Halloween

Halloween is still 5 days you crazy woman. I know thats what you are thinking. But our ward had our "Trunker Treat" (as Natalie wrote it on our calendar) tonight. And since Chad is at a conference he didn't get to see the kids costumes. So here are some pictures of our 3 little witches and a wizard.

Megan wouldn't wear the hat. This is about as long as we could get her to leave it alone.

 Claire carried around a little black stuffed cat that was really cute. She even had me tie ribbons on it to match her tutu.

 Natalie wanted to be Rapunzel. It was easy to get her to change her mind,  though, when she found out she'd get new black boots to complete her ensemble.

 Caleb had a blast being Harry Potter. His favorite 2 spells are "Expelliarmus" and "Avada Kadavra."

This isn't a great picture of any of them except Megan, and she looks so cute I couldn't resist putting it on here.

10 years and counting...

Today is our 10th Wedding anniversary. I'm so grateful every day that I chose to marry the man that I did because we are a great match for each other.

Cars

Yesterday Chad spend the day in surgery. As he was leaving the hospital he ran into a guy whom we shall call Mr. F. Mr. F. grew up here, and went to high school with Chad's older brother. He is not a member of the church. Chad became re-aquainted with Mr. F. shortly after we moved here. Mr. F. recently completed P.A. school and accepted a position back here in town, and happened to be leaving the hospital at the same time as Chad. They were parked next to each other in the parking garage. Mr. F. climbed into his nice, shiny new silver Toytoa Tundra, which I'm sure is very clean inside. Chad climbed into his 2001 Toytoa Corolla, also silver but not quite so shiny and new. Inside were 2 carseats, a package of babywipes, and other paraphernalia associated with being a soccer dad of 4.3 children and a counselor in the bishopric. Chad commented to me that the cars are such a symbol of the choices they've made.

Mr. F. probably drove that shiny truck home to an empty house and ate a solitary dinner and spent the evening watching sports.

Chad drove his not-so-shiny car home to a house full of love and noisy children. The minute he walked in the door Megan ran as fast as her tiny little legs could carry her over to him and wrapped her arms around his legs. He spent some time watching sports too, but it was Natalie's soccer game. Then he ate dinner while feeding the kids because I was at my book club, checked Caleb's homework, had them clean their rooms, then got them in jammies and in bed. When I got home 3 of the 4 were asleep, and the 4th soon followed.

I can't help but be grateful that Chad wouldn't trade his not-so-shiny car and lots of love for that shiny new pickup.

And I can't help but wonder if Mr. F. would trade his shiny truck for the crazy but full life that comes with that not-so-shiny car. I wonder if he even knows what he's missing.

My sister posted this on her blog, and I think its my new favorite poem.

Dishwashers

My dishwasher is dead. May it rest in peace. It hasn't worked well for a couple of years now. There's a short in the computer that would make it only run half a cycle or switch from a "wash" to a "rinse." The short has now caused the control panel buttons to lock, thereby prohibiting me from pushing any buttons. I've tried unplugging and resetting and holding down buttons til my fingers hurt and kicking it. Nothing seems to work. So now I'm asking my friends... what kind of dishwasher do you have? Do you like it? If you were in the market for a new one what would you get? Thanks for the input!

Privilege

It has been forever since I've written anything on this blog. We've had a really fun summer. I'll write more on that later, but I have been thinking a lot about something the last few days, and I wanted to document it somewhere.

Last week, the family traveled to Utah so Chad and I could be with some friends who were sealed in the temple. (I'll include some of the details of that later). While there, we stayed with my sister, Shari, and she was wonderful enough to watch all 4 of the kids for 7 hours while Chad and I drove from Logan to Boutiful, did a session in that beautiful temple, and drove back to Logan. That night after we got back to Logan we went to the Cache County Fair. It was so fun just to wander around and look at the animals (Megan was terrified of them!) and enjoy fair food. I'm lame and wouldn't let the kids ride any rides--$3 for 30 seconds on a car that you don't even steer... LAME!! But at one point Shari and I were haggling over who was paying for her dinner. I was insisting that I pay because she'd watched my kids all day. And she said, "It was a privilege to watch them." I jokingly said, "I do it all day, every day... its not that great of a privilege."

