TheHenrichsens.com

Out With the Old, In With the New

2009-01-01T23:06:00.003-05:00

With a new year upon us I've decided it's time for a new blog too. I've tried for months to get help changing my blog template but my hands have been tied because I don't know HTML and I don't host my own website. So a few weeks ago I started playing around with Blogger and have finally designed my own blog all by myself (with a little help, of course, from The Cutest Blog on the Block.) I've finally got it just the way I want it and I am quite proud of myself. So, if you want to continue keeping up with us Henrichsens follow us over here and have yourself a very happy new year!

Demolished

2008-12-31T22:11:00.003-05:00

As per Henrichsen tradition, tonight we broke in the New Year by smashing this

to smithereens!

Noah's ice skater that he made at school during his Second Grade Gingerbread House-Making Fest ended up looking like she skated herself into a pie toss.

And Mark and Hunter fondly named these pink mints "urinal mints."

And Justus, who now has the stomach flu instead of Jericho (who had it yesterday) quickly recovered when he saw the abundance of candy and I don't even want to imagine what his barf is going to look like tonight around 3:00am.

And when we were done stuffing our faces with candy and we had a giant gingerbread fight, threw it all over the kitchen and each other and then, threw it in the garbage. And now if you'll excuse me, I think I have several pieces of gingerbread still stuck in my bra. Happy New Year!

All the Things They Should Teach in YW But They Don't

2008-12-30T10:05:00.005-05:00

I think the church does a great job telling the youth NOT to have sex until they are married. I think the church does an even better job telling already baby-hungry girls how wonderful motherhood is. So while the young women know they aren't supposed to have sex until they are married, they also know it's like the best thing ever to have a baby and they can hardly wait to do it. And they do cute little service projects like making baby quilts for all the newborns in the Ward. And they babysit all the perfect Mormon barbie housewives' perfect little children in their perfect little Mormon homes and the girls are ready to get married by age 16. I don't necessarily think this is bad. I married young and had lots of babies young and I am practically perfectly happy in every way. Motherhood is wonderful and joyful and blissful. But it's also gross and messy and awful and not fun and exhausting and frustrating. And while making baby quilts and attending casserole-making classes are great ways to prepare, I think Young Women leaders everywhere might do good to consider some alternative Mother Prep activites. Some of the following might include:

Washing diarrhea out of a small child's underwear, helping the newly potty-trained child go diarrhea in the toilet, and then cleaning up the small child's bottom. Yesterday while we were out and about, Caleb had just such an accident. Did anyone prepare me for such messy disasters? Not so much.

Another fabulous idea might be some quick-thinking activities. Church members are great role-players, beginning in Primary. For example, a young woman could imagine she has six children, three of them are 3 and under. She decides to take them to the Aquarium for the day because that's what a regular Mormon Barbie Housewife would do to stimulate her children and encourage intelligence. A few minutes into the visit, she allows the three older children to wander ahead as long as they stay together. Then, the 3-year old runs after them. Should this young gorgeous mother leave behind the twins and the stroller to snag the runaway? Or should she let the 3 year old wander ahead, praying no one nabs him, while she gathers up the other two babies and their belongings? And how 'bout that diarrhea incident? How exactly does that young mother deal with the mess with the other five children in tow, two of which are sound asleep in their car seats and the other three our busy eating their lunch and the bathroom is across the parking lot in the museum you haven't paid to enter? Knowing how to make a quilt is great but knowing how to deal with these sorts of situations are invaluable.

You could spend an entire YW night on stain removal. Invite a member's toddler to the church, have him step in some ketchup and walk around for awhile. Then teach the girls how to remove the stains as well as clean the child before he makes another mess. That will never happen in real life? It did in our home, just last night. You could also give a set of twins some green acrylic paint and let them go at whatever their little hearts desire. Mark and I are doing some painting in the bedrooms, a much needed chore after seven years of little sticky fingers running around the house. Last night while Mark was busy painting the ceiling in one of the bedrooms, I was playing Othello with Noah. Neither of us were paying much attention to the twins. When one of them finally appeared with green stuff all over their hands it only took me seconds to realize what they had gotten into. They had poured paint in a dish just like their Daddy and with pint-sized rollers painted a masterpiece of their own which included the carpet, my Sunday dresses and the wall. I really could have used a lesson or two in paint cleanup.

And we all know how great a lesson on what to do when your baby has the stomach flu would be. Wait until a family in your ward has the stomach bug and invite them to church for an evening of free babysitting. Let their kids drink lots of red koolaid and run around with lots of reckless abandon. The girls will surely learn how to catch barf in their laps and hands, remove vomit from clothing, carpets and furniture, and you can even make cute little handouts about how to feed sick kids teaspoons of fluid every fifteen minutes and what B.R.A.T stands for.

Really the ideas are endless. Multi-tasking like cleaning up vomit while making dinner and planning homemaking would be another excellent idea. Or how about a sleep-deprivation summer camp? You could put one of those newborn infant dolls in each of the Laurel's tents and they could get their "I can still function on 15 minutes of sleep" badge if their baby is still alive by the end of the week. Want more ideas? Need to borrow a set of twins or a rambunctious toddler for an evening? We could totally help. Jericho just vomited on my lap about an hour ago and Denver sympathy barfed on the stairs. We could provide so many wonderful opportunities for your Young Women to fully understand the responsibilites of motherhood and just exactly what they're getting into when they decide to become sexually active. And maybe instead of handing out condoms to the Young Men (which we all know the church is greatly opposed to) we could hand out Wet-Vacs and have them assist the Young Woman on an occasional joint activity. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

The Remedy is Urine

2008-12-29T23:22:00.000-05:00

We went to the aquarium today. I don't think any of us set foot outside last week except to go caroling on Christmas Eve. We just vegged out in front of the Wii and ate all sorts of junk food and got really fat and lazy. So this week I decided we have to get out at least every other day. At least! So today was "go to the aquarium day" because I had two free passes that expire like right now. We had all sorts of fun. And it only cost us $19.00 versus the usual $50. Denver loved petting the sting rays. Noah had a flounder fall in love with him--honest. The twins loved just about everything and Caleb was very curious about the sharks and whether or not they wanted to eat him. We stopped at the Jellyfish exhibit because the shark exhibit was at capacity and sat down for a moment. The kids whipped their snacks out of their pockets and we all sat in the dark, watching the jellyfish pulse up and down in the tank. Oh, if only I could have laid down and had a nap. It was very soothing. Anyway, Hunter wandered away for a few minutes and returned to ask me what a remedy is. I explained and then, in a little, quirky half-smile Hunter informed us all that "urine is a remedy for jellyfish stings." Lovely. So then our nice, quiet moment turned into all sorts of giggles and snorts about who they'd have pee on them if they got stung and if it would be better to carry a bottle of white vinegar or meat tenderizer (healthy alternatives to urine) in our beach bag or just drink a lot of water before setting off to the beach. Gotta love that aquarium!

Come Silent Shepherds

2008-12-29T08:55:00.002-05:00

Several weeks ago someone asked Mark if the boys would sing for the Christmas Program in Sacrament meeting. They've been practicing for quite sometime now and yesterday they did a fabulous job. For those of you that didn't get the pleasure of hearing them perform at church you can see them sing here. Of course, you get the added bonus of seeing Hunter sporting Denver's manly spy moustache which he didn't get to wear to church. Enjoy!

