Just Today

I have decided that I don’t always need to have photos of the fun things that we do in order to blog about them.

I have decided that it’s ok to post about fun things without trying to be clever or witty.

I have decided that it’s important to write while things are still fresh in my mind, or else I will forget about what made them special.

 

Today we went skiing. It has been at least 15 years since I last put on a pair of ski boots. My kids have never gone. I wanted them to at least try it.

I loved it when I was younger. I had no fear. I used to ski fast. I don’t know what happened. I didn’t ski fast today. I was scared. I’m getting old.

For Christmas, Steve’s mom got passes for Me and Jonathon and Thomas and Hannah to go to Sundance. Thank You Mom!

There was no school today. We thought there would be new snow, but the forecast was a little off. We got there bright and early. It was 3 degrees.

I did remember to take the camera, I just didn’t remember to take it out of the car. Later, I did remember that I could take pictures with my phone, but it was out of batteries. No pictures today.

We headed off to ski school. Thomas and Hannah were together with their instructor. Jonathon and his friend with another instructor. I was all by myself with my very own instructor.

It was hard not to think about how the kids were doing, but I had to focus on making my way down the hill without getting hurt. My teacher was very patient and helped me remember what I was supposed to be doing.

I did get to see the kids in action a couple of times. I could watch them from the lift as we headed to the top of the run. They were doing so well. I wanted to yell at them and cheer them on, but I didn’t think it was such a good idea.

We met up at lunch time and ate frozen ham sandwiches that had been waiting for us in the car. We decided that we needed some hot chocolate, but it was so hot that we couldn’t drink it. It was a good thing that we could take it outside to cool it down a little. I was worried that the kids would be ready to go home. No worries. They could barely finish their lunch before they were ready to go up again.

On the way back up the mountain, I told myself that I needed to remember to go slowly as we headed down so that I could make sure the kids were doing alright. Whatever, they passed me right up and then had to wait for me to get to the bottom.

Conditions today were less than optimal. It felt at times like I was skiing on sheets of ice. After three runs down the slope I was ready to go home. The kids were not. So we played on the bunny slope for a while. Hannah was amazing. I thought she would be the first to say she wanted to stop. She was an expert at using the tow rope to take her up the bunny hill. I was impressed. She lasted longer than I did, I decided to take a break and watch for a while. My legs were tired.

The boys didn’t last long at the tow rope before they decided to head back up the big icy mountain without me. Such a long wait – up the lift, down the hill – waiting, waiting, waiting. Hey, guess what they made it down safely. I don’t even know how to convey the stress and anxiety that I experienced while waiting for them to get back.

We lasted until 4pm, but then it finally got too cold for us. I figured that I would be a little bit sore tomorrow. I didn’t have to wait to find out. It only took the 20 minute drive home for my body to start to rebel.

Luckily Steve let us get fast food for dinner so that I didn’t have to worry about it. I’m beat. I can’t wait to do it again.

It’s That Time Again

It seems there is much to catch up on from the last few months. Now that the kids are back in school, I have found time to upload the photos from this summer. Only to find that I didn’t even really take that many. I wish I was better at snapping pics over the summer.

Once again I have failed to post about many things that have passed, but I am not going to try to fit it all in right now. That would be too overwhelming. So I’m just going to take it slowly.

This is one of my most favorite
moments from this summer.

Disney puts on the best firework shows ever!

Financial Planning 101

Murphy’s Law

Over the last few weeks, we have been taking a financial class to help us learn how to: Get out of debt, Stay debt free, and invest in the future. We have learned many great concepts that will help us achieve these goals.

The classes started in April, and soon after we attended our first one, Steve’s car broke ($800). This was just another reason why April sucked. We had made a decision to stop charging on our credit card and this happens. Great!

Murphy’s law: 
When you try to save money something expensive will happen.

 

 

This week we had some extra money come our way. We have already put a nice chunk towards debt this month, so we decided to use the extra money to build a fence that will keep Henry in the backyard this summer. This is a necessity.

Steve got online and estimated the cost of two side fences, and guess what? It worked out to be the same amount of the extra money. Nice!

We headed right out to Home Depot with our list of supplies. We decided to take Henry with us so that he wouldn’t cause trouble for Thomas who was in charge because Jonathon was on a Scout Campout.

This is what we came home to.

