Paige's Page

Finger weaving

2012-01-29T15:39:00.001-08:00

My friend Faye and I spent many hours finger weaving when we were in elementary school. I remember setting up a stand one day to sell our creations.

This afternoon I taught the girls how to do it. I see many afternoons of finger weaving in our future.

via Paige's iPhone

7! Laine's big day

2012-01-26T22:43:00.000-08:00

Laine's birthday was happy from morning till night. She started off the day by opening presents from her siblings. They gave her La La Loopsy toys. Then she ate breakfast in bed and played with Sommer until it was time to get dressed in her new clothes. We went shopping on Saturday and she happily picked out a special new outfit, love the skirt. She brought cookies to share with her class. They sang happy birthday to her twice, once in class and once at lunch.
In the afternoon she played with her new toys then we headed to Mimi's Cafe for dinner. Grandma and grandpa Blaser met us there to help us celebrate.

Laine opened her presents from mom and dad -- an American Girl doll named McKenna, the 2012 girl of the year. She was thrilled.

Little back story: American Girl makes a girl of the year that is only available for one year. The 2010 girl was named Laney , had blond hair and green eyes. Could there have been a more perfect doll for my child? At the end of 2010 I was kind of busy having a new baby. Babies are also kind of expensive so I let the chance to buy the remarkably similar-to-my-child-doll slip by. (She can be found on eBay now for more.) We got her an Our Generation doll instead, Target's knock-off brand of American Girl. She was happy with it and so sweet about having an American Girl Cousin, as we called it, but I regretted not getting her that doll.

This year's girl is "from" Seattle and is also remarkably similar to my child so this year she got the real deal. It was actually probably a better year for this kind of big ticket gift because she really appreciates it. She exclaimed, "the girl of the year!" when she opened it. And as we were driving home she let out a scream of joy that she had been holding in since opening her doll. It is really fun to give her presents. She is a joyful and thankful and thoughtful receiver of gifts.

Laine: our girl of the year with her girl of that year. Happy 7th!

Sommer's girls

2012-01-24T07:03:00.001-08:00

Sommer's blanket is fleece and has knots tied all around the edges. Certain knots have become very special to her and she calls them her "girls." Sometimes when she is on her own with her blanket, or sitting in the car with it, she'll play with the knots like they are toys, giving them voices and acting out whatever drama knot girls go through. She loves her blanket.

Thankfully, she's not dependent on it all the time and doesn't mind leaving it home for school, church or errands. Some days though, she carries it around all the time, like a friend she wants close by. Last night she came in my room around 2am and whispered in a sleepy voice filled with worry, "mom, I can't find my girls." I helped her turn her blanket around a few times so she could find the right knots to hold onto, knots that are smoothed out and not curled up on themselves and they are stretched longer from being held so often, and then she happily went back to sleep.

Life right now

2012-01-21T12:51:00.000-08:00

Things I'll forget if I don't write them down. Just journaling.
At pack meeting this week I let Massimo follow the girls down the church hallway. They didn't pay any attention to him and he was soon wandering on his own. About 10 minutes later I went to look for him, pretty sure of where I'd find him. I called his name and he came running out of the mens restroom, one arm wet up to his elbow, quite proud of himself.

When we were getting the mail yesterday I stopped to talk to a neighbor. Massi wandered over to a pot and raked his fingers through the dirt. Then he sampled the dirt and came over to us, dirt smeared all over his face and mouth. My neighbor looked and him and asked, "did you eat dirt?" He promptly turned to me and started crying with embarassment.

Thursdays are Cannon's hardest day of the week. Without fail he has at least one screaming fit every Thursday. At least I know to expect it.

Tuesday morning I sent three very unhappy kids off to school. I felt bad because I don't remember feeling that way. I know I had my days but all three of them in a bad mood was hard. Laine isn't a morning person and takes a while to get going. The boys want to be out the door for the bus at 8:37 even though the bus comes at 8:52 and it only takes a couple of minutes to walk to the bus stop. The rest of the week went better because we worked out a compromise. If the boys make fun of Laine or give her a hard time at breakfast then they have to wait for her no matter how long she takes. If all is calm then Laine needs to be ready by 8:40 or the boys can leave without her.

I made served butternut squash with dinner one night, sauteed in butter and sprinkled with brown sugar. My kids all could have earned Oscars for their reactions to the vegetable, which they have had purreed in soup but never in solid form. Too bad I was the only adult there to witness their performances; Eric worked late that night. Cannon was the bravest and finally ate his token few pieces and delared that it tasted like potatoes and carrots. Ridge managed to eat his but choked and nearly gagged up all his dinner. Sommer ate hers and said it tasted good. Laine had to be timed in order to finish her dinner, all while being very dramatic about how it might kill her. By the end of dinner I was doing mock meditation to keep my sanity and to keep my temper. Massimo sat in his chair for a very long time so I could supervise all the eating.

A box is the best toy

2012-01-16T11:56:00.001-08:00

Massimo spent a long time playing with this box a few days ago. Just the right size for his little body, it kept him occupied while I made dinner.

- via Paige's iPhone

Sitting pretty

2012-01-16T11:53:00.001-08:00

The girls turned their playtime into "bath" time. Yes, Laine is flexible enough to fit in the sink even though she's almost 7. It was a very wet game.

- via Paige's iPhone

Throwing rocks at cars is stupid

2012-01-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

I was headed to the grocery store, milk run, just after the elemetary school kids in the first time track got out. My kids are in second track so they still had about 45 minutes of school left. I was a few blocks from the school and I noticed two girls throw things at the car in front of me. It looked like rocks. I made sure to glare at them as I was driving past so they'd be intimidated and not throw rocks at my car -- but they did! The nerve! So I did something very un-Paige like. I stopped the car.

The girls took off running in different directions. Then, since I was in the middle of the street I drove forward and pulled up to the curb. It took me a few seconds to get out of the car since the handle is broken and I have to roll down the window to open my door. One girl was hiding behind a picket fence, completely visible. The other girl had run in the opposite direction from the way I was driving and then back-tracked to her friend and then was heading back again, probably in the direction of her house, when I caught up to her.

I stayed 10 feet away then I delivered my "speech."

me: "Don't do that."
girl: "Don't do what?"
me: "Throw rocks at cars. Someone could get hurt or you could do a lot of damage. It's a stupid thing to do so don't do it again."
girl: nodding
me: (as I'm turning to walk away) "and tell your friend since she's over there hiding and missed getting yelled at."

I didn't yell, just used my sternest, loud voice. And as I was about to say the word stupid I wondered if I should phrase it a different way but then decided that stupid coming from a grown-up had the effect that I hoped to convey.

I wasn't worried about my car. They were little rocks and our car, though new to us since the summer, is not at all new. I just couldn't let those girls stand there on the sidewalk and throw rocks at cars. If they didn't even have the sense to at least hide while throwing things, they looked like they were in fourth grade, then they needed to be told.

I'm not sure how I feel about it now. I'm not sorry I said something but I could have been less mean sounding. But then would they have listened? It isn't really something to laugh off in a disrespectful kid way. And maybe someday, that girl will be tempted to do something rotten and she'll remember the crazy lady jumped out of the car and told her not to do stupid things. That's what I'm hoping she remembers anyway.

ps - my kids were shocked that I stopped, kind of embarrassed I think. But then they thought I should have told the principal about it or their parents. Hopefully this will keep them from doing stupid things too. At least some stupid things.

Birthday Boys

2012-01-03T21:54:00.000-08:00

During the week of Chirstmas I kept thinking, "last year at this time I was still pregnant." It seems so far away now, but then I think back to labor and it is not far enough. :)

Last week Massimo turned 1! and Eric caught up to me and turned 36. We celebrated Massi by giving him one present, an Elmo doll that sings about colors. I just realized that we didn't let him blow out a candle. I did make cupcakes that Massi loved. I had to hide them so he couldn't see them and demand another one.

Massimo yanks me around all day. He pulls my pant leg or reaches for my hand and pulls me along to where he wants to go, usually to the front door so he can go outside. He really is a little puppy. I think I said before that little kids pet his head, just like they would to a cute animal. Massi says ball, all done, dada and he yells something that sounds like mom when he wakes up from his nap. He says doggie and can make a dog sound and an elephant sound. He loves to eat Buddy Fruits (purreed fruit that he sucks out of the pouch), yogurt, especially in the gogurt form, Pirates Booty, string cheese and most any type of treat. Spaghetti is about the only food he lets me feed him, he loves that too.

He loves to go on the slides at parks. He used to go backwards gained more courage and skills this week and now tries to sit and slide on the shorter ones. He also has figured out that his little legs can walk backward and he'll sometimes practice, taking careful steps behind him, especially to the bottom stair where he likes to sit. He loves to eat a snack bite and run away from the kitchen, returning when his mouth is empty. His favorite Star Wars character is Chewbaka, which we learned because he has a Star Wars board book and he always wants to look at that page. He is intrigued by Yoda too. Princess Leah is his least favorite so he turns that page really fast.

We love our Massimo!

And Eric too. For his birthday I didn't have any good gifts. It was really pathetic. I did have all the Christmas decor down in time for the birthdays though. Does that count as a gift? Not really. We went swimming at a fun indoor pool on Eric's birthday. Cousins, a couple of his siblings joined in the fun and then we had birthday lunch at Arby's where his mom met us with more presents and birthday brownies so that made the day more special.

Ridge and Cannon gave Eric a Nerf gun. A new family game was invented over Christmas break using Nerf guns and shields made of whatever household thing the kids could find. They had a lot of fun with that.

We did get to have an overnight alone early in the week. Being together as Eric and Paige was a great present, thanks to his parents for taking the kids. We were able to go out to dinner and a movie. Then the next day he had his interview that led to his new job. That's probably the best present of all and he gave that to himself. What a great man. I'm so lucky he's mine.

Laine

2012-01-03T21:17:00.000-08:00

Tonight I am thankful for this sweet girl. I was in mean mommy mode, not patient with Sommer when she started whining when it was time to get ready for bed. She wasn't complaining about going to bed, just the order of things. She wanted stories first, then put on jammies and brush teeth. But she was wearing a leotard and we always do bedtime in that order so I wasn't giving in. And then she suddenly couldn't muster the strength to get up the stairs. It didn't help her calm down that I gave her to the count of 5 to get up the stairs or she'd miss stories all-together.

I left the room and came back a couple minutes later to Sommer feeling happier. Laine helped her to stop crying by being sweet and nurturing and promising to read her 5 stories. This trumped mom because I only read 2. I read Laine's books then they happily kissed me goodnight so they could sit on Laine's bed and read together.

New Year, New Job

2011-12-31T13:23:00.000-08:00

Guess who got a job in Utah? That's right, the long commute from Seattle is over after next week. Eric starts a new job with Pride Restoration on January 9th, and then starts a long commute here, one hour each way from Cedar Hills to Farmington, but we'll take it over the other option.

It is all about who you know. In this case, my mom heard that my cousin was hiring. We didn't even know that he owned a construction company. I love this cousin but I don't communicate with him or his siblings like, ever. So Eric called him and they talked, arranged an interview. The day after they talked on the phone my cousin called up and said, "I just need to clarify, you're my cousin Paige's husband, right?" We haven't seen him since our wedding. Anyway, after a successful interview and negotations, Eric took a job with them.

This is a huge change Eric is making in his life. It was huge to leave us here in Utah and continue to work in Seattle but this is bigger in a way. Eric has been with Charter Construction for over 10 years now. It was his first job out of college and he's worked his way up through the company.I think he'll be hard to replace. He's leaving behind a huge part of his identity so this is a big leap for him. He's excited about his new opportunity though. He hopes to help be an integral part of helping Pride grow.
And we're all so happy that he can be an integral part of our family again.

We got it right: Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T14:08:00.000-08:00

After Cannon finished his excitement about this gift he said, "my head hurts" and we sent him to get a drink of water. He was so excited about his presents this year. In fact, everyone was happy with their gifts. Somehow, we got it right for everybody. I know this probably won't happen again for our entire lives. I think part of the happiness was because of Cannon. He was so pleased and so grateful and so excited for everything that it made for a very happy Christmas.