You know what I love?

2008-12-26T23:26:00.000-05:00

I love it when we spend $600 on a Wii System for Christmas and the very first day the kids get to play it they say, "This is the worst game system ever!"

And I also love it when the kids are playing our brand new very expensive Wii and they throw the Wii-mote on the floor in anger.

But what I love most of all is when they say, "Oh yeah, if you're so smart, you beat it!" And then, I do. I know it shouldn't but it feels soooooo good!

Matching Hammies

2008-12-24T23:15:00.000-05:00

As per tradition, I give you the matching jammies picture. Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread Houses and Other Random Christmas Things

2008-12-23T21:01:00.004-05:00

Every Christmas we make gingerbread houses. It's a tradition for Mark's family so we've tried to make it one in our family. The Original Henrichsens are really good at it. I guess they've had lots of practice. Us knockoffs aren't so good at it but we do it anyway cause you know, tradition! If I were smart I'd make Mark take over this production. He does everything much better than I do and it probably wouldn't end up so disasterous every year. This year was no different--the dough ended up a bit soft and proved a bit difficult to work with. Probably because I let the babies help make it but look how cute they are when they help. How can I resist? Jericho and Caleb are scooping like champs and Justus once again can't help but taste everything. Grandma Henrichsen said he gets it from her. And here's a a pretty cute video of the twins licking their fingers when the job was all done. They make it look good.

Speaking of the twins helping me in the kitchen, here they are helping me make Swedish pancakes. It's probably the cutest video I have of them yet! There's nothing they can't do, or at least that's what they think. Those pancakes were especially frothy that day--definitely light and fluffy.

Here are the finished gingerbread houses. I glued the houses together wrong so Noah's didn't have a door and Denver's had two. And Noah was tired of decorating gingerbread houses because he'd already made one at school that very same day. So he didn't stick a whole lot on his and he continues to whine about it to everyone that comes by. Last night the Sister Missionaries came by and were looking at the boys houses and Noah said, "Mine's not very good" only like a million times. Probably didn't help that I glued them together wrong. But despite all the hiccups, I still think they turned out cute. Since the kids are still young and don't like to share I make mini houses and we turn them into a gingerbread village. It's kind of fun cause then we get to decorate the surroundings too which I like even better than decorating the houses. From left to right is Hunter's then Noah's then Denver's.

The babies have all been in very festive moods lately and can be found singing all sorts of Christmas songs almost all the time. It blows my mind how many holiday songs they actually know because I haven't been teaching them any specifically. The other night after we made the gingerbread dough Justus was feeling especially festive and broke into this song. Man, I got cute kids!

Church was cancelled Sunday. We had a wintry mix. I really wish it hadn't been because I like the Sacrament Meeting Christmas Program to help me center and focus on the real reason we have Christmas. But that's just me. Instead we stayed home and Mark got the kids addicted to another new game and I got Caleb's scrapbook completely finished at least until the next round of pictures get printed. I also worked on the ninth treat of Christmas. I made an extra batch of caramel last Friday thinking I could give it away as gifts to friends but it ended up just a little too soft. Guess I had too many babies begging me for breakfast so it didn't have my complete attention. Anyway, instead of letting it go to waste I remelted the caramel and made Caramel Marshmallow Rice Krispy Treats. All you do is melt some caramel and cut some big marshmallows in half. Dip the marshmallow in the caramel and roll it in rice kripies. Sounds a bit odd, I know, but they are totally addicting.

Monday Mark made the tenth treat of Christmas, English Toffee. It turned out almost as perfect as Mark himself and just as delicious. I have yet to try making that one myself but as with the gingerbread houses, it's probably better if I don't. Disaster in the making if you ask me.

And that brings us to Christmas Eve. I'm exhausted. I've worked so hard the last few weeks to make it feel all festive and homey and Christmassy around here that I'm feeling a little tired and grumpy and ready for the holiday to be over. Right about now is when I start wishing we were at Mark's parents' house in Ohio, delivering Secret Santa gifts for them and Christmas caroling and fighting over space at the dinner table with a million cousins and aunts and uncles. Sure it's crowded and there's never enough food and too many parents parenting my kids but there's no place I can think of where it feels more like Christmas than stuffed in their living room on Christmas Eve watching the kids perform the Nativity or caravaning from house to house to sing Christmas Carols. No one sings quite like those Henrichsens. I'm not sure what I do wrong in preparing for Christmas but it never feels like Christmas unless we're in Ohio (or wherever Mom and Dad are living). At least not for me. Mark's Mom sure knows how to do it right. Wish I knew her secret and if she ever feels like me when it's all said and done--ready for a long winter's nap.

Sweetness

2008-12-22T22:22:00.003-05:00

We took the boys sledding this weekend because we sort of had an abundance of snow and not much else to do. I think I've told you that already. Anyway, Caleb was in snow-eating heaven once again and everytime the sled stopped or it wasn't his turn to be on the sled he was shoveling the white fluffy stuff in his mouth as quickly as his little mittened hands could go. Most of the afternoon he wandered around in the snow sporting a very hip white goatee. Once I shoved him down the hill on the sled himself and then ran down after him only to find him sitting at the bottom of the slope, snarfing down handfuls, unphased by the freezing temperatures. I think if there was a snow-eating contest, Caleb would win, frost-bitten hands down.

Speaking of cuteness, I just climbed in bed next to Caleb. I'm exhausted and coming down with a cold, just in time for Christmas. My favorite. Anyway, Caleb rarely goes to bed in his own bed. I know, I know--I can hear you all screaming Super Nanny's name. But you can relax. We're working on it. Sort of. First we've gotta get Noah sleeping in his own bed. Then we'll work on Caleb. One thing at a time. But the point is, Caleb usually falls asleep right next to me, whether it's on the couch or on my lap or in my bed. I sort of like it. He is so delicious to cuddle with, you know. Usually I bring a bedtime snack with me, like ice cream or cereal, that we share. Tonight I climbed in bed next to Caleb but I had my computer with me instead of a bowl of ice cream. Caleb snuggled in and said, "You need ice cream to share with me." And I told him I didn't have any tonight and he said, "Go get some." "Nope," came my reply to which he said, "You need some food to share with me, Mommy." I wonder what he'd do if I brought a bowl of snow to bed with me. Bet I wouldn't even get a single bite.

Snowblowers and Christmas Lights and Other Christmas Treats We Love

2008-12-21T07:28:00.005-05:00

Friday we got about six inches of a very white powdery snow. It was beautiful. It completely transformed our cold and gray neighborhood into the most festive Winter Wonderland. Anyway, out here in CT if you don't shovel PDQ (pretty darn quick) you can get a ticket for like $200. Our poor old lady neighbor got one a few years back and 24 hours hadn't even passed since the snow had stoppped. Plus, Mark had piano lessons Saturday morning. So as beautiful as the snow looked outside covering the sidewalks and stairs, it had to go. Usually the shoveling falls on my shoulders. Yeah, I've shoveled almost every winter storm we've had out here on my own, minus the driveway. Mark always does the driveway, or at least part of it, usually after he scrapes my frozen, frost-bitten body off the driveway where I've fallen, completely exhausted. I've gone out into the bitter cold faithfully, with every snowstorm, three babies strapped to my back, fresh c-section wounds still bleeding. Okay, not really, but you get my point. Shoveling around here is just like washing laundry or cooking dinner or cleaning the toilets or paying the bills. My job. Mark will always do it but not in the timely fashion I like him to do it in--a.k.a. before we get a ticket. So I do it.

