GOOD THING I NEVER TRIED CRACK

So, I am having a small problem with making these - I can't stop.

I have just been using small scraps of yarn, but can see where I would want to actually invest in some green for the frog, instead of the camo stuff. The colors are off - the tongue is very dark red and the camp is more green than brown.

THE CUTEST THING ... a consumer alert

So, I'm checking out my mail from the last week and look what I found in the Lands End catalog!

Is that not the cutest thing, ever? I love the little swim diaper with a tail! Makes me wish I had a baby to dress up in that!
But wait! There's more!

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Okay, I know the tails would totally drag in the sand and mud and water and get gross, but I think these are so cute, too and could be amended to be more of swimsuit coverup that starts under the arms, so the tails don't drag too much. I love LandsEnd. Everything I have bought from them lasts forever (well, through 3 boys). Even LLBean doesn't last as long (in my experience).

Speaking of cute, I crocheted this little guy over the weekend and I think he turned out pretty okay. These amigurumi animals are going to be my new addiction for awhile. They go together so fast! I am into instant gratification.

MORNINGS WITH SARI

So, EVERY morning when I wake up, I shower. Big news for the blog, I know.

That's not the point, sillies!!

Here is the mystery - EVERY morning, as I STEP out of the shower - Sari is waiting just outside the door and calls,

"mom?"

"yes?"

"uhm ... are you dressed yet?"

Since I don't shower with my clothes on the answer is ALWAYS, "no".

"oh ... uhm ... well ..."

"what do you need, Sari?"

"nevermind."

"it must have been pretty important to wait outside my bathroom door."

"yeah, well, I was just wondering if _____________."

The blank could be any of the following:
my clothes match
does my hair look good like this
have you seen my toothbrush
can I use your hair brush, I can't find mine
uh, oh, I can't remember

Seriously, I am not a morning person and all this conversation is not good for my blood pressure (which is, admittedly very low - 105/62 last week).

To give you all a little more insight to Sari - here is part of her weekly journalling:

"This week was really boring; we had school for four days, not five. The only exciting parts were seeing Gypsy, having Activity Days, going to Richland this weekend and going to the Daddy/Daughter Dance with my Daddy. My mom made me a new pink dress for the dance. It is very gorgeous. She also made a matching purse. My dad got me a corsage and I gave him a boutonniere. In Richland, we went to Camry’s play, “Fiddler on the Roof Junior”. It was a good play, good job, Camry! I made cookies with Christa. We also listened to Grandma and Grandpa Sant’s welcome home talks and they were really good. Afterwards, we went to their house and played and then we left. We found a doll in Grandma’s basement and Daniel and Katie thought that it looked kind of creepy so Christa and scared them by telling them we would be right up and then we moved the doll to a different spot. We did that a few times. Daniel and Katie got kind of scared and then Daniel figured out it was a trick. I found out that Katie and I have a lot in common! “Gypsy” is the greatest Broadway Musical EVER! And my first. I think my parents ruined me. I think “Wicked” will be better. I got to see it up close with my binoculars. It was lots of fun. It’s about a mom that wants her daughters to become famous. She doesn’t really pay attention to one of them, but the other one she paid a lot of attention to. I don’t want to ruin it for you so that’s all I will say. At Activity Days we painted a flower pot and then we planted herbs in it. I planted chives so I named my plants Chives. Get it?"

She cracks me up - this is a boring week?

WEEKEND UPDATE without Kevin Nealon (again, my apologies)

So we went to Richland this weekend and guess what? I think spring might actually be coming!! They had warm temperatures and blue skies!


But I am getting ahead of myself:

Saturday morning I did my workshop on blogging. There is one word for how I did: average. Not being self-deprecating here. Just the facts. The internet at the church is slow and it just didn't go as planned and I didn't say somethings I meant to, which meant I said things I didn't mean to. ("Danger! Will Robinson!") BUT, the gym was decorated beautifully and the food was good. I laughed a lot and was inspired to do better from the other classes I took. It was clear that a lot of women worked REALLY hard to make this Women's Conference beautiful and relaxing and inspiring. They were successful in that!

