Family Home Evening

Here's what our lesson was on last night:

We talked about Adam and Eve and their family and how much Heavenly Father loved them. Pulled out the Gospel Art kit and found pictures of them, baby Moses, baby Jesus, and Jesus with the children. Again, discusses how much Heavenly Father loves all his children. Then we pulled out these pictures and I asked who each of them were. Kids liked this game.

First baby Ellie:



Then baby Katie:



And baby Sarah:




Baby Ryan:



And of course baby Tommy:



And then I pulled out these. My children were completely confused (as was my scanner, if you can't tell). They couldn't guess who this baby was?



Anyway... baby #6 is expected to arrive mid-August 2012! The kids were so incredibly excited and Ellie said she felt like crying she was so happy :-D That makes for a happy mom! Now if only I could start feeling better...

He Turns 3!

Ryan turned 3 today. Oh, such a sweet boy is my Ryan. I seriously love this kid! I will touch more on that later, but for now we'll talk about his birthday party.

Instead of trying to celebrate on Sunday (and Super Bowl Sunday nonetheless) we did his party yesterday. So... Ryan has been talking almost nonstop about basketball lately. He talks about how when he grows up, he will have basketball shoes and shorts just like Daddy. He will play basketball with Daddy because he will be big and can play just like Daddy. We were out shopping the beginning of the week and found a basketball shirt for Ryan. He wore it 3 days straight (I was able to get one washing in). My boy LOVES basketball. So of course we did a basketball-themed party. We were fortunate to have the Tolmans and three of our favorite cadets over to celebrate with us. Ellie helped decorate the house while Steve helped decorate the cake :) He did the court, I did the ball. Turned out pretty great, I think. [And if you haven't tried out Hershey's chocolate cake yet, you really need to make it. Yum!]


There was great food and great company. The kids used the cadets as jungle gyms (I'm so glad they are willing to let that happen!) and I really think we all had a very fun evening. After dinner, "happy birthday" and cake it was present time.


Unfortunately Steve was behind the camera and was distracted by a conversation with Tom. So there aren't many photos to represent what happened during the present opening. Needless to say, Ryan is now outfitted in Basketball. New basketball shirt, new basketball shoes (just like Daddy), new basketball hoop (hangs on the back of a door) and new basketball (thanks Tolmans!)


That is one happy little fella. We hung the hoop on the changing table in Ryan's room and first thing he did this morning when he woke up was start playing.

I love this sweet little guy. We haven't done his birthday interview yet (we video tape interviews on their birthdays) but once we do I'll post some highlights and maybe wax poetic about how much I really do love Ryan. Happy Birthday, my first-born son!

5 Little Monkeys

Jumpin' on the bed.


This was by far one of the best trick-or-treating experience I've had with my kids. The Tolmans joined us, which made it so much more fun. Erin and her mom were nice enough to man the door for us so we could all head out with the kids. The weather was pleasant, so a lot of people were able to sit on their front porches and hand out candy. Our neighborhood is so close together and so incredibly safe that I had no qualms sending them to each and every house. And the joy on Ryan's face with each and every stop he made- truly priceless. He was in trick-or-treat heaven. He would run up to each house, say the words, then run back with a huge grin and show me his spoils. Occasionally he'd even give a little monkey call to accentuate his costume. Oh, the pure and utter joy was just awesome. We went just around our one block and down another street and their bags were full. A great evening with great friends. I have just our pre-Halloween pics so far. Once we get ones with momma and the doctor (myself and Steve) I'll post them.

Where do you keep your band-aids?

A few weeks ago we had Erin's kids for an overnight so she and Tom could go out on a nice date (he had been gone for about 2 1/2 weeks). We had a really fun time with the kids and when Mary got home I guess she was telling her mom just how great our house is. We have a trampoline, two big TVs and a playroom. And the supreme item in my home: I have a band-aid place in my bedroom! Yes folks, you can be jealous because if I need a band-aid in the middle of the night, I don't have to leave the comfort of my room- just go to the little closet in there and pick out a band-aid. Oh, she cracks me up! Seriously, I love the things that get kids excited.

