Magic School Bus Sneezes and Lofty Goals

Spooner took a late nap which means hours of entertainment in the evening.  Stripping down to a diaper, roaming from room to room and dismantling all the beds are just a small part of the usual "late nap" syndrome.

Yesterday had a new twist.

Spooner kept sneezing dramatically and then would spread his hands out as if he had lost something or was wondering about something and then start looking around, muttering about something.

"He's looking for the Magic School Bus," Pipalicious told me after she could see that I was puzzled by his behavior. "He has seen it too many times and thinks that when he sneezes the School Bus comes out of his nose."

"Schoo Bus! Schoo Bus?" I could now understand more of Spooner's gibberish and antics.  So adorable!  For a kid who has only watched it about 10 times, he is pretty hooked!

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"My goal for today is to not use threats and to not spank," I told Jackie when I stopped by her house to pick up some bags of clothes and remnants of our stay that we still had in their basement.

She thought they were pretty lofty :).  Maybe they were...at least on the first one, I had to keep renewing my commitment for the first one. Apparently, using "threats" (or "consequences") has become a sometimes subconscious part of my parenting.  Blegh!

Sleepless nights and eye injuries, with a birthday thrown in for good measure :)!

You know, there are the hard days.

Days like two mornings ago when I woke up, exhausted already.   Or evenings like when we were coming home from a friend's house and the car erupted into anger and accusations,...all while Q-dawg was on the phone and had to pull over so he could step out of the car to continue his conversation.  Evenings when the little ones are gyrating out of control and noise reigns.

Times when I am caught up in frustration and lash out.  Times when the kids simply keep fighting.

There are times when I feel that I am ruining my children and know that I simply am not enough to give all these kids what they need.  We have them, but it has been wonderful to feel more peace than fighting, see more kindness than anger.  The frustrating moments make the others even more delicious.

Moments like:

Baby Zsa is sitting up just fine these days and enjoying his solids.  He has those nasty blocked tear ducts that his big brother Chugger-dude had and that massive head so many of us have...and we love it! (Especially those Yoda ears :).)  He downs solids like Isaa-boo did: voraciously...always seeking for more, as evident by his full figure and squeeze into 12 month clothes.

-Lek putting Baby Zsa to sleep last night.  Baby Zsa had awakened in his semi-conscious "I'm frustrated!!!" state which is so hard to calm down.  Well, hard for everyone but Lek!  Lek just lay him down on his tummy on Lek's bed next to him and began gently whacking his diaper.  Yes, whacking.  All the while, Baby Zsa kept fussing and crying and screaming while Lek murmured sweet words of sympathy, alternating intensity and speeds of his whacks...and Baby Zsa not only calmed down but settled into a deep sleep.  Lek and Liliputian have the knack!  Aunt Jackie calls Liliputian "the Baby Whisperer," and she and her brother apparently share that talent.  Whew!  (Baby Zsa is also pretty good at putting Lek to sleep :).)

This kid is just a riot!  He is always busy (mostly in the kitchen) and is currently completely in love with our Christmas tree and all the presents we have safely stashed above the cupboards in our kitchen (decoration and security combined...perfect!) 

When we brought down all the presents last week to sort out Chugger-dude's presents for his birthday and make sure we had everything for everyone, Spooner just kept running around in circles, excitedly pointing at the presents and putting his hands to the side of his face in wordless exclamation.  Love it!

I asked Papaya if I could take her picture.  Yes.  Classic.  This wonder girl is on top of keeping our tree beautifully decorated and makes sure everyone gets to see the darling ornament her Primary teacher made for us with her picture.  So cute!  She has been working on sitting still and listening, huge challenges for this busy body right now, but she is so fun to snuggle and listen to that it makes up for the challenges.  She loves her uncle Zy's question challenges so much that we do it at our house: "What's 1+1?" "Name 5 colors of the rainbow" "Tell me 5 animals that live on a farm"  Maybe she is just bored?  She is apparently totally competent at cutting mushrooms, stirring hot sauce on the stove top and completely changed Baby Zsa (clothing and all) yesterday.  Wow.  That's all I can say is...wow!  Love this girl!!

-The Goob: first thing in the morning.  Every morning.  Those blue eyes bounce down the stairs with a hug and laughter and delight (if not so many jobs) happen in the wake of his coming.  At night, I love to listen to his out-loud conversations with God, probably one of the most consistently inspiring things in my life right now.  That and Liliputian's simple faith, testimony, goodness and steadiness.  I love being inspired by my children!  Back to the Goob, he just makes everything light and is one of the most genuine people I know.

-Liliputian and her quiet service.  My kids are remarkably sensitive to even small twinges in my mood and I am grateful that I have finally let go (for the most part) all of those lashing out, scary behaviors and allowed us to have a safer environment in the home so that they can express their sympathies.  Liliputian consistently comes up to offer help when she senses my mood escalating and quietly cleans or nurtures children around me.

