It's a Chopper, Baby

Rex's hair has always been out-of-control; even his first hair cut at three weeks old couldn't tame the craziness. This morning, Adam and I had taken all we could bear and decided to get a jump on his Halloween ensemble by giving little Rexy a killer mohawk. He held very still and looks uber cool.

Rex loves to reach up and feel his spikes, and he gets a kick out of seeing his reflection in the mirror. We can't wait to see Coop's mohawk!

Miss Independent

Amber got to go to St. George with Adam earlier this week. It was her first trip without the other kids and I get the feeling she was livin' it up. Whenever I'd call to talk to her, she'd say, "Mom, I'm fine. I love you. BYE!" I'm glad she was able to spend some quality time with Adam and also with Jen, Merrick, McKay, and Olivia (thanks for watching her during meetings!).

They ate at lots of yummy places, hiked at Dixie rock, swam every day at the condo, and had a blast at Fiesta Fun Center. She's already asking when she can go back. It's so nice to know she missed me...he he.

Look how brave she is!

While hiking, Amber was Dora and assigned the roles of Boots and Swiper to Grandpa and Adam, respectively. She had a grand time leading them all over the place on an exploration.

Amber found a perfect stage and made Adam and Grandpa be the "yellers" in the audience while she performed. I love the attitude!

Isn't she a cutie?! I can't believe how quickly she's growing up.

Baptized by Water and by Fire

As most moms of small children know, cell phones have a short and miserable life in our clutches. I first realized this universal law when Amber was two years old and my prized phone fell out of my pocket and into the tub while bathing the girls. Since I'm too cheap to buy a phone that costs more than $25, I quickly rescued my SIM card and plugged it into a twenty-dollar GoPhone from Walmart.
Adam was kind enough to give me his used Razr when he was eligible for a new, free phone, and that one met its fate one night when it fell into the toilet (yet another bathing-of-the-children incident). You can bet I wasn't going to use that phone again, and luckily I was eligible (finally) for a free phone. I was thrilled to get the updated version of the first phone I had baptized; it's a great model by Sony-Ericsson and it's so green and cute!
Last Thursday as we prepared for cheer class, I repeatedly asked Amber to refrain from filling the bathroom sinks with water. As I picked up the laundry from the bathroom floor, my phone flew out of the pocket of my sweatshirt and right into the full sink. It sank before I could grab it and the malfunctions began immediately.
I quickly removed the battery and SIM card and put the phone in a bowl full of dry rice. 24 hours later, I could receive calls on it, but couldn't use the "back" button. After a few days, it was as good as new and I was so relieved.
Can you imagine my horror when last night, as I washed my hands, my phone jumped out of my sweatshirt pocket and right into the sink again?! What is it with me and phones in bathrooms? I never actually use my phone in the bathroom, so why am I cursed to have it leap from its protected surroundings and into any body of open water?
Panic mode struck as I hurried to disassemble the phone. I remembered that my sister-in-law told me how her sister's Blackberry took a dive in the pool and was resuscitated by a stint in a warm oven. I was so skeptical, but honestly, what did I have to lose at that point? I heated the oven to 200 degrees, made a nice and comfy bed from a cake pan lined with paper towels, and tucked the poor, water-logged body of my favorite phone into its place. I turned off the oven, threw it in, and hoped for the best.
Success! My phone works like a charm, all the buttons have their original functions, and all that's left of the water is a few droplets under the screen. Thank the heavens!

Get Right Up In Her Face

While at Kangaroo Zoo, Rex experienced the not-so-fun phenomenon of sharing playspace with much older, rowdier boys. He left the infants' jumping area in a heartbroken huff, and on his way out was greeted by an adorable girl of about two and a half. I thought she was going to Rex to offer him some consolation, but instead she put a hand on each of his shoulders and shoved him to the ground. Rex couldn't believe anyone would do such a thing, and he sat on the ground and sobbed. A few seconds later, though, he stood up, put his nose an inch from the girl's, clenched both fists, and screamed as loud as he could. His hands shook and his eyes blazed with rage. I was so proud of him for 1) standing up for himself and 2) letting that little girl have a piece of his mind without inflicting physical pain. It was just awful for me to have to get up and tell Rex and the little girl to be nice, because inside I was thinking, "That's what you get, you little brat!" Aren't I terrible? Bottom line: don't mess with Rex...or his mama.

