handsome and humble

So the other evening we were reading the scriptures as a family.  The word humble came up.  Brian asks Cumorah, "Grandpa Hulbert always says he's humble.  Do you know what humble means?"

Cumorah replies, "Does it mean silly?"

So all the grown-ups start chuckling (Auntie Crystal was visiting).  We say things like, "No, it doesn't mean silly, but that's a pretty good guess.  Grandpa is silly, isn't he?" 

Cumorah is looking at us laugh.  She looks like she doesn't completely understand why we think it's so funny, then, before we can start telling her what humble really means, she pipes up, "Does it mean grumpy?"

Bwah-hah-ha-ha, hee-hee, ha, ha....  That was when we really started laughing.  Cumorah smiled back at us with a half smile, but she still didn't get why it was quite so funny. 

the punch line

We went to stake conference today.  First time ever having to drive over an hour to get there.  Brian fortunately had the day off, otherwise I'm just not sure I would have had enough faith to do a two hour church meeting with the children by myself.  As it was, I had a hard time when it was time to nurse the baby.  I have no idea how I would have managed the children and nursing by myself. 

And my son punched me in the face.

Really he did.

With a fist.

A real live clenched punching fist. 

And after a shocked second, I laughed.  But not very loud.  It was in the middle of a church meeting after all.

It didn't hurt, he didn't punch me very hard.  I think he was annoyed at my annoyance.  I was trying to get him to leave Quincy alone while I was attending to her.

I tried not to laugh.  I turned my face the other way so he wouldn't see my smile because I knew he should be reprimanded.  Fortunately, he wasn't really paying attention to me anymore.  When I thought I could look serious enough, I turned to Sidon and whispered sternly,

"You don't punch your muh....(insert suppressed giggles here)...therrrrrrheeheeheeha."

If it hadn't been for the fact that, as I said before, we were in the middle of a church meeting, I probably would have fallen off my chair and rolled around on the floor laughing uncontrollably until my stomach hurt and then I probably would have gone into hysterics as I cried out all the tears of frustration and weakness I've felt at how challenging it has been for me to be the mother of four very small children.  And then I would have finally gotten up, wiped my eyes a little, straightened my skirt and settled back into my chair serenely because I am, after all, a very calm person.

But seriously, it hit me right in the middle of the word "mother" just how insanely ludicrous the words I was speaking were.  It's not something I could have ever imagined having a need to say.

I think I could use a girls night with my sisters.  The one I grew up with and the ones that married my brothers.  I never laugh so much as I laugh with them.  And maybe a box of those maple cookies Amy got from Trader Joe's before and then some good old fashioned veg time in front of a real TV.  Yep, that sounds good.




And how is it that little boys learn how to punch with a fist without having anyone ever teach them or show them?  It's crazy, that's what it is.



Oh, and I actually did get to listen to some of the meeting.  Some of it.  I'm glad Brian was able to go with us.

holding baby

The children ask constantly if they can hold the baby.  It's really sweet.  But they ask so much that it's also annoying at times since none of them should really be holding the baby without close supervision.
But they love their little sister very much.  When he wants to hold Quincy, Sidon asks (or rather demands), "Hold it. Hold it."  He also says, "Awwww, cute."  They all like to give Quincy hugs and kisses.  The girls are advanced enough to give her a binky.  Sidon just smashes it in her face and makes her upset.  Sidon likes to 'pa-pap' her, or burp her by patting her back.  All three are very attentive and affectionate older siblings.  Cumorah is a big help to me.  Rivers is, too.  Rivers is really cute to listen to when she is talking to the baby.  She's pretty good at mimicking what I say.

This picture isn't that great and it really doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the pictures, but I turned and snapped it out the sliding glass door when I was taking the pictures of the kids.  We really live in a very beautiful place.  It's been fun watching the change of the season.  It's a whole different world out there.  These pics were taken the first of November.  The leaves are all gone now.  We have a river view.  That's worth millions, you know.  OK, so maybe not millions and maybe it's not the best river view, but it is a view none the less, when there are no leaves on the trees.  There is a large pond that we have a very good view of.  It's very close.  The mosquitoes are BAD here in the summer. 

