five for friday

1. Anne has started to suck her thumb. I do think it is really cute but I much prefer my babies to be attached to pacifiers. Those I can take away.


2. I've been on a bread-making kick lately. I'm trying to perfect a really great whole wheat bread. So far I haven't achieved success but all I've made still taste really yummy with strawberry freezer jam. I've also been making pizza every Friday night. I use the recipe from here. That does seem to be working well. Tonight I made one cheese and one chicken alfredo.

3. What is it about boys and dirt? Add water and I've got a perpetual mess on my hands.


4. Sawyer got Anne to laugh for the first time tonight. I was holding her and he started hitting her feet. She totally busted up and it was so cute. Nathan and Sawyer have been hitting her feet all night trying to get a repeat.

5. And now for the kicker of the day: Slade broke both of his arms tonight. Two arms. Broken! He was swinging without holding on and fell off the swing. He cried until he fell asleep. When he woke up about half an hour later he was still complaining and wouldn't move them. I had Dave come home early from his Daddy/Daughter date with Emma so he could take him to Urgent Care. I will take him to get his casts on Tuesday. We'll see how long they have to be cast and how badly it will effect our summer. Emma was able to have a water proof cast when she broke her arm. Since I just paid for a pool pass and swimming lessons, I hope he can too.

high five

Nathan turned five on Friday. His birthday celebration lasted the whole weekend. On Friday, he began the day with a pancake. He requested to eat it in my bed while watching cartoons.

He went to lunch with Grandma Daniel and then went to pick a birthday present from the store. He picked squirt guns, a bubble blower, a magnifying glass and a kite. Dave returned home from Boise around 6 and helped him fly his kite.

That night we had pizza and strawberries with whip cream for dinner. Then Dave and the kids took a bike ride over to Walmart to pick a movie from RedBox.

On Saturday, after two soccer games, Dave took the four older kids swimming while I had a photo session. They met me over at our nieces' dance recital and then left again to go get dinner. They ended up eating at Purple Turtle (most expensive fast food place ever) because McDonald's computers were down.

On Sunday afternoon, Keri and family came over to celebrate with us some more. Keri brought kazoos so we played a lovely rendition of "Happy Birthday" before he opened presents.


Because his friend across the street had a volcano cake for his birthday, Nathan requested one too. Thanks to Google, I made this one. Nathan put all the dinosaurs on himself though.


I intended for it to be a steaming volcano but all but a very small chunk of dry ice had melted since I had to buy it the night before. If you look closely you can see just a tiny bit of "steam" rising from the crater.

Oh well. He still was happy.


Nathan. What can I say about this kid? He loves being outside, anything to do with water, and playing with friends. He is my pickiest eater and survives on crackers and mashed potatoes with a little fruit it seems. He has the best smile. He is adorable and aggravating. One minute he is flashing that charming smile and the next he is hurling himself on the floor in an inconsolable tantrum. Even then, we totally love him!

he's back

I don't know how single mothers do it. Day after day. Night after night. Dave has been doing his somewhat annual work up in Boise. This is the third time he has had to do this. He is up in Boise during the week and comes home on the weekends. The first time was in the spring of 2007 for eight weeks. The second was in the fall of 2007 for ten weeks. When he told me he would have to go this time, he initially thought he would be leaving right when Anne was due to be born. The start date got pushed back to mid-April so I breathed a sigh of relief. Then it was decided that the transfer team would only go up to Boise for four straight weeks and then every other week for another month. So instead of ten weeks straight we were only looking at him being gone for six out of eight weeks. Suddenly this transfer looked like no problem. We have made it through the four weeks and really it hasn't been too bad. Believe you me I would definitely rather have Dave here but I've been doing okay this time around. I am going to give credit to a few things that I think have made the difference.

• First of all, just the psychological break of knowing I would only be facing six weeks alone instead of ten . The last transfer was really hard for me so anything seemed doable in comparison.
• Dave's sister, Megan, has been coming over two nights a week to help out. She does the dishes. She plays with my kids. She babysits so I can go shopping. She is a lifesaver!