Yesterday however, a true miracle happened. It's called a snowblower. Mark, who very rarely gets out of bed before eight, was dressed and headed out into the Winter Wonderland by 7:45a.m. And by 9:00a.m. he had cleared the snow not only from our driveway and walkways but also from our neighbor's driveway and walkway! I've never seen him so happy and excited over a piece of machinery in our entire 12 years together. He loved it so much that after we got back from sledding he just had to get it out again to remove the 1/4 inch of snow that had fallen between 9 and noon. The family we bought it from (for 100 bucks--you can't beat that) even called because they'd heard we'd had a snowstorm and wanted to know if we'd used it yet. Darin was clearly missing his piece of machinery and probably would have come and snowblowed for us if he wasn't living all the way down in Texas. Anyway, looks like my shoveling days are over and if we move anywhere, it's gonna have to be a snowy place and the snowblower will definitely be the first thing on the moving van.

Besides snowblowing and piano lessons and sledding, I also managed to make the eighth treat of Christmas which is basically called "anything you like to eat dipped in chocolate" but not steak or mashed potatoes. I made chocolate dipped Pringles and chocolate dipped Pretzels. Just melted some chocolate chips in the double boiler and dunked in the salty stuff and let it dry on some waxed paper. Then we ran over to the church so we could decide if the boys need the microphone for their musical number or if they could do without. We hit the mall for dinner and a few random items from Target and then headed out to see Christmas lights. We've found a few awesome displays here and there and the boys, especially Caleb and the twins, love them. We went to see this one a few weeks ago (thanks to a tip from the Cousins) and Noah said, "Wouldn't it be awesome if it played that song (Wizards in Winter) like that house on You Tube?" And then like two seconds later, that song came on. He was thrilled! And then there's this house just a few blocks away from us that puts up this huge display every year complete with a toy train that circles the house. Mark also found another awesome house not too far away, but my camera didn't work so too bad. Really someone oughtta start a website where people can post videos and addresses of houses with awesome Christmas light displays so we'd know where to find them all. That would be really cool.

We ended the day running to the grocery store for two things--hot chocolate and peanut butter sauce. Yesterday after sledding we came home and had hot chocolate. As an experiment, I tried squirting a little Reeses Peanut Butter Ice Cream topping in my Stephen's Hot Chocolate. The results were delicious. Any of you Reeses Peanut Butter Cup lover's have got to try it! And attention all you East Coast Residents: I just discovered Stephen's Hot Chocolate at Shaws. Hurray for us! No more mail orders from this chic or loading my suitcase with the stuff everytime I visit Utah. I can get it here. And trust me, if you haven't tried Stephens Hot Chocolate you're totally missing out. It's the best.

The Sixth and Seventh Treats of Christmas

2008-12-19T23:20:00.006-05:00

Someone told the boys once that if they put a spoon under their pillow when they went to bed it would snow. Yesterday when Noah got home from school he informed me that a HUGE snowstorm was on the way. Good someone's up on the current events cause I'm certainly not. Hadn't heard a thing about it. Anyway, when the kids went to bed they insisted on having spoons under their pillows. But this time instead of letting me get them, they got their own. Guess the plastic ones I provided weren't good enough cause it didn't snow the last time we tried this. Hunter brought up the biggest, silver serving spoon we own. Noah grabbed our pretty little jam spoon. And Denver grabbed another rather large silver spoon. All three of them shoved them under their pillows and a few of them wore their pajamas inside out and backwards, another trick someone taught them. Then they all went to bed.

This morning school was cancelled. Not a single flake fell until 12:05pm. They could have gone and had early dismissal but nope. We'll be making today up this summer when it's hot and sticky and humid and we'd all rather be at the beach. But the point is, we got lots of snow and the boys got out of school. And I have to admit, it was kind of nice not having to worry about getting everyone dressed and ready for school by 8:00am. And the boys were thrilled. "School's cancelled for nothing!"

So while the kids played in the snow and built creations out of Lego, I did some Christmas baking. We're getting down to the wire here--only six days till Christmas and I've barely even started. Better get crack-a-lackin'! Anyway, here's Treat Six: No-Cook, No-Bake, No-Fail Chocolates.

In a fairly large mixing bowl combine:
2 heaping cups rice krispies
1 pint peanut butter
1 stick of butter, slightly softened
4 cups powdered sugar

Roll into 1-inch balls and set on waxed paper. Roll each ball in dipping chocolate and return to waxed paper. Let dry.

And here's Treat Seven: Sandy Webb's Fudge.
1 stick of butter
8 ounces cream cheese
8 cups powdered sugar
1 cup hershey's cocoa
2 tsp vanilla

Mix or knead together until smooth. Roll into logs. Wrap in foil and freeze.

Both are really easy and both are really yummy. Just ask my kids. They'll tell you. They are so easy the kids can even help. Denver loved squishing the peanut butter ball ingredients together with his bare hands. And I'm sure he could have done the same with the fudge but lucky for us we have my mom's old kitchen aid mixer and that kneads it together for me.

We spent the rest of the evening watching Prince Caspian and eating pizza and chocolates. Then the boys rehearsed their musical number for Sacrament Meeting. Just you wait and see--you're gonna cry it's so beautiful! And that's about it. Five more days until Christmas--are you ready?

Crappy Anniversary!

2008-12-18T23:17:00.002-05:00

Mark and I celebrated our 12th anniversary today. It started with a huge fight over where the heck to put all of the kids toys and ended with Hamburger Helper and a huge mess from decorating gingerbread houses with the kids. I'm exhausted and headed for bed and Mark is still working. Oh, and did I mention neither of us got a shower today? We're stinky and dirty and grumpy and tired. Here's hoping tomorrow's a better day. And even though I've been really mad at you all day long, I still love you, Mark and consider each day I'm with you a blessing. It's been a great 12 years minus today but hey! 1 out of 4380 ain't bad.

Come Throw A Snowball At Us!

2008-12-17T15:30:00.004-05:00

The twins and Caleb used to always wait for me at the front window when I walked the boys to school. They'd sit on the back of the couch and as soon as they saw me coming they'd start waving very enthusiastically. It used to be one of my favorite parts of the morning. Nowadays they don't watch for me anymore. They're usually too busy watching TV or mooching fried eggs off Daddy or having a shower with Daddy or shaving with Daddy. And I miss seeing their cute little bodies smashed up against the window. So the other day I discovered a way to call them over to the window when I get home so I can still see them smoosh against the window pane and hear them scream ecstatically at my homecoming. If I throw a snowball at the window they all come running. And they smash up against the window and shout for more. I love it! They try and dodge the snowballs by ducking behind the couch and then they pop up for more. Mark videotaped it this morning. Jericho was a little out of sorts because he banged his chin on the windowsill whilst dodging an incoming snowball. But the other two are pretty funny to watch. If you want, come by and throw your own snowball at our window. I'm sure they'll come running and fill your heart with happiness too. For free! Just don't break my window please. We still need it!

