Mother's Log December 2014

Dec 9
Two days ago, I was bathing my little girls in their tub.  Their tub at the new house has a sliding door attached.  At first, I was excited about the idea of being able to avoid the small lakes that appear on the bathroom floor anytime my children bathe. But I soon discovered that, though the lakes are now minimized, the floor still manages to get wet.  I was standing on one such wet floor on this particular evening while leaning over the door tracks to reach and rinse two little heads of hair when I reached too far and slipped on the wet floor.  I ended up with the top half of my body in the tub, slamming my right knee and lower thigh into the railing on my way down. Pain.  Lots and lots of pain.  I yelled for Jeremy who, supportive husband that he is, started laughing and later said he wished he'd had a camera to have captured the sight.  I was less amused at first and then started crying and laughing at the same time.  Today, I have a huge, ugly, green, blue and purple bruise on my leg and knee and my leg kills whenever I try to lift it.  The door on the tub has to go. 

Dec 12
We buried Seal the Hamster today.  We think she died of old age.  I found her on Wednesday, curled up in her nest.  She looks like she died in her sleep.  Poor hamster. Poor Sami.

Dec 13
Sick again!  I've got two kids with fevers!  We had two days of respite--that's it.  Two whole days in over three weeks when my kids were all somewhat healthy and able to function. Kassi was on meds for an ear infection and Emmy had a chronic cough... But we were functional... For a whole two days.  Now Sami and Ally have fevers. Again.  We have had more fevers and stomach illnesses in this house in the last three weeks than we had the entire winter last year.  What the heck is going on here?! 

Dec 14
They want a dog.  Help.

Dec 17
The other day, Kassi was trying to scare me.  She kept running around the corner yelling, "Boo!" Then she put together that Boo has the same sound to it as Booty and my girls love to sing 'Shake your Booty' so she ran up and yelled "Shake your Boo!!" Love it!

Dec 20
Every year since she turned 8, I have taken Sami on a special Mommy date.  We've been to Broadway's "Mary Poppins," CenterPoint's "Little Women," and Ballet West's "The Nutcracker."  This year we decided to try something different and went to a Piano Guys concert in the Energy Solutions Arena (where the Jazz play).  Sami and I love the Piano Guys!  It was such a cool experience. They were goofy and fun as well as inspirational and breathtaking.  It is one of my favorite concerts I have ever been to.  My favorite song was "Oh Come Emanuel.". At one point the whole arena, packed with people, was so still and I felt the Spirit so strong. Another really good one was "The Story of My Life."  Sami's favorite was " What makes you Beautiful" and just the excitement of being at a real concert.  It was such a great date!!
If you have no clue who the Piano Guys are, I strongly recommend you google them and these songs. Then look up their versions of "How Great Thou Art" and "Angels We Have Heard on High."  Breathtaking.

Dec 22
We went down to Temple Square tonight.... Along with the rest of the Wasatch Front.... It was so packed!  It was still beautiful though. The best part of the night was Kassi.  She was so funny.  She sang about everything she saw. When she sees Christmas lights she says, "Look, Merry Kiss-mas." I love how she says it too because she takes a breath between Christ and Mas.  It just sounds so cute!  I have not been able to catch it on video yet though. 
Anyway, as we were walking through Temple Square, she was pointing at all the lights and singing "Merry Kiss Mas!  Merry Kiss Mas!" At one point she saw a pink tree and said, "Ooh, Mine!" When she saw orange lights on trees, she threw her head back to look at them upside down and sang, "Or-ange! Or-ange!"  Sami gave her a piggyback ride and when Kassi heard her call it such, Kassi started 'oinking.'   Then when we walked close to the temple, she started yelling "Temple! Temple! I can't touch it!" as she threw her head back and tried to reach the spires.  Then she sang about the train she saw. And the bus. 
Such a ham, that one!!

