New Hair and Little Porker

Just a few quick pictures. I got my hair cut last Tuesday and thought I'd post a picture. Also, Jaymeson is just getting so big, I thought I'd show him off too!! Enjoy!




Saryn obviously was able to pamper him a little bit by donating her "Bankey Wowers" and her Winnie the Pooh stuffy to his swing. It's amazing how fast that little girl can be. Oh, and she has become enthralled with a Easter decoration. Here she is rubbing noses with it....

Jordana Fitzner - come on down.....

This is the name of Kienna's primary teacher.....and a reader of my blog, so HELLO JORDANA!! I just thought I'd write a little blog for you. Kienna LOVES Sister Fitzner (as read in her journal entry). She talks about her all the time. Sister Fitzner said this, or Sister Fitzner did that. She EVEN knows King Benjamin because she brought him to class!! (I'm pretty sure this was her husband or father-in-law dressed up as King Benjamin, but Kienna is SURE that he was the real deal. Kienna says in her prayers how thankful she is for Sister Fitzner and always LOVES going to Primary. In fact, Sister Fitzner gave her a Christmas Present last year and it had a sweet little note in amoung some other fun things in a can (that is used as a treasure chest). This note is Kienna's favorite night time "story". It simply says,

Dear Kienna,
I love having you in our Primary class. You have such a sweet smile and love to answer questions. Thanks for giving me big hugs! Merry Christmas!
Love,
Sister Fitzner

Last week (remember that this is the day after we got the "motivation items") Kienna said the prayer in primary. Jordana told me that she said in her Primary class' prayer, "Please help me to not wet the bed so that I can get my Cinderella". So funny.

Yesterday, Kaia pulled out an Activities book. It had an idea to make a Christmas Cracker...you know, the kind that you pull on both ends and it pops open. Kienna just HAD to make one for Sister Fitzner. She worked on it SO hard and was just about to tie up the second end when she realized she had to put something IN it. She had realized that one of her paint pens had dried up and she was SURE that Sister Fitzner would want that - so in it went. Somehow that just wasn't enough, so Kienna inserted a magnet she had received from this weeks visit to the dentist (more to come on that later). Isn't that sweet?? Now, it might sound very sweet, but there is a slight awkward part. Jordana's husband is also a dentist. They moved into the ward after we already had THIS dentist, so we have never gone to him. I suppose that every dentist still needs another dentist though, right? Now they have the phone number for another dentist in the ward. I probably would have tried to sneak the magnet out, but Kienna was SO excited about giving it to her and just couldn't be talked out of it. Luckily Jordana has a great sense of humour and I'm sure is laughing right now about the irony of the whole situation.

Thank you Jordana for all that you do. It sure makes all the difference in the world to have a GREAT Primary Teacher. We sure love you.

Serves Me Right....

What do Lotion, Shampoo, Conditioner, Vicks Vapo-Rub, soap and exfoliant all have in common??

No, this isn't the beginning of a very bad joke. It, infact, isn't a joke at all. The answer is simply: These are all things that Saryn was able to get into and smear all over her hands and then follow by placing her hands in her mouth while her mom was typing up the previous blogs.

I suppose it serves me right for blogging. I kept an eye on her for all but 5 minutes. I guess 5 minutes is all it takes. Sigh. The punishment?? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The look on her face when she put her hand, full of Vicks' Vapo-Rub, in her mouth showed that she did not need a punishment.... she will NEVER do that again.

Motivation, anyone??

So, it all started last Saturday. We were in the new super Wal-mart that just came near us - YAY!! Then we saw them....the princess Mega Blocks. Now, we already have a ginormous set of Mega Blocks with Ariel, Cinderella and Belle. These are wonderful. These sets were little individual ones with just a few blocks and some figurines. There was one set with Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother and the Mice and another set with Ariel, Sebastian and Flounder. We couldn't believe tat they were only $6 each. Perfect incentive toys.

All 3 of the girls have been working on something. This would be the perfect reward when they finished the appointed tasks. Each girl picked which one they wanted and we talked to them explaining that they could only have these IF:

Kaia - you have to be happy for a week. It's okay to feel sad, or even cry a little. BUT there will be no tantrums or claiming that we never get our way or that today is the stupidest day ever.

Kienna - you will have to go a whole week without wetting your bed. That's it.

Saryn - you just have to go potty on the toilet.

So it's a week later. How did we do??
They are still on the top shelf in their cases.....so, you do the math. Sigh.

Kaia has had an ENORMOUS improvement. With just slight coaching, she was flawless for about 3 days. Then a total breakdown. She has only had 2 all week, which is HUGE. She is now on day 2 again.....so there really is some hope.

Kienna went for 5 days straight. We couldn't believe it. Then Friday morning she came downstairs and I asked her if she had wet her bed. She hesitated and then said no. I asked to see her Pull-ups and she said, "Okay, They're just under my pillow". She went and got them....and they were dry.... but - well, you know what was in them. I was SO surprised. She hasn't done that for at least a year or two....but then I remembered that they were UNDER HER PILLOW!!! Gross!! So that was fun. She had a great start to the week though, so she'll get it down very soon, I'm sure!!

