A Daily Dose of Mischief

Inside Voices

2012-02-03T16:20:00.000-08:00

Mom: Why are your "inside voices" so much louder than your "outside voices"?!
C (age 8): I don't know...maybe its because you're always inside when we're outside.

It's good to be Queen...

2011-11-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

Me: B, Princesses share. Aren't you a Princess?
B: No! I'm a QUEEN!

An issue with tissue...

2011-06-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

#4 had to bring a box of tissue to school for his own use at the beginning of the year. Today he showed it to me, proudly pointing out that it was still almost full.
#3: Why?
#4: I didn't need to blow my nose very much.
#3: Why? Because you used your shirt?

Courage

2011-06-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

#2 learned about courage in church today and that you can't have courage if you aren't afraid. He decided that Superman isn't courageous because he is invincible and has nothing to be afraid of, but then decided that Superman is brave because he wears his underwear on the outside of his clothes...

Socks or dog ears...

2011-05-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

Today at church I noticed a filthy looking sock sitting under #4's seat. I asked him what it was doing there and he said with a perfectly straight face, "It's my bookmark!"

Some almost forgotten gems...

2011-04-15T11:25:00.000-07:00

B asked me recently if I would buy her a pink "loolyhoop". I wish that is what hula hoops were really called! I have a tendency to dance around the house if there is music on. We have a backyardigans CD that we got for Miss B, and it was playing. I danced into the kitchen where our 12 year old son S was sweeping. He was staring at the floor looking upset so I asked him what was wrong, and he said he was embarrassed at the way I danced. I had a momentary feeling of triumph at being able to embarrass my kid from the safety of my own home. Then, a few days later, the same CD was playing and I walked by the kitchen to see that same 12 year old dancing his way across the kitchen. He didn't even realize he was doing it until I pointed it out to him.
We bought a new computer chair a few months ago, and the boys took the box it came in and made it into their own amusement park ride. One would get inside and the others would roll or spin the box around and give him a ride. I got a little nervous when they took it upstairs though. I can just see them pushing it down the stairs with someone inside...
I was playing hangman with K (he is 9) and I was the one guessing the letters. He often chooses video game titles for his hangman words and phrases. I figured out that he was writing Luigi's Mansion, but he had not written a letter s in mansion. I pointed it out and he proceeded to write it out as manchun...at least it had the write number of blanks!
Heard at our house a couple of days after Christmas, "I'm going to take those guns away if you don't stop shooting things with them!" and then, "MOM! That's what you're supposed to do with them!" They got nerf guns for Christmas. Miss B lines up her M&Ms in color order, just like me!
Miss B calls ponytails "Tonytails."
Miss B sometimes asks for treats in threes. For instance, with donut holes, she needs to have a Mommy, a Daddy and a Baby donut hole.
#1 told #4 that he had Tapioca for brains. #4 looked very offended and said, "I have a brain! I just don't use it very much!"

Just close your eyes and pretend you are sleeping!

2011-04-15T11:20:00.001-07:00

A few days ago, Miss B started pretending to be asleep whenever she gets into trouble. The first time she was laying down pretending, but now she just closes her eyes and stands really still. After a second she will open one eye and look to see if her ploy is working on whoever she is in trouble with, and if it isn't, she closes her eyes again. It's really cute.

A musical prayer...

2011-04-10T21:31:00.000-07:00

It was Miss B's turn to say family prayer tonight (she is almost three). D helped her, only instead of just repeating what he said, she sang it back. "Thank thee for today-ay-ay." "Please help us do what's Ri-i-ight." "Help us to be sa-a-afe." I admit that I peeked. Not only was she singing the prayer, she had one hand on her hip and was dancing too.

B's boys...

2011-01-30T13:01:00.000-08:00

I have not been posting on here very often! I need to fix that. I somewhat blame facebook since it's so quick and easy to post funny things the kids do and say there.

B, who I can't call baby B anymore since we had a new baby in September, calls her brothers her boys. It's so cute when she says, "I want to see my boys!" or yells out "My boys are home!" When they come home. What is even cuter is that she came up with the term all on her own. She is already taking over the household!

B's newest boy...
And since I haven't talked about baby D much on this blog, here is a pic to catch things up!

Everyone knows...

2010-09-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

That you need hair to make polyjuice potion.
And everyone knows that when cutting some of your own hair off, the easiest way to see what you are doing is to look in the mirror and use some scissors to cut some off of the front.
I just want to know why three of my boys felt the need to contribute some of their hair to a pretend polyjuice potion just a couple of days before school pictures!

Do Unto Others

2010-06-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

K (after being lectured about hitting his brother): You always say to treat people the way you want to be treated, so when T hits me, it just means he wants to be hit back.

A conversation about Smokey the Bear...

2010-05-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

On the way home from school today, the boys were telling D about meeting Smokey the Bear.
K: I shook his hand. It was kind of scary!
T: Yeah, Smokey the Bear is kind of scary, even though he's not real.
K: Yeah, it's kind of scary even though he's not real, because his hand feels real.
T: No, he's kind of scary in a Dora (the Explorer) kind of way.
K: Yeah, and he didn't blink.

The honesty of children...

2010-03-26T18:14:00.001-07:00

I recently went to Parent-Teacher conferences at the grade school. While there I had the opportunity to see a project #3 had written about his family. Here are some quotes from that project...
"I think my Dad would be cooler if he had a black belt in Karate."
"My Mom is overweight."
"My Dad is overweight too."

Well, if he's anything, he's honest!

Baptized by fire...

2010-03-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

#4 came to us the other night and said in his best whiny voice, "T said the whole world is going to burn up and get baptized by fire. But Dad, if that happens then we won't be able to watch TV anymore!"

Ah, the priorities of the young...

Who really stuffs the stockings...

