my not so little man

I am always calling Ethan my little man. Well, after visiting the doctor today, I don't think that quite fits!!! He had to go in and get a shot, one called a tb skin test and then the flu shot. They weighed him-57#'s! Then measured how tall, they didn't even tell me the exact height just that he was off the chart! The doctor said his weight matches his height, ie. he is not overweight. 91% percentile for height. And the kid didn't even say "ow" when he got the shots. Just took it like a man. Like my little man. Who is growing up way too fast.

BTW-on Sunday, Ethan was the spotlight child in Primary. He was asked, what is your favorite thing about your family? His answer: "my Mom." No coaxing at all, I swear. So today when he got to pick a toy at the doctor he picked a flower ring for me because "it has a real diamond on it."

love this kid!!

still more?

Yep...I have a lot to say and don't want to put it all in one post. I was talking to someone today and realized, Ivan will be 2 on Sunday! Whew time has flown by! Feb. is such a busy birthday month for our family. Which, if Connor and Ivan had not come a month early, March would be our busy month. But as is, we will be celebrating our "birthday boys" this month. We are going to have Ivan's on Sat. with a couple of presents and cake and than out to dinner with friends. Very non exciting! Oh well, we have to get away with that while we can!

visualizing

Ben has been sooo busy at work! This month, he has hardly been home! The first couple of weeks found him very busy, and working late most nights. Last week, he was out of town and this week he will be really busy too. Add that with the fact that he is now going to PT again and well....you get us not seeing him very much! I tell him I understand he has too but it is hard and we miss him!! Today Ethan and I had this conversation...

E: What are we having for dinner?
M: I don't know. Your dad has to work late again.
E: but we didn't even get to see him this morning!
M: I know. I am sorry buddy.
E: It's ok Mom, I will just visualize him.

Break my heart! :(

cheeto faces

Connor and Ivan spied a bag of Cheetos today. I gave them some for a snack. So healthy huh? Hey, at least they were baked ones. Ivan thought it was a great idea to sit on the stairs with his bowl and Connor joined him. It was just too cute to pass up!

ODU planetarium

Last Friday, the kids all went to the planetarium at one of the local colleges. They had a great time, despite Connor taking a spill on the way in! This was both Harmony and Ethan's second trip. The kids loved it. They loved learning about stars and hearing about the planets. Harmony made the observation..." The last time I was here, Pluto was still a planet." After that Connor went on a playdate with his friend Jacob and Harmony and Ethan went off to another friends house. It made for a nice quiet afternoon!

Support your local girl scout

I am not a big fan of fundraisers. Mainly because the products, are so overpriced. I do understand however, that programs and schools have fundraisers because well...they need funds.Currently Harmony & Ethan's school is selling cookie dough. A 3lb tub is $12!! Yes you read that right. And that is for "regular" ones. The ones with Heath or M&M's are $14! Yikes. A 5lb. tub at BJ's is $6. So I have a huge problem with that one. I am refusing to buy them and would rather give the school a check for $24. Connor's school just got done having a book fair, and really, that is the only fundrasier that I can get behind. Because they get books. And books are good. So why am I boring you with talk about fundraisers? Because Harmony is now a Girl Scout. And you know what that means..." there are cookies so special that they are hand delivered by uniformed officers." ( That was a quote from the kid's movie "Over the Hedge".) Harmony is selling girl scout cookies. Her first initial order has to be in by Monday. You don't have to pay until the cookies come in, so I am on here begging people to buy. Buy a box of cookies that costs $3.50. Because they need the help. Harmony's troop is through her school. Her school does not have much money. So this is their huge fundraiser. This allows for field trips, and progrmas. I have been looking at the Girl Scout website and here are some things that I have read that I thought were interesting...

*between 5th-6th grade, girls start thinking that math and science are too hard

*if girls are actively participating in after school programs, they do better in school

*girls understand that obesity is a problem and "just want to be average", not stick thin

Harm has only been in girl scouts for 2 weeks. BUT, the first time I went and picked her up, I watched her with a group of girls, singing the girl scout song, and talking and laughing. This week, I went in and she was role playing. She was having a great time. She has had to do a couple of things where she has to write about who she is. I love it. I love that she has no issues with self esteem. She knows who she is and what she likes. But I also realize that, that can change. I don't want it too.

