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!

Saturday mornings

When I was growing up, every Saturday morning, we cleaned the house. We would be given our job card, or just told which jobs to do, then we also had to clean our rooms. I remember so vividly, my Mom saying, " If all 7 of us work together, we can have the house cleaned in a few hours. If I have to do it by myself, it will take all day." In one ear and out the other. But oh how times have changed!! Now it is me on the other side of the fence. Trying to keep up with a family of 6. The laundry and dishes alone are enough to drive a sane woman to the brink. Let alone, picking up toys, clothes, art projects, scrubbing toothpaste off the counter, making beds etc. etc. So this new year will find the kids with new jobs to do. Tasks that will have to be completed before anyone plays gameboy, computer or video games. Why should I have to do it all by myself? Just because I am a stay at home Mom, doesn't make me a slave right?! Right? Please say I am right...Today and tomorrow ( of course) I will be working on my new years resolutions. want my life more organized, less cluttered, less stress, more good times.And part of that starts with me learning to delegate! Wish me luck!

behind the scenes

One of the shows that Ben really enjoys, although we don't watch it much anymore,is Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Since they have shortened the time, all the "middle stuff" doesn't get shown as much. You have the beginning where they introduce the family, then the demolition. They work for awhile and then the dramatic ending. Everybody just wants the end result right? Well that is kind of how I felt about our Christmas this year. Christmas Eve, Ben and I are sitting in the living room. Under the nicely lit tree, are piles of presents, the cookies have been made (although not set out...just like TJ and Heather apparently), the kids are asleep in their new pj's, and It's a Wonderful Life is on tv. Sounds picture perfect. OK, but what about all that middle stuff? All the work that went into it? Here is a behind the scenes look....

**Connor's dream was to get Lego Star Wars 2. We ordered it and upon opening it, it was Lego Star Wars 1. So... we emailed the company. We get an auto-reply email saying they will get back to us within 3 days! Ugh. So by the time they respond, we send it back, and they send it back again, would we have it by Christmas? Who knows! So we asked for a refund and waited in line at Wal Mart.

**waiting in a huge long line of cars so that we could go and see the holiday lights on the boardwalk. The kids loved it and didn't even notice the traffic b/c they got to sit in the back and watch a movie.

**crabby kids, crabby parents, fighting, whining, crying and naps ( kids and parents!)

**me running around on the 23rd trying to get the last of the Christmas stuff. Crabby shoppers and rude drivers. Not to mention the lines!

** dragging all of the kids to church for what was supposed to be an hour meeting, and they were all behaving horribly,not just Ivan

**the morning of Christmas Eve, Connor tells me he can't wait to open his stocking because he gets a box of cereal in there. Crap! I forgot the cereal boxes. Not a big box but the multi-pack of little ones. After church, go to the store, yes I know on Sunday, and go and get some. Last one left on the shelf. Phew. Crisis diverted.

** a sore back after sitting on the ground wrapping gifts for over an hour

** a toy that doesn't work. Luckily it was Ivan's and he didn't question why a toy that Santa brought him had to be returned to BJ's

** finding Christmas cards on my desk that I forgot to send


I guess I never realized how much goes into pulling a happy Christmas off. What can I say, hind sight is 20/20. But you know what? The kids were so happy with everything they recieved. The smiles were worth it. I love Christmas time. Now I have 363 days to go before I have to do it again!

Holy cow!!!

Uhm yeah...went to Weight Watchers tonight...and I lost 3 lbs!!! Over Christmas! I guess having the Biggest Loser theme song on my ipod has done the trick. Go me! :)

a glimpse

Ugh! Tired! So busy the past few days! Totally ready to go to bed. I will update my blog in the morning but just wanted to share a few pictures.Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve

Last night when we sat down to dinner, it was Ethan's turn to say prayer. We all cracked up when he said, " please help us have a Merry Christmas Eve, Eve, eve". Too cute. Well today I am finally finished! A few quick trips to get last minute stocking stuffers and I am DONE! It seems like I always have everything done and then there are always those few last minute things. I know I am way late on sending a few gifts and cards. They will be in the mail on Tues I swear!! I feel badly. It is just that there is soo much to do and not enough time to do it! I was actually listening to a commercial on the radio that was comparing Christmas prep with the launch of the space shuttle! I am going to make a quick dinner and then we are off to go see the holiday lights on the boardwalk. It is our kind of trip, we don't have to even get the kids out of the car! I will try to post some pictures later. Hopefully I will be able to get some good shots since I am not driving!

