Brigham-isms

Dear Brigham,

You are so adorable - say the cutest things and make me laugh.  You are a good buddy lately as you come to work with Daddy and I in the mornings and are such a good boy.  You quietly enjoy a little movie and snack while the little girls take their naps and we work and then you're so happy to go with me to pick up Ayvri from Kindergarten.  We talked about putting you in preschool this year and decided we just want you with us more!

 The other day we were shopping and you climbed onto the side of the cart.  I asked you not to and told you if we knocked the cart over then Leisl might die (I know, not at all dramatic am I?)  Your response cracked me up, "Ya but Mom, Jesus would just send her back".  Such a sweetheart

We were sitting on the couch, just you and I and Leisl was on my lap eating, under a blanket.  Your baby sister made a rather unladylike sound very loud and you looked at me in utter disgust (with a little hint of a smile).  I laughed at the look on your face and said, "I didn't to it!".  Your eyes got really big and you said in your most heartfelt and astonished voice, "You mean the couch farted???"

You are as strong-willed as ever and are determined to do things your way or not at all, but you are such a sweet good boy and I'm so thankful that you're mine.  You have been so much better in Sunbeams the last few weeks and really love playing with your little sisters which is a blessing.  We love you!

Little Girls

Look at us grow!  Mom thinks that is all we do.  We are best buddies and go pretty much everywhere together.  We nap at the same time (sometimes) and when Mommy feeds one of us, chances are good she's feeding the other as we always get hungry at the same time.  We like to share blankets and clothes and toys.  We make each other laugh all the time and we're both good at getting a lot of attention.

Thank heavens we are a pair - destined to be best friends (at least until middle school).

Ranting

Life has been random and chaotic lately - even more so than usual since we are remodeling the kitchen/living/dining space upstairs and it's a bit of a war-zone.  Still, things are happening in my life that have caused me to contemplate a little bit more and the more I think and the more I think I want to vent my various thoughts through my fingers.  Typing is cathartic.  Maybe someday my children will find these posts entertaining, maybe embarrassing.  Either way, Mommy needs a rant - so hold on (you have my complete understanding if you redirect your browser to something more important).

Went to Cross-fit this morning.  We've been saying we want to go 4 times a week for a month, but it hasn't happened yet.  This might be the week.  This morning's workout was called "Filthy Fifty".  Go ahead and google it, I'm too emotionally scarred to write it down.  Let's just say that it was hard.  In a good-ish way.  I like getting up early once I'm up.  5 am class is the only one we can make it to without cheating kids of our time so 5 am it is.  That means in order to get my desired 8 hours of sleep I need to be in bed at 8:40.  ha ha ha ha ha.

Potty training was going so well.  Notice the past tense?  The little Darlin' has decided she doesn't mind being wet so unless I'm completely on top of my Mommy-sense, we go through a lot of underwear (last night at Aunt Jeri's house we had 4 accidents, peed on 2 different chairs and created an entire load of laundry for her).  Lovely has also had a streak of wipe-out's, twice on Grandma's carpet.  Thank heavens that is part of the remodel but once the new carpet arrives I think I'm going to make all my kids wear hasmat suits.

Fall is coming.  I smell it.  Sounds a little too romantic huh?  Well, it's true - and it smells GOOD.  The garden is growing and we're mass producing squash.  Why is that the only thing we are consistently good at growing?  Tomatoes are doing ok.  We'll have lots of potatoes when the time comes, never got any corn or fruit to speak of.  Peas are still my happy thought - and the eggplant that I thought was Parsnips.  I'd like to spend more time gardening, I really do enjoy it.

Scouting.  Soon I'll be creating a flowchart with the Scouting heirarchy fully illustrated and explained so that the other half-million Mommies out there who can't fathom it will finally be able to understand the scouting lingo.  It's complicated I tell ya.  Still, the more I learn the more I'm excited.  As a teaser . . . did you know that there's scouting beyond the "Eagle"?  I didn't.  No kidding.  I thought that was the end of the line.  Shows how much I payed attention to my brothers huh?  Well, hold on because Kabe will be 8 in just one month and then the world of scouting will merge with mine in a fierce way.  Tyler is now the Webolos leader.  Don't know what a Webolo is?  Neither did I, but it will be on my chart.