The Ornament

2008-12-16T15:05:00.000-05:00

My family has decided to give "the family gift exchange" another try. We used to do it, back when we consisted of mainly newlyweds and singletons. When we started producing children it got more and more difficult. Then one year Devanie suggested we do the exchange by family instead of by individual. Oh the outrage! How dare an in-law try and change the family tradition! And just like that the tradition was done away with. Too much fighting over how it should be done. Well, honestly, I miss the family exchange. As an adult there's not a whole lot of the surprise factor in Christmas anymore. Mark and I try but when I'm the one paying the bills and our house is so puny, it's hard to hide anything. But with outside family, at least there's somewhat of a surprise on Christmas morning. So I suggested we give it a whirl and try it Devanie's way--by family. And, for an added twist we'd do it by theme. This year's theme is "a favorite family treat." Next year we'll do a favorite family game or a favorite family book or a favorite family movie. I've heard what other family members are planning on sending and I'm totally loving it. It's inexpensive, you only have to mail one package, and it's a great way to learn what everyone else has been eating (or playing or watching or reading or doing.) And with six kids it's nice not to have to shop for six more on top of the six more I already have to do with the Henrichsen exchange. I highly recommend it!

Anyway, Chris suggested her own exchange back around Thanksgiving time--a family ornament exchange. Each family is supposed to make one ornament for each family member in the Stout family. And then, we send them to each other and hang them on our trees. I hear Chris has gone all out with her ornaments and Melanie has come up with her own great idea. I found my idea in a magazine but it turned out so cute I just have to share. I'm already planning next year's ornament and the next year's. It's going to be a set of at least three. I can hardly wait. It was super simple and a great way to recycle old lightbulbs. Behold. . . the ornament!

Want to make your own? See how to do it here. But if you're a Stout don't bother. I already made you one. And don't worry. As soon as I get the other homemade ornaments from the rest of the family, I'll post pictures.

Christmas in Zarahemla

2008-12-15T06:48:00.000-05:00

The Ward Christmas Party was on Friday night and as most of you know, Mark and I are the Activities Comittee so we were in charge. Last year we did a Night in Bethlehem and while I was researching about that activity I came across a Ward Family that had done a Night in Zarahemla the Christmas following their Night in Bethlehem. I really liked the idea and when I suggested it to Mark he agreed it sounded really neat. So this year we did our Night in Zarahemla.

It started with Samuel the Lamanite being thrown out of Zarahemla. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Samuel is a prophet in the Book of Mormon*. He's been called by God to go and preach to the people in Zarahemla (the Nephites). The Nephites used to be the good people in the Book of Mormon and the Lamanites used to be the more wicked part of the people. But obviously, in this story the tables are turned and a Lamanite is calling the Nephites to repentance. And they of course, don't like it. So they throw him out of the city. Samuel is headed out of town when God calls him back to the city. So after our Samuel is thrown out, he reappears in Zarahemla on a wall (made out of cardboard and paint placed in front of the stage) where he begins to preach to us again. It took awhile for the Ward Members to get into it but by the end all 120 people were shouting at Samuel to go away. In the Book of Mormon, the Nephites shot arrows at Samuel to try and shut him up but they never hit him. In our Zarahemla we used Nerf guns and tried to shoot him down. Just before Samuel gets chased off the wall by a guard he prophesies that in five years time there will be a day and a night and a day with no darkness and a new star will appear, a sign that Jesus Christ is born. And that was the last of Samuel.

But it wasn't the last of Noah and his sidekick, Stefano. All of the kids couldn't wait to get their hands on the nerf guns and get up on that stage. I can only imagine what Noah would have to say if he were on that wall for real. "Behold, there will no longer be homwork or chores or early bedtimes. Behold this is the time to prepare to play Nintendo for the rest of your life, non-stop, with only a break or two for white chocolate and popcorn and candy canes. Repent, oh ye parents, who have forbidden us to play and have forced us to practice piano and read books. The time is near when ye shall no longer have reign over us and we will play freely and endlessly!" Let's all just be glad for a moment that it was Samuel and not Noah.

So in celebration of our "victory" we opened the food line and ate. One of the things I love about Connecticut is the cultural diversity. The Tri-State area is definitely one giant melting pot. So our Ward is blessed to have several members from the South American/Latin American region. Mark and I asked them to do all of the cooking and they really pulled through. We had authentic food from all over South America (where the Book of Mormon takes place) and Latin America and it was so delicious. I even asked Melanie and her family (who are from Colombia) to cook us some food and come down to the party. I wasn't sure what to do for dessert and then it came to me like only it could from a choc-aholic. The cacao bean is from South America, we'll have chocolate! So Melanie brought down her chocolate fountain and we served a ton of fruit to go with it. For drinks we served Pina Colada Juice and Mango/Papaya Juice and a drink from Colombia that I don't even know how to spell. All of the food was fabulous but clearly some parts were more popular than others (see below.)

After everyone was mostly done eating we showed the story of Samuel the Lamanite as it is portrayed on the Joy to the World DVD*. Basically the story ends with the people who believe Samuel and are watching for the sign of the Savior's birth being persecuted by the non-believers. The night the sign is supposed to appear, the non-believers are planning to kill the believers. And then, the sign appears. The sun goes down but it stays light and a new star appears in the sky. We were going to act out the story but decided it would be more calm and peaceful if we just showed the movie. And that was it.

Overall I think it was a huge success. We had a huge turnout, everyone had enough to eat, the food was superb, and I think our message was clear. We are definitely in uncertain times. The members of the Church are being called to stand a little taller and that certainly doesn't make us popular in the world's eyes. We will be hated. It will be difficult. We've been persecuted and we will be persecuted more. But just like the believers were promised in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, I believe that we "shall not be ashamed that wait for [Him]." He will come and my faith will not be in vain and He will save us all. Of that I'm sure.

*You can get a free copy of the Book of Mormon and the Joy to the World DVD as well as other church media by clicking here.

Twelve Pains of Christmas

2008-12-14T23:29:00.002-05:00

Heard this song on the radio on our way to church today and I promised the boys I'd find it and put it on my iPod. So in my search I found this and thought I'd share.

Adorable Quotables

2008-12-14T21:41:00.003-05:00

More often than not you'll hear me complaining about my children. I fantasize regularly about how great it used to be when it was just me and Mark and how nice it would be to go back--back to the days of sleeping in on Saturdays and working a good ol' nine to five and making dinner for people who would actually eat it all. But sometimes, every once in awhile my kids do or say something and I think, "Dang I've sure got cute kids. Lets keep 'em!" Lately, my kids have been especially adorable and I have to take a moment to write down all their sweetness so the next time they aren't so delicious I can look back here and remind myself one more time why I'm doing this motherhood thing.

Hunter lost a tooth last week and left two notes for the tooth fairy. The first note requested that the tooth fairy leave his tooth. I have no idea what he needed it for but she let him keep it anyway. The second note was one of the most adorable letters I've ever seen. It said, "Dear Tooth Fairy, Thanks for always leaving me money for my teeth. Please write your name here (arrow drawing to a line). I hope you know I still believe." This in the same week the Diabetes Clinic informed us that Hunter was too old to attend their Pediatric Diabetes Christmas Party. He still believes in Santa, the tooth fairy and leprechauns and I'm not sure I have the heart to tell him otherwise.

