slip-slidin' away

Zack can officially swim across the pool on his own. No more floaties for this guy! This also means he can ride ALONE on the big waterslide!! He was so thrilled and wanted to go over and over and over. He is such a cute little swimmer.


Cindy and I took turns laying out by the sleeping baby while the other one swam with the big kids. Towards the end of the day, Zack got a little tired and decided to come dry off by me. He laid his little freckled face about three inches from mine and said, "Now that I am a good swimmer, I need to be a lifeguard when I grow up." I told him I thought that was a fantastic idea. Then he took a great big sigh and said, "I am never going to be an adult." At first I thought he said "a dork" but then I finally realized he was saying an ADULT. Adult/Dork. Tomato/Tomoto.

Let it be known that Ben told Aunt Cindy she had about 15 or 16 million freckles. He'll catch up with her soon enough, I dare say. We are all going to be a little devastated when the summer is over.

homemade marinara with a slice of happiness

As I plugged my camera into my computer a few minutes ago, I realized that it has been over two weeks since I've last uploaded pictures. That is SO unlike me.. and it explains the 300+ pictures on my camera. I must be having some kind of mid-life crisis. No, really. I think I am. But I'm not frustrated or hormonal. I am just stepping back and trying to take inventory on what I do and why I do it. Summer is the best time for that kind of thing.

Yesterday I was elbow-deep in ground beef, eggs & seasonings. We had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner- with homemade marinara sauce and a crisp salad on the side. On the counter I had about 20 mini loaves of banana bread and three dozen chocolate chip cookies. I was wearing an old, hand-printed apron. My wedding ring was next to the sink. The sink was full of dishes. Simon was in his car-saucer and Luke was pushing him around on the freeway-- which also happened to be the walkway between our kitchen and dining room. The baby was squealing and Luke was making car noises. Zack was lying on his tummy painting. Ben was enthralled in a chapter of Harry Potter. But instead of reading it in his room, he wanted to be where the action was. We all wanted to be there too.

The air smelled like fresh baked cookies and banana bread-- mixed with hearty, wholesome happiness. THIS is what life is all about. Kids at my feet-- squealing, reading, painting, playing. As I relished in the happiness, I realized that I had a bit of sadness in my soul too. I wasn't exactly sure why-- but I think it was because I know that I am grown up now. It's my time in life to make meatballs and not paint or read or play. I am a real-life mom. I am elbow-deep in responsibilities and I would rather not deal with the stressful parts of life. The part when Luke needs to go to the dentist because his tooth is hurting... and the part that has to pick my husband up from the mechanic yet again. And the part that has to say goodbye to my sweet sister in a few weeks. And the part that has to decide whether or not to send my kids to school in the fall. Can't someone else do those kinds of things for me? Because I would rather just paint and read and play. I don't want Summer to end. ever.

Life seems so fleeting. I love it all and I am so happy, but at the end of the day, I wrap myself in a melancholy blanket before I fall asleep. I know another day has gone and things are going to change. But change is good. When Summer leaves, Fall arrives. Fall and I have a special relationship. pumpkins, birthdays, halloween! Yes, everything will be alright in the morning because I will still be with the ones I love and good things are happening everywhere. Especially here and now.

Star Wars starring Spongebob, Blue Man Luke and Simon with a mustache

After putting Simon down for a nap a few minutes ago, I found my three older boys laughing their guts out at the computer. They told me that I was starring in a short Star Wars movie (as princess Leia, of course.) Only, my head was upside down and my tongue was out. Apparently Luke had been plugging our pictures in a Jib-Jab movie.... See for yourselves.

It's amazing what kids can do these days on the computer. I didn't know Luke knew how to open computer files to upload personal pictures, but he can! My favorite character is definitely Smiley Simon. A skinny stache is rather flattering on him......

The Zig-meister

Zack hasn't taken any pictures of his bum lately, but he's still a keeping us on the edge of our seats. I need to follow him around with a clip board to record everything hilarious that comes out of his mouth. Although writing it down never does it justice. His high screechy voice, the lisp that collects spit on the sides of his mouth and the eyebrow-raising are what makes everything he says ever so funny.

