Dear Anne,

It has been quite a month! A month that seems to find me frequently visiting the "depths of despair". I have needed to tweak my attitude, to have a good laugh, to visit a "kindred spirit". All of that was accomplished as I took a brief trip down memory lane with you . . . "Carrots" and green hair, Gilbert and the broken slate, the Highwayman, Marilla and her tough love, the innocent night that Diana got drunk, your first prayer, nosey Rachel Lynde, dramatic apologies . . . oh, so many wonderful memories!

In my teen years I watched "Green Gables" so many times, memorizing nearly every line, that now I sometimes forget what mistakes, emotions, friendships and drama belong to you and what were my own. I still have that childhood dream of visiting Prince Edward Island, even though the main house burned down several years ago. Matthew will forever be in my memory as one of my grandfathers. And I still have a crush on Gilbert.

Some days "My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes. That's a sentence I read once and I say it over to comfort myself in these times that try the soul."

After spending hours on the phone with my mom and sisters, sharing the joys and heartaches of life, I realize that "I chatter on far too much... but if you [and they] only knew how many things I want to say and don't. Give me SOME credit."

As for me personally “[I am] well in body, though considerably rumpled in spirit.”

Nearly every night I remember your positive outlook on the troubles of the day: "Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it."

Thank you, Anne with an e, for a wonderful day!

Kimberly

Update: (in sets of three)

Three famous people: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson

Three medical concerns: Erika - CAT scan, Justin - broken wrist, LeRoy -MRI
(all within a 3 week time period and Justin has 3 breaks in his wrist)

Three families coming to visit us: Josh, Kate, Kellie
(making a total of 3 weeks of family visits)

Three cousins here to play for a week: Samantha, Amberle, Matt
(which fills our home with 3 giggly girls, 3 older boys rolling their eyes at the 3 giggly girls, and 3 boys under the age of 3)

Three cats hanging out in the garage: Harrison (ours), the cousin's kittens (I don't remember their names [the kittens names, not the cousins]) Did I really just use 3 sets of parenthesis?

Three projects: all completed in 3 days - really, and I didn't do it for a blog post, it just happened to work out that way, I promise.

I've had fun creating again. After a reminder of Elder Uchtdorf's conference talk on creating I realized that I was missing having projects to do. During the last week I have been planning on doing some projects to rearrange our house a bit and to add a little different color and feel to the family room. I had forgotten how satisfying it is to spend a few days in my ratty clothes messing around with tools, paint, and fabric and staying up to the wee hours of the morning to get my projects done in the beautiful silence of children sleeping.

The way I do projects is to mull over them for a few days while gathering all the necessary supplies and then I hit it hard. I don't fix meals, I let the house cleaning go, I let my kids watch to much TV and I stay up way beyond a reasonable time for clear thinking, with a grand giddy finale of showing off my accomplishments to my family.

Here are the before and after shots of the 3 accomplishments of my 3 days of creating:



This is a toy box that I built several years ago for Kellie's family. Before they moved to Virginia they gave it back to me, not wanting to pack it along on all their adventures in other countries (and I secretly wanted it back because I never got around to building one for me like I had planned).



And here is the updated version of the toy box turned into a window bench in our living room. Ok - it's more of a standing stool for Nathan and Hyrum to look out the window, but I enjoy it as a bench to sit in the morning sun. The top is a table runner that I pieced together at an Enrichment activity a couple of years ago. I had wondered what to do with it since it was an odd size and really to small for a table runner. Turns out it fit the box perfectly!



I forgot to take a before picture when I started this project so this is a picture that I found online that is similar to what I started with. This was originally bought for the kitchen in our other house. It landed its way in our current basement to set the DVD player on. Shortly after moving it to the basement the kids broke off one of the doors so I took both doors off and it quickly became a clutter shelf for anything that the kids were to lazy to actually put away.



And here it is with a new coat of paint (done splotchy on purpose to match the box and to give the worn look to it). I haven't figured out what to put on the shelf yet, but it's only been done for 2 days. Maybe day 3 will be magical and I'll have a brilliant idea of what should go there.



