Gross kids

This is a pre-warning, if you are easily grossed out by body fluids and kids combined don't read on!

Katelynn has had a runny nose for the past couple weeks so we have dealt with lots of kleenex (toilet paper really...we keep it simple) and lots of snot. By the way that word is a cacophony, as in it sounds harsh and gross like its meaning. Anyway yesterday Kate was eating from a box of chocolate covered almonds, and wiping her runny nose on the back of her hand...yuk. Her sisters were bugging her non-stop to share with them,why I don't know, snotty candy isn't that appealing. Kate tried to get one to share and accidentally spilled a few on the floor, which her sisters of course ate as quickly as possible. So with her mouth full of melted chocolate Kate started crying and blubbering about her lost candy and mean sisters. With the chewing and crying,some of that melted chocolate came dripping out of her mouth and dripping out her nose. Her sisters (and I) yelled "EWWWW!" I know really mature, but it was gross. Kate started laughing and wiping at her face which just mixed the mess even more. I grabbed her arm to stop the mess from getting everywhere and said, "Kate we need to wipe off your snocolate". Of course the girls started laughing even more.

I think the worst though, was Emma's dinner gross out. On monday night we were sitting around the table for supper. Emma reached down to grab the bottom of her chair to pull it forward and got a strange look on her face. She slowly raised her hand to her face and we all saw a big booger stuck to her finger! This awful gift was put there by her sister who sat there trying to look innocent as the rest of us were yelling, "Oh gross! Get it off!" Emma ran to the bathroom and scoured her hand before returning to the table with little appetite.

Kids are gross

Sun and Colour

Today my mental plan was to sit outside in the warm sun and do nothing else...my plan has yet to come to fruition and it is 4 p.m., whats with that. My must do list has taken over. I did get a nice walk this morning with my Kate and the dog. I dropped off our big white van (the albino rhino) to be fixed up for summer, and the rest of the day has passed me by with little being accomplished. Although I suppose my goal did not really involve accomplishing anything anyway...so mission mostly accomplished! Now I await the dreaded call to say your van is done but you will have to sell off a child to get it back.

I love when winter goes away and color is reintroduced into our world. I can't get enough of the color. I actually bought a pair of pants that are a light teal or aqua color, Nathan calls them my easter egg pants. I just love the color. It feels as though I have been eating plain toast all winter and just got a bite of the sweetest strawberries drizzled in delicious chocolate (my mouth just started watering). What a sweet reprieve. Welcome spring!

Sweet 60

This past weekend was prodigious (look it up). We went to Red Deer to have a surprise party for Joy, to attend a memorial for a wonderful and kind man, and to visit with friends and family. All were fulfilling in different ways.

First the party. We had a sweet 60 for Joy. It was so fun to see our plans for our fantastic mother in law come to fruition. We surprised Joy with all of her children and grandchildren there to have a great night of food and fun. I love being with all of the Stephans together, it always makes for a good night.

The next day was the memorial for Neil Coates. He and Nathan's grandma, Florence, married several years ago after she served her mission in London. I didn't know him well, but listening to those who knew him and cared for him, Neil was a gentle and loving soul. He was a great companion for Florence  and full of kindness and gratitude. There was an almost tangible feeling of peace throughout the service and I was grateful to be a part of it.

Finally, on sunday, we were able to attend church at our old ward in Red Deer and see so many of our friends there. We had a great visit with a couple friends in the afternoon out in the warm sun, and finished it off with a family dinner, graciously hosted by my in-laws.

It felt like a weekend that could have had a bow around it.

Here comes the birthday girl!

all the men wore pink bow ties

the 'old fashioned' candy cigarettes were a big hit

happy birthday grandma Joy!

Clean up time

I love learning through natural consequences. Tonight all the kids scattered after supper so they could avoid cleaning. This happens every night and it drives me crazy! Honestly they are so stealthy about it, I take my plate into the kitchen to rinse it and put it in the dishwasher, I turn around to the table and presto!...all kids are gone...silently. This is the only thing they do silently. No that's a lie, they also find and eat all sugar products in the house silently. 

Anyway, they were gone, I was peeved. 

So, it just so happened that there were some brownies in the oven (thanks to Emma who asks to make brownies almost daily...asks...not actually makes). I decided a lesson with kind of natural consequences was due. I called the kids over and over and over and over and over to come help clean up. Two kids came. Emma and Will did the dishes and put them away, loaded the dishwasher and collected any stray dishes around the house. Then we sat to play cards. When the brownies were done the little sniffers came out from hiding to feast. They were quite upset that only the cleaners got the treats. But I held strong...and ate my brownie.

Twenty minutes later was bedtime. I went to see how the twins were doing with their nightly routine and was met with a sign on their door in Michael's writing. It said, "Mom is not allowed in Allison and Michael's room ever again. If mom comes in she has to clean up the whole room herself." I sensed some anger in my brownie loving boy. Nathan started to take the sign down and explain that this was not okay and the kids could not ever treat mom that way. I stopped him before he could get it out. I smiled at Michael who was standing there in his pajamas and said, "that's okay Mike, it time for bed so since I can't come in your room I can't read you a story...goodnight." and I closed the door. I love natural consequences. 