This morning he walks out of his room with his batman blanket draped around him like a toga. I couldn't see his feet, but I knew they were bouncing. His eyebrows raised and he said, "Mom! I had the awesomest dream!" When I asked him what it was about he said, "Yoda had a baby!" That might not be funny to the rest of you, but hours later, I am still laughing over it. I never know what to expect when he opens his mouth.

Just because he's entertaining doesn't mean he's my favorite kid. It's been two years since I tried to sell him and I think about re-posting the ad on a weekly basis. He's the laziest child I own. Every time he's asked to do the simplest of tasks, he flops on the floor and says he's too tired or his tummy hurts. I have tried every discipline rule in the book. He loves time-out. He'll go to his room any day of the week... and he knows that when mom is firm, his older brothers will give into whatever he says. Ben and Luke were so easy for me, but now all three of them are getting into trouble because Zack is manipulating them into following HIS agenda. I often wonder if it's rude to send one child to school and keep the older ones home. Unfortunately, Kindergarten isn't full-day and Zack isn't even old enough to attend anyway. What am I going to do with him??

Dr Phil says if you want to know how to discipline a child, find out what his currency is. For Zack, it's art supplies. My biggest battle with him is the MESS he makes with the arts and crafts. It may not sound like much of a problem, but it is. He is literally obsessed with painting. He sleeps with a paintbrush and wakes up wanting to mix colors together. I have no issues with this and I think it's a great outlet for him. But he has no boundaries when it comes to where and when he can paint/draw/tape/cut/create. He goes through about 100 pages of paper everyday. He uses staplers and push pins to hang them all over the house. And Elmer's glue has become his best friend-- some of his masterpieces are literally glued to my walls, but not in places where I can take them down before they dry. Oh no, he glues them behind curtains and down hallways without frequent traffic. If they are taken down before he approves, we have huge tantrums... thrown by both mother and child. And you would never believe where that kid can put masking tape. If it's not wrapped around his body parts (yes, even there) then it's stuck to lamp posts, chair legs, the banister going up the stairs, etc. A few days ago, I was backing up my van after a lunch date with Aaron and thought someone had shattered my back window. Come to find out, Zack created a spiderweb on it with masking tape. I was relieved it wasn't broken, but I don't understand why he came out to the car with tape and scissors and why he needs to "create" while we drive. I know there could be worse problems, but I get really annoyed with him. This is one of his recent drawings. I don't know the story behind it, but if it's of him and his brothers, I can guarantee Zack is the three-headed pogo stick.



This afternoon I had all four kids at Kohl's. The woman in front of me in the checkout lane was applying for a credit card and it was taking forever. Her husband was getting impatient and decided to chat it up with my kids while we waited. He looked and sounded just like the Indian dude on the Simpson's... (would that be Apu?) Anyway, he asked the boys their names and ages, and held out his finger for Simon to grab. Zack was being his busy self, grabbing a stuffed animal from the shelf and trying to make the baby laugh, but it was very mild behavior for the wild child that he usually is. The man watched him for a second and then said, "You have very good boys... all except for THAT one. THAT one is going to give you hard time." I asked him if he was a prophet. He knelt down and put his finger in Zack's face while saying, "Now you better behave yourself, young man. You have too much energy for your own good." I found it very interesting because he only saw an ounce of Zack's energy. After his wife had signed her life away at Kohl's and they were leaving, he reassured me that there must be some good deep inside that little 4 year old body. And I believe him. There must be some good under there..... Under where? exactly.

swimming SUIT

Tonight we had pack meeting at the home of Ben's scout leader. We had lots of fun in their backyard pool. Aaron dropped our family off and headed to the church for a little business and then came back to pick us up (we're a one car family these days.) He didn't bring his swim trunks because he wasn't planning on swimming.... but that didn't keep a few men in the ward from picking him up and throwing him in the pool with all his clothes on. I was quick and grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket just seconds before they threw him in. I only got a couple of pictures of him drying off. Too bad I wasn't more prepared with a video camera!

He is always such a good sport and he looks great in a wet suit.
It takes a lot for this guy to get mad-- but that doesn't mean he won't get even...

