One Tiny Success in Parenting (I hope!)

Lately as a parent, I constantly feel like banging my head against the wall. We signed up for the Love and Logic parenting class for the third time, but the ideas don't seem to apply to our irrational children. There has to be some element of reason on their side for it to work, and they don't have any. They keep blaming us for the consequences instead of realizing they had something to do with it.

When school started, I figured I had to get McKenzie and Thomas up at 6:30am so they could both practice piano before school. Thomas didn't handle that schedule very well and was super cranky all the time. Now I wake up McKenzie at 7am and let Thomas sleep until he wakes on his own (which isn't too much later). McKenzie is supposed to practice in the morning for 30 min and Thomas chose to practice in the afternoon for 30 min. The problem is that in the afternoon, I'm busy, the kids are running around, and friends keep coming by to see if my kids can play. It's chaos. So, I have a new plan. And it incorporates something I learned from Love and Logic. :-)

This morning, I told the kids that I'm leaving at a certain time. If they weren't ready I'd leave without them and give their friend (who we carpool with) a ride to school. When I return, I'll give them a ride to school for $1 each. I've never seen them move so fast. Both of them hustled to get ready and get to the car before I left. McKenzie did her hair on the way, and Thomas put on his socks and shoes, but they made it. Our new schedule starts with McKenzie getting up at 7am. She can practice the piano for 30 minutes, then eat breakfast and get ready for school. Thomas will have time to practice as well, and be able to sleep a little later. I hope this works, and that they soon learn to move it in the morning. My head is sore.

Counting With Mason

Mason and I just had this crazy conversation:
Me: Ah! I forgot to call the doctor today about your ears!
Mason: And my hiccups?
Me: Your hiccups? No, you have to keep those until you're forty-two.
Mason: You mean forty-ten?
Me: No, that would be fifty.
Mason: Or fifty-eleven.
Me: That's sixty-one.
Mason: Eleventeen.
Me (laughing by this point): I give up.

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We're thankful for toilets?

This morning during family prayer, the kids were having a hard time being reverent. I told them I would keep praying until they were quiet and reverent. Mason and Thomas kept poking each other and wiggling and picking up random things, so I just kept praying. After already expressing gratitude and asking for blessings for various people, I thanked Heavenly Father for individual leaders of our church, and for the grass and trees, and then parts of our home. The kids were finally settling down when I considered that I appreciate not having to go outside to an outhouse, so I said "we're thankful for our toilets..." So much for reverence. At least the kids stifled their laughter. I figured they were reverent enough, so we closed our prayer. In the future, I'll leave out the toilets in family prayer, but I'm still super grateful for them! ;-D

How Much Farther?

I had my peak run scheduled for yesterday. I was supposed to run 20 miles. I mapped it out a couple of weeks ago, and then revised it. But I forgot to remap it after I revised it, so I had it stuck in my head that my revised route was 20 miles. I left a little before 6am (after getting only 4 1/2 hours of sleep due to circumstances beyond my control. The Kristi of 5 years ago would never believe any of this story.), and headed out to run the loop around the river. A loop that I recently learned was 23 miles. I thought somehow there must be more to it than I was running, because my route was only 20 miles.

Michael left a little just before 8am on his road bike after dropping the kids off, setting out, and then returning back home to set his trip meter so he'd know exactly how far I ran. He followed my route and caught up with me at 15.5 miles. It was so nice for him to join me for the hardest part of my run. He refilled my water bottle for me, provided encouragement, and let me know when I reached 20 miles... EARLY. I still had at least three more miles to go before I'd arrive at home. So, I kept running. And running. After two more miles, without knowing exactly how much farther it would be, and not wanting to practically run a marathon before actually running the marathon, I sent him ahead to get the Jeep and come rescue me. I wound up going a little more than 22 miles. I have to admit, this whole thing does sometimes seem a little insane to me.

