Can We Do It: Media Free Week

This summer my kids discovered Phineas and Ferb. They are obsessed! Without permission, some kid goes and puts on Phineas and Ferb and suddenly Joshua is my only child. All we can hear is Phineas and Ferb. I can do whatever I want, the house stays clean, and voila, I am addicted too. This is not good of course, so I have declared that starting tomorrow we are having a media free week. This will include, no TV, no Wii, no computer games, and no social networking including blogs. All we are allowing is email, and really just for Dad. Can we do it? Will we survive? (I think we will join the rec center this week).  So farewell facebook, farewell blog world, farewell video games, and farewell, Phineas, Ferb, Candace, Perry, and Dr. D....until next week.

Anxiety

About a year ago I read a blog about sleeping in a robe or with a robe nearby in case of a middle of the night fire, and then having to evacuate into the street. Before then, it never occurred to me that our house might actually catch on fire in the middle of the night. So of course, I slept in whatever I felt like when I went to bed-- no worries. Sometimes, I wore pajamas, sometimes, I dropped them by the side of the bed. Recently with the warm weather, I have not wanted pajamas on, and for the first time in my life I have been worrying. I worry that if the house starts on fire in the middle of the night would I have to make the choice between putting on my pajamas or getting my babies out. If I put I my pajamas, well sure, I am decent in the street with my neighbors watching my house and possessions burn. But what if those few minutes makes it so I don't get to all of my children in time. What if I lose a child because I put my pajamas on. On the other hand, what if I don't put my pajamas on and we all make it safely into the street with the neighbors and ALL of my clothes burn and I am left standing with the neighbors and... well, you get the point.

Joshua at 6 months

I am a bit behind on this post. Joshua hit that 6 month mark on July 17th. He was 13lbs 12ozs and 26inches long. That puts him in the 33rd percentile for heighth and below the 3rd percentile for weight. In fact, he has only gained about 3 ounces in the last two months. He seems to be following along the same growth curve as Anya did. So as long as he isn't one of my picky eaters, I am sure he will be fine. Still the doctor wants me to push the solid foods. I will, but my experience with all of my other children tells me it won't make any difference.

Joshua is now sitting on his own, but he prefers to roll around on the floor. So when I sit him down he will only stay that way for a little while before he flops down on his belly. Joshua doesn't seem very close to scooting or crawling, but sometimes my kids have surprised me. He is grabbing at toys and experiencing siblings who do not want to share their toys or his toys. He is still generally pleasant towards his siblings except when they take his pacifier. He is NOT okay with this anymore.

Joshua is no longer our "chill baby". He has learned that if he screams loud and long enough there will always be someone available to hold him. So we had to say farewell to our chill baby and take turns holding him when he doesn't want to play on the floor. Fortunately he does have enough able siblings who will take the hold Joshua chore over trading jobs with mom. The next step for Josh will be moving here and there and getting into everything. I think he will be Joseph's apprentice fairly soon.

Privacy

Recently while changing Joseph's messy diapers he has been telling the other kids to go away because "it is a poopy diaper."

Our Temple Square Trip

Our trip to Temple Square on Joseph's birthday is a story all by itself. We waited for John to get home from work so we could all go together. We got there and as we were walking up to Temple Square from the parking lot Ruth accidently slapped Johnny on the face . They were fooling around, and somehow Ruth's hand and Johnny's face met. Ruth got a quick scolding, and that put Ruth in a rather obnoxious teenage pouting mood.

I had to get a picture of "the mood".

First thing, I wanted to take the littlest kids to see the Christus and to feel the spirit up there. I also thought it would be a great place to take a picture of all 8 of my kids together.

 

It was hard to get them to look at the camera. But I am glad that they enjoyed looking at the Christus. This didn't melt away Ruth's mood, though.

So, of course, I had to get another picture of "the mood".

We then went and looked at the neat displays in the lower level of the large visitors center. Then we went out to see the flowers, the fountains, and the Temple. I thought I would try again to get a picture of all 8 of my children with the pretty flowers in Temple Square.

But, it was hot on the cement ledge. Joseph was holding his legs up saying, "Hot, hot, hot, hot...", Kate and Johnny kept standing up and Anya and Rachel were squirming. Most of the kids said those flowers were not the pretty ones. But these flowers and the hot seat melted Ruth. We gave up on the pretty pictures by the flowers and went to the reflection pool.