2009-12-21T21:48:00.001-08:00

Our kids were being very rambunctious this evening and less than well behaved. D lamented that we didn't have a coal burning furnace. Of course, none of the kids got his hint that they were misbehaving to the point of earning a lot of coal this Christmas. I explained what he meant and the conversation continued this way after we asked T if he knew what Santa put in the stockings of kids who weren't good.
T: Santa doesn't put that stuff in our stockings anyway. He's DEAD. Mom and Dad do it! (Not all of our kids knew about Santa yet but I bet they are suspicious now!)
K: No...Where would Mom get all that stuff to put in our stockings?
T: MONEY (said in a duh tone of voice).
K: No, Mom doesn't do it...(followed by a long thoughtful pause)...It must be Grandpa Lloyd!

I laughed out loud. I guess he knows that Grandpa Lloyd has more money than we do! I wonder what he would think if he knew that I stuff Grandpa's stocking!

Cranky Parents

2009-12-05T09:33:00.000-08:00

Me: T, I love you!
T: I love you too.
Me: Sorry I get cranky sometimes.
T: It's okay. Mom's and Dad's are like that when they have kids that are 12 (note here that T is not the 12 year old). Then they get worse when their kids are teenagers and start saying bad words and playing T rated games...pretty soon J is going to start acting like a teenager.

A modern thinker...

2009-10-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

Last night at Cub Scout Pack meeting the Cubmaster urged all the boys to think of a friend they could bring to Scouts. #5 thought about it for a while and then stated that he thought they should be able to bring girls into the Cub Scout meetings. His logic was that girls would grow up and have babies, and then that would mean even more scouts!

Bertie's Every-Flavor Water

2009-09-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

As I was getting a drink of water for my 1st grade son, he was explaining to me that he didn't have a drink at home today. But he did have a drink of water at school:

"The water at school tastes like grass mixed with some water that is kind of warm."

Yellow hair vs Brown...

2009-09-01T21:41:00.000-07:00

This morning I was talking to #4 aka K. He said, "Do you think my hair will still be yellow when I grow up?"
I thought about it for a minute and then said, "Grandpa L had yellow hair when he was a kid."
#4 quickly shot back, "So I'm going to have gray hair when I grow up?"

A few minutes later I found out that he wants his hair to turn brown because he wants to BE Indiana Jones when he grows up.

Too many Fish in the Sea...

2009-08-11T16:26:00.001-07:00

#2, our almost eleven year old son mentioned the other day that he wasn't sure he would ever get married. When I asked him why he said: "If I have a hard time choosing which video game to play, how am I going to decide between all those people in the world?"

Fun House in the Bathroom

2009-07-27T21:11:00.000-07:00

That title probably stimulates the imagination more than intended considering that the purpose of this blog is to document behaviour of young boys who give characters like Calvin (and Hobbs) and Dennis (the Menace) a run for their money.

At church yesterday, I walked into the bathroom and saw two boys standing side by side, each in front of a flush valve looking straight in front of them with careful concentration making funny noises and occasionally bouncing up and down with excitement. I wasn't surprised to find out they were both mine, T (age 9) and C (age 6).

They were focused so carefully, they didn't even notice me standing behind them watching them making faces at the silver flush valves. They were quite content watching their faces distort in the curved reflective surface.

It was a relief seeing them so innocently entertained. And, even now, I think, too, its pretty funny to see my distorted face in curved reflective metal. It's timeless entertainment!

Croaking Frogs

2009-07-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

As we started walking home from playing baseball on the school playground, we heard frogs singing in the ditch that runs along the side of the gravel road leading home. My wife commented to our youngest son to listen to the frogs croaking.

J, age 12, responded: "If the frog 'croaked' once, how can it keep croaking over and over again?"

Dangers of Stating the Obvious

2009-06-23T22:26:00.000-07:00

My dad took our family out to dinner at a restaurant in celebration of C's recent 6th birthday. It's a fun, much anticipated, tradition my dad started to take the whole family to out to dinner to a place selected by the Birthday person.

T (age 9) ordered a Hot Chocolate. When the waitress brought it out, she politely said, "OK, here's your Hot Chocolate...careful it's Hot."

Taren responded matter-of-factly--and not too quietly--with an obvious tone of 'duh' (including the lazy eyes and head shake), "Why do you think they call it 'Hot Chocolate'?"

Happy Birthday #5!

2009-06-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

Baby C aka #5 was born 6 years ago today.

Our 5th boy, he fit right in with the rest of us!

Ever since he was tiny he has loved trains.

#5 has a great smile...

and can be a real sweetie too.

He also has his share (or more) of mischief.

We love you #5! Happy Birthday!

Signs Seen Through Town

2009-06-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

T (age 9) noticed a sign as we drove to a picnic event in another town. "Who would want to buy fleas?" He asked, puzzled.

Is it Soccer or Football?

2009-05-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

J was asking why asking facetiously why do people in Europe call soccer, 'football' and in the United States we call football, 'football' instead."

S explained that we call it, 'football' because in football there are a lot of 'hikes'.

Happy Birthday Baby B!

2009-05-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

One year ago today we welcomed Baby B into our family. I can hardly believe it has already been a whole year! Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl!

In the Hospital

Blessing Day

She's a Smiler!

Mischief

First solid food

Sitting Pretty

When did my baby turn into such a big girl?

Happy Birthday B! WE LOVE YOU!

Perspectives On Cemeteries

2009-05-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

In anticipation of a future service project, we drove through a cemetery today to review the extent of the headstone cleaning we will be doing.

We visually toured acres of upright headstones (we couldn't read all of the on-ground headstones) engraved with symbols and pictures that helped explain the personalities and beliefs of those memorialized by them. You can't help but respect the people who came before you and ponder about what kinds of experiences they had while they were alive.

It was the first time I've been into that cemetery and I was impressed with how nice it was. The cemetery sits on a hill overlooking a small lake spotted with lily pads. The opposite border is padded with a nice evergreen forest. Beautiful blossoming cherry trees guarded the front.

I was thinking out loud about how nice it would be to invest in some personal real estate at a this or a similar cemetery.

Shortly after a family of deer peacefully walked through the cemetery, J (12-yr-old) piped and commented, 'This would be a nice place to be buried."

