How to start a Christmas day with a 3-yr-old

Christmas morning, 2012, about 8am - way too early to be awake after staying up 'til 3am wrapping presents.

I woke with a start.  Charlie was screaming in pain.  He came in and said, "My nose hurss! [hurts]"
"What happened?" I asked with concern, "Did you pick your nose?"
"Yeah, [pause] no.  I puh ih in dere."
Growing alarmed now, I asked, "Put WHAT in there?"
"I puh ih in dere.  In my nose."
"What?  WHAT in your nose? Is it food?" I asked hopefully.
"Yeah.  Ess food."  He said, but didn't sound too sure.
"It's food?  Is it candy, or is it a lego?"  (Please, PLEASE do not be a lego!!)
"No!  Nah a weh-go.  Ess tan-ee"
(Phew!) "What kind of candy?  Is it a round candy?"  The boys had been playing with some hard round candies yesterday that were slightly smaller than a pea. 
"Yeah.  Iss roun tan-ee"
"Okay.  Okay (breathing again).  Blow your nose and get it out."
He sniffs... IN.
"No, no!  Blow out, like this"  I make a show of snorting out.  "Oh dangit!  He's making it worse!" I think.
He sniffs again.  I reach for his nose to plug the clear nostril, and he screams at me and runs away to his room.

I flop back on the bed and mutter to Mike, "Great.  GREAT!  He would have to put something up his nose the one day that the doctor and Instacare are not available.  Our only option if we can't get this out is the ER."
Mike turns over and mumbles that it will be fine; it's candy.  It will melt.  How the heck can he be so calm??  My baby might permanently damage his lungs, and worse, we might have to go to the ER and fork out $150 just to hear: Oh, it's nothing.  If it was candy it probably just melted.
"I'm not sure of that!  It could be something else... a bead maybe!  And he's sniffing!  What if he aspirates it into his lungs?" I mildly exploded. [Not sure if that was the correct medical term, but that was the word I thought of: aspirates.]

My panic was growing when I heard Charlie cry out again.  I jumped up and rushed to his room.  "Iss owt, Mah-Mah," he said with the remnants of a sniffle from crying.
Cautious relief begins flooding my system, but I am still skeptical.  "Where is it?" I asked.
"Oveh dere." he said pointing at a blanket on the floor.
"Over there?  Where??  Go get it!"
He scrambles over to the blanket and picks something up, brings it back to me and deposits a sticky, and now slightly smaller round piece of candy.
The full relief takes over.  I admonish him to NEVER put candy, or anything else, in his nose ever, ever AGAIN.

He agrees.  (Thank heavens... but I'll believe it when I don't ever see it again...)

Well... what great adrenaline rush to start the day off.
Merry Christmas to me. 

Anyone else have an amazing Christmas morning... that didn't go exactly as planned?

ADHD

Excuse me, I need to climb up onto my soapbox for a moment.

There.

Now for all of you within the blog reading zone... please listen (read) up!

I have ADHD. I have had it my whole life. When I was little my parents and teachers didn't quite know what to do with me.

Teachers:

"She won't stay in her seat"

"She talks out of turn"

"She constantly interrupts"

"She raises her hand, but blurts things out before she is called on"

"She doesn't get her work done"

"She doesn't listen to directions"

Parents:

"Why don't you answer when I call your name?"

"Why won't you hold still?"

"Why are you just sitting there staring off into space? You're supposed to be doing X!"

"How many times do I have to tell you to do the same things?  Do I have to make you a list?"

That last sentence was always dripping with sarcasm. I always replied with an emphatic "YES!" because I knew that I would not remember everything I was asked to do - or sometimes that I'd even been asked to do it.

HELP! I’m flying with small children!

I'm a veteran flier. My husband works for Southwest Airlines, so we fly a LOT. I think we average 12 or more trips per year. (He averages many, many more)

I have 4 boys ages 11, 8, 4, & 2, and most of the time I travel with them ALL BY MYSELF. That’s right, my husband is already in another city, so he does not help at all. My 2 oldest boys sit in the other rows, so I get to deal with 2 & 4 on my own. Yay.

It’s not so bad though if you take some steps to prepare.

Here are the things that help me when we fly:

Pillow & blanket. Only for long flights, but they can't help it. Lower oxygen & boredom means if you make 'em comfy enough they'll zonk. I always at least take blankets for the younger two on EVERY flight.

BENADRYL! Benadryl is completely safe. My pediatrician is the one who told me to do this. Not kidding. This IS the drug that's in Tylenol PM. Completely safe & non-addictive. Be sure you check with the doc or pharmacist for the correct dose for their respective weights. You may want to pre-test this though – because a very small percentage of children (including my 2^nd son) go the opposite way and get hyper when given Benadryl. We learned this at a bad time. On a plane. Try it out near bedtime before you have to go. Trust me. And once they're out - you go to sleep too; take your own dose of benadryl if you need to. :D

HEALTHY snacks. The airlines will give you junk. It's fun at first, but then you want REAL food. And not the crap they dole out. Fruit is always good. My kids LOVE grapes & oranges. Peanut butter sandwiches taste heavenly when you’re starving. Granola bars & real fruit leather work wonders too.

Something to help their eardrums pop:

Drink: No, you can’t bring juice boxes through security anymore. Dangit!! You can bring juice or formula in a bottle, but my kids are past that. So, bring sippies & Sports bottles and fill them with water after you get through security. If you don’t trust the drinking fountain you can go to any of the restaurants & get water from the soda machine. Sippies are also invaluable for keeping the drink the little one gets on the plane contained. The lid & straw they provide always just turn into toys in the hands of my kids.

