Friends vs. Siblings

BEST FRIENDS

ANNOYING BROTHER

Back On Track

So after 5 consecutive weeks of being off track, the kids headed out the door to catch the bus this morning once again. I was excited, Noah was excited, Ellie was not - not surprising. She loves school, but hates leaving me (and Leah). She couldn't fall asleep last night because she was so worried. Oh that girl!! I totally relate though. I was exactly like her. I HATED leaving my mom at her age to go to school. She has gotten better however, when compared to last year. Once last year she chased after my car as I was pulling out of the carpool lane. The teacher had to come chasing after her and basically had to pry her off of me. We both left crying. Not a good memory. Last night I assured her that it will get easier, and we planned a few fun things to do after school and this weekend. She left with a smile on her face this morning, so that is always a good thing.

Being off track most definitely has it's pros and cons. I love that we don't have to drag our fannies out of bed at 7:00. We can stay in our jammies all day if we want - which we did. There is no pressure to get homework done, and spelling words studied. They can play play play all day.

The down side, at least this time, is that it was 5 blasted weeks. They have been off since before Christmas. WAAAYY to long. Three weeks is perfect. Five is too many, espceially in the middle of winter. By the last week they were bored, and trust me I heard about it. We were running out of ideas quickly. Yesterday they resorted to cutting potatoes in half and dipping them in paint and stamping them on paper. They actually loved it, but the idea was out of pure despiration. If only it weren't FREEZING outside. That would have increased our options a bit more.


One other down side of being off track (with 4 kids) is the fact that my life still has to go on. We still need groceries, I still need to drive preschool car pool, I still need to take Leah to her doctors. appointment and make a trip to the post office. And I get to take them ALL with me! What a treat. I hate grocery shopping with 4 kids, and I am sure they hate it just as much. I question how I am supposed to shop when my cart is already full of kids? It is inevitable that we will make some kind of a scene. It is not uncommon that someone ends up in tears. But we need to eat, and that requires groceries. That is something I will not miss about them being back in school. Two at the store is much more manageable.

So we have 9 weeks of school before they go off again. I excited to get back on to some sort of schedule and hopefully get a bit done while they are at school. Organization is the goal, although it has been the goal for the past 8 years. One day I will reach it!

He must have REALLY loved me!

Our sister in law's (SIL as she would say) brother has decided to join the LDS church. He is being baptized on Friday. I don't know him well, but their situation is very similar to Jeff's and mine. They were married last summer, with her being a very active member, and him not a member at all.

Jeff also married me before I was a member, or even interested in investigating. I can only appreciate now how much faith that took, and what he potentially was giving up. (He must have REALLY loved me!!) From the time Jeff and I met, he never made me feel any less than him. He saw me for who I was, and not for what I wasn't. He was extremely patient and never pushy, although in his own subtle way would never have given up on me. Sometimes I look back and think 'What were we thinking?'. We got married hoping for the best. I sometimes wonder if we could have made it work, if I never would have joined - although at the same time I have no doubt that we would have figured it out. I am truly grateful, however, that we are where we are.

Congrats Jazz and Micci!

I have HAD IT!

It is pretty sad when there are almost as many blog entries about our cat as our kids. This is not due to his good behavior or good looks however, quite the opposite. Once again I have HAD IT with our feline friend. A few weeks back he peed on Jeff while he was sleeping in our bed. As we can all imagine, that did not go over well. He somehow survived that incident, but we swore if he pulled anymore tricks of that sort again he would be the cutest orange kitty on display at the Humane Society. I thought for sure he would not be stupid enough to do it again, especially after getting the wrath of Jeff. I was right. This time he just waited until Jeff wasn't in the bed and then peed on our new $500 bedding. In my book, this is much worse. Jeff can easily take a shower. The bedding, on the other hand is much more tricky and expensive to clean.

So....I am done. I have had it. I told the kids he had to go. Noah immediately started crying and told the cat to go hide in the basement. Ellie's only request was that we find him a good home. I told her this may be a bit of a challenge. I personally do not know of anyone looking for a cat who pees on them or their bed and refuses to use a litter box. Jeff actually even considered giving him another chance. What?? Why he has a soft spot for a cat that peed on him in the middle of the night and is constantly pooping in the garage right next to the litter box (which Jeff cleans up - not me!) I will never know.

So that is where it stands. As for now the cat is banned from the upstairs. He is spending much of his time out in the garage, where his bed has now been moved to. In my mind the question isn't if he goes, but when and where. So, if anyone is looking for a very cute orange cat with a few personality flaws, let us know.

The BOYS

Seeing the last 2 posts have been about the girls, I thought I would take a minute and give the boys a bit of the spotlight. Here is the latest and greatest:


NOAH started back in his hip hop class this week. He took a class last year, but I had him take a break this fall due to the craziness of having a new baby. I told him he could start back up in January, thinking he would possibly lose interest as the months past. I was wrong. Right after Christmas he started asking when he could start again. Even though the driving is a bit of a pain, we are all excited for him. He loves it, and the performances are hilarious. A class full of 5 and 6 year olds doing the Worm and the Coffee Grinder (as he calls them) is great entertainment. The photo below is Ellie and him performing at Lagoon last summer.

