This post hasn't been appr0ved by the editor and I am sure that as soon as she finds out about this I am going to get a "Hun!", but after reading all of the emails and facebook notes I just thought that I would share the theme song of Alaskans in the winter.
Matt
| Baby, It's Cold Ou... |
I haven't cut Benjamin's hair in a while because the only thing I can do is shave it really short and I just couldn't do that. I also wanted to see what it was like longer. It is very thick and has a wave. It was finally so out of control that we took him in to the barber. Now Hilda's Barber shop has probably been cutting hair there for 40 years and the same people. Walking by one afternoon we peaked in and there is every animal in Alaska stuffed and hanging up. There is even a Jack-a-lope. The men were sitting around reading papers and shooting the breeze. I was taken back about 40 years. Anyway, Benjamin decided this was were we should go. It was a "boys only" hair place. As we arrived Benjamin looked at me and seriously says," Mom, you and Josette can't go in there. It is only for boys." I then had to convince him that it was ok for girls to go in there. So he sat very still and got a great hair cut. But those ol'time barber prices didn't hold true, $16 for a little boy! They kept calling us the rich family because they found out we had a kid with braces and only rich kids got braces, so I probably got nailed. The woman was using a cell phone, I thought she would be up with the times a bit and know that families that have kids with braces aren't rich because it's all in their kids mouth! Ooh well it was a fun 1 time experience and the bummer is, it was a fun place hanging out with all the ol'timers.
Here is also the requested video of Josette toddling. No, we don't have a dog, the panting noise you hear is Josette. You also see a bit of the trail of destruction J. leaves all over.
It's a new day, Carsten hasn't had an accident in 4 days, the sun is shining on a beautiful world outside, and after the bummer post of last night I really wanted to get back to fun humor. The only problem is I don't have any funny quips for the day yet. Josette is looking very cute toddling around and pulling everything out of the cabinets, I've gotten good at just scooting the tupperware over a little so that I can cook. Gotta love this stage.
I've tried to keep politics out of my blog out of respect for others but I really need to voice an opinion at the moment and Hobo Jim, Alaska's State Balladeer, says it perfectly.
We actually have had the chance to meet him twice. He is a great guy, super hilarious and your true Alaskan.
So, I forgot this little Halloween story. We had a bit of a neighborhood party before going off trick or treating and so there were 12 kids getting ready to go. I told Benjamin and Sophie to get ready and wait on the porch while I got Carsten. I assumed that they would realize that it was only 13 degrees outside and would get the proper winter attire of hats and gloves. When we left I checked that all those things were there. After walking all the way up the hill and back down Benjamin complains that his feet are cold. I look down and he has on his crocs with NO socks on! You've got to be kidding me we've already been out for 30 minutes and he is just now complaining. I quickly ran back into the house to get his socks and boots. As I came out he was upset because the kids had gone on trick-or-treating and he was missing out not that he was getting frost bite.
There's a lot of pictures because so much has happened that this is the only way I can catch up! I do a "joy" school type preschool with Benjamin in one group and Carsten in another. It's been good for the boys to have their own groups at their levels but that means I've had preschool in my home for the last 2 weeks and I have one more week to go. Things always get a little crazy when it's my turn for a week so 3 straight weeks is really putting me behind.
Sophie had her parent/teacher conference and she is doing great. She's a bit of a chatter box (which we already knew) but is acing everything. She attends a small charter school has had the same classmates since kindergarten. A big bonus because I know all the students and parents but it does add to the chattiness level.
After a year long struggle with potty training Carsten I think we've made the jump. He was pretty much trained until camping season came and he wouldn't use the pit toilets because there were bears in there. So the "Bear toilets" put a complete stop to our underwear days and we were back to square one. Wednesday he asked for underwear and has wanted them since. Of course with brand new carpet I wasn't sure I was ready to go there until we were absolutely sure it could be done. Anyway we've had 2 accident free days, we won't mention the other days, and has decided that he wants underwear at night. We'll see what happens. Between the gas price going down and not having to buy pull ups anymore we've gotten a bit of a raise! :)
To add a bit to my getting over my carpet anxiety we have been dog sitting. Bear is a great dog but everytime we watch him Matt and I realize we are not dog people. Bear is Sophie's pal and sleeps by her bed every night he was here. Sophie would love one but NO WAY!