Everyone was up early and at 7am we let them come into the living room but they could only "open" stockings before church. Santa loaded the stockings though so they had a happy hour before breakfast and getting ready time.

I played my cello with Away in a Manger during our sacrament meeting, the first time I've played in public in years. It went well enough. I love playing while people sing.

After church the kids put their pjs back on and we opened gifts. I loved having church break up the morning and set the tone for our Christmas day.

I hope your day was merry.

Santa's helper

2011-12-24T17:27:00.001-08:00

Here's hoping the big guy is good to you and yours this year.

Merry Christmas!

via Paige's iPhone

Traditions old and new

2011-12-23T20:30:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread houses can be made in any state, at any time, so of course this holiday tradition had to continue. Ridge likes to load his up with candy on the inside that isn't frosted to anything so he can snack on it later. Laine had my help so hers is the most basic design possible since I'm not very good at construction. Sommer made a "bakery." Cannon did a great job on his own this year. And Eric was there to help. I would not have attempted this project without him nor would I have tried with Massimo around. He was in bed.

Today we picked Eric up from the airport and headed to downtown Salt Lake for lunch and a stroll around the temple grounds. We toured the conference center...

and took a few pictures at the temple. Yes, this would have been a better evening activity with all the Christmas lights but this year daytime was good for us. Next year we'll try an evening visit.

The best part is that we're all together. Eric is home until January 2nd.

holiday photo 2011

2011-12-16T22:49:00.000-08:00

Let me just say that I totally aspire to planning way in advance for the Christmas card photo, or any family photo for that matter. I want to invite the photographer to that perfect field and we'll arrive color-coordinated and with hair combed and we'll bring a giant overstuffed couch as a prop. I just saw a fb friend's photo with a big red couch in a golden field. I think they were wearing shades of blue. It was a lovely picture.

Our Chirstmas card photo is really great for the circumstances. It was taken in California right after my niece's baptism (a lovely occasion). The baptism was on a Saturday afternoon. The boys thought they were done with pictures, we had just taken a group shot, and they were running to the car, undressing from their dress clothes on the way. We had to make them put their shirts back on. Combing hair for the day was too much to ask, church clothes on a Saturday was quite enough. I hadn't showered and my hair shows. I'm amazed that we look like we tried to match. The boys are wearing their only church clothes but the girls have lots of dresses they could have brought. We pulled everything out of suitcases and changed at the church. And no one is crying. That is a miracle. My brother took the photo for us with his super-nice camera. (He took a photography class this semester, link is to his photo blog. I asked him to fix up the photo, give me a tiara at least, but he has a social life.)

I remembered these stories...

2011-12-12T22:22:00.000-08:00

Today I took Massimo on a short walk. The little dog from across the street was running around our yard, little black and white thing that kind of has a pug face but not a pug body. A while ago I was in our kitchen, it was warm enough to have the front door open, and I heard this little jingling noise and I thought I saw something disappear up our stairs but I dimissed it. A minute later I heard the noise again and there was that little dog, halfway up the stairs. Thankfully he didn't relieve himself in the house and he was scared enough of me that he happily ran out the door. He doesn't bark and he has baby at his house so I know he's nice, but I don't want him wandering around in our house.

The dog's story reminded me of a couple others I meant to share.

(photo unrelated to story: Me, Ridge and Cannon in Feb 2004)

Our first month here, when the sky was still light way into the evening, I went outside to call the kids in for bedtime. As we were cleaning up the toys, moving them from the front yard to the garage, a little girl with a big bike walked up, put the bike down, and started playing with the mini piano the kids had brought outside so they could play rock stars. I let her play for a minute or two then told her she was welcome to come back and play at our house again but right now we were going inside. She shrugged and didn't really say anything and picked up her bike. I was still putting things away, Massimo on my hip, and I watched the girl get on the bike and promply crash into the bush by our house as she tried to ride this way-too-big bike down the big hill. I ran to help her, she wasn't hurt. I told her that maybe she should walk the bike down the hill but she could barely push it. I offered to help her. I told the kids to go inside and get their pjs on and I asked the girl where she lived. She wasn't very good at talking but I understood that she lived, "up the hill and over there." So we walked up the hill. I hadn't ever seen this child before, none of us had.

Thirty minutes later, we finally found out where she belonged. We walked up the hill and then down and I asked with every set of townhomes, "Is this your house?" And I asked every kid we saw on the way if they knew this little girl. It turns out I was calling her by the wrong name but she didn't correct me. I thought I understood what she was telling me but I was not even close to her real name. We got to a grassy corner and there were a bunch of kids playing, and at this point the little girl said, "Oh no. I lost again!" But she didn't look upset. She just ran over to play with the kids.

I asked the oldest girl there, she looked about 13, if she recognized this girl I had with me. Remember, I was holding Massi and pushing a bike along and it was time for me to get home to my own kids. This older girl recognized her but didn't know her name and the girl couldn't tell us her last name.

Since we're in Utah, there are a lot of church members in our neighborhood. Our ward, neighborhood section, goes to church worship at 9am but just up the street from us, the next set of townhouses, starts another ward area. These kids and this little girl were from the ward that meets at 11am. I asked the older girl, someone who was finally helpful, if she knew the primary president. We had to find where this child belonged! Older girl called the primary president who didn't recognize the girl's name but volunteered to drive up and see if she knew where she belonged. She did, thank goodness. And she knew the girl's real name and knew the girl enough to shake her head knowingly at her antics. The little girl's parents hadn't missed her yet. They thought she was still out playing in the front of the house. I haven't seen her since so maybe they got her a leash.

And one more story...

(also unrelated photo from 11/06)

Also a couple of months ago. It was mid-morning. Massimo was down for his morning nap. Sommer was watching Netflix downstairs. I was at the computer in the kitchen and I heard the front door open. It was too early to be the kids home from school, I knew it wasn't Sommer. I walked over to see what made my door open and two little girls walked in, both wearing nightgowns and smiling at me. They might have been twins, but not identical. I smiled back and said hi and asked their names. The braver of the little girls talked to me in words I didn't understand and peeked around me into the living room. She spotted the piano and walked around me so she could go play it. Her sister gave me a shy smile then joined in a duet. About this time I saw a neighbor walk by and I stopped her and asked if she knew the girls. They gave the neighbor the same friendly smile and spoke the same sweet, unintelligble language to her when she asked their names. She didn't know them. So I yelled to Sommer to up the stairs. She did and was surprised to see two little girls, just about her size, in the house with me. We coaxed the girls outside and started walking them up the hill. There is a steep grassy hill on the other side of the townhouses just up the street from us. When we got to this point we saw a skateboarder speeding down the road at the bottom of the hill. He glanced our way, jumped off his board and stalked up the hill to meet us. These little girls were his sisters and they had escaped the house under his watch. He wasn't very conversational and he was very annoyed with his younger siblings. At least he knew they were missing, gotta give the teenage babysitter some credit. I haven't seen them again either.

Life is good

2011-12-08T10:51:00.001-08:00

Do I complain too much in my blog posts? I hope not. I'm really just trying to document life so I remember things and not just the good and easy things. It isn't all hard and is usually happy. Not perfect but happy. When we first moved here and Eric's Aunt came by for some of her things and gave me a hug as she was leaving and I started crying. I apologized and said that I was happy to be here and she said that it was good to cry it out. She said that I had to grieve because I left 10 years of a life behind. I appreciated her saying that so much, it really made sense. Now as we've entered the holiday season, I find that I've had to grieve a bit again as I think of friends and traditions that I love that are not part of our celebration this year. It has helped. Don't worry, there is a lot of joy to celebrate still.

And while I'm talking, I'll just say that it is sometimes hard to read blogs by Mormon Mommies. They are so creative and beautiful and their homes are perfect and they wear cute outfits everyday and their children have their hair done and they take photos in fields in coordinating colors that compliment the field's color scheme. I don't want my blog to be an antithesis to these other ones, just saying it like it is. I like a lot of the Mormon Mommy bloggers: Design Mom, a room somewhere, and of course the Our Best Bites girls. But I'm not one of them, except that I'm Mormon too.

So anyway, this week Massimo learned to say the word "up" and he also discovered that he can yank my hand or push my legs in one direction to get me where he wants me to go. So in every room he wants to be up. He was quite pleased with the seat he found for himself this morning in the bathroom.
Laine has been doing jump rope all week at school. She's found a new friend and is happy to have this activity to be excited about. On Monday she wore her winter coat to school, protection against the freezing temperatures, but on Tuesday she was trying to figure out how she could be warm with a sweatshirt instead. I tried to convince her otherwise until she explained that her coat got in the way of her jump rope. Fashion has to function. I tried to get the three school kids to wear their winter coats but they said they didn't need them yet. 18 degrees outside in the morning and they want to wear hoodies to the bus stop. They haven't complained about being cold so I stopped pushing for the winter coats.

Eric remembers wearing short sleeved shirts during recess in the winter, playing football in the snow with his friends. He come back in to class soaked and spend the rest of the day in wet jeans. But he didn't care.

Cannon, Ridge, Sommer and I put up the Christmas lights. We used duct tape for the part along the roofline because we couldn't reach the gutters, Ridge's idea. He did the right side of the house. It looks kind of funny in the daylight but rather pretty at night. Sommer helped with one of the bushes, she was so insistent, and Cannon helped with with the pillar lights and other bushes. Not bad for a bunch of short people.

Thanksgiving '11

2011-12-02T21:18:00.001-08:00

We took an entire week off for Thanksgiving this year. Eric flew down the weekend before and we all drove to California together. We stopped in Claremont and went to church with my parents. So nice to see all the Claremont II ward families who are still there. Then we went to San Diego to visit my brother and his family. They got us into Legoland for a steal.

The kids all had fun. Legoland is a perfect amusement park for our oldest three and they were at a great age to enjoy it. We split into two groups so the bigs could enjoy the big rides. Sommer had fun too and enjoyed what she could go on and was happy to be there. It was crowded but not unbearably and everyone had a great time running around with cousins.

Tuesday we went to the beach. Massimo had fun playing in the sand and water in the sandcastle moat. Sommer wore her bathing suit even though it was in the 60s. I guess she felt like we were back at a Seattle beach. She was happy until she fell in the water then Eric wrapped her up in a towel and tucked her under his sweatshirt to warm up.

I loved being in Claremont for Thanksgiving, the holiday that still brings homesickness to my heart. The weather didn't disappoint, it was just as warm and California-sunny as I wanted it to be. My parents put on a delicious and fun Thanksgiving dinner for a big crowd complete with a pre-dinner quiz, after-dinner joke contest and a pie contest (which Cannon won). It was a lovely day.

We drove home early enough to have time to put up the tree before Eric left for Seattle. Aunt Barb let us use her fake tree, a first for our family. The kids didn't miss taking a ferry ride and the tromp around the treefarm to find the perfect tree, they were just excited to get all the Christmas mess out. I missed it though. I'm not sure what we'll do next year. Having a pre-lit tree all ready to go is really easy and a lot less messy. I might be converted. And there isn't a ferry nearby anyway.

One scary night...

2011-12-02T21:11:00.001-08:00

Cannon is our resident funny guy. He especially loves to make his brother laugh and looks to Ridge for a reaction first. Around Halloween I was cleaning the papers out of Cannon's backpack and I found this story that he had written for school. Ridge and I both laughed. Just have to document.

One scary night, on Halloween three kids entered a haunted house. The kids names were Pooy, Looy and Hooydadoodooforger. Inside there was eyeballs inside jars. Pooy opened a closet and a skeleton fell out. Hooy screamed! Hooydadoodooforger said, "Da!" Pooy said "Hooydadoodooforger, we need to come up with a new nickname for you. How about Hooy?" Hooy said, "Da." All that as a yes. Then Michael Jackson came out of nowhere. Looy said, "I thought you were dead!" "I am," said Michael. And they ran out and ran home and never came there again.

