Wednesday, November 30, 2011

A Family Thanksgiving

We decided at the last minute to go to St. George for Thanksgiving. We had to drive on Thanksgiving day because my children's choir had a performance at an Interfaith meeting in the city.  Therefore, we woke up super early and hit the road by 5:20am. It actually worked out really well. The kids were fairly docile for most of the trip, so we didn't have to stop very much. 

On Friday, Jamie, Leah, Catye, and Mike drove down together from the Salt Lake area to spend the weekend with us. It was a lot of fun. We ate at Frostop, played games, did a little bit of shopping, and then they all went bowling before our big Thanksgiving feast on Saturday at Grandma Wilma's house. I stayed home with the babies for a couple of reasons. First, the babies were taking a nap and second, because I can't stand bowling. I also started cooking dinner while they were bowling. It worked out really well.


But the kids has a ton of fun. Especially Eli...take a look at his delivery...

 I think it is called the upside down delivery special.  Nordel and Tru also joined them for an afternoon of fun. Eli was able to spend some time with Tru on his own on Friday while Rinar played some golf and he had a lot of fun over there. Tru and Eli are buddies.








It was a lot of fun. All of the kids really enjoyed my siblings and their spouses.  



Maybe we will be able to do it again next year!




Monday, November 28, 2011

My Cookie Monster

I started making cookies a few days ago. Eli became very interested. He pulled up a chair and stood there and watched me every step of the way.  Then he started helping me, by turning the mixer on and off.

When the dough was ready to be baked, he eagerly jumped from the chair and went to the utensil drawer. Eli pulled out the ice cream scooper and was ready to prep the dough for the oven.  He would scoop in deep to get the right amount of dough, then practically turn upside down trying to get it onto the tray. He could not be deterred.  I kept asking him if he wanted help, but he respectfully declined.  He did four trays of cookies.


Now, that is one productive cookie monster.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Look At What My Kids Can Do


Art!

Cooking! 
Zach woke up early to surprise everyone with his gourmet, scrambled egg breakfast.
 Racing!

Snow sampling!


Posing!


What can I say? Talented, talented kiddos.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

After Five Years...Dr. Kim

You know when you have to do something and you keep putting it off until next week? Before you know it, next week is five years later.

And so it was with me and the dentist...

Finally, I made myself go to the dentist. I really didn't want to, but I did it. I was bracing myself for the worst. The last dentist I went to said I needed two crowns and he seemed kind of disgusted with my teeth.  I was surprised at the diagnosis, because I never had any pain there, just ugly metal fillings.

That wa$ probably one of the rea$on$ why I kept putting it off. You know what I mean?

But I was ready today...whatever Dr. Kim said, I was just going to get it scheduled and get it done.

Guess what?

NO CAVITIES! NO CROWNS!

No wonder that dentist in Vegas went out of business.


***

Just as a recommendation, if you are looking for a dentist in Reno, I would highly recommend Dr. Yeong Kim of Best Dental.  The office is small and simple and he is very nice.  And just because he said my metal fillings are fine, I know he is the dentist for me.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Seriously Perfect Pitch

I am so utterly amazed at Zach tonight. I cannot believe this kid.  

I decided to test his musical ear, and it was absolutely astounding. He stood with his back to the piano. I would play a random note and then he would guess what it was.  I could not stump him, except when the note was over two octaves above middle c.  It was amazing. Then he told me to play two notes at a time. If it was a pretty common chord, he could easily tell me the notes. If the chord was disonant, he could get at least one of the notes.

Where did this child come from?  

Since Rinar's mom is a piano teacher and wonderful musician, I thought we had to play the game with her.  We called her and put the phone on speaker.  She played her piano and he guessed the notes.  He only missed one!  Each time she would play a note, I would watch his face.  Before he would answer, his face would light up so you just know he is totally going to get it right.  And he did.

I don't know what this kid will do with his musical talents, but I am just blown away by what he can do.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

This Is Exacto-ly What Happened

It is a good thing my friend Bonnie is staying here tonight. She came from Vegas for a flute competition and even brought her son Nikolas, so that he could play with his friends, including Raef and Zach. They have always been good buddies.

Anyways, we are hanging out, talking, catching up. You know, the whole bit. They are playing. We have settled down to watch a Hayley Mills movie (Moonspinners), when I hear a horrible, blood-curdling, well-amplified scream from Zach.  The sad thing is, I didn't even bother to get up out of my chair.  He does have a flair for the dramatics.  But then when Raef came running for me in a panic, I knew something was wrong.  

Blood everywhere!  

