My Guy

Cheesiest picture ever!


I really do have the best husband ever. This post has been in my head for months and it's finally time to just put it down on "paper" so that the "world" knows. I'm not a frilly, romantic, sweet kind of girl so I'll just list the characteristics that make him so "perfect." (and that will be my last use of quotation marks, which reminds me I need to post on my girls' incorrect use of air quotes... but this is about Seth not the girls so it will have to wait.)

• Seth washes dishes, vacuums, cleans bathrooms (including toilets), sweeps, mops and whatever else needs to be done that I haven't gotten to on any given day. (and no I don't ask him to, he just does it.)


• He gets up with kids at night. On a regular basis. He never complains or pretends to not hear them. If it's been a long night and I'm sleeping through something he may gently nudge me and ask me if I can get up because he's getting frustrated but that's it.


• He tells me I'm beautiful and that he loves my pregnant belly, when I know it can't possibly be the full truth.


• He puts kids to bed.


• He lets me go to the store all by myself.


• He plays with the kids. He can make them laugh like nobody else. And while I pretend to be annoyed because it's usually right before bed who can really get mad when their kids are rolling on the floor laughing?


• He never complains when I underachieve (which is basically everyday.) He simply steps in and picks up the slack.


• He gets my sense of humor. (that's big, not many people think I'm as funny as I think I am but he at very least pretends to think I'm funny!)

I could go on and on but I won't. I just feel extremely blessed to have such an amazing man. And it's his birthday this week. Happy Birthday, babe. I love you.

Hot Date

I get to go out with my husband tonight.

That makes me SO happy. We used to be really good about going on dates but lately our monthly trip to the temple has been our only escape. It's expensive to go out. Even if we don't spend any money on our date we still have to pay a babysitter. Plus, with Kilian here it's a little weird to get a babysitter unless we know for sure that he has plans and won't be home.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my joy of going on a date with my hubby.

Shopping

The older they get the harder they are to buy for. That's what I've decided. I try really hard to start getting "little" things for Christmas starting sometime in the summer. If I see something on sale I'll grab it and store it away. Well I just got down the box of treasures and guess what... Luc is spoiled and apparently super easy to please. On the upside, he's done. I don't need to buy him anything else. On the downside, the girls have just a couple things and Seth and Kilian have virtually nothing.

By the end of the Christmas season I am just tired of spending money. I'm such a "frugal" person that all this shopping is exhausting. Don't get me wrong I like to shop now and again but this is too much all at once for me.

I guess what this probably means is it's time to increase my focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

Evening the Score

Seth was wrong. It doesn't happen too often. But this time I was wrong too. He and I were both completely convinced that baby #4 is absolutely a girl. We were absolutely wrong. And with that we are even, 2 girls, 2 boys. Yay.

It's taken me a few days to get used to the idea since I was so sure it was another girl but now it all just seems perfect.

We've almost decided on a name. (I've decided. Seth just doesn't know he's decided yet.)

The boys can share a room (and as soon as Kilian leaves I will start getting all the rooms rearranged, ie. nesting)

Luc needs a brother. Kimball is quickly tiring of all the tackling and karate chops.

I still have some boy clothes left. (I have NO baby girl clothes.) I wasn't great about holding on to most of it but I saved most of the good stuff.

There was more to the perfection of the situation but I can't remember now.

A Day at the Beach!

Friday we spent hangin' out at the beach. Thanks to our awesome friends the Gilberts we had amazing accommodations. The house is absolutely gorgeous and perfect for families with a little beach for the kids to play on and big windows for parents to watch them from inside (or a hot tub depending on your mood.)

It was chilly but sunny and the kids had a blast. McKay was soaked from head to toe after losing a game of "run from the waves." She didn't care in the least. Luc took a little while to warm up to the idea of all that water but he loved chasing waves as long as daddy was holding him. They also built a nice little sand castle. Still no pictures because my computer is not working and Seth's laptop won't read my card reader. I think I may have to just go make a disc at Costco.

Kimball was quick to let me know that she thinks it would be "way fun to live at the beach." By the end of the weekend after telling her multiple times that we aren't moving to the beach anytime soon she was willing to settle for "staying here until next Christmas." Me too Kimball, me too.

While playing in the sand with Kilian and the other kids McKay had a little accident. They were playing tug-a-war with a rope that conveniently had a brick tied in the middle of it...? Jenna and I stood back watching and commenting that this probably wasn't a good idea but... oops too late. McKay ended up landing face first on the brick. She was such a sport. She cried for about 2 minutes and then was almost proud of her latest battle wound. She kept asking to look in a mirror and I'd change the subject. About 10 minutes later she walked by me and said "you were right I shouldn't have looked!"

Seth and Chad ventured out in the kayaks. It was crazy cold. I personally never even touched the water. I could feel how cold it was without getting wet, thank you very much.

That night we went out to eat with 5 tired, hungry kids and waited almost an hour for our table. Enough said. Next time we go to the beach with our friends I will seriously consider leaving my kids with grandma.


PS. Totally off subject but I did finish that quilt I wrote about a while ago. Check it out over here -MilkandHoneyDesigns- on my sister-in-law's blog

DISNEYLAND!

At the urging of my wonderful husband I am again posting so that these sweet memories won't be lost forever. I feel them slipping away into the depths of my exhausted mind at this very moment.

