If you like online shopping

There is a terrific jeans sale going on at The Children's Place...ends up to be $7.50 a pair. I got some for the boys for school.

After you select your pants, enter this code as you are checking out for 25% off. FMR77

The shipping is only $5 which makes it even nicer!

Just thought some of you might like to take advantage. :)

It was good while it lasted

Sunday morning I was saying my prayers and expressed gratitude for healthy kids. Less than 48 hours later, two had fevers, one was extremely cranky and sported a fountain for a nose and the 4th was questionable (she's always cranky).

When Nathan gets sick, he puts himself to bed. He also gets a fever much quicker than anyone else. When Daniel gets sick, he curls up in a ball by the toilet. He has an innate fear of throwing up. I was really grateful at 4:30 this morning to know that the toilet and the rug by it were clean as I found Daniel on his knees with his face pressed to the floor.

I did a little scrapbooking yesterday. I did accomplish some other things, but it's hard to remember what exactly. I even had a dr's appt. One of these pages was done as Monday passed into Tuesday. Don't you hate it when you are tired but can't fall asleep?

This is swimming lessons from this summer.

This is Leah's birthday from January.

This is Nathan's birthday from February.

I can catch up with all of 2007's memories without leaving the computer. Hopefully, I won't try it all in one sitting.

Can I do this?

BABYLON, N.Y. (AP) - A peace officer for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals happened across a moving pillowcase on a beach Saturday on which someone had written: "Live Gator - Please find him a home," officials said.
The off-duty officer for the Suffolk County organization had been taking a walk on Long Island's Overlook beach, according to the group. The officer called in a response team to rescue the 30-inch-long animal.
SPCA officials are asking for donations to help them care for the alligator until it can be taken to a sanctuary. They are also seeking information on who might have dumped the gator.

I still have a cat that I need to find a home for. Maybe a dog, too.

Not quite the best mom

I made cookies this afternoon. Date-filled cookies with crispy, buttery dough. Yum. As I'm making these cookies, I'm thinking to myself what a nice mom I am to be making cookies for my children. I must love them so much!

Then I realized that the best mom would actually let the kids help. I can't even list all the ways that isn't desirable. Not only do I avoid that bonding activity, I complained to Daniel that he was breathing on the cookies (and he WAS!).

To top it off, I only let them have one even though they requested more.

So I'm not quite the best mom, but we'll be having homemade date-filled cookies with our gourmet pb&j tomorrow (if Daddy doesn't eat them all first).

New Trends

There are a few things that I really don't enjoy.

Some are not surprising...beastly children, annoying neighbor dogs that bark ALL NIGHT, seeing rising numbers on the bathroom scale, etc.

Then there are the things that some people like that I don't. Green beans (don't even get me started), cleaning house, clothes shopping, etc.

Saturday, I got to remind myself WHY I don't like clothes shopping. I dropped Chad and the three older kids at the movies and took Rebekah with me to the mall to look for maternity dresses for church. I have to assume that people have started betting behind my back which dress I'll be wearing each week. It's probably getting pretty predictable.

There are 4 anchor stores in our mall...JCPenney, Sears, Macys & Dillards. Macys and Dillards don't even have a maternity selection. I couldn't find one in Sears (nor could I find a sales person to ask). JCPenney had one corner (3 racks and some wall displays) devoted to beached whale fashions. No dresses. I stopped into Old Navy to remind myself that they don't have anything nice enough for church. (I realize that this doesn't stop some people, but I do have something against tight screen-printed t-shirts, short, ruffly skirts and flip flops as fitting for Sunday worship.)

So, I'm tired and frustrated, and heading to one last store in the mall. I've avoided it to this point because I expect it to be higher-priced as it is a maternity clothing store. I'm thinking, "Maybe there is a new trend in maternity fashions. It could be anything. Go naked? Don't go (to church) at all? Don't have kids? (Now there is a tempting one at times.) Wear your regular clothes and show off just how large every part of you has become?" In the last store I only found short dresses (you don't want to see above my knees from the front OR the back) in weird patterns and revealing styles.

The sales girl recommended wearing skirts. I get irritated by my slip sliding up higher and higher over my bulges. I really don't want to be tugging on skirts for 3 hours, not to mention the heat factor. I'm pregnant and hormonal and I want to be comfortable...darn it!!!

At this point, I had about 30 minutes before I expected the movie would be over. I slipped into Subway (Our mall doesn't have a food court. It does have a Subway and a PretzelMaker directly across from each other. Maybe you call that a food stop.), grabbed a cup and put some money by the register as I told the kid I was buying a drink. I figured he could ring up a drink when he got done with the 15 people in line (I was too cranky to wait in a sandwich line for a small lemonade.). From there, Rebekah and I headed to Hancock Fabric and bought 2 patterns and 6 yards of fabric.