Something chewy: For the older boys gum works great. But for the little ones? Not so much. So we bring other chewy things. Swedish fish, star burst, taffy, fruit snacks… And they know these are ONLY doled out during take-off, and more importantly during the descent. When I feel my ears starting to pop it’s time to get the snacks back out.

Play the yawning game: It’s easy. I yawn, you yawn. Who can do the biggest yawn?

Sleep: Ah yes, back to the pillow & blanket and Benadryl. The nice thing is that if they’re asleep during descent their ears tend to work it out on their own.

Decongestant (last resort): This one is tricky. It’s a controlled substance (kinda), and the little ones can NOT take the pills. If there is any reason their ears are not popping (like a cold – or stuffy nose – or crying), this is the thing that will bring relief. And trust me, an ear that won’t pop hurts a LOT. I’ve been there. I can sympathize with the poor babies to whom this happens. I ALWAYS bring this stuff. Yes, it’s medicine so you can carry it on even if it’s more than 3 oz.

*warning* This causes most kids to become hyper. So I tend to avoid this one unless I know they REALLY need it and we’ve exhausted the other options. Except in the case of a cold – then it’s absolutely mandatory first. I hate traveling when the kids are sick, so if I know they have a cold when we’re are going I try to reschedule. It’s just not worth it! This is more for when they’ve caught the cold there & you need help coming back.
Oh, and the kids that get hyper with Benadryl will often be the same ones who don’t get hyper when they take a decongestant – and will conk out instead. Yay!

But what to do when they’re awake?

Well, that’s when you break out the entertainment.

Bring your own movie player: DVD player, ipad, laptop, tablet… whatever you have that can play movies. I’ve found for the 2 & 4-yr-olds that they prefer their favorites be with them. The older kids like new ones. Redbox is AWESOME for that (domestically). Rent it at home, return it in the city you visit. Don’t forget the headphones, and the splitter so they can BOTH hear the movie. If the airline provides movies you may still want your own, but if you do want to watch theirs pick up your own headphones and adapter at home. They’re cheap, and then you don’t have to pay every time to use them!

Again, test run is important. Nothing worse than getting on the airplane and finding one of the headphones broken, the splitter not working, the DVD player not playing, and the batteries dying only one hour into the flight. Yes, all those things have happened to me. Actually, all of them happened on the last flight I took with my kids. You’d think I would know better. Apparently not.

Other Electronic toys: My kids like their Nintendo DS’s. Even the 4-yr-old is enamored of this one. Or let them play with a PSP. iTouches and iPhones (in airplane mode) are great for the little ones. Not only do they play videos, but there are lots of free apps that are fun for them to mess around with. Again, if there is sound, plug in the headphones.

Take them for a walk: As soon as the fasten seatbelt light is off, get up and walk the aisles a bit. Be sure to remind the little ones not to touch the other passengers, or walking time is over. This helps them blow off a little steam, and with luck tires them back out. It helps YOUR circulation as well.

Take them to the bathroom: I know, it’s a little gross, but it’s a distraction. And with all the liquids they’ll be taking in (and they DO need them – part of “jetlag” is dehydration) they’ll need to go more often anyway.

Books: Favorites, or something new. Either way, kids love a good story. And when they’re little they often like hearing the same one over and over and over and … bring a healthy dose of patience for this one. Coloring books are also a great diversion in this category too if you have one that likes to color. Mine don’t. (dangit)

Treats: What happened to healthy snacks? Those are great, but sometimes it takes chocolate to calm the kids. I know, bribery is not the best thing in parenting, but in a confined space when you’ve tried everything else it may be a lifesaver. And to tell the truth, I like having a treat! (Peanuts do NOT count as a treat)

Toys: Again, favorites are good here. Be careful of the small ones. They’re hard to find when dropped, especially when the plane tilts to go up or down and the small car rolls all the way to the back of the plane – or at least 10 rows behind you. That was NOT good. Backup toys are good.

Surprises: It doesn’t have to be anything big – really. The trick is to wrap it like a present. A snack, a new book (or old), something from a dollar store – all are good.

Don’t forget yourself!

Make sure you bring entertainment, healthy snacks, treats & drink container for you too! And on a long flight pillow & blanket for you as well. Planes are only pressurized to 8000 ft, and for most of us that is far too little oxygen. If you tend to get altitude sickness like I do (light-headed, headache, nausea) a little caffeine can go a long way. I don’t like colas, so I usually drink a Mountain Dew before I go. A quarter pill of Vivarin would do the same thing though. Sleep also helps kill the altitude sickness.

Any other tips or questions? Please comment!

listen, listen...

Our new Relief Society president in her lesson on Sunday said that we may not always know when we are being prompted by the Holy Ghost. I suppose that may be true. I do know that with practice it becomes easier to know when you are being prompted. I've learned to discern when I am being prompted, mostly through having been prompted and not following the direction given. Then having to clean up or otherwise rectify a situation that wouldn't have happened if I had listened. Almost always after I am reminded that I was told, but not in a na-na-na-na-na told you so kind of way, more like: I'm so sorry this happened honey; I tried to protect you!
And then I promise for the umpteenth time that I will listen better next time. It's hard though, because even though I recognize it as a prompting I am often a willful little stinker. What I am being asked to do is often inconvienient, and not what I had planned, so I don't want to! So often I get promptings when I am running about, trying to get things together or put away in preparation for the next thing or leaving.


So, now for the latest. Don't worry, this is a good story. I listened this time.

