Wow, what a great holiday season we have just had. I love the magic in the eyes of our children when they see Christmas lights, our Christmas Village, Santa... We had so much fun! I bought way too many books, so now we have at least 25 picture books about the birth of the Savior. Apparently I am also collecting Nativity scenes because we now have seven different sets. Only two of them are not touching ones. The kids were constantly playing with and positioning them.

A couple of funny things B said: "Mom, where would you like to go over Christmas break?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Like Hawaii or Disneyland...." I just laughed so B tried again, "How about Roy?" Now Roy is do-able. Regrettably I must inform that we didn't even go to Roy!

B also told me that they read "The Grouch Who Stole Christmas" at school. Was that me?

The girls all got brown boots for Christmas and R calls them her "co-co-lat-tay boots." It is close to how you say chocolate in Spanish. So cute.

How I wish I wrote down everything they said. They make living enjoyable... most of the time.

Now I would like to share things I can never complain about out loud.

• Spaghetti legs while trying to put tights on. I just keep trying to move the tights up their legs and they (you know who "they" are... S, R, L) they have wobbly legs, bendy legs etc. Grrrr....
• Last year I bought E a leather Jeff Gordon jacket... that was too big and he complained for a year. So, this year I bought him a smaller one in twill. I wrapped it up and put it under the tree. Christmas Eve he puts out a twill jacket that he had bought himself! I knew he wanted one....
  
• L never puts her own panties on after she goes potty. She brings them to me, waving in the air, no matter who is here. Yes, yes, I am just grateful she is going potty.
• S pretends like she can't understand Spanish when I ask her to do something she would rather not do.
• Every time I comment on the beauty of the snowy weather my husband takes it as a personal affront, as he has to maintain and fix the cities snowplows. When he is on call, meaning he has to work at all hours if there is a big snow storm, he asks, "Do you want it to snow now? Do you love snow?"
• As I comb and "do"my girls' hair they creep closer and closer to me till their heads are right against my chest. You can't do hair that way.
• We had a Thomas the Tank Engine Train that our neighbor had given us a year ago, minus the Thomas. B got a new Thomas engine for Christmas and my husband kept wanting me to take it back to the store. Then E spent hours helping the kids set up a track, he insisted we leave it up over night and E continued to play with it the next day. Go figure.
• Keeping track of 12 gloves, family hats, boots, putting on socks and shoes on so many feet...
• Children who pretend like they can't dress themselves because they need more mama time.
• Pee, pee, pee...
  
• Cookie monsters, we all know it is my fault the cats all love cookies.
• E eating an oatmeal cookie from a neighbor and saying, "Why can't you make cookies like this? Could you learn how?" I don't make oatmeal cookies because I don't like them, not because I don't have oatmeal cookie skills! Are you kidding me?
• Putting gloves on little hands! It is difficult for me to control those little fingers and get them into the right place, and then do it again, and again, and again, and again....
• Girls having opinions about hair. Tinker Bell hair means a bun pony tail, Mermaid hair is a french braid, Dora Princess is a high pony tail, two braids, two pony tails, clips, bows.... Wow!

Well, I will stop there. The kids are cute and really quite well behaved, I think. We love them and don't want to send any back. Here they are in their new Christmas jammies.

Painted Ladies

The goosies got into mama's makeup. They actually impressed me with their skill. They got the lipstick on the lips, the mascara on the eyes and the eye shadow close to the eye lids.

Science!

What a great day. I started off the day at the gym reading my brand new book, The Mormon Scientist by Henry J. Eyring who I believe is the son of Henry B. Eyring. I just got through the acknowledgements, the introduction, the overview and a smidgen of the first chapter. It is so amazing! I came home so happy and uplifted.

Then I took B to set up his very first science fair project. I was feeling really lame because we did it just this last week... but it looked nice and I think it was great for a Kindergartner. He won a blue ribbon in his category and a bronze medal out of the 1st and 2nd graders. He was the only one from Kinder. Weird, eh, can't figure that one out.



We, as a family, are so very proud... look at Sarah hugging him. Here is a video of B explaining his project. The volume is really low, so hopefully you can hear it.



I'm so proud my buttons are bursting, and not because of all of the Easter candy either. May I just add that I love Reeses (both Di and the peanut butter/chocolate specialists).

Another bit of great news that Ticee shared with me is that Friday Night Lights will be back! On the same happy note Ana is having her ultra-sound tomorrow. What do you think, boy or girl?

