They Call Me Mel

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-16T15:30:00.000-10:00

With my newfound knowledge and appreciation for Pinterest, I created a board and gathered lots of cute ideas for Valentine's the kids could give out. Then I gathered the three oldest of our clan and let them each choose one from my "board" to do. Here is what they chose:

Carly wanted these sharks and the tag reads:

"Of all the fish in the sea, I'm glad we swim in the same school!"

This was Connor's choice.

And the ever trendy Abi wanted an iPod for each of her friends with kiss ear buds too!

Speaking of trendy, the girls let me try out a special V-Day hairdo:

Todd educates students at the Community College Tuesday and Thursday evenings, so that put a very minor crimp in our plans to be together, we had a Valentine's Dinner with the family last night of Ribs, Artichokes (yes...my kids love to eat them, really!) and fancy Mac N Cheese (the kids didn't like it, just Kraft for this crowd). Todd got me the cutest skirt and top from Urban Wear at the mall and I cannot wait to wear them.

Sadly, the first occasion I will be wearing them at will be at the funeral for Todd's Grandma White.

After battling cancer for many years, she was able to be reunited with her amazing companion yesterday. I can't stop grinning at how happy those two must be together holding hands again.

This picture was taken last May when we went down to the farm for a visit. I will always have the greatest memories of Grandma down on the farm. She hardly ever sat still, as she was busy making sure that our stomachs were full to the gills, and of course, then she would spend countless hours cleaning up from her delicious meals. There was always a puzzle sitting out on a table, for us to just sit down at any moment and visit for a spell and take our sweet time putting it together.

I love you grandma White, you are a shining example to me! Carly thinks you are a butterfly now, a butterfly flying with Grandpa, because he is a butterfly too.

When we told the kids about her passing, Carly's little arms shot up in the air and she yelled out "Yes! Now she's together with grandpa!" It's incredible how our little ones must truly grasp the celebration going on beyond this earthly life.

The Gift of Bead Board

2012-02-08T16:32:00.000-10:00

This year for Christmas Todd and I gave my mom (and dad...although this was probably not his gift of choice) the gift of our time and talents in installing and painting/glazing some bead board paneling in her dining area.

It took Todd one day to install the new 8"base boards, cut out the little holes for light switches and outlets, and then place the top molding pieces on. Then it took me a day to paint it and another day to glaze it. This is how the dining area turned out:

Later on my mom painted the top portion this gorgeous red and has since installed some simple tone on tone ivory ticking stripe valances and a huge clock on one wall, but I don't have a picture to show you the whole room finished. Sorry, that's just how I roll lately.

It was such a fun project, and Todd and I got along the whole time! For anybody who has worked on a project like this with a spouse and NEVER had a minor spat, lucky you. My handsome handy-man is a perfectionist and I am a little less, so it can kind of bug him. But it works to the outcomes advantage because it ends up looking pretty dang good.

Fremont Indian State Park

2012-01-18T05:29:00.000-10:00

Our family escaped from our own life for a while and headed down south for the long weekend. Todd also used this time to scout out the area for an activity with his YM for this summer. So that meant lots of time in the car, but our children were promised a reward for their patience with a trip to Big Rock Candy Mountain.

When Todd was a child he used to visit Big Rock Candy Mountain often, and would tell me about the animals they had, the way he used to tease his brother, Spencer, that the water coming from the spring was really lemonade. Then Spencer tasted it and, of course, the reason it is yellow is because of the sulfur and he would taste something terrible. That's what brother's do.

I also realized that when we are children, we truly think that almost anything is AMAZING if it has a cool enough name. Todd had talked this place up like it was something magnificent to behold. His childhood memories must have been clinging to fun memories more than details of the actual location.

There are no longer animals there, something about "cruelty" and "cages." The lemonade springs of yore aren't brimming forth with yellow water, it's more like a small trickling stream and you can't walk up to it, like he used to. There is a small cafe and motel with a gift shop. Winter months, they don't get much business, so the gas station across the street was closed.

Our kids just couldn't understand why there was no candy and Big Rock Candy Mountain.

Thank heaven the Fremont Indian Museum was open to visitors, and they had candy! It was the best $6 we spent the whole weekend. We had the entire visitors museum to ourselves, along with the trails and the weather was on our side. They have an interactive children's exhibit that we had to peel our kids away from so we could go outside on the hikes to see the different rock art.

Once we got outside, the kids were in heaven. The trails are clearly marked and very easy for kids to maneuver. Connor says that it was "so amazing. It had kid stuff and I got to make so much good music. It sounded good." The kids were more interested in finding the markers that tell you where to look for the art than actually looking at the art. Todd and I laughed thinking that we were just looking at some teenage Indian's graffiti and in a couple hundred years, the names etched into trees or graffiti on the backs of warehouses will be the thing we ooh and aah over.

We got to explore a Pit House (this is us inside the pit house). Connor wants me to say that "It was so amazing, I thought that it was a cave. I don't know it Indians have pets. I don't know if my mom knows if they have pets." While we were down inside the pit house, Connor asked if we could live in one of these instead of our house. Todd and I joked that someday we might have to, if things don't turn around soon.

Even this little guy trotted along the trails. The remainder of our time was spent:
Battling a mouse
Swimming
Connor playing Sonic the Hedgehog
Scrabble
Eating junk food, lots and lots of junk food
Reading through old scrapbooks and journals that belonged to Todd's grandpa
Napping

It's nice to have a place to go to where we can escape the city life and be forced to be - somewhat- unplugged.

Month of Thanks - Blah

2011-12-15T17:42:00.000-10:00

I am usually a very optimistic, grateful kind of person. Or at least, I think I am.

Without a doubt, I will have a brief moment of thanks everyday. If I get to park in that great little parking spot. When someone I don't even know pays a compliment. If the sunset is pink and purple and blue. When I get to have a few moments of silence for myself.

But something happened toward the end of the month that made me kind of blah. Yeah, I was grateful for the things I am supposed to be grateful for, but I didn't feel like writing something down every single day.

So there you have it, the rest of the month went to blah.

National Geographic...In our own neighborhood!

2011-12-09T10:20:00.000-10:00

We were at our friends, the Buchert's for an annual Christmas Caroling party and as we turned onto our street from 1250 west, something flew right by the side of Todd's window and perched onto a limb in our neighbors, the Jensen's tree. It was a HUGE barn owl.

We parked the car in the middle of the street and just sat there staring at it. I have never seen an owl that big up close in the wild in my life! We were all enthralled. What spooked us the most was the owl, just staring us down. Todd rolled the window down and we got frightened that it might dive into the car and attack us.

After a few more minutes of gawking, we rolled slowly on home. Slowly enough that we were able to watch through the back window as the owl swooped down out of the tree and tried to attack a little cat that was walking across the street. The cat ran, and hopefully wasn't harmed. But it was the coolest thing our little family had seen all winter long!

Month of Thanks - Day #25

2011-11-25T17:34:00.000-10:00

Connor: I am thankful for my five sense. Because we wouldn't want to live without them.

Abi: I am thankful for this whole family.

Carly: I am thankful for my Princess and the Frog dress.

Dakota: Baba

I am thankful for these amazing kids.

Month of Thanks - Day #24

2011-11-24T17:32:00.000-10:00

Grateful for Holidays!

The smells.

The food.

The decor.

The company.

Month of Thanks - Day #22

2011-11-22T17:29:00.002-10:00

Today, Todd and I decided to get some Christmas shopping out of the way. So who do we call? The Barlow's. There is always someone available to watch our kids, and they do a great job! And I am terrible, because we usually call them just 10 minutes before we decide to do something, and they come with a smile on their face!

I am thankful for great babysitters, like the Barlows!

Month of Thanks - Day #21

2011-11-21T17:24:00.012-10:00

Yesterday my handsome companion turned 36. WOW!!! I am grateful to be attached to him! Why, he is one of the most attractive men on the planet, he's taken me along on lots of awesome trips, we've lived in some pretty neat towns and has lots of great laughs.

I am grateful for the Birthday Boy!

Month of Thanks - Day #20

2011-11-20T17:18:00.021-10:00

Today we met with our Bishop for Tithing Settlement. When we confirmed that what we had paid was a full tithe, my heart was overcome with appreciation and humility.

My personal testimony of tithing was grounded even deeper at that moment. I know, without a doubt, that our needs have been met and surpassed because of our obedience.

I am grateful for the blessings that are poured out upon us for paying our tithing.

Month of Thanks - Day #19

2011-11-19T17:14:00.008-10:00

Today I got to spend some quality time with "my girls" doing what I love to do! Sprinkling glitter, sewing, crafting! It was marvelous.

I am grateful that my hotty Toddy doesn't give me hard time about my hobbies and that I have girlfriends who will join in on the fun! It's always better with gabbing girlfriends, Diet Pepsi and chocolate!

Month of Thanks - Day #18

2011-11-18T17:10:00.000-10:00

Having 4 children age 6 and under can, at times, be a little crazy.

Other times, it can provide me with the break I need. This afternoon, I was able to send all 4 of the kiddos downstairs. Wouldn't you know it, they all got along and were perfectly content for 2 solid hours.

I am grateful that our kids are so close in age and provide one another with built in playmates.

Month of Thanks - Day #17

2011-11-17T17:04:00.011-10:00

Often times I take forgranted all my little Carly has to offer. When there are three other kids around, her high octane energy wears me down and I have a hard time putting a positive spin on it.

This afternoon, I was able to escape with the firecracker. Just the two of us. How sweet it was. When she was dancing up and down the aisles of the grocery store, it didn't seem to bother me as much. Instead I just watched and smiled. I didn't have other wandering kids around and one sitting in the cart crying. She is full of joy.

It was contagious. I am grateful for her vivacious personality and constant love.

Month of Thanks - Day #16

2011-11-16T16:59:00.000-10:00

Music is such a great companion. Don't you just love how you can turn on the radio, your ipod, or Pandora and find something that suits your mood.

Nothing makes me smile quite so much as when some music comes on that gets the kids in a dancing mood, and I am always in a dancing mood, so we just break into a dance party in the kitchen. Ahhh, thank you music!

Every life needs a great soundtrack, and I am grateful that music is easily accessible in my life.

Month of Thanks - Day #15

2011-11-15T16:54:00.010-10:00

What's on the menu for dinner tonight?

Thanks to my new friends at Pinterest I took some of the ingredients we had on hand and weaved myself some bacon for the finest BLT's I've ever had in my life!

This is definitely one to be grateful for...good food!

Month of Thanks - Day #14

2011-11-14T16:46:00.015-10:00

What a rare treat it was tonight! Connor reminded us that we needed to have Family Home Evening. He took care of the lesson, Carly led the song (I am a Child of God) and Abi offered the prayers.

Incredibly, the feeling in our home was quite calm and peaceful. Despite the fact that about 3 minutes into the lesson (Connor was reading one of the Bearnstein Bears books) we were all quite bored. Todd and I were entertained by the girls who were rolling around on the ground and Dakota who was just being his silly little toddler self.

I am so grateful that my children are still young enough to enjoy family home evening and even instigate it. How much longer will this last?

Month of Thanks - Day #13

2011-11-13T17:32:00.000-10:00

Today in Primar, Janel had a Priest, Teacher and Deacon from our Young Men's group come in and help teach about reverence during the Sacrament.

These young men walked into the room and brought the spirit with them. I was moved to tears when these young men bore their testimony of the sacredness of this ordinance that they get to perform weekly.

It's not very often that I am quiet or patient enough (or mentally in the right place) in primary to be moved by the spirit. But I am so grateful for the quiet that was there in the Primary room this Sunday as I was reminded about the importance of the Sacrament.

Month of Thanks - Day#12

2011-11-12T17:25:00.010-10:00

I keep the Ensign in my bathroom. Don't you?

The most recent issue has the conference talks. This has got to be my favorite issue to get.

I locked myself in the bathroom today for some quiet time and re-read President Uchtdorf's talk. Amazing.

I am so thankful that these Conference talks are readily available for us to read, watch or listen to at any time.

Month of Thanks - Day 11

2011-11-11T17:23:00.009-10:00

Today is Veteran's Day.

It would be a shame if I did not give thanks to those who have fought for our country. Given their time, their lives and their abilities for making this such a pleasant country to live in.

I am grateful to their families for supporting them in their absence. It can't be easy for them.

I love living here.

Month of Thanks - Day #9 & 10

2011-11-09T17:10:00.019-10:00

I have started teaching Zumba with another cute girl in my Stake. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5:30 in the morning, we meet with anywhere from 5-15 ladies and shake what we got. I am grateful that these ladies come, because it gets me up and going in the morning.

We aren't amazingly talented. Everybody moves at their own pace and in their own way. But we are all moving. There are women in there with arthritis. There are women in their with sports injuries. But they do it. These women are incredible examples to me.

You see, when Todd got laid off, it just so happened to be at the same time my gym membership was running out. The gym had become my happy place. I loved the instructors, the people in the classes, loved that my kids got to go to the daycare and have a great time with other friends and escape from me for a while. I was going to miss that so much. I needed something to keep me motivated to keep moving my body.

A friend in my ward invited me to Zumba with her, but it was quite a drive away. It inspired me! I had been doing Zumba for a year, I could probably teach the dances I had learned and maybe other ladies in my neighborhood would want to learn them too and then if I was the teacher I would have to be at the church to teach them, and then I wouldn't just give up! Surprisingly, ladies came and a cute girl (Karen) offered to help teach too!!! It's been wonderful!

I am so grateful for this body. Grateful that I can move every single one of my joints. I am grateful that my body has been so good to me. I have never had to be hospitalized with anything major. What a blessing!

So, as a way of saying thanks to my body, I will keep doing Zumba. I will try to run a little more...it's good for my heart. I will eat more fruits and veggies.

Funny story:
I was wearing my stretchy pants one morning, and before I left the house I had a feeling I should grab a long sleeved shirt to wear over my tank top. So I quickly grabbed it an left the house. Of course, it gets rather hot when you are wiggling your hips so much, so I took off the shirt and put it on the stage. Halfway through the dance, I think "I should probably tie that shirt around my waist. These pants are really tight and these ladies might not want to see so much shaking going on back there." So I grabbed the shirt and tied it around my waist. The next song, I did a squat and heard a little tear. I didn't think much of it til I got home and realized that I had split the seam in the back of the pants. Good thing I listened to that little voice and wore a shirt around my waist or the ladies would have gotten quite a show that morning!

Month of Thanks - Day #8

2011-11-08T17:05:00.006-10:00

I clean the house, a lot. You'd never know it. There are cute little chocolate fingerprints on the drawers. My mirror is still covered in gooey handprints. I sweep the floor at least 3 times each day.

For this, I am thankful for the following products that I use weekly:
Central Vacuum
Broom, Dust Pan, Hand Broom
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
Glass Cleaner
Comet
Lysol
Baby Wipes
Laundry Detergent & Dryer Sheets
Dishwasher!!!! Love this one the most, because for 7 years I went without one
Clorox
Iron

Thank you people who invented the machines that make my life easier. In turn, you should thank my children, who make it necessary for me to use your machines and products.

Month of Thanks - Day #7

2011-11-07T16:55:00.007-10:00

Monday.

Family Home Evening.

The first Monday of every month, we get together with Todd's parents, siblings and their kids and have dinner and a special Family Home Evening.

That means under one roof, in one room there are:
1 Grandma Great
1 Mom/Mother-In-Law/Grandma
1 Dad/Father-In-Law/Grandpa
6 Siblings (there could be as many as 8)
5 Siblings in Law (there could be as many as 7)
16 Nieces/Nephews/Cousins/Grandkids (there could be as many as 20)
1 Dog

That's a lot of people. You'd think there would be a lot of chaos. There is. A lot.

However, there has never been a time when we haven't gotten together and made it through the night without at least 1 "lawnmower laugh." The Riches family has an amazing ability to laugh at themselves. Laugh at each other. And all the while never being offended by the jabs that go around. Or the memories that are shared.

We celebrate any birthdays or anniversaries that are to take place during the month. The birthday song is usually sung in multiple keys and at an incredibly slow pace. Often times the key is set WAY too low. Quite surprising, seeing as how the Riches all have beautiful singing voices, but most of them are basses, so that would explain the low key. They laugh with their eyes during the whole song. Awesome.

What a gift. I am so grateful to be a part of their family and witness such hilarious harmony.

Month of Thanks - Day #6

2011-11-06T16:54:00.000-10:00

On this day, I will give thanks to the time change. When we lived in Hawaii, we never had to deal with this whole time change thing. To be honest, I never really understood the whole reason behind the time change until my dad recently explained it to me (farmers, livelihood, etc.).

Many people have been complaining, not excited about changing their clocks and losing an hour. I started to give in and think about all the bad things. It gets dark earlier (but then it gets light earlier!). The kids will wake up earlier (but with it being dark earlier, I can put them down earlier with less fighting).

This morning the kids were up at 6:30am. This meant that I had plenty of time to get myself and all four of the kids ready without the rushed feeling that usually accompanies my typical Sunday morning. It was quite pleasant.

That is, until, Connor decided he didn't like the socks he was wearing and right before we were heading out the door felt the need to change them. Ah! What Sunday morning would be complete without a little chaos. I would hate to experience perfection, because then I might just expect it all the time.

Month of Thanks - Day #5

2011-11-05T18:12:00.000-10:00

I am thankful for my dad. He has many hats, you know? Let's review them shall we, and why each one needs to be given a moment of thanks:

Bud: He is what some might call a "pack-rat." He has held on to quite a bit of electrical/computer stuff (he still has an original macbook and some apple computers I don't recall the name of and I am sure he is rolling over right now in agony that I can't remember the names of each of them). However, there have been many-a-time that Todd or I (or any other sibling) has needed a cord or connecter or scanner and wouldn't you know it, he has one just lying around somewhere.

The man is also a whiz at the computer and my personal favorite, photoshop. He has taught me all I know and continues to teach me every time I go over. And every time I go over it is for a personal project that I have to enlist his time and printing capabilities in. His poor business makes very little money, probably because of me. He never complains and always helps me out (I just printed 6 large photos today, like 16x20" photos and they always turn out awesome).

Dad: The man made sure that as a young woman I learned integrity. Showed me how to change a tire and check my oil. Made me hold a worm. Never let me get away with back-talking my mom. Taught me to mow the lawn without leaving behind "mow-hawks." Had us laughing...a lot (or rolling our eyes). One of the most important has been the love he has for my mom. He LOVES her (actions speak louder than words) and he so often tells me how gorgeous she is. After Thirty-some-odd years and he still talks about my mom as though they are still young kids in love. Awwwe.

Papa Bud: This, perhaps, is my very most favorite role he plays. My children adore their papa Bud. For most of them, it was among their first words spoken. I admit that I take advantage of this role the most. If ever I want something (like a coach for Connor's soccer team), I can always play it off on something that "the kids want" and he will drop whatever it is and be there for them. It's not just my kids, though, he is that way with all of his grandchildren and also the nursery kids at his church. That's right, he is in the nursery and the man LOVES it.

So very grateful for my dad.

Month of Thanks - Day #4

2011-11-04T07:49:00.000-10:00

Last night, Todd and I attended our ward's Temple Night. It was a night that all of the members of our ward were invited to be in the temple together at one time, and dinner is always included! Being fed spiritually and physically...doesn't get much better than that.

Todd is in charge of the Young Men, so I went with our awesome youth as they went and did Baptisms for the Dead. The moment I walked into the temple this overwhelming feeling of peace came over me. As I sat on a bench waiting, I opened the scriptures and had that same feeling again.

During this time in our life, where Todd's income in inconsistent, kids are going in different directions, medical/dental/education bills are staring at us, it sure is nice to know that there is a place that allows us leave our worries at the door, clear your head and feel the personal love our Heavenly Father has for each of us individually.

While visiting the temple that day, I was able to receive answers to my prayers and confirmation that Todd and I are doing what we are supposed to be doing and if we continue on in such a way, we will continue to be provided for.

I am grateful that I can enter the temple and do the important work that needs to be done as well as receive personal revelation. I am also grateful that there have been temples within close proximity of every place Todd and I have ever lived.

Month of Thanks - Day #3

2011-11-03T07:00:00.000-10:00

We've had some minor medical maladies amongst our family this year. Nothing too serious. Abigail had what we thought was appendicits, only it turned out to be a stone in her appendix that should dislodge on it's own someday. It then turned into a series of UTI's. Carly had a UTI, Dakota had an ear infection and every one of us came down with a cold that lasted about 10 days. Anytime I get a cold, it always turns into a sinus infection.

However, after all of us took our proper medications to clear them up, I am so very grateful that each of us are now in great health and that the poor health issues we have experienced have been minor.

I am also grateful to live in a day and age where science and modern technology are available to relieve us of our discomfort. A high tolerance for pain is not something that I posses, so it is probably for the best that a sinus infection is the worst thing I am inflicted with each year.

Month of Thanks - Day #2

2011-11-02T06:36:00.043-10:00

How could I not give thanks for the child that entered this world 4 years ago today!

I remember driving to the hospital the morning of her birth, and listening to Michael Buble's song "It Had Better Be Tonight." Good thing she came and it was that night!

Her first year of life was entertaining. Carly was never a very solid sleeper, waking up 2 or three times a night until around 18 months old. She was kind of a big blob, content to just sit and watch whatever was going on around her.

Then she turned 2. Terrible Two's rang true with this one. As you can see above, all objects that could leave a mark somewhere were used...every flat surface was her canvas. Anytime we pulled out a camera, she would usually start screaming. There was a lot of yelling during this stage of life, however, it was still cute and I probably didn't help the matter by laughing when she started into her tantrums.