A Date

So Steve surprised me last weekend with a full day date! We were up and ready to go by 8am Saturday morning when our babysitter arrived. (She had them until 5, then our neighbor, Matt took over until we got home) The plan was to head 2 hours to Six Flags in New Jersey, have about 6 hours of fun, stop for dinner and be home by bedtime. That's how it would work in a perfect world, anyway. Apparently the day before there was a multi tractor-trailer fire on the road we traveled. We were in the fray of completely stopped traffic for 1 1/2 hours. It was lame! So by the time we got through, ate lunch and made it into the park it was after 12.

But, even though the lines were longer, we were still able to ride a bunch of fun roller-coasters and really just enjoyed each others' company for the day. And to make it even better, it was sunny with a slight breeze and around 75 degrees. We haven't done anything together that fun since we were first married. I know it's bad, but I kept thinking... "man, I'm glad the kids aren't here. This would not have been fun with them!"

In my own defense, here's why:
1. So, so many people there. I would have been nervously counting to 5 all day.
2. Oh, the language and smoking and immodesty. Don't need my kids to see that.
3. Also the young kids and their boyfriend/girlfriends. I am afraid for when my girls start thinking about boys!
4. And the roller-coasters. I wouldn't have been able to ride all those fun rides!

In the end, an awesome date. We were home in time to get the kids to bed and the thing they said when we got home: "Can you two go on another date tomorrow?" I think the babysitters did an great job! In the end, an extremely successful day with my sweet hubby!

in heaven

Katie and I got into a little discussion about Heaven and what it will be like there. We talked about how our family will be able to find each other after we die and other things like that. She was afraid that since I'll probably die first, she won't be able to find me. But after explaining the sealing power, she decided that Jesus will probably help her find me. And all was well. Then she started talking about what we would eat. And I told her that in heaven we probably won't need to eat. Our bodies will be perfect and won't need food to stay that way. She thought about it for a second and said, "I think there will be fish and honeycomb in heaven. But I won't eat the fish. I'll only eat the honeycomb." (can you guess what song we sang in Primary today?) I love having these conversations with my kids. It's very enlightening to find out what they are actually grasping and what I need to do better at explaining!


On a side note... after church I was walking out and saw an older couple that we had known when we were first married and lived in Texas. I called to him and went to say hello. I told him that I knew I recognized him, but couldn't place him for a minute until I saw him with his daughter. And he came back with the same sort of thing. "I thought I recognized you too, but I wasn't sure. Last time I saw you, you were... " (placing palms towards each other closely... try it. hint: this was not a compliment- that was about 30 pounds ago)

Yeah...

his wife interjected with the fact that was "BC... before children".

And on that note, I think I need to go eat a bowl of ice cream. Maybe a really big one with chocolate sauce on top?

Where'd you get that?

Ryan was just in the kitchen and I noticed he was eating a fruit snack. I know we're out of fruit snacks, so I was thinking that maybe one of his sisters had some hidden somewhere. So I asked him. And he just looked up at me and said, matter-of-fact (with a slight drawl),

"Ah mah boot."

Of course- where else would you get a fruit snack from?

Sarah add-on

The kids get "marks" for doing good things around the house. For example: if they do something nice for a sibling without being asked. Or for cleaning a room that is not part of their assignment. Or even doing their chores without being big ol' grumps. They get 25 cents for each mark they earn. So if they do a lot of good stuff, they can earn quite a bit of money. We hadn't paid them since we moved from Illinois, so Ellie made $20 this time! We've never had that before.

Anyway... with that money they pay tithing, fast offering if they'd like (help the poor people), and then the rest is theirs to spend as they would like. We usually try to find a store with quarter slot candy machines because it's very rewarding. This time we took them to the commissary and let them pick out candy from the pick-a-mix. Oh, what a joyous occasion for them! Even Ryan had money that he earned and could spend.

Our rules: gum has to be chewed outside. I am tired of finding gum in very difficult places. And we keep their candy up high so that there isn't snitching from each other. Well, I had confiscated the candy Saturday afternoon because of some fighting that was happening (sugar high had ended?) I went outside to do something and when I came in, I heard the kids upstairs talking about their candy and I heard candy wrappers opening up. I warned them, "you know that no candy is allowed upstairs and if I catch you- you will be in trouble!" And in true Sarah fashion, "quick, hide the candy before Mom comes up."

I guess I did say if I caught them...

Sarah funnies

Erin and I were out running errands this morning. I had bribed them with their own bag of candy from Target and they were well on their way to a sugar high and soon a sugar crash. We were almost home when that crash began. Sarah and Ryan were fighting in the back seat and Ryan unbuckled his naughty self. I told him that he had better get his buckle back on. I warned him that if he unbuckled I would take his candy away.

