Author: soggycheerios

Yesterday I went visiting teaching, and had sort of a flash back moment.  I was remembering a visiting teaching trip from 10 years ago.  I had one child, and I knew EVERYTHING.  I had a partner that I really liked, she had 5 children, was building a house and was the busiest person I knew.  As I was having my flash back moment, I remembered thinking when I was with her that I would NEVER have 5 children, I would never feed my kids in the car on the way to dropping them off at some one’s house so we could go visiting teaching,  and I would never run around crazy trying to accomplish so many things in one day.  I have 5 children, and yesterday I fed my kid some fruit loops as I ran her to someone’s home so I could go visiting teaching, and then picked up my partner and explained to her that we had to stop at the bank on the way to our sister’s home because I had dropped my purse in the parking lot like some crazy lady and had to stop and pick it up because someone was nice enough to turn it in.  I realized yesterday that I, yes me, had turned into this lady.  “Now what” I said to myself.  Not only did I do everything I said I wouldn’t do but I used to know everything, and now, I have realized I know NOTHING.  Someone hold the boat, reverse, back it up people.  Where did the time go?  I plead with you, please tell me where it went.  Those mom’s I knew back then told me time would go fast, they warned me, why didn’t I listen?  Now I’m the OLD Lady with all the children, who is slightly crazy.  Sigh… I guess that’s all I have to say about that, I must think on it more. Life is good though, so good, and I wouldn’t trade these crazy years for anything, I will take the time to notice everything, I will be slow to judge, quick to forgive and I will enjoy every moment that I have been given with these 5 children that I cherish so much, and I will drive around crazy.

So it’s been a couple of crazy weeks.  Danny has been really busy with work.  A small school district here had a massive computer problem and had no back up for all of their stuff.  Danny walked them through a couple of things on the phone and told them that they’d have to send their hard drives out to have them recovered at a cost of $11,000.  He thought about it for a while, and finally called them and said if you have someone drive your server to me I will see what miracle I can perform.  They drove it to him, and he spent many hours on it in the garage, but eventually my mad scientist emerged from his man cave victorious and the little school district was very happy.  He charged them a small fee, and he quickly thanked his Heavenly Father for the gift he has been given.  I’m not sure if he’s an evil genius, mad scientist, or just a computer geek, but I’m thankful that he’s my husband.

A section that Grandmas and Grandpas can appreciate:

Emma got the first quarter academic of excellence award from her first year in middle school.  She got all A’s, and parent teacher conference had words like “ray of sunshine, delightful, beautiful child.”  We attended her first flute concert last night, and her band teacher made her stand in front of everyone to embarrass her because she had written music, and words, for a Language Arts project and then played and performed the song, the band teacher was impressed.

Tanner also got a straight A report card.  He also received the Student of Excellence award for October.  His teacher had nothing but good things to tell us about Tanner.  She said that she had sat him next to a very shy girl who was struggling, and enjoyed watching him help her, even convincing her to go and ask the teacher for help on something, and her grades were brought up because of his influence.  I recently read a note he wrote to his sisters, he put on there “you guys, are the best sisters ever.”  I had to laugh that he calls them guys, Freudian slip?

Aubrey got an equally great report, her teacher said you’d never know that she was the youngest kid in the class, she’s mature, smart, and just a great kid.  Aubrey, I worried a little more about starting school, she’s a little more stubborn than Emma and Tanner, but she is controlling herself and saving her stubbornness for me.

I guess those are my thoughts for the week, here’s hoping for a Thanksgiving holiday with family that doesn’t involve computer emergencies, like the last few weeks have had.

I was so happy to see November come, not that Halloween isn’t fun, but in Nevada Halloween is a multi day event, and really I’m just about sick of Halloween.  As a child Halloween was so much fun, but as an adult I see it in a whole new light, I’m sorry Mom!  Nevada Day happens to fall on Halloween, so the kids had Friday the 30th off of school, so the parties at school were done on the 29th.  They moved trick or treating in Carson City to Friday night I still don’t know why but where we live it was on Saturday.  Then there is the Trunk or Treat and well, it just goes on forever.  So now on to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Christmas shopping mostly done so it should be a stress free enjoyable season.  Is it bad that Santa is bringing Hallie a carseat?  She needs one and really I don’t think she’ll hold it against the jolly man.