It's funny...as I write this, to my mind comes instances of other children--Lek, the Goob, Chugger-dude, Pipalicious, Hava--all coming "to my rescue.  Lek serves, the Goob smiles and offers sympathy and a listening ear, Chugger-dude help and a hug, Pipalicious a smile and a quick dash off to take whatever baby is overwhelming at the moment, and Hava scratches my head and offers to play a game. "Golden moments," indeed!

Liliputian and her art...I love it!  She is also taking on sewing on her own and I even threaded and set up a bobbin on my own!!!!  (Yes, Mother, the miracle has occurred.  And yes, I have pat myself on the back so much over this miracle that I think I have wrenched my shoulder out of its socket.)  She and Avot are busy with Christmas projects galore and have really spread a feeling of Christmas around.

-Avot and her quiet, beautiful presence.  "And she shall bring music wherever she goes" applies to this young lady: a music that is not only heard but felt.  Music therapy will be a wonderful profession for her and I am excited to see her explore that option.  A delightful combination of mischief and peace, I am relishing the moments we still have with her in the home.  She put together a beautiful sign-language choir performance (that I hope to record and upload to youtube for grandparents!) that was so moving the activity coordinator at the rest home said, with tears in her eyes, that it was the highlight of her holiday season.  She and Lek keep throwing it at me that "this is the last..."!  I anticipate them moving on with a joyful wistfulness: knowing I will miss them, but knowing they are ready.  I can't wait to see what they do with their awesomeness!

One of the only reasons we have our cute Charlie Brown Christmas tree is because this is our last Christmas before my oldest ones leave the nest.  Oh, how I love those two delicious rascals!

-Chugger-dude had a fun birthday weekend.  He got to watch the BYU-Utah football game and high-five with the big boys, have a shared mini-party with his cousin Suvi (where the Goob gave the best present ever of an electronic door stop alarm...boy! you should have seen Zy and Jackie's faces when that baby went off and we couldn't get it to stop!!), and caroling as a family to some people I visit taught.  Okay, maybe that last part wasn't the highlight of his birthday.  Maybe it was the epically awesome meals he had that day!  (Remember, this kid plans all year for this day!)
--Breakfast: hootenannies (German pancakes), eggnog and sausage patties
--Lunch: homemade, individualized hoagies packed in a sack lunch with chips, Capri Suns and pudding...perfect for after church on the go!
--Dinner: taco salad with non-existent jello (having it tonight) and no "whoppie" pies...shucks.  (Also for tonight.)  He did get hot chocolate and a cookie after caroling, so it wasn't a complete wash :).
Chugger-dude is so delightful to watch with his baby

-Watching Hava take off with her reading is such a beautiful thing and one of my favorite parts of life right now!  She is always sounding out new words, discovering this amazing world around her!  She loves to snuggle (and is doing it right now with me...love it!!!) and has the sweetest brown eyes you ever saw. I am realizing more and more the gentle spirit that is housed in this body and am trying to be more sensitive to her needs.  She loves to play the piano and play pretend with her sisters.  Right now, one of my favorite "Hava" things is her diligent count-down 'til Christmas.  Thank goodness for the 99 cent advent calendars I picked up at Aldi's (favorite store ever!!)!  Hava diligently makes sure everyone gets their calendar each day and that we each know how many days are left.  "Diligent" is a fantastic word to describe Hava :).

-Pipalicious came in the other day from the rainy cold, shivering. "You know, mom," she said. "When you go outside it is super cold, but when you get into the teepee we made down by the river, it's warm."  Really. :)  That girl would live outside if she could. In fact, perhaps next summer she will!  She is all over Christmas presents for others and I think Christmas Eve will be a delight with all the giving the kids are doing for each other.

-Okay...another "golden" thing about my life is the blessings that truly rain down. I had a monster list of ideas for Christmas ideas (educational, inspirational, awesome) and they included a few things for Q-dawg.  As I realistically (and rationally) stepped back and eliminated things, the two items for Q-dawg (totally around $100 together) came off the list.  I was okay with that, feeling the price was exorbitant for the items and didn't think much of it.   The next day, I went to the MAAC, an awesome "use and reuse" type of place where people drop off stuff and other people buy it super cheap and all the money goes to satisfy local need.  Well, speaking of super cheap, I found these two items in practically NEW condition for less than $5!  Merry Christmas, Q-dawg!  So fun and perfect price!  I like to call that (as my mom would) a tithing blessing :).

-Papaya and I enjoyed a walk yesterday, three days before Christmas, in the rain.  Yes, it was raining. And, yes, we went anyway :).  Love that girl.  No holds barred, that one.  I love the way Baby Zsa's face lights up every time he sees her.  She is like an interactive toy that moves you around, snuggles, and provides you with entertainment for hours.  He never tires of her.

