Kind of neat, yet a little strange

It was confirmed that we are going to have a little girl join our family. Here are the 3D pictures but they are a little weird. It was amazing to see her blink and open and close her mouth. She eventually moved her arms in front of her face so we stopped taking pictures of her. I guess she is just getting used to what will happen when she is born.

Profile with hand near mouth.


Hand over face. You can see the bones in her hand.

2D picture with her two arms in front of her face. You can see her nose, lips and chin between her arms.

Feet are still crossed.

Another look at her face.

Anyone for a drink?

She finally figured out how to actually get a drink of water from the fountain. She used to just put her mouth on the water and come away wet. This time I actually made a sucking sound and told her to suck in. She tried it and was pleased to actually swallow the precious liquid. Unfortunately, that meant she wanted more and more. When I finally got her away from the fountain her shirt was completely wet. "My shirt wet, Mommy." Yes, yes it is. She grabbed it with both hands and kind of shook it, as if it might dry with a little help. I'm only sorry I didn't get a picture of the wet shirt. Oh well. It was delightful to see her so happy.

It's a look of pure satisfaction!

Congratulations Benny Boy!

Yesterday was the Pack Meeting at Cub Scouts. The whole family went to see Ben get his Bobcat and Tiger Cub awards. It was fun to see him be recognized. (You know I was there because the pictures got taken - I was in no condition to have my picture taken.)

He mentioned first thing this morning about getting his patches put onto his shirt. I finally sat down with him after lunch and gave him a couple options. He chose to hand sew them on so he could still use his pocket. I threaded the needle, started him off and he was on his way. He went all the way around the patch and did a great job. I tightened all the stitches and tied off the end. He decided to do the Tiger Cub patch tomorrow.

He's really a hard working boy! Now he's all excited about getting things done so he can get a bead at the next pack meeting - maybe even two!

No kidding.

Kemiah didn't want to take a nap today so I didn't put her to bed. She fell apart about 3 o'clock this afternoon and I told her, "either stop your crying or go to bed." I was reading a book to the other kids and she eventually left. At 4, I stopped reading and got up to start dinner but decided I should check on Kemiah. For all I knew she had locked herself in the bathroom and was playing in the water. To my relief, she had put herself to bed, with her baby doll, Matix. What a cutie pie! No really, see for yourself...


I got her up because I didn't need her sleeping too long so late in the day. She was not happy when I put her down on the couch but I had to make dinner. When I had the food in the oven I went to check on her and she had gone back to bed with Matix. Silly girl. We paid for it though because she is still awake while the other kids are all sleeping.

I'm no longer cool.

I'm just another Michiganer. I'm not sure if that's what I'm really called. Kevin and I went to the DMV and got Michigan licenses and registered our cars so we are now driving around with Michigan plates. Nothing fancy, mind you. But now when I'm driving around and someone is behind me they just think I'm from Michigan. They don't say, "Hey, that person's from Alaska." I won't have the people parking next to me in Wal-Mart ask me about Alaska (yes, that happened once.) Nope. I just blend in with everyone else. I guess that's okay. I'm here to stay for a while anyway so I might as well make it my home. And what better place to start than with your car - or the house because you actually need the permanent address for the car.

A little bit lost.

I usually take my kids to a library on the northwest side of Saginaw. Since we moved to the new house, in the southeast side, I have wanted to find a closer library. I thought I knew where one was but when I went to find it today to go to story time, I couldn't find it. What I thought was the library was actually a Catholic Church. I stopped at a gas station and asked. She told me and it was back where we came from. We turned around and went back but I didn't see it. I expected it to be right after the Catholic Church but it wasn't there. We turned around again and went down a side road but it was all houses. Oh bother. I went a little farther north and found it. Needless to say, we were late to story time so we just looked at books. This library is not as big as the other one but it'll do. I got a new library card and she said we could check out three books the first time. Oh... I told her I had five kids and she said we could check out 5 books because she didn't want to tell any one that they couldn't check out a book. Great. I don't think 5 books will last us a whole week so we may have to go back again to check out more, or we'll just wait until next Tuesday and make it to story time. The only really unfortunate thing was that my friend was following us in her car so I dragged her around on this silly chase. Sorry! We all had a good time looking at different books and so that's all that really matters. Next time it will be a quick trip - without all the turn-arounds.

The sun is shining!

It's amazing to me the difference the sunshine can make on my attitude and mood. I really had a yucky morning, and just cried. It was a combination of things that really don't amount to much but all I really wanted to do was go back to bed. Now, the sun is shining, I've had lunch and I'm feeling better. At least I'm not crying at everything. The good thing is that I know blessings are there, even if they are hard for me to see, and don't come the way I expect them. Maybe I'll take the kids outside to ride their bikes in the driveway - I can't pack them up to take them to the park. They'll love that and the outside air will be good for all of us.

Update on potty training...

