Another Day Another Adventure

I know I haven't posted for a while, but this adventure should hopefully make up for my negligence over the past week or two.

This week I put up bead-board wallpaper in my kitchen. I LOVE it. Before we moved in, there was wallpaper in the kitchen & then someone removed it & painted the walls without taking care of the glue first & it just looked bad. I didn't want to deal with sanding and puttying, so I have been looking for another option & when I saw this wallpaper online it seemed too good to be true, but it really looks just like bead-board. You can even putty, caulk, and paint it.
I put the paper up on Monday and haven't had a chance to do the finishing touches so there were a couple of little corners that were peeling up a little bit.
That gives the background for today's adventure...so please be patient as it all comes together.
Tonight for dinner we had Chinese food. I set the table with a black tablecloth, red placemats, white dishes with Chinese calligraphy stuck to the bottom of some clear glass bowls, and put some Chinese art in the middle of the table as a centerpiece. It looked pretty cute (I thought) and provided the atmosphere of learning for my girls.
We talked a little bit about Chinese New Year coming up in a couple weeks and Sarah started asking me questions like:
Sarah: "Mom, How do people in China eat?"
Me: They use chopsticks
Sarah: How do they drink?
Me: Just like we do.
Sarah: How do they walk?
Me: Just like we do.
Sarah: How do they get dressed?
Me: Just like we do. Sarah, people in China are just like us. They don't have blonde hair and blue eyes like you do; they look more like Mulan, and SilverMist (Tinkerbell's fairy friend)
Sarah: Is Tinkerbell Chinese, too?
Me: Nope. I don't know where she's from.
Sarah: Oh, But how do people in China..........
It went on like that for a while.

After dinner I was doing the dishes when water started coming down through the ceiling. Rachel has been potty training this week (CAN I JUST SAY WOO HOO!) and she tried flushing an entire roll of toilet paper down...obviously without success.
As I was running up the stairs to take control of the situation, I slipped on a piece of "extra" wallpaper that I somehow had forgotten to throw away over the last four days bringing us back to the beginning of the post. Because what I slipped on was not actually "extra" wallpaper, it was a small piece of the series of paper Rachel had peeled where the edges weren't stuck down all the way.
For anyone who sees Rachel, she does have a nasty conk on her forehead, but I promise it was unintentional, and self inflicted...She slid on the Tang powder that she had dumped in the kitchen and hit the corner of the wall. The poor kid. Really it was probably a blessing in disguise because it is a lot harder to get mad at a child staring up at you with a giant goose egg.
So that is it for my day today.

Like Father Like Daughter

I didn't get to hear any "Zap Zap" sound effects last night, but Rachel did wake me up with a blood curdling scream in the middle of the night. I thought she had split her head open & ran into her room where she was standing on her bed, and when I asked her what was wrong she whispered "Spiders!" The poor girl was shaking like a leaf & I spent the next hour snuggling her in her bed, then when I thought I was carefully sneaking into my bed turned around to see Rachel climbing up after me where we snuggled for another hour.
By that time she was feeling much better & she woke up this morning happy as a clam. She made me "clean her bed" last night, and seems to be doing much better now!

My Poor House

I'm afraid that my house may not survive my calling. Every time I go to clean something...OK, maybe not EVERY time, but frequently when I start cleaning things I get interrupted with Primary things. This usually involves me sending an email, making a phone call, looking up information etc. and my house gets neglected time and time again.
Not to mention the fact that my post-interruption motivation for getting started cleaning is usually next to nil.
I will try to clean again as soon as I finish sending a couple of emails, but I have a feeling something else might just crop up before I can get to those dishes...or that laundry...or the straightening...or vacuuming (you get the idea)

Happy Birthday Dad!

I just have to wish my dad a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I am so grateful to have such a wonderful dad! He is so much fun to talk to, and he is a GREAT grandpa to my girls...seriously, how many people allow themselves to be turned into a toilet paper mummy for the entertainment of five little girls? We all love him & wish him a Wonderful Day!
LOVE YOU DAD!

Winners!

I got a call from the girls' school today to tell me that Ellie was a finalist for Reflections, but I didn't hear anything about Becca. Happily, when I got to the school assembly, I discovered that both of them actually won in their different categories. I was so proud of them! I will take pictures of them with their entries as soon as they get them back...they didn't hand them back today. Becca entered in photography. She found the letters in the word "BEAUTY" in different objects in our backyard, and Ellie entered in literature and wrote a free-verse poem that was REALLY good (in my completely unbiased opinion).
Hooray for happy days!

Super Greg

I was just cleaning out under my bed and came across a note I had written in the middle of the night about a month ago (yes, it has been that long since I cleaned out under my bed). It took me a minute to remember why I had written it, then I started laughing out loud.
Greg regularly saves the world at night, and sometimes talks in his sleep , so I get to be a part of it. One night, at about two in the morning, he yelled "GET UP!" I asked him "Why! What's wrong?" To which he replied "We're Grounding Out! ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!"
Well, I was up for another hour thanks to the adrenaline rush, but at least I was laughing thanks to the "ZAP! ZAP!" sound effects.

