The day to day

Lately Noah wants to abbreviate all his words. He asks for a "cook" when he wants a cookie. But the best is when my kids tell me they want "crack" for breakfast.

Cracklin Oat Bran.

Makes me laugh every time.

Today is Pajama Day for Noah's class at school. He could not have been more excited about not having to get dressed

Yes, he's got pj's on under all those snow clothes...

And here's Alex (also in her pj's because we're never ready when we take Noah to school in the morning) with "Smitten"

Alex is working on a sticker chart to earn prizes for sleeping in her bed every night - as opposed to crawling into our bed in the middle of every night.

I had just had it - and Paul had had it with me and Alex fighting in the middle of the night.

The motivation is working really well - and she picked out "Smitten" all by herself (because I would have never picked that out).

Noah decided he needed to be able to earn some prizes too, so he's reading an extra chapter a day. Last night he reminded me he doesn't have any prizes in the box yet. I told him I would take him to the store to pick out his prizes himself, but they needed to be $5 or less. His response was, "This is a cheap system mom."

Maybe, but it's working.

Noah likes to say funny things like that. Big words, adult words. Yesterday I made a comment about Alex and he said, "Indeed, she does."

Two nights ago, apparently Noah woke up in the middle of the night and thought it was morning. So he went downstairs and turned on the tv and was totally excited to see that there was one of those ghost/haunted house shows on. You know, like the ones on Discovery channel and stuff? Eventually he got a little freaked out and also realized it was not morning and came running to my room. I tucked him back into bed, unaware of what had been going on. But he was certainly excited about the show the next morning and told me all about it over breakfast. I was disturbed.

Today we are going to register Alex for kindergarten.

When it was Noah I was excited, but also nervous and a little sad. With Alex I'm kinda wishing all-day Kindergarten were an option. Not sure if that's because it's Alex or because she's my second?

Not that I don't enjoy having her around - and this girl is good at entertaining herself (the opposite of Noah and Avery).

This is what she's currently doing:

playing with, talking to and pretending with her "babies."

A few minutes earlier they were having a tea party.

But this girl is serious drama and attitude and someone (other than me) needs to whip her into shape. Maybe her Kindergarten teacher.

I often wish I had someone with a video camera following Alex around all day. Almost everything she says/does is funny - because of the way she says/does it.

I love this picture of Avery. And her mullet.

Avery just had her 15-month checkup. And I'm a little worried because she's not really talking. I mean she babbles nonsense to us all day long, but she's not really using any words. My other 2 were pretty good talkers. The doctor was slightly concerned as well. And it turns out Avery has fluid in her ears. So, soon she'll be seeing Audiology and ENT to see if that's the problem with her speech.

We know them all well by now. I've had plenty of trips to see them with Alex over the last 5 months. And tomorrow Alex is getting tubes in her ears.

She was kinda freaked out about having surgery - until she got presents in the mail from her grandma. Now she can't wait for tomorrow.

Oh yeah, she's also excited to be able to hear again. So are we!

Wish us luck. I'm a little nervous. And I feel bad for her.

Paul does not - because he's a doctor - and I'm sure I've explained that phenomenon to you all before (i.e. lack of sympathy because they've always seen something worse).

He keeps reminding me it's "no big deal" and that "she'll be fine" and "don't let her play you."

Whatever. He's a total softy when it comes to Alex.

Lastly, my phone broke. My indestructible phone that has survived being dunked in the toilet, dropped in the tub, smashed on the floor innumerable times, dropped, thrown against the wall, and sucked on by probably all of my kids as babies. Yes, I've had it for years. It's one of those "old fashioned" phones that just makes phone calls.

And what finally killed it was nothing other than the Minnesota cold. I left it in my car for a couple of hours in the -30 degree weather and it hasn't worked since.

No I did not get a smart phone. We're holding out. I got the newer version of my old fashioned phone. We'll catch up with the rest of you when we're done with training in a couple of years.

And that -30 weather was terrible. Terrible I tell you. The last few days have been in the teens and even the twenties here and there. At first it felt nice!

Now I'm just cold again.

The End.

Think Arrested Development

"And that's why you never..."

do your ab routine at home

(photos by Noah Gunn)

Another post about my kids without any pictures

I guess I'm getting old and boring. I am turning 30 this year.

My kids went to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese last night (probably my least favorite place on earth). Now they keep talking about Chuck E. and all I can think about is Chucky. You know the one.