Incidentally, the maternity selection in the pattern books is incredibly limited, too. Each pattern maker offered 3-5 patterns for maternity clothing...total. Maybe one style of dress per book.

Sheesh!

So, in case I didn't have enough to do around the house, I can make myself some dresses. Maybe I should start my own trend and just wrap up in a blanket (a nice one of course...no screen-print for church).

P.S. This is my 200th blog since starting in October 2005 with a sleeping 6-week-old Rebekah in my arms. She's going to be 2 years old in a month and I have gained at least 5 (ok, maybe 6) faithful readers! We've come a long way, Baby!

Vacation Recovery

We went down to visit cousins on Monday. By the time we arrived at our final destination, the kids had been traveling about 6 hours. You can imagine how glad we ALL were to get out of the van. Luckily, there had been a little break while Chad helped his sister and brother-in-law move a few things from one apartment to the other. The kids got to get a good stretch then. Bedtime was a bit delayed, but not too terribly long.

The next night was the killer. We rode the Heber Creeper to celebrate Pioneer Day. The train left at 8 pm and returned about 10:30. It was a fun trip, but a long time for kids to be contained on a train. We got to eat pizza and drink lemonade until we were sick, so at least we had a diversion. I was near to passing out on the ride back from Heber because I was so tired. Leah was nowhere near passing out. She responded to extreme fatigue by screaming. Real screams. She was complaining that she wanted out of her seat before we'd fully accelerated to highway speeds. I wanted to strangle her. I still recall the blessed moment she finally fell asleep. We drove home the next afternoon and the kids were surprisingly well behaved. Maybe they saw the "light at the end of the tunnel."

The past two mornings, the kids have been sleeping longer than usual. I have enjoyed that!

I was able to spend some time at the Family History Library with my dad while we searched for information on his grandfather. This man has been eluding us for YEARS and all it took was a trip to the International Floor to look into some Swedish records. We now have several more names. It was exciting to make some progress! Now I wish that I lived closer. I would like to spend a few long days scanning microfilmed records.

Here are a couple more digital scrapbook pages. I'm trying to not get too involved in these since they can easily take a couple of hours from my day. There are a few other things that I should be doing.

I am REALLY looking forward to school starting. Nineteen days left. How does one little boy create so much havoc?

Only 25 days of summer to go!

I will be so glad when Daniel goes back to school! It is going to be so quiet around here. It's going to be weird in the morning while Nathan is gone, too. The girls will really become better playmates (or stronger enemies).

While I love my oldest son, most fights involve him and it will be nice to have a break. I can't figure out why he can't leave anyone alone. It's apparently in his blood to be obnoxious. Ninety percent of the time, I can end a fight by yelling his name.

And then the next thing I know, he's helping out in a big way and seeming very mature.

He felt like a big kid during his swimming lessons these past two weeks. He was in Level 3 (no more life jackets for anything). I thought I was getting him caught up to his peers, but there were 4th and 5th graders in his class as well as a 1st grader. I guess I won't worry about Nathan still being in Level 1 next summer as a 6 year old.

Daniel was the shortest kid in his class and the only one the instructors had to "catch and release" since he couldn't touch the bottom on his own. He passed, though. I teased him that he must be the shortest person to ever pass Level 3. He even dove off the diving board for the first time. Here is the clip.

Here are some other shots of Daniel in the pool (or about to be in the pool).

About three weeks ago, we started reading scriptures before bed each night. The kids have been really excited about it (thankfully). We're not doing anything fantastic. We read one verse each, with Nathan and Leah repeating their verses after Chad or I read them aloud for them. Daniel has really likes being able to read by himself. Truthfully, we probably wouldn't have started scriptures at all if he couldn't read.

We also have family prayer before bed (and in the mornings when we remember). Leah usually prays that we won't fight or hit or kick or scream. (A little insight into our emotional states.) Nathan still includes B when he lists family members by name. Rebekah has started to say her prayers by her bed. If she does, it's when someone kneels down by her and tells her what to say. Then she says, "uh" for each part. Funny.

I get to teach in Relief Society again tomorrow. I haven't lost nearly as much sleep this month as I did last month. Am I a veteran already or have I just stopped caring? All the same, it will be nice when it's over.

It has been over 90 degrees most of the month. We've been well above our average. I realize that most of my faithful readers will not feel sorry for me as they have been above 100 several times. But many of you have AC and are not pregnant. I am fondly anticipating September!

We still have one ornery cat to give away. Anyone interested?