Three years old, dancing and singing and dancing and singing and teasing and dancing and singing. She discovered that she was pretty good at singing and could often be found in the basement with little princess figurines in her own little pretend musical world.

Now that our darling daughter is 4, she is starting to be more social with friends and has become a master at solving puzzles and can sit still for over an hour putting them together by herself. Carly is incredibly independent, still a little bit of a tease, and just keeps improving at her movements through life in song and dance.

"Burst"Day

2011-11-01T07:53:00.000-10:00

Carly was being spotlighted today in her preschool class to celebrate her birthday. Tomorrow this firework for a child turns 4! So what better treat to share with her preschool friends than something that explains her sparkling personality?

We counted out some Starburst to put in little bags for her classmates (she counts very well) and then tied them with some ribbon and attached a little tag that says, "Today it's my burstday!"

I made a few more other cute tags for the girls' Halloween Preschool treats, but failed to take a picture of the completed projects.

For Abi's class, we turned Tootsie Pops into spiders, using black pipe cleaners and attaching googley eyes. There were the cutest eyes in this cheap pack I got from Wal-Mart that had eyelashes on them! Then we placed the little spiders in their new home (a clear pillow box leftover from my sisters wedding favors) and wrapped this around them:

For Carly's class, I found this cute idea on Pinterest where you attach eyes to the tops of Reese's Miniature Cups and wah-lah, you have Monster Eyes! We just attached some of the googley eyes we had leftover from Abi's to round stickers and then attached those to the Reese's. Put some in a little baggy and folded a little card to the top that looked like this:

I was so in love with the stickers attached to the googley eyes that I started sticking them on the kids Halloween projects on the fridge. I am saving them post-season and going to attach them to magnets for the fridge. Now every project the kids bring home from school will have silly eyes on them!

Month of Thanks - Day #1

2011-11-01T06:28:00.031-10:00

I am thankful for the snow that fell today.

Having lived in Hawaii for almost 7 years, I became accustomed to the mild climate. There were a few times we lived there and wished for the smell of Autumn, the crunch of dry leaves underfoot or snow on Christmas day, but for the most part, I LOVE the weather there.

Since our return to the mainland, once the temperature hits 54 degrees, I have to sleep with socks on and if the temperature drops below 30 degrees, it takes me a few days to thaw out and get rid of the constant chill. I am also a very defensive driver, and wet weather is not good for my nerves (or the other people driving by me). Hence, I only love the snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but today was different.

I saw it through my amazing Baby Boone's eyes. After putting his warm winter coat on, we went outside and I let him feel the white stuff on his face. He got so overwhelmingly excited that I was afraid he would wriggle right out of my arms. He was waving his hands in the air and shaking his head and jibber-jabbering as if to say thank you to the snow for providing a new form of entertainment for him. It was precious!

Am I the only one that sleeps better when it snows or rains? Last night I slept like a log. That's another reason I was grateful for the icy precipitation.

A Master Bedroom

2011-10-16T07:23:00.000-10:00

Late one evening about 2 weeks ago, I sat in bed checking my emails when one popped up with an airline ticket to Denver for ME!!! Todd was downstairs in his office talking to his brother, Adam, so I quickly ran to the vent and yelled down, "THANK YOU ADAM!!!" The two of them had been coordinating schedules to find a time when I could take a brief escape from life for some therapy.

I was going, by myself, to Denver for 3 days to DECORATE!!!

Adam needed help with his office and they were finally going to do something to their master bedroom.

They had flown me out for 24 hours the year before to help do their baby's nursery:

As well as their kitchen, living room and a gallery wall:

(even though the empty frames look cool, there will someday be pictures in those frames)

Yeah, I actually got all of that done in 24 hours. It's amazing what I can do when I have a 2 liter of Diet Dr. Pepper in my system. I had even brought our newborn Dakota with me on that trip.

They liked that work enough, that they figured I was worth using again for their master suite.

Why is it that most people leave their master bedroom for the very last when decorating their home? I know that not everyone sees it, but shouldn't your room be the oasis that you can escape to at the end of the day and feel relaxed in? Something about bare walls, clothes scattered on the floor, mismatched bedding and broken lamp shades just doesn't say "welcome to bed after a long hard day."

I have personally found that when you spend the time to make a room in your home look put together and pretty it makes you want to keep the space a little bit cleaner, thus making it a room you want to spend more time in and feel relaxed in.

My basement is unfinished. Toys EVERYWHERE most of the time. And when the toys are cleaned up and put away, instead of scattered all over the floor, even the kids stay down there longer. It isn't just adults that crave an orderly place (okay, maybe I am only speaking for myself and my family).

Please note, my house is not always spotless, but I do try to straighten it once a week.

Kids like to play in clean rooms, they just don't like to clean play rooms (Yeah, I totally just came up with that one on my own!).

Back to what I started, when I arrived I was still quite sick, but no decorating adventure can knock a sick Mel down (maybe for a nap in the afternoon)! That night, I surveyed the space that we (Angie, Adam and myself...the little boys even helped paint a bit) would be transforming. Take a look for yourself:

Early in the morning we got to work on refinishing the dresser, nightstand and headboard.

After a good wipe down with TSP

One coat of primer and two coats of Ivory Paint

After glazing

Pretty awesome, right? Adam wanted Black furniture. Angie didn't want to dust black furniture. She suggested Ivory. Then she wanted to glaze the furniture. I thought it was a nice compromise. However, I wasn't quite sure. I had never glazed anything before and was intimidated. But after reading through a great post on painting furniture and another one on glazing furniture, I was ready to attack! I am so glad I did. It has inspired me to want to try it on my dresser here at home.

We also tried to stick to a more affordable budget. No opening up a magazine, choosing a room and saying, "I want all of that" and a couple thousand dollars later having it.

This meant driving around to various stores like TJMaxx, Ross, Hobby Lobby and the like and gathering what we could in such a short amount of time and getting it all put in place.

We painted the master bedroom Benjamin Moore Shaker Beige, brought the furniture up, and then hung our awesome mirrors, placed the quirky lamps, and made the bed.

Mirrors from World Market

Sadly, I had to catch a flight back home, so I wasn't able to stay for the installation of the drapes and the shelf to go under the arched window or to paint the master bath and get that put back together. I am hoping for pictures of that soon.

Angie and I had been posting things on Pinterest before I got out there, and I updated it a bit to reflect what we actually used as well as the tutorials for painting the furniture.

I have to boast about my host and hostess for a moment. When I arrived in Denver, there on my bed was a 2 Liter of Diet Dr. Pepper, ear plugs, and a fancy face washing thing. Despite arriving late in the evening, Angie made me a delicious meal. The following day I was coughing and had a runny nose and no voice. That night Angie insisted I take an Ambien and get rest. It was exactly what I needed (although even 1/2 a pill had me quite loopy the next day). She brought me breakfast in bed at 8:45am (I don't know the last time I slept solidly for that long). I was treated so well and I came home feeling 95% better. It was exactly what this sick mommy needed. Rest, decorating therapy and lots and lots of talking with Angie. I am so blessed to call Adam and Angie family.

Adam's Office

2011-10-16T06:45:00.000-10:00

My brother-in-law recently moved into a different office and his space needed some sprucing up. Considering that he spends more time in his office than in his own bed at home, it needed to be a place he wouldn't mind working in.

As you can see, he was given the standard office furniture. This is what my base was to start working with. He works for a mining company and has traveled the globe plenty (mission, travels with his wifey, work) and has collected a lot of cool trinkets. I used those items and information as my inspiration point and gathered from there.

Speaking of gathering, I only had 2 days to gather things for the office and install it all. His office is in Denver. I don't live in Denver. But I was able to go out for a few days of therapy and throw this together. It's difficult doing rooms this way, because there are always items forgotten (a plant for the corner, books for the bookshelf) and I don't have enough time to get the last few items and then I never really get to see the room completed!

It was hilarious when I was placing his items on the bookshelf, because every single item had a story and he kindly took the time to share it with me. He likes his stuff to have a history, so when I purchased a statue of an elephant and it didn't have a unique or personal story behind it, he warned me that he might have to return it. If he does, that's fine. I am sure he will pick up something awesome on his next adventure around the globe and he will have a spot on the bookshelf to put it. I didn't take an after picture of the bookshelf because it is lacking BOOKS! Hopefully he will pick up a few of those on his journeys too.

As you can see, I rearranged the furniture a bit. I moved the bookshelf to sit at an angle near the window, it softens the hard edges of a small office like that. Then placed a soft and comfy chair in the corner where the bookshelf used to sit, because people are no doubt going to come into his office and want to hear all about his Peruvian Calendar Gourd.

Adam had his ever so important diplomas framed. Might I take a moment and remind everyone that if you are going to spend the money on an education, spend a little bit more to have your diplomas framed RIGHT! Please don't go into Wal-Mart, purchase a frame that says "Document Frame" and call it good. You worked hard for that piece of paper, display it proudly and give it the attention it (and you) deserve! Yes, it will cost you at a minimum $100, but it is so much more impressive, especially if you are in the business of impressing people. You mats should be a minimum of 2".

I chose this lamp because it fit in with the collected feel of the office. I will make up a story about this lamp for Adam: While exploring area 52 in New Mexico, I found this in a dusty and spiderweb filled prospectors office near a gold mine. A wrinkly old leathery man was sitting outside. I asked if I could have the lamp and he told me that the faded spots were from the time the mine collapsed and all of the rocks and residue came billowing out and reached as far as the office.

There, maybe he will feel better about having something purchased in his office.

Adam was hung up on having an orchid in his office and Ikea (yeah, Ikea) had some gorgeous ones! I never knew Ikea sold plants.

If you are interested in any of the other items in his office, you can see where I gathered them all from HERE.

Thank You, Pinterest

2011-10-11T20:15:00.002-10:00

My Sister-In-Law recently gave birth to her first son.

They named him Spike.

Okay, we call him Spike, but he was really named after his dad and grandpa (no, their name isn't Spike). But Spike is so incredibly fitting as he came out early and weighed well over 9 pounds!

Anyway, mommy-to-be was in need of some baby items of a more blue nature, so we (my mom, sister and I) decided to throw her a baby shower. Baby Boy's name was our inspiration for the theme of the shower: Dinosaurs!!!! Cuz some of them had spikes, ya know?

Thanks to Pinterest we were able to put together a "board" and gather ideas from all sorts of creative people out there! Of course, our budget wasn't nearly as lavish as some of those that I have seen. Nonetheless, I wanted to share with you some of the cute things we came up with.

Those little blue dino tags actually lifted to reveal a pregnancy term that could be associated with each candybar. For example;

Stomach after delivery: Jelly Belly

Daddy at Conception: Big Hunk

11 Pound Baby: Whopper

Epidural: Life Saver

Medical Bills: 100 Grand

If you are throwing a dinosaur party and aren't already saavy (as if I am) with digital scrapbooking, let me know and I can email you the files for the signs, invites and treat bag tags that I made. Or else you can go here and buy the ones I borrowed the idea from.

For the Herbivores we had a delicious Fruit Salad and Veggies each served in their own little fish bowl

For the Sweetivores we had rocks from the stone age and little cupcakes topped with candy dinos that my sister made...yeah, she made those cute little creatures (using a mold, of course)!

You'd think they were too cute to eat, but after eating one, you'd be able to justify that history must repeat itself and these guys were bound to become extinct too.

And of course, the Carnivores. I was in charge of something simple that I couldn't mess up: Lil' Smokies in BBQ Sauce. The culinary master, my sister, made those divine looking bacon wrapped chicken bites.

P.S. Sometimes I think that those other parties are very similar to ours, but that the right camera and person behind it can make the whole event look ...I don't want to use the word "better" because our party was awesome...but they make it look, enticinger (I'll check my Scrabble word list to see if that's a word I can use).

I'm our photographer and I have some little silver digital that is "dated" in technical terms...like 5 years old.

TriathaMOM

2011-09-30T13:45:00.000-10:00

At the close of this post, I said that I would do another Triathlon. It has been three years since then, and I have to admit, I have hesitated wanting to enter another one. That is, until, my dear friend encouraged others to join her for her first Triathlon.

The hesitation came because of my personal failure and fear of swimming in open water. However, this one was held in a pool. Heated water, lanes, no people swimming on top of one another to get ahead, women only. I could do this one!

After registering, the first thing I did was dig out my old time sheet from the Cache Valley Classic. My swim was 21:59, Bike 58:29 and Run 33:52. I also printed out a suggested training routine that I followed to the letter the first week, then started slacking the next 8 weeks. Another thing I can improve on next time.

When I trained for the run, it was always on a treadmill. I would set the machine so that I would run a 9 minute mile and by the end my average was 10 minute miles. I only rode a stationary bike, and would attend the spinning classes at the gym. The swim was my absolute favorite! I had managed to get the 12 lengths completed in 7 minutes.

The night before the race, I borrowed a sleek little road bike from my neighbor's, the Petit's who aren't strangers to triathlons. Took it up and down a hill by our house a few times, deemed the bike a perfect fit (actually, I should have risen the seat a bit, I learned during mile 2 of the bike ride) and assumed I was trained-ish and ready to conquer the event in the morning.

In the wee hours of the morning, my ride came. Four of us lovely ladies sat in the dark and discussed our nerves and what we had done the night before. The three other lovelies were what some might call tri-virgins. If you are going to do a tri for the first time, I highly suggest one in a pool.

Upon arrival, we unloaded our bikes, got our bodies all marked up and found spots for our bikes in the transition area. Then we were all wise enough to step in the long line to wait for a turn in the porta potty. A must-do before any race.

Around 8am, we all stripped down to our swimsuits, all body issues go out the door when you see 400 women with all different body shapes and sizes unite together for the same event. It was awesome and so empowering.

They had us each get in the water and only had one woman swim out at a time, so there was no large wave of women storming the water at the same time. It made for a lot less pressure. Although, I still got the same tight panicky feeling in my chest whenever I entered the deeper sections of the pool. Reminded me of the times we'd go snorkeling in Hawaii. Something about lots and lots of water below me just gives me the willies, even if there aren't fish swimming with me. The pool I trained in never got deeper than 5 ft, and I swear, it wasn't nearly as long as this pool was!

I felt totally rockin' when I started passing some of the swimmers and got all big in the head and thought, "oh, yeah! I have got this thing in the BAG!"

Apparently I needed to be humbled, and that opportunity came within the first mile of the bike. My throat was dry and I needed a drink of water, so I slid my hand down to my water bottle for some refreshment of the water kind only to lose my balance, swerve into the curb and land softly on the grass. I sat there, took a couple sips, a nice guy pulled over in his car to make sure I was okay, I assured him I was great. Then I did what we are always told to do when we fall off a bike, and I got right back on!

I found a cute girl who was 24 (I know that because our ages are stamped on the back of our left calf and I stared at it through most of the bike portion of the race). She and I biked at the same pace, so I decided to follow her. About three times as many people as I passed on the swim passed me. Humble Pie eaten. But I didn't let it get me down.

My personal goal was to finish this race without crying or feeling sorry for myself.

Riding on the road bike is a whole lot different than the spin bike at the gym. I would probably like to train more on a bike like that for my next race (yes, I want to do another one, no, NEED to do another one). Anyway, upon my accent to "hell hill" I felt as though I had enough momentum to get up it. My little pacing friend was doing great and I wasn't worried until I felt the urge to go a little faster, but at that same moment two cars were coming in opposite directions and I lost the momentum. At one moment I can recall being at a stand still on the bike and my mind thinking "It's over." Not meaning the race, but the riding. I noticed a few ladies in front of me walking their bikes up our little hell and decided to do the same. Short walk over, I got back on and the remainder of the ride was smooth sailing and downhill with the wind blowing through my helmet. Just beautiful country out there in Herriman.

When dismounting the bike I heard a sweet little voice yell out "Mom!" There is nothing like that! It is that extra push to keep you trying harder. My handsome husband and 4 little children (yeah, Todd totally got them all ready and out the door to come and cheer me on) were right there by the transition area and I ran over and gave them hugs and kisses. Dakota started screaming because he didn't want me running away.

I saw Becca and hoped to run with her, but as we were leaving there was a little straggler following me and not following her daddy! I had to help little Carly find her daddy and reminded her that I would see her really soon. That girl probably could have kept pace with me the whole time. My run was a little bit slower than I had planned on, but I finished the race with a smile on my face and didn't cry even once!

My final times were Swim 7:58, Bike 55:26, Run, 36:56

Pictures taken by Becca's friend, the Sprouls...these girls let me join in on their picture taking fun...thanks girls!

All in all, I shaved almost 15 minutes off of my first tri time. Next time my bike and my run will be better! Who wants to join me next year?

Portrait by Abigail

2011-09-22T11:33:00.000-10:00

This is a picture of me, Abi's mom. I am not sure what to think of it.

So I have put it on the fridge. Maybe it will deter me from grabbing that extra slice of cheese I like to go for in the hopes that someday I can fit in that little purple dress.

If Our Life Were A Book...

2011-09-13T10:52:00.001-10:00

...Broken up into chapters based upon the times in our married life when we felt the guiding hand of our Heavenly Father, the Index might look a little like this:

Chapter 1...............Marriage

"I Lift Thee, and Thee Lift Me, and Together We Will Ascend to Eternity"

Sealed for Eternity in the Salt Lake Temple on May 30, 1998

Chapter 2...............Mortgage I

"Our House, is a Very Very Very Fine House"

Purchase of first little home in Taylorsville in 1999.
Our Mortgage was only $98,000.

We were content to remain there for a very long time.

Chapter 3...............Sacrifice

"In this world it is not what we take up,
but what we give up, that makes us rich."

Sold everything we owned (home, cars, stuff) and moved to
Hawaii for Todd to work on his Doctorate of Architecture in August of 2002.

Chapter 4...............Blessings

"The Lord's love is often delivered through others as they respond to promptings of the Spirit."

Arrived in Honolulu and within 2 weeks were welcomed into an amazing ward family, found a good place to live and a great job,
all because of the members of our church.

Black Sand beach on Kauai

Chapter 5...............Baby #1

"When in doubt, choose the kids,
there will be plenty of time later to choose work."

January of 2005 we welcomed our first Son into the world, oh how life changed.

Mommy and Connor meet for the first time in the NICU

Chapter 6...............Dallas & Boston

"Experience: that most brutal of teachers.
But you learn, my God do you learn."

Spent 6 months in Dallas TX then moved to Boston, MA
to complete Todd's practicums.

Playing in a Fountain at the Dallas Arboretum

Chapter 7...............Baby #2

"A daughter is one of the most beautiful gifts this world has to give."

Shortly after moving to Boston, our beautiful
Abi Girl joined us September of 2006.

Our little Boston Bean

Chapter 8...............Unrest

"If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,
we'd grab ours back."

We returned to Hawaii in January 2007 only to unexpectedly abandon our plan and move in with Todd's parents in Utah August.

Connor waves "Aloha" our first morning back in Honolulu

Chapter 9...............Baby #3

"I never wanted my mom more than the day I, myself, became a mother."

Thirteen months after the birth of Abigail, we had another little girl. If you are going to have 3 kids under the age of 4, living with family is the way to go.

Grammy having a tender moment with Carly

Chapter 10...............Degree

"Learning is not attained by chance,
it must be sought for with ardor and diligence."

May of 2008, family members and ohana met at the University of Hawaii to witness the close of a 10 year scholarly journey as Todd received his
Doctor of Architecture Degree.

A very few members of our Ohana at Todd's Graduation

Chapter 11...............Mortgage

"It takes a heap o' livin' in a house t' make a home."

By no small miracle Todd got a job, we got a home and were ready to settle somewhere for longer than 9 months in July of 2008.

Chapter 12............Baby #4

"Sometimes being a brother is better than being a super hero."

April 2010 Baby Boone was eagerly welcomed into our family.

The kids can barely contain their excitement when meeting Dakota

Chapter 13...............Stagnate

"Happiness consists in activity. It is a running steam, not a stagnant pool."

A gray time where Todd was unhappy with his work and knowing that something needed to change, but when and how to do it?

Chapter 14..............Tender Mercies

"Just because God doesn't answer your prayers doesn't mean He's not listening, He's just got something better in store for you."

One Friday afternoon after much fasting and prayers, we finally received a sense of direction and can move forward to something better!

Todd was "let go" from his job on good terms and is now in the process of starting and running his own architectural firm. His dissertation for school was titled, "Starting an Architecture Firm: From Academia to Profession." So this is his chance to put it to work! I have faith that this is what will make him the happiest and also provide for our family. But your prayers (and referrals) would help too!

I am grateful for the knowledge that I can communicate with our Heavenly Father through personal prayer. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't ask for or thank him for the many simple things that are always taking place in our life.

Back to School

2011-09-09T08:18:00.001-10:00

It's the most wonderful time, of the year!

With the kids not home yelling

and teachers are telling you

drop them of here!

It's the most wonderful time, of the year!

Abigirl on her first day of preschool.

Dakota, in the attire we like him in best.

Carly...no nonsense!

Connor, 1st Grader

I LOVE having the kids back in school. The routine of a school year is exactly what this inconsistent mommy needs. It keeps me on track and helps me to prioritize my tasks better as well as weed out the ones that aren't that necessary.

There is no time to waste, so I find myself filling those once empty minutes with little tasks like making beds, doing dishes, coloring with the girls, and actually folding and putting away laundry as soon as it is dry. I am kinder to my children (despite what they may tell you). 8 months out of the year I am almost the mom/wife/housekeeper I have always dreamed of.

