My Handsome Beggar

I think I have mentioned this habit before from our trip to Utah when Logan was "begging" Grandpa Alan for money. Well he got scolded for it and no longer begs for money. It has turned into a potentially far worse habit. He has metal detectors for eyes.

I was beginning to think we had a wonderfully behaved son when ever we went some where. He would hold on to the stroller as he has been scared into obedience to do. What I didn't realize is he was absent-mindedly holding on as he scours the ground for anything that may resemble lost change! He will be peacefully walking then stop and spread out his arms as if protecting everyone from eminent danger and yell "Money." That in and of itself is embarrassing enough as he leaves the side of the stroller where his other FOUR siblings are. Usually the money happens to be next to an occupied cash register where unsuspecting patrons are purchasing their goods. He will climb or reach between their feet to grab a penny. In fact I think he has gotten a few people to move out of his way. Jeremy and I are seriously thinking about taking him to the beach and renting him out for those of you who are interested in buried treasure. This boy can find it.

We think if we send him out for an hour a day we may be able to pay cash for our next home in no time! What are the child labor laws for that???

Busy, busy, busy

This past week has been a little busy, but not very productive. I have to say I have been exhausted. I usually revel in quiet time and brag to my friends how all the kids are asleep for about 2 hours of the day. Well with new baby comes new routines. As posted before the little girls (I need to stop saying "the twins...any suggestions?) are now in a big bed. They will not go to sleep unless I lay with them. You might say great the three of you can lay down together. Oh no! Lauren knows as soon as I fall asleep because she will wake up. In the meantime Haylie and Hannah need me to lay ON them so they can not move in order for them to fall asleep. As soon as they hear Lauren cry they are very concerned on the outside. On the inside they are thrilled because Mommy will have to leave to tend the baby. So I think well I will sit in here and nurse Lauren and watch the girls until they sleep. They have also learned while I am nursing I can't do much else as far a keeping them still or enforcing rules. So I might as well say good bye to quiet time as I knew it. I do have to say that Miranda will sit in her room for two hours reading, Logan will sit quietly on his bed and fall asleep after about an hour. The girls will at least stay in their bed, for the most part, when I am not in the room. The only problem is they wrestle with each other and talk non-stop. That brings me to a separate topic, I have 5 chatter boxes. Lauren just coos and it is cute but I look into my crystal ball and see very noisy car trips or none at all!

Back on subject, I have been exhausted, a little overwhelmed. frustrated that they won't all sleep on my schedule...starting to feel numb about what I am not accomplishing. So tonight I was sitting looking at the new Stampin' up Catalog (my therapy) and watching The Legend of Johnny Lingo with the family (I can still muti-task when I benefit from it ;-P). As soon as it was over and the music and credits started playing all four kids jumped up to dance and laugh. Jeremy even started dancing with the kids. I couldn't help it tears came to my eyes and the thought of how lucky I am to have this atmosphere in my home. It was like a scene from a movie where life is momentarily perfect without a care in the world. It was FABULOUS! I am so grateful to have a home where so much laughter and togetherness is abundant. I am thankful for my children who can frustrate me to no end, but still love me and give me hugs and kisses every night or run to me when they get hurt. For a husband who spoils me, even though the bathrooms are rarely cleaned, I never do laundry and he is lucky when dinner is cooked when he gets home. I think the subject of my blog was a little off but goes with my theme Busy...or Not?

I love the Farmer's Market

Since the summer is here I am trying to think of various ways to keep the kids busy and the house clean. I am succeeding at the first half rather well. One thing I decided to do was to take the kids to story time at the library and then to the Framer's Market where they play music. It was my first experience. I met my Grandma, my sister Katie, and her daughter Alani. It was fun to walk through the booths and sample fresh fruit. I found that the twins will eat about anything and so will Logan. Miranda on the other hand just likes to sample it then tell me she doesn't like it. We got to try white nectarines, peaches, apricots, blueberries, strawberries, and Bing cherries (I think that is what they are called). I had never tried a nectarine before and it was delicious. For $2 I got 2 nectarines, 2 peaches and 3 apricots. I also got some Mexican zucchini to make zucchini bread. The kids also got some flavored honey straws. My recommendation would be try the sour watermelon flavor and steer clear of the lime flavored ones YUCK! To top it all off Katie bought us some tamales and my Grandma treated us to some Kettle corn. It is so much better than the kind you pop in your microwave. Sorry Mr. Orville. As we were packing it in the cherry lady had three bags of cherries left selling them for $1/pound originally going for $3.25/pound. The only catch was you had to either buy 3 or 5 pounds. So I told my grandma they were $5 for 5 pounds of cherries, she told me I should get them, but I wanted to save my money to get $1 scoops at Baskin Robbins. So she said Here's $5 go get them, as I walk away she says here's another $5. So we ended up with 10 pounds of cherries. She took half to my uncle and Katie took about a third of the other bag and I got the rest. I felt like I got the best deal ever.