Photographer

My kids are so adorable. You should have seen them Sunday, all dressed up. I found some $7 dresses on Walmart.com that are to die for. I really want to document how adorable they are, but I do not have any luck or skills in that area. I couldn't get my monsters to hold still at the same time... or to look at me. S was determined to hold up the picture she had made in Primary. R and L thought she looked cool so they held their arms out. B loves his stuffed animal so much he thinks it should be in every picture. I don't know why that tiger drives me looney. B makes little noises and tells me what the tiger says. He also rubs the tigers paws up against me. Grrrr...

Anywho, I took about thirty pictures and not one of them is great. I just want a picture of all of my monsters, in all of their glory... at the same time.

My Favorite Things

• Primary teachers and presidency who love your kids and magnify their callings. We had a primary activity today where the kids filled out little books about themselves. Then they decorated a frame that we put their picture on one side and right next to it a big heart that says "I am a child of God." It was so well organized. I really appreciated all the work they put into making the activity great.
• S singing all the time, today she was making up a song about a pirate. I just caught the line, "...and the pirate died, the pirate died."
• R and L playing together with their "dolly house." They take turns role playing with all of the family members and pets that live in their little house.
• B's love for his "building" toys including transformers, bionicles, legos... I see it as a sign of genius. : )
• Receiving two emails from missionaries I served with in Guatemala! I heard from Hna. Allred and Elder Cordero this week. What a great season of my life the mission was.
• Hearing that a chocolate factory is going to open in my very own town!
• The Complete Jane Austen on Masterpiece, PBS.
• R's love for puppies, Diego, Woody, and especially her papa.
• L's love for kitties and any princess will do.
• B reading out loud to me.
• L's scrawny little legs climbing up to the counter top in the bathroom to wash her hands after she goes potty.
• Curly hair.
• My girls all decked out in a princess gown, crowns, gloves, slippers, and jewels. Especially when I didn't have to help them!
• S and B on the computer at the PBS kids site. They can do everything without my help. Technology and young minds, amazing.
• My children gaining their own testimonies and learning about their divine worth. Tomorrow we will be singing as a family in sacrament meeting. I Am a Child of God in English and Spanish, then I will throw in a verse in Navajo. Yes, we are crazy... but its the church, what can you do? Just sing I guess, just sing. I am positive that our kids are cute enough to take all attention off of the talent, or lack thereof.
• Watching my cats get so much joy from turning circles, counting, getting dressed by themselves, coloring, going potty, dancing ...

Happy Birthday Brigham!

Our lovey lovey boy just turned six. He was so excited for his B-day that he woke up at 5 a.m.! I decorated his room with hearts and he had to come in to tell me about it. Then he saw his unwrapped gift and E told him to go ahead and open it. He woke S up to share in the joy and he had plenty of time to play with his Transformer before he went to school. He also had time to burst into tears because he couldn't transform it and give the gift back to his sleeping mother. The Transformer layed by me for a while but B came back to give it another try... all before I ever got out of bed.

B has had a big year. He learned to write his long firt name back in the beginning of his sixth year, before he turned six he also mastered his enormous last name. B started Kindergarten and learned to read! This week he read to me the following out of Night Creatures: "Some animals are awake at night, and they sleep during the day. Owls and bats are awake at night. Crocodiles, foxes, and jaguars are awake at night, too!" I am very impressed by my smarty pants.

We had a simple dinner of heart shaped sandwiches, heart shaped cheese and apple slices. On his cake we put two transformers fighting and called it good.

B Playing in the Snow

Shopping with Little Monsters

Yesterday after B's school we went to the Dollar store to look for B-day party supplies. I parked by a cart with thoughts of trapping kids inside the cart for less touching within the store. As I was unloading the van, a man came up on his bike and asked for money. He had come down for a job interview on the bus and he forgot to bring return busfare. All he needed was $0.75... As he was blah, blah, blah, I was putting L into the little seat in the front of the cart. Then the search began for money. The wallet was empty of bills, and I could only find some dimes, nickels and pennies.

Then, crash, boom, screaming and crying. I look over to see the flimsy shopping cart with L still iln the seat laying on its side with R under it. Poor little R was just laying on her back, unable to move with the weight of the cart on her. Apparently R and S had both climbed onto the same side and caused the crash. S escaped injury but R has a big bruise on her cheek and L has a huge bump/scrape on her forehead. The worst was the money guy just rode off on his bike without saying anything. I was so frustrated with him I yelled out after him, "Don't you want your money?"

When I told E the story he said, "He was white wasn't he?" (And he was.) "I don't understand how someone who was born here, they have papers, a social security number... There are many job openings out there, how can they not have any sort of job. Yet, they are very comfortable asking for money." I must admit that I see his point. I have been hit up for money at least ten times in parking lots in the last few months.

