Grouchy

I'm grouchy today.

Grouchy that the house is a mess.
Grouchy because I am going to be the one who has to clean it.
Grouchy that no matter how much time she has, Madison will not get ready for school on time.
Grouchy Grouchy because I'm extremely unhappy about what will be happening in the month of May. (Ask me in person and I'll explain)
Grouchy because of hormones.
Grouchy.

At least I have this: 

(*and yes, I let him go like this when we went to take a late Madison to school)

And this:

"Once upon a time a cowgirl had a fast horse. She livd whith her mom and dad and her crazy dog in the whest. One day a stranger followde a path to her house. He askted her to go with him. She rilly dident want to go bot he said if she dident he wod shoot her. Her mom and dad herd him so thay ran out and got thare guns in thare hands. He was about to shoot her but her dad got in front of her and said do not shoot my doter. The next day it was her birthay he came back and ges what she said she said she wants to marry him they livd happy ever after. The Eend."  (Madison)

Shoe Tying

A few months ago I bought Madison some sneakers with shoelaces. In other words, it was time to learn how to tie. I gave Joe the assignment because I had previously been unsuccessful.

About 5 minutes later (or less) he said, "Good job! You are a fast learner." I abruptly turned around and said, "What? She can do it already? Impossible." Madison showed me her new skill, and I thought, "Wow! Joe is a good teacher!" I praised her and Joe for their good work.

Then Madison pulls me into the kitchen and whispers into my ear, "Don't tell Dad, but I already knew how."

what we've been doing:

Things I found around the house:

 Logan's schedule.
Click on it to enlarge.
Notice what time he gets up?
Yeah. . . 

Madison's "teast" (test). 

No matter how early we get her up, she will use the time

to not get ready for school. The thing is, she makes Logan tardy, 

but her teacher never marks her tardy! 

One day we really got onto her about getting

ready more quickly, and I think this is her plan

to be on time. 

Also, it looks like both kids are fighting over 

who gets to set the table.

I got tired of all the backpacks, shoes, and jackets piling up 

at the bottom of the stairs. Ideally, they all have a place

in the kids' rooms, but it just wasn't happening! Now there is a 

hook for each child. I don't know what we'll do if there is a #5. 

 We have a huge bathroom at this house--not fancy, 

but huge. I've been thinking for a while that it was 

a little out of control--I avoided cleaning it because

I just didn't love being there. For about $20, and using what I already

had, I got it cleaned up and feeling a little bit nicer. 

 I wanted something on the walls, but you know me--it 

needs to mean something. Also, art is kind of expensive.

Someday I will get something cooler (and bigger), but for now. . .

I bought some $3 frames from WalMart  and 

put in some pictures from China. 

 Joe took most of them--this is before we had
digital cameras and photoshop.

Isn't he an amazing photographer?

In real life they look even better, because here you can see

my shadows and the flash from the camera. Plus,

it's a picture of a picture.

 The top one is us on the Great Wall of China. 

I still want to put more on the walls, and I want something 

 on the divider between the tub and toilet, but

for now, I love it!! 

The humans are all alive

Lost a fish this week. We tried adding two Cories to the tank (I'm hoping that they will somehow magically clean the bottom of the tank so that I don't have to, hahaha). One died the next morning and I had to be the one to get it out and flush. :( I named the other Cory "Dracula" because it is white, ugly, and has fangs. The gal at petsmart said it would die without a friend to school with. She had some tongue rings, so I guess she knows what she's talking about, and I am expecting the worst.

Logan and Madison had their first soccer games today. Madison made a goal. And touched the ball with her hands. Joe went to Logan's game (that was at the same time) and reported back that he did well (except when he kicked the ball towards the wrong goal). Having never played or even seen a soccer game, I think today went well. I expect much improvement over the next ten weeks. I will also take pictures.

Today we went for the hike I've been wanting to take for over a month. It was perfect outside. And it wasn't paved!! It's kind of odd to have to drive 30+ minutes and pay money in order to walk in nature--I grew up just crossing the street to take a walk in the woods. Joe carried Ammon in the backpack, Grant and I walked 5 minutes behind everyone else, and Logan and Madison spent the time running back and forth between Dad and Mom. Logan wore his soccer gear plus dress shoes (I guess he forgot his change of clothes). Madi wore a sweater and capris, and Grant wore his jacket upside down.  It was a lovely day. 