I took two ice baths (brutal, but worth it) after stretching out, so fortunately my legs aren't too sore today. You may wonder why I keep doing this to myself. I've always considered myself a night person, but I'm discovering the beauty of early mornings. It's a quiet, calm world - not one I often see. I love the feeling of running and the increased ability I have to cross mile after mile. I get to listen to my podcasts without a single interruption. My favorites are BYU speeches and General Conference addresses. I'm able to exercise, learn and be uplifted all at once. These are pretty much my reasons why I keep running. I look forward to bicycling with my family on Saturdays once the marathon is done, but I'll still keep running while I can. :-)

Updating My Blog

It is late on a Sunday night. My sister, Becky, is serving as a missionary in the Ft. Lauderdale mission. Every Sunday (almost) I write her a letter. I'm falling behind. I wanted to send her updates of my blog, but I haven't written much at all since May. So, I'm rushing to update it some, and will print off the newer posts and mail them to her. Meanwhile, I still need to send her an email. But I can't stay up too late, b/c I have an early run. So, we'll see what I get done. I meant to have this done by last Tuesday at the latest, but it may run over again into this week.

No More Whining, And I Mean It!

This morning I was awakened by the strains of my two oldest children arguing over a Wii game. I was annoyed, and then more annoyed that I was annoyed even before I got out of bed this morning. What a way to start the day. I decided to do something about it. Almost every day this summer has begun with Thomas asking if he can play the Wii in the morning. We’d let him play so we can sleep in a little or I’d let him play so I could shower and get ready after a morning run. Then we’d turn it off, have breakfast, and get on with our day. It wouldn’t be long, though, until Thomas was asking when he could play the Wii again.

All day long, I’d get inundated with his requests to play the Wii. McKenzie always wants to play the computer or with my new smartphone, and Mason wants to play the Wii or computer. I’ve been increasingly concerned about how much time my children were spending in front of electronic babysitters. Not only that, but it seemed like my kids argued more, too, because they often bossed each other while playing and got upset if another’s game moves killed their character, even by accident. Each day as the children’s contention increased, I became more and more irritable. Something had to change.

So, today I had a little conference with McKenzie and Thomas. We talked about how we would feel if we walked into a room where everyone was yelling at each other, and how we would feel if we walked into a room where people were speaking kindly and doing nice things for each other. The kids agreed that they would like to live in a home without complaining, whining, arguing, yelling, or hitting. I explained that all of us have things to do to help our home run smoothly. If we all do our part, our home will be a happier home. I wrote a list of ten things I expect the kids to do each day before they turn on the TV, computer, or Wii.

1. personal prayer
2. eat breakfast and put dishes away
3. get dressed and put pjs away
4. family prayer
5. make bed
6. fix hair
7. practice piano
8. make sure your room is tidy
9. pick up ¼ of playroom
10. do your daily job

I also explained that doctors and child development researchers recommend that children should get less than two hours of screen time (TV, computer, game systems) per day. I gave them 4 tickets that were worth 30 minutes each of screen time. (Yes, they do rollover.) They are free to use them once they have completed all ten things on their list, provided it doesn’t interfere with another activity. I had McKenzie and Thomas write up a list of things they can do for fun that doesn’t involve screen time.

We also discussed behavior. Any complaining, whining, hitting, etc, leads to a timeout, and the timer doesn’t start until the child is calm. This rule comes in very handy for the mom who can’t be everywhere and see everything at all times. As I was making dinner, Thomas starting crying because Mason hit him. I hurried to run interference before Thomas hit Mason back (sometimes he can react pretty strongly). I was too late, so I put both in time out. After they calmed down, I first had Thomas give me his account, and asked Mason some clarifying questions, then asked Mason for his account, with clarifying questions for Thomas. Through this, we quickly found out what instigated the event and both boys realized their part in the matter, and apologized. I felt a small sense of victory.

The exception the timeout rule is during piano practice, when I give them a fruit snack for completing each exercise. If they complain about practicing or whatever, or stall, I eat their fruit snack. That whips them into shape super fast. Today was a great piano practice day, and I only had to eat one fruit snack per child!

