Invitation

Noah's 9th birthday is on Saturday. As of right now, we are going to be going to Chuck E. Cheese's. I just wanted to post an invitation to let all know they are welcome to come join in the festivities.

Random Thoughts

*If I were really good, I would admit to being excited for the beginning of April because it will be General Conference. What I am really excited for, is to see the new shows back in the t.v. line up. No more reruns or yucky reality shows. Although I do watch American Idol. I love the tryouts, the rest is watched on Fast Forward.

*I really love my 50 cent Mondays at the movies. It helps me in so many ways. My house stays cleaner with nobody home to mess it up. The kids are quiet and give me some peace for a couple hours. It counts as a fun family activity. When we come home, it is time for dinner and bed. All in all, one of our better nights. Last night we went and saw The Chipmunks. I think my boys laughed louder than anyone else.

*You know your day is going to be bad when the 5 year old wakes you up to say that the 8 year old is chipping away at the ice in the freezer because someone didn't close it and it became an iceberg.

*If you have ever wondered if you need a functioning thyroid, ask my family. Without medication, you are sleepy, cranky, cold, depressed, cranky, lacking deisre to anything, no energy, and did I mention cranky? It was so bad, Kevin called in my prescription refill from Portland. When Anna saw it, she said, "Yeah, does this mean you won't be so sleepy?"

*I am glad to have found old friends through blog hopping. It is so much fun to see how their families have grown and to be back in touch.

*On the occasion, a pint of Haagen Daaz or Ben & Jerry's is a perfectly acceptable dinner.

Happy Birthday!!!!

This is my 5th child Emery. Last summer she had to move to Las Vegas with her other family. But since today is her birthday(according to my calendar) I wanted to wish her a happy day and let her know she is being thought of.One day I was having dinner with some friends when the phone rang. I answered it, and the woman on the phone asked me if I would be willing to watch her baby while she had to work (her husband was away on an internship in Utah for 3 months or so, and in Law School). I didn't know Alison at all, just recognized her from being the darling pregnant girl in church. I said yes, I have no clue why. I mean, if I am honest, most days I don't want to be around my own kids, let alone add one more to the mix.

Emery started coming and the whole family fell in love. Mostly with her, but with the whole family as well. It was one of those inspired decisions (I don't have very many of those!!!). Emery came to our house on a regular basis for over a year. I was excited for every new moment in her life like she was my own. My kids adored her, probably too much. Alison became my good friend and helped me through a very difficult time in my life. And when they had to move, I felt as though a piece pf my heart and family went with them.

So Happy Birthday to a very special girl in our hearts. I hope your day is all you could possibly hope for. We love you!!!!

Abby's New Trick!

Abby learned to ride her bike while I was gone. I loved this action shot.

A couple of short videos to show everyong how stinking cute she is and how well she can ride her bike.

Weekend at Mom's

I got to spend the weekend at my mom's and see for myself that she is feeling better. On the way up I stopped in Portland to have dinner with Kevin and hand off the kids--I love that part!!! We stopped in Jantzen Beach and ate at the mall there. In one corner of the food court was this old merry-go-round from 1921. The kids faces just lit up when they saw it. If you buy a kid's meal from Orange Julius you get a free ride. Since that was about the only place worth eating at (it's a sad, sad little mall), the kids got a free ride. The only good action shot. I kept missing the other kids.

Such a poser. As soon as she saw the camera she started posing and as she would go around, she would turn back to look at the camera.

They had little horses for the smaller kids. It was perfect for Abby.

Yeehaw!!! Ride like the wind Bullseye!!!

I had a quiet weekend at mom's. I never tire of leaving and coming home to a quiet clean house. I shopped a little by myself in the morning and then mom and I met my sister at the movies. We saw Fool's Gold. I liked it. We then had dinner with Jodi before heading home. Unfortunately I had a huge migraine and petered out the last bit of dinner and on the way home. I took a couple Excedrin and crawled into bed for a couple hours. I was able to watch a movie with mom later.

Sunday we went to Sacrament and then had a quiet day at home. We watched Sydney White with Amanda Bynes. Totally teenager!! Jodi and her gang came for dinner as did Ben (my brother-in-law's brother/my brother), his darling little girl Makiah and Diesel, his boxer. It is so fun to get together with family and be able to just talk and tease and goof off. It's nice to have the kids with me when we have moments like that, but sometimes it's nice to be able to sit back, relax and enjoy without having to worry about kids. Makiah is almost 14 months and the cutest thing you will ever see. I wish I had taken pictures. She has the best little giggle. It's fun to be around babies. Sometimes I miss that.

