But it's such a pretty color

Happy New Year's Eve!

Since coming home from St. George things have not been very restful for me. There have been a few things going on, but I will only go into detail about one.

Sunday Anneke was complaining of a sore throat. She had been congested all week with a deep sultry voice, so I didn't think anything of it. Monday her activity level was down and she wouldn't eat much. We went to a movie as a family and she slept in her dad's lap for the last 15 minutes at least. I gave her some medicine and sent her to bed. Each morning at 2:30am she would come in and wake me up. I would medicate her, give her some fluids and set up a bed on the couch. Tuesday she didn't move from the couch. I started calling her doctor but couldn't get through. Then when Anneke was getting ready for her bath I noticed she was covered in a pink rash. Talk about Pinkalicious. I tried making appointments with her doctor online. I googled her symptoms, didn't like what I saw so I went to our Family Medical Guide and got the same results. Scarlet fever?!

After a long night, between dreaming of my daughter becoming permanently damaged and being awake worrying about the same thing, I proceeded to find other alternatives to her regular doctor. I called around and could get no appointments. I finally called my mom in tears. She told me I had to take Anneke to the ER. With no insurance that would be expensive, but my daughter is so worth it. I found an Urgent Care facility and went there instead. Cheaper, right? Well, it turns out Anneke does have insurance, Phew! and they quickly got her in and diagnosed her with the strep virus. (Which can manifest itself in a lot of ways including pink eye and scarlet fever). I was scolded by the nurse for not giving her tylenol for her fever. Anneke could have seized on the way there, according to the nurse. I was upset because I don't medicate my children unless absolutely necessary and I could have hurt my daughter. Then, while we were talking with the doctor he told me not to give her any unless her fever was over 100 degrees. When she got there it was 99.2. See, I am not so stupid. We got antibiotics and now my daughter is eating and bouncing off the walls as usual. 2 doses and this is what we get? ;) Yea!

My favorite part was the doctor telling Marcus and Lukers to wash their hands, not to put things near their mouths and disinfect the door knobs, remote controls, refrigerator handle, etc. They promptly did it all when we got home and Lukers told Andy, "Doctor tell me wash hands" and then had him help turn the water on. (It gave my toddler the perfect excuse to play in the sink.) Also, they were not allowed to play with Anneke to insure they remained well. Um, that last part didn't work. Still, we have been guzzling fluids and Air Borne hoping it will help somewhat. Plus, I have sprayed everything with Lysol, so much that my children were complaining of the taste.

P.S. I am looking for a new pediatrician. If you know of any in the area...

My gifts

I got some great gifts for Christmas. Andy got me hockey tickets. Marcus and Lukers gave me Beatles CDs. My parents got me a beautiful Barbie and my little sister gave me a fun play set like I wanted when I was little.

Anneke knew exactly what she wanted to get me and would not be swayed. She went out with her daddy in quest for a "mommy necklace". Andy told me that she looked at all sorts of things like hearts and birthstones. Soon, they found the charms and she found one to represent each person in our family. She chose each charm and had them put in a specific order. Andy got out his dremel tool and fixed them to the chain. Here is her special gift:

Dove - me (Andy calls me that), Giraffe - Anneke (her favorite animal), frog prince - Caspian Luke, Dragon - Marcus, Motorcycle - Andy

St. George in photos

Isn't my blog background so fun? My older sister did it for me and for my kidlets. Check theirs out.

Most people will just scan through this, but I wanted to share some left over photos for interested parties.

For FHE we went to the St. George temple. We started out in the Visitor's Center and sang some hymns. I was bummed because I wanted to take a picture in front of the Christus, but that was where the missionary was standing and leading.
We took a few photos, but Luke was on Marcus's lap so we couldn't see Marcus's face. Connor was not please with having to come back. (l to r Connor, Landon, Anneke, Luke and Marcus)

Daddy's Girl

Zack (19) and I are almost exactly 10 years apart. After the temple we had a yummy butter pecan cake. Here we are blowing out our candles. (I actually think Luke and Connor got to them first)

Up near Zion's on our get away.

