Party Animals!

So here it is 9:30 PM on New Years' Eve and we have already rung in the New Year.

We picked Mr. Dave up from the train just after 4 this afternoon. Fortuneately, the deal that has been consuming his every hour, waking and sleeping, closed today. It was also fortunate that the kids all remembered who he was.

I drove the poor guy straight to Bolt at a discount theatre, where he was able to add nachos, popcorn, Dibs, Junior Mints, and Reese's Pieces to the half of a cookie and Milky Way bar he had already eaten today (which was, unfortuneately, all he had eaten today). I haven't made a lot of lunches for him to take to work whilst the kids have been vacationing from school, and the last one I sent, on Monday, ended up stranded somewhere between his office and the train station anyway...

So after Bolt, Mr. Dave took a couple of laps with Number Four on the coaster cars before striking his festive New Year's pose:

Poor guy. Cute though!

Not to be thwarted in my attemts to celebrate, the kids and I ate a fabulous dinner of Top Ramen and mandarin oranges (I'm sure you can hardly wait for my recipe blog) before counting down and toasting the New Year with some scrumptious Strawberry Pomegranate italian soda at 8:15 PM.

Then like any good mom who has already fed her children the afore mentioned movie fuel and gourmet dinner, I set forth to prove that:

plus

equals

So I suppose it shouldn't be shocking, that somehow during the hymn we sang after reading scriptures (which is supposed to be a prelude to family prayer during the bedtime routine) the reverence disintegrated into:

And that's how we roll folks.

Happy New Year!!!

Friends

Today Number One pulled out mugs for each of us for some delicioso hot chocolate with our leftover pizza and Cheerios (for me) breakfast.



The mug destined for Number Three this morning was one I was given by a friend many years ago.

"Was it from Megan?" Number One asked.

"No, it was a gift from a friend named Kristen. Can you believe I had a friend with the same name that I have?"



My heart grew two sizes when Number One explained, "I have two friends named Kristin. You, and a girl at school."

Identity Crisis or Mid-Life Crisis

Call it what you will.

When you live a lifetime's worth of adventures before you hit 30, I think it not only NOT SURPRISING, but maybe even EXPECTED to come to the mid-life crisis early.

It isn't that I'm not sure I got what I wanted. How could I not absolutely adore every scrumptious, adoring, and even challenging portion of life with the darlings in this family, including the amazing guy I lucked myself into marrying 10 years ago?

But the real question on my mind is:

Am I who I wanted to be?

I'm not sure.

So I have been pondering instead:

Who do I want to be?

And then:

How do I become that person?

I remember some years ago a conversation with my mother where I described several women in our ward and how I admired them. One of them infused her children's lives with music. Another was so athletic with her children. Another was so organized. The list went on.

I wanted to be like them. All of them.

My wise mother pointed out that they did all have the talents I admired, but that none of them had ALL of those talents, and that I would have to pick and choose what I would focus on because I couldn't do all of those things.

I have never been good at choosing.

So, I have been trying all these years to do all of those things. And it isn't working.

So I am left to wonder:

Who do I really want to be when I grow up?

Blessings of service and the joys of the gym

The Lord does know our needs.

Last week a friend of mine served me in a most amazing way...she took my FIVE children into her home for about three hours while I ran errands like a mad-woman. For the seven stops I made, it would have taken literally four times as long with the five kids in tow, and I would have been emotionally frazzled by the end.

Normally, I don't tend to make it easy for others to serve me. I ran into this friend the week before at Walgreens, and she offered to take the kids to give me a break.

Now I generally avoid taking my five children into Walgreens at all costs, but they needed to be there to help with a Christmas service we were participating in. I LOVE Walgreens, because it is one huge impulse buy on shelves, and it is so fun! But I love it a whole lot less when I have to tackle a toddler trying to select his own impulse buys as I'm readjusting the baby's binkie to keep her quieted down, all the while continually shaking my head no to the selections of Number Two who NEEDS the most interesting treasures.

ANYWAY...My first instinct was to thank her for offering, but then refuse her service because I know she has three kids and a few side jobs and is busy too. But I didn't say no. I actually heard the words, "Thanks, that would be so great," come out of my mouth.

Wow! Someone offered service, and I accepted!

And it lifted my spirits so much. It wasn't just the outing, it was the fact that I was served at such an unexpected time and in such a meaningful way. I have been able to accept service when I knew I had no choice...ie...going into the hospital to have a baby and knowing someone else needs to watch my kids because labor is hard enough without adding the stress of caring for the other children.

In this case though, I could have done it myself, which is why I would normally not accept help. But I am grateful that I did, because I felt so loved and uplifted as a result. And my kids had a wonderful time.

The story gets better though, at least better for me.

The next day I watched this friend's cute little four year old. She is one of my favorite kids to watch at church when I do singing time (I am the chorister for the children). This little girl loves to give big hugs and I think she is darling.

When my friend came back to get her daughter, we visited a bit, and something came up about the gym she teaches yoga at. As a result of our conversation, our family was invited to join the gym at a special, more-affordable-for-us-rate. And we did. I almost didn't because I wondered if I could find the money in our budget and if I really ought to be leaving the kids in the child care, etc, etc. But as I calmed down and thought about it, I wondered if this wasn't an opportunity being handed to me by a loving Heavenly Father who knew I needed some help.

As it turns out, this was just what I needed! Up to two hours of child care a day in an AMAZING child care facility which the kids LOVE to go to while I exercise by MYSELF and can even shower by MYSELF if I want to! Plus an indoor pool with a couple of slides I can take the kids to in the winter.