This morning as part of our scripture reading, Papaya bore her testimony. This is a usual event (so sweet!) and it normally includes a list of people she loves or who loves her.  Today, after listing a bunch of people, she said, "And the person that I love the most..." pause.  I waited for her to say "Mommy" (I hadn't been mentioned yet.)

"....is GRACE!"  Grace?!  The next one?  Nice.  Who changes your bedding every morning, beautiful?!  Sigh.  My kids think it is hilarious to keep mentioning "Grace."  Personally, I am banking on getting some more sleep before facing the idea of another bundle of sleep-depriving joy :).

-Spooner has taken to snuggling to sleep in my arms for quiet time. I read aloud to all the kids (latest book: "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch") and he sits with a blanket and dozes off.  He doesn't like sharing my lap and has actually shown some frustration with Baby Zsa. although for the most part is really gentle.  Spooner is saying more and more words and our recent favorite is: "think I can, think I can, think I can" every time he sees something that reminds him of "The Little Engine That Could."  He still dances to the music every chance he gets and has a "perma-place" on my lap whenever I sit down. Love my little buddy!

-Baby Zsa is heaven.  A little bundle of heaven on earth.  Love this guy!!  He has everyone wrapped around his adorable little finger and has us all lugging him around all hours of the day (and night).  He loves grabbing faces and I tenderly watched as the Goob let Baby Zsa work his face over with his little fingers grabbing his eyes, nose, hair and ears methodically.  The other night, he woke up for his customary 3 am feeding and let me just pat him on the back to sleep. Whew!

He also adores his big brother Spooner, who barely gives him the time of day.  This morning, Spooner, Baby Zsa and Papaya were playing happily in the kitchen, with gales of laughter coming out to let me know everything was fine.  Then there was a crash.  And a scream.  Spooner thought it would be funny to throw a big platter like a frisbee at his baby brother...and hit him just below the eye!  Thank goodness it wasn't half an inch higher!  Thank goodness for guardian angel big brothers.  Thanks, Isaa-boo, if that was you!

Bugs and Bluntness

As I work here, I hear drawers opening, water running and dishes rattling. After throwing away significant quantities of herbs, spices, rice and salt last week I should be running into the kitchen. Instead I call out:
"Spooner, is that you?"
"No," came his cute little voice from the kitchen.  The drawer opening and rattling of dishes continued.
He came out moments later with a thankfully empty muffin tray held carefully by a hot pad.  Can't wait to see what this kid creates in the future!

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Last night, the Goob entertained us with a harrowing account of his experience in the shower...with ladybugs.
"You know, it's just gross to have ladybugs in the shower," he started. "They are bugs for one things."
"Yah," quipped Q-dawg, "and it would be different if they weren't lady-bugs and were something like man-bugs."
"Or soldier-bugs!" I added, referencing the Hungarian name for these little beauties.
"They just sit there and stare at me!" The Goob protested, then continued. "Well, I washed the one that was looking at me down the drain and then turned up to see one staring down from above!  I thought, how am I going to get this one down as I turned away to think about it.  Then, when I looked up again it was gone!!"

Poor Goob.  Truly horrifying life.

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We had our traditional clam chowder on Christmas Eve.  I had whipped it up right after coming back from our family trip to the movies to see Star Wars and The Peanuts Movie, kind of as a "eat when you're hungry" type thing.  Most of the kids wandered in and out, grabbing a bowl and roll, excited to eat it.  Liliputian is not a fish-lover, but as she came in for a second bowl she said, "I'm going to have another bowl even though I don't like it very much!"

"Did she really just say that she didn't like it very much?" Q-dawg and I asked each other.

"Yep!" Liliputian confirmed brightly as she took her second bowl and went out to...enjoy it?  Probably not :).

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Yesterday in church I sat next to Papaya during Primary.  She rested her head on my lap and then looked up, wrinkling her nose.

"Ewww, Mom," she said loudly, "You smell funny."

Trying to quiet her, I whispered, "Shhhh...what did you say?"
"You should take a shower!" she declared, barely lowering her voice.
Feeling a little awkward, I defended myself quietly, "I took a shower this morning!" I tried to redeem myself,  "Maybe it is the skirt?"

Papaya leaned in for a sniff again. "Yes.  Definitely the skirt.  Yuck!"  Good thing I have no shame at this point in parenthood!

From Amber Necklaces to Lavender Oil

Hava woke up yesterday morning, complaining that her middle finger felt "tingly" after feeling an uncomfortable pop two days ago.  It went away during the course of the morning.

She woke up this morning with the same complaint and so I asked her how she had slept on it.

"I don't know," she explained, "I sleep all different ways during the night."

A few minutes later, she raced into find me where I was getting ready for the day in the bathroom.