Introducing: Sally, Pally, Master, and Blackcoon

I don't do pets. But as Joe and I were talking about something meaningful to get Madison for Christmas we talked extensively about her love for animals. At first we considered getting her one of those "fur real" pets that you put batteries in and they walk and bark and pant. But, honestly, she has so many stuffed animals that I am constantly sneakily stuffing them in plastic garbage bags. When we rented out the house we are in--we actually asked the owner to add "no pets" to the contract so we would have a good excuse to give the kids every time they asked for a cat or dog. But then Joe suggested a fish and I thought maybe I could handle a fish. We got permission from the landlord and bought Madison a fish tank for Christmas.

One month later. . . I took Madison to Pet Smart last Saturday and talked to a nice employee for about an hour. I kept emphasizing that we needed something that "was hard to kill" and would "stay alive easily."  I don't know if he thought I was nuts, but he helped us through buying a different fish tank*, getting gravel, chemicals to add to the water, bacteria to add to the water, fish food, and most importantly: fish.

It's been over 72 hours and they are still alive. 

I'm feeling pretty good about this.

Madison is getting ready for school faster than she ever has in her life because if she isn't ready for school by 7:20 then someone else gets to feed the fish. The ultimate threat.

If the fish stay alive for a few more weeks we will go back to get a live plant to put in the box at the bottom.

Can you find all the fish? I tried to figure out a way to circle them, but it was taking too much time.

And, finally, Madison let Logan and Grant name 2 of the fish. Can you guess who chose which names? 

*The fish tank we originally got was less durable and did not have a light. I decided to spend a little more on this one because it actually looked decent, and since it would be living on our kitchen counter I wanted something that looked nice. . . but then I got home and realized that maybe an open fish tank (in the kitchen, no less, which is messy. . . and then I read that fish in the kitchen are "bad chi." oops) with four little kids might not be my most brilliant act. Time will tell.

Madison tells it like it really is:

"My house has six people.
It smells like (disgusting) trash and (yucky) diapers.
It looks giant."

or

"My house smells like trash and dirty diapers."

Which one do you like better?

When I laughed and put this on here Madison got very upset and said (and I quote), "Don't laugh. Those are good describing words."

Yes, Madison, yes they are.

Maybe I should rethink the WalMart-brand of scentsy.

The Symptoms

On Friday (Joe's birthday, no less), I got out of the shower at 8:30 a.m. (yah, I 'm lazy) and noticed I had 7--SEVEN--missed calls. My showers aren't that long, so I knew someone was really trying to get hold of me. I had two messages--one from the school nurse telling me that Madison was sick, and one from Joe telling me that Madison threw up at school.

I felt kind of bad, because that morning she had been whining about being tired and not wanting to go to school, but I brushed it off and told her she'd have fun once she got there. She normally loves school, so I should have listened and thought to myself, "Something must be wrong. She doesn't normally act this way."

I loaded the kids up in the van and went to pick her up at school. When we got home I told her to get her jammies on and to lay down and watch a movie in the play room. Her words: "Yay! Being sick is kind of fun." She watched a few movies (and Grant got to profit form her sickness, too). I made macaroni and cheese for lunch, and Madison begged to eat it. "Girl, you just threw up! You can't eat mac and cheese!" The rest of the day I gave her the BRAT diet--applesauce, dry toast, apple juice. She was running around and playing and laughing. Definitely not sick symptoms.

The next morning she was lethargic and begged to eat some cold cereal. I think she was just weak from not eating much the day before. She gobbled up 3 bowls of cereal, an apple, apple juice, and toast. 

Yesterday Logan started saying he didn't feel well, so we kept him in and let him watch movies and read books all day. This morning we figured he had somehow skipped the throwing up part and told him to start getting ready for church. All of a sudden, he said, "I'm gonna' throw up!" We grabbed the bowl and let him do his thing, and then told him to go watch some church movies. I stayed home with him and Ammon (who now has his first fever, poor baby). That was about 11:00. I started warming up leftover (homemade) mac and cheese for lunch and Logan begged me to let him eat some. 

Logan has been feeling fine the rest of the day. For dinner I made some chili. I asked Logan what sounded good to him, and he said cold cereal. The other kids were wildly jealous and wishing they had been sick today while they ate chili and salivated over Logan's rice crispies. 

