April Quotes

Hayden:  We're getting ready for tomorrow.  Did you know tomorrow ith a holiday?

Me:  No, I did not.  What holiday is it?

Hayden:  It'th funny day.

At the orthodontist office for a consultation, the assistant was holding a fussy Bennett for me while I filled out some paper work.  Sydney assessed the situation and declared, "He doesn't like you."  

(And she repeated the observation several times, louder and louder, in case she couldn't hear.)

The other day, Hayden and I had a "Mother/Son date" folding his laundry together.  When we were finished, I told him when he had finished putting his clean clothes away in his drawers, I would give him TWO pieces of candy.  (so generous, right?)  He responded, "How about two dollars?"  

(Wheelin' and dealin'!)

Hayden:  (gasps)  Mom!  I'm tho proud of you!

Me:  really?  why?

Hayden:  Because you got two packs of bagels!

Sydney:  Mom!  Turn off the movie!  It's too scary for Bennett!

Daphne:  It was only yesterday when I noticed I was very pretty.

Hayden:  (regarding the upcoming Father's and Son's campout)  

We get to go camping without GIRLTH!!

Sydney:  (crying) Daphne a bad guy!  She not let me have a cookie!

Sydney throwing a tantrum on the dryer, paused to catch her breath.  

Hayden very concerned said, "Mom!  She stopped breathing!  

Please let her off!  I don't want her to die!"

Sydney:  Just a minute.  Let me tell Bennett "Hi, handsome boy."

Dallin: (put a loaf of frozen bread in the microwave without removing the metal twisty-tie.)  

Uh, Mom? There's a fire in the microwave.

Dad:  Sean and Hayden, you guys need to go up and take a shower.

Hayden:  (running upstairs and yelling) I'm first cause I'm the dirtiest!!

Dallin:  Of course the front office knows us.  

At school we are famous for being late and having lots of kids.

Hayden wasn't feeling very well one morning and complaining that his throat/ear area hurt.  After holding his hand over the spot that was hurting him he had an epiphany.  

Hayden:  Mom!  I know why my throat hurts.  My heartbeat is in my THROAT!!  

Dallin: That's just your pulse, Hayden.

Hayden:  I'm tho glad that carth are invented.

Hayden:  I hate allergy season!  I hate whoever invented allergy season!

Me:  I don't think anyone invented it.  It's just the plants that make allergy season.

Hayden:  Well I hate the plants!!

Sydney came down one morning wrapped in a blanket and commanded with an expectant glare, "Say good morning to me."  I told her "Good Morning!" with a little too much enthusiasm, apparently, because she corrected me thus, "No, like this:  good morning" in a lower-pitched voice.

Hayden Saves my Day

Sometime at the beginning of March

I've been meaning to write about this experience for awhile, but I'm behind on everything these days.  This happened last month, when Bennett was about three weeks old.  Mom had gone home, and Arthur had gone back to work, and then had gone out of town for several days.  The day he got home I was pretty worn out.  Exhausted might be a better word.  And I hadn't showered in a few days.

Well, after dinner that night, Arthur and the kids were playing on the computer and I was trying to calm Bennett, who was pretty fussy those days.  It was so noisy downstairs, so I went up to my room with Bennett who was slightly less noisy.  I was rocking and bouncing and patting and trying everything I could to help him stop crying.  And after awhile of being hot, and sweaty and exhausted and listening to him cry, I was crying too.  Rocking and bouncing and patting and crying together.

And then Hayden came into my room and started chatting to me about something or other.  I don't remember what he was saying but at one point he looked at me and stopped.  Then he said, "Are those happy tears or sad tears?"  

"Sad tears." I answered.

"Why?"

"Because Bennett won't stop crying, and I'm so tired, and I really want to take a shower."

And then he said, "I can help."

I smiled through my tears and said, "Thanks, Hayden, that's really thoughtful of you."  

He said, "Okay, Mom, you go take a shower.  I have four activities I can do with Bennett.  I can sing him a song, I can read him a story, I can show him this toy and I can talk to him."

I cried some more and said, "Okay."

And I took my first shower in several days, and sweet Hayden kept coming in every few minutes with an update on Bennett.  "I read him a story, Mom.  He stopped crying for a minute, but then he started crying again."  "Mom, I sang him a song, and he liked it.  He's not crying anymore."  "Okay, Mom he's crying again, but he's still doing okay."  All through my shower he talked to Bennett, and came back and told me how he was doing.  And when I finished, Hayden showed me all of the activities he had done with Bennett.

And that's how Hayden saved my day.

March Quotes

Finally getting the March Quotes up.  

While Hayden was watching the Goofy Movie with Nona: 

Nona, what ARE thethe creatureth?

(You have to admit, it's kind of hard to tell what Goofy is.  

Doesn't look like any dog I've ever seen . . .)

