Go Hop On Pop

I’m pretty sure I have an addiction to brownies. There is just something about warm, gooey brownies. I actually startled myself today when I started making a batch. I told myself that I’m such a good mom, what a nice surprise that will be for my kids when they come home and have warm brownies to eat… what a crock. It’s me that wants the brownies. Sigh, I need to work on that. I even refer to my baby as a brownie, when she wakes up she is so warm and cuddly and it reminds me of the feeling I get from a warm brownie, maybe I need professional help. Don’t respond to that.

Anyway, it’s been a good week overall. The kids had dentist appointments on Thursday, and it took forever. We got to the office at 10:45, the appoinment was at 11, but you know me on time things, so 15 minutes was my fault, but we didn’t leave until 10 after 1:00, and that was just to have two kids teeth cleaned. It was nap time for Alyssa, and she was so restless, and fussy. Aubrey held up pretty good, but I was a bunch of nerves because of Alyssa. I have come to the realization though that my older two are old enough to be left at a dentist office. They have grown up so gradually, that I don’t think I realized that they are well growing up. Next time, since the dentist office is just 5 minutes from my home, I will drop them off, and then come back for them. With a book and a DS they are capable of behaving. There were no issues with teeth. I’m always so relieved when they get a good check up, they have their fathers teeth if you can inherit teeth, I have so many more issues with my teeth than Danny does.

We had Parent Teacher Conferences this week also. Both kids, I’m proud to say got glowing reports, and straight A’s. There teachers just love them! Danny likes to come to the Parent Teacher Conferences with me, which is great, but meant that we had to leave the kids home. The little one was napping, and the school is just down the street so we left Emma and Tanner home and told them to call if they needed us. We were just in conference with Tanner’s teacher, and she was saying what a bright, and gifted child he was when Emma called to tell us that Tanner had gotten his foot stuck in the coffee table. There’s my little Einstein at work…

I went out to lunch today with some ladies in our ward. We try and do it monthly, and we bring our kids. It was nice to get out and chat with well, grown ups. I don’t realize how much I miss that until I go out with them.

The rest of the day is pretty busy, this is my down time while Alyssa sleeps and Aubrey watches a little TV. Emma has a birthday party at 6:00 tonight and Costco has some good coupons so while she is at the party in Carson City, I’m going to run to Costco and do a mega shop. Tanner has a play date, he probably wouldn’t want me to call it that, he is going to a friends house to play after school. So everyone is busy this evening. We are also planning on fixing the fence this weekend so we need to go buy the stuff for that.

Danny fired up our sprinklers last night, I love the sound of sprinklers. They sell silent sprinklers but I requested noisy ones, to me that sound is like well a brownie. The kids ran through the sprinklers last night and I sat outside on the swing and enjoyed the smell coming up from the lawn and the noise of the kids and the sprinklers. The kids were wearing long sleeve shirts and jeans, but they just couldn’t seem to stay out of the water. Who can blame them. I can’t wait to fire up the BBQ and enjoy some sunshine. Well that is all from me. I went on a little long today… but now I can smell those baking brownies and I must go.

Go check out www.bluecoat.com and see Danny he’s famous now…

I made Beef Barley Soup today, so if you hear screaming it’s just my children when they find out what they are having for dinner… Tanner might eat it, and Emma will politely pick at it, Aubrey and Alyssa will eat it, I actually thought it turned out yummy. I’ll let you know how it goes over. Tonight is FHE, and I’m on lesson, I need to organize my thoughts on that still, I’m not sure what to do with that yet. Aubrey has requested Brownies for treat, I think I can comply with that request, it might help the soup go down better.

So yesterday I left for church early with hopes of catching some cute Easter pictures of the kids. Blah, it went bad. The wind was blowing, it does that a lot here this time of year. Anyway, Emma was trying so hard to be good, and would do as asked, Aubrey got on a kick of I’m freezing, so she is fussing in the pictures, and Alyssa just wouldn’t hold still for a minute, and she wont even look at me if I have a camera. So I guess there will be no cute Easter picture this year, or maybe next year, not until Alyssa grows up a little more. Another problem is Emma kept crouching down to be on level with her sisters, but then you could see up her skirt. Obviously I was in over my head, so we headed to church. I tried though.

I have a couple of picture I want to put up of Aubrey’s Preschool Easter party that we had at our house before we left for Washington. This little group of kids that do the co-op preschool with me are just a good group of kids, and cute too, how can we have that many cute kids in one group. I’m having such a positive experience with this little group. Well that is it for me today.

