Allie at 11

Two things to note about Allie in this picture.... she's recently started wearing glasses and her bangs have FINALLY almost grown out to where they're manageable.

This kid is the spice in our life.  It is constantly amazing to me to see how two girls, raised in the same house, by the same parents, in a short amount of time can be so different.  Although there are many similarities between Allie and her big sister, she is definitely her own person.

This cute girl has just started the 6th grade, or as her teacher likes to call it, Junior High on training wheels.  She is having her first exposure to multiple teachers and inter-disciplinary assignments and is learning the ropes for next year.  She recently ran and was chosen for Student Council at her school; 50 kids applied and 12 were selected.  She is also her class photographer.

Allie is thrilled that she has a top locker this year and that she has lots of friends to hang out with.  She likes to spend time with Mia, Abbi, Bitsy, Anna, Courtney, Grace and Makayla.  She loves to bake and cook in the kitchen and she still really enjoys sewing.

One word that would describe this girl is mercurial.  She can go from happy and bubbly to crying and ornery in the blink of an eye.  She is passionate about everything and her great challenge will be to learn how to handle that.

Out of all my kids, I would say she's the most like I was as a child; so there's proof that what goes around, comes around.  In so many ways she wants to be a grown-up.  She wants to wear make-up and go to junior high like her sister.  She spends a great deal of her time and energy mothering her siblings, (much to their dismay.)

She is very creative.  She auditioned for and was admitted to a performing company at her dance studio this year.  She has dance for four hours every week.  She has gotten back into playing the piano and is making good progress.  Just yesterday, we picked up her violin at the music store so that she can learn to play that.

This kid is determined, and works super hard.  I never have to get after her to do her homework.  She is a self starter in all senses of the word.  She is uber responsible and wants to be accountable.  She loves to use her Kindle (although not for reading like her parents intended.)  This kid is a reality TV junkie and watches shows that make me cringe; My Strange Addiction, Say Yes to the Dress, My Fair Wedding, Clean House, etc... etc....

If I could give this girl one piece of advice, it would be to try and learn balance and moderation.  Being like her mother, she does not do halfway well.  It's Go Big or Go Home and sometimes that causes more problems than it solves.  She has got a bright future ahead of her if she can learn the lessons that it has taken me decades to learn.

I am grateful that this little ball of fire was put in our family.  She keeps life interesting, that's for sure, but I always miss her when she's gone and I'm so glad when she returns.  Keep being the awesome kid you are Allie, and always remember that I love you!

Erin at 13

It's been so long since I have blogged in any amount of detail about my kids that I figure the easiest way to catch up is to do a spotlight on each one of them.  Erin is the oldest, so she gets to be first.

Erin turned 13 in May and seems to be having much more fun at this age than either her dad or I did.  She has lots of friends, but mostly she hangs around with Charity, Anna and Ellie.  They like to do all sorts of things like shop at Target, bake at each others houses, watch movies, take pictures, or recently, watch U of U football together.  I am thrilled with these girls and the fun they have together.  They are all so nice to each other, and more important than that, are nice to others.  All of these girls are super sweet with my boys and are really good to let Allie tag along when she wants to.

Erin is an 8th grade class officer this year.  She is really having a lot of fun with student government and the 8th grade board was in charge of the Hello dance this year.  Our Erin picked the theme, the "Enchantment Under the Sea" dance, thanks to her dad's affinity for Back to the Future.  However, something got lost in translation and it ended up looking a lot like "The Little Mermaid."  Oh well, they got a bubble machine for the dance so Erin was happy.

She's been doing super good in school so far; nearly straight A's and she is taking several Honors courses.  She's very excited to be taking Honors American History and that thrills me!  She has just started taking voice lessons and is loving that.

Erin spent a lot of time and effort this summer helping me to reorganize our upstairs bedroom so that she could have her own room.  It has been awesome, and I know she loves it almost as much as I do.  That kid is a natural night-owl, so sharing a room with her sister has always been a problem.  I can't tell you how much easier bedtime has been since we made this change in June.  She's done pretty well at keeping her room clean, but still needs some work on getting her laundry done.  You know it's time to wash clothes when you're pulling out last years gym shirt to wear to school.

