Classified Ad, Part 2

Please list the following ad under the "Lost and Found" section:

Found: My voice! (well, it's a bit raspy, but it's my voice!!!)

When: Late Wednesday morning

Reward: Many words of thanks and gratitude. My middle child (well, #3) was not at all pleased that it was back. He didn't think 5 days was long enough. I think he would offer an award for my voice to be lost again (possibly even his Nintendo DS?)

Thanks to all who looked high and low for it.

I love the pre-school age--with all the cute observations, questions, and comments. This morning my Emmalee asked me, "Mom, are you yelling your whisper?" So I guess I am back to yelling :)


Joy, Joy, Joy!!!

Classified Ads

Please list the following ad under the "Lost & Found" section:

Lost: My Voice!

When: early Saturday morning (or possibly Friday during the night)

Description: Active from pre-dawn mornings until way into the wee hours of dark. Sometimes very loud (alright--yelling), but has a loving toneation at most times.

Favorite phrases:
Love ya!
Because I said so.
Because I am the mom.
I don't have to have a reason.
Hurry up or you'll be late!
Love ya!
Stop it right now.

If found: Treat w/TLC. Teach it to always say positive, kind words. Fill it with expressions of gratitude and love. (Maybe you can hold on to it for a day or two longer--I kind of like having my children coming close to me and looking at my face when I talk to them. And I haven't yelled for 5 days now!)


Reward: Words of thanks and gratitude. I'm sure my children would pay you NOT to return my voice, but I kinda like it :)

Besides, we didn't get to finish our spring cleaning because of the icky sicky bug that swept through our family. Do you know how hard it is to keep clapping your hands to get every one's attention? Then you have to whisper commands--put that here, no there, no--just get rid of it! It has been torture not being able to bark out commands from one room into another room. But on the other hand, I have seen my children much, much more since losing my voice! (since we have to be face-to-face to communicate at all).

I Should be Celebrating....but.....

Yes--I should be celebrating! I posted my 50th post (this is #51), and meant to celebrate.

But then life happens. We had spring break this past week, so we cleaned, shopped, and then all got sick! Thursday was my 1st day of sickness, so most of the other children were better by then.

Friday, I sounded like my oldest son (my baby would smile at me, but when I talked he looked puzzled). And I had no energy. I swear my arms each weighed 50 pounds and my head was glued to my pillow :)

And today I have no voice (the 2nd time this year!). I have a little more energy, but not much. So hopefully I will be able to post next week:(

Wish me luck tomorrow at church--"singing" with the primary children (I am primary chorister).

Reasons (Excuses) I haven't Posted

I haven't posted in a few days for a couple of reasons (I guess this is more than just a couple!):

1. I have been soooo tired. Tired because I have an infant that likes to go to bed at 11 pm or later (but I can't complain because he sleeps 6-9 hours!).

Tired because I have 5 other children. Tired because when Benjamin does go to sleep, I have usually found my second wind and can't get to sleep. Tired because I haven't been out in the sunshine enough. Tired because I am tired :)

2. I have been spring cleaning. I know spring isn't officially here until Friday, but it is our spring break so I am taking advantage of having all these babysitters & helpers home. We have been working on a few projects and I will post those pictures next week.

3. My dryer was not being a dryer, so my clothes piled up and I had to catch up on laundry after my dryer decided to be a dryer again. (thankfully my father-in-law is an electrician & my hubby has helped him enough to figure out & fix the problem--and quite quickly & "cheaply".)

4. My aging van (photo not our van) decided to shake and limp at an extremely slow pace--it needed a repair. Thankfully it received that "hip" replacement and stopped shaking.

5. My oldest had a dentist appointment (no cavities--yay!) and a trip to town means lots of shopping :) I found a few excellent unadvertised sales so I had to stock up on those items. I love finding good deals :)

I guess it's a good thing that I am a stay-at-home mom that "doesn't work"!