That was just the beginning of the horror. The kids were tired, whiny, begging, fighting, peeing, touching, grabbing, almost breaking and very embarrassing as we went from the Dollar Store to Zurchers to Target. I am that mother wtih all of the rotten kids in public. I know it isn't all their fault for being tired and dragged around... but....what's a girl to do?

The Many Faces of Rachy

General Conference!

Wow! I am feeling so loved right now. I really appreciate the Lord "giving it" to science-hater right over the pulpit at General Conference. Elder Scott's talk was so perfect. Loved it... and I love science. Hurrah for President Eyring and for the many hispanics who spoke. I love hearing any type of accent, it reminds me of how world wide we really are.

Every conference time Deseret Book has a ladies night during the Priesthood session. I have never been able to go. So, this year I was determined to just go for it. I wanted to buy two books that we are reading in book club, Finding Peace, Love and Joy and the new Sheri Dew, so I have been waiting to go and check out ladies night. The first 100 ladies received a clock, so I loaded up the cats at 5:30 and we headed on over. To my surprise, there was a line outside the door, in the rain! I knew that I could get the clock if we joined the line... but I just couldn't justify making my tinies wait in the rain. A couple of minutes before 6 p.m. we headed over to join the line. My kids were so great during the wait to get in. The line slowly moved towards the door, but they were having a good time looking at themselves in the windows. When we were about to go in, a woman came from the opposite direction and started walking in. Someone said something to her and she got a little feisty. "I have already been inside! I just needed to put something in the car." I am sorry that I couldn't hear the other side of the "discussion," the other party speaking so quietly. I just heard, even louder, "Are you LDS? You are? Did you watch conference today? Well, you should have learned something!" Ouch, I think the other lady was rubber and what was being yelled at her bounced right off her and stuck back on the yeller. I guess she didn't learn enough from conference either.

Inside was so packed! You had to squeeze through crowds to move anywhere. That was so tricky with my four little cats. Someone came by with free cookies and I snagged one for each of my kids. We were standing there in a little line while they ate their cookies and some lady came up and said, "This is the book I want, but we'll have to go look for one that isn't slimed by water or cookies from little kids." Ouch. Of course my children would never slime books, we love books and care for them with that love.

I saw Denniane Gutke in the middle of all the madness... we grew up together. Her mom was also my sixth grade teacher and my Sunday School teacher. Denniane made my night by telling me that I looked really beautiful, that I had always been beautiful. Hmmm... She is nice.

While in line to purchase my two books the kids just hovered around me playing. A nice lady came up to me laughing saying that it looked like little heavenly bodies orbiting me. Many people were very kind. Deseret Book gave away many, many gifts. They were drawing out 15 - 20 names every five minutes. We waited by the door just to make sure that I wouldn't miss my name... but they didn't ever call out for me. So, as I was herding them out S informs me she needs to go potty. Back into the store, around you, behind them, twisting, turning, keeping all of my little ducks in a row. Once S ran up to me after getting knocked down by a teen in a hurry, "I got hit by a big girl!" We also saw the "heavenly bodies" lady and she was so excited for me because she thought I had won and was going to claim my prize. Nope. Finally we made it to the back of the store and the bathrooms. Women's, locked... Men's locked... S please don't pee in your pants, it will be just a minute. Then a lady comes out of the men's and I started pushing my cats in, only to find it full of a table and chairs. We barely fit. Then S started crying because she can't use that bathroom... let's not forget the fear of public toilets. We were able to get it all taken care of and head back out. By that time, they had started drawing names again and I figured I might as well wait. We found an empty spot and hovered. R and L layed on the floor! I kept whacking people with my gianormous bag. When I couldn't take it anymore we started making our way to the door. I hesitated once more at the door but, alas, they didn't call my name.

Walking out of the door a young woman asked if I had won. I answered no. She then held out two CDs wrapped in raffia. "Take these... I have four kids and have never been able to come because of this," she motioned to my four little orbiting satellites. "My husband just had surgery, so he couldn't go to Priesthood tonight and he let me come. I am just so impressed that you came with all of them." I made some little protesting noises, but she pushed the CDs into my hands. Overwhelmed with emotion I reached out and just gave her a big ol' hug, frightening her just a little. She made a slight nervous laugh, turned and walked quickly away. I can't even describe the light that filled me up. That was truly Christ like love. Thank you to that girl and may she receive many, many blessings for being so thoughtful.

I have exactly eight minutes to blog before I have to go pick up B. He had big show and tell again today. It is now every Monday. He took his transformer, Jetfire. I always try to steer him towards something cultural or educational, yet he continues to focus on toys. I guess I should let him choose, we'll see. Maybe we will take turns.