I sat the kids that are capable of sitting up to look at the water and for some more pictures. That may have been a good idea, if Joseph did not get an idea of his own. He sat right in the water.

With Joseph all wet, we thought we'd take a break and go and watch the movie in the Joseph Smith Memorial building. That went really well at first. We got there just as the movie was about to begin, and we didn't even plan that. The kids were being good and quiet and even Joshua and Joseph were watching the movie. Until about 3/4's through the movie. Joseph, Rachel , and Anya got bored and started trying out some empty seats. I let them wander a little because they were being quiet. That is until we heard Joseph really start to scream. Ruth and I rushed toward him and he was upside down in the the seat , the seat popped up and his head got stuck in the crack. At first we yanked his head a couple of times. The movie played on and Joseph screamed louder. Then we tried  pushing him through the bottom. That worked. I promptly took Joseph out of the theater, and we waited here for the movie to finish.

We headed outside. On the north side of the Joseph Smith memorial building, there are these meandering river-ish fountains. The kids started to walk along the ledge. I wanted to go up to the Temple steps for one more try at a picture of all 8 kids. So we meandered along

 

Until....Rachel fell in Backwards.

 We laughed. a lot. She cried a lot.  We decided not to go up the Temple steps for a wonderful "Families are Forever" picture of all 8 of my kids. So went went back to the reflection pool. 

Joseph got in again. Sometimes, we just can't learn. 

With so many of us wet, we decided to head home. That we did, but we did stop for one more photo. This time it was only the willing victims.

I know this sounds crazy. But we had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs. Thanks for the attitude Ruth, getting your head stuck Joseph, and falling into the fountain Rachel. I had a lot of good laughs. I love my big family-- teenagers, toddlers, and everyone in between!

Fun Mom???

When John saw all of the pictures from yesterday, he said to me, "That was really nice of you to let the kids do what they did. You are a fun mom."
Well actually, I didn't LET the kids do what they did. They just did it. If someone had asked, "Mom, can we paint ourselves with frosting and pretend we are cats?" The answer would have been, "No, not, never, noway, I don't think so." But since they forgot to ask, I get to look like one of those fun moms.

I took this picture. They took all of the rest.

Notice that she took this picture of herself in the mirror.

Joseph's Birthday

Joseph is 2!!! We had a fun filled day with a splash pad, a visit to Temple Square, and a small birthday party!! Jospeh is a sweet little talkative guy. He loves to tackle everyone. He can even pin Anya down pretty well. He loves to have stories read to him and he loves to build with blocks and legos. He likes throwing balls and cheering at ball games. He loves to eat, especially candy. And he is my only big (as in size big) kid. Joseph is an all around fun kid.

During this last year, Joseph learned to walk. He pulled everything out from every drawer and cupboard in his reach. He played in every toilet, he has run the water in every sink and in the bathtubs. He's had his hand in every garbage can. He dumped all of the books from the book shelf several times a day for many months. When he at last satisfied his curiosity, he settled down to play with toys and in the dirt outside.

Now that he is two we can look forward to temper tantrums and potty training, better table manners, and sleep habits. Joseph will have a whole lot more to say to us, and his toys will start talking. If we are lucky, Joseph will sit down for a movie sometime soon.

Fun at the splash pad!!

Visiting Temple Square

Birthday Party!

AND...BIRTHDAYS OF YEARS PAST

Turning Zero Jul 20, 2009

Turning One Jul 20, 2010

Turning Two Jul 20, 2011

Happy Birthday, Joseph you make our home a funner place to be!

Girls Camp and News

Ruth and Kate got back from girls camp last Saturday. They had a great time. They behaved and didn't fight with each other.  Except Ruth who fought with one girl there. I do not have any pictures, though because I do not have a camera kids can take. That is going to have to change.

When they got home I had them talk to me about camp. I asked if they had been homesick and they both guiltily answered no, and they were about the only girls there that were not. They didn't need to feel guilty, however. I am very glad that they had fun and enjoyed themselves and didn't miss home. Besides, I was never homesick and always felt bad about that. And, I missed them,but things went on normally and happily without them. So when they said, "How was it without us?" I felt a little bad saying, "Things were good and happy." I like it that way though. I feel excited for my kids when they get to go away and do fun things. I don't worry too much either. So I don't want them worrying and fretting about home. I want them behaving and having lots of good fun.