The Fairy Godmother

This is Patrick's mother. Patrick was Aaron's best friend who died at the age of 14 after being hit on his dirt-bike by a truck. She is visiting from Texas. Last night we were able to have her over for dinner so she could meet Simon Patrick. We asked her if she would be Simon's Godmother. (I know you have to be Catholic for that, but we don't care.) She gladly accepted. We had a wonderful visit and stayed up late talking. Simon took a liking to his new Godmother. He was awake hours after his bedtime and was giggly and happy to be held by such a special lady. Zack was excited about our visitor too and affectionately calls her The Fairy Godmother.

feeling grateful...

Mondays can be such a drag sometimes. The recovery from a great weekend is bitter-sweet.

Today I came across a blog from a young couple in ID who just lost their beautiful blue-eyed daughter. I spent about an hour on their blog reading their story. My heart breaks that such a young couple has to deal with a loss so devastating this early in their marriage-- this early in their lives. After I read their story, I stood up from the computer, put on my running shoes, cried for another hour out in the hot desert heat and came home ready to take on the day.

I've since scrubbed all my toilets, shined my mirrors, mopped all the floors in my house, started a few loads of laundry, played several games with my kids, and hugged my baby tighter than he wants to be hugged. I feel so grateful for all that I have. Mondays aren't so bad.

I have a renewed strength to be more diligent-- not just with my motherly duties and housework, but with my spiritual well-being. I honestly don't think I would be strong enough to deal with such a trial in my life right now. I am a mess and I don't even have anything to complain about! I need to be better and do more for those around me...

when the bed's a rockin' don't come a knockin'...

this post is rated PG. don't let the title deceive you.

I was so tired last night. I probably would have been more tired had I ran a marathon yesterday morning, but we spent all day out in the hot sun. It was somewhere around 113 degrees. We left Simon with our favorite babysitter and went boating with the Leavitts. We had a BLAST. We came home sunburned, dehydrated and completely exhausted.

I had an 8 pm bedtime goal, but it just didn't happen. Aaron picked up a few groceries around 10 pm and I fell asleep before he got home. He crawled into bed next to me and just so happened to be listening to music on his new MP3 player. He bought one specifically for the race and downloaded all sorts of good music to run to. During our training, neither of us ever ran with headphones. I always wanted to bring mine, but I thought it would be rude because Aaron didn't have any. When he finally got his new player, I was thrilled. But then he never ran with it because he was being courteous back. I thought it was cute that both of us were trying to be nice to the other when all either of us wanted to do was listen to some good music! Anyway, that has nothing to do with this story.

Last night, Aaron climbed into bed with headphones on. He was listening to a song by Feetwood Mac. I think the title is Dreams or something, but they sing the same line over and over, "Thunder only happens when it's raining." He was singing that song earlier and I didn't recognize it. It's not a very popular song and Aaron's not a very good singer, so he wanted me to listen to it. He took one of his headphones out of his ears and put it in mine. I was asleep, but quickly woke up when I heard Stevie Nicks voice. I told Aaron that I thought it was a really odd choice to run a marathon to. He disagreed and said you need a few mellow songs to mix it up. I wasn't going to argue... I was tired.

After the song was over, Rihanna's "Please Don't Stop the Music" blasted through the headphones we were sharing. I wanted him to turn it off (because whether or not he knew it, I was sleeping 2 minutes prior.) I looked at Aaron's face, which was just a few inches from mine, and saw that he was raising his eyebrows to the beat of the music. I smiled. And then I started bobbing my head to the same beat. Pretty soon we were snapping, waving our arms and doing the running man all while laying down. And before the song was over, our entire bodies were rocking out. (and I swear to you, Aaron looked as though he was having a full-blown seizure.) After that song, another came on and before we knew it, we listened to the entire playlist. He and I don't necessarily have the same taste in music, but that doesn't mean we can't still have a good time together. And although I love my beauty rest, I am so glad he gave me half of his headphones last night. That Stevie Nicks song will always hold a special place in my heart.

