Jacob the Great

Well, so Jacob is now in full swing with his soccer games. He is very excited because his jersey is #5. That also happens to be the same jersey number as his favorite Jazz player, Carlos Boozer wears. Yeah, its pretty cool! Today and last week, Jacob lost his games. He was sooooo close to scoring a goal, too! He said to me, "Mom, I know I shouldn't say this very loudly, but OUR TEAM SUCKS!" Poor Jacob . . . .

I'm Trying to Be Like Michael

So, after reading Michael's blog today, I took his little career cruise and this is what it said for me:

Sign Maker
Fashion Designer
Desktop Publisher
Cartoonist / Comic Illustrator
Animator
Child and Youth Worker
Special Education Teacher
High School Teacher
Elementary School Teacher
Teacher Assistant

I guess I chose a good career path since my major was "Fashion Merchandising." However, were I to do it all again, I would definately do Elementary Ed. I think 2nd or 4th grade would be quite enjoyable to teach. Truth be told, were all my children grown and gone and money not an issue, I think it would be fun to work at Heartland Paper or a fabric store. I also would love to run my own scrapbooking business and have group lessons and design cards and pages . . .

I am, however, quite delighted with my current occupation:)

I Want to be like Rachael and Mary

So, I was just sitting down (finally) and I read over the family blogs and I found it rather interesting what Mary and Rachael had done. I decided to do a little of it myself.

1. Ten years ago would have been 1997 . . . Michael and I and Meghan were living at my parent's home while they served their mission in DC. Cade and Becca were living with us, too as well as wee tiny little MiniG. My nephew, JuJu was also living with us! Michael was working at IHC. We had just our little Honda and sometimes I drove Michael to the bus stop so that I could have a car during the day. (Otherwise, he drove the car to the bus stop.) We spent $50 a week on all of our food, cleaning supplies, and necessities. I shopped at Dick's Market with a calculator in hand. I was also just about to find out that I was pregnant with Caleb.

2. Five years ago would have been 2002. I was just about to be put on bedrest with Andrew. I remember that Robert was just about to come and spend a month in Utah. In October, I would be in labor for the whole month . . .finally in November, Andrew was born weighing in at 9 pounds and setting the record for the longest umbilical cord ever recorded at LDS Hospital (as far as we know, that record still stands). Michael was working for the Lord's Book Store. We lived at our old house on Pebblecreek Drive. Meghan was 5 and in kindergarten, Caleb was 3 1/2 and going to pre-school, and Jacob was 2 and was somewhat of a living nightmere :)

3. One year ago . . . ahhh . . .funny thing . . .I was just about to go on my longest and craziest bedrest ever! I had just found out a few days prior to today a year ago that we were going to have twins. I was still throwing up everyday. The kids were off track for the entire month of September and were taking swimming lessons at the Clearfield Aquatic Center. Michael was working at Intermountain Healthcare.

4. Yesterday . . .hummm . . .the days sort of all run together it seems. Let's see. I got up at 7 am and fed the big kids breakfast. I fed the twins both baby food and a bottle, each, and then changed diapers and dressed them. I did dishes, 8 loads of laundry, fed the babies and changed them again. I made lunch for Andrew and me. It was something really spectacular like Cheerios. MIchael came home from his trip to Irvine, CA early, Caleb went on a hike for Scouts. Lots of neighbor kids played at our house. I did more dishes, fed more babies, and changed babies, again. We babysat some kids for some friends of ours. I finished a book I had been reading.

5. 5 Snacks I enjoy: chocolate chip cookies (raw or cooked), string cheese, popcorn, poppyseed or chocolate muffins, and pretty much anything chocoately.

6. 5 things I would do if I suddenly had $100 million dollars. I would pay of our house. I would pay off Dean and Claudia's house. I would buy Michael a black VW Passat with tan leather interior. I would shop exclusively for the wee babies at Gymboree and Hannah Andersson. And, I would make sure I had educational funds set up for each of our children and take our kids all over the world traveling.

7. 5 Places I would like to run away to: I would definatley want to take the kids to DisneyWorld and to Epcot in Florida. I would also like to take them all over Brasil. I would super want to take Michael on a personal tour of the Holy Land (that has always been a dream of mine). I would want to travel all over Europe as a family and stay in really nice hotels everywhere and try all kinds of yummy cuisine. I would like to go on a cruise with Michael to somewhere warm and tropical.