Kissing Cousins

Hey everyone, Chad and I discovered that we are related...way back in the mid 1800's.

A 1/2 brother (different wife) of his Great Great Grandfather, Charles Albert Collett, married the sister of my Great Great Great Grandfather, Christiana Rachel Graham.

It's kind of crazy and a bit tangled, but also kind of amusing.

If you're a Collett and want more details, visit the family page.

I obviously have too much time on my hands

My ward has started a Digital Scrapbooking group. Somehow I thought I'd have time to check it out. Because, you know, I can't start too many projects. Maybe this is best. There is no way I'd sit down and scrapbook otherwise. Since I'm already at the computer so much, why not have something else to do while I sit there?

My first page was my "test the waters" page. I was trying out the program and all. So it's not fancy. I could go back and change it, but I'm one of those sentimental people and feel it's important to have something to look back on nostalgically.

The second page was a little easier, though I was still figuring some things out. I really learned to save my work part way through in case of catastrophe. In this case, I accidentally closed my work. Duh! So I made the page twice. It actually looked better the second time.

And after these two pages, Leah is wondering when I'm going to do a page for her. What a little Diva! I'm going to make a page of all her excuses why she can't take a nap!

I took the kids shopping today

If you think I must be crazy, you're probably right. If I didn't start out crazy, the kids made sure I was in a frenzied state of mind by the time we got home. I seriously thought I was going to lose it.

I don't get Nathan. He shows the most genius of all my little geniuses. He has a burning desire to learn and gives it more attention than anyone else. He has a serious selective hearing problem.

Today the kids were in a double holding pattern. They didn't hear me until they heard it double. Nathan's holding pattern is normally double the other kids. So I got to give Nathan a lot of extra attention...most of it negative. Does it bother him? Not that I can see. He just makes his own decisions and sets out to act upon them, mindless of rules, restrictions or rewards.

Is that a side effect of genius?

And then I saw him with his thumb in his mouth at bedtime. He must be trying out new hobbies. Right?

Ugh. I can't decide if Rebekah is sharing unusual amounts of "Nathan DNA", or if she's just 22 months old. She's done pretty well in her toddler bed. Doesn't get out at night. Has a harder time falling asleep. I've found her on her dresser a couple of times and one minute after returning her to bed with a swat this afternoon, found her in a pile of shoes playing dress up. I dropped her in her crib and she was asleep in 5 minutes.

Daniel has a hard time stopping. Whatever he's doing, he has to do it another time or two AFTER he's been told to stop. Whether babbling, spinning his plate, poking someone, etc, his brain is in the slow lane sending the messages to the offending body parts. That's when I have to put my brain in the passing lane to keep my hands from circling his neck!

And Leah? If I'm going to be crabby about my kids, I should be fair and attack them all. Leah can go from angel to screaming in 2.6 seconds. She screams if her shirt won't come off, she screams if it won't go on. She screams if she can't open something or if she can't close it. She screams if Daniel looks at her or Nathan won't share. And you should hear her every afternoon about 11:30 when we have the daily battle: nap time.

OK. My kids do have redeeming qualities. Maybe you are even familiar with some of them. Hold that thought because I'm too grumpy to hand out compliments. And now I have to go upstairs and growl at someone who is out of bed.

Vote Now!

I'm planning Leah's blanket pattern. Vote for your favorite pattern. These colors are close to her colors, but the actual fabric is a little lighter.

Pattern #1

Crazy Quilts

Pattern #2

All vertical blocks are identical in direction and all horizontal blocks are identical in direction. Creates a bit of a stair-step look.

I usually go for the most orderly, but sometimes the random designs are kind of fun. What is your opinion? Vote in the comments.

Big Girl Beds

We started shifting the beds in anticipation of the new baby. The boys' beds were stacked into bunk beds on Wednesday and today Leah got a Big Girl Bed = twin. She even got to pick out her own sheets and we've bought material for her first twin-sized blanket (we'll post a picture when it's done). She is very happy with her new set up. Giddy, actually.


And since Leah doesn't need the toddler bed anymore, it's Rebekah's turn. Is she staying in it? Not on your life. I expect we'll be bouncing between the crib and bed for a couple of weeks until she gets serious enough. She pretty much thinks it's a game right now. But you have to admit that she looks really cute in it. She's growing up so fast!

Happy Birthday, America!

We skipped the parade yesterday, but faithfully attended the fireworks. We went to our favorite, easily accessible piece of grass. There are hundreds of other places that would be better, but this is easily accessible. We've now gone to the fireworks here 4 times, so we know what we're talking about! And the thing that makes this particular spot perfect is that we can view the fireworks right between the two Shilo Inn signs!

