Festival of Lights highlights (without pictures...again)

On the way to the Festival of Lights Sean was laughing really hard and Olivia said, "I'm afraid you're going to hurt yourself. You may have overdosed on happiness."

At the entry of the Festival of Lights there was a giant poinsettia made of lights and I asked, "Who knows what that flower is called?" Sean replied, "I do! It's a...(thinking)...pornosopia!"
(I guess maybe that's a Thanksgiving poinsettia?)

Our first emergency phone call from school

Here's how it went:

Teacher: Hi Deanne. We were at the rug reading a story and Sean was laughing, leaned forward and hit his head and now there's blood everywhere.

(He hit the top of his head on the corner of the metal part that hangs underneath the desk)

Me: Do you think it needs stitches?

Teacher: Possibly. There's really a lot of blood.

Me: I'll be right there.

I had just finished getting a massage and my massage therapist, who also happens to be my good friend, offered to keep David while I went. I called the Dr.'s office to prepare them that we were coming while I was heading to the school. As I entered the office, I saw a whole team of teachers and administrators hovering over Sean's head. At this point I had a real mommy moment. Sean was able to be brave until he saw me, then he started to cry. My heart melted, and I gave him a huge hug. The librarian was wearing plastic gloves and announced that she had finally found the source of the bleeding. Gratefully it was a puncture wound and sealed itself up...no stitches (whew). His head looked like someone had poured red kool-aid on it. We called the Dr.'s office to tell them we weren't coming, then headed home with an ice pack. I told Sean we should go home and get the blood washed off and rest for a while. His response? "But can I just leave it on until my friends come home so they believe what happened to me?" (Don't you love the way a 7 year old's brain works?) I couldn't deny his request for evidence, so we left the blood untouched (luckily a lot of it had washed off with the preliminary dabbing by the librarian and the moisture from the ice pack). Unfortunately our camera battery was dead, so we have no photographic proof, but I'm sure it's vivid in Sean's memory. I'm so grateful he was o.k.

Tagged

I'm still working on remembering the tags I've received, but I will start with an easy one. 4th folder, 4th picture:
This was at our pre-school Halloween party (I taught pre-school at my house a few years back).
I tag anyone who is having a hard time thinking about what to blog about.

Details...

Thanks for all of your words of congratulations. Here are a few more details.

Due Date: June 22nd. (I'm 11 weeks.) It seems really far away, and we wanted to wait until Christmas to announce, but as it turns out, with baby #5, my body knows the drill, and has already started to expand. Unfortunately this is not contained to the belly area (my behind and thighs are in on the secret, and not to be out-done by the belly, they are making their presence known). To all those who are fortunate enough to have "belly only" pregnancies, please take a moment to be thankful.

How I'm feeling: Tired and a little nauseous, but really excited. I can't complain. Pregnancy is like medication for my arthritis. I have very little pain when I'm pregnant (hormones). I heard the heartbeat the day before Thanksgiving, and it sounds strong. That made me very grateful. We approach the first part of pregnancy with cautious optimism (I've had two miscarriages, so it makes it hard to get really excited until we hear a heartbeat).

How the kids are feeling: They are all very excited. Olivia is convinced (wishful thinking) it's a girl, Sean thinks it's a boy, Warren thinks it's twins, and David says I have a boy baby in my tummy and he has a girl baby in his tummy (who he will name "GooseMonster"). One of them is bound to be right.

How I got the stick into the balloon in a sanitary manner: This is for you, Stacy. I toyed with the idea of letting you believe it was still wet when it was inserted in the balloon, and that I made the Macey's employee put it in there, but decided that was a little bit sick and wrong. I assure you it was done in the most sanitary way possible. It was cleaned with a Clorox wipe, then I placed it in the balloon before the machine put air in it. Darin popped the balloon before the kids got home from school, so it was our little secret until the day before Thanksgiving.

What I am craving: Grape Gatorade and Jr. bacon cheeseburgers (from Wendy's). (In case you're interested, with Olivia it was corn dogs, Sean was ice cream, Warren and David were both crunchy tacos from Taco Bell.) Does anyone out there crave things that are GOOD for you when you're pregnant? It kind of makes me sick to read all those things listed together.