"Mom! Mom!" she breathlessly exclaimed. "Baby Zsa grabbed my middle finger and yanked it and I felt it pop back into place!!"

"That's wonderful!" I replied, so happy for the beaming smile on that beautiful little face. "How nice to have such a sweet little baby."

"Yah," she said. "I think it was because of his amber necklace.  It's magical.  The amber beads are magical."

Take that, Q-dawg :).

We have an ongoing dialogue about this "healing amber bead necklace" I bought Baby Zsa a month or so ago.  When I first asked Q-dawg about it, he sounded like he was willing to give this most recent "baby trend" a go.

Then it arrived.

I put it on Baby Zsa and showed Q-dawg.

"How is he supposed to be able to chew on it if it is that tight on his neck?" he asked.

"What?"

"The necklace.  How is Baby Zsa supposed to be able to gnaw on the beads?" Q-dawg wondered.

"He's not," I explained. "The amber beads are supposed to heat up when it is in contact with his skin and help soothe the pain and reduce the inflammation."

"Ooooooohhhhhhhh....so they are supposed to magically transfer healing energy through the skin because they are special," Q-dawg said in his funny, quirky "like that's going to work" way.  He has similar feelings about lavender essential oils healing everything from a brain injury to a chopped off leg.

"Just rub a little lavender oil on their foot" has become a funny follow-up comment to any injury we hear about.  He is supportive of natural healing in general...he just likes to poke gentle fun :).

"I know!" Q-dawg said, after hearing my explanation of how the amber necklace worked. "I am going to gather some rocks and sticks and put them together and market them, after testing them on comatose, non-responsive individuals to make sure they work."  Very funny, dear. The beads stay.

I am going to start keeping track of all these "family sayings" and make them into a shirt next year for us to wear, hence the new "phrases" label on the side.  Should be fun!

In the meanwhile, we'll keep the amber necklace.  If nothing else, "it makes him look so pretty!" as Q-dawg puts it.

From the Super Cleanse to Holding Hands

It has been quite the day.

Well, maybe every day is "quite the day"...it all depends upon how you look at it.

Today feels particularly busy:
-I got stuffed by my 14 year old for the first time ever (by him) while playing basketball at the Y as a family .  My little Goober is growing up!

-Our in-house "Mind of Steel" training for the evening came to an abrupt stand-still shortly after I started drinking a water bottle innocently offered to me by Spooner. "Drink?" he offered with a smile.  Smiling, I accepted it and took a mouthful in.  Q-dawg turned quickly and said, "Do you smell bleach?"  I shrugged my shoulders, mouth still full of liquid.  I handed him the bottle and he sniffed. 

"This smells like bleach!"  Oops.  I spit it out.  Nothing like near poisoning by my three-year-old.  Having no sense of smell all winter long comes in handy while changing diapers, but apparently can be a problem at times.

Q-dawg, wise man that he is, realized that the bottle of bleach poison could be indicative of a larger problem.  Yep.  The upstairs bathroom is really clean now.  Q-dawg and I just had to soak up the chemical spillage to uncover the clean surface below.

-As I put away toys and board books into Spooner's little blue bin on his second-story bed, Lek's words came floating into my mind: "Who loads up this kid with ammunition so that he can hit people sitting below him?!?!"

That would be me.

-I was particularly grateful that tonight we were eating the leftovers of someone else's leftovers because then it left me time to trudge through the two streams behind our house so that Q-dawg could do some measurements for the most amazing Christmas gift ever. (More details to come...after Christmas.)  Moisture that was trying very hard to be snow was showering down as my feet were numbed and I shone the flashlight in the dark water to make sure it didn't become a full-body experience.   As I headed back to the house across the water, I heard Papaya hollar, "MOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!!  Don't leave me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  I came up the bank with reassuring words, only to find her there in a skimpy summer dress, no shoes, chomping on a banana.  What a kid.

-This same energetic little muffin organized a full-scale bike ride that included her, Hava, Spooner on his little scooting bike, and Baby Zsa who loves the ride in the stroller. (He likes to hang over the edge, drooling and gnawing on the edge.)  They raced ahead while I jogged along pushing the stroller having a great time.  Love these kids!

-The day began with the kids gathering for breakfast and the Singing Bee creed.  Lek stopped in disgust and shock at the bottom of the stairs. "Oatmeal?!  It's not Monday."  Sorry, kid.  It is cheap and I like it :).  I know.  I'm weird.

-I enjoyed watching half of my children (does that sound weird?) do a sign-language performance at a rest home today...kudos to Sister Williams from last year and her inspiration in teaching our children to love signing to songs :)!  Avot organized it, complete with fun solos--Hava and "Silent Night," Pipalicious and "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," Chugger-dude and "Angels We Have Heard on High," Liliputian and "What Child is This?" and Avot with "O Holy Night."  The group numbers were beautiful, we sang a few other songs and just had a great time. 