L started wearing panties today. She has been ready for quite a while, but I wasn't. I bought her and R some new undies and unveiled them this morning. R tried it out, but after peeing in two pair of Dora panties she ran to her room and brought me a diaper. Cutie. L has done great and hasn't had any accidents. I tell her to go potty and she says OK, running to the bathroom. Pushing the stool by the door she turns on the light. Then the stool is scooted over to the toilet so she can climb on. Later she must scootch the stool to the sink, but I must turn the water on for her because it is still way out of her reach. Tiny little thing.

Church... RS was combined with the men yesterday. Interesting. The teacher was fantastic (the Elder's Quorum President) but science hater and wheelchair man were annoying. Instead of just listening and learning, they were searching for any tiny little thing they could disagree with ... and they found plenty. I always feel like I have to comment as well when I think I must stick up for the teacher or bring the discussion back. What does it feel like to just sit and listen and not feel this weird pressure to speak up?

The nicest part was I found out there are at least 5 funny people in the ward. Excellent news.

They put E and I as visiting teaching/home teaching companions. So, yesterday being the end of the months, we took cookies around. I found that I need to let E speak more.... but when the situation is awkward or I am nervous, I just blah, blah, blah..... faster and faster. Frightening.
But we got it done! : )

Can't wait for this weekend and General Conference. I loved the RS meeting.... thanks Sue for calling to remind me. I was so paranoid about forgetting that I tried to think about it everyday last week... and I did remember! I like the new Presidency.... Love Sister Allred because she is Hispanic and has an accent... love Sister Thompson because she is single and a little heavy... love President Beck because she speaks Spanish and she came to a conference here and was nice to my husband.... and all of that was before I heard them speak!

Love to all!

Julie

Familia

We've had a couple of busy days. Yesterday was Michelle's wedding so I took all the cats and went down to the temple. It was so fun. Dad and Donna came up with Becki and Cardon. Uncle DeLeon was there, as were Dorothy and Paul. It was so fun seeing Dad with Terry, DeLeon and Dorothy. I couldn't help but remember Lisa's wedding three years ago, pre-stroke. Dad was joking and laughing with his siblings. This time there was still joking and laughing but also a polite addition of trying to include Dad and ask him questions etc. Dorothy took a couple of pictures of Dad while he was just standing alone. She loves her brothers so much!

Afterwards everyone went to eat at a Golden Corral and I just honed right in. (Is that even a word?) I got to have Dad drive down with me. He talked to me about dinosaurs with feathers and their articulation. I talked to him about getting engaged in the temple we'd just left. The best 30 minutes of the day. At the restaurant Becki was such a huge help with my little monsters. S adores her and sticks to her like glue. (Speaking of glue... our neighbor gave us a play kitchen... yes, we are thrilled... the other day S broke out a glue stick and was trying to glue the plastic sink back into place. She rubbed glue everywhere!) Aunt Debbie made me happy... twice! First she said she really missed us girls (that goes out to all of the good Slade girls), and she tickled R and said to Donna, "I don't know how you can stand to stay away from these kids. I would be up here all of the time." That's right. Cute kids.

Today the city had a "party" for their employees and families. We came home loaded with goodies. They gave us all bags, water bottles, balls, stuffed animals, pedometers, stress relievers and much, much more. The kids loved it! We signed up for a contest to get moving, as in exercise. We also need to add veggies and water to our diet. Piece of cake... we keep track for a couple of months and may win a trip to Disneyland! Watch out!

After the wellness extravaganza we went to a surprise birthday party for Melvin. If you knew Leah and Melvin (a couple who previously were part of the Spanish Branch), you would know how weird it was to surprise Melvin. The Palmers and the Fonsecas were invited along with Leah's family and it was in Melvin's family's house. For such on odd group of people, it was surprisingly pleasant. Jason Palmer finally started speaking to me. He never liked me while we were in the branch but now he opened right up. His great-grandfather happens to be Thomas Chamberlain who helped settle Orderville. Go figure.

There was also 38 year old Andy who has Down's Syndrome. Wow, that is a long time to take care of your son. His dad was so great with our kids. He sat down and explained that Andy had Down's and sometimes acted a little silly or did funny things. I think it really was perfect for B and S so they wouldn't be afraid of him, instead they played well with him.

Leah (not mine) started snapping picture like crazy and I found it very funny. She is such an interesting study. At first I thought she might be a kindred spirit ... but I haven't ever been able to really break through. She adores Melvin, which I also find very funny. He is so stand-offish and, well, rude. But she thinks she caught the greatest prize out of the pond. It is nice to see how much she loves her husband. I hope people know that I caught the priziest prize and I love my husbando.

