Six classes of 1st Graders parading through the corral showing off their wares and knowledge.
It was also silly hat and sock day for Dr. Seuss and Literacy Week.
After the parade each class gathered their animals together for feeding time.
For every question they answered an animal cracker was shared.
This game she is struggling with because I keep beating her. I try to warn her but she likes it anyways. This is very challenging because of the two sided playing board you have to pay special attention. Both of these games are recommended for 8 year olds and up. I have loved having a game player in the house. Dan will even play if the kids are playing! I couldn't be happier. In addition to both of these new games we have been playing uno and skipbo for months and she keeps beating me at skipbo!
The last thing we have been doing is her very first school report. She had to make two poaster boards into the front and back of a sign she will wear over her shoulders. She chose to report on elephants after I asked her to make it easy on me and choose and animal we had a costume for... Seth and I will get to go to her school and visit a "Zoo" full of 1st grader animals!
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This is a picture of the wall I stare at when ever sitting at my desk, working on my computer. The kids, mostly Chloe, have tacked their artwork on the wall. Today on the way home from the grocery store Seth mentioned that he misses his Grandpa. Then we had the following conversation:
I missed the explanation when he taped it to the wall but this is his version of the american flag the soldiers gave to my mom at the funeral, so I will never forget my Dad.
Our Auntie Jenn invited us and some friends to Centerville's indoor bounce house. We sat down and watched the kids burn up as much energy as possible. It smelled strongly of disinfectant and we sat too close to the fan inflating one of the blow up slides but the best part was when Jenn called us after beating us there and telling us it's a little ghetto...
My toner cartridge is out of ink, my printer is out of paper, my tissue box is empty and there is a brown cardboard tube just dangling there in place of the expected toilet paper. This morning I changed the cartridges in my printer and found a new ream of paper in the closet. All bathroom have been restocked. But most importantly, I refilled my day a week pill box. There's vitamins, fiber supplements and even more most importantly, my happy pills. {Every time I seem a little moody, my super insightful sister Laura calls to see if I have been taking my happy pills. Then, when I confess that I have missed a few days, she ever so kindly offers to administer one rectally! She also often wonders if Dan could use a dosage or two... I secretly wonder if she just likes to put things up bums and then I wonder how she took poor Brittany's temperature...} So I exercised this morning and have some beautiful apples and carrots to snack on all day. I will try to get all my water in, as well. But I need a little help with zucchini and yellow squash. I bought some last week with some asparagus but haven't figured how to cook them right. I love all three of them when someone else makes it but when I try, it turns out all soggy. P.S. I even made Dan and the kids each eat one piece of zucchini and yellow squash ~ no takers. Help!
Read more...I've been in a funk of sorts lately. I try to be tough and laugh about things that are out of my control but sometimes when those little things stack up and turn into big things, it just gets so hard. I've been so worried about little baby Jack, but he got to come home today. Check out my cute sister's blog, she is such a cute momma {Erin's Blog}! Hopefully she will be posting pictures of the two of them together soon, hint-hint! I finally made an appointment to replace my IUD, I can't believe it has been five years!!! We went to a meeting last week about the West Davis Corridor and learned that of the three options two of them have the highway running along side our back yard. My primary class is made up of 11 year old boys and girls in which half of them think they are too funny, too important, or too cute to show any reverence and I get to teach the lesson on Sunday about Christ throwing the money traders out of the temple and showing respect and reverence to Heavenly Father. We took Chloe to her baptism preview on Sunday night and I can't believe that my little girl will be baptised this year. She is so excited about it, she came home and memorized the first two articles of faith! My sleep habits are so screwed up, I need to get checked for sleep apnea and I probably need a sleep aid. If I sit down for more than a few minutes during the day, I fall right asleep. I don't dare drive at night anymore. I watch my neighbors little boys on Tuesdays for two hours but today only the youngest came and he was not in a good mood, or so his mom says. I should have taken her word for it. He cried for her the majority of the time. Then Seth and I cleaned his room and I spent the afternoon separating little Lego's from connects because I couldn't let them just be in the same bin...
I know I've wondered this aloud before, but who pays for it if you are committed?
She came home with the valentines box she made in school an quite the haul of love notes and goodies. Her and Seth each got a new fishing lure from their daddy. His idea of true love!
