the kid bus

my older boys had an extra day off school today. I was so grateful because I spent President's Day weekend with my sisters and wanted another vacation day.. and the stars were aligned. I asked them what they would choose to do for the day. Their answer: ride in the BUS with their friends. I sent out a mass text inviting their friends to the park for a couple of hours. Before we knew it, the neighborhood kids were at the park-- and they ALL rode in my car.If you counted right, there are 15 kids. I never thought that I would be short a seatbelt in a 15 passenger, but our van was filled to the brim. Ben was super disappointed because he had to ride in the front seat, so next time I will make sure that we have enough room for him in the back row. Those back seats are coveted because when the van hits any kind of bump, kids go flying. We hit two parking lots on the way home with speed bumps and that was 100 times better than the park.It was a bit crazy, but I will never forget the giggles coming from the back seat and the dance moves we pulled while blasting Maroon 5's "I'm your Radio". While driving, we called Aaron on the speaker phone and everyone screamed HELLO when he answered. Baby Ro was sleeping at the time and she wasn't a fan of that plan. She screamed all the way home, which in turn, made us blast the music even louder.

All in all, it was a pretty memorable ride. happy extended President's day.

glow in the dark sheets

Aaron probably won't "approve" of this post, but it's really late.... and he's not here to stop me from writing it. Some parenting moments, though funny and significant, get quickly erased if not written down. Holiday and birthday pictures can be documented some other time..

The older boys got new bedroom furniture last weekend. They each have their own twin bed and nice big dressers. They also got a desk and bookshelf which makes their room super squishy. Their wooden bed frames can eventually stack on top of each other to make a bunkbed, which I am sure we will do in the future, but for now, they are enjoying their room with 3 inches of walking space.

We moved the beds last Saturday. I went to wash sheets a couple of days ago, and was surprised to find Ben's rather dirty, especially after only a couple of days of sleeping on them. He's by FAR the cleanest child I've ever met... so this was a bit odd. His sheets had a clear (but now crusted) thin substance on them, right in the middle of the bed. It was on both the top and bottom sheet. I asked Ben what it was and he said, "I have no idea! I woke up with something sticky all over me." I asked him if it was on his pjs and or underwear and he said, "I think, but I can't remember." I showed Aaron and we just stared at each other in amazement for like 3 whole minutes. Aaron just kept shaking his head and saying, "there is no way it is what you think it is."

I wasn't assuming it was anything, but what could it be? It was a big mystery. I was literally freaking out, watching Ben's every move... waiting for his voice to crack or hair to grow from his chin or something... but of course, that did not happen because the child is TEN.

The next day, I decided to call my sister, mother of two teenage boys, and ask her if she'd ever had a similar experience. She was kind of flipping out with me & told me that in her years of changing teenage boy sheets, she has never found herself in such a predicament. I was stumped. That night, as I was getting the sheets out of the dryer, I checked to see if all of the "substance" had come out. I opened the dryer and low and behold... there was a green, alien-like light coming from the spots on the sheets. Whuuuut could this be??

And then I remembered that Aaron's mom had sent a lovely Valentine's day package earlier in the week with glow-in-the-dark SILLY PUTTY for the boys. How silly of me to assume it was anything other than silly putty! Did you know that silly putty ruins sheets? It can also freak out parents of little, innocent boys.

All is back to normal around here....

and by normal, I mean, C-R-A-Z-Y spelled out in neon lights.

pink and puke

For Valentine's day, this little love painted his hand pink.

He also threw up all morning, which kept us from Ben and Luke's class party.

He can be such a party pooper sometimes.

baby's first Valentine's Day... sort of.

I spent about an hour tonight reading from last year's journal entries. I wanted to see exactly when we KNEW it was time for another baby. Tears came to my eyes as I read over the handwritten pages. These entries are personal, but I feel like sharing. (wish I would have time to scan them in... but it's already past my bedtime).

January 4, 2011

While eating breakfast this morning, Aaron told me he had a dream that I was pregnant... and that he saw our baby GIRL! He told me he thinks it's time for another baby. I feel overwhelmed just thinking about adding to the chaos. Sy-Guy is quite the handful these days. Can I go through another pregnancy and newborn? If I knew it would guarantee a daughter, I would do it in a heartbeat. I want a little girl so badly.