Saryn has not yet gone on the potty. I put her on and she'll sit for all of 5 seconds and then says she's done. The second her diaper is back on, she'll fill it. She is scared to go on the potty. I think the void freaks her out. She needs to know where everything is going. We'll get there though. Sigh. She did have 2 times that she wet in the potty a few weeks ago, but has fought it ever since. Thus needing to get the toy for incentive.

We'll get there....don't you worry. THIS WILL WORK - THIS WILL WORK......

Decision Magic

So, "Barring Unforeseen Circumstances" we will NOT be going to Colorado. We both listened to MANY people whom we respect.....and we have decided that it is time to finish up school and get on with life. We have also decided the best place to do this is near family - which is almost all in Calgary. So, we figured that getting the JD just wouldn't help us out in the Canadian market and we will be staying here....unless we see some reason that changes it, but that is VERY unlikely. YAY!!!

On Wednesday, Kaia pulled out a pot and a spoon and said that she wanted to do a magic show. She was going to make Candy. She had done this 2 Christmas' ago when we were at the Law School Christmas Party. They had a magician come in and she was the assistant. She helped him make candy and was amazed that she actually made Smarties appear.
So, she was going to do this again (she might be a little bit sick of the health kick that Jarett and I are one). She took out the pot and the spoon. She had everyone put in a magic ingredient. She said the Magic Words (which we all yelled "Happy St. Patrick's Day" for - the magicians words were 'Merry Christmas', so, as it was the day after St Patrick's Day, she did her own take on that), took off the lid and was SO disappointed. She was SURE there was going to be candy. I explained to her that it simply just wasn't a magic pot. She seemed to be okay with that response. Sigh....my little magician in the making.

Making a Record

That was the topic of our most recent FHE. We read about how Nephi kept a record on the plates and how we have been told to keep our own record in our day. We call these records "Journals". Kaia responded right away...."but Mom, I don't have a Journal". Typical Kaia. She had to have a way of being obedient. You just can't break rules. You can only imagine their excitement when I pulled out from behind me the journals that I had been keeping (VERY spuradically) since they were born. I showed them a few things that Jarett and I have written in there and they were super excited. We decided to ask them a few questions and write down their responses. Jarett took Kaia and I took Kienna and we had some "Journal time". Saryn went back and forth between the journals and the piano and Jaymeson had no idea what was going on. We have to get them Journals soon (this might show just how spuradically we write).

Anyway, these were their responses.

This is Kaia's journal. She enjoyed this so much that she has written more just by herself. This is what Jarett asked and then her responses:

Favorite Part of Church?
Ummm, learning in Primary and singing songs.
Why?
Because Princesses love to sing.

Favourite Part of School?
Going on Field Trips and when Mommy comes.
Why?
It makes me happy because it is fun.

Me and you went camping (talking about Jarett and her)
Why did you like it?
Cuz' then I got to have time with just me and one other person.

Favourite songs?
Alien french song, Whenever I hear, I am a Child of God, I Wonder When He Comes Again, Mother Kneeling.

Oh, I love doing my heart thing (this is a latch-hooking kit).

Favorite Food?
Apples and Oranges, Ham, Candy.

Favorite Movie?
Disney - Tinkerbell
About Heavenly Father - The one about the Pioneers (Legacy?)

Favorite thing about Violin Lessons?
Doing scales

My favourite things about Kienna are:
I like Playing Barbies
I like Playing dress-ups
I like doing crafts with Kienna
That's all about Kienna

Something that I like is I like going swimming. I like doing crafts.

KAIA CAHOON

Then added a couple days later:

Favourite Part of Winter:
Playing in the snow, building a snowman, making crystals, drawing in the snow and making snow angels.
And now I want to write my favourite candy:
chocolates, lollipops, cookies, popcorn, cheese and crackers.
My favourite part of Jesus:
He created us, He created the World, He can do miracles.
My favorite part of summer:
(she wrote this part)
Peking flowrs playing outside going out for a wack.

Kaia


Kienna's journal was done a little bit differently. I just asked her what she would like to say and then wrote her responses. Here are her words:

We are having Family Home Evening. I love my family but mostly Jaymeson because he's a baby.

My favorite game is checkers because I want to learn how to play. (I have never played it).

My favorite part of church is learning songs in primary. My favorite song goes like this "I love Mommy, she loves me, We love Daddy, yes-siree. He loves us and so you see, we are a happy family." I also love I love to See the Temple because it's about the temple and I've never been there before. I want to go someday.

I love holding Jaymeson. And I love kissing him and hugging him.

I love dancing with Saryn and when she plays the piano (you remember she was playing the piano at the time). I play Barbie's with Saryn while Kaia is at school. I love when Saryn gives me hugs.

I love playing house with Kaia. (Mother/Daughter). Kaia is usually the Mom and I'm the daughter.

I love to eat apples with cheese, oranges, peppers (bell peppers), and sometimes even snow - is that silly?. I also love Juice and Milk.

I love dancing with my Dad like he's the prince and I'm the princess.

I love snuggling with people and eating candy. My favorite colour is purple and my favorite movie is the Little Mermaid.

I love to colour pictures and hang them up on the wall in my room.