Apparently this illness includes 1 throwing up incident, and cravings for mac and cheese and cold cereal. Very interesting. I'm not complaining, though.

As I mentioned, Ammon woke up from his afternoon nap with a 102. 5 fever--his first illness. We gave him some infant tylenol and he is now happily crawling around. He is still eating fine (I gave him a freeze-pop--another first, and he loved it). It is so hard to hold your little baby and feel him burning up. As a parent, I would happily feel sick for him (except that then it would be hard to take care of him, so I am glad I'm not sick). The other kids did not have a fever, so I don't know if he has it because his body is smaller or if it is a different sick germ. 

I am sure Grant will be feeling sick soon. That's the way it goes when you have kids. 

In honor of Thanksgiving, we've been making feathers with blessings to put on Mr. Tom Turkey (I'll include a pic someday). Today I am thankful for good health, and for living in this time period; I know that not too long ago a sick child with a high fever or vomiting could be something very dangerous and uncertain. While I definitely wish we could avoid the sick germs, I am grateful for good doctors and medicine. 

10:00 a.m.

The Cafeteria.

Madison came home with this paper she wrote about the cafeteria. Click on it if you want to see her very tidy handwriting. But if you just want to know what it says:

The cafeteria has food.

The cafeteria sounds loud.

The cafeteria smells great.

Oh to be six again. :)

As Promised

Back to school pics plus some. . .

Let's see: Grandma and Grandpa got Madi this outfit for her birthday. The shirt came with a super cute scarf that I thought we should tie in her hair, but she flat out refused, which surprised me because last year she begged me to buy her scarves. I bought her some cute sneaks, but without her, and they ended up being too big. She'll grow into them, right? So anyway, we compromised by sending her old sneaks in the backpack and wearing these adorable sandals that I would wear if they fit. I'm pretty sure she changed into the old ratty sneakers as soon as she got to school. She's persistent, I guess, and I've decided to save our fights for more important things.

I got Logan some back to school clothes, but found this snazzy cross-country shirt at a Salvation Army for $0.50. I thought it looked cool (plus I ran cross country for 6 years and haven't run a mile since). . . kind of like something from American Eagle, not that my 7-year old boy needs to be wearing stuff from American Eagle. Anyway, I bought him other new shirts, including one that had Yoda and one that had Spiderman (which I would never love, but thought he would), so I was actually really surprised that this was the outfit he chose to wear on the first day of school. He's cool like that.

And Grantee? Well he picked out his clothes too. Stripes and plaid. We didn't go anywhere today; we just stayed home and played together and cleaned up a few rooms. So I let him wear this all day. Hey--I'm cool like that (yesterday I let him wear his church pants backwards at church. OK, really I didn't notice that he'd put them on backwards until the middle of sacrament meeting and then decided to leave them. . . his teachers understand, right?!). Also, he got a little teary-eyed when Logan and Madi climbed into the back of Daddy's car, but then we went inside and life went on. . . although even I found myself thinking a few times that the house was a little too quiet.

I think everyone had a good day at school. Logan loves his teacher, Madison loves hers. Logan says second grade is "way too easy." They rode the bus home together and I called when it was taking too long to arrive to make sure that they weren't lost somewhere wondering where I was. Call me paranoid. Then I had a good long chat with the bus driver because I was MAD when she dropped the kids off on the wrong bus stop without an adult there to pick them up. . . something that the bus company reassured me (that morning) would not happen when I told them I was worried that the kids would not recognize the new neighborhood we lived in. I am lucky (and the bus company is very lucky) that I noticed 2 kids wearing bright yellow and bright pink walking in the distance. Seriously, what was that bus driver thinking? I kept trying to get them to tell me about their day, they kept asking me if they could play on the computer. The supper table conversation was a little more entertaining than usual, though. All in all, it was a good day.

I think Madi took this picture of Grant. I certainly wouldn't have taken one showing how messy her room was. But oh well. This is reality. :) The problem is that her room is too cool, and even when she's not around, all Grant wants to do is play in there. Not a good idea when Madison is in school.

And here is Madi talking on the phone. Cute girl, cute dress, although I was thinking that I should probably stop buying things for her that I would like to wear. Oh, and notice my treadmill not set up in the background. Yeah. . . working on that.

