Autumn 2010 -- the not-so-cliffs-notes version

Where do I even start?? My philosophy is that it's always best to start with the present and work your way back from there. So, for starters, I'm alive! And so are the kids -- which considering that Scott has been gone for 4 different weeks out of the last 8 and I have been their sole care-taker -- well, that's no small feat! Hahahaha. In one of President Monson's talks during General Conference this month, he spoke on how important it is to "cultivate within your heart an attitude of gratitude." Seeing as to how I have so much to be grateful for, I thought I'd break down the past few months with this spirit of thanksgiving in mind.

I am grateful for Scott's job.
Kicking off our autumnal festivities was a Plant picnic. One of the perks of this annual picnic -- as well as one of the perks of working for P&G in general -- are all the free P&G products we receive.


Scott was able to bring home the bacon a couple of days before the picnic itself, and you would have thought Christmas had come early with how excited Ethan was to organize all of it in our storage area. The picnic itself was a pleasing blend of rides, food, more free stuff, and pictures. We only stuck around for a couple of hours, but it was more than enough time for the kids to jump in the Space Walk, ride some rides, and participate in the "Kiddie Drop" -- where a sectioned off area was littered with toys, candy, pool floaties, bouncy balls, crayons, markers, and more. Each kid was given a bag and on their mark, get set, go! Who would have thought a mere pool toy could make my kids so happy? Four caricatures later and we were on our way home hot, tired, and happy.











I am grateful for my 1 year old.
The day of the picnic was also the day of our sweet little Janie Boo's birthday. We came home from the picnic in time for naps and birthday preparations for the Sugar Pop. Poor little fourth-born. There was not a whole lot of fanfare for this event. I managed to whip together our "traditional" first birthday cake of a box mix yellow cake with homemade chocolate buttercream frosting. Mmmmmm...chocolate buttercream frosting. And I had grabbed a couple of presents for her earlier. Luckily no one ever remembers their first birthday, so it shouldn't matter in the long run that there was no party, or decorations, or extra friends there.

First learning how to stand -- she didn't start walking until about a month ago.

Playing with her birthday present -- she loved it!

A few quick facts about Jane at 1 year old. Although she is almost 14 months old at this point! She started to take a few steps around her birthday but didn't start walking until about 13 months. She has slowed down in the growth department and is now about average for weight and height. I would have the exact numbers and measurements to plot for you here, but remember -- she's my fourth-born. Hahaha. No, really. My brain doesn't hold on to all those facts anymore. I'm pretty sure I wrote them down somewhere to stick in her baby book but I'm far too lazy to go and track that down right now. She continues to be precious and adorable and the apple of my eye -- although she is developing a slight independent streak that is HILARIOUS to watch. For instance, one of her many nicknames to date is "Calamity Jane" because of how quickly she can wreak havoc on a room, bookshelf, snack cabinet, laundry basket, you name it, and when she throws a little temper tantrum it's just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. She is not quite the chatterbox that the other two girls were and the only "words" she knows aside from "mama" are a two-syllable grouping that sounds roughly like "good girl." Hahahahaha. It must be nice to be constantly told what a good girl you are.

This little furrowed brow makes me laugh.

Raising the roof. Hahahaha. Her new method of "waving" is HILARIOUS.

We have discovered that she knows where the snack cabinet is and how to get her own goldfishies and chocolate chip granola bars out whenever the mood strikes. And we have also discovered that M&Ms are her favorite candy and she will try to eat acorns if you don't watch her closely. Putting her shoes on and going outside are just about her favorite activities in the world. And I'm pretty sure that I am still her most favorite person in the world. I just love that little girl!

Playing in the back yard.

And taking a tumble.

I finally got around to getting her 1 year old picture taken yesterday evening -- you know only 2 months late. Haha. Part of the hold up was not wanting to fork out money for someone else to take the pictures, and part of the hold up was not having a sufficient outfit to showcase in the picture. Many thanks to my little sis, Emily, for sending me one of Pearce's little dresses to borrow for the shoot. And even though we don't have a super fancy camera just yet, I still think we managed to capture the essence of Jane just fine! Although I do have to say that it is quite difficult to get a toddler to cooperate for the camera (it's also quite difficult to get a 7 year old to cooperate for the camera but that's a whole other story). Here are some pics that came out.

I am grateful for Fall.
I'd like to take a brief time-out to extol the beauty of the changing colors in our neck of the woods. It is BEAUTIFUL here and I am so thankful for the visual feast that beckons me every time I look out my window or walk outside. Our entire neighborhood is resplendent in autumnal glory and it makes my heart happy as I drive through it every single day. All these pictures are just from our yard.






I am grateful for our house.
I love our house. If I could wrap my arms around it and give it a big hug I would. As we were looking for houses to buy on our house-hunting trip back in May we had a rather stressful time of it. Everything about our move happened quickly and we knew that we needed to find something fast so that we'd have a place to live when we got here. The first few days of our trip we looked in a completely different area from here and were having no luck. Even though it seemed like the ideal place to find our house, nothing felt right. We were stressed, frustrated, and worried that we wouldn't be able to find anything before it was time to go back home. That Sunday we attended a ward that for all intents and purposes should have been the "perfect" ward. There were TONS of young families with kids, everyone was SUPER friendly and helpful, and we already had a few connections inside of it. BUT, the whole time we were there that day, I just kept thinking that this was not where we were supposed to be.