 

Thomas did this while we were gone – I guess you could call it an accident, but the point is that we had some extra money, then we spent it, and now it’s probably going to cost us the same amount to fix the window.

Luckily we were able to complete the first step in our financial plan, so we do have an emergence savings account. I just didn’t want to dip into so soon.

Things we learned today, Thomas is not responsible enough to be left in charge; there is always going to be something that requires your extra money; and making money answering questions on the internet is not worth your while. But that’s another story.

BTW: Does anyone know a good window guy?

Blatant Destruction

Throughout the years I have had quite a few things ruined by my sweet little children. I will never forget the day that Thomas sat and picked the chocolate chips out of his Chip A Hoy cookie and mashed them into my two day old couch cushions. Or the time that Jonathon dumped a quart of blue paint in the hallway. One day, one of them took a pair of tweezers to our television screen and carved some nice designs. We had only been in our new house a few months when one of the kids scribbled non-washable green crayon all over the walls and the back of my Lazy Boy – Mr. Clean met his match on this one.

These things and many other have taken place because I have had an endless supply of toddlers. I understand that they really don’t know any better. One could say that it is my fault, for not watching them more closely. So, over the years we have just learned to accept that destruction is going to happen.

However, I can not accept the fact that my 8 year old would do something like this:

 

 

When did Libby turn 8 you ask? Oh, No, Libby didn’t do this. This is Hannah’s cruel attempt to frame her sister. And, it wasn’t enough for her to just let me find it, she actually came to me and tattled on Libby.

I used to think that Hannah was pretty smart, but she wasn’t bright enough to figure out that I would know that this was not Libby’s work. I have so many unanswered questions. Why would Hannah want her sister to get into trouble for this? How could she be so mean? Why did she have to use my chair?

P.S. I have not tried to get the crayon out of the chair. I don’t know the best way to go about it. I don’t even know if it’s washable crayon.  But mostly I have left it there so that she can be reminded of it whenever she goes into the front room.

January = Uneventful

I am not the best at documenting all of the baby firsts. Jack has already rolled over, smiled, started crawling and has cut his first tooth plus 3 others. He gets around pretty good, but doesn’t walk yet. He loves to wave, dance and play with Henry. He has said his first words and is starting to make sounds and point for things he wants. I don’t know when they all happened, they just did.

It’s not a big deal though, because if I decided to document all of these things when they actually happened, the rest of my kids would be mad and I would have to listen to them whine to me about how “it’s not fair” and why didn’t I keep track of all of the things they did when they were babies.

Where am I going with all this? Well, I cut Jack’s hair today (his first haircut) and then gave him a bath to wash off all of the little hairs stuck to him. He was all clean and dressed so I decided to take pictures of him. So now I have at least documented one of his firsts.

He just turned 11 months old. He is a pretty happy little guy.

 

Henry has a little backpack that he fills with toys and then he puts on his jacket and boots and tells me that he is going to school. I guess I will have to decide what he is going to do this fall – Joy School anyone?

Since Church now starts at 11:00 am, it has thrown a wrench into our Sunday nap schedule. We are getting used to it now, but at the beginning of the month Henry would fall asleep on Steve’s lap. One Sunday Henry wasn’t quite awake when we put him on the bench, and he slid forward and knocked his head on the bench in front of us. He got a nice rug burn on his forehead. I don’t think it hurt him, because he didn’t really cry, but it looked awful. It used to be worst than this.

Well folks, that’s it for January – Hopefully Feb is filled with just a touch more excitement and adventure.

Who’s Watching Henry?

Life is crazy at our house. Even though we now
have Jack to look after, we still have to wonder. . .

"Who's Watching Henry?"

Because now he can open all of the doors.

Because now we are on record with
the Police Department

Because not only does he try and
change his own diaper, but Jack’s too.

Because he likes to run around in just
his diaper, and it’s cold outside

Because he likes to steal my gum and candy
when nobody is paying attention.

Because he likes to paint things
with bright colored yogurt.

Because he's been spoiled rotten by
Grandma's for the last 3 weeks,
and now he thinks he can do whatever he wants.

Because he can do what ever he want's whenever he wants to,
and it doesn't matter if mom said it's OK. 

Because it's no fun to get stitches!

Because he takes any chance he can get to show
off his mad skills on the big wheel in the middle of the road.

