Homework, cookies and laundry

Imagine, if you will, a night like many others, a calming ending to a busy day of school, baseball practice and cleaning in preparation for the King to return.  Things moved along well and for what seemed to be one perfect moment, the stars aligned and the children all got along and took care of all of the business of the day without so much as a baby fit.  We did coin a new phrase today, by the way.  As the children were sent off to their various tasks of cleaning and such, I instructed them to clean "daddy style...not kid style".  That produced various simultaneous groans and giggles as they knew instantly what that meant for them...more work.

So, we did what had to be done and at the end of this busy day Kaden went to work on a frustrating set of words all starting with sta- that he had to alphabetize.  It would seem that the kitchen counter where I was making a new chocolate chip cookie recipe was just the place to go for it.

So, homework finished, chocolate chip cookies baked and cooled (almost) and eaten and we head of to finish watching "Dancing with the Stars" when Kierstin comes in with clean pajamas to put on.  Uh huh.  I was thrilled by her little move and found it cute that she had gone into my room and found the piles of clean clothes all folded and waiting to be put away and chose just the pair of pj's she wanted to sleep in.  Until just this moment when I walked into my room to fold another load of laundry. See exhibit A below.

Exhibit A!!!!

All of the delicately folded clothes from my industrious afternoon had ended up on the floor in her quest for comfort.  As cute as she is and as much fun as folding laundry is for me, and you know I love it, this was an amusing find!

Favoritism

Hmm.  It seems that I am favoring Kierstin these days in my photos.  Can't help it, I tell you.  She makes it so easy.  But.  I will make sure to get lots more photos of the rest of the crew.  I do remember this time with Kyra too, though.  We had SO many pictures of her it was sickening.  Frankly, I don't like her short hair right now so I probably don't take enough pics.  And Kimball despises pictures of himself. And Kaden just misses his dad.  Pouty.  Sad face.  Whiny!

I will get better at hiding my favoritism.  :)  I mean, I will take more pics and share them more enthusiastically.  

Had to share my smokin' babe too!!!

:)  She is too delicious these days!  She carries that Pooh bear everywhere!

So...what side are you on...REALLY?

I wanted to find out what issues I am sticking to in this presidential debate, because frankly, I don't know enough to vote wisely at the moment.  So, I did a little test.  Which by the way, is certainly not the national standard or the "test" given at the polls to decide which way you should vote.  BUT~ It is interesting.  Surprising even.  Here's what it told me when I answered its little questions.

You Are a Conservative Democrat

Frankly, the way most other Democrats behave embarrasses you greatly. You pride yourself on a high level of morals, and you have a good grasp on right and wrong. It's likely you think America needs to get back to its conservative, Juedo-Christian values. Why aren't you a Republican then? Because you believe the government helps more than hurts.

What's Your Political Persuasion?

So sweet!

Well, it is a good thing I picked up my medicine today because I have been finding lots of things that have made me cry tonight.  First, I finished my vampire books with lots of love and excitement!  And then I watched that darn girl sing on Oprah with Celine! If you haven't seen her, you must find a clip of it.  Amber knows, she called me while I was out to tell me that if I needed a good cry then I should watch it as it had given HER a good cry.  And then!  I checked on NieNie.  Oh.  You just have to read this.   

c jane enjoy it: I Could Never Do It Justice 

Uh. huh.  You should be crying by the end.  Wait.  It just occurred to me that Amber doesn't cry.  And she cried for the little girl with Celine.  Interesting.  Moving on.  So, I am reading about Stephanie and Christian and about ready to head off to bed and I get an email from Michelle sharing a couple of pictures that just stopped my heart for a moment.  

