Becky the Artist

Last Friday Becky went to her first art class at the new studio. This studio, Inspyr Arts in Long Beach, was recommended to us by a co-worker of Sean's. She gave such a high review we thought for sure we'd have to try it out.
So on Friday, at a little past 5pm, we walked through the door to find Vicky, the teacher, and 5 other students already into their projects. Becky found an empty horse (artist's workbench), took a seat, and waited patiently for Vicky to come over.
Vicky started by showing Becky a few simple techniques, then let her pick out a picture to immitate. Becky chose a butterfly picture and got started.

I was really impressed at how Vicky could oversee all students and at the same time give each one individual attention.

Becky absolutely loved her class and can't wait to go back next Friday.

Just call us Inspyr Arts' new Friday night regulars.

Because Sometimes Sundays Spill onto Mondays...

(If you haven't yet, read my previous post)

This picture has nothing to do with the post, but I thought I'd throw a picture of James in anyway. It's very typical of James - everything he touches becomes a baseball.

I was feeling a little better this morning (my aches went away sometime last night) and, though I wasn't up to my usual morning walk, I thought I could handle a trip to the grocery store for some fresh fruits and veggies, cereal, soups and more meds.

I filled my cart and thought to myself, "I've gotten everything I thought I needed, but I should probably go down this one last aisle, just in case I'd forgotten something.

I should have left when I thought I had everything.

Just as we were exiting the aisle, on our way to checkout, James reached into the back of the cart, grabbed the top of the egg carton, and pulled. ALL of the 18 eggs spilled out of the carton and into the cart and onto the floor. The next 5 minutes were spent trying to locate all 18 eggs. The last one was found at the bottom of the cart under a whole bunch of stuff. Only one actually made it to the floor, by way of my pants. It was so ironic I felt like crying.

I informed a passing clerk of the mishap, and she told me, "No problem. We'll get this cleaned up. Go back to the dairy section, turn this carton in to the dairy guy and get yourself a new carton of eggs before you check out."

Yeah right. Like I was going to go all the way to the back of the store to get a new carton. Who knows what James would do next? I thought for sure that at less than $.08 an egg I could handle three cracked eggs.

So I left.

And that is how Sunday spilled onto Monday.

Sunday Mornings

So this morning I was up and out of bed at 8am with a determination to get everyone and everything ready for church before 11:15 so we could get there in time for the kids' primary program, despite feeling like going back to sleep and letting my body get over its cold.

After...

* a batch of burnt cookies - I had remembered this morning that I'd forgotten to get a treat for the "contest winners" in my class. I had all the names of the presidents of the Church on the chalkboard and they were supposed to put them in order. Two of the 8 kids in my class got them all in order correctly and I was supposed to bring their treats...last week! I couldn't forget again this week, so I hurriedly pulled out the tub of premade cookie dough (thanks, Pillsbury!) and threw in a batch...which was left in the oven a little too long and got partially burned on the bottom.

* discovering my mascara was broken - The cookies were left in there a tad too long because when the timer was going off I was in the middle of pulling out the mascara wand, only to find out that the "scraper" thingy (what IS that called?!) had come off and my mascara was a complete glob of black sticky mess. I have to admit I thought for a brief moment about scraping off the black mess and trying to use the wand anyway, and when I realized that wouldn't really work, I even more briefly thought about going mascaraless (PLEASE! I may feel like death, but I really shouldn't look it!), but then I remembered I'd heard the timer go off and ran to get the cookies out. When I came back into the bathroom I scoured my boxes of bathroom supplies hoping I'd have an extra emergency-mascara, and I did!! It was old, and a bit thin, but at least I looked like I had eyelashes!