Where is Ammon? For the first time in a very long time he took two very long and much needed naps, one of which was after lunch and during Grant's naptime (which we still struggled with). I think by the end of the week I should have these boys re-trained. Yay!

Six Girly Years Gone By

OK. . . seriously. . . aren't you just laughing at the variety of clothes my children are wearing?! It is so revealing of everyone's personalities. Logan is up bright and early and already dressed for church. Madison is wearing WINTER pajamas in the middle of summer in Texas, and Grant has on his pajama bottoms and no shirt. HAH!! I love it!

The kids spent the entire day in front of the playhouse. At least there is a boy doll and an airplane there. . .right?

(can you tell the outside is white and the inside a very light shade of purple?) Also, I don't know where the rest of the Barbie furniture is. That was fast!

Wahoo!

I should be snoozing in my bed. . . but since the only time I seem to have to myself is late at night I am creating another tired day tomorrow. Ah well. Such is life. :)

Madison turned SIX yesterday, and I couldn't help but stare at her all day and try to remember what it felt like to cradle her in my arms. I can remember getting her ready for bed and just giggling together. I can remember her reaching up to me and saying, "Pick you up! Pick you up!" She meant, of course, "pick me up!" A million little memories I can remember, but the only way I can remember what she looked at throughout the years is to look through pictures. (click here to see her 3rd b-day.) I just spent too much time looking through old photos and wondering which sibling she looks like. ? I wish I had gotten a picture of her in her church clothes; she looked so cute today! I'm so grateful for cameras!! I love having a little girl. She is spunky and spicy and oh so sweet.

This year I bought her a huge doll house from craigslist (for a steal of a deal) and painted it for her. I found some barbie furniture on sale after Christmas. I've been hanging on to her birthday presents for so long that I'm not sure how much of a surprise it really was. Still, she loves it. In fact, Logan and Grant love it too. Even Joe hasn't said anything about the boys playing Barbies with Madison.

Six things you should know about Madison:

1. Madison is our social butterfly. She gets her people skills from her daddy.

2. Madison is a girly tomboy. For example, she likes to carry around purses. . . filled with cars. I think it's a happy medium. :)

3. Madison has the longest tongue I have ever seen (but only because I can't see mine).

4. Madison loves to help. She wants to help me cook and clean and take care of baby Ammon. I need to soak it in all I can before she changes her mind.

5. Madison loves to write. I find notes all over the place. . . some that say "I love you," some that say "you made me sad today" and some that have lists of everything and anything you can think of. The day we left she hurriedly scribbled a note on a pink card and passed it through the window to Grandma and Grandpa that said, "I just wanted to say I love you." Awww!

6. Madison can be very sweet and loving. . . or downright mean. It's a glimpse of what we've got coming the next few years. What I've found, though, is that she mirrors me. . . so that's some responsibility I've got, huh?

6 1/2. Madison has the BEST conversations to eavesdrop on (is that how you say it?). A few weeks ago when we were at my parent's house she was talking to my grandma (her great-grandma) about the Star Wars movies. Some how it led to the war in heaven. Then I heard something that went like this.

Grandma: Oh, I don't like the war in heaven.

Madi: Yeah, I guess you're going to be going there pretty soon.

Grandma: Then I'll get to see my sweetheart.

Madi: What do dead people look like?

Grandma: Oh, they look like happy people who are sleeping in a pretty box.

Madi: Well, I'm sure gonna miss you.

Well I was shaking with laughter and slightly horrified, but my grandma wasn't offended and I guess it was actually a really sweet conversation about death.

I just love her to pieces. She's beautiful. But more importantly, she's smart and good and sweet and she's mine!!

Her she is doing a hand-clap with my mom. Can't figure out how to turn it, so you'll just have to turn your head!

30 minutes of after-school social skills

Logan (7): plays tag, Star Wars/Transformers, jumps off of the swing

Madison (5): walks around holding hands with her friend, hugs every friend and teacher who leaves the school

Grant (3): swings, goes down the slide, runs 10 feet behind Logan and his friends

Ammon (7 weeks): sits in the stroller, looks around, breathes deeply every time a gust of wind blows in his face, looks pretty darn cute

*note: Logan, who is reading this over my shoulder, says, "Looks pretty dam(n) cute." Had to show him that it's daRn, and that the other word is actually a bad word.