Connor is in a dual immersion program and is THRIVING. He comes home asking if we can do homework and I find him using spanish words in place of english ones. He already has all of his colors and numbers down, certain animals and objects. I am so grateful we went with our gut and put him in this school.

Abi is doing great too. She is up and dressed for school before I am out of bed. She even has her backpack on and sitting at the couch waiting for her ride every school morning. Her class size is small, which I love and she speaks so highly of her teachers. Her favorite thing about school this far is making up stories.

Carly Belle loves school too and has so many adorable little neighbor friends in her class. I love driving the carpool and hearing the funny things they say. They never make sense to me, but the kids all seem to know what the other is talking about.

You would think with all of these kids in school, I would have one-on-one time with Dakota, but that won't come for a few more years. The girls alternate days, so I still get to have them home with me for entertainment.

All in all, I think this is going to be a very wonderful school year! If I can just remember which kids I pick up from school on which days. I have already forgotten one...and it wasn't my own.

Girl Talk

2011-09-05T18:27:00.000-10:00

Today I spent a good portion of the day running errands in the car with the girls. You see, they start dance lessons tomorrow and I had to drive around town gathering all of the things they need just to participate in it. I had no idea that leotards, tap shoes, ballet slippers, and tights would end up costing more than three months tuition for the two of them!

Here is a sampling of one of the discussions we had in the car:

Mom: The teacher might ask if you are twins (we get that a lot, as I am sure many of you with children super close in age do). What will you tell her?

Abi: No

Mom: If they ask who is older, what will you say?

Abi: I am

Mom: (trying to be sneaky and teasing) And what if they ask who is nicer?

Abi: Carly is

Mom: Laughter

Carly: What? I am nicer!

Abi: She is. I am only nice to Charlotte and Hailey and Kinzlee. But Carly is nice to Jayden and Reagan and Kinzlee, and Sarah and Charlotte and you.

At this point I pause to reflect on the book/movie "The Help" and think to myself "I should probably say something each morning to Abi when I look her in the eyes like 'you are nice, you are kind, you are important.'" It's moments like those that make me think that I am failing as a mother.

Some Pics

2011-08-17T21:43:00.000-10:00

It's time to update the gallery wall in my living room. I'd love to get some shots of our whole family, but realistically, finding a time that fits with Todd's schedule, someone to shoot the pics and the kids moods is incredibly challenging.

So on a beautiful Saturday morning, that I had no plans, I got the kids all dolled up and took them to Murray Park and did the best with what little (a.k.a. NO) knowledge of camera taking I could (did that make sense). Anyway, here are a few shots from our day in the park. Connor is 6, Abigail is 4, Carly is 3 and Dakota is 16 months.

Still not sure if any of these are worthy of the living room though. You know, there's got to be a flow of some kind....maybe goofiness or boredom or unhappiness will have to be the flow.

Good Choice

2011-08-17T11:41:00.000-10:00

There is a parenting book out there that encourages the parent to give their child 2 choices when they need to do something, i.e. mealtime, getting dressed, leaving a playground. If I lived by it more, maybe I would remember the title to share it with you, but I don't so I can't.

I used this method on myself this afternoon when I desperately needed a shower. I had spent 2 hours at the gym and then at playgroup....STINKY! I had all but started the shower when I set each of the kids at the table with a game of their choosing. Connor had Checkers, Abi had Memory and Carly had Connect 4.

Notice something similar between all of the games? 2 players. They all needed 2 players, but to imagine that the kids could manage playing the games together without getting into fights just wasn't realistic. But they could play by themselves for a while so I could take a shower.

As I started to walk toward the bathroom, Connor asked, "Mom, can you play with us?" I stood in the doorway hearing myself say, "You have two choices: 1) You can play with your kids who don't care what you smell like and give them affirmation of your love for them or 2) You can take a shower and come out only to hear them complaining and fighting cuz someone is on their side of the table.

I chose option #1 and it was fabulous! Connor did pretty good at Checkers (I may have let him win), Abi and I started playing Memory when she invited Carly (all on her own) to play with us and even suggested we make it easier for Carly by turning all of the cards right side up (although I think it was better for all of us with them right-side-up). During the whole time all I could think was "these kids are so cute."

Eventually the kids asked to "use the purple thing that you draw on and it turns things." Connor informed me they were talking about stencils. I pulled them out and they all wrote stories and shared them with me.

Today is one of those days where I spent some of it being the mom I had always envisioned myself being (some of the time, because the walk to playgroup wasn't so picture-perfect). Yeah! Score one for me.

Early to Rise

2011-08-12T04:40:00.000-10:00

Each night before my head hits the pillow I vow that I will start a better regime by waking up at 6:30am. This is what I will accomplish with the extra hour of wakefulness:

Make the bed
Make a nutritious breakfast for the whole happy family
Make Todd a lunch that doesn't have to be microwaved

This has been going on for over a year now.

My body naturally awoke at 6:30am today (the first time in....ever). I should have jumped right out of bed, opened the windows and begun singing "Good Morning" while tap dancing around the house (I LOVE Debbie Reynolds performance in that musical). But I just looked at the clock. Then my door creaked open and Connor came and slipped into Todd's side of the bed (Todd has incredible self discipline and has never slept past 6:30am in the 13+ years we've been married). I justified staying in bed to cuddle with Connor and listen to him explain the differences between foxes and dogs and cats.

Then Carly came in and squished between us. The first thing she told me was that she was wet and can't go potty anymore. I kissed her and didn't say anything. We had a rough potty training day yesterday. I need to give the girl a break.

I rolled out of bed when it got to the point where it wasn't sweet cuddling anymore cuz Carly's toes were touching Connor's and Carly was pulling my hair and Connor needed more blankets.

I went to the kitchen and made Dakota a bottle, freshened myself up a bit to find Todd in the kitchen, Connor up on the counter and Todd explaining to Connor the mechanics of a Toaster Oven and teaching him how to plug it in, turn the knob to get the right shade of brown (or black in my case) on the toast, and frying up an egg for Carly.

Todd has mastered the nutritious breakfast portion of my morning. So waking up at 6:30 to make the bed and a lunch for my love shouldn't be too hard?

There's always tomorrow!

Today

2011-08-10T21:13:00.000-10:00

This evening I came home and read on a friends blog that she was going to keep track what took place in her life during a 24hr period, for posterities sake. Hello? Why haven't I thought of this sooner! My kids may want to know what I did with them and myself when they were too young to remember. Today was a goodish day. So I will give them the details of today.

6:44am Before rolling over in bed to look at the clock to see that it was 6:44am, I heard baby Boone in his bed crying. Although, it can't really be considered crying. Maybe whining. But not the obnoxious cry that Abi has mastered. The cute whining that Dakota can get away with because he has a legitimate reason to whine. The reason: It has been a full 11.75 hour since his last bottle. Yes, my squishy little 16 month old still takes a bottle. One in the morning when he wakes up and one in the evening before bed. It calms him, which in turn, calms me.

6:46am I enter the kitchen where the smell of freshly cooked eggs hits me and Carly yells out (with her mouth full of food) "Daddy's making eggs...you want one?" I decline, as I have plans to hit the gym at 8am and I don't like to eat before I run. I get Dakota's bottle ready and take it into him where he is kicking the wall and moaning while laying in his pack n play. Abi is still sleeping in the room, but I leave the door open hoping she will wake up and we can get ourselves all dressed and out the door in 1 hour. Connor has schlepped into the kitchen as well and would rather have cereal than an egg. I get that all ready for him while he still tries to wake up.

6:50am I mosey back into the kitchen to check the schedule for the day. I realize that I don't run today (I am training for a sprint triathalon and am following a recommended training plan)! This means I can eat breakfast (who wants cereal sloshing around in your tummy when you are running). But the chef (Todd) who makes the best eggs in the world has left the kitchen to brush his teeth and I don't want to make an egg for myself, so I have a bowl of Corn Chex.

7:00am Abi has come into the kitchen as well and wants the same thing Connor is eating. Carly wants cereal too. I tell her no, because she will waste it. She tells me she is hungry and won't. I make Carly a bowl of cereal.

7:05am I pull Dakota out of his bed and squish him and kiss him and love him and he gets mad at me. So, then I just lay him on the floor, change his diaper (singing our "change a diaper" song)and get him dressed for the day (counting each button aloud, certain that he will have his numbers down in no time...who am I kidding, he can barely say "ma"). Then I pull out the clothes for each of the kids to wear during the day and lay them out on their beds. If we aren't going in public, I usually let them pick their own, but if we are, I am master of their closets!

7:10am Time for Todd to leave for work. He grabs last nights leftovers from the fridge to take for work. I kiss him and wish him luck at his meeting and remind him that I have to work tonight, so he needs to be home a little early. Connor follows him out the back door telling him something about how awesome he (Todd) is and how he knows he will be the best at work and all the other amazing complimentary things he can think up.

7:15am The garage door is open and all four kids have scurried to the couch by the front window to chant "trucko-rucko" and wave good-bye to their daddy and blow him kisses. This is Todd's favorite part of the day. Every morning, they do this. If one child is asleep when it happens, their whole day is ruined, so I have been known to wake them up before he is gone to prevent a bad day from starting.

7:17am I clap my hands and tell everyone to get in their rooms, get dressed, make their beds and put their shoes on. Carly tells me that I am like Mary Poppins. I'll take that as a compliment.

7:19am I head into my bedroom where I attempt to get dressed for the gym while carrying on a conference call with my sister and my mom to discuss the craziness that is her (my sister's) life and what we should do about Sunday dinner and the likes. Getting dressed one handed with a phone to my ear isn't proving very successful, so I make the bed. I tell my sister I have to go (we're on a time schedule here!) and I hang up, and quickly throw on the gym garb.

7:30am Recalling all of the events that need to take place, I start gathering up swimsuits and towels (playgroup at a splash park), my water bottle and earbuds (for the gym), Ike's Jacket and a book to return to the Riches' house, and a diaper bag. Snacks! I will need snacks. I open the pantry and see we have NOTHING. Old Mother Hubbard must live here. So then I gather my grocery list that has been growing over the last two weeks and some coupons (I earned some of those rewards dollars from Smith's and a gift card my mom gave me and put them in my purse with good intentions of hitting the store on my way home from playgroup.

7:40am I comb out Abi's lovely blonde locks. She "needs" to wear a headband, Carly wants her hair like Rapunzels and Connor doesn't want to get "too wet". Dakota is playing by the toilet with a toy car. I quickly wipe down the toilet and put some clorox in the bowl with good intentions to scrub it down.

7:45am I take all of the above items and put them in the van and then I lace up my shoes, holler for the kids and tell them to get out in the vanner. Carly's socks are on inside out and upside down and her shoes are on the wrong feet. Who cares? She takes them off as soon as she gets to the gym anyway. Connor doesn't even have shoes on. He's too scared to go to his room by himself to get them so Carly comes to his rescue and goes with him to get them. Eventually they get out there.

7:55am I buckle the baby into his seat kissing and squishing him the whole time (he gets mad again). When I realize I forgot to grab some diapers and baby wipes for the diaper bag!

7:58am AUGH!!! I have to get to the gym right at 8 or else I won't be able to get the kids in til 9 (they have only one kids club staff member on hand til 9, then they have 3, and my 4 kids count as 7 because Dakota counts as 3 and one adult can only have 10 kids at a time and there are always other kids there if I don't get there before 8) but I forgot my cell phone. I run in and grab my cell phone and see a message from Todd. He forgot something he was supposed to take to his meeting at 10am. I need to bring them to him. I text him back telling him how lucky he was that 1) I was running late and 2) That I forgot my cell phone and had to come back and get it. I don't take my phone with me into the gym and if kids hadn't been kids and I hadn't been a scatter brained me, I would have already been at the gym signing the kids in and riding a bike!

8:00am The kids and I hop on the freeway. Carly tells me I am going too fast. Abi is singing "Oh Christmas Tree" and Connor sees a billboard for Zoorasic Park and tells me that it is $15 per person and we can't go because we are too poor of people to go, but he will put it on his Christmas wish list and we will be able to go. We are going fast and on an incline. The big kids pretend they are on a roller-coaster at Lagoon and put their hands in the air and scream....Dakota follows! The cutest thing EVER!!!!!

8:15am We arrive at Todd's work and he comes out to grab his box and informs me that his meeting isn't in Salt Lake, but Ogden, so he has to head out earlier than he had planned. I wish him luck, the kids wave good-bye. Dakota cries. He loves his dad and hates being separated from him. But I remember that I need gas. I yell out the window (for everyone to hear) "Can I get some gas" to which Todd replies "$20." That'll do!

8:17am Back on the freeway and off to the gym! It worked out well, now I will get there around 9 and there will be enough staff members to take my ginormous crew of kids (4...is it really that many?). We get off of our exit, fill up vanner with gas and make it to the gym.

8:50am I am nervous that we won't be able to get in, but decide to give it a try anyway. There are only 3 other kids there! Yeah! We get in and the kids happily run off to play and I grab my water bottle and earbuds to ride my bike for 20 minutes.

9:15am Weight Lifting Class. AUGH!!!!! I haven't been in 3 weeks. This is gonna hurt. I am gonna look weak. It does hurt. I am weak. I look at the other people around me with extra weights on their bars and feel defeated. Why did I eat that whole bag of Almond Joy Pieces? Why did I eat so late at night after those catering shifts? Why can't I stop drinking Diet Soda? Are my Saddlebags getting bigger? Really? Am I ever going to have definition in my triceps? Do I have triceps? You want me to do what?

10:15am Put all of the weights back, visit with some of the other awesome and real moms in the class and realize we all rock despite the way we look. Each of us are doing some different kind of event on the 24th of September. We all promise to check in on each other and cheer one another on.

10:20am Gather the kiddlings from the gym. I am sure they are so relieved when I come to get them, as it must feel like half of the kids they watch leave with me.

10:25am Try to get the vanner to start. Lately the ignition has been having a hard time letting the key turn. Abi says, "It's so annoying when Vanner does this to us." To which Connor replies, "Mom, we just need a new one." To which I reply, "No, I love this vanner. It just needs a little repair." And I am thinking "cha-ching, cha-ching". I get it started and the "Check Engine" light is on. I think "Put it on My Tab" a la Dan in Real Life.

10:30am I realize I have no drinks and no treat for the kids for the playdate and they haven't had anything since 6:30am. So we pop into ShopKo for a snack. How does this store stay in business? Everytime I have been in, they have little to no customers an their prices are so dadgum high! I pay $3.49 for a bag of Cheetos (I let the kids pick the treat). Dakota is screaming, so I let him out of the cart to wander around. He grabs a pack of gum in a plastic container and starts shaking it. I ask him to hand it to me and he gets mad and throws it on the ground. It bursts open and gum flies all over. Now I am buying $3 worth of gum too! Great. I grab myself a bag of Munchies, I deserve them after all that work at the gym and having to put up with 4 kids in a store (good thing there were no customers to observe me as a mother who can't control her children). Hey, at least I didn't lose Carly this time!

10:39am We head out of Shop Ko. Fiddle with the key for a while, saying a silent prayer the van will start and it does!

10:45am We arrive at the park and the kids change into their swimsuits. Connor's little boy part is sticking out the top of his waistband, I get frustrated (as this is not the first time) and tell him he can't wear his pants so low and then realize that Abi's bottoms are on backwards. Whatever.

11:00am Our friends arrive and the kids want to eat. Forget the water. Food, they are starving. The kids inhald that bag of Cheetos in less than 10 minutes. Then I have to constantly remind them to go and play, enjoy the water and the slides and the swings. Dakota has a poopy diaper. In my haste to leave this morning I only grabbed a pull-up for Carly. I thought I had grabbed diapers, but it is apparent that I did not. I put one on Dakota and he is beginning to wear down. Connor's little man part keeps making an appearance above his waistband. What is the deal? It is driving me crazy!!!!

12:25pm Dakota has had it and it is time to get him home to bed. I beg the kids to be happy and get in the van. The moment Dakota is buckled into his seat, he is out. So sweet! We head on the road, Carly, my backseat driver says to me, "Mom, you're going to fast." I was. How did she know? I slowed my pace down a bit and then the kids started singing along to "I'm on the Edge of Glory."

12:34pm We make it home and I slip Dakota into his bed where he falls right back to sleep. Then I pull all of the other stuff in from the van.

12:40pm Somebody called. I have no clue who. What kind of person am I. They were surely important. But during the phone call, the kids are begging to eat. They are "starving." I can't eat Ramen Noodles one more day this week. So I open MY bag of Munchies and pour them each a serving. Connor informs me that he is allergic to them. I offer to make him a sandwich and he says no. I open the fridge for inspiration and find leftover pizza. I nuk him a slice and he eats it while telling us all about dinosaurs.

12:55pm I remember that I have to have a clean white shirt to wear for work tonight, so I gather a load of whites and throw them in the washing machine.

1:00pm The girls are tired, so I turn on a show (Despicable Me) in Carly's room and make a little bed for Abi on the floor and both girls are out within 10 minutes. I would love to take a nap with them, but there was a stack of medical bills sitting by the phone waiting for me to begin the battle of scheduling payment plans. YUCK!!!! Connor asks if he can play the computer, and seeing as how I needed to have uninterrupted phone calls, I say yes.

1:15pm While getting Connor set up with the computer, I see the Soccer Registration information and remember that I need to call 10 parents and remind them about the practice tomorrow night. So I gather the paperwork for that the the lame bills and head to my bedroom. The phone calls begin. First to the parents of all the little soccer players and then to all of the varying assortment of Dr's, Labs, Radiologists, Etc. to discuss payment options for a medical diagnosis that came back as nothing but still is costing us thousands of dollars. Every phone call had me doubting my "motherly instincts."

2:00pm Time to throw the clothes into the dryer. While sitting on hold, I go downstairs and make the swap. I love the smell of clean clothes! I love the way it makes the whole house smell clean. I dance up the stairs so happy to have a quiet home and clean clothes, the sitting on hold part could bring me down, but I'd rather dance.

2:30pm I gather up the much needed make-up to make myself look presentable and sit down in front of the laptop to watch "The Morning After" while I put my make-up on. I have 4 to catch up on. Whilst doing this my Miranda texts me and we carry on a short conversation. Hearing from her always feeds my soul. I could do another dance right now...but I am sitting down, so I don't.

2:45pm Now I must do my hair. I didn't shower after my workout or after the playdate at the park, but I don't want to, so I choose to just lather myself in some sweet smelling lotion and then I move on to the hair. Doesn't take much effort to do a ponytail.

2:50pm I run downstairs to check the laundry and it's dry enough. I lug it all upstairs and turn on the episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" from when it was the Final 10 (I know, I am so far behind) and watch it while I fold and put away the laundry

3:00pm Carly wakes up. She needs cuddles and loves and food. DANG!!!! I never made it to the grocery store. That's gonna have to wait until tomorrow. There is just no more time left today. I give her the cuddles and loves. The food will have to wait til dinner time.

3:15pm Dakota is kicking the wall. I crawl to his door and we make eye contact through the crack at the bottom of the door. He smiles and stands up, I go in and squish and kiss and love him. He laughs this time!!! Then wriggles out of my arms and walks into the kitchen. He's hungry too. I give him a slice of bread.

3:30pm Angie calls, and I pull out the iron and ironing board to get that part of the laundry out of the way. Ironing is always safe to do while on the phone. But maybe not the best thing to do with Dakota around. It works out anyway. I have to put the phone down at one point to get dressed, but we have a great conversation (as we always do) and I feel like one more person in the world loves me and I can carry on with my day.

3:50pm I head into the kitchen to figure out what the family can eat for dinner while I am away serving ice cream. Abi comes into the kitchen, awake from her nap. Smiling groggily and sitting on a chair she says "I'm hungry." DUH!!! I know. I pull out some chicken nuggets from the freezer and toss them on a baking sheet, then preheat the oven. Todd walks in the door and the kids are all thrilled to see their daddy. We quickly update one another on the happenings of the day and I tell him to bake the nuggets for 12 minutes, give kisses and I am out the door.

4:10pm Backing out of the garage in trucko, I see what Todd sees each and every morning. All four of our beautiful children sitting at the window waving and blowing kisses with their big ole smiles on those sweet faces. It's hard to go to work. I don't want to, but it's what I can do to help right now. Thankfully it is a job that I enjoy doing and Todd can be home with the kids. It's been good for them.

4:25pm Arriving at the Leatherby's in Midvale I help load up the Jeep and get ready to head out to the wedding reception we are catering. We find, when catering, that if we are given say, 2 hours to serve, it always ends up being at the least one half hour extra. Tonight it was 1 1/2 hours extra.

10:30pm I get home and the house is silent. All the kids are sleeping deeply in their own beds, but there is a glow from our bedroom. Todd is playing some plane game on his iPad. I laugh, thinking how cute he is and go brush my teeth. When I return, he is "sleeping" I kiss him good night and he tells me how tired he is. Only to sit up 2 minutes later and then go into great detail about the meeting he had today. I love it. I remember reading a great book once that said that men don't go into great detail often, and when they do that it is important that we, as women, listen. Don't interrupt, just listen. Don't interject your thoughts, as if you do, you will derail them from their train of thought and you will have lost a treasured moment where he is freely communicating with you. I practiced what I had read and this really sleepy guy ended up talking nonstop until 11:45. It was wonderful! He is turning into such a great businessman and is so happy with where his business is going. If Todd's happy, then we are all happy.

I am now typing this while he is sleeping by my side. My sweet companion. He grabbed my hand the other day in the kitchen, turned and looked at our kids who were coloring on the table and said, "This is my best friend. I am married to my best friend." That means so much to me. I am so blessed.

