A Baptism

Wow!  Today was a great day...eventually.  My morning was ridiculous because we had a very important afternoon ahead.  My dad and Karen came for Dragon Master's baptism, and his fabulous Aunt Ja came even though she's been fighting a rotten cold.  We visited for a couple hours (Dad had to get home right after the baptism), and then after we were all ready it was time to go celebrate an awesome choice that this guy made.

 He asked Elder Lammi, a missionary from Australia, to be a witness, and I asked my dad to witness as well.  For the opening with the 5 children getting baptized, I gave my first talk at a baptism (at Judy Moody's I offered a prayer).  I spoke on the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  It was wonderful seeing those 5 eager and innocent faces watching and trying to take in the talk and their feelings, and it was equally beautiful to see each of their dads with their arms around them.  Dragon Master has been looking forward to this day, and I think he felt good about it after the fact too.  It's overwhelming, as I recall, but he is ready.  And it only took his dad 1 dunk to get him completely immersed, so that the witnesses could declare it official.

Here we have the lovely sister in her red sweater dress.  Her friend Rachel came so she had fun.

 A slightly wiggly but well behaved brother.  His face in this pic looks a little intense, bless him.

 And the little squirt, of course.  Hulkie kept me and Aunt Ja busy, had a little scuffle with a girl his age about some hymn book thievery, but he didn't cry and ran around fairly quietly.  Grandma L got all of the boys new Sunday clothes for Christmas, so they were looking VERY SHARP.

 Here's handsome dad and equally handsome Dragon Master.  They both did great, and I am so thankful Heavenly Father gave us a plan and steps to take so that we can return to him.  So happy that I now have 2 children who have been able to make covenants with Heavenly Father and try to live each day as followers of Christ.

I LOVE MY FAMILY!

crazy morning hair but at least they show they care!

You know, my favorite song/hymn to sing when my kids are going crazy in mean ways is Love at Home.  I have mixed feelings about that song because on one particularly rough Sunday when I was little and we were singing it in church, my mom had alternate words to sing to it since she was having a bad day.  

And now, when my house feels contentious out of my mouth pop the first few lines of the song.  The kids are used to it, and for some reason, even if it doesn't help them, it calms me and helps me see the ironic humor in that moment rather than just yell at them or go hide.

BUT THIS MORNING was NOT one of those mornings.  I was attempting to clean kitchen and cook them a late breakfast (I am SO going to miss vacation sleeping in...snnf...snff).  Of their own accord, I found them like this.

Dragon Master told Hulk he would read him a book and below is how Hulk looked the whole time.  Such a warm, peaceful feeling to see them like this.  Even my 2.5 year old likes comic strip books.  It's contagious in this house.  

But once Hulk saw I had a camera...

He was pulling as many goofy faces as he could.

Dragon Master tries to make Hulk's head cooperative while reading (because he is sweet and cooperative for me like that), but Hulk could only hear the Siren song of my point and shoot.

 And then, in another room, Judy Moody was helping The Quiet Man build a lovely virtual Webkinz house and explaining it all to him so patiently.  There is always hope!

PS.  Ignore the desk.  I use it for work, but it is the dumping ground for all school items, paperwork, and creative center for the prolific little men in my life.  Someday, I hope that is not the case, but for now, I will take several blissful minutes this morning when I could feel the love in our home as older brother and sister gave positive attention to little brothers and all was still and quiet.  Probably my last little miracle at the end of the Christmas season.  There have been many this year!

Day 2

Today is kind of our last play day before the kids go back to school and we get ready for Dragon Master's (he and I decided to upgrade from Obi Wan) baptism on Saturday, so I desperately wanted to take the kids swimming.  I want all my kids to excel at swimming since I didn't have my first swim lesson until I was 31 and am still terrified of deep water, and yet when they aren't doing swim lessons in the summer, it is hard to work up enthusiasm to go to the YMCA and swim.  Four kids plus 1 mom equals chaos between changing rooms and keeping track of everyone.  BUT off we went because doing all of this plus being super pregnant makes it a real adventure.  

It was actually really fun.  I am very floaty with the big belly, so it took some weighing down from the Quiet Man and The Hulk to keep me from being too buoyant.  Judy Moody and Dragon Master are pretty good at holding their own by now, and so all in all it was great.  They even, miracle of miracles, got the slide and the high dive up and running while we were there.  Our YMCA is crowded, disorganized and unpredictable, but I have no idea where else to go in the winter, so you deal with what your dealt right?