Spring/summer is finally here. So it is pollen season! Yay. not.
Michael and I are both fighting the itchy, runny eyes & noses. We like to use the eye drops and nasal mist. They work well, without us getting drowsy. On Monday we'd had a particularly rough day, and had both been coughing the night before. This was a new one for me and him, and I wondered what we could do to prevent a repeat that night. I pulled out the bottle of regular antihistamines. The kind that DO make you drowsy. I hesitated. I don't like being drowsy, and I had so much to do tomorrow! I began to put them back without taking one, but then the spirit whispered to me that I should take one, and if I did I would be able to get enough rest, and everything would be ok. "I won't fall asleep when I drive?" I questioned. I could almost feel a tinge of laughter when I was reminded that he'd already said everything would be ok. I was promised I wouldn't feel tired when I drove. So that fear aside I called Michael in and we each took an antihistamine.

So on Tuesday it was evident we both slept better for it too. So I figured that was why I was told to take it, right? Good enough for me. I was glad I had listened, and thanked Heavenly Father for His guidance.

I trundled the kids off to the library that afternoon after Charlie's nap. Nathaniel fell asleep on the way, so I had to wake him to go in. Needless to say, he was not the most cooperative little guy. He pulled his "I'm not happy with you, so I'm going to run away" trick far too many times. But I told him only one book, then I had agreed to two. So when he ran away when I said no to the third, I took back the second as well.

And then I was stupid enough to continue on to Target! I wanted to get a shower curtain for Michael's recently finished shower. He was SO excited to start using his own bathroom! Nathaniel made a bee-line for the candy right as we walked in the door. He grabbed his favorite chewy jolly ranchers and refused to let me take them to put in the cart. So I put him in the cart with them. He then began surreptciously eating them. (I don't know if that was before or after the free cookie from the bakery) By the time I found out half the box was gone. And then he didn't want those, he wanted a new candy bar! No.
So we took our stuff and went to check out. As we neared the checkout Nathaniel spied a 4-pack box of muffins, and asked if we could have them. I knew he was hungry so I told him no muffins today, but I will take you home and get you dinner right away. I started loading our stuff onto the belt and then heard gasps and some stifled giggles behind me. Nathaniel had opened a box of muffins and taken a huge bite. The giggles had been from the other female shoppers. "I guess we're getting muffins after all," I said with a bit of exasperation. I glanced at the box before I set it with the other items to be purchased. "Cranberry orange" I saw. "Ok," I thought, "at least it is a flavor I like. I wonder if the other kids will eat any of them?"
When we got out to the car I gave Nathaniel the rest of his pre-bitten muffin. Then I grabbed one too and took a bite.
It tasted funny. I looked again at the label. Cranberry orange WALNUT muffins.
CRAP.
I'm allergic to nuts. I could feel an edge of panic and dismay rising up in me. What should I do now? Could I hurry home fast enough to get some medicine, or would that be too late? Should I go back in and buy some so I can take one right away? I cringed. I dreaded the idea of going back into the store with the kids now - they'd all just been buckled in and opened their promised treats for being good. What was I going to do??
And then I got a wonderful feeling of peace wash over me. "You took an antihistamine last night," the spirit reminded me. And suddenly I could see that THIS was the reason I had done so! With the antihistamine already in my system the nuts would not have a chance to make me sick. I was so relieved, and so very grateful I had listened.

Then today, not so much.
I had lain down with the baby to get him to go to sleep. It worked. On both of us. Nathaniel sought me out, and asked me to make him some chocolate milk. The spirit warned me that I should get up and get it for him NOW, but I balked. I was still tired, and would get up in a minute. I told Nathaniel I would come in the kitchen in a moment. And then I fell back asleep. (I didn't mean to!) When I woke a little later and came into the kitchen there was chocolate powder everywhere.

So, I'm not so good at listening yet. I guess that's not true. I hear, but I don't obey well enough yet. Perhaps that is what I should be promising more of: obedience.

Change of direction... and LISTEN!!

First change:

I had been planning a vacation to see my brother & his family (mostly his wife - we are best of friends) for over a year. Then my friend decided to get married that weekend. So we postponed the trip - just long enough that we missed the balloon festival that we had planned to see while we were in Albuquerque.

Second change:

My trip plans were to go from Albuquerque (brother's house) to Portland, to Spokane so we could drive down to Mike's dad's house in Pendleton. The second day we were in Portland while we were at the Children's museum (wonderful place, be sure to go there if you're ever in Portland with small children) Josh developed a fever - and started tossing his cookies. I wouldn't have worried too much about that, but he also wouldn't eat. This is a sure sign in Josh that he is very sick.

So we took the 45 minute train ride back to the hotel. I had to wait for Mike to finish working and come back so I could get Josh some ibuprofen from the store.

I gave it to him, and waited. His fever came down only marginally. It was really really high. It was so high that I was pretty sure I could cook an egg on him. He was bright red - literally. I knew that it's usually a bacterial infection that causes such high fevers that ibuprofen can only barely dent. And we were more than 500 miles from home. I would have to take a plane to get him home... and if it was an ear infection it would be torture for him. Then I thought maybe it was just food poisoning, and maybe it would be out of his system by tomorrow afternoon. I got the strongest impression from the Holy Ghost that I needed to get him back to Salt Lake ASAP.

So I asked Mike what flights we could take the next day - without any stops. There were 2 choices: 6:45am, and 5:55 at night. I thought maybe it would be ok to let Josh rest in the hotel as long as possible and just take that evening flight. That way Mike could still take the kids swimming this night and they wouldn't be overly tired. So while Mike took the other kids swimming I stayed with the sleeping Josh and Charlie. I had thought I'd read or watch TV while my boys swam, but I felt compelled to start packing - just in case.

When Mike came back we talked about our options - splitting up the family to still have him see his dad - taking morning/evening flight - which kids I would take/leave to go with him. I felt so very unsettled, and I wasn't sure why. By the time we finished talking and decided that I would wait and see, it was quite late.