As a result of laying down these rules, today went much better. The kids did their jobs without complaining. When Thomas started bugging me about playing the Wii as I picked him up from his friend’s house (where he had used up the rest of his screen time tickets), I reminded him that complainers and whiners go to timeout. He said, “Oh yeah, I forgot! Sorry!” And he stopped whining and bugging me about the Wii! I am actually looking forward to tomorrow when I get to try this out all over again. We may make it through August after all! :-)

Let Freedom Ring... and Cars Bling

To celebrate the fourth of July this year, we attended the local parade.... or car/horse/HS band show. I expected something along the lines of Lakefair. I don't know why. Delusions of grandeur for our fair city? Anyway, I let McKenzie practice shooting photos with my camera. She shot car after car after car after car... and horses, a high school band, several local politicians and business people, various military cadet groups, and farm equipment.

The kids enjoyed it. Their favorite part was collecting candy thrown by people in the parade (of course). We sat on the edge of the sidewalk and went home with yellow paint on our bottoms. Very fashionable.

Later we went to a barbeque where the kids got to swim in the pool. We had a great time.

On Sunday night, we let the kids light sparklers and then joined some friends on a field to watch the fireworks. It was a pretty low-key holiday.

(The kids just heard some fireworks go off. I love the look of surprise on Mason's face.)

I am grateful for our freedoms, and especially for the men and women who fight to preserve them, and their families who stalwartly support them. I love this land.

The Case of the Mysterious Cheese

I took a nap yesterday while Michael was out running errands. McKenzie and the boys were playing the Wii. Later we went to a barbeque and returned home late. After we rushed the kids to bed, Michael and I unwound by watching another episode of Criminal Minds. After it was over, we quickly tidied the kitchen and started the dishwasher. While I was putting things away I opened the fridge and saw half of a package of sliced American cheese. We don’t normally stock sliced American cheese, and I knew that hadn’t been there earlier that day. I asked Michael if he had put it there, and he knew nothing about it, nor of the paper bag of carrots on the top shelf. I joked, “Maybe this is a new MO where the killer puts food in your fridge and then hides out to kill you later.” Michael laughed at such a ridiculous idea, and we went to bed.

Later during the night, I suddenly awoke and swore that I saw a tall figure in our doorway. I freaked out. I started screaming this strange hyphenated scream that immediately woke Michael up. He had strained his back earlier that day, and when I screamed, he jolted to a sitting position, which wrenched his back terribly. He asked what was wrong and I gasped that there was someone in our doorway… but when we looked, no one was there. I sort of wondered if the intruder had slipped around the corner, but soon realized that really, there was no one there. I felt very sheepish. As I rubbed Michael’s back I explained that I was on edge because I couldn't figure out how that cheese got in our fridge. Where did it come from? While I was telling him this, I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye and heard a noise. I jumped out of my skin and screamed again. There really was an intruder, and he was IN OUR ROOM! Then we realized that it was only Megan. She had come into our room and walked over to my side of the bed while I was freaking out. She didn't seem fazed at all. She laid down on our bed and quickly fell asleep, while I once again tried to calm down.

It took some time for my hands to stop trembling and my heart to slow down enough for me to go back to sleep. The next morning, Michael called Sarah, our babysitter who watched the kids while I was in Seattle, to see if she had left the food there the weekend before. She didn’t know anything about it. After she hung up, she mentioned the strange phone call to her dad. He immediately called Michael back and let him know that he had dropped off the leftover cheese and carrots from Scout Encampment. Apparently, he had given it to McKenzie while I was napping, and she put it in the fridge and forgot to tell us about it. So, no killers were planting food in our fridge, it was just a combination of generous neighbors, a silent daughter, and a sleepy child. Go figure.

The Cost of a Hot Fudge Sundae

Recently we got a coupon in the Sunday paper from McDonalds for a free dessert of equal or lesser value when you buy a Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae. The picture looked delicious. I clipped the coupon and carried it around with me for weeks. I tried to use it on a Mommy/Daughter date with McKenzie but that McDonalds didn’t have any brownies. It expired on June 30th. So, that morning, I hoped that Michael and I could enjoy the desserts later that evening after the kids were in bed while we watched another episode of Criminal Minds (our latest favorite TV show since the Mentalist is on summer break). Michael was on call, though, and after piano lessons ended, it was clear that he would be stuck at work for a while.