We hit The Happiest Place on Earth today and it was awesome. Minus the constant reminders that crying/whining/pouting are not allowed on such hallowed ground it was a great day. Oh and despite Luc having an accident while waiting to get on Dumbo (to his credit he did say he needed to go but there was literally no way out... until he started to actually pee and then miraculously we found a way out.) And... scaring McKay on multiple rides until she has lost all trust in us and thinks we are determined to ruin her life by forcing her on rides that we promise are not in anyway scary only to realize that we are completely wrong and that to her (slightly wimpy) 6 year old little soul they are her worst nightmare. Other than those few things it was a grand day.

I don't know how people start at 8am and go 'til midnight. When I first realized the park would only be open from 10-8 I was so disappointed. Now as I sit here completely wasted I am so glad, it was really all the fun I could take.

So in an effort to get my tired body in bed I will just bullet point the rides we made it to, our favorites, not so favorites and the tidbits of happiness that sum up our day.

• Snow White - first ride of the day and gratefully there was absolutely no line - all three children exited the ride sobbing. It's not called Snow White's SCARY Adventure for nothin'!
• Dumbo - (Luc missed this due to the above mentioned accident) we redeemed ourselves and the girls started to think Disneyland might actually be fun.
• TeaCups - This was one of the first and the last. Dumbo and the Tea Cups have no lines after dark. The kids loved going back to them. Luc pleaded to go on the Tea Cups over and over again. Seth obliged, three times in a row and they were rewarded by being able to watch the fireworks show right over their heads while spinning into a nauseating stupor. It was Luc's favorite part and the only ride he asked for over and over, "Pweese mommy can we go again pweese pweese pweese?".
• Small World - Not normally my favorite ride but it was awesome. From Nov. 1 thru Jan. 1 all of Disneyland is Christmas-ed up and it was really cool. The kids loved it.
• Space Mountain - Well now that the kids are trusting us and thinking we won't lead them astray lets take them on a roller coaster in the dark. McKay never really trusted us though and then we ended up in the front car and she cried the whole time and told me I was a rude mom for doing that to her. It wouldn't take much to gain her trust back.
• Buzz Lightyear - Mostly enjoyed by all. Except Luc who wasn't so sure of it even though it was the one ride he talked about going on for weeks beforehand. He also refused to stand by Buzz.
• Lunch - PB&J's that we brought in and 2 sodas that cost $10! FYI - Even though their website says you can't bring outside food into the park they really don't care. We had a loaf of bread, PB and Jelly all in plain sight in the stroller when they checked us through and nobody said a word. It saved us so much money.
• California Adventure - we headed over for just an hour or so. I am more of a Disneyland purist but we figured there were a few things Kilian should experience.
• Soaring Over California - One of my absolute favorite rides. I love it. And it is in no way scary. Completely relaxing and fun. That's how I remembered it and that's how I explained it to McKay. Ooops. Trust gone again. How many times in one day will I break my poor daughter's heart. Kimball loved it. I tried to buy back McKay's love with cotton candy. It worked.
• Bugs Life - Lame for adults but a blast for the kids. Jenna and I took turns with the girls and Aaron while Luc and Luke slept in the strollers and the "big boys" went and rode California Screaming. Then we headed back over to Disneyland.
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - By this time Kimball was completely into it. She was willing to try anything. McKay and Luc and I went to go find some Mickey Ears. Kimball hated it and tried to get Seth to get them to stop the ride halfway through. Luc got the cutest Mickey Ears ever made. I will post pictures when we get back home.
• Pirates of the Carribean - The rude parents that we are we forced McKay to go on it completely against her will. She wanted to wait for us by herself. She covered her face and ears for the first half and then actually got into for a little bit and in the end decided she wanted to go on it again. Kilian declared it to be "lame." And Kimball thought it was just ok. Luc was unimpressed.
• Mickey's Toon Town - The kids mostly loved it until we took them on that little roller coaster then they hated it for a few minutes and liked it again after getting to meet Minnie.
• Dinner - $50 and we ate pretty much every last bite of it. It was mostly worth it just to sit down for a few minutes.
• Dumbo and Teacups again! (and the fireworks show)
• A little last minute shopping. Kimball had to find her Mickey Ears. She's a purist like me. Cute little original ones but pink instead of black.
• An exhausting walk back to the bus and then car.
• Back to the hotel - all of the kids were asleep and we were so tired - thank goodness for Kilian or carrying them up would have been impossible. We barely made it to the room and then of course our key cards wouldn't work. I ran back down to get that fixed and when I got back up Seth, Kilian, and all three kids were laying/sitting in the hallway unable to move. It was a great sight. Summed up the day perfectly.

Best part of it all was there were virtually no lines. I think the longest we waited was probably 15 minutes for the Dumbo ride the first time. Other than that we probably averaged about a 5 minute wait. And it was 75 and sunny. I officially declare mid-November the best time to visit Disneyland.

California Day 1

Too much happened today to not write it down before I forget it all.

We left Phoenix at 4:00 am in an attempt to get on the road with sleeping children. They slept until we made it to the gas station where I realized I had forgotten the RedBox dvd I had rented specifically for this trip. So we went back home where I realized I had not forgotten it and it was in the van all along. By then of course all three kids were awake. So off we went, again.

The kids slept off and on for the first few hours.

We stopped at the General Patton Memorial Museum. It's about 20 miles outside of Indio California, literally in the middle of nowhere. It's a little dirt road with about 15-20 tanks behind a chain link fence. We showed our respect by letting Luc pee in the dirt next to road (the real reason for our stop in the first place) and then I enjoyed a moment watching dad and son ooohing and ahhhing at the sweet tanks while the rest of us waited in the car.