2009 – It’s over already?

 

Looking back, I am amazed at how fast this year went by. I suppose it’s because I was pregnant for most of 2008 – the longest year in the history of the world. Still, Jack is now 10 months old – he’s not even a baby anymore. It always makes me sad when my little ones are not babies anymore. Time to have another one? Nope! Even though last January was a whole year ago, it has not been long enough for me to forget how awful it is to be 8 months pregnant.

Last January was as always long and boring. It was a nice change to have a dance recital in January and not during the holiday season. There was quite a bit of excitement when the Arizona Cardinals made their way through the playoffs and into the Super Bowl – And, even though it didn’t end the way we would have liked, it sure made January bearable.

For being the shortest month of the year, February was very long. As always, the 280 days of pregnancy were totally worth the end result. Sweet little Jack was finally here – amazing. While we were all very happy to have another little family member, I think Jack has been good for both Henry and Hannah. Hannah is like his little mother – she is a great babysitter for Jack - she always makes him smile. Henry is happy to have someone to share his room and sometimes his toys.

March, April and May – nothing much except a couple of birthdays. I think Steve’s parents came for a visit somewhere in there. I might have been a little tired for a few months. I think I snapped out of it by the end of May. Probably because school got out, but also because that is when my friends and I started our Recipe Blog. It has been fun to share delicious recipes with friends and family.

In June, Steve and I celebrated our 15th anniversary. We took a trip to our most favorite place – New York. I am always amazed when I think about how much has happened over the last 15 years. I never would have predicted 6 kids – I’m pretty sure that I used to think I was never going to have kids. I’m glad I was wrong.

July, August and September – again just lots of birthdays. I didn’t even post anything for August. I’m not ashamed to say that I turned 35 in August. I don’t know why I didn’t blog about it. I was probably busy trying to do fun things with my kids before school started so that they would remember that I was a fun mom. Just for the record, summer break was exceptionally long. That’s all I have to say about that.

October, November and December – I think I remember Halloween, but the rest is a mad blur. Shopping and parties and programs – but no dance recitals this year. The girls are making noises about missing dance – but I don’t wanna (said in a whining voice). We did finally for the first time get family photos taken by my friend Jill (link to the left). Steve wanted me to note that the Yankees won the World Series in November – but I know that nobody cares, because everyone else is Yankee-Haters and wanted them to lose.

Happy New Year to Everyone!

Wonder what new and exciting
things 2010 has in store for us?

Monday! Monday! Monday!

As much as I would love to go into labor right now or any other time before Monday, I have resigned myself to the fact that it's not going to happen.

So we have made an appointment to be induced on Monday morning. Now I know that last time we had an appointment, it didn't work out - so I am aware that it is not guaranteed.

Just in case I start to feel that insatiable need to have another baby someday, I would like to jot down some reasons why it might not be such a good idea. I am not seeking sympathy comments, this is for when I start to get baby hungry in a couple of years.

The whole 3rd trimester stinks!

• Heartburn - never ending heartburn impervious to medication
• Even maternity clothes get uncomfortable
• I have to pee every 10 minutes
• Gastrointestinal Distress
• My back always hurts no matter how I sit or lay
• I have shooting pains down both of my legs
• If I sleep on my back, I can't breathe
• If I sleep on my side, rolling over may cause my back to break
• I try to sleep propped up on about 20 pillows.
• I can't sleep because I have to pee every 10 minutes
• I snore so loudly, I wake myself up, & Steve has to use earplugs
• The ligaments in my body won't hold things together anymore
• My feet won't fit into my shoes
• My nose is twice the size that it used to be
• I walk like a penguin
• I have been having real contraction on and off for two weeks - THEY DO NOTHING!
• I have been dilated to a 4 for three weeks, but still no baby

Please remember that things become worse with each additional pregnancy.

The Nerve

Today, while we were checking out at the grocery store, the nice lady checker asked me when my baby was due.

I politely replied, "The end of February."

"Oh, that's nice" she said.

We gathered our bags into the cart and started to leave when she asked quite loudly as we were walking away, "Are you sure you're not having twins?"

What is that all about?

I've tried not to let it bug me -

but really, do I look like I'm having
TWINS??????

And even if I do, why would you say it out loud?

2008 - I'm drawing a Blank?