So, tonight she POOPed in the potty! Hurray. She said she had to but when I put her on the toilet she said she couldn't go. I left her there to finish clearing the table. Then she called to me and said, "I poop in the potty." I went in and, sure enough, she had done the deed! Hooray! What a break through. I praised and sang and clapped my hands. She said, "Mommy, don't yell." Then she said, "Chocolate, Mommy." I ran to see if I had that one Hershey kiss left on the counter that I was saving for such an occasion as this. It was gone - Kevin ate it the other night. He also ate the other one that was in my room. Oh bother. Luckily I distracted her with 5 jellybeans! She was happy with that. Hopefully she now understands that pooping in the potty is not a scary thing and she'll do it all the time.

Another blessing is that she is keeping her diaper dry at night. I hope that lasts as well. I don't put a diaper on her for her naps and she stays dry so we are well on our way to being a diaper free house... for a little while anyway.

Kemiah and Potty Training

She says some some pretty funny things:

I no pee in my underwear.
Poop in my underwear. Not good.
Two jellybeans, please.
Thank you, Mommy.
I can't go pee.
I done.

(Maybe they are better in person.)

Our First Baptism

Ben had his interview with our bishop the Sunday before his birthday. He was nervous and was a little shy but the Bishop said he was ready and worthy to be baptized. We were all excited. With my parents here and my younger sister and her kids, it was a full house and a wonderful experience. Ben helped plan the program and it was good. We had a few friends attend, and that was enough for me. I gave a talk on baptism and Kevin gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. Kevin performed the baptismal ordinance and Gaffa (my dad) was able to confirm Ben and give him the Gift of the Holy Ghost. It was very nice. Both Kevin and I were emotional but that is to be expected.

Here they are before getting dressed into their white clothes.


I just loved Ben's face, happy and looking up at his Dad.




Here is my Dad and my Boy!

All the girls with the Boy.

Cousins.

The youngest cousin, who was walking around and not really interested in getting in the group picture - although I didn't ask.

My wonderful sister and mother who helped with the music. Thanks!

After the baptism, we went out to dinner to Olive Garden. It was Ben's choice (and it counted as my birthday dinner). The parking lot was huge, and full, so we thought it would be a long wait. Fortunately, it only took them about 15 minutes to get tables put together for our large group. It was delicious, of course. My sister was even wise enough to ask if they have a gluten free menu and they do so my Dad was set. We even had them sing to Ben and my sister paid for a yummy cake to share! I enjoyed my own early birthday dessert, and I didn't share this time because they all had cake. Anyway, it was a wonderful evening after a special event!

Table shots are never the best but it was fun to be together and enjoy a wonderful meal that I didn't have to cook.

We are so proud of Benjamin. He is such a great boy. He loves to help and works hard to do a good job. Thanks for loving us!

Only 5 days late!

Happy Birthday to my boy! He turned 8 and we had a great time celebrating. Balloons were handed out after breakfast - they were in my pocket but I forgot about them.

Breakfast was the normal pancakes with ice cream. His choice of ice cream was Cookies and Cream. I also had Vanilla just in case but it turned out yummy. (Of course.) We made buttermilk syrup, too, and that was a wonderful treat.

My parents drove up from Iowa to help us celebrate. They arrived Tuesday evening and we had a wonderful time playing with them. My younger sister and 4 of her children arrived Friday evening and I let them surprise all the kids. I thought it was a bonus birthday treat. (Thank you for making the effort to come out and celebrate with us.)

Ben wanted a jet cake so I did my best. I was just glad it tasted good. He decided to have the candles hanging out the back end of the jet and Kevin flew it into the living room so he could blow them out. It was fun to have some extra family around to share his special day.

Kevin did a great job with the presents. Ben's favorite was the Cub Scout uniform. He is so excited that he completed Tiger Cub and is already passing things off in the Wolf book. I just need to make sure I keep helping him so that he doesn't lose the desire.

It was a fun day and I'm so glad all my kids enjoy Taco Salad - I love it and so do they! That's what Ben picked for his birthday dinner and I was more than happy to make it.

Thanks, Bud, for being so great!

Made a little too much.

I really wanted to eat cracked wheat cereal down on the island but had no whole wheat to crack. When we got home, we couldn't find the attachment for the Kitchen Aid. Fortunately, my parents came out this past week (post forth coming) and they brought me their old little wheat grinder. Hurray! I finally cracked some wheat this morning and was a bit over zealous. I added water and put the pot on the stove top. Then I had to add more water... and more water... until the cereal was to the top of the pot. I poured it into the largest plastic mixing bowl I have and added butter, honey, sugar and milk, and a dash of salt. There was so much cereal! I had two bowls and would have eaten more if I wasn't afraid of what it would do to my intestines. It was so yummy! Well, I thought so. I don't think anyone else really liked it that much. They ate what I gave them but didn't ask for more. Kemiah didn't even finish what was in her bowl - and I ate half of it for her. So, here's a picture of what I have leftover. I put it into a smaller bowl and will probably be eating it myself for the rest of the week. Good thing I like it.