So if you want to support my little girl scout, we would really appreciate it. There are 8 different kinds. Each box is 3.50. There are Samoas ( my personal fav!) with coconut, Thin mints, do-si-does ( peanut butter cremes), All Abouts ( shortbread &fudge), trefoils ( shortbread), Tagalongs (peanut butter patties), sugar free Little Brownies and Cafe Cookies. If you don't live here, I will be happy to ship them to you. Money has to be recieved by 2/25. If you want to donate $$ but not actually get the cookies, that would also be appreciated. If you would please place an order, you can email it to me, or call me.

Thanks for the support. We really appreciate it. And don't worry, I will not be trying to get you to buy anything else. I promise.

potty mouth

Apparently the words restroom and restaraunt sound similar because...

E: "Mom, did you know that we have a restaraunt at school?"
M:" You do huh? Is it the cafeteria?"
E: " No Mom, it is in the bathroom!"
M:"Ethan, that is gross. Please don't talk like that."
E: " No, it wasn't me who said it. Ms. Middleton told some people to go to the restroom. I asked them where it was and they said in the bathroom!!"

I guess I have never used the word "restroom". Usually it is more along the lines of, " do you need to go potty?". Funny stuff!

For Christy...

While Ben is in N.C., he gets to wear his camaflouge uniform. He likes wearing those instead of his regular uniform because they are more comfortable. So after preschool yesterday, Connor and I headed to "the army man store" to get him some patches that he had to have. Since, home ec was not my strong suit, he had to sew them on himself. I thought you would be proud Christy! :) You taught him well. BTW- he is going to kill me for this!

Gearing up...

We are gearing up for a very busy week. Ben is out of town this week. He left this morning to go to Camp Lejune ( or however you spell it) in North Carolina. His orders have him returning on Friday but they are hoping to be back on Thursday night. He is going with a few people from his office. So I get to handle this busy week all by myself! In a half an hour I am going to go pick up Ethan. An hour after that, we are going to go pick Harm up from girl scouts. Then we are going to McD's for dinner, because I have to have the kids to a friends house by 6:30. Then I am headed to an Enrichment ( church mtg. for women)where I am involved in a "visiting teaching fashion show". As soon as it is over, I am going back to pick up kids and then they are home for bed. Wed & Thursday are not too bad.

Friday morning, Harmony and Ethan don't have school. But Connor does. And he has a field trip.Yikes! A friend is going to watch Ivan for me. So drop Ivan off at like 8:45, drop Connor off at 9. Go on the field trip, bringing Harm and Ethan with me. Drop Connor back off at school. Pick Ivan up. Pick Connor up. Play date at McD's. Go to a movie night at church at 6:30. Put kids to bed when over.

Sat. morning is a primary activity. I have to stay there. That starts at 10. Come home when that is done and clean. Do errands. Missionaries are coming over for dinner at 6 and then Ben is going out with them. Ugh.

Busy week. Yikes. Wish me luck!

just call me Martha...

yeah right! Ugh, on Saturday, Ben and the kids waited very patiently while I cooked dinner. 1st plan was for stir fry. Except no vegi's. Not much of a stir fry. Next was a casserole, I just threw some stuff together and...ugh. Not so great. Next, was a frittata. Which actually was dinner. However, the fam did not get to eat until...later than dinner should be when you have little kids. So what did we do during the 30 min. it took to cook the fritatta?...Milk and cookies.

I forgot....

Do you love how on top of this blog I am?Have you ever seen so many updates in a row? Well, since I can't walk very well, I sit. Ok, that is actually an only today thing. But I realized with all of the whining and complaining that I have done I have forgotten a few things that have happened this week! And not that I don't love the boys, but these just all happen to be about lil' Miss Harmony. I would put a cute pic.of her but well....

1) Tuesday was her first day of Girl Scouts! Last Saturday, we went and got her a Brownie vest and handbook. She read that book all weekend let me tell yah! The leader is a teacher at H's school, so when school was out she went down to her classroom. Poor Ethan had to walk out all by himself! I picked her up at 4 and they were busy singing the girl scout song. They also learned the handshake, a circle of friendship, and a few other things. She said that they also went over handbooks and had to draw a picture of themselves that show their favorite things. She had a great time. Next week, I will be signing a permission slip to let her sell cookies. You can't be a girl scout without selling cookies. Well you can but...she is hoping to earn a reward for selling, so if you would like to support her, she would love it!