K (age 7) joined the band wagon, "This would be a great place to play hide and seek!"

Conflicting Messages

2009-05-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

The other morning our 1st grader was getting ready for school when I walked into the room.

He said with a confused tone, "Dad, do you know what? When we have writing at school, [my teacher at school] says, 'take your time and do the best you can.'

"...Then half way through she says, 'I want to see smoke coming out of your pencils.'"

Girl Shows

2009-04-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

I was reviewing some work-related stuff on the computer at home. My seven-year-old son was on the other computer next to me doing his 'computer time.' Without venturing a glance away from his game, he said, "Dad, we had to watch a girl's show at school today."

"What?" I asked after realizing he was talking to me.

"We watched Cinderella at school today," he clarified. He maintained his stare at his computer screen with fingers flapping over the keyboard.

"Why?"

"We're studying fairy tales in school"

"Oh. Did you like it?"

Without breaking concentration on his video game, he exclaimed, "Nooooeeew! It's a girl's show, what do you expect?!"

Who is really in charge here...

2009-04-22T11:06:00.001-07:00

Baby B and I are going on a little getaway this weekend and leaving D and the boys at home. Last night at dinner #4 piped up and asked me, "Will Daddy get to make the rules while you are gone?"
Apparently everyone around here thinks I am the boss!

Happy Birthday T!

2009-04-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

Nine years ago today #3 aka T was born. He was a sweet, curly haired baby. (And boy did he have a LOT of hair...this pic was at about a month old.)

One of T's favorite things is playing at the beach. Sand and water are close friends for him. I have often wondered if he loves water so much in part because we had a water birth with him. Three of our six children were water births, but he was the first one.

#3 has a sweet smile, and a tender soul. He loves to be hugged.

He also likes to be a tough guy.

Science and nature fascinate him and he loves to share his discoveries.

#3 also has high functioning Autism. Some people in his life dwell on the negatives of this, but we are trying to focus on the positives. T is a sweet and wonderful boy, with much to offer and unlimited potential.

Happy 9th Birthday #3. We LOVE you!

Disneyland Wish Fears

2009-03-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

I was about to head downstairs after tucking the boys into bed last night when, out of the blue, my 5-yr-old said he was scared. He's been waking me up almost every night for the past few weeks due to bad dreams. Anticipating some answers to the cause of his nightly disruptions, I asked him why he was scared.

He went on to explain that when we were at Disneyland, he threw a coin into a fountain and made a wish. He wished for all of the Thomas the Tank Engine toys in the world.

He was scared because he just realized that if his wish came true, 'there would be too many and the house might explode!'

I did my best to console him without making him loose hope that his wish might not come true and made my way downstairs when the kids got on a tangent discussion with each about who the 'wish maker' might be (after all it got to be different than Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy because they already have a job).

He made that wish at Disneyland 15 months ago!

Dinner Table Pearls: 5-yr-old wisdom

2009-03-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

"Don't talk to strangers, unless you know them." C, age 5.

Indiana Jones and the Shark Treasure

2009-03-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by the following video:
http://www.youtube.com/v/jds1QZrJq1Y
to put together a Lego-adventure story with my boys.

The boys (particularly K) came up with general story and set up the scenes. I took the pictures and tried to create a narrative that fit their story and the pictures. The boys had fun setting up the scenes with the Lego characters and telling me what was going on in the story. I tried to keep up with the camera and remembering all of the story components.

It was fun. So without further ado, please enjoy:

(Simply 'Click' through the slides.)

If the above link doesn't work (seems to only work with Internet Explorer) try this link.

Overheard In Restaurant

2009-03-01T21:14:00.001-08:00

This weekend in celebration of our oldest's 12th birthday we had dinner at a local seafood restaurant. With five young boys and a baby girl, waiting time in a restaurant is a very unpredictable time. Here are some things overheard or seen from our table:

"Take me to your leader." T approached us holding a straw wrapper mustache and a sprig of parsley 'growing' out of his head.

"It's a uni brow....an orange uni brow." T held a long piece of orange peel along his forehead.

K attempted to make glasses out of his orange peel...only he didn't quite get all of the orange eaten off it.

Baby B was eating oyster crackers, and would periodically sweep one onto the floor for the fun of it.

As we were leaving, we had to pry T away from his 'art' work. I was afraid to look too closely, but he was arranging food remnants from neighboring plates onto his own. He expanded to some of the table condiments.

Who needs Calvin and Hobbes when you have a few living with you?

Life Savers Can Save Your Life

2009-02-16T20:55:00.000-08:00

I gave my kindergarten son one of those large mint Lifesaver candies.

He opened the wrapper, "I know why they are called 'lifesavers."

"Why?" I asked..

He put it in his mouth and muffled, "Because if you choke on it, you can still breath." [referring to the big hole in the middle.]

Best Laid Plans

2009-02-15T23:03:00.000-08:00

Today at church, I was moving the diaper bag out of the middle of the walkway just as my third grade son decided to walk past. As if it was slow motion, I saw him put his foot inside the carrying strap as I moved it out of the way. I felt his foot pull on the strap and his body topple to the floor.

It was so predictable, that I had to hold back a laugh. He shot a glare at me as we made eye contact as if I had done it on purpose. Then he lay face down on the floor in another Academy Award-winning performance.

At the climax of his production, he lifted his head out of his arm, turned towards me and snapped, "I know why you were smiling....because your plan worked!"

He paused, glaring, for effect, then dramatically turned his face back down into his arms floor to finish the act.

He probably didn't appreciate me almost laughing again.

A Trip To The Beach

2009-02-05T22:28:00.000-08:00

Last summer the kids and I took a trip to the beach. We like listening to waves crash against the rocks.

When the water hits the rocks it sprays high into the air.

The kids enjoy climbing around on the giant rocks.

The kids found a lot of great hiding places among the rocks.

The trees on this beach are fun to climb.

While the kids climb high into the tree, I stand guard to make sure they stay safe.

We also love to meet the crabs, starfish, birds, and other friends that play at the beach.

Watching the wildlife is one of our favorite things to do at the beach.