For Nevada day we went to California.  We went to the Sacramento Zoo, IKEA, and Danny’s favorite place on the planet Fry’s.  I must admit I was impressed with Fry’s, it’s probably more fun though because we have to drive so far to get there.  Overall a great weekend.

Alyssa had to pick a costume we had on hand and she picked a spider.  She has never been happy with this costume, if anyone knows Alyssa she is truly a princess, and something scary and icky was not up her alley.  She almost opted out of Halloween at the thought of being something scary.  I finally told her to put on a leotard and be a ballerina.  I have never seen her so pleased with how she looked.  She couldn’t stop looking in the mirror.  She loves all things of beauty, and she kept spinning at the doors and telling everyone that she was a pretty “balleringa”.  I’m so happy I was able to make Halloween happy for her.

I felt inspired to have a FHE Monday on Self Control.  We discussed that one of Heavenly Father’s greatest gifts to us is our freedom to act for ourselves.  Without that freedom, we could never develop self-control, instead we would be controlled by forces outside of ourselves.  We talked about choosing to do our chores and homework instead of play.  We also discussed that we can’t change other people, but we can control how we react to what other people are doing.  Then we showed no self-control at all while making and eating Halloween sugar cookies.

Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,

For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.

I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand… (How Firm a Foundation; Hymn 85)

I love hearing the children in the ward sing this song.  When I found out that I had to teach this song to young children, I knew it would be awesome, but I didn’t know how it would affect me.  I find that anytime that I am feeling overwhelmed, or struggling with things in life that this song especially this verse (3) comes to my mind and I find great comfort in it.

Sunday we had the primary program in sacrament meeting.  It was a year’s worth of work from everyone, and I know the primary presidency put a lot of work into it.  I am the primary chorister, and I have never struggled with a calling as I have with this one.  I have  had this calling for almost 2 years now, and only now do I feel confident with what I am doing.  I have no music training AT ALL!  No note reading, no knowledge of how to lead, no ability to follow a tune.  The first weeks would make me sweat just thinking about it.  I have never wanted to quit something so badly in my life.  The game part was not a problem for me, I enjoy having fun and you throw children into that equation and it was easy.  I probably spent the first 6 months not sleeping the Saturday night before church.  It was awful.  Finally I started praying to just get through my Sunday, gradually my prayers changed to help me learn what needed to be learned so that I can feel confident in my calling.  It wasn’t an over night success, it still took another 6 months to be able to laugh at my inadequacies and eventually I started to sleep again.  I feel like I have learned more with this calling then I have learned in any other calling.  It stretched me to a point that I thought I’d break, but I didn’t!  I enjoy my time with the children, I love how brilliant they are, and I love listening to them sing songs like How Firm a Foundation.  It made me look at songs in a different way, listen to the words, and feel the spirit through the music.  Funny how the Lord knows the path you need to take even if you are reluctant and think you know better.

Now for an update on the last month or so!

Let’s see Emma turned 11!  Yeah, you read that right, 11, which is impossible because I never turned 30, and those laugh lines around my eyes don’t exist, it’s just bad lighting in the bathroom (leave me alone, I can live in a little denial can’t I?)  What a beautiful young girl she has become.  She’s so intense and passionate about things.  I envy her love for life and her excitement for new things.  She is playing the flute this year in school and is loving math this year.  I know this next year will be full of changes for her, and I can’t wait to see how she grows and changes.

Grandma T was able to come for Emma’s birthday, she took us out to Johnny Rockets for dinner.  Grandma is great to have around, thanks for all you do.  She gave Emma some cash for her birthday, Emma hasn’t decided what to spend it on yet, I think she is saving for a Nano.  Grandma and Grandpa O sent Emma a camera which she is loving and using all the time.  Danny and I gave Emma a gift card to Borders and a new back pack and she got a bag of her favorite candy, candy corn, from her little sisters.  We took her friend out with her to dinner and a movie.