* two girls with a burn each - I'd received a HUGE box of clothes for James from my awesome sis-in-law a week ago, but I'd never ironed the clothes. At 11:10 I was getting James ready and noticed that the shirts in his closet were all wrinkled, so I pulled out the iron and quickly ironed his shirt, but since it isn't safe to leave a hot iron out for babies to knock over, I placed it on the bathroom shelf (not the counter) for it to cool. I guess I needed to mention to my girls that irons, even if not plugged in, can still be hot, and as they reached past the iron for something they each got a burn on the arm. I was inspecting Becky's burn when Jane came in and said almost the exact same thing: "Mom! The iron is hot and I burned my arm!"

* a bloody nose - my kids love to jump onto the couch so they can fight over the "best" seat (which changes daily). Sean had put on a church movie for the kids to keep them quiet while I tried to get myself ready (he was leaving for a meeting and thought I could use the help of the tube). The next thing I hear is screaming, which got louder as the hurtee and hurter came closer to my room. Jane was crying so much I asked Becky what had happened, to find out that as they both jumped onto the couch for the movie Becky's foot hit Jane in the nose, which resulted in a bloody nose. Not being able to think clearly with my head infected with cold bugs, I couldn't remember which to do: lean her head back or forward. I settled with a "keep your head straight" and had her hold a tissue to her nose.

* 4 attempts at french braiding - Jane's hair is completely straight. Good luck to anyone trying to get it to move in a different direction without the end result being a bunch of bald spots. You'd think, with hair as thick as hers, there wouldn't EVER be bald spots, but bald spots there were and I finally gave up. She left the house with two ponytails instead.

* a cut finger - somehow Alex cut his finger while trying to open his yogurt.

* a mess of yogurt - When James is done eating it's his favorite thing to play with the remainder of his food items. He'll scrape as much out of that yogurt container as he can to eat, and the rest is dug out with his hand to "paint" on the table. Since we've had ant troubles, I couldn't just leave it there to clean up later. Of course, a toddler can't have anything on his hands without getting it in his hair! So during sacrament today I was carefully pulling his hair apart from the yogurt sticky mess and getting it out as best I could.

* a marked up toddler - two days ago James drew on one side of himself with a blue permanent marker. Today, being Sunday, he thought it best to match the other side with black.

* an empty stomach - really, after all that, who has time to eat?

...we finally got into the car at 11:23am. I don't know how it happened - it must be a modern miracle - that we got to church 3 miles away (me seated on the pew with James and the kids on the stand at their assigned places) before the opening song was sung. I truly believe the Lord stopped time for me.

The primary program went off without a hitch and the kids were, of course, kids! And they were great. We laughed and smiled as they said their parts and sang with gusto. The best part was Alex playing with his seat, swinging his arms around, making his hand talk like a duck, and making funny faces.

After Sacrament Sean taught my class so I could come home and rest. He truly does take such great care of me. I love that man!

Pumpkin Patch

On Tuesday Grandma and Grandpa Monroe took the kids to a local pumpkin patch. This was no ordinary pumpkin patch, though. It was fully equiped with rides, activities, and livestock. The kids all had a blast, and Alex and James even wore their costumes (Batman and Dodger, respectively).

They rode on rides (after the train James decided he's more of an observer)...

...played games...

...traveled by pony...



...spun like crazy...


...zoomed down a giant slide...



...fed and pet the livestock...




...posed for pictures...




...and picked out pumpkins (I'll post pictures of them later). After a filling meal at McD's the kids came home to share their spoils. Our porch is now littered with pumpkins of every shape and size.

Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma, for giving them such fun memories! And thanks for giving me the pictures. :)

Yes, I really do exist!

I noticed just now that all of the recent posts I've made don't include pictures of myself, so, to let my kids know I really do exist, here you go:



This picture, of course, is a self-portrait, so it's a bit blurry. It was taken the day Sean drove to Utah for his Grandmother's funeral. I always like to get a picture of the two of us together whenever we're going to be apart for a while.