Four Weeks??!!

Seriously, where does the time go?

A few things about Ammon at 4 weeks:

• He's a baby. He cries sometimes.
• But, luckily, we've always been able to soothe him by holding him and
• He loves his pacifier. What a blessing!
• He's a pretty good napper.
• He just started sleeping pretty well in his crib.
• He will sleep about 5-6 hours at night, eat, and go back to sleep.
• If I need him to nap, I buckle him in the car seat, set him on top of the dryer, and turn it on. Wah-lah. It's magic.
• Instead of blow-outs, Ammon leaves little poops for me pretty much every diaper change. I'll take it. :)
• He can sleep through anything. In fact, I'm pretty sure that kids playing, vacuums running, and loud noises in general are his thing.
• He's the first of my babies that hasn't had a major pimple break-out. Knock on wood.
• He likes tummy-time more than my other kids did. Maybe because when he gets tired of it he just sets his big head to the side and the rest of his body rolls over. Or he's just the smartest baby ever, right? ;)
• He's got some big brothers and a big sister who adore him.
• Ammon was blessed 2 Sundays ago. Both Joe's parents and my parents were able to come, which was so wonderful! What stuck out: He is going to be a peacemaker in our family, a good example to his brothers and sisters, and he will live his life as a missionary. This last part really stuck out to me, because he has already become a missionary! We have found, and my parents have also commented, that people have never heard of the name "Ammon." We've had many ask us where it came from, and I know that Ammon is going to be explaining his name for the rest of his life. I hope he doesn't mind. :)

And the other kids?

• I just finalized this: Logan and Madison will be attending the Watson Science and Technology Center next year. We received a letter in the mail last fall telling us that Logan's grades and test scores qualified him for the Tech. and Classical schools in Dallas. I went to a meeting to see what it was all about and decided that if Madison could get in then we would send them both to the S&T Center. She went through 2 rounds of testing and was also accepted. What does this mean? Well, besides riding a bus, wearing uniforms, and doing extra homework, they will be in a pretty awesome school program. I'm a little nervous because I've enjoyed having them so close to home, but I think in the long run this will be a great thing for them.
• Logan just finished the 3rd Harry Potter. He's 7. I don't know how I feel about this. He understands it and really likes the series. As an English teacher (well, I have the degree), I never thought I would be for book censoring, but I just don't know that he is old enough to read Harry Potter. We told him he could watch the movies after he read the books, but he will have to wait with movie #4 because it is pg-13. Any thoughts on this topic?
• Madison is such a cute girl. She is just getting into the social scene. She and her little friends have been sending each other cute pictures with notes that go something like this, "Der Vivi, You are my best frend. Lov, Madi."
• Grant failed his last hearing test (he can hear fine, but this one sent tiny air-waves or something, that got stuck in his ear canal and didn't bounce back??? Something like that--it has to do with pressure in his ear). The last test he had he also had pressure in his ears, so now he's on an anti-biotic and allergy medicine to see if that clears it up, but if it doesn't clear up by his next visit then we will talk about what to do next. I am hopeful that this will help to improve his speech even more.

Madison-2

If you look closely, you will see Madison's holey mouth. We woke up Tuesday morning to a very sad story about a tooth that apparently fell out in the middle of the night and was probably swallowed. Oops. After a few tears, and many jokes about teeth biting her tummy, and optimistic comments about no pain and no blood, we decided that a note to the Tooth Fairy was in order. She received a special note back and a Sacajawea $1 coin. Happily, it seems that Madison's happy countenance (she's been very grumpy and out of sorts lately) returned after losing tooth #2. Whew!

Growing Up

As an adult, it seems like it would be frightening to lose one of your teeth. As a child, it is a sign that you are growing up.

Madison was ecstatic to lose her first tooth last week--a whole year earlier than Logan lost his first tooth. Logan was a little jealous when he first found out her tooth was wiggly; he told her to anticipate blood and lots of pain. Madison just shrugged it off and told him the Tooth Fairy would bring her 100 dollars. The Tooth Fairy DID come, but only left 100 pennies. :)

Note: tooth #2 is scheduled to fall out any day now.