A New Decade

Last night we took down the crib. Other than the day it was taken down for our move from the condo to our current home, that crib has been set up for the past 9 years. We bought the crib shortly after telling everyone that we were expecting Becca (I didn't want to have any pregnancy complications that would prohibit me from getting the nursery ready before she came, so it was TOTALLY finished by the time I was six months along), and it has been in use ever since Becca was born.
It felt very surreal taking it down to put up a big-girl-bed for Rachel. We put up the same day bed that we got for Becca just before Ellie came along. That was almost more strange to me. Watching her excitement at being able to get out of bed by herself was very cute.
This morning she got up and ran into the hall as I was going into her room to check on her. She bounced up and down exclaiming "I got out of bed! I got out of bed!" It was very cute.
She stayed in the crib longer than any of my other girls by almost a year, and I have to say that it made the transition a little bit easier....she didn't even fall out of bed once! Hooray!

Busy time of Year

I just asked Rachel to help me clean her room, and she looked up at me, shook her head and said, "I can't Mom. Sorry. I'm way too busy."

A Christmas Poem

'Twas a few days before Christmas and all through the house
Someone was stirring-- as soft as a mouse.
I thought that the girls were all up in their rooms
Dusting their cobwebs and sweeping with brooms,
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a series of murals (to my eyes came a tear).
The crayon was stretched over dresser and wall;
It covered the toy chest; it decked the whole hall.
The upstairs was covered from chair rail to floor--
I even spied crayon on more than one door.

But who was this artist who colored in red?
I'll admit I was stumped until I saw the bed:

Merry Christmas 2009!

Well, it is time for the annual "Christmas Card" and accompanying "Christmas Letter." So once again, here is the Cliff's Notes version of our year.

Greg: Is working hard for Northrop Grumman and doing a great job (he just got a stellar review from his boss, which is no surprise. I think he's amazing!) He's still teaching Elder's Quorum and is excited to break in his new guitar hero equipment (we are on set #2 after the girls destroyed the first one).

Heather: Is keeping busy with Primary and the girls, cleaning, laundry, shopping and every once in a while she sneaks in a good book.

Becca (8): Is working on multiplication, piano, and her front teeth. She is a sweetheart who loves playing with her sisters and friends.

Ellie (6): Is our Cinderella girl. You might have noticed she only had one shoe for this picture. She always seems to be losing a shoe or two. She is tender-hearted and so smart! She is feisty and fun.

Sarah (4): Is our little dancer. She counts down the days from one dance class to the next, and can't wait for Christmas to arrive. She knows her letters and is starting to sound out simple words.

Rachel (2): Is our little monkey. She is enchanted with all things monkey (especially Curious George) and gives the best hugs ever.

And there you have the summary of each of us in two sentences or less!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

New Naughtiness

There are days when I can find the humor and cuteness in my children's antics, but other days their naughtiness just makes me tired. Over the last few days, Sarah has been suffering from serious emotional melt-downs, and the other day she decided to practice writing "X's" all over the quilt my grandma made me with crayons. We have also had a bit of trauma as Rachel recently dumped two more bottles of shampoo on the carpet, colored on the wall, emptied a brand new container of baby wipes, dumped Parmesan cheese and maraschino cherry juice on the floor and unwrapped all the presents I had just finished wrapping.
All these fantastic "gifts" happened while I was trying to clean other areas of the house, and I have to admit I didn't find any of them very entertaining.
Today I have another busy day of cleaning, but for some reason I can't seem to motivate myself to leave the girls unattended, even briefly, to attempt the work that piles up as I am cleaning up after them.
Perhaps if an "elf " was watching they would behave a little bit better...Well, I guess I have procrastinated as long as I can, so wish me luck as I try to clean without catastrophe striking!

Look Out Below!

Tonight we went swimming at the rec. center, and we had a great time. I didn't take my camera, but I had my picture taken more tonight than I think I have the rest of the year. There was a lady who was taking pictures of her kids & I'm guessing she must have taken over 300 pictures. She must have had a huge memory card. We also saw Chris-paragus and his family, and his dad was taking pictures, and I fear I might have been caught in their pictures as well. I told Greg that the only thing worse than having pictures of myself in a swimming suit is knowing that my neighbors have pictures of me in a swimming suit....YIKES! But despite the knowledge that my picture is now lurking in the annals of time (and Watsons if you post any pictures of me from tonight you are all dead to me), we had a great time.
Ellie went down the big water slide all by herself, Rachel very nearly did the lazy river by herself, Becca was a regular fish, and Sarah warmed up to the water and we convinced her to go down the little tube slide by the end of the night, which brings me to the highlight of the evening.
Greg took Sarah to the top of the blue slide & I was at the bottom to "catch" her as she came out (I have to put catch in quotes because the bottom of the slide is in 6 inches of water & the water catches anyone who comes out). After Sarah came down, a couple of other kids came down the slide, and pretty soon a grandpa of a little boy came to the bottom of the slide to watch his grandson come down. Little did he know that the next person in line was NOT his three-year-old relation, but Greg. As Greg shot out of the tube, the guy next to me was DRENCHED with water, and the look on his face was PRICELESS. Once he got over the shock, he started laughing so hard he couldn't move, and I got a pretty good case of the giggles, too. Greg thought I was laughing at him and when I told him what happened he started laughing, and then I couldn't stop, which made the "grandpa" laugh even harder, and we all had a great time.