Erin did a lot of fun stuff this summer.  She went to Gettysburg, England, Girls Camp and a science camp at the Natural History Museum.  She spent a lot of time at Lagoon with friends even more time chatting online with these same friends.

She was very excited for school to start this year, which was a first and her good attitude at our house is contagious (her bad attitudes are also contagious, in case you're wondering.)

Overall, Erin is a very good girl.  She's a great big sister and a good friend.  There are several things about growing up that we continue to work on, but that's what life is all about; being a work in progress.  Erin is great with her cousins and loves to babysit.  Erin has a great sense of humor and I am often tickled that she is finally able to "be in on the joke."

I love this kid and I'm glad she's mine!

It's Complicated

The last week of my life reads like those quickly read, glossed over portions of drug commercials....

Nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, swelling, constipation, fatigue, ruptured tendons, metallic taste, take with food, and my favorite, gas with oily discharge.

It is important to note that I have not experienced all of these symptoms, but a few of these have darkened my door, and I will leave it to your imagination which ones have visited.

I have had a bit of a relapse and am experiencing an infection.  According to the CT scan that I got in the emergency room last Tuesday, my left ovary is obviously offended that it's "womb with a view" has been taken so it has decided to swell up in protest.  The dead end created by my doctor is having some sort of a bacteria rave in my gut and it has started to cause problems.

I am reminded particularly of those commercials that ask whether or not you have a problem starting or stopping urination.  Before this lovely adventure, the sound of a dripping faucet made me feel as though I needed to pee.... now I've started to take a book to the bathroom EVERY time! How maddening is that?

I have spent most of the last week hopped up on pain pills... the good ones.  Ibuprofen is not doing anything for the pain.  This is just the first round of pills for the day.  This repeats itself about 4 times!

Well, fast forward a couple of days and things are finally starting to look up.  It has been a long road, but I think I'm finally feeling like things are starting to get better.

After a week of infection and misery, I went to the hospital and had a drain installed.  It's actually more like a spigot in conjunction with a hand grenade.  I pray to all that's holy that I never have to have a colostomy bag because this blood pouch thingy that I'm carrying around is disgusting enough.  It goes in through my butt (as in cheek) and goes through all skin and muscles and everything.  I tell you what, you'll never realize how much you use those muscles until you're using them with a tube stuck in them.

The pathology report said they drained 90 mL of fluid out and that it was about 15 cm in circumference.... so softball size.  No wonder I couldn't go to the bathroom.  That sucker was bigger than even Erin's head.  Over the week, I drained probably 110 mL of fluid out.  All I can say is that I hope no one in my neighborhood gets murdered because if they use a black light to look for blood in the drain, I'm going to be their number one suspect.

Another thing about this last week.... I have been virtually helpless, and Matt has been gone.  He had the conference of his career this week and he couldn't miss it.  I couldn't drive, or do housework, or do much with Will.  I am so grateful for family.  My mom and dad kept Will and Jack at their house every night and ran Jack to and from school.  Mom helped run kids to lessons, go to the grocery store, take stuff to school for the kids and generally tried hard to keep my spirits up.  She cleaned my house, vacuumed my floors, dusted my blinds and did my dishes. The woman even scrubbed my toilets.  To top it all off, she was here, twice a day, to flush out my catheter.  Although not complicated, it weirded her out and I'm sure she wasn't thrilled to have to do it.  But, I couldn't reach it and the kids couldn't do it for me so, she was the one.  When I was growing up, my best friend Corrie used to call my mom the "Woman of the Year" and once again, the help that she has given me this last week proves it.  Thanks Mom!

My kids have been really good through this whole thing.  Working hard at finishing their homework, bringing me the things I need, sitting and snuggling when all I want to do is lay in bed, and forgoing their burgeoning social lives to help with kids and home.

I feel compelled in this post to thank some folks.  This is not an exhaustive list, but it's a start.  I have had so many friends and neighbors who have brought in meals for my family, made phone calls on my behalf, sent words of encouragement my way, helped to care for my children and brought me movies and treats and goodies to cheer me up.  Every day someone has called to check on me, and I have had well wishes from many.  I feel so undeserving.  It truly does take a village to raise a child, or take care of a family, for that matter, and I am so happy to live where I do and associate with those around me.  If you happen to read this blog, please know how much I love you and how thankful I am for your concern.