My teacher is Sis. Fitzner. She gives me candy snacks. She has taught me about princesses. Last year I was a Sunbeam and now I'm a CTR 5.

My favourite colour for curtains is white and curly.

Jaymeson always punches me and it makes him laugh.....but it hurts me......it really does!

Kienna

Where Should I Live??

Well, I took the test. Apparently I should live in:

Italy

You belong in Italy. You love sunny destinations, but a nice beach isn't the only thing you need. In Italy you can find culture everywhere and the food is delicious. You have the big vibrant cities, but also lovely little towns where the people are warm and hospitable. This country has everything you need, great weather, passionate people, beautiful surroundings and big vibrant cities filled with culture.

What do I say?? DONE!! I'd go there in a heartbeat. The reasons I don't??
Family, Friends and Money. Kinda the things that run my life. I just might have to go visit Italy one day though. It sure does sound like my kind of place!

Just Weighing In....

Just did Jaymeson's Immunizations on Wednesday morning. I thought I'd weigh and measure all the family while I was at it. So, here's our weighing in.....

Jaymeson is at a whopping 16 lbs 14 oz and 26" long at 4 months. He has jumped from the 50th percentile to the 75th.

Saryn is 36 lbs (she has actually lost weight) and 37" tall at 2 1/2 years - still off the charts.

Kienna is my tiny little thing (still around the 90th percentile) at 41 lbs and 45" in height at 4 1/2 years.

Kaia is at 52.5 lbs and 48" in height. She's always been tall and is still a good head above most of the girls in her class.

Jarett and I are both trekking along with the weight loss. Jarett is about 40 lbs down from last year and I'm about 30 lbs down from the day before I had Jaymeson. It's kinda cheating including all the weight of pregnancy, but it makes me feel better about myself!! Anyway, just wanted to record all that. So.....here's weighing in!

Uneventful Events

I apologize for the lack of blogging recently. I've been a little distracted and haven't been on the computer hardly at all. I had the opportunity to go to Calgary last weekend for Teacher's Convention and spend a lot of time with my Grandparents. I really want my kids to know what wonderful people they are, so I want to spend as much time with them as possible.

Kaia playing the violin for Grampa Jubber
He also plays the violin, so this was a special moment for her.

I also took this opportunity to ask them questions about their personal histories. I found out a lot of neat things. My Grandparents are from South Africa and as I was asking my Grandpa about all the places he's lived and all the significant events in his life, I learned that he was baptized at 8, but he wasn't allowed to receive the priesthood because he was South African. I didn't know that. Apparently, you had to trace your lineage out of South Africa before they would ordain you to the Priesthood. This was a rule that was not known to the leaders of the church, the local leaders were somehow lead to believe that this was necessary. So when David O. McKay came to South Africa, shortly after he was made President of the church, he changed the rule. That is when my Grandpa was finally able to be ordained to the Priesthood. I found that fascinating. I suppose it is reasons like this that the church has been globalized so much more.

On another note, Saryn has started doing two really cute things at bedtime. When I sing her a lullabye, she asks, "Will Jesus wake me up?". I'm not sure how to answer this.....or what she means, but it's sweet, so I'll take it.

I think what she is saying in prayers has finally hit her. When we pray and say, "I'm thankful for my family", she stops, opens her eyes, puts her hand in the air and says, "I have a family!!" Then we'll say, "We're thankful for this food" and she'll say, "I have food!!". I think she's finally figuring out that we're thanking Heavenly Father for blessings that we HAVE. It was a fun breakthrough. Or, it will be when she stops interrupting every prayer between every sentence.

Saryn doing a puppet show for me this morning (while in the puppet bin)

Oh, today I played with the girls for a while and then went on to cleaning. It was coming up on lunchtime and I hear Kaia run up and down the stairs. I went to go see what was going on and she had left me a note:

Mom i am hangry can we hav sam food ples
Kienna and Kaia

She totally sounded it out all by herself, I was SO proud. Not bad for a little girl in Kindergarten, eh?

Anyway, I said I have been a little distracted. We have been having a long week with making a big decision. Jarett has had the honour of being accepted to the University of Colorado Law School to get his JD. This would mean leaving in the fall and doing 2 years in Colorado. After this, he would have his MBA/LLB/JD (the LLB is a Canadian Law Degree and the JD is the US Law Degree). This would mean accruing more debt (approx. $80,000 USD) and putting off working for a year, along with relocating the family two more times. We are in the process of deciding if this degree would be worth the investment. I think it is mostly coming down to the decision between living in Canada and the States. If we don't get the JD, we will for sure be in Canada for the remainder of our lives. If we DO get the JD, we have the flexibility to go between the two countries all we want. This would also give us the opportunity to receive all of our US Citizenships in addition to our Canadian citizenships. It's hard to know what the Lord has in store for us, so this really has been a difficult decision. Anyway, we are still trying to figure out the outcome, but I will keep you all posted when that happens.

The Writing on the Wall

So, Saryn snuck out of bed last night, found a dry-erase marker (which might as well be a permanent marker) and colored this lovely picture on the wall.

