Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Archie's

We did go out to eat tonight at a yummy place called Archie's. My Uncle Grant and Aunt Pam met us there. Everyone chowed down on the home-cooked burgers and fries.Except for Nathan, of course...he got peas and pears! He did, however, manage to grab two baskets of chicken fingers and fries off the table. I think I would make a desperate attempt too if all I had to eat was peas and pears!Jacob was sweet enough to grab an extra straw and share his chocolate shake with me!We actually haven't eaten at Archie's since we moved here. They were remodeling and now the restaurant has two stories. Here are the four cousins sitting on the stairs after a filling meal.Aunt Pam cracks me up! She was bending down to get out of the sun, and I love this picture of her and Brooklyn!

Mouse Hunt

Today at the park there was a mouse running amok. The kids thought it was great and chased that poor little thing all over the place. I tried to get a good picture of it...but it's hard to chase a mouse, especially if you don't really want to see it or get too close. So for blogging's sake here are the best pictures I could get of the mouse hunt at the park.
What I really wish I had was video. The kids were running around crazy and all the moms were screaming, "Don't touch it!!!! You can look at it but DON'T touch it!!!!"

Company

Yeah! My sister and niece are here for a visit! I love when people come to see me. Brooklyn (my niece) LOVES babies. She wanted to hold Nathan, but the problem is there's not much difference in size. I had big plans for my visitors but Cynth's fluid levels are low (she's pregs.) and she's supposed to take it easy. I do think we'll venture out for play group and Archie's (yummy diner food) today!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Let's be honest

Take a wild guess what Jake's lesson at church was about today....

Ultimate Gift

I went on a hot date last Friday...with my husband...in our living room...watching a rented video. (What really are we to do with three littles?) Not only did I have a fabulous time but the movie was great too. I highly recommend this one to any of you looking for a feel-good flick!

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Callin' Mama

Very often my boys are slow to react when I ask them to do something. I'm sick of counting, threatening, and asking stupid questions ("Do you want a spanking?")...so I have started singing instead. (No, my singing does not send them running in agony.) I sing the little primary song, "When my mother calls me, quickly I'll obey. I want to do just what is right, each and every day," and they're SUPPOSED to be up and moving before I finish the song. (A trick my mom used with us and I can tell you the song still gets me moving.)

Today Jacob kept asking me to get his bike out of the garage so he could ride it out back. I guess I wasn't being a good listener because he started singing to me, "When your boy calls Mama, quickly you'll obey..." He got his bike.

Treasure of the Day

I was beginning to worry that the Craig's List here was on its last limb after such a dry spell of no good deals, but my faith was renewed today. Here is the Pottery Barn surf lamp I scored for $8.00 today. Long live Craig's List!

I'm Lovin' It


Today after we dropped Jake off at preschool, we headed out for an adventure! I found a treasure on Craig's List that was located across town so off we raced to get it. After I had secured my $8.00 find, I had a couple of dollars to spare and there was a brand new Mc D's on the corner.

Josh and I had such a great time! We each had a fudge sundae, which is so not my style. (The EACH part is not my style, the sundae is definitely my style.) He's had a runny nose so I didn't want to share and catch something dreadful. He ate just a couple of bites off the top of his and was off to play. I sat there with an almost untouched sundae staring back at me and I was trying to decide how far down the germs would actually be able to travel, especially in such cold temperatures. I spooned off the top of his ice cream into my empty container and ate the rest of his for him. No use in wasting!


The coolest part of this McD's, other than it was brand spankin' new and no one was there, was that it had a Dance Dance Revolution! Joshua and I (with Nathan on a hip) tried it out. FUN!! I wonder how long I would have to dance to work off one-and-three-fourths ice cream sundaes! I get a kick off of all the exercise and nutrition they are pulling for now at McD's. But hey, I'm lovin' it!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Peaches and Bananas

Tonight we went over to some friends' for dinner and I didn't bring any rice cereal for little Nathan. Sonia just happened to have some baby food, so tonight Nathan dined on peaches and bananas. At first he wasn't too sure about it.He would make a horrid face but then fuss for more!He would shake a little like it was too intense for him. All of these new flavors he's never experienced before!I truly couldn't tell if he liked it or not...I don't think he even knew! But in the end, like always, he was happy!

