Modern Mom

I've been following Brooke Burke on Twitter for quite a while now. Actually, I think she was the first person that I started following when I joined Twitter. Anyway, she is part of this group called Modern Mom and they are doing this killer summer long giveaway. I am SO hoping to win one!!!!! Go here for the dete's
(I just entered to #win a #SkipHop bag with a #BeautyFix Kit in the #99daysofsummer #contest at #ModernMom!) http://bit.ly/WetVI

Long Day

This day started out so well and I boasted it on Twitter....guess I needed to be humbled, in Heavenly Father's opinion, because church was a nightmare!

Will had to work today. I got up and got our stew into the crock pot, set the bread maker, and got all 6 of us ready for church with 20 minutes to spare. MIRACLE!

We had 4 baby blessings in church today and that started the downfall...
Asia refused to sit quietly so I took her church bag away until after the sacrament. Still wouldn't sit quietly so I told her she is not getting it back. Starts to cry. I threaten that she won't get it back for next week either. She gives me a dirty look and huffs herself onto the bench.
Brinlee was sitting closest to the young childless couple that was lucky enough to get to sit with us this week and would NOT stopping talking (not whispering) to that poor gal (Rachel Denton).
Mariah was teasing Asia until they somehow ended with each other's shoes and Mariah hit Asia with hers.
Tatum was just flat out whiny. I was holding Roxelle and feeding her snacks. Tatum wanted to "ho-jeeee" (hold me) and so I gave Roxelle to Mariah so I could soothe Tatum. Brinlee starts whining that she never gets to hold Roxelle.
Roxelle fusses and throws herself against Mariah, so I tell Mariah to scoot down so Tatum can sit by me and I can take Roxelle. Mariah rolls her eyes and pouts, but does it. Tatum starts to freak out because she wants to "ho-jeeeeeeeeee".
And that was all during the baby blessings.
THEN, the sacrament starts. Asia has her feet on the back of the other bench and is clicking her heels on the hymn holder. I make Brinlee come to sit by me because she just won't stop talking, even though Rachel incessantly shushes her. Tatum starts to cry again because I am holding Roxelle. So I passed Roxelle to Rachel and put Tatum on my lap. She still won't stop crying. I popped her discretely on the bum which worked.
Just after the water part, Tatum starts with the whining about wanting "hahgum" (hot gum). So I reach to get it and she says "I no want tiny, I want huge". I tell her no that Mariah gets to have some too and there's only 1 piece. She's starts yelling "I want HUUUUGE" and crying, so I get up to take her out, even though the boys were not done passing yet. I took her in a corner and popped her on the bum again. I told her she needs to be quiet and that she cannot have a whole piece of gum and if she doesn't want a half then she gets none.
When the sacrament was over, I went back in to sit down and caught Asia leaning over the bench to retrieve her confiscated church bag. She looks guiltily up at me and says "hug?" as she hands me her bag back. I hissed at her to sit.down. and she starts to cry...LOUDLY, just as Mariah and Brinlee start tattling jibberish on each other to me and Tatum begins with the gum again.
THAT WAS IT!
I packed them all up and hurried them out of the chapel. I had Roxelle in her car seat over one arm and all the church bags and diaper bag over the other all the while pulling Tatum along by the front of her shirt AND we were sitting 3rd row from the front, so I could feel all eyes watching us. SO EMBARRASSING!
I sat them all on the same couch in the foyer, shoulder to shoulder and made them sit quietly, arms folded for the rest of the meeting. Even Roxelle sat contentedly in her car seat. Tatum kept telling me she wanted to go see "Aunty in nurshey".
I got a lot of "Are you okay's" and "Aww I feel for you's" after the meeting. So glad this day is almost over.

Memorial Day

Will had to work. The girls and I got up around 7:20 and got ready. We left the house around 8:30 to go to the church for a breakfast served by the bishopric. The girls were so excited! It was a GORGEOUS day and the breakfast was outside at the pavilion.

Image I posted on FB this morning from my phone (all ready by 8:30!!!)

Then we headed to Mary Lou's. We spent the day with Mary Lou, Ellene and her kids and a dear family friend, Becky Peterson. Bryan also had to work and Loomis' didn't want to come up because they just got home from a road trip to UT.
After a yummy lunch, we went to Longview to visit Papa "E"'s grave. We sang "Families Can Be Together Forever" and I was really feeling touched when Mary Lou tapped me on the arm and pointed to Tatum doing the potty dance on some gravestone across the way. UGH! So I ran to find someplace to take her (she had already, accidentally, let her cute little flag dress fall into the toilet earlier in the day. BOO!).
All in all it was a beautiful day, weather and otherwise!
OH and THANK YOU to all those out there risking their lives so that I can enjoy the freedoms that I do. I know that it's difficult on so many levels and I truly do appreciate the sacrifices made on our behalf.