8. 5 Bad Habits I have: After taking a shower, I don't necessarily put my clothes immediately into a laundry basket, but rather on the bathroom counter. I pick zits. I sweat a lot when I am nervous (which is so gross and unladylike). I try and guess what people are going to say before I let them finish their sentence. I don't wear good shoes all the time (which I really should so I don't have crater feet or owie piggies).

9. 5 Things I like Doing: Getting my house organized and lighting a candle so it smells nice. I love making homemade cards and scrapbooking. I love to read Christian Fiction, especially uninterrupted (usually I have to read in the bathroom for this to happen and even then . . . ) I enjoy having friends over to eat and visit (including neighbor kids and family). I love spending time with my adorable family.

10. 5 TV shows I like: Gilmore Girls, Remington Steele, Alias (before I decided not to watch it anymore), Scarecrow and Mrs. King, and Christy.

11. 5 Things I hate doing: dieting, budgeting, dusting, trying to find pants that really fit, and eating ketchup.

12. 5 Biggest Joys at the Moment: listening to the kids talk about their days, taking care of Ethan and Marta, spending time with Andrew, having quiet chats with Michael, watching our kids as they grow and see the amazing things they are each capable of and the fun personalities of of them have.

The Twin Phoenomenon

I accomplished something major today . . . I went to the grocery store with 5 and 6 all by myself and I wasn't pushing them in a stroller! I was making dinner for a friend who just had surgery and I needed a few items to make the meal complete. Meghan is always getting stuck watching the two dears and so I decided to just leave all of the others 1-4 + 6 friends home while I quickly went.

When I pulled into the parking lot I was a bit nervous I mean how was I going to get two small babies out of the car and into the store by myself? Yikes. Somehow I managed to get both of them out of their carseats and into my arms, put my purse on my shoulder, and shut the door to the van. I began the walk from the parking lot into the store. It was so funny to see people point and me and smile.

You can always count on the grandmas and the grandpas for some sweet looks, and I swear, I can't tell you how many times I hear, "You certainly have your hands full." (It kind of gets old hearing that . . .you know just like the Cleverly jokes get old.) I digress, anyway, I managed to get both kids into a shopping cart that had two baskets for babies. One in back of the other. I put Ethan in first because he is so darn heavy and then I placed Marta in. I encountered my first obstacle: Ethan's seat had a buckle, but Marta's did not. There was no other cart that would work. The seatbelt helped keep Ethan in a sitting up position. Marta is pretty good at sitting up; but, it would have been much better if her seat had one too. So, I placed my purse next to her to balance her a little and I kept putting my other hand near her to steady her.

I kept getting those looks and those comments (the ones I read all about in my book about twins). My book said that for some reason people come out of nowhere to see twins. Its like you're not a human or something. Everyone has to comment. Some have to touch. A few point. And then, of course the . . . "you certainly have your hands full . . . . " annoying comment. I want to say something sarcastic back to them like, "Yes, full of love." but I can't bring myself to do something like that. I just smile and say something really sweet and sappy . ..

Nonetheless, the point still remains that I survived! They didn't both start crying during the quick shopping experience and I lived to tell the tale. Everyone at the pharmacy thought they were darling, and one of the baggers, Brian, commented that it was fun to see the babies behind all of the baby food I usually buy:)

Kids are the best!

Today marked the first day of M, C, J, and MiniG's first tennis class. It was so great! It is lots of fun to get to watch the kids and laugh inside at how uncoordinated they are while at the same time be thrilled when the ball actually finds their rackets. After class, we had to go and get stocked up on tennis balls (which we had exactly none of) as well as birdies (which we had just three of). I can see that hitting the balls into the neighbor's house to the east of us is going to be a bit of a problem at times. We also sometimes hit it to the neighbors just South of us; but, they are a lot nicer about it. They just let the kids go through their gate and retrieve the ball. Mr. Meanie to the east of us (you know the one who smokes and Meghan thinks is probably going straight to hel . . . .). Yesterday when Louise very kindly went over to ask if we could retrieve some balls, he rather grumpily asked if this was going to be a continuous problem. Louise, who couldn't be mean if she tried, noted that children are rather rambunctious and don't necessarily have the greatest aim. Mimi pointed out, much to his delight I am sure, that they were all started tennis lessons today. Louise jokingly said that hopefully their aim would improve soon. Why do some people have to be such grouches?

Backyard Bliss

To all of you who were at the family dinner tonight . . . we hope you had fun! It was exciting to actually have a fun picnic table to eat on and fun backyard stuff for all to enjoy and play on. Thanks to all who played with the litter and made them feel special and helped them to have fun! We look forward to more events and even more backyard bliss!