Monday I had to head home and meet up again in Portland. The kids and I stuck around and explored a bit while waiting for Kevin to be able to do dinner. It's always hard to say goodbye and so we didn't get home until after 9pm. I am grateful for the time I get to go and have quiet time with my mom and sister and very lucky to have a family so willing to let me go. Hope you all had good weekend too.

Husband Tag

Since I can never say no to being tagged and I read my friend Sonnet's blog, here goes:

What is his name? Kevin Russell
How long have you been married? 11 1/2 years
How long did you date? about a year
How old is he? He turns 43 on March 8th
Who eats more? Kevin out eats my whole family easily.
Who said "I love you" first? Kevin, which he reminds me of constantly.
Who is taller? Kevin
Who sings better? Yikes! Neither one of us carries a tune, next question please!!!
Who is smarter? I am of course. Silly question.
Whose temper is worse? Mine, but I do get credit for keeping most of my mean thoughts in my head now.
Who does the laundry? Kevin
Who does the dishes? Me, during the week. Kevin on the weekend. Clarification--he just does the dishes, I clean the counters and all that. He is getting better though.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me, and in the middle and on the left until Kevin comes home. One day I will have my own bed.
Who pays the bills? Me and the online bill pay.
Who mows the lawn? Kevin, but I do a nice job when I have to.
Who cooks dinner? Unless you want pancakes or grilled cheese and tomato soup for the rest of your life, me.
Who drives when you are together? Me, I am much happier when we get somewhere that way. A control issue, I know.
Who is more stubborn? I prefer the word determined. And I think that says it all.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Kevin, I am too prideful.
Whose parents do you see the most? We have always lived closer to mine, so mine.
Who proposed? Kevin
Who has more friends? I do, but most of them live far away and not by many. Kevin and I have discussed this and come to the conclusion we suck at making friends.
Who has more siblings? Kevin has 6 and I have 1
Who wears the pants? I tend to be more forceful and controlling, but I would like to think it's a joint effort. Since we have 2 households it is more me right now. Probably is always more me and I just don't want to admit it.

You all know the rules. If you are reading this, tag you are it.

FOR SALE

The rules were simple: Clean their rooms, the family room, the living room and their bathrooms. What I got was,weeping, wailing gnashing of teeth, yelling, screaming, tattling, whining, cajoling, tattling and bribery.
Let it be known, I am not the one yelling, screaming or crying. I told them over an hour ago, if they did this we could go to Target ( a great reward at out house). So I have decided that if you want them, you can have them. With Anna, you will get pre-teen anxiety and moodiness. You will also get some backtalk and rolling of the eyes. The life is so hard and not fair attitude is a guarantee. According to the experts, this is all normal.

With Noah you will get a chatterbox and an easily distracted boy. He is scary smart and it will be a challenge to keep ahead of him. He has been trained and does not get his feelings hurt if you ask for 5 minutes of quiet.

With Isaac you get a happy go lucky boy that doesn't want to do any sort of chore. When the weather gets nice, you will most likely have to go search the neighborhood for him. He should have been born 40 years ago when times were safer. Although he is 5 he still throws himself and stomps his foot when he doesn't get what he wants.

With Abby you get sassy and bossy wrapped up in a deceptively cute little girly. She is either happy or mad, not much in between. And believe me, you want the happy because mad is not pretty.

Of course we have been taught our whole life that without the bad you could not recognize the good. So in that same vein, you couldn't recognize peace without the chaos and you couldn't appreciate the giggling with out the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth.

With Anna you get a sweet, helpful, want to please everyone (when in the mood or if you aren't her parents) girl. She is an incredible helper with Abby and loves to play with her. She loves to dance and listen to music. She is also at her happiest when at the mall (I know, not always a good thing for everyone, but since I love to shop it is a definite plus). She has a strong love of the gospel and is my reminder to hold F.H.E. and family prayer.

With Noah you get a sweet sensitive boy who finds wonder and awe in the world around him (he thinks you should too). He is forever asking questions (not sure if that's good or bad) and has unquenchable thirst for knowledge. He loves to learn the scripture stories and loves the heroes in them.

With Isaac you get a carefree boy who loves to laugh and hang out with his older brother. He loves the outdoors and playing sports. He likes to sing (especially in the bathroom). He enjoys seeing other people happy and delights in their joys.