Mark dressed Caleb in camo the other day. I was getting ready to take Hunter to Diabetes Clinic and Caleb wanted to go with. I told Caleb to grab his silkie and he said, "Army Mans don't have silkies." "Fine," I said. "Put it on the couch so it doesn't get walked on." So Caleb grabbed his silkie and stuffed it in the diaper bag for "just in case" I guess. He's so close to being a big boy but not quite yet. And I'm glad about that because he's so delicious to snuggle, that little boy and his silkie.

Hunter and Noah were yelling at Denver a few nights ago for waking them up that morning. It wasn't really Denver's fault. The twins woke Denver up. They always do. First thing in the morning, when they climb out of bed they wander into Denver's room and climb into his bed. They love Denver and Denver loves them. He plays with the three little boys like they're toys. Anyway, Denver was trying to stick up for himself and in his defense he said, "I just can't resist them. I try to, but they just come in my bed and I have to play with them." And the sad thing (or the really loveable thing) is that it's totally true. Denver has gotten in huge trouble messing around with the twins when he's supposed to be quiet but he can't help it anyway. Sometimes he even asks permission if he can play with the twins. And I love that about Denver--that he loves his little brothers so much he's practically addicted.

The twins really like storytime. I read to them almost every day before their naps and Mark reads to them almost every night before bed. The last week or so we've been reading them Christmas stories. They love to find Baby Jesus and the star. Nowadays when you ask the twins what the star means they say (in unison), "Go this way!" Yesterday we went driving to see Christmas lights and we asked them what the star means and after they said "go this way" in unison, Justus said, "It's my job. . . Go this way!" And Jericho said, "No it's my job. . . Go this way!" And Justus said, "It's my job. . . Go this way!" And they continued to fight for the rest of the ride home over who's job it was to tell me what the star means. They also like to fight with Caleb over who's job it is to flush the toilet. The rule in our house is supposed to be you make the pee you get to flush. But since they don't make anything in the toilet they think Caleb has to share his pee 50-50. Caleb doesn't agree. It's so funny to see them try and sneak in a flush before Caleb. I love those two troublemakers.

This isn't so cute but I thought it was funny when it happened. They say girls are much more dramatic than boys but I'd beg to differ. We have plenty of drama in our home and I'm not the only source. Hunter hates doing his homework. I don't blame him. Homework is just plain boring. And after six or seven hours at school that's the last thing anyone wants to do. But Hunter really hates it. One night in particular he was struggling to do his work and I told him if he didn't get busy he'd lose GT the next day. Hunter's response, "I can't do it! I can't do it! The days are dragging on like years." That's a direct quote. I wrote it down as soon as he said it, right after I quit laughing. And trust me Hunter, time speeds up soon enough. Enjoy the long, boring days while you've got 'em cause I promise, they won't last for long. You'll see.

Denver and I were discussing Christmas shopping a few weeks ago. He's got Logan and I've got James. After we'd figured out what Logan might like we were trying to think of something James might like. Then Denver made this suggestion, "Maybe James would like one of those. . . what are they called? A knife you keep in your pocket?" I love the way little kids think sometimes. Once while we were up at the park we ran into a friend we hadn't seen for awhile. Denver was thrilled and started running around with the kid. All of the sudden Denver noticed they had on the same color pants and pointed out to his friend that "Hey! We've got on the same pants but different." I told you so. I've got smart kids.

Last night Hunter came downstairs and said, "I think I've got Hyperglermia." Not hyperglycemia. Hyperglermia. I couldn't help but chuckle a little. He's growing up fast but every once in awhile he still seems litttle.

Caleb, Jericho, Justus and I made the fifth treat of Christmas yesterday. No recipe for this one. Just melt rolos on Pretzel Snaps and squish 'em down with an M&M. It's one of those yummy things you can make with little kids that's quick and mess-free. It's more a matter of self-control. I had to keep reminding the kids to put the rolos on the pretzels and not in their mouths. Before I laid the pretzels on the pan I counted the rolos to see how many pretzels we needed. There were 42. Noah watched me count them all and then watched as I counted out the pretzels. "Mommy?" he interrupted. "Can there be 41 pretzels instead of 42?" Of course I couldn't resist handing over the rolo.

Caleb really liked them. Well, the rolo and the M&M part, not so much the pretzel part. I guess between Noah and Caleb I should have just put the rolos on the tray and skipped the pretzel part. But anyway, after he'd asked for several I told him he couldn't have anymore. A few minutes later Caleb returned to the kitchen and asked, "Mommy, what do conductors eat?" He was wearing his conductor costume. Before I could even answer him he said, "Conductors eat candy." Then he just stood there staring at me and the pan of candies, smiling, longingly. Long story short, the conductor and his brothers ate them all while I was out finishing some Christmas shopping. Should have added Rolos to my shopping list.

And my favorite quote of the week comes from yours truly. Caleb was running around naked and it was dinner time and I shouted, "Caleb come here right now and get some underwear on. You can't eat dinner naked!" We do a lot of things naked in this house but there's one thing we don't do and that's eating dinner naked. No shirt, no shoes, no problem. No underwear--no dinner! Someday I think I need to write a book about all the ridiculous things we say as parents cause I say a lot of them.

Barf with A Hint of Chocolate and Other Exciting Events from Our End of the World

2008-12-09T05:53:00.004-05:00

Noah had his tonsils out last Monday. He's done remarkably well. They said around day three or four of his recovery he'd really start to feel the pain. I can't say that he's really suffered that much. Sure, he's had his moments, but for the most part he's sailed right through, easy, breezy. The mornings are the hardest, probably because he's gone eight or more hours without his pain meds (which by the way, I've never seen a huger bottle of codeine. . . ever!) It's his ears he's complained about most and not too long after we've doped him up and given him some warmed bean bags to hold over his ears, he's fully recovered and begging for game time. Which is why, my friends, I have not blogged recently. The kids have taken over completely and my computer is no longer my own. It's only because Justus just barfed and I had to clean it up and unclog the toilet at 4:50am that I am able to blog. It's the only time of day my computer lies untouched. But the good news is--he's almost all the way healed. The doctor said yesterday that one scab has already fallen off and the other one will be gone by Thursday. And even better than that, Noah can finally breathe again which means he can sleep and that means his mood is 100 percent improved. And that is the very best news of all.

Thursday I went to see Twilight. I just had to get out. A few days of being cooped up with Noah and the three babies and no blogging and I was done. So I called up a friend last minute, we met up at the theatre and I liked it. I actually liked it despite the bad reviews I'd heard from so many people, despite the fact that Cedric Diggory was Edward, despite the bad makeup job and poor casting. And it was good to get out and take a moment.

Besides Noah's tonsils we didn't do much else last week. How could we had Doctor's orders to "take it easy." But Saturday was GE's Family Christmas Party which we simply couldn't pass up. Tradition! So we loaded everyone up and watched the ice show and visited Santa and picked up the kids' presents. Caleb was absolutely, positively thrilled to see Santa and walked right up to him and told him he wanted a train for Christmas. And he said Santa said, "Ho! Ho! Ho! A train?" Two seconds later when we walked over to the gift table and they handed Caleb a train, you can imagine the delight. He's played with it all weekend and was especially thrilled when Mark put new batteries in the engine and it actually worked, lights and autodrive to boot!