About 30 minutes outside of Anaheim Kimball cried out in frustration "where are we going and when will we be there!" Then she fell asleep. We got here about 3 hours before we had planned. I'm not sure if we thought it would take that much longer or we just didn't do the math right, but we drove in to town at about 9:30 am and had no plans until it was time to check into the hotel. A traveling husband does come with it's privileges. We called the hotel and after checking our reservation (seeing Seth's "status") they said our room would be ready for us as soon as we got here. And this has got to be the most kid-friendly hotel I've ever been in. Could have something to do with it being a couple miles from Disneyland but the staff has been amazing.

We got into the room and you would have thought that the kids were already at Disneyland. They opened every drawer and closet and were amazed by it all. It was so much fun to watch them be so overjoyed by such little things.

Only problem with hotel is that the pool is closed until tomorrow or Friday and that was a major part of the day's plans. But not to worry the staff assured us that we could just go across the parking lot to the Hyatt and use their pool. We were promised it was all worked out. So off we went. Us and our 3 kids plus Kilian (our exchange student) and our friends with their 2 kids all decked out in our pool gear and the kids all hyped up and ready for some pool time fun. We walked across the parking lot and could almost feel the air change. Posh. That's all I can think of to describe this hotel. We asked the bellboy about the pool situation, he had no idea but suggested we check inside. In we went. Oh boy, I felt like I'd just walked into another world. Business men/women everywhere and it was quiet, really really quiet, until we got there that is. I think we talked to 5 different people before anyone knew about this little arrangement. We finally got a key and feeling seriously out of place went in search of the pool. McKay tugged on my shirt and said "mom, I kind of feel bad that we have to borrow their pool." Ya me too. Then Luc tried to pee right next to the hot tub. I'm pretty sure the Hyatt is no longer offering their pool to the Marriott's guests after today.

We spent the afternoon "resting" and just hanging out in the hotel. We decided to go to Downtown Disney for the evening. Seth and Kilian took Luc and McKay down to the lobby with our friends' kids and I ran back to the room to get my purse. As I was waiting for the elevator I hear screaming and thought "oh please don't let us get kicked out of this hotel, my kids are SO loud." When I got down to the lobby McKay is crying hysterically and surrounded by staff and guests while Seth is trying to comfort her. She had her hand on the elevator door as it reached the lobby and as the door opened it kind of just sucked her hand in with it and then got stuck. Seth had to pull her hand out to get the door to stop opening. She was not only in pain but traumatized by the fact that she was stuck there. Poor thing. Her hand is still swollen and red but she can bend all her fingers and I think she'll be ok. The staff doted over her for the next 20 minutes giving her soda and chips and ice and basically everything she could need/want. Then they had to fill out an accident report. We left and on the drive over she asked about why they had to ask questions and write it all down. We tried to explain liability and all that jazz. She started crying again "oh mom I don't want them to have to waste their money because of me." Oh sweet, sweet McKay. They aren't wasting any money on you because they don't have to pay for anything and besides that, Marriott has lots and lots of money. "Oh they're rich, ok." Then she was fine.

Downtown Disney was really fun. Just shops and really expensive food but the kids loved it. There was a live band and McKay danced the night away. Literally. She danced and danced and danced. It was really cute.

They all fell asleep on the way back to the hotel and are sleeping like babies as we speak. And tomorrow, DISNEYLAND!!! (or Disney Channel as Luc likes to call it.) So excited.

My goal for tomorrow: actually take the camera out of its' case!

You Know What Sounds Really Good?

At 15 weeks I am starting to transition from wanting to nothing to do with food to craving things and needing them as soon as possible. I'm not a crazy-craver. I don't crave pickles and ice cream or anything. But I think it's been funny to compare my cravings from one child/pregnancy to the next.

With McKay it was tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes with salt. We were in Las Vegas when I was about 12 weeks along and went to In-n-Out. I ordered a side of tomatoes with my burger and just at the tomatoes. After that I always had tomatoes in the fridge.

With Kimball it was a slightly less healthy addiction. McDonalds' cheeseburgers. No onion. And I could hardly drive by a McDonalds without stopping in for one, or two. Ironically, or coincidentally, Kimball loves hamburgers but not McDonalds.

Luc brought on the good ol' chocolote cravings. And I have never been a chocolate fanatic. I grabbed a snickers pretty much every time I checked out, anywhere. Luc eats chocolate every chance he gets. He can't get enough of it.

This one is a mixture of sweet and salty/spicy. It started with PowerBars and they still sound good but they're super expensive (usually) and I'm cheap. My salty satisfaction comes from nachos. Like the kind you get at the movies or sporting events. With jalapenos. Lots of jalapenos. Mmmmm. I'm drooling on my keyboard.

Do you have pregnancy cravings? Or non-pregnancy related cravings for that matter? Please share. I'd love to get some good ideas for new things to try.

Quick story from our everyday life.

Saturday morning we were driving to the church so the girls could practice for the upcoming primary program. There had been a little bit of a wind storm the night before. All of the sudden McKay gasps and yells out "oh no, there are dead ducks all over the road!" You could hear the horror in her voice. She quickly covered her eyes (partially) and tried not to look. I wanted so badly to comfort her but I was laughing too hard to even say anything. This is not the actual picture of the road but it looked something like this...

Then to make the situation even more comical Luc says "oh, I see a tiger over there!"

Kids are the best!

Sleepless Nights

A couple nights ago I couldn't sleep. I did bills before bed. Bad idea. That just gets my brain going and then it takes me hours to settle down.