We got there early enough to be sure no one else would want our fabulous spot and got busy waiting. We had sunflower seeds and cookies for munching. Rebekah really liked the cookies. We brought a game to play and of course, Nathan was content to work in his workbook. I hope that I can find these pictures of him when he is 15 and failing his school classes!

I worked really hard to get a cute picture of the kids with Chad. This is what I got for my efforts.

And this is what I finally captured. At least 4 of them were looking.

The boys were in pretty interested in the firework show. Leah half pretended and half really was scared. Rebekah was bored and all over the place, stopping only occasionally to check out a really bright flash of light or the source of a loud boom. They were all conked out before we got home and again within 5 minutes of getting in bed.

So Happy Birthday, America. When these kids get older, they'll understand better WHY we go to the fireworks and put up our flag.

A boring update

At least it seems boring to me. That's partly why I haven't posted anything for a while. I can't get excited enough by my life to consider it good reading for anyone else. But here I go anyway. I apologize in advance.


The kids finished swimming lessons on the 21st. Daniel passed Level Two and will be starting Level Three next Monday. Nathan did not pass his 2nd attempt at Level One. He just wouldn't float. I think he has trust issues. Leah did not pass her 1st attempt at Level One. I didn't expect her to. I was surprised she made it through the whole class since we almost dropped out after the 3rd day. Nathan and Leah can wait until next summer to try again. Rebekah faithfully accompanied me to the bleachers to watch every day.





On the last day of lessons, they all got to jump (or be dropped) off the diving board and go down the water slide. Leah only felt it necessary to go down the slide once. I'm glad I got a picture! (Though now I see that this Daniel, not Leah.)





I have been crocheting a blessing afghan for the baby. I got halfway through it and then started over because the matching (no dye lot) yarn I got for the second skein didn't match in color (white) or texture. So I have a lot of practice on that.

I did finally get back to my quilting frame. I quilted for about an hour and a half the other night. I stood back and couldn't see much progress. Very discouraging.

I finally made it back into my sewing room and finished the next quilt block for the year. This is June's. Here it is. Kind of weird colors. Definitely unique.

I have mostly made it through my morning sickness. (As evidenced by my recent return to quilting and sewing.) I have even started making menus and cooking again! It's a miracle! I still get really tired at inconvenient times. What is convenient? Bedtime would be good. That's usually when I can't sleep.

I got a new calling at church, too. I was a grouchy beast all through my morning sickness and just as I start feeling better and nicer, they release me! Now I teach the 4th Sunday lessons in Relief Society. These are the Teachings For Our Times lessons which come from the most recent General Conference talks. This means that there are no suggested discussion questions.

My first Sunday in RS was the Sunday I got to teach for the first time. To make it even more exciting, I was finishing up a project that I'd already started with my Primary class...Sharing Time. So we presented our lesson in Primary, then I walked across the hall to the RS room for my next big performance. I was glad when that day was over. I sat in RS yesterday and it felt weird. I was only out for about 13-14 months. It must be really weird to return after years in Primary or Young Womens!

I'm probably missing something else really exciting that I've been up to, but I'm sure we'll all survive without knowing about it.

Ultrasound Results

I have never been so close to wetting my pants as I was this afternoon. This was the 6th time I've had to drink a tub full of water for an ultrasound and I thought this would be the day that I went home with a very embarrassing pair of wet pants!

Apparently every other patient they had halfway through her pregnancy had scheduled her ultrasound today. I really would have waited a day or two. They were 20 excruciating minutes behind schedule. I was feeling so tortured, I would have told the nation's secrets! As it was, my eyes were watering.

Everything seemed to be going in slow motion. First, the doctor wanted to measure the baby's head. All seemed fine there. I REALLY wanted to jump up and run to the bathroom. Then he asked if we wanted to know the sex. We affirmed that we did and he moved "south." It was so obvious that I didn't need the doctor to tell me anything. He confirmed what I already knew. Leah is getting the little brother that she's been wanting. (WHY? Aren't her big brothers mean enough? Maybe she wants a chance to pay back the male race, but needs a victim smaller than herself.) Well, we joked about the view, the doctor measured a hundred more baby parts (ok, only 2 or 3 parts) and confirmed that everything was exactly as it should be. *Whew!* I was really glad to hear that part. FINALLY! I got to go to the bathroom. I've never enjoyed it more!

So now we can stop worrying about switching rooms for the kids. The boys' room is bigger and will be even bigger once we put the bunk beds together. Otherwise, we would have had to take 3 beds apart to change girls and boys and probably needed a little redecorating. I wonder how out of date my boys' clothes are. There are considerably fewer after Nathan wore many of them out. Even so, we probably still have plenty.