-One of my favorite things as a parent is seeing my children serve and love their siblings.  Tonight I got to listen to Hava read to Spooner.  So sweet!

-One of my least favorite things as a parent is seeing my children in pain.  This morning, I got to accompany Avot to the health department to get a TB test in preparation for her mission.  The woman explained that she would be shooting something under Avot's skin and creating a bubble. I was sitting in the other room and I heard a plaintive, "Mommy, will you come and hold my hand?"  I looked up to see a petrified look on Avot's face.  Unsure why but willing to help her, I came in and held my little girl's hand.  She took my hand in an iron grip that reminded me of the time we had four nurses hold her down on the table to give her her kindergarten shots.  Fortunately, she let the nurse prick her skin and inject a little bit of dosage. 

"That's it?" Avot asked incredulously. Apparently, she thought they were going to insert some object under her skin.  I would have felt panicky too :).  It was a good excuse to be there for my beautiful daughter before she leaves us in the next few months.  We will miss her!

A Quick Kiss Makes Things Lighter

I love (and dread) when Spooner comes up with a concerned look on his face and says, "uh-oh" and points to the kitchen.  A quick kiss usually follows this sequence and an insistence that I follow to behold what he got into.

One day it was a bread pan full of sugar.

Today, it was a partially eaten chocolate chip cinnamon roll left over from St. Lucia's Day breakfast this morning.

It has definitely been worse.

Maybe he has discovered that when he tells me about it in advance (complete with the kiss) that he doesn't get in as much trouble.

It's true. :)  Smart kid.

Being Short and Dinosaurs with Toothbrushes

"The annoying thing about being short is that your arms are shorter than others!!!"

This profound truth was frantically and breathlessly exclaimed by Avot as she tried to keep the Goob at bay while he tickled her with a toothbrush.

Not much later, I overheard the following conversation:
"He hasn't brushed his teeth since the dinosaurs invented toothbrushes."

"Dinosaurs didn't have toothbrushes."

"Exactly."

Celtic Women, New Job, and Beautiful Day

Awesome day yesterday!

Homemade pizza made by a dear friend for me and my kids in my kitchen...complete with delightful conversation!  My favorite part is when she told me, with lights in her eyes, how she couldn't get to sleep at night sometimes because she was just so excited for the new day ahead.  Loved it!

Celtic Woman concert with my oldest three girls...and a baby who played with his toes for the first half, delighted in the lights for the third quarter, and then was done.  All that done in nothing more than his diaper and amber bead necklace since the room was so hot :).

Started organizing scrapbook stuff...feel the project coming on!

Listened to some of "God's Not Dead," the Goob's follow-up movie to studying about evolution in science :).

Kids enjoyed a beautiful day outside with a new set of roller-blades dropped off by someone.  Even Papaya tried it.  Or should I say, of course Papaya tried it :).

Wrapped up most of our Christmas presents.   Whew.  Christmas Eve will be a lot nicer.

Q-dawg is crazy busy with appraisals and just started with a new firm full-time, complete with benefits and paid vacation.  Woohoo!!

Gotta run!  Day ahead!

Twinkle Lights, Chess, and more moments...

I am sitting at the computer with twinkle lights over my head...love it!  It kind of happened by accident.  As we were preparing for St. Miklas Day (the day Santa comes in Hungary...and to one little house in Medina), I found the long strings of white lights we had used for our giant tree in Kaysville last year.  "Where can I put these?" I mused, looking at our felt tree taped to the wall.  Determined to make it festive in this shell of a downstairs, I started stringing....and stringing...and stringing.  When I ran out of strings and plugged it in, my front room glowed. 

My first thought?

"Hey!  Now I will be able to see what I am eating!"  (This has worked to my advantage in serving up new dishes in the past few weeks, though.  I will have to try a different strategy.)

Baby Zsa spends many moments entranced in wonder at all the lights.  I do too :).  I love Christmas.

The Three-Way Chess Moment

 

**I feel to make a pause in my writing...a shift, as it were.  Into my mind floated the chapter headings in my daily reading to the kids that break up subjects and keep things organized...maybe I will do that every time my train of thoughts shift in a post?  We will try this!  Let me try again...**

 

The Three-Way Chess Moment

 

Lek is currently caught up in the insanity of ACT-Prep.  He and the ACT-Prep book have been friends for weeks now, going to BYU football game broadcasts at friends' houses, traveling to Super Saturdays (his only outlet for seeing LDS girls his age...only once a month!  Sigh...), or curled up with him in bed at night.  I frequently find him on his knees by his bedside...not in prayer, but in an effort to study and stay awake in one of the quietest places in our house. (Although, I am sure there is a lot of prayer involved in his study at this point!)