Peas in a Pod

Sarah has a friend in her Primary class that she ADORES. She asks multiple times each day if she can play, and mentions her name about 30 times a day. So today we called and OH HAPPY DAY, she could play. Sarah colored her a picture, put on a necklace, and grabbed a little stuffed kitty to take to her friend's house, when I told her that Jessica would be coming here. Well, not two minutes later, Jessica arrived....with a picture for Sarah, wearing a dress-up necklace, and holding a stuffed kitty. Like I said, they are two peas in a pod.

I believe!

Greg: "Becca, do you still believe in Santa Claus?"
Becca: "Yeah, I will probably believe in him forever."

Oh Come with Me to Primary

I am hoping that I will still be able to keep up on my blogging, but if I don't, please know why. Yesterday I was put in as the new Primary President. I LOVE being in Primary, and I am SO lucky to have an amazing presidency to help me move into this role, but I am also a little overwhelmed. As I mentioned last month, our previous president passed away unexpectedly, and when she was gone I said to Greg, "I feel sorry for whoever has to take her place...she did such an amazing job." So, I suppose I can legitimately pity myself, but only momentarily because I am sincerely looking forward to being in Primary again.
Sarah has been very cute. Today she asked me when it would be Sunday again because she was SO excited for me to come to Primary with her, and the other girls have had similar excitement. Becca is most excited that she will know where to find me after church now, and Ellie gave me the "thumbs up" in Sacrament meeting.
I am very grateful for a supportive family, and know that without help I could never do this on my own.

A Halloween Scripture

I was studying the scriptures this morning and Sarah asked me to read aloud to her. I started reading and she said, "OK, that's enough, I'll tell you a scripture now." and she proceeded to tell me Mosiah 4:13 (a scripture Ellie memorized for primary a while back).
She got confused toward the end, so I prompted her by saying "that which" when she turned to me and said "THAT WITCH!? I DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS A WITCH IN THAT SCRIPTURE!"

Happy Halloween

Here are a couple pictures of our "Garden Fairies" from Halloween. We took these while waiting for Ben & Kristy to come home...we got to see the new decor post wedding & it was very very cute.
However, the girls were too excited about Halloween to sit still for pictures and so I had to snap a few when and where I could.
Here is the little ladybug. She was a lady bug for her very first Halloween, so I guess she has come full circle.
Ellie wanted to be a Dragonfly FAIRY...not just a dragonfly & I told her that the tutu made her a fairy and she was convinced.
Sarah was a butterfly (however her wings were on the bench the moment we hit the playground)...oh well.
The "bumble fairy" also ditched her antennae and wings in favor of the slides, but she was awfully cute even without the accessories.

Silly Sarah

As Sarah and I were playing outside, she turned to me and politely asked, "Mom, one day may we please have peas and arugula?"
Silly girl!

Thief in the Night

This one is slow in coming, but I thought I would post it because the girls are officially un-grounded today.
Two weeks ago, my extended family flew in for Ben's wedding, and one night Greg took the girls to my parent's house to see the fam (I had Young Women's and a shower so I couldn't go). Well, the next day I took the girls down again since I hadn't seen my aunt or grandma, and my mom decided to show the family what she got my girls for Christmas. Sadly, she couldn't find Becca or Ellie's gift. We searched and searched but found only the empty boxes where the Webkins should have been. The girls were in school, but as soon as they got home I asked them what happened. Becca played dumb...even to the point of asking "Webkins? What Webkins? I don't know what you are talking about." To which Ellie responded, "Just give up, Becca, I already told Mom the truth." (She got home from the bus stop first and through sobs told me she and Becca had taken them).
I asked them how they did it & they told me that they used a high chair my mom keeps in the basement for use when needed, and climbed up to the top shelf where the toys were hidden, opened them, stashed the boxes, and then slipped out the basement door and hid the Webkins in the car.

We had a nice long talk about how that was STEALING, made them apologize, and told them they were grounded from friends and all media for two weeks.

Since then, we really haven't had much trouble around here...which is good news for me, but it does leave the blog high and dry without the interesting stories to tell.

L/R

Ellie just picked up my contact case, looked at the "L" and "R" on the lids and said, "I know what these mean."
I asked her what, and she said, "R- is for RIGHT NOW and L-is for LATER." Then she opened up both sides, saw that they were empty and said, "Mom, have you been using both sides? No wonder you have problems."