In the midst of my non-slumber I had this whole blog post go through my mind. It was awesome. Perfect actually. I didn't dare get up and write it though, I thought it would just make falling asleep even harder. And it was so clear and complete I convinced myself it would still be securely fixed in my noggin come morning.

I'm guessing you can see where this is going...

I have retained just a portion of it. And even what I can remember is nowhere near as interesting or eloquent as it seemed to be. So be it. This is all I've got for you.

Things I was completely unprepared for when I became a mother:

1. The messes. And I don't mean like spilled milk and dirty faces. Nor am I referring to the toys strewn throughout the house. I'm talking the dirty things I don't ever remember my mom having to clean. Like walls. The walls are always dirty. Doors too. Who has time to wipe down walls and doors, let alone the baseboards and corners that I don't see on a regular basis. Am I the only one who sits on the toilet and stares at the floor and thinks "gross, how did that get like that again?" I have also been known to grab a rag and wipe down counter top while sitting on the pot. That I was not prepared for.

2...

See what I mean, at 2 am the list was like 7 items long. I guess add to the list not be prepared for "mommy brain" that leaves me without a coherent thought or sentence at any given time.

I love it though. I love having sweet little angels surrounding me all the time. Even when I'm sitting on the toilet.

I better love it since number 4 is on the way.

When Life Gives You Limes...

It's been a busy few weeks. Don't worry I won't bore you with all of it. Just some of it.

Kimball turned 5! My (sometimes) sweet and (always) cute little spitfire is growing up too quickly. She is so independent. She's working on teaching her big sister to be a little bit more so. She had a very fun and tasty cupcake themed birthday party. Once I get those pictures loaded I'll share. I got a little ambitious and made cute little aprons as party favors. They were adorable (slightly amateurish in quality but they were 5 year olds so I doubt they cared.)

I also started and am working on finishing a baby quilt. My first quilt in many years. I'm using a pattern from my sister-in-law's book. It's been fairly easy and it's going to be super cute. I'm trying to document it's progress for a future post... promises, promises I know.

We had a really nasty storm here in Phoenix last week. Well as nasty as they get here. It still only lasted a couple hours and even less than that at our house. It did quite a bit of serious/expensive damage in the valley. Ours was not so expensive nor serious but it did break my heart. I came home to find this:

My precious lemon tree snapped right in half. I cried. Is that pitiful? I don't care. I was so sad. It still tears at my heart just a little bit when I look at it. We probably lost 100 or so not-quite-ripe lemons.

When we first moved in I swore that it was a lime tree (probably because I LOVE limes and so I saw all these beautiful green little lemons and I assumed they were limes.) I even squeezed them and made "limeade." Until about a month later when all of the sudden they started turning yellow and a little more oblong. I still thought they were limes, I just thought they were going bad. Then our neighbor asked if we were going to give her any of our lemons this year and we were like "lemons?" And Seth and I looked at each other and were like "Ohhhh Lemons!"

It was funnier in real life. And now it just seems sad. I guess we'll have to plant a lime tree now.

Here's a quote/story to lighten the mood.

While grocery shopping last week Kimball asked me if we could get some SpaghettiOs. I haven't bought them in a really long time, I think she must have seen a commercial or something because I'm not sure if she's ever had them. We bought a few cans and she talked all morning about how she was going to have SpaghettiOs for lunch. I was happy to whip up an easy lunch for my little gourmet who normally passes on all things quick and easy. I served it up and she took 2 bites before bringing me her bowl and saying "hey mom, did you know that SpaghettiOs taste like throw-up?" Needless to say, we haven't had spaghettiOs since.

Fall...

I have been patient. I haven't griped or complained. I've left my jeans neatly folded in the closet and while I've looked at them longingly I have patiently awaited their proper season. I really do love Phoenix and I often sing her praises to my frozen friends in the north. But I am DONE. It is very nearly October and I cannot bear the scorching heat any longer. I just saw the forecast for next week and I very nearly cried. I'm not asking for crisp 60s or 70s, just some nice 80s. I'd even take some low 90s. Please. Pretty Please!

Diaper-less, mostly!

After 6+ years we are finally out of diapers. That's right SIX years of non-stop diaper changing. Someone find me an estimate of how many diapers that would be. My fingers are too calloused from all the changing to use a calculator and figure it out myself.

Luc is still in the transitional stage of the diaperless phase of his life but he's doing pretty well. I never had to "night train" the girls, it just happened along with the regular training. Not so with him. So I have given into the pull-up peer pressure. But other than the nights and an occasional "not quite quick enough getting the toilet" he's got it down pat. So proud of him and so happy to not be wiping poop off his bum anymore. And honestly what's cuter than a little mini-bum in tighty-whiteys. Honestly pinchable. So adorable.

As Luc says after a successful potty moment "YAY ME!" (us)

Better Blogging 101

Here I go again. This is "being a better blogger" attempt number 36. I have so many really good excuses, want to hear them? Okay. Busy, tired, writers' block, broken/slow/old computer, company, trip to the mountains, back to school, a cold, been husband-less too often, a foreign exchange student. Pretty good excuses, huh? Looking at that list though it could also double as a list of topics for blog posts so maybe I should quit making excuses and start "journaling" my life again. No promises on frequency just an added effort to be better.

School started and for the most part it's going very well. McKay loves first grade and Kimball has started to relish in her role as oldest/leader of her little preschool group. I should be enjoying the one-0n-one time I get with Luc (or spending it working on potty training) but it seems like those couple hours just go so fast and I barely even notice that it's just been the two of us. Something I need to work on.