Beautiful view (in more ways than one)

Another rare me picture

These two photos are what you get when the family consists of 6 boys...Wrestling mania. (Shirley/Grammy was not pleased.)

Andy and Brian (15)

Decorating cookies for Santa Claus. I made the sugar cookies. (I didn't have my recipe or rolling pin, so I did it from a mix and no cut out shapes. Sad.)

Happy Birthday, Carlye Anne! (We are 20 years and 28 days apart in age.)

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! (How long has it been now?)

Christmas Day

We woke up to Andy's mom yelling "Not yet!" and Brian knocking on our door, "You had better hurry or you will miss it." Andy and Luke took a bit longer getting up. The night before we decided on a pass word and Uncle Scott slept at the top of the stairs and Uncle Silly slept in front of the door at the bottom. He wasn't allowed to open the door unless the password was said. I think Uncle Jeff forgot the password because there was a long pause before he said it. ;)

Getting up and checking it all out

We saved all the presents and put them out after the kids went to bed. They were so amazed and excited seeing them all. My favorite part about Christmas Day is watching people unwrap what I give them. It went by very quickly and I missed some people unwrapping their gifts, but it was still fun. I actually surprised Andy. Yea! This will be a picture heavy blog.

Connor, Anneke and Marcus looking in their stockings.

Lukers stamping his hand. (I went to the bathroom and when I came back all the little ones had these hats on. I am not sure where they came from, I think Grammy.)

Aunt Jamie, Anneke and Uncle Silly (I thought Anneke looked cute)

The only picture of me.

Marcus behind his pile of loot. (They were all large items.)

Do you think he will be a musician someday?

These replaced the elf hats.

Grammy helping Lukers on a scooter outside.

In the car on the way home.

At home Christmas afternoon opening presents from my side of the family.

Luke dressed himself. Slippers on the hands and a sweater for pants. Awesome.

Christmas Eve

Anneke, Marcus, Lukers and their cousin Connor posing in their jammies

Christmas Eve was an interesting day. The kids watched a Christmas movie (The Santa Clause 2) and then we cleaned the house. We were waiting for the rest of the family to arrive. They finally did at about 1:30pm. Mostly we chatted and hung out. After dinner we went on a walk around the neighborhood to look at the lights. Luke fell asleep in my arms, which never happens anymore. But, he was so heavy I passed him off to his dad and we went home. We unwrapped character themed jammies (except mine, but I didn't purchase them) and had baths. We read Luke 2, sang songs then drank eggnog.

Jeff took this for us and even though I don't like the way I look I thought I would put it in anyway.

After the children were in bed the real fun began. ;) There was a massive pillow fight in the theater room. Imagine 6 guys all over 6 feet tall and me. They were using huge pillows and couch cushions. Soon, they were building a pillow fort over me to protect me. We played games like Apples to Apples and Catch Phrase. It was fun to get to know everyone on a different level and not have to worry about the little ones. I don't think we got to bed until about 1:00am.

A night away

Since my husband is still sleeping off the graveyard shift and late night/early morning Christmas fun with the family I can't post pictures. (The cord is in the room with him.) I will try and add some later. I am going to take a couple of days to talk about our Christmas week.

We traveled to St. George after church on Sunday. Andy went hunting with his dad and brother, Zack, on Monday. They didn't get anything. I went shopping with my sister-in-law, Jamie.