And, as a last note... I am almost better, getting over the cold. All that's left is the cough. So, today I returned to the gym. I saw the naked lady from my first visit, she was fully clothed this time. I asked her about swimming laps. I am trying to get up the nerve to go in and swim laps. She mentioned she also does the sauna. Don't think we need to ask if she wears clothes in the sauna. Woo, woo.... Ticee and I are going to see who can lose the most weight before Christmas. I know, not fair to Ticee who is already small, but she suggested it. Anyone want to join in?

Love to all!

These are some more pictures we took at the reunion. I told L it was a potty and she was ready to use it! Cute kids. May I state once again how glad I am that I can stay home with my little monsters. At least until they get into school.

Some fun things have happened lately. I walk 3 miles every morning with my friend Luz. We always wave at people because we see the same people drive or walk by every morning. One little Asian couple drove by on their way home from the cookie factory. (Sometimes they still had their hairnets on... and we've seen them close to the factory.) The husband has always been pleasantly surprise when we wave... Now they wave at us first. : ) The other day they saw us and quickly pulled over, frantically motioning for us to approach the car. "Cookies for you! Cookies for you!" As they handed us a bag, the wife (who always drives... interesting little tid bit) was chanting it over and over. (It kind of reminded me of Alina's "papas fritas" story.) They had brought Luz and I a box of cookies. So sweet.

We have many other "wave at" friends, but my favorite is a girl who used to refuse to look at us. We have now won her over and I'm sure we will soon be swapping addresses.

The other day B heard some program announcing their web address and he told me he wanted to go there. Then thoughtfully he asked, "Mom, what do you think it says at Heavenly Father.com? " That's my boy.

S & B wanted to play in the water and S couldn't find her swimming suit. I put some shorts on her and had to force a shirt on her. She thought she should be able to go topless like B does. A few minutes later I looked out back to check on them. I found S running around topless and B peeing off the balcony. Beauty, eh? I'm sure nobody in the neighborhood thinks of us as white trash... well, mixed trash....

Now to church. I am not used to people not loving me, so this English ward is really throwing me for a loop. I haven't found any soul mates yet, but there are some nice people. There is also a clique of youngish couples that I really don't want to be in... but the women are always in nursery. My girls have decided to scream bloody murder if I don't stay in nursery with them. This is something quite new. I am sure that the three of them got together and planned it as torture for me, payback for leaving the Spanish Branch were they were goddesses... everyone fought over who got to take care of them or play with them. Now I must sit and listen to these women talk about hair and bodies and shopping etc. Every now and then I feebly try to enter the conversation... but I haven't been successful yet. Ick... After an hour of that E came to spell me off.....

Sunday School, I had no idea what the lady was talking about. She tries to share her thoughts but everything came out disjointed... or it didn't make connections in my brain....

Sacrament meeting... The science hater from the previous week in SS gave a talk. The week before he had mentioned that the world worshiped at the feet of science and blah, blah, blah... After church I went up to him to let him know how much I loved science... and that was exactly what I said. I just wanted him to realize that many scientist love God and recognize his power. OK... So, his talk was supposed to be about labor, work... but he spoke about Charles Darwin vs. Joseph Smith. He said many horrible things like only God knew how the earth was created so we should just wait until he tells us instead of wasting time trying to figure it out. At one point he read a quote, which I missed because of a small riot taking place in our bench, and then said, "Did you hear that Sister Castilony? I only say that because last week she accused me of being a scientist hater." Wow, now that was rude.

I must admit that I shed a few tears in the van after church...

Then I had to see his wife last night at scrapbooking. She spoke about how no one in the ward came to see her when she was in so much pain. Last night she kept saying, "She's not talking to me," and she would point at me. However, I had to "talk" to her quite a lot. She trapped me on the way out telling me about her daughters step-son and his abuse, her other daughter's reproductive history, her mom's Alzheimers, her yard... and much much more. Why did we leave the Spanish Branch again?

I must be off to announce the Book Fair at faculty meeting at B's school. Why do I love his school? Uniforms, teachers from Spain and Taiwan, Spanish spoken often everywhere and everyday, 25 kids per class, high expectations. Love it!

Love to all!

Julie

Howdy ...

I always think of Dad with that little twinkle in his eye saying "howdy" to people as we would pass by them. I sure do love our dad. I will do anything it takes to make sure my kids know that I love them, you know.

Today we went swimming at a great pool! It has two huge play areas for little kids. R was freaking out for the first half hour to an hour... then she finally settled down and had some fun. It it so trouble some to see so much of yourself in your kids. I do not like to try new things (I often want to.. but I don't enjoy it for a while), and when I am in the middle of the NewTHing I act very grumpy because I am nervous. So, I assume that is what R was doing today.