So know here's the treat for all you who are still reading. I made Cherry Pie filling. I didn't have a cherry pitter so someone suggested using a straw to push the pits out. It worked fabulous. I am not sure who to credit with this recipe I got at www.allrecipes.com. I then changed it a tad.

Cherry Pie Filling

4 c. Cherries, pitted

1 c. sugar (1 1/4 c. if using sour cherries)

1/4 c. brown sugar (I thought this sounded good so I added it, but it wasn't in the recipe I found)

1/4 c. flour

1/2 t. cinnamon

With some of the pie filling I made Cream Cheese Filled Coffeecake With Fruit Preserves and Crumble Topping. Of course substituting the preserves with my homemade pie filling. I also used the Bisquick coffee cake recipe for the cake part adding a little less milk and a little sour cream along with some cinnamon and again a tablespoon of brown sugar.

Then I made my very first fruit pie. I used Greta Cousins Recipe for the crust. I am not a crust fan but it turned out pretty good.

Pie Crust from Greta Cousins

2 c. flour

1 t. salt

2/3 c shortening

5 T. cold water

Cut together the first three ingredients, sprinkle water on top. Mix together wih fork until it forms a ball. Cut in half. Roll into ball and flatten on floured pastry sheet. Roll out into a circle to fit pie plate.

Having never made a pie before it was very easy and it turned out good enough to take a picture and post it here.

I look forward to getting some new fruit next week and trying something new. It is a wonder I have a hard time loosing weight. I wished exercising was as much fun and tasted just as good. Oh and thank you Grandma for the cherries, sorry I didn't bake the pie before you left. At least I know I can make crust so I will bake one when you come in the fall but with APPLES!

Blessing

It was a special weekend. My mom came to visit from Ohio. While she was here, along with my grandma, we decided to give Lauren her name and blessing. Jeremy gave a wonderful blessing. I always wonder if Jeremy will change the name on the church records so it will be different from that on her birth certificate. So far he has kept it the same. Ha-ha! The people in the circle were her uncle Chris, Chris Rossi, Tim Doll (who also gave a great talk that day), Matt Cook, and Max Cassie. Lauren was our first baby to cry during her blessing but it wasn't too loud that it could not be heard which was nice for me. Also aunt Katie was there to share this special time for Lauren. When we came home we took a few pictures so here they are.

Here is a picture of four generations.

Change is in the wind

It has been a little hard getting the kids switched around and settled down into their new bedrooms. Last week we set up the new bunk beds where Logan, Haylie and Hannah will sleep. We haven't got Miranda's bed frame yet so she is a floater right now. Today we finally put the twins' mattress in their bed frame. So tonight was the first night they slept in their new bed. It was a little rough getting them to sleep but no more difficult than when they were in cribs, in fact I was quite pleased. I went in to check on them an hour or so later and found the girls all crazy like in their bed. Hannah is laying sideways on Miranda. It is Miranda's leg coming out at the bottom. Haylie meanwhile is talking up half the bed with all measly 24+ pounds of her. AMAZING!



And just so you know Logan was not bothered one bi by sleeping in his own bed. He was the first one asleep, and seemed to be content with the new sleeping arrangements. While the girls were crazy n the bottom bunk he looked very peaceful on the top bunk.

WIld Thang...

My grandma went for a ride with her son, my uncle, on his motorcycle. They came by and we took a few pictures. It was fun pretending we were all hot stuff. All bark and no bite! Oh well it was fun to be a little rebellious. Some show it off a little better than others, Nana and Katie...what is with the tongue thing. Just kidding. Thanks Robert for letting us all sit on your bike.

When I was a little younger than Miranda is now (or a little older than Logan) I have a picture of me sitting on the back of my uncle's bike. It was cool to have the same picture with my daughter minus the wonderful colors of the early 80's. I guess it could have been the lovely oranges and greens of the 70's. Anyways here is a slide show of some of my crazy family.

Watching...