The pictures below are in the order they've occured in our life.
Benjamin in his new gee. He is so proud!
Mom and Sophie girl!
Benjamin's cow eating grass. We did a farm unit and made homemade butter. The next class we did the story of the Little Red Hen and made bread.
Making carpet angels on our new carpet. After 3 years we finally replaced all the carpet downstairs and in the bedrooms.
Carsten's Halloween preschool we did spider webs and spider shrink- a- dinks.
My little Kung Fu Panda crew. Sophie was Tigresse (I didn't get all the stripes on...oh well) B. is Po the Panda and C. is the Leopard. Josette was the master. Thanks Mom!
Matt made these great laterns to line our front walk. There was a different image on each side. They looked really cool in front of the house. Great job Hon!I first have to start with a bit of my Benjamin. He is my serious one of the bunch and sees things so clearly sometimes. We recently had a bit of excitement over at the neighbors and a fire engine, police car and ambulance arrived on the scene. Right after I asked B. about what he thought about what had happened and he replied, "well, they are unhealthy and had to go to the hospital. I've been learning about bodies at preschool and eating healthy food to be healthy." First I was impressed that he had made a connection. I then went on to talk about how their grandma was old and when we get older our bodies start to get tired. That was the end of that until dinner.
At dinner I asked B. to tell Daddy what excitement had happened that day. He looks at Matt and said that there were EMERGENCY VEHICLES at the neighbors house. (Here I was thinking that he would say that a police car, ambulance and fire truck. silly me.) He also went on to explain healthy habits to everyone and old bodies as only a 4 year old can.
For any of you who are familiar with the classic movie Better Off Dead imagine the little kid who follows the teenage boy saying " I want my two dollars!" Now just change the words to "I want breakfast!" You have B. every morning between 6:45 and 7 am. (This morning it was 3 am!) Finally one morning after just getting back in bed again after a very long night, B. comes in demanding breakfast. I tell him that I have a half hour before I have to get Sophie up and just get in bed and snuggle for a little bit.
Benjamin: "No, I'm hungry. I want breakfast."
Mom: "Well then go get it yourself. I'm going to lay her for a little bit."
B: "I want to eat breakfast with everyone."
Mom: " I am not going to wake everybody up right now, so just wait 15 minutes. PPPLEASE."
B: "I want breakfast"
Mom: "Well then just go get a handful of cereal till everybody gets up."
B: "OK"
Later at dinner I recount the conversation to Matt. I continue by saying that when I came out Benjamin had the whole bag next to him eating. Matt then asked Benjamin why he had the whole bag. Benjamin holds out his hand and states simply, "they are too small and I couldn't get enough!"
Enough of B. on to Carsten. Lately our nightly tuck ins have turned into "Where is Carsten?"
It's a good thing he has long limbs!
I always look forward to General Conference for a multiple of reasons. I love being spritually fed and it is always a quiet family weekend with no other meetings that separate us for the day. It is this great calm. Until today. I have been soloing it while my sidekick has been off exploring Arches National park for work. A great thing for him. Home has been great and the kids have been really nice to me. I awoke this morning with great expectations for a wonderful conference session. The kids were excited to watch conference and have a special breakfast treat.
Mistake #1- I did not go with our usual Costco breakfast treat, opting instead to fix one after the first session. (we start at 8 am) The kids are way too hungry to make it that long and that is one of the things they look forward to is the muffins. They only get them twice a year.
Mistake #2- I did not double check that Conference would be shown on normal tv stations as it had in times past. It was not being broadcast so I tried to watch it on the internet. Kids are now really not paying attention. I am going crazy because it stops after every third word.
Mistake #3- I don't know if this one is really a mistake but we'll just keep with the format. For the afternoon I decide that we will go to the chapel and watch it there. The kids have been great and were excited to go. So armed with Conference packets and crayons we go. We lasted 15 minutes in the chapel before heading to the "mother's room". There were too few people and Carsten and Josette didn't have the first clue about using quiet whispers.
By this point I am rather frustrated because I have yet to catch a full talk. I did catch a bit of one from Elder ? He told of the story of his daughter going on a blind date and leaving with guy who was coming to get a sitter for his kids. It was all about how laughter changes everything. We need to laugh more, life is too short. At least that is what I got.
By the time we got home I was really at an end. What to do to entertain the kids for the rest of the day?