After the Christmas Party we tried to wrap up some of our Christmas shopping. This year we decided to do a brother exchange and forego the school's holiday boutique. No offense, but I hate the Holiday Boutique and shopping for five brothers is a little overwhelming for anyone, let alone a six or seven year old. So in an attempt to simplify we had the boys draw names and took them to Target with instructions to find a present for their brother and their cousin. I had the worst headache by the time we left the store. There was nothing simple about it. Nothing. But the good news is, we've got all the cousin gifts purchased and all of the brother gifts purchased and we're only a few gifts away from being complete. Hallelujah!

And of course, this weekend we got some snow. I swear Caleb must have died and gone to heaven. Santa and a new train and snow--could life possibly get any sweeter for a three year old? So we spent Sunday morning out in the freezy temperatures building a snowman and sledding down the hill at school. It was the most perfect snow for both and it wasn't too cold either. Caleb ate so much snow he peed clear the entire rest of the day and he absolutely loved sledding. Viewing life through Caleb's eyes just makes my heart happy. He truly loves life.

We were going to skip church one more time for Noah's sake and because all of the kids have the sniffles, some worse than others but we got a call that morning asking if we could come have a visit with someone from the Stake Presidency. We all know what that means. I asked Mark what he'd done to deserve a Stake Calling and he shrugged his shoulders and looked at me like "what did you do?" So we threw the kids in the car and ran to church, both of us anxious to know who was in trouble and both of us hoping it was the other. We were so late Caleb went barefoot (seriously, in like twenty degree weather) and still in his play clothes. Mark and I ran inside and five minutes later, wa-lah! Mark is the new Executive Secretary. For the rest of the day everyone kept patting my arm and saying "oh, you're going to hate it." Yeah um, thanks for that. Still, way to go Mark. That's a big calling and it's certainly not for the faint of heart. I personally think he's perfect for the job and as much as I'm going to miss him on Sundays (and every other night of the week), I'm proud of him and know he'll do a great job serving the Ward and the Bishop.

And if that isn't enough to make you want to curl up in a ball and cry, Justus now has the stomach bug I've been hearing about for weeks and this week, of all weeks is the worst possible timing since we're trying to throw a Ward Christmas Party in approximately four days. Hello? And it's not just your ordinary ham dinner and Santa. No, we have to turn the gym into a tropical rain forest in South America and feed 100 people authentic Latin American food. And plus, do they make barf muzzles for babies? You know, something to catch the vomit while they're running around the house at break-neck speeds because they don't know any better and can't lie down with a bucket and hold still to save their own lives? I didn't think so. And also, there's something very wrong about vomit that smells like chocolate. Very wrong. The kids had M&M's before they went to bed and you can imagine the smell. Ugh! It's going to be a very long, messy day.

P.S. Can I just tell you how dang cute Justus is when he barfs? When I got to him he was just sitting there holding his blanket and he pointed to the pile of barf next to him and said matter-of-factly, "Look what happened." And last year when he barfed, he crawled down to the other end of his bed and started crying for us. When we got there he didn't say anything, just looked down to the other end of his bed and looked at us like there was a monster behind him but if he held very still it wouldn't get him. Poor, most-adorable little barf boy. We love you. Just pretty please keep the germs to yourself, okay? And please tell me you didn't swap pacifiers with Jericho yesterday.

It's Beginning to Look (and Taste) A Lot Like Christmas

2008-12-01T07:04:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we woke up to find snow outside. The excitement level in our house was extremely high. The first snow always does that to the kids. Anyway, Caleb couldn't wait to eat some snow. He's been waiting for months and confesses he likes to eat it like an acoholic confesses he drinks too much. It's like he knows he shouldn't but he can't help liking it. So Hunter took him out on the porch and they tried catching snowflakes on their tongues. But a snowflake or two wasn't about to quench Caleb's thirst for snow, so he scooped a handful off the stair railing and smiled the biggest, most satisfied grin ever. Ah, finally.

When the twins and Denver woke up and saw the snow it was a sealed deal--we had to go play in it. There wasn't even enough snow to cover the lawn but that didn't stop us from having a snowball fight and building a "baby snowman." The kids jumped, or rather slipped around on the trampoline, breaking up the snow into chunks and throwing them at me. And I tried hitting them with snowbombs over the net. Then because our snowman was so tiny, we took turns pushing him down the slide and then putting him back together again. Eventually the snow turned to rain and we had to go inside and eat breakfast.

For breakfast we had Rainbow French Toast. While we were in PA we picked up a loaf of Rainbow Bread from Isaac's. It was super-duper dried out by the time we got home so it was perfect for french toast. The kids all thought it was pretty great and Denver and Mark are already scheming on how to make their own rainbow bread.

Once the kitchen was cleaned up and the twins were down for a nap I made the fourth treat of Christmas:

Grandma Stout's Caramels.
4 cups whipping cream
4 cups sugar
2 cups white corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1 can evaporated milk
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 cup nuts (optional)

In a large pan mix sugar, syrup, salt and 2 cups of the cream. Bring to a boil and gradually add remaining cream. As mixture cools down slowly add evaporated milk. Cook to firm ball stage, STIRRING CONSTANTLY. (Mixture will get darker and begin to pull away from side of pan. This takes approximately 1 hour and 17 minutes. I've timed it. So be prepared to stir for a long, long time.) Remove from heat and add vanilla and nuts. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Let stand 24 hours. Cut into bite size squares and wrap in wax paper.

If you missed the third treat of Christmas it was Pumpkin Roll, I just didn't tell you it was the third treat cause I'm sneaky that way.

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts

Beat eggs on high speed for 5 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice. Sift together remaining ingredients except walnuts. Fold into pumpkin mixture. Spread into well-greased (or parchment paper lined) cookie sheet. Top with finely chopped walnuts. Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Turn on towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Roll loosely and cool.

Cream Cheese Filling

1 cup powdered sugar
6 ounces cream cheese
4 Tbsp. margarine
1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat all ingredients until smooth. Unroll cake and spread filling over cake. Reroll and chill.

Anyway, I had to make it for Noah because he was having his tonsils out the next day and we didn't know how long it would be before he could have more and homemade caramels are his favorite. While I made the caramels, Mark and Caleb set up the Christmas tree.

When the caramels were finished and the tree complete, the big boys, Mark and I played a game of Blockus. Love that game! By then the twins were awake again and everyone was dying for their turn to trim the tree. So we pulled out the decorations and got to decoratin'. Mark and I put the candle lights in the windows and hung the mistletoe and the kids hung all the ornaments on the tree. We ate leftover Thanksgiving dinner for our Lunner (that's lunch and dinner combined) and then sat down to watch Home Alone 4 and eat caramels and pumpkin roll and Wilbur chocolate buds and chocolate covered pretzels and peachy penguins. It was the most perfect, cozy day and the perfect ending to our Thanksgiving weekend. And things around here are definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas. They taste that way too and you know that commercial where the lady orders a "can my butt look any bigger" burger? That's how I'm beginning to feel too. But hey, it's Christmas and it sure tastes good!