 

Lek has been mixing in a splash of Seminary and football training for good measure into his days as well.  To my delight, he has been chumming up with his younger brothers, including them in his training of football passing, sprint time improvements and working out in the gym.  The latter has created great discussion in our home as the muscles get more defined and the reported weight capacity from the gym steadily increases for both he and the Goob. (Q-dawg insists Lek better keep it up on his mission or the Goob will not only be taller when Lek gets back, but stronger and take him down.  Love the guy talk :).)

Anyway, another outlet for my battle-poised young man is chess.  It used to be enough to take on just one adversary at the time, but Lek, in the building intensity of ACT-prep, has shifted the playing field to take on more opponents: three-way chess.  Pulling out his board we picked up for him in Hungary, he has asked Avot and I to play...and when he asks in that sweet Lek way, who can resist?

 

Lek is wise in his approach.  He knows to ask me in advance, when my day seems open, getting a commitment early so I can schedule it in.  Yesterday, we were scheduled for after devotional, but ended up delaying it a bit as I had an amazing and attention-demanding phone call from a friend come in just as devotional was finishing up.  After almost 40 minutes on the phone, hiding in various rooms so I could hear better, I emerged to find Avot and Lek sitting at the kitchen table in our front room, poised to go in front of the three-way chess board.  Avot had her dictionary of Psychology terms and Lek his math book for review and practice.

 

It was time. 

 

The game was intense as usual--usually, intensely hilarious as we each took turns feeling picked on by the other two.  Avot and I are very spontaneous in our playing and thus respond quickly to threats.  As we both set out it unfolded that both of our best chances for conquering another player ended up being on Lek's territory, poor chap.

 

"Well, at least I know that it takes two of you to defeat me!!" he exclaimed part-way through the game.  Turns were interjected with lunch, prepared by the lovely Liliputian and her somewhat off-and-on assistant of Chugger-dude.  Plates with individualized tuna fish sandwiches and cute little name tags were placed on the table for each of us as Liliputian customized our lunches.  What a sweetie!  Other interruptions were pretty steady as the center of family life--aka, me--was firmly ensconced at the kitchen table: the little girls and their on-going drama of who hit who and who was playing with who, Spooner and his never-ending exploits in the kitchen, the Goob and his fantastic array of spontaneous Goob-ness and Baby Zsa, who took a nap and woke up all during the course of the game.  It takes serious concentration on my part to keep things straight and re-focus for the new topics of conversation and needs!

 

At one point, Lek had asked me about a problem that he had with math.  We paused the game and I finished up my amazing explanation right as we heard a knock on the door.  "I hate math!!!" Lek hollered, gnashing his teeth in frustration as I went to get the door.  A friend was on the doorstep, with a box of brownie mix and a painted seat cover to adorn our home...I love New York!  We know the best people!  Our friend poked their head in a chuckled at the situation, then left us to our insanity.  Wise man.

 

As we finished up the game, Lek being defeated quite by accident as usual (the "accident" not the "defeat" part being "as usual"), I walked over to get Baby Zsa situated in the high chair so he could eat some solids.  My mind was a-whirl with the usual litany of "good, better, best!" that at various times picks up speed and intensity in my quest to do what is best with my precious, precious time.  I doubt myself a lot, always second-guessing my choices of what I do with my time.  Am I meeting the needs that I should be at every given moment?  No.  This is not healthy and, yes. I am trying to figure out how to moderate and lessen the intensity, but sometimes I feel engulfed with all the things I am not doing.

 

This was one such moment.

 

In an effort to combat the barrage of thoughts, the overwhelmed feeling, I cried out inside, "Father!  What do You want of me?!"

 

I took a few steps and was stunned by the reply: "What if I told you that you have already done everything I want you to do for the day?" It was only noon.  How could that be?

 

"I am satisfied with what you have given me, today, my daughter.  The rest of the day is yours."

 

I stopped, overwhelmed.  Tears started flowing as I pondered on the feeling of knowing I was okay. My offering was sufficient.  Avot glanced up and saw my tear-streaked face with concern.  As I tried to communicate this precious moment, more tears came. 

 

Just then, the Goob came bouncing up, a stream of intense, bubbly words already in motion.  As he turned to look at me, he immediately stopped mid-stream and his big-blue eyes grew suddenly wide and focused. "Are you okay?"  Okay, now, I know there is now way to capture the hilarity of the moment, but his instant shift from bubbly to deep, intense concern (especially coming from the Goob) sent Avot and I into gales of laughter. 

 

"Oh no!!" The Goob protested.  "I am so sorry!" 

 

"Don't be," I smiled :). 

 

Moments Slipping By

 It is moments like this that just seem to slip by so fast!

 

Moments like Hava waking up just now and the first words from her mouth after  a slow, drawn out: "Good morning, Mom,"  are "Today will be so awesome because we are having hot dogs tonight."  Food is very important to this young lady.  That, and details and consistency :).