I got the boys a book called Mini-Weapons of Mass Destruction.  It is an awesome book, but it may have projects that include the use of an Exact-o knife.  So now my awesome book, that uses very inexpensive household items, all of a sudden, in one swift movement, became a very expensive book.  Zach tried to make a zombie target by himself.  It did not go so well.  He now knows that when he has to use an Exact-o knife, it would probably be better to do it with a parent.

So, Exacto-ly 3 hours, 5 stitches, and $150 later, I am home.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

My Little Ones This Week

Boy, this week has really flown by. I can't believe it is Thursday already. It has been a good week. I really can't even remember what I have done this week, but I have felt busy and productive. The little ones have been really good for me, and I really think that is probably the reason that the week has gone by so fast.

They have a couple of new things they really enjoy doing. It all revolves around the dinner table. Sometimes it can be difficult to get them to cooperate and eat their dinner. So we have devised a new strategy. I really cannot take any credit for it. I give this all to Raef and Zach. Whenever someone takes a bite, we all clap for them.  Eli will take a bite and we make a big fuss. He face beams with pride. Then Julia's vanity kicks in and she has to take a big bite too. "Clap for me! Clap for me!"  Harry usually wants in on the action as well, even though sometimes he is not as willing to participate.  But overall, a lot more food has made it into their bellies.  

They also love to help clear the table.  Harry especially loves it and is very diligent at getting it done. However, he really only likes to put the big stuff away.  This is the stuff that goes in the fridge, like milk, butter tub, salsa, salad dressing. He knows just what to do.  Then he wants to put things on the counter, like heavy glass dishes. You know, things every mom wants to give to a just-barely two year-old boy. Once all of the cool items have been put away, he will then settle on putting utensils, cups, and plates into the sink. But not until then!

And my sweet moment spotlight of the week...I overheard Eli say to Julia, "There you go, my lovely girl," as he was giving her a drink of water and helping her to her booster seat.  Oh my heck. So stinkin' cute!  Eli is just so precious these days. He has such a sweet disposition and everyone loves him.

Finally, here is the obsession that is trending these days...Julia and pink.  If it is pink, it is hers.  Period. End of subject. How do they know at such a young age?  Now that you know the rules, guess what is her favorite plastic animal? Brothers beware...oink, oink.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

My "Gus" the Mouse

Do you remember this little character?  It is Gus. He is the funny mouse on the Disney movie, "Cinderella". In one scene, Cinderella puts a bunch of chicken feed on the ground for her mice friends.  All the mice wisely take one or two kernels and get out of there. They have no desire to get eaten by Lucifer the Cat.  But not Gus. Nope. He tried to carry as many as he could. He kept stacking them until he was overloaded with kernels and they kept slipping from his grasp and falling to the floor. Over and over again he tried to take 20 instead of just one or two.  As a result, he almost got eaten by Lucifer.


Harry had his Gus moment tonight.  It was bedtime. I took Julia to her room and called for Harry to come on.  After a minute, I heard a heart-wrenching scream from Harry.  He was so frustrated, he was laying prostrate on the ground.  Then he regrouped and tried again only to scream out in agony once more. What in the world was the problem with him?  I went to investigate.  

He wanted to take every new animal toy I just bought him to bed. There were about twenty of them in all different sizes and shapes.  Harry kept picking them up and dropping them because there were just too many.  He is my little hoarder, the worst one I have had out of all of my children.  And here, his hoarding problem was painfully exposed.


Rinar and I just stood and watched him try to solve his problem.  Rinar recommended that I give him a bucket or something, but why spoil the fun?


(There were more toys than this. He was just pointing at one of the piles.)



And just like Gus, instead of getting one or two toys for his bed, he got none.

Just call me Lucifer, I guess.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Eli Cleans His Room

When we got home from co-op this afternoon, Eli got really busy doing something. I was in the throes of preparing dinner so I didn't pay much attention. He kept coming over to me to tell me that he was cleaning his room. He seemed very excited. I thought it was great.  Way to go Eli!  Keep it up!  Then a few minutes later he told me that he cleaned his bathroom as well.  Wow, this kid is an over-achiever. But I never had a chance to inspect his work.

Then after dinner, Eli exuberantly helped me clear the table AND load the dishwasher. He was really into it. It was great.  It was a fun time together.  

Then it was time for bed.  I was reading to Raef and Zach and Rinar was in charge of Eli.  Rinar came over to me and said that I had to come and see Eli's "clean" room.

Ta-da!!!


He took all of the soap bottles from the bathroom and stacked them on top of his little piano.  He also propped a book up on the end of the bed, with a VHS tape and three remote controls, stacked like a pyramid.

I had cleaned his room earlier this week. It looked really good.  

Eli just made a few improvements.
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