I also had the opportunity to explain to one of the "Brentwood Barbies", in person, the exact way that name came about. Still trying to clear my name from that one.

THEN we went to Richland. Larry took care of all the house stuff, even packed, loaded the car, and got the kids to do their chores, so we left the minute I walked in the door. At Linda and Dono's house, pizza was waiting and then we hurried to see Camry in "Fiddler on the Roof, Junior". I wanted to see it because she is my niece. I was not prepared for how GOOD it was! I mean, these are 6th to 8th graders, right? Who is going to play Tevye? It was really, really good. Great harmonizing, good acting for all the main characters. This is Camry as Tzeidel, the oldest daughter. She did a great job and is such a beautiful young woman.

Afterwards we even had time to go to the "Double Dragon" in Kennewick! I love "Double Dragon" because they have lemon chicken! It was 10 o'clock at night and Steve and Kaelynn and Linda joined Larry and I. Turns out they weren't hungry, just ate appetizers. I felt like a princess that they all went when they weren't hunger, so I made a paper napkin crown.

Linda has a daughter who is the Beast-Tamer. Her name is Katie and she is darling!

Katie can get away with so much with Ben and been able to for years. She is completely impervious to his facade of grumpiness and just goes in with her happy self. There is NO WAY Ben would have let anyone else touch his hair! He let Katie put ponytails in AND us take pictures. He also carried her around his back and just was her buddy. She is magic! She can tame the wild beast!

Larry's parents did a great job on their talks and it was great to see everyone. I didn't bring my camera, so no pictures. I am totally bummed out. We loved seeing everyone and seeing how big everyone's babies are!

DADDY DAUGHTER DANCE

Tonight is the Girl Scout annual Daddy Daughter Dance. No, we don't do Girl Scouts, but Sari does a party anytime! So, she covered Larry's mirror with paper hearts and asked him to the dance. He gave her some flowers to answer. Very cute. On Wednesday (TWO DAYS AGO!!) morning Sari springs the question, wants to know if she gets a new dress like Rachel does for dances.

U.G.H.

I dug around in my abundant fabric bins (yet, I still need more!) and found that I had about 2 yards left over from Rachel's dress last spring (Go back to Oct 2007 to see that dress). I found a pattern to cut down and got started. The dance started tonight at 6:30. I finished putting in the zipper at 6:20 - TONIGHT. Whew!! (It's not perfect - slants a little up the back. arg.)

Wednesday, while I was waiting for Sari to come home to fit the dress I made this matching bag. It is fully lined and has FOUR (count them) inside pockets and a snap closure! I cut down the pattern from the bigger flower bag that I made. It is just the right size for the essentials a girl needs at a dance - a little gloss, a phone (she wishes), number to the bouncer we keep on retainer in case the boy gets out of hand, and whatever else.

Thank goodness I waited in the Urgent Care for 3 hours (for NOTHING!!) today so I could hand stitch the lining and hem and read another 40 pages in the Michener Marathon called "Chesapeake".

I mean, really, what else did I have to do today?

MIKE FINK, CHARLIE'S ANGELS and a lip fungus

Today was a good day.

I was reading with Joseph his nightly reading book, "Mike Fink" by Steven Kellogg. (We ADORE Steven Kellogg's books! He was Sari's favorite author throughout first grade.) Joseph, Matthew and I were all cuddled up on the couch and starting to read when I noticed that Daniel had come downstairs to hear the book, Sari immediately left her activities to join us. About 3 pages into it, I noticed that even BEN had come out to join in the picture book reading. It was just a delightful, happy mom moment for me, to have 5 of my 6 children gathered about while we read a fun book. We read scriptures as a family, but this was a little different feeling (no whiny or fighting) and fabulous - tiny bit of heaven.

We decided that we should have named Ben "Mike Fink" because Mike Fink wasn't tall but he was strong and fast. He also might occasionally lose the first round, but he always came back fighting for round two!