Kilian (our newest addition/foreign exchange student) has been here for about a month. He is a really good kid. He helps out around the house and is constantly asking what he can do to help. It's a little weird for me because I'm so used to my routine but it's been good. The kids love teasing him and he is getting used to being around little ones. I am getting used to having a teenager around. Did you know that teenagers know everything? Well they do. Just ask them. We have had a lot of fun little "cultural moments" with him but my favorite was a couple nights ago when I was not in the mood to have a sit-down dinner and so we all just kind of filled up our plates and sat down in front of the tv. Seth grabbed a tv tray/table for Kil and set it in front of him. His jaw literally dropped. He watched as seth opened it up and stood it in front of him. With pure amazement in his voice he declared "we don't have anything like this in Germany!" Lazy American culture has its perks.

Seth has been traveling a lot. I'm not complaining. He has a good job and his bosses value him. Every time he leaves I just try to remind myself that he's racking up the frequent flier miles and someday he'll take me someplace fabulous! Plus, did you know that if your hubby is gone you can feed your kids cereal or oatmeal for dinner every night. Perk.

Back2School

YAY! I love my kids and we have had a really fun summer BUT school starts tomorrow and I am so ready.

McKay starts 1st grade! She is so excited but did mention that she's a little "not sure about it." Translated as nervous. I feel bad because her new school shoes that we ordered will not be here in time for her first day. I'm sure she won't ever know the difference. Besides, we have to teach her to tie them before she can "legally" wear them to school anyway. What age to kids learn to tie their shoes? Are we behind? I think I know the answer.

Kimball will be going to one more year of preschool (she misses the cut off by a month.) She is excited but not overjoyed by the fact that ALL of her friends are going to kindergarten without her. She'll love it once it gets going. Her teacher says her goal is to "get Kimball to not fall off her chair by the end of the year!" Pretty lofty goal. The girl does NOT sit still and always ends up on the floor.

Luc will spend his days with his mama and we will attempt to teach him how to pee/poop in the toilet. He is definitely ready. Wakes up dry, tells me the second he pees or poops and wants a dry diaper immediately. Just not sure if I'm ready for the process.

Kilian (our exchange student) starts his junior year at Shadow Mtn. He is such a good kid and has been just a joy to have around. (that sounds like something my mom would say, "a joy to have around")

As for me, my school year goal is to get back in the gym. This summer was a completely failure as far as the gym goes but I have full confidence that going with one child will be much more likely than with three.

Life

Saturday:

Waterpark for 6+ hours.

A little cleaning.

Some laundry.

Whip up some delicious cupcakes.

Quick grocery shopping at 9pm.

Move the fridge.

Scream and scurry while Seth catches the snake behind the fridge.

Sunday:

Go to church.

Throw some dinner in the crockpot.

Nap "with" Luc (me napping Luc putting together train tracks.)

Crack my head open on a kitchen cupboard door.

Lay on the couch and whine about my head.

Monday:

Take the kids to the library.

Clean out the desk.

Fold laundry.

Talk to my best friend on the phone and wish she lived closer.

Send the girls to a friends house.

Hit Target with Seth and finally find bedding for our exchange student.

Family Home Evening.

Tuesday:

Last summer movie. (reminded how much I don't love the Muppets)

Come home with a couple extra kids.

Referee Luc and his "best friend" (it's a love/hate relationship)

Clean out the fridge (ahhh! that felt good)

Fail at getting Luc to take a nap.

Drive to south Scottsdale for a boxspring.

Stop for groceries.

Feed the kids cereal for dinner.

Back out for more groceries. (Last night for 88 cent choc milk at Frys)

Ready for bed, waiting for Seth to get home from bball.

6 days until our teenager shows up. So much to do.

Savvy and Sweet

My sweet mother-in-law gave me her practically unused iPod touch for my birthday. I'm just trying to see of I'm savvy enough to post using it since my computer has been out of commission for almost a month.

One of my favorite parts of being a mom are the things kids say.

I just heard Kimball say "because McKay that's just the way I roll." Awesome!

And another gem, McKay came running in to our room Sunday morning nearly hysterical and said "there's a dead echo in the kitchen". A dead echo? "You know one of those little tiny lizards."

They're so cute. My kids that is, the dead gecko was not so cute.

Summer Lovin'

Today we left the house at 9am and came home at 4pm.

My legs are sore and my feet hurt.

We went to the summer movie, Tale of Despereaux. Not my favorite but the kids liked it.

Then we were off to swim lessons. The girls are working on "chicken, airplane, rocket." If I knew my swim strokes I'd tell you what that is but I don't. All I know is it was hilarious to watch. Luc ran around like a maniac and he was a sweaty little mess when we left.

We had lunch with Seth and a friend of his from high school. Usually In-n-Out is a safe bet with the kids but they were a little wound up today. I'm pretty sure our 3 children convinced Seth's friend that his one 3 month old little angel of a daughter is all he needs or wants. Oddly enough even with all the craziness and madness I still want more.

From there we went shopping. Killian (our exchange student) will be here in just 2 weeks and we really need to get his room ready. After 4 stores I have realized college girls must care more about what they're dorm rooms look like than boys. All those perfect little "Bed in a Bag" sets are girly. There are 8 girly ones for every 1 boy one. I'll keep looking.

We came home and crashed. Then I went back out and returned the one major purchase I had made. An area rug for the living room. It was WAY too big.