And that's what has made me think.

One definition of privilege is a right ... or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most.

It is a privilege for me to have these 4 special little people in my house, under my care, every single day. They are children of our Heavenly Father and I have the responsibility to teach them, and to train them, and to love them, and to show them the things they need to know so they can be strong citizens and builders of the kingdom of God. I need to remember this more.

Thanks, Shari, for reminding me of this privilege.

The other key word in that definition is enjoy. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the mundane routine that I forget this part. My mom and I were talking last week about being quick to laugh at things. I used to be... probably a little TOO quick to laugh at things... but I don't know that I am anymore. I forget that "Men are that they might have JOY!" That is our Heavenly Father's plan. Sure, its to have joy with our families for eternity, but we should seek to enjoy this life. Even though sometimes life is hard. And even the privilege of raising my children is hard.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave this talk in 2008. His mother gave him some advice one day: "Joseph, come what may, and love it!" Of this he said, "I think she may have meant that every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."

So even as having this privilege has its times when the birds don't sing, I can be enjoy it.

Another Blog

My sister Shari and I started this blog. She's much more clever of a writer than I am, but we are excited to work on it together.

Happy New Year

One of my goals for the New Year is to be a better blogger. Not because I think we are all that interesting, or because I even think that many people read this blog, but because I want to use it as a kind-of a journal, a place where I can record some of the happenings at our house for our family.

Our holidays were filled with lots a family, friends, food, and fun. Claire and I have had birthdays since my last post. She is now 3. And BOY is she ever three. It is such a fun age, but she sure has a mind of her own. She wants to do everything on her own. She started Sunbeams yesterday and is really excited to be in primary with "the kids." Her favorite things to eat are macaroni and cheese and cheeseball. Claire is always the first to say thank you. She fills our house with laughter.

I didn't write much about Natalie on her birthday, so I'll do that now. She is 6 now, and she loves everything girly. She was taking violin lessons, but we've decided to take a break from that and start learning the piano. Natalie loves to read.... often at night we let the kids read for a short time before bed. There have been a few nights when we've thought she was long-since asleep, and she'll come out of her room carrying a book and pronounce, "I've finished this one!" She gets extra reading time at school, by far the best reader in kindergarten. Natalie loves to snuggle and loves to hold her baby sister. Unfortunately, that baby sister doesn't always like being held by her. Natalie is also very creative. She's always writing books, coloring pictures, and making up songs. She had a ballet recital in December and loved getting dressed up and performing. Not sure where she gets that from. ;)

Megan is growing so fast I can't even believe it. She is the proud owner of 2 new teeth. She loves eat baby food and big people food. Club crackers are her new favorite--and very messy--snack. She hasn't been sleeping as well lately as she was, but hopefully we'll be getting her on a better schedule. She loves to sit on the floor and play with toys, pull hair, and put fingerprints on my glasses. She hates getting in her car seat and when mom leaves the room.

Caleb's birthday is coming up soon, so I'm not going to write as much about him. He is very excited to get baptised and start Cub Scouts. He thinks he needs a pocket knife--I don't think so! Last month he taught himself to play "Jolly Old St. Nicolas" on the piano. And of course he loves school!

Chad is keeping busy with work and fulfilling his calling as 1st counselor in the bishopric. One of the physicians at work has moved to a different practice, so he's going to get even busier at work, but he's excited for the challenge. He was able to go to Texas one day last month and get some extra training to help with surgeries, so he's hoping to be spending more time in the OR.

I love being able to be home with our kids. Its certainly not without it challenges, but I wouldn't trade it. They keep me busy with their hobbies and homework. I have decided I am going to train for my first century bike ride, and I am very excited for that challenge. I am teaching Gospel Doctrine to the 16 and 17 yr olds in the ward and look forward to learning more about the life of Jesus this year.