For the past few years Larry and I buy the cheapseats (bring your binoculars) to the Broadway series that comes to Spokane (Greg and Kristine treated us once to Cinderella - great seats! and we were hooked - well, Larry enjoys them but I ADORE and LOVE them - thanks Mom and Dad!). Last night we had tickets to see "Gypsy" and I was really looking forward to a good, old-fashioned show because "The Wedding Singer" had left me feeling violated (it was cleaner in New York City - go figure!) and needing a Mikvah. Before that, "Movin' Out" with music by Billy Joel fell short of the mark for me, too. SO, Gypsy - yeah!

A good old-fashioned show! Larry couldn't go because he had Stake Leadership Training and he missed the last one for some reason. That meant Sari was to be my date! We LOVED the show!! I was a little worried about the Burlesque part, but I didn't need to be (some advantage to the nosebleeds) and it was great! There was a fire on stage so it didn't get started until 8 p.m. While we were waiting, we studied the stage set with our binoculars. Sari said, "mom, are there girls up there?" Looking at the relief at the top of the set, there was indeed a spoof on cherubs. I said, "Yes, those are cherubs, angels." Sari studied them through her binoculars and then said, "Oh, they are Charlie's Angels, I can see their wings."

Cherubs, Baby. Not Charlie's.

One of my favorite lines from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is when Art asks Eddie's son, "You got a kiss for me?" And Eddie answers, "You might want to take a raincheck on that Art. He's got a lip fungus the Doctor's aint identified yet." (laughing out loud to myself just typing this!!)

Turns out my Advair (asthma medicine that saved my life) has a side effect of thrush if you don't THOROUGHLY rinse your mouth. I've been lazy, I swish. I have thrush.

WEEK END UPDATE

If Kevin Nealon (comedian from Saturday Night Live back in the 90's?) was doing this it would be interesting, but you are stuck with me. My apologies.

Every day this week Matthew has missed his siblings and his dad. He has me draw a picture of all of them on the bus EVERY day. On Thursday I said to him, "Do you miss your brothers and sisters, Matthew?" He said, "Yes, and I mith Dad. I don't mith you, Mom. I am with you EVWY thingle day." Here is a copy of what I draw. I know, it is SO amazing. Can you tell who is who? My mission companion, Tonia, drew people sort of like this and I copy her.

On Valentine's Day it is tradition to make pink heart shaped pancakes for dinner with pink maple syrup. This year, I made pink waffles. The kids were a little disappointed, but we all like waffles better than pancakes anyway. The boys are wearing another tradition - that is the making of the Valentine's Day shirts. Joseph and Matthew's are mostly like last years and say, "I'll be your knight in shining armor" with a knight and a dragon. Daniel's has a mummy on it and says, "If you loved me, you'd let me eat your brains." Very sentimental, I know. I made Sari and Rachel the hiphugger packs and Ben,as usual, opted out. Sari also got a shirt that said, "I (heart) Daddy".

This is a picture that Rachel took of the little boys sleeping in Joseph's bed. They look so sweet, all rosy cheeked, peaceful, and cherubic.

Here is the truth: On Saturday night, as we gathered for Family Prayer, Larry cheerfully announced that he would be the one to get everyone ready for church and take them to church the next day. (I have to go to Ward Council and Larry is supposed to be there but the Bishop "uninvited" him because Stake doesn't want both parents at meetings at the same time on Sunday. So once a month Larry gets the boys in their Sunday clothes and does lunch. I LOVE it!!!) This resulted in cheers. From everyone except Matthew. Matthew started his weekly whine fest, "I hate church. I don't want to go!" And so on. This is exactly what Ben used to do, so we, as we learned with Ben, just ignored his moanings and made a big deal about Dad being home. When we folded our arms, Matthew still whining, buried his head in Larry's stomach and muttered, "Church ith not good for wittle boyth." I had to hold back my laughter through the prayer. Later that night Larry said he thought he should attend class with Matthew because his attitude and disposition have gotten worse since the new year and classes. Larry went to sharing time with Matthew and then to class. Larry reported that the teacher was well-prepared and a little over expectant on the children's behavior. Matthew, however, was a holy terror!! He would fall off his chair sideways and roll across the floor into the wall. He would suddenly jump up and wave his arms and yell, "uggabugga!!!!" or some other such nonsense. Hard to believe looking at that sweet face, isn't it?