Update

2011-07-11T10:08:00.000-10:00

There has been stuff going on. Not a lot of stuff, at least not so much to make me go crazy and feel like there isn't time to rest. I like that feeling. Frustratingly, I am not writing down all the cute and funny things the kids are saying or doing and I am forgetting it all.

To help spark my brain, I am hoping that if I post a picture, it will conjure up sweet memories and I can write down all the goodness that is taking place in our lives.

I painted the master bedroom one day when Todd was at work. I can't paint when he is at home because he is much better at it than I am (in the manner that I don't do it the way he does it). Either way it gets done and the end result is the same. I loved the color our room used to be but it just wasn't going well with the decor I currently had in there. There were high hopes, on my part, to do a complete transformation of the room, but with a budget of $20, a can of paint was easier to afford than the new bedding, furniture, draperies, etc.

You will see on the right side of the bed that I don't have a nightstand. Instead, I made a decorative chair work. It was in my "office" (a dark corner of the unfinished basement) but now I will just sit on a plastic yard chair when the moment arises that I can do officy things. The lamps were purchased using some birthday money my grandma gave me from one of my very favorite stores, Home Again in Midvale. Todd gave me a gift card to the store and I bought some amazing frames with artwork in them that I will show you another day when I have the dresser painted and a floral on top of it. For now, this is feeling a little bit homier to me and I don't stare at the ceiling wishing I hadn't taken down the wallpaper border because the pretty green paint didn't reach all the way to the ceiling.

Dakota, one beautiful summer morning, brought me Connor's bicycle helmet. I wasn't sure the boy knew what to do with it, but he kept grunting and bending his head down toward it, so I plucked it on.

Then he brought me all of the pads. The little munchkin left them all on for over an hour.

This is all I have to remember from my retirement party. Yes, I have retired from daycare. My three year run came successfully to a close and no children were harmed (physically) in the process. There was so much going on that week (Abi being sick and Todd at Youth Conference, and me re-doing his office), that on my last day of tending, I completely forgot to soak it all in and wallow in the goodbyes.

Dakota did eat that entire piece of pizza.

Todd and Connor have had some good bonding time. This was one of those moments where father and son played a game of baseball in the pool. Rounding the bases didn't take long and with a paddle like that strainer and a ball bigger than his head, Connor did come in contact with the ball a few times and they had a fabulous time. Todd will kill me for posting this picture. The farmer tan isn't is best look.

These two beauties are working on becoming best friends. Most days are better than others...lately. It's about time.

Oh, this was a VERY good day. Sunday, July 3rd. So we were sitting in sacrament meeting when our good friends, the Bigler's. slid into the pew with us! Sam had no idea what ward he was attending, and Heather had kept the whole thing a secret from him. Connor gave a wonderful talk in primary on the Nauvoo Temple and how his daddy got to work on the temple. I gave a lesson in Relief Society, and with Heather there, I persuaded her to sing a duet with me for old times sake. Heather has an incredible voice and I love the way our voices blend together. After church, we had them over for pizza and to continue Sam's surprise the Brady's showed up, then the Crenshaw's, and then our friends the Lazo's. It was such an incredible reunion with our ohana! The kids just picked up and played as though they had always known one another...kind of like how the adults did. The time went by too quickly.

The first Monday of each month, we get together with Todd's family for Family Home Evening. On this particular Monday, we put together hygiene kits to give to the humanitarian center. I was so proud of Carly and Abi as they really stuck with the assembly line and never stopped until we were done. The kids all had such amazing attitudes that it made the service project even that much more fulfilling.

Here is our little Abi girl. This picture was taken during a happier time for her. She has had a bout with her health lately. The short story is that she has a stone in her appendix that could very easily pass on it's own or it could block her appendix and she could eventually have appendicitis. We need to just be aware of the symptoms and at the first sign of them, get her into the ER. Also, her body is having a hard time building up the good bacteria in her bowels, so she can't have any dairy and is being forced (truly, we have to threaten her to get her to take them) to take acidophilus tablets 3xs a day.

Adam and Angie were in town for a friends wedding the beginning of June, so we took advantage of the good weather and mom's connections with the church and headed downtown to see the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, cut the ribbon celebrating 100 years of the Hotel utah. The feeling I get whenever I see the prophet is joyful, but the feeling of being in the same room with him is overwhelming. I can't help but know that the choices I am making in my life because of my desire to remain a strong and faithful member of this church are good and right. Thus bringing greater joy into mine and my family's life.

I remember doing this as a kid, at first, I wanted to tell them to stop. Fearing that one of them would slip and crack their head, or that a car would come rushing by and hit one of them. But I calmed down and remembered that I survived a lot worse than running in a ditch. No accidents by the time Tyson and Porter showed up for a playdate. However, I did make them stop, as Porter had just suffered a little accident of his own and I didn't want to be responsible for another trip to the ER for him.

Those two boys are so dang cute and easy to get along with. Connor and Tyson are the same age and Carly and Porter are too! Isn't it wonderful when you can have a built in playmate via a cousin? It's sad that we don't live closer together. I never lived close to any of my cousins growing up, but I still have fond memories with them and call them friends. I am sure the same will be said for these little ones.

Carly Belle is in the process of potty training. Some days are so much better than others (she just had an accident of the poopy nature...thank HEAVEN for pull-ups). However, it isn't the battle I recall it being with the other kids when I would try too early to potty train. We are taking it at a much slower pace. I am not even attempting to "potty train in a day." And it seems to be working for her.

One of the traditions with the extended Riches' family is to have a big breakfast and slip n' slide on the 4th of July at their house. We dine on incredible swedish pancakes smothered in dutch honey (yeah...not too AMERICAN) but it is American to eat and I ate a lot!

Dakota even took a try on the slide, but the puddle at the bottom of the hill was his very favorite. We finally found a pair of shoes that fit his square little footsies.

Here, Carly just wanted to pose. Love this busy little happy happy girl.

The night that we brought Abi home from the hospital, she got bit by a spider near her eye. She woke up in the morning and her eye was completely swollen shut. She said to me, "Mom, I think I am a pirate cuz I can only see out of one eye." We gave her some benadryl and the swelling went down a bit.

Uncle Ikey and his little buddy, Carly. Eating cookies.

Carly was playing with trash on the kitchen table the other day. She was deciding which things to throw away (her way of helping me clean the kitchen) and she would say, "Eeny meeny, miny, momo, catch a tiger like a fish. K, you are garbage cuz you are mean." Then she would put the item in the trash and do it all again until the table was cleaned off.

Isn't our handsome little Connor growing up? He has been trying our patience lately (odd, cuz he truly is one of the most perfect kids a parent could ask for). He has been grounded from the computer for over a week now. Problem is, once he gets started, he can't stop and a different person comes out. He tells us that his brain is moving too fast after he plays on the computer and he can't think right. I find it interesting that he knows he is not himself after he spends too much time playing on the computer or a video game at a friends house.

He picks up on so much, and with him grasping more than I am certain I ever did at his age, we have had a few adult discussions. The other day the girls were wrestling (my girls...really, not the boy! So different) and Carly's head landed in Abi's crotch. Connor yelled out, "Mom, Carly is doing special abuse to Abi." He meant sexual abuse. Needless to say, we revisited that conversation.

Suzy's in-law's invited us to come up to their place to see the fireworks. Dakota needed to sleep and Connor pulled an attitude, so Todd had to stay home with the boys while the girls and I went to see the fireworks with Grammy and Papa Bud.

Uncle Chris and James lighting the fireworks. Lots and lots of fireworks.

Abi said they were too bright, so Grammy let her wear her sunglasses. See that cute blanky? She got it from Primary Children's. We joke now that it's the blanket that cost us $5500. On the way home from the fireworks that night, Abi said, "I know why we shoot off fireworks. It's because we want our prophet to know how much we love him. And there were lots of fireworks tonight, so he will know that lots of people love him."

Bomb

2011-06-28T19:02:00.000-10:00

I had a big project I wanted to be finished by tomorrow, but it's turning out to be an epic failure.

Todd is in the process of starting his own business. It's slow going and I felt like he needed a boost and what better way to feel boosted than to walk into your very own office! Right? You know, I had major visions of a grand unveiling, like when Candice Olson welcomes a client into their home after she has spent just a day or two working on a particular room. It always looks soooooo incredible and complete down to the most minute detail.

Tomorrow, when Todd walks into his office I am going to have to say things like, (imagine me spreading my arms out in a gesture similar to the girls on the Price is Right) "Now, this is where all of your diplomas and certificates will hang, but they are still two weeks out from the framer." "Here is where your blinds will be, but I got them one inch too small and ran out of time to return them to Lowe's." Then of course there is, "I have a custom sign that has been made to match your totally amazing business cards, but the standoffs for installation are somewhere in Connecticut right now."

All of the painting was done yesterday. A beautiful gray. Not a brown gray, or a purply gray, a man's gray. It looks perfect! Today was to be spent putting the room together, accessorizing (cuz ya know how every man's office needs that) and building the two pieces of furniture needed from Ikea.

I turned on the TV to babysit the kids and put up every type of barricade I could to prohibit the entrance of little munchkins to ruin the space I had spent so long painting. Whilst they were happily singing along with Super Why, I plugged in the vacuum to get rid of all the spackling I had sanded onto the carpet. The vacuum was plugged. I ran up the stairs to grab the snake and began the quarterly process of unclogging our central vacuum. 30 minutes later, the floor was free of debris and ready for me to make it all dirty again! This time, the mess would come from the Ikea purchases (little did I know just how big that mess would be).

The excess cardboard and packing elements were placed near the stairs to be taken up to recycling on my next trip. I heard Abi laughing and joyfully telling me how much fun she was having with the snowball fight. At first I just said, "Oh, that's great." Then a few minutes later I stepped out of my construction mindset and realized it isn't winter and there most definitely isn't snow inside our house!

Carly had pulverized the strips of styrofoam and had encouraged the other 4 kids (it was a tending day for me..I know, worst babysitter EVER) to join in her merry-mess-making. My basement was covered in "snow." I took a deep breath and figured, ah, what the heck, the room needs to be vacuumed anyway.

Not five minutes later, Abi yelled out to me, "Mom, Carly pooped on the train table." I had recently changed her diaper, so I knew that it couldn't possibly be true. She didn't poop on the table, she wiped her poop on the train table. I LOST it! Made Carly come in and help me scrub the whole thing down. The whole time she kept telling me how sorry she was and crying. I believed her, but I was still fuming and she knew it. Once the wiping was done, she went to her room and cried herself to sleep. Being a mean mom makes me sad.

Back to the Ikea stuff. There are no words in those instructions. Pictures. Normally, I like pictures. They just weren't working for me today and I had to redo things a couple of times on the "bench" I was trying to put together. Got to the final part, putting in the drawers, and it didn't work.

I threw a tantrum like my kids taught me, said some naughty words. Kicked a drawer. Broke a piece off of the drawer. Told the kids I needed to cool off. Leave me alone. Took a shower to cool down and clear my head.

My dad called, I gave him my sob story and he promised to come to my aid once he was through with work. Still frustrated, I called an adorable neighbor girl to come over and watch the kids for a while so I could escape somewhere beyond the confines of my own home....Lowe's sounded good to me!

I was only there for a few minutes and had accomplished all I came to do. So then I did some more browsing at some other favorite shops like Home Again and Tai Pan Imports before I headed home with renewed energy to be a better mom and finish this office for my Toddy.

Shortly after my little get away, my dad came and repaired the damage I had done to the "bench." He is always there for me. So glad to be living within the same zip code as my parents.

The kids and I went into the backyard and played for a while. Dakota fell off of the porch. Carly fell off of the porch. I was pulling weeds in the garden and unknowingly stood on a pile of ants who were not happy with me there, so they bit me. A lot. Charlotte came over for a playdate that her "mom told her to come to." Her mom wasn't even home. I know, I had just visited with her mom. 20 minutes later her sister came over grateful to have found the missing child. I am just grateful that Charlotte comes to our place and not some strangers.

I do like being outdoors with the kids. We should get out more often.

We did the whole bedtime regime and I went back downstairs to focus wholeheartedly on the few things that I could complete on the project, but as stated earlier, the blinds I was installing are 1 1/2" too short. BLAH!!!! I just threw down the screwdriver, shut off the lights, closed the door and gave up.

The unveiling tomorrow when Todd comes home is going to be rather uneventful. Perhaps I won't even tell him that I did anything to his office, and maybe he won't use it for 2 weeks, and maybe then I can have the whole room put together and wave my arms all showcasey and razzle-dazzle him then.

Or maybe, he will go downstairs to use his office, walk in, laugh at what he sees, give me a big hug and laugh while saying, "Ahhh, I love you Mel." Cuz, in all reality, whenever I start a project, bombs like this explode and they never turn out like Candice Olsen's.

Todd has accepted it. Why haven't I?

So, I Was Wrong

2011-06-27T21:53:00.000-10:00

I was visiting with a friend of mine this afternoon about all the plans I have while Todd is away for Youth Conference and she asked me if I find it hard to get along when Todd is gone, to which I quickly replied, "No! It's great."

Here it is, 1am, and I can't sleep. My children are all sleeping soundly and have been for a few hours, but I just can't sleep. It could possibly be one of two things. 1) I feel safer when Todd is around or 2) I drank well over 60 ounces of Diet Soda today and the caffeine has yet to wear off.

Anyway! I took in so much caffeine willingly, thinking that I would be up all night painting, but by 10pm my final coat was on and I was free to sleep. But I can't.

There are maybe one or two occasions annually when Todd is away from home for more than 10 hours, so of course I think I can get along well without him. I never have to! Albeit, if he is actually at home on a Sunday morning, it does throw a major kink in the cogs of my weekly rush to get 4 kids and myself dressed and out the door in less than 2 hours.

However, tonight, I set aside our regular routine of having the kids in jammies, teeth brushed and prayers said by 8:00pm. The kids didn't seem mind the break from their normal regime, only tomorrow will tell what their moods will be like.

Do you remember, as a kid, going to sleepovers or being allowed to stay up late and the following day your parents would swear that a different child had possessed the body now dragging their feet around the house. I think both the kids and I will be like that tomorrow.

Todd aids in providing our home with structure and consistency. I love change (hence the reason I painted a room tonight and another one last week) and have a hard time remaining consistent at anything.

I tried to quit drinking soda. I went 4 days.

It's only been 15 hours since Todd has been gone and I am ready for him to return. Someone needs to be an adult in this household, and it obviously isn't me!

On that note, here are a few pictures of the kids during one of our play-dates last week. Consider it your reward for reading this!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-14T07:35:00.001-10:00

What a fabulous holiday weekend we had! Friday morning started out with a few very special visitors.

Miranda flew in from Honolulu to spend some time with her family, but (thank you Kunz family) I got to steal her away first for just a few short hours. Then Rachael and baby Mason showed up from Idaho Falls to spread the love. These amazing women are so special to me. For that matter, the time Todd and I had in Hawaii was so special to me. I was not prepared for the stretching and growth that would come during that time of my life, and these two were there for the a good portion of that journey. They have been there to dry my tears, laugh with me and help me appreciate the beauty in my surroundings (I mean REALLY appreciate it, if you live near a beach, you should go to it...often).

I am sure you have heard the quote before:

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go.

Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts

and we are never the same."

After a super yummy Arctic Circle lunch they had to go on their own way, and so did we. I had failed to tell Todd about our visitors (I wanted it to be a surprise) and we weren't ready to head out of town on our little families adventure until 4. Todd came home from work early so we could leave at 1, but we both agreed that it was well worth the delay.

The kids were very excited to get to drive in the truck for this trip.

Hey? What's wrong with a mini-van? Even kids at this age have a thing against them! We had heard that there were going to be delays up to 2 hours on I-15, so we took a road less traveled and followed the back side of Utah Lake. Sooooo peaceful and beautiful along that stretch of road. I have never taken it before and the kids loved seeing all of the animals.

We played the "I Spy" game and there is nothing to get you laughing quite like a round with a 3 year old who doesn't quite get the rules. Carly would say something like this, "I Spy with my little eye something that is blue and white and it's the sky."

When the animals faded from sight all we were left to guess were weeds and water. So on to the family songs to sing. Suffocation, Old MacDonald, The Final Countdown. You know, the norm.

I must admit, I enjoyed riding in truck-o too. Baby Boone got to sit right in between Todd and I for the whole ride and we would just kiss him and squish his cheeks and listen to him talk and laugh. That is the way to travel. Kids close by and happy.

The following morning the kids were thrilled to discover that Bruiser was out and they quickly got dressed so they could play with this dog-horse.

I have never been around such a gentle giant. I would imagine that if we were to get a dog, a Great Dane would be my personal choice.

We spent the weekend doing yardwork, riding the 4 wheeler, golfing (Yes, I golf. Not well. But I do love it), swimming and visiting the graves of the White side of Todd's family.

Grandma White got to cuddle with Dakota for a while.

Here we are in front of Grandma White's Farm House. This has always been one of Todd's favorite places to vacation. Upon arrival you can physically feel all of the stresses of life slip off of your shoulders and there is something in that air that makes you breath better and feel happier about life.

This is how Carly slept on the drive home. How do kids do it??????

Introducing Abi, the Model

2011-06-13T12:57:00.000-10:00

Have you been to this place lately?

Leatherby's needed some kids to come for a faux party when they were updating their web page and we were available to party!

Under the tab that says "stuff" you will see our little Abi girl. Under Birthday Parties are more of the kids and the main page is of the little girl I tend (the most photogenic little girl I have ever met). I have a photo too, under catering.

I have been catering for Leatherby's for almost one year now. It has been a very pleasant experience (I LOVE weddings) and it helps us to pay off Todd's education that is supposed to be paying off (sorry, I had to add the sarcasm). Todd is able to be home in the evenings with the kids, and I don't have to worry about finding a sitter. Id' call that a win-win situation (the occasional free ice cream helps too!).

Feeling Frumpy

2011-05-23T21:13:00.000-10:00

I stand in front of my closet and I hmph.

There are a few blouses that I love. I love them so much that I wear them once a week. That means there are 3.

There are a lot of old t-shirts hanging that I wear in between the days that the blouses are being washed free of Cheetos hand prints on the back or ironed from getting crumpled by sitting in the dryer too long.

However, for Mother's Day my truly handsome husband gave me a gift card to the second happiest place on earth: Gardner Village.

Friday night we went out for a little date and Todd declared the evening to be whatever I wanted. So we abandoned our children (to a babysitter) and visited about life on our way to the village. We shared soup and crackers then did what every man LOVES to do and waltzed in and out of every single quaint little shop.

I found a lamp. Simple gray silk drum shade. Classically styled gray ceramic base. A gray lamp that wasn't too grandma-ee. It got Todd's stamp of approval. It would be perfect for the dream I have for our master suite.

I didn't buy it.

The night where I was given the freedom to be selfish and I didn't buy a thing.

The gift card has been burning a hole in my hand-me-down yellow purse since then (a whole 2 days).

This evening we had to return to Gardner Village for a wedding reception. After hugs to the bride & groom and a sampling of refreshments, I asked Todd to take the boys to the van and assured him we girls would meet him in just a minute.

He knew what I was wanting to do. Sweet man didn't even stop me.

With one darling daughter in each hand, we scurried ourselves out of the rain and into Down to Earth and I scooped up that gray lamp as quick as possible.

Did you know that when you walk in the door, to the west are some of the most beautiful clothes I have seen (I haven't been shopping in a while)? Affordable too.

The lamp was half off, meaning I still had enough to buy myself a blouse. WAIT!!!!! I had enough to buy 2 blouses.

My little girls oohed and ahhed with me while I browsed through the racks. I think they were dreaming of being a princess probably just as much as I was. I selected a gossamer white 3/4 sleeve blouse with a vast array of buttons down the front and a white sash to tie around the waist and a sleeveless yellow chiffon top with three layers of lace and three layers of ruffles under that.

A princess! That's what I am going to feel like when I wear those shirts. I want to feel that feminine more often.

Hence, it is time to rid my closet of all things frumpy. However, I will s-l-o-w-l-y need to bulk up my already limited wardrobe. i.e. once I get a super cute top, get rid of a super callous one.

Please share with me some of your favorite (affordable) shops that are oozing with femininity (sashes, satin, sass, sparkles) that I might peruse and continue my princess dream.

A Birthday to Remember

2011-04-28T11:47:00.090-10:00

Our little baby boy turned one! One year. 365 Days. Yes, it has truly gone by too quickly. I think I finally understand now what all those parents mean when they say "Enjoy it while it lasts. They don't stay this way forever."

Of course, Dakota is the quintessential baby. Sleeps perfectly, has a happy disposition and he cuddles. He cuddles a lot.

An abundance of unsolicited advice has come at me through the years, but none so much as I have received in the 6 short years I have been a parent. Apparently, a few find me to be failing and feel it vital to my children's livelihood to pass it on. Especially complete strangers...in stores. It must feel good to tell people what they should be doing. To see how it feels, I am going to pass on some unsolicited advice. Maybe I will feel so empowered by it I will just keep it coming!

Treat each baby as though they are your first and your last.

I say "your first" because, at least with Connor, there was this very incredible realization that life is a miracle only God, Our Heavenly Father, could truly create. More miraculous is that He thinks we humans are capable of keeping one of these precious vessels alive and help them to flourish in a variety of environments.

Every time a new baby does something that shows their progression, it is something to celebrate. Ooh and Aah over. Call the grandparents and tell them just how amazing your baby is because they smiled at you...and it wasn't gas! Or the time they just stare at their hand realizing that they are in charge of moving it. Your first baby humbles you. Quickly.