This is just a little vent because this is my online journal so feel free to skip it. It has been a rough week, I am glad to say it hasn't been my rough week per se. It is a time I hope will pass quickly but want to remember to be humble and know it can't be done alone. A very close person whom I love is going through a hard time. Just when you think it can't get worse it goes one step farther. I guess that is usually how a trial goes, you begin to feel like you must be made of rubber because you have to bend further than you thought was humanly possible. The term refiners fire come to mind. You need to be stripped down to barely hanging on than you get rebuilt in a way you didn't see coming before it all began. I guess that is how they purify gold or a similar precious metal. Burn away all the impurities then bend it, pull it and reshape it into something perfect, valuable and treasured. This person is struggling in so many aspects of her life but she is so strong. Sometimes these trials are to remind you how strong you are and let me tell you this young lady comes from strong, independent stock, that is for sure. The hard part for me is watching helplessly as she has to endure this for the most part alone. No one else can shoulder the pain except the Savior. As an imperfect being I can do nothing but show love.

It wasn't that long ago I watched someone else go through similar feelings of loss, who questioned their worthiness, usefulness, or even the decision that started the mess. Even though in both cases the decisions were honorable and filled with integrity. Things could have been a lot different had that initial choice been different but neither would come out better for having gone through it. I can say both have a testimony and that is what will get her through this time. Well, that and the love and support of those who truly love her and will be there to support her and catch her when times are rough. I hope they can make her laugh too, that is what gets me through my little rough patches.

Always have a spare...

I love my kids I really do...tonight Jeremy and a few friends are going to an A's game. I decided that we will have a kid friendly low dish meal. What can be easier than barbecue burgers and tater tots. So things are going great Lauren is still sleeping in her car seat and the rest of the kids are happily playing inside. As I am putting the cheese on the burgers the kids come out and play and like good mannered little children shut the door behind them. Can you see where this is going? As the cheese melts I go to get a plate and realize that all the doors are locked. That is right, tater tots are in the oven completely cooked and the burgers are on the grill with nothing to put them on. Miranda starts crying and says "See I told you daddy should have stayed home!" Sadly we have not, as of this post, given anyone a key to our house. I figure, well it is not a problem my mother in law lives about a two minute walk from our house, it will be cold cereal tonight and worst case scenario we hang out at her house until Jeremy gets home. Then I remember I have a sweet little one month old baby inside the house. Luckily we have great next door neighbors who happened to be home, I was able to call Jeremy and tell him to turn around. I can only imagine what the conversation went like when Jeremy had to tell a car full of guys that they had to turn around because April and the kids are locked out with the baby inside. They seemed to be good sports about it when he showed up. Our neighbors gave us a paper plate so the burgers were saved. The guys got here really fast so the tater tots, although well done, were not burnt and crispy on the outside and perfect on the inside. Oh and by the way Lauren was still sleeping peacefully when we opened the door. So my advice after this experience...make sure you have an accessible spare key!

The fun has arrived...

Well a few of us have made it through our pregnancies. This is a follow up picture to my My prego groupies blog entry. Here are the adorable babies and then a picture of the adorable mommies.


(l to r)Sophie April 12; Tyler April 18; My Lauren May 17; Alexandra March 12



Just a few more more babies to go, Natalie, Tara, Valorie!!!!!

Adults say dumb things too!

OK, I often share the funny things kids say, but as parents we sometimes have a lip of the tongue too, or a thoughtless moment. I had one I would like to share.

We have this really good friend. Jeremy and I were talking as he was reading their blog. I was commenting on how sad it was that his mom passed away when he was young and his dad is on his last leg. He himself is still young so to loose both parents before you are thirty is sad. Jeremy turned around and said that was a mean thing to say. I was confused, because his dad is an older man and health wise is not doing so well, they didn't expect him to live much passed Christmas. Then Jeremy kindly reminded me that his dad just had his leg amputated two or so weeks ago. He is literally on his last leg. Health wise he is doing good, my blunder was insensitive but it wasn't intentional. So I felt like a little kid speaking without thinking. Although it is a sad situation he married into a great family and has wonderful in-laws.

Funny quotes of the week

Logan was sitting at the table and asked "Why do we have Cabbages in our mouths?" I asked if he meant cavities and he said no Cabbages. So I asked what cabbages looked like and he described the filling Miranda just got in her mouth. So we got a little chuckle and embarrassed Logan.

Lauren was crying and Logan came to me in a concerned almost panicky tone and said Lauren is crying for her milk. Jeremy had been dying to ask this, he said "Where is Lauren's milk?" Logan without missing a beat said "In Mommy's milk thingies that hold milk!" I guess I have not been very modest while nursing.

I guess that is all for now. Life has been super crazy so I haven't had time to digest much and write about it. I can't wait until school is out...I guess that doesn't make life slow down, it just makes it hotter. Oh well.

