Christmas Day, 3:34 PM

My house- did I mention we are having 30 people over here tommorow?

Julia making a pop up book.

Rachel and Abby playing Polly Pockets

Megan, in her sixth hour on the DS. You would think her hand would cramp up.

Daniel, asleep with his train set instructions in his hand.

Karen and I were forced to wear matching christmas sweatshirts and be in this picture. "Its your gift to me", says my mom. "Next year we might all be dead."

Grandma in a sunggie.

Kelly is not pictured- she stomped off mad at me because I wouldn't let her on the computer, and "Theres nothing to do here"!

Great Wolf Lodge!

We decided to surprise the kids with a weekend at the great wolf lodge in Williamsburg. On Thursday (June 25th) we told the kids we were picking dad up at work so we could go out for a special dinner. Mark and I had secretly loaded the car the night before, but we told them all the extra stuff was for the upcoming scout camp. We picked Mark up about 3pm. By 4:30, as we were circling the DC beltway, the kids clued in that this was a LONG way to go for dinner. We finally spilled the beans at 6pm, when we stopped at a not so exciting 5 guys to eat.

The Great Wolf Lodge is a huge "log" hotel with a waterpark inside. We checked in at 8pm and were in our swimsuits and into the park by 8:20. The waterpark has a huge climbing structure, 9 water slides, a wave pool, a lazy river, a surf ride, and two themed pools plus one more outside (in warm weather). The temperature in the water park is 84 degrees year round, and the water is also comfortably warm. Our kids were the perfect age for this, since our toddler was able to enjoy the climbing structure and kiddie pool while the older girls went on all the slides. We also spent a LOT of time as a family in the wave pool (I felt slightly seasick after the second day).

The Lodge has regular family "suites" plus lots of themed rooms. We stayed in the kid cabin suite, which featured a log cabin with bunk beds for our kids to sleep in, plus an extra queen bed for Mark and I . The kids loved the room, but I thought the bed was a little saggy, and I would appreciated dishes in the mini-kitchen.

GWL is loaded with additional activities, but we only signed up for two. One was tie-dyed t-shirt making in the kids club. This was really fun, at at $15 a kid not a terrible price for a shirt (the shirts also had the great wolf logo on them). The other was Magic Quest, which is basically a scavenger hunt; you buy a magic wand, then point it at a tree, which comes alive and tells you to go to a treasure chest, where you are told to go to a painting, etc. My kids LOVED this and spent hours on it, and I kind of enjoyed the exercise- who needs a treadmill when you are running all over the lodge? We also watched the nightly show in the lobby, where the clock tower comes alive and animatronic characters sing a very cheesy song.

We chose to bring our own food to the lodge, since the restaurants are pricey. I bought one snow globe in the gift shop. Overall, we loved the great wolf lodge. Two nights was plenty (we were all exhausted, but I wish we had more time to spend in Williamsburg. (Mark had camp the next Monday)

Mothers Day

I always feel kind of weird about Mothers day. On the one hand, who doesn't love macaroni necklaces and handmade cards? On the other hand, I didn't become a mother to get thanks- I had my children and care for my children because I love them. My payoff is happiness AND frustration, in equal measure. I know that I am a devoted mother, but I also no that I'm not very good at a lot of things, from cleaning to being patient, so I feel strange during mothers day talks. Today for example, Mark spoke in church. During Mark's glowing tribute to his mother, Daniel flung himself off the pew multiple times, knocked down the hymnbook rack twice, tried to stab the girls in front of us with a pen three times, took off his shoes, pulled off my earrings and sang his ABCs at full volume. We ended up in the church kitchen, listening to Marks talk over the intercom. Afterwards as I tried to exit the church with my six children and boxful of mothers day "gifts", I was blocked by all the youth giving out flowers that I will kill within the week. I felt a little sad, a little amused, but mostly tired- what I really wanted was a nap. At home, I got the nap, plus more homemade gifts, plus dinner made by Mark and the girls, and now I am full and rested but have a trashed kitchen to work on. I LOVE being a mother a lot of the time, hate it sometimes (mostly when there is vomiting involved), but mostly I am just doing my best. Happy Mothers day to all the moms in the trenches.

Dance Class

Megan, Abby and Rachel took Ballet, Tap and Hip Hop dance at the college this winter. Meg had to drop out because of her broken leg. Last week the rest of us (except for daniel) showed up to watch their last class.

