Christmas

Christmas started off at about 6 am. The kids gathered at the top of the stairs ready to tear down the wrapping paper that prevented them from getting a sneak peak. The kids each opened a gift and played with it while Erin, Mario, and I made donuts for breakfast (Eric's pick). Then after cleaning up, we opened another gift each and played with that. We stretched out the gift opening until about 11:30. Then it was time for our yummy Christmas dinner: ham, twice baked potatoes, and yummy Erin rolls.

This was our first year without Santa. Instead, we gave the kids money to buy more expensive gifts for each other. It was a success and the kids want to repeat it next year. They were very excited to give each other their gifts.

Opening up first gifts

Erin's new scarf made by Grandma

Erin's gift to Eric-Prince Caspian and Wii Super Mario Bros

Zach's gift to Erin...gift certificate to riding stable

Eric's gift to Nathan...Agent's Command Center

Nathan's gift to Zach...Didj game system

Zach riding new bike at 6:30 am...cold and dark

Nathan's new bike

Erin has turned into Eric...always reading!

Final gift...Wii Sports Resort

Adopt-A-Bairman

Last week, Mario went to a deployment briefing. I was supposed to go but wasn't feeling up to it. They briefed him on some of the special programs that they have for families of the deployed member. Some of these benefits include free oil changes, free dinners, and special events. One of these special events was called Adopt-A-Bairman. Our whole family was invited to go to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum yesterday so the kids could build a special bear. Each bear came with a chip in it so the deploying member of the family can record a special message to each of his kids that they can listen to while he is gone.

We got to the event a little late because we had the piano recital first. But the timing was great because our family was the only one left to build our bears. So the base Public Affairs office took tons of pictures of our family and asked to interview Mario for the base news. I got a little teary eyed when Mario had to record his messages to the kids. He asked each of the kids what they wanted him to say. Most said simply "I love you." But Eric wanted Mario to say a phrase that Mario frequently says..."Stand by."

I know we are one of the lucky families. We will get to communicate with Mario almost daily. My heart goes out to those families whose husband/father is deployed to remote parts of Afghanistan or Iraq and have very little contact.

Piano Recital

The big kids had their piano recital this morning. We enjoy these recitals because we see that we are getting our money's worth out of all these lessons. Erin has been asking for a baby grand piano just like her teacher's. I keep telling her to get a full ride scholarship to college and then we can talk about it. It doesn't make much sense for us to get one while Mario's in the military since we move so often. In fact, I have counted 6 piano teachers in 5 years. Wow! It is amazing to see all their different teaching styles. I think the kids' favorite is still Mr. Garcia from Monterey. But for the price he charged, he better be good. Their teacher now, Julie Izatt is very good too (and much cheaper even though she thinks she is expensive, almost half of Mr. Garcia.)

Sick of Being Sick

I have had this horrible cold for a week and a half now. Just when I think I am getting better, I get worse. Our ward Christmas party was last night and just before it started, I had to go lay down. Eric was very sweet and offered to stay home with me and make me dinner. He made some yummy burgers and fries. He even agreed to watch Super Nanny and Dateline with me. I know Eric doesn't like me to blog about him, but I had his permission on this one (I noticed he didn't complain about the Kirby blog either.)

Kirby

Eric loves all Kirby Heyborne's silly LDS movies. So when Kirby came to the LDS bookstore in Tucson, Eric insisted on being taken out of school early to go get his autograph. I felt a little guilty about pulling him out of school. The office staff, I think, just assumed I was taking him out to lunch and bringing him right back like always. But I wrote down on the sign out sheet lunch and personal under reasons for signing him out. I didn't really want to explain in case they gave me a hard time. We had a quick lunch at Subway, shopped at Toys R Us for a few minutes and then headed to the bookstore to wait in line. Over an hour later, Kirby still hadn't showed up and I had to leave to get the younger kids from school. Fortunately he pulled up as we were leaving and a woman standing in line ran out to bring Eric a pen. She convinced Eric to go over to the car and ask for his autograph. It made Eric's day. It made my day having a few hours to spend with Eric alone. He is such a great kid.

Overcoming My Fears

Mario and I were supposed to go to the range yesterday, but I wasn't feeling well. I asked if we could go today instead but he couldn't because he had training all day at work. I decided that I would go anyway. If you remember the first/last time I went to the range, I locked myself in the truck and didn't want to get out, I was so scared of all the gunfire I could hear in the distance.