Lauren's big weigh-in

We went to Lauren's two week check up. We just wanted to hear she is back to her birth weight. She is such a good eater. She weighs 10 lbs 10.8 oz. I was surprised she has done so well. Now I can let her sleep all she wants, I don't have to worry about her not eating. She is such a great baby. I guess she has to be...I don't have time for anything less. She cuddles well and sleeps wherever we put her. Who could ask for anything more!

"Hammered" from a friendly blogger

OK, I know a certain someone who has a secret blog, I can't say who, but this was a hilarious moment about my son so I thought I would share it here since I can't link to the secret blog.

"Sometimes as a parent you feel like you are in a game of Clue. You are confronted with a situation and you have to figure out how it was done and who did it with what weapon (or toy). This "who-dunnit" game to find out what happened can really be difficult sometimes because everyone wants to blame everyone else. You have to go to the crime scene and investigate and look for clues to help you solve the mystery. And...then there is my son Logan (4). Logan is a great kid (and my only boy), but he also tends to be a boy and thinks that he can push the limits with his sisters. He tends to see how hard he can hit them before they will cry? How much can he tease and chase them before the girls will come tell mom or dad? All of that good stuff about childhood. He is close to getting his P.H.D. in this subject.

"This afternoon, Miranda (6) and Hannah (2) came to me holding their foreheads. Miranda told me that Logan had hit them in their foreheads with his toy hammer. Oh boy, time to go talk to Logan and have him put the hammer away and sit on his bed for awhile. I started back to his bedroom which was the scene of the crime and wondered how many pieces of the mystery would I have to find on my own, how many times Logan would deny the offense before he cracked, and the usual parent detective stuff. All of the sudden I hear Logan yell from his bedroom, "Dad! I put the hammer away and I am getting on my bed!" Am I that predictable? I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Anyway, mystery solved without any investigation - Logan - Hammer - Bedroom - Case closed (or, at least mostly closed).

"Here is my favorite part. I went into Logan's room to talk to him about what he did and find out why he did it. This also is a common practice of mine. Logan has this habit of forgetting why he is in trouble, so I just want to make sure he remembers. The conversation went like this:

"Me: Logan? Do you know why you are on your bed?

"Logan: Yes, Daddy. I hit Miranda, Hannah, and Haylie (she was in a different room at the time, but I think he was covering all his bases) in the head with my hammer.

"Me: That is correct. Why would you hit them with your hammer, Logan?

"Logan: Ummmmm.....

"Me: Logan, why?

"Logan: Because I thought they were nails.

"It took all of my inner strength to not laugh my head off at this point and I was not sure I could keep it in. I struggled through the next minute or so before I told him I would have to come back in a minute. Wow! That was a good laugh. I am not totally convinced he did not see them as nails in his mind. I think he has one of those minds like the lion in Madagascar that looks at the other animals and sees big steaks. I would love to walk around in his mind for a few minutes (just a few). He keeps us on our toes."

Thank you "mysterious" Blogger person!

Another little video

Such generous friends.

We have been so blessed by a multitude of people. We got home from the hospital on Friday and I have yet to cook a meal. Our friends have brought delicious dinners every night. Then last week we got a delivery from Cookies By Design. It was from Jeremy's work. The cookies are delicious. You can't really tell but the bottom cookie reads 10lbs? I don't think they were sure if they heard correctly!

Thank you to everyone who has been so generous and caring towards our family. We have been blessed not only by great children but a wonderful group of friends and family. We are so well taken care of.

Lauren's first bath!

Lauren got her first bath at a week old. She loved it all except the lotion at the end. She is such a sweet, easy going baby. I know she has only been here for a week but I can't imagine life without her, she fits in so well.

New life, old life.

Last week was a great celebration of life. Jeremy turned the big 3-0. Lauren was born, and we had our anniversary. It was lots of fun to celebrate and think of all the good times (minus the labor of course!) So here is a little downer. I was sitting on our couch that faces the back sliding door. Logan, Haylie and Hannah were standing close to the door and Jeremy was around the corner in the kitchen. All of the sudden I see this black thing and hear a thunk. Jeremy noticed right away that a bird flew into our window. I was certain that the bird knocked itself out. Jeremy said in a charade type manner that the bird had broken it's neck and was dead. Logan also believed this bird to be dead. After a couple hours I submitted that the bird was dead. Luckily Miranda was at school. I knew she would be really bothered by this dead bird so Jeremy closed the blinds and went in the backyard. We kept the kids away while he disposed of the bird. When we came home from picking Miranda up from school Logan went to show Miranda the bird and miraculously it was gone. We told Logan the bird must have flown away, it just needed a little rest since it bonked it's head. He looked at Jeremy with a face that said "OK Dad but that was a dead bird." He definitely didn't believe that the bird flew away. He is such a smart kid.