8 Things Tag

8 Favorite TV Shows

1. Survivor
2. Amazing Race
3. History Detective
4. American Kitchen cooking show
5. CSI (any)
6. Criminal Minds
7. Numb3rs
8. Old shows (Andy Griffith, Addams' Family, Gilligan's Island, Waltons, Smurfs, Hazel, Hogan's Heroes)

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Melina's
2. Texas Roadhouse
3. Sizzler
4. Subway
5. China Buffet
6. Pizza Hut
7. Taco John's
8. Arby's

8 Books You'd Recommend

1. Book of Mormon
2. Work & Glory series
3. Storm Testament series
4. Tennis Shoes among the Nephites series
5. Anita Stansfield books
6. Mary Higgins Clark books
7. Twilight series
8. Harry Potter books

8 Things That Happened Yesterday

1. Laundry
2. Cleaned the boys' room (half way done--photos to come later)
3. Threw 1 garbage bag (kitchen size) stuffed full of garbage from the boys' room away
4. Played the Wii with my sister and children
5. Went outside without a jacket on
6. Made & ate dinner
7. Made & ate brownies
8. Did the dishes

8 Things to look forward to

1. Spring so I can go on walks
2. 4th of July weekend
3. 20 year class reunion
4. Camping this summer
5. A clean house
6. Organization in my house
7. De-junking my room
8. Being healthier/thinner

8 Things on my wish list

1. Enough $ to build our house w/o debt
2. Happiness in my children's lives
3. Living on our land
4. A craft room
5. New carpet
6. Thinner/healthier
7. Peace (and harmony) among my children
8. Calm in my life

8 Things I love about Spring

1. Warmth
2. Being able to walk & push the stroller w/the children (not in the snow)
3. Riding my bike
4. Green grass
5. The smell of the earth right after rain
6. New growth--flowers
7. Buds on the trees (& blossoms)
8. Seeing the ground (& not just snow)

8 People I tag:
Whoever wants to, I know this one has gone around a lot, if you haven't done it, feel free!

This was fun to think about what I want and wish.

Empty Fridge

I decided I had better wash & clean out the fridge on Tuesday since it was pretty empty (and it really needed to be washed out). There was a lot of sticky stuff on each shelf--yuck! I can't believe I am taking pictures of my fridge--thanks to Jen

Wednesday was Benjamin's 4 month check-up, so of course I had to shop! (any time we make it to town, we buy groceries)

And here is my fridge, stuffed full. The funny thing is that I can tell you where anything is in the fridge. Hubby asked where his peppers were, and I was able to tell him exactly where they were (although he didn't want to dig them out of the back corner!)

No one is going hungry for a while at our house!

Road Trip--what was I thinking?!?

Okay, okay--it was MY idea to take the whole family to Boise for the state basketball tournament. I thought--we've traveled before with a loaded van from Idaho to Wyoming--should be the same minus the mountain passes :)

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!!! First, our precious 3 year-old angel will be turning 4 in 2 months. Did I forget that this is the age when our oldest started going through the "terrible 2's"? Going from angel to mischievous tease!!!

And where did we put her in the van? Middle back--between the 2 boys. What was I thinking????

Isn't that the face of an innocent angel??

We had to stop 3 times, but mainly for the cute little baby boy (alright, by about hour 2 he was tired of laying in that restricting car seat!) We also stopped around Twin Falls and made sandwiches at a truck stop (it was sooo windy and cold :(

We made it to the game, just in time to miss the tip-off. But we had a diaper to change, too. I am glad we left at 8 am so we could make it to the 3 pm game!! (supposedly a 5 hour drive?) I forgot how long those nursing stops can take!!

Needless to say, we did make it to the game, enjoyed it, and the children were well behaved, and didn't ask for concessions or shirts, etc. at the game :)

We found our way to brother-in-law's house in Eagle. Emmalee took right to Uncle Ken--we did see him at Thanksgiving, but before that it had been almost 1 year!!
The Stewart side of the family is quite goofy (I guess so is my side :) I guess we are just a goofy family!

Uncle Ken made a yummy meal for us--chicken cordon bleu, mashed tators, and green beans. Nicer than the hamburgers I was planning on buying!

We had 1 bed room and the living room for the 7 of us. Rusty decided that he would camp out in the living room with the boys. Emmalee heard the word "camping", saw her cute Sesame Street sleeping bag, and parked herself next to Dad (after all, she is a daddy's girl).

Surprisingly enough, the all snuggled into their sleeping bags and watched a cute dog movie "Good Boy".

Brienna and I shared the bed and I put Ben in his car seat (no wonder he hated his car seat!!!)

