A Daily Dose of Mischief

I didn't realize just how cultured my 5-yr-old baby boy was until this morning. As I lay in bed contemplating whether or not to get up yet or stay under the warm covers, I overheard him sing, "It's snowing! ♪♫ Ha--lle-lu-jah! Ha--lle-lu-jah! ♫♪" (To the tune of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.)

I have had a lifelong hatred of split pea soup ever since my Mom made it when I was a kid. D on the other hand, loves it. He recently got some Campbells split pea soup to try to get me to try it and see that it wasn't always the way I ate it growing up. A day or two later I heard the boys talking about it. #4: It looked like BARF! #2: Yeah, that's why I didn't have any. I know you aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover, but it looked DISGUSTING! How are you supposed to eat something that makes you lose your appetite looking at it? My sentiments exactly.

We went on a little day trip to the nearest W*lMart (just over an hour away) last Saturday to do some Christmas shopping. Since we got there around lunch time we stopped at Winco first and ordered a pizza, then did some grocery shopping while we waited for the pizza to be ready. Usually the boys can be a handful (or two) at the store, and they are especially hard to handle when we have driven a long way to go shopping. They were pretty good that day at Winco, with only a few minor incidents. Keeping in mind that we had other places to shop that day and I wanted them to have a good attitude about it, I thanked them all for being good in Winco. #2: Thank you! (I assume for the pizza) #1: Thank you. #4: Thank you! #3: You're welcome! I think #3 was having a delayed reaction to my thanking them, but it came out sounding like he was saying you're welcome to everyone in the car.

Each year we have Tithing Settlement which is our opportunity to meet with our Bishop and verify our financial donations to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Today all eight of us went into the Bishop's Office together and reviewed that paying a full tithe means we donate 10% of our income to the Lord and His church. As Bishop H was talking about being full tithe payers, my first grader, who has a slight speech impediment, piped up (sporting a sheepish grin,) "We're not pears!" Bishop H was stunned for a moment, "What?" Still maintaining his signature sheepish grin, "We're not peyrs--we're not food!" As Bishop H realized that 'payers' and 'pears' were homonyms in my first-grader's vocabulary, he couldn't hold back a chuckle. I have experience and a testimony that voluntarily paying tithing, (which is used for the building and operations of our chapels, temples, and other church operations--bishops and...

We have a lot of interesting conversations with the boys while we are driving places. A while back we were on our way somewhere and we were talking about my Grandma and I told them the story about how I had felt like my Grandmother was there at my wedding. (She died when I was 14). I really love my Grandma and when I married D I felt like she was standing behind me and like I could feel her hand resting on my shoulder. #3 was pretty interested in this story and was asking about it, and he wanted to know why Heavenly Father would make it okay for my Grandma to be there at my wedding. I told him that it was probably because it was a special occasion. He thought about it for a while and then said, "Heavenly Father is a lot like Dad. He doesn't do special occasions very often."

This weekend we hooked up the computer to the TV/Stereo and watched, via the Internet, the World-wide General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Adults soak up the five spiritual, inspiring two-hour sessions of listening to the President of the Church, other living Apostles, and other Church leaders (and listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir). However, for young kids its like sitting in church for two days watching older people stand in front of a microphone talking about 'boring' things all day long. Although they will eventually learn to treasure this twice-per-year event for the spirit that is felt, for now we are hoping the kids will at least recognize the good feelings they get when the leaders of Jesus Christ's restored church speak. I was pleasantly surprised when my middle son gave hints that he was actually listening more closely than I would ever have imagined: T noticed the speakers said the word 'quote' frequently and start...

I was very impressed with my sister-in-law who got married this last weekend. Often times the bride and groom are so focused on each other and all the attention thrown at them, that its hard to watch out for others. In particular, kids seem to get overlooked when it comes to weddings. (By everyone except the parents who walk around with a look of horror on their face the whole time.) Everything about weddings is so formal, and kids are not. My middle son was looking and pointing at the wedding cake, when a concerned adult, worried he was going to touch it, warned him not to touch it. T is very sensitive. Especially when he interprets that he is being yelled at for something he didn't do or wasn't going to do. To cool down, he went outside the building, which prompted more well-meaning adult attention. It took him a while to get over his hurt and frustration. About an hour later, when the bride found out what happened, she demonstrated that her love of people overshadows high-an...