Daniel slipped on the ice this week, at the bus stop, and he got a nice shiner. Larry told him to tell people, "You should see the other guy, I beat the snot out of him." Daniel said he said that once and no-one believed him. He also gave a talk in Primary on Sunday about the Book of Mormon. He told two of his favorite stories - Coriantumr resting on his sword and then cutting of the head of Shiz, who had fainted from loss of blood. And Alma the Younger who repented and became a great missionary. Did he talk about Jesus visiting the American continent and blessing the children or any of the other nice stories? No. We've got Shiz and Coriantumr. He did say that prophet Ether prophesied that would happen. Boys and their war stories.

Rachel had the "best stake dance of [her] life!!!!" We didn't make Ben go. We figured some space between him and a girl in another ward would be a good thing. It turns out we were right. Back to the Stake Dance: This time they had a cute couple in our stake - John and Kim come and teach the kids fun swing dance moves. Rachel had so much fun! When she came home she wanted to teach Ben how to do the moves. Ben came out of his room, from bed, in his underarmor. Rachel took one look at him and said, "No way! I will NOT dance with you, if you are wearing just that!" So Ben tied my hoodie around his waist, covering the front, and then Rachel would show him the moves. This photo captures a side of Rachel that not many people see. Ben's expression cracks me up. Rachel was being very silly. Ben is a good dancer, it comes naturally but he only shares his talent with us.

Larry worked super late all week long and had more than 50 hours by Thursday. He worked late on Thursday, too. (He did make it home in time for "Lost" thank goodness!!) Fortunately, I am a low maintenance wife in the Valentine's Day category. Friday night we went to the grown-up Stake Valentine's Dance. It was fun. Then Saturday we volunteered at Mead High Concession Stand and that is always more fun than it sounds like it will be.

I was in charge of the game for a double babyshower this week. I made "Fetal Feud", like Family Feud. After I laminated it, I realized it can't be played with the same group twice so I was annoyed with myself!! But the game was pretty cute I think:

The categories and strikes are on there with velcro, so I could quickly removed them. This category was "What New Moms Wish Dads Would Do".

ABOUT MY VALENTINE - TAGGED

First, I must refer you to the post on December 23, 2007 for all about how wonderful Larry is. I've been tagged several times with different questions for this. So here goes a combination...

This post is just the facts ...

What is his name? Larry Dean Sant
How old is he? 39
How old are you? 40
How long have you been married? 17 years
How long did you date? 2 1/2 months
Who said I love you first? Larry said, "I think I love you." And I said, "You think?"
Who is taller? Larry
Who can sing better? Larry, absolutely!
Who is smarter? I say him, but he would say me. We are both smarter in different ways.
Who does the laundry? Usually me. He folds socks, which I HATE to do! You wouldn't believe how many socks our family can generate.
Who pays the bills? I pay the bills with the money he makes.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Uhm, my right or looking at it right? He sleeps on my right.
Who mows the lawn? Our indentured servants (the kids) or Larry. He has issues with this. I am NOT allowed to mow. EVER. NO DISCUSSION.
Who cooks dinner? Me, usually.
Who does the dishes? Me, mostly. Although Larry has done more than his fair share. Especially on Sundays he can be found at the sink.
Who drives? Larry
Who is more stubborn? I would say he is, he would say I am. He is QUIELTY stubborn and I am loudly stubborn so more people know about it.
Who kissed who first? Larry kissed me in the parking lot of Crown Burger in Provo.
Who asked who out first? He asked me.
Who proposed? Larry. It was great!
Who has more siblings? Larry by 1.
Who wears the pants? Hmmm... I think we share.
Who eats more sweets? Me.
His guilty pleasure? Hmmm... I have no idea. Tortilla chips and salsa? I am not sure.
Who is more sensitive? Me.
What is your favorite thing about him? He loves me.
Where did you meet? Meet the Bishop Night at BYU
1st thing said? I said, "I have a shirt like that." He said, "Oh, you've been to Brazil?" I said, "No." He said, "Then you don't have a shirt like this." I said, "I do, too. I can show you." And I really did! About 8 years earlier we had a foreign exchange student from Brazil live with us. She had just sent me that shirt about 6 months earlier.
1st date? "All Dogs Go To Heaven" movie at BYU.
Long/Short courtship and Engagement? Shortest I've ever heard of.
Where were you married? Salt Lake City Temple
How did the reception go? I still can't talk about it. Sorry.
Where did you go on your honeymoon? Uhm, Dad Sant gave us money for a hotel in SLC that night, then we went back to our apartment. The second night our car broke down at my parents' house and so my parents gave us THE FOLD OUT SOFA IN THE LIVINGROOM to sleep on and the next day Larry and my dad fixed the car. I am grateful for the shelter, but I think my parents should have lent us their car or sprung $50 for a hotel. They think it is funny. I thought it was mean.