He is off track and loving it, and we are loving not having to drag him out of bed every morning. He's not exactly what you would call a morning person. For the moment, his days are spent playing with friends, playing his DS, and sledding in our front yard on the giant hill that was made from all the snow we got. What a life. I make him clean his room and do a job or two here and there to give him a small dose of reality, but for the most part am letting him enjoy his break from school. That will come to an abrupt end in a few weeks when he goes back on track - not that Kindergarten is all that stressful! He loves school and is starting to read like a champ.




CARTER is getting too smart for his own good (and possibly ours!) He has sort of figured out how to tell time, at least to the hour. He knows that his bedtime (on a good night) is 7:00. He looked at the clock tonight, right at 7:00, and this is how our conversation went.

CARTER - "Mom it's seven o'clock!"
ME - "Yep Carter it is seven o'clock. Do you know what that means?"
CARTER - "What mom."
ME - "That means it's your bedtime!"
CARTER - (with a sad face) "Mom - next time I'm not going to tell you what time it is!"

A little too smart for his own good - but very funny.
He is now a Sunbeam at church and is very excited and proud to be out of Nursery (although the first week he cried and clung to my leg!). His friends are starting to become very high on his priority list. His two best buddies (see picture below) go to preschool with him, and he is always asking to call them on the phone and have them over to play. Yesterday he asked if he could have them sleepover. I don't think we are quite ready for that! Getting one 3 year old to go to bed is enough of a challenge - thank you anyways.



I love my BOYS!

5 Months Old Today

So our Leah Girl is 5 months today. I love this age, and if it were possible for me to freeze her here for a while I would. She is changing so quickly and learning something new everyday.

She discovered she had toes on Christmas Day, and has been fascinated with them since. She loves the T.V., no matter what show is on. Carter and her love watching "Tigger and Pooh" each morning together. We started her on cereal this week, which she thought was delicious. I can't get it in her mouth fast enough. She is almost rolling over. In a week or two I am pretty sure that she will have master that skill. She loves her bath. She kicks and splashes like a mad woman. I took her to the doctor last week and she weighted 18 lbs. exactly. That means she has gained exactly 10 lbs since birth. She is in the 98% for weight. She is definitely thriving! I LOVE that she is a chubby baby. She has rolls everywhere, but to me nothing could be cuter.


In her short 5 months she has accumulated quite a few nicknames. Carter started us off calling her 'Little Sunshine'. Since then we have added 'Leah Lou', 'Little Woman', 'Sunshine Girl', (a little variation of Carter,s), 'Muffin Top', 'Baby Doll' (that's from Grandma Sugar), 'Leah Girl', and 'Chubba wubba' (for obvious reasons!). Hopefully one day she will be able to figure you that her name is actually just Leah!

There are so many things I love about her. The list could go on and on, but here are a few.
I love how happy, content, and patient she is. She just seems glad to be here. She is rarely grumpy, and almost always has a smile on her face.
I love how she can't take her eyes off of her Daddy. If Jeff is in her sight, she will look at nothing else. I always tease him that she has a little crush on him!
I love that she is such a good sleeper (except the last 3 nights when she has been sick - but we will forgive her for that).
I love her long eyelashes that she has had since birth, her extra chubby legs that won't even fit into some of her jammies, and her beautiful, slightly Oriental looking eyes. We have actually been asked twice if she was adopted - I promise she is Jeff''s!
I love to watch the kids with her. They just can't get enough of her. I haven't had any problems with jealousy, only arguments of who gets to hold her next or feed her or sit by her. I can tell she know each of them well already, and is so excited when they pay any attention to her.
I love her dimples and chubby checks. You can tell she belongs. All the kids got their Dad's dimples.


I hate, however, that she is already 5 months. Because she is our last, the months passing and little milestones have a little bit of sadness that go along with them. We are not as eager for her to roll over, or crawl, or walk, as we were for the other kids. We are defiantly trying to enjoy each age and stage with her, because we know from experience how fast it goes.

We love you Leah Girl. You are a delight!

Ellie's baptism

So our little Ellie was baptized on Saturday. She was beyond excited, but very nervous. She is not a big fan of water, especially if it involves her going under it! She did great and had a perfect day. After the baptism, our bishop had her stand up on a chair and look at everyone that had come, that cares about her a loves her. She was beaming. Congratulations Ellie. We love you so much.
We took her to get her pictures taken later that day and the out to dinner with Jeff and me at the Cheesecake Factory. It was fun to be able to spend time with just her without the crazy boys. She loves those one on ones!!
It is so hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that she is already 8. I was baptized 8 years ago this month. Ellie was about 6 weeks old. I have always felt that Ellie had a lot to do with me choosing to investigate the church. I had ample opportunity and reason before she came along. Most of my friends growing up we members. My sister joined. Jeff was a member. However, it wasn't until I got pregnant with Ellie that I really had a strong desire. She is a fairly persistent and opinionated little spirit. I am positive that she gave me that extra little push that I needed. I know from experience that it will bring a lot of understanding and peace to her life. We are so proud of her, and excited for her.