Science Center

We spent yesterday at the Science Center. It is a hands-on museum for children. It has lots of fun things to do, like laying on a bed of nails, dissection of a cow's eye ball, a learning about bones class, levers, building areas, etc. The kids really enjoyed it. We all learned a lot. I think one of AnnaLisa and Andrew's favorite was the presentation called "forces of nature". It had massive fans, heat lamps, rain, and shaking floor to simulate everything from tornado to earthquakes. I am glad they did not try a tsunami! AnnaLisa went 4 or 5 times. My personal favorite was the Lava class. They showed us how to make different types of lava (more than vinegar and baking soda). They talked about different types of volcanoes, different types of rocks volcanoes make, etc - really interesting stuff!

One of the funny things about the day is that I had the kids wear good walking shoes so that we would last (4.5 hour trip) and I was the one who ended up having the sore feet at the end of the day!

I have to thank Danika for letting us know about this program. We were able to "check out" 4 free tickets from the library, so we only had to pay for one ticket (Maggie and the twins were free). So family trip to the museum cost $18 - 10 for the ticket, $8 for parking (we figured out where we could park for free next time).

We want to go to a few more museums this summer, hopefully we can!

Hat day

Obviously I missed the memo about this one. Not sure why we are all wearing hats, but they are a good look crew!

JJ's post

welcome to the mom website,so git in to your car or climb a matin(mountain) so you wont hath(have) to go a drifrintway (different way) so fallo(follow) inskuchinsk(instructions) so you don`t git lost ok over now

JJ is a guest blogger for today. These are his spontaneous words of advice. Spelling was standardized only when necessary.

you should wear clean underwear in case you have an accident...

Jeff and I were finishing up lunch and chatting a bit while I finished feeding William, when JJ, a lunch straggler, came back from the bathroom to finish eating. He announced that he was wearing two underwears. Jeff and I were a bit confused, until we realized he meant, for some strange reason, that he had two pairs of underwear on. We laughed at this. We asked JJ why he was wearing two pairs, and he said he did not know. We were a bit befuddled how a person could not know he was wearing two pairs, but to JJ it was a minor oversight that anyone could have done. I smiled and looked at Jeff who was still amazed beyond understanding, when I said, "That is OK, I know a father who does things like that in my view, and it befuddles me as well". It is not uncommon for Jeff to 'search the house' for a missing item, for mom to look in it's designated spot and find it sitting in plain view. When we first got married, I would do this and he would get upset. Now, 10 years later, we have both accepted this quirk, and are thankful that we find missing item and move on with life. So Jeff smiled as he realized that when we do things that are "minor oversights", it doesn't seem really odd to us, however, it probably does to other people. This is when JJ pipes up and says, "...besides, if I have an accident, then I will only mess one pair of underwear and the other pair will be dry"...ah, the thought process of a 5 year old.

MaggieMae's personality comes shining through

Not really sure why we took this picture, other than to get a picture of our dancing cowgirl baglady. The fun part of this picture is that this is her personality...always looking to have a little fun!

What do you want to be when you grow up?...a daddy

Andrew and I had a conversation this week that is too precious to not be recorded. I was having a rough day with Andrew and his behaviors he was choosing. I had a babysitter come over to watch the kids so I could go to the chiropractor. I had intended on taking one of the babies (the other was sleeping and I still do not feel comfortable leaving the babies with only one person) with me. As I walked out the door, I thought I should ask Andrew to come with me. I asked him to come and he said yes (usually he prefers to stay at home). We got to talk quite a bit. Unfortunately it started on some of the negative behaviors we had just finished dealing with. Then it bridged into the future and what he would like for his family and what he wants his life to be like (we were talking about his selfish choices, and how when he was a grown up he would need to sacrifice some for his family). For some crazy reason the conversation turned to his career choices (at present this is paleontologist and archeologist). I mentioned that there were three things that should influence his choice for a career: 1)Will it allow you to support your family and allow your wife to remain in the home to raise your children, 2)Is it something that you reasonably enjoy, 3)Will it allow you the type of family life you desire (and obviously 4)is it legal). So then we talked about family life.
Mom: Andrew what do you want your family life to be like?
Andrew: I want to have 6 kids (I started to giggle, bcse I was fairly sure I knew the next answer, but I asked anyway).
Mom: Andrew, why do you want 6 kids?
Andrew: Because that is how many kids we have in our family.
I burst out laughing.
Andrew: Why are you laughing?
I told him, when Daddy and I were talking about getting married, I asked Daddy how many kids he wanted in our family. He told me eight. Then I ask, "Do you know why he said eight Andrew?"
A: No. Why?
Mom: Because that is how many kids he had in his family growing up. You are so much like your daddy.