Ode to Our Stolen Camera

Last year, when we were having troubles with our problem-car (as in: it wouldn't lock), our camera was stolen out of our car, along with our handy-dandy, nifty-difty diaper bag. Last week a friend of mine showed me her birthday present: a nice Sony SLR camera. She let me use it to take pictures of the kids goofing off in our front room and I started REALLY missing our camera again. These are the pictures I took with her camera:






Oh, nice camera, we miss you! (Though, I suppose it is nice that with my regular camera you can't see the bits of cracker stuck to James' face.)

**DISCLAIMER: I'm not a professional photographer and these pictures probably don't do the camera the justice it deserves. :) **

Signal Hill Park

We have been so busy as a family lately doing all sorts of different activities, that we decided we needed to have more FAMILY TIME. We decided that we would do something as a family each weekend, no matter how busy we were. We become so busy during the week that these little respites are something of a refuge, and definitely something to look forward to as the weekend grows nearer and nearer.
The weekend we decided to start this "scheduled" family time Sean took us to a park on Signal Hill that looks over Long Beach, Lakewood, and everywhere inbetween.

We walked the trail nearby and enjoyed the beautiful scenery...


...and the kids had a blast on the exercise rotations.
James was the first to get ready to go home. His little legs have to travel so far to keep up with his siblings!
All in all we had such a wonderful time that we are more determined to take little adventures as a family.

Chutes and Ladders

(Ok, so I'm completely lazy and didn't get rid of the red-eye. Oh, well)
The kids are having a blast playing games with each other recently, and I just had to take this picture because James won! He tried so hard to be patient waiting his turn (and with 3 other kids that isn't alway easy for a 1 1/2 year old) and all his patience paid off. He was the first winner of the game this night!

* We always keep playing until everyone finishes. This way everyone gets to reach the goal and no one is a "loser."

Gooooooooooo Janey!

Jane decided she had such a fun time last year cheering for the Mayfair Monsoons that she wanted to do it again. We went to the cheer camp one weekend....

...and the next weekend she was ready to cheer! She was all decked out in her cheer skirt, camp shirt, and french braided hair.

Of course, our little cheerleader had to be cheered, herself! And what better fans than her own brothers and sister?

At the end of her cheer time she was given a picture (taken the previous weekend at the camp) and a bag of goodies. She got to keep the hair-bow she was given, as well as the pompoms.

When she was all done we went to Baskin Robins, just across the street, to celebrate the fantabulous job she did!

TGIF!

One of our family traditions is to have "Waffle-Day Fridays!" It's only Eggo, but the kids love it and it speeds up our breakfast time by at least 10 minutes. :) Plus, it makes the house smell so nice. Yet another reason to look forward to Fridays.

Music to My Ears...

Our drive to school in the morning is always...well...loud! With 5 kids in the back of my car it couldn't be anything BUT loud. A lot of the time the kids are singing songs - patriotic, primary, oldies, etc - but today I was hearing two songs over and over (with the wrong lyrics, no less!) and I had finally had enough:

Me - "Ok, guys, pick a new song, or do something else."

Becky - "Mom! Can you put on 'Evil'?"

Me - "WHAT?!"

Becky - "'Evil'. Please, mom?"

Jane - "Mom, I think she means 'Wicked.'"

Me - laughing so hard there was no way I was going to find the right CD before we arrived at school. Ahhh....Becky...your creative mind sure keeps me on my toes!

Personalities

I went to 41q.com and took a simple personality test. These were my results:

Your personality type:

Quiet, reflective and idealistic. Interested in serving humanity. Well-developed value system, which they strive to live in accordance with. Extremely loyal. Adaptable and laid-back unless a strongly-held value is threatened. Usually talented writers. Mentally quick and able to see possibilities. Interested in understanding and helping people.

Careers that could fit you include:

Writers, artists, counselors, social workers, English teachers, fine arts teachers, child care workers, clergy, missionaries, psychologists, psychiatrists, scientists, political activists, editors, education consultants, journalists, religious educators, social scientists.