We finished off the night watching the kids ride bikes in the front yard. It was really nice out. I don't want to jinx this summer weather and while I know it's been a bit humid here, at least we have yet to see 115+ temps. This week it's only been in the low 100's. That I can handle.

Now I'm watching Food Network. Seth is off playing basketball. I'm getting hungry and Seth's off exercising. That pretty much sums up the two of us.

20 days left of summer. Let's count it down together.

Catching up

I have some serious catching up to do. This little blog is supposed to act as my journal, I'm not doing so hot at keeping up with it. The main problem is my computer has been invaded by some nasty virus and it's been in the process of getting fixed for like a month now. I think it may be a lost cause. The second issue would be that it's summer and I spend my days entertaining and cleaning up after the kids. By the time Seth gets home I haven't a creative thought left in my head. So no blogging. Oh and the fact that I'm just not good at keeping up with things like that.

I'll just highlight the past month to get myself caught up.

Kimball has spent the month either as happy as a clam (not sure what that saying means but you get my point) OR in timeout screaming that she never gets anything she wants and this is "the worst day ever." Interestingly enough "the worst day ever" can happen multiple times in the same day AND can occur on the same day that she proclaims this to be "the best summer ever." Go figure. I hope it's a phase and that the start of preschool will bring a little more sanity back in to all our lives.

McKay spends each day mothering all of us. That of course can be good and bad. As you might guess there are times when Kimball has no desire to be mothered, not by me and certainly not by her big sister.

Both girls are swimming like fish. (let's see how many cliche phrases I can fit into one post.) They are in Level 3 lessons right now and absolutely loving their 2 (male) swim teachers. Lessons are at 12:15 which gets a little hot but Luc and I spend the 45 minutes dousing each other with a quickly melting frozen water bottle.

Luc is talking more and more. I am nearly convinced that he won't need speech therapy but the jury's still out on that one. (cliche phrase #3) I need to potty train him but have decided to wait until the girls go back to school. (that's really just an excuse not to start yet)

I had my 34th birthday a couple weeks ago and continue to be completely unfazed by birthdays. My thought on the whole thing is "we all have them so what's the big deal." When I turn 40 I may have a different outlook on it but for now I just enjoy getting gifts and eating cake. And I totally scored this year, new clothes, new shoes, an ipod touch, opi nail polish, and the best birthday cake I've ever tasted. I ate the cake for the next three breakfasts and lunches. I had my cake and ate it too. (#4)

Seth is working like a dog (#5). He has been home most of the summer but his travels will start up again in a couple weeks. We'll miss him and appreciate him more when he's home. He really is an amazing father and husband. I swear some days he does more around the house than I do. I am spoiled.

For those of you who have stuck around this long a special little announcement. No not that. We are 90% sure we are getting a foreign exchange student in a couple weeks. We are so excited to have a teenager in the house for 4 months and then send him home to his own parents. More to come on that little endeavour.

Boy Crazy, Already?

We are in Tucson with my family. Well the kids and I are, we're headed back today, we've missed Seth and Luc keeps telling me he wants to go to Luc-ee's house. It's been a nice little break though. It's been so relaxing to not worry about how messy the house is getting and/or how many dishes are piling up in the sink. The kids have had so much fun playing with their cousins. McKay has REALLY enjoyed herself. Maybe too much.

We were in the pool last night with my sister, her kids and a friend's kids. At one point McKay was the only girl in the pool with 8-9 boys. They were playing basketball, she was swimming right through the middle of all the chaos and I kept thinking "she is going to drown in the middle of all those boys." A few minutes later she came over to me and whispered in my ear "mom, it's just me in the middle of all those boys, it's like being surrounded by boys... mom, I LIKE IT!"

Oh boy. Maybe I should be worried.

Summer 3 weeks later!

Ok so it hasn't been quite as bad as I thought it would be. I am learning to be a better mom. It's easy to be calm and patient while they are in school and preschool but when they are home all day it takes a bit more effort on my part. We've been swimming a lot and watching way too much tv but I refuse to beat myself up over that.

McKay turned 6 a couple weeks ago. SIX! My baby is not so much a baby. She is such a sweet girl. She loves making people happy and most of the time goes out of her way to help her brother and sister. (Luc she spoils, if he wants what she has she gives it to him. All my efforts to curtail his fit throwing are being underminded by his big sister.) She hates being alone. And by alone I mean like 15 feet away from us by herself. It's like pulling teeth to get her to go get something out of the other room without Kimball or Luc going with her. She is so much like her Aunt Dani was.

I'm rambling. It's what I'm best at I guess.

Seth and I got new callings. I cried. Not because I'm not excited about the new one but because I LOVE my current... er previous calling. I was in the RS presidency and love the ladies I was working with. Not only do I not get to work with them now but they all get to stay together. I kind of felt like throwing myself on the ground kicking and screaming "it's not fair!" (don't worry I didn't). Seth is the new Ward Mission Leader and I am a ward missionary. It will be fun to work with him in a calling. We are supposed to go on visits together once a week. Now to find a weekly babysitter who doesn't mind doing it merely for the blessings.

What else? I'm sure there is more but Luc is at my side crying that he wants "cochett mook." (chocolate milk) So off I go and if you're nice I may post some pictures later.

Summer

Well it's here. Whether I'm ready for it or not, summer has officially arrived. Both girls are done with school and the bickering has begun. I have grand ideas for how to keep them occupied and happy but I have doubts about my abilities to accomplish it all. We have no vacation planned, no escape from the heat. I am hoping we'll fit in some camping at some point. Any suggestions for great camping sites are welcome.