I decided that I needed to overcome my fears (like I always tell my kids) and just do it. I called the range to make sure they would assist me if I needed any help loading my gun and setting up my target. All the employees are so nice and helpful. I guess they want to see me succeed and be a responsible gun owner. I felt confident that I made a good choice in picking out my gun when the first guy (a customer) made a comment about what I nice revolver I had. One employee helped me get all set up and made sure I knew what I was doing. I have to say, that extra money spent on a laser was really worth it. I put all the bullets except for 1 through the man on the target's chest (I hit him once in the face. Oops.)

The whole time I was shooting, I was thinking..."These people are crazy letting an inexperienced person like me shoot." They put a lot of trust in me that I was not going to make any fatal errors. It kind of reminds me of how when you have your first baby and they let you take him/her home from the hospital and you have no idea what you are doing. How could they trust me with this new baby? Today I was thinking, how could they trust me with this weapon? Not only do you have to trust yourself to be careful, but everyone else around you too.

Stake Conference

Today is Stake Conference. Apparently we weren't clear about which conference it was when we told the kids about it yesterday. The three younger kids each walked into our room this morning excited about not having to get dressed today. They thought we would be lounging around in pajamas all day to watch General Conference on our television. Imagine their disappointment when we told them it was Stake Conference and yes they would all need showers. I think Erin took it the hardest.

Early Christmas Present

Mario has been begging me to get a revolver that is easy for me to handle. I told him that I wanted to pick it out. So after researching guns this morning, we went to a gun show (just a coincidence that one was in town this weekend). I picked out the gun I wanted, but insisted on having laser grips. So we found a shop in town that sells exactly what I was looking for. I don't think Mario will let me pick out any more guns, it cost him a lot more than what he expected (he used his TDY money to fund the purchase.) But I love my new gun and the kids are jealous of the cool laser. Now maybe I can actually hit my target or at least scare the person who breaks into my house. I think I would be nervous having a laser pointed at me.

Instead of meeting for lunch dates at Subway or Jason's Deli, Mario and I will be meeting at the range for the next few weeks so I can be proficient before his deployment. I think I am turning into my sister. I never understood why she liked target practice. I am not sure I will like it as much as her, but it will be nice to learn to defend myself and my family if I ever need to. Mario is wanting me to take the concealed weapon course. Could you imagine me becoming a gun toting mom?

Running

I ran four straight miles on my treadmill today. That was the first time since I injured my knee in May or June. And my knee feels great. I don't run too fast, only about a 11 minute mile, but hopefully that will improve also as the muscles around my knee get stronger. I am so excited!

Gift to Return Already

Nathan got a really cool remote control helicopter for his birthday. He doesn't like to share it much because it is a bit fragile. But it is the favorite toy in the house right now, especially with the high living room ceiling (even Mario loves it.) So, I was really excited about a r/c stunt plane that I bought Zach for Christmas. But Zachary hit Nathan yesterday and then refused to take a punishment. So I told him that if he didn't comply I would return one of his Christmas gifts. The kids never take me seriously and probably for good reason. I am a big pushover especially to the twins. But once I said it, I had to follow through. So I finally got Zach to time out and I opened his gift in front of him and told him it was going back to Toys R Us. Of course that really humbled him and he begged for me to give him another chance. He has some money in the bank so he is begging me to take him to the store to buy his own. But I don't feel like that would be teaching him a lesson. Erin is asking to buy it from me too, but then Zach would get to play with it and it still wouldn't teach him a lesson. So I think the only thing to do is return it (or give it to Mario to play with when the kids are all asleep.) Zachary is one stubborn kid (reminds me of my brother Charlie....fortunately he turned out well.) I have been keeping the plane under the tree as a reminder to the kids not to get in any more trouble. I sure hope I don't have to return anything else.

Soon to be Teen

Eric has been showing signs that he is reaching those teens years. The most recent one, text messaging. For a while Eric was paying the $5 a month charge to have 250 text messages. But he quickly gave that up since he wasn't using it. Now a few months later I checked his usage and he had almost 100 text messages. At 20 cents each, that really starts to add up. Fortunately I called Verizon and they were able to backdate his text message plan and now he only owes me $5 instead of close to $20.

Mario thinks I need to lighten up, but he is the one that was opposed to text messaging in the beginning. I admit, I don't like Eric text messaging. Isn't it enough that we give him a phone? It is hard to let him grow up and be a normal teenager. I don't like what I see from most normal teens. I guess I am going to have to loosen up a bit. 250 text messages probably won't be enough either. He will probably have to upgrade to unlimited before I know it. But I don't think kids should be so attached to their phones. Why can't they just call each other? Why do they sit in firesides and text each other? That tells me they aren't getting anything out of it. I wonder how many are texting during Sacrament meeting. I don't know if I am going to survive the teen years. I want my kids to be well liked and not be nerds, but at what expense?