Birthday wishes

happy birthday to you

happy birthday to you

happy birthday dear susan and dad

happy birthday to you!

If it weren't for Ivan...

**I would have more patience

**my house would be cleaner

**the floor under his high chair would not need to be swept and mopped 5x's a day

**I wouldn't have to worry about Harmony leaving the bottle of syrup on the table

** I wouldn't grit my teeth as much

**I wouldn't drink as much caffeine

** no one would scream until the their food comes

** Ben's deodarant would never be lost

**the house would be cleaner

** the door to the entertainment center would still be on

** the playstation wouldn't be unplugged 5x's a day to get the boys attention

** I could eat all of my yogurt by myself

**there would be no fear when opening the fridge

**I wouldn't hear,"Mommy! Ivan is____________"

** I wouldn't have a little boy bring me his blanket to take him upstairs for nigh nigh while patting me on the back.

Life would be soooo much different without Ivan the terrible/the great!!!

new baby?!

The other night I was getting ready to read stories to Ethan. He comes in with, " The Berenstein Bears New Baby." I was just teasing and asked him why he picked that book.
E- " Well because I decided that we should have another baby."
M-" you did huh? It would end up being another boy. Are you sure you want to start all over again with another baby?"
E- " well we could just have Vale be my new brother."
M-" There's an idea. So we would have 5 boys? Daddy, you, Connor, Ivan and Vale?"
E-" no six boys."
M-" What? How did we get a sixth one?"
E-" the other new baby you are going to have."
M-" But I don't think Mommy could handle having another one."
E- " Don't worry Mom, I think you can handle it."

Thanks for the vote of confidence Eth but....not gonna happen!

good day

Today I ran/walked ( but mostly ran!!) for 2.5 miles!!! Go me! It has been forever since I worked out hard. Believe me when I say it hurt like heck to walk up the stairs when I got home! I ran at 4.5 miles an hour with the incline set at 2.5. Serious butt kickin' workout. Feel great. All of this leads up to...going back to Weight Watchers tonight. A couple of weeks ago, I had the motivation. Went back. But slowly lost it as things just started to come up. Last week, however I watched the Biggest Loser. I totally love, love, love that show! When I first heard about it,I thought it was terrible. Parading these over weight people around on tv. How humiliating. Right? Wrong! It is seriously so inspiring. The person who won last week's lost 214 lbs. Holy cow! Now, fortunatley for me, I do not have that much to lose. But I do have my work cut out for me. Last night, that seriously sweet husband of mine, downloaded the theme song to the Biggest Loser to my ipod. Totally helped me run faster. I am lovin' it. This is going to be my obsession for awhile. I guess it all fits in with my resolutions. Which wow, that is coming up soon! I have so many things about my life that I want to change. I actually love making resolutions. Last year, a few of my friends and I were meeting once a week to talk about and encourage one another on our resolutions. I think we need to start doing that again!!

Sidenote- for those of you who have not recieved a card from me, I'm sorry! It is coming. I thought I was doing so well!!!

Anyway, I am off to finish my book. Only 50 more pages!

Christmas tag

Ok here is another one. Christmas style! This is a fun one people! Gets you thinkin' about memories which hmmm yeah totally one of my favorite things! So everybody has to answer!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I love both! My Mom's eggnog (non alcoholic people)and a cup of hot choc. with cool whip and a mint candy cane to stir it

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? depends on how hard the gift is too wrap and if I bought enough paper

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? white

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope. We do pretty well on our own!

5. When do you put up your decorations? the day after Thanksgiving...if Ben is home.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? hmmm I am not sure. I don't think I really have one!
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7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Okay, I have two. One was the year that we had the scavenger hunt, and it snowed the night before. We were running around everywhere and then it led us to the Christmas tree where we got $50! The other is we used to always go Christmas caroling with the missionaries and hand out goodies to the people they were teaching. Then coming home and opening stockings.

8. When and how did you learn that Santa isn't real? I don't remember actually. I just remember the first Christmas that I was supposed to read stories to Tobin and DeAnne so that the adults could get presents wrapped.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Much to Eric's dismay, we open our stockings on Christmas Eve. It was always so fun for our family, and although I am sure he is not telling the whole truth, Ben said he didn't really have any traditions, so we took on one of the Kennedy traditions.
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10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Usually from the middle and go to the top. Keeping ornaments away from small children. Maybe someday we will have matching ornaments surrounding the whole thing. But for now, mismatched ornaments. Ones that the kids made.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? love it and totally miss having a white Christmas. I miss it.