They usually don't try to hurt us, but I am still cautious around them.

They make funny faces and act all goofy.

I can't help laughing when I hear the sounds they make.

Also, when wildlife are around, we rarely need to bring our own food.

We always have a good time at the beach.

Random dinner conversation...

2009-02-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

I won't go into how we got onto the topic in the first place...

Me: You should NEVER pee on people.

#3: (without a pause ) Unless they got stung by a jellyfish.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

2009-01-11T20:28:00.000-08:00

This is only the fifth Christmas you've ever had in your life and probably only the third one you even remember. It was hard enough to sleep last night and finally morning came. You ran out to the living room to see all the presents that accumulated overnight. It takes all the strength you possess to resist opening the presents.

You barely have an appetite for breakfast, but endure it agonizingly while the adults seem to blab more than eat. Why does there have to be a rule that breakfast comes before opening presents?!!

Finally, after an eternity, the adults finish and you run into the living room excited to open your presents.

The first present you open is a pretty cool toy. As the rest of the family takes their turn opening one present, you scout-out your next target. Of course! Across the way you see the largest present you can find with your name on it. If that smaller-sized present was so cool, then surely the largest present will be the best thing in the world!

When its your turn again, with a giant uncontrollable smile, you race across the room to the giant present almost tripping over the torn wrapping paper and empty teaser boxes because you are so excited.

You tear off the wrapping paper--almost slowly to soak up every detail of the experience. Its a teaser box which is like opening two presents in one! The best present, ever, must be inside. You pull open the first flap, the second flap, in an instant you are peering down inside the giant box. You reach down to grab the 'greatest present in the world.'

All of your excitement and anticipation dash to pieces like that Christmas Ball your brother pulled off the tree a few years ago. You try to hold a smile, but you are overwhelmed with disappointment as you pull the puffy coat out of the box. How could this be?!!

No matter how hard you try there is no way to hide your true feelings. Anger swells up and pours out like Eggnog. You are screaming--almost crying--that you don't want a coat. You swing the coat through the air and beat it against the ground over and over again, until you feel someone grab you around the waist. Your feet lift off the ground. Wrath continues to spill out of every inch of your body. Your mom carries you off to another room. You continue flailing your arms and legs the whole way out.

The next time you walk into the living room, you are not much less disappointed, but you are calmer. Mom helped you kind of understand that the person who gave you the gift might feel bad by your previous behavior. Being sensitive to that idea, you do all in your power to try to find something good about pulling a coat out of the biggest present with your name on it.

You acknowledge the benefits of the coast the best you can. Then you notice it has a little compass attached to the coat. "It has a compass!" Your countenance brightens as you recall a recent visit to the zoo, "Next time I get lost at the zoo, I can use this to find my way back!"

Damage control successful! ???

You were disappointed at first, but it's the only Christmas present you enjoy using every day!

Cultured 5 yr-old

2008-12-21T09:44:00.000-08:00

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.)

Split Pea Soup

2008-12-17T21:13:00.000-08:00

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.

Thanks

2008-12-10T10:51:00.000-08:00

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.

A Full Tithe Pear

2008-11-30T23:22:00.000-08:00

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 other church leaders are volunteers,) results in temporal and spiritual blessings that surpass any loss from the financial sacrifice. After all, the Lord provides all of our living resources directly or indirectly, so tithing is just giving a little bit back to Him for building His church. The Church in turn blesses us more! There are no better investment returns than you get by investing through tithing!

Special occasions...

2008-10-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

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."

They Really Do Listen!

2008-10-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

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 started getting annoyed. Said, T, quote, "Why do they keep saying 'quote'?", end quote. In another session, he caught the phrase, "... said, quote, ....." and responded, "is 'quote' some one's name?!" I explained to him they say "quote" to show they are repeating the words that someone else said. Later, out of the blue he said, "The thing I didn't like about conference is they said, 'quote,' a lot."

In one session the speaker was talking about teaching, the role of the volunteers called (asked) to be teachers in the various congregations of the church, and the training resources available to them. T at least caught the topic enough to correct the speaker. The speaker said, "What are some of the principles of teaching and learning that we might identify...." T corrected him..."its principals, not principles."

I guess they really do listen even though all other indicators suggest otherwise!

Hero Bride

2008-09-22T20:56:00.000-07:00

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-and-mighty society's demand for formality. She took T to the wedding cake and said, "I want you swipe some frosting with your finger."

T hesitated as if contemplating whether it was a trap or not. After judging that she was serious, and that he had permission from the 'owner' of the event to do the thing he resisted the temptation of doing earlier, he quickly swiped his finger and received his reward for doing the right thing in the beginning amidst false accusations.

I don't know what his aunt did with the 'swiped' piece of cake. Maybe she ate it herself...but I do know that she loved my son enough to give some special attention he needed in her own special way.

For that show of love combined with other acts of selflessness that day, she is a Hero in my book.

Etuhno Mehwudge: A 6-yr-old Interviewed

2008-09-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

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:

Mischief--The Early Stages.

2008-09-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

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 trance when her brothers watch their shows or play video games (I'm pretty sure that's not hereditary??). She drools a lot, tries to stick her whole fist in her mouth...and she double-sneezes just like her dad. She loves to be outside in the fresh air. She loves warm showers/baths. And she already goes shopping all the time.

Lethal Lipstick...

2008-09-05T22:20:00.000-07:00

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.

Little things make a big difference...

2008-09-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

#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...

A New Law

2008-09-02T18:51:00.000-07:00

"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.

Applying Meanings: Obedience

2008-09-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

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.

Quote of the Day

2008-08-24T21:18:00.000-07:00

"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...

Only Smaller...

2008-08-15T16:46:00.000-07:00

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!"

Compliment?

2008-08-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

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...

...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.

Two months already!

2008-07-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

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."

Sweet Smile

2008-07-19T15:00:00.000-07:00

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

Cures for the summertime blues

2008-07-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

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 different sports and other themes. We have used these in our co-op preschool and the kids love them.