30 + 4

Brian's birthday was on Tuesday.  I got up early (for me) and made him cinnamon roll pancakes for breakfast.  Good move.  It didn't seem to matter that there were no presents (besides the construction paper dinosaur Cumorah taped together).  It didn't seem to matter that the house was a mess when he came home or that his ice cream cake was a little melty since it had just barely been completed.  He had cinnamon roll pancakes for breakfast.  That's what mattered.  I'm glad it made him so happy.

I do love this man.  Very much.

The kids and I went grocery shopping that morning so the girls picked out his birthday candles (and let me know which ones they wanted to buy for their own birthdays).  Cumorah was worried about having enough.  I told her that I didn't think we were going to put all 34 candles on his cake.  In the end we decided on 4.  We ignored the 30 part and just focused on the 4.

Four years into his 30's and four kiddos to boot.

As an activity for this very special day, the children stayed up late to do Brian's hair.

One of these years I'll buy my husband a present for his birthday.  Something to show him how much I love him.  Something that says, "You are my most favorite thing in the world."  Something really cool.  Like pulleys for him to make stuff for the children to play with outside.  Or some old video arcade buttons for him to wire to something.  He likes things like that.  OK so probably I won't actually buy him those things because I wouldn't know the details of what I should get.  But someday when he has a real job and we're not living (barely) on next month's pay, I'll get him something really extra special.  Until then, cinnamon roll pancakes, baby.

Sidon is two

Isn't he cute?  We're singing to him and he's pleased.

Today was Sidon's second birthday.  To celebrate we went to the doctor's office and he got a shot during his check-up.  Yay!  Actually, he was very brave and didn't even cry or fuss or anything.  Wow.  The doctor and nurse both said he was so good.  And he was.  He was very compliant and smiley.  I think he thought it was some sort of game.  Sidon is in the 75-90% range for height and head circumference, 25-50% range for weight. That kid has got one big noggin. 

I nursed the baby in the waiting room after our appointment, so the children got to watch more of Finding Nemo, play with the toys, and watch the black squirrels at the squirrel feeder out the large windows.  Then on our way home we went to McDonald's to lunch because Sidon had gotten a free treat certificate for McDonald's from the doctor.  We were going to just go through the drive-thru, but Cumorah shouted, "Mom! There's a play place! Can we go inside?"  So we did.  We got burgers, fries to share and the kids got ice cream.  The play place was small, perfect.  It was a fun birthday lunch.  I promised Cumorah we could do the same thing for her birthday (after she gets her shots).

Sidon opened his few presents at different times all spread out during the day.  This was perfect.  It wasn't overwhelming and he had time to play with them.  He opened his new dinosaur book right before nap so that we could look at it together a little and then he could read it in his bed until he fell asleep.  Cumorah kept saying, "I think Sidon really wants to open up his present."  I think she just really wanted him to open his presents.  I had to tell both she and Rivers to back off while he was opening something.  Cumorah yelled, "But I don't know what it is!!!"  The kids helped me put the little piggies in their blankets for Sidon's birthday dinner of dipping foods.  I swept up a couple little piggies while cleaning up this evening after the children were in bed and it made me smile.  And it made me feel grateful for the little ones who so enthusiastically squished dough haphazardly to the mini hotdogs and made a big mess.  We also had broccoli with ranch dip and strawberries with yogurt for dipping.  If you break the broccoli into tiny pieces, Rivers will happily eat the tiny baby trees.  If you leave them in bigger pieces she wants nothing to do with it.  Brian came home just after we got our first pan of pigs in blankets into the oven.  He played with the kids and brought up his present for Sidon from the basement, a little basketball hoop he found at the thrift store just yesterday.  Sidon was VERY happy with it.  After dinner they played some more while I spread the green frosting on Sidon's dinosaur cake.  The girls helped me put the spots on him and Sidon helped take them off and eat them.  I have photographic proof that he ate at least three of them while I was looking for candles.  We didn't have birthday candles like I thought we did, so I found the two little hand-dipped candles that the girls got from Nauvoo this past summer.  The cake turned out really cute.  Sidon was happy.