 

Pipalicious just came down the stairs, "Ouch, ouch, ouch..." with Spooner trailing behind, "Ouch, ouch, ouch..." right before giving me one of his "air-kisses": "mwa-ha!"  Off to the kitchen he goes! (Can I just say that those little "air-kisses" are one of my favorite things in the world!!)

 

Moments like yesterday when he brought his mini-shopping cart downstairs into the kitchen and I showed him where he could load up food into it from the pantry.  Little did I know I was apparently giving him license to open up all those packages and combine them in a pot...a pot that I need to hurry and clean before I can cook up Daddy Rice for breakfast.  Clock is ticking, you know!

 

Capture memories or go make some more...that is always the question, right?

 

Memories like Hava sleeping at the foot of our almost flat sleeping pads that Q-dawg and I get out each night to lay on for our bed, because being next to her bed is simply not close enough :).

 

Or having Hava ask me how to play "Up on the Housetop" and having me sing out, "two-two-two, one-one-one, three, one, four," numbering the notes automatically after so many times.  Or when she stood in front of a room full of women last night at church, shyly yet determinedly teaching them the sign-language to the first verse of "Silent Night."

 

Or seeing the squishy yumminess of our oh, so fat Baby Zsa in his daddy's arms as they come down the stairs to wish me good morning.   Baby Zsa is now "helping" Daddy at the keyboard...and now leaked all over Daddy so "it looks like Daddy peed his pants," Daddy just said.  "Snort," was Baby Zsa's reply.  That kid goes through food and diapers like no other!! He is so solid! 

 

Liliputian comes in to save the day, taking the leaky baby upstairs for her "mommy help" for the day.  (My favorite "basics" job!) "Pipalicious, will you go and grab some wipes and a diaper for me?" she calls out. "It will be your 'Liliputian' help." :)

 

Final one, I promise, before starting my already "late" day: Spooner and his obsession with sweets in the kitchen (that kid has a nose for them!) and the Magic School Bus. "Skoo bus... beep! Beep! Beep!" he calls out regularly when he finds buses outside, among his cars, or in books or movies.  He knows all the important words: "Mommy, Daddy, Garbage, School Bus..."

 

Okay, one more.  This one is from a teary Papaya: "Mommy!  Why don't you do what Heavenly Father wants you to do?"

 

Good question :).

 

I just had a thought occur to me.  I wonder how much recording these moments makes the moments themselves more real...maybe even makes our life more meaningful.  I have seen my kids' hearts soften to each other, appreciate each other more, take time to enjoy and laugh at the little moments more as they read through this blog where I try to capture our lives from a mother's viewpoint.  Is there something about putting into words our life that somehow seem to make it more important, like if it is worth writing down, it is worth more?

 

I don't know.  However, I look forward to asking Heavenly Father that question: what difference did it make to my children to record our lives so immediately, taking the "ordinary" and finding the wonder of it? I suspect I will be amazed.  Better keep it up!

 

NOTE TO THE EDITOR(S): Unfortunately, Sarah, Marni and Q-dawg, I will not be spending a great deal of time editing in my effort to keep up, so whatever a quick review or spell check does not pick up, it will just have to do, lol :).  You three are my "super English" heroes...when I grow up, I want to be just like you!  Oh, gotta include Niesha in that as well.  Love you guys!

An energy-filled morning!

Where to start...hmmm.

Let's work backwards. Listening to "Christmas at Ground Zero" (the Goob's request).

Just now I went around and took pictures of everyone doing what they were doing:

Papaya was pushing a very full, very tired baby around in the box...

...much to his delight!

Here is the music man himself, with his hair "done." "But, Mom!  I used hairspray all over to keep it in place!!  It is Avot's fault for pulling it!"  Uh-huh.  Good thing his smile is so adorable :).

Here we are at the end of a tense and crazy three-way chess game.  We called it a draw after this one. It wasn't worth trying to hunt them down to get them into checkmate.

 Liliputian has prepared pork 'n beans for lunch, complete with apples and water...

Chugger-dude is hard at work hanging up our stockings for St. Miklas Day, which we will be celebrating tomorrow morning...Santa is on his way!

Hava is hard at work helping with Liliputian in the kitchen

We have so many utensils now that we use two trays, since I haven't bought a bigger one.  But hey!!  Now we can eat more than one meal with forks during a day before needing to wash more!!

We have had a fun morning!
-Chugger-dude announced that he can breathe in then shoot his tummy out with his breath and shut the utensils drawer.  Talents abound!

-Speaking of talents, apparently, the Goob is a natural psychologist...for 3-year-olds.  Spooner was going a little crazy at breakfast so the Goob grabbed a pen and a pad of paper and sat next to him. "Tell me about your childhood," he asked Spooner in a serious tone.  Spooner proceeded to "vent" in his gibberish for the next five full minutes, with the Goob inserting comments like, "really?" or "Wow, that must have been hard."  Therapy session over.  Spooner proceeded to eat his breakfast calmly.  He had been heard :).

