...because chaos isn't TRULY chaos
without music, song and dance:
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Keeping my head in the game
...don't wish it away--but oh MAN: To sit is divine.
Game ON.
Happy Mothers Day to all you deserving Moms
This first one's from Kellly Corrigan. I liked her book Lift.
The next is from Stephanie Nielson.
You deserve to feel love, no matter who you are.
Happy Mother's Day!
xo
The next is from Stephanie Nielson.
You deserve to feel love, no matter who you are.
Happy Mother's Day!
xo
Friday, May 7, 2010
Good chaos
For the record, our house is generally a revolving door of mayhem and confusion.
Birthday chaos is an especially happy kind of bedlam. Here are some birthday moments that helped us detach from the routine madness of an otherwise typical week night.
Mesquite pondering her wish
and a little hand helping her to take the traditional birthday bite:
We have a house guest for the week...
here is a shot of child loving dog:
(and below that, dog loving child)
Taco salad for dinner.
It brings out the crazy in us.
It brings out the crazy in us.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
the extended forecast which includes the return of STREP.
Today we spent a fun afternoon (on a half-day from school) getting new hair-dos. Me plus four kiddos equals two and a half hours of hair fun and non-stop chatter. Don't ask for pictures--some memories deserve your imagination. (Please imagine me looking sleek and lovely with my new hair)
Some of the chit-chat in the salon included a meteorology report from Leeli, who ought to consider this as her career I think. Out of the blue (is that a weather pun?) we're doing hair and the sky darkens and the rain starts pouring down. I had to make the undesirable dash to the vehicle to close windows--my sleek new hair was saved by draping the handy hair-cutting cape over my head. Michael Buble was playing on the van radio, so I happily lingered. When I got back, the conversation was on the crazy weather, and Leeli announces:
It's going to stop raining and get sunny again. Then the sky is going to get dark again, and it's going to rain, and then it's going to hail.
Um-hum. Right. (I thought)
Then we drive home, and what'd'ya know? Exactly as predicted, the sky darkened up, it started raining, and ka-POW! We were hit with a sudden burst of hail. Girls with new hair-cuts went out to dance amongst the falling frozen pellets, giggling and laughing until ca-RACK!! the lightening and thunder started. Then they came shrieking back into the house with a new respect for turns in the weather.
Meanwhile, I'm throwing dinner together in anticipation of a T-ball game, a soccer practice, Jazz practice at the HS and general evening chaos. (thank goodness for pasta and jarred spaghetti sauce) The T-ball coach calls and wants my opinion on whether or not to cancel. I'm happy to simplify my evening, so I vote for cancel. Enrique tells me that the sore throat he told me about at 5am this morning is still really sore, and that now his stomach is not feeling well. I have this sinking feeling...
So I enlist the village: Called the asst coach for soccer and asked if she'd take Leeli to the practice. Left Roonie and Morning Boy creating birthday posters for Mesquite, who happens to be our cinco de Mayo baby. Dropped spicy chick off to band practice at the HS on our way to the pediatrician, who tells us that Enrique is to be on house arrest and starting another 10 days of antibiotics. Apparently being re-infected with strep is not so uncommon. (I wonder if I should have questioned the likelihood of the other SIX of us coming down with strep again?...) Life is a party when Dub is travelling.
Back at 7:15pm, tucked Morning Boy in after reading Harry Potter chapter 9, dashed to the pharmacy to pick up the Rx, ran back to the track to pick up the soccer star and her carpool buddy and then did shower/bedtime shift #2. Had just enough time to toss a pill at the patient and ran back up to the HS to pick up the flute player at 9pm... add to that crazy mix an annoying car fiasco, Yonder gone missing with a girl from Connecticut and a MAJOR job due (that I'm late starting) for the local organization for which I'm the secretary, and I'm just going to take five.
Five chocolate cupcakes, that is.
