Today I....

4am? 5am? Can't remember when the day officially began, because I had stayed up til 1am working on Halloween costumes, cleaning up and putting away all the groceries. I think Benson woke up around 4. His sleeping is getting so much better, but he's still not a consistent sleep-through-the-night-er.

7:30 am Wake up with a Lindy and a Benson in bed with me, and Gwen on the floor. Party in Mom and Dad's room! Finish feeding Benson, help the kids get dressed (in costume) and started on their routine while I get breakfast ready. Keeping it simple today to save on time; it's cereal and smoothies.

8:45 somehow rolls around and I realize that we have to hurry now! Miles works with the bunnies, Gwen and Lindy roll in garbage cans for the neighbors (dressed as the cutest Dorthy and Scarecrow you've ever seen. They even walk back to the house together holding hands! *sigh), and I clean up breakfast and pray Benson stays asleep so I can shower.

It's officially 9:15 and I realize a shower is out of the question. Maybe one day my life won't include compromises such as, "Should I shower or...finish my kid's Halloween costume? Should I shower or....go to the bathroom? Should I shower or...help my kid clean up the flour that got spilled all over the floor?" I sneak into my room where Benson is napping and stealthily get ready. I'm only 5 minutes into it, and Benson wakes up. Good thing I didn't shower! I try my best to look presentable and clean (A for effort?) and corral the kids into the car while Benson screams.

10am We make it to home school group at Katie's house! Should be a fun day today. In addition to history, we're having a Halloween party. We studied Australia and New Zealand in Medieval times this past week, so the kid's (Gwen and Lindy. Miles chickened out) treated us to a performance of the "Haka". :) Richie loves Polynesian stuff (thank you mission to Hawaii), and especially loves watching the "All Blacks" team play Rugby. The kids have learned the Haka, almost by osmosis. The kids make Boomerangs and do some aboriginal art. We break for lunch and then play some Halloween games. I love these women we home school with! They are so dedicated and creative.

1:45 I finally get us all out the door and headed home. I'm so looking forward to naps/quiet time! I'm gonna get my "Fixer Upper" on, and take a breath before the rest of the Tuesday craziness begins. Too bad we left home school too late and now both Lindy and Benson refuse to nap because they fell asleep in the car on the way home. Miles and Gwen keep coming out of their rooms needing something, and it just becomes too much. I stress eat two brownies and snap at my kids to "Get in the car! Now! Shoes on, now!!"

3:30 Since we've left WAY early for Gwen's dance, I drive to the library so the kids can turn in some Halloween pictures they've colored in exchange for some cheap plastic crap a prize. Miles is overjoyed with his "I love the Jazz" pin. His permanent teeth are coming in and of course they look a little awkward, but so darn adorable. Especially when he's so genuinely happy. We are still going to be way too early to dance, so I find a random road and drive. It was a surprisingly charming little detour, but knowing my sense of direction, I'll never be able to find it again. We drop Gwen off at dance.

4:15 Come home so I can feed Benson, let Miles and Lindy play a computer game, and call my Mom to talk. Get back in the car to pick Gwen up from dance. She had a wonderful time there today and tells us all about how another girl dressed up as Dorthy too and so they would chase each other and say, "Look, I'm chasing myself!" She thinks it's hilarious, and maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I swear when she talks and tells me about her friends and the funny things they say, I'm listening to a 16 year old. It feels like it's only a moment away, and I'm equal parts happy and sad about it.

5:15 Drop Miles off at his art class with some other home school friends. He's loved having this outlet, but the class isn't all that impressive. So my friend and I have decided we'll start our own art class with our kids. Like I need one more things on my plate...but I'm excited about this thing. While his class goes on, I take my 3 youngest, and BreAnn takes her 1 youngest, and we go to the nearby park and let the kids run around while we talk. The only time I stop socializing is when Lindy begs me to swing with her. She's been waiting patiently and the really cool swing is finally open. It's a swing where a small child can sit opposite an adult and swing together. It's hard to describe, but it's easily my favorite swing/park activity ever! We tease each other while we swing and she is SO happy. She laughs so much she gets hiccups and then chokes on her own spit. Now that's happy. ;) It was a perfect moment in an extremely hectic day.

