have the same ring to it)

We just got back from the adult session of our stake conference. Elder Dellenbach of the Quorum of Seventy was there. It was a wonderful evening. Pres. Hadley was conducting and he started out by saying there was a surprise, the speakers on the program where going to be asked then and there. He then called four people out of the congregation and assinged them topics and asked them to take the stand. After they spoke we had a musical number then three more surprise speakers. Then Elder Dellenbach spoke.
It was a wonderful meeting. The spirit was richly felt and the words were heart felt and inspired. I can't wait for tomorrow.
The last four speakers were all asked to talk about their experiences reading the Book of Mormon. It was so fun to hear. Last year when the prophet asked everyone to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year our family took that challenge. Even the little guys wanted to and we read aloud to them and made a huge effort. We fell a little short of their completion of it but it was a good experience. J and S both read it. It was so wonderful for me to walk into their rooms to say good night and to find them reading. R and I read and both felt an increase in testimony, peace in our home, and inspiration in behalf of our family. D wasn't reading at first. In fact she was struggling with many things and it was hard. We prayed and worried over her. She moved to Utah to go to school, and "start over" (my words not hers) and I missed her terribly. My first born, sweet daughter. And I worried. It was a tough couple months and then one day not long before Christmas I was talking with her on the phone and she told me she was reading the Book of Mormon. She wasn't sure if she was going to make it to the end in time for the prophet's challenge but she was trying. A little of my worry lifted that day. I couldn't save her. I can't even save myself. But Jesus Christ can and will and did. I knew when she told me she was reading His book that she was on the right path. It's the book that will change lives and bring people unto Christ.

ps now she's doing great. I'm so proud of her. She's going to school, working, has a calling, is dating a nice guy. Now I wish she'd call a little more often:)

our sandbox and other things I "hate"

There are many kid things that I love. I love to sit with a stack of National Geographics and some kid scissors and cut out things that strike us as interesting. I love the smell of crayola crayons and to color with them. I love reading stories like "Where The Wild Things Are" or "Anne of Green Gables" or "Eragon" or "Goodnight Moon". I love watching disney videos. I love our pool, and the backyard swing, making play-doh, playing UNO. I don't mind a block tower built in our living room, bikes littering the garage, play zoo's, plastic food, legos or many other countless and nameless kid things that come from kids. There is one I hate....




our sandbox. It looks innocent enough. DH wanted to make one and I guess I didn't voice my concerns loudly enough because before I knew it he was actually doing it. Which is typical. When he has a project in mind he doesn't usually drag his feet. I was surprised he chose to put it on the porch...I thought somewhere way in the back where the sand might drop off on the trek back to the house would be nice, if we had to have one. He wanted it where the kids could use it every day and where I'd be willing to go and take the lid off of it. So it's 4 feet from our back door. My friend Kriste has a great sandbox that the kids love. And that drives her nuts. We had been there to play many times and every time I was happy the fun sandbox was at her house. I had the wet soggy pool mess and she had the sandy, grainy sandbox mess. It was a good system.

Now I have both. DH was right, the kids love it. They play there often and long and that part is nice. It makes the hugest mess. That part is not so nice. They come in with sand in their hair and ears and clothes. They drag in piles of it. It falls off their clothes and onto the couch, carpet and anywhere else they go. The tub gets full of grim. And now that's its almost summer and the sandbox is between the pool and the house I am sure we'll have "mud" and even more fun. Plus E loves to throw it all over the deck, on the house, at the windows, at the dogs.

How do you teach something you haven't learned yet?

While at the arts festival last week we saw this. It's hard to see but it's a mom and child. It says "To be a Mother is to forever have your heart go walking around....outside your body"
I loved that! It feels true to me. The moment I became a mom I felt like a different person, I didn't know I could love that much, or want that much for another's happiness and well-being. As I've watched my little ones grow I have felt such joy, and also such sorrow.
For whatever reason I have never been a wear your heart on your sleeve kind of person. I have friends and I have fun. But only a few people get really close. I have guarded my heart. Except for the kids. They are walking pieces of my heart and there is nothing I can do to stop the hurts they feel and experience from hurting me too. There is no stopping the hoping, praying, worrying, dreaming, teaching, loving you do on behalf of your children. And so as I think about this I think of the things I want to teach them, what to leave them with at the end of the day, I think about the kinds of people I'd like them to be.