After Mike had gone to sleep I got the impression that it would NOT be ok to wait - I needed to take that morning flight. I was concerned that I wouldn't wake in time to get everyone packed in time - that I wouldn't wake in time. I went to sleep and then woke at 4am and felt Josh's forehead. His fever was still sky high and from when I gave him the medicine it should have been down at least a good bit. Then I felt like I was being catapulted out of Portland. I had to get up NOW and GO! - and I needed to take Mike with me. I was done questioning, so I finished packing quickly and woke everyone to go to the airport. Mike went along with it but grumbled a bit when I seemed to have everything in hand. Michael was causing problems because he was just so very tired (he kept laying down in random but bad places.) Indeed I wondered why I had had to bring them along. Then Josh tossed his cookies once more in the airport, and I had to rush him off to the bathroom. If Mike hadn't been there I wouldn't have been able to whisk Josh off so quickly. The boys all slept on the plane - no surprise there after getting them up at 5:15 - Michael had been shocked that other people were actually awake too!

Third change:

When we got home Thursday morning I decided rather than take him to the doc right away I'd let him rest and then wait and see if he would be ok. By 3:30 though I felt I needed to call the doc, despite feeling stupid doing so. Josh's only complaint was that his ears kinda hurt.
So we went. And the doc checked his ears. No, not them. So he checked his throat - because pain from the throat can radiate up there. No - didn't look bad. Did a strep test anyway. Negative. So we went home figuring that this was just a virus. I was perplexed as to why I had felt that impression to go if it were nothing. Perhaps just to confirm that I was doing all I could?

Fourth change:

Josh finally said he was feeling better Saturday afternoon. He ate soup and said he wanted to ride his bike. I told him no, of course. I wasn't about to let him do to much right away and relapse. I did need to go to the store - we were out of bread and milk. So I took him there. I got a pizza and we did a movie night. Josh even ate 2 slices, and it looked like his fever was all but gone. I thought, "Well since we're home and Josh seems to be doing better, I guess we'll go to church tomorrow."

I then got the impression that we should NOT go to church tomorrow. I thought that was a little weird. Why would the Holy Ghost tell me NOT to go to church? I brushed it off thinking I was probably just being a little lazy because I didn't want to drag 3 small kids to church, but after these trying few days perhaps I was entitled to a bit of laziness... just a bit.

Fast forward to Sunday morning - I woke to a phone call from Josh's doctor. He informed that Josh did in fact have strep and needed antibiotics right away. I was surprised because I had thought Josh was getting better, but I concurred. He told me I should watch for the symptoms in the other kids too. Then I felt I should tell him about Nathaniel's fever last night - I felt silly because I wasn't 100% sure it was even a fever - could've been just him running around & hot. The doc said he'd call in prescriptions for both.

Just now I held Nathaniel because he was being cranky.

He has a fever.

All I can say is, despite my doubts and reservations, I'm glad I listened.

Now I'm off to get some prescriptions - and some redbox movies. I hope I can keep them down long enough to actually get them better.

Wish me luck.

Here come the Rohde's... destroyer of worlds...

Here come the Rohde’s… destroyer of worlds…

Ok, so maybe not the WHOLE world... yet. But we're working on it, one house at a time!

We have a standing invitation to "camp out" whenever we like at a friend's house. He is a guy who's been like a second father to Mike. He has a big house, a big yard, and a fire pit in the back. There is also a stream nearby. It has all the things we look for in a campout spot, with bonuses like actual cooking facilities and beds for the babies... AND showers in the morning!

So we finally took him up on the offer this weekend. Then the weather forecast was for rain overnight. So we set up camp indoors.

That night Charlie and I stayed up late (as usual). I got thirsty and went out to the second fridge in the garage. I remembered that they usually have ice cream sandwiches in the freezer. I opened it and, sure enough, they were there, but it looked like they’d been there for a long time. A really, really long time. So… no. I grabbed a drink and went back to the kitchen with Charlie. About an hour after that, the power went off. No problem. I saw the emergency lanterns in the pantry and grabbed one of those. We played a bit longer, then finally got off to bed around 1am.

Next morning I wake to sounds in the kitchen and smells of pancakes. Our friend had cooked us breakfast! It was so sweet of him. I came up and got breakfast along with everyone else. It was wonderful, and when we’d all had enough our friend finally sat to eat and I began cleaning.

Since we were all distracted our oldest thought he’d sneak out to the garage for yet another soda. Mike caught him, and came back in aghast. He announced in any angry, upset tone that the freezer had been left open, and everything had thawed so “I hope you wanted to have meat tonight”. He said he was so sorry, because he was sure one of the kids must’ve done it. He then went out to get to work cleaning up the mess. M2 came with him, and then came back in to ask for a bucket. Then Mike came in to get a rag.

I thought back to last night and said to Mike that I felt it was probably me. I had been out to the garage after everyone else. It was most likely me that had done the damage. And it might've been ok, but the power had been out for HOURS last night.

Mike cleaned it up while I apologized. I was mentally tallying the damage costs I had caused. How much money would it take to replace all the meat and other stuff they’d had in that freezer? $50? $100? More?

I started to apologize to our friend, but he cut me off saying it was probably something that just fell keeping the freezer from shutting properly. He claimed some of that food was too old and needed to be thrown out anyway… plus he was getting his freezer cleaned out for free.

We stayed for lunch then packed up to go. Just before we left he asked us to come again. I wondered how he could say that with a straight face…

THEN THAT NIGHT...

From that adventure we went to another friend's house. We'd had them over a few times, and it was exciting to get to see their house. They'd made us a really nice dinner. N kept hitting, following, and otherwise annoying their son who is 7 and autistic. N was basically just driving him right to the edge. I had to keep grabbing N and apologizing to her son.