I had my mind so set on having that sundae that after I picked up Mason and Megan from the sitter, I insanely decided to go get two Hot Fudge Brownie Sundaes (with all four kids in the car, and no treat for them). I thought I could go home, get all the kids in bed, hopefully Michael would be home by then, and we could still enjoy our desserts together. I pulled up to the drive thru menu, ordered my treat, and then heard a loud pop as I pulled around to the window to pay for it. At the next window, the McDonald’s employee handed me my bag and said, “Oh, someone wanted to tell me that your front tire is flat.” I replied, “So, you’re telling me that I have a flat tire and two Hot Fudge Brownie Sundaes…” I didn’t continue with the obvious, “and that it’s super hot outside and there’s no way I’m going to be able to eat these now before they melt since I have to fix the flat first.” She just replied, “There is an air machine right over there.” I thought, “if my tire got flat this quickly, no air machine is going to do me any good.” Still, I pulled over to it, saw that it charged $1.00 for a minute of air, and looked at my tire to assess how flat it really was. Maybe it was just low. No, it was definitely flat.

I pulled the car over to the other side of the gas station and parked near the mailboxes. I thought, well, I’ve fixed a flat tire before. How hard can it be on a Suburban? I located the tool to remove the spare tire, but couldn’t figure out how to take it out of the stow-away position so that I could assemble it. Meanwhile, my tired, hot, and bored kids unbuckled themselves and started climbing all over inside the car. They soon exhausted that activity and began investigating what I was doing. In desperation, I thought, “Maybe we can just get a ride home and Michael can take care of this later.” I started to think of my friends who lived near me, and near where we were who might be able to help me out. Most of them were unavailable due to church meetings, school, or vacation. I called my friend, Molly, who didn’t answer, so I sent her a text asking if she was busy. She texted back that they were watching a movie. So, I called the Briggs, and fortunately, Bevan had just walked in the door. Sara said she’d come pick us up. I texted Molly that I had a flat tire, and while I was talking with Sara, she texted back that her husband was on his way. By this time, Mason had pilfered the mailboxes and dumped their contents in the front of our car. I barely saw the last envelope fly through the window and land on the seat. Otherwise, I may not have figured that out until much later.

Travis (Molly’s husband) quickly showed up and took over the operation of dismounting the spare tire so he could change the flat one. It’s a good thing he did, because if I had done it according to my plan, I would have been trapped by the tire falling on me, and that would have been really bad. Sara soon pulled up and graciously took my children home and put them to bed. I was so relieved and grateful that I didn’t have to struggle with them anymore during this mess. A little while later, Sara’s husband arrived and helped change the tire as well. I realized that even if I did have the knowledge to change the tire, I didn’t have the strength to remove most of the lug nuts. Some of those were on way too tight. I really appreciated having the kind of friends who would come out at a moment’s notice to change my tire. I feel so blessed to know such people.

So, an hour and a half later, with my tire changed and Travis and Bevan heading home, I returned to McDonald’s with my melted Hot Fudge Brownie Sundaes and their mail. (Some of the mail was Subway’s, which was easy to replace, but I couldn’t tell which box belonged to McDonald’s. One of their envelopes had a check in it.) When I approached the counter, I explained my story of ordering the Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae, getting a flat on my way through the drive thru, changing the tire, my kid stealing their mail (and me returning it), and my desire to exchange a Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae for a McFlurry (since Michael still wouldn’t be home for quite some time).

All the loud restaurant noises quieted down as heads turned to listen to me explain my predicament. It was a little embarrassing. Soon employees sprang into action and one put a Hot Fudge Sundae in front of me, another mixed the McFlurry, and another assembled my Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae. I left grateful for the kind service and extra treat at no charge, and went home to enjoy my dessert.
Wouldn’t you know it, as I ate the sundae I realized that there was no hot fudge on my Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae. At least Costco patched the tire for free. I was concerned that we would have to replace all of our tires for around $800. That would have been one expensive topping-free Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae.