At my first appointment I found out my Dr. won't be here when I deliver. He is going on a medical service mission for the church and will leave at the first of the year. I have found a new doctor that will take over in January, but I'm a little sad not to have my Dr. I'm a creature of habit, and I felt so comfortable with him. I'm sure everything will be great with the new Dr.

We'll keep you posted!

A Welcome Home Surprise

A little while back, Darin had been out of town for a week. He came home to this surprise:

Halloween part two

Yes, I realize we are much closer to Thanksgiving than to Halloween, but I had to finish the Halloween post. I think I've had a mental block about posting because I know once Thanksgiving is here we hit the Fast Forward button to Christmas, and I really want this season to last a little longer. Anyway, here are the rest of our Halloween festivities:

A couple of weeks before Halloween we went to Gardener Village to get in the Halloween mood:

I couldn't figure out why it was so blurry, but then I cleaned my lens. "Hey Kam, let me take your picture to see if it's better":
Much better. We made some new friends
used the buddy system:and had lots of fun searching for witches.
On the way home we got a bite to eat, then went to Tai Pan. We saw lots of fun things, and kissed up to the big man:
And here are a few more highlights from Halloween day.

Olivia and "Mr. Jude" the substitute:

Sean and "Miss Crest Toothpaste":

Warren and "Miss Fancy Nancy":
And David, courtesy of the clown photographer from the back seat:Other fun David Halloween memories included "Chuck-a-cheesing" (trick or treating), and being obsessed with his Elmo bucket, which he "needed" several times over the days following Halloween. I think his first words the morning after were, "I need my Elmo bucket." I leave you with a song we heard several times throughout the Halloween season. My mom taught this song to my kids, and they loved it.

(here are the lyrics in case you can't understand. Please excuse the Hot Wheels skates that make several appearances throughout the taping)

It's Halloween, the lamps are lit

around the fire the children sit

telling ghost tales bit by bit

and sister Jane says, "hush"

who's that creeping cross the kitchen floor

who's that peeking round the bedroom door

who's that screeching like his throat is sore

It's a GOBLIN!

Halloween part one

I have been wanting to do a family theme for Halloween for a long time. This year was going to be our year to do Wizard of Oz. It was perfect. One girl, three boys. Dorothy, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion. I forgot that my kids are too old and too cool. Check out our costumes to see if you can tell which theme we went with:

The Dragon


The Motocross Dude

Legolas (with a haircut. He claimed the wig made him look like a girl)

The clown

The pirate and the witch

Still not getting it? Let me put it all together for you.
Yeah. There's no theme whatsoever, but we had a great time!

Brunch

I love brunch. It sounds like such a sophisticated event, when really it's just a whole lot of fun and good food. I got together with some high school friends last month, and we had a great time catching up! I have to say I'm impressed with how much catching up we did with the plethora of kids that accompanied us. As we were sitting, several groups of older women came in sans kids. Some of them even smiled at us. I hope we didn't ruin their brunch, but I don't think we did. I'm sure they remember what it was like. I remember hoping that as I grow old, brunch with these fine ladies (and others) will still be on my calendar. I'm sure we'll smile at the young mothers and remember what it was like.