• The weather has finally started to warm up so we have been able to enjoy being outside. The kids are totally enjoying the swingset in the backyard. I have awesome neighbors with great kids who play with mine. They make movies, walk dogs, ride bikes, and play soccer.

• I have awesome friends who brought me dinner a couple of times. Instead of cereal for dinner we enjoyed chicken pot pie and chicken and pasta. Yum!
• I've said lots of prayers and taken lots of deep breaths.
  

Still, we are super glad to have Dave back for a whole week before he leaves again. There is someone else to hold the baby, to discipline children, to wash dishes, to read stories, etc., etc.


And he brings home great treats!

two months

Our little Annie-Danny (so dubbed by Emma) has been in our home for two months. She is starting to smile and coo at us. Since we've started opening the windows and being outside more, she appears to be suffering from some allergies. She sleeps decently at night but only seems to nap well in her swing during the day. She is constantly being held, loved, and "petted" by her adoring older siblings.


She is a baby which requires a lot of work but is a joy and delight.

for dana and merrit

Well, girls, I finally did it. I dyed my hair! No more gray and I even have highlights. I am not so sure about the highlights. A little too orange for me but overall I like it. Are you proud of me!?

make a rainbow

I originally saw the idea for a Rainbow Cake on Hostess with the Mostess. Followed the link to the tutorial here. This is what I did:

Make two boxes of white cake mix according to package directions.

Put about 1 1/2 cups of batter each into six bowls.
Mix in food coloring. Use gel food coloring. Not the liquid kind.


Pour about 2/3 cups batter in pan for the first three colors and about 1/3 cups batter for the last three. Reverse the order for the second pan. Bake. (I don't remember the exact times but I did add additional time for these to cook since the batter was doubled. I started with the suggested baking time and then checked every few minutes from there.)


When your niece asks if she can lick the bowls, don't just assume she means with the help of a spoon. She and little brother will end up just sticking their hands in all that wonderful color.


When the cake is cooled you can frost however you wish. Mine was all crooked but I didn't let that bother me! It makes such a pretty cake. I think this will be fun to use with different color schemes on different occasions. I love color!

evidence of children

The evidence is all around me. I am a mother of littles. There is endless laundry. Endless messes. Fighting. Destruction.

There are also endless hugs and "I love you, Mom"s. Laughter. Moments so cute your heart aches. My hands may be full but then again so is my heart.

blessed

To finish our wonderful week of family and fun, we blessed Anne at church on Sunday. She was blessed by Dave with Grandpa Slade, Grandpa Daniel, Uncle Colin, Uncle Jason, and Uncle Brett in the circle.

After church, we had lunch at our house. And took pictures. And sat around talking. Three of my favorite things.

Wow. It was such a busy week but so full of love and laughter. Just all kinds of good. Indeed, I am one lucky girl.

hey, mama, welcome to your sixties

When Colin and Amy's wedding was scheduled a few days before Mom's 60th birthday, my sisters and I began making plans for a party. We started with grand ambitions--many attendees, catered meal, beautiful decorations--but as things often do, it didn't turn out that way. In the end, it was a more casual affair held at my house with just four of her children, one sister, and two nieces (plus all their children). Still, the company was great, the food tasted delicious and the guest of honor felt honored.

A party honoring Mom must include a program. Dana and Merrit played a two-hand piano duet with "two hand tied behind their back".


I (with a LOT of help from Dana) put together a slideshow of pictures from her life. (A note about the slideshows: the first song in Part 2 was written and sung by my dad. The audio in the third part has been disabled due to copyright. The first part was Bushel and a Peck and the second was Hey, Mama, Welcome to Your Sixties)

To finish, Keri put together a quiz about Mom and new words to Happiness Is... which we all sang.
Then it was time for cake. I made a cake which celebrated my mom's love for color. It turned out perfectly. Her expression when she wondered aloud what kind of cake it was and then cut into it was just awesome. Unfortunately I was playing with my camera at the time and missed it.


Mom, I hope you really did and do feel loved. You are one truly remarkable woman and I am so glad I'm your daughter.