Toy-A-Day is a blog done by a guy that makes simple paper toys using a basic template. His goal is to make one toy a day for a whole year. There are links to download toys on his blog. Favorite characters from movies, TV and video games can be found there and the models are easy to build. Joe, who runs the blog recently hosted a contest and asked people to design paper toys using his template. Three of our boys and I entered the contest and the boys have been having a lot of fun just using the template to make their own paper toys.

There are many more papercraft sites out there, so try one out today and beat the boredom!

Make your own beanbag balls

2008-07-07T16:17:00.000-07:00

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 could fit more. Once the balloon is filled to your satisfaction (It took between 1/2 to 3/4 cups of rice for ours) make sure there is no filling in the neck of the balloon (squeeze it all down into the main part). Cut just the thick end of the neck off.

Next you will cut the whole neck off of the second and third balloons.

Stretch the second balloon over the first one, folding the neck of the first balloon over so that it will be smooth. Make sure the opening of the second balloon ends up opposite the bottom of the neck of the first balloon. Repeat this step with the third balloon, making sure the opening is once again opposite the opening of the previous balloon.

Here is our finished products. I bought themed balloons for 99 cents at a discount store. I thought it made the balls that much cooler. Its also a good idea to get multi colored balloons, that way if two people like the same color they can just choose a different color for the second balloon and you can still tell them apart.

These make great juggling balls. They are the right size and weight for it. Years ago I had bought a set of juggling balls and they were filled with flax seed. They were great, but I think flax seed is a bit on the spendy side.

We thought these were a fun project, and they are inexpensive to make and easy to replace if something happens to one. I also tried filling one up with cornstarch instead. It made for a lighter weight ball along the lines of a stress ball, but getting the filling in was much messier and more time consuming. I hope you enjoy this project!

Losing his memory...

2008-07-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

#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."

The Many Faces of An Angel

2008-06-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

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.

Happy Birthday #5!

2008-06-14T22:22:00.001-07:00

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!

Small Price For Fun

2008-06-01T14:52:00.000-07:00

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."

She is HERE!

2008-05-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

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. It was very tiring, and did nothing to get me ready for birth. At three weeks early, the baby was just not ready and although the baby was head down, she was too high up in my uterus. By that evening I was feeling pretty discouraged (I had expected to have the baby relatively quickly since my last labor had been 5 hours total). They took me off the pitocin and my labor stopped so we decided to rest for the night. In the meantime they gave me a couple of doses of something to help my cervix get ready for birth, and around 1:30 a.m. I went into labor (Finally!) The baby was finally born at 4:40 a.m. on Friday the 23rd, just over 24 hours after the whole adventure started.

So...the part you have all been waiting for...Welcome to Baby B! Yes, its a girl and she was 6 lbs 15.5 oz and 19 and 3/4" long. I know what you all really want to see are some pics, so here are a couple of them to keep you happy. Baby B and I came home this afternoon and she is trying to settle in with all the noise and chaos of five brothers...

On her Birth Day...

Ready to come home from the Hospital...

Needless to say, I may not be posting very often for a while...

Cool is Cool

2008-05-18T16:58:00.000-07:00

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.

I Don't Wanna Grow Up...

2008-05-14T20:50:00.000-07:00

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 in our conversation as if he was reflecting momentarily on our conversation. Perhaps he was realizing he couldn't escape becoming a grown-up..and that it might not be so bad.

Then he said, with pouty face and quiet whiny voice, "Do you know what I like about being a kid?....

"...because it takes so long to be a grown-up."

Spelling Bee

2008-05-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

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!

Examples of selflessness...

2008-04-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

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 and a baby on the way and the pregnancy is going well. My husband is wonderful, supportive and kind. He loves me and tells me I am beautiful regularly, even when I feel less than pretty. Truly, I am blessed.

They grow up too fast...

2008-04-21T12:21:00.000-07:00

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.

Happy Birthday #3!

2008-04-04T19:49:00.001-07:00

#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!!!

Conversations about growing up...

2008-04-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

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 Wii of your own.
#4 (with big, innocent eyes): But I'm going to live here for a while after I grow up!
What a smart kid...planning to grow up and mooch off of Mommy forever so he doesn't have to act like a grown up. Of course #2 told him he won't feel like he wants to live here once he is a teenager.

Through all of these conversations D was just shaking his head and mentioning how hard it is being a grown up. D spends the most time of all of us doing things he has to do for work, for church or for other things, and he plays the Wii less than any of us because he is always so busy being a grown up.

Odd Spring Break

2008-03-30T17:21:00.000-07:00

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

Wii Unity

2008-03-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

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 our money and we devised a points system. Each of us in the family needed to earn 1000 points in order to be allowed to play on the wii. We set our money aside and finally bought the wii at the end of February, but left it in its packaging as none of us had reached our 1000 point goal yet. D set up a chart in Excel with a graph that showed how many points we each had and we would update points for that day in the evenings at bed time. The boys earned small amounts of points for getting ready for school on time, laying their clothes out the night before, brushing teeth, taking showers and etc. They earned points for doing their homework and they earned points for doing chores. Eventually they would ask if there was something they could do to earn Wii points. We came up with special projects, extra chores and etc. Only one of five of our boys knew how to tie his shoes. Mostly because I have always gotten them shoes that either velcro or have elastic in them, and partly because of fine motor skill problems. We offered 50 points if they could learn how to tie shoes. Now four out of five know how to do it (we aren't too worried about the four year old yet) and the one that already knew earned points for teaching his brothers how. The four year old earned points for learning to write his own name, and there were many chores and a lot of hard work on everyone's part to earn points. D and I did extra cleaning projects around the house, and were motivated to do things we had been putting off. We were also motivated to earn our points first so that we could get to understand the system before the boys started playing. Now everyone except for one has earned all of their points, and the one left will probably earn the rest of his points by the end of today.
We are resetting our 1000 points and once everyone has earned the 1000 again we will buy a new game for the wii that we decide on together. One of our rules is that it has to be a multiplayer game. Part of what changed our mind about getting a game system was that the wii allows for multiple controllers and we can have a lot of family members play at the same time. There are also a lot of E rated games available. Playing on the wii is not going to be an every day occurrence, and D and I will decide when we will have special family wii days and fun things like wii tournaments that we can all participate in. We are looking at it as a way to bring our family closer together, and to teach all of us about the value of hard work with our points system. So far it is going well.