I looked back at Andrew in the rear-view mirror to see a big old "watermelon grin" on my boy's face. He loves being like his daddy.

What is for dinner mom?

Well, this is actually a MaggieMae creation, but I thought it was a cute picture. We asked her is she was making 'frog legs' for dinner and she thought we were crazy.

With this last year I have been "tied" down to the house much more than I have been use to. To add to that, I have been having a streak of concern about our eating habits. So I have started making homemade wheat bread about 6 months ago. We have really enjoyed it. I have been finding other fun recipes which include Butterscotch bars, homemade chewy granola bars, cheese sauce, breakfast cake, etc.

That would make it really dark...

Lately I have been singing 'You Are My Sunshine' to the kids. I was busy singing that to MaggieMae in the car when she responded, "That would make it really dark". To me this was out of left field. I had no idea what she was talking about until I stopped and thought about the song, the last line is a plea, "please don't take my sunshine away".

Some other fun things she has said or done lately:

*MaggieMae asked Jeff why he wore a belt. Jeff told her, "because if I didn't, my pant would fall down." MaggieMae says, "I don't need a belt, my pants stay up."

*One day we were in the post office when Maggie was trying to sooth William while I figured out the automated stamp dispenser. I heard her saying to William, "I like you. William Heavenly Father sent me you." This is when I noticed that she was trying to sing him one of my usual lullabies - Mother I Love you with a child's name substituted in for the word Mother.

Sometimes it is hard to remember this cutie is still only 2. She has a great sense of humor and talks on a level much higher than her peers. She will come in and ask me things like, "Mom, I was thinking that we should make some cookies." She also makes comments like, "Mom, you are so funny" when I make jokes.

My little girl is a quick favorite of most people she runs into, she just has such a vibrancy about her that makes her fun to hang out with. She loves to help out in any activity that she can. To me she is a sheer delight and really is "my sunshine" and with out her it would make it really dark in our family!

Teething X's twins

Our twins, William in particular, are very cooperative eaters. William when he wants to eat, will happily open his mouth and wait patiently for you to put food in. RosiLee, will open her mouth as well, but she is not as patient as her brother. When I am at home alone (with no other adult, I am never alone at home, the other 4 children roam around while I feed the twins), I feed both of them at the same time alternating bites. RosiLee will be this patient, but that is about it.

Well, the last month or two, we have been dealing with the twins teething. Rosie has cut 7 teeth and William 2 teeth. This has meant that we have had fussy, whiny babies, which you have to be super careful with because if you bump their gums...well, just don't do it. People always think that having twins is tough, which it certainly is harder than one baby, but it is times like this when I totally agree with the random people I meet who seem to feel the need to let me know how overwhelmed I must be all the time. At times like this I just look at the cute pictures and try to smile my way through it. Tomorrow is usually better and eventually all their teeth will be in.

Swim lessons take their toll...

Poor Maggie, she crashed out after we got home from swim practice. She fell asleep while I was making dinner. She slept until 1:30 am, then woke us up to feed her. Then back to sleep until morning. She loves the pool, but she definitely shows her age there. She likes the shallow, slow moving water. She is not big enough for slides and such and her new favorite game is to play tag with mom in the shallow water walking on our hands while our tummies and feet float behind. Unfortunately mommy's tummy is bigger than Maggie's so sometimes I am doing more of an army crawl in water than floating.

Monkey boy William

It is difficult to tell in one photo, so you have to see both of these, he is actually holding on to the book with his hands and his feet. He loves to hold things this way. It always makes me giggle and grab a camera because I think it is so cute. He is definitely my only child to do this. Jeff laughs as well, but he is laughing at me as well as William. You see Jeff never met someone who could pick up as many things with her feet as I can. It all started when I was at a pool and wanted to play the grab the coin off the bottom of the pool after you throw it in. There was one Cardinal rule in our family when it came to pools - "Kristina is not allowed to get water in her ears". Man, I lived that one up good. I could always get my siblings in trouble when water fights would break out (in my defense, I was young and I only did it a few times). So as a result my siblings thought it was a fair adjustment to allow me to swim to the place above where the coin was and instead of diving, I would use my toes to pick up the coin. As life progressed, I found that a useful tool (especially when I was pregnant and did not want to lean over). I can often be seen picking up dirty clothes with my foot, occasionally I turn off my TV with my toe (but only when we can't find the remote). So I guess it is in the genes, but William has taken it to a whole new level. I guess we can't control what gets passed on to our children or to what degree!