Sarah's response: "Quick Ryan, eat your candy as fast as you can!"

hmmm... not quite the reaction I was looking for. Needless to say, the candy was consumed and the buckle was not rebuckled.

Sometimes it's tough

There are all sorts of thoughts that have been rambling through my brain lately and I think I may just go ahead and put them down. This will be self-indulgent, so if you're not interested, don't read on.



Weight. Okay- so yes, I've had 5 kids. And four of those were c-section. But the last one was 15 months ago. And I can't lose that weight. In order to feel like myself again, I need to lose at least 20 pounds. In Illinois I was working out twice a day and still not losing weight. I haven't been as devoted here, so I've gained a few more pounds. I've tried limiting calories, but those stinkin' migraines keep coming because of my lame hypoglycemia. So then I have to eat more to try to keep them at bay. So I'm having a horrible body image at the moment. And while I'm not pregnant (shocker, I know) I feel like everyone is looking at my belly and always wondering if that bump is a baby or just chub (as most people know we want another baby eventually...)

Migraines. I don't know what the deal is, but I've had at least 2 a week since we moved here. I've tried acupuncture, heat, light massage, diet, all sorts of things. And nothing works. I'm so tired of those stinkin' headaches that just knock me out for the night (the only cure is lots of sleep, unfortunately).

Tension. Holy moly the tension in my neck is ridiculous. I'm constantly in pain. Constantly. Again, I tried acupuncture, heat and massage. Nothing is working. Even the ibuprofen barely touches it. I've even tried different pillows and stretching to no avail.

Friends. Okay, so here's my pity party. I felt that I had made some really great friends in Illinois. People I LOVED to hang out with. That was the first place I have lived where I actually went out of my way to have people over and throw parties and just hang out. And they were all such awesome people who actually cared about me and my life and my kids. And it felt really good. And I have an awesome friend here, too. Erin is just the best ever. And while I'm overly thankful for her (she even cooked us dinner tonight!) I miss the group of friends I had. I think I was just really blessed to find people with my similar interests and kids the same age. There have been many tears shed over the loss of those gals and their kiddos. I have made friends on our street. And they are really great. There is just not enough in common to want to really spend tons of time with them.

Enough. I have felt rather inadequate here. My house isn't clean enough. (yes, I'm comparing myself to those with only two or three kids) My house isn't cute enough (yes, I have no interior decorating skills whatsoever) My kids aren't enriched enough (take 5 kids by myself where?) I'm not thin enough, I'm not happy enough, I don't have enough energy (I have been more exhausted than I have been in years), I'm not doing a million things that I really wish I could do. It's frustrating.

Reality. Okay, so my husband, who is always completely honest, thinks I'm attractive. That should be enough, right? My kids are happy, well-adjusted kids. My house is a bit messy at times, but never really dirty. I do have one awesome friend here. My kids have made good friends in the neighborhood. I am comfortable in my home.

So how do you give yourself an attitude adjustment? Prayer and fasting. That's a good start. And I suppose just working at it day by day. Because the Lord never gives us more than we can handle. Some days I wonder, but most days I know it's true. I want to be a super-mom and I don't like falling short. Those crazy expectations of mine!!!

So now you've seen a glimpse into the mind of Tiffany. It's not always sunshine and rainbows around here. I'm pretty good at faking it, but I'm tired. I'm so tired.

What have I done?

The other day I was getting Ryan dressed. I asked what shirt he wanted to wear. He requested his ball shirt (has a basketball on it). I obliged and put it on him. Then he changed his mind and wanted his fish shirt. Sure, we'll change your shirt. And of course his blue shorts (jean shorts are a must these days). Well, then I got Tommy dressed in the flag shirt that Dick and Sybil gave them. Ryan noticed and here is the conversation that ensued:

Ryan: baby wear a fag shuet?
me: yep, tommy is wearing his flag shirt today
Ryan: me a wah a fag shuet
me: but you're already dressed in the shirt you wanted to wear
Ryan (quite indignant): No! Me a wah a fag shuet! Me a match a baby!