While loading the breakfast dishes this morning, I busted out laughing just thinking of Aaron's seizure slash dance moves. We have three 20 year old girls staying out our house this weekend and our bedroom is above the kitchen. I try to be super careful and courteous when we have visitors, but last night we got a bit crazy. I don't think they heard the bed rocking upstairs, but if they did, it wasn't rocking for the same reasons they may have thought.

girls have it rough

Ben stated today that he's really glad he's a boy. He sighed and said, "Boys get to marry whoever they want. Girls have to wait around for a guy to ask them to get married... and just have to hope they get a good one."

true dat.

I was lucky and got a good one.
and he gave me four good babies...
lucky (for them) they are all boys.

marathons are for morons

I am smiling while I type this. I should be very frustrated, but I am not. I find my life rather amusing-- car problems and all.

It all started last Saturday when Aaron took his working Isuzu Rodeo into a mechanic. He wanted the transmission fluid topped off. They worked on the car last month and there seemed to be a leak, so Aaron wanted them to check it out and see what was happening. They took a look at it, topped off the fluids and had Aaron pick it up a couple of hours later.

Five minutes after I dropped Aaron off to get his car, he called me. He pulled away from the mechanic, drove two blocks and transmission fluid went all over the road. Apparently, they forgot to tighten the plug after "fixing" his little problem. Now we have a big problem. Aaron was in the middle of a busy road with a broken car. He had to get out and push it to the side all by himself and (it's not funny but) the transmission fluid around the car made it look like he was ice skating. The mechanic apologized over and over, said he would fix the car on his dime and told us it should be ready by Monday.

The car wasn't ready Monday, or Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Thursday. Our week was super crazy... I was taking Aaron early to work, running errands, dropping off Cindy at her nanny job, just to turn around and do it all over again-- in 110 degree weather. The mechanic promised us the car would be ready so we could drive to Bryce Canyon on Friday. We picked it up this afternoon. We packed our bags, uploaded some killer tunes on our ipods and headed north. We drove about 5 miles when the car buckled. The transmission light came on and we turned around.

We headed to the mechanics and said that we were going to get a rental car so we could make our race. They said to give them a minute while they worked on the car. After about an hour of them working on it, we were on the road again. They told us it was just a little glitch. This time we were able to drive about ten miles down the road before the trans light came on. We looked at each other and started laughing-- it's now 4:00 pm and by the time we rent a car and drive up to Bryce, it will be after 10 pm. It's just not worth it. Our expensive hotel was refundable and neither of us wanted to run the race anyway. It's just not in the stars...

I told Aaron we can still get up at 6:00 am and run but we're going boating in the morning.. Did my bad attitude jinx us or what? One of these days we will run a race together. It's just not going to happen this weekend. And I am glad about that.

That's our story and these are the days of our lives.........

Whoa, Nelly!

We've been so busy lately that I haven't been able to keep my head on straight. As I sit down to type this, I feel like the room is spinning. I hate that summer is played in turbo speed.

This afternoon Aaron and I leave for Bryce Canyon. We're running the 1/2 marathon tomorrow morning and we are leaving the kids behind. It should be a fun trip, all except for the RUNNING part. As I was packing my bag, I asked the kids if they wanted to come. They said, "Nope. We'd rather just see the pictures." I love their logic. I wish I was just looking at pictures of someone else running the race too. What are we doing to ourselves?

Ben wanted to make sure that Luke and Zack knew exactly how far we're running. After he told them it was 13 miles, Zack exclaimed, "Whoa, Nelly!" It made me laugh because they have no idea how long a mile is, let alone 13.... but the number itself seems ginormous to our little tyke. It seems ginormous to me, too.

Ben, who is always looking at the bright side, said, "At least you don't have to run a whole marathon." To which I nodded gratefully. Zack wanted to know if I would run a marathon to save the whole world. I said I would try. To which he quickly asked, "Would you eat throw-up to save the whole world?" Yes, I would. In fact, I would rather eat throw-up than run a marathon tomorrow.

We've heard lots of tips from past marathon runners--- eat carbs the night before, drink a ton of water, have salty foods. One thing we read online was to take a big dump before the race. I am wondering how one makes themselves do that before the race? And if I wasn't scared enough, I was blessed with a menstrual cycle that came a week early. Yeah for cramps and running!