Here's to the future, without a uterus, or a hematoma.  Let's hope that it can only go up from here.

A Farewell to Arms.... er, umm Uterus

This may end up being one of those posts that completely crosses the border into TMI; or it may not.  At this point, I'm not quite sure.  But if it does, and any of you are bothered by the discussion of my girly guts, I'll understand if you want to check the score of the game or go downstairs and watch paint dry.  I don't blame you.

On Tuesday, September 3, 2013, my dream came true!  It has been a dream that I've had since the spring of 1987 when I learned that what Judy Blume wrote about in "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret?" wasn't all it was cracked up to be.  I'm sorry, let me make it a little plainer... that was when I discovered what it meant to be a "woman" and consequently began to wish that I had been born a boy!

As I grew older, I learned to deal and cope with "that time of the month" but I have to say, it was nothing I ever loved.  Even as I realized that it was necessary if I someday wanted to have babies, I was left wondering about the logistics of the stork and the cabbage patch and why couldn't babies come from there?

So what is this dream of mine?  Actually, it was menopause, but thanks to a few recent medical developments, we've passed Go, collected our $200 and get to spend the years between now and actual menopause without Dear Aunt Flo.  I had a hysterectomy on Tuesday.

The recovery hasn't been too bad, so far, and I have to say that I'm honestly having a hard time finding a downside to this whole thing.  Strangely enough, when my doctor suggested this course of action, it was Matt that had the hardest time with the news.  I feel very comfortable with the decision we've made and am thrilled to finally have a definitive YOU ARE DONE HAVING CHILDREN sign.  Matt is sad to say goodbye to the baby phase of our lives, and although we knew it was coming, I think that his reaction was very sweet and touching.  I love that he loves our kids so much that he finds himself asking why we didn't have more, sooner.  However, after listening to him take care of things this week, I'm thinking he's probably counting his lucky stars that we only got to four!

In all seriousness though, it is a relief to know and feel like our family is complete with our two girls and our two boys.  This summer has been such a fun one with the kids in various ways that I can catch glimpses into the future; and I like what I see.

As I have had some time to sit and reflect on my childbearing years and experiences, I have had a few thoughts that I want to record for posterity (or just for myself since I'm evidently really old now.)  Some of them are poignant and some are practical, and some are just stupid, but whatever, my blog!

1.  I am grateful for my children and the joy they bring into my life.  I realize how lucky I am to have been blessed with four happy children, who so far, are not too big of a burden on society.  They have been healthy and I take great comfort in that.  We've had a few issues here and there, but overall, I feel incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to carry and bear children.

2.  I am grateful for those girly guts and their potential.  As much as I HATED that week of the month (which let's be honest, could sniff out a vacation or Girls Camp or school dances at 40 yards and change dates on a whim) I love the fact that this process allowed me to appreciate the gift my Heavenly Father gave me.  He gave me a body; that is awesome (a little on the fat side, but awesome just the same.)  Having a baby is not for wimps; but going through the process was a real confidence booster for a girl who spent the majority of her life trying to cover things up and hide in the back row.  Finally, I had a reason to be proud of my hips that could "birth a nation."  I had big healthy babies, who ate well and slept through the night by six-weeks-old; something I'm not sure I fully appreciated until I heard friends tell tales of being up every night for the first two years of their kids' lives.

3.  I am glad to have had the experiences I've had, because I'm sure that they prepared me to mother my daughters.  I am hopeful as we head into these teenage years that I can be candid and honest with these girls and we can have open discussions about the things they will question.  I openly make a promise to them that we will never have a house devoid of feminine hygiene products, so that they may always feel comfortable menstruating in our home.  There will be no Christmas Day runs to the 7-11 to look for beef jerky and tampons.  I will not force you to buy your own at the grocery store when the cute boy in Madrigals with you is the only checker open.  I will save my future son-in-laws from the litmus test of "how much does he really love me?"  I will make sure that you always have what you need and what you like; no off-brands for my girls!  This goes for after you've moved away and married too, because like I said, Aunt Flo is vindictive sometimes and she comes for a visit whenever she wants.