I had two pieces of news for the girls when they came home too. While they were gone my brother, Seth got engaged. Ruth and Kate were completely shocked about that one. We are all so happy for him. He has been sad and alone and rejected far too much. I will post more about that when I get a picture of the two of them.

The second piece of news was John got a new job while they were away at camp. We were hoping for a much bigger pay raise. It is only $4,000 more a year. But it is a job and it is doing what John is best at and he will be using his math PhD so that is great. So John will end working for KRD, July 31st, and he will start TDW on Aug 1st. We will not have a gap in pay at all.

Check It Out

I have wanted to expand my blog without really changing the theme of my blog because every now and then I just have an article brewing inside that I want to write down. So I have now added an additional tab I am calling  Scripture Musings. In it I will write my thoughts on the scriptures and General Conference talks. I don't know how often I will update Scripture Musings or My Opinions tabs, but take a look if you have time.

Kitten Experiment Number One

Our Kittens are gone. My sister took two last night but promptly brought them back this morning after a severe allergic reaction. So around 9:30 this morning, I posted an add for free kittens. By 9:30 tonight they were all gone. Giving away the kittens was incredibly easy! We had no emotional breakdowns, so that part was easy too. We will let our cat have more babies. Kitten experiment number one was a huge success! We loved having all of those kittens around too. I am glad to provide cute little baby kitties to loving homes. I am quite sure they all went to good homes too.

Unscheduled Havoc

We have been so thoroughly off schedule for all of July!!  We have been eating dinner around 8:30 every night and getting the kids to bed after 10 or 11pm basically since the family reunion ended. We haven't been getting all of our chores done because we are tired and our house is too messy. We have also not gotten reading and such done regularly. We have been spending way too much time on tv and computers as well. And our kids are GRUMPY! So tomorrow, well, actually today, we are back to schedule for chores, and reading, and meals, and playtime and, media time and especially bedtime. I look forward to calming down and cleaning up. It may take a few days and plenty of arguments about media and chores, but we will be sane again.

We have enjoyed our fun. It is just time to end and be strict again.

Rachel's Songs

Rachel loves to sing. She has been singing since she could make noise. On a rare occasion, Rachel will sing a song she has heard, but mostly Rachel makes up her own words and her own tunes. I am impressed with both. Rachel seems to know when to sing high and when to sing low, and when to hold the notes or when to go quickly to make a good sounding song. Rachel's words can be pretty random. Sometimes they make sense and sometimes they don't. Today she sang some pretty cute songs. Here are some of the words I remember:
1.An Angel came to Mary. Mary said she would. Then Jesus was born orn orn. Jesus is real eal eal.
2.So you want to be an American star. So you want to sing out loud.
3.A star does not eat, and a star does not sleep. A star can't have a baby in its tummy. A star just stays up in the sky- igh, igh. A star shines so bright. It glows in the night. It just glows, ows, ows.

Best Friends

all of the older kids getting candy for cleaning up

Johnny and Joseph. They have been good friends since they were 3!

Katherine, Ruth, Rachel, and Kate. They had so much fun. They hardly wasted anytime with sleep.

Rachel, Anya, and Mary. Even the little girls played well together!

Adam and Samuel

Last weekend we had our good friends from Wichita, the Kitchen's come and visit with us for 3 days. They have kids all of our kids ages except our 2 youngest boys because, they stopped at 6 for now. Oh and we both have a Kathryn (Katherine), a Rachel, and a Joseph who is named after Joseph Smith. Our girls and our boys all get along splendidly. Naomi and I have so much in common, we stayed up well past midnight just chatting every night. I think our older kids did too, even though they were sent to bed.

We had an odd coincidence. About 12 hours after Joshua's fall their 9 year old son, Joseph, fell off the top bunk bed in  a camp cabin onto a cement floor. He fractured his skull in two places, and was really sick. Their Joseph had a concussion and had to get CT scans. But after 24 hours, he was doing better. This was also the first time either of us had any children with broken bones. So we had 2 kids with head injuries that needed to be watched carefully during the visit. Bishop Kitchen held Joshua for us a lot, and all of the kids tried to find games that Joseph could play that didn't include running around or being rough. I was surprised at the compassion the kids showed the injured boys.