Dec 25
If Jeremy and I could save a Christmas morning to remember and relive, this would be the one.  The kids were all adorable and sweet.  The ambiance was peaceful and relaxing. It was the perfect Christmas morning. 
Emmy's gifts were so funny and simple but she was so excited to give them.  (Except the eraser she gave to Sami.  She took it away and said, "Oops, that's Dad's." So Sami didn't get a gift from Emmy.  We all laughed!)
Kassi's excitement for everyone opening there gifts, jumping up and down with anticipation, and giving high fives to her parents after each one. 
Sami's silliness (something we don't see much these days) and her anxious face as each person opened her very thought-out, homemade gifts. 
Ally's touching gift to Sami (a story she wrote about sisters).  And sweet card to her Grandma.
Mom's sweet presence.  Possibly even the presence of my Dad. 
The fireplace.  The music. It was perfect.
Then...
Morning ended and...
We got a dog.... What were we thinking??

Dec 26
Kassi is 2 1/2 this week!!  My how that little girl is growing. She's so much fun. Stubborn but fun. She loves to argue with you. We are always getting in playful "uh-uh," "uh-huh" wars. She is usually the "uh-uh." She sings about everything. And she is just all-around very happy. Her talking is getting clearer all the time, especially when she isn't talking around a binki--we are getting better at going without the "gink" during the day.  She is a little monkey, climbing on everything, and quite the talented mess maker.  So smart though! She really wants to potty train so we are starting that next week. I have never had a child ask to start using the potty.  She even takes off her own diaper when it's just a little damp.  I am hopeful it will go more smoothly than the last two. I will be in potty training mode with the puppy too. So basically that will be my life for the next month. Everything will be scheduled around trips to the bathroom and outside. Joy.  Bring it.

My Christmas gift to the girls was a song I wrote and recorded.  I put the song and their special individual bedtime song on a mp3 player and gave it to them for when I'm not around at bedtime.  It melted my heart tonight when I walked in at bedtime and saw Ally and Emmy, earbuds in, singing along with my song in unison at the top of their lungs.

Dec 29
I really wanted a white Christmas and was so thrilled when it started snowing on Christmas Eve!  But now we have a foot of snow and lows in the negatives.  As I was driving Emmy to the dentist today, she watched out the window and said, "Guess you got your wish for snow, Mom.  Now can you wish it away?"

Dec 30
So.  Tired.  We had the worst wind storm I have ever experienced last night.  No one at my house slept much.  Then we had our basement flood this morning. Awesome.   And, just a note, it is really hard to potty train a puppy when there is ice and snow swirling in sub degree temperatures outside. Bell, our adorable six-week-old Labradoodle, has been doing a great job going outside during the day. But nights have not been fun. She won't go outside but she won't use her potty mats either.  Sami is trying to care for her but that little girl is a bear when she doesn't sleep.  The nights have been very long since Christmas.

Dec 31
It's 10pm and I'm going to bed. Mom can't sleep in her room right now because of the loud fans going from our flooding, so she is sleeping in the living room with the puppy.  I am determined to get a decent nights sleep!  Happy New Year!!!!!!

November 2014 Mother's Log

Nov 11
Final Performance of the Berlin Candy Bomber!!  This is the Veteran's Day I will always remember. I am so proud of my V.V. kids!

Poor Sami was up with the stomach flu all night last night. She's done such an amazing job helping and supporting me through this play and then she ran the spotlight with perfection through every performance...except today. :(  poor baby.  She was so bummed

Nov 24
Happy Birthday GG!!

45 people in my house today!  Whew!

Kassi was such a ham tonight!  We had the camera set up to get a family picture of all 45 of us and Kassi climbed onto the table, looked through camera, looked at all the people and said, "Say Cheese!!"

We did a talent show after dinner and Mike's four oldest boys did tae kwon do to music. It was so powerful and beautiful.  I'm sure Mike was there to see it.  We all started crying at the spirit in the room.