Dear Friends

2011-12-02T21:05:00.001-08:00

This week I ordered Christmas cards, just photo kind and there's nothing creative to them so I was able to pick them up one hour later at our local Walmart. I thought I would write a little note to you friends and family, on the card, tell you that we miss you, that I miss you, but that made me very sad and I cried off and on for the rest of the day.

So I addressed and stuffed envelopes while watching Morning Glory to keep from crying and I didn't put anything personal on any of them. Just know that they were sent with love but I have to keep it together so the most personal thing about the whole card is my saliva on the envelope.

XXOO

Time doesn't change in babyland

2011-11-17T21:21:00.001-08:00

4:30 rolls around and Massimo reminds me that a few weeks ago it used to be 5:30 and dinnertime, by following me around crying. Not helpful when I'm trying to make dinner. Sometimes I can give him a bottle and pass him downstairs to the big boys but that usually doesn't last long. The big boys are not very helpful when he gets fussy and usually Cannon will bring him upstairs, place him a few feet into the kitchen and then he closes the door to the basement stairs so Massi can't climb back down later.

So Massi "helps" me make dinner sometimes. He gets busy and happy for a few minutes when I put him on the counter by me. Today he picked up a tomato and nibbled it a few times. He puckered up and then kind of laughed about the flavor a couple of times but by time number three, captured in the photo below, he was done with that thing and tossed it.

Tonight he grabbed a wooden spoon copied me as I mashed the filling together for our taquitos. They learn so quickly. It was cute but messy and I quickly tried to divert his attention. He kept trying to stir and flipped meat all over the place. But he stayed happy.

He loves to play in the fridge though of course I don't let him do this for long. He likes to pull yogurts out and wander around with them. Laine found one on the stairs the other day. He is still trying to figure out how to get to the apples. He likes to eat them and throw them so I haven't shown him how to open the drawer yet.

Once he's eaten he is back to his chipper self. I do try to feed him earlier some days and he sits in the high chair while I finish up with things but some days this just makes the crying worse so we've figured out "helping" helps.

Life: an update

2011-11-16T09:52:00.001-08:00

First, a few funny things. So those of you who don't want to read farther along can stop after that because I'm probably going to ramble.

Last week we went to the Living Legends performance at a local high school. (Eric's dad got us in free, one of his work perks.) Afterward, we went to the local Macey's grocery store for ice cream twist cones. Big servings for cheap.

The Christmas decorations were already up. We sat by a fake fireplace with an almost life-size Santa doll next to it. I quoted the Night Before Christmas poem, "His eyes how they twinkled, His dimples how merry."

Cannon: "What are dimples again?"
Sommer: "I think she meant nipples."

And a new family joke was born.

Maybe this next one isn't really funny but I'm sharing anyway.

One of my children came to me and said, "I'm sorry but I clogged your toilet. My poop won't flush down." Sure enough. I didn't get to the unclogging until after the bedtime routine. I got the plunger and went to work. I was not happy to be doing this task. I complained loudly to myself the entire time, something about the unfairness and grossness of it all, and I gagged once. But I got it unplugged and then had to clean it.

More gross than funny I guess.

And now I'm going to start rambling so you may stop reading if you wish.

Why didn't I get Eric to unclog the toilet? Because Eric was in Seattle. I don't think I've properly documented that part of our life. He still works for the same company and is in Seattle during the week. He tries to get home most weekends. Seems like it has been two weekends here, one there over the past three months that we've been in Utah. When he comes back, he arrives on the late Friday night flight, usually, and then departs early Monday morning so he's back by 8am to start his work week.

I'd say that we're fairly accustomed to having him gone during the week, when it is just one week. But when he is gone for two I am not the best mom. In fact, far from best, close to worst. Last week, Tuesday, after a weekend without Eric coming home, I fairly lost it, temper temper. My patience seems to last until 9:30pm and then I'm just done. At least I threw the laundry basket instead of a child. And the kids should be asleep by then but these days bedtime keeps getting later. I need to work on pushing it back earlier.

Ridge is never asleep early though. He usually makes an appearance in my room around 10:30 to tell me he can't sleep. A few nights a week, usually Sunday plus one other day, he can't sleep till after 11:30. This doesn't help things when I'm playing single parent.

Cannon came up last night, just as I was going to get in the shower (it was a long shower night) to tell me that he couldn't sleep because he really needed a dog. I tried to comfort him about this, told him that dad and I were just talking about this earlier in the week, and then told him to grab his dog stuffed animal and go back to bed. After I got out of the shower I heard a tap on the door. He was still awake, still couldn't sleep. So I told him to pull the mattress out from under my bed (there are two twin ones there, the lighter IKEA kind) and go to sleep in my room.

If it isn't one child, it's another.

Those mattresses have come in handy. When we first moved, the boys were often scared in their room and Ridge was worried more often, so we were pulling out the makeshift beds quite a bit. The boys sleep in the basement room, two floors away from the rest of us. Ridge would end up in my room many nights and then Cannon would wake up at 2am to find out that he was alone in the basement and come up the stairs crying about being scared, so we'd pull the other bed out. Finally we started waking Cannon up when Ridge made the move to my room. Cannon was much happier about that and then we all could get more sleep. At least then my sleep was only interrupted by the baby.

A few times Cannon wouldn't wake up when we tried to rouse him and then in the morning he'd stomp up the stairs, mad that he was alone. Ridge seems determined to sleep in his own bed now, Cannon would gladly camp out every night in my room if I let him.

Sommer has had a few nights on my floor. Laine tends to wake up around 4am when she'll come in and tell me she's afraid and I tell her to get in bed by me and go back to sleep. I'm not sure how long it takes her but at least it keeps her from waking me again, which she does if I send her back to her own bed.

Ridge and Cannon went trick-or-treating on their own this year. They didn't want to be slowed down by a mom pulling a wagon and slow girls. They finished an hour before we did and got more candy, of course. Sometimes they are great buddies. Sometimes they are not.

Sommer got tired halfway through the night and sat in the wagon with Massimo. Laine then started to ask at each house "Can I have another candy for my sister? She's over there in the wagon." And then she'd run back throw the extra candy, "here Sommer," and run to the next house with her friend. When she forgot to ask she'd take a candy from her bag and give it to Sommer. She's such a sweet girl. But she still doesn't eat.

Though last night I made black bean soup from Our Best Bites. So delicious! And not completely repulsive to any of the children so I was able to get Laine to eat more of something nutritious. Dinner on our own is generally chaotic and I'm often not motivated to cook but I do it anyway, always keeping in mind that I'm feeding five children so what sounds delicious to me will often not sound delicious to them. So far, I am not raising any celbrity chefs.

And now Massimo is awake from his nap. He is in that transition time between one and two naps a day. He's also getting four more teeth. He's also walking, trying to run when the kids chase him and he thinks he is big enough to step down one step on his own which results in an immediate face plant but he keeps trying. And if you've read all this you must really like me. Thanks. I like you too.

Got milk?

2011-10-31T17:33:00.001-07:00

If not, I'm good.

- via Paige's iPhone

Toothless smile, finally

2011-10-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

Laine's front tooth finally came out last week. It was quite a dramatic/traumatic experience and we were so glad when it was finally out. One of her friends at school told her that her tooth might come out while she was sleeping and then it would go into her lungs. Laine worried about this every night so she had trouble going to sleep. I couldn't say anything to take the worry away. Cannon even told her that one of his teeth fell out while he was sleeping and when he woke up it was just in his mouth. Eric's reassurances didn't help either. One night I finally said the right thing. I examined the tooth very carefully and then pronounced that it was not ready to fall out yet because I could still see how it was stuck to her gums in the front. She thanked me for telling her this and went to sleep without worry that night. The next bedtime she was back to worrying again because she could feel that her tooth was looser than the day before.

When Eric was home that weekend I told him that he couldn't leave again without getting Laine's tooth out. Laine was not cooperative, she was worried about how much it would hurt, but it was loose enough to be pulled out so finally Eric got his fingers on it and got it out. (Tooth pulling grosses me out and I just can't do it. I much prefer the kid wiggles it out on their own. Eric laughed at this and said something like -- you've had 5 babies and you can't pull out a tooth? -- no, I can't.) The tooth came out with a gentle tug and Laine was hysterical with a crying kind of laughter.
End of Act 1. Drama for Act 2 begins soon since the tooth next to the empty space is loose now.

The Big 9 Months

2011-09-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

Massimo reached 9 months old today. He celebrated by splashing in the toilet and eating the crackers off the floor that he dropped during dinner the night before. He loves the toilet and now that he knows it's there, a cold puddle always in the house, it is hard to keep him away from it. I don't have a picture of that because even though it is funny, it is also really gross. This morning, Laine was running late and I was helping her get ready. We heard splashing from the girls' bathroom and of course it was Massimo, splashing in the unflushed toilet. Yuck. The bathroom door was closed but he knows that this particular door can be pushed open, even when closed (it has to be slammed to shut and latch). But since we were running late all I could do was dry him off and slather his hands with sanitizer before we ran out the door.

Massi can do the sign for "all done" and sometimes it sounds like he tries to say it. He rests his head on my shoulder every time I get him out of the crib. It is so sweet to have a cuddle baby. He is taking steps already, by far my earliest walker. We all delight in this sweet child and feel so lucky that he's part of our lives.

Chubby Stander

2011-09-15T18:31:00.001-07:00

We're all delighted with Massimo's new trick. He's pleased with himself too.

- via Paige's iPhone

Happy to be...

2011-09-14T22:23:00.000-07:00

Ridge is taking up skateboarding and Massimo is trying to stand up on his own all the time now. Such cute brothers, happy to be doing their new things. (Don't you love the pirate eye that Massi is giving the camera?)

Breakfast Cookies or Breakfast Yuckies

2011-09-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

In an effort to be more organized I listed breakfast and dinner menus in plain sight in the kitchen. I thought the kids would be excited to read "Breakfast Cookies" on the list. They were not. They were skeptical. And they should have been since this recipe came from the Sneaky Chef cookbook which I've had out on the counter recently. The idea of these and the recipe description sound better than the actual product. The main ingredient is Wheaties cereal, which I love and a few of my kids like too, but put together in cookie form they came out kind of like soggy bran muffin tops. Everyone tried one bite and then had a bowl of cereal. Except Cannon who had three bites, I think mostly for my feelings, then opted out as well. I liked mine well enough to finish it but not enough to finish the rest of the batch by myself.

While I'm writing about food and my eaters that I have to feed in my house, I'd just like to say that it annoys me when TV chefs tell me that "kids love this dish" or "have your kids help you and they'll eat the meal." My first child is thankfully growing out of his hyper-gagging and vomiting stage of life so he no longer gags at the table when I make him try at least a bite of new foods. I remember that he vomited all over the table when I made him try butternut squash soup. Just gagged everything up. And then child number two can gag down the food that doesn't appeal to him but he doesn't like things like rice and pasta that number one likes and number three lives on. And child number three would not touch bread, couldn't touch bread without shivering when she was little and first started eating food. That was a weird one. I'm not sure she'll ever eat like a normal person in her life but I had to leave that battle alone because it was making some very awful dinner-time experiences. Child number four is my best eater. Finally the one who followed the parenting books advice on feeding children that "if they see you eat it they'll want to eat it too." At least with lots of things she does. But the others? HA!

I think that next week we'll just have cereal every morning again.

Cedar Hills: Utah home

2011-09-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

"Cedar Hills was incorporated in 1977 with 31 occupied homes. At the end of 2008, the city's estimated population was 9,861. Cedar Hillls sits in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains, with American Fork to the west, Highland to the west and north, and Pleasant Grove to the south. After long negotiations, Cedar Hills now has a Walmart as the beginning of their commercial part of the town.
With a rural attitude and close proximity to Salt Lake City and Provo, Cedar Hills has a broad appeal to families and commuters."

We're settling in to Aunt Barb's home. "Housesitting" while she's in California. It is a three-storey townhouse. We're at one end of the four homes in our little block of houses. We don't have yard space that is flat enough for the trampoline but the kids have still been happy to play outside. Massi would crawl around in the yard all day if I let him. The yard and garage, where he likes to wander and get very dirty.