Someday we will do a "real" honeymoon.

Do you have a song? "Groovy Kind of Love" by Phil Collins and "My Best Friend" by Queen.

Just the facts.

THE REAL BEN ...

Ben is my child of opposites. I adore him. He is hilarious, sweet, funny, kind, and tender. He loves music and books. He is a great conversationalist. He is still the opposite of those, too. This past week he has been making me crazy. I have had a headache EVERYDAY!! He is a bored dog digging holes. School sports are done until the last week of February. Heaven help us all. Everyday after school Ben turns on the tv (against the family rules) and then he just bugs and torments everyone - flicks, trips, two for flinching, "your face", "shut up", and more more and MORE!!!

This morning Matthew came into the family room and challenged Ben to a match. Ben was game.

In no time at all Matthew had Ben in a lock of some kind.

Ah, Ben goes for the reversal but Matthew keeps him on his shoulders ...

And Matthew pins Ben for the win!!

It's moments like these that make me think I will keep Ben alive, afterall. :)

RACHEL GOES TO THE SWEETHEARTS DANCE

We spent Saturday getting the house and Rachel ready for her Sweethearts Dance date. I think she looked SO pretty! She said that they had a really good time. (whew) Her date, Josh, looked like he was in HEAVEN every time we saw him – grinning from ear to ear. He is painfully shy but Rachel said they all had a good time. It turns out he used to go to Deer Park High School so he knows a lot people that Rachel knows. When Larry gave him the “my daughter is most important to me” talk he actually squared his shoulders, looked Larry in the eye and said, “I will make sure she has a good time and return her happy”. He was VERY respectful to her and treated her with extreme kindness. It was so fun to have their group come over after the dance and play guitar hero and eat icecream.

One of Rachel's friends said that the "girls looked so pretty - just like a bag of Skittles - taste the Rainbow!" You know, I think he is right!

This is their group after the dance - Josh, Rachel, Christi, Brady (yes, he is the boy who lives behind us and was Rachel's Mead High Homecoming date), Cassie, and Travis (goes to a different high school, but is in our stake.)

Cassie and Brady are Guitar Heros after the Dance.

Travis playing the guitar and Rachel with her true love - icecream!

Josh and Rachel at Christi's house for dinner.

Rachel hamming it up at Christi's.

A refresher, incase you didn't read the novel dated January 22, 2008 - this boy, Josh, asked Rachel to Homecoming after she had been asked out so she said no. He was so sad. Then he asked her to Girls Pref the date they announced it. She felt a little trapped and ripped off - she wanted to ask someone. I made her say yes to him and then felt really bad and like I ruined her life (for reals this time). We spent a lot of time thinking about this and trying to figure out what was the best thing to do. She eventually warmed up to the idea and as plans came together she was very excited and nervous for the date. She had a lot of fun. He was very nice and polite. He just isn't someone she normally hangs out with and she doesn't know him very well. Her told a mutual friend that he "fell in love with Rachel the first time he saw her smile".

