The best place in the world!

Jackson:  Mom, Chuck E. Cheese is the BEST place in the WORLD!
Ella (In her best big sister know-it-all voice) : No, it's not J.  It's Heaven.  That's the best place in the world.
Jackson:  Oh, yeah.  (Pause) I mean the best FUN place in the world.

This is how we roll:

I really wanted to post this other picture of Max helping but it showed how Robert likes to dress when he helps around the house.  Let's just say it's a similar look.  

We like to nap on the couch after a hard day of work in our underwear but we wear our pants for that.  

So far 8 is G-R-E-A-T!

 Happy Birthday, Ella- burrito.  We love you and I can't think of a better way to express it then posting this picture of  me squeezing the daylights out of you, with only one eye opened, and a little bit of my religion peeking out.  That's some serious love.

Ella was wise enough to choose to come into this world on conference weekend.  I say "choose" because I spent 3 whole days in the hospital waiting for her to greet me.  I would have been happy to wrap the whole thing up within 6 hours.  However, a fortunate by-product of her reluctance to enter the world was that she got to spend her birthday at the cabin with some of her favorite people.  We had a lovely celebration in her honor complete with a kill-your-diet chocolate bundt cake.  Oh, sometimes I still dream about that cake.

Feel the love. 

Jackson provided the entertainment.  

We take blowing out candles seriously.  As you can see from Jackson and Robert, we allow no interference in the process.  So don't even try to breathe in the direction of our candles.  We will take you out!

Oh, Ella you are so lovely.  

It was one of those years.  The one where I agree to host a birthday party  for my child.  It was also one of those days that Robert decided that he would try and be as far away as possible (Brazil).  I don't understand why twelve squealing 8 year-olds playing games and doing crafts doesn't sound like a fun evening to him?

I'm just guessing but I think Ella had a great time.  

No one likes a frowny face :(

Jackson came home from school yesterday with a frowny face paper.  This means he was not able to sit in his chair to do his work, did not practice proper hall procedures, and spoke without raising his hand.  These are hard things for Jackson.  He can't even sit in his chair during meal time so I can't imagine how this challenges him at school.  Anyway, I expressed my disappointment in his behavior culminating in him crying it out on the couch.  Don't worry, the remorse lasted about 30 seconds and then he got distracted by a remote control car.  All better.  Anyhow, I was having a frank discussion about how we behave with him on the way to soccer practice.  To share his feelings with me, he broke out in song.  Yes, song.  It was so adorable, although I was trying hard to stay stern.  He sang about how he tries his best and works hard.  He sang about how he loves me and how I take care of him when he is sick and all the time.  Suddenly he stops and says, "Mom, sometimes my eyes water when I'm just so happy."  I look back at him and sure enough his eyes are "watering".   That, of course, chokes me up and I say, "Me too, J.  Me too."   How can you be mad at a kid like that?

Happy 3rd Birthday, Bob Do-do a.k.a Max.

I love this boy.

Dearest Blog,

I am avoiding you.  Sigh.  I cannot keep up with laundry, bills, groceries, blah, blah, blah and blog about it too. Here, look, see what I mean...the following is my schedule yesterday (yes, yesterday while you were mercilessly teasing me and calling my name.  Why haven't you posted Max's birthday pictures?  It's been over a week!  Don't you love him as much as the rest of the kids?  You manage to post their birthday pics on time.  What kind of Mother are you? Ack, the torture! )


6:00 a.m.-- Good Morning, Max.  Time for a pee-pee and Mom to put on clothes.
7:00a.m.-- Let's have a mad dash around the house looking for lost socks, missing shoes and that darn shirt.   Make three lunches, feed 4 children breakfast, listen to some whining, explain why we don't kick soccer balls in the house,  HAVE YOU BRUSHED YOUR TEETH YET!!??
8:20-Big Kids out the door, hopefully with their lunches, water (with ice, of course), healthy snacks (cause just lunch isn't enough), shoe laces tied, hair combed, and Jackson with new shirt since the first one didn't survive breakfast.
9:00- Gym.  5 miles on the treadmill.  Fast.  Well, everything is relative.
10:00-- Grocery store, gas and bank. Don't forget to drive to CVS because Albertsons doesn't have what you need.  CVS doesn't have it either, of course.  Max uses the bathroom at each place.  Nothing makes me move faster than "Poo-poo, Mama."
11:30--Home.  Unload groceries and feed the Max-man.
12:00--Lunch.  Decide I need a vacation and start researching before I realize that I should be prepping food for my food group dinner, finishing up the laundry and calling my visiting teachee's to set up an appointment (Only two more days!).
12:30--Spend half an hour convincing Max that naps are good.
1:00--Give up on nap.  Make pizza dough and let rise. Work on sauce and start baking cookies.  Make salad. Try and do a crap load of dishes.  Field a few phone calls and texts from Hubby who is out of town.  Wonder why people always have crisis that involve me on Tuesday?  Why not Monday?
3:30--Jackson doesn't arrive on school bus with sisters.  Piano teacher arrives to give Ella lessons.
3:45--Run Kate to activity days and meet neighbor who agreed to  pick up Jackson from school.  Run him and neighbor's kid home.
4:00-Homework, snacks and general chaos.
4:30-- Half an hour on phone with School district because bus wouldn't bring Jackson home because it was "too crowded" leaving my first grader without his sisters, alone and scared!
4:45-- Still on phone, run to pick up Kate from Activity days early so she can make piano lessons.
5:00--Pick up Ella, Jackson and Max.  Take them to park for soccer practice.  Drop off Kate for piano lessons.
6:00-Rush home from soccer practice because Kate is alone.  Start making pizza like a crazy woman.
7:20-Deliver Neighbor's dinner and start to eat our own.
8:00- Kitchen a wreck with flour everywhere, pizza sauce smeared on cabinets, quizzing Kate on times tables while ordering other kids to get ready for bed.  Max asleep in his high chair.
8:20- Max in bed, Jackson still needs to brush his teeth and has spent twenty minutes talking about, well, I can't even remember.   Ella annoying Kate.  Kate crying. "I want my Mommy."  Enough.  Everyone to bed.  NOW!
8:30-Prayers, skip scriptures and stories and straight to bed. Carry six cups filled with water out of Kate & Ella's room.
8:45- Clean kitchen, wipe counters, wash all the dishes that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher.  Go through all the papers from school, sign stuff, finish laundry, pick up toys, clean tooth paste off Jackson's bathroom mirror.  I"m not going to say a bad word.  I'm not!
11:00- Go to bed.  Set alarm for 5:30a.m.  Try not to fall asleep while praying.


The End.

What's on my mind:

The butcher's knife stuck in a tree in the front yard of the house where Max goes to preschool.

I want a cookie.

I paid my taxes today. I feel poor.

My friend. She will have a baby today that won't live.

Oliver Cowdery. Thank goodness he was ambitious because we have D&C 9.

Will I have to wash poop out of Max's underwear today?

(And maybe a few other things. :))