Farm Update

It's been a mild winter so far. The greatest news is that I finally found a watering method for the chickens that keeps the water thawed and clean all winter! I also have them on supplemental light from midnight to 7AM (a single CFL bulb) which keeps my five hens laying four eggs a day. Yay! And the eggs are pretty darn big. Jumbo, in fact.

All the garden perennials have gone dormant. The strawberries held out the longest. I've already received my favorite seed catalog for next year, but only glanced at it half-heartedly. It's hard to tell how much time and energy I will want to commit to the garden next season. I don't get really excited about growing things until January or February.

I'm debating how much help to expect from the kids next summer. Is the garden something the whole family is expected to work on regularly, or is it simply Mom's pet project she allows the kids to help with occasionally? It's not like we depend on the garden for food. And there are only a few farm/garden chores done regularly enough to go onto a chore chart. I'm interested to hear others' experiences with family gardens growing up...what worked? what didn't?

James Names

James used to call himself "Weece." Now he's "Jafe." I desperately want to call him Weece or Jafe, too, but he gets mad. His name is James and he expects me to pronounce it properly. Sigh. Maybe Matthew will eventually develop a cute nickname for James that James will allow us to use.

Bobby's Sunday Summary

I have been bad about blogging, and not posting nearly as much as I should.  So I am going to post some videos and pictures of things we missed earlier and of Christmas.

At Thanksgiving time Susan's Sister cam to visit.  She brought with her a fabulous gift, a gingerbread house with lots of chocolate.

James didn't get to participate as much as he wanted, but he still had fun with Grandma.



Robert had a Christmas program for his preschool, just like the ones Alice was in.  This time he was an angle.  In fact he was the only boy angle, but he did a great job.

The other kids had a lot of fun too.



Especially Alice



Christmas was a bit more laid back than usual but was still a lot of fun.  The big gifts that the kids liked were remote controlled helicopters, more legos, and a marble toy.

2 months today

It's been two months since Matthew was born. I don't have as much time or energy to blog as I would like, so there will never be a "1-month checkup" post for Matthew, a "2-year checkup" post for James, or a "Christmas Piano Recital 2014" post for Alice. Sorry, guys.

Matthew seems so big to me (14.4 pounds according to our home scale, growing out of his first few 0-3 month outfits), but I regain perspective when I see his teeny body next to his gigantic, active, loud, and lively siblings:

Robert built a little bed for Matthew out of folded blankets.

Matthew has a genuine smile these days, but it's unpredictable when he'll pull it out. I caught a few snippets of it last night while he was admiring his daddy:

Please forgive the fuzzy pictures. I was trying to take them while James was wrestling me and Bobby at the same time. Like so:

Maybe that's why Matthew was having such a good time. Anyway, do you see how tiny Matthew appears in context? It never fails to surprise me.


Life is good here. The vacation fun is wearing a little thin, but everything changes again tomorrow. Alice will be off visiting family in Texas this week. I'm curious to see who will miss her more: me or Robert.

Matthew has had a bit of a runny nose this week, but nothing a nasal aspirator doesn't fix in a jiffy. He's still mild-mannered and generally content. We've been really, really blessed so far with such an easy-going guy. And I've been blessed with so much of Bobby's paternity leave and vacation days. Thank you, Yahoo!

We're looking for something new and exciting to do for New Year's this year. We might travel to a nearby metropolis to visit friends or play at a children's museum or both. Gotta figure that out soon, eh?

Experiences to ponder...later

A couple things happened this week that I would like to think about more...when I have more time and energy to ponder, of course.

---I had an appointment with a professional that I hadn't met before. While in the waiting room, right on top of the magazine selection, was a glossy little booklet from the Jehovah's Witness faith. Suddenly, I thought that this professional might be a member of that faith and I instantly had second thoughts about working with them. And then I was horrified that I had that thought. I had no idea that I carried that strong of a prejudice. I'd like to investigate these feelings and figure out how to change them.

---There was a comment in church to the effect that so many people make the Christmas season a time to be extra caring, extra thoughtful, more generous, and Christlike. She wished that people would carry those changes into the whole year. I realized that the only thing different I do at Christmastime is buy a few presents for my kids and attend/create more parties. That stung a little. Gotta figure out how to change that.

Now back to life at hand.

Our 13th Year

This week we celebrated our family's birthday. Bobby and I were sealed in the Salt Lake City temple 13 years ago.

And true to the superstition, our 13th year was a doozy! Just a few highlights:

--Two lovely weeks in Hawaii! First time ever without the kids.
--An unexpected promotion at work
--Accepting a call as Bishop
--Kidney stone
--Matthew joins our family

Here's hoping our 14th year is considerably more dull :)

Oh, Christmas Tree!

This awkward-looking Christmas tree is brought to you by a certain 2-year-old who's managed to break three of my favorite ornaments and ruin at least two Christmas present surprises :( We've therefore moved all of the ornaments to the top half of the tree and removed every present from underneath. I've also had a hard time finding the right moment to bring out the ceramic nativity scene...it may not happen this year...

Bobby's Sunday Summary

Sorry I haven't done this in a while, Mom I am not dead, don't worry too much.  Life gets crazy some times, and some things fall to the bottom of my priority list.  These past two weeks two big things happened for me.  The first was a week ago, and it was the Ward party.  It was not that different from a typical Christmas party except for the addition of one thing.

Some of the members of our ward got a little ambitious and roasted a whole hog.  Sadly it was too big to fit in the roasting box in one piece, so they cut it in half.  It was also too big to easily fit into the gym where we were having the dinner so they took it to the kitchen.  The effect was still nice, but not as dramatic.  Sorry about the picture being so fuzzy, I took it with my camera.