(Made these in my free time this morning)
Some of the chit-chat in the salon included a meteorology report from Leeli, who ought to consider this as her career I think. Out of the blue (is that a weather pun?) we're doing hair and the sky darkens and the rain starts pouring down. I had to make the undesirable dash to the vehicle to close windows--my sleek new hair was saved by draping the handy hair-cutting cape over my head. Michael Buble was playing on the van radio, so I happily lingered. When I got back, the conversation was on the crazy weather, and Leeli announces:
It's going to stop raining and get sunny again. Then the sky is going to get dark again, and it's going to rain, and then it's going to hail.
Um-hum. Right. (I thought)
Then we drive home, and what'd'ya know? Exactly as predicted, the sky darkened up, it started raining, and ka-POW! We were hit with a sudden burst of hail. Girls with new hair-cuts went out to dance amongst the falling frozen pellets, giggling and laughing until ca-RACK!! the lightening and thunder started. Then they came shrieking back into the house with a new respect for turns in the weather.
Meanwhile, I'm throwing dinner together in anticipation of a T-ball game, a soccer practice, Jazz practice at the HS and general evening chaos. (thank goodness for pasta and jarred spaghetti sauce) The T-ball coach calls and wants my opinion on whether or not to cancel. I'm happy to simplify my evening, so I vote for cancel. Enrique tells me that the sore throat he told me about at 5am this morning is still really sore, and that now his stomach is not feeling well. I have this sinking feeling...
So I enlist the village: Called the asst coach for soccer and asked if she'd take Leeli to the practice. Left Roonie and Morning Boy creating birthday posters for Mesquite, who happens to be our cinco de Mayo baby. Dropped spicy chick off to band practice at the HS on our way to the pediatrician, who tells us that Enrique is to be on house arrest and starting another 10 days of antibiotics. Apparently being re-infected with strep is not so uncommon. (I wonder if I should have questioned the likelihood of the other SIX of us coming down with strep again?...) Life is a party when Dub is travelling.
Back at 7:15pm, tucked Morning Boy in after reading Harry Potter chapter 9, dashed to the pharmacy to pick up the Rx, ran back to the track to pick up the soccer star and her carpool buddy and then did shower/bedtime shift #2. Had just enough time to toss a pill at the patient and ran back up to the HS to pick up the flute player at 9pm... add to that crazy mix an annoying car fiasco, Yonder gone missing with a girl from Connecticut and a MAJOR job due (that I'm late starting) for the local organization for which I'm the secretary, and I'm just going to take five.
Five chocolate cupcakes, that is.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
My favorite weekend memory
I was sitting in Relief Society this afternoon, listening to my sweet Mesquite speak. Every fourth Sunday of the month, the young women join us for opening exercises. They conduct the meeting, take care of the music and give all the announcements. It's good to have youth and beauty breathe life into the place I'm still working on feeling old enough to be a part of. She was in charge of giving the value thought. She decided to talk about the value experience she was working on in the Good Works section of her Personal Progress book. She looked unflappable. It reads:
(I wondered if it was scary or intimidating to be talking about planning meals in front of a room full of women who do that regularly?) She mentioned that our whole family went grocery shopping together, and that it was fun. I agree. It was fun. But it was more of an act of desperation rather than a planned event. Sometimes it's more fun to fly by the seat of your pants.
We have been a large group all week. Heck, we're ALWAYS a large group. (I used to be tempted to have a parade permit handy in case we were mistaken for a city exhibition.) But there has consistently been one person missing for a long time. Yonder was away at school, and joined us for the summer in Virginia last week over school break. That was amazing. The day after we got home, Dub left on a business trip, and spent the week in Florida. He came home for a few hours and then went off to a scout camp-out to sleep on the ground with a bunch of 12 and 13 year-old stinky boys (note: we don't currently have any of those in our household) while the rest of us juggled T-ball, SATs, soccer games and Saturday chores. He came back late Saturday night to a home full of people and void of fresh food.