Our son, K's (age 6) insights on Eternal Marriage (pronounced: Etuhno Mehwudge ). Note: Marriage and Sealing ceremonies in a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can seal a husband, wife, parents and their children together as a family unit for eternity (including after death). This doctrine is a key component of the Church and the gospel of Jesus Christ...and one of the founding principles for the great interest/resources in Family History research. For more detailed information about LDS temples, please visit the official church website about temples :

Babies are so cute and innocent.... ....or so they lead us to believe. Here's lookin ' at you, baby! (If you look closely you can see the gears turning in her mind as she calculates her master plan of future mischief.) Babies are brilliant...we think they are fresh to the world, trying to figure how to use their new bodies and soaking in all the wonders of the world; but really, the first two years of a baby's life are spent calculating and planning out their 'Terrible Two" reign of terror. Here, baby B sits in deep concentration as she plans out her seizure and control of the house and everyone in it. Stealthy, undercover behavior executed to perfection as unsuspecting parents find joy in simple 'innocent' reactions. Its all part of the plan! ----------------------------------- Baby B is now 15 weeks old (pictures taken a week earlier.) She smiles a lot now which is really fun. She loves music and dancing. She already turns towards the TV in a glazed tr...

I was at the store today with our eleven year old son #1 today. We ended up in the cosmetics section because I needed some nail polish. While I was looking for the clear polish he was standing next to me reading the names of some of the lipstick colors. He commented on how weird some of the names for lipstick colors were and said, "I wouldn't want to kiss a girl with lipstick that is named Fatal Red." I replied, "Would you want to kiss a girl at all?" "Well NO, but if I HAD to kiss a girl I wouldn't want to kiss one wearing Fatal Red lipstick." As for me, I was just happy to hear that he wasn't interested in kissing any girls yet.

#4, who enjoyed the first day of school quite a bit, came home even more excited by the second day of school. In his words: "School was great today! The corn dogs made it even MORE exciting!" Ah, school lunches...

"I know a good law..." T (3rd grade) introduced his bill after a serious, but brief discussion about the government and why someone would want to be President of the United States. "If someone has a lot of wall balls,.... " ...they should give one to me." I see what was important to him on his first day of school today.

School doesn't start until tomorrow, but my oldest already has math and vocabulary homework from meeting his teacher the other day. He did really well, but there was one question he answered that jumped out at me (the boxes with 'x' represent his answers): Applying Meanings Directions: Circle the letter of each correct answer to the question below. A question may have more than one correct answer: 4. Which of the following usually learn obedience ? [ x ] (a) dogs [ x ] (b) soldiers [ ] (c) cats [ ] (d) children No wonder parenting is such an up-hill battle.

"Just because Ice Cream takes your tastebuds on a trip to Heaven with a side trip to paradise doesn't mean it fills you up. Sadly, it doesn't fill you up at all." Today's quote courtesy of #1...

D was holding Baby B on Sunday at Church and #5 said "Baby B looks just like you only smaller! (pause) And with different clothes (pause) and CUTER!"

The other day my eight-year-old, tell-it-how-he-sees-it, son got a Mr. Incredible sticker from his older brother who was rewarded for letting the nurse stick him with four immunization shots... Mr. Incredible © 2004 Buena Vista Pictures Distribution. All Rights Reserved. ...after looking down at at the picture for a little bit, he ran to me and said, "Dad...your as fat as Mr. Incredible...you can be him!" On the one hand, I'm not really flattered with sudden reminders of the obvious in this regard, but on the other hand, Mr. Incredible is a buff, strong super hero.

Baby B is two months old already! The other day her big brother T aka #3 was making faces at her to get her to smile. He told #1 what face to make, and when #1 tried it B did not smile. #3 casually said, "It only works when her favorite brother does it."

I've been waiting for weeks to catch this with the camera...

I have been collecting papercrafts on the computer for a while. Some of them are quite complicated and I may never get around to making them, but its nice to know I have them on file if I need them. If your kids are bored this summer, here are a few of my favorite papercrafting sites. Canon 3D Papercraft has a wide variety of paper models to download for free. You can even build a paper town complete with roads, train tracks, people, vehicles and buildings. PaperToys .com has vehicles, animals, and several famous buildings. One thing I really like about this site is that many of their models can be downloaded in black and white so that you can color them yourself and don't have to use precious printer ink. Making Friends is great for younger kids. There is a huge variety of paper doll patterns to be downloaded with various themes. You can download them in color or color them yourself. There are even cub scout and girl scout paper doll clothes and holiday clothes as well as dif...