About two minutes later Michael opened the door and took off the sign and threw it in the garbage.

Taking time

Dad getting some early morning cuddles with Mike

Last night before I went to sleep I was reading comments on a woman's blog post. I probably read for 10 minutes, comment after comment. This morning I woke early to read scriptures and exercise. The thought came to mind as I was tiredly getting ready to exercise, that I need to be more mindful of what I give my time to. I have so many important things to do, most involve my husband and kids. There is so much I have to learn and I love to learn. I am reading a book right now called "your child's strengths" and it is fantastic, it inspires me to help my kids recognize their inherent strengths and use them to learn and work and find enjoyment in what they do. I need to thoughtfully use my time, not waste it on things of little value. Things like social media, internet, and t.v. have their place but that place should be way in the background. There are so many good things to fill my time and mind with.

A man gave a talk in church on sunday, the message I heard was that of kindness and restraint. Choosing to complain, see the negative first, and gossip about others has eternal significance. We are making ourselves into the finished product we will become. It is never worth it to participate in things that do not build us and others upward, we are wasting precious time. This man used a number of examples of how he consciously had to make himself say or do something positive rather than the negative that he first thought to do, but it always turned out so much better for everyone involved. This to me is how I want to spend my time and talents.

We had some nephews and a niece over this weekend to play. They pulled out the puppet theatre I made for the kids, to put on a show for us all. It was great. Those are the moments I love (and need to make sure I'm not so busy cleaning up that I don't stop to enjoy them!)

doing 'Frozen' with animals as princesses

some flying lessons in the backyard

Cry, and you cry alone

Tonight I had William and Emma go out in the backyard and clean up the winter's worth of dog poop back there. If the kids want to keep the dog they must be responsible for her. Emma started whining about it, then worked hard enough at it to actually really cry. Pretty impressive I thought. Although my being impressed with her actor like skills would not in any way sway my insistence that she help clean the yard. So as I was out cooking the hamburgers on the grill, I listened to Emma crying about dog poop (yes literally crying) and William laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Being the super empathetic mother I am, I ran and got the camera to save this moment for posterity. Than laughed as I took pictures.

Emma had to try the scarf to keep from smelling the foul job

The other kids thoroughly enjoyed the show as well.

Finally I have to mention William's comment made to me on my birthday. I was sitting on the couch opening a gift from my in laws when William said, "Happy Birthday Mom...you're great.". He gave me a hug then paused for a moment and said, "ugh it smells like old lady here." What a charmer. Thankfully he was talking about the smell of the face scrub I was unwrapping! 

Party Animal

Yesterday was Emma's 9th birthday party. Five of my kids plus seven of her friends does not a quiet house make. It was like a raging hurricane for 2hrs, and my house looked like it at the end. Just like we have bad to know the good. I have extreme loudness to know the relative peace my house can have with 6 kids still living here. I hope my kids remember their birthday parties as fun days. Not ones where their mother is snappy before the party, even though I often am. I just can't wait for it to be over. But when it is I'm glad we did it. I know I loved birthdays as a kid, I don't remember how my mom was..so I have hope. I love that Emma and I were each other's presents on our birthdays. Even if I have to make the birthday cake on my birthday every year...she is definitely worth it!

mini cake decorating

Emma's own birthday cake creation

I'll never be vegetarian

Not meaning to insult vegetarians (they did fight in WWII for us...just kidding, my kids always confuse veterans with vegetarians and veterinarians), but I have to say I love a good steak, and that would always be the clincher for me. Tonight Nathan took me to the best steak place I have ever eaten at...e..v..e..r! I had a filet mignon, it was the holy grail of steak dinners. The soup to start was famazing, that is fantastic and amazing all rolled into one bowl of creamy deliciousness. It was apple rutabaga soup. Sounds weird, tastes divine. The seasoning was so perfect I wanted to beg the chef for the recipe. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. The meat came with some vegetables, and really it was so good I have to admit, I looked up and down the road on our way out to see if the village was worth living in. Happy Birthday meal to me! I thought of taking a picture of Nathan and I there for posterity but once the food came out I stopped thinking of cameras. I did find some pics of the food though. And that is what really matters...

My super tasty filet mignon
this one has more bernaise sauce than mine did

delicious apple rutabaga soup

Birthdays

I feel like we are into birthday season in our family. Emma's birthday party is this friday at our house. I should really plan to do something fun with the kids, she really is worth the effort. I'm just not that creative. My idea of creative and fun is power tools, sanding painting, etc. Generally I try to avoid power tools for children. So what else could we do that is fun? I was looking through some old pictures that I still have (since my hard drive died before I thought to back it up and I lost years of baby pics) and I found this one

Emma's fourth birthday I think. Allison looked so little, and now she is almost 7! I wish I could freeze time with my little ones. I love their funny sayings and playfulness. My house is always messy, and there is always someone who needs help with something. But I really think being a mother is like a charity boot camp. A mother is at work 24 hours a day, we start our "conditioning" from the time those babies come to us, going without sleep, feeding, changing, bathing... For years we have the opportunity to think of others before ourselves as we go throughout our day. No other role is so streamlined in changing a person's very nature. I feel like I have changed so much in good ways, and still have much to do.