The Rock and Roll Seattle Marathon and 1/2

The Half-Marathon was awesome! I totally rocked it. I was really worried going into it because when I ran 12 miles in training a week and a half ago, my legs were killing me. I was also concerned about the hills in Seattle. I hadn't done much hill training because it's so flat where we live. But I had done some, and I had made them more challenging by pushing both the jogging stroller and Mason on his bike up any inclines. (Now that's a workout!)

When I started the race, I was hoping to keep with the 2:30 pace group (their goal time was to finish in 2 hours and 30 minutes, an 11:26 minute mile). Really, I wanted to go faster, but I didn't want to push it and burn out. After a mile or so, I realized that the pace group was really too slow for me, and that I felt more comfortable easing ahead. I figured if I got tired later, I'd fall back and rejoin them. But at mile 6, I still felt really strong and had no complaints. By mile 8, I began to wonder when this was going to become difficult. I'd already hit some hills and tackled them easily. At mile 10, I reset my watch because I realized that I only had 3 miles left, and that was just a quick morning run. I wondered if I could do it close to a 9 min mile, so I increased my pace.

I couldn't believe it when I saw the sign for mile 11. I was seriously considering asking someone if that was really our sign, or if they knew where we were, because I felt so great, and I couldn't believe we only had 2 miles left. I really picked it up for the last mile and practically sprinted for the final stretch. I was elated when I passed the pace team for the 2:22 group. I had been too afraid to join that group! I finished at 2:15:44. It felt so great. This experience has given me confidence to train for a full marathon. And next time, It would be awesome to see my family at the finish line.

Dave, Laura, and King Louis Come for a Visit

David and his girlfriend, Laura, came to visit for the weekend. They brought Laura's dog, Louis (Loo-ee, not Lewis), a shy white chihuahua. The kids absolutely loved him. They loved Laura, too, and Dave, as usual. ;-)

Laura read one of the children's favorite books to them, Skippyjon Jones. It's about a Siamese cat who thinks he is a chihuahua. I think it's Louis' new favorite book, too!

We went for a walk after dinner and all the kids got a turn walking Louis. I think they wore him out. Now they're all begging for a dog. Dream on, kids, dream on. (Maybe one day their dream will come true.)

The kids were sad to see Dave and Laura go, but they missed Louis most of all. Sorry guys! Thanks so much for your visit. We really enjoyed your company!

Father and Son Campout 2010

This year, Mason got to go with Michael and Thomas on the Father and Son Campout. He was so excited. Kim and his two sons drove up with Michael and the boys. Michael took some pictures while they were up there. As usual, Thomas wanted to hike up the mountain.

He told me later that he's bored of that mountain and he wants to camp somewhere else next time. :-p I love how well these two brothers stick together and play together. Mason has started making goofy faces in his pictures. Thomas hasn't perfected his yet. :-) Michael mostly got pictures of Mason on the mountain since Thomas was so far ahead. There's a picture of Kim, a super great guy and friend, and of his son, Caleb, during a melt-down. Caleb made it back just fine. We can't forget our friendly lizard. I wonder if it's the same one they caught last year? Once they get to the top of the mountain, they turn around and slide down on their bums. Makes for great laundry days! Really, though, they had a great time and look forward to more male-bonding next year (or sooner, if the boys can help it!).

Mad Megan

Megan prefers to stage a protest when things don't go her way. She just stops wherever she is, regardless of how safe the spot may be (behind a parked car, for example) and pouts. Today she was mad because Mason made it home before she did. I hope this stage doesn't last too long. At this age, I can lift her up and carry her home if she's being especially stubborn. But in 5-10 years from now, it'll be a lot more difficult to move her.

Prince Charming or Action Figures?

We had some friends over today. As usual, Megan was dressed up in her princess costume, dancing. She tried very hard to get Ashton to join her. "Dance with me, Ashton. You have to dance! Pleeeeeeeeease!" Ashton was busy playing with Spiderman, Iron Man, and a dart gun. Megan finally succeeded in persuading him to dance for a bit...

and then he was done and she couldn't persuade him to dance anymore.