Today I re-covered the glider. I had never liked the blue but we got the chair for $15 on a Walmart clearance sale so I couldn't really justify complaining about it. After 9 years the padding had worn so thin that it really wasn't comfortable at all to sit in and the fabric was in sad shape.



So back to Walmart I went only this time I came home with $12 fabric instead of a new chair. I used some padding that I already had from previous projects and in about 4 hours (uhh, I should have had it done in 3 but matching up those stripes took some time) I had it cut, padded, sewn and put together. Tomorrow I will do the footstool to match it.

I just realized that I could wait another 3 days to post this and it would be 3 weeks between posts but that might be really pushing the subject, in more ways than . . . three.

Hysterical Hyrum

For some reason Justin can get Hyrum to laugh to the point of tears.

This is one of my all time favorite laughing fits from Hyrum. Who knew that spit wads were so funny, especially at 5 months old?!

And here is one of our more recent recorded laughing fits from Hyrum. Once again, what Justin (and Nathan) is doing is not overly funny, except to Hyrum.

I love his giggles, his belly laughs, his smile!

William Joseph Concert

For our girls night out with friends, Erika, Alli, Stephanie and I went to the William Joseph concert on campus. The concert was beyond my expectations. As we were reading the program before it started we realized that he is LDS. Erika and Alli have been swooning over William Joseph for a few months now and that one little fact gave the girls even more reason to love him. They had already fallen head over heals for his music, his dimples, his wavy hair, his youtube videos. This just validated that it was ok to have a crush on him, I guess.

The program reprinted an article that was done about him in the New Era . . . Right on Key

And this youtube video gives a little taste (or listen) of his music as well as a little info on him and of course, a good look at his dimples, his wavy hair, ("oh my gosh! he is so Hot!" by Erika and Alli, bff) . . .

We thought we were there to see William Joseph, and we were very impressed with the music and with him, but we were both mesmerized by the violinist, Caroline Campbell. She was spectacular! So much energy! So much talent! She is the one playing the violin in the clip above. You can read about her here . . . Caroline Campbell. William introduced her as the top requested violinist in the music industry. She has recently played for the Grammy's, American Idol, and many popular singers.

After the concert we had a chance to meet the musicians but the lobby was so packed! As we stood up on a bench to see we realized that they were taking the time to have pictures with everyone and that it would take forever to be able to meet them! We decided to leave but as we were walking out of the crowd we had a wonderful surprise. Caroline Campbell was standing with only a few people around her. She took about 10 minutes to talk with Erika. She encouraged her to stick with the piano and the violin, to practice!, to never give up and to enjoy it. She was so kind, sincere, real. Erika wanted me to take pictures but all we had was my cell phone (since one camera was at Justin's gymnastics recital and the other in Utah with Mom and Dad) so I did my best with the cell phone. Little did I know that it actually takes pretty good pictures. And it's a good thing I have kids who know how to get pictures from my phone to my computer.

We enjoyed the concert so much that now we own two William Joseph piano music books as well as his CD. Erika has spent hours learning his songs on the piano and is only disappointed that there isn't printed violin music for his songs. Still, she has practiced her violin during the past week and has even asked to take private lessons again. This renewal in Erika's musical commitment makes the concert even that much more worth while!

Memorial Day

LeRoy and I opted to skip a full weekend trip to avoid the crowds on Memorial Day Weekend so on Monday we went on a day camp just as everyone else was packing up from their weekend camps. The kids were so excited that we didn't even have to wake them up that morning. We arrived at our camp area around 10:30 and took over one of the camp sites just as a family was leaving. It was a perfect day!

We first set up the food table and the weapons table (the real reason for the kids excitement) and then it was paintball time. For some reason I didn't take any pictures of the paintball wrist rockets (sling shots) but they were a huge hit. It took us a while to get used to them and to figure out how to actually hit our targets with them but we had a great time practicing. Levi and Caytlyn each own paintball guns so we put them on different teams. Each team had 1 gun player and 2 sling shot players. I'm not sure which team one, just that everyone ganged up on Levi at the end. Nathan was thrilled when Caytlyn helped him shoot the gun and he was giggling after each shot hit the tree.