We're really spoiled with our view and I'm not sure how I'm ever going to live without such beautiful scenery out my windows in the future. Out the kitchen windows, back balcony and my bedroom window we can see the expanse of the valley before us.

From the windows at the front of the house we look out to the foothills. Cross the street and we're climbing them. Then the mountains rising up beyond are breathtaking. I often stand outside and stare at the beauty. We're very close to the entrance to American Fork canyon, access to the trailhead for hiking Mount Timpanogos.

We're situated almost at the top of our hill which makes the climb back from the bus stop pulling the wagon quite a challenge. The kids are out of breath when they reach our house after school.

Being here reminds me of our first days in Seattle when I was amazed at all the green. I remember driving down 145th, a major road and not very pretty, but when we first got there I thought it was so lovely. It was June and I was amazed by all the berry vines growing wild everywhere and the way trees lined every roadway. Going from that area to this is a big contrast and I'm enjoying the change of scenery and glad that I can appreciate the beauty of both in a way that I haven't in the past.

There's more to report, like how the boys were excited to occupy the basement room but now they are terrible sleepers. And how there isn't a library in Cedar Hills, and how there are over 1,100 kids at the elementary school, but Massi crying in his crib which these days means he is standing up, holding the bar and crying with his mouth on the bar, tears dripping down his face and slobber on his fists. So more to come later.

RIP Carl and Jim the fish

2011-09-04T21:47:00.001-07:00

Ridge's fish both died today. These two bowl buddies lived a long time, in goldfish years they were probably 80. They even made it through the move to Utah.

I was the one who found them belly up and told the sad news to Ridge. He nodded and then burst into tears. I'm not sure why but those fish meant a lot to him. I tried to get him to leave them with a friend in Seattle which he agreed to at first but then changed his mind. He really wanted those two guys to move with us.

Eric, Cannon, Ridge, Massi and I went downstairs to help get them to the toilet tomb. The fishbowl was really stinky and when Ridge got a whiff he promptly started to dry heave. I sent him to the back door to calm down which he thought he did so he came back inside only to get the gags again and this time he couldn't keep his food down. Thankfully he made it out the door, but not before telling Eric to wait to flush the toilet because he wanted to say goodbye.

Both boys were crying when the fish were flushed and I cried with them. It was very sad even though they were just goldfish.

- via Paige's iPhone

Sommer and Mama

2011-08-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

That's my girl.

There's 67 days of summer vacation...

2011-08-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

...and school came along just to end it yesterday. The kids were nervous, Laine more excited than nervous, to start school yesterday. They didn't even complain that their summer got cut short. I think we were all ready for some routine in our lives.

These pictures were taken on our front sidewalk. Sidewalk! Hooray! We didn't have sidewalk at our house. Kind of cool to go from the forest to the mountains. Though that does mean that our house is up a hill, quite a hike back from the bus stop. The wagon got very heavy this morning. Laine is petrified of snakes since her new friend told her she needs to watch out for them. Eric tried to reassure her that there aren't snakes, at least not many, that he only saw one during his growing up years, then the boys saw a snake that week at pack meeting. She doesn't really believe her dad yet.

There's only one bus to the school for all the kids who live on our side of the busy road, which is good because Ridge was very worried that he'd get on the wrong bus after school. There wasn't any bus paperwork so we didn't know until the morning when we asked a neighbor that there was only one bus. The boys got out to the bus line after school and noticed that Laine wasn't there. They did a frantic search for her only to find out that she was already on the bus. Laine was just trying to be where she was supposed to be, the boys were mad that she didn't wait for them and that they worried for nothing, I was happy that they were being big brotherly and actually helping her, they give her such a hard time. Ridge calls her "Lainerton." Perhaps with affection? Cannon made up rhyme so this won't happen again. "Don't get on the bus until you see us."

New kids on the block sticking together.

Special family events

2011-08-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

Cannon chose to be baptized and that special day was at the end of July. Both sets of grandparents, 3 cousins, Uncle Chad and Aunt Angie, and friends from church were able to join us on the gorgeous Seattle Saturday. It was a sweet occasion and we're pleased that Cannon has his own testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Sommer turned 4! We celebrated her birthday a few days after arriving in Utah (which is something I have to write about still) so there were lots of cousins to help her eat cupcakes. We had a slip-and-slide party in Grandma Blaser's backyard. She got a big La La Loopsy doll from us. It was a fun evening but on the way home Sommer was talking about the Minty Pony birthday party that she was going to have the next day on her real birthday. Sigh. We finally decided that next year when she turns 5 she can have that pony party.

Pictures of Massi

2011-08-18T16:47:00.001-07:00

Massimo is going on 8 months. Sometimes he seems like such a big boy already.

He communicates so well without words and when he's happy he crawls around discovering what he can. I found a screw in his mouth today and he ate a leaf two days ago.

He is pulling himself up on everything and everyone. He crawls with one knee up usually but both knees and feet are looking raw these days.

Massi is getting used to catnaps in the car to keep him going since he often has to miss his naptime. Usually he wakes up when I take him out of his carseat.

But sometimes he's too tuckered out and needs to sleep a little longer.

- via Paige's iPhone

Sidewalk business

2011-08-15T15:15:00.001-07:00

The boys set up selling whoopie pies at the busier end of our street. They had some help from mom making the pies but the rest was their effort, including kitchen clean-up since I was going to charge them a dollar if they left the mess to me. They're happily yelling for business, hoping to sell all 12 of their wares plus some 10cent candy, plus tips. Yes, they didn't forget the tip cup.

- via Paige's iPhone

Practice? Grrr

2011-07-21T02:13:00.001-07:00

Guess who was really frustrated with piano this morning? Laine usually has a fit about practicing once a week, when the songs are new and don't come easily. This week's fit inducing song is "be kind to your web footed friends." which actually is sounding really great but has taken her a couple weeks to pass off since it is a bit above her level.
(please disregard the mess behind her that is my bedroom.)

- via Paige's iPhone

Prize day!

2011-07-13T10:21:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day kid participants in the library summer reading program could collect prizes. There is a halfway prize and an ending prize. Ridge finished reading his 1000 minutes last week and was determined to get to the library right at opening time so he could be the first kid to turn in his paper and collect his prize, which he was. I waited in the car while he ran in and ran out. He was happy to discover that the kaleidoscope, the final prize, was better quality than he expected. The halfway prize of a cup and bookmark were received with less enthusiasm. And now the other kids are excited to earn their prizes as well.

- via Paige's iPhone

Strawberries

2011-07-11T08:17:00.001-07:00

We have so many strawberries this year! Hooray! Something grew in our garden. They are ripening late in the year since it has been a cold spring and summer but that's ok; such a perfect summer treat.

As you can see, Sommer enjoys them the most. She took a break from playing gymnastics with Laine to pop a few in her mouth. At the end of each day lately her clothes are streaked with strawberry juice.

- via Paige's iPhone

Half a year

2011-06-30T21:56:00.001-07:00

Mass-man hit the big six months this week. He weighs in at 17.5 pounds, quite the armful but still a middle sized baby except for his head. He is almost crawling! Our house is not safe for a crawler, so many little toys all over. If Massi is in his room and I set his toys near him he'll play with them for a bit until he sees Ridge's Legos strewn about then he is off trying to get those pointy, colorful bits into his hands and mouth. Hopefully we reach 7 months without incident, just a lot of slobbery toys.

via Paige's iPhone

Sommerism

2011-06-25T22:51:00.000-07:00

When Sommer has a surprise to share, like something behind her back or fun information, and the surprisee guesses before she can announce it herself she used to get really upset. Now she says, "just make your brain not know" and then she happily delivers the information once you've agreed that your brain has been wiped clean. (I had to document her phrase before my brain really forgets.)

Cannon8

2011-06-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

Cannon turned 8 today! He had big visions for how he wanted his day to go and I think things went pretty much according to the plan in his mind. We started the day at 7am with presents from the family, though he was up earlier waiting for his clock to tick to 7. He wanted Legos and he got Legos. He spent the morning working on his sets, happy and busy. He chose Lego presents but he wanted a Ben10 themed party.

He invited 9 boys from school and all of them came for the 4-hour party. I know. 4 hours is a long time with that many boys. (Thank goodness Eric came home from work a couple hours early to help. I could not have run this show without him!) Cannon had made a schedule for the party with plans for every 30 minutes of time. I tried to talk him down an hour but he was insistent and I didn't fight him much on it. (The kids have friend parties every year.) Cannon and I worked on games together and turned 5 regular party games into something with a Ben10 alien theme. Here the boys are shooting marshmallows at a 5-foot tall alien (drawn by Ridge and colored by Cannon). We made all the boys shirts (spray paint on white undershirts) to look like Ben. And the cake, Cannon's vision again, was shaped like the Omnitrix, Ben10's special watch.

It was a fun, crazy, happy day for this great-to-be-8 boy. Cannon has a gift for being a good friend and it was evident at his party. To me it seemed like each of these boys felt like they were Cannon's best friend. He was good at sharing and playing and showing gratitude. He loves to make everyone laugh. He plays hard and sleeps hard. What a blessing he is in our life.

First day of summer

2011-06-21T21:58:00.001-07:00

Laine got her stitches out and then we headed to the beach to spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying this hot-for-us day. (74)

Every time we have a day like this I find myself marveling at the beauty of this area of the world. Glorious is often the word that comes to mind. (I just need to remind myself that it is still pretty on cloudy and rainy days too.)

The kids took a long follow-the-leader walk. If you can see a red shirt in the distance that is Cannon. I half expected one of them to come running back to tell me that Sommer was crying and tired but they all trouped back together. Sometimes they all get along. Another reason to label the day glorious.

- via Paige's iPhone

Sitter

2011-06-18T13:48:00.001-07:00

It seems like overnight Massi got strong enough to hold up that huge noggin without falling over right away. He's so pleased with his new trick.

Last day of school!

2011-06-17T23:51:00.000-07:00

We made it. Barely.
"When mothering young children the days are long but the years are short."
In some ways this school year has gone by in a flash. But in other ways it lasted a long time. Look at that baby! He wasn't there in September.
I'd say some haircuts are in order. And some lazy mornings, for a little while.

Brave girl

2011-06-17T23:38:00.000-07:00

Two days ago Laine learned how to ride a two-wheeler. Yesterday she fell and smashed her face on the handlebar resulting in a gash that needed to be mended with two stitches. When I told her that she would probably need stitches she cried and cried, she was so scared. Ridge tried to reassure her that it wouldn't hurt because they would numb the wound and then "they could slice you with a knife and you wouldn't feel a thing." Those words didn't quite help, even though he meant well. He did welcome her into the stitches club when she got back from the doctor's office.

Thankfully, Eric was on the road back to the office when I called him with the news and rather than heading south on the freeway he went north and beat me to the doctor's office. He stayed with Laine and I took Sommer and Massi home.

The day before, Massi had an appointment with an eye doctor, a recommendation by our pediatrician. Aunt Angie was going to stay with the girls and about 30 minutes before I was going to leave I got a call from the school nurse telling me that Ridge was sick with a bad stomach ache. So I picked him up and he vomited about 10 minutes later. I called Eric, twice in a row so that he would step out of the meeting he was in and pick up the phone (that's the code). He got home a little while after I left. Daddy saved the day! Again and again. What a great man. (btw -- the eye specialist said come back in 4-6 months and Massi's eyes will either grow and focus on their own or he might need baby glasses. We'll wait and see.)

And if you want to read more: Laine had a dentist appointment on the stitches day. We were about 10 minutes away from the time to leave. We had to take Ridge to school, he went at lunch because he was really weak in the morning from the day before but then he felt okay and didn't want to miss the second-to-last day of school. So I was changing Massi's diaper and Sommer was gathering the toys she was going to bring. Laine went out to ride her bike around the yard. I was in the middle of the diaper change when I heard the initial cry from Laine, the big hurt cry that comes before the holding-the-breath part that is followed by the wail. Ridge was standing by the changing table, as he often does. He ran out to see Laine then quickly ran back in to tell me she was bleeding "all over her face." I got Massi's diaper straps on then left him in Ridge's care. Laine wasn't all over bloody but it was a lot of blood. I was glad that her face wasn't punctured all the way through as I thought initially.

