Antsy

All this talk among friends and family whose kids are already out of school is making me anxious. I was ready for school to end back in April after spring break. We just crashed and burned on a non-fiction book report for Jessie because a). the last 2 weeks have flown by with lots on our schedule and b). neither Jess or I have been motivated to get it done. I've been trying to hold in my excitement for school to end, so it wouldn't rub off on the kids. I know they are excited too. Stay tuned for our annual crazy hair week next week. That one is all Dave- he started the tradition of doing the kids hair crazy for the last couple days of school. J and Tob are really excited.

I love the slower pace of summer. We are going to plan lots of day trips, set some goals for the next few months, and just have fun. Jessie wants to work on her cooking skills, reading, and go to a museum. Toby is going to keep practicing his reading so he can be the best reader in 1st grade. Mr. Cooper is going to work on lots of things like asking instead of sneaking and staying out of people's personal space. Dave and I are going to simplify, save and stock up. All the kids can't wait to go camping at the end of July. I dare say that one of the 3 oldest kids asks at least once a month, every month, when we are going to go camping again. They really love it!

Most of all, I am looking forward to taking the first week off and sleeping in! And by sleeping in I mean staying in bed until after 8 AM and letting the kids come snuggle in my bed, read books, play and just chill until our tummies grumble for food. It would be a simple miracle if the kids were actually quiet enough for me, and Dave, to really sleep in. Sometimes, they do love to sneak around and play quietly when they wake up too early so we'll see.

Toothless Grin

When I picked up Mr. Toby from Kindergarten today he was shoving his tongue into his bottom lip to wiggle a loose tooth. I think the idea of a tooth falling out kinda freaked the Man out because it has been loose for weeks and he hasn't touched it. I commented that his tooth was getting really loose and would come out soon. He said, "Yeah! Maybe it will come out by the time I turn seven!" When I told him it would come out in the next couple days he didn't believe me.
After dinner and teeth brushing tonight Toby's tooth was literally hanging by a thread. Daddy got involved and it was all over. He told Toby his tooth would come out with one yank and asked him if he wanted him to do it. Toby surprised me with his answer. First off, he's pretty sensitive to the sight of blood and kinda freaks out when he gets hurt, so I thought he was going to chicken out and just go to bed. He said, "nope, I'll do it!" as we all crowded in the bathroom to watch. He grabbed that tooth and yanked it out on the first try. Then he just stood there looking at the hole in his mouth and the little bit of blood that followed. Tough boy.

It was cute to see Jessie and Logan just as excited as Toby that he pulled his tooth out. J "helped him" get his tooth under his pillow, and Tob did a few happy dance laps around the house before bed. The tooth fairy even remembered to visit already and sent him a note about being so brave and a crispy dollar. How's that for inflation? I remember getting a quarter, maybe two, from the tooth fairy. These days that would not even buy a postage stamp.

I love my little man and his toothless grin.

TGIF!!

First off-

Happy Birthday Ashlynn!!

I remembered all day yesterday to call you as soon as the kids got home from school. After a fractic early dinner and 2 baseball games we were out of time, and it slipped my mind with all that was going on last night. We are thinking of you and hope you had a great day. Jessie wants to talk to you and catch up so we will call you asap. She has a busier schedule than I do at night because she is not home for the 4th night in a row. ;)

Like most people, Friday signals the start of our weekend, but we are so lucky to have a 3-day weekend most weeks. Dave is able to take Mondays off which leaves us a lot of time to chip away at the to-do list, go to baseball games, and play with the kiddos. At least once a month lately, Dave is gone for part of the weekend attending athletic events for work, so it's nice to have Mondays together to get stuff done.

On a typical Friday I try to get the house in order so we can have a relaxed weekend. We do chores as a family on Saturday morning, but never quite get everything done that I would like. I've learned to anticipate this and get a jump on things on Friday. I make a valiant effort to do all our laundry for the week which is easily 6-8 loads. If I include the laundry from Dave's practice that adds 2+ more. While laundry is going I work on things that the rest of the fam can't do, or maybe I don't trust them to do, like deep cleaning, sorting mail, and de-cluttering (I am a piler). By then it is time to take off for the park to meet our play group and wind down with my girls/fellow Moms. As a stay-at-home Mom, we all relish that time to just chill out and talk to each other about life, kids, our dear husbands, ;) etc. We are usually playing, talking and snacking at the park until after 5 when we realize all the kids are going to melt if they don't get dinner soon. I think about the time it will take to get home and fix dinner and I am so tempted to take a detour for take-out on the way home. We all know how much of a budget-buster eating out can be. I rarely give in to the temptation, but if I do we usually head to In & Out for some hamburgers "animal-style" and fries. Then it's PJ's, treats and family movie night to finish off a fabulous Friday.

