Bossy Turkeys

How was every one's Thanksgiving? We had a very busy trip south to visit with my family. My mom recently moved an hour closer to us, so the trip was pleasantly shorter, but that meant that we had more traveling to do to visit with other members of my family.

The kids bore the trauma and abuse of the road fairly well. However, we were nearly done in around the last 45 minutes of our trip home. I thought Joseph might head up a mutiny when we
got into the van for church today, but he was thankfully calm.

We had a big feast on Thursday. We had a nice prayer by my brother-in-law (thanks, Roy) before eating. I felt a little disappointed that nothing more than the prayer was said in regard to thanks and blessings. I have been more apt to notice my blessings recently and had been looking forward to hearing some others express sentiments, too. Oh well.

After the dinner, the kids went out to play and the remaining grown-ups played a couple of games of Imaginiff... Apparently, I was voted to be a sheep dog. My sister was thought to be akin to a Turkish Bath. Chad and I seem to be viewed in a certain light by my family as both of us often got unanimous votes from everyone at the table.

The next day was very busy for our little family. We stopped at the This Is The Place Heritage Park and took a train tour of the park. It was cold and misty = why did I bother with the curling iron? From there we drove 45 minutes to my sister's house for lunch (VERY yummy...thanks, Amber!) and a game of Settlers of Catan. We left there about 5 pm and drove an hour to my dad's for a 90 minute visit and dessert. We had another good drive back to my mom's and rushed the kids through a shower before putting them all to bed.

My dad and the kids

This isn't the best picture I got of this, but I had to laugh at Nathan's eyes. There's always something with this crowd!

The next morning was my niece's baptism, so we left the house at 9:01 (11 minutes late) and drove almost an hour to get to the church. After the baptism was a lunch at my sister's (thanks, Andrea!) and from there we drove to Hogle Zoo. (Tonight, while we were writing in journals, Daniel asked how to spell "Hoo-gi-lie." Everyone got a good laugh!) We walked around and did our best to stay warm for 2 hours. We returned to my mom's to clean up a bit, finish packing, lighten her leftover load and got on the road just after 6. We arrived home at 8:45, much to the relief of Joseph, Rebekah and Leah (and everyone within the sound of their crying).

Sunday truly is a day of rest, for which I am Grateful. It's nice to be home.

As with any family, ours has it's quirks. Sometimes I struggle with the things that happen more than others. As we were driving home, I was thinking about little things that affect me and trying to figure it all out. I decided I am part of a bossy family. The people in my family are all the smartest ones in the room. (Some are louder about it than others.) So no one in my family really ever asks for advice from anyone else. I mean, if you are already the smartest, who is left to get any good advice from? Right?

We're all so focused on being the toughest and smartest, that we fail to really talk to each other and get to know everyone.

You think you have it bad? Let me tell you about my experience...
You don't have that problem figured out? Let me tell you what you should do...
That's not any thing. Once I....

You know how it is. It goes on like this until everyone has gone home or gone to bed and then you really ARE the smartest (and only) one in the room. I would like to just sit down and have someone Ask me something and then listen...no advice, no competition. A little sympathy would even be better, but not required. I would like someone to feel like they could confess an insecurity or dilemma because it helps them talk to someone they trust. Period. I have many friendships like this, but none in my family. Well, maybe with my dad.

Anyway, this is my family's quirk. (OK, we have more than that, but who only has one?) So there were a lot of bossy Turkeys at Thanksgiving. I was one of them. I am a product of my environment. But I hope that there is a better future for us.

And having said that, here are some family group pictures of the turkeys in my family. We're only missing one cousin. (I hope they remember I need a picture of that missing poult before this Saturday!)

Mom and Michael

Us

Andrea and her family

Amber and her family

Aaron and his family

We like to Say It, Say It

While I was in the shower this morning, Leah, and then later, Rebekah came in to use the toilet. *I so miss having a master bathroom.* As they are sitting there, taking care of "business", they BOTH said "We like to move it, move it."