Tonight for FHE we are setting goals for the coming year. I am excited to hear what the kids want to do!

Comedian

So Claire is quite the comedian. Here are a few of the funny to hilarious things she has said of late:

**As we were driving in the car, Caleb and Natalie were recounting some of the things happening at school that day. Claire apparently wanted to be included in the conversation and she said, "When I was at my class my friend kicked me in the privates and dang it! I was SO MAD!"

**On the way to church today she was eating a granola bar, but when she buckled her seatbelt she couldn't reach her granola bar. She had asked Caleb over and over to get it for her, and she had asked very nicely. "Caleb will you please get my grola bar?.... Caleb I can't reach it will you get my grola bar?... " For about 6 or 7 minutes, she kept asking. But then she said, "Caleb, I am starting to lose my patience!"

**Chad had to take her into the boys bathroom when he took her to go potty during stake conference a few weeks back. She was sitting on the potty doing her business, sniffed through her nose a couple of time, then declared, "This smells like BOY!"

Kindergarten and Second Grade

Here is a picture of the kids on the first day of school.

I know it was like 6 weeks ago. I'm a little behind. But anyway, it has been funny to see the differences betweeen Caleb and Natalie. For example: At the school our kids attend they have a certain number of tickets each day and if they get one taken away it is kind-of like when we used to have our names written on the board--just a warning. Then as you get more taken away there are more serious consequences, like 5 minutes of recess lost or an entire recess lost, etc. So the first time Caleb got a ticket taken away in Kindergarten it was utter devestation. I'm talking, he was in tears. The first time Natalie got a ticket taken away, Chad was talking with her about it. He said, "What does one ticket mean?" And she sang "It means NOTHING!!" (Seriously, she sang it. That girl sings everything, often opera style. Sunday morning she sang The Star Spangled Banner, opera style, for 2 HOURS!!)

I don't remember how long it took for Caleb to get the whole "do-your-homework, put-it-in-your-folder, folder-in backpack, backpack-by-the door-for-tomorrow" routine, but Natalie doesn't see the benefit because I have to remind her every day. I think she is a little too much like her mom that way--very scatter-brained. She makes us want to laugh sometimes. Other times she makes me want to scream.

Nat is loving Kindergarten. Friday we are going to go eat lunch with her since her birthday is Saturday, and she is the Star of the Week this week, so we'll also be spending some time in her class. It'll be fun to see her in that setting. She is still taking violin lessons and has started learning to read music. She is also in ballet, which she loves.

Caleb is doing awesome in second grade. We got a paper yesterday telling us they are considering him for the "Enrichment" program, which is like G.T. was for us. We kindof explained it to him and he is excited about that possibility. None of his good friends from previous years are in his class this year, which has created some challenges for him socially, but he seems to be doing better. He is still taking piano lessons and is excited for his upcoming recital in which he will get to play a duet with his friend Kaden. We are almost done with another season of fall soccer.

I think I will share news of the other two for another post.

Thoughts

I am totally behind on my blogging... July and August were really busy, and we did lots of really fun things, including: swimming lessons; 2 family reunions; building a swingset; several days in Sun Valley, Idaho; starting school; and fly fishing.

But that isn't what I am going to write about today. Today I am going to write down some of the things I have been thinking about amidst the running hither and yon.

--First, I am trying to figure out what chores are appropriate for children at a given age. And how many of these doable tasks is too much. For example, is it too much to ask a 5-year-old to practice the violin, unload the dishwasher, do homework, and clean her bedroom every day? Are my expectations unrealistic?

--On a related thought process, I am trying to figure out how to encourage children to do chores with out having to resort to yelling and beating. I have one child in particular who "hates working." (Those are exact words that came out of said child's mouth on Monday.) I have tried a point system. I have tried making lists. I have tried being there to help and tell each item to pick up. I have tried taking away privileges. I have tried incentives. I am running out of ideas.