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Pyramid Lake!

Over Labor Day weekend we wanted to do something fun since Willie was off. We just couldn't decide if we should hang onto summer as long as possible by going to the lake or welcome in the fall by going to Apple Hill. We decided we weren't ready to let go of the summer and headed to Pyramid Lake. I just got the pictures back! We went out with some new friends that are new in the ward and had a BBQ and swam and played in the dirt. Fun times!

Let's just start by saying Jake is a FISH!
Joshua is a land lover. Here is a classic Josh face. Even little Nathan enjoyed the water!
Willie would throw Jacob up REALLY high in the air and let him land in the water. He loved it and begged to do it over and over. Here are all my men heading back in for some burgers and dogs...yum!
After eating, Will and Jake went back in the water for a bit and then all the boys had fun digging in the dirt.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Better Afternoon

Luckily the afternoon has not brought about any more bodily fluids. The boys played out back for a while and had a blast playing "train" over and over again on the slide. Choo-Choo!

What a morning!


It's usually a little crazy around here, but this morning it was A LOT crazy! It all started with Joshua waking up at 5:45 a.m. needing to go to the bathroom. I still put him in a diaper at night just in case (and because I'm sick of washing sheets) and I truly wanted to tell him to just go in his diaper and go back to bed. BUT I didn't.


My alarm was about to go off for me to go walking anyway, it's just that usually when I leave in the morning (and when I get home for that matter), everyone one is sleeping peacefully. I got my lazy self up, helped him go, got him a baggy of cold cereal (this counts as breakfast in my book) and a movie, and headed out the door.


When I got home, Jacob was also now up. Weird, because he usually sleeps in. I got them both breakfast (second one for Josh) and hopped into the shower. After I was ready to go, I needed some breakfast, which means a third breakfast for Josh because if someone else is eating...so is he.


Jacob comes walking into the kitchen as I'm making toast and throws up all over, three times. Is he sick? Do people just randomly throw up? He never said, "Mom, my stomach hurts." He didn't look or act sick at all. He just threw up, not even close to a toilet. At least he had on a robe and slippers so I carefully got him out of those and plopped him on the couch with a throw-up bowl.


I cleaned up the mess and got everything into the wash. Whew! Change of plans for the entire rest of the day because I was going to go shopping but not with a puker. I still needed to make some calls for enrichment and clean a bit around the house anyway, "Just go with the flow," I'm telling myself.


But the flow keeps getting wavier! Josh yells from downstairs that he just wet his pants. I'm thinking, "You'll wet your pants in the middle of the day but not at the crack of dawn when you're wearing a diaper?"


I went downstairs to help him and realized that I had put them in pants because it is cooler today and he had a hard time getting them down. Not as bad as if he had just been standing there not even trying, he was close to a toilet. I still couldn't help thinking Jake and Josh could have at least orchestrated the throw up and the pee a little better so I would've only had to do one load of laundry.

Throughout this whole ordeal Nathan was wanting to be held. I had a horrible thought that maybe motherhood was preparing me for a time when I might need to have an arm amputated. I am getting way too good at doing everything with one hand! NO MORE BODILY FLUIDS!!!!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Sleeping in the grass

Yesterday afternoon while Nathan was napping, the boys and I were out back playing. It was beautiful out so I got myself a blanket and tried to take a little rest on the grass. I was actually enjoying a little snooze when Josh came over and informed me, "Mom, you can't sleep!" I told him I wasn't asleep, just resting with my eyes closed. This didn't work and he kept on nagging, "You can't close your eyes!" I finally told him, "They're open on the inside." He thought about it for a minute and I guess that was good enough because off he went to play again. Sleeping with my eyes open on the inside...I'm definitely using that one again!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Mountain Climbing