J tried to kill the fish and flood their house by banging on the fishtank. We foiled him in that.

Then, right as it was time to leave, I went where the adults were discussing expanding the driveway to tell them, and their son came out saying “He hit me!” I told him I’d be right there. I hurried in only to find that something had been spilled on the couch and NEW carpet . Root beer. Aw, Crap. I went back out to ask our friend for something to clean the couch and carpet with.

She came in gave me the stuff, and I was able to get it out of the carpet… but I’m not sure if I got it all out of the couch.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t get invited back there either.

And after reading this I'm sure we won't be getting any invites anywhere. Ever.

Conversations with a 2-year-old

It's sad to think I won't be able to have many more conversations like these with Thaniel.

Because he's turning three soon.

So the latest one went like this:
Thaniel: (points at the laundry room) Ma-mah, es mess-ee.
Me: It's messy, huh?
Thaniel: 'es. Cee ih uhp!
Me: You want me to clean it up? (in an sad tone) Do I haaave to??
Thaniel: 'es.

So I guess I'd better get to work.
Right after I finish blogging.

Kids say (and do) the darndest things

The other day Nathaniel came up to my room to ask me something. I had no idea what he was asking for because 2-year-old language is not always decipherable. In fact, I consider it a minor victory if I am able to guess what he's saying. While he was busy trying to get his inept mother to get it right, he heard his brothers laughing downstairs. His eyes lit up and he turned away from me saying, "Jus a min-et, mama!" He then ran out of the room, and when he reached the stairs he yelled back, "jus a min-et, mama!" again. I busted up laughing.

Charlie thinks he's SOOO funny. He loves laughing to see if he can get us to laugh with him.
Works every time. (We're such suckers!)

Josh has developed a funny habit (or exasperating habit - depending on my current headache level). Every time - EVERY TIME - I ask him to do something he begins his pout and stomps his foot declaring, "Why do I have to do EVERYTHING????"
I have no idea where he got this from. (ha!)

Michael has started a new routine. He gets ready for bed abnormally early. The reason? He really, really wants to play ravenshield with his dad. I can't say I'm too fond of the idea of him playing a shooter game, but I'm just wimp enough to love that I don't have to ask a dozen times to get him ready, so I let him. Besides, it's good daddy-son bonding time right? It's not like they kill each other.

Just today...

Just today Joshua spontaneously read One Fish, Two Fish... and volunteered to read to me! I feel he has had a major breakthrough and is now finally recognizing word endings as a whole, and being able to interchange the beginning letter to exponentially expand his reading vocabulary. Say that three times fast! (That! That! That!)

Just today Charlie laughed spontaneously at me. I don't know what I did, but I hope I can repeat it... his laugh is so cute!

Just today the six of us went to see the new disney movie about the frogs :) It's not slime.
It was cute. I just love family day at the dollar theatre in Sugarhouse. That's when I always take the boys up to see any good kid-flicks that are out. Next stop Planet 51 (as requested by the Josh)

Just today Mike informed me that he had been informed of the exsistence of Ilene. I know about Ilene. She is, according to Josh, my future daughter-in-law. I think it must be serious... I've been informed of 3 kisses so far.

Just today Michael accepted the assignment to stay in the car with 2 sleeping babies while I went inside a tile showroom (I could see the car & kids the whole time). No DS. No DVD player. Just him listening to his brothers snore. What a good helper & good brother! He got his reward - his favorite candy bar - but he didn't know he'd get it when he said he'd stay.

Phew! What a busy day!

New year... new me?

Soooo much has happened this last year.

• We lost Mike's grandpa... so sad. But we spent a week in Oregon with his family - it was great to spend time laughing and remembering and learning more about Grandpa Rohde with them.
• I became pregnant (technically before last year). Yea!
• I became sick. Boo!
• Grandma Newren decided she'd had enough of this popsicle stand and went to be with Grandpa. yea? boo? I miss her lots.
• Dad survived prostate cancer surgery. Way to go dad!
• Mom survived gall bladder surgery. Now we can no longer say that mom has the gall...
• Charlie arrived on 9-9-09.... I dare you to forget that! Okay, but I won't. I was SO glad it wasn't 2 days later...
• We had Thanksgiving at my house, and used all my fanciest stuff... tablecloths, napkins, glass plates, and real silverware... my Fancy Nancy was so proud!
• Christmas went off without a hitch. The boys accepted that Christmas was not unlimited (I did too, reluctantly) and they enjoyed it as much or more than last year.

Now it's a new year. And I'd like my old body back. So I'm working on it... little by little.

Does a rice krispie treat negate a workout?

B-day, Seattle & boats...

So this time I’ll start with Michael. Michael’s Birthday was on the 3rd. We have done a ton of stuff for him – including the trip to Albuquerque. On the day of his birthday all we did was let him play computer as much as he wanted (no chores required), and took him to Chuck-a-rama. His choice. I told him he could have lunch anywhere he wanted – and that’s what he picked. Mike even condescended to come, and was the only one who didn’t enjoy it. Michael was very sweet & understanding when I had to take a nap after lunch, and didn’t feel well enough to take him swimming. I promised I would take him swimming later that week when we went to Seattle. What a sweet son he has become!

Michael has been delighting in prompting Nathaniel to say things. In truth, we all do. I just loved the most recent one:
Michael: “Heavenly Father…”
Thaniel: “Hea Fah-er…”
Michael: “Thank you for this food”
Thaniel: “Dant oo foo…”
Michael: “Please bless it…”
Thaniel: “Peaz bess”
Michael: “In the name of Jesus Christ…”
Thaniel: “MEN!”
I love how on his Michael decided to prompt Nathaniel to say a prayer, and that Nathaniel already knew the order!