Kindergarten do-over

Warren started Kindergarten this year. He was so excited, and didn't seem nervous at all. I signed up to go to the school every day for the first week to get the children on the right buses. On the second day Warren's teacher pulled me aside and told me that he "really struggled" with talking too much, and wondered if I could talk to him about it. I was stunned. I know he isn't perfect, but I didn't think he was "that kid". Isn't "that kid"(the kid whose parents get a "talking to" on the second day of school) the one who punches other kids for no reason? I did talk to Warren when we got home and he said he and Austin (a very good friend from the neighborhood) were talking when they were at the rug with the class, and the teacher asked them to go to their desks to put their heads down at their desks for the rest of rug time. My motherly instincts kicked in, and I immediately had a pit in my stomach, knowing that he needed a change of environment in order to succeed. I feel strongly that Kindergarten really shapes a child's attitude of school, and I knew in my gut that if we had a chat with the teacher on the second day, it was going to be a long year, and I didn't want the stigma to follow him. I know that a lot of people would say that it was only the second day, and that we should have given it a chance. I can't explain how I knew, it was one of those mother moments, and I never doubted for a second my decision to make a change. I worried about calling the teacher because I really like her as a person (she was Olivia's 2nd grade teacher, and we loved her), but I knew I had to do it. I called her the next morning (the third day of school) to tell her about my concerns. I told her that I didn't think any class would work in AM since he had a really good friend in all of the classes, and asked if there was a possibility of him moving to PM. She talked to the PM teacher and discovered that there was a girl in PM whose mom wanted to switch to AM, so within 20 minutes I got a phone call saying not to send him to school in the morning and to send him in the afternoon that day. I talked to Warren and told him what had happened and he was so sad. All of his friends are in AM, and he loved riding the bus with them and playing with them after school. Even with his tears, I knew I had made the best decision for him. I was giving him a pep talk before he went to school, reminding him that he would make new friends, and to make sure he listened when his teacher was talking. His response broke my heart. He said, "I know. Because if I get in trouble I have to start Kindergarten ALL over again!" I assured him that the switch wasn't made because he got in trouble, but that I wanted him to have a great year in Kindergarten, and PM was the best place for that to happen, and that it works better for our family's schedule to have him in PM. About a week into the new schedule I talked to the new teacher, and said she had no problems with him at all. I felt better as the weeks went on that he was talking about all his friends from his class, and even better when I went to Parent/Teacher conferences and found out that he is still doing well. He is excited about learning, goes to school happy, and comes home happy!

Here he is with his "getting to know me" poster:

And a close-up of the poster:And while we're on the subject of Warren, I'll include another picture. This was laundry day, and I had washed and dried three loads of laundry, and then ignored their pleas to be folded. I was getting ready to accomplish the folding and putting away, but Warren found the massive pile of freshly washed and dried clothes to be the perfect place to have an after school nap!

True Love

My husband loves me. He is a true family man, and I have never doubted his devotion to us. He proved this beyond a shadow of a doubt last night when my kids REALLY wanted to go see Beverly Hills Chihuahua with their cousins. I offered to take the kids to the movie while he watched the BYU game, and he still opted to come with us...and pay full price for a movie that was surprisingly not on his list of "must sees". (We were secretly hoping that the movie would be sold out, but our hopes were dashed when we saw exactly two cars in the parking lot. We "enjoyed" an almost private screening.) Now that's true love!

p.s. even though it wasn't my favorite movie, and the whole pampered dog thing is nausea inducing, it did have a couple of good one-liners.

The Fete-tivities

Since I wasn't feeling well when Fete Day rolled around, our festivities were delayed a month or so! We celebrated with the fam this year, and we had a blast!

This year's color: ORANGE

This year's activity: talent show (including clogging, knock-knock jokes, dance, and my impression of the instrument at the dentist's office that sucks all the water and saliva out--it's impressive) and putting together packages (all orange) for the nephews who are away (Parker, Jordan, and Tyler)

Here are some pics of the fun-filled evening:

Watching the talent show

The Orange Parade:

Victoria

Hannah, Sarah, and Victoria

Grandpa and Grandma...What good sports!

Laura, Spencer, Max & Hunter

Mark, Janet, Jason

Michelle, Tanner, Renae

Kirsten, Rob, Camille

Rylee, Brad, Jodi, Jeff

Kamryn, Coleman, Lexi

Our fam

It was crazy fun!

The punch line

We hear a lot of jokes around here. Sean is the master joke teller and always appreciates a good joke. Last night after family night, we found some jokes in the Friend magazine (July 2008). Warren decided he would give joke telling a try, so after Darin had told him a few jokes, Warren tried them out on me. He had a couple of successful attempts: (Darin had already shared all these jokes with me, so I did my best to pretend I didn't know)

Warren: What kind of flower roars?
Me: Um, a roaring flower?
Warren: A Dandelion!