We are home from our “spring” break trip to Washington. I say spring break with a little sarcasm though, instead of sunshine and dirt we found snow, and more snow. We went up to spend Easter with Danny’s sis Katy and her family. Emma and Tanner have been talking about visiting their cousins for a long time, and Aubrey was very excited to see Byron her cousin who is “just her size”.
Danny was away at Brain Share so I was responsible for packing everything up and driving to Boise to pick him up at the airport, and then drive the rest of the way with him. The drive to Boise was nice and the kids were in good spirits, they were anxious to see Danny since he’d been gone for a week. It took me 7 hours to get to Boise, we picked up Danny at the airport and drove another couple of hours to Pendleton Oregon. The views in Pendleton are amazing.

On Saturday morning we had a short drive into Yakima and we were there before lunch.
Sally and her family shortly joined us at Katy’s house and we colored Easter Eggs. That is always one of my favorite things to do. We have been gone from our house at Easter time for many years, so I haven’t had a chance to get creative with eggs in a long time, maybe next year. We did wrap some rubber bands around the eggs to create stripes, and the kids had a great time just being with their cousins.

Sally stopped by our campsite on her way down to Katy’s and called to ask if we knew that it was buried in snow. Needless to say we had no idea. We packed shorts and swimsuits. When I called to make the reservations at Ensign Ranch the lady told me about the lake, the horses, the slip and slide, the rock wall and all the wonderful things to do there. I had no clue that there was 4 feet of snow on the ground. Danny and I decided to stay with Katy through Easter and then head up to the camp ground after that.

The Easter Bunny came while we were at church and the little ones had too much fun finding the eggs and eating the candy in them. We had a lovely late lunch of ham, potatoes, asparagus, and strawberries and dip. It was all wonderful (thank you Katy).

On Monday morning we took off for Ensign Ranch. Thanks to Katy and her family we were well equipped for the snow. It actually worked out well. The kids were troopers and didn’t complain one bit. They had so much fun climbing the snow banks, throwing the snow, and just being kids. I loved watching them. Katy braved the snow with us on Tuesday and her kids joined us up there. I took some fun pictures of the kids playing together. The nights were warm thanks to a wood stove–Danny did suffer a burn from a middle of the night accident while adding wood to the fire. We cooked on the wood stove, it was a fun adventure, different then what we were planning, but surprisingly fun.

We had plans to go to Seattle on Wednesday, but it snowed and Katy decided not to press her luck in the snow. Danny and I went over Snoqualmie Pass and got lost in Seattle. Once we found our way we took the kids to the Science Center by the Space Needle, and then went down to Pike Street and out onto the pier to watch the ferries come in and out. We talked with a drunk homeless man, and got drenched by a car on an over pass that splashed down onto us. We had yummy pumpkin cookies at the Pike Place Market. We then headed back to camp. There was more snow Wednesday night, and I worried about being able to get the car out on Thursday to head home. I imagined being forced to live this way, it gave me a new respect for the way people used to live. I came home to my nice washing machine and dryer, and my heat that I just have to push a button to get. No going to the wood shed for me, I have a lot to be grateful for.
We left for home on Thursday and drove to Baker City, Oregon. We stayed there and enjoyed a nice hot bath. Then 10 hours on the road on Friday and all was right again. Everyone enjoyed themselves, but we were all happy to have the comfort of our beds. Thanks again to Katy and John, we had a good break. Sally it was great to see you and your cute family again. I hope that we don’t wait a year to see each other again.


After 8 hours in a car, Aubrey decided to show her creative side. Things were real quiet, so I guess we should have been suspicious. Then Tanner screamed from the back seat, and I discovered that our three year old was turning into a Smurf! There wasn’t a spot of skin showing on that hand, and she had just started on the other one when we caught her. What scares me is the smile on her face!

Danny is off to brain share this week so it is just me and the kids. Church was good today, Aubrey is finally growing up and can stay out of trouble while I attended to Alyssa during sacrament meeting today. Alyssa is just coming into trouble though and I need to prepare myself for her stinkery ways. Emma and Tanner are in the living room reading books, and Aubrey is working with puzzles. That girl is a puzzle freak. Alyssa is napping, and the house is so quiet it is creepy. If this is any indication on how the week is going to go it should be a great week. Danny if you are reading this, I hope you have fun at brain share, you deserve a trip away, even if it is a week long party(wink, wink). I’ll keep you posted on how this week goes.