12. Can you ice skate? uhm yeah that is a big fat NO

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Idon't know. Favorites kind of change with the years.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? watching my kid's faces light up and teaching them the real meaning of Christmas. The birth of our Savior.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? fudge. Love fudge. I made it for myself one time and it totally got ruined. I haven't tried again! :(

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? staying up late with Ben on Christmas Eve, wrapping presents after the kids go to bed, when they open their stockings we have a movie in there. We all get blankets and pillows and sit and watch one. Then reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

riddle me this

How do you know if you have lived in Norfolk too long?

A- When you pick your daughter up from school, and while climbing in the back says, "Ethan, you are in my spot and I am not going to sit in no car seat."

Yuck. Mom cringes. Grammar is horrendous. Say her name and give her a look that she is wondering what in the world she just did. " Do not ever say that again. You do not put the word no in front of a word like that. You may say "the car seat". ( Not knowing the actual rule of grammar to tell her.) She is looking at me like I am off my nut. Bad grammar = Mom pet peeve. Sentence structure apparently isn't as important.

Advent calender

Since the Lego Advent calender, didn't quite go how it was planned, we were so excited to get another one from Grandma Kennedy. It is adorable. Mom did such an excellent job on it. ( My friend even said she thought it looked store bought!!). The kids enjoyed opening their first clue yesterday! btw- Ethan's lack of enthusiasm had nothing to do with what we were doing. Ivan had just "messed" with him...once again.

Little wise man

Every year the pre-k class dresses up as the different people in the Nativity story. Last year, Ethan made one cute little donkey. This year, Connor was a wise man. I was very surprised when he came walking down in a very bright pink outfit! He was so cute though and practiced "his part" all week. Kneeling in front of the manger. He is so sweet and sang all the songs. Mommy's favorite was the Reindeer hokey pokey. Ecspecially putting your tail in! So cute. Connor is such a sweet little boy. He is really just one of those kids that you think you could eat up. Not that he is without faults but he is definatley a sweetheart! Unfortunatley, I didn't get a close up of him in his costume. A friend of mine thought she got one though so is going to get me one. Another friend is going to make me a copy of the video. Fun stuff.

Christmas party

Connor had his Christmas party on Tues. It was from 11-12 and since I had to take Ivan, I decided to just go for the last half an hour. But since I was also busy finishing teacher gifts, I was a little later than planned. By the time I got there, there was only like 15 min. left and they were all outside playing on the playground. So basically I sat and talked to one of his teachers and watched him on the playground. He got tons of goody bags, and treats, plus one of the Mom's owns a novelty store, so they get helium balloons at every party. Totally spoiled huh? So here is a non-Christmasy picture of Connor at his party!

10 days left!