Sweet Deals!

Check this BLOG to see the AWESOME deal I got on sunblock!! =D

Mini Sing

Another sing at Mini School. The kids were not very into it this month. I think they are all catching spring fever!

The Meat Flu

This past weekend we went to visit my parents in Woodburn and my mom BBQ'd burgers and hot dogs for us. Anyway, she was flattening out the burger patties and I caught Asia touching one. So I told her she needed to go and wash her hands immediately because raw hamburger is full of nasty germs and bacteria and Mariah turns around and says (totally seriously) "Yeah, Asia, you're gonna get the 'meat flu'!" LOL!!!

same run, less time, first profit

I ran to the Vancouver Mall again this morning. I remembered that my phone has a stopwatch feature on it, so I used that. I ran it in 41:33 (3.2 miles). I figured out that I ran it the other day in 48 or 49 minutes (from the times that my tweets posted on twitter that day). I was hoping to shave at least 10 minutes off my time, but I'll take what I got!
PLUS, while I was stopped at the Andresen/58th intersection, I found a nickel! LOLOLOL I made 5 cents on my run today!!! ha ha ha

8 months old

I didn't realize until just now that Roxelle turned 8 mos old today and I thought I didn't take any pictures until I remembered that on the way out the door to church, I thought she looked so cute that I wanted a picture of her for my "wallpaper" on my phone. YAY! I got one =D!

Free Family Movie

Well folks, it's that time of year again and here are the listings for this year's FREE family movie festival. Click HERE and select your state to find out which theatres and showtimes are in your area. We went for 2 summers to this in HI and then last summer we went once in OR. It's a lot of fun AND it's FREEEEEE!!!!


VANCOUVER:

Cascade Stadium 16
1101 SE 160th Avenue
Vancouver ,WA 98683360-882-5458

06/23/2009-06/25/2009
Space Chimps (G)
Madagascar 2: Escape To Africa (PG)

06/30/2009-07/02/2009
Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Veggie Tale Movie (G)
Evan Almighty (PG)

07/07/2009-07/09/2009
Kit Kittredge: American Girl (G)
Nim's Island (PG)

07/14/2009-07/16/2009
Horton Hears A Who (G)
Inkheart (PG)

07/21/2009-07/23/2009
The Tale Of Despereaux (G)
Kung Fu Panda (PG)

07/28/2009-07/30/2009
Everyone's Hero (G)
Surf's Up (PG)

08/04/2009-08/06/2009
Igor (PG)
Journey To The Center Of The Earth (PG)

08/11/2009-08/13/2009
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)
Bee Movie (PG)

08/18/2009-08/20/2009
Curious George (G)
Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)

Cinema 99 Stadium 11
9010 NE Hwy 99
Vancouver ,WA 98665
360-571-0984

06/23/2009-06/25/2009
Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Veggie Tale Movie (G)
Evan Almighty (PG)

06/30/2009-07/02/2009
Kit Kittredge: American Girl (G)
Nim's Island (PG)

07/07/2009-07/09/2009
Horton Hears A Who (G)
Inkheart (PG)

07/14/2009-07/16/2009
The Tale Of Despereaux (G)
Kung Fu Panda (PG)

07/21/2009-07/23/2009
Everyone's Hero (G)
Surf's Up (PG)

07/28/2009-07/30/2009
Igor (PG)
Journey To The Center Of The Earth (PG)

08/04/2009-08/06/2009
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (G)
Bee Movie (PG)

08/11/2009-08/13/2009
Curious George (G)
Alvin And The Chipmunks (PG)

08/18/2009-08/20/2009
Space Chimps (G)
Madagascar 2: Escape To Africa (PG)

Truman Carnival

The girls school put on a really fun carnival this evening. The girls all had a great time and our neighbor, Alvina, got to come with us. The game tickets were 4/$1.00 and I let them each take $2.00. Each game or activity was 1 or 2 tickets. They were thrilled with all their little trinkets and things!
(These pics were all taken from my blackberry as I left my camera at home. Not too bad, eh?)

Mariah, Brinlee and Alvina (our neighbor)

Alvina, Brinlee, Mariah, Will, Asia and Tatum

Tatum dropping big plastic peanuts into a can

Free balloon animals were a HIT!

