Hat's Off To You

Josh just saw the video that I posted yesterday--and when it got to the end, and Claire suggested a new game, he got very excited and told me that it was such a fun game! Then he proceeded to tell me how to play:

"Do you want to know how to play that game? If someone comes into your house and you don't like their hat, you try to get it off them. And they have to try and not let you take it off. If you get their hat off the right way, then you win. But if they don't let you, and you don't take the hat off of them, you miss."

Sounds fun to me.

Disclaimer

I just wanted to make a quick clarification about my last post: I was, admittedly, being slightly sarcastic. Ok, maybe a lot sarcastic. Bedtime at our house is NOT a quiet affair. It is very loud and boisterous--full of not only lots of giggles, but lots of screaming ("Don't throw your toothbrush at your sister!" "Don't push your brother over!" "Sit down, please, and listen!" "It's time to relax and be quiet"--"NO! I DON'T WANT TO!!", etc.) I just wanted to clarify so people don't think we're perfect (thanks, Robyn! :P) because we are most certainly not! :) Hugs and stories are my favorite part, because by the time that is all over, I'm ready to collapse! And I can! :) (And very often, do!!) Just thought I'd let you know! :)

Pyjama Party

Getting ready for bed at our house is always a very calm and peaceful affair. Here are some examples of the quiet dignity at our house before bedtime:

We dress up like random animals and throw balls at each other:


We wear strange hats:


We pull said hats over our heads and play Marco-Polo:


It usually entails a LOT of running as fast as possible in circles to very calming music (I don't know how that works, honestly!):


I always thought calming music wasn't really to run to, but my kids think otherwise. Usually, though, after about 20 minutes or so, the running starts to slow a bit...

Or, we show off how strong we all are...

Thankfully, it really does end happily, with the scriptures (which isn't always a very calm affair, either) and family prayer (which CAN be a calming affair as long as they're not already started on the giggles), and the brushing of the teeth (which is Andrew's favorite: 'Bruss Teet! Bruss Teet!') then some nice big hugs and stories. That part makes my whole day!!! :)