Ugh, is it really that close? Stress. Major stress. We are shopping on Friday and hopefully will get everything done. Yikes. I don't want to stress over Christmas, but there are still some cards left to be sent, concerts, class parties, presents to wrap, presents to send and more. Taking some major time off tonight. Going out for a girls night out. El Azteca, our favorite, going to see The Holiday, and although some want to go to dessert, I may end up heading home. Connor has a party in the morning, and I plan to get everything off to the post office. I found this poem today, disclaimer- I didn't write this, that I thought people might enjoy!
Funny, Funny Mother!
See Mother.
See Mother laugh.
Mother is happy.
Mother is happy about Christmas.
Mother has many plans.
Mother has many plans for Christmas
.Mother is organized.
Mother smiles all the time.
Funny, funny Mother
!See Mother.
See Mother smile
.Mother is happy.
The shopping is all done.
See the children watch TV.
Watch children, watch
.See the children change their minds.
See them ask Santa for different toys.
Look! Look
!Mother is not smiling
.Funny, funny Mother!
See Mother.
See Mother sew.
Mother will make dresses.
Mother will make robes.
Mother will make shirts.
See Mother put the zipper in wrong.
See Mother sew the dress on the wrong side.
See Mother cut the skirt too short.
See Mother Put the materials away until January
.Look! Look!
See Mother take a tranquilizer
.Funny, funny Mother!
See Mother.
See Mother buy raisins and nuts.
See Mother buy candied pineappleAnd powdered sugar.
See Mother buy flour, dates, pecans, Brown sugar, bananas and spices.
Look! Look!
Mother is mixing everything together.
See the children press out cookies.
See the flour on their elbows.
See the cookies burn.
See the cake fall.
See the children pull taffy.
See Mother pull her hair
.See Mother clean the kitchenWith the garden hose.
Funny, funny Mother!
See Mother.
See Mother wrap presents.
See Mother look for the end On the Scotch tape roll
.See Mother bite her fingernails.
See Mother go.
See Mother go to the store Ten times in one hour.
Go Mother, go.
See Mother go faster.
Run, Mother, run!
See Mother trim the tree.
See Mother have a party.
See Mother make popcorn.
See Mother wash the walls.
See Mother scrub the rug.
See Mother tear up organized plan.
See Mother forget gift for Uncle Harold.
See Mother get hives.
Go, Mother, go!
See the faraway look in Mother's eyes.
Mother has become disorganized.
Mother has become disoriented
.Funny, funny Mother
!It is finally Christmas morning.
See the happy family.
See Father smile
.Father is happy.
Smile, Father, smile.
Father loves fruitcake.
Father loves Christmas pudding.
Father loves all his new neckties
.Look! Look!
See the happy children.
See the children's new toys.
Santa was very good to the children.
The children will remember this Christmas.
See Mother.
Mother is slumped in a chair.
Mother is crying uncontrollably.
Mother does not look well.
Mother has ugly dark circles Under her bloodshot eyes.
Everyone helps Mother to her bed.
See Mother sleep quietly Under heavy sedation.
See Mother smile.
Funny, funny Mother!

Like Father Like Son

Tonight Connor was helping me make dinner. We decided on scrambled eggs with ham. So he was sitting on the counter, helping me put the ham into the pan. Then he reached over and gave me a huge hug. When we let go, he had this sneaky little smile on his face. I asked him what was going on ....

C- " I smelled you"

M-" You did huh? And what did I smell like?" ( totally waiting for something not very nice)

C- " you just smell like a mommy."

Which is a funny story because when Ben and I were dating, we had a similar conversation:

B " you smell good."

M" Thanks. What do I smell like?" ( not wearing perfume or anything that day so was curious)

B" ...uhm...just like...girl"

Connor is his father's son! Not that I was doubting that for a second!

The rules

OK, so last night I got to go to a Christmas party for Ben's work. It was nice to go and be with him at the NORFOLK YACHT CLUB! Yes I know...very fancy. Seriously it was nice. My friend Deborah watched the kids and when I came to pick them up I asked her how the kids had been. She said fine, just that Harm and Ethan had fought a couple of times over some game rules. So I asked Harmony about it later...

" So what were you fighting with Ethan about?"

H- " Well he wasn't making fair rules!"

M-"ok like what?"

H-"He said if you didn't catch the ball then you were out."

M-"...and?"

H-" Mom there were only 2 of us playing!"

Yeah I got a laugh about that. Kids are funny!

not fair!

So a while back I decided to take a break from any sort of healthy living whatsoever. I know not my best of ideas but I really wanted a break from meetings, counting points, worrying about how much I was exercising and so on and so forth. Well, about 3 weeks ago, feeling disgusted with the way I look, I went back to WW. They have 2 different programs 1) their popular flex points one and 2) a program called Core. Where you can basically eat your fill of a list of certain foods. Well I choose to do Core. So the first week after I weighed in I lost 1.4. Feeling good. This week, I started exercising again and was at the Y 4 times. Doing at least 2 miles each day. Today I went for my weigh in and....I GAINED .2! The secretary was like that is nothing.Basically you stayed the same. She really is a sweet lady. Liar, but sweet. But here's the thing...while I am not happy about my lack of loss, I am fine with me. Make sense? Let me explain...I did nothing "wrong" this week. I ate all my fruits and vegi's. I drank all my water. I exercised. I had a GOOD week. It just didn't show up on the scale. But unlike my last time on Weight Watchers, I am going to not get upset with myself. I mean why should I? I am not going to lose all of my weigh over night. I am just going to ride it out. Making good choices and well trying not to get upset. Sounds very adult and mature of me right? Well I just keep thinking that whining and pouting are going to get me no where. So I am not going to do it. I am sure everyone cares about my whole weight loss issues but since this is my blog you get to read about it anyway! :)