Ryan then commenced to put on his flag shirt and then picked out matching socks for him and Tommy. Then all was well in the world... for a little bit.

what have I done?

po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe

So Sarah's first day of dance was yesterday and they practiced talking into a microphone, put on tutus, made up scripts, learned the parts of a stage (upstage, downstage, etc.) and learned a quick little dance. She loved it.

As we were driving home she told me that a girl there liked tattoos and that's not good. I explained to her that just because Sarah knows they aren't good for our bodies, doesn't mean that other people feel the same way. I realized that I needed to do some explaining when Sarah told me that, "people who have tattoos don't love Jesus." fabulous. But then the real truth came out. She said that she didn't like having to wear tattoos. Now I was truly confused until I realized... she was wearing a tutu... and thought it was a tattoo. Sounds pretty much the same, especially coming from her mouth!

So we had a quick chat about loving Jesus and wearing tattoos and tutus (yes, tutus are most definitely acceptable attire for dance class and you can still love Jesus and have tattoos) and all was made well.

The funny thing about Sarah... if she does or says something wrong, she just smiles, sighs and says, "I was just kidding!" That is her "out" and it makes me laugh every time. So I suppose it is successful :)

School starts

So far the transition to the school year has been very smooth. Ellie started last Thursday and has a friend from the neighborhood that sits next to her on the bus and at school. She seems to be enjoying her class and teacher too which is good.

Surprisingly, Katie also took to school like a fish to water. I thought for sure that she would be scared when it came time to get on the bus and go. But when the bus came, she just marched right on without hesitation! I took some pictures as we did with Ellie. After school, I intended to go and meet them at the bus stop (just a couple houses over) but I slept through it! When Katie arrived, I told her I was sorry that I wasn't there and she just confidently responded "It's ok Mom, I like to walk home". Such a grown up now! I then tried to question her about the day and she said it was "fun" and I couldn't get much more out of her. When Steve got home I mentioned this to him, so he questioned her as well and she said her favorite part was "playing" and "games" and that she liked lunch. So there you have it, we now have two of our kids officially in "school". I think it is going to take me a little while to get used to the schedule though.

We have decided to put the girls in some other activities too. They are all in a dance class which, of course, they all really enjoy. Additionally, we enrolled katie in gymnastics because she has always shown a great degree of coordination and strength since she was a baby and we think she'll enjoy that (plus there is a friend from the neighborhood that is going to do it with her). Lastly, we decided to put Sarah in a play/dance/drama class. She LOVES it! It is right up her "Drama" alley!

Steve continues to love teaching and is finding his "groove" there. He is also doing some ultimate Frisbee with some of his peers. It is fun for him to compete again in sports. He is biking around here quite a bit and even tried to ride down to work and back. Downhill was all brakes due to the steep hills and then coming back up to where we live here was all uphill and about killed him (especially because he though he would take a "shortcut" into the woods that turned out to be an non-groomed trail that ended up at a very steep hill and fence that he had to climb and traverse).

I've decided that I need to get back on the exercise wagon myself, so I have ventured a couple of runs around the neighborhood over the last couple of weeks. I normally do not run and haven't in the past because it usually hurts my knees, but surprisingly, I've been able to run most of the way around the mile+ loop without needing to stop due to knee pain. I attribute this to all the walking/jogging that I did this past winter on the treadmill back in Illinois. This is all very exciting for me to finally be able to run and feel like I'm getting some good calorie burning.

New York Summer

So we did end up moving in on the 13th. It was a little touch and go, but in the end, the keys were delivered at the same time the movers drove up to the door of our new home. The house is really nice. It is technically a duplex but no living space is adjoining, rather the units are connected by the garages which is very nice. It took about 3-4 weeks to get all moved in and we are still trying to find "permanent" resting places for some of our stuff, but overall we are quite settled now.

It it a GREAT neighborhood. There are tons of children all of the kids' ages and it is fun to see them all interact. It seems as though most of the kids gravitate over to our house as the hub of all of the activities. Our kids seem to really enjoy all of the attention and they are not at all shy about going around and knocking on the neighbors' doors to ask if their kids can play. Even Katie who is more prone to shyness knocks on the doors now.

All of the kids have scooters now and we even have one for Ryan and Tommy as soon as they grow into them. They are currently still used as loaners for the other kids that come by. The street in front of our house is used as a thoroughfare for a seemingly continuous run of walkers, runners, strollers and kids on bikes, scooters, go carts...etc (especially at night). What is missing are the cars! It is great to live on a non-through street so that the only car traffic we see are those who live on the road.