With Abby you get a child who tells you she loves you every other minute and means it. She loves to pretend, dance and sing. She loves the primary songs and the prophet. She adores her older sister. She, too, has a love of shopping. If ever I forget to say prayer with her at night, she is very quick to come and remind me.

All in all the good outweighs the bad, so I guess I will keep them. But I will continue to be grateful for bedtime and occasional weekends at my mom's. Things have quieted down now and that could be a scary thing. So I will end this rant and make sure everything is OK. Thanks for listening.

Update on the Stoddard Going Ons

It has been a frantic week and I haven't been very good at posting anything lately. So I will try to catch up on what's been going on. My mother went to the emergency room last week and was misdiagnosed and ended up being admitted to the hospital on Friday. I just go the new she gets to go home. That helps me breathe easier. It is very hard to be so far away and not be able to see for myself that she is OK. She had a Diverticulitis attack and it was very painful for her. When my mom called and told me she was going to go to the hospital, Abby overheard and asked me who was taking Grandma. When I told her that Jodi and Bob were, she immediately was concerned for her cousins, Maggie and Olivia and demanded to know who was going to watch them. I thought that pretty good thinking for a 4 year old. To be honest, I hadn't gotten to thinking who would be watching the girls yet. For the next two weeks mom has to be on a clear food diet and then slowly move to a soft food diet. I can't imagine that kind of diet, but if I hurt like she does maybe I could do it. As I have mentioned earlier, I am making sock monkeys. I do one at night in bed as I am watching some Hallmark Movie (When will the strike end??????) and it keeps me from eating my way into oblivion. So far I have made about 20. Here's a picture of some of them that Kevin artfully arranged.
On Thursday we celebrated the Chinese New Year. I made some Chinese Noodles, Fried Rice, Egg Rolls and got the kids some chicken on a stick. If Kevin had been home, I would have done the all out meal. The kids love Chinese and gobbled it up.

Anna loves this fried rice and could eat it every day. I really should make it more often. It's one of our favorite ways to use up leftovers.

These two little guys made the long journey from our house to my sister's house. I made them for my nieces and sent them matching socks to go with (Kevin's idea). It's fun to see these monkeys take shape. Each one had a unique personality. This brown one was so darling. My neice Maggie loved it so much she wants to make one for each of her friends. I am trying to work it out so that I can go and spend the weekend up in Seattle with mom and show the girls how to make a monkey.

Saturday my friend's husband was so good as to extract 2 broken teeth from Kevin's mouth and perform a root canal. It was so generous of him to give of his time and services. Thanks to Rob for all his hard work!!!!

Is it just me????

It seems to me that my kids are forever having 3 or 4 day weekends. Every time I turn around they are home instead of at school. In November they had 3 4 day weekends and went to school just once on a Friday. In the past couple weeks they missed a day from snow and then had a Friday off for grading and then Monday was also off for some teacher thingy. I looked at the calendar and saw they get out at noon next Friday and because of Presidents' Day have Monday off. Plus our school district always plans an inservice day at the end of all holidays like Winter Break and Spring Break. The kids had 18 days off at Winter and will have 11 days off at Spring Break. On top of that, they get out early every Wednesday. I don't know how working parents do it, because they are forever having to find extra daycare. As for me I go insane trying to come up with fun things to do. Here are a couple things that help keep my sanity.

The Cinemark cheap seats: LOVE these. On Mondays groups of 3 or more get in for 50 cents each. We go almost every Monday--it's a whopping $2.50. We have seen The Game Plan, The Bee Movie, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium in the past few weeks. The kids can hardly wait for The Chipmunks.

Ben Franklin: I love this craft store. They have all sorts of cute ideas around the store. My kids enjoy going there. I also go here when I have alone time. The last time I went with a friend, they didn't have as much. But I did get the stuff to make a very cute memo board in a frame. My kids are always happy with a craft project and so they know us at Ben Franklin's!!

The Dollar Store: I love it and I hate it. On one hand the kids are so delighted to go--they could spend all day picking something out. On the other hand, I then have cheap broken stuff floating around the house the next few days. Or worse, tears because the toy is broken.

Target: Anyone who knows me, knows of my love affair with this store. It is just good fun all around. If you ask Abby what she wants to do, she always says, "GO TO TARGET!"

Pappy's Pizza: It's yucky pizza, but the play structure is worth it. For less than $10 I can feed us and have 2+ hours of chat time with friends. It's a bit more when Anna and Noah come along, and the chat time is different with big ears hanging on every word.

Chances are, next time there is no school, you will find my family at one of these places. Hope you all have sanity savers in your busy lives!!!!