Clean Air

2008-03-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

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 boy who started the No Cussing Club (NCC) and convinced his Mayor to establish a No Cussing Week.

Anyone can join the NCC by visiting their website: http://www.nocussing.com/. I am pleased to say, I'm following my son's example and the example of this 14 year-old boy and our family joined the No Cussing Club! I printed out our certificate and I will take a copy of the certificate to put up in my office at work.

Imagine how much more intelligent people would sound and how much better attitudes would be if everyone stopped swearing and cussing!

Here's the link to a fun video the 14-year-old founder of the No Cussing Club put together: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTNv2dOBFJk

Childhood fears...

2008-03-04T15:37:00.000-08:00

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 is a monster under his bed, so we had to explain to him that puberty is something that happens to your body when you get to a certain age.
"What does it do?" He asked us. We gave examples of zits, growing a beard (for boys) and etc. and I mentioned that it would probably make him like girls.
"I don't want to be a girl!" There was true fright in his voice. I told him he wouldn't turn into a girl, but he might want to marry one after puberty. His eyes got huge and he said "Uh oh!"
I am not sure we calmed his fears, we may have made them worse. Maybe the monster under the bed is easier to deal with than growing up to like girls and get married.

Happy Birthday #1!

2008-02-28T12:41:00.001-08:00

#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

Dinnertime conversations...

2008-02-24T18:48:00.000-08:00

#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!

Hydrothermia

2008-02-17T21:35:00.000-08:00

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.

New Relish In Old Bottles

2008-02-16T20:23:00.000-08:00

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.

If it weren't for puberty...

2008-02-12T20:43:00.000-08:00

#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...

Brotherly Love

2008-02-04T21:48:00.001-08:00

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?

Dinner Conversations...

2008-02-04T11:45:00.000-08:00

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.

4 Year-old Spelling Lessons

2008-02-03T19:03:00.000-08:00

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.']

Our newest Mischief Maker

2008-01-27T17:23:00.000-08:00

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!

Deep Thoughts by T

2008-01-20T14:42:00.000-08:00

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.

The "You've Got Your Hands Full" Rating

2008-01-17T20:57:00.000-08:00

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 innocent bystander after noticing us. Sometimes the reaction is a look of disgust as if to say, "can't you control your kids?" Most often, though, it's a silent look of compassion for the suffering we parents go through when no power on earth can get our kids to cooperate. Sometimes its combined with a crooked smile, as if to say, "glad it's you and not me."

3. The vocal vote. This is the most powerful vote. This is where people straight-out say, "You've got your hands full!" because its too impolite to say what they are really thinking. These are the most painful votes for parents to endure...and usually lead to social isolation until the kids move out and finally understand for themselves what parents have been telling them their whole lives.

Example:

One dark and stormy night shortly before Christmas I ventured out to Costco alone with my three youngest boys. (note I didn't even have all five boys) Our goal was to get two or three simple items--an easy in-and-out job, no problem.

The mission started out very successfully, then suddenly, we turned the corner and there were samples!!

Like a fish to a shiny lure, (including the big googly eyes) my three young boys flocked to the table like metal shavings to a magnet. Tilting their heads up and looking down their noses to see what treat they might find, they realized it was cheese spread--the gross kind, but different flavors. In a flash, with lightning speed, my youngest started grabbing crackers, saying I don't like that, putting it back, then grabbing a different flavor.

Meanwhile the other two, bailed at sight of the 'disgusting' samples and started down the aisle on their own aimless path. The poor lady preparing the samples gave a half smile (vote #1--silent vote) as, one after another, she grabbed the now contaminated crackers and put them in the garbage. I couldn't tell if she was frustrated that he kept grabbing them or if she was kind of excited to get rid of more of them so she could go home. I could feel the piercing eyes over my shoulder from passersby as they watched with dread as my son slowly wiped out their chances of getting a sample. (at least 2 silent votes)

The trip went down hill from there. It seemed like years trying to drag (physically and verbally) the three boys the last fifty feet to the check-out while they begged to look for more samples. After all its not fair that they didn't like the last sample. (I'm sure we got at least two more silent votes.)

Finally we made it to the counter. The boys were very clever here. They knew I would be distracted by the purchase transaction and wouldn't be able to step away once I was committed to the transaction.

So as the lady rang up the sale and I tried as fast as I could to swipe the card and get out, the boys decided to tease and chase each other around. They were loud and even started hurting each other. Here I was helpless trying to move-on so I could do something about it.

The checkout stand at Costco has to be one of the worst places to for kids to act up. You have a huge line of people all focused at the same target. Not only do they have a front row seat to the drama performed in front of them, but you are the one thing blocking them from their ultimate goal--to get out and go home.

So the dilemma is do I hold up all these people to chase my kids around, or do I pray the kids will maintain some degree of caution and responsibility so I can finish and let these poor folks behind me move on. That's quite the dilemma--with little or no time to analyse your decision!

In the end, the two ladies helping at the checkout stand each said, "You've got your hand full"--and one of the customers behind me in line said, "You've got your hands full." (3 painful vocal votes.) That doesn't count the myriad of silent votes on that long embarrassing walk, with the groceries and struggling kids in my arms, from the check out to where that lady draws that ironic smiley face on your receipt.

Total: 8+ "Sorry, you are not a winner, try again."

Nope! No Thanks.

Some Disneyland Pics

2008-01-06T14:11:00.001-08:00

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...

Fountains are for greedy people...