2)Last night I got to go to a program at church with her, called "It's great to be 8!) Now I realize that the majority of people who read this blog are LDS (or Mormon) but there are some who aren't. So quick explanation, in our religion, we believe that children are baptized at 8, because by this age they know the difference between right and wrong. So this is a huge thing. Last night, they talked to the kids about preparing for their baptisms. They even went for a "dry run" in the font, and Harm did great. Of course there was no water in it but...Just seeing her down there made me teary eyed. I can't believe how fast she has grown up. It seems right before my eyes. This time really is such a special one for her. I am so glad that her Dad will be able to baptize her in Aug. We have no idea where she will be baptized but will keep you posted! It was just so great, to spend that time with her.

"I told you so"

Those words will inevitably be coming from my husbands mouth when he gets home. If he doesn't read this first and then call me to say it. I have started really working out hard, the week before Christmas. We are talking miles logged on the treadmill. And not miles in like a week, but in a day. 6 so far this week ( and that was only 2 days!). However, last Saturday I ran for 25 min and got off, and my left leg hurt. Not sore like "oh I actually moved my body and now I can barely walk" but a dull pain. Took a shower, still felt it. Sunday was ok. Monday still ok. Tues. I went and ran around 3 miles and wow did my leg hurt. I told Ben about it. He has been telling me, basically since Sat, that I need to take it easy or I will get seriously injured and not be able to walk. Fast forward until today. Did my 5 min. walking warm up and even that hurt. Started to run and ow...ow...ow turn the machine off. Stretch a little. Start again. Run 10 min.and I am dying. Walk for 15 and feel better. Run for 5. Ow. Walk for 10. Run for 5 more. Done. I am not doing anymore. Can barely walk by the time I get off. Try hard not to cry as pain shoots up my leg. Get in the car. Drive to preschool. I am a little early, so I sit. Get out and ow. It is hurting to walk. So much pain. My plan for the day is to sit at the computer until my lunch is done. Get my lunch and go sit some more. Sit as much as I can. Go pick up Harm and Ethan. Put Ivan down for a nap. Take tylenol and lay on my bed and not move. This sucks...

heartbroken :(

For as long as I can remember, I have carried a camera around.I remember the first one I ever bought. It was $20 and included a roll of film and 2 batteries. What a deal. Actually, it lasted a long time! I lost that one at Ricks. Then I bought another one, this time going for the $35 one. Had that one until Ethan was born. Then for Ethan's 1st b-day and Connor's blessing, I got to go out and buy a nicer camera. Loved it. Had never had such nice pictures before. I had it until on Ethan's 3rd birthday and Ben left it somewhere at Chuck E Cheeses. Needless to say, no one ever turned it in. However, he did let me got get another one, very soon after that. I mean he owed me, I had just lost all of Ethan's birthday pictures! I had that one until last year, when I was finally convinced to go digital. I loved my camera. ( Note "loved")It was great. Got great pictures. Everything ran smoothly until...November. We all took a trip to Williamsburg, and it was hot, the kids were behaving badly, Ben was being...a bad tourist and I consoled myself with the fact that " at least I will have some cute pictures". Not so. That was the first time I got that little message. A red message on a blue screen, "CARD ERROR". Got it home and nothing. There were no pictures. I went and bought a bigger & better memory card. Even got to do the repeat of the Williamsburg trip. Things going great until...Sunday night. Snapped a way cute picture of Ethan & Harm. And there it was again, "CARD ERROR" Crap! No! Yep, you guessed it. Picture was gone. Last night, Ben let me buy a new one. Wrong size. Returned it. Today, went and bought the right card. Put it in and..."CARD FULL" What the heck? Format it. Nothing. Won't work. It is not the memory card. It is the camera. Less than a year later. I am heart broken. I don't know if Ben will let me get a new one any time soon. Not because he is mean, or doesn't love me, it's just that cameras are expensive. It sucks. I have field trips and birthdays coming up. I can't be camera less! :(So anyway, that is my long story. If you want to donate to the "Marie got a crappy camera, and now has to replace it "camera fund that would be great!!

oranges

For the past few days, Connor has been asking me for an orange in his lunch. However, since this always includes me being the one to peel it, I usually opt for..ahem..something packaged that is easier to just toss into his lunch bag. Horrible I know. Not giving him fruit in place of something else BUT I do make him eat vegi's. So, today I decided to cut him up an orange. I usually use sandwich bags, but man they go so fast! They aren't expensive, but still...So I stuck his orange, and some pretzels into containers, telling him tomake sure he brought the containers back. I picked him up from school, and asked how his day was etc. Then I asked him if he brought back my containers....