DOMESTIC PROCRASTINATION

So, today I was talking to Utah and she said I was a domestic goddess, because I made a new purse. I had to laugh as I looked at my house. More like, domestic procrastinator. I get my best crafting done when there is something else I should be doing. Putting off scrubbing the kitchen floor = new purse, a fanny pack, and a new thing to try - fabric postcards! I am really excited about it as they have nearly instant gratification. Leave a comment and I'll mail you one :).

My new purse! Notice how the straps are already straining. I manage to fill whatever size bag I have. This even has a magnetic clasp and pockets inside! I am so proud of myself! The fabric isn't my favorite, but I had it on hand.

My favorite part of this photo is my head shadow! Other than that, it was my first time with machine applique and I hope to get better at it, because I will be the first to say, this is clearly lacking. I have some more, cuter ideas ... and it really is cute straight, it is just the angle or something.

I made a couple more today and now I am addicted! Thanks for commenting! Your postcards are coming!

This is a fanny pack style hip hugger tiny bag I made for Sari for Valentine's Day. I just crocheted it up last night while watching tv. It is just big enough to hold a cell phone, and some money, honey! Sari is just tiny.

SNOW WEEK!

As most of you know Spokane has had it's fifth snowiest winter this year! We even got 5 snow days from school, one from church and a state of emergency was declared (mainly so the kids don't have to make up the missed days and so the counties and cities could hire more plows and scrapers).

At the beginning of the big snow Ben competed in the Spoke-A-Loo. He took 4th in his weight class - 135. I am so glad that he isn't monitoring his food like an anorexic girl anymore.



I am still not used to seeing boys do this ... it just seems so wrong. But I yell my lungs out cheering for Ben!

We have had almost 6 feet total of snow and more than 2 feet fell in this one snow storm. It was really cool. The four little kids played outside EVERY day for hours and hours and hours. We dranks so much hot chocolate and flavored steamers! (Seven gallons of milk in four days!)

A picture of our pretty and cold backyard corner. I just love Spokane! It is so pretty!

Rachel, in her standard winter gear, standing by the snow bank in our driveway. When we were shoveling this last time (Larry was at work when the snow plow came so I went out and helped clear out the berm in our driveway) we had to throw shovelfuls of snow OVER OUR HEADS! AUGH!!! My back still hurts!

Back to the winter clothes - I asked Ben one day to just wear a hoodie, at least. He replied that when his friend, Jake Grover started to wear pants instead of basketball shorts, he would wear a hoodie, but so far neither boy has changed their clothing options.

PUCE it is!!!

This makes me laugh: I was trying to move my other color test from the sidebar to the blog and it couldn't so I had to retake the test. I thought I answered everything the same, but I guess I didn't. If you combine orange and green you get what - puce? I guess my true color is PUCE!!

Is there one color that you think describes me best? Which one?

My Result: Orange

You're a bold, confident orange. A warm, powerful color that indicates a strong, welcoming personality, orange is the mark of people who are social and extroverted by nature. Vibrant, with an upbeat attitude, you have a bright, inviting demeanor. Energetic and fun-loving, you're a real friend-magnet. Your easy charm and unassuming manner make you the sort of person people want to meet and get to know better. Well-rounded and fun to be around, you enjoy helping others, so it's no surprise that orange also symbolizes attraction. Orange is an extraordinary color — for an extraordinary person.

My Result: Green

You're green, the color of growth and vigor. Good-hearted and giving, you have a knack for finding and bringing out the best in people. Green is the most down-to-earth color in the spectrum — reliable and trustworthy. People know they can count on you to be around in times of need, since your concern for people is genuine and sincere. You take pride in being a good friend. For you, success is measured in terms of personal achievement and growth, not by status or position. Rare as emeralds, greens are wonderful, natural people. It truly is your color!