Nov. 25
We went with Kaydee and Sam and Jeremy's parents to visit GG and GP in Idaho!  Brent and Debbie came over and Jill was there.  Kassi had the whole room eating out of her hands.  She was flirting constantly with Debbie and played "BOO!" with Grandma and chatted away with Jill. 
Emmy made friend's with Debbie too.  They had a tickling war. 
At one point I counted 25 people and a dog (Honey Bear) all sitting in GG's front room. It's what memories are made of. :)

Nov. 27
Happy Thanksgiving!  We are all sick.  :(  with the nastiest stomach flu ever!  We spent Tuesday night in a hotel room with five out of the six of us losing our stomachs. Then there was the long drive home which had a slight detour:  My mother in law was sweet enough to drive because she was the only one feeling OK. She forgot to watch the gas gauge though and ended up running out of gas outside of Ogden.  Luckily we coasted halfway onto an exit ramp so the walk to the gas station was only a couple miles round trip.  I was the lucky one to make it because I was the only one under 50 who hadn't thrown up yet even though I had been nauseous (no gag reflex).  It was such a draining walk that I decided to try and eat something substantial to get my energy back. It was a mistake.  Two hours later, the fever hit me and I was leaning over a bowl.  There have only been about five times in my life when I have been so sick that my stomach emptied on it's own, even without a gag reflex.  Last night was one of them.  Now we are spending Thanksgiving lying around our family room, sipping sprite and nibbling crackers, watching a Harry Potter Marathon.  Woo.  Hoo. 

Nov 30
We finally found energy to put up the Christmas tree!  Kassi was napping when we did it so we saved the soft ornaments and bottom of the tree for her.  When she woke up, she was so delighted!  She started sing-songing "Happy Christmas!  Happy Christmas!"

My Floating Miracle

I just had the honor of meeting one of my heroes!  A man who has been an inspiration and blessing in my life--especially during these last two very trying months. This morning, I was embraced (and even kissed on the cheek) by Gail Halvorsen, "The Berlin Candy Bomber." What an incredible experience!! 
I was handed his story six months ago and asked to direct a small play about him to present to the student body at my daughter's school for Veteran's Day.  At that time, I had no idea what lie ahead.  The following months were spent planning, writing, and working with a talented composer to create the first "Berlin Candy Bomber Musical." As we went, more talented and supporting women came forward.
We planned for two casts and six performances.  Then came auditions and the task of finding a meaningful place for 165 students to take part.  In the midst of it, Jeremy and I put our house on the market, bought a new home, and my father went into the CCU.  Two weeks later, we moved and my father passed away.  My children had to start at a new school.  My mother moved in with us.  So many changes took place all at once. My heart was broken over the sudden loss of my dad and the amount of change felt suffocating, but I had committed to this incredible story and was determined to see it through. 
Over the following two months, I felt myself literally carried at times. Just when I started to feel hopeless about the tasks before me, an email, a good rehearsal, or a kind word from a friend would lift me back up.  The night "Meet the Mormons" was released, I sat in the theater and watched this man who had impacted my life on the big screen and cried with pride for him and the connection I felt. 
It got harder at the end.  The stress of actually pulling it off was overwhelming. My mother helped me to care for family life while rehearsals and the play pulled at my attention.  However, I saw the Lord's hand so real in my life.  He gave me strength.
Performances have come and gone and they were miracles in and of themselves. The whole thing pulled together, the kids stepped up to challenge, and we created something truly incredible with a message of hope, love, and gratitude.  At some performances, I stood backstage watching those children perform with their whole heart and souls and my heart swelled for them.  I am so, so proud of those kids!  They are an inspiration on their own.  I just feel so blessed to have been a part of it! 
Debbie, who had been the inspired cheerleader through it all, orchestrated a parachute drop to the students on Veteran's Day after the play had been presented to all of them.  They were so sweet and my eyes swelled with tears again as I watched their delighted faces shine up at the falling parachutes.  Their voices sing out "Drop it Here" from the play. 
The cherry on top, though, was when the Candy Bomber himself heard of our production's success (his daughter had come to watch one of our performances) and decided to come meet all of us.  This morning was incredible!  This man's true calling in life is to inspire and lift and that is what he did for me.  I feel so blessed.  So, so blessed.