Then I wonder how do I teach the things I don't know yet myself.
For example:
I wish I was a great scriptorian. Instead I am a reader that more often than not gets distracted while reading, and sometimes even falls asleep.
I wish I had a home that was always neat and tidy and at the same time inviting and fun to be in. Instead we have a pile of laundry always needing to be folded, dishes in the sink at least 3x a day and many other "hot spots" in need of constant attention. And if I do get it clean I don't want it messed up so then we struggle with the fun and welcoming part.
I want to be fit and active. Instead a bake a mean chocolate chip cookie and watching people compete on the Amazing Race is my idea of the perfect exersise.
I want to be helpful, not too busy.
I want to be interesting to talk to, not tired and (searching for a word), um, well TIRED.
I want to be always wise and patient and willing to read one more story, play one more mindless game of candyland, explain one more time why we put our shoes away or why the moon isn't showing in the day. Instead of counting down the minutes until bedtime, trying to skip a page here and there and stacking the deck so Queen Frostine pops up early in the game.

I know no one is perfect, but I want to be.

I want to give them the best....but all I have is me, so I try and give them me each day. Hopefully that's enough.

sisterhood of the "this needs to be washed again?!" pants

For my dear sister,
Something to look forward to. One days worth of loads waiting to be folded while we watch the Amazing Race tonight...I hope the hippies don't get eliminated!

An Angel carrying a Strawberry Shortcake Lunchbox

Before H was even born we picked out a name for her that DH and I both loved. It's Hannah. I thought it was lovely and I pictured a girl who was sweet and virtuous and patient and faithful, calm and serene. Like the Old Testament Hannah. Hannah is sweet and lovely. Calm and serene are not two words that anyone would ever use to describe her though. She's a little tornado! (and ...shhh don't tell anyone...sometimes drives us nuts) She also has the sweetest side to her. Today I saw that again, and it reminded me what an angel she really is. I need to see that all the time.

When she started kindergarten we went to the store and bought a new strawberry shortcake lunchbox. She chose it, she loved it. She took it to school once and then saw the wonder of the school cafeteria. She was hooked. Every day she buys her lunch. She loves the power of choice and the "yummy" foods that she doesn't get at home. Here we eat yucky stuff like salad, baked chicken, beans, veggies, and other "disgusting things." There she can eat pizza, and burritos, and chicken fried steak and I don't know what else. This morning she told me she wanted to bring her lunch. Why? I asked. She told me that her friend Lexi isn't allowed to buy lunch anymore because her family can't afford it and she doesn't want her to feel badly so she is going to eat brought lunch with her. Knowing how much she loves cafeteria food this really touched me. To make matters worse all we had in the house was pbj sandwich makings. E's favorite, H hates it. She sighed when I told her but said yes to make it. Then she watched as I cut it into triangles for her. "Oh good mom, maybe it'll taste better as a triangle" she assured me when I was done. This was a very selfless act on her part. Every now and then I get a glimpse of their true character and am humbled.

can we go to the zoo today?

J called from school today, frantic. Mascot try-outs begin and she HAS. TO. HAVE. a new, crisp, with nothing written on it, not lame but cool, white t-shirt. And she forgot her good luck silver tennis shoes.
Being the good mom that I am I tell her not to worry I'll bring some. Will I recognize a "cool" shirt if I see one she queries? (Probably not, but she'll have to take her chances.) So I wake the baby, wrestle the boy who really wanted to watch Star Wars and not go to Wal-mart into his shoes and off we go.
Now, here's where the good mom story turns into a bad mom story. We're shopping, kids in cart, trying to hurry through the store before a $6 tee-shirt becomes a $60 trip and E starts crying that he wants a new Star Wars guy. We hurry, he cries louder. We stand in the check out lane and he produces big crocodile tears and is crying so loudly that I can't even hear the oh so annoying commercials that they now play in each aisle. Then it happens. Two little old grandma types in the line in front of me start talking to each other, loudly. Loud enough for me to hear them even though I am trying to tune out everything. "Do you see that poor little boy?" one asked the other. "He's crying and his mother isn't doing anything." replies the other. Then they turn to him and say "why are you crying sweetheart?" "I wa wa wann nt a Sttt arr Warss guy!' be manages to moan out. He has their full sympathy and he knows it. "Well," they comfort him, "I am sure if you just stop crying and smile your mom will get you something even better!" He looks at me. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

We paid and left. Dropped off the emergency try-out gear and drove home. He cried the whole way, well to be fair he did stop crying often enough to tell me that I am mean and that he doens't like me.