Lost Keys

Yesterday, when I went to check our mail, I realized that I had lost my mailbox and house keys. I was a little panicked because if I lost it at the mailbox then whoever found it would know what house the keys belonged to because our address is on our mailbox. Mario was coming home late that night but I knew that the last thing he would want to do is change out locks when he came home. So I went to Ace Hardware and bought a new deadbolt and installed it almost all by myself. I got stuck on how to put the back plate on so the neighbor helped me finish. I was pretty proud of myself. We had been wanting to change the locks on the house anyway so this gave us a big excuse to do it right away.

I think I watch too many Dateline murder mysteries because I was imagining someone coming in and killing me and the kids before Mario got home. Then he would come home and discover us but then be accused of the crime because there was no forced entry. No one knew I was missing my house keys. I thought about calling my mom and telling her but instead of freaking her out I decided to just change out the locks. Am I the most paranoid person on the earth?

Today Mario had to go to the post office and request them to change out our lock on the mailbox. Fortunately his key didn't work to open it and so they will replace the lock for free.

Spelling Bee

Today, Nathan went up against the other kindergarten spelling bee champs from the 5 other classrooms. I was really nervous for him but he didn't seem phased by the whole thing. I was trying to prep him for losing. I even had Erin talk to him about how she didn't win her school's spelling bee last year. Of course I was hoping for him to win, but I was afraid he would be crushed if he lost. Fortunately the words started pretty easy. His words were "no, go, and, see, today, like, blue, orange, and black." I may have forgotten a couple, but those are the ones I remember. I knew that he wouldn't get blue and orange but fortunately those words came up when he was just up against one other girl and she missed her words as well. So they kept going until one got their word right and the other missed. Nathan seemed very calm while I was completely nervous for him. I can't bite my nails anymore because of my braces, but if I could, I wouldn't have any left.

Nathan finally won with the word black. We will have to celebrate with chocolate cake (especially since Mario is coming home early.) We went to the store after the spelling bee and I told the boys they could get some candy to celebrate. Nathan finished off his candy and then traded his trophy to Zach for the rest of Zach's candy. I had to overrule that. But Nathan offered to share it with Zach.

It has been a good opportunity to have a little talk with Zach about how Heavenly Father has given us each different talents. I think he got the message when he started congratulating Nathan on his win. As a mom it was so nice to witness his kindness to his brother.

Nathan wants to wait until next week to surprise Mario with his trophy. Nathan will get his own surprise tomorrow morning when he wakes up and finds Mario home early. They get to surprise each other. I can't wait!

Finally some good news

Mario gets to fly home a week early from Norway. He told me he gets to fly home tomorrow night. He doesn't need the training that is offered next week.

Mario wanted to surprise me but decided not to because he was afraid I would get worried if I couldn't get a hold of him during all that flying time. He will get to surprise the kids at least.

Life is Good

So far we are having a good week. I made it through the twins birthday on Tuesday and Progressive Dinner last night. Tomorrow Nathan will compete in the school's spelling bee. I have been trying to prep him for that but he hasn't been too interested in practicing. I don't push him since he is only in kindergarten and he will have many opportunities to compete in the future.

We have implemented a few things to make time without dad a little easier on the family. We put karate on hold until at least next summer. That was the huge relief for me. I am a very scheduled person. I like to eat on time and go to bed on time. If I don't do those two things, I lose all patience. So eliminating karate is working out well. Since we gave up karate, the big kids now have time to take up guitar lessons (they are continuing with piano too). The teacher is very reasonable, only $15 an hour and she comes to my house so I just have to be home on Wednesdays between 4 and 5 pm.

The next thing I decided was to give the big kids opportunities to share in the cooking. Erin loves to cook so she would cook almost everyday if she could. My only issue with her cooking is that she likes to make things more tasty than healthy. She recently asked me if I like to modify recipes to make them taste better. I said no, I like to modify recipes to make them healthier. She likes to use spices that I never would think to use. Plus I have been buying a lot more butter since she started cooking. So with Mario being gone, I figured Eric, Erin, and I could each take 2 days a week to cook. Then we would order out or go out for the other dinner. I thought the kids would make simple meals, but Erin has already made turkey pot pie twice and tacos. Eric has plans to make lasagna tonight. I don't think I have even cooked once since Mario's been gone. So I may not even get my two turns this week. I was thinking we would have meals like grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade mac and cheese while Mario was gone, but apparently we will be eating better than ever with the kids cooking. I figure Eric's wife is going to thank me one day for all this cooking experience plus it will help him not starve on his mission.