Our pet fish Oshi is still alive and kicking. It's something of a miracle. The other day I asked Noah if he'd fed Oshi. He got that sheepish look on his face that means no, and proceeded to feed the fish. I asked Noah, "Noah are you feeding Oshi every day?" His matter-of-fact response was, "Mom, I don't keep track of it. Like how I don't keep track of the last time I had a bath."

Good thing boys have moms to keep track of the important stuff in life. I also have to tell him everyday to change his underwear (or he wont do it). And I thought he was changing his socks everyday...until I realized that smell last night was coming from Noah's feet. (I hope Noah doesn't read this, he will be so mad at me.)

Alex seems to have no short-term memory. If you ask her what she did today she will always respond with, "Um...I don't know." Or she'll look at me and whisper, "Mom. What did I do today?" Funny. And worrisome. In fact, that's Alex in a nutshell: funny and worrisome.

Avery has a mullet. But I don't want to cut it because I just want her hair to grow out - or grow into it. Or something. She's still pretty needy but it's getting harder to ignore her - now that she follows me around, arms reaching out to me saying, "Mama!" in the sweetest, saddest little way.

Also, 4-7pm is the worst time of day. I feel bad for Paul that he comes home from a long stressful day at the hospital to the madness that is our home/family at that time. Avery is whining because she wont take a nap most days and is way too tired. Noah doesn't want to do his homework. Alex is mad because she can't watch tv. Noah and Alex are bugging each other. Everyone wants a snack even though I'm trying to get dinner started.

And I know family dinners are important, but sometimes it's hard to see. Usually it consists of Noah and Alex arguing, Noah complaining and refusing to eat whatever we're having that night, Avery screaming and crying intermittently while going back and forth between my lap and Paul's, and Paul and I trying hard not to yell at everyone. Oh and there is usually at least one spilt cup of milk.

Remember this week on Modern Family when Phil said about their kids, "Sometimes I hate them"? That's probably what I'm thinking at dinner time these days.

Good thing they almost always do something to redeem themselves before bedtime.

I love my family. I'm glad I have one. But, lets face it, on any given day they put me through the entire gamut of emotions.

This is real life with a family of 5. At least it's our real life.

I'm just keeping it real.

Is it really only 12:30pm??

This morning I got up at 6am in an attempt to beat my kids out of bed and get as much of the house cleaning done as possible, without them.

All I succeeded in doing was waking the whole house up early.

And cleaning my bathroom floor twice when Alex peed all over it right after it got cleaned.

Meanwhile Avery followed me around, throwing things (toy cars, her sippy cup) into the mop bucket.

Just don't tell my husband that I fed her marshmallows to keep her in the high chair long enough for me to mop the kitchen floor.

Points for the kids: a bajillion

Points for mom: none - any points I earned for cleaning are now null and void from all the screaming and bribing I did to get the cleaning done

The kids are winning, oh yes they are winning.

And beating me down.

Kid Stuff

When I was out with the girls last night I got this text from Paul around 10pm:

"Noah just puked in our bed"

3 reasons that is probably the worst text message I've ever received?

- it was about one of my kids. and it was a girls night out - when you are supposed to forget you have kids

- it involved puke.

- it happened in my bed.

Here's another story about Noah:

Paul took him to get his haircut the other night. Only he didn't ask him how he wanted it cut. And apparently it's much shorter than Noah likes it, so he wasn't too happy. Paul felt bad about not asking - but I'm still wondering when my BOY got old enough to have an opinion about his hair??!

Here's an Alex story (or two):

when we were reading from Noah's National Geographic tonight she asked me a question about "Antfartica." A mix of Africa and Antarctica?

Also, the other night she called me a "skinny mama." Then she thought about that for a minute and said, "Actually, you're a medium mama." So that was awesome.

And Avery:

It's official - her first word is "Da-da." It's ok. I'm pretty secure about our relationship. When Paul tried to tease me that he was her favorite I couldn't help but laugh.

Since then she has said "Mama" a few times. She also says "uh-oh" but she can only do the "uh" part. And she tries to say "all done" which sounds like nothing like those 2 words at all, just a bunch of gibberish. But I know what she means - she does it with body language.

Then there's Facebook, my other baby (at the moment).

I love it/hate it.

I love that I'm actually communicating with people that I've lost touch with or have had very little contact with over the years. People I like, and care about, and miss.

I hate that I when I sit down at the computer I don't know when I'll get back up again.