4.  I am AMAZED (and no that is no exaggeration) to find out how many women I know that have had this procedure done.  I can't tell you how many ladies have told me to gear up for the best years of my life.  Hallelujah!  Glad there's finally an upside.

5.  I am grateful and humbled by how many fantastic people I have in my life.  As I have recovered I have been so fortunate to have such great care and concern from neighbors and friends.  My family has been fed (which thanks, now, they've come to expect) and my children have been loved.  Especially my boys.  They've spent time with friends and with grandmas and have had a great time.  Although, if you've asked Jack what I had done, he'll tell you that I had surgery on my butt.  Obviously I'm great at explaining things to him.  Unfortunately, I now have a few more explanations I need to make to others.

6.  I am happy and a little bit sad that my kids reaction to this whole thing was disappointment that there would be no more babies at our house.  I guess I'm kinda sorta doing an okay job at this mom thing.  When I was pregnant over the years, I had average bouts of sickness and tiredness and what felt like laziness.  With the boys I started having panic attacks and migraine headaches and those 9 months felt like scenes from Lord of the Flies.  Ketchup goes good on Saltines, right? Fruit and fiber; exactly.  I was touched that my kids have enjoyed these child-bearing years and experiences as much as I have and that they'll miss them.

7.  Thank you to my Grandpa Jones and my Aunt Suzy for the beautiful flowers they sent.  I love flowers.  I know they die, either by themselves or with my help, but they're so nice while they're here.

8.  Sorry to my sweet niece Stella, who was blessed today without me there.  Not that she's going to care or even remember, but sorry I missed it all the same.

9.  Another random thought.... I can totally see how people become addicted to pain pills.  I am in love with my Percocet and am rationing the 25 pills they gave me when I left the hospital.  It is the closest thing to the relief and comfort of an epidural and a warm blanket during the delivery of my babies.  On a related note, I may or may not have said or done things I shouldn't while under the influence, so please accept my apology.

10.  I have greatly enjoyed being in my house.  Although I straight up told the doc that I wanted TWO days in the hospital after my surgery, I was antsy to get home and lay in my own bed and get more that six channels on the TV.  A shout out to my awesome husband Matt who helped me rearrange the furniture and change the sheets and duvet cover on my bed last weekend in preparation for my recovery.  Oh, and then go and buy me new bedding because Will crapped on said sheets and duvet cover.  I have thoroughly enjoyed laying in bed, watching way too much Food Network and HGTV.

11. Finally, because every list has to have ELEVEN things (whatever).... I am grateful that my bowels and bladder were not prolapsed and that I can poop again (yep, just crossed the line.)  Never underestimate the power of a good BM!


Let me close this post by saying that I am feeling better and hope to actually wear pants and a bra tomorrow.  However, please don't pass judgement if you see me walking around the neighborhood in my nightgown; it's new and is silky, so I might just have to show it off.

Things That Excite Me

So six months is better than six years, right?  To be completely honest, I have not been feeling the blogging bug for a long time... but it's hit me a bit today.  I suppose I am a little wistful about the kids starting back to school and the transitions that are occurring in my life.  So without further ado, here are the things that I found exciting today....

The first day of school!  Erin is back to school as an 8th grader, Allie is a 6th grader and even Jack was totally stoked to go back to school as a 2nd grader.  We had our annual Back-to-School neighborhood breakfast at our house this morning and had a great turnout.  This is one of my favorite things about living where I do.  Everybody meets at one house in the morning... we take photos, we eat food and we walk to school together.  It is always fun to see all the little ones in their new outfits with stiff backpacks stuffed with Kleenex and hand sanitizer.  We had some new friends this year and it was sad to see that some of the families we have grown close to, no longer have little ones to join our ranks, but I love my neighborhood!  They're the best.

I loved having time alone with William.  It was so nice to walk back home, talk with friends and have lunch with my favorite little buddy.  I'll even forgive him for the jar of maraschino cherries he broke all over my kitchen floor.