We went on a little hike last night. Gas prices are so high so we stayed close to home. This hike is only a couple of miles from our house. I’m getting pretty tired of all the brown here in Nevada, and I’m hoping springs comes soon. Anyway, I was playing with my camera and got some cute pictures of the kids. I wanted to see if I could get them all jumping at the same time. I did get one, so I’ll post that. We are all in training so to speak to hike to Vernal Falls at Yosemite in June. This hike started with a big hill. Aubrey made it to the top on her own with no problems so I think we are on our way to being ready for Yosemite. Of course I’m still going to the gym and going on the hikes with the kids so I’m pretty sure I’ll make it to the top.

I remember watching parents with their children and (gasp) judging them. I’d often comment to Danny or just to myself that “I won’t let my kids do that” or “you wont catch me doing that with my kids”. Well recently I’ve had a few of those moments. I often feel the house closing in on me when I know that Danny is due home soon and I have so much that I haven’t completed yet. I ponder what I have done that day, and what I have to show for the day. What will I tell him that I have done. I have a stack of books that I’ve read with Aubrey, but that doesn’t take 8 hours. There are dirty dishes in the sink I guess that proves that we’ve eaten today… Anyway, let me get back on my topic here. I was folding laundry in a desperate attempt to accomplish something with my many hours that I spend at home. When I fold laundry I sit against the wall and build piles out from me but it fences me in. So Alyssa got a hold of a pink marker (this is one of those things that I wouldn’t let my kids do). Come on what parent lets their one year old play with a marker. I figured she wouldn’t get the lid off WRONG. She did. So I jumped up over the top of the laundry knocking several piles down and took it away. She screamed, cried, I think you get the picture. I placed the lid back on and gave it back to her, what are the chances she’ll take it off twice. Back to the laundry I go I figure she’ll lose interest as little children often do, but she didn’t of course. She took the lid off, so up I go take it away, and we start over. This goes on a few times and that panic feeling sets in and I start to think that I’m never going to get this laundry done. So I just said “oh well, what’s the worst that can happen with a marker” I let her just have it. She sucked on it a few times, and colored on her white onsie. I justify it with the thought of we are done having kids and she has almost outgrown it anyway. I guess my awakening happened when my older kids came in to start collecting piles of laundry to put away. Emma shrieks “Mom aren’t you watching her” I thought “she is going to say things like her Mom just like I say things like my Mom”… sorry Emma. Tanner comes in and being a boy, solves the problem kind of. He yanks it out of her hand, at this point I’ve lost all interest in laundry I’m past my point of panic and I’m enjoying the things going on around me. Alyssa of course screams at Tanner and he gives it back. It looks like Alyssa is going to win this one. Well the laundry did get folded and is put away until tomorrow when it starts over again. The older kids think I have lost my mind but overall the damage of the marker wasn’t so bad, and I think I’ve learned a small lesson. This doesn’t mean that I’m going to go all crazy and let Alyssa do everything she wants, but maybe I need to relax just a tad. As for Danny, he’ll be home in 5 minutes, and the dishes aren’t done, but being the perfect husband he wont say a thing, I’ll be the only one asking what I did today, and wonder if I couldn’t have fit those dishes in…

My friend Rhonda showed me some stomach excercises on friday. Yikes, I’m in so much pain. I guess that means I need to keep at them. I worked on arms today and did the 45 minutes on the elliptical. I’m not dropping weight as fast as I would like, but I’m not giving up. I’m just trying not to think about it so much. I’m blaming it on the fact that I’m gaining muscle while losing fat so it’s just taking it’s place. Don’t burst my bubble…