Developmental Roller Coaster Ride

Well, had the twins 9 month check up today...yep, we are on that roller coaster ride, again. Rosie has stopped babbling (noticed it about a month ago shortly after my most recent emergency surgery). I had hoped that it was as a result of me disappearing for two days into the hospital and the advent of 7 of her teeth, however she doesn't seem to have picked babbling back up. She is also a bit delayed in gross motor skills. She is doing a form of the army crawl using her right arm as her main forward thruster. She doesn't yet pull her self up on things. And to top it all off, she is still acting very "breech"ish with her legs often going out sideways (like she is trying to get them onto a ballet bar). She still has great eye contact and is very inter-active. Her only verbal communication is grunting/crying and giggling. I often find myself in the same place I was with AnnaLisa, as a baby, where I tickle her so that I can hear her voice. She is a very happy baby.

With William he started babbling again two days ago after about a month of non-babbling. It had been several weeks since I had heard him babble, but he too was cutting teeth (3) and then he was sick off and on for about two weeks. When you sit him down, he goes to a "tri-pod" stance with his arms holding up his body as he leans forward on them. He can sit up strait, but doesn't much. He usually slowly sinks down to a laying position. He can move around a little bit via army crawl, but he is content to not move or move via rolling. He is not getting stuck by his right arm getting in the way when he rolls anymore. He is also considered in the 4% which is mostly concerning to me because he continues to drop in that area. He looks fairly healthy although lean for a baby. William too has great eye contact and is a happy, mellow guy.

So the pediatrician wants Rosie to be looked at by our Developmental Pediatrician and is referring both kids to AzEIP for evaluation. I am a bit down because I just don't know that I am ready for all this evaluation again. It takes so much out of me emotionally and energy-wise. I am trying to balance the overwhelmingness that comes with this with the guilt of not spending as much time as I would want with the babies. For the most part right now my kids get a lot of my attention, but it is divided up between all six of them. I did not realize how self-consuming I was being about this until Jeff got home and mentioned that he was emotionally exhausted. I thought to myself, "Great, now I "have" to listen to his work issues". Then he said that this whole drive home he was just thinking about the twins and all that goes with these issues and how it is a lot for him to handle as well as the effect it has had on me in the past. I felt very humbled that I had not stopped to think about him being affected by this. We spent the evening doing our favorite thing, sitting next to each other and talking - sometimes I forget how much strength I receive from that.

Well, as a new day approaches, I realize that there is a lot that I need to do. It always amazes me how a good nights sleep helps to put things in perspective for me...sometime even if it is not a good nights sleep.

RosiLee's happy place

Here is RosiLee in her favorite place to be, the bathtub. She enjoys it so much with the toys and the water to roll around in. I can't wait to take her to a pool, but I need to get her older siblings better at swimming before I am brave enough to take all 6 to the pool.

Don't let this shot of Jaws fool you. She really has 7 teeth (three on the bottom and 4 top teeth). When you see this girl in the tub, you understand why one of her nicknames is "Chubberlicious".

Mamas' lock up your daughters, William has got wheels...

This is one of those stall times, not sure if we were drinking water, feeding babies, or waiting for stragglers, but William took advantage of sitting in the seat. The really funny thing is, at this age he could still not sit up unsupported, so I am guessing that he is holding on for dear life!

Some more Park Family Funnies

*Daddy, you are a 'Sugar Daddy' because you are made out of sugar! - MaggieMae
*JJ wearing flannel PJ bottoms with long sleeve top, putting on his winter hat, "I got to put my nightcat on my head, so I can go to sleep." (mind you, it is May in AZ, temp about 80 degrees at the time).
*"Daddy, I just saw tiny spiders", says MaggieMae. "We like tiny spiders, they eat tiny bugs", says dad. "Yucky, that is disgusting" says MaggieMae.

Another family picture

I love this picture because you get to see all the kids together. I love Rosi's hair!

Gila Valley Temple Visit/ Jeff's birthday adventure

Here is the front of the Gila Valley Temple. You can see an angel on the top blowing a trump, announcing to the world the gospel that is to coming forth. This is symbolic of the Church of Jesus Christ being restored to the earth (through the prophet Joseph Smith).

The temple is a place where sacred ordinances such as marriage for time and all eternity are done. Other ordinances such as baptism for the dead as spoken of in the New Testament are also performed in proxy for those who have passed on.

This is where they will place the symbolic "corner stone". For those who don't know about the importance of a corner stone, it was usually the first stone laid, and then they would build the building around that stone. It was very important for the corner stone to be square as the slightest imperfections would be multiplied through out the building process. In the scriptures there are multiple references to Jesus Christ as our corner stone upon which we can build a sure foundation.