The best part of the day, however, was when the kids got home from school and all of them were happy to report that they love their teachers and that they think this is going to be a really good year.  As I begin to wade through Disclosure Statements and volunteer opportunities, I am grateful for the people who sacrifice so much to help me educate my children.  We have awesome schools, awesome teachers and awesome parents.

I am grateful that Allie has great Activity Day leaders who are committed to helping these girls be the best they can.  And yay that Allie can go this year without conflicting with dance.

I know as the next couple of weeks progress, there will be things that will probably be a bit frustrating, but at this point, I am glad that we are off to a good start and grateful that things seem to be going well.

Oh, and dinner is in the oven, which is a rare occurrence for me, I'm going to be honest!

Have a great day and who knows, maybe I'll be back to blogging before you know it.

The Dreaded Bullet Point Lists

It has been so long.... and just so you know, I had good intentions.  One of my New Years Resolutions was to blog weekly.  While the resolution has gone largely by the wayside, I'm happy to report that I'm doing well on several of the other personal goals I set for myself, so I will revel in that glory for a bit longer.

Anyway, I don't know why I should be surprised that every winter I turn into a bear and want to hibernate.  I base my entire family's schedule around whether or not activities will require me to shower before noon.  The cold and the snow have made this year particularly bad.  Now that's not to say that things are bad, because they are totally not!  Life is good!  But I still want to stay in my house and wearing my jammies all day.  The snow and freezing cold temperatures have conspired against me and I lack motivation..... and then those damn Girl Scout Cookies showed up at my house.

Alright!  Enough!  The sidewalks are finally visible again and so today we went for a run.  Okay, more walking than running, but you gotta start somewhere.  A couple of observations:

• My physical conditioning is not the only thing that has suffered over the winter; Will's stroller tires are remarkably low on air.  Good thing Matt's in town to fix them. Tonight!
• If I'm ever going to truly be a runner, it's going to have to take place without the company of my children.  Running and breathing at the same time are challenging to me; throwing a stroller and strides, and sippy cups, blankets and binkies into the mix are not helping my pace.
• I am no longer so self-conscious about my boobs while I run.  That designation now goes to my midsection.  Do they make a sports bra for the mama belly?
• Your workout isn't effective if you spend the whole time yanking your shirt down and your underwear up.... just sayin'.

So now to the gist of the post (at least as indicated by the title.)  A few more things that I've seen, heard, felt or experienced over the last few months.

• I am grateful for health insurance.  At least I can take my kids to the doctor when they have an ear infection and walk away spending less than $300.  Dang it Pax!
• Early morning piano lessons, for two kids.  Uggghhhhh!  I have to say that I'm glad my afternoon schedule has stayed the same, and the kids have been pretty good about practicing, but I am not a morning girl, so it's hard some days.
• I have a new kitchen (sort of.)  I think this event may have been a turning point in blogging; heaven knows it was in my diet.  After painting all of the kitchen cabinets and refinishing the wood floors in the weeks leading up to Christmas, I was wiped out.  Needless to say, I really like it.
• Ballet, not for me!  Allie is performing as a really cute mushroom in Alice in Wonderland this weekend.  Lot's of rehearsals, and pictures and tights and "Mom, have you seen my ________?"
• Junior High.  Oh my goodness.  I went over to talk to Erin's teachers yesterday and I could smell the angst; it was palpable.  Drama, drama, drama!
• Speech therapy; Will is still not talking, but he's finally making a few sounds, has a few words and is smart as the dickens!
• We went to Hawaii.  It was awesome!  I have pictures and if I get ambitious, maybe I'll post them.  Loved Oahu!
• When the snow melts in our backyard, we could fertilize Sugarhouse Park with the amount of dog crap we're going to be cleaning up.  Being creatures of habit, they go in the same spots, and as the snow has melted in those spots, it has become apparent that we have Clydesdales, not dogs.
• I have created a list of foods that I cannot have in my house.  Cheddar cheese Chex mix, Hershey's Kisses, Peanut M&M's, Trail Mix of any kind and soon to be added, popcorn.  Oh my goodness.  There is no controlling myself when it comes to these things.  Not to mention that I have discovered that Trail Mix and Popcorn give me the most vile smelling gas imaginable.  That latter observation was actually made by a gentlemen behind me in line for the Haunted Mansion in DisneyWorld.  Oh the shame!
• The kitchen is put back together, but the craft room is still a pile of mess.  Hopefully we can get it put back together before the yard work starts.
• Committed to trying to be a runner; signed up for a 5K next week and a 10-miler in October.  Hoping to throw in a few more races culminating in my first half-marathon next January.
• Jack has a girlfriend.  She wants to marry him!  Her name is Kalise?  Seriously, what kind of name is that? Actually, I'm counting my blessings because his friend, Jack G., kissed his girlfriend and then they broke up.  First grade romances can be so hard.
• Loving Relief Society and my sister-friends.  Feeling more proficient in my technology calling and working on being committed.
• Enjoying the missionary buzz.  So excited for all those young men and women going out to serve.  Especially excited because Alex is finally out, in Phoenix, and it's kinda fun writing to a missionary when you're not the one waiting.  Hang in there Jordan!
• New chicks are here!  We have four baby chicks and are waiting for three more to be added soon.  Please join me in welcoming, AJ, Kate, Summer and Dottie to our flock.
• New car!  Can I get an Amen AND a Hallelujah!  We were lucky enough to inherit Grandma's Ford Flex which the kids think is super awesome and drives pretty nice, I must admit.  Matt, as he says, has turned into his dad and is driving our old van.  Told you he was a peach!
• I have read every book for my book club thus far; and still going strong.  Not a big deal to most of you, okay any of you, but good for me.
• STILL MAKING LUNCHES FOR MY KIDS!  PERSONAL RECORD.