-Spooner took his exuberance in a different direction and spilled wheat all over the kitchen floor during devotional, while joining Baby Zsa in a double-poop session...second change of the morning for both of them and it wasn't even 10 am!

-Devotional was "catch up on lds.org" Christmas videos, including an 11-minute long youtube video of some couple and their kids and how they celebrated Dec 1.  I just kept thinking things like, "what would it be like to always be getting ready for the next camera shoot," or "do they really have that kind of enthusiasm all the time?" or "her house is pretty clean; they should do this at my house and people would feel really happy with how their house looks :)."  I know...get back to the show, Mommy, and enjoy it!

-We had a crazy game of "Greed" with gi-normous dice.  Papaya skunked us all, rolling 5000 points in one turn.  The Goob,...well, not so lucky.  Even when we switched directions so that he could roll after Papaya and share in all her points, he still rolled nada.  Zilch.  Above 300 points?  He would roll nothing.  However, one of the things I like about the Goob is that he was hilarious as he lost and had a great attitude...love that guy!  He gets away with crazy things with Lek.  He likes living on the edge (and Lek likes punching).  Win-win, I guess.  Male energy, *sigh*.  Avot came back from a conference and related how men and women like to end and begin the days differently, each in their "gender": women like to calm down and men like to, well, do something manly.  Punch the air.  Shout "huzzah." Or in the case of my boys, wrestling, romping, chasing, egging each other on and teasing. I don't know that I believe all that people have to say about "energies," but, boy!  Does that explain a lot!!

Before the two-poop devotional, the Goob scrubbed the tub so that it sparkles, we rotated through two batches of laundry to make way for the "pee-pee" batch.

Avot is teaching the kids some sign-language for their solos for some performances they are doing during this Christmas season and trying to keep from getting sicker. Lek is studying like a mad-man for the ACT test a week from Saturday, along with amusing us with songs like his adaptation of "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas": "I want a baby Elijah for Christmas..."  Baby Zsa wants him too :).  That baby lights up every time he sees that big brother of his! Liliputian has been a saint with all the work she does and is now busily doing her flashcards.  Lunch is cleaned up, darling girl.  Way to go!

Pipalicious and I made pancakes this morning with a lot of "help" from Spooner. I have found that involving him means less clean-up work overall, crazy enough.  He loves to cook!  Should be fun!

Now I just need to go find Hava, Papaya, Pipalicious and Chugger-dude out by the fire pit, wrestle Spooner into submission for quiet time and hopefully do a little family reading before Baby Zsa wakes up.

Spooner's Birthday

I am determined, despite limitations of camera quality or focus, to record my children's life!

After a flopped dinner of lentils (yes, his favorite, thanks to our friend Scott!) and a quick stirfry substitute, a day full of errands and dying kittens, here is Spooner's "birthday cake" cookie candle. (Brownies and ice cream tonight, baby!)

Best present ever!

And here is the birthday cookie!

...and happy Chugger-dude, celebrating with his brother!

Smiles and Spooner...both so precious!

Great Pumpkin Shoot

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Slowly but surely we are making progress.  The focus is building children, though.  The house is secondary.

Glowing darling!

Her name just fits her!

Let's "kill two birds with one stone": get rid of our old pumpkins and try out our new shot gun at the same time!  Papaya is ready.  Here we are, setting up the battlefield...

Some pumpkins were more robust than others...but they were all going to go!

Little Spooner loved the adventure of it all!

Pipalicious and Hava exploring the area

Papaya with Hava's birthday doll that sometimes feels like one of their sisters, she comes with us so many places :)

One of many, many trips back and forth bringing out the pumpkins

 Just love my darling Avot and Liliputian!

One of our many "target towers"

Q-dawg gets the gun ready in our friend's pasture

Leave it to Papaya to find the thistles!

Typical day at the gun range...we've got food and crocheting :)

The Goob is "all fired up"...hehehe

 The onlookers...

Even Avot took a turn and did quite well!  She hit most of what she shot at.

Chugger-dude and his friend looking on before their turn

With all the loud shots going off, Hava was full of snuggles

Despite her initial complete (and healthy!) fear of the gun, Papaya decided to give it a try anyway.  After one shot, she was still sure that she wanted nothing more to do with the gun.  Yay!  The whole day was worth it if for no other result than that!

Patty-cake keeps Spooner busy

Lek, shooting like a pro

All the girls took turns, which I was happy for

Now it is time to be artistic...

Start with violence...end with beauty.  Fun day!
I even had a few turns and nailed some pumpkins. I even hit some flying ones!  Lek and Q-dawg would throw them up into the air for us as moving targets.  Not bad for my first time!