We went right before lunch, having had only a mild snack, so The Quiet Man and Hulk went right to fridge pillaging when we got home.

The Hulk managed to have no major tantrums and did pretty well except for refusing to let anyone but me help him get dressed afterward.

 Stealthy Dragon Master managed to pull a string cheese out of his mouth to be attempt to be photogenic for me.  I'll catch him candid yet!!!

 My lovely lady had to go straight to cat cuddling when she got home as she is patient enough to wait for me to make an actual lunch.

 And, of course, the pillagers at work.  Children can really work through string cheese and raisins at an alarming rate, I tell you.

It has been a good day.  I took down all our Christmas except tree lights, and I don't envy the husband because getting the lights off that dried out tree is going to be like prying a ring from the clutches of a corpse with rigor mortise.  He wraps those puppies in there expertly, in his own unique way, and I normally take them out/off (never easy but this year will be particularly bad.  You see, I am the glue that holds this joint together, and the glue is a bit extra tired and only watered the tree for 5 days before giving up, so she is Ezekiel cried them dry bones dry), but even though the language might get a bit colorful, I have no problem leaving it up to my man this year.

Now I am making a double batch of lasagna, 1 to freeze, and if I'm very fast, maybe I will have time to lie down before Hulkie wakes up from his nap in his big boy bed...maybe.

I love these kids of mine so much, and I am a bit sad it is back to school on Monday, but all good things (cliche-o-rama) do indeed come to an end, at least in this life.

365

Okay, must get this posted.  I tried to do pics that were fresh for this New Years' day, but the computer and I are fighting and I need to get to work.  SO, day 1 can be a picture from about 14 days ago.  These are, of course, my beautiful kids.  This year, I want to take lots of pics, even though Judy Moody hardly ever has perfect hair (what 10 year energetic kid does, I ask you?), even though The Quiet Man was so unhappy that morning, even though The Hulk is in the make weirdo funny faces when I smile, I want to remember it all.  So here is day 1.

Today, honestly, the kids played a ton of the Wipeout and Just Dance 2014 games we rented last night.  The Hottie Man and I went on a long walk with Enzo.  We also bought scriptures for Obi Won who is getting baptized Saturday.  I wracked my brain with what I really want to accomplished this year and what is reasonable and what will make me happy.  Still working on that.  Asking some tough questions to self.  And, I'm out, must earn money to support this precious souls gifted to me from God and a willing, gracious husband.

Birthday 33

Ha-he-hey there.  I'm just trying to survive and blogging does not fall on my survival checklist.  That's all I can say!  Coming to you only approximately 102 days late ISSSSSSSSSS my birthday post.

I may sound silly, but all I wanted for my birthday was to relive some old memories, speed style because we didn't have oodles of money for a babysitter.  The Husband and I visited our old haunts in reverse order and had some silly times wondering what people thought of us taking pics in front of their houses (our former abodes).  It was a good activity, and I was thankful The Husband went along with it.

First we have the college days:

His place-Chaffee Hall

My place-Driscoll Hall

Behind us in the above pic is my dorm room window which did not used to be overgrown with plant life.  Stage budget cuts maybe?  Or going for a more naturalized look.

This is the front entrance to my dorm and sometimes beloved Honors College.

We met in English on Tuesday, the second day of classes, in the liberal arts building.  We were assigned to the same group.

Then, of course, there were the goo goo eyes, the desire, despair, disagreements, drama, but most of all my feeling really overwhelmed that smack at the beginning of college I was madly in love and the guy was talking marriage.  Not expected and unprepared.  Nonetheless we:

Ended up here.  This is a duplex.  We lived in the front part.  I bedroom/1bath, teeny washer and dryer, teeny oven.  It was small, especially when we added a beagle, but it was our first place together after we were sealed.  We found it at the beginning of June, so that is where my man lived until we were legal.  I remember crying at having to spend $800 of my hard-earned savings on furniture, etc.  Starting a life together can be expensive.  Growing up is hard to do.  Growing up in your first year of marriage in a teeny apartment is hard also, but it's all part of the package.  We had some odd neighbors, and the duplex sharer would fight with her boyfriend very loudly and had a psychotic Rottweiler.  We survived, survived well and learned a lot.  Then Lucas started pushing for buying a home when we had lived in our duplex for about a year and a half because my little Judy Moody was on the way.