Well, that's the minutiae of my life.  There's a bunch of other stuff I could share, and a bunch of stuff my mom is probably wishing I hadn't shared, but it's my blog.

I am glad to be me; for the stuff I go through and for those of you who read this blog.  Especially you Jody Rydalch Harris who you can all thank for this post.  Hugs and kisses to you all and now I will be going to the grocery store in my new car and white knuckling my way past all the aforementioned foods.  Peace out!

One of THOSE Posts

This is bound to be one of THOSE posts.... you know the ones that make your eyes glaze over after you watch my children age nearly a year in the pictures I'm about to post?  Yes, it has been a while since I've been lurking around the blog; but life has been busy.  I have thoroughly been enjoying my days with only one little one at home and getting some stuff done.  Oh, and I'm not the only one around here who is doing great things, or at least things.  So, hopefully I haven't lost you already, and if you care at all about what we've been up to, keep reading.  I'll try to keep it brief, interesting, maybe even funny.  Happy reading.

Matt..... he's been around a lot more lately, which I have to say that I love.  His job is very flexible, but it can also make for some stellar single mother moments; which are hard.  These moments are usually manifest in the form of me locking the kids in their rooms at 7:30 because I am "off-duty" and can do no more.   Thankfully, Matt has been able to spend a bit more time at home with us lately.  He has been around to help with homework and encourage the kids to eat my dinners.  He is here so I can finally play Good Cop and he is building relationships with his kids; which is something this mom loves to see.

Matt ran his second marathon, the Top of Utah in Logan, UT on September 14th.  Although his time didn't improve from his marathon in May, I think he can finally believe that he is a runner.  It has now become second nature to him; when he doesn't run, there's something wrong.

Matt has been working hard in the yard; pruning trees, pouring concrete, taking care of the chickens, and digging our pond for our fountain.  We cleaned out the garage and finally got some odds and ends around the house finished.

Isn't it amazing that his car actually fits in the garage again?  Re-damn-diculous that we have a three car garage and can only get one of our vehicles in at any given time!  Oh well, new leaf has been turned over.

Like my stairs?  They're finally finished (almost a year after my temper tantrum.)  Matt finished all the trim so now he can look up when he's walking up the stairs again.

Matt also spent a week in England and Scotland recently, for work.  I don't really know what he did; but he ate something called Wee Haggis and Tatties and stuff like salmon for breakfast.  He had to drive all over the English countryside with a guy who drives him crazy, which makes for a lot of fun.  When he returned, he had to readjust to driving on the right side of the road and has to get over the fact that Americans just don't get roundabouts.