Potato Salad and Purple Puddles

I thought I might elaborate a bit on our party on the 3rd. Thursday was a day of surprises for me...I was expecting it to be busy, but not completely overwhelming. Wednesday night, I had another migraine just thinking about all the things I had to do. Luckily, I really didn't know about all the things that I had to do, or I would have just dropped to the floor in a little purple puddle and done nothing at all. I'm losing my ability to cope lately...but hopefully it's just pregnancy related for now... Anyway, after I relaxed myself to sleep--telling myself over and over again that it really won't be so bad--I just had to make a gigantic potato salad and get everything ready and together for the 4th of July party at the embassy. No big deal. It was playgroup day, but I wasn't planning to send the kids because Pascaline wouldn't be able to go with them since she was helping at the embassy for the party, and I definitely couldn't take them because I had to make potato salad and get a bunch of other things together. So, that did uncomplicate things in my mind. THEN, I sat down at the computer in the morning just to do a quick morning check of email, and realized that playgroup was at MY house!!! Oh boy! And wouldn't you know it, that day everyone turned up! So, since it was at my house, it was my responsibility to have a snack for the kids--we hadn't been grocery shopping for a long time, and I hadn't thought about it ahead of time so I wasn't prepared with some fantastic snack all ready, and I had no money to go out and find something...so I delayed the potato salad and whipped up a couple of loaves of banana bread (thank goodness for super cheap plentiful tropical bananas!!). Ok. So, that was taken care of and in the oven to bake for an hour, and I began to tackle the chopping of 40 million potatoes. Because, really, what is the 4th of July without potato salad?????? :) I finally got the potatoes chopped and threw the 20 eggs in to boil with them just as everyone started to filter in for some fun and games. Unfortunately, since I didn't remember that they were coming, I didn't have the toys out yet. The kids wanted a fort that morning, so I had pulled all the couches to the back half of the living room and threw a giant blanket over the top--they thought that was the absolute coolest thing! And the other kids thought it was super cool, too, so that kept them busy for the whole 10 minutes it took for them to tear it apart! :) But we ended up with 10 little kids there altogether, along with their nannies or moms. Normally, this is something I absolutely revel in. I love to have company. I love to have people over at my house visiting--to chat, to eat, to play... But I must admit I felt super overwhelmed. Now that I look back on it, though, I think it really was a blessing, just because Josh, Claire and Andrew were kept entertained happily playing with lots of friends and I didn't have to worry about them running in and needing my constant attention, so that was a good thing. And I did get to have some time to chat while the potatoes and eggs cooked. After the food was cooked, I sliced up the banana bread, made up some Kool-Aid (yes, I know, I'm super against the colored sugar water, but the kids were begging and I admit, the stress made me give in!) and threw some raisins at the kids and they ate it all up. Meanwhile, I was digging the eggs out and putting them in cold water and fishing out all the potatoes. Then came my most favorite part: Peeling eggs. I don't know about anyone else, but I really hate to peel hardboiled eggs. There must be a better way!!!!! But, I sat for 45 minutes peeling those dumb things! I had just finished peeling the eggs, and was starting to add the rest of the ingredients when the phone rang. I picked it up and heard the voice of our nurse at the health unit, which brought back to my memory that I had a Dr. appointment that morning! I was already 1/2 hour late!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I hung up the phone, and yelled up to Josh asking him to gather up all the swimsuits and towels for everyone, because we needed to go NOW! Luckily, the kids love swimming, so they were all more than helpful at that point. Josh gathered everything up and threw it all into a bag (it's so nice that he's bigger and more responsible and able to help like that...) while I was madly throwing the stuff into the biggest batch of potato salad I've ever made (AND at this point I realized I had forgotten to do the celery--and my potato salad HAS to have celery! especially since I searched it out purposely for the salad...so I had to hurry and wash it off and throw it in bleach water so I could put it in)... Well, 45 minutes later, I walked out of my house with a finally finished potato salad, three kids with all their swimming gear, and my housekeeper. Good grief! Then we sped over to the embassy and flew in to the health unit where the Dr. chiding me for making her wait for over an hour! My appointment, of course, lasted only about 15 minutes, and then we were all free to finally go down to the party place where I was supposed to be helping...but I'm afraid that I really wasn't much help. I was so completely exhausted and starving that I could barely stand!! (I also woke up at 4:30 am that morning...did I mention that??) And the day was REALLY hot--but I didn't really want to go into the overly crowded swimming pool, so I basically just hovered in the one spot where there was shade: by the food! :) I ate my hot dogs and hamburger, potato salad, fruit and cookies and cake.

Devin and the kids swam in the pool for a few hours (almost 4, I think), and then we went home and watched a movie. Wow. I'm tired just thinking about all of that! I paid for it yesterday, though, as I felt very sick and tired all day long, and everyone let me just sit around and do nothing. That was nice. Thank goodness for days off, eh?

Story Time: On the Farm

So, here is the long awaited for update from our storytime on Wednesday. Yes, it has taken me a long time to update, but it has been a LONG week! Whew!!!!! Funny thing--I spent Monday and Tuesday preparing for my story time (well, not all day, obviously--just the evenings). Tuesday Josh and I got to do some school together and that was so nice. I'm going to miss those times with him! I suppose that just means it's time to start doing that stuff with Claire! :) She needs some one-on-one attention, too. Poor kid.

Anyway, Wednesday was our storytime. Unfortunately, I forgot the camera until after the stories were all over--but I did get the craft and the activity after! :) Our theme was Animals and we read some stories about different animals (Never Tease a Weasel, Harriet and the Fox, No Matter What, and Going to Sleep on the Farm), we did a felt board story (Peter Rabbit), and sang some action songs between each story to help the kids stay sort of focused (the music was thanks to my mom and her gift of a lot of Janeen Brady cds...we hopped like rabbits and stood like flamingos and pretended we were lots of different animals). I think the kids really enjoyed it. Then we painted on giant pieces of packing paper on the floor of our dining room (gotta love tile!)--we made big red barns (which really ended up being animals instead) and they could glue cut-out animals if they wanted to. Then I gave the kids animal headbands, and I thought of doing an animal charades, but it turned out the kids just wanted to run a lot, and I'm ok with that! :) But it was nice to be with lots of little kids, read stories, and chat with moms! :) Rejuvenation! :)

Here is some of the work space. :) Crayons, paint and fun abounded! Ha!