Arthur made a silly joke one night, and after getting no response said, "I guess nobody heard me." To which Dallin replied, "I heard you, I just chose not to respond because it wasn't very funny."

Me:  Can I help you with that?

Sydney:  You can.

Our family has lately enjoyed watching episodes of Studio C, a comedy show produced by BYU students.  In one of the episodes, a girl goes on a blind date with Voldemort.  They have dinner at a burger place where Voldemort tries to order a glass of snake milk and some other silly stuff.  It wasn't long after that when we were going through the drive-thru at Chic-Filet.  (Keep in mind that when you go through the drive-thru during busy times, a live person comes to your car window to take your order.)  So when the worker came to our window, Hayden unbuckled and came up to the front of the car where he interrupted my order by announcing loudly, 

"And I'll take a glath of thnake milk, pleathe."  

I smiled awkwardly and said, "uh, yeah . . . just a root beer for him."  

Sydney was watching Beauty and the Beast one day and it was at the part during the opening song when the in the hat shop is singing, "Now it's no wonder that her name means beauty, her looks have got no parallel!"  The lady then whips the hat--and her wig--right off her head.  

Sydney observed, "Oops she dropped her hair."

Me:  Bennett pooped and peed and spit up on my bed this morning.

Daphne:  Maybe he was consequencing you because he wanted more milk.

Hayden:  I'm tho glad we have thith baby!

Sean hates salad and Hayden hates cleaning.  So one night when they were getting on each others nerves, I heard this exchange:  

Sean:  I hope you have dreams about cleaning. 

Hayden:  Well I hope you have dreams about eating lots and lots salad!

Sydney: (Dallin was making fun of the Barbie movie she was watching)  

Stop being mean to the movie, Dallin.

From a prayer Dallin gave in Primary:  

"We're most grateful for all the beautiful young women and all the handsome young men."

I heard it got most of his primary friends giggling a little bit.

Sydney:  Come on!  You can do the dishes tomorrow, Mommy.

Sean:  Today when my teacher was getting me in trouble about my homework, I didn't know what she said because my ears were malfunctioning.  

(ah, well that explains a lot!)

Daphne:  What's the weather gonna be today?

Me:  I don't know.

Daphne:  Let's ask shoshee or whatever her name is.

Me:  Siri? 

Daphne:  Yeah!  Siri!

Dad:  Did you miss me?

Hayden:  Yeah, we totally mithted you!

Hayden:  Sean, you're cheating!

Dallin:  No he's not.  He's being resourceful.

Hayden:  Mom!  Bennett is wide asleep!

One day, Sydney and her cousin Lily were playing out in the backyard and I noticed a big roadrunner not far from them.  When I saw it, I was afraid the girls would freak out when they saw it, because it's a pretty big bird with a very long sharp beak.  But when they saw it, their faces lit up, and Sydney stretched out her hand and said, "Here bird!  Come here bird . . . come sit on my hand, bird.  Come HERE BIRD!!"  (Frustrated sigh, when the roadrunner flew up on the wall and jumped into the neighbors yard.)

(Listening to music) Sydney:  What is this song?

Me:  It's called Fur Elise.  It's by Beethoven.

Sydney:  Beethoven?  No way, Mom!

Sydney:  Mom, I NEED some milk!  I really, really freakin' out!

Me:  Sydney, are you going to get dressed today?

Sydney:  Uh, No, thank you.

Upon arriving at Hayden's soccer practice sooner than expected one day, I commented with surprise, "Well Hayden, we are a little bit early today!"  Hayden replied, "What'th early?"  

(Just goes to show you how often we ever have cause to use that word . . .)

An "Egg-cellent" Easter Weekend

Egg Hunt at the Park

Hayden all ready for some fun.

Sydney being a stinker.  

Didn't want to stand with the other kids, or take pictures, or take the basket off her head . . .

Eventually she decided to have fun.

Dying Eggs with Jewels and Eric

Easter Sunday

Isn't this a funny hat?  Bennett's not so sure . . .

Happy Easter!

The Days of Getting Nothing Done

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Okay – I just looked at the clock and it's almost noon. Where did my morning go?  What have I even been doing? I haven't showered, I'm wearing glasses and sweats. My hair is thrown up in a bun. Sydney is still in her pajamas.  There are piles of clean laundry on the couch and piles more in the laundry room waiting to be washed.  In every room the carpet is littered with toys and blankets and shoes and hats and paper and diapers.  My kids will be home in an hour and I haven't even frosted the brownies that I started making yesterday and I told them I would make on Monday.  So seriously, what have I been doing all morning?  

Well, I have fed Bennett three or maybe it's been four times.  I have changed an equal amount of diapers. I made breakfast for all the kids and ate a little here and there, while looking for cash to send to school with one of my children, and barking out reminders like "Did you put your lunch in your backpack? "  "Do you need me to sign your reading log?" Also, I dealt with and eventually defused  an emotional breakdown performed by child number two.  I drove my children to school because they missed the bus.  I wrestled a screaming two year old into her carseat--a feat that required all my strength plus assistance from two of her older siblings.  