When we pulled into the driveway he said "can we go to the zoo today? That would be better than a Star Wars guy."

I love being a mom!

frijoles negros

This is one of our favorite dinners. When I cook it I feel like one of the chefs on the cooking shows, that I don't watch because we only have bunny ears but sometimes on weekends PBS has one and H and I like to watch them together. I feel like saying "look at the beautiful colors, doesn't that look delicious. Smell the blend of sweet peppers and onions. " And black beans are my favorite bean.
I also make spanish rice, cut up orange slices, grate cheese and serve tortillas (from a bag at Wal-mart). Put it all together and it's a delicious Floribean burrito that everyone loves.

Mom and Dad came over for dinner last night and we had these and brownies. Yum!

The end of a season (soccer season that is.)

Today were the last games of the season. J had three. E had one. H had a b-day party and I had to get to Dallas in the afternoon to go to the temple with Caroline, who will be getting married in 3 weeks, and whose YW leader I was for many years and whose friend I am now. BUSY!

Two of the games were this morning so I got to see both kids play. J's team won and it was very exciting. They went on to finish in 2nd place for the league at the end of the day. Papa took J to her games in the afternoon and the two of them had a wonderful time together. E's team did great and the boys had a fun time. They don't officially keep score and I don't think I know who "won" at the end. E always thinks he does so that's good.


G watching the game. This lasted for about half the game, which was nice. The other half was spent chaseing her through the mud and bugs.

E waiting to play.

H and her friends Emmaline and Peyton picking flowers during the game. It's really a fun family day for all.

Grandma took H to the party. It was at Build A Bear and she had a wonderful time. After Grandma took her shopping and the two of them had so much fun.

I was able to leave for the afternoon. It was wonderful. It's so nice to see young people grow up and make good choices and become who they should be. I am so looking forward to the days when I am there with my own daughters and son. It will be wonderful beyond what I have the words to express.

S baby-sat and that went well. I came home and everyone was happy. I am so glad to have responsible, kind, older daughters that step up and try and be "mommy" when I am gone. It makes my mind feel at ease.

I am also so grateful that my parents live nearby. They are so wonderful. I enjoy having Sunday dinners, and FHE, and special times together. I also love the daily living that we can share. That the kids have someone to step in when their parents aren't there and fill those needs is priceless. We haven't had that in a long time and we are enjoying it a lot while they are here. Hopefully they are getting back something equally nice from the time they have with us.

Looking forward to the Sabbath. I am going to sub in E's class! It'll be so fun.

Art Festival

Just how do you get a giant picture of a dog home? People buy the funniest things!


We went to the art festival today. It was so much fun. Last year was our first year to go and we had a wonderful time. I bought a picture of some Senagalese lions hunting in the surf, with dreams of someday seeing them in person. Well I haven't seen them yet but we do have nice lion cubs at the zoo. This year we went with mom and G. We went during the day since DH has been working a 2nd shift the last few weeks. It was fun again. There are so many creative talented people out there! Wow.

This Will Only Hurt for a Minute, and other lies...

Today G went in for her 15 month check-up. She is in the 90% for height, and 15% for weight. She's tall and thin, we should all have such problems!
Poor baby got 5 shots. I felt very sorry for her. I hate going for shots. I know it's for the greater good but when she was so happy playing on the table, "talking to me" and being so cute and unsuspecting and then the nurse and I tag teamed her and next thing she knew she was getting poked repeatedly in the leg, it seemed awfully unfair.