So I tried to call the dentist but they were on lunch break. Then I tried to call the doctor's office but they were having a special meeting until 1:30. So I took Laine to the dentist anyway, the cut was close to her mouth and I couldn't tell if she needed care inside her mouth too. They were all so kind at the office. It was our first visit to this dentist and he is in the right profession as a pediatric dentist. He looked at Laine's mouth and the injury inside wasn't very big, just scratched. He would have done those stitches but he sent us to our doctor for the cut on her face. The hygienist gave us a huge wad of gauze in a sterile packet to take with us, Laine thought that was special, and the girls got to choose stickers. Massi cried from about the diaper change time until somewhere on the road to the dentist until he fell asleep. He was hungry and tired but I didn't have time to feed him until later. Poor guy. But he quickly forgave me.

At the doctor's office Laine was so brave. When she was getting the Novocaine shots she didn't flinch or cry. The doctor was worried because she was so still and not reacting. She asked her if it hurt and Laine gave a little nod that it did but she still didn't move. Later that evening she asked me why I thought she was so brave for the stitches. I said maybe it was because "you had your daddy with you and he helped you to feel brave." She kind of agreed but then said that as she was walking into the doctor's office she said a little prayer in her heart that she wouldn't be scared and then she wasn't.

Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:3

Ouch! I cut off my diva.

2011-06-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

I got a haircut a few weeks ago. I'm not fishing for compliments. It is a good haircut, Crystal knows what she is doing with hair. I had a picture of what I hoped it would look like. The problem is that I forgot that when my hair is this short it flips out at the ends. This is actually a good thing because it makes it look like I spent more time on my hair than I actually did. But it isn't what I was hoping to look like. It had been about 15 months since my last haircut and I was kind of liking long hair. And admittedly, it did make me feel a certain diva quality. JLo has long hair. Isn't she the ultimate diva? But I was/am having major post-baby hair loss and I hated finding my long hairs on Massi, all over his blankets, all over the floor. Even though I know it's my hair I still think it's gross. And it usually had spit-up in it since I most often wore it down because ponytails give me a headache and it kept me warm having it down my neck. So I chopped it and then realized, I've had this haircut so many times over the years, starting in college (but I don't have those pictures in the computer.) It kind of made me sad and I kind of feel blah about it.

Oh well. It's hair. It grows back.

Funny face

2011-06-12T22:33:00.001-07:00

Massi is rolling and scooting and sliding all over the floor these days. Here he is at the preschool community room. The box was more fun than the toys.

- via Paige's iPhone

Heart Cookies

2011-06-03T22:32:00.001-07:00

It was a rainy, cookie-making kind of day at the beginning of the week. Sommer wanted to make "heart cookies with pink frosting." I tried to change her mind but she wanted to make sugar cookies. I wanted to get something else done that day besides cookies but I gave in, to her delight.

She said, "but mom, you made sugar cookies with Cannon so you can make them with me!"

(On Sunday Cannon wanted to "bake something," so I helped him make sugar cookies with blue frosting.)

That got me. The kitchen was a mess, I didn't get any laundry folded, but the 3-year-old was happy.

Note to self: don't bake sugar cookies twice in one week. (unless it means happy time with happy kids. Then the mess and time is worth it.)

via Paige's iPhone

Oh delicious toes!

2011-06-03T22:20:00.001-07:00

Don't you want to squeeze him?

- via Paige's iPhone

The New Lawn Boy

2011-05-29T22:21:00.000-07:00

Is it really possible that this little boy is now my big boy, old enough to mow the lawn on his own?

Ridge did a great job mowing the lawn on his own for the first time. He won't always like to do it but he enjoyed the responsibility this time. I know because he gave me an over-the-shoulder grin when he walked by the window and saw me with the camera.

5 Months for Massimo

2011-05-29T22:14:00.000-07:00

Somehow this baby is surviving despite all the germs he consumes from his loving brothers and sisters, and despite rolling all over my dirty floors and despite putting everything he can into his mouth (but that's what he should be doing at this point so at least he's on track).

He's also sucking on his bottom lip. I know that's right on cue because Sommer was doing the same thing when she was a 5-month-old baby.

Sommer wins the rolly polly prize though.

Experiment failed/Friends who listen

2011-05-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

We had to return Jojo to K9 Rescue and Rehab and his amazing caretaker. He was a very even tempered dog and was in a lot of ways a good dog but we couldn't take care of him. Once he figured out he could escape easily from our house and yard he would try to get out as often as he could.

On Sunday afternoon Cannon thought Jojo was upstairs. The girls went outside but left the back door open. Jojo happily escaped the confines of our house and ran around the neighborhood. This time he didn't go far and we found him on our street even though he had been gone for 20 minutes or more.

On Monday evening, Cannon brought Jojo inside through the back door to get his dinner ready, not realizing that the girls had just gone out the front door and left it open (see the pattern here?). Jojo promptly ran out the front door and by the time Cannon had the food ready the dog was long gone. Really long gone. Tamera, the owner of K9 Rescue, was really understanding and positive and worked with us to find him. All her dogs are micro chipped and on Tuesday morning she got a call from an animal surgery center not very nearby, where Jojo had been dropped off.

Here's where I was so grateful for my friend Marie who listened to God's whispering and came to my house. I was on the phone with Tamera, trying to figure out how to go get Jojo, when Marie drove up with a present for me -- souvenirs from her Hawaii trip. I explained to her what was going on and she offered to pick up Jojo for me. She was truly Heaven sent.

So she brought Jojo home to us, let him run inside the front door but the girls had just ran out the back door and left it open. I had just changed Massi's diaper and was still buttoning up is onesies when I realized what had happened. Marie chased Jojo out the back door, I ran out the front door, baby in arms, Sommer chasing me, and up the driveway in time to see Jojo disappearing into the neighbor's yard across the street. I yelled to Marie to grab the leash from the kitchen counter and I chased the dog who evaded capture for a bit but then got too curious about a smell and I was able to grab his collar and hold him until Marie got his leash on.

So Jojo had to spend the rest of the time at our house on the dog cable. Except when Cannon unhooked him to get untangled from the trampoline poles and Jojo realized he wasn't leashed and dragged Cannon toward the house. Cannon was yelling at me in panic so I ran to the back door, no baby in hand this time, and took Jojo's collar from Cannon while he grabbed the leash. Jojo used his strength to muscle me a few feet toward the freedom run that is the driveway until I straddled him and grabbed his collar with both hands. Plus, when inside, Jojo had taken to standing at the front door, head down, just waiting for someone to open it and let him loose.

Obviously we have a problem closing doors around our house.

So Jojo is a no-go. Cannon cried and cried on Monday night when Jojo was lost but he had come to terms with giving him up by Tuesday afternoon and helped Eric return him that evening. So someday Cannon will get his dog but we have to wait a bit longer.

Experiment

2011-05-21T23:44:00.001-07:00

This is Jojo. We're fostering him for a few days to see if he is a good fit for our family. He is part cattle dog, part border collie. He has the greatest temperment, never barks and isn't excitable when all the kids are yelling and running. And Laine, who has been fearful of dogs forever, loves this mutt already.

He's supposed to be house trained but today while I was changing Massi's diaper he came in the room and peed on Ridge's bookshelf, ruining a couple of books and magazines and yearbooks. When I saw what he was doing I. Freaked. Out. Scaring Massi in the process. Everyone else was gone getting the dog cable for the yard (and birthday shopping for me but I wasn't supposed to know). I more than a little lost it and cried and cried. Not in the house. Not in my baby's room. Eric and Cannon cleaned up the mess and got the cable strung across the yard since we don't have a completely fenced area.

So it is still an experiment. I'll let you know...

- via Paige's iPhone

67 and sunny

2011-05-19T16:45:00.001-07:00

First beach day of the year. I'm wearing pants because it really isn't that warm.

White noise

2011-05-09T13:26:00.001-07:00

Guess who gets really relaxed by the sound of the vacuum?

- via Paige's iPhone

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T23:12:00.000-07:00

Because I am far from perfect and because I too often let motherguilt get the best of me, I'm glad to have this day, to cherish my roll as a mom and smile and joy in my children. It's a wonder sometimes that they are all functioning so well, a testament to their strong spirits that were created by God. I'm grateful for a husband who tries to make the day as special as possible. I'm so happy the sun came out for a long while today. I'm thankful for my own mother who taught me so much and is my dearest friend.
(ps - We took these photos after church. Too hard to manage that before our 9:30 start. Cannon had to re-dress when we got home because he sluffs all his Sunday clothes off as soon as possible, usually the tie comes off during church. Laine got her feelings hurt on the way home and refused to take a picture with me until she could be happy again. Poor thing. She was crying, standing by the bushes near the driveway and saying "I don't want to take a picture until I can be happy." Sweet girl with drama queen tendencies. Luckily she has Cannon who can be as sensitive as well as he can tease and he had her laughing after lunch so she was happy to pose with me later.)

Kitchen redo done!

2011-05-07T19:24:00.001-07:00

Eric installed the butcher block counter top today, the last thing needed to finish the kitchen remodel. It looks really nice. This tiny house should have had a hood installed long ago, it makes a huge difference.

- via Paige's iPhone

4 months old

2011-05-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

Massi is a happy little guy. He likes to be held, likes to watch and laugh when the kids jump around in his face, likes to grab whatever he can so he can slobber on it, doesn't like bottles yet (gags on them), still spits up a lot but we're all used to it and the laundry it creates. He can roll from front to back, loves to splash in the bathtub, is trying to grow teeth. He is as patient as possible with my Relief Society meetings at church and mid-week. He likes the stroller even though all he gets is a cheap-o umbrella one, likes to face forward every second of the day so he can see all of the action. We are blessed by this blue-eyed boy in our family.

Stats:
15 lbs 8 oz
25.5"

Sommer tells me

2011-04-25T13:10:00.001-07:00

"just call me Josephine Blaser for short and not
Slipper bipper
Crocky wocky
Toothy woothy
Or pink fan.
Because I don't like the names you call me."

If I called her any of those names this conversation wouldn't have been so hilarious. She came up with this list of supposed nicknames and rattled them off to me. She didn't tell me I couldn't call her munchkin bunny, she approves of that one that I actually use. SoJo is also taboo though.
I just love 3.

- via Paige's iPhone

Why?

2011-04-11T16:34:00.001-07:00

Because a little bit of sun and warmer temps in the lower 50s make too tempting a combination to pass up. (and an extra load of laundry for mom.)

via Paige's iPhone

Kind of awesome couch

2011-04-09T12:41:00.001-07:00

So last week the kids had Friday off for a teacher work day. In an effort to get us all out of the house despite the rain we headed to the DI to give them our donations and spend a little money on other peoples' trash we deemed as treasure. Well, sitting on the furniture section was this kind of awesome old couch in really good condition. Perhaps it was in a sweet grandma's home for many years and she passed on, leaving the flower gem to relatives who didn't have space for it's charm in their homes.

Well I decided to make space because I have a couch that I strongly dislike, a used, free-to-us deal that quickly began to fall apart and look awful.

So I bought this gem for the hefty sum of $25. It even matches the red and yellow color scheme. This isn't exactly my taste but I kind of love it and our house is such an old cottage that it fits in perfectly.

- via Paige's iPhone

Special hairy visitor

2011-04-01T11:41:00.001-07:00

Murphy came to visit us today for a short while. This gorgeous Leonburger goes to church with his owner who is in another ward. Murphy is being trained to help a disabled man so he goes everywhere with her. I've talked with her a few times about the dog but last Sunday I kind of cornered her and invited myself over to learn more about having one for our family. She volunteered to come to our house when they were out and about so we could see what it is like having this massive animal in our home.

And massive he is. Murphy weighs about 145 and is not full grown yet at 3yo. Cannon was in love and by mid-visit was laying all over this lion/teddybear and Murphy didn't mind a bit.