As you will remember, Larry is out of town and has been for weeks.  I went to Chicago and brought Larry back with me as a surprise to the kids who were beginning to think he might have run away with the circus.  (actually, he sort of did)  Anyway.  Like the big kids that we are, we decided to really surprise the kids.  So I came in the front door just after dropping Larry off down the road a little and he walked around to the back porch to wait for me to walk the kids out there to find their "surprise".  And this is what it looked like:

I had to fight back tears then just as I did when I opened these pictures that Michelle just sent to me.  I am so grateful for these shots.  I am grateful for the moments we had to share with him before he had to head back out.  I am grateful for the sacrifice he makes to be away from his family and to work tirelessly for weeks on end to take care of us.  It is hard to be apart and people ask me all the time how we do it, and I just tell them that it is what we know and we have found a kind of balance that sort of works.  We both have our moments, or days, that seem like we can't keep up...but we do.  I wish you could see the kids' faces from the other angle so that you could see the genuine relief in their eyes when they saw him.  I am so happy to have these, if only to see the look on HIS face.  Thank you Michelle!

Why oh why???

Ok.  I feel as if I have some strange hangover, not because of anything I ate or drank, but rather, I believe, because of what I haven't taken in three days.  This always happens to me!  I ran out of the magic little 10mg of steadiness that keeps the edge off.  I can't explain this phenomenon, but I know the difference when I don't take lexapro.  I am not depressed, though I do miss Larry and have WAY too much in my head that I know needs to be worked on and completed.  I am actually really happy and so pleased with where things are.  I do wish that I could find some measure of self-discipline to conquer things like school, fall carnival, weight loss, cleaning, church stuff, and of course, Michelle's favorite subject, my long overdue recipe book.  Oh, and then there is the matter of four little lives that count on me to stay steady and focused and balanced, well they may have given up on balanced a long time ago.  Hmph!  I have woken up with an angry headache, the kind that starts behind my eyes and then just settles in any and every little crevice in my head.  The kind that screams for a coke, 2 excedrin, lexapro, sleep and something sticky and baked for breakfast.  It is not the kind that waits for me to send kids off to school with a smile, though I did try.  It is not the kind that is happy to see Kierstin wake up with the sun and choose to stay up and watch Toy Story with her babies, as cute as it is.  It is not the kind that wants to even pretend to be productive in order to conquer my little list of must do's.  It is a pain in the arse, quite frankly.  I am complaining, I know.  I know well how grateful I am and that the pioneers had so much more to suffer than I do, of course they did.  :)  I am just a little miffed that I am not just one of those people who can go without edge blurring medicine, and be healthy and conscious of eating and working out and discipline.  Darn discipline.  Oh, and proactive is its annoying cousin.  Don't have much of that either.  Can you hear the sour mood?  I think I shall take my mood and headache and go curl up in bed with Kierstin and a coke.  (I know, so much for the discipline)

Here's to all of you starting your day with a smile!  Happiness will return to my head soon and we will all, especially my spawn, be that much more pleased for it.  :)

Ok. Now I am sane. Well...you know what I mean.

It is now 10:33 am and all is well in our little castle.  For me, there are few things greater than snuggling up with a warm and willing and still kind of sleepy 2 year old.  We laid in bed for the better part of the morning and just chilled.  I was in and out of sleep with every move she made, but that was okay with me.  As long as she chose my side over chasing the kitten, who is so darn funny by the way, I am happy.  So we are off to officially start our day.  Lots to do and now I can do it with a smile.  :)

Just wanted to share

So.  This is how funny the big kids think they are.  They were playing with blocks on Sunday, what with the no video game, no tv torture they endure and all.  So.  I was still reading my vampire book and rather than asking me to get up and look at their masterpiece, they took a picture and laughed and laughed.  I only just found it when I plugged in my phone.  

And then there is Kierstin.  This is the face of a very tired little girl as she has been waking up over and over in the middle of the night for days.  Don't even ask to see a picture of my tired face, but here she is...tired and mopey and OH so pretty.  I couldn't resist.  She may get grouchy but she is still so yummy to me.