" yeah, but the orange is still in it's container."
M-" Why didn't you eat the orange? You have been asking me for one forever?!"
C-" Mom, I don't eat oranges on Wednesdays."

uhm...ok whatever you say little dude!

If you don't have anything nice to say....

Talk about the weather, right? It's not that I don't have any nice to say, I just want to talk about the weather. Yesterday was the 14th of January. When I was younger, by the middle of Jan.I wasn't spending too much time outside. Because it was cold. Like it is supposed to be in Jan. Unless you live in Norfolk and surrounding areas. I am so tired of the weather here. Last week, we had some really cold temps.In the 40's during the day.High 20's at night. But yesterday? Yesterday was 70! Hello?! What in the world. Tomorrow, it is supposed to be 80 so the kids and I are headed to the beach. I don't think I have ever been to the beach on MLK jr. Day. And by Tues. night,we have a possiblity for...SNOW. Yesterday the kids were out playing in shorts, t-shirts, and sandals. Playing outside until the sun went down. Honestly, I don't care if it is hot or cold...as long as it just stays the same. For a little bit. How about 60's during the day. Not too hot,not too cold. Anyway...that is my way too long ramble about the weather!

ODU game

The kids had an awesome time at the basketball game! Ben took them on Thursday night. They left around 6 and I put Ivan to bed at 7. So I enjoyed a couple of hours of alone time.I even ate dinner in the living room! :) They were able to sit on the 6th row, and at half time they were recognized. Not them individually, but just the Norfolk Public Schools Reading Log winners. Ben was even asked to do the half-time lay up contest but he said no because he didn't want to leave the kids. I told him he should have done it because he probably could have won and we would have had 2 free airline tickets.Oh well. The kids came home late and were pretty tired the next day. But they had fun!And when they left ODU was up by 25!

fear

Every parent gets to experience firsts. First steps. First words. First days of school. However, the words " to the parent/guardian of Harmony Turner" is something new. Now, I have recieved letters like this before, but I usually know what they are about. Excpecting a letter. But when you go to the mail box, and pull out a letter addressed, " to the parent or guardian of Harmony Turner" from Norfolk Public Schools. Well....I'm fearful. I know that Harmony is a good girl. But what if she did something at school? Is the letter because of the .10 that I keep forgetting to pay the lunch lady? Did she run in the halls? Did she get in a fight? And it makes me scared to open the envelope. Why? Because I am responsible for whatever is inside. Good or bad. To the parent or guaridan. OK that's me. I open the letter...."Congratulations! Your child has been recommended by her school to participate in the Saturday Enrichment Program." From the Office of the Gifted Education Services." Phew...sigh of relief. I call Harmony in, and show her the letter.I ask her if she is interested in taking some more gifted classes on Saturdays. She reads the letter and says,"yeah I can totally handle that." That is my girl. Scholarships here we come!

Barney & breakfast

Sick of me yet? Well you will be! Last post, for awhile. Ivan has an adorable plush Lightning McQueen that Grandma Harmon got him for Christmas. He sleeps with it every night BUT if he gets a chance to steal Connor's Barney, he will do it in a heartbeat. Imagine his delight, when I realized that we still had this huge one, from when Harm was little. He decided to hold it the whole time that he was eating breakfast.

He is growing up so fast, and wants to do everything that the big kids are doing. He carries a lunch bag to the Y everyday, ( totally cute but I never have my camera. Will try to get one sometime!) He wants to watch movies in the car, he will point and scream and even said something that sounds like movie. He wants milk in his cereal ( I give him a couple of drops) and does not want to sit in his booster chair. He wants to sit in a big chair at the table. He also doesn't want to sit in his car seat and will climb to the back of the van if possible. Oh yeah,and how could I forget...his favorite word is the dreaded NO.