From Lovers Lane to Intercourse (PA) All in A Day!

2008-11-30T13:34:00.007-05:00

Friday, instead of fighting the crowds over Black Friday specials, Mark and I loaded up the kids and headed over to Pennsylvania for a mini vacation. It was probably the best getaway we've had as a family in a long time. We didn't have to rush anywhere. We could do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. And it didn't cost us a whole lot of money. What could be better than that? We literally woke up, threw some clothes in a suitcase and left.

So anyway, just four short hours away from us is Lancaster County, PA. Strasburg lies within Lancaster and houses some of the best train museums ever. If any of you are familiar with the I Love Toy Train series then you've probably heard of the Choo Choo Barn. Inside this little rinky-dink museum is one of the best miniature train layouts. . . ever! We spent an hour inside the museum and only got around the layout once. The babies would have gone around at least one more time, if not several, but they were closing. You can see how much they loved it here and if you click here you can see everybody's most favorite part of all.

After the museum we ate dinner at Isaac's Deli which is right next door to the Choo Choo Barn. What a great little restaurant. We've eaten there before and I've craved their pickles everytime I've been pregnant since. But this time Lady and her crew went with us and she recommended the Mallard (a roast beef sandwich on pretzel bread) and it was fabulous. Everything about the restaurant was perfect for our crowd of 10 kids and 3 adults. We didn't have to wait to be seated (on a Friday night even!) They immediately handed the kids crayons and coloring sheets and pretzel goldfish. The kids' menu offers more than the traditional mac-n-cheese and chicken nuggets, including make your own PB&J sandwiches on rainbow bread and cheesy pretzel bread with dipping sauce. They had the most awesome straws I've ever seen and yeah, their pickles still rock!

After dinner we returned to Lady's house and the kids played together and we talked to Man (who's all the way over in Iraq) via the computer. It was especially fun when he donned some of his army fatigues and Lady told him to get his army helmet on. Caleb (who loves wearing his own camo) was watching intently and was quite surprised when he returned with his bike helmet on instead. Silly Man! And we all got to see his gun and watch him help Ainsley read, even all the way in Iraq. It was pretty sweet. Finally we called it a night and headed over to the hotel where we crashed, sort of. The twins were really hyper and even after the rest of us were asleep they kept climbing out of their playpens and jumping from bed to bed to bed, laughing all the way. Argh! Also, Mark realized his wallet was missing on our way to the hotel and I couldn't sleep at all. I just kept worrying about showing up to the Surgery Center on Monday with Noah and not having the $100 copay because some lucky bum found Mark's wallet and drained our account of everything. And it didn't help that payday was Friday either. Fortunately, Isaac's had Mark's wallet and I'm happy to report, everything was just as he'd left it, cash and all.

Saturday we headed back to Strasburg to ride the Strasburg Train. They have one of the most beautiful steam trains I've ever seen and it's almost exactly identical to the one on Polar Express, so you can imagine Caleb's delight when he climbed aboard. We rode the train first and then watched a few come and go between trips to the gift shop and the KettleKorn stand. Everytime a train left or pulled into the station Caleb started running towards the train shouting, "Wait! Wait!" just like the boy does on the Polar Express when he finally decides to hop on board. I'm sure, if we hadn't been there to grab him, he would have jumped on all by himself and had a free ride or two. When our ride ended Caleb started tapping the side of the train and said, "I want this train for Christmas." If only we had a million dollars, Caleb we'd totally buy it for you. . . maybe.

After we rode the train we returned to Lady's house again and she took me to the Wilbur Chocolate Factory where she introduced me to Wilbur Buds and Wilbur Chocolate Covered Pretzels and Wilbur Peachy Penguins all of which we are now completely and totally addicted to. Thanks Lady! We loved it all so much that I've already researched Wilbur online and discovered how to order more. Of course, we'll have to return to Lititz to get the pretzels since you can't order those online. But that's okay because we didn't get to visit the Strasburg Railroad Museum or stay in the Red Caboose Motel, two more things we still want to do. And we've got to go back to see Man and have him teach the boys some of his fishing techniques. But that's what's so great about Lancaster County. . . it's all just a few hours away. Just one more thing we'd miss if we ever leave CT.

P.S. My favorite conversation of the weekend went like this:

Mommy: Allentown? Hey,look guys! We're almost to CalebAllenTown.

Caleb: What town?

Mommy: CalebAllenTown.

Caleb: My town?

Mommy: Your town.

Caleb: Nakedtown?

Mommy: No, Allentown.

Caleb: What town?

P.P.S. Does anyone else find it interesting that within Lancaster County there's an Intercourse, a Middlesex and a Fertility? I wasn't just being crude in my title. We really live right next door to a Lover's Lane and we really did drive by Intercourse while we were out there. Really.

Thanksgiving Stuff (not stuffing)

2008-11-28T07:04:00.003-05:00

For Family Home Evening on Monday night, Hunter and I came up with a new twist on an old tradition. Usually, the Monday before Thanksgiving we write down 100 things we're thankful for. But Monday Hunter suggested we do it ABC style and write down one thing for each letter of the alphabet. I loved the idea but I didn't like reducing our list to only 26 things. So I changed it up a little and we did it Scategories style. So we each got a list with the alphabet and ten minutes to write down as many things as we could think of that we're thankful for. Then we took turns reading our lists and we only got points for things no one else had written down. It ended up being really fun and I think we easily came up with more than 100 things we're thankful for.

Monday night I also discovered that the three babies love to string beads. We have some giant wood beads and they spent a good part of the night, stringing them onto a shoestring. So Tuesday, in an attempt to spend some quality time with the babies, we made Native American hats. But instead of stringing giant wood beads we strung small plastic beads. I wasn't sure how the babies would do with their tiny hands and the tiny beads so I taped their yarn to a straightened paperclip for a makeshift, non-sharp needle. It worked! The twins each strung enough beads to make a necklace and Caleb strung two. It was very exciting--little crafty guys. Then I showed them how to dance like Native Americans and how to greet people--"How!" Caleb ate it all up and ran around the house beating his empty hot chocolate canister drum and saying "How" and "Look Daddy, I'm an alien!"

Wednesday Melanie came over and I babysat two of Noah's friends from school and Mark worked from home so our little house really was bulging at the seams. But there's something about our little house stuffed to capacity that makes it feel even homier. I was given the assignment of making Sweet Potato Casserole, Orange Rolls and Pumpkin Roll for Thanksgiving Dinner, so I spent the afternoon making those. Melanie got busy on some Christmas shopping and the kids ran around the house playing this and that.

