An Odyssey Indeed

This weekend we said good-bye to our Honda Odyssey. Selling cars has always been bittersweet for us. This was no exception. Going out to buy our Odyssey was one of our first adventures as a family of five. Catherine and Chloe were two weeks old and Madelyn was 2. I remember running in and out of the dealership to nurse the girls and change diapers. But, oh, how nice it was to drive home with such space and luxury.

Our Odyssey was our homecoming vehicle for the boys. I remember puzzling through how to fit 5 carseats in the van. It took several configurations before we found one that worked. Of course the one that worked brought stares in the school pick-up line because Madelyn had to climb under or shimmy past her brother's rear-facing carseat to take her seat. It worked though!

We traversed many miles in our Odyssey, most around town. I was never so thankful for the reliability of a Honda as I was the afternoon/night of Feb. 13, 2008. We left our house in Utah at 3 p.m. to pick Madelyn up from school. It was snowing as it did so often that winter. I didn't think anything of it until I had picked her up and was heading home. Driving was slick and visibility was getting bad. I made it about another mile, just past the entrance to Mark's work, when traffic stopped and didn't move again until rescue workers evacuated us at midnight.

Being stuck in your car with five children five and under is a helpless feeling. I knew there was no way I could get all of them anywhere by myself. We simply weren't equipped. In fact, Sam had no shoes on because he was in the stage where he took them off the moment they went on. I had no jacket, just a fleece. Catherine and Chloe wondered where their pillows were. Madelyn wondered why it was all happening. I wondered when it would stop. The good news was I had a full tank of gas, a few snacks, and a reliable car that kept us warm those nine hours.

Thank you Odyssey for being part of our family's odyssey! We're glad that you're now serving another young family whose size is increasing faster than they imagined too.

Mess makers

Our sons have turned into cyclones, literally. They storm around the house spinning toys, clothes and debris all over the floor. I documented one of their more mild paths of destruction this week.

It started in their bedroom. Their pjs are on the floor and that cord is coming from a portable heater in their closet that hasn't been touched since April.
As I tracked them across the house, I came across this characteristic mess. It's the kind that's not that big but deadly if you come across it while carrying a laundry basket or a crying child.
Only ten feet away, another pile. Mind you, all these piles were left in a half-hour window.
I caught the girls up to their own mess making in the craft room. The nice thing about the girls is that they can clean up after themselves, by themselves.
Finally, I stumbled upon the culprits. They were all smiles. Full of mischief but ever so cute... what's a mom to do!

Happy Birthday Honey!

I'm so thankful to have children. Were it not for them, our celebrations would be lackluster and ho-hum. Take Mark's birthday for example. It was yesterday. He told me what he wanted a couple weeks ago but had a last-minute change of heart leaving me empty-handed on his birthday. Not to worry because our three crafty girls took over. Each drew, cut, glued and wrapped cards and trinkets for Daddy. The result was a birthday fit for a king.

Catherine made this leopard ornament for Mark. I pitched in with dinner and cake. I know, it was the least I could do.
Mark, I love celebrating life with you. I know this wasn't my most creative effort but what's left of my brain cells are being transferred to our next progeny. I love you and look forward to sharing an actual birth day with you once more in two months.

Baby on the brain

I wish I could somehow capture what it's like to walk around with five small children and a ripe tummy in a world of families of four. The five children draw attention on their own, but eyes get wider and mouths drop a little farther when they see that #6 is on the way.

Of course, for our children, our family seems normal. Our children are delighted about the upcoming arrival of their new baby brother. At times, I think that it's all they think about. It's even trickled into their playtime. This weekend, Madelyn and the boys were the preggos and Catherine and Chloe played the doctors.
Seth tried out multiples...
He was pretty proud!

Now, if only delivery were as easy as lifting one's shirt and having the baby tumble out.

First Day of School

It's official! School is in session. Madelyn is a second grader.

It seems not so long ago that I took her to her first day of preschool. I was pregnant then too. Like today, it was harder for me to say good-bye than her. It must be the hormones right?We are all very excited for this year. We are starting at a new school. We hope to gain more family time and more meaningful instruction both at home and at school. We'll keep you posted!

Jammin' out

Yesterday was our last Crafty Kid Tuesday of the summer. We decided to make jam. Someone please take my temperature. I'm not sure what's gotten into me. I was not raised by jam making parents (at least not that I can recall) or even canning parents. How do I come up with these crazy ideas? The answer is simple; I had kids. It was Madelyn's idea. She was inspired by a friend who wanted to pick prickly pear fruit during a playdate a couple weeks ago.

After delaying our jam making operation a week due to inadequate supplies, we got busy. First, we picked 40 prickly pear fruit. We have it in abundance in our front yard so this task went quickly. Of course, it went quickly only after providing Sam with first aid for a skinned knee he got two steps out the door.
Then we singed off all the 'ouchy things' as we like to call them. We quartered the fruit and prepared it for boiling. Catherine was very concerned that her hands were stained pink. After cooking, we drained out the juice in this handy jelly press. I don't get the name of this contraption. Why is it called a jelly press when all the directions clearly state NOT to press the fruit unless you want to make the juice, and thereby your jam, cloudy?
After some combining of ingredients and a great deal of boiling, we have jam. The taste test comes later today. I suspect we just might have a winner based on the fact that there is more sugar than cactus juice in the recipe.
Crafty Kid Tuesday has been a lot of fun. We all look forward to continuing this tradition as the school year begins (GULP) tomorrow. It will probably be moved to a new day and time however. Stay tuned!