Too many pictures, all in just over a week!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

For the record, any time you see Kierstin's hair in bows, you can thank Michelle for that. She is far more patient and Kierstin likes her a bit more!!! The kitten you see there is Scout, a stray that we picked up that has managed to stay here in our home because Kimball thinks she is the greatest thing ever and she looks strangely like Atticus. Kierstin has decided that my bed is a perfect substitute for a table and chair with a plate for her dinner...see the corn she is thoroughly enjoying while in my bed watching tv??? Uh HUH!!! And Kaden decided that my desk was his choice while eating dinner and talking to Larry on the computer while on this lengthy job. TABLE PEOPLE!!!

It has been a rainy day today. We had to pull out the cookbooks earlier so that Kaden and Kyra could dream up new menus. It has been pretty mellow, but the mellow is starting to make everybody a little buggy. (including myself) I want more than anything at this moment to crawl in bed and sleep until morning, but there are a few little indians that think otherwise.

OH!!! Kassie had her baby!!!

September 11th already!

I know that I owe you a post and some pictures.  It has been a busy week.  I had the privilege of spending a weekend in Chicago with Larry, seeing the sights!  Oh and the food!  Amazing.  We surprised the kids with bringing Larry home for a couple of days.  That was such fun having him home.  As some of you know, he is in the middle of several high profile, well relatively high profile jobs that have kept him in Chicago.  He just finished up the Harley Davidson spectacle that was the 105th anniversary party that took up the entire city of Milwaukee.  (I think that's where he was, it begins to run together)  And now he is working on a big ol' fashioned, 20 million dollar birthday party for some richer than most fella that owns the White Sox, and lots of other things.  And then there is one more, but again, it runs together.  So.  We are flying on auto pilot here with nothing but fun.  :)  Kids are settling into school and activities.  The weather has been wonderfully wet these past days and I have discovered the mania that is "Twilight".  You know, that little vampire book that everyone swoons over that I swore I would not read because I don't even care about vampire stories!  Well, it is fabulous.  I mean, not a challenging read by any stretch of the imagination, which I suppose is important for me as it is primarily written for a teen audience.  Wouldn't be good for me to be challenged by that, I guess.  Anyway, I am in love with Edward!  He is delightful and human and scary and beautiful...oh, you just have to read it.  I know, I didn't want to either, but there it is.  Oh and then there's Sarah Palin.  Uck.  That's all I can say.  It is just strange to me and I keep sort of waiting for Ashton Kutcher to show up on national television with the real VP candidate and reveal this masterful PUNK!  No?  Guess not.  I am sure that she is incredible and what a story she has, but I can't listen to her talk.  Why is that?  I just don't get it and I keep thinking she is going to close with "in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."  She looks like a relief society president to me, not the president of the greatest country in the world.  (Let me state that there is no doubt that I have known many relief society presidents that would rock the White House!!!)  Anyway, that's my rant.  Take it for what it's worth, which is not much really.

And then there is this somber anniversary.  I still can't watch the video clips or movies of the week about it.  I remember every moment.  I suppose it is like remembering when Kennedy was shot, or when we landed on the moon, or when Pearl Harbor was attacked.  We each have these defining memories from different eras and they are each striking reminders of the good and bad of humanity.  I won't rant, but I am grateful for a Heavenly Father who carries us through those experiences and lift us back up to even higher places.  Rant over.

Oh, and our little NieNie was featured on the Today show yesterday.  It is incredible how so many have rallied around that sweet family to raise money and spirits at this time.  Good work everyone!

Hmm.  Well, Kierstin is funnier than normal these days.  I can't explain really, except that she is looking bigger and bigger and talking SO much and now is relishing in a new experience for her that is "Toy Story"!  It is such great fun to watch that again through new eyes.  She makes all sorts of funny noises and faces as she watches it.  Great fun!

Anyway, pictures later as I have to run up to the school.  Have a fabulous day!