Cannon gets a dog soon for his 8th birthday. I'm not sure we can afford this kind but I do love them. When we were first married Eric and I wanted a Newfoundland but we never got one. Then I found out that Leos don't drool. At this point with all the spit up from baby and missed toilet shots from the bigger kids maybe dog drool doesn't matter.

We're looking at shelter dogs too, trying to find the best fit for our family right now. Cannon gets the dog but he doesn't really get to choose since I know I'll be caring for the dog a lot too. Adding another family member, kind of crazy timing.

via Paige's iPhone

Idol confession

2011-03-31T23:58:00.000-07:00

I'm totally an American Idol junkie this season. I haven't watched it since season 1 and I didn't plan on watching this season but I tuned in one night and I was hooked. (Having a breast feeding baby keeps me sitting down more often and at this point, I'm often too tired to try to read.) I love the judges. Could I have some people to primp me like JLo? She's always so pretty. But what I love about them most is that since there is no more Simon, there is such a positive vibe throughout the show. The criticism is constructive and feels positive which lifts the mood of the entire show. Steven Tyler surprised me. I thought he'd be different but he's really likable and not as vain as I thought he'd be. And it is funny to see him shake his wavy hair around his old man neck that he's trying to hide.

And then there's this group of kids who sing so well, they're already such great performers, it is so fun to watch every week. Though I am glad I have the fast forward option because I don't love all of them.
My favorites? James, the one on the far left with the tan jacket. He has turrets syndrome but when he sings all his twitching goes away. He's a rock star singer, not my type of music but I love watching him perform.
And Pia, the brunette in the middle. She's a ballad singer. Doesn't every generation need their Celine?
Then there's that cute kid on the far right, Scotty. He has the deepest bass voice it just makes me laugh to hear this 17yo kid sing and talk with such a low tone. He sings country, not my type either, but I like his songs.

So there. I've said it.
When does Project Runway start again?

3yo self portrait

2011-03-25T12:29:00.001-07:00

Sommer's picture of herself. She asked me to write yipee! Isn't that just how 3 should feel?

via Paige's iPhone

Fresh brush derby

2011-03-24T11:37:00.001-07:00

Pinewood derby was all about original design for Ridge this year.

First place finish would have been nice but third had to do. The derby is all about a lesson in how to loose gracefully.

He taught Massi a little lesson about what to expect in a few years.

The night was just what you'd expect, complete with Eric putting the wheels on 10 minutes before start time.
Good sport Ridge.

via Paige's iPhone

Bumbo

2011-03-22T00:05:00.001-07:00

Trying it out. He's not quite steady enough yet and only sat there for a few minutes before flopping his heavy head over and getting worried.
( I just love those droopy cheeks and puppy hands.)

The girls each took turns squeezing their tiny bums into the seat. They were giggling and scooting around until bedtime.

Toothbrush is there because Ridge tossed it to him after he finished using it as a model for his pinewood derby car.

- via Paige's iPhone

Laine: fashion and fun

2011-03-16T11:18:00.000-07:00

We recently re-read Fancy Nancy: Explorer Extraordinaire. Laine decided that she wanted to have a club just like Fancy Nancy and Bree so she set about organizing. She made little badges on little squares of paper to tape on the tutus, like the boy scout merit badge shoulder things. (What are those called? I should know.) She planned activities to earn the badges, including an obstacle course that she and Sommer made in the backyard.

The rain stopped long enough for the club to accomplish everything she had hoped with her friend Riley. By the time the rain picked up again they were bored and ready to play Just Dance Kids on the Wii. And since she really is a thoughtful sister, she included Sommer in the game.

Have you noticed the trend on Mormon Mommy blogs to post What-I-Wore-Wednesdays? There are lots of them right now. I'm not sure what I think about them. It doesn't really make me want to read a blog. It did make me think I should document what my 6-year-old wears because she often looks cute but zany and that's worth a photo.
This ensemble was inspired by a hand-me-down slip. When she saw it she thought it was a pretty summer dress, then a nightgown. I explained the use of slips, that they go under dresses. That night before bed she asked if she could wear the slip if it was under a t-shirt and over leggings, because then it would look like a skirt. How could I refuse that logic? (She's showing off the monster pencil topper that she got at school that day.) Joys of being a little girl.

50/50/50

2011-03-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

At his checkup last week, 2 1/2 months old, Massi weighed 13 lbs. 4oz, measured 24" long and his head measured 41cm. 50th percentile all around. Growing like he should.
I talked to the dr about all the spit up. He gave me a list of possible foods that could cause it including broccoli, onions, peppers, chocolate, citrus, spicy food, brussel sprouts, cabbage and sometimes milk. Notice that cookies are not on the list. Too many things to eliminate so we're just going to have to live with spitup for a little while longer, though I am trying to avoid citrus this week. Not making a difference so far... Massi is gaining weight so we aren't worried, just watch where you step if you visit.

#4 gets a haircut

2011-03-08T12:15:00.001-08:00

I trimmed Sommer's bangs yesterday and didn't do a very good job so this morning I suggested a haircut. She likes it, it suits her and helps frame her pretty eyes better. But don't look too closely -- cutting hair is not one of my talents.

- via Paige's iPhone

reading buddies

2011-03-04T12:11:00.000-08:00

Just hanging out, reading a book together.

I guess Massi got bored because he rolled himself right off Ridge's lap.

No harm done. Lots of laughs from the big brother. Baby brother didn't even cry.

(This was about a month ago. Massi kicks way too much to sit like this now.)

Happy 12th

2011-03-03T16:43:00.000-08:00

Eric and I celebrated our 12th anniversary last month. He brought home a "wedding cake" as a treat. I thought that was pretty cute. It was rich and delicious too -- rasberry filling, white chocolate buttercream frosting.
This photo is the perfect snippet of our lives right now -- baby bathtub in the sink next to the anniversary cake. Just trying to make it all work. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.
I'm lucky he is so patient and positive, especially now when I feel so sleep deprived and negative.
loveyou E.

Just life

2011-03-02T12:24:00.001-08:00

Playing game, kicking on the floor, laundry, nickjr on the computer, avoiding the blustery day outside. At least until piano lessons.

- via Paige's iPhone

"You get a pass."

2011-03-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

Here's a story for you.

Sometime in the weeks after Massi was born, I got a phone call from a mom inviting Cannon to a birthday party. I was just about to leave so I shouldn't have answered the phone, but I did. I scribbled down the details about the party for "Zeb" and went on my way.

Cannon was really excited to go to Zeb's party. He hadn't seen Zeb since football season and also, during football season he had missed a skating party because of a football game. So we got a present, a bow and arrow set, and Cannon looked forward to the event.

Day of the party arrived. I brought Massi with us and we drove the 20 minutes to the skate rink. I went in with Cannon to help him find the people and to help him with his skates. We looked for someone familiar, someone else from football. Cannon didn't see anyone he recognized but I saw a few kids from Ridge's class at school.

We found a table with presents on it addressed to Zeb so we set our gift down and the mom approached us. She gave us a ticket for skates and I helped Cannon hand in his shoes at the counter and get the right size. We went back to the table and the mom asked me to repeat Cannon's name. I repeated it and she asked,
"Is he new to the program?"

About the same time another kid at the party asked Cannon,
"Are you Ridge's brother?" Cannon nodded and I started to realize what had happened.

I told the mom that no, Cannon wasn't in the high cap program, he knows Zeb from football. To which the mom looked at me and shook her head with a look like, my son? No football for this family.

And I asked again, this is a party for Zeb? I thought you invited Cannon to the party when we were on the phone.
She thought that maybe she said Cameron instead of Ridge since there is a Cameron in the class. That would explain the mix-up.

Cannon was standing by me during this conversation, looking more and more dejected as it went on. Plus, I had a baby on my arm, spit-up running down his chin, starting to get fussy. The mom said that it was okay if we went home and got Ridge and they could both come to the party since she had a couple of extra skating tickets. I called Eric, and vented my frustration and asked Ridge if he wanted to come. But really I wasn't going to drive home and back again. That's ridiculous. Ridge didn't want to go since he's never been skating and because he didn't have a present. I was close to tears, mostly because I was disappointed for Cannon.

Cannon and I worked out that everything would be alright if he got to keep the present and we would just leave.

I looked for the mom to tell her thanks, but we're leaving, but I couldn't see her anywhere. We took our present and proceeded to exit when I saw another mom from the class. I stopped and explained the situation to her, that we were leaving, that I had brought the wrong son to a birthday party (sheesh) and she tells me,

"You get a pass."

I think I spluttered something like, the mom said the wrong name, they both know a boy named Zeb! (I had no idea there was a boy in Ridge's class named Zeb. He never mentions him. And even when Cannon was wrapping the gift he never said anything like, Hey, there's a boy in my class named Zeb too. It isn't a common name -- yes, name changed but the real name wasn't common either.)

But this other mom just looked at me with this seeing and not hearing glaze on her eyes, seeing an exhausted mother of five who can't keep her children straight.
So we left.
And when we got in the car I cried.

And I called Eric before I started driving and vented my frustration. (I had to sit in the back seat and feed Massi anyway.)

Then later the mom called Eric and said that she was "totally cool with it." And to ask if Ridge was coming.

Grrr. Sigh.

So lessons learned:

Never answer the phone, let them leave a message.

If someone invites my child to a party, get more details. You just don't know how many Zebs are out there.

Little smile

2011-02-09T09:04:00.001-08:00

Natural instinct prompts babies to start smiling and cooing at just the right time. I'm at a point of exhaustion when my left eye is often twitching. But this sweet little smile is worth it. He's smiling even though he screamed himself to sleep on the drive taking the kids to school. Trusting little darling.

- via Paige's iPhone

Big brother little brother

2011-01-28T17:40:00.001-08:00

Ridge had a little chat with Massi today on the floor in their room. They're going to be good friends. Though Massi will teach Ridge a lot of patience when he starts to crawl and chew things. Hopefully Massi doesn't swallow too many Legos.

- via Paige's iPhone

Birthday dinner

2011-01-27T23:40:00.001-08:00

Laine recovered from her flu and so we went out for her birthday dinner at her choice, Buca di Beppo's. She happily ate her bowl of pasta and brownie treat.

Laine is such a delightful girl. She's a happy playmate to all her siblings, a good sport, a peacemaker, a willing helper. We are so blessed by her sweet spirit in our family.

- via Paige's iPhone

Very unmerry birthday

2011-01-26T15:15:00.001-08:00

Laine is spending her 6th birthday with the stomach flu, the last of the kids to get it. Poor girl.

Hopefully she's back to her happy healthy self tomorrow.

- via Paige's iPhone

Wee morning hours*

2011-01-26T07:18:00.001-08:00

3am -- Massi wakes up to eat.

4am -- Ridge comes in crying to tell us he forgot he had Latin roots homework. I told him I'd wake him up 30 min earlier than usual but that wasn't ok. He does the homework then. Eric gets up to help him. Takes about 20 min.

4:30am -- Cannon hurries downstairs to tell us that "Laine threwup in her bed! She's sick for her birthday!" Poor girl. This stomach bug has jumped from kid to kid very slowly. And as I feared, Laine got it for her birthday.

The rest of the wee hours -- Massi eats again, Laine is sick again, Eric leaves for work, Laine is sick twice.

And now the day begins.

*All times approximate.

- via Paige's iPhone

The spits

2011-01-25T16:53:00.001-08:00

Cannon was holding Massi last night while I was reading to him. Massi spit up on him three times. Cannon took it fine but didn't want to keep the dirty shirts on for more than a minute. (we're reading "peter and the Starcatchers" now. The 3 book set was gifted to me by Eric's sister.) So Cannon added 3 shirts to the dirty clothes pile in about 5 minutes.

Massi has become quite a spit up champ, enough to make me think I might have to eat differently. No milk? Chocolate? Broccoli? Not sure I'm up for that though.

Bought the app to blog from my phone. Maybe that will help me keep up better, at least with the blog. If only there was an app for getting laundry done.