It is really nice for us to go places with our tiny family... many place have age three and under as free! Half of us are FREE! So great...

Being the strong Slade girl that I am, I always assume that I will not need sun block, sun block is for sissies... or for whities, which I am one. So, needless to say, part of me looks like a cooked lobster. I say swim suits are way too revealing... and they shouldn't be worn by fat ladies... my legs, my legs... I am just proud of myself for going out in public. For years I haven't gone swimming because of my horror at seeing myself in a swimming suit. Forget that... swimming is so fun!

I went down the gianormous slide... and all of the way up the stairs, I kept looking for signs that said, "No fat ladies allowed on slide." I am telling you, it is a lot of trauma and pressure being over weight! There was no sign and the slide was slippery, super fast, and pretty long. Fun...

E signed us up for the new Gold's Gym in our new downtown hot spot. The city will pay for his membership as long as he goes eight times a month, and as his wife I get a discount. He went to check it out today and he was pretty impressed. It has a pool, a track, basketball, raquetball, weights, treadmills (about 100 he said... but I think he included the stair steppers... ), all kinds of classes etc. This will be good for us. Our goal is to weigh the same by my next birthday. Then instead of being a perfet 10 as a couple (he is the one and I am the zero)... we will be an 11. Funny husband. : )

Love to all!

J

Fun times in Southern Utah yet again. This time we went west instead of East. The trip down was rather exhausting. It might have had something to due with the fact that we were all worn out before we even started.

We had a WIC appointment in the morning. Just a few highlights... I had to call a number to prove our file was still open or I would have to reschedule. So, I dial the number on my cell phone and have to push "1" ... then "3" ... then "2".... then "0" ... by the time a person came on the phone S was about to pee her pants. So, I took her into the bathroom, trying to balance my cell on my shoulder (it is too small...). I just left the twins and B playing and/or searching for me. S refused to get on the toilet (ever since the incident at the library when she literally fell into the toilet and after I saved her the toilet automatically flushed) she has to be gently persuaded/forced to use public toilets. I was trying to tell S that it wouldn't flush, and trying to talk on the phone. Then I had to hand the phone over to the lady behind the counter.... So, I left S crying and partially naked in the bathroom, ran to the counter, handed off the phone, and ran back to the bathroom. The twins spotted me, started crying and running after me.

All of that was in the first five-seven minutes. I won't bore you with the rest of the visit. But it only got worse. We were there for an hour and a half! At the end, a nutritionist tries to talk to you about the kids' eating habits.... everyone was crying! She just printed out the "checks" to let me escape when the thought popped into my mind to make sure R was given her goat milk. She had to tear out all of R's checks, look up a code and reprint them.... The sadness is that she still gave me the wrong thing. Instead of quarts of goat milk, she gave me cans of evaporated goat milk! I can't decide whether to make R drink that or try and make a new appointment to enter the dreaded WIC zone again. The taste of reconstituted evaporated milk is the only thing that haunts me. Gross... so can you imagine goat milk?

Then we helped Ana leave her apartment. She was at that point where you have worked so hard to move and you think you should be done.... but one thing after another keeps popping up. There is always more and more things in the apartment... the little annoying things that don't fit into boxes. Poor girl. She did it though... and she is now settled in CA, reunited with her husband. I took Ana to SL and dropped her off.

Then we met Steve... who had been waiting for me for about four hours. I'll teach him not to say he doesn't mind waiting. After this trip, I am sure he has changed his mind.

The cats were great up to that point. The next four hours were an absolute nightmare, full of asking/begging S to stay clicked, discovering that the crackers I had so liberally passed out had not been eaten... but had been crushed to decorate the floor, babies crying, stinky diapers, hungry monsters. Whew! We got to Ticee's around 10PM.

I was so excited for Susan to have such great boys. Kaber going threw the temple...so grown up, so not the little "baby" cowboy/army guy I can still remember. Chris baptizing Zachary... they both did their part perfectly. I loved watching Richard by the font... giving advice, making sure everything was alright, but not stealing the show. What a great dad.

The food was great. I feel super guilty that I didn't bring anything... my only contribution was helping Ticee with the forty desserts she brought. (exaggeration)... Also, I am still dreaming about the fluffy salads Janice made. Was that Jello, cottage cheese, cool whip and fruit? I can make that worth almost no points at all. Another thing I love about Sue and Richard, they always add a little class to their food. My delicious BBQ/au jou(sp?) (yes, I did both to the same sandwich) was on some special bread... that I didn't even get to ask what kind it was. Maybe Parmesan.. it was good. The best news of all for me was that I didn't gain any weight on the trip (other than water weight... which is now gone)

I am sad that I missed staying at the ranch. But I got to "watch" Ticee's kids while they went to a movie (everyone was asleep and I just held really still and enjoyed the quiet for a while before going to sleep myself).