Mistake #4 - Let's all make bread together! Everybody agreed and we started. We'll make a double batch so that there is plenty for everybody to play with. 4 cups water, 2Tbs Yeast, 4 TBL sugar, 3 cups flour.....I need to get more flour from the garage. As I come back in the house two little boys come running downstairs covered in this dough, head to foot and I hear the mixer up on the table going crazy. The first thought that comes into mind was Elder ? hiding in the kitchen when the real date showed up because he was laughing so hard. What could I do then but laugh! I then sprinted upstairs to turn off the mixer. Everything was covered in this wet mixture. It took an hour to clean up but I was sure grateful for the timing of that talk and that I was able to catch that little bit. I think after the way the day had gone I would have had two boys in bed for a long time and I would have been in tears!
No bread was made but a mother's sanity was saved by the inspiration of an apostle of the Lord to talk about laughter. I'm going to download this one and listen to it at least once a week to remind me.
No pictures were taken to try and discourage this type of laughter in the future.
A picture would have explained everything except it would have only encouraged them. For awhile now the boys have been asking for a trampoline so that they could jump from the garage roof onto the tramp. We have not given in but I just don't know where this fasination with jumping from the roof comes from. I was cleaning the garage while the boys where running around playing outside. I suddenly hear some scratching noises coming from above me. Where are the boys? I run around the side of the house and spot Carsten balanced on the top of the fence about ready to get onto the roof. I start calmly but loudly informing him to get down. Then I notice Benjamin at the peak of the garage roof. I not so calmly tell him to get off the roof. He proceeds to run down and JUMP off the roof. Luckily it is only about 5 feet up but still he ran and jumped. He was trying to get his frisbee off the roof on the front side which is much higher. I hope I was able to scare them enough to deter them for at least another year but it begins and they are only 3 and 4 1/2! As people hear of this story I have learned of other little boys jumping into the snow banks from the upper roofs, repelling down the sides of houses and other such stories. I knew that it would happen at some point I just hoped it wouldn't happen so soon.
I Love the Amazing Race. We have watched it every year since it started and had tv. Someday we will get to participate but until then I just pick my favorites and my not so favorites. I loved the hippie married couple from Oregon but they have been the first to depart. I already have a strong dislike for Tina. I have yet to decide about the rest.
We have had some gorgeous days with blue skies and crunchy leaves on the ground. It is so amazing and we didn't get a chance to go on a single hike.
I did get to go on S.'s field trip to collect salmon eggs for their fish tank. Every year the second grade gets salmon eggs and then in the spring let the fry go in the creek. There is an Anchorage School District collection site for all the schools to get their eggs. It was very interesting to watch them get the eggs from the female and a the milt from the male and fertalize them right in front of us all. I learned a ton. Like until water is added they aren't fertalized. A female salmon will lay about 2-3 thousand eggs and only 2 will make it back up the creek. I was a bit curious as to how many questions this 2nd grade class would have regarding this fertilization process but there were none. I didn't even have to worry about the "talk" at home. This photo was right before all the eggs were spilled.
S. ran in her first race and loved it! Before the race we had a conversation that went a bit like this:
Me: Make sure that you follow the kids ahead so that you don't get lost. You'll be going through the woods and tunnels.
S: Well Mom I'll be in the lead so what do I do then?
Me: Does that me you're going to RUN the whole way?!
S: Mom I'm going to win it!
Matt and I also got to attend a fancy dinner for the World Affairs Organization as a guest of Matt's work. I was a bit worried about attending a dinner with leading community leaders and Matt's big bosses but it turned out great. Our table had some very interesting people from all walks of life. One English artist was visiting from Beijing where she had been taking portraits of the workers building the Olympic avenues. And 6 others just like that. The food was even good. Our steaks were cooked perfectly, which is truly amazing for a large group. The only bummer thing is that we weren't able to get one of those great pictures, I guess that happens when you're photographer is 7.
I don't know how many of you do this but daily I sit back and think, this is my life. I have a wonderful supportive husband, 4 incredible kids and I live in Alaska. It truly blows me away because it is nothing like I would have guessed when I was 23 and returning from a mission. I'm sure when I'm 100 I'll say the same thing. I never really envisioned what my future family would be like. I guess there were children in the picture but 4 seemed like a big stretch.