 We then moved here, stressfully when I was writing my senior thesis and getting ready for graduation all while 5 months pregnant.  But whatever!  Then, after nearly years and definitely 4 kids later, as documented in post long ago and far away, we moved to our yellow house in our beautiful neighborhood.

 K, I know seeing us kiss is gross, but here is us in love 12+ years and 4.?? kids later in front of where it all began.

It was a great birthday. simple but full of good times, and a Friday wherein I DID NOT have to work.  Thank you Boss Karen!

Why Boys Aren't So Bad

I am a believer that every person in a family is meant to be there for a specific purpose.  I didn't get my husband or my kids by accident.  We each have a purpose of being in this family unit.  BUT, there are A LOT of boys in this house.  Still, if I'm not being too obsessed with just surviving the day, I get reminders of what a blessing it is to have my boys:  For example:

Nearly every day I am presented with flowers from all 3 of my boys.  I always feel so sad throwing them away, and so I set them near where I'm working.  Naturally, the next day there are dry flowers and eventually they do go bye-bye, but if I thought about it, they probably feel a little burst of love for me when they think, "Hey, I wanna pick Mom a flower."  Even though also every day I get told how horrible my food is (for the record it is fabulous-2 of them just happen to be the world's most pickiest eaters), they love me as their mom.  That's something at least.

And this:

I should be ashamed of myself because in a way (albeit innocent) it belittles The Husband, but seriously my boys are needy and chatty and, at times, utterly exhausting, so to know that maybe I'm doing okay as a mom, that they are full of sweetness and love, again makes me smile...and laugh a little in this case.

In other news, guess who turned 2! 2! 2?  

The Hulk has managed to outgrow all his siblings for his first 2 years of life when you compare on our birthday growth chart wall (anyway have a catchier name for that?)  This kid can eat and is mostly NOT A PICKY EATER (hint, hint Obi-Wan? Quiet Man?)  This kid has quite the place in our hearts as he actually shows enthusiasm and favoritism for his daddy.  Not sure where we went wrong with 1-3, but this kid hollers when he hears the garage door opening, meaning Daddy is home and he will blow kisses nonstop when Daddy leaves.  He is getting into the Terrible Twos right off the bat by telling us no when we asked him to do something, but, fortunately, I think, his tantrums are still in the cute stage where I think, yep, whatever little buddy.  It'll blow over in a minute.  His smiles and hugs are unforgettable and can make any bad moment turn sweet.  His love of crayon/marker/pen wall and toy and floor and counter and fence art are less desirable, but I can't see him continuing this habit for too many more years.  He and his brothers played with this little train set for hours on his bday and then his other toys from Grandma.  Still having a hard time convincing the boys the present wasn't for all of them, not that they can't play with them all.  Sharing is highly recommended here, but they are indeed Shawn's presents for his birthday.  The Quiet Man even announced, "I don't hate (Hulk's real name) anymore."  He must have really liked to play with the toys if he was willing to express such brotherly love.

Oh, and one last thing, The Quiet Man is very jealous of The Hulk on a daily basis, which makes me sad and frustrated at times, but when I make them hug to make up, as much as The Quiet Man thinks I'm sick and wrong for doing it, The Hulk brightens up no matter what horrible thing his brother has just done to him and runs to initiate the hug and a kiss.  He is rough.  He is tough, but he is full to the brim with love to share all around.

Well, well, well, I will man up and actually download camera pics so you can see some sweet swimming moves from Judy Moody, Obi-Wan and The Quiet Man, plus we have a video (none too thrilling because it is so short) of Judy Moody's second piano recital).  I will get the ol' bum in gear...promise.