We're missing Girl's Camp testimony meeting & a boating trip with friends to run this silly race. It better be worth it! It's amazing to me that people do this all the time-- for fun. It's four hours away, we have to fork up serious money for a hotel stay (the same amount we paid for FOUR nights in Florida) only to come home exhausted and sore. Sounds a bit crazy to me.... I will let you know if we come back in one piece. Lata, skatas.

we love visitors

no time to post because we've been too busy with visitors. In laws this week and Cindy's girlfriends fly in tomorrow. Party, party, party!

A couple of weeks ago some of our long time BFFs came to visit from Utah. We got to swim with them in the posh pool at Mandalay Bay and eat fancy beef at Claim Jumper. Three cheers for old friends and good times!

Aaron captured this classic picture below-- I don't think Azy was talking about her boobies, but it sure looks like it.. and I seem rather EXCITED about it!

I love him.

sweet dreams

Zack came bouncing in my room this morning and said, "OH MOM! I had the BEST dream! I dreamed that we didn't have to do any jobs! We only had to do ONE THING ALL DAY."

What was that? I ask...

"The only thing we had to do was get you a cup of coffee!"


I don't know where he comes up with this stuff, but that sounds like a pretty sweet dream to me.

how could I possibly have forgotten?

It's so like my responsible child to scold me by saying, "Mom, you didn't interview me for my birthday! How could you have forgotten?" Four kids, a busy summer schedule and old age can do that to you, I suppose.

Ben stats:
Age: 9
Height: 53 inches
Weight: 60 lbs

Favorites food: grilled cheese, pizza, strawberries
Favorite drink: Sprite
Favorite thing to do at home: art projects, play games
Favorite toy: Legos and TF
Favorite movie: Transformers 1 and 2
Favorite tv show: The Flintstones
Favorite book: Fabelhaven
Favorite animal: Rhino
Favorite superhero: Batman
What he wants to be when he grows up: archeologist
Favorite color: White
Favorite candy: hot tamales
Afraid of: my family dying :(
Favorite past-time: jumping on the trampoline

Ben is such a GOOD boy. He is always checking the time on his watch, giving me a countdown of how many minutes we have to be somewhere. He examines his brothers faces before we leave the house to make sure they are clean. He knows who is or who is not wearing their seat belt in the car (and often lets me know that I need to click mine.) He is kind, thoughtful and organized. He still tells 20+ jokes a day... many of them are not worth writing down, but this afternoon he came up with a cute one.

Q: What is the shortest food?
A: Inchiladas.

There are so many stories I could tell that would demonstrate his personality, but this is what is happening recently. Ben is my right arm on Sundays. He gets ready quickly and then follows me around Sunday morning asking, "Mom, what can I do to help?" It sets me at ease and he makes it possible for us to make it to 8 am Sacrament meeting without Daddy (who is already at the church.) Ben will hold open doors for me and keep Zack quiet during the meetings so I can take care of the baby. The last few weeks, whenever he notices I am not singing the songs (because I am busy trying to keep the baby happy) he will grab a hymn book, open up to the right page and hand it to me. Without saying a word, I know he's trying to tell me to pay attention to the meeting and sing along! I usually smile, graciously take the book from him and then say to myself, "Who's parenting who?"

Words cannot express how grateful I am to have such a child in my life. In 9 more years, he will be 18 and out of the house. We're halfway there and I want the clock to stop! He is looking less and less like a little boy and more like a young man. I consider myself one lucky mama to have a son like Benjamin. And I know that it wasn't just by chance that he was my first baby. He is such a blessing to everyone in our family.

come to Papi

This might not be the most suitable post going into the Sabbath day, but I've never really been the proper type.

With a built-in babysitter living with us, my husband and I get many an opportunity for little dates. This weekend we had a romantic night out at a not so fancy Mexican restaurant (which are usually the best kind... I love finding hole-in-the-walls.) After dinner we hit Ross, where we bought this classy men's thong:

The dazzling bejeweled lettering is awesome, but the tag on the undies is what had me at hello. It reads: "FEEL IT. Papi is a term universally spoken, utilized and understood to celebrate the spirit, strength and sex appeal of today's young man. Papi is the man who has style, sophistication and sex appeal, yet has his own identity." If these don't say sophistication, I'm not sure what does... They retail for $18 a pop. We scored at Ross and bought them for a screaming $2.99.