8!  Why do my kids have to grow so fast?  Can't they take it a little slower?  The other day Ksenya was holding Leisl and they were so cute and Tyler could see the 'heartsick' look on my face.  That's the one where I stare at my kid and notice how beautiful she is and realize she's giving me real conversation and I have to sit down because I suddenly can't breathe and I want to cry and rock her on my lap and sing "wild thing, you make my heart sing, you make everything groovy".  (best baby song ever).  Anyway, he looked at me and saw me 'heartsick' and said the most sensitive thing he could think of, "You know Toni, how old will Ksenya be when Leisl is her age?"  I quickly did the math and gave him the meanest look I could.  She'll be 18.  When my last baby is my first baby's age right now, my first baby will be 18.  If that makes sense to you then you realize just how completely and totally panicked I felt.  If you know my husband you can probably hear how loud he laughed at my reaction.  Daddy's don't understand growing pains.

There is nothing in life quite so excruciatingly painful as a chatty checker when you're in a hurry.  They're so friendly.  Do they not see that you're trying field phone calls, pay for your groceries, play mediator between the ones under foot and quiet the screaming child in the cart that wants candy (aaah, candy at check-out - - - Satan's brainchild) while sticking your finger in the babies mouth because she was hungry and tired when you arrived at the store 40 minutes ago.  Don't talk to me lady, just race me through this line before I pee my pants (how many times do you really need to pee in a day?)

I love it when I drive down the street and head into my road rage routine only to realize the perp is a friend or neighbor.  All of a sudden those mean things I was thinking disappear and I start thinking about delivering mason jars full of home-made applesauce with red gingham ribbon.  I should start pretending everyone on the road is one of my neighbors.

Part of my work at the clinic is weight loss coaching and therapies.  This includes body wraps.  In a nutshell I slather my patients with lotion and then wrap them tightly with cellophane.  Sounds weird, but it rocks.  Anyway - I was in the middle of a wrap, kneeling behind my patient when the plastic I was pulling on ripped suddenly and the very hard cardboard tube it is wrapped on hit me directly under my left eye.  Searing pain.  Lots of fluid was running down my cheek and at first I was sure it was blood.  I wiped my face and realized it was tears.  I quickly finished the wrap and hurried to the bathroom to inspect my swelling purple eye.  First person in the history of the world to get a black eye from a roll of cellophane.  It is nice and purple today but the swelling is down considerably.  Why does something horribly clumsy always happen at the start of Kindergarten?

The fabric on the ceiling of my car has come unglued.  This means that every time I get in the car my head rubs on the ceiling fabric and when I get out I look like I've taken a trip back to the 80's.  Classy.  The other day I pulled into the carpool line at school to pick up Ayvri after Kindergarten.  One of her teachers came to put her in and opened the back door to the car.  I know it's not advisable for kids to ride in the front seat, but for the sake of gas money we reserve the Taco for "whole family" expeditions.  Thus, when she opened the door (the one you have to push kind of hard to close) the carseat burst out a little bit.  "You need a bigger car," she said as she leaned and bumped to get the door shut again.   No.  I don't.  I need smaller carseats :)

Pulled up at a stop-light this afternoon next to a cherry red BMW convertible.  The driver was immaculate - freshly highlighted hair, nails done, pricey sunglasses and a designer hand-bag next to her on the spotless white seats.  It was like a billboard photo for California Dreamin'.  Funny though, as I sat there next to her I turned to look in my back seat.  The seat cover has Ayvri's name written on it.  There is a dirty daiper rolling around on the floor along with several wrinkly plums.  My hair is frizzy (see above) and my nails are completely trashed (construction scars cover my hands).  The only thing on my face is a dazed exhausted expression (thankyou crossfit) and a black eye.  The bag next to me is full of daipers, school papers, bills, chapstick and million other things.  The three carseats are wedged together and big sister is sitting cross-legged chattering away about her school day and her friends and her hair and her teacher and her big ideas.  My only thought was, "I'm so thankful I'm driving over here!"  Seriously, wouldn't trade my life for anything.

The kids are home and my rant is necessarily over.  It was nice though - just chatting with you like this. Maybe I'll try it again sometime.

Peace Out!

On Shooting Your Family

 Well, it's that time again - time for a family photo which makes the whole family, particularly Daddy, jump for joy and leap with anticipation.  Seriously though - who's family doesn't hate family photos?  Everyone does.  I've taken a lot of them and there's not a Daddy on earth who thinks that it's just the most fun thing ever.