We also bought a trampoline for the kids. I'm surprised it has taken us this long to get one. It is a great investment! Between it, a little pool, bikes/scooters, and the kids' social scene, the little ones have basically lived outside this summer. A small miracle compared to the extreme bug phobia that the girls concocted last summer that prevented them from going outside at all! They have also enjoyed playing in the mud after storms, collecting rocks, feeding mosquito larva to the neighbor's fish, exploring, camping, swim lessons, swimming in lakes, tubing in rivers, and daring each other to do new tricks on the trampoline, and bikes. It is fun to watch. Speaking of new bike tricks....bikes here are very popular. Kids are riding them all over the place. Ellie jumped in and soon after Katie decided to drop the training wheels to be like Ellie and then the neighbor's picked up on the trend and then just the past week, Sarah even started to ride around without training wheels! All in all, I think there are about 6 little kids that learned to ride without training wheels in the month and a half. Lots of positive peer pressure.

We have been blessed with lots of friends here. In addition to the Tolmans who live about 10 minutes away, all of our neighbors are really great. Another one of Steve's good LDS friends/roomates from West Point (Matt Radik) is back here and it just so happens that he moved into the duplex next door! Another friend Steve knew back in his cadet days moved in right across the street. Lots of blessings in all from Heavenly Father in helping us get settled here. Our adjacent neighbors are very fun and their kids are always with ours. Another bonus was that my mom just spent 10 days out here with us. It was a treat for all of us to have her here. Also, this past weekend, we made a trip down to Philadelphia to see Steve's sister Diane. We braved tubing down the Delaware river with all of the kids. It was a ton of fun! All if the kids enjoyed it. The girls jumped in and floated around with their life vests and then would climb back onto the tubes when the "rapids" came. Tommy spent the whole time trying to jump out of the tube and splashed the water to his heart's content. A very fun outing! Plus, for a taste of history, we drove by where Washington crossed the Delaware.

Steve and I have been on a few dates since we arrived, but unfortunately we haven't found a permanent babysitting replacement yet for Charissa and Cole Johnson. We drove down into NY city a couple of times to attend the Manhattan temple for a couple of the dates and enjoyed it very much! It is amazing how the temple can keep out all of the noise of even NY city! Parking is the challenge there and the cheapest we have found so far is $35, so that is a little crazy. Steve and I both have been teaching in our West Point branch at church. The branch is a little unique in that we meet in one of the Academic building's auditoriums for sacrament and then in classrooms for Sunday School etc.

Since we arrived, we've had some of the cadets over for dinner a few times and that has always been a great experience. The kids love having visitors to come and play and it is nice for us to have them over. Steve had great sponsors (families in the branch) that took care of him while he was here and is enjoying doing the same for the current cadets.

Steve has been busy with projects at home including building a work bench in the garage and a really nice island for the kitchen. He has also loved his teaching position at work. He did some workshops over the summer that he enjoyed and has now just started teaching this week. He is really enjoying being back here at West Point and all it entails.

Life has been extra hectic, but full. I have been super tired ever since we moved here and had quite a few regular headaches. I decided to go and see a Doctor about it who happens to also do acupuncture. He proposed doing some on me and so far I have done a couple of sessions, but the jury is still out on whether it will work for me. As for projects, I've taken on the backyard hill. Our yard is new sod around the house, but on the hill behind our house, they just put down seed. I've pulled the weeds, watered it, and fertilized it. So far is it making good headway overall. The only probalem really is that we had a storm right after they placed all of the see and all of the runnoff from the hill came rushing down the hill right behind our house making a "grand canyon" and mud "delta". It also carried down a lot of the seed in a 8 foot swath or so, thinning that section significantly. We are hoping the ground's crew will patch the chasm; otherwise, I might have to take matters into my own hands. I will have a nice back yard! :)

Katie and Ellie are both going to school this year, so Sarah will be the lone girl at home. I'm not quite ready to let Katie go to school, especially since Kindergarten is all day here; but, time doesn't wait. She is both very excited and quite scared at the same time. Luckily, I think we are the last bus stop before it heads to the school in the morning which is ideal.

So in all, we are very blessed and very happy to be here in New York and enjoying life as the changes come our way!

horsie

I think Steve is running out of back space...