--Next I am trying to figure out what to do with a child who tells out-right lies. As in, "Did you brush your teeth?" "Yes, I did." When I KNOW that said child hasn't brushed teeth. I have consulted several books. One said that most 5 to 8 yr olds go through a lying phase. The best thing to do is encourage honesty and make telling the truth more rewarding than telling the lie. So how do you make that child accountable for their dishonesty, while still making telling the truth more rewarding? I am really hoping this is just a phase, but I don't know what to do.

--What do you do when a child is in class with none of their friends from previous years, and they are really struggling to make friends? How do you teach a kid how to make friends?

--How do you give a child confidence without making them conceited? I want to have kids who are friendly and kind and know when to stand up for themselves and know when to compromise and when to let someone else have their way. But how do you this?

So those are some of my parenting thoughts for the day. Any suggestions anyone has would be great.

June activities

In June we spent a lot of time

Playing with our new baby.

Having fun with Granny







Snuggling with the baby and reading.








Swimming in the backyard pool.









Smiling.











Being Cute.










Playing soccer.










Watching soccer.






Sitting in the goalie box.





We had lots going on and had lots of fun.

A Family Quote

Some families adopt a quote or phrase or saying that they say regularly... When I was growing up, our sort-of unofficial one was "Remember who you are and what you represent, and don't embarrass the family." Well I think I have a new one for my parents and siblings. Does anyone agree with me?

"Families are messy. Immortal families are eternally messy. Sometimes the best we can do is to remind each other that we're related, for better or worse. . . and try to keep the maiming and killing to a minimum."

(This is from Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book. 2, The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan. I highly recommend the series to anyone who likes juvenile fiction, adventures, Greek mythology, and a little magic. I just finished the 2nd in the series and I am excited to get the 3rd from the library next time we go.)

Our Newborns

Someone suggested I just put pictures of Claire up, rather than pictures of Megan. Here is a picture of each of the babies.

A (long) Baby Story

So for anyone who wants the details of the story, here you go:

After my appointment on May 24th, I was feeling very discouraged. I'd spent the last week not sleeping well because I would have contractions during the night. But when my dr. checked me, I'd barely progressed to 3cm. So I called my mom, nearly in tears, because I thought surely that baby was never going to come, at least not until my mom had come for her visit and left. I was so frustrated!

That night I slept great.

Now, once or twice a week Chad goes to some of the smaller towns to see patients. The hospital charters a small jet and pays for a couple different doctors and their nurses to go to these smaller towns, knowing that if anyone has something serious and has to have any type of surgical procedure or in-patient care, they will get some kick-back. Its an investment for them. Chad usually leaves our house about 6:30 a.m. and gets home around 6:30 p.m.

Chad had told work that he didn't want to travel at all the last couple weeks before the baby was born. But that same Monday they asked him to PLEASE travel to Lander (its about a 2 1/2 hr drive from here) the next day, Tuesday, May 25th.

He woke me up at 6:30 that morning. "Should I go?" And I sleepily replied, "Yes, I just slept great... This baby isn't coming today. Just go." So he left.

I woke up at 7:30, rushed to get Caleb ready for school, loaded him and the girls in the 'burb and drove him to school (its about 20 minutes each direction). Throughout the drive I realized I was having contractions. At first I didn't think much about it, but then I thought, What the heck, I'll keep track. So I started keeping track. 8:36... 8:47... 9:02... Got home and started doing laundry and cleaning. Depending on my activity they continued to be between 5 and 10 minutes for about an hour. They were enough to get my attention but they didn't disrupt my activity level at all.

About 9:45 I told Chad. He was safely in Lander, but we have Instant Messenger and frequently chat throughout the day. I sent him the following message: "So want to know something funny... I've been having contractions every 5 to 10 mins for about an hour." To which he responded, "NOT FUNNY!!"

I kept tracking my contractions and doing laundry and cleaning and packing my bag and packing stuff for the kids in case they needed to stay some place that night. My contractions were getting harder and more frequent. Ok, who am I going to call to take care of the kids? When should I tell Chad to come home? Can I take myself to the hospital? Do I call my dr. first or do I just go straight to the hospital? All of these questions are going thru my head.