The park we went to today for play group had rock climbing! The boys love this...even though Josh says he isn't brave enough. This is as high as he would go.
Jake was king of the mountain!
It is still pretty warm during the day so they needed to take a rest in the shade of the mountain. (Notice how I have documented the boys sharing water!)
We kind of cheated for play group today. I knew another ward was going to this park at 11:00 so we set ours for 10:00 to overlap with the other ward and I stayed for theirs too! We packed brown-bag lunches and water and we were totally set. The boys were being so good and having such a blast with their friends (from both wards) and I LOVED visiting with all the moms, so I didn't mind spending 3 hours at the park today!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Thank You, Jenny!

On Tuesday nights Willie has Elder's Quorum meetings, which means he comes home for a bite of dinner and off he goes again, leaving me with the three littles. Tonight my neighbor (knowing my situation) came over to keep me company and sane. She even brought push-up popsicles! Thank you, Jenny!

Kai (her son) and the boys played out back for a bit and then we started watching an Elmo movie. They had to leave before it was over and the boys had to stop watching and save the rest for tomorrow to take their bath too. Having a friend over definitely helps the night to go by quicker and Kai is six months older than Josh and about a year younger than Jake so he fits right in!

Jake was telling me all about this Elmo movie (in detail), which I had never seen before. So I asked him if he had seen it before. He said, "Yeah, I saw it when you were getting born with Nathan." I guess he saw it at Jenny's house when I was at the hospital having Nathan! He has a scary memory. Don't ever tell him (or let him overhear) something you would rather not have repeated or remembered!

Be Not Afraid

Whenever Sept. 11 rolls around I always reflect and remember what that day was like for me in 2001. Will and I were still newly married and living in our cozy apartment. We were both in school and working. I remember when the radio alarm went off that morning the stations were all buzzing with what was going on in New York. I turned on the TV in time to see the tower fall.

I just remember feeling so confused and a little scared because it seemed so unclear as to what was going on. I spent that morning in a first-grade classroom (many of the children had been kept home) and then I headed over to the university for more classes. One of my classes that day happened to be my Book of Mormon religion class at institute.

As I was sitting there waiting for class to start and still kind of in shock mode, I opened my scriptures and found the notes I had taken on a talk given by President Hinckley the Sunday before. I scanned my notes and one phrase I had written jumped out at me...the words of the prophet, "Be not afraid, only believe." This was just the comfort I needed at that time. Almost instantly my fears were calmed and I knew that I did not need to be afraid.

We flew our flag and half mass today and I watched the Oprah special with the children that lost parents in 9/11, but whenever I think of that sad day I always remember the experience I had and the peace I was able to feel in such a crazy time.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Brooklyn's Bug!

My little niece, Brooklyn, was playing with something black on the floor today. When my sister took a closer look, she realized her one-year-old was having a blast with a cockroach! EWWWW! Good thing it didn't make it to her mouth!

Dressed to Impress

Josh added accessories to his outfit this morning. Check him out! He was so proud of himself he went running into the playroom yelling, "Jake, look at me!" Jacob enthusiastically responded with, "You look terrrrific (just like Tony the Tiger)!" I love when they are nice to each other.

Sunday, September 9, 2007

The Tooth is Here!


Nathan's tooth is FINALLY through. We've been waiting for it to break out all week. He seems much happier now. It is a sharp little thing (like a razor blade!) and it makes me nervous to feed him....I tried getting a picture of it but that was no easy task. Just try to imagine a white, tiny cutter shooting out of the bottom left of his gums and settle for a picture of Josh kissin' on the tiny teether!

Grandparents' Day

I read in the paper this morning that this very day is Grandparents' Day. So the boys wanted to sent a shout-out to all their grandparents. (They are very lucky to have so many!) Here's to you Grandma & Grandpa Nelson, Grandma Truman, Grandma & Grandpa Kahumoku, and Great-Grandma & Grandpa Nelson!

