Caleb's turn

Now it's Caleb's turn to be in the funny spotlight. Yesterday he decided he wanted to make Flower Pie. Yes, FLOWER pie, not FLOUR pie. He picked some clover and put it in his special bowl, then he told me about all the sugar he needed to mix it with and how he would stir it and bake it . I wasn't too enthusiastic at this point, but when I started making dinner he asked for the ingredients that were going into the pizza and he was having so much fun I had to give him some (but I nixed the baking idea). So his Flower Pie had: Flowers, flour, sugar, pineapple, olives, and two kinds of cheese, and then a plum cut in half. Then he stirred and mixed and squished and put it into the fridge to wait for the day I gave permission to bake it. He was so proud of it and wanted to share it with our neighbors...but as sweet as they are to the kids I think they might actually try it, so I'm going to nix that idea, too.

weird times

'kay I know that I've already blogged about Joseph and Potty Training, but this time I just have some funny things to say. He can be so bizarre sometimes. Part of our potty training is having him "practice" when he has accidents. So we have him practice taking off his underwear, getting on the toilet, sitting until he's ready to get down, and then getting his underwear on again. The book we got the idea from suggests to have them do it ten times, but for our sanity and his lack of attention span, we only have him do it five times. He hates it and has been very creative in figuring out ways to get out of it. One of his favorite is that he has to give me hugs and kisses, so he's too busy. He also likes to yell "I want to dance!" and then starts to boogey naked around the bathroom. Today I must have been tired because I tried to sing him that Ray Stevens song "I want to sing and dance" but he wasn't very amused. Maybe it's my pirate accent, or my lack of remembering the lyrics. He does like me to sing "Where is Thumbkin?" and the french version which I have no idea how to spell, both with actions. Someday you can sneak into our house and listen to me tiredly singing (with my thumbs going) those two songs for the twentieth time in twenty minutes. When he's not practicing he's trying to sneak out of the house in his underwear. The other day my neighbor was taking out the trash and caught me on the doorstep scolding a whitey-tighty clad (and nothing else) little boy about going outside without me. She has grandkids, she should understand, right? So yeah, we're the rednecks of the neighborhood, kids running around naked and me singing Ray Stevens. Oh, yes, they call him the streak (lookatthat, lookatthat), he likes to show off his physique (lookatthat, lookatthat)...

Scary

So yesterday was a little bit scary. When I woke up and tried to get out of bed I had a really hard braxton hicks contraction. I didn't think much of it because I've had a lot of those. But then all morning I had them over and over again, and my stomach felt really tight. Every time I moved, even just leaning forward, it was really painful. I took a nap after lunch, but every time I moved it hurt and kept me from sleeping. So I finally called my doctor and was told to go to the hospital. Farris came home as fast as he could and my friend Julie (thank you!) took the kids and off to Provo we went for a bunch of tests. The baby was good (he was moving so much it was hard to get his heartbeat, I think we might have another crazy kid on the way) and I hadn't dilated at all, but it felt like I was in labor. Eventually all the tests came back, and I have a urinary tract infection that was causing contractions. Luckily, everything else is good so I'm on antibiotics and lots of cranberry juice (yuck) and any other liquids. I didn't even know I had one, the kids had all had fevers spread out over the last week and a half, so when I got a fever and fatigue I thought that's all it was. Anyway, I feel better today after a lot of sleep last night. I'm still pretty tired and I have an occasional contraction but nothing like yesterday. So a little bit scary but nothing too bad.