On Tuesday Grampy and Uncle Silly (Zack) watched the kids so Andy and I could go to a movie. Then my husband took my up near Zion's National Park "for dinner". It turns out that our Christmas present from Jeff and Jamie was night away together and my birthday present from them was dinner. Surprise! It was beautiful and a bit cold, which I love. We took a few pictures. Most of the town was shut down, but it was charming. I got a small wood carved ornament of the nativity. It is delicate and the start to my plan. (I am going to have a Christ tree. It will have exclusively nativity, and Christ centered ornaments.) Tuesday night we got popcorn from the vending machine and popped it in the microwave they provided. It was fun to just sit and have nothing to do. That is a rarity. Anyway, it was a great gift and very fun to return all refreshed.

Jolly Old St. Nick

We did get to see Santa this year. Yea!

Marcus was not shy at all and sat right down on his lap. He then forgot what he wanted.

Anneke went up there when I had my back turned. (Interesting smile.) She asked for a Barbie house.

Caspian Luke was not excited.

He didn't tell Santa what he wanted except maybe to not touch him. ;)

Cactus Gardens

We were able to go to the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory and Cactus Garden. I love the lights. As soon as we pulled up Luke was so excited. "Ooo look, Chri'mas!" He made it so fun. He would wave at everything and point and tell me all about it, even though I was looking right at it. You would have thought that the chocolate was his favorite, but it wasn't. When we left Lukers waved and said, "Bye Chri'mas!"

Yep, you are privileged with another photo of yours truly.

So far this week...

*Anneke lost another tooth.

*The tooth fairy apparently only comes to your home.

*My butter pecan birthday cake was the best I have ever had. (Okay, it was Zack's cake, too.)

*Lukers learned how to climb out of the pack and play so we have had no nap yet this week.

*We left "bank and Puh" at home and have been paying the price ever since. Luke has asked us to go home for it several times.

*Eeyore cannot replace "Puh" and Luke tried to give it away.

*My sister in law needs a daughter.

*We put just a few presents under the tree to test the 2 year old and the 18 month old. Marcus chose to try and unwrap one of his presents. Who knew we needed to worry about the 7 year old instead?

*Andy went coyote hunting with his brother. Zack did destroy a bunny, but couldn't hit the coyote that he was right on top of. (Love you, Zacky!)

*FHE at the St. George temple was a lot of fun. The lights were beautiful. Half of the occupants of St. George thought the same thing.

*Marcus has gotten bored very easily this week, but he did finish the second Fablehaven book.

*I was actually able to do my hair and put on make-up. It helps me feel so much better.

*I was given an amazing gift. It is hard to surprise an observant person, though.

*The best breakfast I have had in a while was the sweet potato pancakes, buttermilk syrup and turkey bacon Jamie made me on Monday.

*I need my sisters around me for the holidays. No one else understands my inside jokes and comments. (Even after almost 9 years of marriage.)

In-Mom-nia

I have a disorder that I have dubbed "InMomnia". It is like insomnia but it differs in a few ways I think. I can usually go to sleep just fine, but as soon as I wake up for any reason I cannot go back to sleep. I think I hear a child crying, or someone yelling for a drink. Every noise has me thinking about intruders or sickness or pretty much anything. I have not slept through the night in years. If I can finally go back to sleep I am awakened early in the morning by a child shaking me asking if it is time to get up. This week we got up past 7am and I felt lazy for sleeping in. Someday my case of "InMomnia" may go away. I don't care. I like that I can wake up and be alert and ready right when I am needed. And, if I am not needed I can just worry or even read. Am I the only patient with this disorder?

Remember when...

Remember when Mom couldn't sleep because she was so excited for Christmas?

Remember when we stayed up way late after Christmas and played board games like Clue and Fun City until Dad came out and told us to go to bed?

Remember when we would have back scratching trains on my bed when we should have been sleeping?

Remember when we did Zest commercials after our showers?

Remember when we would go to San Antonio to visit Grandma and Popi (on Christmas) we would wrap up in blankets and huddle in the back because the heater didn't work in the station wagon?

Remember climbing up the walls in the hall?

Remember the rope with our stuffed animals hung on it in the playroom?

Remember the huge box in the laundry with very little by way of clothes in it because they were scattered on the floor?