We recently spent some time with our friends the Clarks up at Lake Tahoe to see the Salmon Run at Taylor Creek.

My little Hallie has gone from sleeping for 6 or 7 hours at night down to sleeping for only 2, WHY? When I figure it out I’ll let you know.

Danny has moved my blog so that I can put on as many pictures as I want, but now I’m having to learn a new way to blog and put pictures on, hopefully things will get smoother as I practice.  To get to my blog now you can drop the blogspot on the end: gohoponpop.com

We went camping with the Hamblin family.  We love being with the Hamblins and we are so happy that Devree is home and that they are  together again as a family.

I have a lot more to tell, it’s been a busy month, but this is long enough for one post.

It’s been more then a month since I posted last. What is wrong with me? Oh I remember, I can’t post pictures, I have reached my limit, and I need to find a solution, better yet my husband needs to find a solution. We’ll work on that!
Last night while I was feeding Hallie I had a chat with her about this 1am feeding she has added lately, I told her it wasn’t my favorite time to get up with her, so she got me up at 12:58 instead, that was kind of her. I’m lacking sleep we’ll leave it at that. A lot has happened in the last month and I feel badly about skipping it and not recording the happenings. So when I can post pictures I will get all caught up.

Yep it’s true, my little Aubrey is 5! Some high lights of last night when we had a few friends over and today. Aubrey is a little light in this sometimes dim world, and I can’t wait to see what her future holds.

Aubrey has wanted a pink scooter for a long time. Now she can keep up with Emma and Tanner

I sewed an apron and chef hat for Aubrey and gave it to her with a kid cookbook. Aubrey often cooks with me as an earned privilege now she is all set.

Happy Birthday Baby!

I love three day weekends! Yesterday we woke early, packed lunches and headed out to the Desolation Wilderness for a 5.4 mile hike to Grass Lake. The road out there was the scariest thing I’ve seen recently, one lane in some spots, half lane in others, with a cliff drop off into a lake on one side and granite boulders protruding into the road on the other. If a car was coming toward you, you had to back up to a wide spot and hope that they could fit past you. It was 6 miles of terror. We finally made it to the trail head and started out. It was much more hill and granite steps then I was expecting, but I did fine, and the kids did better than me. We of course got the typical gawking, and comments about us taking all of these kids out hiking, but we’ve become used to it and laugh a little when we see their mouths counting how many kids we have with us. As a couple passed us the other direction Alyssa had to ask them why they were hiking naked, the lady was wearing a sport bra, and the man wasn’t wearing a shirt. We had a lunch picnic at the lake, and a large Husky dog came bounding through the end of the lake where we were playing, and the kids thought it was a wolf. It freaked them out until I pointed out that the wolf was wearing a collar, and was soon followed by its hiking buddy. In the spring this hike would be a lot more challenging. We had to cross one river over a log, but there were other creeks that would need crossing, but since it is late summer, they are pretty much dry right now. I find with Hallie on the front I have a hard time seeing where to place my feet and slip more then usual. My ankles are sore today from multiple twists because I stepped on loose rocks. Danny and I were talking about how much easier this will get when the kids get a little older and can hike on their own. Aubrey does just fine on her own, but Alyssa still needs some help with this length of a hike and of course Hallie needs to be carried the entire time. I love fall hiking, the temperatures are perfect!

