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.)