Anyway, that is all. I am signing off. Except one last thing...Harmony brought a library book home...The Babysitters Club. Love it. Love having a girl!

poor Ben

Yesterday was not a great day for Ben. He had to go PT at 6. Meaning he had to go run with his old command. Guess what the temp was? A nice balmy 28!!! He said it wasn't that bad after you got going. I prefer a nice warm gym and a treadmill thank you very much. But once he was done, he went back to his truck and realized, that he locked his keys in the truck. So just call me, and have me bring the extra right? Wrong, cell phone was in there too. Plus he would have had to wait about an hour and a half. Finally, he climbed into the cab, and did the unthinkable. Yep, he kicked the window. He actually ended up breaking 2 of them. So now his truck has glass everywhere. And he has had some chilly drives with the heat cranked. Poor guy. Poor truck. That was a birthday gift when we lived in CA. We realized that there was no way that we could be a one car family. So, while his parents were visiting, we went and looked for trucks. He told me, " I think I know a dealership where maybe I can find one." Turned out, he had been looking online and already found the truck he wanted. Sneaky. Anyway, this weekend he is going to have a fun time getting all the glass cleaned up. :)

So not the drama

Whew! Hello drama! Our life is so crazy sometimes. Running around everywhere. I honestly do feel like I spend more time in my van then I do at home.It is a good thing that I love my van. Uhm yeah! I feel like I have been neglecting my blog...but I really haven't. It is not like I have gone weeks or something. So anyway, total randomness to share...

All the kids do anymore is play Lego Star Wars 2. Or legos. I am not kidding. If I dumped a bucket of legos on the floor, changed batteries in the controller, and walked out for a few days, probably wouldn't even notice that I am gone! Ben and I could go on a 2nd honeymoon or something.

I read 2 stories to the kids every night. So when it comes time to earn rewards from school, for reading, my kids are all over it. They earned a free ticket to go see a college basketball game. There were only 2 different nights that you could go and yesterday was one of them. Hello? Thanks for the notice! The other is tonight. So Ben is going to take them. But what about Connor? Ben is just going to pay for him to go. Which I think is only fair because he read all the stories too. However, last night Harmony couldn't find her tickets anywhere and insisted that she brought them home. We search everywhere. I go into school with her to see if I can find them in her desk. Her teacher said she will see if she can find an extra one. Next, I head to Ethan's class. I let her know that we hadn't recieved Ethan's yet, but had already recieved Harmony's. She thinks she accidentally gave it away. Went to go look for extra's and there weren't any. crap. So she asked me how much the tickets were. I told her I had no clue. She said she would like to pay for Ethan to go. I said no way. She said, " Ethan is such a good kid, and totally ignores the drama and the craziness that goes on in here every day. I would really like to reward him with it, since it was probably her fault. She won't take no for an answer. Long story short, although not really, is that the kids are going to a basketball game.

Connor, the golden child, also not really, but with my posts lately, might make him seem that way, is causing wardrobe problems at school. What? Yeah, apparently his friend Jacob, doesn't think that he should have to wear long sleeved shirt s because Connor T. doesn't. Oops. I let her know that he actually does either wear a sweatshirt/ flannel under his coat. He just likes to take it off as soon as he gets there.

Whew! So did you get all that? I am not actually done though. I will put it in different posts though!

Christmas photos?

Uhm...yeah Christmas photos. Ivan is asleep so I am having some computer time! My camera does not like the lighting inside the chapel at Connor's school. Luckily, one of the other Mom's got some cute pictures of Connor. He was the cutest wise man ever. Even if he was wearing bright pink! :)

impromptu parent/teacher conference

I was a little late dropping Connor off at school today.It doesn't happen to often, so I am not worried. We had run to the store and when we got out, it was pouring down rain. I told him to hurry and get in, but he thought it would be a better idea to stand in the rain and wait for me to do it. The kid was drenched. When we got in the car, we had the perfect amount of time to get to school. But he was drenched. He told me he didn't want the other kids to see him like that because" they will think I had an accident." So I hurried home. Got him home and were only 10 min. late. Because of that though, I got to sit and talk to his teacher for a little bit. She told me how sweet he is, and that he just doesn't give her any trouble at all. Just a good boy.