After a good paintball war we had lunch. It was nice to not mess with a fire but to do everything over the grills. I didn't have to worry about the little boys in the fire, or the smoke in our eyes, or the smelly laundry (just the paintball laundry, which left the dryer a little pink). We did typical camp food: hamburgers and hotdogs with chips and drinks. For dessert LeRoy did a dutch oven cherry chocolate cobbler.



Next came the real excitement. One of our previous employees is a hunter and a gun collector. When he heard we were going paint balling he thought our boys needed a bigger thrill than that so brought over a shotgun, a pistol, a rifle, and a Russian sniper rifle. Our kids, not just the boys but Erika also, were in weapon heaven!

We found a great area near camp to set up targets and even a clearing area where we could do skeet shooting with the shotgun.




The Russian sniper rifle was beyond loud and it had a major kick to it. After watching LeRoy, Levi, Erika and Derek shoot it we knew that it would be too much for Justin. The thing was about as tall as he is and would have knocked him over, so he stayed with the smaller rifle and shotgun. Caytlyn had never shot a gun before and was really scared to try and I don't care to shoot guns but we wagered with one another: you do it and I'll do it. The boys saved the last 2 shots for us. Wow! Loud! Kicker! A little bit exciting. The videos are hilarious! After shooting that one the other rifle wasn't so intimidating so we also did a little skeet shooting.



Nathan was antsy to see all of the guns until he heard them. It was LOUD! Even with earplugs it was loud (Justin's ears were to small for the earplugs so they kept popping out). At first Nathan was nervous about the shooting and commented that he wanted his suit so that the guns couldn't hurt him (so cute!) and then he just stayed in the background covering his ears and cuddling with Caytlyn.



Even with all the noise Hyrum did very well with day camp, even managing to catch a nap while everyone else was out having paint ball war. He seemed to enjoy the dirt, the rocks, and pulling stuff out of the bags and in his own squeally way deemed Erika as his day camp buddy.



We all came home with sore shoulders, pink paint spots on our clothes, ringing ears, tired bodies and fun memories, pictures, videos and jokes that will last a life time.

They Love Me, They Love Me Not

Monday was the first glorious day of summer break. And the day was beautiful. I was reminiscing about summer break when I was little and remembered how bad I wanted to just sleep in. I'm sure we did and all I remember is weeding the garden, but I wanted to let my kids sleep in and just have a true vacation day at home. Who am I kidding, I just wanted to have a quiet morning. Regardless of my own evil designs, the kids had a fun day with friends over (at one point I had 12 kids at the house), they went on walks, rode bikes to the library, watched TV, played games on the computer. They pretty much did what they wanted. They loved me on Monday.

They did not love me on Tuesday. LeRoy informed me Tuesday morning that we would have a couple coming to look at the house. If it had just been friends or even an acquaintance I wouldn't have worried about the house so much but these were possible clients - a contractor that could bring us work for at least 2 houses. They not only wanted to see LeRoy's quality of work but the layout of the house, cabinet, carpet and paint choices and get a feel for the home. I felt an overload of pressure to make a good professional impression (why toilets had to be included in that I don't know) but all of the sudden I could see and smell everything that needed cleaning.

The layer of dust in this house dates back to last fall, the kitchen floor had a layer of sticky on it that could rival velcro and the toilets, well . . . 5 toilet using boys in the house - need I say more? I was hoping to get all of the house cleaned over the next couple of weeks before we have company come, and the kids could have probably handled that cleaning schedule. But we only had one day, really only 6 hours since I had let them sleep in again. Bossy, fussy, perfectionist mom showed up and Tuesday was not the most pleasant of days.