In my quest for ways to beat the summertime blues, I went to the website for Family Fun Magazine and looked up some crafts to do with the boys. This project was one of the first ones to catch my eye so I bought the supplies I needed and we made some today. You can follow the link to the project, or you can follow this tutorial. For each beanbag/juggling ball you need the following: A funnel, three balloons, (they say 11" balloons, but I used 12" and they turned out fine. I imagine that 9" balloons would work as well), and the filling of your choice. Their website called for lentils, but I used brown rice, and I have heard of people using birdseed or just dry beans as well. Rice is what I had, and it worked fine. Take the first balloon and blow it up about halfway. Hold it closed like that for about 30 seconds and then let the air out. Using the funnel, fill the balloon with your filling. I found it helpful to squeeze the balloon to compact the filling inside so that I ...

#5 aka C just turned five. His teacher at church gives each kid in class a paper wrist band after each lesson in order to help the young kids in his class talk to their parents about what they learn on Sunday. Every night at dinner D asks the boys about what they learned or did that day. When it came to #5's turn we asked him if he had a different teacher today. He said "Sammy's Mom taught, but she didn't give me a wrist band, so I don't remember what I learned about today."

Today our daughter had her baby blessing! In recognition of this very special occasion, her aunt made her a beautiful blessing dress. She looked like an angel: Angels can bring a feeling of peace and comfort! Angel Smile Singing with the Heavenly Hosts...or do I just feel tired all of a sudden.

Sweet baby boy... One year old On his second Birthday Three years and enthusiastic Four years old...so cute I can't believe my baby boy is going to be in Kindergarten this fall!

Yesterday we noticed a red mark on our four-year-old son's forehead. Mom: "Did you bump your head?" Our son promptly put on his ' pouty -face' complete with wide-pseudo-sad eyes and protruding bottom lip: "Yes." Mom: "What happened?" Son: "I was jumping on T's [bunk] bed and kept bumping my head [on the ceiling.] " Then, without breaking his ' pouty -face', the corners of his mouth curved up into a sheepish smile and he added, "...it was kind of fun."

I thought about other clever ways to phrase it, but really, I am just plain tired, so bare bones it is. Thursday at 4:00 a.m. I was sleeping soundly and I suddenly woke up to a huge gush of water. My water had broken. I sat up, woke up D and tried to stop gushing water everywhere. I was not having any contractions, but standard procedure when your water breaks is to head to the hospital. We called a friend to stay at our house with the boys, called my Mom to let her know she could come from Vancouver in the morning, and called the hospital to let them know we were coming. We got to the hospital at 5 a.m., checked in and got hooked up to the monitor. Since my water was broken they would not let me labor in the tub, and I wasn't really in labor anyhow. I got hooked up to an I.V. (which took 4 painful tries) and they started me on a pitocin drip. To make a long story short, I spent all day on pitocin which they kept increasing in an effort to get me to some kind of productive labor....

Today at church our youngest was performing his usual routine of doing everything in his power to not go to his primary class, so I took him with me to drop something off in the van. Playing tug-of-war with him the whole way, I decided to see if he wanted to take a walk. I took him around the block, but the sun was shining and the air was unusually hot for the north Oregon coast for this time of year. I was starting to get pretty toasty walking in the sun with my dark suit on. Assuming he was feeling the heat too, I attempted to persuade him to go to his class, "Wouldn't you rather go and sit in the nice, cool church?" My five-year old replied, "No, church isn't cool,...it's boring." I guess I should stop using 'cool' in its slang form so much at home.

Our youngest has been extra cautious about spiders lately. The innocent non-scary ones hang out in the upper corners of our bathroom all the time. If he sees one in there, he won't go to the bathroom until I capture and release it back to the wild (the backyard). He especially gets nervous when they move. He anticipates where it might go inevitably expecting it to come his direction. Its been a while since he's complained in his quiet, whiny-scared voice about a spider. But today, out of the blue he approached me in his high, sad little voice accompanied by a pouty face, "I don't want to be a grown-up." "Why?" "Because then you'll be high enough to see the spiders." Trying to make him feel better I asked, "Don't you think you won't be scared of spiders when you're a grown up?" Not catching the double negative, he reiterated his stance about being forever scared of spiders, "Yesss." There was a brief pause...

Last week #1 and #2 participated in the school spelling bee. #1 got first for the grade levels through 5th at the school. Today he got to go and participate in the County spelling bee. I was surprised to find out that they don't make the kids stand up and spell each word out loud like they did when I was a kid. Instead they had a list of words that they read off and the kids wrote down the spellings. Then they added up who got the most right and picked the winners that way. #1 got second place in his division for the county. I thought that was pretty cool. He was happy to get second because 1st place would have to advance to state, and would have gone to the county fair as well, and he just didn't want to do either of those things. Good job #1!