Then when I came to pick him up, the director walked him out for me, so that I could stay with Ivan who had fallen asleep in the van. She started telling me how much she enjoys Connor and how sweet, nice and smart he is. She was telling me about something he had made, a car, ( but she couldn't remember what he made it out of) but she was saying how intricate and detailed it was. That it really took some engineering work.

It was just one of those days where your kids make you sooo proud. Nice.

BTW- Uhm...yeah I lost 5 lbs. this week. In one week! Stoked. Headed to the Y tomorrow after taking a couple of days off. Exciting stuff!

alone time & Ethan

Yesterday was terrible. It was TERRIBLE. My class who I described as disruptive? Not even close.I really didn't think it was going to be that bad. I was wrong. And....testimony mtg. went over, so we were not even in there the regular amount of time. I came home crying. I also came home a little sore after having to pick up more than one kid to drag them out. So I was in desperate need of alone time. However, Ben had to go give a talk at a meeting last night. So he was gone. I got the kids to bed and just lay on the couch. Pretty much dead to the world. Until Sleepless In Seattle came on. I watched that and crashed. This morning, I decide, I am going to get up early. I am going to unload the dishwasher, load the washer, read my scriptures and check email. Right? My personal time. I wake up and go down stairs. Not even all the way down when I hear Ethan's door open. Irritating. The fact is, if I tiptoe down our stairs...he wakes up. If I walk normally...he wakes up. If my door creaks...he wakes up. If it doesn't make a sound...he wakes up.The kid is a morning person.And this is no where near the first time that this has happened. But I am suffering. He says to me, " wow Mom, it's really quiet down here" Yeah Ethan...that is the whole point. How does a Mom of 4 get alone time in a house so small? I think I may have to start staying up later. That way I can just tell him to go back to bed if he gets up. I just did not need it this morning. I needed a break. Oh well, what are you gonna do? :(

Sat. update

Ben is gone. The kids are watching cartoons and of course, playing legos. So I decided to do a very exciting update! Somedays when I blog, they are just little things. So I think every once in a while it is good to get an update in. Ready? Here goes....

Ben has been extremely busy at work. He was late a couple nights this week.I think everybody is trying to make up for all the holiday time they had off! He finished a project and said everyone loved the drawing that he did for it. So that is great. No news on orders yet and that is driving us nuts! He also is busy with his calling in the Sunday School presidency and is trying to get a talk written for something tomorrow.

Harmony, has had to go to an earlier bedtime. I had been letting her stay up until 8, but she was so crabby in the morning. Turns out, she was staying up at night reading in her bed! So who knows how long she had been staying up! We made a compromise, and she is a lot happier now ( and easier to deal with!) She brought her progress report home and has all outstandings. She does so well at school! She is excited because Tuesday she will be starting girl scouts!

Ethan has become extremely involved in playing Lego Star Wars. He is obsessed with it. Makes sure he gets his homework done, his job done so that he can play. He is pretty good too and has learned everything on his own! He is such a fun happy kid. Also a morning person. More than once this week he was up before 6! But he just comes and plays or sits and talks to you a mile a minute. He was rewarded at school with extra computer time for his good behavior. That is a definite good thing!

Connor is so glad to be back at preschool! Being at home with Mom is boring apparently.Who knew? He loves having the afternoons to himself where he can watch anything, or play anything without having to share. He is constantly telling me which foods are healthy or not. Sometimes he is right ( like his yogurt) other times he is trying to pass off tootsie pops as being healthy. He is doing so well with his writing. His name is starting to look really good. He started stay & play this week which means I get an extra hour without him. It is nice.

I don't know if Ivan has changed personalities or if he is giving us a glimpse of what is to come but so far the TERRIBLE TWOS ARE TERRIBLE!!!!!! And technically, we aren't even there yet! He has his 2 year molars coming in and I am praying that is what is the cause of his...crabbiness. He has been a pill! He loves airplanes and looks up every time they fly by! He also has to ring the doorbell every time he comes into the house. He doesn't talk much but makes his wants known! He keeps us on our toes, for sure. Doesn't stop for a minute. At least he is cute...:)

And as for me? I am hanging in there. Trying to keep this brood together. I am getting a new primary class tomorrow and frankly, am kind of worried. Some of the kids in the class can be...disruptive. That is the word I am choosing to use. Wish me luck! Tonight I will be working on thank you cards and hopefully can have them out by Monday. I have been so behind on cards that it is sad! I hope I haven't offended anyone with my forgetfulness. We also change times for church, and we have the worse time ever! 1-4. I don't like this time because it means no naps, for anyone! My Sunday nap is one of my favorite indulgences!