Let it be known that my husband has never been, nor will ever be, referred to as PAPI. We don't typically shop for Christmas gifts in July, but when you come across a killer white elephant gift for $2.99, you just gotta buy. Socialize with us at your own risk: If we get an invitation to your Holiday get-together, your husband may or may not be coming home with these fancy undies.

birthdays, birthdays everywhere!

Today is my charismatic, Southern-talking, curly-haired brother-in-law's birthday. He lives far away in Georgia with my sister and their 5 kids. We miss them terribly! Lucky for us, we get to see them all in a few weeks!

For Randy's birthday, our family answered a few questions about him. The traditional birthday questionnaire has been quite a hit... in fact, it's gotten a little carried away. Instead of emailing out the questions and compiling them myself, I decided to whip up a Birthday Questionnaire Blog. It's been easy for others to access and so much less work for me to organize. I post the questions on the blog and let others answer in the comment box. On the actual birthday, we give the web address to the birthday girl/boy and they get to read all the answers. How simple is that? I am keeping them on the same blog so that at the end of the year, we can compile everyone's answers in a book. The only trick (when you have as many family members as I do and some people know their birthday questions are coming up) is to make sure you CHANGE the web address so the birthday person doesn't cheat and read all the questions before their big day. This is simple to do under settings/publishing. Once a birthday has passed, you can type up questions for the next birthday and let everything think on them for a while. I have LOVED being in charge of something like this. It makes me feel more connected to my family who lives so far away. For those of you who know and love my mom, she celebrated her birthday in June. You may want to read HER birthday tribute HERE.

This has been so much fun for our family and it really doesn't take THAT much effort. This past month, my sweet Grandma June had a birthday and I decided to do questions for her and invite the extended family to answer. So, I started her own blog and sent out the link. The response was overwhelming. Not only did all of her children answer the questions, but EVERY.SINGLE.ONE. of her grandchildren answered before her birthday. It was such an outpouring of love and I felt so emotional reading over her birthday tribute. (I cried like a baby!) I decided to take everyone's answers and compile them into a book at Kinko's. And even though my Grandma was able to read everyone's comments via the computer, I thought it would be special to have a hard copy to read any time she wants. The book was over 45 pages long and it was only about $12 to print. How's that for a meaningful, inexpensive gift?

A few days ago, my wonderful, sweet, spunky Aunt Karen had a birthday and we threw together a blog for her-- totally last minute. The day before her birthday, I sent out the link to her loving family. It was so simple and so easy, and the end result is really powerful. It's truly amazing how easily you can unite family members (who live thousands of miles away from each other) with just a few simple questions. These past few weeks, I have been reminded what an amazing family I have. I feel so lucky to belong to such a group of people.

Spread the love and start your own family birthday blog! I dare you!

on being a mommy

I dealt with my first "real" public tantrum yesterday. I realize this is a little late in motherhood for me to experience this, but after two really good boys, I got a crazy one. Zack has had plenty of tantrums at home, but never one out in public. We went to Cafe Rio to meet daddy for lunch. Zack wanted to go to Taco Bell instead (even though he loves Cafe Rio and could eat an adult-sized meal himself.) When I parked the car, he said he wasn't getting out. So we left him there. Eventually he came in the restaurant, but he was screaming-- and he wouldn't stop. I had four kids... two of them were babies. Aaron didn't join us for a while and Zack was inconsolable. I completely ignored him, which fueled the fire. Aaron eventually told him he was going to ask other parents in the restaurant if they could take him home with them because he wasn't allowed in either of our cars. It was the only thing that got him to settle down after 45 solid minutes of screaming. Apparently threats work with this kid. He was happy-go-lucky for a polar bear fieldtrip at the mall. Then it was a trip inside Walmart, a nap for the baby, and an exciting evening of scouts. The day was long and even though I was completely exhausted, my lamp wasn't off until after midnight. oy.