Michael has advanced in scouts. He’s no longer a wolf, he’s a bear (Rawr, mama!). Yesterday was the pack meeting. As a part of that they held a “Raingutter Rigatta” where the boys could race the boats that they made in some raingutters. Michael did very well, and won a lot of the races. And joy of joys – they gave out goldfish to not just the winners, but everyone! So now we have 2 goldfish.

Mike is constantly working on his truuuck. And if you’ve ever heard him talk about it, you’d know that , yes, it does have that many U’s in it. He was so excited this week to find a part to fix the leaky gas tank. One problem down, several hundred to go. He hasn’t done any work on the basement lately, partly because he’s finally gotten another Tech in his shop, and he’s been traveling all over with him to get the guy started up. Mike also helped Michael with his boat. I think Mike was more excited about shaping & engineering the boat than Michael was. Mike even raced one of the other dads after the boys were done. Mike won the first time, then they of course had to race again, and Paul won. So it was a tie. Oh- and Mike found my camera for me tonight– it was in my desk drawer that I’ve only searched ten times! I suspect it had help leaving and getting back, but I suppose I’ll never know for sure… I guess I owe him that quarter. :)

Joshua has been spending a lot of time playing with Michael and Nathaniel. He played connect 4 with his Aunt Liza today, and kept winning – mostly because he would tell her not to play – or he would play several discs at once. It was funny. I think Josh enjoyed our trip to Seattle the most out of all the boys. He loved the playground and the pool, and watching cartoon network. The hardest part was leaving one activity to go to another! He loves his new goldfish, and has named him John. I’ve warned the boys that the fish will only live for about a week. We’ll have to see how long they really last in pickle jars.

I had a grand time in Seattle too. We were only there for a couple of days, but it was enough to get our fill of cool weather, swimming, and hot chocolate and cookies. Who would have thought we’d actually want hot chocolate in August? But with temperatures below 70 degrees, we were glad of a cup after the park.
I got the kids registered for school today. I’m both glad and sad they’re going back to school. I love that they’ll be learning stuff, but it seems this summer has just gone by too quickly, and I wish that they’d had more time to simply play.
We’re still not ready for the baby, but now we have some prospective middle names… maybe. And to my relief Mike found the crib parts, so at least he’ll have somewhere to sleep.

Thaniel is saying more syllables, and grasping the meaning of more words. I admit to being guilty as any of them for prompting. I love hearing him say, “Mama’s gorgeous, Mama’s beautiful, Mama’s pretty, Mama’s cute!” (Sense a theme here?) He knows now what share means – it means if you have a toy, give it up. If your brothers have a toy, and you yell, “share!” they will give it to you. On Sunday when I asked Thaniel if he wanted breakfast he surprised me by not only saying yes, but asking specifically for, “saus –ich!” So I made him some sausage. How could I not?

To ABQ, and beyond!

I’ll start with Nathaniel this week. Nathaniel loved playing with his cousins, and their toys. He loved pushing the empty doll stroller around, I’m sure because it had wheels, and he really loved the talking phonics schoolbus. So much so, that he tried desperately to get us to bring it home! He’s talking more and more. The boys delight in having him repeat after them. He’s been surprising us with what he mimics too. In the car ride home from the airport I played the usual game of “1, 2, 3… Quiet!” to get the boys to stop talking so loud. We were then surprised when Nathaniel chimed in right after, “un, to, fee, twite!” Deborah and I just burst into laughter. So much for that game! Oh, and one more funny, Nathaniel decided that our milk was not flavorful enough, I guess. So he decided to add some ingredients to it. When Mike went to pour it on his cereal, he complained there was already cereal in the milk! I laughed and took the milk to the sink and got a gallon pitcher to pour out the rattling jug into. I found 4 Reese’s Puffs, 3 cheerios, 2 plastic utensils, and a stylus to a Nintendo DS. Sounds a little like a redneck Christmas song, right?

Joshua had a fun time in Albuquerque too. He liked most playing the computer games with his cousins. He LOVED the primary activity – and kept telling me of sewing on the buttons and going on the wagon rides. He also loved getting out all the toys and games Deborah had hidden away. He found a game set that had checkers, chess, Chinese checkers & mancala pieces. While he and the cousins like playing with it, they were often distraught that Nathaniel would scatter the pieces and then try to eat them.

Michael, for whom we made the “birthday” trip so he could see his cousins, spent most of the time on his aunt’s computer. It didn’t help that the poor guy had a very high fever for the first 3 days we were there. But once he got over the fever, he went right to what he really wanted to do: play more computer. I told Deborah that I think Michael would very much miss her computer! I keep asking him what he wants for his birthday, but all he tells me are activities. He doesn’t seem to want any toys. Maybe I’ll just have to take him to the toy aisle at a store to see if that’s really true…

Mike came with us on this trip and fixed the Newren’s sprinklers. He and Elijah spent all morning fixing them, but mostly running to and from stores for parts, or returning things. Then I told Elijah about Mike’s offer to help him carry in a freezer if he wanted to buy one. Deborah’s been wanting a chest freezer for quite some time. That, apparently, was all Elijah had been waiting for. He and Mike spent hours measuring & pricing freezers, until they found the perfect one. They brought it home triumphantly only to find it had a huge dent in the lid! They took it back, and had to go to another store to find a decent one. This one had scratches and dents too, but they weren’t willing to make yet another trip. I can’t say that I blame them! I’d be tired after 4 hours of shopping too, especially following all the digging they did earlier!