I read the best book yesterday. For my birthday Uncle Brian sent me GC's. I love gift cards! One was to Borders so I went that very day and got several books. One was called My Sister's Keeper. I read it in one day because I just couldn't put it down. It is the story of a family with two children. A boy and a girl. The little girl is diagnosed with lukemia when she is two and the parents eventually decide to genetically engineer a designer baby to be a donor match for Kate. For 13 years Anna donates blood, marrow, whatever is needed. Then a kidney is needed and she says enough. I won't give the rest away but it was wonderful and thought provoking and really draws you in.

It's been raining. We need the rain so that's wonderful.

Loved Amazing Race last night. I was so relieved that the Hippies didn't get eliminated. I want them to win. Tonight is Survivor. It's good TV season for me!

3 spots in my home that reflect me.

I enjoy reading lots of different blogs. One of my many favorites is OwlHaven and if I knew how to stick in a link here I would, something to figure out soon! She posted a little contest. Take a picture of three small spots in your home that are a reflextion of you. That sounded like lots of fun so here I go with my first post your response to:


This is the corner of my living room and my favorite rocker. It's the best nursing, reading, holding, loving spot. It is also so comfortable to sit in. The walls are a soft yellow, which I love and the kids instruments are in the corner. I like to sit here and listen to one of them practice.

This is the china cabinet in the kitchen. DH painted it and I love it. It is filled with some of our many pitchers. DH's beloved Grandmother gave me a bunch of her pitchers. She was moving out of her home of many decades and down sizing, we were growing bigger and bigger so it was the perfect transition. I love them because I love her. I also love them because pitchers remind me of the Bible story of the woman at the well. I love to think of Christ's compassion and love for us and that we can drink of living water and never thirst is we follow Him. Besides pitchers I also collect chickens. Again because it reminds me of the Savior gathering His followers like a hen gathers her chicks. You can see a few of the chickens on the top of the cabinet.

Lastly our backyard pool. The reason I moved to this house in the first place. DH wanted a bigger home, bigger yard. I didn't so much but I have always wanted a pool. So we found a house and he built me my dream pool. We designed it just the way we wanted it and it has been the source of countless hours of fun for the kids and for our friends and neighbors. It's been wonderful. Ironically I am not even a good swimmer, nor have I ever been, but it's one of those things that I made sure I did differently for my kids and I am glad. I made each of them take lessons- whether they cried and protested or went willingly and they are all fish. I love to watch them, I love to get in and cool off, I love to share with friends. It is a real joy and blessing to us!

Wallowing in Chocolate

This morning we were getting ready for church and G was sleeping and sleeping. It was so quiet and I enjoyed showering without wondering where she was. And getting breakfast ready, and helping the other kids. Soon it was time for me to go get her up so we'd have time to get her ready for church. Then I discovered why she was so quite in her bed. Sleeping in? No. Waiting patiently? No. H had opened a chocolate rabbit and slipped it in the crib to her waiting, and I am sure grateful, sister. I went in and she was laying down, feet up kicking happily and chewing on the last ear. A lot had melted on her pajamas, hands, hair, bedding, wall, in fact every other surface close to her. A lot went in her belly I am sure.




This is a nice shot of the kids before church, after the chocolate was cleaned up. Twice. G liked it so much that she found someone elses wrapped chocolate and got that all over her dress and hands.

Now we're off to church!

Star Stepper

It's late but for my faithful blog reader(s), Anna, I knew you'd be waiting to find out the results of this weeks try-outs.....S made JV! We are excited.

Egg hunt, happy meal & citizenship award!

H had a great day today. She got to wear a dress and high heeled sandals to school. She loves that.
This morning G and I went to her awards ceremony. ( E was at preschool.) She got 100% attendance, A/B honor roll, and best citizen of the 6 weeks award! Way to go!
Then DH surprised her and took her out to lunch at Wendy's. She got to leave school with him and have ice cream.
Then we went to her class Easter Party this afternoon. Very fun.
Then she got invited to go to Caden's after soccer practice for a movie night!
What a great day!