I truly have mixed feelings about this. Although, I'm sure most people can understand the frustration, I couldn't help being proud of Saryn's happy face and heart. She drew it for the first time on paper earlier in the day, but I didn't see it very clearly. She was SO proud of it, and therefore, needed to remind me of what a good little artist she was. Since this is so much clearer and I can't keep it on a piece of paper forever, I thought I'd take a picture of the masterpiece... now how to get rid of it??

This is another drawing. It was done in December and is still up on my bedroom wall.
Same marker. Nothing has worked.

I laugh every time I see this picture though. Kaia so obviously drew this, since no one else can draw a stick figure (except for Jarett and I, but I know I didn't do it, and I sincerely hope Jarett is past this stage). Kaia, however, swore up and down that Saryn drew this.
Another litte note is that it's about a foot above the light switch. Kaia probably had to stand on her tippy toes to draw it, so Saryn couldn't even reach it if she REALLY wanted to. Anyway, Kaia fessed up after I pointed these two things out, but it makes me laugh. Maybe that's why I can't get it off....I need the laugh daily.

Saryn Speaks About Nursery

A: Saryn, where do you go at church?
S: Nursery

A: Who is at nursery?
S: Becky Ben (our fabulous nursery leaders)

A: Are there any kids?
S: Becky Ben

A: Do you play with Gabriel or Jayna or Zach?
S: Yes!

Kaia interrupts: Who's your favorite?
S: Becky Ben

A: What songs do you sing?
S: Becky Ben songs

Well, you get the idea.... Saryn LOVES nursery, and I think it'd be safe to say she loves her nursery leaders. They are seriously amazing. They are SO good at what they do. They're the kind of leader that sends the parents away to help the kids adjust better. They are SO involved with the kids and the kids totally can feel their love. You can hardly have a conversation with them without them telling you about their nursery kids. Pretty much every night in her prayers, Saryn says she is thankful for Becky and Ben. It's SO wonderful to have people watching your kids that are putting their hearts and souls into their callings. It really means so much. SO THANK YOU BECKY AND BEN!! YOU MAKE THE WORLD OF DIFFERENCE!

Moments Like These....

Every week, I look forward to the weekend. Why? I don't know. It's just as hard as the week - maybe even more stressful. But I decided that I really love the weekends for moments like these:

Moment #1 - Saturday Night Baths

Rub-a-dub-dub, Three Girls in a Tub....

Granted, this is quite a long moment, but the girls just have a blast. They are mermaids, they go fishing, they play with the rubber ducks and they stay in there until they get all wrinkled up (like you can see with the feet shots). I bathe Jaymeson in there too (it gets pretty squished), but it's a little bit too hard to take a picture of all of them while holding him, so this is as good as it gets.

Oh, and one big bonus is that my floors get cleaned because of the vast amount of water that "magically" escapes the bathtub and ends up on the floor. Of course, this isn't their fault.... "Saryn did it"

Moment #2 - Jaymeson's Outfit for Church

He's been sporting a onesie with pants or a mock polo shirt, but yesterday was his first day wearing a button up shirt - and boy did he look handsome!


Moment #3 - Kaia's first Tithe

Kaia helped clean the basement and got 1 penny for every toy she picked up. She also had some money from the tooth fairy, so when she learned about tithing, she was very excited to pay her tithing and help to feed poor people all over the world....and build churches and temples and every thing else. She has an obsession with helping poor people, so this was especially motivating. She was reminding me all week to figure out how much money to give on tithing and to bring it to church. So yesterday, she paid her first tithe - 81 cents. I was so proud of her. She walked up to the bishop and gave it to him - and didn't say a word (for those of you who really know Kaia - this is strange). She told me that she's a little bit scared of the bishop, but it still really felt good to pay her tithing. So here she is with her tithing envelope.


Moment #4 - Sunday Dinner (or any other dinner)

So, yesterday Saryn decided that eating her dinner was a little bit too hard. She ate all her noodles and chicken, but was down to her 3 pieces of broccoli and lettuce. This suddenly became overwhelming. She was running around the house and dancing in her chair. She was saying her tummy hurts and everything else. Finally, dessert came out for all those who were done. She was a little bit disappointed. This was her reaction:


Although, this moment probably doesn't seem like a great one to most of you, it gives me a great laugh. It also makes me feel like I can win sometimes. Even if it IS against a two year old. The biggest reason, however, is because one day I will have a dinner that is quiet or even full of intelligent conversation and I will really miss these days. I don't know why, but I know that it will happen, so I've decided to enjoy it while it lasts....

The Past 12 Days

Well, there actually hasn't been TOO much going on. Just busy, busy with the regular, every day type things. I'm just going to kinda skim over things and get caught up.