I get a little sad this time of year. Summer is coming to an end, and I can feel the chill in the air when I walk the kids to the school bus in the morning. It’s back to school time, and with it has come much change in my life. Emma is now in middle school, and as much as this saddens me it excites me too. As long as I don’t let my mind wander and start thinking about how little time I have left with her. Emma has been riding her scooter after school on Wednesdays to her piano teachers house and then over to the church to Activity Days. I know that she needs to do this in order to gain more independence, but I can’t help but worry. I’m at least a 15 minute drive from her if for some reason she needed me, and I have two other kids getting off the bus and I just can’t be two places at once. She does this ride with her sweet friend, and I’m so thankful to her mother for letting her come with Emma and being there in case of an emergency. Emma is growing up so quickly and I’m trying to help her cross the line of being a little girl into young womanhood gracefully. We are learning together. What a wonderful time this is.
Aubrey has started kindergarten, and is so mature. Wow what a difference a year makes. Last year if you’d asked me if Aubrey was ready for school I would have said NO WAY. She is so independent and stubborn, but has grown into a sweet and delightful little girl. I can count on her to make me laugh daily, and what a little mama she has become to Hallie. Today, Danny had some work issues so I found myself in Sacrament Meeting by myself with my kids. Aubrey held Hallie the entire time, and is so comfortable putting her binki in bouncing her back to sleep. She is usually the first one to get to Hallie when she fusses at home and sings Love at Home to quiet her down. What would I do without my stubborn little 4 year old.
Tanner started 4th grade, and I’ve seen some major change in is organization skills. He is taking school very seriously, and is happy and helpful around the house. I love that kid so much. He was practicing piano this afternoon, and I thought for sure it was Emma. It’s good to see him take it seriously. Tanner is having a little problem with seeing things backward/upside down. Even his piano teacher noticed, which helped to make it more real and I’m talking with his teacher to see what we can do to help him. He’s always written everything upside down as I call it, it looks the right way when you look at it, but he physically writes it backward he’s just figured out how to get it to look the right way. I’m not explaining this very well. Maybe I’m a little backward. His reading is so beyond where it should be, so he doesn’t fit the exact profile for dyslexia, and he’s pretty good at recognizing when he’s seen things wrong and fixing it. I’ll keep you posted.
Alyssa is finally getting the one on one time she deserves. She’s had a hard time since Hallie’s birth. When Aubrey goes to school Alyssa and I sing songs, read stories, play with rice, playdoh, and do cooking projects. She’s going to be ok, it’s just going to take some extra time and attention from me.
Last month our visiting teaching lesson was about learning. I think that I am getting less smart with every kid I have and that my learning has come to a halt, I’m more in survival mode. I want to enjoy my kids, and not just survive them. I often ask myself am I enjoying them, and if not how come? If I’m not enjoying them it is me that needs to change. I’m trying to find joy in the simple things that they do. The giggles at the dinner table because Tanner burped. The silly banter between Emma and Tanner. When Tanner tries to pin Emma to the ground, and gets frustrated that his smaller (not younger) sister can still pin him. Hallie’s smiles, and first giggles. Aubrey’s strange songs that she sings non stop. Alyssa’s love for Care Bears even though we’ve seen it a dozen times. These are the things that I’m trying to imprint on my brain, and find joy in instead of frustration. I’m also working on not saying no so quickly. I ask my self why not before I say no. If Alyssa wants a story, and I’m really not in the mood to read one, I try and slow down my response and ask myself why not read her a story? I find we usually end up enjoying our time together, and I’m almost always grateful that I stopped and spent that time with her.
I’m also taking time to teach myself some new skills. I would love to sew, but my skill level is not where it needs to be to sew the things I’d like to sew. So instead of giving up I’m working on little things, building my confidence and working toward where I want to be.
So I guess we’ve all been changing a lot lately. I know that through much prayer and hard work we will continue to grow and change. Bring on the fall weather, change is fun!

Little Robeez type shoes. I used some scrap fabric just to see if I could replicate them. They turned out pretty cute, next time I’ll buy some leather for the bottoms. The possibilities are endless and they were simple to make.

I made this apron for Aubrey’s birthday. I also made a chef hat and bought a cooking for kids cookbook. I bought the wrong size of D rings but wanted to finish it, next time will be better.

I’ve been teaching Emma to sew. She made a pillow case for Aubrey and then chose out a book and included a coupon to read her a bedtime story. This is what Emma is giving Aubrey for her birthday.