confession time

Last year, was Ivan' s first year sitting on Santa's lap. HOWEVER I was not there. I know I am terrible. I missed the ward Christmas party. I went to Eric and Susan's. But not mine. So I was a little worried about the reaction that Ivan would have while sitting on Santas lap. He isn't that great about going to strangers. Maybe he was in a good mood, because he had a big dinner ( everything the other kids didn't eat!) and even had a cookie that Ben went and stole for him. I took him up there and waited in line and then...nothing. NO crying, no drama. He stared at him. But nothing. My friend snapped his picture while I was trying to get him to smile. He took his goody bag and well...that was that. He did not let go of his goody bag until he was in his bed. The big kids, well of course, they know that Santa is a good thing. Harmony asked for girl legos ( check, thanks Eric), Ethan asked for Christmas legos ( check, thanks Eric) and Connor asked for Lego Star Wars 2 ( check). So apparently the whole "santa can read minds thing" really worked. Well I am off to take a shower and start a long and busy week!

just in case...

So just in case you didn't believe me about the boys being so sweet to each other..here is my proof. "Breakfast with the boys". That same morning they came downstairs in just their pj pants, wrapped in a blanket, both wanting Cocoa Puffs. Matching bowls. Matching spoons. "...because we are bestest brothers huh Ethan?" Even their Lego guys joined in on the action! The boys told me that they are just trying to be twin brothers. Gotcha. OK, those little dudes can seriously be cute.

the sweetest sight

As Ethan and Connor were eating dinner the other night, they sat by each other whispering and doing "boy things". I was thinking about despite the fact, of their close age, they have such a sweet relationship. They really do. They can totally count on each other. So this morning I woke up at the crack of dawn. Seriously, I fell asleep after I read to Harmony last night. We were cuddled in my bed reading and as soon as she got in her bed...wam I was out. At 9:00. So by 6 well I was ready. I didn't hear any kids so I slipped into my scraproom. BUT I kept thinking I could hear something. I finish the pages I was working on...and go into the hallway. No lights are on but I can hear whispering. Open Harmony's door, and she is sound asleep. Open the boys door, and there they are, laying on Connor's bed, under his blanket..talking and playing legos. Seriously the cutest thing ever!

Busy day today. Ben is taking the kids to Happy Feet and I am going to try and work on Christmas stuff. Then I am making some food for our ward Christmas Party tonight. Ethan is very anxious to tell Santa what he wants. "Santa always comes to the church party Mom!" They are not worried about the fact that Ivan can't tell Santa what he wants. Even though he can't tell him, they figure that Santa can just read minds. So there you have it. Anyway I will post pictures later. Have a good Saturday!

**oh and most of my Christmas cards went out on Thursday! Woo-hoo!!!

Boys from A-Z

My boys are cute. My boys are gross. My boys are future missionaries & fathers. My boys are mine. When testosterone levels are high, I often wonder why I was given 3 boys. I asked for one boy. One little Mama's boy. And I end up with 3 wild boys. So I started thinking of all the things that my boys entail. Keeping up with them day to day. So here it is A-Z:
A- arm farts, animal crackers, annoying,"anything goes", airplanes
B-Buzz, balls, Batman, bandaids, bananas,
C-cheetos, crumbs, crying, chasing, cups of juice, chicken nuggets, cars
D- Daddy’s boys, dinosaurs, dirt, "don’t!", danger, digging ,dogs
E- energetic, entertaining, eggo’s, exploring
F- fun, farts, fixin’ stuff, forts, fire trucks, fire men, french fries
G- gameboys, "gimme that!", guns, grapes, going places, gross
H-hiding, hitting, hammers, hero’s, huge eyes, hungry all the time, hats
I- Incredibles, ignoring the rules, ice cream, "I didn’t do it", "Ivan did it"
J-jumping on the couches, juice, Jedi’s, just kidding
K-kisses are gross, knights, kissable, kicking, knots
L-lego’s, light sabers, "let go!", licking the beaters,
M-Mommy’s boys, making stuff, markers, mayhem, maps to treasure,
N-no limits, no boundaries, no rules, name calling, noisy
O-overalls, Oreos, oranges, outgoing, outside playing,
P-pirates, popsicles, playing, plotting, pancakes, pb&j, problems
Q-quirks, quiet for no one, qt's
R-running, rambunctious, rowdy, rope tying,
S- superhero’s, stinky, sweet, syrup, snacks, snakes, striped t-shirts, sports
T-trains, tv, time outs, thirsty, tiring, tantrums, tears, toys , tools
U-umbrellas with Batman on them, underwear with Batman on them, underwear is a funny word
V-Vale, video games, vying for attention, van rides,
W-wild, weird, wonderful, "why not?" "Watch this!", waffles, wrestling
X-eXtreme sports, eXcited, eXercise
Y-yawn, yelling, young, yucky, yogurt,
Z-zainy, zoo trips, ritZ, cheez -its