Star Wars Overload

My boy is an addict. To say that he loves Star Wars would be a serious understatement. He has the little guys, which he plays with all the time. I don't really mind that at all. It uses imagination and often they have battles outside. By definition boys playing outside is good. He has SW blankets. I don't mind that at all. Nana made them, E loves them. All is good. He loves a good light saber fight. I actually don't mind that either. It's physical and takes some skill and as long as no one ends up crying that's fine with me. In fact yesterday during J's violin lesson Creyton, our teachers 13 year old son, got out his light saber and fortunately E arrived at the lesson in his Darth Vader cape and with his red light saber so he was prepared and the two of them dueled it out. E laughed out loud with glee! Playing with a big boy and playing light sabers...how much better can it get? Creyton even "died" several times. This was wonderful. It made me smile to see them. He loves the movies. Now I'm starting to love it less. Watching a movie is pretty mindless. Sometimes it's great because then he's not under foot but often it's not so great. Lastly he love to play SW on the x-box. That I don't like at all. Sometimes he'll play with DH. They both love it and I guess there is something to be said for male bonding. He wants to play with friends. I never let them, which usually leads to some tears. He wants to play with me, no way. He wants to play all day long. Nope. This unfortunatly leads to a lot of tears and constant begging. We now have a policy. 1/2 hour a day. I set the timer, when it goes off I call him and if he cries, complains or asks for my time, or doesn't run down as fast as I'd like I tell him no more SW until his birthday (an eternity away). It's going okay. Is there something in that Y chromosome that makes them love video games? ...very strange.

A Little Breathing Room

It's been several days since the magic mop visited our home. I have to say it's been wonderful. Things look more sparkly. They weren't perfect but I wasn't expecting perfection. In fact I was thrilled that a three woman team working all day couldn't get it all done. If they did I would have wondered why I don't. Still do, thanks to certain perfect friends, who shall remain nameless, who seem to do it all. But that's another topic. I still pick up all day. I still do 4 loads of laundry a day. I still clean the kitchen three times a day, and vacuum, and wipe the potty and each night I walk around for an hour folding, fluffing, sorting, picking up, scraping off, checking, locking, feeding, ect. But then it looks pretty good. I have random feelings of gratitude. Today R slept in and we got ready for the day. He's been working until 2am and going in to work in the morning and he needed a bit of catch up. When he got up he asked if we wanted to go to IHOP with him. And we did. And I was excited about it. I would have gone before but I would have thought "oh no, now I won't get _____done". After we had to go to the bank and move money into Dani's account. Her radiator cracked. Then we had to go get Turbo Tax because it really is the last minute. Then E wanted to go to the library. And we did. And I didn't have to inwardly groan because now "I couldn't get ______done. " When we got home we put G down for a nap and then I had time to read to E without guilt, or trying to skip a page. It's just bought me some more time to mother and nurture and take care of those I love. I think that's priceless and I am so glad that DH did this for us.

I'm reading "Anne of Green Gables". It's my first time and I love it. It's so sweet and funny and I love the way she uses language. I want to give my kids room to have "scope for the imagination". One of my many parenting goals.

We are counting down until summer. We have the usual reasons to do so: no school, no early mornings, lots of swimming time. This year we have another reason: My sister Val and her four little darlings are coming to visit for about 2 weeks and then we are driving to her house to visit for another 2 weeks. We are all SO excited we can hardly stand it. Val and I have made an itinerary of meals, summer school lessons, field trips, crafts and activities we want to do. Every day we talk about it and look forward to it. To quote Anne again "anticipation is half the fun".

I feel happy.

One of these things is not like the others....

E had a nap today. It's a mixed blessing. A few quite hours in the day but then this is what we see at 11:00pm. Boy in mom's bed watching Narnia, and of course he doesn't feel at all sleepy.

G is out. She's a good sleeper. I lay her in bed after a drink and a song and she "talks" to herself, or to H if she's available, and then goes to bed. What an angel.

These are the only moments of peace we get to enjoy with H. Otherwise she is talking, or doing, or getting into something. We like to tell ourselves it's a sign of intelligence!

Homeworks done, violin practice done, outfit picking out for tomorrow done. J is ready for bed.

S is zonked. 5:40 comes way too early. Plus 3 hours of dance, 2 of homework, school, FHE, dinner and time for a quick swim make it a very full day!

Now it's time to play our game....

*I think they work as a team to make sure that mom never sleeps enough, never is "lonely", and never has time to think. DH and I are outnumbered even with one away at school!