We enjoyed a meal together--our first summer dinner on the back patio. It was delightful and filled with laughter. I was tired and feeling tense and that time together was the perfect spa for my soul. Then I announced that we needed to go grocery shopping before Sunday was upon us. Mr. Dub, being the gentleman that he is, offered to go with me, or do it. Mesquite had mentioned earlier that she needed to plan two weeks of meals, so she got a pen and a paper and surveyed the family about what meals they would like to eat. The evening progressed, and I realized we were running close to closing time at the local grocery store. I figured we were going to have to tackle this together to do an adequate job of acquiring what we needed for the week ahead. The shopping list was then divided on to three note cards and we went out for ice cream to get revved up for our family grocery shopping competition.
We split up into three teams, the leader of each being one that could wield payment at the registers. We had fun racing around the store in groups and passing each other in the aisles in pursuit of the items on our lists, trying to be the first group to the van with our purchases. May I suggest large group shopping for your next family activity? It was a blast, and what normally takes me a good hour took us about a quarter of the time. We were all standing at different cash registers 13 minutes after getting out of the race van. I won't elaborate on the standings; suffice it to say the one with the most shopping experience would have been the first cart to the van if some other team's member hadn't hi-jacked our carriage in the parking lot. Nothing like a good dose of friendly competition to work off an ice cream cone. It was lovely, and I didn't even have to put the groceries away. And now Dub's in Ohio for the week. He'll be back Saturday afternoon... just in time to replenish the cupboards!
"Service is an essential principle of family living. Help plan your family's menus, obtain the food, and prepare part of the meals for two weeks. During that time help your family gather to share mealtimes. Report to your class what you have learned."
(I wondered if it was scary or intimidating to be talking about planning meals in front of a room full of women who do that regularly?) She mentioned that our whole family went grocery shopping together, and that it was fun. I agree. It was fun. But it was more of an act of desperation rather than a planned event. Sometimes it's more fun to fly by the seat of your pants.
We have been a large group all week. Heck, we're ALWAYS a large group. (I used to be tempted to have a parade permit handy in case we were mistaken for a city exhibition.) But there has consistently been one person missing for a long time. Yonder was away at school, and joined us for the summer in Virginia last week over school break. That was amazing. The day after we got home, Dub left on a business trip, and spent the week in Florida. He came home for a few hours and then went off to a scout camp-out to sleep on the ground with a bunch of 12 and 13 year-old stinky boys (note: we don't currently have any of those in our household) while the rest of us juggled T-ball, SATs, soccer games and Saturday chores. He came back late Saturday night to a home full of people and void of fresh food.
We enjoyed a meal together--our first summer dinner on the back patio. It was delightful and filled with laughter. I was tired and feeling tense and that time together was the perfect spa for my soul. Then I announced that we needed to go grocery shopping before Sunday was upon us. Mr. Dub, being the gentleman that he is, offered to go with me, or do it. Mesquite had mentioned earlier that she needed to plan two weeks of meals, so she got a pen and a paper and surveyed the family about what meals they would like to eat. The evening progressed, and I realized we were running close to closing time at the local grocery store. I figured we were going to have to tackle this together to do an adequate job of acquiring what we needed for the week ahead. The shopping list was then divided on to three note cards and we went out for ice cream to get revved up for our family grocery shopping competition.
We split up into three teams, the leader of each being one that could wield payment at the registers. We had fun racing around the store in groups and passing each other in the aisles in pursuit of the items on our lists, trying to be the first group to the van with our purchases. May I suggest large group shopping for your next family activity? It was a blast, and what normally takes me a good hour took us about a quarter of the time. We were all standing at different cash registers 13 minutes after getting out of the race van. I won't elaborate on the standings; suffice it to say the one with the most shopping experience would have been the first cart to the van if some other team's member hadn't hi-jacked our carriage in the parking lot. Nothing like a good dose of friendly competition to work off an ice cream cone. It was lovely, and I didn't even have to put the groceries away. And now Dub's in Ohio for the week. He'll be back Saturday afternoon... just in time to replenish the cupboards!
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