As silly as these tests sometimes are, I actually agree with the results of this one quite a bit. I have contemplated each of these careers at one point, except for the clergy and political activists. Any of the others I wouldn't mind doing, in fact, I'd probably have a great time being employed in any of them.

A New Word

And just to prove to me that he really is a sweet little boy....

Sean had to conduct a baptism yesterday and we decided that, as a family, we'd go to the chapel to help him set it up. We worked at getting the chairs set up nicely and getting the hymn books placed - all while waiting for the AC to kick in. All the while James was in his stroller watching us work. So, of course, when the baptism started he was anxious to get out and stretch those legs. In an attempt to keep him quiet I gave him a pen and paper to draw on - his new favorite activity.

I can't really blame him for writing on himself - it was a nice pen. :) But when I tried to take it away from him he got angry and I had to take him into the hall. While we were walking the halls James went up to a picture of Jesus visiting the Nephites and, pointing to Jesus, clearly said, "Jesus." Oh, he melts my heart!

Adjustments

School started this week and we've all had a few adjustments to get used to: getting up early, long days, etc. One adjustment that James is having a hard time with is missing his siblings. He gets so excited when I tell him it's time to pick them up at school - it's terribly cute! But on that first day....

I was making lunch in the kitchen while he was playing with Duplos. When I'd finished making the lunch I went to go find James....who had migrated to my bedroom and had dumped the contents of my makeup bag onto my bed. Luckily he hadn't figured out how to open the little cases, he was just content on banging them together. I scolded him, put him out of my room and cleaned up the mess.

When I'd finished cleaning the mess I went to find James....who had snuck into his sisters' room and pulled their mirror off their wall. Luckily he hadn't broken the mirror! I scolded him, put him out of their room and cleaned up the mess.

When I'd finished cleaning THAT mess I went to find James...who had gone into the front room, pulled my purse off the table and proceeded to dump out the contents. Luckily everything was still in that pile and he hadn't hidden anything yet. I scolded him, PUT HIM IN HIS BOOSTER SEAT (see? I can learn!) and cleaned up that mess.

UNFORTUNATELY, by the time all the messes were cleaned up our sandwiches had gone stale and he didn't want to eat any of it.

James had an early nap that day.

Yesterday we went to the mall to play in the play area (I'd thought that I perhaps had neglected him a bit the previous days, getting the kids ready for school and all, so I decided to have just play/fun time with him). Apparently he wasn't in the mood to play, but to get in trouble more. He kept trying to leave the play area, climb up on the benches and walk/run/jump on them, and dump stuff out of the stroller. Just when I was wondering if we should abandon the whole thing...he got off my lap, walked up to a little girl (about his age - who was absolutely gorgeous, by the way) and slapped her across the face. I no longer wondered. We left.*

James had an early nap that day.

Today we're going to a friend's house to swim in their pool. Here's to hoping he doesn't damage their house, or pull the plug on the pool or something. He'd find a way!

* Of course, we left after I apologized PROFUSELY to the parents and scolded James and made him say sorry (which, to him, is to look at someone with a sad face and attempt a hug. The little girl did NOT want a hug!).

My Kids...

My kids are hilarious!

1. We had the kids make birthday cards for their uncle and on our way out the door Jane asked for an envelope for hers. When we're in the car the kids are comparing their cards: Jane has an envelope, Becky's is held closed by a sticker, Alex's is by itself.

Jane: "Becky, why did you use a sticker instead of an envelope?"

Becky: "I didn't want to waste my spit."

2. We were driving to IKEA so the kids could play in the play place and I could find a few things. Since we have a friend joining us for the day our car was full and all the kids were keeping an eye out for the huge blue and yellow store off the freeway. As I started exiting the freeway there was a decline in the road so all the kids threw up their hands and yelled, "Wheee!" as I went down the hill. It looked so funny in my rearview mirror!

3. Last night Becky and I were watching "What a Girl Wants" while Jane and Alex went with Sean to the Dodger game. Each time the movie started playing fun music James would get up and start dancing. He made me laugh so hard!