Since the Friday game wasn't until 6:15 pm, we had a whole day to spend in the city. Now, if any of you know my hubby, he HATES crowds, shopping, and big cities. But he was a trooper (keep reading--lol) and we headed to the state capitol building. We knew it was still under renovations, but Zane had never been there before (or Benjamin) and we wanted to give him the opportunity to see it.

It had snowed overnight (a cold front had just moved in) so we bundled up and started walking around the capitol building.

First picture we were still warm from the van ride, so everyone is smiling!

Next picture--not so warm anymore, so Emmalee is clinging to Brienna, hands in pockets, and earmuffs on.

This is one of my favorite photos with the capitol building.

I had to add this one because I am in it--Rusty and I took turns taking pictures. (No wonder the kids got tired of pictures because they had to stand through so many)

Emmalee had borrowed my gloves my now, and ears are all covered! They liked these bronze statues of Lewis and Clark and a chief & his son.

Now--remember how much Rusty hates shopping? So definitely no malls or Factory Outlet for me, but we had to go to:

First, Zane has never been to one before (yeah, I know--poor, deprived Zane). We love the Lehi Cabela's, but the one in Boise is still nice. Zane couldn't believe how big, amazing, and wonderful it was. He loved all the animals, and the fish.

While we were there, we saw a family from our town, visited the General Store (and of course we had fudge samples). And we bought some fudge. I was planning on buying 2 pieces ($5). But they had a special, buy 4, get 2 free. So we got 6 pieces for $10. Yum, Yum :)

Then we heard it--the rumbles of our hungry tummies. I told them no fudge until after lunch. So we were just heading to the van to find a place to eat, when we some of the basketball team walked in the door.

The children wanted to see Ethan, since we hadn't got to talk to him after the game Thursday. Zane and Callum went to the African animals and the others went to the fish tanks, but we couldn't find him. Zane finally said, "I bet he is in the general store!" Duh--Food!! (sweet food). And he was right.

After visiting for a few minutes, we looked at the time (12:40) and decided to wait for the 1 pm fish feeding. Emmalee thought it was funny that the big fish ate the little fish, but Brienna didn't think it was funny at all.

After seeing those fish, Rusty decided he wanted a fish sandwich from Jack in the Box. We took off in the direction of the Boise LDS temple, in search for a place to eat lunch. But the minute Benjamin was strapped in the car seat, he started wailing. And I had just nursed him, so he wasn't hungry!

So after 10 minutes of his crying, we decided to head back to Eagle to let Ben out of his restraints and relax for a couple of hours. Benjamin definitely has a great set of lungs--he wanted out, there and now. We pulled over 2 times and I tried to pacify him (by nursing). And it worked as long as he was out of jail--I mean his car seat. So we had to endure the crying for another 15 minutes. And on top of that, our little angel (right) decided it would be fun to hit her brothers. Whoever screamed loudest got the next slap. Lovely---what was I thinking????

We did find a Jack in the Box, ate fish sandwiches and tacos (hot dog for Emmalee from the convenient store), and made it to Uncle Ken's. Benjamin loved stretching and being out of that prison we strapped him in.

We sent the boys to the game w/Uncle Ken, so the ride to the game was actually quite peaceful.

INTERMISSION (I know--this is like a 3-hour play!!)

Uncle Ken took Brienna, Zane & Callum home immediately after the game, but we waited for Ethan to finish up so we could get him a sweat shirt. And I needed to nurse Benjamin. We left at half time of the 2nd game.

Now, I wish I could tell you the ride home was peaceful--we only had Benjamin and Emmalee. Right away, Benjamin started crying the minute we put him in the car seat. So I sat next to him (middle seat), and I couldn't even console him. We pulled out of Caldwell High School parking lot, and crossed an intersection, when Rusty pulled over. I thought "Are you hungry or lost?" That's when I noticed the lights. And that's also when Benjamin stopped crying.

We knew we weren't speeding, we had stopped at the intersection for over a minute, so we had no idea why we were pulled over.

A very young-looking officer came to the van, and told us our brake light was broken. I pictured it as a burned out light, so Rusty told him we would fix it in the morning. He explained how we were from out of town, etc. Rusty had to dig through the jockey box looking for insurance and registration (I really need to clean that out!!) since I was in the back seat.