Thanks to Susan and Ticee I was able to print out the application for E to apply for citizenship/naturalization as it is known in the Department of Homeland Security. We just finished filling it out last night. Now all we need is for our neighbors to pay for their part of the fence and we can send off the application and $330 to the previouslymentioned Dept. of Homeland Security. This really has been the easiest application so far.

I just realized that I had better check the instructions... because usually we have to send our last three years worth of tax information, photos, fingerprints etc. All I did was fill out the form....

Congrats to any one who was able to make it this far with me. Quite a feat... Oh, and about the "owl" necklace... at least I remember it's existence... I know Mom wore it at least once... maybe it wasn't "Bob" night... but I remember Dad worrying that it might break or something. Maybe I am blending memories. I think that is more convenient for my brain...

And, Jodi, the birthing panel is a pictograph/hieroglyph... some ancient drawing that Dad says represents the birth of Christ. I will see it someday.

I miss Ana... Tuesdays I slept in because I was wiped out from traveling, Wednesday it was raining too hard to walk, but this morning I went walking in a little drizzle of rain. It was nice... but I like talking to Ana more than walking alone. Although I did see a killdeer (bird) so that was fun.

Love to all!

Howdy y'all:

How is the wonderful world out there? My life is wrapped around my kids. Warning: this blog will be very disjointed. I am just going to share random events that have occured over the last few weeks.

Ethan, a baby I care for a couple of hours here and there, just reached out and grabbed S's hair. She just said, "You like my hair, it so beautiful," as she tossed her hair back to illustrate the point. She is a hoot.

Yesterday I was downstairs moving boxes from here to there. I could hear B calling to me, something about someone wanting to use the bathroom. "Go ahead!" I just wanted to finish a little more, just this stack... When I finally got upstairs, I found the entire family in the bathroom with nothing but shirts on. B had taken out the tiny potty chair from under the sink for R & L. They had taken off their pants and were thrilled to be peeing freely. S & B had apparently used the bathroom as well. Some of the kids had missed because there was urine all over the floor. It had been a general pee fest. Since I have been forcing S to wear panties, there has not a day gone by that I haven't Cloroxed the bathroom floor. Good times.

B has started telling "jokes." I just asked him to tell me one so I could share with you. "Mom, what do you wear and where do you go when it's Sunday?..... shopping." Hey... that was pretty funny. The other day he said, "Mom, this is going to be so funny that is will send your glasses right off you face."

I met a girl at Weight Watchers (which will be known in the future as WW) who has twins and then I saw her at the library for story time. Give us a few months and we could become friends! I like her because she says she can't even remember the first year of her twins' life. They are 3 1/2 now. Usually I try to pretend it all away and say how much we love them... people always say how lucky we are, they wish they had twins etc. So, it was nice to meet an honest girl. Sure do love that honesty!

Ethan had thrown many Kix (cereal) off of his tray. Just now I looked and they are no longer on the floor. Must have been S.

Yesterday B opened his first can with a canopener. He was doing great till he got the top off and somehow all of the mandarin oranges were suddenly on the floor. I just scooped them up and put them in our salad. How low can a person sink? But you can't really expect a person to waste a whole can of oranges?! Beware of the food that comes from my house.

The chicken salad I made last night was so good! I threw in pasta, chicken, mandarin oranges, pineapple, grapes, celery, onion and coleslaw salad dressing... and a little Wasabi salad dressing. It was missing the cashews... but hey... Not that I have anything against cashews. We must support all of the poor laborers who are gathering the marinon fruit for only one cashew each fruit. Unbelievable!

Well, R has been crying this whole time. She is probably a stinky pants girl. Love to all!

Julie

Hey.

Happy Birthday to Autumn today. Did you break up with your boyfriend yet? I spent so much time dating boys that I liked OK... but mostly I just went out with them because I didn't want to hurt their feelings. What a lot of skinny-me time I wasted.

I still find myself "sacrificing" so someone else won't feel uncomfortable. Yesterday at the bank I wanted to do a variety of transactions, cash a check, pay of my credit line, put some in savingss, put some money in a CD so we can go to Honduras when they dedicate the temple (hopefully it will be in more than a year!) and I wanted to open a savings account for my girls. The more transactions my teller completed the slower she got. When I thought she was done with the CD, I started talking about S's savings. It took me a couple of minutes to realize that she wasn't done with the CD yet! When she finished the CD, she was so proud to be done that I just didn't have the heart to tell her I wanted to do more. So, I just left. Poor S, will she ever get a savings account?