We had a a lot of fun having the Kitchen's come over. I will miss Naomi, and my kids will miss their kids. It is sad to move away from such good friends. I am glad they took some from their vacation to visit us. Now, I know I will have to go back to Wichita to see them again sometime.

Big Scare

Friday morning, Joshua threw himself out of his bumbo seat and off of the kitchen counter onto the floor. I was standing right there, but I was turned around getting the other kids their breakfast. It took Joshua about 15 minutes to calm down. Then he ate and I checked him over. He seemed to be acting fine. He ate fine, his eyes looked fine, he was communicating fine. So I decided to keep a close eye on him and call the doctor if I noticed anything odd. After about 45 minutes, I noticed  that the side of his head that hit the floor was starting to get a large swollen spot. I called the doctors and spoke to the nurse. I was able to answer all of her questions in a positive way. He didn't have any fluids coming from his nose or ears; his eyes were fine; he had not been sleepy at all; he ate fine; he hadn't vomited at all; he was rolling around, making eye contact, grabbing for things and smiling. The nurse said that all sounded great, but she wanted to check her paper in case she forgot anything. She came back and asked if his bump was bigger than his palm. Yes, it definitely is, so I brought Joshua into the doctor's. The doctor looked him over. He passed all of the tests expect for that big bump. The doctor said that he thought given the size of the bump and the mushiness of the bump Joshua probably has a linear fracture on his skull. He said that in most cases the baby would need to spend the night in the hospital to be watched in case something happened. But because Joshua had no signs of a concussion, he sent him home with me and instructions to not let him sleep for more than 3 hours for the first 24 hours after the fall. This could have been very tragic! We have been very blessed. And Joshua still seems completely fine.

Child Neglect

While I was writing the previous blog, Joseph was throwing books at me and announcing to all of the other kids that it was story time.

Robertson Family Reunion 2011

We are still in recovery! The Robertson's are AWESOME!!!!! We went up Friday night, unpacked our stuff in Jeremy and Rosanne's basements and went over to Grandma's for the beginning of the festivities. We swam, ate a really yummy BBQ chicken dinner, talked, joked, played games, got bitten by plenty of mosquitoes, and probably watched a movie or two before returning to Jeremy's basement at 1:30am to NOT sleep with two babies on top of us. We woke up from our not sleep and returned to Grandma's. Again we ate, swam, played made awesomely creative pinewood derby cars, raced said cars, spilled plenty cans of soda, ate more, and returned to Jeremy's basement at 2am. We somewhat slept with only one baby on top of us. We woke up at 10am or 12pm (depending on which sleep shift you had) and made it to church with Jeremy and Rosanne and crew around 1:10pm. Then it was back to the Robertson's for more yummy food. Of course being at the Robertson's we had to have a special dessert ready so we could manage to not eat the real dessert before dinner. So we ate pre-dessert, dinner, dessert, played and talked more, made more messes, and then had a cute family talent show outside. We ate more, played more, talked more and went back to Jeremy's basement about 1am. We slept with two babies in completely separate rooms from us (we can learn) and actually slept. We woke up around 10am, cooked a yummy breakfast, cleaned and packed a lot if we weren't already playing soccer. Everyone went back to Grandma's, except I took our duds home and made our beds at home. Then it was more swimming, talking, playing games, watching movies until the Driveway of Fire!! We lit a million sparklers (using the spakler boxes for a mini bonfire works well to light 12 sparklers at once!) Then some of us threw a million or so flowers and it started to rain. At first the rain was nice and light. But then we were wet. So we paused on the fireworks and went in for some awesome homemade icecream and the first 10 minutes of MegaMind. Then it was back to some absolutely amazing rocket fireworks. Back in for more I'm too tired to get my fat bottom in the car chitchat. Finally getting said bottom into car and going home, arriving at 1:30am. We took one day of to do laundry, then back up to Grandma's to say our goodbyes, swim, get sun burns and bee stings, play more games, make more messes, mourn the end of the very fun holiday and home by (drum roll please) 12am!!!!

I wasn't really good at taking pictures. Here are a few that we have.