No Candy?

This week, Abby's homework was to make her own flag. Today, her kindergarten class had a special day of crafts and games, and then they had a parade all through the school waving their flags. Abby has been so excited about today all week, especially the parade! This morning, she was even dressed with her coat and backpack on a couple of hours early. And she kept telling me to hurry because she did not want to be late!



But when I picked her up this afternoon, she was so disappointed. She didn't even get any candy. What good is a parade if no one's throwing candy!?

Interesting Facts About the Number 6

In a few recent posts, I've made reference to some sleeplessness and foul moods. To explain, here are some interesting facts about the number 6:

• Six similar coins can be arranged around a central coin of the same radius so that each coin makes contact with the central one and touches both its neighbors without a gap.
  
  
• 6 is the atomic number of carbon
  
  
• God created man on the 6th day.
  
  
• There are six points on the star of David.
  
  
• There are six strings on a guitar.
  
  
• 6 is the number of points received for a touchdown
  
  
• In numerology, 6 is the number of cooperation and the number of love and romance.
  
  
• 6 is the number of children who will be in our family by September 24, 2008

I've been a little worried about how I'm going to function with 5 children who need me and a business that, Spring - Fall, is a full time job. But so far, knock on wood, I've only been a little nauseous throughout the day. This is very much not the norm for me. It gets worse later in the day, but then I can just go to bed. I can totally live with this!

I was also worried about telling my mother. So when I went home for my grandpa's funeral, I decided to just get it over with, like ripping a bandaid off. I had Sam model a shirt I'd made for him. Once my mom understood the shirt, she looked like I'd dropped a brick on her head. She was utterly speechless for a full minute. Difficult pregnancies have made a lot of people, including my mother and mother-in-law, assume we are done. I've had a lot of frustration since Abby was born (that I know Paige relates to) regarding questions about whether we're done or not. Thankfully, though, my dad smiled, and my mom got over the shock within just over a minute.

Not being so sick had me wondering if everything was going as it should, but I had my first appointment last week. We got to see the little bean with flippers and its little heartbeat. It's always so reassuring to see that heartbeat. It's also very reassuring to see just one baby. Ever since Steve had a dream about twins in December, I've been a little nervous. Now, we just need to figure out where we're going to put everybody!

Who's Your Valentine

Who's your Valentine this year? With Valentines Day coming up next week, it's that time of year to think of what to get and make your plans for a romantic date. So here are some questions for you to read and then answer them yourself. If you read this post then you must do the same on your post. Include a picture of you and your Valentine and answer the questions below. It's a Valentine blog chain.




Who is your Valentine? Steve
How long did you date? about 1 1/2 years
How old is he? 40
Who eats more sweets? probably me, although if you leave a pan of brownies or cookies laying around, he has been known to finish off the whole thing.
Who said I love you first? I did - he reciprocated the next day.
Who is taller? He is taller, but we are the same height when we sit down because all of his height is in his legs.
Who can sing better? Steve sings better. He does a mean Neil Diamond and frequently serenades the kids on his guitar while they are going to sleep.
Who is smarter? I'm more book smart; he's smarter in other ways.
Who does the laundry? We both do. Lately, he has been doing most of the washing and drying, and I do most of the folding with the kids' help.
Who pays the bills? He does. I got fired sometime in our 2nd year of marriage (thank goodness).
Who mows the lawn? Matthew
Who cooks the dinner? I usually cook dinner, the kids help. Steve almost always cooks breakfast.
Who drives? He does, usually even the entire drive from Utah to California.
Who is more stubborn? I don't know. I don't think either of us is very stubborn unless it's warranted.
Who kissed who first? There has been some debate on this question, but I say he definitely kissed me first.
Who asked who out first? He asked me the first couple of times. Then when I had to turn him down once, he quit calling (sensitive feelings), so I had to call and ask him out. That's all it took.
Who proposed? He did.
Who has more siblings? He does by 1.
Who wears the pants? We share them.
Who says I love you more? About the same.

Okay now share your Valentine!!!

Good Things Always Happen at Wal-Mart

I've been in a really foul mood all day, and should probably have just stayed home in bed. But as a mother to five children, I didn't have time to do that. I had to go to Wal-Mart (one of my least favorite stores).

While I was there, I got the perfect opportunity to vent my foul mood. I was accosted in Wal-Mart's dairy aisle by a venom spewing woman who called me a bad mother. She called me a bad mother because Sam didn't have on shoes and socks and said, "Be a parent, for G..'s sake." Her tone of voice and face were absolutely venomous - it was really amazing to see. I've never been approached out of the blue by a complete stranger like that. After she spewed at me, she turned to walk away like a coward.

But, oh no. That was not happening!

So I followed her through the dairy section while my kids looked on in amazement.

It went something like this . . .

Susan: Excuse me.

B (we all know what that stands for, right?): No response

Susan: You need to listen to me.

B: Shakes head and keeps walking away

Susan: (Yelling now) Excuse me!

B: Probably a little frightened now by the scene I'm making, stops and turns around, while her friend stands there looking mortified.

Susan: You've got a lot of gall. You don't know anything about me. This child had socks on and he took them off.

B: Well then you should carry extra socks with you. What's going to happen when you take him outside now?

Susan: Well, obviously his feet will be cold for the 30 seconds it takes us to get into the car. . . How old are you?

B: How old are YOU!?

Susan: You're like what? A 22 year old know-it-all?

Then she dropped the "F" bomb on me. So I said, "That's classy," and walked away. Class is important, even in Wal-Mart (says the woman who just went yelling through the dairy aisle).

My kids didn't know what to think. Thankfully, they were too far away to hear because I'd followed her several steps down the aisle. If I'd been in a better mood to begin with, it could have ruined my day. But given the mood I'd started in, it was actually an improvement. I was happy for my kids to see me stand up for myself without it ruining my day. Although I can't stop thinking of all the things I should have said - I sure wish I was quicker on my feet. And I should have snapped her picture, dang it!!

Here Sam is perched like a gargoyle on the foot of my bed, the picture of neglect with his bare blue feet.

Of course, Sam should have had socks on, even though it was a balmy 40 degrees. In my defense, he did have them on at some point between the car and the store. But if I'm going to be honest, I have to admit that he does go around on occasional quick trips with bare feet. Does that make me a bad mom? Maybe. But I'm a good enough mom in plenty of other areas (and more important ones) that I think the lack of socks is cancelled out.

I'm willing to bet that once this woman has more than one child of her own, she'll eventually lose their socks on a cold day, and this whole incident will come back to haunt her. It will probably eat her up with regret for the rest of her life that she treated someone that way.

Eventually, she's likely to learn the lesson, too, that is sinking in deeper for me each day. You're not allowed to be a know it all until you've raised at least two children through their teens. By then, most people know better. I know nothing, and I expect to know even less every day for the rest of my life.

Happy Birthday Matthew!!!

Monkeys are his favorite animals

A's (straight ones) are almost in reach!

Takes good care of his baby brother

Tampers with all the girls' affections

Helps me cook dinner (he's good at it)

Eats twice as much as his mother

Wakes up happy







Shovels lots of snow

Triceps bulge like Tarzan's

Exercises every morning with his dad

Voices his opinion without any prompting

Enlivens his little sisters (too much)

Needs a drum set (keep working on those grades)