Mr. Halvorsen came and spoke to the whole school.   He spoke of the kids in Berlin and how they never demanded or begged.  They were just grateful for what they had... Freedom. He encouraged the children at the school to stay positive, be polite, and perform acts of kindness, no matter how small.  His message: "Attitude, Gratitude, and the Little Decisions are what make a Difference."

Miracles Happen. And the experiences I have had over the last six months have been a life shaping miracle for me.

Mother's Log October '14

Oct 1
Today was a hard day. 

Oct 4
Ally's really doing better this soccer season. She is more daring and aggressive. She still hesitates and kicks softly but she is trying. She is no longer scared to get in the midst of things. I really enjoyed watching her play today.

Oct 12
Kassi's new favorite things:  going FAST in the car (laughed the whole time we were on the freeway), BEANS (chose them over ham or cornbread with honey), and MAGIC (especially when it involves G. A., a yellow towel, and a toy Frog that eats noses and then disappears). She just spent an hour playing Magic with the frog, jumping up and down, twirling, dancing, and laughing her little head off at G. A.!!  Love this age!

Oct 17
Emmy was running down the hall and accidentally tripped over Kassi, knocking her cheek into the banister and causing Kassi (who is generally very tough) to start screaming.  Emmy felt terrible and went to give Kassi a hug, but on the way into the hug, she sacked Kassi's other cheek with her shoulder.  Kassi started to laugh, because that's what she would normally do.  But then, as if she suddenly realized that both her cheeks hurt, the laugh slowly melted into more screaming.  It was the cutest thing ever!  Kassi not sure whether to laugh or cry and Emmy just wanting to love her sister but being rather klutzy about it. 

Sami spent her birthday driving to a funeral so this afternoon, she had some friends over for a slightly belated celebration. They painted Sami's new room, played games, watched a movie, explored the house and land, played Ghosts are our tonight once it got dark (apparently the new back yard is perfect for that) and tons and tons of SUGAR!  Those girls were so hyper when I took them home!  I felt really bad for their parents.

Oct. 18
Sami woke with a sugar hang over this morning. But once she finally got moving, she got a lot accomplished. She helped move wood, finally got caught up in school, figured out her Halloween costume, made pancakes for everyone, babysat while J and I went on a date, and was just an all around helpful and mature girl. What would we do without her?

Ally loves to write her own bedtime stories. The thing that gets me, they are actually pretty good!  Can you publish a seven year old???  :). She wrote one today about a cat named "Mittons" (her spelling).  It made me miss my childhood kitty... But oh so cute!!

Oct 30
Emmy and Ally had their last days at their old school today. :(  they will miss seeing their friends so often. 

Oct 31
Exhausted!!!!!  Six hours of play rehearsal and two hours of trick or treating.  Someone give me a massage!

Mother's Log September '14

Sept 1
Camping is cold.  But Flaming Gorge is beautiful!  And camping with great people is priceless.

Sept ?
I hate hospitals

Sept 24
My father passed away today. I will miss you so much, Daddy.

Sept 27
We found a spider in our new house tonight. Sami screamed and Jeremy stepped on it.   Then Kassi came running in, mimicked Sami's scream, and started hitting the dead spider with a stuffed panda bear while yelling "Shoo, shoo, shoo!". Then she looked up at us with a gratified look and said, over the top of her binkie, "Got it!"

Sept 28
I had my last time doing singing in nursery today.  :(  I am going to miss those kids--My little buddies...

Mother's Log July/August '14

July 1
Landed in SFO!  We are taking Jeremy's 2 nephews and their mom to Tae Kwon Do Nationals. Can I just say, flying with eight kids is one thing but trying to herd 11 people through the crowded airport with all of our luggage and then take the sky train to our rental cars... It was insane! 

July 2/3
I have missed this place. It feels so good to be back in California and to see Auntie and the boys and friends (Amy and Janet).  It's been great!

Kassi is hilarious. She wanted to play in the water section of the park so she took off all clothes, even her diaper, and just went for it!  It was all fun and cute until she peed on me.

July 17
I may never leave Cancun.... I LOVE it here!  I just want to move my kids here to be with me. 