My alarm rang at 4:45 this morning... Aaron and I put on our running shoes and hit the road. The red sun peeked over the mountains and it looked as though a volcano was erupting in the far off desert. I was so happy to be out with my man-- and was grateful it was cooler than 110 degrees. The 1/2 marathon is just over a week away and I am getting anxious. We were supposed to go 10 miles this morning and I was determined to run like the wind. But a couple of miles into the run, I got a terrible headache. It was so bad that I had to sit down on the pavement and hold my head. I was honestly afraid that I was going to pass out. Aaron sat next to me and waited patiently for 20 minutes or so. When I felt well enough to stand up again, he held my hand and we walked home. I felt frustrated and defeated. My body wanted to run, but my head wanted to explode. As we walked home, I said to myself, "Why didn't the television show work out for me? Too bad I haven't heard anything. If I was still in the running for my own show, I wouldn't have to run this stupid marathon...." And just as I was feeling defeated, an answer came. It was clear and penetrated through my terrible headache. It said, "What you're doing is more powerful and important than any tv show. You are most influential as a mother." And I knew it was true.

Dealing with tantrums, cleaning up messes, kissing dirty knees, making home-cooked meals and folding laundry is pretty darn important. That doesn't mean it's easy. It's just after 8 pm and I am exhausted. My headache hasn't let up much and my baby is crying himself to sleep. He never does that anymore, but he's super sleepy and so is me. I just popped a couple of tylenol PM and I am heading straight to bed. Yeah for nighttime!!!

I am leaving you with a short message on motherhood. It may not touch you the way it touched me today, but you may need to come back to it on a difficult day. This motherhood stuff IS HARD! But it's worth it. then. now. forever.

my baby's gone and grown up

It's hard to believe he's already 8 months.

What did our family ever do without him? I can't remember.

He's silly, playful, independent, happy, and he eats as much as my other kids put together. Yesterday he had 12 ounces of formula, 1 package of instant oatmeal, 1 large banana AND a jar of baby food-- all before 9 am. I stress when I don't have something for him to munch on. While in the Adventuredome at Circus Circus last week, he ate everything I had brought for him in the first two hours.. I kept him satisfied with 3 NutriGrain bars.. yes, he ate 3 whole bars and then looked at me as if to say, "That's all you got?" He is literally eating us out of house and home.
He has two teeth and waves bye-bye. He can't crawl yet, but he scoots his little bum and turns in all directions. After a full belly, he sleeps a solid 12 hours a night and still adores his crib. He loves playing with his brothers and hardly ever wants to be held... by anyone, including me :(

And even with killer eyelashes, he is still such a big hunk!

He got a buzz cut like the rest of his brothers.. and wasn't exactly thrilled.
Happy 8 months, Sy-Guy!
We sure love our babymonster!

spent

learning to crawl can be SO EXHAUSTING sometimes....

kisses

The other day, I was putting sunscreen on this face---
I grabbed him by the shoulders and said ever so seriously, "Luke, you have GOT TO STOP getting so cute. If you don't stop, girls are going to fight over who can kiss you on the lips!" Luke smiled slightly and shrugged while saying, "Mom! I can't help it!"

Kissing has been a big part of our family conversation lately. For FHE a couple of weeks ago, we were eating ice cream cones around the table and we started practice kissing on our ice cream. Zack was making a mess of his and got ice cream all over his face (watch out, ladies!) Daddy made us all laugh by attacking his cone and eating in one bite. After all the fun and games, Aaron explained to the boys that if they are good, they will probably get a pretty girl. If they aren't nice and don't follow rules, they will end up with someone not-so-pretty. About an hour after this conversation, Zack was breaking some rule or another. Ben said rather strictly, "Zack, you are going to marry an ugly wife." Zack turned around, smirked and said, "Oh yeah, Ben? Well your wife is going to marry an ugly husband." I don't even know if he understood what he was saying, but that's going to go down in the books as one of Zack's best quotes ever.