Dinosaurs say Raaaaaarrrrrrrrr!

 





Sidon is a happy kid.  He is just so cute I can hardly stand it.  Lately, he has been having a lot of time outs in the office.  Time out is in the office because if I put him in his room he'll climb up on Cumorah's top bunk.  He has been a big stinker during the last few weeks.  He's been saying no with a very charming smile on his face quite a bit.  Sometimes he hides in the little corner cubby between our bookcases in the living room.  He's been saying 'mine' a lot.  He's been throwing fits when he imagines that his sisters are going to get something he wants.  The other day he got a time out because he was freaking out about Cumorah stealing his coaster (his name for our plasma cars) while I was trying to help him get his shoes and jacket on.  I kept telling him that Cumorah wasn't even going outside but he was convinced she was out to get him.  He even started to hit her and when she left the room he really flipped, like he thought she was going to go outside and get his coaster right then.  He went to time out.  He usually recovers well.  He also says "first" a lot when his sisters have something he wants.  It doesn't mean what he thinks it means.  His sisters use that popular phrase, "But I had it first" more often that I would like.  So he thinks that 'first' means I want what they have and so you should give it to me.  Sidon does love his sisters.  He calls Cumorah 'Wowah' or 'Cooma' and Rivers 'Rizzerz' or 'Fiji'.  I don't know why he calls her Fiji and I didn't believe the girls until I heard him say it myself.  He calls Quincy 'Kincy'.  He calls me Mama a lot and it melts me.  Sidon is so boy.  He throws stuff, a lot.  He chases his sisters and they are truly afraid of him.  Cumorah more than Rivers, but this is the result of their two very different personalities.  Sidon runs and jumps like an athlete.  He throws balls like he's been working with a personal basketball coach.  He's rough and tough.  He's solid.  He has shoulder muscles and abs.  He loves to wrestle.  But he also gives me lots of kisses and hugs.  "Hug, mama.  Kiss, mama."  I love it when he holds my face in his chubby little hands to give me a big sticky kiss on the lips.  Every time I think, he's not going to do this forever, someday he is going to grow up into a big stinky man.  Now he's just a little sticky man.  I guess sometimes he's stinky now, too.  I'm so enjoying this time while it's now.  He likes me to sing either 'Temple, Gawd' (I love to See the Temple) or 'Mishaman' (missionary or I hope They Call Me on a Mission).  Sidon is talking well.  I understand most of what he says, but sometimes I understand none of what he says.  My mom says he talks like he has a German accent, which makes me laugh since we've joked about how we should have named him Haans, on account of his coloring.  Sidon loves church.  Sidon's nursery teachers love Sidon.  Who wouldn't?  When it's time for church he says, "Mama.  Church, nurshee, FUN."  He says fun with a German accent.  I love it when he says fun.  He says it often when he is really enjoying something.  He also says 'yahhh' , as in yes, with a German accent.  Sidon may be all boy, but he does talk a lot about 'pincessth' stuff.  He also knows how to wear fairy wings, wield a fairy wand, and wear his sister's fancy shoes with flair.  The hazards of being surrounded by sisters.  Brian is embarrassed and even though I get the idea that his quiver of children is starting to feel rather full to him, he really wants Sidon to have a brother.



Sidon had a hard time blowing his candles out.  They were a bit harder to blow out than regular birthday candles.  His sisters ended up blowing them out for him.  And then he kept asking for more fire.  He was really excited at the swirls of smoke when the candles went out.

We love Sidon so much.  He brings so much happiness to our family.  He is so eager to help and to love.  He has a lot of enthusiasm for life right now.

how to get your kids to eat spinach

Serve a bacon butternut squash pasta bake with a creamy cheddar sauce.  They'll hate it so much that when you refuse to fix them an alternate dinner, they'll eat raw spinach by the handful.  Seriously.