Most of all...I hate that I'm afraid to say anything. Does anyone else feel that way? I'm pretty open on my blog (which is not private) but Facebook feels very different. It is different.

My blog will always be my real love : )

January 3, 2011

Places I can now be found:

The gym. My beloved Mayo gym! Avery is finally old enough to go to the kid care! Actually they decided to start having "baby hour" which is great and all...it's just too bad they didn't start doing that a year ago. We were 6 weeks away from the age requirement when they went and changed it on us. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to be there 6 weeks earlier than I had planned...just a little bitter about all the gym time I missed out on for the past year. I might not be able to walk tomorrow.

Facebook. Because it was about time.

It was kind of a big day for me today : )

Ringing in the New Year

(sans Paul)

with 7 under 7

looks like this

and this

and this.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

It's Christmas

When Paul and I left CA earlier this week a small part of me was sad. The rest of my family would be together for Christmas (minus T&J, still honeymooning).

But after another year, our third actually, of Christmas at home in MN...I gotta say, I love it.

Paul was off Christmas Eve. It snowed (even more). We spent the day delivering goodies to friends, sledding, shoveling, watching a movie and baking world peace (cookies, that is).

And in an attempt to find a meal that the kids would be happy about we ordered pizza (per Noah's request) and drank Martinelli's. Pretty sure it's a new tradition.

Before bed, also per tradition we sang Christmas carols and talked about the real story of Christmas.

And although Noah insisted he couldn't possibly sleep, the kids were asleep by 9. I set a new record by getting us to bed by 11pm on Christmas Eve. That would be because I'd stayed up till 1:30 am wrapping 2 nights earlier. It also helped to have Paul around - oh wait, no it didn't but it was fun anyways : )

This morning, Christmas morning, we were all up at 7am (after sending Noah back to his room to read books at 6:30am).

Our morning in pictures:

Noah was happy and excited and played a great Santa. He spent much of the day mastering the levels of Super Mario Bros. on the Wii.

Alex, never one to hold back, gives the best reaction you've ever seen to anything and everything. She has been in Disney Princess heaven ever since.

Avery had no idea what was going on but loved wrapping paper, her little baby which she carried around on her shoulder (patting it's bum), her many musical toys which she danced to all morning and just being in the middle of everything. She's never played on her own for so long in her entire 14 months of life.

Paul and I loved watching it all unfold : ) And of course all the hugs and kisses.

We also had friends over for Christmas "lunch" since Paul had to head in to work tonight at 5pm.

Good food, good friends.

Great Day.

Minus 5pm, at which point Paul and I were both exhausted but he had to leave for an all-night shift and I got to stay home alone with 3 kids on the brink of meltdowns and a house that looked like a Christmas bomb went off.

But that was ok too. We managed to have a good night.

As I was getting the kids ready for bed tonight they insisted on tattoos (from their stockings). Which led to a an intersting conversation about Mom's tattoo. Which I of course turned into a teaching moment. (I had to when Noah asked me if he looked like, "one of those guys with tattoos all over who rides a motorcycle with no helmet?")

Something along the lines of following the prophet and me getting my tattoo laser burned off...

I knew I'd got the lesson across when Alex looked at me with big eyes and said, "I think I just like fake tattoos mom."

Or maybe I hit it a little too hard, because a few minutes later Alex nervously asked, "Mom, do Dr.'s still have laser guns?"

I explained they only use them when people want them too. She said, "Yeah, like when you have a real tattoo."

Not really wanting to end the night on that note we read a bunch of the kids new books. One of the stories mentioned the "olden days."

At which point Noah interrupted and said, "olden days? they mean the 1980's."

WHAT!??!!!!?

Actually, the night ended with the kids, once again, fighting sleep.

Because they didn't "want christmas to pass."

Ooohh I love these kids.

Merry Christmas.

T&J

Tanner and Josie

12/18/10

and we were there!

and now we're here.

My brother was...himself. (Which means there are funny stories)

Josie was beautiful.

It was rainy.

It was perfect.

And now I have a new sister!

Tanner and Josie, love you both.

Enough to stand on and almost slide down a muddy hill in high heels and wedding clothes in the drizzle to pose for your pictures - sisters squealing, husbands cracking jokes, and dad wondering aloud about why we have to have so much #*&@ drama in this family.

Ah, great memories.

Did I mention how great it was to be together with all of my siblings and their spouses?

And their kids, wow I love'em.

Thanks for getting married guys.

But don't forget Leland...destination wedding.

pressures on.