Denver, Jorge and Stefano decided to run outside and play and disappeared for almost an hour and a half. I went out to check on them occasionally and finally around 5pm it was dark so I called them in. Jorge and Stefano came running into the house with their eyes bugging out of their heads and I asked what the matter was. Stefano said in a whiney, sort of scared voice, "Denver told us that your neighbor over there saws up kids and cooks them for dessert. And he said that your babysitter Vicki (from Fairly Odd Parents) cut Caleb's head off while you were gone and you had to sew it back on. And he said (huge gasp here), 'I hear a saw right now!'" Denver came running behind them both screaming at them not to tell me, half-embarassed he'd been caught traumatizing his friends, half-scared of the consequences of such behavior. Denver, of all people! Later, when we had to tell Stefano's mom what happened Stefano chimed in, "And Denver said their neighbor will make soup out of our butts and all parts of my body!" I'm not sure where Denver came up with this elaborate story. We don't watch this sort of stuff on TV. He says he had a nightmare about it when he was 5. I'm wondering if he's picking this stuff up at school. Either way, looks like my sweet little innocent Denver is not as sweet and innocent as I thought. And looks like maybe we won't be babysitting Stefano anymore. Sorry 'bout that Patricia! And sorry to Melanie too--Jorge refused to go into the basement for the rest of the night. We've tried to get Denver to tell the story to us, since obviously he's a very convincing storyteller, but he refuses telling us he can't remember. Likely story. We finished the night off on a happy note, watching the Muppets Christmas Carol. There's nothing like Kermit the Frog and Tiny Tim to make you forget about murderous neighbors and wicked babysitters plotting to saw you up and make butt soup out of you.

For Thanksgiving we spent the day at Chris and Cliff's house not doing a whole lot of anything except sitting around, eating and laughing only the way a true Stout can. Chris and I are proud to say Megan has inherited the Stout laugh and does it very well indeed. Cliff tried to keep the kids out of our hair by giving them a million giant boxes to play in but they liked wrestling with him better. Noah played Guitar Hero practically the entire time and Hunter played Spore. I think Mark also addicted himself to the game. We took the kids to the park and ran them around for a bit and returned home just in time for Thanksgiving Dinner. I personally ate way too much and wrestling Megan after dinner didn't help matters. I never did manage to down any pumpkin pie. But Chris made the most delicious turkey ever and my orange rolls and sweet potatoes were pretty dang good too. All in all, we had a very Happy Thanksgiving and we hope y'all did too!

Brown Shooga!

2008-11-25T22:16:00.003-05:00

We had oatmeal for breakfast on Monday. Unfortunately I made the mistake of leaving the brown sugar out on the countertop. All three babies have figured out how to climb the kitchen drawers to the top and can access just about anything their hearts desire, including the brown sugar. The dead silence should have been a dead giveaway, but you know, as a parent I always hope for the best. Afterall, is it that hard to believe that sometimes they actually play quietly together? Anyway, I've never seen brown sugar look so good or the babies look stickier. I can only imagine what they are going to get into next. I think we're going to have to take the cupboard locks a level higher.

UBS Parade in Stamford

2008-11-24T15:25:00.003-05:00

We've heard about this mini Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade that they do every year in Stamford for years now. But we've never gone. Last year we went into New York to see the Macy's parade and while it was fun, it was also nightmarish. The crowds were a little insane. So this year we decided to try something a little less chaotic and try the UBS Parade. And I must admit it was totally perfect for families with small children. Except that it was so freezing cold I thought we were all going to die but I couldn't complain because I had just watched Boy in the Striped Pajamas the night before and the Jews in the concentration camps with no heat, no clothes, no shoes or hats or mittens and no blankets were still on my mind. So we muddled through and had a pretty good time. We got front row seats, no one smashed us into the blockades trying to get a better view, we were right next door to Starbucks (mmmm-white hot chocolate), Burlington Coat Factory had heated bathrooms just behind us and Denver was even serenaded by clowns. And the best part was when the firemen spun their gigantic Rescue Hero balloon right over our heads. It was humungous! We took along Faith's Flat Stanley and got some great pictures to send back to Texas and got a great kick start to our Thanksgiving week. Bring on the Turkey and Sweet Potato Casserole, baby! I'm ready.

Girls Night Out

2008-11-23T06:13:00.004-05:00

I was lucky enough last night to go out with a bunch of girls. Some of them were my friends. Some of them were my sisters. And a few of them were friends of my sister. It was wonderful. There's nothing like a gaggle of girlfriends sharing their frustration over things their children do and laughing about how much our kids are really all alike. It makes you feel normal. And even better, there's nothing a group of girlfriends does better than rallying each other, bolstering one another's spirits, encouraging, reminding that we are good enough and what we are doing is important and worthwhile. I mentioned that I feel bad because I don't have more one on one time with the kids. One of Melanie's friends, Denise (from Peru) looked me in the eye and said, "Don't feel bad. Don't feel bad. You are doing your best and that's all you can do. When you feel bad you quit taking care of yourself and you've gotta take care of yourself. . . for your family." Ah, the sweet advice of a friend and another mother who knows just exactly how you feel and what you're struggling through on a daily basis. We laughed and giggled through the entire night and no one needed taken to the potty or threw food at the waiter or decided halfway through the movie they didn't want to watch it anymore. Pure bliss.

Anyway, we were going to go see Twilight because that's what you do when you've spent so much of your life obsessing over a book. But so many people told me it was bad, we decided to go and see The Boy in the Striped Pajamas instead. The movie was really well done. My heart hasn't pounded so hard in my chest for a really long time. But the movie is about the Holcaust and so obviously it was very heavy and disturbing. And as always, I struggle to fathom how a group of people can hate another group of people so much and treat them so horridly, so inhumanely, so disgustingly. I tossed and turned all night. I'm not sure how I'm going to shake the thoughts that keep pouring into my head--how babies must have been torn from their mothers' arms and killed because they couldn't work and how those mothers must have longed for the sweet smell and warm bodies of their babies again. How mothers must have died emotionally long before they were murdered, watching their young children be abused, starved to death, worked to death, frozen to death. The torture, the experiments, the suffering, the hatred. It all keeps swirling around in my head and no matter how I try to make it right, I realize I'll never succeed. It will never be made right.

So I'm not sure what I'm going to do to quiet the angst. Because I also feel guilty for all the days I complain about how hard my life is, how frustrating the kids are, how sick I am of cleaning toilets, how I never wanted so many babies. Because I know those Jewish people would have taken my place in a heartbeat and considered themselves lucky. And I guess that's what I need to do. Count each day as a blessing. Consider each moment a gift from God and thank Him for it. My babies are warm and safe in their beds upstairs. There's food in the pantry. I've got clothes on my back. I can have a warm shower whenever I want and I sleep in a warm, soft bed piled high with blankets. I can worship anyway I choose. The kids spend their days learning and playing, carefree and innocent. And who knows, another Holocaust could happen. They say it could anytime, anyplace. America is no exception. Any group of people could decide anytime that another group of people are getting in their way and trample them right under their feet. It's not so far-fetched. (If it did, I wonder who would come and fight for us. Or would they decide it wasn't their war to fight and call home their troops?) But at least for now, it isn't going to happen. And for now I suppose the best I can do, in honor of those men and women and children who died and suffered, is to never forget that even the little things are blessings and to never take them for granted. Those men and women stayed good even in a world that had gone crazy bad. And I must do the same--count my blessings, love despite differences, see the good in everyone, serve others daily, and always have hope and faith in mankind that the good will prevail and will always win in the end. Always.

Sad But True

2008-11-22T12:26:00.002-05:00

Stumbled across this today while I was looking for Wordpress Templates. And they call us the hateful ones. Makes me glad that I'm on the side I'm on and it doesn't matter how many churches or homes or temples or whatever they vandalize, I won't back down on this one. One man. One woman.