Meanwhile, Chad is in Lander, trying to work, but knowing I'm in labor. His nurse had called the pilots at the airport there and told them the situation. They were on standby. I wasn't being as communicative as I should have been (I didn't realize until I went back and read our conversation that I wasn't giving him any information; but in my defense I didn't want to alarm him unneccesarily.)

At 11:45, I told him if there was any way of cutting his day short it might be a good idea.

By noon contractions were 3 to 7 minutes apart. I decided I'd better call my dr, but they are closed for lunch from 12 to 1. I decided I'd call them after lunch.

Claire was basically oblivious to what was going on... She was just thrilled to get to watch all her favorite shows. But poor Natalie knew I was hurting. She wrote this note and it made me laugh so hard! I think she is scarred for life!


By 1 my contractions were really hurting. I told Chad "They are making me sweat and I can't walk through them any more." At 1:20 I told Chad to come home. I called my dr. office and they told me to go up to the hospital when they are less than 5 minutes apart. Well that was about an hour or so ago! So I called my awesome friend Amber and asked her to come get Natalie and Claire. Chad had already called her husband and told him I was totally in labor, and they were on standby when I called her. I was going to hang out at home until Chad got there, but by the time Amber got there to get the girls I realized I needed to go to the hospital.

Chad's plane took off at 2. He landed at 2:30. Those pilots flew REALLY fast.

At 2:10, I called my mom. She answered the phone, "Hi! Are you in labor?" "Um, yeah. I am on my way to the hospital... My friend is driving me. Chad is in Lander. I'll keep you posted."

Amber's husband met us at the hospital. He took their kids and our girls, and Amber took me up to L&D. Thank goodness for signs, because neither of us knew where to go. They put me in an exam room and checked me. I was dialated to a 6. As we were heading to the delivery room Chad showed up. Hallelujah!! After making sure I was settled, Amber took off. By now its about 2:45 or 3. The dr. came in and checked me and offered me an epidural. I really, really thought I wanted a "natural" labor, so I turned it down at that point. About 15 minutes later, after a really hard contraction, I decided "natural" labor is highly over-rated. "OKAY!" was all I had to say and Chad knew I was ready for some chemical intervention. The anesthesiologist was called in.

He gave me 2 sources of pain relief. The first was a shot between two vertebrae that provided immediate, although shorter-term relief. The second was the IV in your back type of epidural that you usually hear about. Its for longer-term pain relief. As it turned out, the first is all I needed.

By the time the anesthesiologist was done, I was ready to push. The nurse got the dr, I pushed for about 10 minutes, and SHAZAAM! Out she came. (Well, it wasn't quite that easy.)

Introducing...

Megan Elizabeth Sundquist

born May 25, 2010 at 4:10 p.m.

6 lbs 9 oz, 19 3/4 inches

(details to follow, but for how here's some pictures.)

I know, I know...

I haven't posted in FOREVER. But a lot has been going on. Plus I'm pregnant, and some times you have to let less-than-important-things go in order to make room for important things. And for me blogging is less-than-important. But my sister reminded me via her blog, that it can be a way of keeping things for posterity. So I'll try to be better, especially as we get ready to welcome our new little addition (who is still nameless).

So I will say a couple of things today:

1. I love being a mom. Even though its hard and so much work and I am far from the mother I want to be, I am glad that I get to BE THERE for my kids. I am so thankful for a husband who works so hard and does so much to make it possible for me to stay home.

2. It is snowing. In May. And I AM SO TIRED OF SNOW! This baby that is about to come to our house is supposed to be a SPRING baby, not a WINTER baby. So why is it snowing?

3. I am glad I have great friends. I was really nervous to move to Wyoming because its away from my family. But I have made some wonderful friends on whom I can call whenever I need to. They have been such a blessing. And I am also glad sometimes they let me do things for them.