Last Tuesday (the 10th) when I did the post of the party etc., I went to enrichment and then came home and wrote my blog. I then went to bed and was woken up at just after 12:30 by a scream. Normally I don't wake up for these because Jarett is an incredible husband and just gets up and deals with it (unless it's a newborn cry - I somehow hear those better in my sleep). This cry, however, was different. It was a scared to death/painful cry and we both jolted up and ran into the room. Saryn had a cold for the previous 24 hours, but other than that, all the kids had been pretty healthy. When we got to Saryn, she could barely breathe. You could see her struggle for breath by the suction in between her ribs and she was crying because it was scary and it hurt. I gave her some of her asthma medication (something that was precautionary, because we weren't sure she had asthma), just to see if that would help. Not much changed, so we ALL packed up. Jarett gave Saryn a blessing quickly and then we dragged everyone to the Emergency Room. I wanted to be the one to go and I'd have to bring Saryn AND the baby - and I couldn't be particularily quick while carrying both of them and parking.... so Jarett dropped us off.
We weren't even asked what was wrong, they brought us right back to check her vitals and make sure she was getting enough oxygen etc. Then we were asked to wait. To all of you who might be reading this from the states, WELCOME to Socialized Health Care. We waited for 2 hours....and there were maybe 6 or 7 patients in the waiting room. This was encouraging for us. We were even put ahead of some of the other people who were in front of us because our condition was more severe. For those of you who live in Canada, you're probably thinking that sounds great! So, we took some pictures and snuggled while we waited. Isn't she a sad looking little girl??



Anyway, we were ushered in to the tent that they had set up on the side of the hospital. Yes, a TENT!! They didn't have any more room in the pediatric unit, so they pitched a tent for some overflow.


We were back there for not even 1 minute before Saryn began to feel better. She was still struggling with each breath....but not quite enough (wouldn't you know it). She began dancing around with her blanket (Bankey Wowers) pretending to get married and being a princess. Also putting it on my head and asking if I was beautiful. This sort of activity doesn't really get you the attention you want in an Emergency Room. But, it was cute - yes, even at 4 am.


Jaymeson was amazing through this - in fact, I thought it might be the first time he ever slept through the night. He only woke up once in the hospital and went back to sleep after being fed. The rest of the night is a different story...


They finally came and assessed it as an asthma attack. They gave her a steroid and a nebulizer treatment and sent us home. I called Jarett, and he came and picked us up (with all the girls in tow) and we all missed a day of school and just tried to recover.

Everything else went according to schedule until Friday when we packed up and went to Calgary to spend time with our family. My Mom and Dad had been sick all week. My Dad had bronchitis and my Mom was playing with pneumonia. My sister had taken off and was spending the weekend in Cardston with some friends, so it was a pretty low-key weekend around the Mullen home.

Friday night, Jarett took me out to Smugglers for an early Valentine's Day celebration. It was wonderful. We put the kids down to bed and then had my parents keep an eye on them (this turned out to be a bigger job than it sounds - sorry Mom and Dad for making you do that in your condition).

Saturday was spent between both the Mullen and Cahoon houses. We had a special Valentine's dinner at my parents at the end of the day which was wonderful.

Sunday, both Kaia and Kienna started to act a little bit sick. Kaia had to go home before the end of Sacrament Meeting, but other than that church was wonderful. We had Sunday Dinner at the Cahoon's house which was also wonderful. The girls played with their cousin Kindred really well. It was really fun to have them there. They got into the dress ups and had some serious fun....

Kienna in her tiara and hockey stick

Kaia in her Spanish

Saryn in a "too-small" crinnolyn

Saryn playing with the Jack-in-the-Box

Jaymeson also had his first time in an exer-saucer. He absolutely LOVED it. I think he might be teething - as he just gnawed on the toys for the whole time he was in there..... The drool is something of a give-a-way too.




We came back home on Tuesday where we've been doing the schedule thing ever since.....well, kinda. I've been teaching piano and Kaia's been going to school, but Jarett has had Reading Week and was AWESOME to stay at home and help me get to some organizing that I've been aching to do. Our office has been transformed into a nursery again (and has been totally reorganized and sorted through). Our basement then needed some attention and so we totally dug out under the stairs and went through some old bins. We got rid of a lot of stuff and we were SHOCKED at how much space was left. That has been driving me nuts for months. Thank heaven for Reading Week.

Well, that's been the remainder of the week. Today has been a major cleaning day (when you're doing organizing projects, the rest of the house really seems to suffer) and Jarett is at school making up for the reading which he skipped while helping me out. The kids have been SO good. Jaymeson is now sleeping in his crib in the "nursery" for his naps. He'll have to be fully transfered there soon for my sanity.

OH, and one more thing......Jaymeson has now started eating Rice Cereal. I know that a lot of people think it might be a little early. But he is 4 months old today and BOY is he ready. Tuesday was the big day. I tried to give him the first spoonful. I got just a little dot in his mouth and he started to dive for the spoon. He gobbled up the bowl in about 2 minutes flat. And then he slept much better that night. Check out how happy he was with the cereal....


On Wed night, Kienna wasn't feeling good at all. Shock. Jarett took all the kids (except Kienna) to Walmart while I stayed at home and taught piano. I snuggled with Kienna for a minute and said to her, "Oh, you are just the sweetest thing!" She then responded, "In the world??". She makes me laugh. Everything is a competition.

I just remembered today, when I was expecting Jaymeson, I asked the girls what names they like. Kienna's suggestion was to use a scripture name: Nehor. I hope she just likes the sound of the name.....not what it reminds us of. Sigh. What a silly goose.

Well, I think that is the end of my novel for this past week. I really don't ever plan on my posts being this long. So much for the skimming over things....I guess I just like to talk - and it comes through with my writing. Maybe I'll write something brief and to the point one day.... but, until then. Adios!