The FAM

Logan: Our ace-reader and great helper. He especially loves to read Star-Wars novels. I loved loved loved his reaction when I brought home a Darth Vador costume (that I found at a thrift store!)--which is who he wants to be for Halloween. He makes his bed and picks up his room each day before he goes to school. He's reached the age that he no longer complains about what is on his plate. He is ready and willing to do whatever we ask of him. He shows empathy for everyone around him. He is always cheerful and helpful. Is this normal? Or do we just have a really awesome kid?

Madison: Our social butterfly. She makes friends wherever she goes. Since starting kindergarten, she has developed a love for skirts, necklaces, and staring into the mirror. She and Grant like to play. And fight. Wait--switch those two. They like to fight. She would rather spend 2 hours cleaning her room than 5 minutes every morning. Still waiting for her to rejoice over our dinner selections. She gives great hugs.

Grant: Decided everyone leaving for the day wasn't so bad--after a few days of trying to sneak out with his backpack. He gets mommy all to himself. He has no one to fight with, and no one to tell mom that he is sitting on the counter pulling treats from the candy jar. The first thing he does every morning is dump out the ginormous car-box. Thanks, Grant. He would like to watch movies (Elmo and Cars), but he recently broke the DVD player while trying to install one on his own. An Early Childhood Intervention specialist is coming to our home on Tuesday to see if he needs a little shove in the language development department. The pediatrician actually said he's not too far behind (I think because he does in fact talk--you just can't understand a word of what he is saying), but Mom said, "Please! We are both frustrated that he can't communicate very well." While I want my guy to not have any problems, I'd LOVE to understand him! He has a wonderful sense of humor and likes to play jokes on everyone.

Dad: Working hard to take care of his demanding family. He's awesome. His advertising is really paying off, and I think that we will soon know that going out on our own was a wise and rewarding decision. I still have my moments. :) But can I brag for a moment? He's been going to court about 1-2 times a week. Last week after presenting his case in front of a judge he got 2 phone calls within a few hours from people who had seen him in court and wanted him to be their attorney. That's the best kind of advertising, I'd say!

Mom: Hanging in there, doing mom-things. I love it. Well, most of it. Anyone want to potty-train Grant? How about clean the fridge? But this family--it's mine!!

Until next time..........

Do You Ever...

Tell your kids that if they finish their dinner in 10 minutes they can watch a movie?

Logan came to me 5 minutes later and asked if he could help Madison finish her food.

When I said, "That's nice, but she really needs to eat something," he went into her and said,

"Sorry. Mom says I can't help you. But I'll feed you."

They watched WallE.

For you, DAD!

Hey Dad, lions are my favorite animals, better than anything else I like. I like it the best. I like the boy lions the best, but this girl lion was the only one we could see at the zoo yesterday and it was hiding. When I see lions it makes me very happy to see them.

I love you,

Logan

Dad, this is my favorite animal. I love zebras. I love giraffes too.

Love,

Madison

We are looking at giraffes here, but actually it looks like we are looking at you! HI!!!

This is at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Pepe le Pew likes to sit on Madi's tummy. Grant likes to chase Pepe.

Dad, I LOVE to ride my bike without training wheels. I didn't even fall one time! Do you think I look like a good bike rider?

(Logan again)

P.S. It was hard to reenact Grant's bathroom fun. This is the best we could get today. I took out the part where he stuck his hand in the toilet. Oops, I thought I took it out. Oh well. I washed his hands, don't worry!

P.P.S. Grant is usually happy when he walks, but today he was mad because he just wanted us to go play in the park and we were taking too long. He also gets mad if we leave before he is ready. People usually laugh and say how cute it is that he is throwing a tantrum, but I am a little worried because he's only 15 months! Can you imagine the tantrums he will throw when he is 2? Good thing you'll be around then!

As of today

"Mom, is it true? (Friend at school) was shaking his head really fast and my teacher told him he better stop or his head would fall off and dance around the room and he would be dizzy. Do you think that is true?"

--Logan

****************************************

Words Grant can say:

• bye bye
• hi
• ball
• mom
• dad
• thank you
• ha ha ha ha ha (copying my evil, deep-voice laugh)
• uh oh

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Yesterday I was getting ready to show our house and just happened to look under Madison's bed. I wish I had a picture to show you the

100's of candy wrappers hidden there. 

Really. I couldn't pick them all up in one trip. I asked her about it later and she admitted it saying, "I knew you would get mad at me, so I hid them there." All parade candy from a few weeks ago. I gave the rest away yesterday.