The whole time I thought--come on, Benjamin. Cry, Cry!!! But of course--he didn't make one peep. (I must be a terrible mommy--wanting him to cry??).

As soon as we pulled away from the curb, Benjamin decided he was unhappy again and cried Emmalee to sleep. All the way back to Eagle (about 30 minutes) we looked for cop cars, hoping not to be pulled over again. Once in Eagle, Rusty had me look at the brake light. Surprised me--it was working. So Rusty said--is the red light broken? I would have thought a broken tail light would look like this:
(Not our van) On closer inspection, I saw a nickel-sized hole near the top of the tail light, but it was small! I couldn't believe that is why we got pulled over.

(I hope you are all enjoying your popcorn--the show is almost over)

Saturday morning we pulled out of Eagle at 9:02 am. Thankfully, we were not in a hurry to get home, so we planned on taking the whole day. We had to stop before Twin Falls to put Emmalee in a time out. We found a truck stop, and I put her in the cold wind on a cold fence. (Again--what was I thinking??) After that, we only stopped a couple other times (for lunch, to check out some historical sites, & to nurse).

The sun came out Saturday--and so did the wind.

Zane would cover his head so he could play his Nintendo DS better.

So Emmalee thought it was fun to pull that off him and scratch his face!

We finally convinced her to cover her head too.

And it was calm when all 3 of the children in the back covered their heads (although it was only for a short time.)

Rusty said we had a van full of spoons (stirring up trouble), and not a big enough bowl to put them all in. Benjamin was much better on the trip home--I had a bottle ready for him that helped put him to sleep:)

Okay--that is the story of our Road Trip to Boise.

CONCLUSION: Next year when the boys go to state, it will only be Rusty, me and the baby!!! What was I thinking??

FHE

For Family Home Evening tonight, I was in charge of activity. Benjamin needed a bath, so I told the children we were going to give him a bath as a family--to see if we could cooperate! (And then I promised Wii playing time if all went well)







Zane got the big towel out to put on the table, Emmalee got the wash clothes, Brienna found the hooded towel, Callum grabbed the baby soap and shampoo, Ethan found clean clothes, and Rusty filled the tub. I had the fun job of making Ben smile and laugh during the bath :)







I must say that it was a success--and I was glad I didn't have to get all the stuff out and ready for the bath.




Zane and Emmalee took these pictures--pretty good for a 5th grader and pre-schooler!


And we did have fun playing the Wii, too.

Double Milestones

I guess since Benjamin just turned 4 months old, he decided he was going to start moving up (well, actually over) in the world. He rolled over from his back to his tummy 3 times today! Emmalee saw him do it the first time, and then I had to see for myself.

Look at those cute, adorable eyes! And then he decided to also cut a tooth--yes, he has a tooth poking through.

This (below) is how he spent most of the time at the ball games--how he sleeps through so much screaming, cheering, whistle-blowing noise I'll never know. But I guess he started out doing this :)--he has been sleeping through most of the games since he started attending them 3 months ago!

State Basketball Photos

We're back from Boise--and we survived the long drive with a cramped & crowded van! (More to come about the non-basketball side of the trip.)

Although we lost both of the games, it was a great experience for Ethan, and the other children enjoyed it too.

Here is Ethan on day 1--he's #20. (Orange--Bobcats)

I couldn't post very many action photos because most of them turned out blurry. So here are some free-throw photos.

In the photo below, Ethan's on the left--he usually doesn't play more than a few minutes in varsity--so he was excited to play the last 2 1/2 minutes in the 1st game. We were behind by 20 (didn't stop those 3-point shooters in the 1st half, & by the time we shut them down in the 2nd, we were behind too far.)



These are pictures of game 2 on Friday. It was a really close game, so we weren't sure if Ethan would get any playing time. But we got behind by 7 in the last minute, so Ethan (& the rest of the bench) got to finish the last 25 seconds of the game.

We lost to Richfield on Thursday (53-32), and on Friday, lost to Summit Academy (69-61). Our boys have a great potential, and now if they can just make it one more year to state (when Ethan is a senior), we believe they can win!! I don't think the school has ever been to state back to back years (went last year, but Ethan was on JV so I took him & some friends to watch). We are only losing 1 senior next year, so we hope to be back next year :)

Ethan had a wonderful time and created a lot of memories. Our children also had a great time, and I will be posting more about our trip later.