Today we all went out to play in the snow - the sun was shining so brightly we could hardly see where we were going. The kids even had to take off their coats, because it was so nice and warm.

As I look back on the year, I am truly glad that I started a blog, because I can't remember anything. I can blame part of my memory loss on the decrease in brain activity (see my friends post Mommy Brain ), but I also know that it is important to write things down because it's impossible to remember what was going on a whole year ago. Plus I find that I take way more pictures than I used to - in case I need them for blogging purposes.

The Year In Review:

January brings memories of snow, snow, snow.

February brings memories of snow, snow, snow.

March - hmmm still snow? Jonathon turned 11 - what did we do for his birthday?

April - Did the snow melt yet?

Now it gets sort of easier, because I entered the world of blogging. However, I have tried to think of some things that have not already been posted so as not to be redundant.

May - We decided that our family was slightly lopsided and we needed one more to even it out. Thomas turned 9 - we must not have very exciting birthdays, because again, I don't remember what we did.

June - Poof - We're expecting! Henry's had his first birthday - It made me sad that he was growing up. Because gas prices were so high, we decied to trade in our Tahoe for a Minivan. Although loading and unloading the kids is so much easier in the van, I really do miss my Tahoe this winter as I fishtail through the streets of unplowed snow.

July - This was a big month. I had to tell my parents that we were thinking about moving and that I was pregnant (not fun). I decided to wait a month to tell them about the baby. We celebrated Libby's 5th birthday during a visit to Bear Lake. We invited over the cousins and had cupcakes with purple frosting (I didn't post pictures in July, because the kids made a huge mess with the purple frosting and I was annoyed about it.) But I do remember it!

August - I turned 34, wow how time flies! School started, and I was amazed at how long Henry would sleep without the other monkeys around.

September - Hannah turned 7, even she can't remember what we did for her birthday. We started to wonder if moving was really a good idea - Not like we had to worry, no one came to look at the house all month.

October - We gave up on the thought of selling our house. In four months we had only four people come to look at it. Steve turned 35 - I will always remember this birthday and the re-birthday that we had a few days later. (It's a long story)

November - It only snowed once, and didn't stay. The weather was beautiful all month long. We had really good food for Thanksgiving - we think that the combination of Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Corn and Homemade Rolls can't be beat.

December - We got most of our shopping done early and were not stressed at all during the month. Steve worked from home quite a bit, because we did finally get snow and it made his commute difficult. We very much enjoyed Christmas and I am waiting patiently for school to start again. I will add one more note just so I won't ever forget: I feel like I'm going to pop open, and I am not due for two more months.

Happy New Year
Best Wishes for 2009

I will do a better job, I will, I will!

It has been so fun to discover so many new blogs over the last couple of weeks. I find it enjoyable to see what other people have to write about. However, it has made me feel sort of boring. I have been trying to think of something to blog about for a few days now, but I am short on ideas.

My days are pretty much the same. I am mostly stuck at home, because Henry takes both a morning and afternoon nap. This is not a complaint - I like nap time and I like staying home. This is just the reason why my life is a little dull.

Also, the batteries in both of my cameras are out of juice. Well, you might ask, why I don't just recharge them? Because I don't want to go and look for the chargers. This would also be one of the reasons that I have not posted anything recently. I must admit though, I don't really think that there have been many missed photo opps. (Henry Napping, Me Napping, The kids fighting)

But, today I have made a resolution to find the camera chargers and start taking pictures of everything. (Hopefully I will not feel the need to post all of them!) I will try to find interesting things from my day to tell the world about. Ok, maybe not the world, but think I have some readers all the way in Florida!

So, don't give up on me. I will try to post something more than once a month, I promise.


P.S. I have to give a BIG GIANT THANKS to Steve - who DECLARED WAR on the massive ammounts of LAUNDRY this weekend, and got all of it washed. I even pitched in and we got it folded and put away too. Now how exciting is that? Maybe I should have saved that for it's very own post.

Henry Says . . .

Henry basically copieswhoever is talking to him,but these are the words thathe actually communicates with.

Mommy, Daddy, Libby, Apple, Nana, Cookie, Poopie, Hungy, Night Night, Out, Play, Ok, Hi, Bye Bye, See Ya, Owie, Bum Bum, Whoa, Yeah, Uh Oh, Toesies and last, but not leastYankees!