Today was my birthday. During our dinner conversation, D asked the boys what they would get me for my birthday if they could get ANYTHING they wanted to. I found their answers to be interesting, and somewhat revealing. #1 said a new car. #2 couldn't decide...and later decided on a new TV #3 said a generator (which would enable them all to watch TV and play video games in the event of one of our frequent power outages here on the coast.) #4 said a Harry Potter book (even though I already have all of them), then when he found out I have them all he said a Harry Potter CD (meaning the books on CD). #5 said he would buy me a Thomas the Tank Engine DVD. All in all it was a good birthday. I have realized how blessed I am to have all that I do have. While there are always things that would be useful, we are blessed to have all of our basic needs and many luxuries. Our house isn't the nicest house, but it keeps us safe and dry. What more could I ask for? I have five healthy boys...

That was the thought that went through my head on friday when I picked up #3 from school. #2 was on a field trip, and so I picked up #3 since he had no one to walk home with him. On the way to the car he slipped his hand in mine, and instead of a tiny kid hand I realized that there was a big kid hand in mine. How long before he doesn't want to hold my hand at all? I had better enjoy holding his hand while I can.

#3 was born with a lot of hair... He has always enjoyed water, dirt and any combination of the two... I can hardly believe he is already 8 years old! Happy BIRTHDAY #3!!!

Tonight as we sat around the table eating our strawberry shortcake for dessert, #2 brought up the topic of growing up. He stated that sometimes he wishes he could be a kid forever, and sometimes he wishes he could be a grown up now. His reasoning for wanting to stay a kid involved that its more fun to not be smart. In his words..."You know how I'm really smart? I have more fun when I act like I'm not smart." This has led him to believe that being dumb is more fun than being smart... #3 piped up and said, "The number one reason I want to be a grown up is because then I can do whatever I want...except at work, and number two grown ups don't get throw up sick as often as kids do." Then #4 and I had the following conversation... #4: I want to be a grown up so I can play the Wii whenever I want to. Me: That's assuming you get a job and buy a W ii of your own. #4 (with big, innocent eyes): But I'm going to live here for a while after I grow u...

For me spring means brighter days, warmer weather, and reviving life. Already we've seen crocus blooms and daffodils. The sun play longer. The grass is ready to mow. The trees' leaves are beginning to show. This past week was the much anticipated Spring Break. However, the Spring part of Spring Break seemed to elude us... ...almost. What comes to mind when you think of Spring? #1 (11): Easter #2 (10): Flowers #3 (8): Boiyiong #4 (6): Spring Suit Mario #5 (4): Spring Vacation What did you do to celebrate Spring during Spring Break? #1: I played in the snow #2: I played the Wii #3: Play on the Wii all day #4: Show people the Wii #5: I forgot

I have always been pretty much an anti video game kind of Mom. Nothing against video games, just that I knew that my boys would become obsessive over owning a game system the way they have obsessed about their computer time. The way we have it arranged is that they each have one day a week that they get computer time, and they get two hours. Two hours seems like a lot, but when its only one day a week it really isn't. Last year we had a chance to play a nintendo wii at Grandpa's house. The boys of course, loved it, and we were surprised that we enjoyed it too. The boys knew better than to ask about getting one though because I had vowed we would not ever get a game system. A lot of time and thought went into the decision to change my mind though. At Christmas the boys received Christmas money, as did D and I. We decided to save our money up to get a Wii . However, we didn't want to just go out and get one and by this time they were pretty much sold out anyhow. So we saved...

How often do we joke with our kids that its extra protein when they get grossed out by a bug in the picnic punch, yet we wouldn't dare drink it either? Nor would we eat our macaroni salad with a utensil that fell in a mud puddle. We are careful about putting contaminated things in our mouths, yet we may not be as careful about what contaminating things come out of our mouths. At least with contaminated food, we can throw it out so another person is not afflicted; however, once the words escape our mouth, there is no way to retract them and prevent them from contaminating the ears of all who directly or indirectly hear them. S (second oldest) was complaining the other day about how he said prayers everyday for help to resist the temptation to swear and to get the bad words out of his mind because at school "all the boys", including his church friend, say bad words. I'm proud of him for choosing to not swear. Then yesterday, I saw a national News clip about a 14-yr-old...