SWEET SISTERS!

MMM! S'mores!

Sucker pull. Each stick had a colored end
and each color was a different prize box.
Tatum played this one 3 times!

Lots of fun!

cruisin' baby...just as usual!

I feel empowered

I don't consider myself a very athletic person. I never have. My parents put me into the little leagues (softball, basketball, etc.) when I was younger, but I think it's because all my other sibs did it and they really enjoyed it. I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy it, but I think I'd have rather been dancing or doing gymnastics.
In Junior High and in 9th grade, I joined the volleyball, basketball and softball teams. I wasn't any good at all and never got any playing time unless we were so far ahead of the other team that it didn't matter who played, we'd have won anyway.
In PE, I HATED running. I HATED it when they would make us do laps around that back field behind the Junior High. I ended up walking it most of the time and usually came in last. Sometimes, I would do one lap and then tell the teacher I was having cramps so that I could sit out.
Anyway....long story short, I ended up trying out for cheerleading at the end of my freshman year and did that for the rest of my HS "career".
Fast forward to a few days ago...I was watching The Biggest Loser and the final 4 contestants ran a full marathon. I was so fully inspired from the inside out. When I watched Ron cross that finish line, I was brought to tears. I thought, "they were FAT and OLD! If they can do that, then what's stopping me from doing it?"
So, Will had today off and I decided last night that I was going to run as far as I could possibly run today and then have Will come and pick me up. If I run to a point then turn around and come back, I don't think I could realize the full potential of how far I can go. So I decided to make the Vancouver Mall a point of destination. I didn't know how far in miles that is from my front door, but it seemed like a kind of long distance.
About 20 minutes in, I had just gotten to the top of a pretty steep street (54th Ave, going into that sharp right turn) and I thought to myself...there is NO WAY I am going to make it all the way to the mall, but then I pictured the faces of those BL contestants and how they made it 26.2 MILES and I made myself keep going. It took me almost an hour to get there, but I did it without stopping once (except to cross Andresen road (about 15 seconds). When I called Will to come and pick me up at the mall (I didn't tell him before hand what I was doing), he was like "Why are you at the mall? What's wrong?" LOL
On the drive back home, we "clocked" the distance and it was only 3.2 miles, but I ran the entire way and I feel so accomplished. Part of the time I was thinking, if I can really do this, I can do anything. I want to go a little further each time. I want to go until I can reach that marathon goal. I know it will take a long time to get there, but I am not in a hurry.
I shared my thoughts with Will on the way home and I told him that I want to set a long term goal right now. And here it is..... after I give birth to my last baby (whenever that is) I want to run a full marathon. I don't want to be old and unhealthy. I want to start right now and be as fit as I can for the rest of my life. This is not necessarily about being thin. A lot of times by just being healthy, the thin part comes as a bonus. I also want to be a good example to my girls about making right choices in life. I wish that I had taken it upon myself years ago to realize the benefits of making healthy choices.
My favorite line in the BL finale was from trainier Jillian and she said (to Tara) "You're not going to live the rest of your life without Pita chips. It's about finding a balance".
Thanks for letting me ramble. I just feel so empowered after today. I know that 3 miles in an hour is no great accomplishment to most, but it is today in my book.

My Mom

Mother's Day is a great time to honor MOM! I love my mom so much. She has such a big heart and inspires me to be more charitable to others. Thanks for being such a great example to me, Mom! I love you!!

Mother's Day

the yard

We've been getting ready to put our lawn in and I am SO EXCITED! We borrowed a tiller from my dad and a couple weeks ago we sprayed the entire property with Round up. Now we are ready for landscape!

The front of the house

The front yard
(that big field across the drive is where the n.hood kids like to gather and play)

The side of the drive way in front

The back yard

Do it again!

She is 7 1/2 months old!

Tatum in video

Tatum has been cracking us up the last couple days. Here's a couple videos!

Don't you love giveaways?

My cousin "Handi Andi" is having some AWESOME giveaway baskets. Go to http://ryanandi.blogspot.com/ to check it out!

Roxelle in the tub

Roxelle has had a little sore bum for a few days and this evening it was particularly bad, so I decided to let her soak in a shallow bath for a few minutes and this is how it went.

Lookie what "I" discovered

This is what I came into the living room to find. Someone had left the snack container a little too close and she was going to town! I think she even got a couple in her mouth. We don't have a high chair so I've never had the chance to just sit her down with a tray of snacks to see if she could feed herself. Well, now I know she can!