(I realize that this could be a really good line for a laxative commercial, but that didn't even cross my mind until I sat here typing this.)

I found it interesting that they would be such slaves to this tiny bit of a movie that we don't even own. The kids must have all been saying it in some other room. Maybe I can make a movie that tells them to clean their room, brush their teeth and only lay hands on each other in kind ways. It may be the only way I can reach them. I need a catchy song to go with it.

Using my Noodle

I went to a noodle making class this morning and made my first noodles tonight. Here are the noodles that we didn't cook, waiting to be thrown into a bag and frozen. (They are sitting in flour so they don't stick to each other.)



I ground the durum wheat and went from there. One more step towards Molly Mormon. I've still gotta master knitting.

Christmas already?

Christmas seems to have come early this year. In fact, most of the past year seems to have sped by.

Last week we took the kids Christmas shopping for each other. It wasn't that I wanted to get it done, but rather was the prize of a bribe. I needed the boys to clean their room and bathroom, but was getting zero participation. So, I devised a plan on the spot. It was 10 AM and my deal was: Get the work done by 11 = we'll go Christmas shopping. Get the work done by 11:30 (lunchtime)= no promise for shopping, but no one is in trouble. For every 15 minutes past 11:30 it took to be finished, the boys would be grounded after school one day. Nathan was "on board" from the start, but Daniel challenged me. So I told Nathan that if he worked hard, he would be rewarded and Daniel would receive the punishments. Leah voluntarily joined in the effort and they were done in time for shopping. :)

We went a different route for presents this year. Last year we let the kids each pick something for each brother or sister. This year we told them they would work together to buy a group gift = each person only gets one present, but we won't be throwing it away in January. We got some nice gifts for them this time. I'm just glad it's not junk!

So I was wrapping those up earlier this week and felt sure that I'd never wrapped Christmas presents so early!

And then last night was the Festival of Trees performance for TaVaci. Daniel and Leah participated again. I was so surprised that it was time for this so soon, but remembered that it was even earlier last year. I am so confused lately! I need to get Thanksgiving behind me and then everything will seem more "real".

Here are the pictures from last night. I had to lighten the stage pictures since my camera flash couldn't quite reach far enough to do anything more than turn their eyes red!

Leah is center, front.

Daniel is obvious. ;)

Joseph is ready to go home!

Questions

From: Rebekah
To: Me

Mommy, what's holding up the dishwasher?

It's sitting on the floor.

What's holding up the floor?

uh...wood.

Ohh (very knowingly). Does wood break hard?

Yes, wood can break sometimes.

Is wood sometimes glass?


So many questions. She needs a nicer mommy who wants to sit and answer them all. And a smarter mommy who knows the answers to all of them.

Cake!

Joseph THOROUGHLY enjoyed his cake tonight. Amazingly, it all washed off and he didn't throw up (yet).

Tricks

My mom JUST called to wish Happy Birthday to Joseph and said to give everyone a hug from her. As I hung up, I told the kids that Grandma said to give everyone a hug.

I suddenly had horrified looks on my kids' faces and Daniel started backing away. Nathan raises his eyebrows, holds up his pointer finger and starts waving it in the air, saying, "I know that trick, huh, Daniel."

After I left the room, Nathan confided to Chad (thinking that Chad wouldn't tell me...so much that boy has yet to learn), that the trick is that once you've been trapped in the hug, you also get a kiss. He knows, because Grandma has done that to him before.

Such a nasty trick!

Happy Birthday, Joseph!

Joseph was officially ONE today at 7:57 AM mountain time. We punctually cheered and clapped for him. He didn't know what all the smiles and noise were for, but he did get excited and reached up to play the piano.


This is his cake that I decorated last night. We'll get pictures of him devouring it later. Stay tuned for those. They are always cute.

I think that Joseph may be allergic to chocolate. What an unfortunate affliction. It's either that or milk, so I guess chocolate would be the preferred culprit, although it's a close call. I'll have to specifically look for reactions around both offenders before I make my final diagnosis.