but I’m not. It’s been washed, just needs to be folded and put away. Anyway, I’ve been giving this blog thing a lot of thought. With 45 minutes on the elliptical, I have a lot of time to think. Blogging is new to me, but I find myself paying closer attention to the happenings in my life so that I can record them. It’s a lot like a journal, only a little narcissistic and time consuming. It gives strangers ammunition to criticize my parenting choices. I don’t think many strangers are reading my blogs though so I guess I’m really only giving ammunition to those who love us and I’m sure they wont use any of this against me. Right? One day I guess it could mortify my children though. Yikes why do I do this again?
I was pretty upset this morning when I got on the scale. I know I said I wasn’t going to weigh myself, but I am limiting myself to a weigh in once a week, I have to know that something is happening. Danny got on the scale this morning, and is down 5 pounds, I’m happy for him, but the other side of me wanted to jump off the end of the bed where I was lacing up my work out shoes and pull him to the ground and well, I don’t know what, but scream it isn’t fair. He’s been going out for a walk during his lunch time for one week now, and he’s down 5 pounds. I’m watching what I eat and hitting that elliptical hard for 45 minutes every day now for 6 weeks I think it is and I’m down 7 pounds. Sigh… why isn’t this working better, I’m trying not to become upset, but who am I kidding. I’m upset. I didn’t quit though I went to the gym today and hit it hard really hard, I must say my calf’s are looking really nice… I have to take what I can get. Maybe I’m gaining muscle or maybe I’m just delusional. Whatever it is I’m going to keep at it. There is my pep talk for the day, sad that I have to give myself a pep talk…
So here is an update on what we’ve been up to. Monday was FHE, and we went to a small pond in Dayton, it’s really a gross place, and I wouldn’t touch the water, but we wanted to feed the ducks. Dayton has dumb ducks, they had no clue what we were doing. So the kids just climbed trees and played in the dirt. We found signs of spring, there are buds about to open on the trees, Yeah Spring! I brought my camera and caught a few good pictures of the kids. It’s a hobby of mine, and I’m enjoying myself. I got some cute close ups of their faces. Anyway, we came home and didn’t have time for lesson so we played a game of stump the family. This is where we take the pictures from the church kit and one kid picks a picture that they think no one will be able to tell what is happening in. Emma picked Esther, and no one was able to identify it. She picked a few others, but I can’t remember which ones, but we were able to identify them. Aubrey wanted hot chocolate for treat, and then it was off to bed.

One more tidbit for the week. Emma got her Gifted and Talented report card this week, and it made me chuckle. In the comment section the teacher wrote that she was sure that Emma would run the country some day and that she found it very hard to challenge Emma. I love things like that, I guess you could compare it to a raise in a job, or a promotion. I really can’t take credit for their good things because they are who they are but it’s still a nice pat on the back.
I’m watching a little boy right now, I guess I should go and give them some attention and maybe we’ll blow some bubbles, I wonder if I can get bubbles on the camera… yea something to do.

It’s been a very busy week. It was spirit week at the school so Emma and Tanner had to go to school dressed as what they want to be when they grow up. Tanner went as an FBI agent, but that seems to change often. He had a thing in his ear and a two way radio, he wore a white shirt and tie. Emma went as a gymnast and an author, she couldn’t narrow it down to just one I guess. So I put her hair up and stuck pencils in it for the author part and she wore one of her gymnast get ups with a pair of pants over it. I wonder how hard it was for her to go to the bathroom all day… Wednesday was crazy hair day. Tanner wanted a mo hawk, so a mo hawk he got. Emma went with some funky buns and I colored parts of her hair green. Thursday was PJ day, it’s an odd feeling to send my kids anywhere in their PJ’s, but they seemed happy.

We also had our last week of swim lessons. Aubrey has been having so much fun swimming. Tanner has gotten pretty good, and can now jump off the diving board and swim to the side, so it should be a fun summer up at Lake Tahoe. The teachers just loved Aubrey, they seemed to get a kick out of everything she did or said. It’s fun to watch her listen and obey the coaches. She is growing up so fast, I hope I don’t miss something. Aubrey even got up the courage to go off the diving board, I was proud of her.

Did anyone see the Lunar Eclipse on Wednesday. Everyone was pretty excited to see it around here. I’m a wimp, I came out for a few minutes, but it was too cold for me. Here’s a picture of the kids (and Danny) watching the eclipse.

I’m still going to the gym everyday except Saturdays and Sundays. I’ve stepped it up to 45 minutes on the elliptical and I vary the intensity of it. I do around 3.5 miles and burn almost 500 calories daily, but I’m only down 6 pounds after 4 weeks of this. I’ve started a food diary so hopefully I will be able to narrow down where I’m really messing up. I’m hoping to be down 30 pounds by summer. Alyssa has been so sick this week so I’ve been going to the gym at 5:30 or 6:00am so Danny can stay with her. I’ll be happy when she is feeling better and I can sleep a little later. I must say I’m proud of myself for my dedication to this gym thing that I go even when I have to get up early to go. I think I prefer going at 9:00am after I get the kids off to school. Well, its been a busy week, hopefully this next week everyone will be healthy and happy and we wont be quite so busy in the evenings.