Mike also managed to glue one of the chairs back together that had been wobbly. He told me a few more things he wanted to fix the next time he came… Deborah told me she thought it was funny that Mike wanted to fix everything in their house, but I know Mike. He wants to fix things because he likes that feeling of accomplishment when things are fixed, and he got to do it on somebody else’s (grateful) dime!

Deborah and I thought it VERY funny that the men were out shopping all Saturday while we stayed home with the kids. We thought it should have been the other way around, except for what they were shopping for!

I surprised myself this week by overcoming my fears a little more. I hate driving places I don’t know, and I hate driving cars I’m not familiar with. But to do both is just terrifying! I almost NEVER drive out of state. I always make Mike. But when it was time for Mike to go on Monday I decided it was time to swallow my fears (a little) and take him to the airport myself. Albuquerque roads are pretty straightforward, and the signs were very clear. Elijah’s car was new to me, but I had driven it once or twice (a long time ago) before. And I did it! I did bring the Tom-tom (it’s nice to have a security blanket, just in case) but I didn’t have to look at it. Then, after that accomplishment, a few days later I surprised Deborah (she knows my aversions) by saying I would drive so we could all go to the park at the same time, and she wouldn’t have to make 2 trips. We had a good time at the park, even though it was very hot. Then to top this off, I left the park before her, and went to a local gas station to get my kids a slushy drink – by myself! I know it doesn’t seem like much, and I was never far from Elijah’s home, but it was a big step for me. Maybe the next time I go I’ll actually be confident enough to drive somewhere really fun with Deborah.

On another note, the pregnancy is progressing just fine, and I don’t have anything more than common minor problems that most pregnant women deal with. Woohoo! Only 52 days to go!

Anyone seen my mind?

I have a changing "table" in my laundry room . It comes in handy to use the counter right next to the laundry sink to change the babies, because if they're too messy, you can just plop them in the sink and give them a quick bath. The problem is that Nathaniel likes to pull everything else on the counter into the bath with him. After loosing the umpteenth diaper to a bath, I decided to put them out of reach. Problem solved.

Then the next day I was changing Nathaniel, and couldn't find any diapers in the laundry room! I quickly called for Michael, and when he came in, gave him instructions to get diapers from upstairs - HURRY!! Then Nathaniel giggled and pointed up and said, "Di-ers!"
I looked where he was pointing, and sure enough, there were the diapers on the high shelf, right where I'd put them. I giggled with him. Silly mommy. Maybe someday I'll be as smart as my baby.

I knew that my babies were taking all my brain cells, but I didn't know they were taking my memory too.

Summer doldrums

I miss school. I never thought that would happen, but I do. I miss the kids getting up at a reasonable hour - at the same time – and getting themselves ready for the day. I miss the structure, and being able to shop for an hour without 2 extra kids in tow. I miss not feeling guilty that they were wasting the day. They definitely do that now. I’ve been so lazy. I’d say it’s because I’m pregnant and I feel crappy (which is true) but I know other women who are pregnant don’t let their families go to pot. I had this grandiose idea that I’d set out their “summer learning” and a note about chores, and they’d do their work, chores, and be clean and ready for the day, including having eaten breakfast by a reasonable hour…. Everyday. Yeah, well that hasn’t happened. I did it last summer, but it takes work to write up the note, put out the homework, come up with a chore, come up with a possible reward, AND worst of all carry through with the reward. I used rewards like going to the park, or ikea, or Mcdonalds playplace, or playing a game last year. This year I’m just too pooped! I just want a nap! I have no incentive to get my kids up and going early most days, except that I want to go to bed early as well as sleep in, and that’s hard to do when you hear the pitter patter of untired little feet sneaking about.

On another pregnancy related note, I soon won’t be able to travel with Mike anymore, and it’s probably a good thing. Pregnancy seems to have eaten up my brain. Maybe my body decided that it didn’t have enough raw material to make a new baby brain, and it would just be easier to plunder my head directly, or maybe I’m just so sleep deprived I’ll never regain my short-term memory. (you try sleeping with a 30 lb. basketball strapped to your tummy!) Whatever the case, I can’t remember things worth a darn... On this last trip to San Jose I forgot only 2 (crucial) things: Diapers, and MY swimsuit. It turned out ok though. I used swim diapers to hold Thaniel over during the day (thank heavens I remember the spare outfit!), and Mike was able to go with us to swim. I was sad though, because if I had remembered my suit I could have gotten in the pool with all of them, and perhaps gone back later in the evening for a night swim with the boys when we wouldn’t have had to worry about sunblock.

On a similar note… I can’t find my camera. I’ll give a quarter to the first person who can find it for me… :)

Michael is my great little helper right now. He loves playing on the computer, and is willing to help out a great deal, but even more so when I promise him computer time for it. He says his favorite part about summer is to go swimming in the hotel.

Josh also loves the swimming, and began asking when we’d get to the pool before we even left the house to get on the airplane for the hotel pool.

Thaniel is becoming quite the little chatterbox. He will often (but not always) attempt to repeat what you ask him to say. He’s also started talking in sentences in the last few weeks, although not all things he says are “real words”. The funniest part is sometimes everything he says is just babble to me, and he’ll look at me expectantly waiting for my response, verbal or otherwise. Sometimes he gets mad at me for not understanding him, and I just have to tell him I’m sorry that mama’s not smart enough. One of his favorite phrases is “Mah-tee pay bang!” Roughly translated this is “Michael, play bang!”
“Bang” is what Thaniel calls trackmania – a racecar driving/ track building computer game. He’ll often call for Josh to “pay bang!” too. The boys are all to happy to ask mama if they can please make Thaniel happy by playing the game for him.

School's out forever!

I’m going to try to start blogging a little more often, to keep our family &friends more up-to-date on our lives.