Josh is painting his 'barn'...which ended up being a cow inside a barn, with a chicken on it's nest of eggs up above it! :)


Josh as: A Duck!


Claire, the big purple bunny:


Elijah is a duck, too:


Ivy is a piggy:


The back of the piggy...I have to admit, the curly tail was a stroke of genius, if I do say so myself! Ha!


Louis the sheep! Love those fuzzy ears! :) (He refused to take it off--which was SO cute and so different from all the other kids who pretty much tore theirs off after the first few minutes!)


Andrew only looks happy here because I'm taking his picture and he knows that when you get your picture taken, you smile. He was actually a very unhappy camper and screamed at me. He wouldn't let me put a cute little headband on him, but ran away screaming. Oh well. He's still cute. I think he was just super tired.


Here are a bunch of the kids playing. For some reason, everyone loves to stand on this table. Probably because you're not supposed to stand on tables.


I have to admit, I joined in on the fun, too. I rather liked my horns...I made the cows sort of purple because of the poem:

I've never seen a purple cow;
I never hope to see one!
But I can tell you anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one!!

So, I was a purple cow. And a good time was had by all.

Happy Independence Day, America!

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, which, in the United States, means parades, hot dogs, potato salad and fire works! :) We celebrated today at a poolside party with lots of Americans and lots of hotdogs and hamburgers and food of all kinds! :) It was a nice day--very hot and sunny, just like the 4th of July should be! :) The kids got to swim for almost 3 hours, so I think they had a good time! And I got to eat a CHEDDAR WURST! Whew!! Oh it was yummy! :) I must admit, that I am sad that we will miss out entirely on fireworks, but, well, you just can't have it all! Maybe we'll download some pictures and flip through them really fast so it looks like the fireworks are exploding. :) Not quite the same thing, though. Those of you in Idaho and going to the Idaho Falls fireworks--I am JEALOUS!!!!! Think of me as you're sitting on the guardrail at the side of the freeway above the river and watching that glorious half hour of sparkling fun! Someday we'll make it back for a 4th of July celebration in I.F.! :)

I am proud to be an American!
Where at least I know I'm free!
And I WON'T forget the men who died to give that right to me!
And I'm PROUD to stand up next to you and defend her still today!
'Cuz there ain't no doubt I love this land!!!
God Bless the USA!!!

Same ol', Same ol'

Here are some funny pics from the past couple of days:

Josh is cozy and comfy on the couch. Reminded me a bit of the Princess and the Pea. You have to ask yourself, Why? Who needs that many cushions??

(An interesting aside: He is watching My Little Pony! The original Saturday morning phenomenon from 1986! That was really funny to watch, and the kids LOVED it!! I'll have to see if I can't find some Smurfs! I think they'll like that, too!!)

Claire is showing off her nice baguette. Doesn't that just look yummy?!? The trick here, is, when you buy the bread, to find the one with the least amount of ants crawling on it. :) Oh, I love Africa! :)


We had our first Story time here at our house today, and I think it was a fun time had by all. Once I find my camera, I'll post the pictures and report on our fun morning! :)

On to some good news: I am not violently sick anymore! Yea!!! I think that after 6 weeks of sickness, it has finally left me. I consider myself very lucky compared to all the people who kept telling me their horror stories of how with their 3rd or 4th child, they were sick ALL nine months. I'm grateful to have been spared that. Maybe it's because there are no fast food joints, convenience stores or even grocery stores here that I (and my poor famished family) have been spared the 9 month long seasickness! So, I'm feeling happier, there's a spring in my step, and I'm enjoying foods and smells once more. I would still like a Big Mac, though.