- via Paige's iPhone

Little World

2011-01-15T17:39:00.000-08:00

Massi's little life is getting into a routine. He sleeps best smooshed up in his car seat and was obviously used to sleeping amidst the turmoil his siblings cause because they don't wake him up. He also doesn't get upset if I yell to one of the kids while I'm holding him. He's used to that too. I'm still in survival mode and as Eric said today, "these kids are ganging up on us!" I'll say it again, I don't know how pioneer women survived this kind of thing without hot showers which keep me sane, wake me up and wash away the tears these days.

Diaper changing station, located in his room that he shares with Ridge. Massi hates cold wipes on his bum and having bare feet makes him get especially nervous.

I love my portable diaper station! Ridge made the toolbox at scouts and didn't have an immediate use for it so I asked if I could have it for diapers and such. I can just carry everything back and forth from our room, where he sleeps carseat inside pack-n-play, to his room where we do this kind of business during the day.

Here we are in my chair in the corner of my room. A lovely little spot for reading and feeding this baby. Come over and there's a good chance you'll find me here these days.

Face to face time with Dad. He isn't always this good for Eric though. I took three kids to the library the other night and Massi woke up and screamed the entire time for his dad.

Laine trying to burp him but he was tickling her by scratching his little hands by her neck.

Ridge is a great help. When Massi cries he is happy to pick him up. Thursday I was trying to help Cannon with some homework that he was very reluctant to do. Massi woke up, or wasn't quite asleep, and Ridge went to get him, laid him on a pillow on the floor in the living room where Ridge was working on his homework, and kept him calm until Cannon and I finished.

We haven't ventured out very much. Massi is usually patient with the morning school run and we've only been late once and that was just by a few minutes and it wasn't his fault.

That's what's going on in our little world these days.

Massimo's here!

2010-12-31T16:09:00.000-08:00

He made it! I made it! (Phew!) Everyone is so happy Massimo's here. They were all very sweet when they came to meet him in the hospital. I'll spare you all the birth details, for now at least. Massimo was my biggest baby weighing in at 8 lbs 14 oz. and 21" long. (Cannon was also 21") He's lost some weight, as happens, but he seems to be a champ at eating so I'm sure that those lost ounces will go back on quickly. That first night, holding him in the hospital, he did feel heavy. Fun to have a chubby newborn.

He's quite a novelty. Everyone asks if they can be the first to hold him in the morning and after every nap, Sommer not as much as the older three. They patiently and happily hold him and wait for him to make funny noises. The line for helping with his bath in the evening isn't moving fast enough.

I was greeted with a big mural in the front windows.

Eric and Ridge playing Donkey Kong, early Wii lessons.

Four days old. I'm tired, as happens when the baby decides that sleeping during the night isn't as fun as being held because he doesn't want to burp, but happy to have this little boy part of our family, finally.

Funniest Christmas Morning Moment

2010-12-26T22:40:00.000-08:00

Sommer has lately perfected her pout. It is pretty cute and gets Eric every time she uses it on him but I've seen it too much over the last few weeks so I know not to fall for it anymore.

It was Sommer's turn to open a present, a gift from Laine and Ridge. Sommer opened it and could not figure out what it was and thought it was a trick kind of present. She immediately put on her pout and asked, "what is it?" She could not see, even after we told her, that it was a stuffed animal fish. That man-hand would be mine, trying to show her how the fish can swim. Ridge had won it in one of those claw machine games at ToysRUs. It was a "play-til-you-win" game and he was exicted that he got to win an extra gift for Sommer and Cannon. He's old enough that he thought Sommer's reaction was hilarious. And that's Laine trying to explain to Sommer how the fish can be part of their imaginary play. (Laine is a wonderful peacemaker.)

I put away Christmas today. The fish went in with Sommer's ornaments so we can remember this funny story every year. (Not a good Sunday activity -- putting everything away. But with my mom coming into town tomorrow and this baby coming on Tuesday, thanks to the help of the dr, I wanted to have the Christmas things away so there's space to bring a baby home.)

In every other way, Sommer was a delight to give to this year. She exclaimed with every present, "This is just what I always wanted!" Her favorite gift is a Rudolph plush toy that she's been asking for since early November.
And the aftermath. Sommer fell asleep in that position three times this past week. Ridge happily playing his new Donkey Kong Wii game and Laine doing some beading. Cannon and Eric were upstairs working on a Lego Bionicle set.
Just have to add, since this has turned into a Sommer post, that she can't produce a BM unless she is in this position, thus she is not fully potty-trained. I tried to get her completely potty trained over the fall but then gave up. I'll fight her about it again in a couple more months. For now, we'll just let "child's pose" work for her.

Sunday Christmas picture

2010-12-23T09:53:00.000-08:00

We tried...

Nested

2010-12-22T16:46:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to do. I've been trying to invent nesting tasks for myself but really I've just been doing all the things that should get done anyway, things that will have to be done again in a few days.
Bathrooms cleaned, floors washed, laundry washed and folded with stunning regularity, kitchen sink scoured. The regular things.
And regular things for the season as well. Christmas cards sent (I didn't even manage that last year), treats baked and delivered to friends -- though I would have given to more people but I lost my baking desire, presents purchased and most of them wrapped the same night.
Yesterday I did the floors, took all the kids to Costco for lunch and a few purchases, including the Christmas dinner ham, then we went to the park (their idea). It wasn't raining and wasn't freezing so why not? We didn't last long as the kick ball game got too emotional. But still, we went. I even made dinner.
We've been to the church Christmas breakfast and a church social, made it to Eric's company holiday gathering, taken our trip downtown, driven the neighborhoods that are fantastically decorated with lights. And last night I made everyone sit and watch Beauty and the Beast with me since none of my children has seen it before.
Slowly, my body is getting ready to have this baby. I'm not sure how I'm still pregnant. Those ladies on A Baby Story are in the hospital in labor when they're at the point my body is at. I say I have fast deliveries but maybe I should be saying they're actually really long. I've kind of been in labor for 3 weeks now and my dr is going to be very surprised to see me again in his office tomorrow instead the hospital.
Today my body is tired and still pregnant. I'm putting frozen pizza in the oven for dinner. The bathrooms, floors, dishes and laundry are dirty, again. Just a few more days....

Showered

2010-12-22T16:36:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago my friend Kelly hosted a baby shower for me. It was lovely, as is everything that Kelly touches. And I felt very loved and very grateful for friends who came to help welcome Massimo to our family. We ate delicious treats and drank eggnog floats. The game was all about me and everyone learned much more than they needed to know about my previous pregnancies and life as a mom. I got to tell a lot of stories. I'm sorry to say that I forgot my camera.

And here's the emotional pregnant woman story for this post.

A few months ago Eric asked me who was doing my baby shower. I started to cry and said no one because this is a 5th baby and I felt bad about having friends give me presents when technically we shouldn't need anything for this child. Also because of the time of year. I hated asking people to give to me when there are charities to give to, let alone all the family members to buy for. Also, because I feel like I'll never be able to reciprocate the kindnesses given me by my friends. I know this isn't true, someday I'll have a brain and time to think again and be a good friend again, but right now I'm not really a good friend. And my friends have done so much for me when I've had other babies, I felt bad asking for more. I couldn't think about it without crying. Eric tried to convince me otherwise but I couldn't shake that feeling and he stopped asking. Then a month ago Kelly texted me and asked if she could host a shower for me. I immediately started bawling and spent most of the day in tears. Because even though I felt bad, Massimo really did need a baby shower. I had put off buying things for him and at the time had 1 pj, a santa hat and 5 onesies in newborn/0-3m size. The boy clothes had been given away long ago. Now Massimo has a lot of things to wear on his tiny body, a new baby bathtub and lots of diapers and wipes to start us off. What a blessing to have kind friends.

And what a blessing to have a 5th baby.

Once again, downtown Christmas adventure

2010-12-18T22:43:00.000-08:00

Fun times again on our now very familiar downtown trek during the holidays. Highlight for the kids was probably that they got two rides this year -- one on the holiday carousel and another at the deserted funpark that sits next to the monorail. Laine, Ridge and Sommer chose to ride the roller coaster. Cannon and Eric rode the Tornado. Sommer wasn't tall enough but Ridge was tall enough to accompany her which made her so happy.

When we were waiting for the monorail to come take us back to the Seattle Center a man commented to me, "and you thought one was hard. Try three!" He was a grandfather, pushing two empty strollers. His wife was feeding a bottle to the baby grandchild. I laughed and pointed to my stomach and said, "this is our 5th!" Which made him chuckle and shake his head and say something like "well God bless you." I know He will. We'll need it.

Piano recital footage

2010-12-18T22:31:00.000-08:00

Friday night the kids had their piano recital. This post is for the Grandparents, or those of you who want to remember how it felt to have butterflies in your stomach waiting for your turn to perform. (We should get a better camera... )

Girls dressed up for the recital. I pulled out the waving iron to make fancy hair. The boys reluctantly put on nice shirts and ties.
(This angle makes the Christmas tree look tiny.)

cards coming...

2010-12-14T17:09:00.000-08:00

I actually do have Christmas cards to send this year. I'm sharing Laine's special drawing as a header for a while, it turned out so cute. That was the original card but I went with a much-less-than-perfect family photo instead. One more thing that I'll mark of the to-do list by the end of the week. I was hoping I'd have a cute Santa hat picture with all the kids to send out for Christmas cards and baby announcement but that's not the happening. Sigh. I wonder if this baby knows that I have a to-do list and he's patiently waiting until that list is complete to make his arrival. Probably not because really, is the to-do list ever done?

Summer Memory

2010-12-09T11:49:00.000-08:00

So happy and warm in the soCal sunshine.

Blaser Buffet

2010-12-08T10:25:00.000-08:00

Sunday afternoon the girls were playing "bakery" and the game turned into a full-scale restaurant owned and managed by all the kids. They made a menu, server name tags, set up the restaurant floor in the girls' bedroom, roped off Cannon's room for employees only and had the food prep area in the eaves. Ridge took our orders and Cannon and Laine were the servers. Chad and Angie were invited too and we all enjoyed a different kind of Sunday dinner.

Eric was so happy with his service that he tipped each of the kids $2 -- much to their surprise. Sommer was so happy with the evening that she vomited all over as we were finishing our food. Too much hot chocolate. The "staff" helped to clean up, Eric cleaned the vomit, and I finished the cleaning on Monday. The Blaser Buffet was fun but we'll limit our visits to this fine establishment to maybe just twice a year.

tree farm 2010

2010-12-07T12:48:00.000-08:00

Front of the ferry, playing in the wind.

Look at the size of that basketball!

3 of ours and one of theirs. Jackets off because they were playing hide-and-seek and got hot since it was 45 degrees outside.

The perfect tree, for this year.

Saturday was a gorgeous day to be alive in Seattle. We took the ferry across the water to our favorite Christmas tree farm. The sky was bright blue and clear allowing a view of the snow-capped Olympic mountains. Eric invited a friend from work and his family to join us on our tree adventure this year. Aunt Angie came with us as well, making it even more fun.

The kids enjoyed several rounds of hide-and-seek except for Sommer who was very concerned with finding a tree. She seemed worried that we weren't choosing one immediately, after all, trees were all over the place to choose from and each one seemed right to her. But we had to make the trip across the Sound worth it so we tromped most of the farm, searching for the right tree. We tromped a little too long reducing poor Sommer to tears. But we found a great tree, got to enjoy the sunshine, meet new friends and take a ferry boat ride. Happy day.

Cannon vs. the Spelling Test

2010-12-02T08:50:00.000-08:00

Cannon is working very hard to keep up with his class in math and spelling. At the beginning of the year it seemed that holding his pencil was even a laborious task. He is more comfortable now but still has to make a concentrated effort to write. He is often reluctant to do his homework but is getting better at taking the time for homework and spelling practice without having a fit.

We realized right away this year that we'd have to practice every night with him on his spelling so he could have a good grade on his tests. In one of the early weeks of spelling he came home with a fairly difficult set of words. He worked all week and knew the words by the time spelling day came. Eric spent some time with him the night before his test, helping him remember the phonics they were using on the test and he even called him in the morning while we were eating breakfast to give Cannon an encouraging word and ask him one more time what those phonics were.