Raindrops Keep Falling on Our Heads

Summer is taking it's sweet time to arrive this year. It keeps raining, and I keep thinking that it will clear up soon and be hot all the time... but it doesn't. I finally caved recently and we picked up some umbrellas for the kids. Thomas didn't take his to school today. I thought it would be neat for Mason and Megan to use theirs, so we headed out in the rain to meet them at the bus stop. We didn't quite make it in time, which turned out to be a good thing because I got to watch McKenzie share her umbrella with Thomas. I love when I see my children showing kindness to each other.

Here they all are on their way home.

Mason especially loved stomping in the puddles.

Thomas' 6th Birthday

It's been a crazy week. It seems like Thomas' birthday was so long ago. He had an Iron Man theme party. I'm not super excited about Iron Man because women are very objectified in his movies, but Thomas has no idea and will never see the movie (at least, for several years and as long as I can prevent him from seeing it). He just thinks Iron Man is cool because of all the toys and heavy marketing. I almost bought a cake this time, but when I found out how much it cost and what it consisted of, I decided to just do it myself. I think it turned out pretty well.

I had too many games planned, but that was fine (because I wasn't completely prepared for all of them). When Michael and David (my brother) spontaneously jumped in on the fun and extended it, I just crossed another game off the list with a sigh of relief. I keep wondering why I do this to myself. The answer is, I do it because my kids have an amazing time, and they love reliving it while looking back at the pictures.

Here are some pics from his party. We started with the standard, Pin-the-tail-on-the-_____, but this time it was "Pin the Spark on Stark." I explained very quickly the story of his power source so the boys would understand why he has the circle in his chest. (I saw Iron Man 2, and since he has a circle most of the time, so I stuck with the circle.) It quickly became evident that the blindfold we were using was inadequate,

so we added a towel and started over.

Michael and David got in on the fun, really playing up their "blindness" by pinning the spark on a child's forehead (with tape), or a balloon, or, in David's case, eventually himself. The kids got a huge kick out of their antics.

While we were finishing up the blindfold game, Michael got into a wrestling match with all the kids against him.

Next, they headed outside to practice aiming with their hands (like Iron Man does to blast his opponents) with silly string. (A first and last for us.) I didn't have this game well planned out, so we just divided them into two teams and let them at it.

Michael had purchased some Iron Man water guns from the dollar store for the gift bags, but the kids saw them, so while we were setting up for pizza, they started shooting each other with them. Since that was what all of them wanted to do, we loaded up the Iron Men and let the kids fire away after they ate.

Thomas had such a fun time. He loved having his friends over. I think they add a lot of excitement to his day.

He asked for Super Mario Brothers Wii for his birthday, and an Iron Man costume. He knew that if he got the Wii game, there wouldn't be much else, but I know for sure that he was so happy with what he got.

See?

That night after he was in bed, he called me over and whispered in my ear, "Thanks for my birthday. And thanks for the Iron Man costume and Super Mario Brothers Wii!" I'd say it was all worth it.

What I Meant to Say...

I intended to followup that evening or the next day of my last post, but I get caught up in other things and my blog gets neglected. (As if that isn't obvious. Well, maybe it isn't because then I catch it up by back posting things. Which I might do later on, making this post kind of out of place.) I was having a few rough weeks with my kids, until I stepped it up a little and started being more consistent and applying immediate consequences. Anyway, I think parenthood is payback for all the times we gave our parents grief. But it is also pay forward for all the joys our parents had when we were kids. I don't remember a lot of my childhood, but I really enjoy watching my kids grow. I'm trying to preserve what I can for them so that one day they can look back and enjoy their childhood, too.

Crazy Sunday

This morning, Michael had to be at work by 9:30. We slept in for the first time in quite some time until 8:30. It felt so nice. Lately, our kids have been waking up just after 6am. So not fun. They can get pretty grouchy and tired, but only Mason and Megan nap, and not every day, either. Thomas needs to nap, but he doesn't because he is in school (besides the fact that he refuses to nap). Anyway, at 8:45am, Thomas' Primary teacher called to see if either Michael or I could substitute for his class today. Michael was getting ready to leave right then so he could get the sacrament before he went to work. I thought (insanely) "hmmm... I'm not teaching today. I don't have much going on. A normal person could throw together a lesson in two hours," so I said, "Sure, I'll do it." Ummmm... I'm not normal. Especially this morning. Here were my challenges:

1. I have a severe problem with punctuality. I really struggle with estimating time and staying on task.
2. I had not had breakfast yet, nor had most of my chidren.
3. None of us had showered.
4. McKenzie still had to prepare her talk for senior primary (that I just found out about yesterday late afternoon), and I needed to help her with it.
5. I was a single mom this morning.
6. We had less than two hours until we needed to leave for church by the time I hung up the phone with him.
7. I still had to look up the lesson, print it out, and prepare it.