Though the couple that came to see our house seemed impressed with the house, and it looks like we won them over as clients, I can't say that we appreciated the result of our efforts. Either I needed more than a few hours notice to lovingly work with my children on it, or I should maintain a higher standard of clean on a daily basis, or I should have let it go. They loved me not. And I loved me not.

I redeemed myself on Wednesday. I went with Derek and Justin to get flip-flops and swimming shorts and they thought I was "the best mom ever". If only they could always appreciate $2 flip flops. Erika and I went later in the afternoon to pick up piano and violin music so of course I'm back on her good list. And then the clincher: dinner. One of their favorite dinners (which their dad can't stand) is homemade bread and milk, eaten in a bowl like cereal. Top that with homemade jam and it's an even bigger hit. But I won them over even more when I paired the bread and milk with homemade waffles topped with ice cream, strawberries, and homemade syrup. Some may claim there isn't much nutrition in that but we did hit three different food groups: grains, dairy, and fruit. Ok, maybe four food groups if you count the "sweets". After the little boys went to bed we stayed up late watching So You Think You Can Dance and I let Erika go to a movie with a friend.

Why doesn't Cool Mom show up more often? They really love her.

The Dancing Tumbling Pirate (and camera mishaps)

Last year Justin took the 8 week ballroom dance class because they were short on boys and Erika volunteered him. This year he took ballroom because he has a crush on the girl next door who is also in the class. It is fun to see how much they can accomplish in 5 hours total practice time. It takes the first 1/2 hour class to convince these 3rd and 4th graders that they won't get cooties touching their partners.

Gymnastics fits Justin so well! He loves to tumble around, hang on things, bounce off things . . . he is always in motion. The few times that I have watched his class I sit in amazement (and jealousy) at the energy, talent, and lack of fear he has.

Justin's year end class party was a great show-and-tell of their accomplishments for the last trimester. The kids had taken fairy tales, rewritten the story, written a screenplay and then at the class party they performed a shadow box theater for us. It was a good thing Justin told me that he was Rumpelstiltskin because I wouldn't have even recognized him due to the ornery, raspy voice that he used in the play. It was entertaining to see the scenes that the kids had drawn and colored as well as the shadow characters they made and then to watch them act it all out.


Each child had a display of the things they had worked on during the last trimester. Justin's favorite was his pirate mask.



Camera Mishaps: Poor middle kid Justin! The camera was dead for his year end party so I missed recording his Rumpelstiltskin play. I was lucky enough to get 1 picture of his display. Derek did the recording for his gymnastics recital while LeRoy wrestled with Nathan and Hyrum (Erika and I were at a concert) and he (Derek) needs a bit more practice at recording and knowing the settings for pictures. The video would leave you feeling dizzy! We should have ordered the DVD.

The Three Stooges . . . er . . . Aliens

Derek opted to skip school because he jammed his big toe into one of the stairs and didn't want to hobble around all day for field day. He limped, or mostly crawled, around the house (Hyrum seemed to love having Derek down at his level), playing with Nathan and Hyrum all day.



He and Nathan morphed into aliens with choppy monotone voices, weird hats, stiff posture and a determination to not crack a smile.



Soon Hyrum joined the band of alien brothers. Blue is for apprentice, red is for novice, or so Derek claims. So much for not cracking a smile.



Nathan started pulling all kinds of faces. This was my favorite.

Patient: K

Name withheld to protect the victim. Photo is attached since even those who know her would not recognize the poor inflicted soul due to her past ability to fake normalcy . . . until recent days.

Diagnosis: Emotional wreck, patience non-existent, physically drained, nerves are shot, frustration level extremely high, hanging on to last shred of sanity (or so she claims).

Prescription: Single serving size (4 oz) Häagen-Dazs dulce de leche for comfort



Follow-up: Patient overdosed with a full PINT (16 oz!!!) Häagen-Dazs dulce de leche, ate the entire container in one sitting!



Current side effects: Intense sinus pressure due to dairy sensitivity (complaining of "frothy sinus cavities") , a very bloated stomach and swollen hands, and an ornery, guilt ridden mood. Also, maintains all previous symptoms.