Here they are working on the other half of it.

After being back for half of Saturday and all of Sunday I was off again, this time to San Francisco for a conference.  Susan already told you about her experience while I was away, Don't worry I am taking the week off to try and help make it up to her.  For me it was a fairly normal trip, except for one big thing.  When I went to pick up my rental car I was informed that they were out of the little cars that I am allowed to rent, so I had to pick either a minivan or a Mustang. Can you guess which one I picked.

Sadly it rained most of the week so I never took the top down, despite it being in the 60s.  Oh well I didn't have much time to drive anyways.

100%

My hens' daily egg production has been 100% these last two days. Sometimes the smallest things make me surprisingly happy.

The big things do, too. On Tuesday, I was in dire straits. It was my first day with four kids to myself. My mom and sister had gone, Bobby was out of town at a conference, and I hadn't slept in two days. I was afraid to think about the next day and didn't dare ponder the three days ahead of me before Bobby would get home. People always ask me how I'm doing, but I don't tell them the full truth because I don't think they really want to know. Well, two friends asked and I couldn't keep myself together a moment longer. They swooped in today and took the big boys away to play. I caught up on sleep while Matthew napped. The quiet house cleansed my senses. The weight was lifted. I started to think more clearly. I started to feel like myself again. I don't know how to express to these friends my deepest thanks. I don't know how to repay them.

And here's the kicker: they aren't the only ones who helped me that day. Anine and Kiersten shuttled my kids as part of our regular carpools. Lara fed me lunch (through one of her awesome freezer meals). Terra took Alice to piano lessons, fed her a snack, and kept her until 4:30.

I have no room to complain, only thank. God performs his loving service through others. I get that now. When the time comes, I hope that I will be as ready to serve as these women are.

Goldilocks was a third child

Watching James last night at the ward Christmas party, I suspect that Goldilocks was the third child of four, her younger sibling was brand new, and her family was attending a church function in the woods when she wandered off.

Last night, James could have stumbled happily into a pit of vipers and made friends with all of them before we even noticed his absence.

Argh!

I'm more than a little frustrated with him and myself...going out in public with James is a whole new adventure now. We'll find a strategy that works for us eventually. No worries there. It's just one more growing pain in the mix :)

Crazy Night

Sooooooo, Matthew slept through TWO night feedings last night! But I was still awakened every couple hours...

8:30 PM
Matthew falls asleep, due to eat next at 9:15. I put on my PJs and tell James good night for the last time (he's been staying up later in his room lately). I make the mistake of telling him I'm going to go lie down in my bed. He runs up to me at his doorway and asks in a quivering voice, "Me lay down in Mommy's bed, too?" My sleep-deprived and emotionally tipsy heart almost bursts on the spot and I say "Okay." Bobby is out of town that night, so there is plenty of room :)

10:45 PM
I get kicked in the face by James who has somehow migrated all the way across a king-sized bed and turned 90 degrees. I take him to his own bed and go back to bed alone.

12:05 AM
The fire alarm starts beeping because of low battery power. I replace the battery. I wonder why Matthew is still sleeping...he skipped the 9:15 feeding and should be waking up about midnight to eat. I wonder if maybe he's experiencing carbon monoxide poisoning, then I realize we don't have a carbon monoxide detector and we could all be poisoned in our beds tonight! I barely suppress the panic, manage to cram the paranoia deep down inside and put "carbon monoxide detector" on the shopping list for tomorrow. I go back to bed.

2:00 AM
I hear crying, but it's not Matthew. It's Robert in the midst of another episode of growing pains. I rub his toes and suddenly I hear James scream-cough and then start to cry in his room. I fear vomit and start to panic. I run down the hall to wake my sister who is visiting/helping this week. She rubs Robert's toes and gives him pain meds while I assess James' needs. To my relief, there is no vomit. I soothe him back to sleep quickly (I suspect Robert's crying woke him up) and go back to Robert. We rub some more and say a prayer together. Robert tells us the pain is now manageable and he sends us away. I go back to bed.

3:15 AM
Matthew FINALLY wakes to eat. Hallelujah. Skipped feedings can be quite uncomfortable until the body adjusts. I go back to bed.

6:30 AM
Alice and Robert wake up ready for another day. I ignore them. James wakes up and I must get out of bed or terrible things will happen. I make waffles (why not?). The kids don't like them (apparently lemon-blueberry-coconut isn't a winning combination) and we get on with the rest of our day.

What a night!

Mini Photo Session Success!

A friend of mine took these neat picts of the kids recently. They were allowed to wear what they liked (hence the two outfits for Alice and Robert's Superman costume). I simply asked her to capture their personality and relationships. If James had been even the slightest bit smiley, and if Matthew hadn't been starving, it would have been "perfect." Such is life with small kids :) I'm glad she captured what she did because I've fallen in love with these kids all over again:

I love that toothless smile.

So silly and so fun. Alice truly is Robert's best friend.

He's had an itchy nose this winter. I love how matter-of-fact he is about it. He'll be talking to me or asking a question, then screw up his face all funny while I respond.

Such a serious James. He's normally as crazy as the other two.

I'm glad my friend could capture a brief glimpse of how much James loves and trusts his daddy.

Matthew on THE blanket my newborn picture was taken.

Every angle of Matthew's face reveals a different kid to me. I just had to include several shots.

See? Different kid. Which one of these pictures is most like the man he'll grow into?

It looks like a smile, but it's actually a wince. He's not fond of tummy time.