2007-12-31T13:34:00.000-08:00

We recently spent a few days in California visiting Disneyland. The fourth day we were there we went shopping in Downtown Disney. There were a lot of fountains there. #3 loves water, and he loves looking at fountains and ponds...anything having to do with water. Heck, he even likes puddles.
Downtown Disney had a lot of fountains. He stopped at every one of them. They all had money in them from people tossing in loose change. Who knew every fountain was actually a wishing well? Seeing all the money in the fountains as well as a previous discussion about the high prices of things like water and snacks in Disneyland led #3 to comment that Disneyland has so many fountains because they are greedy and want everyone to give them all their money.
Hmm...who can argue with logic like that?

A 5-yr-old's Worries @ Disneyland

2007-12-28T00:29:00.000-08:00

Today was day two of our kids' first-ever trip to Disneyland. That gave them one day of experience under their belt to see the nature of a wide variety of rides and the anticipation, anxiety, fun, fear, and surprises they bring. Learning quickly the unpredictability of some rides, #4 (age 5) was trying to prepare himself to deal with his fear of the unknown as we waited in line for the new Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

After fifteen minutes of curiously watching submarine after submarine 'swim' past us through the colorful, bubbling water...and realizing that riders sit below the water level, he finally asked with sincere, honest concern in his voice, "Will they open the windows?!"

Germs are cool...

2007-12-23T21:47:00.001-08:00

A conversation from today...

#5: I wish I was a germ.

Me: Why?

#5: So I could see inside my underwear.

PDA...again.

2007-12-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

As D was about to leave for work after lunch we were standing in the kitchen talking. I guess I was standing too close to him or something because #4 came in, looked at us and said, "Are you doing the looooove thing?"
I said, "What do you mean? This?" and I kissed D on the cheek. #4 said "Yes!" then ran into the living room which is divided from the kitchen by a blanket that we hung there to keep all the heat from escaping the living room. We heard him yell to the other boys that we were doing the loooove thing...which of course caused the other boys to shout out their disgust. Then, interestingly enough one by one they started to peek around the blanket into the kitchen. I think they secretly like knowing that we looooooove each other.
As I walked D to the door I kissed him goodbye and since #1 was standing there I made sure to kiss D loudly. #1 screamed. Then as I walked back through the kitchen #4 came in and said, "I heard #1 scream, I know you were smooching."
That's right Bub, get used to it.

Battlefront: Church

2007-12-17T00:02:00.000-08:00

Sunday is our sabbath-day. The sabbath day is supposed to be a Holy, spiritual day of rest...and for the most part it is except for the weekly four-hour-war: Church and getting ready for church.

I imagine everyone understands the challenge of getting young balls of kinetic energy motivated enough to get dressed in uncomfortable clothes in anticipation of sitting through long meetings of people talking about abstract things that are hard to understand. For that matter, maybe that's exactly how you feel getting up every morning to go to work or school.

Unfortunately my wife has to fight that battle alone because I'm at church early preparing for the next battle.The next battle, for me, starts out calm and sweet and peaceful as I see five bright, shiny boys in white shirts, smiling wide as they open the glass doors of the Church to greet me. This is part of their strategy...start off disguised as sweet and reverent so the gullible parents will be thrown off guard later. (As a parent, I sadly confess, it works every time--'surely they will behave this time.')

As a precaution, we usually start out in one of the sound-wired side rooms apart from the main chapel to minimize disruption. With difficulty, they maintain their reverent disguise through the sacrament ordinance/ceremony, but once the talks start, they unleash their attack.

Its not so much an attack against us as parents, but against each other and the social laws of public places. My two oldest usually start touching each other for no apparent reason and start giggling louder and louder until one of us parents fires a counter attack, "Shhhhh!," to quiet them down. Meanwhile, another trooper quietly starts doing loops around the rows of chairs until another one starts pressing keys on the piano. This technique successfully lures at least one of us parents away from the front lines so two more kids can fight over which crayons or books to use. The kids are brilliant, there's a new battle strategy, planned or unplanned, each week.

The well-trained sniper among them is my seven year-old, middle son. Today, my wife ran into one of our friends coming out of the men's bathroom with a mop. He explained there was a river of hand soap streaming across the floor of the bathroom. My wife wondered to herself who would do such a thing, only to realize the answer before she finished the question: #3! Fortunately, our boys are generally very honest. When ask about it, #3 was stunned and speechless that such detailed knowledge came from one who wasn't there and wasn't told. The wide eyes of shock and the guilty complexion revealed the truth and #3 succumbed to the only logical response--he confessed to the crime.

So we engaged in a unique father-son activity of cleaning the bathroom during the chapel meeting...or was it playing in the water, I'm confused about which event it was.After the main chapel meeting, the boys have the opportunity to go to a class designed for their age level. Most of the troopers behave relatively well during this part of church...I'm not sure if they tired themselves out from the first hour's battle or if they have adapted to the culture of sitting through their classes and trying to follow along. In any case, I'm hopeful that they get something out of their classes and, on a more serious note, their teachers do a great job working with them.

However, our little church sniper stays active during this time. Usually, he just does his covert wiggly nervous body technique sliding back and forth across empty chairs in his row, or crawling on the floor underneath the chairs. Today, after a 15 minute attempt to get him to go to class, I saw him scoot backwards on his bum across the bench until he bumped into his class mate, then playfully pretended to bop him on the head repeatedly. This action triggered a teacher to come sit by him to minimize the damage.

He remained calm for the next half-hour or so, until the last ten minutes of church when he executed his last strategy for the Sabbath Day War. He got impatient and fled the building. You always know there is something up when a teacher from the children's classes pulls you out of your class. I've learned to expect it--I even know who its about most of the time. As I quietly walked out of my class, the teacher explained to me that #3 ran outside. I walked down the hall to see another adult staring out the glass doors, quickly glancing my direction and said somewhat passively, 'He's long gone.'

Unsurprised, I walked outside watching and listening for any signs of him. I've learned that chasing him, makes him run away faster, so my strategy is to take advantage of his tendency not wander too far from places he knows are safe. Knowing he likes to check back to verify someone is watching out for him, I applied some stealth of my own cloaking myself from his vision.

In the end we walked back to the church together and he sat the last few minutes with me in my class.