1st grade happiness/blues

Felicity started first grade yesterday, it was her first full day of school with eating lunch and everything. She enjoyed it, but said the day was really long. She said the teacher told her the days wouldn't be so long soon( I think the teacher said feel so long), and she was wondering how early she got to come home today. That took a little bit of explaining, and I think she was still a little skeptical of my explanation. Farris is driving her and one of her friends into school, and then her friend's mom is bringing them home in the afternoon. It's nice because I don't have to hurry so much in the mornings, but I'm still a little jealous. I love to watch these tiny little kids walking so happily and confidently into a huge school (OK, it's not huge, it's just a lot bigger than what I was used to!). Sigh, the inconsistencies of being a mom. Caleb was a little grumpy when she left yesterday morning, he refused to give Farris and Felicity hugs, I think he's jealous. He does get excited when we say that he gets to go to Kindergarten next year. I don't think Joseph noticed much, but he was delighted to see her when she got back. There was a little less arguing in the house. I shut Felicity's door so Joseph couldn't go in and mess up her markers and crayons, which is a huge source of contention in our home. Someone told me that first graders change so much in the first few months of school, with confidence and independence growing. That is another inconsistency, it makes me want to cry and to smile. I know I have a long way to go before she's gone, but it's still one of those apron strings getting cut. Goodness, I think I better go have a good cry. Or just play with the boys while I still have them all the time. Maybe both.

Goings on and begging for a baby name

Whew! It feels like I've been really busy the last while, too busy to blog...and then I think, what was I doing??? We did have Felicity's birthday, which entailed several six-year-olds and a few others with water balloons (only one kid cried), we've put up about five gallons of beans, picked, dried, and jammed LOTS of apricots (with more coming, plus plums, yum), frozen quite a few bell peppers, and spent lots of time weeding our garden that seems much too big now. We also had Grandma Child and Charitie spend Thursday night and Grandma Newey and Nicki spend Friday night, and a lot of Farris' family for dinner on Sunday. Oh, and I've finished the top for the baby's quilt, I'm planning on taking a couple recuperating hours today and see how much I can finish. Speaking (Blogging?) of baby, we'd appreciate any suggestions of names for our baby boy. Cindi told me last night she only has eight weeks left, and since I'm due a couple weeks after her (and with my record and her record, I just might beat her getting a baby) so the baby is coming soon. Make a good suggestion and it will at least be on the list we take to the hospital. Just remember our last name, and try not to be too mean. We're slowly getting ready for him, gathering clothes and other baby things. I got a new baby swing at a yard sale, and we've had a lot of people give us clothes since he'll be a fall baby instead of a summer baby like Joseph and Caleb were. Our other kids are doing good. Joseph is trying to grow up and be just like Caleb, he repeats his big brother and does all the crazy things Caleb does. It's really frustrating to him when Felicity won't let him color with her or play with (break) her things. It will be good for him to have a little brother that he can play with in about a year or so. He loves his hat and wears it all the time. We've prohibited it at church, at the table, and during prayers, but he's wearing it pretty much all the rest of the time, he even sleeps with it sometimes. Just don't touch it, he likes to wear it his own way, which is so low he has to tip his head back to see. But if you try to fix it, ouch. Caleb is getting bigger and growing up so much right now. He loves his bike Rocket and is getting a little too fearless on it for my sake. He's got one more year before Kindergarten, and we might be organizing a mother preschool for him to go to this year. He's really into tractors and tried to sleep with his tractor coloring book last night. Felicity just turned six and is all registered now for 1st grade. She's excited, we'll see how her first all-day-long day goes. Her birthday was a lot of fun. We made birthday invites on the night of the father/son camp-out when it was just us girls at home. Her party was a water party, with water balloons and other water games and I made a jewelry box cake with candy rings and necklaces. Nicki took a lot of pictures, so I should be able to post some up here soon. Mom and Nicki left after lunch and we all crashed for a couple hours. On Sunday the primary sang to Felicity and gave her a pencil, she was like a little puppy, just wiggling all over the room. Then Rocky and Cindi and Desi and their families came over for dinner. Felicity wanted ebel skevers, so we added crepes and lots of fruit and home grown veggies to the mix, then had cake and ice cream. The kids all had fun, but were tuckered out. And so was Farris and I! And this blog is way too long, and I'm still in my p.j.s, so I'll go for now.