Remember the FHE when Pam taught us how to do laundry and she was only 8?

Remember Dad's 8-tracks?

Remember my beautiful white end tables, dresser and desk?

Remember someone writing "I love Aaron" on the window sill in my room and blaming me?

Remember Dad lighting up the Christmas tree before we could go into the room on Christmas morning?

Remember Pam's rock polisher?

Remember Deputy Dog?

Remember sleeping in the office at Grandma and Popi's?

Remember when we tried to sneak and see our presents (at Grandma and Popi's) and someone caught us and scared us and we ran back to our beds (the yo) before we could see who it was?

Remember doing advent and drinking cranberry juice mixed with Sprite?

Remember Mom reading The Littlest Angel?

Remember how magical Christmas is?

Pans

I got a set of beautiful pans for my birthday. My husband made me this to hang them from. BTW he told me to mention that it is not up to Carl quality, but it is still okay. (Carl is my very talented brother-in-law.) Can you tell what bugs me the most? If you know me it should be obvious, or maybe it won't be to other people. But, why doesn't the large skillet have a red brand name on it?It messes with the beauty. Still, I love how it looks and it makes me wash my pans immediately to keep it looking nice.

Consequences

Happy Wedding Day to Julianna! I hope it was all you hoped it to be.

(By the way, if you put her last name and my last name together you get Foote Bahlmann. ;))

As a mom it is hard to not control everything. Well, it is for me. I realized how much of a nag I was and decided I didn't like it. So, after about 5 times of telling my children not to (or to) do something I let it go and they suffer the consequences. I, of course, have to decide what I can live with. So, just because Anneke doesn't put her clothes away or throws clean, folded clothes into the laundry basket I don't have her do her own laundry. (She wouldn't do it and then be the stinky girl at school and home. Yuck.) Instead, I get to pick out her clothes for her, which she really dislikes.

The past couple of weeks have been full of "consequences" and it is not fun. We have missed out on several planned activities. This morning I woke up to a child very frustrated at me. I had told the child over and over not to do something. They decided to anyway. Now, they are mad that I didn't keep telling them...every day...so it wouldn't happen. I don't feel like a bad mom, but I don't like being yelled at by an Elementary schooler. The joys of motherhood. Seriously, why is there not a manual?

Baking day

We coated pretzels in white chocolate and sprinkled them. The kids licked the knives and stuck them back in the bowl, Anneke managed to sit on them, and the sprinkles were everywhere. Honestly it was fun.

(I made a "safe" batch for giving out on goodie plates.)

Marcus really wanted to make gingerbread houses. I cheated and used graham crackers and buttercream frosting. I learned that you should let it set up or it doesn't stay up well.

We used leftover Halloween candy, mints and chocolate chips.

In the last 2 days we have made fudge, haystacks, brownies, Muddy Buddies (or as Luke calls them "Monkey buddies"), blondies, lemon bars, and chocolate chip cookies. I feel like I am forgetting something. Oh well. It has been busy and we still haven't made sugar cookies and decorated them yet.

Another tooth

Andy helped Anneke get her tooth out. It was causing her discomfort.

I guess my children get teeth early and loose teeth early. She has another tooth that is wiggly. Sheesh! She is only in kingergarten.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Yesterday we had Parent Teacher Conferences for both Marcus and Anneke. Though Anneke's appointment was first I will talk about Marcus's first. His teacher is so impressed by him and thanked us for him a lot. We discussed the bully issue and she was pleased by the way we are handling it. Marcus also has a secret admirer in a grade above him. He is very sensitive with a clear view of what is right and wrong. (ie fair) Anyway, nothing new, but still nice to hear. Marcus has advanced several levels (10) in reading just since September. (I think it is in part because of his reading of The Book of Mormon, but I could just be projecting there.)