Too Many TuTus

Today began try-out week for the drill team. S had to stay after school until 6pm. H also had dance after school until 6:15. This doesn't sound like it should be a logistical problem but S was 18 minutes late getting out. Which made us 15 minutes late getting H. Question? How can one mom be everywhere she needs to be to make sure that six kids all have what the need? I don't know the answer. We have scheduleing issues from time to time that don't have any satisfactory resolution.

Tonight was FHE. Our lesson was on the last week of the Savior's life. It went well. After the kids played their instruments for us. S and H even played a duet, which was so cute.

D found a new apartment. She is very excited. Her rent will be much cheaper for the summer! She registers for classes today. Hopefully she'll get in the ones she wants.

R is working late this week. The kids miss him when he is gone. H asked why he didn't pick her up from dance, E wants to play X-box and thank goodness J didn't have math homework tonight!

View from the Front Porch

This weekend was a productive one. After soccer practice on Thursday night DH decided to pull up the big bushes across our front porch. He worked into the night and in the morning finished. It opened up the view so much. Then he, with the help of my dad, built a railing to go around the porch. It took two days and it looks so beautiful. I love it. Now we can see the neighborhood. It makes the house look completely different and much more inviting. Now we're going to plant a values garden in the front. It'll be pretty. J is going to work on it with DH as a YW project.

The rest of the weekend went well. We had several soccer games to attend. I went to a bridal shower, S came too. Last night DH and I went out on a date. First we dropped S and her friend off at the stake dance where they had a wondeful time. Then we met our friends for dinner. The timing was perfect.

Today we went to church. It was a good weekend.
Oh and I almost forgot the magic mop came on Saturday and things sparkled when she was done so that was nice too.

Slaying Dragons

This moring before work DH and I were talking about his career. His job is to defend the free world and keep it safe from terrorism and tyranny. He does that by building fighters. Lately they've been gearing up for a lot of testing and he has a lot of responsibility for that. So, at the end our talk, where I was mostly just a sounding board but that's part of being a good wife right? He kissed everyone good-bye and was headed out the door. Meanwhile E had been sitting/sleeping on my lap having a very slow wake up because he's been staying up too late and not napping and it's catching up to him. I called out to DH "have fun slaying dragons" and E sat right up with a sparkle in his eye and said "what did you say to dad?" I looked at him and he repeated "did you say something about dragons? I thought dad built planes?" It was really cute. I told him that yes his dad built planes and no dragons aren't real and so and and so forth. He's a funny kid. His mind really works hard and he asks lots of tough questions. The dragon one was easy though:)

Another really cute thing he said was at dinner on Sunday. We were at Papa and Grandma's house and E asked if there are any planes that drop a bomb on top of another plane while they are flying. DH told him they usually use missles for that kind of thing. Then E rephrased the question just a little and asked again. Again Papa and daddy explained. Then E thought a minute and said "well, I think the A slash B Tomcat drops bombs like that, I saw it in my book". He's three. Can we safely say Mr. Smarty pants to him?!

Preschool was here this morning. It was my last turn. They boys were cute. E will continue to go until the end of May, my turns to teach just got stacked at the front somehow.

H had a fun field trip yesterday. She got to pet a rat snake and an opposum. She also got to see a snake in the water and informed us it was a water moccassin so she stayed away. Good idea.

S and J both have try-outs next week. J wants to be the school mascot. S wants to be on the drill team. It will be a busy week. I don't know quite what to hope. I want them to do things they enjoy. On the other hand it's a big time and money committment. We're letting them try and then we'll see what happens. Hopefully they'll have fun at the try-outs and will feel good about doing their best. If they both make it maybe we'll live on Mac n Cheese for the summer:)

Hawaiian Haystacks and Kauai Krunch Kake

Preschool was so fun yesterday. We studied opposites. We read "The Kiss that Missed"which is such a cute story about a king who is in a hurry at bedtime and blows a kiss to his son, the prince. The kiss misses and floats around the kingdom destowing kisses to all. A knight is dispatched to retrieve the kiss. I won't spoil the ending but will say the children loved it. After we made castles with a knight in front and a knight in back, and for good measure made a dragon for said knight to defend the castle from.