They love their baby sister

Everyone is always asking how the other kids are doing with having a new baby. To sum it up here are a few pictures. All four of them ask constantly if they can hold the baby. Logan tells everyone he sees that Lauren is his newborn baby sister. Haylie and Hannah run to me everytime she opens her eyes or cries. They say "Baby crying" in the most serious, she needs attention now kind of tone. Miranda has stepped into the big sister roll. Jeremy caught her and Hannah in the bathroom. Miranda was taking off Hannah's diaper. When Jeremy asked what she was doing she said she was going to potty train the girls for us. She begs to change Lauren's diaper too. As I say in almost every post I am truly blessed. Each of my children are so special, and bring a smile to my face and warmth to my heart!

Here's a story...

OK, here is how it went down! I went in to be induced on Thursday at 6:30am. They got me all hooked up and decided to check and see if I was progressing from two days before. The only thing progressing was our little one kept moving. The baby was mostly upside down but the head was off to the left of the exit sign! So they were going to wait to do anything. Two hours later our little one was head down in the right spot. So at 9:30 they started the pitocin. The baby still moved off center again and then back. It was quite the drama. Whoever heard of a baby being so active. Jeremy said for sure it's a boy. He won't stop and ask for directions. Contractions started getting consistent without much pain. I said my contractions were getting painful...I did lie a little bit. I know the ones that really hurt happen after the bag of waters is ruptured. At 1:20pm they broke my water. The doctor said "how's that epidural?" I told her I didn't have one and she was shocked. I was at 4cm and went immediately to 5cm wahoo. About 45 minutes later I was feeling pressure, they checked and I was at a 6 boo-hoo. Things were starting to hurt. I told the nurse I think I want an epidural. She said give it a half hour. About 25 minutes later I was feeling the need to push, I was at a nine, within 10 minutes I was pushing. After about 13 minutes of pushing, I gave birth. Here are a few conversations that happened during the hour and a half of pain.

April "I don't want to do this again, I know you think it is because I am in pain but I am serious!"
Jeremy "I'll tell you what if it is a girl you can name her whatever you want!"
note: We hadn't agreed on a girls name yet

April (through a contraction whispering to Jeremy) "Hawaii, Hawaii, Hawaii!" Once we are done having children Jeremy and I are taking a first class trip to Hawaii!

As I am pushing the head was out but I was in too much pain.
April "I'm done, I can't do this any more. It hurts too much"
Jeremy to himself "OK, you can stop, that's I'll help you off the table!"
All 5 staff members in the room "You can do it momma, you are almost there. You are doing great!"

OK so here is the important stuff. Jeremy was shocked to find out our little peanut was not a boy. It is a girl! She was born at 2:33pm on Thursday, May 17th, 8 years after Jeremy proposed to me. Here is what shocked me, my little peanut weighed 10lbs 5 oz. She was 22 inches long and her head was a whopping 14 3/4" around. If I can brag for a moment I did this with absolutely no pain medication, I don't tear, rip or need an episiotomy. I was very blessed.

So the name I chose was Lauren Grace. We have liked the name Lauren and it has been on our girl list for some time. We usually give all of our children a middle name after someone in our family. This one was a little different. When Grace came to mind it reminded me when we decided to have another baby. We both prayed about it, this was during a time when Jeremy's job was in question and we weren't sure if it was good timing. We received confirmation that it was time and we went for it. We know that because of the grace of our loving Heavenly Father we have been truly blessed. So this baby was given to us by grace. I don't want to forget the faith we showed, and knowing how much our Father in Heaven knows us, loves us, and wants us to depend on him. She is our little "big" blessing.

And as you have been patiently reading here our a few pictures as a reward!

Tamra and James watched Lauren's siblings and brought them to the hospital to meet her for the first time. Hannah wasn't so sure about everything, but she eventually made her way over to take a peek. Since we've been home all four kiddos have been very thrilled with our newest little girl. Grandma Bev and Teri Rossi were our other visitors.

Today is the day!

Wish me luck to day we get to meet our new baby....OUR NEW BABY! You would think after doing this three times I wouldn't be nervous, but I can't help it. I will be at the hospital at 6:30am. I can't wait to make the phone call to tell the kiddos if it is a brother or sister and what we are going to call the baby. Although Baby Jacobs has a nice ring to it!