priceless...

one bag of snack size cheetos-.24

one juice box from the snack counter- .35

buying Ivan's affection-.67 (total of snacks plus tax)

Ivan's good behavior at the store-priceless

Frustration

I have decided that the Lord gives us our children, to teach us. To help us try to understand. Ecspecially the ones who we do not share the same personality! I love Harmony to death. I think she is the coolest chick on the planet. BUT...we can definatley but heads. She is so sensitive and it drives me nuts! Every day for the past month or so, she has come home and declared, " I have had a bad day. Everyone teases me and picks on me." I give her love and tell her how much I love her etc. But it is happening almost every single day. I pick her up today, and she doesn't have a coat on. Now it is a good47 degrees outside. She had left it at school but I told her to make sure she brought it home. I get upset with her and she starts sobbing, " this has already been such a bad day and now I am getting in trouble." Patience is at a minimum. I said, " fine, I want to know EXACTLY what happened." 1) Someone was calling her Harmony Timmy Turner. ( There is a cartoon on Nickelodeon and the boy's name is Timmy Turner.) 2) two boys kept saying that she had been playing during their quiet time when she hadn't. I was like is that it? That doesn't seem that bad. So I asked her if she told the kids to stop...no she didn't. I said did you defend yourself in any way at all? No, she didn't. Totally fed up. How do you teach a kid to toughen up? Because seriously that is just a drop in the bucket. There are so many worse things that can happen to a kid but she is getting so upset over tiny things. I don't know how to deal with it. If it were me I would have told them to shut up. Now I told her not to call names but still....Grr. I think I have Harmony to teach me patience. This is a total ramble but frustrated, frustrated, frustrated! What do you do?!

Christmas is here

We usually set up our Christmas decorations the day after Christmas. However with the way things worked out this year...well we decided to wait until Ben got home. After we got home from Burger King, we started setting up the tree and decorating. However, Ben can not for the life of him find his hammer, so that has put a halt to some of it! But the kids did well in helping. Of course they were very annoyed with Ivan's attempts to help! He has only broken one ornament so far! It was fun to spend some time with the kids. They were up at 5 am today because " we wanted to see the tree and play Christmas". Did telling them that the tree was going to be up for at least a month mean anything? No...not at all. Ahh kids. They really do help bring out the magic in the holidays. 22 more shopping days to go...

Congratulations Lt. Turner

Nov 15th marked 4 years since Ben was sworn in as an Ensign in the Navy. Due to everything going on with his family, we had to find a different time to do his "pinning on". This is where you change the medals that he wears on his uniform. We were going to try for next week sometime but then Ben called me on Friday around lunch time to see if the kids and I could be at his office at 4. Uhm yeah...sure...no problem. We did make it and the kids were well not the best behaved they have ever been but certainly not the worse! I got to pin on his medal and as you can imagine it is not an easy reach. So he always has to bend a little! The best thing about making Lt? That would be the pay raise. About $800 more a month! Sweet! However, since it doesn't kick in until next pay period, we decided to have a celebratory dinner at...Burger King. Ok, ok we did have the kids with us. They were pretty happy with that. It was so nice to be able to go and support Ben. He is such a hard worker and I am just so proud of him. :)

Lego Mania

Thanks to a very nice Uncle Eric, the kids enjoyed playing with Lego's on Thursday after school. Apparently, Eric knew exactly what Connor would want for Christmas (after reading my post about the stolen guys) and he was right! I didn't let them have all of them but did let them open an advent calender. As luck would have it, not all of the kids heard the " you can open one each day" speech and they dove right in. They have been playing Lego's morning and night ever since. So THANK YOU UNCLE ERIC FOR AN AWESOME CHRISTMAS GIFT!