I'm sure he would tell you that he's been doing a lot more too, but since he's a grown-up, I take pride in the fact that I don't have to be aware of every little thing that he's doing.  Needless to say, he's awesome and I like him.....

Now for the truly mundane musings of Mommyhood.  I have been plugging along.... not really doing anything remarkable by anyone else's standards, but based on my own standards, I am doing awesome!  Here is the latest picture of me....

Still kinda fat, but down to the last 20 pounds or so.  Who'd have thought I'd be so thrilled to be simply overweight?  No more morbidly obese for me!  I am thrilled to say that I have walked with the kids to school everyday so far this year.  Will and I then go about our business on our own morning walk.  Sometimes we only do a couple of miles; sometimes we like to re-enact the Bataan Death March.  It all kind of depends.  He puts up with me; especially if I bring the iPad and he can watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

I have been cooking and grocery shopping (which may not seem like a big deal, but is pretty much a miracle at our house.)  Matt and I took a Mexican cooking class which was lots of fun.  I learned how to make chimichangas; and was able to reproduce my success at home.  I have also made an AWESOME meatloaf and naan bread (oh, and other cool Indian food.)  Needless to say, I am rocking the domestic goddess part of my job description.

Like how I remembered halfway through that I should take a picture of my handiwork?

Pay no attention to my filthy oven.  It'll get replaced before it gets clean, so deal with it.

Not the best picture, but it was really yummy!

Seriously, one of my goals when I had this surgery done was to learn to cook.  I wanted to start making a greater variety of foods for my family and help them develop their taste buds.  Mine, sadly, are stunted, and will probably remain so, but there's hope for the next generation.

With that said, it's ironic that the next highlight of my life is the fact that I have made my kids lunch EVERY SINGLE DAY since school started!  Yes, I know we're only a month in, but that is the longest I have ever gone.  I blame Jack; he is more stubborn that the girls are.  They would give up on the home lunch thing way too easy, making school lunch the way to go.  However, Jack loves to have a home lunch, and despite the fact that I am trying to broaden his culinary horizons, he insists on having the same thing in his thermos every day; Mac N Cheese!  Oh well, he eats it; which is more than I can say for the sandwiches I was packing him at the first of the year.

I cleaned my laundry room; which means nothing to you, but is pretty awesome as far as I'm concerned.  I have decided that the laundry room is the one place that I squirrel away things.  To say I found a hodpodge of stuff would be an understatement.  Still, I dusted, vacuumed, matched up socks, reorganized shelves and generally made myself feel happy about the laundry.  Nearly a month later, I am happy to report that the floor is still clean and the kids are still fascinated by how much space that room has; Erin wants to make it her bedroom.

The Halloween decorations are up!  I have refinished a hutch for my front porch, cleaned my craft room and have great plans for my bedroom.  In the next couple of weeks, I plan to tackle the painting of the kids bathroom, painting the hallway and living room, and hopefully, new carpet.  Right now, our carpet looks like it has had a transmission changed on it.  However, with four kids and two dogs, I'm grateful that the fibers still cover the floor; even though they're gray!

Oh, and I think I've developed a bit of an addiction to M & M's of the peanut variety.

Erin is 12!  And she's in Junior High!  And she's doing great!

Erin's first day of 7th grade!

Eek!  Erin's first school dance.  There was a neon theme; no, I don't let her dress like this normally.

Erin is really doing well in school.  With the exception of her math class, I would say that she's thriving, even!  It is such a great thing to watch your kids succeed.  She is really trying hard and I have to say, the anxiety I was having about junior high is starting to subside a bit.  Again, this is where I have been so thankful for Matt.  He and Erin have become homework buddies.  What a relief!  It's also been fun to have her be able to come home for lunch.  It's nice to get a little quiet time with her during the day.  She is loving French and CTE; she has already picked her science fair project and is attending all of the after school activities and really loving it.  She has made friends, has her first cell phone and is loving being able to go to movies or just hang out.  She has also been cleaning her room without being asked.  Wonders never cease. So proud of you Erin!