"How long 'till it's over?" he asked.

"About thirty seconds." I responded.

A few seconds later, and frustrated that the instructor was still talking, "I counted to thirty!"

"Keep counting," I said.

"Its been a minute!..."

The instructor ended, and in the middle of the closing prayer: [frustratingly] "It's been two and a half minutes!"

I quietly hold my composure while battling the urge to laugh.

"Amen."

Wheew! The war is over...

...for now

The Challenge

2007-12-14T22:46:00.000-08:00

Three Targets!

10 seconds!

The Challenge: Hit each target in sequence as many times as possible within the time limit!

The Prize: The pride of knowing you did it!

--------------------

The Downside: The principal has your dad bring you back after school to clean the three bathroom urinals and the walls in between them.

The Determination: #3 (age 7) says next time he will do it without hitting the walls. Oy Vey!

Shrinky Dink Ornaments

2007-12-12T01:03:00.000-08:00

I was doing this post for my other blog as part of Scribbit's Winter Bazaar. When I got finished I realized I had published it in the wrong blog, but decided not to delete it since it was such a fun activity for our family. Its not our usual Daily Dose fare, but here you go anyhow.

Do you remember shrinky dinks? Those fun plastic sheets you could color on and shrink in the oven? This last summer, my older sister told me a method for making your own shrinky dinks at home without having to spend a lot of money. Its also a great way to recycle...

First you will need a plastic take-out food box. The key is to get one that has a number 6 in the recycling symbol. Many restaurants give these boxes out for leftover food. You can wash it, dry it, and reuse it for making shrinky dinks. We have gotten boxes like this at Shari's restaurants and they also use them at many grocery stores for salads and etc. After my sister told me about this method of making shrinky dinks I went to our local United Grocers/Cash and Carry and found a set of 100 (large size) of those takeout boxes for $20.00. Since you can use the top and the bottom of each box for shrinky dinks that gave me 200 shrinky dink sheets. It comes out to about ten cents each, whereas when I priced shrinky dinks online, even giving a generous two projects from each 8x10 sheet, it would be at least 25 cents for each project.

Now, down to business. A couple of weeks ago our family spent an evening making Shrinky Dink Christmas ornaments. Here is a list of supplies you will need for this project.

#6 recycle plastic

sand paper

permanent markers

colored pencils

tape

scissors

an oven (preheat to around 350...if your oven bakes hot set it a little lower)

a hole punch
coloring pages to trace (optional...you can draw designs by hand if you are so inclined)

First you need to sand the plastic. We sanded it in all directions (only on one side) so as to minimize the appearance of scratches in the surface. You don't have to sand your plastic if you are only using permanent markers to color your project. Since we have young kids we had them use colored pencils, and you will have to sand if you want to use them as they won't color smoothly on unsanded plastic. For some of our ornaments we cut the plastic into the shape of a circle using a bowl to trace around. You have to make sure to get your plastic to the shape you want before you bake it.

We searched the internet for good Christmas coloring pages and printed them out to a size that would fit the size of our plastic sheets. I recommend taping your plastic to the paper with a couple of pieces of scotch tape so that tracing the pattern will be easier. We used sharpie markers to outline our coloring pages and then colored them in with colored pencils. Higher quality colored pencils are supposed to work better, but the crayola ones we used did fine.

After you are done coloring your image, remove the tape and use a hole punch to punch a hole at the top. (Because there is a significant amount of shrinkage, make sure not to punch your hole too close to the edge or it will break easily after baking.)

Now its time to bake your project. You can set your ornaments to bake on a foil lined pan. As they bake the plastic will become very distorted and will crinkle up. The first time I did this I thought it wasn't working and took my project out of the oven. It looked like a bowl. However, I later returned it to the oven and it finished flattening out as it baked. So don't be alarmed if your projects become misshapen. If the corners roll over too much you can use a chopstick to help flatten them somewhat. I you take it out of the oven it will harden within a few seconds. Once the projects flatten out give them about ten more seconds in the oven, and remove them.

This is a blurry picture, but will give you an idea of the amount of shrinkage that goes on.

Some of the boys' ornaments

A finished ornament on the tree

D decided to do one using only sharpie markers to color it, and without sanding. It turned out so beautifully that I am using it for my Wordless Wednesday post. I hope you enjoy trying this project with your family! Our kids loved it and have asked many times about doing it again.

A new contributor...

2007-12-10T21:45:00.000-08:00

Since I have another blog aside from this one, and this blog is dedicated to the escapades of our five boys and the future escapades of #6 (we don't know if its a boy or a girl) who is due to make an appearance in June, I thought I would add my wonderful husband as a contributor to this blog. He also has a blog of his own, and has had many experiences with the mischief of our boys. I hope you will give my husband dmo a warm welcome!

I am sorry we haven't had a post up in about a week. We were hit by some big storms and were without power for a few days. We are all doing well and getting back to normal everyday life. The boys enjoyed a week off from school, and today was their first day back to their usual routine.

Considerate Children

2007-11-27T21:07:00.000-08:00

Last week a friend brought our family some very delicious cookies. By the end of the night only six cookies remained.

During the getting-ready-for-bed commotion, we heard him counting the cookies. When he realized there were seven of us and only six cookies, we overheard him selflessly exclaim, "Oh! I guess one of the adults doesn't get another cookie."

The winning picture...

2007-11-27T12:49:00.001-08:00

When I posted about #4 aka K winning the coloring contest last week, we didn't have his winning picture. Yesterday he brought it home from school, so I scanned it to share with you! A picture is worth a thousand words as they say...pretty good for a five year old.

Real Men...

2007-11-26T15:01:00.000-08:00

The other day at dinner #2 was asking us if the boys' shortness is inherited (a couple of the boys are a little shorter than average, but they aren't really that short). I told him that since none of the men in our family have reached six feet tall, it probably would be the same for the boys. Then I mentioned that you have to be over six feet tall to be considered tall for a man.

#4 piped up with: "So Dad's not really a man!"

I think he misunderstood what I said...