The best day

On Saturday we attended a pool party with Madelyn's new classmates then returned home to finish draining our pool. An algae bloom occurred during our trip to Denver three weeks ago and the pool never recovered. Thus, we ended the season early.

Question:What does one do with a couple thousand gallons of cloudy pool water?
Answer: Make an enormous mud pit in the backyard.

The result was Chloe proclaiming over and over again how, "This is the best day of my life!"Sam loved getting his hands dirty but only for a short while. Then he'd come and ask to clean up.Check out that mud! Could a little boy be any happier?

The Bridges of Sandoval County

We headed north to the Jemez Mountains for our weekly adventure yesterday. We were in pursuit of a trail we've taken several times over the years. The last time was the summer of 2006. Our family sure has changed since then and so has the hiking trail. Where logs once lay, there are now bridges. They're a little bouncy but they sure beat doing a circus-type balancing act across a partially rotted log.

We had a nice picnic lunch, enjoyed the wildflowers and even got our feet wet in the creek.

Seth and Sam model the latest look for boys...the double flower tuck. Thanks sisters!Our family shot...I seem to be at the point in my pregnancy where my fundal height is not nearly as impressive as my width.WooHoo! Water!Before the fall...And after...After chilling their feet the boys were happy throwing rocks.This week we get back to the daily grind as school starts Thursday.

Back-to-school beauties

We made our biannual trip to the beauty salon yesterday for some back-to-school stylin'!Madelyn's stylist got docked points for not giving her hair pretties but I made up for it today with my own creative 'do.

Chiming in

Yesterday was our second to last Crafty Kid Tuesday before school starts. We decided on wind chimes. Don't ask why. It's not spring, although it is often breezy in the afternoon. The kit came with three butterfly chimes but only one brush. That means, you guessed it, sharing! The girls were actually fine with sharing. It was their two little brothers who had a hard time not being allowed to touch anything. And their mommy who got frustrated with their naturally curious two-year-old brothers. Fortunately, after Catherine bore my frustration she took her brothers to the playroom to 'make dinner'. With them out of the way, it was much easier to get the work done.

Chloe was very proud of her symmetrical paint design.
Seth loves to watch big sisters work. He likes to work with them better but resigned himself to watching yesterday.
All done! Phew! It looked lighter outside when I took the picture but take my word for it, the wind chimes are colorful not to mention beautiful.

Fun with zucchini

Our zucchini crop was recently assaulted by squash bugs. Truthfully, I wasn't too sad since the rate of production was exhausting me not to mention everyone who was forced to take some. I've been waiting for a weekend when Mark could help me dispose of the plants. In the meantime, however, I decided to grow some State Fair-worthy zucchini. We harvested them last Friday and came up with some alternative uses for zucchini other than zucchini bread.

First up, the zucchini barbell. Check out those muscles!Next, the babysitter. Our girls will be ready for their baby brother in no time lugging these around.Finally, dinner. The girls didn't find this one quite so funny!In other gardening news, I had my proudest moment of the season last Friday when we sat down to a meal that included home-grown corn, carrots and cucumbers.

Ready or not

I'm not...well maybe a little...it was my idea I guess.
Yesterday we set up a big boy bed in the boys' room. It was meant to serve as an introduction, a place to take naps, read and cuddle. Then, in a month or so when I was ready to acknowledge that my sons are no longer the tiny bundles I brought home from the hospital two years ago, we would let them sleep in the beds regularly. We might even ENCOURAGE them at that point because our new baby would be almost here.
They had other plans and in the blink of an eye, alright, maybe in the span of an afternoon, my baby boys became big boys. These moments when I actually SEE my children grow up are hard. I know I should celebrate and tomorrow I will, but for now I feel quiet. I'm trying to capture the moment, to remember the days that have gone by, to rejoice in the milestone, to allow more space between us.
Sam took the plunge first. He took a nap and slept last night in the bed. Today we are going to take down the cribs and set up Seth's big boy bed. He's excited! I am too...sniff, sniff.

Beach bracelets

For this week's Crafty Kid Tuesday, I let the girls push me out of my box. We made bracelets. I generally don't like jewelry kits. Perhaps it's because I usually stumble upon the girls playing with one after its been opened, unsupervised. Beads are everywhere. No one can thread the beads. No one can start or finish the bracelet. Or the bracelet breaks minutes after putting it on. And I get to be reminded of said destruction and frustration for weeks on end when sweeping or even more fun, when jabbed in the foot while innocently walking by.

But yesterday's bracelet making extravaganza was fun! This kit used jewelry wire so it was easier to thread and it came with clasps so, cross my fingers, we won't have to deal with as many breaks and repairs.Sam gave me this cheesy grin as if to explain and apologize for being laid out completely on the table so he could get his hands on the beads too.