Allie is happy!  My little bundle of nerves is LOVING school this year.  She is in a class with her friends, has time to play and is taking dance again.  I am thrilled to report that she has been really great at keeping up with her homework; it's such a nice email to get from the teacher that says, "My records show that Allie has no missing work."  She is reading a lot more and really enjoying it.  She is active at recess and loved having a big group of girls over for a late night the first week of school.  Here's my little darling on the first day of school.

Look at that smile for the first day of fifth grade!

Allie has really come a long way over the last few months.  In September, she went with Erin and flew to Denver to stay with my brother and his family.  They had a great time.  She is really enjoying her ballet and jazz classes.  Her fish have all died, so she's sporting a fabulously clean fish tank!  She's a great help with her little brothers and I'm amazed at some of the very insightful questions she comes up with.  We've been talking a lot lately about the election and the electoral college.  What a great kid!

This is Jack.  He's in first grade; all-day school!  And, according to him, he's the best soccer player in the first grade.  He's ALL BOY!

Jack's first day of first grade!

Lovin' the monster truck!

Jack has also made a complete turnaround with school starting this year.  Kindergarten wasn't a super great experience for him; although I'm sure I don't know why.  However, Jack is loving the first grade! He gets to eat lunch at school, has three recesses, is learning to read, rides his bike everyday, has made new friends and loves his teacher Mrs. Beesley.  He is so good to do his homework and go to bed on time.  He is sleeping in his own bed more, has stopped sucking his thumb and is really enjoying reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid with his mom.  He is growing up before my eyes.  The other day, he made Will's bed and told me that it was important that he do things like that because he needs to set a good example as the Big Brother.  He informed me that he waited a really long time to be a big brother, so he'd better do a good job.  Jack is really excited to start Instructional League basketball on Saturday; almost as excited as his dad is!

This is Will's first day of school picture..... mostly a glare!

Will, oh, Will, oh Will!  This boy keeps me on my toes!  I think he by far the hardest of my four kids at this age.  My others rarely threw tantrums, but this dude has it down to a science.  In fact, his temper landed him in the emergency room on Labor Day.  He decided to arch his back when Erin was trying to put him on her shoulders and did a header 5 and 1/2 feet down to the cement floor at the movie theater.  Here he is getting a CT scan on his noggin; not happy!  It turns out he has a cracked skull.  Fortunately for us, this kid's Charlie Brown head protected his brain well and we just have to wait for it to heal on it's own.

Don't you love how his dad is letting him play behind the bio-hazard bin under the sink in the emergency room?  Nothing wrong with this picture.

It's funny, this kid doesn't talk, at all, but he is so expressive with his actions and his sounds.  He also has this look that he gives us that just cracks me up!  We call it his "Gerald" look.  We call it this because of him.  He is Maggie Simpson's nemesis.

See the resemblance?

He is a stinker!  Those eyebrows will show you just how much he is put out by whatever you may ask of him.

He refuses to sit quietly in church.  One Sunday, after trying to leave on his own accord at least EIGHT times, I gave up.  We ended up in the car, watching a movie and eating Twinkies.  Some days, you gotta know when to call it.

Think he feels bad?  Me neither.

Where we found him the first night he wanted to sleep in his big boy bed.

Needless to say, this boy keeps us on our toes.  I am so thankful for him, but I'm not gonna lie; the moment I put him in bed, I breathe a sigh of relief.

Well, if it's possible, there are a few more things we've been up to as a family.  We went for a hike to the waterfall by our house.

Annie is missing from this picture because we discovered she is part mountain goat
and is scaling the mountain behind them.

One weekend when Matt was out of town, I took the kids to see their very first drive in movie.  Actually, it was two movies.  We saw The Odd Life of Timothy Green and Brave at the Redwood Drive-In.  We had a great time and will for sure go back next summer.

You gotta love this picture of these kids working on their routine 

to cheer their dad on at his marathon!

Most recently, we spent Conference Weekend at the cabin and really had a great time with just the six of us.  Will loved riding the four wheelers for the first time.

As you can see, we have been busy at our house.  We haven't necessarily been doing great things, but we've been having a great time.  Most importantly, we are filled with gratitude for the time we have together.