Lullabye

Small craft in a harbor, that's still and serene
Give no indication what their ways have been.
They rock at their moorings all nestled in dreams
Away from the roll of the sea.

Their stern lines are groaning a lullabye air
A ghost in the cuddy, a gull on the spar
But never they whisper of journeys afar,
Away from the roll of the sea.

Oh, had they the tongues for to speak,
What tales of adventure they'd weave.
But now they are anchored to sleep and slumber alee.

Come fair winds to wake them tomorrow, we pray.
Come harvest aplenty to them every day
Till' guarded by harbour lights, they're home to stay.
Away from the roll of the sea.

Away from the roll of the sea.

Music has ALWAYS been a big part of my life. I seem to use it the most in 2 situations these days. Piano lessons and lullabyes. The song above was one of the MANY I sang when I was in the Calgary Girls Choir. I loved the lyrics to it along with the soothing music. I had forgotten about it for a long time, but sang it to Saryn yesterday for her nap and she fell asleep in my arms. It was one of those very tender moments in motherhood that I just didn't want to go away. I sang this tonight again, and all three of the girls fell almost immediately to sleep. It just might become an instant favorite for both mom and girls.

Kaia sleeping when she was 2.
Honestly now, who thought this was Saryn at first glance?

We usually do MANY primary songs. Favorites always include: I love to see the Temple, Once there was the Snowman, I am a Child of God, My Heavenly Father Loves Me, A Child's Prayer and Love is Spoken Here. There are others as well, but these are usually the favorites for lullabye time. One more song is the Angels Lullabye. It's from "My Turn on Earth" which was a favorite play of mine growing up. Jarett and I both heard this song before we knew eachother and we both wanted to sing it to our kids when we had them. It has been sung many times, and it is a favorite of the girls. I love the lyrics.

You came from a land where all is light,
To a world half day and a world half night.
To guard you by day, you have my love;
To guard you by night, your friends above.

So, sleep, sleep till' the darkness ends
Guarded by your angel friends.
So, sleep, sleep till' the darkness ends
Guarded by your angel friends.

There's one set softly by your bed
And another sits close with a hand on your head.
There's one at the window watching for the dawn
And one waits to wake you when the night is gone.

So, sleep, sleep till' the darkness ends
Guarded by your angel friends.
So, sleep, sleep till' the darkness ends
Guarded by your angel friends.

Parties, Resolutions, Cookies and more....

What a great weekend! Jarett spent most of the day on Saturday helping our friends move. He then went to school for a few hours and then came home to help me get dinner going. Why?? Because I needed to have the kids fed for our babysitter. That's right. We had a babysitter - watching ALL 4 kids so that Jarett and I could go out to an MBA get together. It was SO weird to be out without the baby, but we had SO much fun. Everyone was blown away by Jarett singing to Rock Band. They were all laughing about how he has all these hidden talents. He was also dancing to Dance, Dance Revolution and then he busted out his laughing without smiling (if you haven't seen this, you need to). Everyone was laughing their heads off and saying that Jarett was holding out on them. Remember that they were all drunk and so it probably seemed all the funnier. We stayed out until 1 am. I can't believe we DID that. I can't remember the last time I stayed out after 12 (I know, I'm a total dead beat). Here's a clip of the evening....



Sunday was wonderful. We were both SO tired, I was only in bed for 5 hours and, of course, that was interrupted sleep. We got to church on time!! I was released - officially. I'm SO sad that I was released, but I totally needed it. It was just too hard to make it to ward conferences etc. when some of the wards in our stake are 3 hours away. I'm going to miss YW's though. I especially loved meeting people throughout the stake. Now I'm back to my ward boundaries to meet people (which is actually a huge ward). Sigh. What my next calling will be.....

We had Leavitt's over for dinner (since they had moved the day before, we figured they might want to eat....). It was so much fun to see them again. It had been too long. Our girls play SO well together and the guys have so much history together that it's guaranteed to be a good time. We crashed in bed at 8:30 or so and almost got caught up in sleep.

Monday, I decided I was going to resolve this blasted school issue. I walked up to the doors with all my kids in tow....and they had brought the kids to the front door again. I was SO confused. I asked the aid if this is what was going to happen now. Her response was to pick them up at the back and if I had a concern, talk to my teacher. So, since I had already brought my kids IN the school, I thought I'd just go back to the room and talk through this with the teacher.

After a thorough talk, I discovered that she was just the messenger. It was the other teachers that were having a problem. Apparently they were just bugged that they had to bring the kids all the way to the car and open the door for them and everything. WHAT THE HECK?? I had never said that they needed to do that. They thought I didn't get out of the car because I expected them to do that. They didn't know that Kaia is actually able to open the car door ALL BY HERSELF.

Another concern was that I had been late a couple times (due to feeding Jaymeson or waking him up from naps etc.) and they had to bring the kids to the office to wait for me. Once I pointed out that even if I WAS late (which I would try my darndest not to be EVER again) it's no harder for them to take them to the office from the front of the school than the back, she realized that I had a point and she was willing to fight my case with the principal if necessary. Apparently it's school policy that kids can't be trusted to walk around a school by themselves, so you have to appeal to the principal.