I took all of the cats to the doctor today. It was R and L's 18 month check-up. The had to get four shots each! I hope I remember to keep them loaded up on Tylenol. I always give them some right before they get the shots. I just remember when I got all of my shots for the mission. I was miserable and in quite a lot of pain and discomfort! My arm ached so bad from the tetnus shot, I also felt tired and naseous. I hope R and L don't feel like that.

Before I left I made appointments for B's big number 5 (lots of shots : ( he wil be sad), R and L have to go back in 6 months and I asked if I could just schedule S with them. The receptionist said that the doctor recommended seeing only two kids at a visit. So, of course I caved and made a separate appointment for S. We wouldn't want to inconnvience the doctor. Why do I do that? Now I will take them all with me in February, May, and July... and lets not forget the WIC appointments in February, March and June.

Next week we go to the dentist. The kids loved it last time we went and I love the free toothbrushes. I wanted to call them teethbrush. Funny.

Jodi... I haven't called you yet to tell you that I don't have your photos. You probably sent them when my mail box was full. I kept deleting things, but it stayed full. I was so confused. Then I realized that I had to empty the trash folder. Shamefully, it took me weeks to realize what the problem was. That's what happens when your life isn't your own.

It is snowy hear today. I love it. We haven't had very much snow this season. Elias has only cleaned the driveway once so far. The Elders cleaned it the other time for us in exchange for me telling them who is inactive and who has moved out of our branch. Good Trade.

Well... love to all!

Wow... it has been awhile. I am getting as slow as an old lady with arthritis stuck in molasses. Is that how the saying goes? In all fairness to Alma, I should not be making arthritis jokes.

Life is good.

Today I was pleased to see the amount of learning that took place with my children watching their television programs. After a "Blue's Clues" on different environments around the world, B informed me that..." deserts are hot and have a lot of sand and Cadillacs. A Cadillac is a tall, green thing with spines.:"

After an episode of "Backyardigans" where they visit a luau and the volcano sisters. He ran in to tell me that "voka-pele" means the volcano is going to blow in Spanish. I said I thought it might be Hawaiian... He just looked at me and shook his head, "I don't think so, Mom." Funny cat.

I received a little shock opening the pantry and finding three Care Bears looking at me (the work of S). Last week I kept finding Chevron cars smiling at me every time I opened the pantry door (that would be B). I opened up the "lazy Susan" (no offense meant to our dear sister, who we know is not lazy) to get out some raviolis for lunch and I found an empty can of black beans that had disappeared out of the recycling trash (this I owe to L, she loves to play in the canned goods). I have also found the trick-or-treating pumpkin and shoes, among other things, tucked away amongst the canned goods.

Alina called me today! She is settled in her house in Moab and enjoying the craziness. We who grew up in Blanding know that Moab always has been a little... you know...

Alina said the nicest thing and I am tearing up now getting ready to type it. She said the other day she was thinking about the injustice of us not being able to have our mother's things. How sad it is that many things have been lost or ruined (like all of her recipes, jewelery, and who knows what else). Then it came to her that those things are not even important. Our mom is so proud of us for being good wives and mothers (fathers) and good members of the church. That is what matters to her most, not if we have her "stuff". We are honoring her with our lives.

Do you see why I love Alina so much?! I am so glad that she can receive revelation for me. All joking aside... I feel the truth of what she said.

We are just good, aren't we. Not that we aren't still waiting for the stuff : ) We've waited more than 20 years, we can wait a little longer I guess.

My mother-in-law came back from Honduras last week. Now the contest begins... Nahum wants her to take care of his daughter (she really needs someone to bathe her regularly... they keep trying to "manipulate" me into taking care of her... I probably shoud, but the thought of it makes me so tired and sad... it would mean goodbye to the Treehouse and library... enough about me) Maribel wants to finish beautician school and needs my mother-in-law to take care of her kids (she has a brand new baby that is so cute!) and Marlen wants her to stay with her kids. I'm guessing that she will be hear for a month then go with Marlen for a couple of months, then come back again. That is what awaits us all. Our children fighting over us to take care of their kids.

My fiesty ex-counselor just had a baby. She refused (and said many unecessary rudities) to take a meal to a lady she visit teaches a few weeks ago... So we are pouring it on. We gave her a baby shower last week, the next day she gave birth. They didn't want to tell anyone from church, but we called when they didn't show up for church. They were inundated with visits yesterday (our RS presidency included) and they are getting meals taken in for a week! We'll teach them to not want to serve others.

Well, I am working on the family calendar. You will all have it before January ends. I need pictures from Steve, Jodi and Ticee... email them to me :) Hopefully it will work.

Love to all!