Fulfilled a childhood dream of swimming with dolphins in the ocean yesterday! Amazing!  And the sharks didn't eat us when we went snorkeling!  Hurray!  :)

July 20
Ally is reading really well. And she loves to write her own books and then read them to herself as bedtime stories!  She just gets cuter and more mature everyday.

July 25
Kassi and Jeremy play catch!  Kassi actually catches and throws. Jeremy says she's a future basketball player. Her laugh every time he praises her is oh so cute! 

August 2
Kassi learned how to climb the bunk bed tonight.  The crazy thing is that she doesn't always get her feet up to the next section of bes, so she hangs there by just her hands and does a pull-up until her knees get get onto the board. Then she gets her feet under her, raises her hands to the next section and starts again. She is fearless!!

August 5
Emmy woke up from her nap with a fever today. Kassi has had one all week.  Kassi gets clingy when feverish but Emmy gets needy and CHATTY!  When Emmy has a high temp, she doesn't waste time being lethargic, she starts talking about the funniest things non-stop!  Emmy turned five last week. FIVE.  She's still my little peanut though.

Ally is such a nut!  We watched the new American Girl movie today and when it was over, Ally started dancing to the credit music. She was going crazy!  She has such an adorable and amazing ability to make people laugh. She doesn't care at all about looking silly. She is full of expression and goofiness!  It's one of the things I love about her most!  She is also a tease which, depending on her sisters' moods, can work for good or evil.
Ally likes to create families of stuffed animals on her bed. She has the dolphin family, the black bear family, the red dog family, etc.  Well, as I was tucking Ally in tonight, she introduced me to her newest family.  Tikka is a large pink elephant and Elly is her small purple elephant daughter.   I knew that Tikka adopted a small pink pig some time ago but today Tikka remarried!  A large Tiger!  So the newest family on Ally's bed is a large pink elephant, her husband the large white tiger, and their two kids: the purple elephant and pink pig.  :) So Silly.  Ally turns SEVEN in a few days. Where did the time go?

August 13
Where did the summer go???  I can't believe it's almost over...  We've decided to move for some reason. Our house is on the market... I always feared the thought of having to keep my home show-worthy, and for good reason. I love having my house so clean but I hate how hard it us to keep it that way.  I'm exhausted!

A Thousand Words July 2014

This cutie got baptized!  We love you M.O.!

 The art wall had to come down in preparation to put the house on the market... The kids are so creative and smart, I hate taking down their wall of fame.

 I love it when all my flowers are in full bloom!  

The white hibiscus in the background is my favorite flower! 

 The girls tried gymnastics this summer!  Kassi loves it!!!

Emmy turns FIVE!

Good Morning Birthday Girl!

 When Emmy walked in, she stopped to catch her breath and then said "What I always wanted!"

So cute!

 Emmy LOVES crepes for breakfast!

 Emmy wanted a Fairy Princess Party with cupcakes...

 Balloon games...

 Pin the Kiss on the Frog...

 Musical Thrones...

 a Treasure Hunt...

 that gave everyone their own wings, wands, and crowns...

 A Royal Picnic with Emmy's favorite foods (PB&J)

And a Fairy Princess Pinata!!!

 Happy Birthday Princess!!

 For the Family Party, she wanted a topsy-turvy cake.  I had never tried anything like this before!  It was quite the experience.  If I ever do it again, I am making the bottom two layers out of cardboard.  That was a lot of cake! 

 Emmy picked all the different candies she wanted on it.  :)

Yes, there are Jelly Beans, Sour Patch Kids, and Gummy Cherries.

 I made all the tops for the cupcakes and this little fairy for the cake out of fondant.

Ok, I had a bit of fun...

A Thousand Words June 2014

 

Our Contortionist

School's Out Bubble Party!!

 Father's Day!!

 

American Girl Fashion Show

by Sami (Ally and Emmy)

 We went to an event at the Children's Museum.  The girls got their faces painted and I actually won a lottery!  I won family passes to museums, parks, the zoo, and gardens all over SLC!  I was ecstatic!

 

Just a good summer day...

AND EMMY LEARNED TO PUMP!