Count Your Blessings

I was thinking about my 5 kids today and how much I appreciate them. I thought of a few things that make having a lot of kids a blessing.

1. They always have someone to play or fight with. Once they've exhausted one person, they just move on to the next! So if I'm lucky, I only have to be the target every other time.

2. The older ones help feed the baby. Sometimes it's good stuff. Often, it's indirectly through crumbs or actual chunks of meals that have fallen to the floor.

3. I am grateful for painless days. This is in opposition to pain-filled days...legos, K'nex, books, dolls, crayons, pencils, little plastic frogs, etc., can inflict a lot of discomfort when stepped or knelt upon.

4. I don't have to get dressed up for much of anything. People are generally impressed that I've left the house at all. The fact that I'm braving Wal-Mart and having to carry the baby (because he refuses to sit in the cart) while I push a cart and calling the kids to come back, is almost a miracle. I heard someone behind me laugh today when I said, "No, no, no, no, no, NO" to Rebekah as she wrapped her innocent little fingers around the neck of a wine bottle. (Why is the alcohol parallel to the dairy? Kids need the one, but should be no where near the other.)

5. I get a lot of unique pictures and cards left on or under my pillow.

6. I get to drive an 8-passenger mini van.

7. It takes me the entire day to do the laundry on Saturday. I am very grateful for washing machines. And my boys get to look like circus clowns because of a couple large red and blue crayons that someone had in his pocket. I look forward to teaching the kids to wash their own clothes.

8. I have so many pictures of crawling, smiling, crying, naked, performing, walking and sleeping kids that I could scrapbook every day for a year and still not be done.

9. I get lots of chances to be creative in the kitchen. I can make 20 different meals and still not find one that EVERYONE likes.

10. I get to sew patches on Scout shirts and go to pack meeting once a month.

11. I can check out 30 picture books from the library and no one even thinks that they are for me! ;)

12. When I draw or color, I am suddenly the best artist ever to live and everyone wants to be as talented as Mommy.

13. I am getting intense training in negotiating and stress-management. I do worry that I should get some persons' hearing and vision checked.

14. I am getting a thorough education. I am now on my 2nd year of Third Grade and my 3rd year of First. It's definitely working...the homework has been getting easier for me.

15. I get lots of love...from baby hugs to 8-year-old love kicks. (I think they are meant to be loving...except for that one time he was actually mad and had a baseball bat.)

What are some of your blessings?

Literacy

I love to read. I have read thousands of books in my life-time. I admit to being a self-named escape artist, though. By this I mean that I usually read fiction. I'm reading for the escape. I don't read garbage. Foul language and books with inappropriate content rarely make my reading lists and for this reason, I have OFTEN returned a book to the library without finishing it.

Anyway, I really like books. Chad likes books, too. He's less of a fiction fanatic than I am. He likes to be smarter when he's done reading a book (he already has an escape...it's called an office). Chad reads a lot of history type or church doctrine books. I like those, too, but I usually put the fiction books first on my reading lists.

This is our "library" at home. You can see most of the books here. There are probably another 200 hundred books that don't fit into the picture, or are in other rooms. I started buying children's' books before I was married, so by now we have A LOT. Daniel is starting to really get into reading. Nathan has shown a healthy interest this year, too. Leah wishes she could read. I should make more time to work with her. She'd probably be easier than the boys were. For now, she's having to make do with pretend-reading the stories to Rebekah...


...or this.

This is what greeted me when I woke up from a nap this afternoon. Leah made a path of books that has stops at each door and certain cupboards. I kept trying to get into a deeper sleep, so I spent almost an hour and a half in my room. I was very surprised that she occupied herself quietly so long.

And now I am so glad that we have invested the money into good books for our children. What a payoff this is for me!

Ho Hum

I feel like I'm supposed to blog and be witty, entertaining, insightful and purposeful at the same time. I think I'm going to miss on almost all points (except for the blogging part).