I need exercise for my health, not only physical health, but emotional and mental health. And the treadmill is hit and miss because I can only do it when Number Four is asleep and/or Dave is home. And if I get up at the crack of dawn to do it, after having been up in the night with Number Five, then by bedtime I am a wreck. And if I do it late at night, I have a hard time getting wound down enough to go to bed. It does work out sometimes, but not on a regular basis.

Today, I did strength training and cardio with just me and my ipod (well, and a bunch of other gym members, but I pretty much tune them out). It was heavenly! (Crystal---I thought of you.) I felt so energized and uplifted, and ready to be with the kids again when I was done. I didn't take the whole two hours, but enough time to do what I needed to do. I couldn't leave my kids in a place they were unhappy just for the sake of me time, but they LOVE the child care area, so it is a win-win for our family.

The Lord really gave me what I needed...now I just have to take what I have and make the most of it. What a great start for a new year.

And what a blessing it is to be able to recognize the hand of the Lord in our lives, even in...and sometimes especially in...times of difficulty. I do believe he is always there, but sometimes we fail to notice his influence in our lives. But when we do acknowledge his hand, it sure can help us feel the love of the Lord, and help us to become more like him.

Girl Scout Cookies

We've got them! Well, not yet, but we do have one order form and should have the other soon. Both Number One and Number Two will be selling them.

So...if you want them, let us know! I would probably be willing to ship orders. I need to check into shipping rates first.

If you are in the area and want to order, please keep us in mind. We are not very pushy salespeople, but are putting it out there for our blog readers.

By the way...I finally learned how to change my blog design! Number Five makes her appearance on the header at last.

Christmas at Our House

Well, it is all said and done, and overall it was a successful Christmas, filled with traditions like matching jammers, and just the right foods. I love Christmas foods. We always have lasagna, garlic bread, and green salad for Christmas Eve like I always had at my grandparents when I was growing up (except our lasagna is Stouffers, rather than my grandpa's yummy homemade one). For Christmas morning we have bacon-wrapped pineapple (from my family tradition) and cinnamon rolls (from Dave's). Christmas day we have a ham dinner.


As for activities...Christmas Eve we read in Luke 2, and had a talent show.


Number Three did gymnastics.


Number Two did ballet.


Number One sang an original song which was quite good about wondering where the star is now (the new star from the night of Christ's birth). Number Four sang some too while she sang, which was cute.


Number Five tolerated the evening well.


We were able to have some really great experiences of true Christmas giving this month. However, our Christmas day still had a fair amount of good old Christmas carnage....wrapping paper all over, and the high volume of new toys (not neccessarily tons of toys, just some that are really loud).


Number One and Number Two each received American Girl things from Santa.


Number Three scored Barbie Diamond Castle...with plenty of lights and sounds.


Number Four got a train table, and is totally in love with it. It has all kinds of sound effects.


Number Five got a bumbo seat type thing and a few new rattle toys. Based on the yawn, I'm thinking she hasn't yet grasped the idea of being excited for Santa.


Santa actually surprised me for the first time in many years. He brought new frying pans so our food wouldn't have to have that extra yummy hint of teflon anymore. Plus a spatuala and measuring cups that are pretty cool...the measuring cups flatten out. Our cheap 1 cup measuring cups keep losing their handles!


Dave and I gave the kids a "Christmas All Year Long" gift. This was our commitment to a fun family date every month. Ideas include sledding, the zoo, camping, foil dinners and smores in our firepit with a game night, the drive-in movie, etc. Also included were two coaster cars for the promise of a Coaster Car Park Adventure.


Thanks for the coaster car idea Kim! The kids (and parents) have had a blast going round and around the track in our house...from the foyer to the living room, dining room, kitchen, and back around again. This is a LOUD activity, but great for kids being cooped up from the cold. We can't wait to take them outside in the spring too.


The kids also received some other fun gifts from grandparents and cousins. Their own gift exchange gifts came from our inexpensive school holiday store. We pretty much stayed in our pajamas for most of the day (except for Number Three, who got to be a fairy thanks to a cousin gift). It was nice to just relax, at least as much as possible with a houseful of little children!


The kids enjoyed playing with their new things. The littler kids' gifts from Santa were quite popular.


Some Grammy of ours determined it was cute to put candy canes on top of the gifts when she brought them the weekend of the baptism. Some little boy at our house has driven me crazy trying to get them since then.


He was finally successful. This is him saying "treat" while hiding behind the couch, of course.


Dave and I napped off and on since Christmas Eve was such a very very late night. Between assembly tasks and making stockings for the last two kids from scratch (stockings are like the only thing I sew), there was a lot stirring in our home on the night before Christmas. Last year we used a Baby's First Christmas stocking for Number Four, but I was determined to finish his off before he woke up Christmas morning this year. I got Number Five's done as well as a bonus. I love how they look all stretched across.


Number Four provided me with my favorite Christmas memory of the year. I happened to glance in the new castle and found some extra visitors. Later, I actually managed to catch him playing with his new trains in the castle. He had no interest in the Barbies themselves, but thoroughly enjoyed train adventures. He made the trains go in and out of the doors, drive wildly down the stairs, and even sit on the furniture. What a guy.


Hope your Christmas was as merry as ours! Now back to the clean-up...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to all our friends and family. Here's hoping for Valentine's Day cards, since it is clearly too late for the Christmas cards, but enjoy this Christmas greetings blog entry in the meantime. We are grateful to have such strong extended families, and good friends too. We hope your Christmas is special and magical, and that you feel peace and joy.


(I don't have any software on my computer to edit out red-eye, but here is the best shot of our Christmas church outfits after a long day of church. We will have a new family sitting done soon in these outfits, so look forward to the professional version of this photo.)