Here's the girls plans/wants for the summer:

McKay want to learn to read, ride her bike without training wheels and learn Spanish.

Kimball wants to learn how to jump rope, learn Spanish and learn to drive a car.

I want Luc to learn to pee and poop in the toilet.

And I want to remain sane. I love my children, they are wonderful and loving. I think I will also love when school starts again in the fall!

Pain in the ...

Oh my achin' back!

My family is getting pretty sick of me saying that. It's my playful non-whining way of letting everyone around me know that I'm in pain without being too much of a pest about it.

All I want is a way to fix it without spending $75-$100/week (chiropractic) or having a million tests and/or surgery. Is that so much to ask?

Thus far my solution has been ibuprofen and ice packs. It's not working so great.

Let the chiropractic vs. traditional medicine debate begin.

Inspiration

I think I should move my computer into my bedroom. It seems like the only time I can come up with things to blog about is either late at night when I'm almost asleep or in the middle of the night when I have been woken up by a crying child and I can't get back to sleep because I feel guilty that Seth is up with them, but not guilty enough to get out of bed. (that my friends is what we call a run-on sentence!)

So in search of inspiration I decided I would look in my 5th photo folder at the 12th picture. (it's 5/12 today... see how creative I can be!)


Here's what I found.

There's so much to say about this picture. First off, look at that adorable little face. She's concentrating so hard on stirring, too cute. Kimball loves to cook/bake. She says she wants to be a "maker" when she grows up.

Next I am looking at that cute little apron thinking "where did that go?" Which leads to "is there a basket of hidden laundry somewhere?" and then of course "oh I should really get those tablecloths from church in the wash so I can take them back before the next activity when someone says -hey where are the tablecloths- and then I have to admit that they've been laying on the floor in my laundry room for 2 weeks." I hate laundry. But let's get back to picture.

Speaking of hating things, I hated the counter top in that kitchen. Who puts white counter top in a kitchen? It never looked clean. Which makes me grateful for our new little house. We've been here for 9 months and while there are a hundred things to do/fix I still love it. I love that it's ours. I love that there's a backyard that the kids can play in and I absolutely love our neighborhood. I even the old lady next door that I have to hide from sometimes because I don't have an extra 30 minutes to talk about her brother's anal tumors. (true story)

If you have endured my ramblings this long than here's a little bonus for you. Head over to my sister-in-laws blog milkandhoneydesigns for a cute little giveaway.

Time Flies!

I posted a few weeks ago about celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary - but today is the actual day. Seth is in Georgia so we were celebrating a little early and just crossed our fingers that we really would make it to 7 years... kidding, of course we'd make it to seven.

7 Major Events in 7 Years...

- Child number one born 13 months into our marriage.



- Seth graduated from the University of Utah (go Utes) right before our 2nd anniversary and I was pregnant with number 2.



- Number 2 born 16 months after number 1.



- We moved from bitter cold Utah to sunny Arizona a month after #2 was born. (we've moved 5 times in 7 years)



- Seth started working for the same company as his dad. (and his dad is now cancer-free and doing great - well mostly cancer-free if you don't count the occasionally skin cancer he has removed but cancer-free most of the time)


- Baby number 3 arrived before baby #1 turned 4! (I got married a little later than the average Mormon girl so we kind of rushed through the first 3)

- We bought our first home and can finally say goodbye to the moving boxes for a little while.

(don't worry we don't actually call our children #'s 1, 2 and 3)

Look how young and naive we were. Good thing life has turned out even better than I could have hoped. I am so blessed to have found such an amazing man. I fall more and more in love with him every day.

(ok you can stop gagging now, I'm done.)

Chair Re-do

My blog is turning into a bargain bragging session. But I just have to share the little make-over our dining room got this week for under $20.

Before:

After:

30 Hours of Bliss...

Seth and I celebrated our anniversary(#7) this last weekend. It wasn't exactly our anniversary but we were silly and in love and got married on mother's day weekend so we seldom celebrate on our actually anniversary date. We normally just go out to dinner and splurge by going to see a movie but this year we made BIG plans.

My amazing friend Kelli offered to take the kids over night on Friday so we "went all out."

Here's where we went:

(approx. 13 miles from home)

Here's where we stayed:

We ate here:

and here:

and here: We also went to see this:

and ate some of this:
and all of this cost us $55!!! Can you believe that?

My Assumptions

For those who were wondering. Here are MY explinations for the past two posts.

Luc bit threw his lip. Thus all the blood. I think he probably bonked his chin on the cart causing him to bit his lip. It was nasty. Should have taken a picture but at the moment I wasn't feeling like whipping out the camera.

As for my martini glass... McKay's explanation was that it's my "special" drink that I get when I get to go on dates with Seth. My assumption is that she has watched Enchanted one too many times. That's the only thing I can think of where she has seen a martini and they do talk about being on date during that scene. I do not nor have I ever drank a martini.

Day 4

It's day 4 of spring break and it has been much better than I expected. I think I was preparing myself for it to be really hard and stressful and so far it hasn't been TOO bad. That being said I have to share the pictures McKay drew for me yesterday. She said there was one for each of us and it was a picture of something that had to do with us. So here they are.

Wearing a onesie and a bib and the bottle has numbers for ounces... so cute. He doesn't wear onesies or bibs or drink out a bottle anymore but still cute.

Apparently Kimball just likes big black flowers.

McKay of course wearing a dress and looking "stylish" as she would say.

Dad got the already used piece of paper and a football. Appropriate.

And then there is mine. Take it as you will.