Anneke's teacher talked about how well she makes friends and how enthusiastic she is. She talked about her ability to understand stories and tell you what is going on better than anyone in her class. (She called her "Uh nee kee" once!) Anneke has a hard time sitting still and doing her work. She makes excuses to get up like getting a tissue or use the bathroom. She also does not walk in the classroom. It not always running either, she is reprimanded for skipping, galloping and dancing across the room. The teacher said she has the most energy of anyone in the class, including the boys.

When I mentioned the difficulty with letter sounds the teacher cut me off and didn't let me finish. She said it was normal and something Anneke has to work through. She just needs to memorize the way letters sound. I tried to explain that she knows the sounds and she said something like "I'll continue testing her and see how she does." I shut off after that. She told me in order for Anneke to sound out words she needs to know the letter sounds and such. For the record, Anneke and I sound out words together everyday. Andy saw no problems, so I am probably being overly sensitive, but that is why we came in to talk to her teacher. Now, I have no idea how to work on this "common problem" of Anneke's. Argh! I will keep doing what I am doing and hope it takes effect somehow.

The book fair was fun as usual. We only bought one book, The Fantastic Mr. Fox. (Well, I do like to let my children pick a book to donate to their classrooms, too. But, since we don't take it home, I don't really count it.) I wanted The Pout Pout Fish, too, but was a good girl. I did get some fun book ideas. I am intrigued by Andrew Clements. All I have read by him is Frindle, but I loved it. It looks like his other books are similar in that they empower children in positive ways.

Santa Claus

Every year my children have had their pictures taken with Santa Claus. This has actually not been a purposeful thing. It looks like this year we will break with that tradition because the opportunity has not presented itself.

I have gotten a lot of flack (real and imagined) for my children's belief in Santa Claus. When Marcus was in kindergarten he told me the older kids were telling him that Santa wasn't real. He asked me if he was. I paused before answering and asked, "Do you want to believe in Santa Claus?" He told me that he did. "Well, it doesn't matter then. You can believe what you want." I was not ready to give up that magic and I am still not. I can tell my oldest is almost to "the age of not believing" and it makes me sad. He is trying too hard and I can tell he is pretending a bit too much, but he does it for Luke and Anneke.

My little sister and I talked about letting your children believe in that magic at Christmas. It is hard for children to understand what the season is about. They try and it is special. One day they understand the magic of Christmas that they feel is the Spirit. The true joy and excitement you feel comes through the Saviour and the amazing love He has for each of us. Santa Claus is not the reason for this time of year and he is not the dominant thing we focus on, but he does visit our home and will for many years to come. (The photo is from Caspian's first Christmas)

P.S. If you have not watched Prep and Landing, go to Hulu and do so. It is only about 20 minutes long, but sooo fun.

Daddy Daughter dates

My dad would take each of us on daddy daughter dates the closest saturday after our birthday that wasn't busy. Incidentally I usually went the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Go figure. This meant I frequently missed out on the house decorating. (It was easier without Dad around "Bah humbugging.") We would usually head to San Antonio because Kerrville had a tiny mall and 2 screens in the movie theater. I would usually choose to see eat at McDonald's, watch a movie (usually Christmas themed) and then get Rainbow Sherbet at Baskin Robbins with my birthday coupon. I am a creature of habit and still love to get sherbet when we go there on occasion.

My eighth birthday I chose to see The Land Before Time. I loved dinosaurs and decided against Oliver and Company. (Still haven't seen that movie.) I got a Cera puppet at Pizza Hut and was so sad that she was a stinky character, but happy that she was a girl. I got a Little Foot stuffed animal from JCPenney along with my lavender frilly after baptism dress. I was baptized 2 days after I turned 8, just like Marcus will be. I can always remember that and my endowment date. (I received my endowment on my 20th birthday. Awesome gift!)

I remember once in McDonald's a man was handing out cards with ASL (American Sign Language) alphabet on them. He was asking for whatever we could donate. I was fascinated by the card. I went to a school with deaf kids and didn't know they could speak with their hands. (We learned lip reading, instead.) My dad left a few dollars and the card because he said we didn't really need it.