We went for a fall walk this evening and the kids were racing ahead of us. S. with a multi-colored stripe hat, and sunglasses. B. with an army green rain coat, bright blue shorts, black church socks, blue water crocs, and to complete the look a red fleece hat that velcros under his chin with a small bill (a size too small). C. was looking a bit sharper with a green moose hat, rain boats and his white collared shirt with a red sweater. As this motley crew was running ahead I turned to Matt and said, "they are ours!"
I just feel very blessed by a loving Heavenly Father!
Josette officially turned the big 1. I decided to finally be a good mom and make a child's birthday cake and since Josette is our moose baby...well at least I tried! Josette fully appreciated it though. She dug in with both fists and when that wasn't fast enough she leaned over and tried to lick it . I don't know if that is a sign of things to come but it made for the best first birthday cake eating I have ever seen. Happy Birthday Little Girl!
Trying to get at the cake from another angle.
Could there be a happier baby?!
As of yesterday morning Sophie became that "cool" kid. I remember being in the 2nd and 3rd grade making braces out of paper clips. While Sophie sat in that orthodontic chair I told her how I had wanted braces so bad that I did this. I had forgotten about that but all the kids wanted them. At what point braces became "uncool" I'm not sure but for right now life is good. All the kids in her class keep telling her that they'll have to get braces soon too. The only down fall is that she was growing up way too fast and now it just skipped a couple of years. Nobody will believe us now when we tell them her real age.
Sophie is modeling her new hat and sweater compliments of a very talented Meme who has been knitting like a crazy women.
I have officially gone crazy as I run all the kids in different directions. I guess this will be the next 17 years of my life. We are doing a mom (joy) preschool again, which I love. This year though I've split up B. and C. because they 1) they are on different learning levels and 2) they really need some time apart! B. and C. have become so overly competetive. Now competition is good. I fully support a good competetive streak but it is total meltdown if one is done before the other. B. was even saying that his stitches were worse than C's! It is a sad day when B. is excited to visit the ER and is pulling us by the hand to make sure we take him. It was his first visit and he was sure proud. Everyone at church knew about how he tripped on the wooden stairs and cracked his chin open. In the long run it is going to save us a ton of money if I get a nursing degree just so I can learn to do stitches.
I guess two plates of lasagna will do you in!
We met with Josette's surgeon for her one year check...it was great! She is doing really well and as of right now it doesn't seem like she should have any more corrective surgeries. We'll go back in a year to make sure that her chest forms correctly (it's a little malformed at the moment) but that too will hopefully continue to fill out as her lungs grow. The best way to illustrate how far she's come is with the x-rays.
This was the x-ray taken about 5 minutes after birth. The right side is intestine, the heart is to the far left corner and her lung is the black space beneath the heart.
This was taken this week and it 's wonderful! Heart is in the middle and two lungs!
Modern day medicine is wonderful!
PS We still love those WSU Cougs despite the shellacking they received today.
My Grandpa always used to say "You can't soar with the eagles if you're up with the turkeys." That was the story of our very short summer. We spent too much time with the turkeys and things did not get done as they should have. That is the nice thing about school, it forces us to get up and soar with the eagles. I get work outs in, breakfast for everyone and kids dressed by 9:00am. Sophie loves school and is so excited for this year. She attends a charter school with only one class in each grade so she knows her teacher and all her classmates already.
Life is always eventful in the Mower household. We enjoyed a great weekend spending Friday night an the state fair. There is nothing like the lumber jack show. The jokes are the same each year and the guys are getting older ( they are over 15 now..) but we love watching them saw, chop and log roll. The kids were laughing hysterically.
Saturday we got to blueberry picking. A spectacular day on top of the world. It was the first time Matt had been able to go on a hike with us.
We have a great nightly routine in our home the last week. Sit in front of the tv and cheer on people in incredible shape and comment on their muscles. I just got done seeing a 38 year old women win the marathon and a 41 get a silver in a all out swim sprint. It makes me think that there is still hope for me to get those amazing muscles.
I love the Olympics! The kids have really gotten into it doing their own Olympics. Gymnastics and now racing is occurring nightly in our basement. The front yard shares gymnastics and volleyball. Matt and I try to pick what events the kids would do. So far Sophie gets volleyball, Carsten is the swimmer, Benjamin the shooter, and well, Josette is badminton.
Now to watch Phelps win #8.