Seriously

For those of you who say to me "How do you keep them dressed so cute all the time?" Well here it is....

This is how they really look about 95% of the time. My big bunch of rag-a-muffins!

Hula Mula

Here's Brinlee in her new Hula Mula shirt and Baby Legs warmers. They each got to choose one pair of Baby Legs at the sample sale. They were SO CHEAP!!!

Mini Sing

We had a very interesting sing today. The kids were a little rowdy and not really paying too much attention. I managed to get a little video. Tatum decided that she was going to join in today and actually did pretty well.

DANG MINI SCHOOL! Why can't they just make one tiny exception?! Why can't they follow all the other schools in the district and have the age cut-off be Sept. 1?! UGH.....

Notice the ensemble she put together herself???

Now notice the "leg warmers" have become "arm warmers".

She decided that she needed to change it up.... in the middle of one of the songs, no less.

Roxelle LOVES to go and watch all the commotion

Hula Mula

Roxelle, in the Hula Mula outfit I bought last night at the sample sale. LOVE IT!! (I got Tatum one just like it =D)

Roxelle

This evening I got to go to an early peek at the Knuckleheads sample sale! My friend, Melissa, that lives here in Vancouver is the designer of this darling clothing line. She also has a girls line called Hula Mula. Such celebs as Angelina Jolie, Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Kevin Costner (to name only a few) have been spotted in mags and by paparazzi with their little boys wearing her stuff. It's crazy! She is absolutely inspired!!!

Mariah

Mariah got to do a report on China and then participate in a cultural parade with 3rd graders from all over SW Washington, including Longview! The parade was held this morning at Fort Vancouver. It was really neat to go on base. I had no idea that all of that stuff was right there only a few miles from our house. She worked really hard on her board and is very pleased with the outcome. Great job, sis!

7 months old

It was actually a few days ago, but we've been so crazy busy with life that I didn't even realize that I didn't take any pics of her on the 17th.

She is sitting really well now and scoots on her tummy. Mostly backward, but I will put her on the floor with some toys and come back a minute later and she has backed herself away from all of them and is squealing at them like she wants them to come to her. Which reminds me that she has also found her voice. She loves to shriek and squeal, especially at her sisters. And it's usually at a very in-opportune time, like during the sacrament prayer at church.

Will and Roxelle Jammin'

I was watching Will play Guitar Hero on Wii and I looked down to see Roxelle mimicking the "strum" movement. She is starting into that phase of mimicking things that we or the other girls do. Such a fun stage!

btw...

It turns out that I am NOT shrinking. At least, not yet. I had a follow up appt with Dr. Fox yesterday and I measured in at my usual 5'4" (and a little bit).

So in Love

I am totally in love with little Roxelle. I was telling my sister, Paula, the other day how weird it is how different and the same your relationships are with each of your kids. You love them all equally, yet there is something different. Roxelle has me totally smitten. I could just sit and smell her and listen to her coo for hours. She totally melts me when she grabs the sides of my face and shmooshes her mouth and nose into mine. My favorite is when she nuzzles her tiny little face into my neck and chest and then pulls back to grin at me with her big gummy grin and rosy cheeks. First thing, every morning, I unzip her from her tiny sleep sack and she gives a HUGE stretch and smile. The anticipation of snuggling her into our bed gets me all giddy even when I am dog tired. When she squiggles and squirms into place and relaxes, it feels like my heart is going to burst! I can hardly stop the giggle that is waiting to erupt from inside my chest. I have heard of moms describing nursing a baby as being a "euphoric" experience. I can honestly say that I have NEVER been a big fan of the whole nursing process. I dread it every time I give birth, but something about Roxelle has me completely enamored.

I am actually weaning her right now. I posted on Twitter/Facebook yesterday that I have been feeling a little "blue". I think that might be why. Usually I am excited to close that chapter and have my body back to myself, but this time is different and I don't really know why. Maybe it's because she is the youngest one I've weaned (she'll be 7 months on the 17th). Usually I wean when they give me all the signs that they are losing interest. She does bite me quite often and that's not fun, but the main reason that I am weaning is that she has the same dairy allergy as Tatum and I have tried so hard to not ingest any dairy products, but I am losing the uphill battle. And every time she wakes with a cruddy cough and goopy eyes, I know that it's my fault that she is all snotty and goobery. *SOB* It absolutely breaks my heart to see her like that. These allergies are NO FUN!