Because he thought it would be fun?

and to prove he could do it.

I did not marry a wimp.

Great food, hon.

And a pretty great weekend.

Noah is thrilled that school is cancelled tomorrow.

Alex cried because it means no "show and tell"

(although Noah tried to convince her to do it just for us).

Avery is cute and clueless and tries to follow the kids out the door every time they go play in the snow.

And I'm just kind of fascinated that I actually live here.

(and like it!)

Update:

He's done!

And half-dead.

Words Paul used to describe the ordeal: brutal, intense

And I left the house for the first time in 24 hours to get this picture.

It's killer out there.

Did I mention how glad we are that Paul has the weekend off??

Because I live in Minnesota

Yesterday was a blizzard.

An actual legitimate blizzard.

Worst storm since 1991, in fact.

Wind, ice, and I don't even know how many inches (which turned into feet) of snow.

Our day went something like this:

Paul shoveled the driveway in the morning while the kids played in the snow.

Then decided to brave the streets and weather and take the kids sledding, since they were already bundled up and it was only going to get worse.

You see, Paul has the entire weekend off (unheard of!) and Noah has been dying to head over to the big sled hill in town

Noah loved it, Alex made a few runs too, but didn't love the spraying snow.

So they made a little shelter for her underneath a pine tree, where the branches protected her from the cold and wind and she was happy as could be.

On the way home the roads were worse, but still do-able.

That afternoon Noah and Alex were invited to play at a friends house - on the other side and very edge of town. We had to wait for the call that the snowplows had cleared their streets before Paul could take them over.

So he shoveled the driveway again.

And on the way home...he almost didn't make it.

I was stressed out that our kids were going to be stuck at our friends house until the next day.

But a few hours later Paul made the trek again (which required more shoveling) and they all made it home in one piece.

Barely! Paul said it was treacherous. He had blankets and everyone's snow gear in the car in case they got stuck.

(Noah probably could have handled it, but Alex?? Paul was praying he would not get stuck with Alex.)

They eventually pulled the snowplows off the roads yesterday - they couldn't keep up.

Our ward Christmas Party was canceled.

Church was canceled.

We stayed in, stayed warm, made cookies, and ate grilled cheese and homemade chicken noodle soup.

This morning the sky is clear, the roads are plowed, and we have "arctic temperatures" for the next few days.

Right now it's 0 degrees, -25 with wind chill.

And Paul is out doing this:

Shoveling the driveway yet again, and trying to clear away the wall of snow taller than my kids that the snowplows left at the bottom.

The kids didn't last very long out there, even Noah who loves the cold.

Paul? At this point I've lost track of how long he's been out there.

Tomorrow the High is -2.

Welcome to the North Pole.

The Boy

Noah was born the day after Thanksgiving.

Which was great on the day of his birth because all of my family was in town for Thanksgiving. Paul's family was already there of course, which meant that everyone got to be there to meet him and hold him the night he was born.

The first grandkid on both sides.

I love remembering that day, when our first child was born : )

Of course, since then, having a Thanksgiving birthday isn't necessarily ideal, but we make it work.

This year, instead of a birthday party Noah took his family and a friend to The Mall of America to ride the rides all day. He's tall enough to do every single one, and he does'em all. The scream-your-guts-out-think-you're-going-to-die ones and the ones Paul and I can't handle anymore because we are old and they make us sick. He loves it.

And he had a blast, we all did, on black friday at Mall of America.

His actual birthday fell on Sunday this year.

We celebrated with presents, the Happy Birthday song, candles and cake and ice cream, phone calls from the grandparents, and watching the movie we made of the day of his birth

(which, fyi, does NOT include the actual birth).

Noah looooooved it all.

Honestly he was so super sweet and happy all day.

Like when I got out the camera and started snapping he looked up and smiled happily at me??!!

Kinda weird that our oldest is

7 YEARS OLD

Love you Noah boy.

Yeah, It's Real

Me: Why are we always buying our tree in the middle of a snowstorm?

Paul: Because we live in Minnesota.

Alex: (screaming and crying) It's too fat!!!

Alex: (screaming and crying) It's too skinny!!!

Home Depot Employee: Do you have any questions?

Paul: Do you know how to handle a 5-year old girl?

Avery: (not loving her puffy coat, trying to squirm out of my arms and run around in the snow, oblivious to the decorating of the tree [hallelujah], but cheering smiling and clapping along with the rest of us when we lit it up!)

Me: (not taking any chances) Higher! Put the ornaments up higher!