The other thing I started was doing a 10 minute cleanup after dinner. It is amazing how quickly we can get the house cleaned up with 5 people helping. When the house is clean, pjs on, and teeth brushed, we sit down to read scriptures and watch one episode of a classic tv show. This treat at the end of the night helps the kids calm down and also helps me motivate them to do the 10 minute cleanup and get ready for bed.

Mario and I have been so blessed with such a wonderful marriage and family. Life is good.

Boring Blog

You know your blog is really boring when even your husband only skims them. Mario bought a mini computer with a camera before his trip so that we could Skype everyday. I feel bad for the kids, but with the 8 hour time difference, only I am home when Mario gets back to the hotel. So he and I get to chat for an hour or two in uninterrupted quietness before he goes to bed.

So today I asked Mario if he had read my blog about the boys' birthday yesterday. He hadn't and so he looked it up. He complained that it was too long. So then I started quizzing him on what I wrote. It was obvious he didn't read the whole thing.

So I apologize for writing a long, boring blog. But maybe 40+ years from now when I turn my blog into a book (since it is my journal) maybe he will appreciate my long entries. He complained when Eric and Erin were little that I took too many home videos. Now when he watches them he wishes we had more. So I know he will be thankful in the future.

BTW, I love Skype. It makes being apart so much easier and the best part is that it is free (except for the cost of the mini computer).

6th Birthday

Wow, I can't believe it has only been 6 years since I was lying in that hospital bed. I remember it was the most uncomfortable I have ever been. I wasn't allowed to move because the doctors had put a heart monitor on Zach.

Today started with the smoke detector beeping because of a low battery. So I was up at 4 in the morning researching how to take the thing apart to get the battery out. I figured I may as well stay up and do my exercise and then make the boys some biscuits for their birthday breakfast. While on my treadmill at 5:30, Erin came in the room and asked if she could make the breakfast to surprise the boys. Wow, it must be great to have a big sister like Erin! Plus it is great for me to have a daughter like Erin.

The boys got an early morning call from Norway (dad) to wish them a Happy Birthday. After breakfast, I thought the boys would beg to go to the store to spend their birthday money, but they didn't even ask and I didn't suggest it. We made fruit kabobs for them to bring to their class at school. The school doesn't allow junk food. I am not a fan of junk food, but I did think it would be easier and cheaper if I could just make cupcakes or brownies.

Zach had a hard morning. He thought that because it was his birthday, he was entitled to be a brat. When I threatened to send him to bed early, he told me that I couldn't send him to bed early because it is his birthday. Of course I didn't buy into his logic.

After school, we ordered pizza (which is a huge treat at our house) and watched the movie "Up." Instead of cake, the boys picked out ice cream treats at the store that I normally always say no to when they ask if we can buy them. The movie and pizza went well except I think the twins decided they like my pizza better than Papa Johns.

Zach found out that I was serious when I told him that I would send him to bed early. He started screaming and fighting with his siblings and I had to put him to bed. All the way up he insisted he shouldn't have to go to bed early because it was his birthday.

I went downstairs and read scriptures with the other 3 kids and then we began our annual tradition of counting down to Christmas. We wrap up 24 Christmas books and we open one each night leading up to Christmas. I felt bad that Zach missed out so I read scriptures with him in bed, but I wouldn't read him the Christmas story. Hopefully he will learn his lesson (or just go through life thinking I am the meanest mom ever.) Somehow he always seems to have forgiven me by the next morning (and I have forgiven him too...I am convinced this is why we go to bed at night...so we can like our children again.)

Time for Heat?

Erin has been begging for me to turn on the heat. She even offers me $5 to turn it on. I have resisted so far because we all have heater blankets to use while sleeping. But I became very tempted to turn it on when I looked at the temperature in my bedroom before jumping in the shower...61 degrees. I thought we were moving somewhere warm....burrrr! Fortunately the rest of the house is a little warmer than my room. The downstairs and kids' rooms are at 67 degrees. But it warms up during the day. I talked to Mario briefly this morning and he told me not to complain because it is freezing in Norway. But when I looked up the temperature, we only had 1 degree difference. I reminded him that he has a hotel with heat too.

Maybe I should stop being so darn cheap and turn on the heat. My house is one of the homes in the progressive dinner tomorrow night so maybe I will have to be a nice host and turn it on then.