So how did Friday go today? Um, I read a book all day, a book that Dave has bugged me to read for awhile. And no, we did NOT get take-out tonight. I made spaghetti, garlic bread and "fresh salad" as Toby calls it, it's a family favorite.


Here's some pictures from the week too. Dave and I were up at 5:30 AM on Memorial Day (crazy right?) to go to the temple with these awesome people. It was so worth it and we had a fabulous time. The yummy breakfast at Country Way afterward was a great finish to our early date. We didn't have to eat again until dinner which was a complete spread of Mom's potato salad, fruit, Kristy's awesome spinach dip, Dad Bennett's delicious BBQ and lots of good company. Both sides of our family got together before to play some kickball madness at the park. Thanks for bringing the ball and cones Lauren. It's great to have a 3rd grade teacher in the family. We got everyone playing that could and Sydney enjoyed being with the dogs while the game was going. She even shared her binky with Sasha. Mmmmmm.

Looking Up

This past week was one that I look back on with many happy memories. It seems like a fog has lifted from our home and we are enjoying the sunshine. The littles, Syd and Coop, slept beautifully all week which means Mom was a happy lady. Syd, aka "Snail Trail," still has a faucet for a nose, but she is feeling better and back to emptying new rolls of toilet paper onto the bathroom floor and pulling cans & dishes out of the cupboards. Jess and Toby (& MOM) are starting to feel the excitement of summer coming soon. Dave is plugging along at work and we thank him daily for buying us a new van, which we are all enjoying. It's nice to open the doors and still smell that new car smell.

Sunday nights are the first of a couple times a week I've been walking with a few girls from the ward. It's great gabbing time with fellow Moms while we feel the burn up a couple close by hills. As long as I take my phone, Dave is cool with us walking after dark. He still hasn't got me that can of pepper spray he says I need to keep walking late at night. Lately, I've been so frustrated because every time I start exercising regularly I get sabotaged by sickness or silly injury. I got in 2 nights with the girls and some morning walks pushing the Squid in the stroller, so it was a good week all around.

Monday was our usual grocery shopping at Costco and Trader Joe's (love that Dave has Mondays off), chinese food with the Elders for dinner and a family game of Kubb before it got dark. It was our first game of the season and we will be playing many more at the beach and camping this year. Ever since Lina introduced us to this game last year at a BBQ we have been hooked. Jessie plays like an adult and Toby is improving his skills quickly. Logan doesn't have the patience to complete a game but he loves the idea. What kid wouldn't love a game where you can throw big sticks through the air and not get in trouble for it?

Toby and Milo are best buds. They pee on trees at the park together (No, I do not approve of this behavior), they play swords and superheroes, and sing at the top of their lungs in church next to each other. Toby was so excited that Milo wanted to come see one of his T-ball games before the season ended. Milo cheered for Toby when it was his turn to do a "monster hit," and was genuinely interested in the game despite Logan's attempt to lure him to the playground. The boys stopped at the snack shack together after the game and life was perfect as they sipped their bubblegum shaved ice on the playground. It's nice to know that Toby (and all the kids) have some good friends to hang out with. It's even better when we know those friends aren't going to drop the F-bomb or other vulgarities like so many other kids do that I hear in public. I hope and pray all our children continue to find and choose good friends their whole lives.

Speaking of bad language, here's a funny story. :) The kids were playing a video game together after they got their Saturday chores done.
Toby breaks the silence with, "What the hell?!!" Nice little piece of English eh?
I said, "Toby, where did you here that?"
He says, "Zubin (neighbor kid) says it all the time."
Tob was pretty embarrassed when I explained that that was one of those crude words/phrases we don't say. Sweet boy. He was on the verge of tears, but secretly I almost busted out laughing. His little outburst even woke Dave from his snooze.

We lucked out and got to have Dave at both kids baseball games this week. It's amazing how much easier it is to shuffle 2 little ones around and catch the games with another adult to help me. Dave even helped coach and things still seemed to go more smoothly. I couldn't do this parent thing without Dave that is for sure. I'm thankful he's such an involved Dad- you're the best Bones!