After this LONG talk (during which she said that she really felt bad that I had to haul all these kids through the school), I walked outside to go talk to the principal (to discuss changing the school policy so that Kaia could just come to the front of the school by herself) and the teachers aid asks, "how did it go?" I told her what we had discussed and she says, "Well, if you can just meet the kids at the front of the school and for sure be on time, we can totally bring them up there...." WHY DON'T THEY JUST SAY THAT??? Why do they have to go crazy and completely cut you off instead of just saying that we might have to make a happy medium. Grrrr. Anyway, it's all solved and today's pick up went like clock-work. Thank you all for your concern and advice.

Yesterday, we did the Valentine's Sugar Cookies for FHE. We talked about the Greatest Commandment which is to love the Lord and then to Love One Another. Then we made the cookies. Unfortunately, we didn't have a heart cookie cutter, so our creative juices kicked in and we made circles. Jarett talked about how Heavenly Fathers love never ends - just like a circle. So we cut them out and put pink icing on them. They were yummy just the same.


Today was madness, I taught 3 piano lessons that I had crammed together so I could make it to enrichment. Then the missionaries came for dinner at 6, were gone at 7 and then I made it to the church for 7:30. We made some awesome Rice Krispies Squares dipped in chocolate and decorated with coconut, almonds or other candies. It was really fun to get out and chat with some ladies. I'm excited to have a Girls Night tomorrow night at my house too. It's just awesome to have some time to be with other girls. There's a quote from Sister Hinckley that said, "Sisters NEED eachother" and I have never heard a greater truth. I'm truly grateful for good friends and the opportunity I have to be able to have that girl bonding time. It truly allows me to remain sane.

Anyway, this is reading more like a journal entry. Thank heaven for blogs, or I wouldn't be able to remember anything that happens in my life. Thank you to all of you who read this and leave comments. It really picks me up to know that there are people out there caring about what goes on in my life. I love you all and hope you have a MARVELOUS Valentine's Day.

Oh, and I thought I'd throw in a little video of the girls doing Turbo Jam. I've started to do Pilates and Turbo Jam every day and the girls always want to do it with me. So, I finally got a video of just them doing it. Watch Saryn especially in this one. I think they're all pretty awesome....

My Valentine Week Begins....

The first 5 people to respond to this post will receive something made by me to you....my choice...made especially for you.

Of course there are some restrictions and limitations:

1 I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2 What I create will be just for you.
3 It will be done sometime this year.
4 You have no clue what it will be... it may be a story; it may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something; I may bake something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure.
5 I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on their blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did will win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!!

Oh and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!!

The Great Cahoon Gong Show

Yes, it's true. We're BACK!! The Great Cahoon Gong Show is now appearing at an Elementary School near you! We can be seen at lunch hour touring the facilities and making the volume of an elementary school double in just 5 seconds flat.

Since the end of September, I have had Kaia's teacher bring Kaia and Mary Grace to the front of the school where I can pick them up. This made perfect sense to me because:

1) I do not have to haul 3 kids in the school, remove their shoes (stupid indoor shoe rule), bring them around all the way to the back corner where they hide the kindergarten class rooms, get the two girls all packed up from their classrooms while juggling the three other kids, start trekking back to the front of the school while dodging all the elementary school kids and eventually getting all 5 children to the front of the school where we have to stop for a 3-5 minute break while everyone gets their outdoor shoes back on, then continue out to the van where I have to get 5 children buckled up into their car/booster seats and then I can continue on home.

2) The kindergarten teachers line up 10 other children and bring them to the front of the school, take them outside and make sure they get on the bus - every day. I don't see how adding 2 more children of the same age, going the same direction is THAT overwhelming - maybe I'm just narrow minded.

3) I don't have to fight to find a parking spot, I can wait pleasantly in front of the school instead of braving the -20 degree weather to go in and get the girls.

So yesterday, after 4 and a half months of doing this happily, or so I thought, the teachers have decided that this is MUCH too overwhelming for them and it is only reasonable to expect me to pick up my own children. After all, other moms pick up their kids every day without any problems.

I was totally taken aback. Maybe I'm just THAT self-centered, but I'm pretty sure the other moms don't have other kids that they're hauling in and out of the school with them. If they do, it is only 1 additional child and they are only picking up 1 child. I have also stated that I am more than happy to pick them up if they could just be brought to the front of the school. That way, I don't have to take my kids out of the van while I go and get them, I can keep an eye on the van while I open the front doors of the school and bring Kaia and Mary Grace out. Happy compromise, right? WRONG!

Anyway, so today was my first day doing the gong show. This morning, Kaia was sitting on the floor, crying and refusing to get dressed unless I promised that she could go to school (this has become part of our daily routine - I personally think there's something wrong there, but that will have to wait for a different rant on a different day). Kienna was lying on the bathroom floor and we had to give her a bucket and send her down stairs so that people could use the toilet and the shower. I changed Saryn and Jaymeson and, because it's "Career Day" for Jarett and he was able to stay home a little later than normal, I just took Kaia and dropped her off at school. I can only drop her off from the main street and she has to run to the back of the school BY HERSELF to get to the Kindergarten doors. I am NOT allowed to drive into the parking lot and watch her go directly to the doors, this would be frustrating for the teachers. Anyway, I dropped Kaia off and came home. I did some cleaning and then I drove Jarett downtown for "Career Day".