Mike has been repairing the basement. We are finally at the stage where he is able to put up sheetrock. So far he has done 2 rooms, and is working on the family room right now – by himself. Way to go Mike! Looking good! (and the basement is coming along nicely too.)

I have been in nesting phase hardcore. I have completely cleaned out 3 rooms so far, and have plans to move the toys upstairs so the boys have somewhere to play out of Mike’s way. I am glad that school is out, and plan on subjecting my kids to “summer learning” so their brains don’t rot entirely with all the mindless TV & computer games. My pregnancy is progressing well, and my due date has been moved to September 21st.

Michael is officially out of school today. He has worked very hard this year, and has learned and accomplished much. I am so proud of him. He also loves telling jokes, and has come up with some good original “knock knock” jokes.

Joshua has been enjoying being out of school this week. He has learned & grown so much this year. He’s becoming quite a good reader. He is also becoming such a good helper (after he overcomes his complaints and excuses). He surprised me this week by getting breakfast for Nathaniel – without my asking! Both Nathaniel and I were very grateful.

Nathaniel is talking more than ever. He loves mimicking us so that we will laugh for him. Whenever we start telling “knock-knock” jokes, he chimes in with, “not-not, who’s der?” He loves going outside to play (loves his “Baw” – ball) and will stand by the door yelling, “MAMA! MAMAaaaaaaaaa!!! ‘Side!” until I let him out. And joy of joys, he is sleeping in his own bed! Granted, Mama has to stand guard until he goes to sleep, but he stays there all night and everyone is sleeping better for it. We just moved his bed into the room with his 2 older brothers, so we’ll have to hope that this new arrangement will not disturb his 3-day sleep pattern. Keep your fingers crossed everyone!

Beauty

Tonight's enrichment was about makeovers. They talked about being healthy, makeup, hair (I missed that part), clothes, and inner beauty.
Laura talked about inner beauty, and started by putting up on the chalkboard 3 things:
Name
lbs
size
She then listed her own. I think they'll probably be burned into my memory forever. I couldn't believe she'd done that! Then Shauna volunteered. She's tiny. Then I volunteered. I heard a great chorus of "But she's pregnant!"
So? So what if I'm pregnant? That adds a bump in the middle and a very few pounds elsewhere. It's not like the baby is 100, and the rest is me! That and my size hasn't changed. I've long since come to terms with the fact that I'm no stick girl. Never have been, never will be. I'm a big beautiful woman. And after having so many functions of my body taken away from me, I will never again take it for granted. It's amazing that I can breathe, eat, and walk... and someday run again.
Besides any body that can manage to make 4 beautiful boys (as I'm sure the last will be too) must be a wonderous thing.
Oh yeah, it's a boy.

can't wait

for the ultrasound on Friday. Everyone keeps asking me if it's a girl or a boy. I don't know yet. After 3 boys, we are hoping for a girl. But mostly I hope for a healthy baby. I'm sure I'd take a perfectly healthy boy over a miserably sick girl... but I am glad I don't have to choose.

I can't help but speculate about what frilly things I'll buy, what color to paint (pink or lavender), and whether I'll put flowers on the curtains... if it's a girl.

I've been terribly good so far. I haven't bought a single thing. This is amazing restraint if you consider that I have been well within the return policy of the stores for months now. I just didn't want to have to find the perfect dress only to have to give it away or take it back. I don't have any impending nieces this time, so I would be sure I wouldn't see whatever darling thing I found again. I will wait, but it's harder than it was waiting for christmas as a kid. The anticipation is just killing me!

HELP!!!

I need it. I am a compulsive hoarder. There. I've said it. Granted, I've said it to an audience that is not likely to respond.
I keep everything. Okay, not everything. But I keep way too much. And it's everywhere! My counters and furniture are covered with the stuff. Things that should not be there. Clothes that need repair, socks with holes, containers that *could* come in handy.
I have bags of stuff that I've bought, that are still sitting around in bags!
I have boxes and boxes of things that I *might* use someday.
My house is always messy. I never invite anyone over. Including my kids' friends. It's terrible.
Mike is sick of it. He says all the clutter is making him physically ill. He's so unhappy about it.
I'm not happy either.
I need to do something, but what?

Irony and taking steps!

Michael & Joshua started school today. In order pry the information that I usually don’t get from them I resorted to asking absurd questions. I don’t remember all of them, but at one point I fell back to the usual of at least trying to find out what Michael ate.

“What did you eat for lunch? Worms?”

“Mama! No! I had applesauce, grapes, and even watermelon…”

He went on, but that was obviously the highlight of his day. I fear for his future. Is it possible to have a job where all you do is eat? I’d say he could be a critic, but that would assume he would actually eat NEW foods.

Although in that case, Joshua is an even less likely candidate. Unless of course I go with him and he eats what I’ve ordered. Why is it that whatever Mama is having is so much more appealing that whatever she cooked for the kid? And things he declares ‘yucky’ when on his plate are simply irresistible on mamas?

Ah the irony.

And the irony continues. I asked Mike to travel lots this summer so we could go with him. He took vacation and just stayed home. And now that the boys are in school again, and it would be difficult, if not impossible, for me to go, he’s gone again.

But on a more positive note, Nathaniel is progressing. A few weeks ago he first started standing on his own. Today, while he was doing just that near me, he reached for me and took a step. I was delighted, so naturally I moved away from him. He was upset, but took one more step and then grabbed my hand. We repeated this little dance for a few more minutes. Batten down the hatches it won't be long now!

Of course, just becuase he'll be walking doesn't mean he will be any more hazardous. He already empties the trash (onto the floor!), the cupboards, and all my laundry baskets. (Mama! Let's play guess which ones are clean or dirty now?)