And in other, other, really last, last news, I am now our ward's Primary President, meaning I am in charge of making things run smoothly and making sure all the kids ages 18 months to 12 years old feel loved and get taught about Jesus, sort of behave, etc.  There's the simplified explanation of it.  I know to most people it's no big deal, but I am not a natural born leader.  Sure I pulled off some leadership stunts in high school because I was determined to get scholarships, but I am way better at being the counselor or grunt man or go-fer, etc.  It is my comfort spot.  I have some insecurities where I think why would anyone want me to be in charge?  I'm not the best or brightest or most able, BUT I have had several wise leaders tell me since I was asked to do this that for whatever reason the children in our ward need me right now.  I don't have to do my calling the way any other primary president has.  I, Anna Banana, am enough.  I have whatever the Lord wants these kids to get right now, and so, as much as I don't see it, I have faith that if I try my hardest, some good will come of it for the poor, sweet souls entrusted in my care every Sunday.

Summer So Far

Let's cram a month and a half of fun (exhaustion at times for me) into one post.  In mid May, we had the pleasure of having Grandma Dee and Grandpa Terry come visit us for a week.  These 2 could keep me young.  They are very energetic compared to Husband and me.  The kids had so fun showing them all they know and can do, and we had a few outings to show them around town and, of course, SHOPPING WITH DEE...always fun.  The only downside...Husband and I fell off the healthy wagon and enjoyed way too much delicious food while they were here...not their fault, we easily succumb to temptation.

School ended before June (unheard of in this state but these are the times of education cutbacks, and besides I personally think school should ALWAYS end before June).  Since then, it's been swim lessons, fun Friday mornings and trying to keep technology use in check.  These sweet children of mine are technology piranhas, vampires, whatever you want to call it.

Judy Moody has been doing an experiment (which seems to have unfortunately ended yesterday) of being a very kind and agreeable and willing daughter.  It was fabulous!  All the yes mothers and not screaming and crying like certain smaller minions was absolutely lovable and appreciated.  She is still my right hand girl in this heavily pre-testosterone and testosterone laden environment.  She got to do swim lessons this year (we skipped last year) and it was good for her to improve some of the lesser used strokes.  She was so happy she went and kissed the deep bottom of the pool on today, her last day.  Judy has been having a blast since she has a great friend who lives 3 houses over and is in heaven.  They mostly get along great and are so silly/fun to watch and listen to.

Obi Wan apparently only is a fanatical reader when it means he stays up insanely late on school nights because I see a lot less book cracking lately, even though we have a ton (almost) of books checked out from the library.  He is obsessed (always with something) with a game called Nimble Quest right now and has actually used some of his chore money to purchase characters in the app.  Obi also has a friend who is the little brother of Lily's friend, although they seem to end up over here playing on technology which is not my opinion of a play date.  Boys!

The Quiet Man isn't so quiet when he is crying.  He's had a bit of an adjustment this summer having to share things with Judy and Obi as they are home from school.  He will definitely be ready for preschool in the fall.  I think hanging out with kids his age and being necessitated to use his words will be so good for him.  Husband and I worry about him.  He seems to be super smart and can make any sounds when we practice but just won't use those words.  I've heard a few people say they've heard of this situation before, but it sure feels unique to us.  Talk, Quiet Man, Talk!

The Hulk has really upped his artistic aspirations this summer as his siblings have been careless in where they leave art supplies lying around.  He is proficient in wall art and carpet/flooring art and has truly excelled at body art.  This morning he managed to pour a whole box of cereal into a bucket and to drizzle a bottle of Hershey's syrup into the floor.  Enzo thanked him for that one.  All these mishaps could be prevented if older siblings were a bit more responsible.  Each time he sees a pool, he starts trying to strip down and go swimming.  Poor kid.  I will need to take him soon since he's watched all the others swim and swim and swim.

For fun, I have been reading way more than usual and inspecting/weeding my garden often with the kids.  We did go camping at the beginning of June with our church group, such a fun spot, and Judy Moody managed to find a rattlesnake by our tent.  Too bad we didn't believe her but good her friend's dad did.  I will spare you the Lord of the Flies details.  We will just say in an outdoor environment, teen and pre-teen boys really take to nature and survival of the fittest or fastest or smartest.

For future summer plans, a little more swim lesson time, homemade ice cream on The Fourth, and hoping to manage a rendezvous with my mom and Husband's mom/sister/other family hopefully.  I also am pushing for one more slightly longer camping trip.  I've said before to many people, hyper kids just seem still active but so at peace and happy in nature, always finding something to do and so full of good stuff.  I love watching my kids away from "most" of civilization.  I'll try but will make no promises to get some pictures transferred over.  Times like these I need a smart phone, but I do not want to pay for one of them yet.