6:30 Get home! YAY! Warm up some leftovers while Richie tries to comfort a crying Benson and help the kids clean up the house. Once I've got dinner ready for everyone else, I grab Benson to feed him. Richie and I actually have a conversation with each other for the first time all day. The kids get going on bath time and by 7:10, Richie is out the door to go on visits with the missionaries. I go to check on the kids (all three ended up in a tub together, which doesn't ever happen) and notice and someone who shall remain nameless, has peed in the tub. Really??? So I make them drain the tub and turn on the shower, which Lindy hates. Get them all dried, lotioned, pj-ed, and hair combed and then plop them down in front of the TV so that I can bathe Benson in peace.

7:30 I get Benson all undressed and as I pick him up to place him in the tub, I take a few extra seconds to kiss his sweet, perfectly full, lips. :) I'm holding him up to my face and enjoying his baby soft cheeks and that's when I realize....my shirt is soaked through with pee. Newborn pee is probably the cleanest pee, of all pee...right?? Still I'm debating if I should let him keep peeing on my shirt, or have him get more on the floor. Which is grosser? And in the split second it takes to decide, he's done both...thoroughly. Set him in the tub, clean up the floor, keep the shirt on.

8:00 Let the kids eat a cookie the neighbor brought over, help them brush teeth etc, help them read scriptures, Richie gets home in time for prayers. I exit to finally eat dinner, while Richie reads "Swiss Family Robinson" to the kids.

8:30 Richie and I see each other again for the 2nd time that day (pathetic) and as we chat, every kid comes out of their room at least once. By the 3rd or 4th time, I snap at the kids, and then sit, comatose, while Richie works on dishes and we re-watch a "Parks and Rec" episode.

11 pm Who knows where the last 2 hours went, but here I sit, therapeutically typing away, trying to decide if I should finish cleaning up the kitchen or just dream feed Benson and turn in... Maybe I should do neither, and instead, watch another "Fixer Upper" and stress eat yet another brownie... Ha!

All days are not this busy. (Thank goodness!) Tuesdays are our crazy days lately. And in case I have trouble reading between the lines of this post in years to come, I'll lay it all out just to be safe- I go through lots of emotions throughout the day. Today I was: exhausted, content, intimidated, inspired, genuinely happy, angry, despondent,burnt out, in love, giddy, anxious, stressed and very, very grateful.

Now I'm going to go change my shirt.

2nd week of October

We officially kicked off the Halloween shenanigans when we made my Grandma Crosby's apple dumplings and watched Disney's "Legend of Sleepy Hollow". Love this tradition. :)


We're so lucky to have Grandma Garner attend a lot of our homeschool group days! She keeps herself pretty busy, but frequently gives her time to help us when we get together as a group. She pitches in wherever she can be useful, but usually that means she is the official baby holder for Brendan and Benson. :)


Miles has passed off every single Bob book! I try to encourage other reading throughout the day, but the Bob books are what I use right alongside our other reading curriculum and they have to practice the book enough times that they can read it to me with no mistakes (unlike other free reading). Miles has worked hard to finish all of them and I'm very proud. Reading and the love of reading, don't seem to come naturally to him. And when we were working through this issues with his eyes at the beginning of kindergarten, I feel like it really put him behind in reading. So I'm very proud of of his efforts in this arena. He also hit some milestones with Math that week. So to celebrate, he and I went on a date. We went and got pizza at a restaurant and then we went grocery shopping. :) This one on one time with the kids has been so beneficial. When I get Miles alone, he's so happy and talkative and...light! Same for me, I think! When we got home and I had to put the official mom hat back on, I think it was a little sad for both of us. Richie took the two girls on a date that night to see a movie at the cheap seats. Hopefully these kids feel as special as we know they are!


The other night we put the kids down to bed, I went to the bathroom, and then I went to give them more kisses. I had only been away for maybe 5 minutes. I walked into the girls room and saw Lindy sitting in her bed...with a massive hair cut. I gasped and then saw Gwen hiding in the corner in the middle of a pile of Lindy hair and doll hair. I asked her if she cut Lindy's hair, and she said no. (Remember me mentioning her having a lying problem??)I said, "I don't think Lindy is capable of cutting her own hair, are you sure you didn't do it?" And Gwen said, "Well, she did. She just sat in front of this mirror so she could see what she was doing!" So then I turned to Lindy and said, "Lindy, did you cut your hair?" And in her own Lindy-ese, she said "I no, a-cut a-hair. Gwenny a-cut a-hair!" And then I hear Gwen, through her teeth say, "Liiindeee!"