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Enrich Me

I love my calling in the ward...Enrichment Leader. I get to plan loads of fun stuff to enrich all us ladies! So many things about my calling take me back to the good 'ol days of student council. Here's my handout for Saturday's activity. Do you get the life saver? I wanted to back them onto blue cardstock but since I don't have any and they need to go out tomorrow, I think I'm just going to print them on white cardstock. Each one gets a name label and the ones that aren't taken tomorrow at church will be mailed off. (These are postcard size...cheaper postage...I'm getting smarter each quarter!)

Friday, September 7, 2007

Matcha Matcha!

Maybe I have some kind of disorder or something, but I love when my boys all match. Can't really put my finger on why...I just really like it...a lot. Now that Jacob is getting bigger and Nathan is still a baby, it's becoming a hard task to pull off, so I'm sure you can imagine how pleased I was with myself with this get-up for today.Only the very trained eye would be able to detect that Nathan's shirt is slightly different than the other two. He has a frog print instead of lizards and the leaves are a bit different...but close enough for me!

Thursday, September 6, 2007

The Exerciser

Here is ten dollars well spent. Josh kept calling it "Nathan's big new toy." I told him it was called an Exersaucer, so now he calls it the "Exerciser!" The boys (and bleach) helped me clean it all up and then Nathan got to exercising!

Preschool...Day Two

Day two of preschool...and we were late. 9:15 just came a little earlier today than it usually does! So I strapped a naked (okay he had on a diaper) baby into his carseat, told Jake to put on his shoes while I drove, and told Josh to hold on for dear life! I raced (safely) to Shelley's house and we were about ten minutes late. Great, there goes my chance for mother of the year yet again.

I dressed poor Baby Nathan was in the driveway and then off to Costco and Wal-Mart we went. Josh truly enjoyed being the center of attention. Amazingly I had just enough time to put the refrigerated and freezer essentials away (left the rest in the van) and away we went to pick up Jake with two whole minutes to spare. Whew!

Here's his art d'jour. He says he learned about the alphabet today. Hey, at least it's more specifics than I got Tuesday!

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Gotta Love It

I just got this picture from Willie's sister, Pua, who was just sealed to her husband and boys in Alaska. Isn't this picture the best? Mom, Dad, and their seven kids...what a wonderful accomplishment and beautiful family. I LOVE it!

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Park During Preschool

Josh got to go to the park to play while Jacob was at school today. Nathan slept the whole time and with Jake gone, it was a good thing I was watching a little boy in the ward for a few hours. Josh wouldn't know what to do with himself!

Preschool Days!

Well, it's official...Jacob has gone to his first day of preschool! He was asked to draw a picture to share with the class on his first day. He decided to draw our family. I was surprised because he usually doesn't draw much besides Star Wars. I'm orange (we're talking about the picture now), Willie's blue, the two small purples at the bottom are Jake and Josh, Nathan is the little one floating above me to the right, and the one floating to the left is...SURPRISE! I have exciting news to share with everyone...I was watching a friend's little boy today, Collin, and I guess Jake didn't want him to feel left out. (No, I'm not pregs again. Did I get ya?)He even wrote his name on the back. He was feeling pretty proud of his picture and ready to go.But first we had to do pictures in front of the house before going to school just like we always did when I was growing up.The little brothers were excited too! When we got there he hopped right out and went to the door. No hugs and kisses, no "Mommy, I'll miss you!" He was ready and so I tried to be real cool and just let him go. I was excited and sad at the same time. There's no turning back now... The first thing he told me when I picked him up was, "Mom, I had too much fun." I tried to get a blow-by-blow description of his first day but it seems like the highlights were jumping on the trampoline (two times!) and drinking water. I can't seem to get more detail than that. Oh, he did tell me today is Tuesday, so I'm guessing they did calendar. My little boy is growing up and I love it and hate it at the same time.