4. I am glad school is almost out. It really is almost summer, despite the snow. And even though summer is going to be insane because I'll have 4 kids home with me all day, every day, I am glad to be able to not spend so much time in the car.

Ok, I have to go to the doctor to find out if this baby is going to be here soon!

Still Pregnant

In case anyone is wondering, I am still pregnant. I was 39 weeks on Saturday. This is the most pregnant I have ever been. You see, I sort-of cheat. I have been induced with all 3 of my previous babies. I went the longest with Claire, and she was born at one-day-before-39 weeks. Plus I have gained more weight this time, and even though I look smaller than many other women at 39 weeks, I FEEL very pregnant. Hopefully by the end of this week I'll be able to share some different news, but for now here is a glimpse of what I look like at 38 weeks pregnant.



And just for the record, most of the time I don't look like this. I actually have my hair fixed and makeup on, and occaisionally cute clothes (although the number of things that fit is diminishing).

By the Numbers

Here is an over-view of what we've been doing lately.

4 dentist appointments.
0 cavities.

3 well-child visits.
3 healthy children.

2 rounds of anti-biotics for strep throat.

1 visit to Urgent Care when Chad messed up his back--still not sure what happened--and couldn't move his neck. He had to actually be seen by someone to get prescriptions for heavy pain killers.

105 deg. temperature (really weird... it wasn't that high the whole time, but Claire ran a fever for 24 hours and it spiked at 105 before going down).
4:00 a.m.--the time at which Claire came out of her fever-induced-stupor, with a "Mommy, a read read books?"

1 visit from Aunt Heather--Hooray!! Thanks for coming H!

2 visits to the Aquatic Center.

1 Piano Recital--Caleb played Eine Kliene Nachmusik by Mozart, his favorite composer.

3 fondue dinners--YUMMY!!

1 week off of school for Spring Break.

1 trip to Denver.

2 rides on the Denver Light rail (Caleb wants to ride a train, and we thought this would take care of that, but apparently an electric train doesn't qualify as a real train).

5 tickets to see Mary Poppins at the Denver Center for Performing Arts.

1 trip to Cheyenne to visit Nick and Em and family. It was so great to see them!!

2 OB appointments for Teri--baby is healthy and just the right size to be here the end of May.

Lots of piano and violin practicing.

Countless hours spent in the car, running here, there, and everywhere.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Its a Girl

(Songsty and the kids in their penguin jammies)

We went to Pocatello for Christmas and it was SO FUN! It was great to see so much of my family (but we missed those who weren't there!!) and hang out and talk and eat and stay up too late and put puzzles together and just have a great time. The kids had fun playing with their cousins. But it was also good to come home.

For New Year's Eve we went to Cheyenne to visit Nick and Em, Chad's brother and his family. Also, so fun to see them and visit and eat yummy food.

I mentioned briefly once that we are expecting #4 in May. We had an ultrasound the beginning of the month and it looks like we're having another girl! Surprisingly, Natalie was the one who wanted a brother, and Caleb the sister. I think Nat just doesn't want anymore competition for her stuff around here. Claire doesn't get it, but she's going to have an adjustment when the baby is born because right now she thinks she runs this household. (Okay, maybe she does... but she's just so dog-gone cute!) So now we are playing the name game. At the appt. the dr. said the baby was too small for what we thought was my due date, so she changed it by 10 days, so now I'm due May 29th instead of May 19th. I feel BIGGER than I have with my other 3 pregnancies, so that she moved it to LONGER is annoying! But I guess I want a healthy baby, so I'll deal.
(Me at 19 weeks. Terrible picture, but you can see my baby!)

P.S. I am terrible at remembering to take pictures.

A beautiful thought

You know how sometimes you go to those blogs and they are beautifully written and inspirational and they want you to be better in some way. This isn't one of those blogs. But I have several sisters (okay really they probably read this more than anything else) who often drop their beautiful words of wisdom into their blogs. Here is a link to one of those. Thanks Erin!

http://myfrontporchlookingin.blogspot.com/2009/12/that-kind-of-wife.html