"robber movie"

Connor is totally OBSESSED with the movie Home Alone.He calls it the robber movie. He loves it. Talks about it constantly. The kids are getting to the age where a movie doesn't have to be a cartoon, to be funny. Because Connor has a longer drive to school than the other kids, he gets to pick what he watches. Today he picked Home Alone. Here are just some of the cute things coming from the back seat...

" Mommy, when me and Ethan are home alone, we are going to put a whole bunch of cars on the top of the stairs and make the robbers slip on them!"

" If you leave, me and Ethan are going to set up traps for robbers. Except we don't have robbers in this town."

"I am going to get a cheese pizza all by myself!"

"Remember the part, when he puts the ornaments on the ground and the robbers step on them and hurt their feet?"

" I want to ride on a sled down the stairs but I will hold on and I won't fall off."

"Uh-oh the plane went off with out him!"

"Mom is his name Evan or Heaven?" Me: "huh? oh no sweetie it's Kevin." " Oh, ok I can say that."

" Mommy, do you remember when I got this in my stocking? I love this robber movie."

just for the taste of it....

This kid is constantly taking my diet coke. What can I say? He has good taste!

afterschool snack

I have the kids do all their homework on the first day of the week. It just makes it easy for me. Harmony asked me for a snack but I told her that she had to wait until she had finished all of Tuesdays homework and than I would get her something. When it was time, I got her a juice box and she said, " Mom would you mind if I also have a solid with my juice?" Totally cracked up. That girl loves science!

2006 Highlights

So I only made it to 11:15 last night. Oh well right? I still made my resolutions, and as of day 1, I have completed everything I wanted too. 1 day down only a gazillion more to go. I actually love making resolutions. I love the chance to start over, and try again. Who doesn't love a do-over? I know that the success rate for resolutions is not very high. But, it doesn't hurt to try.To try to be better. 2006 really had it's ups and downs. So I decided to do what the tv stations do...record the highlights, the highs and the lows. Here goes:

Jan- Ben was gone. School back in session. Marie joins the Y. Life is lonely but we are handling it. Harmony is doing cheerleading.

Feb- 3birthdays, goodbye parties ( my friend Melissa), a Valentines Day spent with the flu. First major breakdown by Marie. Excellent parent teacher conferences at pre-school.

March-cheerleading is over, soccer season starts, Ivan takes his first steps, halfway through the deployment

April-finally get digital cable, soccer still in full swing, Easter , pancake breakfast, Spring break, Build a bear, 4 mo. done

May- 1 birthday, Mothers Day, many field trips, soccer finishes, spring program for boys, end of year parties for boys, 5 mo done

June- the boys go to summer fun at preschool, beach trips, picnics, Henry's move :(, zoo trip with Heine's, Ben returns on the 24th, lots of trips to the pool

July-softball for Ben, 4th of July with friends, Jim and Christy Turner visit, go to D.C. (and Ikea!!), 8 yr. anniversary, Busch Gardens, Vale comes,

Aug-1 birthday, command functions, the Farr family were sealed in the temple, meeting new teachers, Vale goes home

Sept- Marie's birthday, school starts, parents night out at the Y, High priest camp out, softball tournament for Ben

Oct-school projects, pumpkin parties, planning meetings, school pictures, trunk or treat and trick or treating, costumes

Nov-field trips ( fire station, pumpkin patch 2x's), visiting Colonial Williamsburg, Thanksgiving programs, Ben makes Lieutenant, Ben goes to Oregon for a week, a kind of lonely Thanksgiving, dvd player in the van fixed

Dec- Christmas parties for Ben, ward Christmas party, concerts, babysitting, birthday parties, school Christmas parties, going to the Christmas lights on the Boardwalk, Christmas and all that comes with it.....

Whew! What a busy year! Looking forward to 2007 and all it brings with it!