I have held and burped and cuddled Bennett.  I have put him in the swing and listened to him cry himself to sleep while i frantically did the breakfast dishes, and rotated laundry.  And that's about it.  Oh, and write this post.  and the only reason I got to write this, is because I can speak it into my phone while feeding Bennett.    

I am not wishing away this time. I love cuddling our new little Bennett.  I love having a new baby in our home and the sweetness he brings.  But i have a very bad habit of basing the success of my day on the number of things checked off on my to do list, so I keep getting frustrated with my lack of productivity.  I know this time will go by very quickly.  And it won't be long before I can get a lot more done in a day.  And I will look around and wonder where has the time gone and miss my tiny little boy. But these days, a lot of times when I look around I just feel like crying. (Hormones, exhaustion, messy house ) So I guess I'm just trying to find a balance between enjoying the moments and still making sure our family is functioning.  And making sure I get a shower at least one in three days. 

February Quotes

Hayden:  There are two people we don't like, right?  Justin Beaver, and Obama.

The day before I was went in to be induced, Hayden announced to the entire primary:  

"I am having a baby tomorrow night at 8 o'clock."  

The primary leader said, "You are?  What are you having?  A boy or girl?  

"A boy."  

"And what are you going to name him? " 

"I am naming him Bennett."

The first time Sydney saw me nursing Bennett she scowled and said, 

"Get him off your bobbies!" 

(I think she meant boobies?)

Hayden:  (holding Bennet) He'th the cutetht thing in the whole wide world!

Sean:  Bennett sounds like a fire alarm

Here are a few samples of the kids writing that we got during Parent Teacher Conferences.  I thought they were pretty cute.  Unfortunately, Daphne's teacher didn't send any of her work home, so I'll have to post some of hers when her work comes home at the end of the year, I guess.

Dallin's Essay

Ten years from Now

Ten years from now I will be a return missionary.  (A return missionary is someone who went on a two year mission to teach people the gospel.)  I will also be spiritual because I go to church and the temple.  I will also hold the Aronic and Melcesidic priestood.  With the preistood I will baptize members of the church.  After I return from my mission I will go to college.

Ten year from now I will live in Provo Utah and go to BYU.  (Brigham Yung University.)  I will live in a dorm with other students and make new freinds.  I will study for tests to get good grades.  I will be smart and strong.  I will be smart because I went to school, took classes, studied for tests, took tests, and passed tests.  I will be strong because I took P.E. classes from elementary school to high school.  I will also work out.  I won't take drugs and alcohol.  I will also communicate with my family and freinds by calling, texting, and e-mailing.  I will do this because I will have a phone and a laptop.  To get to my classes I will walk, ride a bike, and drive a car.

Ten years from now I will be abel to drive a car, because I would have goten my drivers license when I was 16.  I will also be going on dates because I will be hansome and older than 16.  (In my reliogion we can't go on dates until we are 16.)  I will be hansome because I will have no glasses.  I will have no glasses because I will have contacts.  I will have grown so I will probally be more hansome, ten years from now.

Skelitonic Verse by Dallin:

Smell

You smell bad.

That makes me sad.

I hope you'll make me glad

by takeing a shower,

then you'd smell like a flower,

when you use the power,

of soap.

Please don't moap.

The Crashing Balloon

 By: Sean Gariety

There was a balloon that crashed everywhere.  Once it crashed at Dunk in Donuts.  Then it crashed in a cloud.  And someone jumped out of the balloon.  The balloon crashed at a hotel.  And it crashed at Dunk in Donuts again, and donuts were flying out of the building .  And people went flying out of the building.  (Here he has a picture of a bunch of donuts and people with big smiles on their faces flying out of the building and saying, "WAAAAA!") The crashing balloon crashed in a parking lot.  Then it popped.  The End.

A Mission to the Moon 

By: Sean Gariety

Once there was a person named Sean Gariety.  Now, blastoff!  To the moon!  Finally, now I am at the moon.  I started to juggle.  Then, I founded some aleins, and they danced and danced and danced.  Oh no!  Two asteroids are falling!  Hurry, hurry to the rocket.  But the Aliens did not here me, so they died.  And I left them.  And I got home.  The end.

The Little Sheep

By:  Sean Gariety

There was 3 little sheep that went to a lake and found 3 ducks.  Then they went to a crazy place with hundreds of black rocks.  The 3 sheep went to a place with a few volcanos.  And then they went to a lava pit.  (Don't forget to read the dialog boxes of the sheep in the right hand picture--the sheep on the ground is saying, "What is going on?!?) The 3 sheep finally got out of the lava pit.  And then the 3 sheep have found their hotel.