Little Simon has been obsessed with kissing too. He is making the CUTEST kissy-face with a loud pucker sound. He does it a lot when he's eating and sometimes after one of us give a kiss, he will make the sound over and over (he's not quite puckering when you try to kiss him... just after the fact.) I've tried to grab the camera when he's in the kissing mood, but I have yet to capture it on film. This short little clip has him doing it once, which is not enough. I need to get it before he grows out of it (which could be any day now.) He's also started the big spitting phase. He's goes from spitting to kissing and then back again, which makes for an awesome combination. Oh, how we love this big boy!

my little firecracker

Me: We'll put the #9 candle on your cake along with eight others you'll have to blow out.

Ben: Now every time someone says the word EIGHT, it sounds really strange to me.

Nine years ago tonight I was wearing a flowered gown holding the cutest little newborn in Provo, UT. We could see fireworks outside our hospital room window. The country was celebrating and so were we. My first baby came two weeks early and what a surprise it was! I was thrilled about the day he chose to make his Earthy debut. He was darling and sweet and so perfect.
Nine years later I look at him with the same kind of awe. This kid is darling, sweet and as close to perfect as little boys can get. He wants so badly to do the right thing. He is a great example to his brothers (and to his parents.) He is everything I could have ever asked for-- and then some. He is kind, competitive, mature, understanding, silly, caring, fun-loving, responsible, helpful, trustworthy, brave, loyal..... He is such a cute little boy scout! I am not surprised he's already nine. The time has gone by quickly, but Benjamin has never been a baby. I often wonder how long it will take his body to grow into his old soul.
I can't wait to see where life takes him. I am so proud to be his mama.

The case of the missing baby

I hate to brag........... but I need to announce that I am mighty talented at keeping caught up on laundry. I never have a spotless house, but my laundry room is very organized and usually always empty. I do laundry on Tuesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays I wash clothes... Fridays I do towels, rugs and sheets. I always change all the bed sheets every Friday. There is just something wonderful about having crisp, clean sheets for the weekend. Some weeks my Tuesdays are busy, so I have to do ALL the laundry before the weekend. Today was one of those days. We've washed and folded about 8 loads today. The kids and I have been sitting in the same place folding clean clothes and watching old home videos. Simon (thankfully) was asleep for most of it. He has a special talent of destroying anything in his reach. He's a clever baby, that one. His brothers are also pretty clever and found a way to keep him from knocking down their tall towers of folded laundry..

The funny thing about this situation is not that Simon was under a clothes hamper for 30 minutes, but that I didn't realize he was under there for 30 minutes. I was happily folding clothes and watching classic footage of chubby Luke at 8 months, when I realized that I currently own a chubby 8 month old baby--- who had been awake from his nap for some time. I started to panic and said, "WHERE is Simon?" My boys giggled, "Mom, he's playing under the hamper!"

When I insisted that the hamper come OFF of the baby, the baby started to cry. He liked his quiet life of hamper solitude.

But he quickly realized that the outside world is okay too.

Who needs a baby sitter when you have a mini jail to keep them busy (and out of trouble?)

ferris wheels, rollercoasters & throw-up

Yesterday we adventured out to Vegas' indoor theme park.

Ben never failed to wave..

These were all taken on the tea-cup ferris wheel.

A lot of guys picked up on cute Cindy, but this was the only one who stole her heart.

Simon was an awesome baby and stayed happy ALL day long in his stroller.

keeping "safe" with their tiny buckles.

Ben was BIG ENOUGH to ride all the scary rides. It was so fun to see the thrill in his eyes and listen to his excitement after the riding the humongous rollercoasters. I wanted to initiate him on his first big-kid ride, but I suppose Aunt Cindy is second best.

at the end of a LONG day and after 30+ kiddie rides, Zack's tummy had had enough and he threw-up all his insides.

I felt like a terrible mother laughing (because it WASN'T funny) but this child is totally a get-it-done-himself kind of kid and had no problems pulling himself up on this tall garbage can do to the deed.

He wanted to lay in the stroller for the rest of the time, but didn't want me to take a picture of him laying in the stroller. (cause he aint no baby.)

He fell asleep on the drive home and didn't wake up until morning. The first thing he said when he got up was, "Can someone get me a bowl? My legs feel all wiggly." Luke got him a bowl, and I quickly traded it for one without holes. Poor kid has used it several times this morning... Him don't likey amusement parks anymore.