Puberty seems to be a fairly frequent topic in our family these days. This last week we were visiting family... #2: When I go through puberty, I won't be myself anymore. Me: Who will you be then? #1: He'll still be himself, just an angsty version of himself. Then last night #4 came downstairs to use the bathroom after bed time. He said he was afraid to go alone and wanted one of us to stand outside the door and wait for him. In the past it has been a fear of werewolves that kept him from going to the bathroom alone after dark. We fixed the problem by putting a new curtain on the window so he couldn't see the dark outside. I asked him what the problem was since the curtain was up and he said in a very sincere and frightened voice, "I'm scared...of PUBERTY." I couldn't help it, I busted up laughing. He didn't find it amusing and went on to ask his Dad if puberty is real or not. D replied that it was. We later found out that #2 had told #4 that puberty i...

#1 aka J is turning 11 today. Here are a few pics from over the years... Baby boy! Three and a half years old Awww...Six years old Cub Scout...Eight years old Last Summer, age 10

#4: All babies start out fat and chubby. #5: No they don't! Babies start out as a spiky ball! Earlier that day I had taken #5 to Costco where he flipped through a children's book on the human body. There was a section on the beginning of life, which included a small picture of an egg being fertilized. #5 who is only four years old, pointed to the picture and asked me what that was. I replied that that is how a baby starts. He must have remembered and it stuck in his head. Thus, babies start out as a spiky ball!

We were at the beach yesterday looking at tidepools and taking some pictures. D went ahead of us and climbed up on some tall rocks so he could take pictures. We waited for him to get done. For a long time he was standing there silhouetted against the sky while he took some pictures of a lighthouse out at sea. #4 noticed D and asked me: Does Daddy have hydrothermia? Me: No, Daddy doesn't have hypothermia. #4: Then why is he just standing there not moving? I thought it was cute that #4 thought Daddy was too cold to move. It was cold, but pretty warm for February.

After reading the label on a bottle of pickle relish, #2 expressed disgust it had been around for over 100 years. We explained that the company that made the relish was 100 years old, not the product. A brief moment later, #1 said, if the relish was 100 years old, it would be called relic .

#2: If it weren't for puberty I couldn't wait to be a teenager. Then I could drive... Gold nuggets of wisdom my friends...

From T's (7-yr-old) personal prayer tonight: "Please help me to not get hurt; Please help my family to not get hurt,... [a crooked smile crept up on his face] "...except for J" [his oldest brother] Who needs Calvin and Hobbes when you can live it every day?

Every night at dinner DMo will ask the boys what they learned that day. Sometimes they they can't come up with anything, but usually they have at least something they remember talking about or learning about at school. The other day #1 said that he learned about the horrors of puberty in health class so we asked him what some of them were. He mentioned things like pimples, and B.O. #2 piped up that starting to like girls would be one of those things too. I pointed out that #1 is almost 11 and that the horror for him could start soon. DMo mentioned that he was messed up back when he was 11, and that he cried over all kinds of little things. I made a comment that he must have done all his crying back then because I have only seen him cry once in the last 13 years. #1 was curious and asked me when I had seen Dad cry, and I replied honestly, "When you were born." Somehow it came out sounding wrong, and everyone (including #1) busted up laughing.

Today our 4-year-old told me very proudly and excitedly: Now I know how to spell CTR! C-T-R. [note: CTR stands for 'Choose The Right.']

We had an ultrasound on Friday. This shot is of the baby's face. As usual with ultrasounds the details are a little bit on the fuzzy side, because ultra sounds are in 2D and just represent a cross section. With this particular shot we got lucky in that you can see the baby's eyelid and that the eyes are closed. Other details that are easy to pick out are the eyebrow bones and the shape of the skull. We are almost to 21 weeks! Only 19 more to go!

As church began this morning my second-grade son was surprisingly calm and quite sitting on my lap. Suddenly in the middle of the opening hymn, he looked up and said confidently: "I think there's no such things as bottomless pits." ...Didn't see that one coming.

I've learned to determine how well an outing with the boys went based on the "You've Got Your Hands Full" rating. Just like the popular TV shows where the audience gets to vote for the winner, the "You've Got Your Hands Full" rating is determined people around us. Just like golf, a low score is better. The votes come in about three degrees: 1. The courtesy vote. (Sometimes called the "I can't believe you have so many kids" vote, or occasionally, the 'been there done that" vote.) This is not really a count against us--its like the freebie vote. As we walk through the store with kids hanging all over the grocery cart, or doing everything but walking in a straight line towards our destinations, almost expectantly someone (usually a couple or a mom) kind of chuckles and says, "You've got your hands full." 2. The silent vote. Most of the votes are of this type. This vote is cast when a clear reaction occurs by an innoce...

Posing with their Mickey Mouse Suckers Cinderella decorates for Christmas This was on the last day in the parks, can you tell I am tired? One of the highlights of the trip was visiting the Lego Store...