January 30, 2011

I had such a rough day today. Sundays aren't my favorite anymore. Zack, Simon and I came home from church early. I think Sy-Guy might have an ear infection. I feel terrible. Aaron was gone most of the day and when we finally had a chance to talk tonight, he told me he had another dream about a baby girl. I wish HE could get pregnant and carry her around for 9 months. I don't really feel like signing up for that. I am feeling very overwhelmed. Luke's birthday and baptism is this week. I hope I can make it through and make it special for our sweet Lukey boy!

February 5, 2011

Luke was baptized today. I was feeling a little stressed when we arrived at the church, but as soon as the program started, I felt so much peace and gratitude. Ben gave such a wonderful talk. And Luke was just SO sweet. During his confirmation, I felt very strongly that there is another baby waiting to join our family. It was clear and undeniable. I guess Aaron knows what he's talking about after all. Let's just hope all of his baby GIRL dreams come true! I feel ready to start trying for #5.

February 9, 2011

So, I am three days late. I am not usually late, so I decided to take a pregnancy test this morning. It was negative. But it was a dollar store test, so maybe I should go and buy and more expensive one. ??? Maybe I will give it a couple of more days. I will be really surprised if I am pregnant.

February 11, 2011

I wanted to wait until Valentine's Day, but I just couldn't wait any longer. The test was negative again. Instead of throwing it away, I set it on the counter next to the toilet and went about my day. When Aaron got home from work, I went to throw it away and over the course of the day TWO lines appeared! I can't believe it. I want to take another test to make it official, but I don't have one. I will have to wait until tomorrow morning!!

February 14, 2011

It's starting to sink in that we're really expecting again. We had such a special (quiet) Valentine's Day today after a crazy weekend. I am so grateful for a husband who wants to have a big family and supports me, emotionally and financially. He is such a good man. And my boys are wonderful too. So wonderful, that I would even be happy to get another one just like them. I am feeling tired, but so, SO blessed.

*****

February 14, 2012

Our roly-poly baby girl has been such a blessing in our lives. Last Valentine's Day (weekend) we found out we were expecting her. I didn't know she was a she, but I hoped and prayed for her. She is so beautiful and sweet. She's also a drama queen. I can't put her down for more than 5 minutes and I am still not getting ANY sleep at night, but I feel so blessed to have her in our home. She giggles hard every night before bedtime and it's so adorable. We can hardly get the other kids to say goodnight and go to their own rooms because we all just want to be around her. Oh how we LOVE this chunky girl.

My Valentine's present from Aaron (besides the smart phone he bought for me that I will not be keeping) is a new van. I can't believe I will be driving a 15 passenger van around town. The kids are ecstatic.. I am not exactly "EXCITED" about it, but I know it's the right vehicle for our family. I want to have enough room to grow. And no, I am not expecting again, but I don't want to be stressed about not having enough room for our kids, and their friends. Life is getting more complicated by the year (month/day) but this is such a good life. I am so grateful. We have been tremendously blessed.

today

the good

• waking up to an empty house (we donated two car loads of junk to goodwill yesterday)
• listening to the MoTab/spoken word while getting my 5 kids ready for church
• putting Ro in a vintage pink dress made by my grandma
• painting her fingernails for the first time. so cute!
• visiting with wonderful friends in the mother's lounge
• team teaching the teenage sunday school class with my husband
• whole wheat waffles for lunch
• connect four, pictionary, banangrams
• cutting heart (and dinosaur) sugar cookies with the kids
• uplifting message from our home teacher
• delivering treats to neighbors
• driving with the windows rolled down and radio blasting
• laughing at (and with) our sleepy, chubby baby
• kneeling together for family prayer

the bad

• not taking a picture of Ro in her cute outfit
• realizing my seats weren't in my van when we were rushing to church (we took them out to fill it with junk last night and forgot to put them back in... oops!) my husband was gone, so the two older boys had to help me. We weren't strong enough and ended up dropping it on my toe, in high heels. I said the S-word. that's the first time I've ever sworn in front of the kids.. oops. on a Sunday and everything.
• leaving the kitchen a mess tonight... sprinkles everywhere!

the funny

Me: "Boys, will you set the table?"

Ben: "I don't want to, but I will."

Me: "That's not the right way to respond when I ask you to do something."

Ben: "Why? That's basically what Jesus said in the Garden of Gethsemane... and He's perfect."

Me: "True. But He was asked to sacrifice his life, not set the table."

Ben: "Both are things I don't WANT to do."

Me: "Then I would prefer you say: "Not my will, but Thine, be done."