As you see above, Cannon wrote those phonics on the top of his test, ready to get 100%. Then the teacher started saying the words to spell and not one of them was on Cannon's list that he had brought home. A very discouraged boy came in the door after school and said something like, "it didn't even matter that I studied, none of those words were on the test." Isn't that a sad scribble on the top of his paper? The realization that he wasn't prepared with the right material.

We communicated with the teacher immediately. Cannon seemed to be the only one with the wrong list of words. But he talked to Cannon about it, not that it changed his score but at least it was recognized that he had the wrong list.

A couple of weeks of normal tests, never with a 100% score because they are marked off for having backwards letters or capitals instead of lowercase, something Cannon has to really think about to get right.

Then another test came home with a horrible score because once again Cannon had received the wrong list. Though if he hadn't been marked off for reversals and capital letters he would have gotten a 9 out of 12, which we were quick to point out to Cannon so that he wouldn't feel like a complete failure and loose his gumption to try.

Eric requested a call from the teacher to discuss the matter. The next time the spelling list came home there were three lists printed on the back with the teachers names listed with each one to avoid this happening again. It turns out a few students had this happen to them, though not ones from his classroom, just others in the 2nd/3rd grades with this set of teachers who work together.

Finally, the week before Thanksgiving break, success! 100%. Hooray for Cannon!
Now on to the next one.

Flower Power!

2010-12-01T09:49:00.000-08:00

The K-2 musical/dance performance of the year was last night. Laine and Cannon were in the program together this year, singing and dancing to all your favorites from the '60s, though Laine's grade danced the Twist and isn't that earlier in time? Laine loved the spotlight. Cannon was excited when we got there then turned shy when he actually performed with his class. They both have really great singing voices and musical memory for songs. Cannon was really happy to introduce his two little sisters to all his friends he could find before the performance. They both wore their "costumes" to school today.

Little side note.... This is our 5th year in a row going to one of these performances. They are always in the high school gym to accommodate all the families who come to watch. Here's the thing, the bleachers are horrible to navigate. There is no aisle anywhere so if you get there a bit later than everyone else, or right on time when your kids are supposed to be there, then it is nearly impossible to get seating. Of course the front rows fill up first and people ignore you when you are standing in front of them, trying to find an empty spot to clambor up to the rows in the back that are empty. At the next PTA meeting (I'm still secretary) I'm going to suggest that they tape off an aisle down the middle to make it easier for everyone to find a seat. It really is a ridiculous situation. Though the high school is being remodeled and rebuilt in the near future. Maybe the gym will be torn down by next fall.

Haircuts

2010-11-29T08:07:00.000-08:00

before

after

Eric hasn't had a haircut since February. And that haircut was really a buzz cut done by a friend, the punishment for not meeting his weightloss/exercise goal for the month. I can't remember when the boys last had theirs done. Maybe in the summer? Ridge hates when his hair gets close to his eyebrows and Cannon didn't want a haircut as he is preferring his longish these days (I would too with his golden locks). But finally, they all went and got cleaned up during our unexpected holiday time at home. They were all happy enough with their cuts even though the haircutter wrote "Gjertic, Bridge, and Kon" on their bill for their names, little language barrier.

Eric has gotten a lot of grief about his hair length over the past couple months. Not from me though. It did look quite unruly but Eric is so much more than his haircut. He's been working so much lately and hasn't taken the time he needs for himself. And his longer hair didn't mean that his testimony of the gospel was shorter. I know how busy he's been with work and other things. And on the Saturdays when he hasn't worked, he was taking care of neglected things at home, mainly his kids, or watching his son play football.

We're all so much more than our outside appearances. I wish I could see souls better. I'd be a better person for it.

not-what-we-planned Thanksgiving

2010-11-26T17:10:00.000-08:00

The night before Thanksgiving our plans for the weekend changed. We were getting ready to head over the mountain to Spokane to stay with Eric's cousin and family but the weather made it too much to travel over the mountain pass. Our van wasn't the best vehicle to navigate snowy roads, even with Eric's master driving skills (and that isn't a sarcastic remark). The kids were very disappointed, they enjoyed our trip last year so much. Laine wept and it took a long time to console her. We had a fireplace fire and roasted marshmellows and talked about the fun we'd have anyway.

Thanksgiving morning brought a fresh coat of snow to our yard. Everyone played for a long time, except me and Sommer. I took a long shower and Sommer watched a show then joined in the snow fun for a short bit.

After snow play we headed off to see Tangled, which everyone enjoyed. I love this new princess. Maybe because she seems to be a mix of all of the best qualities of all the princesses before. Fun show.

Sommer showing off her messy chocolate shirt, fingers and face.

And what do you do for Thanksgiving dinner you bought appetizers and drinks for 22 people and none of the other feasting foods? You head out to Old Country Buffet to dine with 300 other souls with no better place to go for the holiday. Sure made it easy-peasy for me with no clean-up involved. And everyone got to choose their own dinner, and eat double desserts. Happiness all around. Had I not been 8 months pregnant I probably would have gone out to the grocery store and bought things to make our own holiday feast, but by that time of day I was too tired for that kind of effort, in body and mind.

As we were eating our gourmet buffet food, Eric said to me, "let's not do this again." I'd have to agree. Though the turkey was actually very moist.

And here's a very unflattering picture to prove I was there too, and that yes indeed, I have gained 30+ pounds -- and I have a month to go.

How much snow...

2010-11-22T14:10:00.000-08:00

...does it take to close school 2 hours early? Not much around here. I'm trying to at least feign a good attitude about the weather for my kids' sake. The boys were thrilled and spent a long time playing outside right after school. The girls are happily playing inside. I'm making beef stew ala Paula Dean, requested by the husband (the beef stew part, not the Paula Dean part), so it smells good in here. I skidded out on the way to school this morning, forgot my snow driving skills and didn't turn the wheel against the skid. Not a bad one and I wasn't going fast, just bumped a curb and went on my way.

Light snow falling now. It is lovely. But it is cold. And snow clothes are wet and messy. And I'll stop there. Happy thoughts.

things I didn't post last month

2010-11-18T12:07:00.000-08:00

Just posting a few photos from when my computer was out of commission.

Sommer found a marble and exclaimed to me, "there's a tiny banana inside this ball!"

I took Cannon to football practice and left the girls with Ridge, leaving them alone for about 40 minutes. Normally they would have watched TV or watched Ridge play Mario. This time the girls discovered the bag of shredded paper I'd left in my room. (In trying to get organized I've been going through files and shredding old bills and such.) Too tempting to resist, I can only imagine the fun they had making snow showers all over our bedroom. Ridge said he tried to stop them but I'm pretty sure he also had some fun with it.
Eric actually got home a bit earlier than usual that day and found the mess first, giving me a chance to laugh at the mess instead of get angry about it. We found shredded paper bits all over the house for weeks.

Ridge turned 10 in October! He did get a big ticket item -- an ipod, but he also wanted a lot of books, lists that I gave the grandparents and they came through with all of them! This photo shows his reaction to opening a book that he'd hoped to recieve by one of his favorite authors.

And before everything in our yard turned soggy, the boys discovered they could sit on top of the hedges when they were trying to retrieve a football. Uncle Chad was outside and helped the girls hop up and then they requested a photo. I suppose so they could remember that sometimes it is sunny and dry here. I've already forgotten that.

Rejection Letter #1: check

2010-11-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I sent off my first query letter and few pages of my book manuscript to a literary agent. A couple of weeks ago I got my first rejection letter. Kind of a rite of passage for me, feels like I'm more officially a writer than just a wanna-be one.

It was actually a very kind rejection, not completely a form letter. I'm certain this was because I attended a writers conference at BYU two years ago and was guaranteed that my letter would get on a certain agent's desk for a read-through if I sent it to him within a year of the conference. So I did. And when I didn't hear back from him by the end of 6 weeks I knew that the rejection letter was coming, addressed in my own handwriting, a SASE being a requirement for submission. I was joking with my sister over the summer that I should have written a few words of encouragement to myself on the back of the envelope, "it's okay Paige! Try, try again!" But the agent's letter didn't at all make me feel like I should give up.
He said, "you definitely have a lot to work with, and I'm sure the story will be very exciting...Currently I am taking on very few new clients unless it is something I truly fall in love with. With that being said I hope someone will become enamored with your story and give it the time and attention it deserves."

And now to keep trying. Though I do need to polish my manuscript some more before I send it off to the wolves. I started writing this book a year ago for the NaNoWriMo challenge, something I've enjoyed doing for the past couple of years but that I knew I didn't have the stamina to get through this month. I've missed it, but I'm so brainless right now and often exhausted by the end of the week, I just had to let it go this year. Also, having done this twice, I have two manuscripts that I want to finish before I start another one. These characters are living in my head and I really like them so I want to finish their stories.

I'll have to keep a tally on the sidebar when I start sending out my work again, see how many rejection letters I accumulate before I can convince someone to work with me.

Pink Room, Blue Room

2010-11-14T20:58:00.001-08:00

Right before school started, and during that first week, the kids all switched rooms. Ridge moved downstairs, the girls moved up to Cannon's room and Cannon moved to Ridge's room. I let Ridge and the girls choose their paint colors. Ridge's original choice was darker in color and I had him move it up one on the color chart. I used fabric shower curtains for the curtains since I couldn't find any in my price range that I liked. I do like the nautical feel the room has though it is darker than the "lettuce alone" green that was on the walls for so many years. Overall it looks great though and he took a lot of ownership in painting and making the room his. He will have to share with Massimo, though not during the night at first. The crib will be in his room and we'll put the pack and play in our room for the night time.

Of course the girls chose pink. We chose paint and Home Depot and they have the Disney colors so this really is "princess pink." It is hard to tell in the photo but the ceiling is still white. I was more hesitant to paint the walls pink than the turquoise in Ridge's room, but now it is my favorite room in the house. The pink is so warm and cozy their room just feels happy all the time. We found the beds on Craig's List. I finally got curtains put up this week, after 2 months, made out of sheets. Of course now I can't find the hardware for curtain rod for this little window.

Cannon wanted to paint too but I told him we were going to leave his the khaki color. Poor middle child. But a pregnant mom can only do so much. I did get him a cool white board at least...

Beauty Spa, little girl style

2010-11-12T17:22:00.000-08:00

The girls have played "beauty spa" twice this week. It kept them happy and busy but it was a watery mess. I lost my patience with the bathing beauties the second time because I came in to find Laine sitting in the sink which made water slosh out everywhere. But they had fun, and what's a few towels to wash? I just need them to take a beauty spa break for a couple of weeks.
(photos taken by Cannon.)

"Meeting" Martha Graham

2010-11-10T21:17:00.000-08:00

Last week we had the chance to see the Martha Graham dance company perform at the U of Washinton. I'd only heard of Martha Graham, the pioneer of modern dance, because my sister, who majored in dance, told me about her. It was fascinating and moving and confusing at the same time. I don't pretend to understand modern dance so I appreciated that before each number the creative director came on stage and introduced the piece, gave a bit of the history of the dance and what the choreography was supposed to mean.

Eric liked this one called Lamentation. I enjoyed the Lamentaion Variations that were first danced in 2007 at a commeration for 9/11. I say enjoyed but in a way that I was brought nearly to tears. It was beautiful and filled me with a very sad feeling so that when the last of the 3 dances was done in this segment I could have been sitting there with tears streaming down my face.

We got the tickets from a friend of mine from kindgergarten! Faye is the general manager of the Martha Grahm Center of Contemporary Dance. I had the chance to eat lunch with her while she was in town with the tour and it was so lovely to chat with an old friend face-to-face. We've chatted online and through facebook over the past couple of years but that's not the same. She's the same sweet friend that she was to me all those years ago. I suppose that's the reason why I didn't feel intimidated to be with her, as I could have been since she's accomplished in her education and presently resides in NY, so different from the life I lead. But meeting up was almost like being 5 again, listening to Madonna on the record player, except now we know what Madonna meant when she sang, "like a virgin."