My snuggle bug. Even though it bugs the crap out of me sometimes, I'm sure going to miss when Miss Squid snuggles like this. She either reaches to be picked up or backs into my lap when I'm sitting on the floor. Then she promptly turns to shove her hand down my shirt and gives a big sigh like all is well. It's her comfort thing, and no matter how many times I gently take her hand out of my shirt she puts it right back. She still won't give up that binky either. I sympathize though, because she has gone from 4 teeth to 10 teeth (including some molars) in 2 months. Her poor mouth must be hurting her daily. Ughhh, she's growing up so fast.

I've been reading a lot of young adult fiction lately for 2 reasons. First, I don't have the brain power after the kids go to bed to digest anything deeper. Second, they are entertaining and I can retell the stories to the kids. I love this Fablehaven series. I picked up the first book on my niece's bookshelf when we were in Utah visiting and I've been hooked since then. This one was so good at the end I didn't wait until the kids were in bed to finish. We had a lot of playing on the floor with puzzles and books that day while I plowed through the end. :)
Finally, we had a Saturday almost free from baseball and other commitments to get the garden in order. My poor vegetable plants were not going to wait any longer for me to get them planted. I have been stuck in my plan for the garden because I needed Dave to lift and empty dead stuff out of some big pots for the tomatoes, zuccini, & cucumbers. Since we only have a small patio in the back, my original plan was to convert the sandbox Dave made into a garden box. We found the wood was too damaged so the plan changed to a container garden for this year. I didn't want to spend the extra time and money to build a new box this late in the season. Yah, I know there's not a vegetable in sight in that picture, but nevermind that we picked up some begonias and bouganvilla at Home Depot while we were getting more potting soil. I have noticed that even a tiny addition of color really brightens up the back, and my mood, when I look out there.

I hope we have more good weeks like the last. It's so wonderful to be healthy and achieve goals, no matter how small or large.

a letter of grievance

Dear Honda Odyssey,

We have owned you for 4 1/2 years. You have been a wonderful, albeit a little small, van for our family. We've driven you to Utah, the beach, Monterey, camping and on countless day trips. We brought home 2 babies from the hospital in your back seat and had many happy conversations with the kids in there. The kids loved that you played fun music and movies for them to make car rides go by faster. We tried to treat you with care and give you all your scheduled service requirements. I understand the kids didn't keep you as clean as you would have liked, but you have been well-loved. When we bought you with 109K miles already driven, everyone said, "Oh, it's a Honda. They run forever. You'll be able to get 170-200K miles out of that car." We needed a bigger car to make room for baby #3 and you were the right price from friends, so we gave you a new home hoping those words would be true. So what the heck happened when you peetered out on us at 140K miles? I thought the weird sound I heard in your engine lately was just a little hiccup in our long relationship. We had financial goals, you know, and overhauling your transmission and/or engine was not part of those goals. I'm very sorry to say this, little Honda, but we must part ways now. When the mechanic says there are gremlins in your engine we are really hesitant to sink money into repairs to keep you happy and running. It is not worth it for us. You might have Pandora's Box under that hood. We are so sad to see you go, especially Toby, who cried most of one evening when he learned we would be selling you. Frankly, I'm ticked you did not fulfill your end of the bargain. You were supposed to run well and be our reliable little Honda until we paid off our school/practice loans. So with that I say, You're fired! Hopefully, we can sell you to someone who can fix your problems and you can find another home there.
Now that you have been let go, may I introduce your replacement. Just in case you are at all worried about how we are going to get around without you, here is our new van. We picked it up yesterday after a couple weeks of car hunting. Uncle Arnold found a deal on this van at the dealership he works at and we couldn't pass it up. We are excited that it has just over 50K miles for a great price and more room inside for people and stuff. The kids are ecstatic that it has a DVD player and the doors open and close by themselves. Admittedly, I like your color better, but it's not a big deal and I'll get over it. So even though you put a huge bump in our plans, we were able to buy your replacement without signing away our first born. Not having a car payment will allow us to save up the money you cost us when you DIED and we will be back on track in no time.

Sincerely,
D & C
Your disenchanted owners

P.S. Sorry Logan broke your rear-view mirror off yesterday. Then again, maybe you deserved it for breaking down on me.