I was so bummed! I really wanted it to be the right place, but it just didn't feel right and I was kind of at my wit's end. Scott felt the same way and it was he who suggested, once again, that we expand our search parameters to some areas of the city that were slightly farther out from where he would work and from where we were currently looking. I had been so resistant up to that point because I didn't want a longer commute for Scott and thus more time away from the family. After offering up a prayer of complete desperation and pleading, however, I knew that we had to change up something in our current course of action. Our house was one of the first ones we looked at in our newly expanded search and as soon as we drove into the neighborhood I felt complete and total peace. I knew that this was the right place. It is BEAUTIFUL here with trees everywhere and there is such a sense of tranquility and homeyness. It was humbling and inspiring to see how quick the Lord was to answer our prayers when we finally turned the matter over to Him. Finding our house was a sort of turning point for me -- even though we had prayed about this move and felt it was the right thing for our family to do, it wasn't until this house-hunting experience that I finally realized that everything was going to work out just fine. I only needed to let go of all my troubles and put my faith and trust in God. He knows FAR more than I do, and I'm grateful for His help.

Another thing I'm grateful for? Home owner's insurance. Because yes, we've already needed to use it. During one of those lovely weeks where Scott was out of town, I left the house for a couple of hours to run errands with Sophie and Jane only to come home to a veritable flood pouring out from our main floor bathroom. After a minor freak-out on my part, and a quick phone call to tell Scott, I managed to find the source of the "leak" -- the hose connecting the water to the toilet had managed to become disconnected -- and turned the water off. Then I began to assess the damage as I went from the bathroom to the front hall to the living room and then down the stairs into the basement. Let's just say that there was so much water draining down that it sounded like a waterfall. That "leak" from the pipe upstairs was more like a firehose spraying out water for who knows how long. Luckily I was able to get a hold of Scott and he was able to get a hold of the insurance company, and within the hour they had people out to our house to start the process of drying everything out. It took 4 days, 4 dehumidifiers, and 16 industrial strength fans. But it got the job done!

The bathroom that was the source of all the trouble.

Some water made its way into the Living Room as well.

The stairs going down to the basement.

The repair work is still going on and hopefully this week will be the last. The carpet padding still needs to be replaced in the basement, walls have already been patched up and painted, the living room and dining room floors are going to be sanded and refinished starting tomorrow, and more sealing and painting needs to happen in the bathroom, the front hall, and the living room. Yes indeed I am grateful for Home Owner's Insurance!


I am grateful for my 3 year old.
That little supermuppet. She drives me nuts on a daily basis, but oh how she makes me laugh. One of my favorite things about Sophie is how full of joyful exuberance she is when she's in a good mood. When she's in a bad mood -- watch out -- but when she's happy she's hilarious. And very vain. Especially of her hair. Hahaha. And her dimples. It would be good for her to be taken down a couple of notches, but I'm not sure how soon that will happen based on the following conversation:

SOPHIE (preening in front of the mirror one morning while I was trying to get the kids ready for school): I look cute with my dimples. I look cute!

ME: Sophie, it's more important to be beautiful on the inside than the outside.

SOPHIE (with an exasperated sigh): I know that. I'm cute on the inside, too.

Hahahaha. Her favorite movie of the past few months is "The Sound of Music" and even though she hasn't watched it in a couple of weeks now, I kid you not that she pretty much has it memorized. She can watch the ENTIRE movie in one sitting and loves to pretend that she is in the movie, too, and is, in fact, going to be the littlest Von Trapp -- Gretel -- for Halloween as a result. What exactly does a Gretel costume look like you may wonder? Well, luckily Sophie will believe anything I tell her. Hahaha. So, I made a little jumper dress for her and an apron to go over it and told Sophie that this was it! It actually came out a lot cuter than I was expecting it to and she's quite excited about it.

I love this last picture of her because if you look closely at her hair you will see that it has been freshly "smoothed." Hahaha. She's so hilarious. I don't know what has created the level of vanity she has over her hair, but she is forever "smoothing" her hair back off her face and behind her ears. I'm laughing out loud as I type this because it is that funny to watch her in action. One of these days I'll try to surreptitiously capture her grooming on video. Another funny thing about Sophie is her vocabulary. These are some words I've heard her using lately: "fascinating" -- as in "mom does my hair look fascinating?"; "coincidence"; "predictable" -- when asking "what does predictable mean?"; and "terrified" -- as in "mom, are you terrified we're going to miss the bus?" one afternoon as we were in a hurry to go and pick up the kids from the bus stop. "It means scared" she clarified for me in case I wasn't sure what that meant. Hahahahahaha. I'm pretty sure she's getting all these vocabulary lessons from "Word Girl" on PBS. I'm just impressed she mostly uses them in the right context.