I think the pasta is really good.  Brian wants more bacon and cheese.  The kids are just eating their huge piles of spinach dipped in their tiny puddles of ranch one leaf at a time.  (We need to put ranch on the shopping list.)  Cumorah eats salad, but the other two...umm, never.  So,  if you want your kids to eat spinach, let me know and I'll send you the recipe for the pasta.

Halloween

We went to our ward's trunk or treat on Saturday.  The kids had a great time getting candy, seeing their teachers, going on a hayride and eating hot dogs.  They also scored some mini pumpkins which are a big hit right now.  And I'm glad because we didn't get any pumpkins, let alone carve them this year.  Gasp!  Horrors!  You know what's funny?  Life is still good, it's still moving right along.  Who knew?  We did know it was time to go home from the trunk or treat when Cumorah started to cry because her feet were so cold.  And then the baby started crying and then Sidon started crying and then Rivers started crying and then we knew that we had stayed about five minutes too long.

Here is Sidon checking out a bowl of candy and a freaky looking halloween mask.  He wasn't so sure about everything at first.  But then he started to get candy in his bag and he felt a lot better.  And then our camera battery died.

On Halloween, we got dressed up again and took pictures before heading on over to the neighborhood of our very good friends, the Reeve family.  I think we started a tradition, and our Michigan Halloweens will be spent with the Reeves.  All right by me.  We live on a lonely little street with 7 houses.  Our kids are the only children.  I think they are the only children that have lived on the street for many years.  We did have some of our neighbors come and visit that day.  They brought treat bags for the kids and a gift for Quincy.  It was very sweet.  We made sure to stop by their house to show off our costumes later.

 Here is the shark.

Here is a mermaid.  She is feeling shy and not knowing how to pose for her picture.

Here she is doing her very best to follow Daddy's suggestions.  When she saw this picture she said, "That's what Daddy told me to do."  She said it in such a way that made me think she was wondering why he would suggest she pose in that way.

Here is the shark again.  He's cute.

Here is the mermaid again.  She is beautiful.

Here is another mermaid.  She is absolutely certain that she looks fantabulous.

Here is the little mermaid making a face at Mommy.

Here is the little mermaid posing.  She's pretty cute stuff.

Now the mermaids are participating in the photoshoot together.

And the shark rolls by yet again.

Cute, cute, cute.

Shark in a car.  Sounds like a dr. seuss book.

Getting a little too into this photoshoot thing.

Really.

I suggested to the shark that he go 'get' the mermaids.  You know, shark attack.  The shark was too busy riding his roller coaster.

So I suggested that the mermaids 'get' the shark.  The mermaids got all in a frenzy.  Before the littler mermaid could sock the shark in the stomach I called out, "No, no, no.  Mermaids kiss the shark to get him.  They don't poke him."

Here's the mermaids' kissy faces and the shark running for dear life.

They 'got' him.  And he wasn't very happy.

And then we all got in the car and drove to the Reeves' house.  The children got lots of candy and got too cold, except for Sidon.  They would have been colder if Amberly hadn't given them jackets when we got there.  We had hot chocolate.  The children ate candy and got sticky.  They've repeated the eat and get sticky process several times since then and I've pilfered more pieces of their candy out of their bags then I care to admit.

The End


ps  I most definitely did not make the mermaid costumes.  Grandmommy did.  I found the tutorial for the tail.  The tops are a result of Grandmommy's genius and the scraps.  We remembered the hair and face glitter for the photo shoot (which you can't see) but forgot the fabulous necklaces they sported at the trunk or treat.  Oh well.

Wait!  I almost forgot.  That's not the end.  Rivers kept telling everyone that Quincy was going to be a fish but she didn't have her costume yet.  I jokingly suggested that maybe she could be the sea slug since we didn't have a fish costume for her.  Turns out I wasn't far off. 

 

The End (for reals)