Kelly got a little bored.

She hung her webkinz from the dance bar.

Julia and Megan got tired.

Rachel and abby dancing.

Aldi

I stress out about grocery shopping for four reasons.

1. I am supposed to choose foods that help me lose weight (a lifelong battle) and be healthy.

2. I am supposed to have a huge food storage for emergencies.

3. I am supposed to buy food my family enjoys and will eat.

4. I am supposed to spend the least amount of money possible doing all of the above.

My solution to all of the above is Aldi (no, they are not paying me for this). Aldi is a mostly all generic (store brand) grocery store. They have most of the same things you find in a regular store, just one brand of each thing. One brand of ketchup, one brand of mayo, one brand of peanut butter, etc. The food for the most part, tastes just like the name brand stuff.

The store is set up like a small warehouse, with food stacked on pallets instead of shelves. This is great for food storage, since you can buy whole cases of stuff at a time, but unlike stores like BJs, you don't have to. You are welcome to take just one item from the case. They also have dairy, frozen stuff, some meat, some produce, a few kinds of bread, but no extra departments- no deli, no bakery, no flower shop, etc. There are usually only one or two people working. You bag your own groceries, and you must buy or provide the bags. (they cost 5 or 10cents each). You also have to pay a quarter to get a cart, and you have to return your own cart to get the quarter back.

I love Aldis mostly for the prices, which are super low- $1.69 for cereal, $2.50 for milk. I also love the simplicity of shopping in a store where I don't have to compare brands to find the best price- its all the best price. I dislike Aldi because waiting in line for one checker and then bagging all my own stuff takes a long time. Add the 25 minutes it takes me to get there (each way) and an Aldi shopping trip becomes a half day project. Also, since Aldi stores are usually in low inclome areas (mine is in Edgewood), I have the guilt of pushing my overflowing cart next to elderly shoppers trying to make $20 stretch as far as possible. (I always let them check out ahead of me)

I like almost all the food there, but one of my favorite things is their fit and active brand- low fat popcorn, light yogurt and fruit, protein bars, and my new favorite- whole wheat pasta. I LOVE their frozen fudge bars. The bread and produce are just Ok. I wish they had more flavors of yogurt. But in general, I love Aldi.

Julias Birthday

I had a great plan for Julia's birthday- a Hawaiian Luau! We had plastic coconuts for goody bags. We were going to eat pizza with pineapple on it and drink Hawaiian punch from cups with little umbrellas in it. We were going to wear leis and put flowers in the girls hair and dance the limbo. We were going to have a hula hoop contest and watch "beach party at Disney world" (there's Hula Dancing in it).



Then on Wednesday, three days before the party, I woke up sick as a dog- fever, chills, stomach cramps, nausea. I slept all days (while Daniel watched too much TV), only dragging myself out of bed at 4pm to drive a group of youth to the temple for baptisms. The next morning, Mark, who had also been at the temple, felt awful and stayed home. I knew I should cancel the party, but Julia had been a little free with the invites at school and I wasn't sure who was coming! So I went ahead and decorated, got the cake, got the balloons, got lots of hand sanitizer and Lysol and scrubbed down the house...



Saturday morning, Julia went out to Dennys with Karen. Came back and within five minutes, threw up all over the couch. So- party canceled after all. I had to use a combination of the school directory, our caller ID and some embarrassing mistakes, but I managed to reach most of the kids Julia had invited.



Then I had to scramble- how do we salvage a ruined seventh birthday? We came up with some at home ideas:

1. Silly string fight, water balloon fight.

2. Herbie the love bug marathon.

3. Nap with mom (Juli still thinks this is a privilege)

4. A new Webkinz (we only have a zillion of these)

4. Cake and Ice Cream for dinner (not the big cake- we froze that)



All in all, not such a horrible birthday. We hope to reschedule the Luau once we all get over this horrible bug. And Julia, despite throwing up, was pretty happy.

Stage Mom

A little background on my performing experience- when I was a teen growing up in Staten Island New York, I tried out for a production of HMS Pinafore at a children's theater and was cast in the lead. I went on to get two more leads at that same children's theater, and I have been coasting off of that experience for the past 20 years. I went to BYU, were I was very mediocre at best, I taught school and directed plays (not very well), I sang with the BSO (in the chorus), and recently, I have been in three community theater plays, all in the chorus. In church, I'm the second or third choice when someone needs a soloist. The truth is, I'm not very good. But in my mind, I was a star once, and therefore will be again.