*****************************************

Grant took 20 steps today. 

I'm glad. I'm tired of people asking me if he's almost 1, then having to explain he's almost 15 months. He just doesn't walk yet.

Soon.

As an afterthought, I'm really just tired of being self-conscious that my baby doesn't walk yet. It's totally me. Usually the people who ask tell me their kids didn't walk until later, too. I don't even have to explain. They can see it for themselves. ***sigh

Where we've been

Logan: Moved up to the five-yr old class in Primary in January. He's into Superman, Batman, and superheroes in general. He loves to fight with Madison. He loves to build things with Legos--he stopped asking for my help because he's figured out that he builds better than I do. He loves preschool and is excited for Kindergarten and can't wait to eat lunch at school. He can spell and rhyme... he just needs to work on penmanship. We spend about 30 minutes every morning writing letters. He and Madison are both good helpers--they cook, dust, vacuum, and even pick up a few toys once in a while.

Madison: Moved up to the Sunbeams class in January. I think she likes it, although when she sees me for Singing Time, she almost always starts her "silent cry." It might be fake, but she's very convincing, so I don't know. She loves her teachers and makes up stories that they tell her. (ex. One day she told us Sis. Rowe said she didn't have to eat whatever on the menu that night. I said, " Oh really. I think I'll have to ask Sis. Rowe about that." Madi paused then stated, "If you ask her, she might say 'no.'") She still doesn't care to play dress up, although she has lots of dress-up clothes if any little girls want to come play. She also doesn't really like to play with Barbies or babies or anything girly. She does, however, wear her cape if Logan is wearing his because then she's cool. She can be a picky eater, but the last few days she's been eating marvelously. She carries a purple washcloth around the house to wipe away her tears (which she has a lot of since she is always fighting with Logan). It's no longer worrisome or humorous. Just normal. 

Grant: Is 10 months old. He crawls and stands and cruises on furniture. He's a clown; if we laugh at something he does, he'll do it over and over and over. He just started clapping. He loves to play peek-a-boo. He points to tell us what he wants. He's a very happy, lovable,and sometimes loud baby. He loves to play with his big brother and sister, but gets very upset when they take something away from him. He loves to eat. He still nurses 5 times a day and eats at least 3 meals with the family. Logan, Madison, and I (Jenn) all have low iron levels, so at Grant's last dr. appt. I asked the dr. to test his blood. She was a little reluctant, but I was not surprised to find that Grant, too, had very low iron levels. So we are all taking iron supplements. The dr. is also worried about his weight which surprised me because he eats all day long... I guess he's always hungry! So lucky Grant gets to have cream cheese and butter on his bread!

Joe: Is home a little more because the economy isn't keeping him so busy. So we get to see him a little more, which is nice, but worrisome at the same time. I can't say much on here, so for more info you might just have to ask him. He (and I) decided that it was time to shut off the satellite to save money and promote better usage of time. We also got rid of our home line and are just using our cell numbers now. (We still have our answering machine hooked up to the old line if you need to get a hold of us before you get our cell number.) 

Jenn: loves staying at home with the children... and is thinking about giving up on having a clean house. I think I washed, dried, folded, and put away 10 loads of laundry this week (and no, I didn't miss a week). Whew! I feel like I can't keep up with life. One of my new year's goal was to get up at 6:00 a.m. so I could shower and dress, make a hot breakfast, and do some me things so that we can all eat breakfast together at 7:00. It's been tough, but also very rewarding. I am also taking an online class from BYU because I have to take 6 credits to keep my teaching certificate current. I'm actually really stressed about it because I've got to finish by Sept. 1 and I've procrastinated this for 5 years. I really don't know where the time went, but I have no excuse.  So while Logan is in school, Madison and Grant take naps, and I've got about 2 1/2 hours that I use to exercise and work on this class and get anything else done (meal prep, cleaning, etc). So we're 19 days into the new year and I feel like I've done pretty well, but I'm also exhausted at the end of the day. Sometimes I feel like life is so crazy and I know it's only going to get crazier as the kids have more activities and I just don't know how to keep up. And I know I should  be doing more playing and teaching and loving and somehow it all gets lost in the happenings of the day. So if any of you are up to sharing, I'd love to know how you do it.