Voice mail.

I love it when Google transcribes my requests for Peter to pick things up at the store on his way home from work as completely garbled messages.  It makes me happy.  The first is a request for milk and cheese.  The second is a request for heavy whipping cream and milk.  Apparently we run out of milk a lot.  And I'm pretty sure Google thinks I don't have enough pet names for Peter since it always picks a random one even though I always call him Peter.


"Hey J, It's Andrea, I was wondering if you could get some more computers on your resume sent. If that's okay. Me. Thanks buddy bye."

"Hey sweetie. It's Andrea, can you stop. Thank you, have a place that would be great and I don't know if any reason. I'd appreciate it. Thanks. Love you bye."

21 packages of pasta
4 greek yogurts
2 packages of sausage
50 tealights
1 container Tillamook mudslide ice cream
2 container cottage cheese

 All for $25. No coupons.

 I just needed to tell someone, and you, my blog, were it.

Go to the bank

Benton got two checks for his birthday. He's had all sorts of ideas on what to do with it. This is my favorite: Benton: I know, maybe I can buy a wallet and then buy some cards to put in it.

The little drummer girl

The kids have been playing extremely well lately.  It's so fun to see them having fun together.

Benton's idea of dressing up usually involves putting on as many dress-ups as he can manage and then having me try to guess what he is.  It's a pretty fun game. Mima used to be very, very against dressing up, but lately she's started to soften up.  I know I've said it before, but I really, really like my kids.
 

Sewing class

So one thing that makes me feel like a better mom and just in general makes me feel better about myself is teaching my kids stuff.  We started school the last week in August and did it every weekday until last week.  Then the kids rebelled.  It was kind of cute how they all got together and did it the same day.  Anyways, I asked them what they wanted to be learning and Brita said reading and drawing; Benton said where states are on maps, reading, and sewing; Mima said "No," which is her answer to most any question these days.  So we did that last week.  Today I had them plan out what they wanted to do this week and it looks like it's going to be a pretty good week.

Anyways, not what I started off to tell you.  What I meant to say was: look how cute my kids are sewing!  I tell you, they're pretty awesome.

And here's Irene just because she's adorable:

Bunk Bed

The other day we cleaned out under the kids' bunk bed. This is what was under it (Benton and Brita not included). Pretty impressive, eh?

Well, in that case...

Benton discussing pants: Does Brita wear 5Ts, too, so we have to share them?
Me: Yes.
Benton, yelling: Brita you and I both wear 5Ts, so I can't pee in all of them.

Mothers/Dance Like a Chicken Day

It kind of seemed like we were celebrating Mother's Day on Saturday this year with Peter preparing and planting the garden for me and taking care of the kids all day. But on actual Mother's Day, I woke up to this outside the bedroom door:

The kids sang at church and they did a good job. Then we got home and started celebrating National Dance Like a Chicken Day two days early. We danced like chickens.

Then we made chicken hats.

Then we drew chickens on eggs.

Then, after the kids went to bed, we cooked and packaged chicken.  Good times.

Mission calls

I've been thinking lately about when I got my mission call in the mail.  There are lots of kids in our ward getting mission calls lately, and one should get his today.

I have two favorite memories of when I got my mission call.  The first is when my parents called me to tell me it came and we agreed to meet at a place half way between where I was and where they were.  I went running up to the kitchen and the guy I was living with (oh that sounds bad) asked if it had come.  I said yes and he asked where I was going.  I said Hammet (the town where I was meeting my parents.  He asked where that was.  It was pretty funny.

Then when I opened my letter the first thing my mom saw was a passport application, and she said, "Passport application! why do you need a passport application?!?"  I laughed and told her it was my letter not hers and to stop looking at things. 

And I had no idea how to say Donetsk.  I think the nearest I could think of was like doughnuts. 

And no I'm vicariously excited for my friend who has her son's mission call in her house and is trying not to open it.  I don't know if I could do it.  Luckily I have a lot of time until that might happen to me.

Dinosaurs

Benton: Brita, can you guess what my favorite dinosaur is?
Brita: A T-rex?
Benton: No.
Brita: A triceratops?
Benton: No. It sounds like this: RAWR.
Brita: A T-rex?
Benton: Yep.

Mima and Irene

Mima calls Irene "Ene."  She always has to repeat it a few times so I know what she's talking about.  I just learned that Mima can say the other kids' names really well, she just doesn't do it usually. 

Mima like to parent.  Whenever Brita and Benton start to fight she starts yelling, "Guys!  Guys!"

I always know when Irene is spitting up because Mima will start to gag and dry heave.  It's pleasant.

Mima also likes to let me know when Irene is sad.  If I'm somewhere that Irene is not and Irene is crying, Mima will come up to me and say, "Sad. Sad."  

Irene has been sick for about five weeks of her life.  She really needs to kick this cold and start gaining weight.  She looks so little compared to the other kids' pictures when they were her age.

It's a baby!

Irene Elisabeth McNabb was born last night (Friday the 11th) at 7:28. She weighed 8 lbs 12 oz and was 20 3/4" long. She's really cute, in case there were any doubters out there. Mom and baby are both doing fine. Hopefully we'll get home this morning.

Random pictures from this summer and fall

 

Mima

When I tuck the blankets around Mima for a nap or for bed I say, "Tuck, tuck, tuck" as I'm doing it.  Now she says, "tck, tck, tck," too.  It's pretty stinking cute.

Benton

Benton is so excited to go to primary today and to have Brother and Sister Martinez as his teachers.  They were Brita's teachers this last year and for the last two weeks he's gone to class with her (because they are about the nicest people you will ever meet).  In October we had stake conference, general conference, a temple open house, and Mima started going to nursery.  After that Benton just flat out refused to go any more.  So he mostly came to primary with me.  The nursery kids (who will be this year's Sunbeam class) started coming in for singing time in December and Benton just stayed sitting on the front row.  He would participate in singing time and sharing time (sometimes sharing too much--like the time he told everyone that they hadn't bathed before church for a month [which isn't true, for the record]).  Anyways, he's so excited.

Since he had been in both senior and junior primary singing time for a few months he knew the songs for the Christmas program really well.  He and Brita were both really excited about going up and singing in sacrament meeting.  We reminded Benton before he went up that he should sing loud but pretty.  Probably shouldn't have done that.  He sang pretty.  And about three times the volume of everyone else.  He knew every word, though.

Peter played an organ solo the same day and wowed everyone there by using the chimes on the organ.  The bishopric said it was pretty funny to see everyone's expressions when the bells started.  Afterwards people would come up to Peter and say, "That was so great--who knew Benton could sing that loud."  I think Peter felt a bit ripped off in the complement department. ;)

Easy peasy.

Me: Are you ready to have four kids?
Peter: Yeah!  Are you?
Me: No.
Peter: See, it's really easy, you just get up in the morning and go to work.. And by the time you get home it's almost time for bed.