Don't think that I've snuck away for a chance to do this. I have all 3 little ones in the room with me. The girls keep asking me, "What does this say?" And I'm sure Joseph is aspiring to be a printer repairman. He just has to have a broken printer first, so that is what he's trying to achieve. Heck, maybe I should let him break it and then I can get a nicer printer to print up my scrapbook pages. Maybe I can hold him off until next year's tax refund comes so that I can actually buy a new printer.

We've got a wet, gloomy day outside today. October was beautiful (despite the freak snow on occasion), but November is slipping into a sort of depression. The least it could do is snow so that things could look cleaner and brighter!

I've recently taken on a task to sew, sew, sew and crochet. I'm trying to make up some things to hopefully make a little money. With Christmas in the air (or at least in the stores), I'm aiming for the gift-buyers. So between dish cloths, pillows (some in high school colors), aprons, and whatever else I can make quickly, I don't have much time for daydreaming. I'm hoping to find a craft fair soon or else I'll come up with some other way to get them out there.

Chad's mom came out on Wednesday afternoon to watch the kids for us while we went to a Stk. temple meeting and session. We hadn't been to the temple together since before Joseph was born. It was nice to get a chance to go back. We really appreciated her willingness to come for the night and the kids had fun with her!

We are currently down to 12 chickens. Both roosters have been butchered and slow cooked on Sunday afternoons. Thank goodness. I was tired of carrying a stick out to the coop to gather eggs. The last rooster was probably tired of my stick! Let this be a lesson for you all: I eat my enemies!

*In response to comment #2: I personally did not butcher the roosters. Chad has decided that warmer weather is better for cleaning out chickens.

Not the best instructions

We've been living in our house a year and 6 days now. When we had the inspection done, Chad discussed the well and all its parts with the inspector. You see, we've never had a well or dealt with pumps and pressure tanks. There is also a filter.

Chad asked the guy when we should change the filter. The inspector said that we'd know when it was time to change it because the water pressure would go down. That is a very BAD answer! We never really noticed the water pressure diminish. Maybe we just don't have good water pressure? Maybe the filter had already reached that point?

Last week we decided that the filter MUST need to be changed by now! So Chad looked up the filter online and found that it should be changed every 3 months! Well, we ordered new filters and they came today. We headed downstairs for a hands-on lesson on changing the filter. We discovered an orange filter...rust is a better color to call it since that is what it was. We have been drinking this water, giving it to our kids and offering it to our guests? GROSS! We did have the water tested initially and all was well. I haven't noticed any change to the taste. I actually like the taste of the water...I'm kind of a water snob.

Here is a comparison shot of the filters...new, still in package and old, obviously not doing much filtering anymore. Knowing a little of the homeowner before us (a single woman), that filter had not been changed for a long time.


Incidentally, we didn't notice the water pressure get any better once the new filter was put in. Maybe that's something that builds up again after you get the water flowing. I'm waiting to see if the water tastes any better now. I'm sure glad we just filled up 3 55-gallon drums of water barrels last month. It's nice to know there is some quality water in there!

Actually, I just had the thought that we are VERY blessed to have even drinkable water and so much of it. I know there are millions of others who are not so fortunate.

On a different note...Rebekah still has issues with flushing the toilet. She'll only flush it herself if someone is watching her. Apparently, that makes her feel safer. I'm grateful that Leah and Daniel have been so willing to help out with this. It's an annoying little quirk that I hope she'll outgrow soon.

Joseph is WALKING!

I can't believe it either! Chad told me on Saturday that he had taken a few steps. I was sorry to have missed (it was my fault that I did). Anyway, I thought I'd set him down tonight and step back to see what he would do. He took a few steps towards me.


Chad and I ended up having Joseph walk back and forth between us. We made such joyous sounds that the older kids emerged from their rooms (they'd already been sent to bed) to see what the whooping and clapping was about. Joseph kept us entertained for about 10 minutes. He even improved in that short time! We are quite excited and the kids are looking forward to trying out their new walking brother in the morning.


Here's a picture of our little man in action. (Don't mind Chad's stylish boots - he was on his way out to feed the animals.)

Go, Joseph, Go!