Todd and I both feel as though our little family is whole now that Dakota is here and thus, we treat every baby moment completely different. I feel bad for the girls as I was so busy trying to keep the house clean, perfect my calling, keep up with my hobby, and make sure I was disciplining properly I failed to just sit and watch and be amazed every day.

With "my last" I cherished the nights Dakota would interrupt my sleep with the need to fill his little tummy. I would take him into the living room and keep him held close to me a little longer than necessary taking peace in thinking I would not have to do this again, and there was no need to get frustrated. There would be time to catch up on my lost sleep. Things don't bother me as much as they once did. Maybe it is a sense of closure to this chapter in my life.

Anyway....I can honestly say that I have loved every 525,600 minutes of Dakota's first year on this earth. Now I will prepare myself for the next year and all that comes with a toddler!

Happy Easter

2011-04-26T10:53:00.000-10:00

Here are our little divas prepped and ready for this special Easter Sunday. The morning meetings were cancelled, which meant I had Todd's help getting all of the kids dressed and ready for the morning..."oh the kind words we hear when mom's hot help is near." We were all at church and seated 15 minutes prior to the meeting and I never raised my voice that morning!!!

Sacrament meeting was beautiful with our former Bishops sharing their personal testimonies of the Atonement and Resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ and the choir (which Todd and I both participate in) sang wonderfully as adorable little Carly sat in the congregation smiling at me and giving me the thumbs up sign.

That evenings, we dined on a yummy spiral ham and ever-so-famous funeral potatoes, "tastes like an angel" creamed corn, fruit salad and always perfect Rhode's rolls with my mom and dad and our good friends, the Purba's and visited well into the night, while our children sat in the living room, each playing on some sort of apple device laughing together. Perfection (not the apple devices...although they are perfect, the whole being together part)!

On a completely different note, can you believe that our Little Baby Boone will be turning ONE on Thursday? Not me. I am not ready for him to move beyond the baby phase. He is an ideal little baby. I mean, look at him! He is almost always this happy (unless he is hungry or slammed his finger in a door).

Then there is this big guy.....see what happens when the kids get a hold of my camera.

Conster Monster will be participating in a dual immersion program next year spending half of his day learning math and science in Spanish. I am worried that some days he will come home from school and his face will look just like this out of frustration or over-stimulation. Oh well, his young brain will soak it all up and he will be all the wiser for it.

I hope all of you were fed as well as we were this Easter, both spiritually and physically.

Family Tree

2011-04-12T16:04:00.000-10:00

This week I will be teaching a mini-class for our monthly Relief Society meeting and my options were flower arranging or hanging pictures. As much as I love doing flower arrangements, I don't feel like I have done enough to be able to give tips or pointers. Hanging pictures is a very different story. I LOVE working on gallery walls and have been hanging pictures much longer, so I began the process of putting together a lesson.

I went to one of my favorite websites, www.lds.org and began to search articles that talked about the importance of having religious artwork in our homes as the constant images can have a lasting impact on those who spend time within the walls of our homes.

The talk that I kept coming back to was from an article in the Ensign in 1973! There was a paragraph that stated:
"Family galleries of photographs, artwork, and other visual objects can do much to develop attitudes of family unity. Good times can be recalled while warm feelings about the family can be reinforced."

Immediately I got excited remembering a project I had started at my Mother-In-Law's many years earlier, but for some lame reason, I never finished it (what kind of daughter-in-law am I?). I called her up excited to see if she still wanted to go through with our original plans and she said yes. So I enrolled the help of an incredibly handsome artist I know and told my MIL we would be over that night to finish what we had started almost 6 years ago (I know, nobody is going to ask me to help with a project ever again if I do things this slow).

So, with that intro, I am excited to show and teach you how to do your own gallery wall/family tree!

First, you must find that blank space just longing for some company.

Poor mom had pictures just scattered about on this wall (because of my procrastination) for a while. They looked so lost and out of place.

Then take all of those pictures and move them around on the

ground until they look somewhat cohesive and happy...

keeping in mind the whole time that a tree is supposed to be

growing somewhere amongst all of them.

Now you must gather all of the tools necessary to begin the layout on the wall

which can then lead to the incredible free handed tree.

Pictures. You and those looking at the wall will probably be happiest if the pictures have one unifying element, in our case, they were all done in a sepia tone.
Newspaper or kraft paper to tear out templates of your frames. Believe me, it is easier to move these around then pounding a bunch of holes into the wall after.
Masking or painters tape to tape the templates on the wall.
Pencil for drawing a little tiny dot where you think the nail should go, after the tree is painted, of course. Thankfully, with this kind of gallery precision is NOT key and eyeballing it is good enough. You will probably use it to draw the tree too.
Scissors to cut out craft paper in case tearing along edge of frame doesn't go smoothly.
Cell phone to carry on hilarious text conversation with friend from Hawaii, it's good to laugh during something like this.
Bottle to keep baby occupied, however, the newspaper will do a better job.
Paint and various sizes of paint brushes

Now it is time to tape those templates onto the wall.

This is where my artist came in handy.

At this point he sauntered downstairs and after a brief description

of what I envisioned for this family tree, he effortlessly penciled one on the wall.

Then you take a paint brush and start at it.

Todd did more of the detailed stuff like the intricate ends of the branches and the leaves

with a very thin brush and I just swabbed on all the bigger branches,

my leaves turned out to look like "paddles," can you guess which ones were mine?

The last and most exciting step of all is nailing just one hole per picture into the wall,

hanging them up and then standing back and smiling from ear to ear

because it turned out better than you had expected.

If I might remind you of the paragraph above;

"Family galleries of photographs, artwork, and other visual objects can do much to develop attitudes of family unity. Good times can be recalled while warm feelings about the family can be reinforced."

What I appreciate the most about this wall is that many of the pictures show the kids smiling and participating in activities with their family members that have "developed and attitude of family unity" amongst all of them. I am so blessed to be a part of the Riches family and spend time in this home where love abounds and laughter is always present.

Time to Change Nests

2011-04-10T12:11:00.000-10:00

Todd needed an office. A room that he could escape to when the world had given him a thumbs down, a room that he could feel like the Doctor of Architecture that he is (the profession hardly seems to notice).

Seeing as how Carly now shares a bed in space with her brother, the basement bedroom was free for the taking.

I had a hard time surrendering the space as I was in LOVE with the little tree and birdies that had made their home down there. I tried convincing Todd that they would only be there to whisper words of encouragement and possibly inspiration, but he wasn't feeling it.

On Friday, I found a new home for the nests and birdies. Does this room look familiar?

Yes, the birdies had to undergo a type of reconstructive surgery AGAIN, but they have all adapted well. However, the occupant of the human nature continues to inform me that she wants her walls to be purple. Maybe I can dangle that carrot over her head when she isn't "acting as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside."

Todd is slowly putting together the office and someday when I find the right shade of gray we will paint his cave and he will truly feel inspired and the whisperings of encouragement will, instead, come from art on the walls that hopefully he has drawn.

When I Grow Up

2011-04-05T08:10:00.013-10:00

When I was around the age of 12 I loved babysitting. I had read all of the Babysitter Club books and had even made myself a babysitting kit full of krafts and games and treats. I knew that I was going to incorporate these skills into my future job as mother.

I was going to be the worlds best mother. Let's see if I have satisfied the twelve year old babysitter inside of me with a game of THEN & NOW.

THEN: Daily practice of Sacrament Meeting. 15 minutes sitting quietly on the couch daily.
NOW: Connor prefers to sit with a beautiful sister in our ward whose husband is in the Bishopric so she sits alone. Todd gets Dakota, as there is some magical quality Todd's arms possess and the baby falls right asleep in them, as if he were in my own arms, sleep would never come. Therefore, I am left to deal with the two sisters who rarely play well together. I spend sacrament settling fights over who gets to pretend to be the pink pony and who gets to color with the light purple versus the dark purple.

THEN: Regularly scheduled naps/quiet time
NOW: The twelve-year old is very proud of me. Do not disturb this household between the hours of 1pm and 3pm. Dakota and Carly nap while Connor and Abi read or do homework.

THEN: Game time each and every day
NOW: Though it may not be everyday, we play games! Lots of them. Hide and Go Seek is my personal favorite as that is when my kids say and do the funniest things. "Yodelay-Yodelay-Yodelay-Hee-Hoo. I'm in the bathroom (or closet or bucket)" always stated by Carly. The other day I was hiding and when Abi quickly found me she said "Mom, that's not a very healthy hiding place." I was by the couch, I think she meant "good hiding place." Connor: "You're not doing it right. You are supposed to not be peeking! That's it. I'm not playing with you (said to Abi)!" Rocket man is another favorite of the smaller group as my weak legs can't flip Connor over my head so easily. Red Light, Green Light, throw in a Purple Light or Pink Light.

THEN: Regular story time. Me sitting on the sofa with kids sitting perfectly round me feet on the floor.
NOW: Somebody cries because they don't like the story soandso wants to read, I only have two sides and four kids wanting to see the pictures so two kids end up crying (usually Dakota because I have to put him somewhere that pages can't be ripped and Abi because she isn't willing to push her way to my lap). Stories do get read, but I prefer one on one.

THEN: Daily singing time, The Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Primary Children's Song Book
NOW: Oh yeah, we sing EVERY day! "You..make..me...feel like I'm living a...teen...age...dream" When I heard those words come out of my 4 year olds mouth I quickly made a station on Pandora that is strictly for kids full of Disney songs and feel good music. Perhaps the sweetest moment came on Sunday when I sat down at the piano and began to play "I Am A Child of God." Abi stood by my right side and sang the entire song so perfectly. Then Carly came in to join on the second verse and tears came to my eyes knowing that these little girls know this song better than any they may hear on the radio.

THEN: Dancing has always been important to me, my girls would tap.
NOW: The dances my girls prefer doing have been taught to them by the Dancey-Dance Bunch or Angelina Ballerina. They don't love it when mom tries to teach them a shuffle-ball-change or buffalo, but as long as they dance and the moves are appropriate, I don't care who teaches them!

THEN: Most importantly to me was the daily craft.
NOW: I like to think I am crafty, and a daily craft is still very important to me. TO ME!!!! I do need to have a daily craft, that I complete, by myself, in the confines of my corner in our unfinished basement. A little bit of me-time or therapy.

The mess, the melt-downs, and the fights that ensue when trying to incorporate the 4-8 children I may have at any one time in my home has turned me away from the dream of regular craft time. My poor childhood dreams, CRUSHED by none other than me.

Sidenote: I just got off the phone with my sister-in-law who mentioned how she wished that she did as many projects with her kids as I do with mine. Ha! I quickly assured her that she had a skewed image of me and would soon see after she read this blog post.

Thankfully, with the help of a few friends and a family member who possibly has the same dreams as I once did (however, fewer or no children) came to my children's rescue and presented to me the idea of some crafts this week. They provided the materials, I just provided the location and most of the children.

First, my friend Jessi who has two very boyish boys and home-schools her brilliant 6 year old came over with a science experiment of creating structures using only marshmallows and spaghetti. Here are the successful images from this moment-o-fun:

The crafty project was suggested by my sister and she knew the kids would love to make these. She was right. Those kids with paintbrushes in hand, had a fabulous time.

Thanks to the women who have fewer children in their lives and think to do these projects, otherwise, they might only be completed on a quarterly basis around her. Heck, I might even consider two projects in one week just as good as getting crafts out of the way until August (wow, that makes me sound kind of bah-hum-buggy). Don't get me wrong. I do love me a good craft. I do love seeing my kids enjoy their creative works-of-art afterwards. Connor was placing mini-egg treats inside of his chicky and each egg had an important part to play. One was the brain, one was the tongue, one was the spit and the other egg was just an egg (curse you Suzy...Connor just asked if we "could do an activity, like build some Easter Bunnies").

In defense of myself, each of these kids has been blessed with very creative brains and daily, they do things and create artworks out of ordinary objects in the home. THAT is what brings me the greatest joy, seeing their little minds at work by turning an ordinary egg-carton into a laptop or using their body as a canvas for a self-portrait and even teaching their pillow-pet to read.

My craft times might not be as awesome as the ones I have starred in my google reader as "to do someday", with those twelve-year old plans still there in the back of my mind. But, the kids are doing great and amaze me daily with the things they come up with! I can't take any credit for that, but I will do my best to keep encouraging their individual attempts and most importantly encourage my self to "be" more and not worry about "doing" more, as we were encouraged during General Conference.

This Is Normal?

2011-03-16T13:09:00.000-10:00

After the experiences I had with Carly over the weekend, I decided I needed to look for some new methods of discipline and communication that might work better for both of us. I went to the wonderful world wide web to look for books that I could check out from my local library that might give me that inspiration.

The book I came to choose seemed to fit my child in title only (so much for "don't judge a book by its cover) "Raising Your Spirited Child." Carly is often times described as a "firework" or "ball of energy." So, "spirited" seemed to fit right in. I got 27 pages into it when I learned something relieving and disturbing. Carly was not, by definition of this author, spirited (relieving). She is a normal child (disturbing).

What was disturbing to me was having my mother tell me on Sunday that Carly is "not too different from her mother." Here, all my life, I had been brainwashed to believe I was the "perfect child." I believed I never caused my mother any heartache or pain and that I was happy, peaceful, cute, squishy and agreeable. Or in one word PERFECT. I now, at the age of 31, know that I was not perfect.

Isn't my mother amazing, being able to string me along for all of these years boosting my confidence by allowing me to feel like I was such an easy child. She recently confessed an experience from my early-childhood where I was being stubborn one morning and got mad at her when she put sugar on my cereal and in one of her rare moments of frustration (see, my mom is still perfect in my eyes) she told me that I was an "ugly, ugly child." It still haunts her and she still feels bad for saying that. I do not recall the experience. I was not scarred (therefore giving me hope that I have not yet scarred my children).

The truthful stories of me as a rotten, snot-nosed child rear their ugly little heads each time I share with my mother a scene from the day before that I had suffered through with Carly (or Abi...but never Connor or Dakota). Like the time I cut my hair, or ran down a busy street, or re-arranged the furniture in a neighbors house or didn't deliver the newspapers on my route to the houses but instead the dumpster.

I got what I was. I have been told that I was a normal child. (If that is normal, then what is Connor?)

The relief came when I realized that Carly is "normal" and that like every other child, you have to fish around and experiment with different methods of communication and discipline. All parents know that "what works for one child probably won't work for another." And the ever so popular "it's a phase" phrase comes in to play quite often when speaking with other parents who have waded through these murky waters.

Each of the kids faces and body language captures their personalities perfectly in this picture!

So I dedicate this post to all of those parents who have had to face the challenge of discovering different communication and discipline techniques with their own offspring. As well, I plead with you to share with me what worked best for you when your super-duper-happy-as-a-clam-silly-as-a-goose-carefree-as-a-bird child acted like a three year old and didn't listen or obey.

What Once Was Blonde...

2011-03-07T09:16:00.001-10:00

...Now is Brown

Welcome to McDonald's

2011-03-02T10:27:00.008-10:00

At least, that is what Abi calls her little "store." She will greet you kindly from behind the counter and invite you to sit on her bed for a spell while she makes you french fries and gets you a Diet Coke.
Making this little table skirt for Abi took more time than I had imagined (life beckons and sassy skirts must be put on hold), and despite the fact that it is just a hair too small, I am happy with the outcome, mostly because Abi is happy with the outcome. It was necessary to borrow two sewing machines for this project because 1) I don't own one and 2) my mom's machine is missing a zipper foot which was necessary for the piping. I had to cover the small table that used to hold a television, that is now in the room that Connor and Carly share (I know, the tiles say Abi and Carly and someday I hope they can share a room, but right now, that's not an option we can take as drama pursues between the two siblings). There is this cardboard type backing and Dakota was trying his darndest to take it off, and seeing as how Abi got attached to the table being in the location it was at (I had moved it only to vacuum behind it's original location) I just couldn't move it. I made sure that the side nearest her had a slit in the middle for easy access to all of her imaginary fixins' (and learned yesterday that the bottom shelf makes for a great place for little girls to tuck away and hide themselves in). Now she has her own fun little play corner and I can get my daily dose of "Diet Coke" imaginary or otherwise.
You may recognize the lamp on the table from here. It was repurposed one more time before it became the girly lamp it is now. Connor had it in his room for a while and each panel was covered in a different colored paper rocket. I love things that are so easily morphed into something else (unlike my arms which have yet to be easily morphed into something akin to Kelly Ripa's).

Please Note: I will not be showing a close-up of the table skirt as I know there are many of my friends and family members who are much better at sewing than I am and I would rather they not see my skill-less-ness under that type of magnification.

What a Mess!!!

2011-02-22T09:57:00.008-10:00

There are some messes in life that you don't want to clean up, like the little perfect handprints on my dresser mirror from baby Boone, who is growing up way too fast for my liking. Sometimes I find myself wishing that I had a little flower I could sing to like Mother Gothel (see Tangled) did for herself, but my flower would keep Dakota at the age he is (maybe a month younger, when he was less mobile).

Another mess I found myself cleaning today had me grinning from ear to ear and reflecting on the past 9 years of my life. Todd and I have been so incredibly blessed with the friendships we have made in all of our travels. But when we first moved to Hawaii, we bonded with a few couples who were all in the same boat we were. Starving, lonely students at the University of Hawaii with no immediate family close by and only a ward family to cling to. Cling we did! Strangely enough, many of us have ended right back here in Utah, and try as we might, we get together every once in a while for a Family Home Evening (we miss those who are in other states and countries...you know who you are!).

Last night, it was the Riches' turn to host. This means that we provide a lesson (Connor came up with the idea to talk about "the guy on the penny and the guy on the quarter because they were presidents and today is president's day), activity and treat. Todd had just had a very successful Young Men/Young Women/Elder's Quorum activity that they called "Man VS Food." So we attempted our own hand at a Saltine Cracker challenge.

First up were the little kids age 6 and under. Their challenge was two eat two saltine crackers and then recite their ABC's in under one minute (okay, so I might get into things a little more than your average Joe).

Next up were the kids over the age of 6. They were to eat six saltine crackers in under one minute.

And finally, the daddies had to impress not only their wives, but their children with the same six saltines in under sixty seconds challenge.

As you can see, the Buchert's reign supreme in the food challenges! I am sure that there will be some kind of re-match this summer.

The mess I was cleaning while remembering last night was the equivalent of one bag of saltine crackers on the kitchen floor. Just imagine, the mess that Eden and Soren would have made by themselves at a gathering almost 10 years ago was no grander than a mess that 13 kids made in just 3 minutes, but it means a whole lot more looking back at where we started and where we are now (here is where I imagined we would be and we are close to it: Martin winning the nobel prize in something with big words I don't understand; Becca writing a New York Times bestseller; Rory having 2 patents on something with radio frequencyish things; Jodi getting a teaching degree while being a mother of 5; and Todd running his own firm...there is still hope).

I had been on the church website earlier that day and they had listed some of people's most memorable Family Home Evenings, and this one will definitely be going down in the history books as one of mine. Oh wow....I just realized that this moment was almost as sweet and cheesy as one of those church commercials. I wouldn't wanna go changing on ya. Just staying true to who I am.

Reconnected

2011-02-09T11:41:00.006-10:00

This is me, typing on a computer in my own home with the internet. Sitting next to me is a cell phone that has a data plan and texting and all of those other technologically advanced things that I have been living without for a while (a Christmas present from Todd). I must admit now, that I am scared to have all of this at my fingertips.

You see, I lack self control. I have been a better mother the last...who knows how long....since I have not had the internet and cell phone and stuff. I spent my spare time reading books to the kids, keeping the house clean, and playing games/dancing/napping with the kids. I recall a time when I would blog almost daily and when the internet went away, that time spent at the keyboard typing away bits of information that most people really don't find interesting and that I hoped someday my children would find interesting, was replaced with stuff I know means more to my children now than any rant about motherhood ever could.

I promise to only waste time on the computer when the house has been cleaned, kids have been kissed, fed and read to, and nothing else more important is pressing on me.

I thought I would post some recent pictures of my family. Hmmmm...when the fourth child comes along the camera comes out less frequently. I have only taken 6 pictures with my camera since Christmas. Do you know who gets the brunt of this? Poor Dakota, I failed to take a picture of him on his blessing day in the most adorable outfit that belonged to his Uncle Isaac. I will never forgive myself for that. Of course, I could never put him in it now and "pretend" like it is from his blessing day as he has packed on another 10 pounds. You wanna see where all the pounds piled on?

His legs. It may be freezing cold here in the winter, but if we are indoors, the pants come off for all the free squishes he can get.

This kid is all Riches. You can see that he will be our first baby with either hazel or brown eyes. Just like his daddy!

Seems like something is now more pressing...time for dress-ups! I'm going to go and help "Batman" rescue his "princess" from certain death by her "wicked step-sister."

So, It's Been A While

2011-01-05T06:11:00.012-10:00

A few holidays have come and gone:

Abi as a princess for Halloween...Carly was a princess too, but she was too busy running around to get a clear shot of her as Cinderella.

Todd played the role of Capt. Jack Sparrow...eyeliner and all!

And Baby Boone was the ever famous Giraffe

(all three kids have suffered through this bizarre costume their first Halloween).

I just now realized that I will have to add a picture or two from Christmas another day, as I don't have the proper equipment to transfer them from my camera...but we did have a Christmas...and a New Year's (I was sick and we were all asleep and in bed by 9:30pm).

Do you wonder why I failed to mention Thanksgiving? Because I feel as though it fits into a totally different category that deserves its own name.