By the time we left for church, we were 15 minutes late, I was upset with my children because they were acting in their usual, predictable way instead of the perfect way I needed them to act in order offset my poor choices. Really, I was upset with myself for saying "Yes" instead of "This really isn't a good morning for me. I would love to substitute another Sunday when I can prepare ahead of time." It's all about boundaries, and I blew it. So, we missed the the sacrament and snuck into the overflow after the it was done being passed.

I handed puzzles to the kids to keep them quiet while I quickly wrote McKenzie's talk for her. I tried to look over my lesson, but Mason was in a bad mood because he couldn't finish watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory before we left for church (he had just started it maybe 20 minutes earlier), so he was throwing attitude all over the place. Megan got mad because her puzzle piece fell on the floor and since she was three chairs down from me, I couldn't pick it up immediately to keep her quiet. I took Mason out to time out because he started throwing a fit about his puzzle. When we returned, Megan had been drawing on the wall with her pencil, so I erased it the best I could. Thomas was instantly bored and hungry and not too quiet about it. McKenzie was engrossed in drawing some silly picture instead of listening to the speaker, which I think she should do now that she is baptised. I got really annoyed when, after asking her again to listen to the talk, she sweetly asked, "what would you like to draw in my frame?"

Finally, I needed a time out, so I took all the kids out to the car with 15 minutes of sacrament meeting to go. Thomas misunderstood and said, "Yay! We're going home!" I was tempted to bag it and go home, but I knew that would just make things worse. Then my kids would learn that when the going gets tough, we just go home, when church is where we really need to be (even if we did arrive too late for the most important part). So, after coaching McKenzie on her talk, we went back in and tried again. I took the kids to their classes and lucked out with my friend, Dayna, as a teaching partner. (Her son refused to stay in primary unless she stayed too, and she volunteered to help me teach their class.) Since she was helping me, I was able to duck in and out to watch McKenzie give her talk. McKenzie did a great job.

I'm glad we stayed at church. So many times, I have been stressed out or frustrated just getting to church, but I'm always feel so much better by the time we're done. And when I've skipped in the past for some lame reason, I always find out that I missed something really good. (Like when Elder David B. Haight stopped by our ward in Salt Lake one Sunday.) So, I've learned to go, because it is worth it.

Our Little Dancing Queen

Megan is such a girly girl princess. She loves to dress up and dance and sing, so this tutu that my brother got for her from the Portland Farmer's Market was the perfect birthday gift. Thanks, David!

Sometimes

I think that motherhood is payback for all the times I gave my mom grief.

Piano Recital

Thomas and McKenzie performed in a piano recital today. It was Thomas' first and McKenzie's second. I think Thomas was pretty nervous because he made a few mistakes in a song that he can normally play in his sleep. I thought both of them did a great job, though. I'm very proud of them and the progress they've made! Thomas has been playing for 8 months, and McKenzie has been playing for 18 months.



You can click here to watch of a video of their performances on YouTube.

It Must Be Spring!

The water is on, the sun is shining, it's 55 degrees outside. Perfect weather for running through the sprinklers.

.

Or not.

Easter 2010

General Conference fell on Easter Sunday this year. With four lively children, we prefer to watch Conference from the comfort of our leather couches rather than go to the church building to view it there.

There was no ward sponsored Easter Egg hunt this year, so we joined two other families on our street to make our own Easter Egg Hunt. We went between sessions on Saturday. It was cold, windy, fun, and quick. Here are some pictures. After all, isn't that the whole point of the hunt? ;-) On Sunday, after Conference, the kids finally dyed Easter Eggs. The best part of is eating them!