Gwen got an earful from both her dad and I, then she cried and cried. The next day I took the kids to my (hair stylist) friend's house to do damage control and Gwen had to pay for the haircut with her own fun-money. I was hoping it would sting enough to make an impact, both in the way of ceasing using scissors for anything other than paper, and also in the lying department. I guess we'll see. Lindy is now rocking a cute, round, short bob. Besides the obvious lack of bangs, it almost looks like we did it on purpose. :)

Benson's Baby Blessing

With my niece Zadi getting married up north here, we decided to plan Benson's blessing for that weekend since most of my family would be up anyway! We were so grateful for everyone sacrificing their time to be with us and support Benson/our family. The more I grow up, the more I realize what a sacrifice it is to make it to these types of events. We had a little lunch at our house for the Crosby side since they were all heading back home right after sacrament meeting. Benson was thrilled and a perfect host. ;)

Whenever we bless a baby, and it gets to that moment when all of these important men and priesthood holders in my life circle around the baby, I just feel like it approaches Heaven on Earth. I try and take mental pictures, but I really wish I could take a real one. :) It's one of my favorite things. Richie blessed Benson to lead a faith filled life and to make sacred covenants in the temple and remain true to those promises, among other things. We talked before the blessing about his name and the men we have named him for. Ira is a family name on both sides of my family. Paris Ira Ashcroft is my paternal great Grandpa. Ira Nathaniel Hinckley is my maternal great, great Grandpa. One year I read both of their histories and I just knew that if we ever got another son, the name Ira needed to be in there somewhere. Both of those men were men of great courage and conviction, men who worked hard, and men who were tender. We took the name Benson from the prophet Ezra Taft Benson. When Richie and I got married, a few of his talks had great impact on some pivotal issues for us as we started our family. His stance on self-sufficiency specifically affected us. I read his biography a few years back and was truly impressed with what this great man accomplished in his life. From what I've read of his, he didn't mince words. He stood up for what he believed to be true. We hope our Benson will emulate some of these stellar qualities.

We had our Sunday dinner with the Garner side after church. It is such a blessing to go to the Garner's every Sunday for dinner! And even with all of this family time, and plenty of people to ask to snap a picture of our family of SIX, it still didn't happen. Boo. I guess I could put Benson back in his blessing outfit, make us all get dressed in our Sunday best and recreate the event. But I would know it was a fake and I'd feel like a fraud. :) So, no pictures of the proud parents flanking the newest addition on his big day. But I did snap a ton of the star of the show after church. Isn't he so handsome??? (You can thank Lindy for the gigantic scratch across his forehead.)




The "Money" shot


A bunch of other cute ones. :)

First week of October

Conference weekend! Growing up, Richie remembers always having a family work project during the Saturday sessions of conference. Many times it would be applesauce making. That was the case this year as well. It's so nice to share the burden with this particular project. Applesauce is an all day thing. It's a very involved process. But many hands make light work, right? The kids seemed to enjoy helping where they could, but the best part was playing the cousins all day long! :)



Sunday conference was more low key. We made our conference necklaces and tried to keep the kids quiet. :)


This is Benson's preferred way to sleep these days. Each day we are a tiny, tiny bit closer to turning him into a good sleeper.


The kids were so proud of themselves for putting this puzzle together all by themselves one day during quiet time. They ran out and demanded I take a picture. :)


I got to do some Halloween window painting. I love painting this time of year because the weather is so mild, however it was tricky to paint a little, then go home and nurse, then come back and paint etc... Life with a newborn, right?


My niece Zadi got married this past weekend! She's the first grandchild to get married on the Crosby side. It's the beginning of a new era and we were so excited to celebrate with family! As always, I should have taken more pictures! I can't believe I didn't even snap a quick one of the newlyweds! They are beautiful and in love, you'll just have to trust me. :) It's so great to be with family!

September!