One word.

DISNEYLAND!!!!!

Oh no....I put the wrong pictures on this thumb drive (someday we will have the internet at our own home and I will have access to the pictures where they are all saved)! No pics of Disneyland, but plenty of Newport Beach and one of Medieval Times:

Poor Connor, he developed a brutal bug the first day of the trip and spent

most of the time feverish, tired and lethargic.

He fell asleep DURING the show!

Carly had to bury herself in the sand.

Abigail...she worries me sometimes.

She is only four and already has some pretty racy poses down.

Here is the fam...minus the photographer. I failed to mention that we went with the ENTIRETY of Todd's immediate family and it was a blast! We could never have managed a trip like that on our own, as it took one adult per child (thanks to all those sibs who took one of our kids). I spent a lot of the time counting to make sure that our four little ones were close at hand and someone in the family always had a grip or eye on a child. I am so grateful for Ken & Tonya making this trip possible. It was such fun for us all to be together and a truly memorable Christmas present that our kids talk about daily.

I had to take a pause in writing for a moment and kiss this little baby:

Happy, Mellow, Sweet, Tender, Small, Loving, Cuddly.

Those are all words that can describe this amazing little boy. You may be questioning the whole "small" thing, but he is the smallest of all of our babies! Weighing in at only 25 lbs right now (he is 8 months and the others weighed that at 7 months) he has yet to master consistently sleeping through the night. He has two very sharp bottom teeth and those top teeth are peeking through the gums, just waiting to burst through and bite anything that they can. This child has been such a blessing to our family and he loves everyone he meets.

Speaking of teeth, there is another boy in our family with teeth peeking through the gums:

We are forbidden to wiggle the bottom teeth. He refuses to wiggle them himself. I sure hope he eats something that gets that tooth out of there, cause if it is up to this "tough" little boy to wiggle it out, it may never happen. Connor is excelling in school and loves to read. He has read the owners manuals to both vehicles (informs us regularly of the standard features they are equipped with) and keeps the little instruction papers for every toy he ever gets, including the ones from McDonald's. This near-perfect boy makes his bed every day, without being asked and usually makes his sister's (Abi) bed too.

His sister, Abi, she is all girl.

Girlfriend is learning her letters and has mastered her numbers up to 10. This teeny little thing loves to sing and dance almost as much as her sister, Carly. Abs is a ring-leader. If something in the house has gone awry, she can usually be found pushing someone to take the fall or whispering something in someone's ear to tell me, like "go tell mom you are hungry." She did make the very adult decision to have her hair cut like Carly's and I think she looks fabulous with the shorter bob. That girl has the thickest hair. I think it is the age (no...it's just her) but there is a lot of drama and breakdowns over little things. I am learning to work through them with her, but I am open to any suggestions on how to cope or help her through this challenging phase of life.

Carly Belle is a TEASE!!!

Life is a game and to her, she is the winner as longs as she is smiling, laughing, dancing, singing or playing. With that said, she is a sore loser and when she loses, the world knows it...kind of like her angry phase when she was a baby. However, she did celebrate her 3rd birthday in November and is so glad to finally be three. She graduated nursery and entered primary and we are also beginning the potty training thing...Abi has more success with Carly than I do, so I am just letting Abi take the reigns on this one. Besides, it as seemed to bring the girls closer together than ever before.

As for myself, I helped a little bit with a few small touches of my sisters recent wedding (and maybe ruined a picture or two, just by being in them):

Helped with a little production at Christmas Time for our ward's Relief Society doing "Women at the Well." Developed three sinus infections this winter and been working out at the gym when I am not sick trying to get rid of all the baby weight. For Christmas Todd got us cell phones! Yeah! I feel so up with the times, almost (I am totally lacking in the whole wardrobe department, but that could be my fault seeing as how I lack a sense of fashion...note the gloves in the wedding picture).

Todd (last the best of all the game) has FINALLY accomplished the last feat of this long and bumpy road to "architect."

He passed his final licensing exam, so if you know of someone who wants to do an addition, or build a home and they need something done by a licensed architect, Todd is available. He also was recently placed as the Young Men's President in our ward and seems to be keeping up with those very sporty boys. We will see what this summer does to him with all the camp-outs and hikes and such.

So as you can see life is just what it is supposed to be and we are living it. We hope you all have a very prosperous new year and that you will try to cling to those tender mercies of the Lord that are always so apparent in our lives when we just look for them. They will always help us get through those tough times that each of us will face.

What's New?

2010-10-05T14:43:00.008-10:00

In the decorating realm:

With the addition of a new child, I had to figure out how to put four pictures on the entry wall. Nothing beats a little bit of 3 dimensional creativity (I used screws instead of nails to make the two pictures on top "pop" out and also act as supports for the bottom of the frames.

In the Abi realm:

The little miss had her 4th birthday. She received a very foofy skirt from her grammy and some sparkly silver slippers from her folks. Grandma & Grandpa gave her $4 that she is eagerly saving for Disneyland.

In the Connor realm:

This little bugger started Kindergarten! He is loving school and is picking up on everything so quickly. He begs to do his homework as soon as he gets home from school...how long do you think this will last?

In the Carly realm:

It was time to say good-bye to the last of the "curly belle" that lingered in Carly's hair.

We said hello to a peppy little bob that just fits her spunky personality much better.

In the Dakota realm:

He loves to hear his own voice, and he surely has one. He is incredibly strong and break out of the "houdini hold" that I attempt to swaddle him in each night to keep him from batting the binky out of his mouth.

At his 4 month appointment he was weighing in at 15 pounds (the others weighed in around 20 at this point). He has discovered that he has other appendages and that he has the capability to maneuver them.

In the Todd realm:
Two more licensing exams to go! We would truly appreciate your prayers so that we can cross this thing off of Todd's "list of things to do."

In the realm of Mel:
I got to take a quick little jaunty to Denver to help my sister-in-law with some decorating (she had her first little girl and needed a pink nursery to show for it...I guess a little baby girl isn't enough).
I have started working every once in a while catering for Leatherby's at weddings.
My sister, Suzy (a.k.a. Karen) is getting married in November, so I have been busy making books and cards and stuff for the wedding (you know how I love to do that kind of stuff).

A Little Update

2010-08-27T13:28:00.002-10:00

Here is a picture of our newest addition at a whopping 4 months of age. Believe it or not, he is the smallest of any of our little kids, the super-duper cuddliest and it looks like he will NOT have blue eyes. Maybe Todd's genes were stronger this time around.

Oh, how I love these two boys. Dakota loves to stand and be a part of all the action. He is quite the talker and gabs and goos most of his waking moments. We truly only hear him cry when he is hungry or been bothered by an older sibling.
This adorable little guy was up at 7am and dressed and packed for a "Bald Eagles" outing with his grandpa Riches and cousins. Too bad they weren't picking him up until 3pm. This is him at 9am. The excitement had already worn him out. When I checked his backpack, he had remembered to pack his pajamas and a toothbrush and toothpaste....and the cup to rinse with.
Litte Kota has only one flaw...he sleeps like a baby. He is wide awake from around 2am-5am every morning. Happy as can be, talking and talking. Not so awesome for the mom that is starting to wear down from the continuous nights of broken-apart sleep.
Finally, a picture of all four of our beauties together.
Connor starts kindergarten this fall and I am ecstatic! He was tested on Thursday and I must boast...out of the 52 site words, he got 45 right. He has such a thirst for learning. My most favorite thing from his mouth lately? "It's too late, we're gonna die" sung to the chorus of "It's too late to apologize."

Little miss Abi needs to be put in gymnastics and soon before she breaks her neck. Just today she did a headstand against the living room door and then pushed herself up into a hand-stand without any help. She is also trying to master her backbend. I had to tell her to stop or she would wear out her wrists.

Carly Belle is energetic and loves to sing...all the time. Girlfriend loves her Yo-Gabba-Gabba. So I looked into tickets (cuz they will be here around her birthday) ummmm, who knew a children's group could get so much for a ticket. We'll just keep checking the videos out from the library. Bring on the dancey-dances! She's got most of them down.

Todd is still super busy with work and I don't get to see a whole lot of him. He is working on a project at the University of Utah. He has two more licensing exams to take, so please send positive thoughts and deep prayers his way.

I am me and doing the same ol' things.

Dakota Boone Riches

2010-04-29T23:00:00.003-10:00

Born Wednesday April 28th, 2:24pm
8 pounds 6 ounces
20.5 inches long

Some pics of the Kids

2010-03-27T05:36:00.007-10:00

The other night, our neighbor (who happens to be an amazing photographer) called up and asked me when the last time I had the kids pictures taken professionally. HAH! When Connor and Abi were wee ones in Hawaii for Easter...that's when. So we quickly gussied up the kids and ran over to have him take some quick shots. Here are the end results of our little munchkins (of course, Carly wouldn't sit still for a single picture, so hers are all of her being a ballerina...too cute to not post them all):

As far as our lives go, things are well. Todd spends his days at work drawing up the plans for the new Pharmaceutical School at the University of Utah and his evenings at the library studying for his licensing exams (2 down, 5 to go). He makes up for his absence on the weekends though by playing with the kids and hanging out at home.

I am 5 weeks away from my due date and despite the last three pregnancies having been a walk in the park and no nuisance, I am done with this one. Tired....achy....uncomfortable. Yes, I know, I should cherish every single moment of this miraculous creation...I'll work on that. But truly, life is quite nice and mellow for me. I wouldn't change it for the world.

Connor is reading like crazy and asking how to spell EVERYTHING. He will love kindergarten! We got him registered and all the shots and good stuff done. When they took him to do his eye exam, the nurse said that they usually use flash cards with pictures, but they were missing. She asked if I thought he could read the letters off of the standard eye exam chart. Never knowing how one's child will perform I responded with "I think so." Connor blew us all away when he started giving the sounds the letters make instead of naming the letters. He was also bored with the pace she was taking it at and he just started reading them all from top to bottom.

He passed his eye exam.

Abigail is in an awkward and emotional phase. If she gets it all out now, maybe when she turns 13 it won't be so rough. She is really into imaginative play and can sometimes be a little on the bossy side. Did I tell you that she is potty trained? Yeah! It took about two weeks of regular accidents and the like, but she's got it down.

Carly Belle is in the greatest stage of her life. Happy Happy Happy! It is so contagious. She is repeating everything we say (like the other night while watching American Idol and she yelled at the TV "Ah, Come On"). She is trying her best to get along with her siblings, however, her teasing nature sometimes gets in the way and the other two don't quite get it.

Hopefully the next pics I post are of our newest addition! Wish us luck.

Some Pics and Events from 2009

2010-01-16T08:01:00.004-10:00

Here Carly and I are on Christmas Day. We enjoyed a nice and slow morning at our own home and the kids relished in ripping the wrappings off of their presents. The holidays are so much more enjoyable when you can watch a little child's eyes light up from something as simple as a new toothbrush. Those little kids appreciate the smallest things in life. Who cares about the big ticket items when you can have your own box of cereal, a new toothbrush and enough candy to last you a month. I will soak up these simple and easy holidays while I can, there is only a matter of time before they start wishing for bigger, better, more...unless I can do a good enough job of raising them that the issue of getting is not as important is giving and remembering the real reason of this holiday season.

Santa came and paid a visit to the kids here at our house one evening before Christmas just to make sure that they truly were on their best behavior...Carly wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. Connor asked Santa "Do you know Papa Bud? You sound a lot like him. You should meet him." How much longer do you think Santa can come and visit before the charade is up? Papa Bud is Santa...smart little guy we've got there.

Did you think I had forgotten about Halloween? I didn't. All three of the kids had a lot of fun (despite the expression on Connor's face) and got to dress up quite a few times. Carly was Minnie Mouse, Connor was a parrot (yes, the same parrot he was last year, at his own request) and Abi was a princess.

Todd took two weeks off around Christmas and the time we had to spend together as a family was wonderful. We slipped away to Richfield for three days and spent them with Todd's grandparents and his mom. It was a peaceful and relaxing little get-away. Todd and I have decided that with children in tow, there is no such thing as a "vacation" only "trips" or "family outings." Anything with kids involved takes a lot more effort than can truly be tagged as a vacation. None the less there was a fabulous snow storm, so the kids went sledding (I have yet to acclimate to this Utah winter weather) explored the farm, went for tractor rides, fed the horses, and just took time to remember what it is that we like about each other.

The New Year has gotten off to a somewhat slow and uneventful start (my mom just reminded me that at this time last year Carly had just broken her leg). No major bodily injuries of that nature...yet. Carly is giving us a run for our money and I have to keep reminding myself that the other kids did things like her too...but they didn't. Truly, she loves mischief more than the other two. I don't know which stories to write about here...I would rather save them for her blog, but to give you a minor glimpse...drawing on the fridge with a crayon, then the walls, then the floors. Not once, but everytime she finds a crayon (thank heaven for the Magic Eraser...she's gotten really good at using it). Pouring water on top of her dad's laptop. Hitting, shoving and teasing her older brother & sister.

Connor is the ever-eager learner and loves to write and illustrate his own stories. He is eager to help (most of the time) around the house and has just started the tattling phase of life. Sometimes it is helpful, other times it is just annoying. Preschool has been wonderful for him and I love seeing the little projects he comes home with and the explanations of what he has learned. He also has a terribly active imagination and can usually be found running around the house in a costume of some kind being an alter-personality.

Abigail is still rather whiny and emotional (whining right now, actually). I hope that she is getting all of her hormones in check right now because if it only escalates from here til we get to puberty...Todd and I are in for a terribly traumatic time. Just after the holidays I attempted the potty training thing again. We aren't 100% with it, but she has more successes than failures...phew, just one more to get out of diapers (and then comes another one). Abi does have some very endearing qualities. She sings and sings and sings and makes up her own songs and they are fabulous....no chorus' yet and nothing you would ever hear on the radio (and they usually involve death or something dark). And, being the girly-girl she loves having her hair done, lip gloss on and being clean.

Todd is working hard at EDA and also on a small side project drawing up beautiful plans for a home he and his brothers plan on building in the spring. He does a really good job balancing his time (between work, studying for licensing exams, church calling,and other stuff) though, and tries to be home before the kids get into bed. Connor and Abi have made it a habit to be awake when he leaves for work so they can say good-bye...sometimes that it 6:30am. No sleeping in around our place.

I have taken up reading. Lots and lots of reading. With no internet at home and tending (so no major outings) I find the simplified life rather enjoyable. I am also working on a few sewing projects right now.

Life is good. We may be poor, but aren't the poor people sometimes the happiest? I feel bad when Todd comes home with the weight of the world on his shoulders because their isn't enough money in the account to live the life that would allow us to spend money when we wanted to and on what we wanted. If only he understood that the kids and I have everything in the world we need. A comfortable roof overhead, enough food that we aren't losing any weight, and clothes on our backs and a dad/husband that makes us laugh every day.

2010 is off to a humble start...isn't it the humble circumstances that the most personal growth comes from? I am excited to see what it brings and what kind of person I can become.

It's A Boy!

2009-12-13T16:08:00.003-10:00

Baby #4 is going to be a boy. What a way to even out the numbers!

Fall

2009-10-22T10:30:00.002-10:00

Looking out my back window is the world's most vibrantly yellow tree. It's as if there is always sun shining through that window even when the skies are dark and gray. I have loved watching the transformation of my neighbors tree. At first I found it rather odd that only one small branch had a cluster of yellow leaves and the remainder were kelly green. Over the course of two weeks the tree has transformed into this big ball of happiness. It cheers me up every time I look out that window. I love fall!!! And, as a side note, I think every living soul should visit New England during the fall at least once in their lifetime. There is nothing like it.

Transformations...there has been some of that going on around our place. What with the access to the internet having been cut out of my life, I have truly "un-plugged." It has been one of the most freeing transformations in my life. I can't help but feel that I am a better person...however, my husband and kids may disagree. Another transformation has been taking place at the same time.

I am through with my first trimester and this pregnancy has probably been the hardest on myself and my family (which is pretty pathetic considering the horror stories I have heard from many of my other friends....I am a wuss). I have not been myself (you know, the cheery, bubbly, full of energy one). The other night we were watching "Ghostbusters" and I truly related with Sigourney Weaver's character after she has been possessed by that crazy dog controlled by Zoul. I have felt as though something has completely taken over my body and a different voice is coming out of me yelling constantly and having no patience...not to mention the amount of sleep I am requiring daily just to function. Then there is the constant nausea...worse than with any of my other pregnancies.

Gratefully two weeks ago my doctor called with a reason for my unusual pregnancy takeover...hypothyrodism. She put me on a medication and I am now feeling the effects of normalcy again. Speaking sweetly to my children, having the desire to get dressed in the day, wanting to eat food again, fixing meals in the evenings for my family instead of the bowl of cereal they were forced to eat (no complaints from the kids though).

A few of the other transformations have been from the kids. Connor is absolutely soaking up everything he is learning from pre-school and loves it. He comes home reciting poems, singing songs and sharing important safety information for our family. I have loved the change in him..but along with knowledge has come a fear of many things (ghosts, dark, noises). I suppose it is another one of those phases we will get through. He comes into our bedroom every night and asks to sleep on the floor.

Abigail is a leader. She leads the kids I tend into every kind of mischief possible. She is a girl and is transforming into one of those that wants to wear make-up all the time and has to have a comb in her hand to smooth out any tangles in her 'do. The biggest news is that she is now three years old and has learned her colors!

Carly Belle is still the busiest child on the planet. My neighbors daughter calls her a "monster", my nephew calls her "destructo," I call her crazy. Her smile and laughter are contagious, and it is hard to be angry with her after she does something naughty because she runs to you and gives you a big hug right away. This little girl knows what she is doing, and at nearly two years old, I am beginning to worry about the future and what lays ahead for us in the way of keeping up with her. What a tease.

Todd has passed his first licensing exam...only 6 more to go! He stays busy with his calling in the church and spends most of his free time at the library studying for his exams. We are anxious for him to finish those tests! Maybe then we will feel as though the education is truly finished.

What other transformations can I think of happening in our lives? Maybe I will share some with you after Halloween.

Proof

2009-09-20T14:42:00.002-10:00

We are still alive and thriving.

I am back to babysitting. So that takes up the first half of my day.

Connor is in preschool (and loving it).

I am napping out of sheer exhaustion in the second half of my day (that and cuz there is a bun in the oven).

Church callings keep us busy in the evenings.

We don't have the internet, so the posting is going to be on hiatus for quite some time.

Will I even be missed?

Partial Family Vacation

2009-08-26T11:03:00.008-10:00

We returned last night from the perfect little getaway. It was to be a Riches Family Reunion at the Church’s Campsite in Heber. The reunion portion was rather sad, as only 16 of the 32 Riches family members were able to make it.

I suppose that when you plan something for and Monday and Tuesday the last week of August, anyone with children in school won’t be able to make it. Truly, what child wants to miss the first day of school?

However, you will hear no complaints from me, as the smaller numbers meant that I didn’t have to sift through as many people when trying to determine where each of my children were.

Carly is such a busy-body that you can’t take your eyes off of her for more than 2 minutes or she will be gone. It’s as though Carly is constantly watching me waiting for me to turn around so she can make her great escape. When she gets the chance, she knows full well what she is doing as you can see her laughing all the way and checking back every moment or so to make sure that she has a good enough lead on you.

This was like no campsite I had ever been to! Although, there are some who would say that it isn’t truly “camping” there...I say...go hug a tree. This was MY style of camping. At our particular site, there were two cabins.

Each cabin had 16 bunks in them and 4 of them were partitioned off. Those partitioned areas made for perfect little rooms tucked away for the pack ‘n’ play, thus allowing the youngest ones to keep to their ever-so-important schedules and getting their naps (thank heaven for naps).

We had our own little covered pavilion with nice clean picnic tables and a storage area equipped with a refrigerator and shelves. I can’t forget to mention the nice cook tops they provided as well as the sink with hot and cold water. It would be silly of me to forget to tell you about the building that housed the shower stalls and toilets. Yes, this was definitely my kind of camping.

We arrived Monday in the late morning hours and were able to set up camp (un-load the blankets and food...no tents to pitch or fires to get started), put Carly down for a nap and enjoy an impromptu lunch of Chicken Wraps with veggies and chips. There was no shortage on food at this camp site!

The rain began to fall and it was a little bit chilly, so we headed into the other bunk house and started a game of Phase 10. That game lasts almost as long as Monopoly does! That’s not a game for the faint of heart (or the overly competitive either). Hail followed and it just seemed perfect to have this type of weather in the mountains. It reminded me so much of Hawaii (you know how it rains almost every day there, but not for long). Especially when the clouds broke and the sun shone down through the windows.

When I couldn’t get to phase 3 after about 8 attempts, we gathered the children and began a little nature hike down to the lake. I was absolutely astonished at the pace Abigail kept and her cheery disposition the whole walk. She never complained and just kept moving along singing her songs and talking to herself and the trees and anything else that would listen. Carly was a trooper off and on, needing a little break after her chubby little legs had worn themselves out. She really surprised me in that she runs as fast as our long legs walk and I was out of breath just keeping up with her on those hills. Connor was okay on the way there(smelling every flower he found)...the way back was another story. We need to work on his endurance a bit.

Upon arrival at the lake, we were the only souls there, save the two missionaries who were keeping an eye on things. They offered to let us ride in the paddle boats and there was one just the perfect size for our family of 5. With Connor and Abi in the back and Carly lounging in between Todd and I, we peddled our way around the little lake. My legs are sore today...always a sign that I should be working out a little harder than I currently am (What? Running up and down the stairs isn’t enough of a work-out?).