Drinks, Kid pack, fishing poles, boots, check!
Uh, oh what's this...black clouds and pouring rain 20 minutes from the house. Should we turn back? I didn't bring any rain gear, heck you saw the picture when we were leaving, no reason to bring any. We'll keep going and hope that the clouds are working back towards the house and away from the direction we're going.
Sophie would yell that she had a fish everytime there was a little tug on the line coming in. I caught a big silver but then being a novice at landing them I lost it. Sophie loves it and has her own chest waders and everything.
Nobody is watching, I'll just take a few.
An amazing sunset in the mountains. An end to a great day.
I have really been feeling that need to get things in order. If I were expecting it would probably be called nesting but Matt says I'm always nesting. We had seriously depleted my stock piles in preperation for our over-seas move. When that got changed I felt very strong impressions that emergency preparedness needed to take center stage again. This has been reaffirmed by the talks and council that we have been receiving in General Conference and from our Stake. I have also felt that need to get things other than food in order. I know that for the longest time I was always trying to get food in order but I have greatly broadened my horizons. I have had a weekly focus on what to add to our supplies. So far I've done sterile gloves (Costco has a coupon for them this month), Bleach, laundry detergent (another Costco Coupon) and TP. I never had really thought of TP but boy I would hate to be without it for a while if we were restricted to our home for a long period of time!
We have some amazing men and women in our area when it comes to this stuff. We live in an area that is still remote and can easily be cut off. If Seattle shipping shuts down for some reason we get cut-off from food and other items. I try to pick their brains as much as possible and want to pass on a bit of what is shared with us. You'll now find a little side bar with my weekly goal and Web-sites that offer some great items for emergency preparedness. This will hopefully help me stay on track and accomplish what I say I want to do.
A little note to my lil'man. I love you!! You light up the world around you with a smile that starts in your eyes and covers your whole face. You love with your whole body! You bring joy and laughter in all you do. We call you smiles and with good reason.
You started Smiling at 6 weeks
And haven't stopped sinceIt's official. Josie is crawling!! After weeks of being able to do this thing with rotating and sitting up she is now moving forward on all 4's. The rest of the siblings think this is very cool and keep placing things just out of her reach . I must admit that I also do this. It is so cute to see her moving. She is still tiny which adds to the amusement. She also pulls herself up but then gets upset because she can't get back down. I love this stage!
I know that you are used to getting the updates from Cat, but she has convinced me (read blackmail) to contribute to the family news. So for this weeks edition I will cover Sophie's recent soccer match FC Green Dragons vs. The Orange. So it started out as a typical Thursday afternoon. I rush home from work, get there in time to see Cat and give her a kiss as she hands of Josie to me as she makes the mad dash to my still running car hoping that a moose hasn't found the front end of some Subaru causing her to be late to her softball game. This time she did take Benjamin though so I am only outnumbered 3 to 1.
So here we with a little game time coaching , of which Sophie (number 7) seems to think that she doesn't need, and then with the classic "Let's go Score" we are off.
Meanwhile Josie is asleep, and Carsten, well, it looks like this may be a long game.
Here we go for the opening kick. Sophie really hasn't gotten the competitive spirit yet. She more skips across the field than runs but she has fun and is always trying ...sort of.
Carsten meanwhile has found dirt. Need I say more. Back to the game.
Sophie has by now played her time and is now supporting her team from the sidelines. This is pretty tame soccer. It is 4 on 4 and there is no score kept (except in the minds of the parents, Sophie's team is undefeated thank you very much.)
Carsten...yep still in the dirt.
Half-Time score The Orange 1- Green Dragons 0. Better get going Green. Undefeated season is in jeopardy. But we are not keeping score.
OK what is this. Apparently Carsten isn't the only Mower interested in dirt. Sophie, get listening to your coach!
Second half is off and wow look at that kick.
And the follow though leads to a goal. Sometime I think that Sophie may really just be cut out for cheerleading even though my mind is screaming NO!!!
Carsten...looks like he has moved on to rocks. Josette...still good.
On the field it looks like things are getting a bit rough. But that is ok. The game is over and the Green Dragons have come back to win it 5-2.
Great game Orange.
Mom has showed up just in time to help us get home. Carsten seems to be a bit resistant to the idea.
Well, tune back next week to see the Green Dragons battle the Blue Blueberries.