I was dreading this pick up, and cursing Kaia's teacher when I saw the sign on the side of the road, "What you think is how you see the World". I decided to think happier thoughts, but, well, you can guess how long THAT lasted.

I had 20-30 minutes to get back in time to pick up Kaia, so we went right to her school. Jaymeson was screaming the whole way. Saryn was saying she's tired because her tummy hurts and was continuing her sick ways of the morning. It begins to snow HEAVILY and people are skidding on the roads. Never fear, we get to school with plenty of time to find a spot to park and run into the school. I do the "unload" and we start walking to the front doors. Kienna and Saryn both are slipping, so I have to hold EVERYONE's hand while carrying Jaymeson (still screaming) in his car seat so that we can make it to the front doors...

Yes! We made it. We take off all our shoes and start the royal invasion down the hallways, darting in and out of the "single-file" lines of students heading to the lunch room. Saryn takes off 3 times down 3 different hallways that lead to, well, I don't know.... I have to put Jaymeson down and tell Kienna to watch him while I run to go collect her and start down the next hallway.

We FINALLY make it to the kindergarten room where Kaia is ready to go. But wait!! Where's Mary Grace?? Kaia helps out with her "I don't know" and I have to hunt down the two hallways to figure out where she is. She had forgotten her Mary-Grace-a-saurus and went back in the classroom to collect it. Now that I found her - oh no!! Where's Saryn?? Taken off again and about to escape out the side doors. Run to collect her and I come back. Kaia's upset....why? Oh, she didn't know where her "Kaia-saurus" was. Phew!! We found it.

Now, everyone hold hands..... DON'T LET GO AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!! But, Mary Grace missed this little note and takes off. She hadn't grabbed her outdoor shoes. It's at this moment that I see their wonderful teacher - who for some reason isn't ranking so high on my list of favorite people. She dares to smile at me like, "See, this isn't so hard..." I wanted to pinch Jaymeson who had finally calmed down, so she could enjoy his sounds too... Howeverm I managed to smile back nicely and not even say a word.

Once all 5 of them were in tow, I started back down the hallways and to the front door. Pause. Shoes, where are the shoes?? We find all the pairs and get them on.....(this is very condensed as it took almost 5 minutes) then back outside. As we leave the building, I notice the looks that I'm getting from other "non-crazy" moms. "Wow, are these ALL yours??" How many times do I have to answer THAT question?? Anyway, as we walk down the side-walk, we are slip sliding EVERYwhere. We get back into the van, buckled up and then take the 2 block drive back to my house. Alright - DONE!!

See, they were right.....Mom's do that ALL the time. It's just not a big deal.

Now, I'm SO excited. I get to do this EVERY DAY until the end of the school year. And they chose February (one of those nice weather months up in Edmonton) to throw this on me.....bless their hearts.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed your sneak peak into the Great Cahoon Gong Show. Come see us any and every school day at 11:35 sharp.

The Mask is off!!

They say to find a true reflection of who you are, see how you spend your spare time.

Jarett treated me yesterday by taking the girls out for some errands giving me some spare time. So, what do I do with MY spare time?? Take a look.

First things first.....Jaymeson blew out of his diaper. So we started with a bath....

Now, free time, wouldn't be free time without talking to family and friends (note that the phone says Low Battery...yes, I wore out the battery in the 3 hours I had). The phone is something I can do while doing all the many other things I did...
Of course, it also wouldn't be right without playing on the computer. I checked blogs, played Free Cell, played on facebook and balanced my bank account.

Now, like most moms, I am trying to get in shape and lose some pounds (I still have faith). So, I had to bust out the turbo jam....even though I had done pilates in the morning (this is a luxury - I don't usually get to do TWO videos in one day).

Now, for some indulgence.... I have one true LOVE (Jarett knows he's only 2nd place, I'm sure). I needed my vanilla ice cream. Now, I could've added chocolate syrup or butterscotch or something, but I really prefer just plain vanilla with a tiny spoon.


Proof that I truly am addicted to taking pictures....I couldn't put the camera down (obviously, or I wouldn't have a picture of all the things I did).

I have a deep desire to have a clean house and I rarely get a chance to get it all done. As I just read on a friends blog today, "'Trying to keep a house clean while raising a family is like trying to string beads without first tying a knot in the end of the string. You can work as hard and as fast as you want, but when you look back at your handiwork to see how nice it looks, nothing's there.' --The LDS Mothers Almanac" So I indulged in some cleaning that would STAY clean for a little while. I started with the dishes, because as Granny would say, "A house looks clean when the dishes are done and the floors are clean."


Then on to the never ending job of the laundry. I ACTUALLY got completely caught up. Check it out!! You can SEE the bottom of the basin AND all the laundry was folded.
No, I didn't kick up and relax completely while I had a break, but I LOVED everything I got done and it SURE felt wonderful to get it all done, even if the dishes and laundry were refilled within an hour of finishing. I truly surprised myself, I thought I'd just sleep through it all...

So here the question of the day: What would YOU do with 2-3 hours??