There was a sand pit near the lake that the kids made good use of getting sand in ever single crack and crevice of their little bodies.

I noticed that Carly’s rear seemed more wet than normal, so we decided to head back to camp to change her diaper. She must have soaked up everything in the boat, because half way up the trail, no one wanted to hold her because the holder would then get drenched. So, off came her diaper and we let the little thing romp around with her rear airing out for the deer and dragonflies to see (yes, we did spot a deer or two). There is just something so adorable about a baby’s bottom, isn’t there? Especially one that has super fat legs! Remind me again why it isn’t so cute on me?

Once we made it to the camp...practically dragging the kids up the last hill, more of the family started to arrive. This meant DINNER TIME!!!! YUM!!!! Mom had made Sloppy Joe’s for us. Of course, there are always those few little ones who will vent out loud...LOUDLY...that they don’t like what is being offered for dinner. It sure made me feel good when, for once, it wasn’t Connor doing the complaining about the meal placed in front of him.

Speaking of little ones speaking, I absolutely had to crack up when my little nephew Thor blurted out, over his meal that he was gladly eating “You should have heard my mom when she said that these were great directions on how to get here. She didn’t mean it in a nice way either.” Andrea started up and sweetly whispered something in Thor’s ear. The truth is, the directions weren’t very good as there was construction and a detour wasn’t obviously marked. Andrea had reason to say that….we were all just thinking it (not to mention that the 45 minute drive we had planned on was actually 1 hour and 45 minutes). So poor Andrea pulled her kids up to Heber, on the first day of school and would be turning around that evening to do the same. I would have been a tad bit frustrated as well.. We tried to text and call her to tell her the drive wasn’t worth it, but there is no connection in the great outdoors of that area.

We played a great game of whiffle ball...I could manage this game as the bases were a short distance apart and there is just something magical about a whiffle bat and ball. Everyone can hit it! And, I am not afraid of getting hit with that little white ball with the holes in it, it can’t cause too much damage, can it?

To try to make Andrea’s kids time more worthwhile, after dinner was cleaned up and out of the smelling reach of any black bears, we headed back down to the lake. This time I forced Connor and Carly in the car with Tish and her kids. I wasn’t ready to carry the whole 33 pounds that is Carly back to the lake and definitely didn’t want to deal with Connor who was now cranky because Carly woke him from his sweet slumber.

On the walk down it was fun to hear the little boys excitement as to what they were seeing and what they would get to do when we got down to the lake. I sure have cute nieces and nephews.

We started a rousing game of volleyball. I avoided the ball when it scared me (yes, covering my face with m y hands and dodging the ball) and didn’t play round one very long...mostly blaming it on Carly and the fact that she was making herself at home on the picnic bench of another group trying her best to make cute faces and get some food for herself. She is worse than all of those little chipmunk’s when scrounging for food.

Someone must have sensed my exhaustion when they saw me holding little baby Jack (who is definitely NOT little as seen in these photos) and dragging Carly back from trying to run into the center of the Volleyball game by the hood on her jacket. They subbed me BACK into the game. This time I was ready to conquer! I totally hit the ball a few times and only coward from it a few times. I have the bruises on my hand and arms to prove that I made contact with the ball.

The game eventually dissolved, as did the energy to hike back home. So, fewer of us hiked back...but not Abi! She trekked right on with us singing her songs (Single Ladies, Tomorrow, Give A Little Whistle, Let’s Get It Started, Popular, Apologize) the whole way and telling us about the tigers that are in the jungle.

It was a wonderfully exhausting day. Andrea and her kids headed back home and we got the little kids settled into their bunks. We thought they would just go to sleep that easily. I had a monitor in our cabin so we could hear what they were up to while we finished our game of Phase 10. I think we had to go in another 4 times to tell the kids to be quiet and go to bed. Finally on the 5th try I just sat in there with the lights off and kept saying “shh” everytime someone spoke up. Eventually they all fell asleep and we were able to continue on our “game that never ends.” At phase 9, none of us wanted to continue. Our eyes wouldn’t stay open any longer, so we agreed that mom won the game and each of us settled into our beds.

I was afraid that one of my kids would wake up in the night and I wouldn’t be close enough by, so I slept in the bunk with the kids, so did Tish. Her kids slept oh-so-soundly. Connor joined me in bed only 10 minutes after I got settled and curled himself up into a ball at the top of my head, like a cat. A BIG cat. A cat that gets mad when you try to make them sleep like a human. So, I didn’t sleep too well, especially when I heard the grasses rustling outside our window. I could have sworn that a bear was going to come into our cabin and take all of our children away and use them in their next Bear Circus Side Show (it was a dream, a vivid dream).

Carly woke up bright and early doing her beautiful and throaty yells. So I scooped her up as fast as I could so that she wouldn’t wake anyone else. It was 6:30am. I let her lead me on a little tour of the campsite and practice her yells in the pavilion that provided for excellent echoing (my kids love to hear their own voice, especially when it is raised to a level they aren’t allowed to use in the house). I am guessing that the others in our camp heard her yelling, as they started to venture out of the cabins and gather under the eating pavilion for some of those gigantic muffins and O.J.

The rain was coming down hard and long by this point. There wasn’t too much we could do, and Carly was ready for another nap (you would be too if you were up that early and had been for an early morning hike). I put that little baby down and we all went into the other cabin where we played a variety of games that are always much more entertaining when the oldest of the kids is 4 and they just don’t get it. Hide & Seek (they jump out and say “here I am” when asked where they are), Duck, Duck, Goose (your heart doesn’t really race when they just sit down as soon as you stand up to chase them), Button, Button, Who’s Got The Button (those teeny tiny hands can’t cover a button so well, we all knew who had it). Eventually we let the kids just run around and go crazy while the adults played Hearts.

The rain gave way to blue skies and we headed to the challenge course. This truly was my favorite part of the whole...I keep wanting to call it weekend, but it wasn’t on a weekend….I will call it vacation. I was the first to hike up the rope ladder, walk across the wire bridge and fly down the zip line. I am glad I went first, as I probably would have psyched myself out of doing it if I hadn’t gone first.

Might I add that those harnesses we have to wear do nothing for your figure...especially a male figure.

Oh well, we all looked goofy. Except for the kids, they looked darling! The missionaries let the kids put on a harness and had them swinging around. All of the kids loved it except for Abigail. She wasn’t too sure about the whole thing.

The next challenge was walking across a series of tight ropes tied between trees. Each wire was about a foot off of the ground and we had to get our whole group across...including the children. They all did pretty well, considering their attention spans and that it was time for naps again.

At about the second tree, Abi needed to reach out for my hand and walk across the rope to make it to the third tree. I had my right hand on the tree to give me support and reached my left arm as far as it would go to her. She was afraid to let go of the tree supporting her, but she didn’t realize all she had to do was stretch her right hand out a little further and she could reach me. I started to feel heart broken when tears formed in her eyes and she cried out, “Mommy, just grab my hand.” I couldn’t reach any further, she was the one that needed to. It was one of those epiphany type moments when I realized that our Savior has reach out has far as he can, and done all for us possible. The remainder is in our hands to reach out just a little bit further than our comfort zone and we can accomplish great things.

The kids had just about had it by this point (nerves and all) and we completed just one more task...the spider web. This one was a little bit easier and more fun for the kids as all they had to do was be passed through a small hole and not touch the sides.

The trip was coming to a close and we cleaned up camp and loaded up our vehicles. Grateful for the time we got to spend together and that no one needed to go to the Emergency Room and no need to stop at a First Aid Station.

Just two solid days of fun family togetherness.

Family….isn’t it about time?

Foul Mouth

2009-08-17T06:48:00.001-10:00

Yesterday I went to see the movie “Julie and Julia.” It was an adorable movie that had me smiling through nearly the entire thing, and laughing out loud (I feel sorry for the people sitting around me, as I did, unwillingly, snort a few times) at the many humorous moments in the show.

There were two beautiful and admirable love stories portrayed. I love it when married people are mostly happy and stay happy (all the while working through the curve balls life throws at us). And they do things for one another that encourage happiness.

What I didn’t like was Hollywood’s need to use a certain profanity that I can’t even read or it sticks into my mind like glue, thus wanting to infiltrate my personal vocabulary and come spewing out uncontrollably (more on that to come later).

It bothered me even more that the person who said it was living in a generation of time where I didn’t think that word was probably even used as widely as it is in today’s society...so why put it in at all? I asked my mom if she was familiar with that word being used commonly during that era (no, I am not trying to age my mom...she does that beautifully on her own. It just so happens that she was alive during that time. Maybe she was only 10, but she was alive...maybe the worst word she used at that age was “shut-up.”).

This opened up a whole new realm of vulgarities that I have not heard my mom ever say before, such as:

Butt

Crap

Screwed

Pissed Off

Sucked

Okay, so, she only said “butt,” but, whatever.

As a child those words were some of the forbidden words we were not allowed to say (please add additional ones in the comment section if I have forgotten any that your mother forbade). These are so very common in today’s society, that they do not change the rating of a movie and I often times hear cute little 5 year olds saying them regularly. They still offend my mother. I love her for that.

I like that when my mom came over the other day to watch my kids, she was offended by “Madagascar 2” and their flippant use of crude words. And shortly after Abi was born and she was visiting me in Boston, she turned off “A Bug’s Life” because they were talking about poo. She is wonderful! I truly mean that. I wish that there were people like her editing the movies nowadays. We would have nothing to cover our ears about, and nothing to fear when our kids started quoting lines from a movie while eating dinner at an acquaintances home (although, it is INCREDIBLY adorable when they start sining songs from Annie, a la Abi).

Interestingly enough, before going to the movie, I had admitted to my mother that I had cussed at Abi just that afternoon (yet another unsuccessful moment in potty training). I needed my mother’s stamp of assurity that I hadn’t scarred my beautiful little daughter for life.

I got a gleaming gold stamp.

My mother proceeded to tell me that she never used profanities until she became a mother. Oh, how true that is! I can count on my hand the number of times I had ever sworn before I had children (once at Todd for being a tease and once at a bee for stinging me). Now I find myself needing to use restraint at least daily (potty training reeks havoc on a mother).

I had to apologize to a friend the other day for using a profanity in front of his child. Let me set up the scene of the accident:

2pm, I had just finished cleaning the entire house. Vacuumed, dusted, straightened, folded and put away laundry, that kind of clean. I had sent the girls and the youngest of the boys I was watching downstairs to play in what I like to call the “wreck” room. Meaning...do whatever you want down there...I don’t care. You can’t see it from the living room, and I don’t have to step over the toys to get through the day. I love having an unfinished basement with young, potty-training children.

I walked into Connor’s room to encourage him and his friend to go down and watch a movie and play with the toys that I had just neatly arranged and put on the shelves (because we know that kids LOVE to play with toys in a clean toy room more than they do in a dirty one, but the idea of keeping the room clean to always enjoy it is another thing), when the sigh before my eyes had me fuming.

I yelled out, “What the hell happened in here?”

Bombs must have exploded in Connor’s drawers sending his clothes from one end of the room to the other. You couldn’t see the floor. Not kidding.

Then I felt bad.

I made them help me shove all of the clothes back in the drawers (not caring if they went into the proper drawer so angry that the clothes I had just spent all morning folding and neatly putting away were no longer looking as organized as I had made them to be and more angry because the time it took for them to pull them out of the drawers was 1/32 the amount of time for me to put them in there).

Of course, I know who the culprit was, as Connor is a clean freak and can’t stand for his room to be a mess. It was Abi. She is a mess maker..and so is Carly. They must have teamed up and done the damage together. I love them both. Terribly. But asking Abi to come help clean up right then would have only resulted in a good swat on her rear in front of the friend who just heard me cuss and the room taking 6 hours to get back into shape (Abi’s a singer and a dawdler and any project of the cleaning nature isn’t nearly as entertaining as the scene in the nursery from Mary Poppins...despite the fact that Abi does sing while cleaning...okay, so that IS a little entertaining and cute). I wasn’t ready for that, just yet.

I apologized to Connor’s friend who assured me he had heard much worse.

I felt better.

When the boys’ dad came to pick up his poor sons that I had ruined for life, I explained everything that happened and he just laughed confirming that he did, on more than one occasion, let foul words slip out of his mouth in front of his children.

I am not trying to justify my PG-13 rating. I would like to try to be a little more PG.

However, if I was PG, then I would be perfect.

If I was perfect, then I would be translated.

If I was translated, then who babysit all of the neighbors kids?

See, I didn’t say “raise my kids” or “fix dinner” or “clean my house” because Todd has proven on more than one occasion that he is very capable of doing these things on his own. And, maybe…..just maybe, he would find a wife that would be….rated G!!!!

I mean, honestly….I can’t just give up and let my children have perfection! They wouldn’t know happiness because they haven’t known misery (the kind I inflict when one wakes me from a nap). They wouldn’t know good health because they had never been flicked in the forehead for yelling too much.

My children need me just the way I am. And when my girls come to me one afternoon after having had a rough day with their own children, I can laugh with them and remind them too, that they survived it all, despite the things I said or did.

Oh goodness, Abi just came in and said, “Ow! There is something in my bum.” I was waiting for her to say “butt.” Good...it must not be in my common vocabulary enough for her to use it.

Thanks mom, for not scarring me for life and for teaching me that having a few minor imperfections makes it possible to laugh at ourselves and laugh with others when they experience the same things.

Weddings

2009-08-04T09:31:00.005-10:00

I have just completed the layouts for my wonderful sister-in-laws guest sign in book and album.

Do you want a few sneak peeks (I hope you don't mind, Kel)?

All photos were taken by Jennifer Fauset.

Kelli (the bride-to-be) is a beautiful little thing that I have known since she was a small little spit-fire. I feel so blessed to have been around to watch her grow into an amazingly talented, patient, kind and mature woman. The man she is about to marry dotes on her and you can just feel the love he has for her radiating from him. I couldn't be happier for them, as this Thursday they will be sealed in the Salt Lake Temple.

Sitting here at the computer, listening to "The Luckiest" makes me recall the time prior to and the day of my own wonderful wedding to Todd. Todd and I have had a little over 11 years together and through those years I have learned so much about myself and life. Man, I was immature. It's a miracle that Todd would have even wanted to marry me...at 18! I am the luckiest.

Over time, we have had ups and downs. Our life has had moments of sheer joy, hard choices, frustration and adventure. Of course, I couldn't have had any of these incredible experiences or been led down the path that has laid us in front of so many amazing friends that have afforded me these lessons without having been married to Todd. I suppose it is good that he married me when I was so immature as I was able to mature beside someone that would stick beside me through all the silliness that comes along with knowing me (I used "me" too many times in that sentence....forgive ME).

So, for my sweet friend Kelli...here is some "advice" I've picked up along the way. Of course take it as you wish from someone who is still learning (okay, so I can't take credit for all of the thoughts, as I am not deep enough to conjure them up on my own...but they apply):

-Keep a "happy thoughts/kind gestures" journal. I remember when I was first married and frustrated, I would sob and write in a journal all of my selfish and sad moments. Focusing only on the "bad." I hesitate even opening that journal now. Think if I had focused all of my energy on sifting through the negative or annoying things going on and keeping only those things that really brought me happiness and inspired me to love Todd even more. Now, that is one book that I wouldn't hesitate opening time and time again. Never afraid if anyone found it, grateful if they did.

-Read every romantic novel you can and remind yourself that you have your "Mr. Darcy" or your "Mr. Knightly." Remember that there was once a moment that he swept you off of your feet, at least enough to make your mind forget the practical (according to the world) and actually get married!

-FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE: It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.

-It's okay to think differently. It's okay to have different hobbies. Just be sure to encourage one another and be their biggest cheering section. How else do you think Todd got through school (oh, that's right...he had a goal in mind and set to it)?

-Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate. ~Barnett R. Brickner

-You've chosen your love...now, love your choice.

I know that looking from the outside in, I may not be the best candidate to give marriage advice. So, it would be kind if you would at least accept the ones that have someone elses name by them.

Potty Training Experience

2009-07-31T03:51:00.003-10:00

Let me give you a brief glimpse as to what potty training has brought into our lives with a small scene from this morning:

Connor: Mom, come and see, I peed in the toilet....I need a wipe. Where are the wipes?

I have had to remove all toilet paper from their regular and convenient location, as Abi found it most useful to use an entire roll of toilet paper when she used the toilet, thus costing us $400 to have a plumber come out and snake our main sewage line because our basement had begun to flood regularly due to the blockage.

Abi runs to the bathroom to see the success of her brother as I tend to a necessary song and dance of "Tomorrow" with Carly. There is a whooshing sound from the bathroom, indicating that Abi has flushed the toilet.

Connor: Abi! Argh!!! That is my pee, I get to flush the toilet.

Yes, even flushing the toilet has become a privilege in the house, one that only belongs to the person who actually used the toilet.

Abi (tromping out of the bathroom, puts her hands on her hips): Connor, you are driving me crazy! Go to your room right now!

Connor: Hee-Haw (mimicking Pinnochio and covers his mouth upon determining he is a donkey)

Abi: Is that your underwear? I have my underwear (she has taken a pair of diaper covers from the closet to use this morning...not for long). Look.

They forgive each other so quickly. We forgive each other quickly. That is what is getting me through this whole potty training experience.

I started potty training both of them in April.

No potty train in a day (tried the potty party, didn't fly).

No potty train in a week (I've got some stubborn kids)

No potty training boot camp (sometimes I felt like a drill sergeant though)

Just long, consistent, patient, laundry filled days of nagging and reminding and praising and crying (mostly on my part).

Connor is now 4 1/2 and Abi is 2 1/2. There are ups and downs to each of their ages and the potty training challenges that follow.

With Connor being older, he can take care of himself. After one week of H-E-L-L, he no longer needs me to be there with him. He takes care of it all by himself from start to finish and I don't have to worry about him. LOVELY!!!!!!

Abi still needs me to open the door, pull down her pants, put her on the toilet, help her wipe, take her off of the toilet, remind her to wash her hands (which sometimes I wish I didn't as it turns into a seriously long and wet play-time). Thus taking a very precious 5 minutes from my day (I am saying that sarcastically).

The hardest part was for me. Having Carly still in diapers, and having the diapers in the house, it was easy for me to cave and go back to diapering after a rough day. I would find Connor in Carly's room trying to put on a diaper...same with Abi. And, Abi had started acting like a baby and asking for a binky again....I would find her stealing them from Carly's crib and hiding somewhere to suck on one. I felt like such a mean mom. But I wasn't going to give in. I got rid of all diapers from any area of the house except for Carly's room, and put one of those obnoxious door knob covers on her door to prevent the kids from going in and getting them.

With Connor, the first three days were miserable but I expected the accidents. He knew that if he went potty in the toilet he would get a Transformer. He would tell us all about it...he got the whole reward system. After day three, he just started holding it...all day...painful....crying...misery. I finally held him on the toilet until he produced something and after that it was like a lightbulb turned on and he got it. That weekend we took him to the store to get a Transformer. Connor has mastered the peeing portion. No accidents in a long time. He stays dry through the night. But what he is still struggling with is taking care of #2. I have given him an enima once and he hated it so much, that threatening him with one got us somewhere, but the last few nights he has pooped in his sleep (who does that?). Maybe I need to start pulling out the enima every night before bed to prevent that from becoming a habit. His uncle Ike has told him that if he goes poop in the toilet 5 times, he will take him to see Tranformers...Todd has promised another Transformer. But we make him start over after every accident...even the ones that happen in his sleep.

Abigail continued to have multiple accidents...especially pooping in her panties. It was driving me up a wall. Mostly because she would poop in her panties just minutes after I would have sat her on the toilet. I decided to forgo panties. The panties became the reward (I was SO sick of washing underwear....frankly, I still am). So, wearing dresses every single day and going commando, she has finally grasped the idea that it is best to use the toilet for all of her bodily functions. It is amazing! Without fail, the moment I put panties on her the accidents begin, but no undies and she has no accidents. Good thing she doesn't go to school for a few years, we can work on this some more. She stays dry through the night, but the trick with her is making sure that as soon as I hear her singing in her room in the morning, I rush to put her on the toilet. Otherwise three songs later she has wet the bed.

I am dying with laughter as to the discovery of body parts that has also taken place during this process. Needless to say, Abi and Connor no longer bathe together. At least Connor is using proper terms!

Oh, and one Sunday Carly had an accident so I had to take her home to clean up her little bloody ear. When I returned Todd told me that Abi needed to use the toilet and my friend, Janel, was kind enough to take her to the bathroom. I was horrified! That morning, I was out of clean panties for Abi, so I had put her in a pair of Connor's Transformer underoos. I can only imagine what Janel must have thought of me at that moment.

Needless to say, I have learned my lesson...which reminds me that I should probably go and wash another load of undies right now.

Nothing to Blog About

2009-07-28T04:28:00.003-10:00

I could blog in detail about the following events in our life (these are not in any kind of chronological/importance order):

Potty Training Connor (surprisingly only took about a week)

Potty Training Abi (more frustrating than I thought and we are still not 100%)

Weeding, Weeding, Weeding

Picnic with the Buchert's

Long morning walks with Janel

Suzy rescuing me almost daily with a Diet Pepsi

Trip to "the farm" at Gardner Village where Abi & Carly did not like riding the horses while Connor cried out "Ride 'em cowboy" with glee.