Since I've done my fair share of photography, I thought I'd record some tips that I was reminded of this year.  Rule #1 - choose an easy location.  Make sure you're shooting where everything will look great, not with one good small backdrop - the better the spot the less you have to worry about cropping out telephone poles and the more you can just follow your subjects around.  We've shot on SUU campus about 10 times now and every year we find something a little different without having to drive too far (also, little kids don't stay looking perfect very long in the car).

Rule #2 - With posing, less is more.  Make sure you remind your subjects to sit up straight (lots of slumped shoulders this year), but the more natural the positions, the better the shot you'll get.  Try to keep little people up off the ground so they can't move as much or as quickly (see Darla?  She was only in this one for about 6 frames before she was out of the shot).

Rule #3 - make sure Mom picks her outfit first and then matches everyone else to her.  Don't get carried away with matchy matchy, but I like to stick to a color theme.  This year I really wanted the girls to wear their matching hats so we worked around that but I ended up in this lovely top that makes me look a bit like I'm carrying #7.  Nope - there's no baby in there, but my outfit wasn't what we worked around.

Rule #4.  Make sure.  I mean it's imperative.  Don't leave without.  Taking a picture of just Mom and Dad.  I don't care how not photogenic you think you are - you're gonna want a slew of romantic photos come that 50th wedding anniversary and you'll never get them if you plan to do a separate shoot later so take time - kick the kids out of at least one shot every year.

Rule #5 - If you want a rockin' collage, do individuals of the kids at the same time, but make sure to shoot the whole family first, it's lots easier to re-shoot a child or two than to try to recreate the whole experience with the whole family.  If you're having a hard time getting a close-up of little ones, go ahead and have Mom or Dad be the backdrop - they're matching and it makes an intimate photo.

Rule #6.  Shoot relationships.  Just like you want one of Mom and Dad together, get a few of siblings together, maybe the girls, maybe the boys - maybe the oldest and youngest or those two middle children who fight like cats and dogs.  Some smaller groups make for some big laughs later.

Rule #7 - Don't expect to get the same flavor every year.  Allow for imperfections.  This year my focus was off in most of our shots.  I don't know why and I am not going to worry about it - we documented and maybe that's symbolic for something.  Most of all just make it happen.  It doesn't have to cost anything (literally), you don't even have to print them, it doesn't have to take much time (I think from start (waking up) to finish (editing the photos) we spent 2 hours?)  but you'll never regret having those photos.  Plus, they make great gifts for the rest of the year for Grandma's and other loved ones.

Rule #8 - there are no rules for shooting families.  But, the less miserable you make it the more likely you'll get smiles next year instead of groans.  I have a friend who buys candy or a new toy for every photo shoot.  One year it was giant lolly-pops and the next it was beach balls.  Get creative, but please take some family photos.  A HUGE thanks to Aunt Jeri for being the button-pusher, nose-wiper, silly sound-maker for this year's pictures.  You are a life saver in a million ways.

Lake Day

We decided to spend our last day of freedom (before school started) at the lake.  We picked the perfect day.  It was 110 at Sand Hollow and the sun was beautiful with a nice cool breeze and the water was perfect!  We found a nice shady spot (the only shady spot) on the sandy beach and enjoyed playing and being silly all day.

Daddy and the boys decided to bury Darla which she thought was great fun until she lost her toes, at which point she was quite distressed.

There they are Mom - once Daddy uncovered her toes she was happy as a cricket to sit in the sand and trace and dig and play.  She also loved being out in the water and I was so thankful we brought a floating ring because she hate-hate-hated the life jackets, but once in her ring she didn't want to get out of the water.

We also invested ($1 each) in some noodles for the kids and they were the best idea ever.  They gave just enough freedom for the kids to be happy and just enough safety for the Mom not to worry.  

We had a lovely (gritty) picnic on the beach and headed home before we were all too fried (so we thought).  Later we realized that despite three applications of SPF 30 Mom was completely fried across her back and the tops of her legs.  The kids all got a little pink as did Daddy and Mommy also got a nice case of swimmers itch - apparently a common parasite found in the lake which is pretty miserable for up to three weeks.  Joy of all joys, but at least none of the babies got it too.

What a wonderful place we live and what a great reason to take the day off and spend some much needed and long overdue time with our hoodlums before they went back to the grind.