Warren: What does the sun drink from?
Me: I don't know, what?
Warren: Sunglasses!

He was feeling pretty good about his perfectly delivered jokes, so he tried his hand at another one. This one proved to be a little more tricky. Here's how the joke is supposed to go. What did the pig put on his sunburn? OINKMENT! Here's Warren's attempt.

Warren: What did the pig put on his sunburn?
Me: Aloe Vera?
Warren: Pig Oink!

We were all laughing pretty hard, including Warren. He asked, "What was it again?" Then we replied "Oinkment", and explained why it was funny.

This morning, Warren found the magazine on the couch and decided to try again:

Warren: What did the pig put on his sunburn?
Me: I don't know, what?
Warren: Pigment! DANG! What is it again?
Me: Oinkment

Attempt #3
Warren: What did the pig put on his sunburn?
Me: Um...I don't know
Warren: OINKment! Finally!

Because it made me laugh...

A kink in my neck

Last night Darin and I had a visitor in our bed in the form of a very sad two year old. The cry that brought him to our bed was an intense scared cry, and he was anxious to be consoled. As I snuggled him next to me, I realized that his sadness required the "every inch of my body must be touching yours" kind of reassurance. David was invited to snuggle up next to Dad, but only Mom would do. After he had calmed down, I looked over to see the mile and a half in between Darin and I and tried to move David to the middle so we all (meaning I) could sleep comfortably. His tears started again, and he once again molded to my body. I was hanging off the edge of the bed, my neck was twisted in an inhuman position, and I was tempted to be annoyed about it. Then my mind went where it has been often lately, to Stephanie and Christian Nielson. I don't know them. In fact, I hadn't even discovered NieNie's blog until after the plane crash. But, like many in the blogging world I was instantly smitten, and I spent much of my computer time reading past entries, then reading about their recovery. So in the very early hours of the morning with a sleeping child next to me, my tears started. I thought about how grateful the Nielson children would be to be able to snuggle up to their parents, and how anxious Christian and Stephanie would be to allow it if it were possible. I thought of how fragile life is, and how important it is to live every day with purpose. My heart broke for the whole family, and at the same time I was touched by their faith, their strength, and their commitment to each other. My tears turned into a prayer. I prayed for the recovery of Christian and Stephanie, the children, the extended family, the doctors, the family of the flight instructor who died, peace for all involved, and then I was filled with an immense sense of gratitude. Gratitude for the opportunity to be a wife and a mother to an amazing husband and beautiful children. Gratitude for the gospel. Gratitude for the peace that can only come through the whisperings of the Spirit. I fell asleep with this sense of peace and with a strong and heartfelt desire to to better. To be the kind of wife and mother I know I am capable of. To be a little more kind. To "enjoy the journey" instead of endure it. To smile more and frown less. To praise more and criticize less. The thing about tragedy is that it forces us to take a step back and look at the big picture; to help us re-prioritize and see again what really matters. I am a stranger to these people, and yet their life and their struggles have been a big part of a profound life lesson learned. I pulled David closer to me, kissed his sweaty head, and put my arm around him. I awoke to a substantial kink in my neck; the result of the position of sleep through the night. I used it as a reminder for the lessons I learned in the wee hours of the morning. Every time I turned my head, I remembered to be grateful for my many blessings. I came downstairs this morning, and instead of thinking about donating to the Nielson fund, I did it. My contribution will likely not pay for much, but my donation added to the thousands of others who have already donated will make a difference. (If you want to donate, click here.) I am also planning on ordering this necklace. It will be my reminder when the kink in my neck is gone.

"I need" and other David-isms

I know I just did a post about David, but there are some David-isms I need to write about before I forget.

-He is very in touch with his feminine side. He doesn't mind dressing up, and he even has a doll. It is one of Olivia's old dolls, and he re-named her Tasha (hopefully not after the demon cat). Pictured below is David after (one of the many times) Olivia and Lily dressed him up (this time Lily did the dressing up and Liv was the photographer). He will sit still through manicures, pedicures, and hairstyles. While I was getting ready to paint my toenails one day he came in and said, "Mom, can you paint my nails?"