J (DD age13) and S (DD age15) had Young Women last night. I dropped them off and it was sad for us all. They said as they were getting out of the car, "I can't believe you aren't coming in! You've been in YW with us all these years." I went to Wal-mart, by myself, and bought new pj's for E who continues to grow tall but seems to keep the same waist size. Then I came home and lamented the fact that my favorite TV show, the "Amazing Race" switched nights. What was that all about? I know it's on tonight now and I am looking forward to it but my whole evening was thrown off. I hope Lake is going to be eliminated tonight. He's so rude.

I got very sad news this morning. D (dd age 18) isn't coming home at the end of the month for a visit. She's going to school in Provo Utah and we miss her horribly. She decided to stay and go to summer school, keep working, and stay near her boyfriend Greg. We are so proud of her and the good things she is doing and what a mature wonderful fun young lady she's grown up to be. I just wish I could enjoy those things in person more often:( I know we're supposed to raise our children to be independent and that's really what I want for them. But still....it's kind of hard.

Tonight the missionaries are coming over for dinner. We love to have them. It's so fun for E to have more boys at the table. Usually it's just him and dad, and sometimes Papa. We're having an island themed dinner: hawaiian haystacks (a kid favorite), Krunch Kake (Anna's secret recipe from her BYU-H days) and pineapple jell-o.

The other piece of "bad news" for the day is when I went visiting teaching this morning my friend Megan asked me to teach her RS lesson on Easter Sunday for her. Great, what an ambush!

The weather is so overcast it reminds me of camping at the beach in the summers of my youth. I need to take my kids camping on the beach some day, it's so fun. We're pretty land locked so it'll be tough to do but maybe someday.

Random Thoughts

My sister Anna started a blog, something we've talked about for a long time. She's the baby but she always beats me to the punch! When I "grow up" I want to be just like her:)

I just noticed that my computer hasn't sprung forward. Strange. I wish I could join it. I hate daylite savings and the whole spring forward thing. Fall back is okay, I get to sleep more. Or at least I get the illusion of having slept more. My oldest DD is 18 so I figure I haven't slept well in at least that long. When she was small people would ask me how she was doing or how I liked being a mom and I always answered with a log of how much we had slept recently. Looking back it seems funny but at the time it was paramount, and she wasn't much of a sleeper. Now, 6 kids later, I am more used to sleep deprivation and don't even expect a good nights rest. It's better that way.

We've been talking about getting someone to come in and clean every once in a while. DH has been all for it, I have been the hold out. Finally I agreed and this morning I came back from my Sams Club shopping trip to a message on my machine from "Roxy's Magic Mop" saying she'd be by in 1/2 an hour to look at the house, give an estimate and set up an appointment. I looked around my house and paniced. I had 1/2 an hour to make a good impression on the cleaning lady. The person who, by definition, I only know because I am too much of a slacker to keep things clean on my own. Yet I wanted to make a good impression. Wanted her to think that really I am neat and clean and organized and am only hiring her in the interest of keeping our economy strong. So I had to make some quick decisions. First I put breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and wiped off the counters and table. Then I made the beds, then I ran through the house picking stuff up. Finally I wiped the goo off G (15month old DD) and sent E (3year old DS) outside to play with the dog. Then I washed my hands and calmly pretended that I was putting groceries away the whole time. So we "passed" and Saturday we get our spring clean and then every other week the magic mop will come and do what I should. Two things struck me as funny about the whole thing. First is if I cleaned that fast every day I probably wouldn't need Roxy in the first place. Second who was I trying to fool?

We had a good trip to Sams today. Not for the reason you may think but because I found a great deal on books. The Classics Pack. 12 books for $14. Irrisistable. I stood in the aisle imagining myself reading out loud to the kids all summer long after a fun day spent in the pool and everyone is tired out, jammied up, and ready to listen and be transported away to magical lands with new friends and wonderful adventures! I would rather buy books than food. Would my family rather read than eat.. depends on what we're eating I guess. If it's the "gross" stuff I get accused of putting in front of them on a regular basis maybe. If it's McDonalds, that might be a toss up.

I teach preschool tomorrow. We have a co-op. It's very fun. I like my turn to teach as well as I like my turn to drop off my darling boy and have a few hours with just one kid to do errands with. So, I'm off to create some play-doh magic!