Costco

Seth requested that I cut and paste this email that I just sent him. He says it's funny. I'm not quite there yet.

I went to Costco fully prepared for whatever might happen. I promised the kids pizza if they would be good and they readily agreed. We made it all the way through the whole store without any major break downs or tantrums. Then we got in line... Luc was sitting in the basket with both girls, they were all sitting on the box of diapers. I see some lady pick something up and give it back to Luc. I quickly (but not quickly enough) realize that Luc has a golf ball, how he got it I have no idea, before I can get it from him he chucks it (at this point they are right behind the checker who is scanning my stuff) the ball goes flying and bounces about 10 times before the assistant checker guy can get to it... luckily it didnt' hit anyone. So I take it from him, put it in my purse and calmly tell Luc to sit down for the 15th time in 10 minutes. I'm not exactly sure what happened next but all of a sudden Luc is screaming bloody murder and holding his mouth. So I try to get over to him but have to wiggle through about 10 people and their carts to get there. By the time I get to him his mouth and hand are full of blood and he's hysterical. I grab him and calmly try to get back over to where the cashier is waiting for me to pay and at the same time try to avoid getting blood on my white shirt. I go to pay and can't find my wallet. The lady checking out behind me quietly reaches down grabs my wallet off the ground and hands it to me. Meanwhile the girls are upset because they want to see if Luc is ok (and I just want to be at home curled up in a ball on my bed.) Another Costco employee has gone and got ice and a wet paper towel and sweet little Luc is letting her hold it to his mouth. By the time I get my receipt Luc's diaper has leaked through onto my shirt and I'm ready to just book it out of there but I promised pizza so off we go covered in blood and pee to have a nice little lunch with my kids.

Oh the joy. I think we should have another one. Oh and I think I want to home school them.

Back at it... Kind of.

I keep wanting to sit down and blog but I can't seem to get my brain and my kids on the same schedule. At those rare moments when I have something witty and creative to blog about my kids seem to be overly needy and unwilling to share me with my blog. And at the even rarer (more rare?) moments when I feel like I have time to sit down and blog my mind is blank. But it's spring break now so while they are glued to the tv this morning and I'm not having to chase them around to get them ready I will sit and come up with "something" to share.



Ok I'm blank again. I can't think of anything but snotty noses and kids peeing on the floor. Neither of which seem like good blog subjects.



How 'bout you all give me ideas on what to do with my kids over spring break so I don't end up screaming at them all week.... That's a good idea. Oh and it has to be cheap.

Sports Princess

Another great book to check out! My friend's sister is publishing this book and it looks really cute. And of course because I LOVE sports I think it's perfect for every little princess. Check it out here ---> Sport Princess

TWO!

I totally missed Luc's Birthday Blog. So two weeks late here it is.

My baby boy turned TWO. So here's what he's been up to.

Luc is so much fun. He makes us laugh all the time. Usually when we're trying hard to be serious. And he loves his sisters. He shows them how much he loves them in typical boy fashion, by pestering them. Constantly.

He talks very little. He says cars for everything. "Luc say nana" "CARS!" "Luc say thank you" "CARS." He is obsessed with cars in general but overly obsessed with Cars the movie. He would watch it 7 times a day if I let him. (but I'm a good mom so 6 times a day is our limit.)


He also says Porter and Mater. It's the cutest thing ever, I swear he says them with a french accent. I need to video it so you can all experience it. He pronounces them Po-Tare and May-Tare. With an accent on the "tare." Hilarious.

Luc and Porter (his best friend/enemy)

He jumps off everything he can. And is so much tougher than my girls ever were (or are for that matter)

He LOVES his daddy more than anything. It has quickly become the hardest thing about Seth traveling for work. About 4:30 everyday he starts whining and crying for da-dee. And, not that I'm complaining, but when he wakes up in the middle of the night only daddy will do.

He has just recently started to eat everything in sight. And lots of it. But only on his terms. Just set it in front of him and walk away because if you tell him to eat it he'll tell you "nope."





He falls asleep on my lap every night and most days for his nap. I never "allowed" that with my girls. They both fell asleep in their beds. It was a pretty hard set rule. I'm not sure where the rule came from or why I was so adamant about it but with the events of the past year and realizing how extremely precious life is, I've decided it's not that good of a rule. I snuggle him to sleep and cherish it.

Bella the Great!

I know times are tough. We hear it all the time and personally I am constantly thinking "what can I do to help someone." We aren't living in the lap of luxury or anything, most weeks and months the finances are pretty tight but Seth has a good, secure job which is more than a lot of people can say these days. So, when I heard that a good friend of mine (I think of him more as a brother than a friend even, he's part of our family) when I heard about his struggle and subsequently his creative and intuitive way to make ends meet I was grateful for the opportunity to help in a small way. And hopefully sharing it with my friends will help just a little bit more. So...

Please go to this website Bella the Great and read my good friend Derek's story. Then spread the word. Thanks.

18 kids and counting...

We had a family reunion this weekend. It was totally kick back and under-planned but it was great. Very little stress. (well as little stress as can be expected with 18 kids under 13!) My only regret is that I was so busy trying to get houses ready for all the guests and making sure that everything was OK that I completely neglected my camera. I have no pictures. But with 4 siblings clicking pics all weekend I figure there should be plenty to go around. For now I thought it would be fun to post a "then and now." So here it is. Feel free to dissect and analyze the "then" picture... leave "now" alone. You can poke fun at it 25 years from now.

Bisel Family circa 1985

Bisel Family 2010