Evidence:


Conclusion: Hopeless. Destined for the loony bin.

Season 1, Episode 4: Laundry Trauma

Nathan wears his "Ralph suit" every day! The ironed on emblem on the shirt was getting so bad from all the wearing and washing that I made a second shirt for him. I don't think HP intended their iron on printer paper to go through so much use.



I had a hidden agenda with that second shirt hoping to have one to put on him while the other one was in the wash. It didn't work. He packs around his spare shirt while wearing the full outfit. If he spills on his shirt he will take it off and put on the other one whether it is clean or not. He does occasionally change out of his suit during the day but it is never for very long and he is usually carrying it around with him when not wearing it. He never wears it to bed though he does sleep with it.

The suit had been worn for 5 days straight and could nearly walk by itself with the amount of spilled food and dirt that it was accumulating (not to mention the skin cells, but that kinda gives me the heebie jeebies). So as he got ready for a bath I tossed the suit into a pile of laundry that was in the hallway - thinking (or just hoping) that he was distracted enough not to notice.

He bathed, we read, he said his prayers, he climbed into his bed. He didn't notice! He was all snuggled into bed and I was working in the office (if you can call blogging working) and I heard his sweet little voice, "I need to go potty". Without any fuss he independantly took care of bathroom business and climbed back into bed. Later that night I went to put that pile of laundry in the wash. As I picked it up I thought to myself that I was sure it was a bigger batch than that but hey, it was past 10:30 so I wasn't really concerned about the size of the batch, just that it got done.

Some time around 11:30 I went to check on the little boys before I went to bed and as I covered Nathan I found a pile of clothes in his bed, all from that batch of dirty clothes that had been sitting in the hall. He was curled up in fetal position with his arms wrapped tightly around a red ball of fabric. It was the suit that I was supposed to have washed and ready for wearing the next morning. I gently tugged it from his grasp and put it back in the hallway with the other dirty clothes that had been in his bed, thinking that I could still get it washed in the morning before he woke up.

Boy was I wrong. He was up unusually early and the first thing out of his mouth was, "where is my suit". Even coming out of his groggy slumber he was well aware of his missing treasure.

He refused to let me wash it. I let it go assuming that I would get it washed during the coming night. No really, I would this time.

Later that morning he set his suit down (I'm not sure why he didn't have it on) to do hand actions to some songs that we were singing. He seemed distracted enough while singing that I thought it might be my chance to get out of some midnight laundering so when he wasn't looking I tossed it out of the bedroom into the hallway again. After the song was over he turned to pick up his suit, saw that it was missing and demanded from me in a very disgusted, bordering on panic, voice: "where did you put my suit?".

He stomped out of his room, found it in the hallway, scooped it up and held it tighter than ever before and in the strongest three year old commanding voice bellowed, "don't touch my suit ever again!". I tried to calmly explain that it needed to be washed. I had him smell it, hoping that his 3 year old nose could understand the stink. I showed him the food and mud spots on it. He was slowly giving in.

But on his terms. I was NOT allowed to touch it. He put it in the washer and watched the entire time that it filled up with water.



When I wanted to close the lid he stomped his feet on the clothes basket that he was standing on while I explained that we didn't want water to splash all over. He didn't go any further than the kitchen while the washer was running so that he could hear it the whole time. As soon as the washer stopped he ran in thinking his suit was all finished. Then I had to explain the drying process.

I was still not allowed to touch it and had to help him reach into the washer to get his suit and put it in the dryer. Once again, he did not leave the kitchen/mudroom area until the dryer buzzed. Then he ran to the dryer, nearly climbed in looking for it and pulled it out . . . without me touching it.




Reunited at last!




He then ran to the kitchen, pulled off his clothes and put on his suit. It was "warm and all clean".

With the separation anxiety gone he is once again a very happy hero!




Though I love the smile in this picture I think I'll skip the rerun and just get it washed while he is sleeping.