What a whirlwind!! It seems like forever ago that we just had 3 kids, and yet it seems like just yesterday! Funny how that happens sometimes. Here's a few notables from the month of September that we managed to squeeze in while adjusting to having 4 kids.

The same weekend that Benson was born, we had a mini Garner family reunion. Ross and Amanda were in the process of moving back to Utah from Oregon, so we decided to get together. It was all kept very low key, so it was doable for moms with new babies. We were discharged from the hospital on the 2nd in the early afternoon, we went home and I showered and got myself and the kids ready, and then we went back to the Garner's house for family pictures. Ha! I can't win with family pictures this year. :) I'll have to post some here when I get them. They turned out great. The kids camped out in the Garner's backyard, we played at a nearby park, ate lots of good food with each other, listened to family history stories, yep, it was a good time.


A few days after Benson was born, we made the choice to put our dog Ozzy down. It was a tough choice, but the right one. He had been going steadily downhill for the past year or so. The past couple of months, he lost major control of his bladder. Our carpet was AWFUL. We kept on top of it as much as possible, but we had the carpets professionally deep cleaned right before Benson was born, despite the fact that we had just cleaned them a couple months previous. Right as we brought Benson home, Ozzy lost control of his bowels and his stomach. We were constantly cleaning up every bodily fluid possible. Yuck. We decided it was time, and made the call. I took him in the next day. We tried to prepare the kids as much as possible and I thought they would be a wreck about it. However, the morning came and Richie took pictures with the kids, and they all seemed just fine. No tears from the kids, just Richie and I. Ha! They frequently tell me they miss him though. We buried him in the backyard. Lindy can't stop telling everyone "Ozzy Die!" He was the best dog of all time. He spoiled me because now I don't want another dog, because it will never be as good as Ozzy.


My mom came up the next week to help out with the transition for 4 kids. I'm always so grateful for that motherly help. The ward was bringing food, my mom stayed on top of all the cleaning, so Richie and I were able to get some canning in! My mom did crafts with the kids, read them books, took them on outings etc etc etc, so that I could get some restful time with Benson. I felt like that first week home, I had to jump back into things quicker than normal, so it was so nice to have my mom here for that second week and feel a little spoiled. I should have taken more pictures!


Cute sisters sleeping:) They fight SO much. They also have so much fun together, so I guess it evens out, especially when they fall asleep holding hands.


One night before going to bed, Richie went to check on the kids and came out laughing so hard. He told me to get the camera and come in the girl's room. This is how we found Lindy. We were laughing and snapping pictures and then we heard a giggle coming from Miles's room. :) He was to blame for the set up. Gwen also had some artwork on her face, but nothing extensive. The next morning, I noticed Miles's face looked like it had marker on it but was washed off. I asked him if he colored on his own face also and he said, "Yeah, I did. Just to make it fair."


The kids and dad finished reading "Davy Crockett", so we celebrated. It's been a while since we've had a book party. It was fun to add that back into the swing of things. They did a Davy Crockett coloring page, we ate rabbit stew and biscuits (seemed fitting), and then watched the Disney version of the story, which the kids were enthralled with.



Here's some (low-light) Benson cuteness for ya.


We're slowly getting back into school. We took a couple weeks off, which was so needed, but when it was back to just me and the kids it was almost easier to get back into the school routine. It gives us all direction and purpose and helps break up the day in a meaningful way. We're still not going full steam, but it's nice being productive while we adjust. Here's Miles and Gwen working on part of our "math" for the day. :) We cut down our huge sunflowers and decided to use them to practice our fine motor skills (picking the seeds out with fingers and tweezers), and our math skills (estimating, counting, grouping etc). That sunflower had 1,200 seeds in it!


I've been dying to get the kids up in the mountains to see some of the beautiful fall colors. However, I've been more anxious going out and about with 4 kids than with any other transition. So, I stayed home with Benson and got some canning done while Richie took the 3 oldest to one of our favorite spots up by the Draper temple. I love this picture!!


Miles getting creative with the chalk. Quite the abstract artist eh?



Miles set a goal at the beginning of the Summer to earn $100 by the end of the season. He finally reached his goal and we went to the bank so that he could officially hold a $100 bill in his hands. He was almost shaking with excitement. Now he's working on getting his mission fund (currently $30) up to $100, and earning another $100 for his fun money.