- He doesn't want anything, but he "needs" lots of things. "I need a hold you" "I need a treat" "I need my silky" "I need a watch a movie". I finally figured out that it is because when he is sad I say, "What do you need, buddy?"
- One day Darin was eating a jolly rancher, and David said, "Wha have?" Darin said, "Nada". to which David replied, "I need a nada". He now thinks all sucky candies are called "nada".
-He calls flip flops "foot lops"
- He calls jammies "jazzeem"
-He asks me to "bowl" his food when it's too hot "Mom, bowl it."
-Here is a recent conversation about eyebrows:
David (while touching my eyebrows): Mom, you got eyebrows?
Me: Yes. I have eyebrows.
David: It's kinda like hair.
-His favorite ways to say "I love you"(that I may have forced on him because he sounds so stinking cute when he says them): I love you so much, I love your guts, and I love you to the moon and back!

A scare

Last night at about 8:45 we got a knock at the door asking if we had seen Eric. He is fairly new to our neighborhood and had been missing for about an hour. My heart sank as I put myself in the mother's shoes. I went outside to see ambulances, fire trucks, police cars, 4-wheelers, and neighbors knocking on doors and sharing information to see if anyone had ideas about where he could be. Fortunately the search was successful. He was found two neighborhoods away inside a friend's house; the result of some of the door knocking that took place. We were all very much relieved as we saw him walk home with his grandma, apparently unaware of the anxiety and heartache he had caused. (I'm sure he had a little talking to when he got home!) Not only did this teach me how great our neighbors are, but we also got a little chuckle at the end of the evening as we heard the kids talk about their feelings. As the search party passed Teague's house he (Teague) said to Eric, "You scared the lungs right out of me." and then as we got home Warren said, "That totally freaked my heart out!" We were all grateful for a happy ending and a few giggles that will last a while!

Monkey Boy

Our little boy (David) loves snacks. He is also part monkey. So if his pleas for snacks go un-heeded, he simply helps himself. The first time he did this he yelled, "Mom, can you get me down?" He is capable of climbing down himself, but doing so while holding a treat in one hand can be tricky. The second time he did this I took a picture, and now we keep the pantry locked!

Ready or not...

...there they go.

This time last year I felt so on the ball. This year, not so much. This year I feel like I'm UNDER the ball, feeling its weight pressing down on me. I'm not sure how it happened, but summer is over. I think I was in denial about school starting, but whether or not I felt like it was time I now have three of my four in school! It's probably just what we need--to be back on a schedule and a routine, but so far we've been a little (o.k. a lot) inconsistent about the routine. I'm sure it will come (fingers crossed). In the meantime, I'm just trying my best to keep my battle with paperwork in control (field trip permission slips, emergency contact info, disclosure documents, reading logs, homework logs, etc.). Liv and Sean started last week, and Warren's first day was today. I was surprised that I didn't get emotional. Warren has been so excited so it made it hard to get sad. Here are some more pictures of the first day(s) of school. (I didn't get any more of Liv because her carpool came right as we were taking the first picture).
Here are some of Sean's first day. (My standard for clothes has decreased dramatically. I used to say that my kids would never wear characters on their clothes. This year we are blessed to own an "every shade of green possible" Yoda shirt AND a rainbow Hannah Montana shirt (for Olivia obviously). I guess you could say that is one battle I have chosen not to fight.)
I made Sean take another picture with a bigger smile.
Here he is with his bus buddies Cameron and Jaden:Getting on the bus:This next picture is my absolute favorite! Warren and David waving good-bye to all the kids.
We weaned David slowly from his siblings. He had one week with Warren before he was left with just Mom. This morning we headed to the bus stop, and I was nervous David would be sad, but he was just fine. I'm going to enjoy having lots of one on one time with my littlest guy (probably more than he'll enjoy it, but I'm sure he'll manage!)
Here are Warren's bus buddies Ivan and Joe:
There they go!!!And now I'm off to the school to ride the bus with the Kindergartners to make sure they all get where they're supposed to go. I think it will be a great year!