Since buildings are not build with stones but rather cement, etc than this is done merely to be symbolic.

This is a picture of Jeff with AnnaLisa (8), Andrew (7), William (8 mo), JJ (5) and MaggieMae (2). I am taking the picture while holding RosiLee (8 mo).

Jeff's Birthday

I have recently been going through the house getting rid of things that, well need to be gotten rid of. That brings me to Jeff. No, I don't plan on getting rid of him (although don't tell him that, I like to keep him on his toes), but many of his beloved T-shirts have holes and such and so, I throw them away. Now, he has a dearth of fun T-shirts and his birthday seemed a good time to renew his wardrobe of a few. One of his favorite cartoon characters is Marvin the Martian (a looney tunes character). Jeff does a great impression of Marvin and when we first got married he use to have a stuffed Marvin hanging from his rear view mirror. I was tickled when I went shopping for his B-day and stumbled upon this one. He also got a "Sugar Daddy" T-shirt because he is willing to spoil me with whatever I would ask for, just cause he loves me so much.

He is such a good sport. When we were planning a trip down to see the soon to be opened Gila Valley Temple, we asked if it would be OK to schedule it on his birthday (that was one of the few days left with tickets available for the tour). He was tickled with the idea of having a day off on an adventure with his family. AnnaLisa and I planned it, complete with a car picnic (packing lunch in the car to take with us) and a spontaneous stop at a dollar store to buy M&M's to share as a snack.

We love our daddy/husband. I am tickled that his favorite thing to do is spend time with our family.

These are left overs?

 
Always looking for a new, easy meal, these potato pancakes hit the spot. We were trying to make a fast meal one night when I noticed left over mashed potatoes in the fridge. We got this crazy idea to form them into patties and fry them up in the bacon grease. We tried them and the kids loved them (we think they are yummy too). Served them up with scrambled eggs and bacon and they were fabulous!

Union break!

Wow, sometimes I wish Mother's had a union. I would really appreciate a 15 minute break every four hours. Heck, I wouldn't mind being paid overtime, with 4 breaks on my 17+ hour work days. And how 'bout paid vacation? So many great things about unionizing mothers. Could you imagine a strike? How many high school kids could not pack their own lunches? Or father's going off to work in mis-matched socks - or worse yet, "yesterday's" socks? Would we have to stay after to make up "missed days" from the strike?

I remember in 9th grade when my Science teacher went off one day about how "stay at home mom's" have nothing to do all day. I mean how long could it take to do laundry? He went through and listed all the things that he figured she should spend her time on and how much time it should take. He decided the majority of her time was available for lounging around and watching TV. I laugh at that now realizing that he was so amazingly clueless. What I find the most interesting was that he dedicated no time to a mother nurturing her children, the most important and time consuming portion of my job. I too underestimated how much this would take until a few years ago. I have always been able to sneak in time here or there to get breaks, shop for gifts, read a book, etc. For a while I was staying up too late to try and catch up on things. Now I have finally realized that if I want to do anything, it has to be done as a mother (baby on the hip, and another holding the other hand). This week I have started an exercise program again. This time, however, I don't try to get up before the kids (because they would just keep getting up earlier and earlier), I do it right in the midst of them. I did some step aerobics this morning and I laid down a cloth diaper for one child and a pillowcase on the other side of me for the other child and encouraged them to join me (thankfully I had not got all the linens put away and they were still sitting on the back of the couch).

So now I blog while my child crawls across my lap or while she is playing with my feet. It is not very time efficient and my 9th grade science teacher would balk at how much time I take to get through a post, but my kids are turning out good, we are having a happy family who loves to spend time together, so I have to say that this experiment should please him, although I know it won't. and I don't care.

Where is your happy place?

I am giving 9 month old (gasp) Rosie a bath and it occurs to me that this is her happy place. Then I think to myself that would make a wonderful summer activity, teaching the kids about what a happy place is and where theirs are. I think that I will need to teach a few of them that while the beach or Grandma/pa's house are good happy places, we need to create one here where we are, so we can use it when we need it.

It use to be that in front of the computer was a happy place for me. I loved reaching beyond my house into the world around me to blog, Facebook, email, etc with people. After a while I have found that to be hollow. While you can have a fun exchange with old friends or catch up, it really is not a happy place.

So now I turn to me and I wonder where my happy places are? They have surely changed over the years - not so much the DisneyLand mentality (although that is a fun place). I realize that some of my happy places are quietly reading my scriptures, snuggled in bed talking to with my husband, and getting a massage. It occurs to me that while these are all good happy places, I am thinking watching Rosie in the bathtub that maybe some of my other happy places are with my kids in their happy places.