Connor having an absolute melt-down during fireworks

Prepping the yard for some much needed sod...so we don't have to weed any more

Playdate with Pilly & Raja

Basement flooding/clean-up/plumber repairing clog

Card Making

Working on a book for Kelli's Wedding Guests to sign-in

Cousins pictures

Putting into practice and feeling successful at Grocery Smarts

(thanks to Todd's help)

Teaching Abi her colors and still needing to work on them

Neighbor secretly installing a much needed gate on the side of our house

Visit from Adam, Angie, Tyson & Porter

Using our BBQ grill regularly

Stever Turner using our grill and then sharing his amazing ribs with us

Grateful to be living in our own little home with our own little problems

and a job to pay for them.

Buying and putting together a swingset by myself

Reading.....lots and lots of reading

(Jane Eyre, Sense & Sensibility, Return to Red Castle, Jayhawk,

Mermaid's Purse, The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society, Austenland)

All of the plants & bushes I transplanted in the spring dying

One perfect evening at the Secondhand Serenade concert

Campbell's inviting us over for dinner, only to bring it to us instead.

Movie watching

(Harry Potter, Arrested Development Series, The Proposal, Rumor Has It,

Jane Austen Book Club, Jane Eyre (2 versions/1 very lame),

Wives & Daughters, North & South, Persuasion, Mansfield Park,

Northanger Abbey, Wuthering Heights)

Todd's motorcycle lessons

Realizing exactly how blessed I am to have Todd in my life.

But I don't think it is necessary to give all the details. Blogging has taken a back-seat to my life this summer and perhaps it is exactly what our household needed.

I have had a lot of time to reassess the many relationships in my life and try to work on improving myself. I have a long way to go, but looking back at this list of things done, perhaps I'm on a good path.

Space...Connor's Frontier

2009-07-15T16:22:00.005-10:00

Do you remember when I teased you about my little guy's bedroom? Well, I think it is finished (I am still up in the air as to whether or not do a treatment on his window....give me your thoughts on the poll to the right).

Here are the befores:

Here are the afters:

I purchase the paint when Lowe's was having their Memorial Day Sale (they had a rebate for Valspar Paint) and I also had a 20% off coupon, so with two gallons of American Tradition by Valspar's Hampton Surf Blue, I got to work....just two coats later, a peel of the tape (and some MAJOR touching up on the white stripes) we were ready to put this galaxy together!

My dad printed out the planets on his massive printer. They are on a heavy vinyl and I sprayed two coats of clear varnish over the top to prevent them from getting ruined by greasy fingers and things of a childlike nature. We used a 3M spray adhesive to get them to adhere to the wall, and rolled them on to make sure there would be no air bubbles.

The sun on the ceiling, my dad printed on a lighter paper (seeing as how the kids SHOULDN'T be able to reach up there) in the hopes that gravity would not pull it out of orbit. Connor got those cute glow-in-the-dark stars for Christmas in his stocking.

The lettering is just your run-of-the-mill vinyl that my dad cut out. If you are interesting in having a room like this of your own, he wants me to tell you that it will cost $1,000. I think my dad is sick of me asking for his help on these projects and is saying these things to get me to stop asking. HA! We still have to finish a jungle in Abi's room!

Travelogue, earth date 06192009

2009-07-14T07:10:00.007-10:00

MUST.

HAVE.

SAUSAGE BISCUIT WITH EGG.

You see, when I travel, I base the whole trip around food and the things that I don't normally get to enjoy when at home. Nothing suits me more in the morning than a Sausage Biscuit with Egg from the Golden Arches (ha ha ha...little did you know that we would be going to see the Golden Arches that afternoon....isn't the Golden Gate Bridge considered the Golden Arches?). Did you know that there is a McD's just across the street from the entrance to Golden Gate Park? I was so excited and planned a bus route to get us there.

Of course, the Golden Gate Garden is BEAUTIFUL. And HUGE (are you sick of the caps yet?). You could easily get
lost there.
The first place of interest that we hit up was the Academy of Sciences. Todd was loving this building, as it was an architects dream. He took too many pictures of the construction process that was posted on an obscure wall in the corner of the building. Oh, how I love him. He did get a few shots of the roof (pretty cool, and somewhat similar to the little town the Teletubbies live in).
Then it was to the deYoung Museum. There were some very neat exhibits in there, but the Architecture is what we spent our money on to see.
Here I sit, tired...in dire need of something healthy (SHOCK! I said healthy) to eat. This is not a sitting moment of quiet contemplation, it is a sitting of exhaustion.

And let's pray that the camera truly does add ten pounds.

We found a local guy who directed us to the bus that would take us to the Golden Gate Bridge. I had really wanted to ride a bike over the bridge. I am so grateful I didn't. I have a small fear of crowds and a big fear of heights. Those two would have caused me to somehow jump the tall rail and for sure end up in the cold water below (I have a fear of cold water too). Before walking out onto the bridge with the other masses, I paid $10 for a small (albeit healthy) salad and Todd got something that looked so unappetizing to me that I have forgotten it. Then began the windy walk, right next to speeding cars, out onto the bridge. It was massive and an obvious feat of incredible engineering (this coming from the girl that has just had to type engineering four times before spell check informed her that she finally got it right).
Exhausted, and so grateful that Todd brought me along for this much needed get-away. We then packed our bags so the following morning we could return home to the three beautiful children we missed so much.

Travelogue, earth date 06182009

2009-07-14T06:41:00.010-10:00

The blisters covered with bandages, wearing ever so comfortable walking shoes, Todd and I headed out around 7:00 am to walk to the wharf where we had reserved two seats on a ferry that would take us over to Alcatraz.

We took a spot on the top of the boat (me crossing my fingers that whole time that Todd doesn't get sea-sick...no replays of our honeymoon necessary) and discovered that we were surrounded...by jellyfish. Not the little blue ones I am accustomed to in Hawaii (I had a close and personal encounter with one at Waimanalo) but these giant beauties:

Okay, so surrounded was a bit of an exaggeration, but we did see about 10-12 of those big guys. The ferry ride was short and sweet and we arrived at Alcatraz safely with a cool breeze blowing and blue skies.
Alcatraz was very interesting. Somewhat odd that thousands of people want to walk through there, but hey...it's history. I have never visited a prison before and wasn't sure what to expect, but the tour was cool and I was grateful that I have never tried to rob a bank or killed someone (and been caught). Accomodations like those aren't meant for someone like me...although there were moments that those cells reminded me of apartment #2 in Honolulu (someone else felt like a prisoner there and tried to eat his way through the bars). There was a man in the little Gift Shop that was a prisoner on the island the last four years it was open for robbing a bank. I can't believe he would want to come back and visit a place like that...but he was signing books, so if it's for money, it can't be that bad.

Lunch....my tummy was grumbling and I wanted nothing more than some super-duper-oohy-gooey nachos. Hey, I was on vacation, bring on the junk! Besides, with as much as walking we have been doing, my body needed this kind of energy. While dining on our oh-so-healthy lunch (Todd had a hot dog, FYI) I noticed this sign:
Heaven knows I have made mistakes like this....it's nice to see that other humans are truly humans and we aren't really about to be taken over by "surrogates" (if you have seen the super creepy preview, you'll know what I am talking about).

Then it was time for something sweet before we headed on another long walk....ice cream. Yum! While enjoying our ice cream on a little bench, a juggling entertainer took center stage and thrilled us all with death-defying acts of juggling balls and even swords...while standing on a teetering-tottering-rolling board that he needed Todd's help getting up on.
We stopped in at a huge candy store. You know the kind, with all the barrels full of sweets and they give you your own basket (the kinds you should put healthy apples in) to aid you in your reaping of their harvest. Oh, we reaped. We didn't look at prices and wound up with $40 in candy to take home to our kids. They loved the gross Gummy-Rat and snake, the candy lipgloss and pez dispensers...needless to say, we didn't buy them one more thing the whole trip. Thank heaven they are just kids and that is probably what they will remember the most about us returning home...the delicious candy. REPORT: Dentist appointments, they had no cavities. We are not THAT bad of parents.

The walk home was slow and uneventful and we tried to download a video to watch in the hotel room that night...but it took too long to download and we couldn't watch it until 2 days after we arrived home. Those crazy European hotels!

P.S. Thanks for staying tuned in. It has been a busy time what with potty training and laundry and those sorts of things.

Travelogue, earth date 06172009

2009-07-08T03:48:00.006-10:00

30.

I woke up this particular morning with a new age to my name.

Of course, when I awoke there was no one in the room and I woke at my own ever-so-slow pace. I grabbed a handful of salt-water taffy for breakfast, picked up "Austenland" and began reading which then led to finishing the book. Then I grabbed my caffeine-free Diet Pepsi (really, should I be drinking something with so many words in it's title?) from the mini fridge and turned on the TV. The morning of champions....no doubt.

Brainless television.

We have two televisions in our home. No cable, no converter boxes, no nothing. Just good old fashioned movies, so this was something new to me. After two episodes of "True Hollywood Stories" (one about Full House the other about Home Improvement), I realized I wasn't missing anything in life by not having the thing blaring in my home all day and decided to turn the thing off and get ready.

I was supposed to meet up with Todd at the office around 11am. So, I put on my walking shoes and headed to Old Navy. My friend told me there was a bargain basement with killer deals there. I got there and the bargain basement was shut down.

Wah.

But I did pick up something cute for the girls and some shirts for Todd (all men's stuff was 1/2 off...that's a bargain) and headed back to the office. While waiting for their meeting to end, I started reading Sense & Sensibility. Tough one to get into. I think I read the first chapter twice just to get into my head all of the different characters in the book.

Lunchtime! The group came out of the meeting and we walked to this little place called Sam's. The atmosphere was bland (okay, maybe "original"...the decor probably hadn't been changed since it had first opened 50 years ago) and the food was normal (something I could have made at home)...but then again, I was comparing it to the meal I had last night. However, I loved that all the waiters were wearing tuxedos and each of them had accents from different countries.

The rest of the group had to return to the airport. We said our good-byes to his co-workers (great group of people, I had a lot of fun with them) and Todd and I started out on our journey for a long day of walking.

First stop to the start of our vacation together:

Coit Tower

The walk there was enjoyable as we had just a slight breeze most of the way. The weather was perfect. Sunshine and the perfect temperature. I could not believe how many hills we had to trek to get to the tower, and what amazed me even more was seeing this:

Imagine walking home from a long day at the office, only to have to hike more stairs to get to your apartment? Or what about calling the Elder's Quorum President to help you move? How many guys do you think would show up that day? Crazy!

The ride up the elevator kind of reminded me of the ride "Tower of Terror." There was this cute little Asian lady that would open the door, push the button and then let us out. Imagine that job! She did have a tip jar attached to one of the walls...fair enough. She did try to give us some history of Coit Tower on the ride up and down, but her English was so broken that none of us in the elevator really understood. You could tell by the long pauses of silence and the occasional sympathy laugh after she said something she would smile at. I liked her....none of that was very tower of terror-y, but the creeky old elevator itself was what reminded me of the scary amusement ride.

Then came the decent down the hill to our next stop....but first, a quick stop to take a couples picture:

We could see from Coit Tower where we were headed next, Lombard's Crooked Street.

This is taken from the backside of the upper picture...you can see Coit Tower here on the right...we walked from there to the famous street

It was a straight shot there...as far as the road goes but it went up and down and up and up and up. We hesitated walking up the jiggedy-jaggedy street as we were starting to get sweaty and tired, but I am glad we did. The homes along Lombard Street were beautiful and well maintained. But our favorite was at the top....we watched as a man on a motorcycle decided to descend down the crookedest street and after only 15 feet, you could see the panic on his face as he thought "I am going to tip this bike and not make it down safely."

Can you see him in this picture..this was right before he decided to think twice at that little landing pad.

Todd had just recently finished a motorcycle class and was loving every minute of it (so were many other tourists as it was as though he was now the dare-devil entertainment for the afternoon)...the biker parked his bike on the first level spot he could find and we didn't stay around to see if he was going to finish going down or forget what the signs say about it being a one way street and just head back from whence he came (that is what I would have opted for).

Then we chose to walk back to the apartment, but the route we took was not one that I think many tourists should ever take. Every city has their sketchy parts of town, and we found San Francisco's.

The reason we took this route was because, we wanted to see the walking distance from the Orpheum Theater to our Hotel. Bad/Good idea. Bad because I clung to Todd for fear of being stolen (yes, I know that sounds dramatic). I couldn't believe how many people would just come up to Todd and either put their arm around him and ask for money honestly saying it was for beer, or just yell. It reminded me of all the homeless people in Hawaii and the horrible addiction to Ice that is plaquing them there.

It was good because it let us know that we should probably take a cab home from the Orpheum Theater that night and not attempt to walk home so late at night.

We made it home in one piece and I was only shaken a little. After a nice nap and showers, we headed to my Birthday restaurant of choice....Burger King. After so much fancy food (two meals is so much, in my book) I really just wanted something cheap and greasy.

After our very fancy feast, we headed to the Orpheum Theater, this time walking on the opposite side of the street, having taken note earlier that it contained less people that I might have to turn away because I wasn't in the mood for handing out cash. And for having those less charitable thoughts (and probably because I was wearing heels) I got a blister on each foot shortly before arriving at the theater.

What were we going to the theater for?

WICKED!!!!!!!

I had heard great things about it, and everyone who has seen it has just raved. And after sitting through it (my blisters no longer bothered me once I was engulfed in the story and the amazing vocal talent) I can see what the buzz is all about. It was a fantastic musical (I like musicals of almost all nature....however, the last time Todd and I saw a musical was in Boston and we left at Intermission because of it's vulgarity and sexual content....I am a PG kind of person).

The cab ride home was fabulous (on my feet) and I had secretly hoped that San Francisco had one of those "Cash Cabs" (yet another brainless show Todd and I found ourselves watching frequently while at the hotel) so that we could win some fun money to compensate for what we/I were/was spending. No money won, but the cab driver was friendly and took our money without any problem.

Yes, I know that's his job. And I was grateful to not have to hobble home with bad blisters. I would have made a pathetic pioneer.

Travelogue, earth date 06162009

2009-06-26T05:20:00.009-10:00

WARNING: Serious picture overload, and I have even cut them down quite a bit. If you want to see all the sights, please go here.

This pictures was taken right outside the Ferry Building

Last Tuesday we arrived in a very cold and gloomy Oakland California (thanks to all those who suggested we bring jackets and dress in layers). I tagged along for the ride with three of Todd's co-workers; a Project Architect, Greg, a Project Manager, Stephanie and an intern-architect, Jake from E.D.A. Todd's firm has been put on a very large job for the University of Utah and one of the companies that is teaming up with them is NBBJ in San Francisco. It turns out that Todd may have the opportunity to travel to and from San Fran quite a bit until this job is done.

Part of the reason I got to tag along was that Todd's trip just so happened to fall on the same day as my big 3-0 birthday. What better way to celebrate than to get away! I had hesitated going, because Todd has been saving up for a motorcycle and this would have cut into his funds a bit, but he insisted and I went. Sweet guy.

We took local transportation the whole time and walked a ton. You know the Primary song where the pioneers "walked and walked and walked and walked and walked." We did just that (thankfully our feet were well shod...except for the night we walked from our hotel to the Orpheum Theater and I was wearing heels and got some brutal blisters). I was certain that I would have lost at least 10 pounds by the time we got home, but I hadn't even lost an ounce.

Lame.

Back to day one....

Upon arrival at the offices of NBBJ, we dropped off our bags and asked one of the principals what she suggest we do until the time of the actual meeting. She printed out a map and drew up a walking route, and then we headed out on our first adventure. We walked from downtown San Fran to the Ferry Building, Pier 1. Many people told us about the seals, so we went searching for them. We could smell them before we could see them and who knew that watching seals could provide for so much entertainment. They sure can be brutal to one another...kind of like my kids. Oh...how it reminded me of home.

Then we walked along the Embarcadero past each and every single pier known to man until we arrived at Pier 39.

Here I am trying to shoot a picture of Todd and I as we were leaving Pier 39...but I got more of my double chin in the picture than Todd.

That particular day it wasn't very busy. Lot's to eat there (we would save eating there for another day), but my personal favorite was the candy store. We loaded up on Salt Water Taffy (maybe that's why I didn't lose any weight) and agreed that we should walk on and eat at Ghiradelli Square...so the walking began again.

Todd's pretending to crush some cocoa beans...I bet they didn't dress that nice in the factory.

I had expected something totally different than what we got when we arrived. that picture of Todd is the closest thing to a factory I saw. I had hoped for huge vats of hot melted chocolate and spoons that we could just dip in and devour (I know, unsanitary) and tons of free chocolate at the end of some tour that we had to wear nets on our head for. No tour. Jake said that they probably outsource everything nowadays and that it is probably made in china. I hope not. I suppose I can just go to the Sweet's Factory here in Utah to get this fix, eh?

Upon arriving at Ghiradelli we realized that our time was cutting close to the meeting so we grabbed a bite to eat (YUMMY club sandwich for me, and Clam Chowder in a Sourdough bread bowl for Todd) and caught the F train/trolley thing back into town. We made it back 3 minutes before their meeting began. Phew!

Todd was worried as to what I would do while he was in the meeting. I, however, wasn't worried at all. I had brought along a book to read (Austenland, thanks for the recommendation Em and thanks to Janel for letting me borrow it) and had some cash in hand to shop with (thanks for the Birthday money mom Riches). I stopped in Children's Place and got each of the kids something small (and under $6 a piece) and then walked up the street to Banana Republic where I got Todd the ever-so-cliche-riffic Tie for Father's Day (from the kids, of course) and a nice shirt for him to wear at the next day's meeting. I did get myself two cute little tops too (notice the green shirt in the picture below). Then with just 2 more hours to spare, I stopped in at a little nail salon with no other customers and asked for a manicure (I thought it was way too cold to take off my shoes) and the cute little Vietnamese lady insisted on a pedicure too. I told her about the time I had and she said she could do it. So with the warm water bubbling around my feet, I pulled open my book and fell into a deep trance whilst having my feet and legs massaged and beautified. Shortly after I nearly fell asleep while having my manicure (hey Heather, I used Bubble Bath and thought of you).

I leisurely headed back to the office where I was a little early and was able to endulge myself in a little more reading time. Then the group came out of the conference room and we asked our new favorite tour guide (Lillian, the principal) where we should eat and she suggested a place in Little Italy.

We dropped our bags off at our rooms in Hotel Rex a very small and cozy place decorated in the style of the 20's chalk full of art-deco drawings of naked women everywhere. Ten minutes later we all met up in the lobby to begin yet another expedition by foot to Little Italy. We got lost

In Chinatown. It reminded me so much of Honolulu.

They were filming a movie of some sorts. I was rather put out that we couldn't hang around and possibly be discovered and earn so much money from one 3 second shot that we could pay off all of Todd's student loans. But the rest of the group couldn't understand where I was coming from.

Thank heaven for cell phones (Jake used his, might I remind you that we don't have one and I haven't really missed it until this trip when I wanted to call my kids at the drop of a hat). Jake called information who then called the restaurant who then gave us directions and we got to Rose Pistola right as they were seating people for dinner.

This picture was taken once we had gotten our bearings and were heading in the right direction to the restaurant. We had made it to Little Italy.

I had an absolutely divine salad with freshly sliced parmesan on top and the lightest vinaigrette. Then they placed the fish I ordered in front of me....head, eyes and all. The waiter offered to de-bone it for me, and I, of course, excepted. I couldn't imagine eating a fish that was watching me devour him. It would be like raising a chicken giving him a name only to slaughter him for a Sunday dinner. Here is the action on the be-heading of my fish:

Everyone else at the table ordered some kind of alcoholic drink, Todd and I just ordered water...but the waitress offered to mix up a virgin pomegranate lemon concoction that was fabulous. I felt all cosmopolitan drinking something from a martini glass.

After the walk home, we were all so very exhausted that no more sight seeing was planned. I told Todd not to wake me up in the morning, as I was going to soak in every minute of solitude this trip was going to offer. And we watched TV (another form of electronic equipment we don't have..okay we have a TV just no cable or basic channels or such) till we realized what we haven't been missing and crashed to a full night of sleep with no children to wake up and tend to.

Make-Shift Chandelier

2009-06-23T16:32:00.007-10:00

I know it's been a whole week. But I was in San Francisco for 5 days and now I am back into full-swing re-potty training Connor and Abigail. I can't let them out of my sight for a moment, or the accidents just so happen at that time. I have a headache.

But I thought I would give you something short and sweet to consider doing yourself until I can post the travelogue of San Francisco.

I had seen here a fantastic beaded chandelier of sorts and thought it was something I might be able to fenagle myself for Abi's bedroom. So, I took some spare change I had been saving and hit all the 50% off stuff I could at Hobby Lobby to make this little wonder. This is what I came home with:

While the children napped, I turned on Jane Eyre and dismantled the picks, attached them to the embroidery hoop, finished the top off with some white satin ribbon. Then I finagled the contraption around Abi's already dainty light fixture, and here is the end result:

Yes, I know it somewhat resembles a jellyfish, but that just adds to the tropical flair that is already going on in there.

And, what tropical jungle isn't complete without a little leopard print? I found this fabric for $3 a yard and added it to the back of the already made panel and added a 1 inch border to add just a little more sassifrassiness to the window treatment.

Decorating on a shoe-string budget has proven to be rather fun, as I just add to each room as I can and the transformations are coming along. I like walking into the room and seeing something new every so often. It just freshens it up a bit and allows my creative juices to keep flowing.

I mean, honestly, what fun would it be if you were just able to walk into a home and decorate it exactly how you want it within the first month of being there. BORING. I like the changes (did I mention that we moved the baby grand again? Scroll down to the next post...it isn't in that corner anymore, it is on the right side of the fireplace).