Also not pictured is Leisl - she enjoyed rolling around in the shade on a blanket on the beach and took a nice long nap while we were out in the water.  She got her feet wet a little but for the most part kept her fragile little self safe.

Peter Rabbit

Guess who's eight?  That's right, Kabe's right hand man Peter had a birthday and got to set a great example by getting baptized last week.  We were all excited to go and it was so cool to see this happy-of-all-happiest kids make sacred covenants.  

Our Daddy was honored to be the voice of the baptism and we (mostly me) loved watching him do it and reflect again upon how blessed we are to have a worthy Priesthood holder lead our family.  It is such a huge blessing that I take for granted but truly appreciate so very much.

Peter is such a great guy and we love him.  Congratulations Buddy!

On a less-than-positive side-note my three little ones were in fine form and since Daddy was otherwise engaged during the meeting I spent most of my time coming in and out until I gave up and strapped them into the car to wait it out.  Brig in particular had beastie for breakfast and decided Mommy needed a thorough lesson in patients and long-suffering.  The outcome?  Mommy sucks at long-suffering, but is really good at murmuring.  Aah - these painful lessons we learn.  I just know everyone in the room was wondering why we didn't stop after three :)

All Together Again

This Mommy loves summer!  As much as I prefer a schedule, routine, the day-to-day wonderment of knowing what to expect, summer is the best because it means we're all together.  I don't like splitting us up in four or more different directions!  I know what you're thinking, "Just wait missy, there are six kids in this family - so as they grow there will only be more directions".  I know this.  In my heart of hearts I understand and I truly want them to be independent, to enjoy all the opportunities life has to offer.

I just want to be with them while they enjoy.

I want to watch.

I want to listen.

I want to protect and defend and do all those other hover-mother things that Tyler disagrees with.

Thank heavens for Daddies to keep us emotional hormonal mommies in check right?

Now I have to go cry while I sit on the porch and wait for my not-so-little babies to get home from their first day at school.

Toothless Tinker

And Miss Ayvri has joined the toothless brigade.  I was surprised when she told me she had a loose tooth and even more surprised when I took a look and saw the tooth behind it already broken through the skin.  Poor little thing has the tiniest mouth ever and will surely have a good chance of winning "Petersen's most crooked teeth".  She was so excited to loose it and immediately decided she wanted to play the tooth fairy game.

She has grown TOO too too much in the last few months and is so excited to start Kindergarten next week.  She's starting to look and act like a big girl and I can tell already that this one has more sass than her big sister.  Watching her play in the backyard yesterday was quite comical as she marched her way around the yard, hands on hips, shaking fingers and using her bobbing head for emphasis.

This little girl makes us laugh and is great for hugs and kisses.  She's our little sweet-n-sour, either the most loving kid on earth or pure venom.  Thankfully, her sweet side usually wins the day and when sour appears it doesn't generally last long.  She's pretty patient with her little brother and good to play with whoever is around, or alone if the need arises.  We love our Stinkerbell.

Tuckered Out

For the last few weeks of summer we were playing so hard we didn't have time for naps.  Not that any of the kids wanted one.  This means that by dinner time both of these little ones and sometimes their big sister were just plain old tuckered out.

Not wanting to miss dinner Darlin' in particular did a lot of sleeping in her chair which the rest of the family found quite amusing.

Thank heavens we are back in school, on a schedule and very much determined to keep to our sleep schedule.

After all - these positions look something less than restful.  

No pictures were taken of Mommy drooping at the table, although I think there have been several nights where I was tempted to curl up on the kitchen floor while making dinner.

Big Sister

Dear Beautiful Ksenya,

Today as I was thinking about you and what an amazing young woman you are becoming I wanted to make sure to record these thoughts for you.  I have always been thankful that I didn't come first in my family.  Parents make most of their mistakes on the first one and I know we always expect the most and best from you.  You bear the brunt of the child labor in our household and have a lot of pressure to be the best example to your little sisters.  

First, you're gonna be the best mother ever!  You have a gift for nurturing and instinctively knowing when your little siblings need extra TLC and how to give it.  You are exceptionally kind most of the time and quick to give love and patient to give assistance.

Most of all - I want you to know - we love you!

Adventure is Out There!

We decided (we being Papa) that it was time for a family adventure so on the 24th of July we headed to Parowan Canyon to enjoy a little scenic wonderment.

Grandpa introduced us to the excitement of geocaching for the first time.  We couldn't find this particular cache, but we searched and enjoyed the anticipation part of the adventure.