For my birthdays later I wanted everyone to share the experience. So, we would all go to a movie as a family.

I love these memories and the tradition. We have been unable to start it, but I sure hope to. Marcus and I have gone to the movies a few times or out shopping for his birthday, so maybe I will do Mommy Son dates for my boys and leave the other to Andy.

Some movies I remember seeing:

One Magic Christmas

Santa Claus The Movie

Toy Story

Aladdin

Rescuers Down Under

P.S. I found a great site that reviews movies, books, etc. It is called Common Sense Media. I have thoroughly enjoyed it because it breaks down what you can expect in the book from violence, language, etc. Nice for myself as well as future for my kids. I did books and movies I knew first and then some that I was looking to read. (It made me discard a few of my choices.)

"Hey, Hey! Unto you a child is born!"

Andy took this, so I included it for those who like to see me.

Gladys

Joseph and Angel

My little bell ringer

I love "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever", both the book and movie. (They did a great adaptation from the written word to live action.) Well, Anneke was an angel in our production last night. She was super excited and practiced flying all week long. When she was actually on stage I couldn't help but think of Gladys Herdman.

As they sang Picture a Christmas I nearly cried when Marcus walked out. "Picture a kind and gentle Joseph." Those two words describe my oldest so much. Anneke sang her heart out in the song and you can hear her above everyone else. She doesn't usually sing like that in public.

Lukers wanted to be onstage so badly. He enjoyed drumming on the pie tin at our table and ringing the bells. I did dress him up as a donkey when we were rehearsing. He was the cutest Nester/Eeyore (not everyone knows about Nester. Luckily he isn't too much like him. Right, Heather?) ever.

The worst part for me was learning a new camera. Mine broke this week. I had an extended warranty, but had to ship it off before they will give me the $. So, with my Popi money I bought a new camera. I really wanted a red one. I have now learned a lesson. "Do not judge a camera by it's color." Most photos I shot were blurry. I was near tears by the end of the night. I am not sure if I can take it back and get a different product or if I am stuck with my mistake.

Collections

Andy's collections (belt buckles and books, talk about alliteration)

Pretty in Pink

Putting all the ducks in a row

About a year ago I posted about things that I collect. Luke is the only one of my children to start a collection on his own, unless you count Anneke with pink things. He loves ducks. Check out the video for proof. It is the Duck Mobile. He takes them from the bathroom and plays with them whenever he can. I need to find a new source for this addiction. Any suggestions?

(If you can't tell, I am trying to post everyday this month. I loved that my sister did it last month and since it is my birthday month and a lot is happening it should be fun.)

I have been offline for a few days. In that time my camera died and our heater is going out. It has been an adventure.

Anneke again

I have posted a bit about Anneke lately and not excelling the way her teacher thinks she should, etc. I have been paying a lot more attention to her and the way she does things. The letters that have more than one sound confuse her. Okay, that it normal. The ch and th are confusing. Again, normal. However, I have never encountered the other problem we are having.

A w is written down as a d because it is a dddouble yew. A y is written down as a w because it is wwwhy. F = E, G = J, H = A There are more, but do you see the problem. The teacher asks he to write one of those and this is the product. How do you fix that? At home we are trying to focus more on the sounds the letters make than the name of the letters. It made me laugh when I realized the problem, though. It would sure be interesting to see what goes on in her head.

Snowball soap Surprise

Ivory Soap dominoes

Grating the soap...

not grading it. (Anneke couldn't tell the difference.)

Marcus found this in Family Fun and wanted to try it. It was one of our daily activities this week. We are giving these as teacher gifts, both for church and school. I didn't get a photo of the finished product. We put in sea creatures since I couldn't find any arctic creatures. It was a simple fun activity, until Luke started eating the "snow".