Noah: This is the best part of Christmas!

It smells like Christmas too : )

Now if I could just remember to water it this year...

Thanksgiving 2010

things that should not be a tradition:

- the kids throwing up the day before Thanksgiving

- going to Great Harvest Bread Co with a barf bucket

- discovering the night before Thanksgiving that the bottom of your springform pan is missing, tearing apart the kitchen, and then driving to the grocery store in an ice storm to replace it

- me being in charge of the turkey

- Paul going on about 1 hour of sleep on Thanksgiving

- (almost) getting a concussion on black friday (but that is a very misleading statement)

- Paul trying to find a parking spot at Mall of America on black friday

- going (back) to American Eagle, was it 4 times Tiff or 5?

- the babies screaming the whole 1 hour 30 minute ride home from the Mall of America

- Tiff convinced that something was terribly wrong (I say it was the 6 cookies they ate for dinner while we shopped)

- husbands somewhat displeased about the money spent at Mall of America

- Brimhalls only staying 3 days

- not taking hardly any pictures

the keepers:

- the Brimhalls

- staying up late cooking with my sis

- Paul being home for Thanksgiving

- Madden loving Uncle Paul

- kids enjoying "the feast"

- black friday shopping with my sis...but not too early

- sending the kids home early with the guys

- riding Avatar and screaming like a kid

- yams and triple layer mousse for every meal for days

- enjoying the moment so much you can't be bothered with taking pictures

some stuff that makes me laugh:

- Tiff leaving me blog comments while I stand 10 feet away

- a certain commercial (you know the one Brimhalls)

- A&E guy that thought I wanted to leave my baby with him

- creepy straight-faced guy sitting across from us on Avatar

and all we've got to show for it:

Thanks for coming Brimhalls! Can't wait for Thanksgiving 2011 -

I think they're getting better every year : )

Traditions

We're not a family that has a ton of'em...but we've got a few.

We've been doing Thanksgiving on our own (away from family) since Paul started med school. Was that really six years ago??

That makes this our 7th Thanksgiving on our own, we've hosted 5 out of the 7 times.

We've come up with a few good traditions along the way...as well as some funny experiences and great memories.

First of all:

Martinelli's Sparking Cider. As in every one gets their own bottle.

And yes, we drink from the bottle.

Then:

Best Pecan Yams. They'll change your life.

(from the Favorites book)

And of course:

Triple Layer Chocolate Mousse. Nothing else needs to be said.

Then there's rolls...and this is where the funny experiences come in.

(Although not at all funny at the time.)

To make a long story short...homemade rolls are the bane of my existence.

CAN.NOT. DO THEM.

I've tried different kinds, different recipes, tricks of the trade, I've even had more than one tutorial.

CAN.NOT. DO THEM.

But a few years back, when we were not hosting, for some reason I agreed to bring rolls.

That was mistake #1. But it got a lot worse from there. And that frigid snowy Thanksgiving morning was turning into something of a disaster for me as one thing went wrong after another.

And then, the car is loaded and ready to head over to our friends house - we're just waiting for the timer to go off so we can take the rolls and stuffing out of the oven.

Which is when we realize...I never even turned on the oven.

And THAT is when I sat down in the middle of my kitchen floor and cried.

I've come a long way since then.

Which is why tomorrow morning you'll find me at Great Harvest Bread Co.

Buying rolls.

(Don't judge, they're delicious)

We do have Thanksgiving traditions that are not based on the menu.

Most years we go around the table at the beginning of the meal and say one thing we are thankful for - not Paul's favorite, but I like it : )

And this year we've started something similar with our kids.

Every night for the month of November we get together as a family and say one thing we are thankful for.

It's always fun to see what the kids will say...and to come up with our own new thing each day.

Here's mine for today:

I got to have lunch with Noah at school

bring treats to his class

read to them

and watch them do a super cute birthday song thing too.

Loved it.

Love that he wanted me to come (Paul says next year he probably wont)

love that he insisted we take the extra cupcakes to the principal and other office ladies

love his cute friends

and loved hearing from some of the adults at school what a wonderful boy he is : )

And now for one more funny Thanksgiving memory:

a few years back, after a somewhat late Thanksgiving dinner (to accommodate crazy work schedules) we all gathered in the living room around our little tv...

to watch the Thanksgiving episode of Grey's Anatomy.

It was very important to me.

And now it makes me laugh out loud!

Because I've given up Grey's and I'm totally beyond that now : )