I'm grateful for FREE preschool.
Although I more than pay for it when it's my week to host! Hahaha. Seriously, though, Sophie has been having a BLAST this school year in a little preschool co-op group we started with some friends from church. There are 5 little kids in the group -- two 2 year olds, two 3 year olds, and a 4 year old -- and we take turns teaching each week between the 4 families who are in it. It's only two days a week for a couple of hours, so it's the perfect intro to "school" for the muppet. Here are some pics from last week when I hosted and we learned about Leaves.

I'm grateful for my almost 6 year old.
Grace, Grace, Grace. What can I say? I love my little free spirit. She has taken to Kindergarten like a fish to water and has made fast friends with just about everyone there. For the first few weeks it appeared as though chasing boys on the playground was still a schoolyard staple, but now that she's moved on, I for one am grateful that we are no longer hearing her daily declarations about Alex and how handsome he is and that she wants to marry him when she grows up. Her newest kick is as a "writer" and an "artist" and she has produced copious amounts as each. She joined Girl Scouts with her best little friend Anna, and LOVED her first meeting where they made little presents to exchange for the big Girl Scout Birthday celebration this week. Other exciting things on her agenda were her Pumpkin Patch field trip last week and carving up her pumpkin this weekend.





I am grateful for our friends.
SOOO grateful. I think that this is my most favorite place I've ever lived, and it's in large part due to how QUICKLY we have all made friends. It has been such a blessing. From church, to school, to the neighborhood, we have made so many friends. Our ward is wonderful and I love the kids' school and our neighborhood. There are parks everywhere and we have been experiencing the most perfect fall weather you could ask for. We joined a couple other families to do a Date Night/Babysitting swap, and it has been such a blessing. The kids love playing with their friends on Friday night and we love being able to go on a date and not have to pay for a babysitter. And when it's our turn to babysit it's a piece of cake as we send the kids on down to the basement to play while we keep an eye on the toddlers upstairs. Although I guess I should say it's a piece of cake when Scott is here to help me. Because, oh yeah, I somehow decided that I could handle watching all 9 kids a couple of Fridays ago when Scott was still out of town and wouldn't be back until midnight. What I didn't count on was that Jane didn't go to bed all night long; the other 1 year old had an allergic reaction to something he ate and threw it all up; Sophie had an allergic reaction to some coconut that she insisted on eating even when I told her she probably shouldn't (luckily she only needed some Benadryl as it made her mouth break into welts and turn really itchy); and Ethan, Grace, and their friend Haela decided it would be fun to get out all the paints and art supplies upstairs. By the end of the night I was a bit shell-shocked. It really wouldn't have been so hard if Jane would have just gone to bed like she was supposed to, but oh well. What can you do? It was more than worth it this Friday when we dropped the kiddies off at another house while Scott and I had our first date in about a month.

At the zoo with friends from the ward on a day off from school. Ethan had just moments before tried to put his arm around Haela. Hahaha!


Grace making friends with a baby goat at the petting zoo.

I am grateful for my 7 year old.
I really am. Although it seems as though I am constantly having to reaffirm this to myself these days. He really is such a good kid and when all is said and done, it's not HIS fault he's too intense for practicality. It's my fault -- because he gets it all from me. Hahahaha. My mom provided me with this jewel of a descriptor a few months ago when I was expressing my frustrations to her. She so rightly reminded me that I was the same way as a kid. Which gives me hope that my secret wish for each of my children to have a child JUST like them will come true. Hahaha. Some of Ethan's latest accomplishments include resignation to the fact that he needs to pack his own lunch each morning, insight into the fine art of making his own Ramen, and (my personal favorite and his for a short time) the training necessary to clean all the toilets in the house. Other things he has been enjoying are riding his bike, reading Harry Potter with Scott, and participating in photo shoots with his mother. Oh wait. That last part is not true at all. Hahaha. Getting him to pose for some birthday shots for me yesterday was like pulling teeth, only harder. Not only did I have to give him a good 2 day advance warning to prepare him for its inevitability, I also had to practically dress him myself, and then promise {or lie, as the case may be} that it would only take 1 minute to get the pictures done. Thank goodness I won't have to do this again for another year. Here are the fruits of my labor:








I am grateful for The Parenting Breakthrough.
I bought this book (by Merrilee Boyack) this summer while we were in Utah and I LOVED it. Thanks to this book I have convinced my children that they are (or should be) capable of doing so many things. Like making their own breakfasts and lunches. And cleaning toilets. And doing the laundry (although I'm still working on this one). Even though it is an exhausting and daunting prospect, I WILL raise my children to be responsible, productive, and contributing members of society!!! Hahaha. No, really. This book is awesome -- I highly recommend it to anyone with children.

Well, folks, I think that's it. Not that I'm not grateful for more things, of course, but I believe I have now caught up on EVERYTHING that has been happening with us. Until next time, my dear friends, I bid you adieu. To you and you and you. (Ahahahahaha. A little "Sound of Music" humor to the uninitiated. Hahahaha. It's really late, folks.)