I have had a few Josh's in my life. On Palmer Drive we lived near my little brothers friends, bic and al. They had an older brother Josh. When Dan first introduced me to his little brother Josh, I knew he would be a great father. I worked with my sister-in-laws little brother Josh at Zions Bank. We used to play speed uno on our breaks. I volunteer at Chloe's school and there is a little boy named Josh that has been in both her kindergaten and first grade class. The other day while I was listening to him read, he announced that he was wearing some of his dad's cologne. The newest Josh in my life might just be my favorite. I was there the day he and his little brother were born. But probably he's the best of all of these Josh's because he lets me kiss his face and his toes, he can't complain when I take a nice long sniff of his sweet baby scent and his serious little old man face is just so adorable.
I was there the day he was born but these two have been waiting For-Ever to see the new twins. 
I thought it might be better to visit before Jack camehome from Primary Children's Hospital.
We were meeting Erin and we got there first.
Luckily, these little monkies can always find something to do to pass the time!
It had been a long day and I was too tired to drive home. I spent the night at my moms house and borrowed one of Laura's sleeping pills. I don't know if it was the coldness of sleeping in moms basement or the comfyness of her fabulous bed but I slept until . I really needed the rest. I kind of lost it when the P/R type person came to tell them there was something wrong with Baby A's lungs. I started to tear up listening to her and before I knew it I was walking out the door. I made it to a bathroom just as the sobbing and hysterics took over.
Every time Hannah's has more problems with her kidney's, any time I hear of horrible news of accidents or injuries of my nieces or nephews my mind travels back in time to the horrifying moment the funeral director thought he was being helpful and told us that there would be enough room next to our little Dayna that one other and possibly two babies could fit on her plot, next to her, at the cemetery.
I know my fears are irrational. Little Jack is doing well. His lungs are getting stronger by the hour. My silent prayers have been continuous and he will be all I think of this fast Sunday. But I am ashamed and embarrassed that I couldn't stand by my sisters side, supporting her in her time of need. Instead she lifts me up and once again amazes me with her strength. She is a Super Woman!
I wanted to be able to sit with my baby sister while she was in labor, waiting and waiting for the contractions to get seriously close. She had an appointment to come in at 6 AM and by the time she got there she had progressed from 1 cm to 3-4 cm's and twenty % thinned or efaced{spelling?}. Scheduled or not, she was in labor!!! I dropped my carpool off and then took Seth to Auntie Kate's {Thanks AGAIN!!!}. By the time I got there it was almost 10 AM and she had already had the epidural in place. In the picture above you can see 6 little black screens. These are all pregnant women hooked up to their monitors with a white line showing the progression of their contractions. The green line shows their sweet babies heart rate just beating as fast as fast can be. But in Erin's screen there was an extra little orange line, she's always had to be special!!!
We were going to borrow a gray wig from Auntie Krista for next week but Chloe reminded me that the 100th day of school would be this Thursday ~ today!!! We went to Parent Teacher Conference last night, just the two of us. She showed me her journal and read the sweetest story she wrote about the her newest cousin Charlie. She walked me around all six of the 1st grade classrooms, showing me the different valentines that have come from many different states.
Her teacher asked all of the students to come to school dressed like they would if they were 100 years old. We pulled out the bin for her next size clothes because I was at a loss, but Auntie Jeanette saved the day and convinced me that baby powder would work much better than foot spray in turning her hair gray!!!
She's got her grandma sweater on with a tissue in the sleeve!
And we found these dance tights that were a little baggy around the ankles
She also brought in 100 pinto beans for counting and measuring!
He really liked getting his muscles checked!
The nurse asked him to name the shapes
we laughed so hard!
good thing he has perfectly perfect kindergarten vision!
He was so brave and well behaved for his shotsI have been struggling with allowance for two years now. I have made job charts to check off but found that it is too hard to check off each and every item, when they do it. Then when it comes time to pay them according to their check marks, how do I figure out the math and percentages of chores completed compared to empty boxes...
After tithing settlement, last year, I talked with our Bishop and he told me what they did in their family. Everyone has to do chores and jobs around the house, that's just part of being part of the family and getting to live with mom and dad. Each child earned an allowance and was responsible to pay their tithing and save for items needed and wanted.
Chloe and Seth have been very excited when the first of the month rolls around. They each are given 1 dollar for every year of their age. It seems to be working pretty good, so far. I tend to get a better response closer to the beginning and the end of the month than in the middle.
What do you do with your kids and family? Is there a better way?