Daddy got to play horse to Darlin' who loved her ride and was a good sport about not being able to see anything in front of her (such a little hobbit she rides a little low in the pack).

Mama got to play horse to the long-legged-Leisl who is a lot heavier than she looks. 

It was a really beautiful hike and I love that we got to go over a few falls.  Again, toe-shoes are a must because getting my feet wet was no big deal.

Here are a couple cute hikers I found along my way.  Every adventure is more fun with these two around (their herd isn't bad either).

A couple of boys trying to look innocent.

A couple more kids, failing to look innocent.

Here's me and mini-me.  So many people tell her she looks just like her mother - I wonder if she'll always know it's meant as a compliment?  Though we may be a lot alike in physical features, we're very different in a lot of other ways.  She sure is a life saver and I don't know what I'd do without this one.

Here's the pack that got to come - looking at this photo makes it seem a little ridiculous but at least none of us should ever be lonely right?

These two have been a pack of trouble - particularly in primary lately, but they are so stinking cute and fun to watch as they encourage each other to eat dirt, throw rocks and just be BOYS.

Kabe thinks he's old enough for a pocket knife and here he is trying to convince his mother.  I'm still in denial that we're coming up on eight years old and my tiny baby boy is turning into such a little man.

Darla in the throes of potty training on a hike - turned out to be a great time to teach the girl to pee in the woods and she got so good at it (and not emotional phased at all) that I caught her squatting down to let nature take it's course all on her own.  Don't worry -- we washed the shoes when we got home.

And the happiest hiker of all sporting her adorable bandana - seriously.  best. baby. ever.  What a fun family outing.  Just goes to show that Adventure is Out There!  (if you can say that line without remembering the movie you haven't seen it enough).

Little Doo-Dah

Darla is finally putting on the chub and is an independent little monkey.  Most days she'll come up missing and I'll find one of her siblings has let her out and she'll be playing in the sandbox or hiding under a bed or something.

She's also finally taken a ride on the potty train.  She got the hang of it in the first day and is now going all day and naptime without an accident.  She's smart and looks way too tiny to be on the toilet, but this Mommy is so thankful for only one in diapers again!

One of her favorite things these days is to ride things.  She loves to ride the rocking horses, to ride the swings, to ride her big sister and her Daddy's shoulders.  She also loves to climb and is always on the counters or the tables.

 She's a big fat cheeser and when she's happy she's deliriously happy, and when she's not she's yelling "Stop!" at everyone and screaming and being a bossy little monster.  She's especially naughty to Uncle Heath but can also be the sweetest little cuddler on the planet.

She loves when she can eat what we are eating and we're trying to make it a regular occurrence.  She's still very allergic to wheat, sugar, citrus, apples and a few other things, but is growing out of other allergies.  She can now drink Daisy milk which she loves and eat Mr. Gordon's eggs which are another of her favorite things.  She is doing better with meat also and is a little carnivore.  Here she's eating green waffles (mostly squash or eggplant).

She's still learning how to throw a good fit but is definitely honing her skills.  I can't believe she'll be two this month!  What happened to the baby and now there's a little girl.  She still loves to have her hair combed and her nails painted and is very particular about what she wears.  I love when she gets cuddly and lets me snuggle with her although usually her snuggles are reserved for Daddy.  She gets excited to see me when I've been gone and will run and give me big squeezes (a hug on the cheek).  She definitely runs this roost and we love our Darlin' girl.

Long Baby L

This sweet baby is getting so very very very LONG.  I think all her new weight is put toward lengthening her limbs.  She doesn't lack for love in our house and is usually being cuddled by someone I know (hmmn. who could it be?) 

She likes to sleep with her nose pressed up against the side of her crib.

She hangs out on the floor and has learned to roll around front and back.  

 She's also a great smiler - always free with her smiles, squeals and laughs and such a happy, content baby.  What a blessing to have such a sweetie in our family.

Singin'

This summer some lucky girls got to have a singing class with Aunt Aimee.  I'm so glad my talented sister is willing to spend time teaching my kids.  The girls absolutely loved singing every week and then Mommy and Daddy got to enjoy their recital.  Can I say, "cutest kids ever!"  They were so adorable and enjoyed the performance almost as much as I did.  They sang, "The Rainbow Connection" and "A Place in the Choir".  What wonderful little girls!