Then I became a mom. To five daughters. And I am ashamed to admit, it is VERY HARD not to project my aspirations on them. I wrangle them into a production number for the ward talent show every year. I teach them voice and take them to dance. Megan has been in two community shows so far, Rachel has been in one and is currently in rehearsal for another. Last summer they did a local theater camp, and when Megan got the lead, I was ESTATIC. So I was very excited when we found out her middle school was doing Mulan, very excited when she went to audition, very excited to hear she was cast as...

a VILLAGER.

Ok, not so excited now. I was mad. I blamed myself for net getting her a better vocal coach. I signed her up for voice lessons from someone besides me. And I tried to be positive on friday night, when I went to see Mulan. The opening number consisted of the villagers standing in the back of the theater, singing in THE DARK. And got worse from there. In total, Megan was on stage twice, including the curtain call. Total stage time of one minute or less. I admit it, I was mad . I was jealous of the parents whose kids had bigger parts. I sat there in the dark, seething.

I should add that in the middle of the rehearsal process, Megan had broken her leg skiing. But she went to every rehersal, first on crutches, then in a walking cast, finally in a boot. All that for minimal stage time.

But then after the show, when we gave her flowers and took her picture, Megan was beaming. She was happy. She was proud of herself. And so I need to shut off my nasty stage mom voice and be proud of her too. She was a wonderful villager. She is a wonderful girl. And really, its time for me to grow up and realize that the chorus is an OK place to be.

WE WANT A DOG!!

Dear Mom and Dad: Can we get a dog? I've found some ways that pets can make you healthy. Here they are:
1. You can live longer
2. Playing catch is fun.
3.Pets can lower stress.
4.Pets keep you active.
5.Pets keep you happy.
6.Taking a walk is relaxing.
7.If your dog runs while taking a walk you will get exercise.
I really want a dog. Don't just recycle this, read it! I hope I've persuaded you to get a dog. Can we please, please,please,please,please,please,please,please, get a dog.
Your loving child,
Abby K.

Dear Dad:
These are 10 reasons we should get a dog.
1. A dog will make us happy.
2. We won't be bored with a dog to play with
3. Walks are good exercise.
4. Mom wants one.
5. We are not allowed to have a cat.
6. Dogs keep you active.
7. Playing catch is fun.
8. We found dogs online that are house trained (potty trained)
9. Its one of my 2009 goals.
10. You won't have to worry about us begging for a dog if we already have one.
(From Rachel)

Lunch

Guilty confession number one- my kids eat the SAME, not very nutritious lunch almost every school day. Peanut Butter Sandwich on white bread with honey or jam, apple or banana or fruit cup, snack (like granola bars or goldfish) and a bottle of water. EVERY day. I have tried a number of variations with the following reviews from my children: Cold cuts(slimy) cheese(sticky), wraps (also slimy) wheat bread(scratchy), crackers, cookies, muffins (crumbly), yogurt (sour), string cheese(gross). Leftover stuff in thermoses (gross). So I have given up, and just pack the same lunch, times six, every day. (I make an extra for daniel to eat at home to save me an extra step). Yes, I feel bad, but I am tired of trying new things that end up thrown out, or worse, brought home like a gift for me!

Stake Conference 2009

April 18. We rolled out of bed at 6 am this morning to get to stake conference by 8:30 for primary choir and youth choir (happening simultaneously). Megan and Rachel had gotten a "how do style your hair" book from American girl and were feeling inspired, so the beauty part of the morning was even more involved than usual. Despite that (or maybe because we cruised 95 at 80 mph) we were 10 minutes early for conference. We staked out a spot in the cushy seats, Megan headed to her choir, I stayed to help with the primary, and Mark, Kelly and Daniel started the first of a gazillion laps around the building. (This works great by the way- Kelly and Daniel both fell asleep in conference!) After some lovely singing and a two hour conference on having peace and love in your family, we got back in the car only to have Kelly and Julia get in a screaming fight about territory in the back seat. We rolled up our all our windows so the other harmonius familes would not hear us.