The Funnest Day

Today we were busy, but it was good business that kept us hopping. We woke up early and got ready for Karli's cheer class. The girls all did a wonderful job and things went fairly well even though I lost my magnificent assistant and desperately feared teaching the class by myself. They're learning a routine for competition season and they are adorable! Karli balanced in her headstand all by herself and only threw one major fit...isn't it sad that one fit at class is an accomplishment?
Next, we came home to eat a yummy lunch of sandwiches and tomato soup in sippy cups. That's right, even I had my soup in a hot pink sippy cup to promote cleanliness at the table among my children. I felt so weird, but Karli got a big kick out of it. Plus, anything to save a mess is worth a little shame on my part!
Then Karli and I headed to my 28-week checkup. I only gained two pounds over the past month (YAY!) and got to set my induction date for December 17th (even bigger YAY!). Nurse Hailey and Nurse Deana were super nice to Karli (as usual...they are the best!); she got two Ariel stickers, paper and a pen, a special assignment from Deana to hug me every day, and she even got to press the button on the Doppler to measure baby's heartbeat. I scheduled all of my appointments up to my delivery date, and they are all printed out on a long strip of paper like a grocery receipt. This means I now have my own count-down chain just like those that elementary school kids make. Only 11 weeks left!
Upon our return, we got a call from Leslie with news that we were invited to Kinzie's birthday dinner, so we packed up and left for Winger's. Rex and Karli wolfed down their "baby hot dogs" and fries, and I got to enjoy a whole plateful of sticky fingers. Leslie wrangled Rex during dinner and my meal was fairly peaceful. It was grand.
After dinner we all ended up at Kangaroo Zoo. To my delight, Karli was 100% more brave than she was at our last visit; she went on all the slides and even climbed the tallest tower all by herself. Rex had a blast, too, and when it was time to go home, I had to pry both of them out of the building. As I buckled Karli in her seat, she happily exclaimed, "Mom...this was the FUNNEST day!" I have to agree...it was pretty great.

Girl Party...Plus Rex

Adam took Amber to Saint George with him for business meetings this week, so Karli, Rex, and I are hanging out and having fun. Last night, we went for a walk to wear off some of the pent-up energy that seems to be constantly brimming from Rex's little body. Karli rode her Dora tricycle all the way to my parents' house and back (okay, okay...it's not far!), and she was so proud to go faster than Rex and me. Then, Angela, Marianne, and Kinzie came over for a "Hannah Montana: The Movie" and, according to Karli, "apple caramel" party. We used pre-made caramel and dipped some yummy Fuji apples; it was both simple and delicious. The best part about the whole evening: the morning after. Both kids are still asleep and it's well past their usual 7:00 a.m. wake-up time. I love it! Hopefully I'll be able to get a few projects finished before I have to go back to caring for three kids, one of whom is an early riser and likes to spread the joy of awaking before 7:00 a.m.

Here's to a Better Week

The last ten days or so have been full of not-so-fun moments and particularly hard for me to handle, so I'm really excited that yesterday was the beginning of a new week. To kick start our self-determined week of fun, we made tin foil dinners last night with Mette and Hanna. The weather was perfect (just cool enough for a sweatshirt, but warm enough to eat outside), the food was yummy, and the girls played together in such a sweet, adorable way.

More good news: I'm officially in my last trimester. Woo hoo! If I had my way, I'd make the human gestational period six months long. I'm so sick of being pregnant and can't wait to get my body into some kind of acceptable shape again.

Even more good news: I'm almost caught up on my mountainous pile of laundry and the kitchen floor will actually get mopped today. Dinner is in the crock pot and I'm excited to go teach my darling little team of Dazzle cheerleaders (they're awesome!).

Now, all I need to do is crank up some Black Eyed Peas and prepare for a week that'll be busy and full, except funner!

Amusing Insight

Last night, Amber joined Adam and me in bed because she had a scary dream. After and hour or two, she informed me that if I carried her into her room, wrapped her in her blanket, and gave her a stuffed animal, she would be okay to sleep alone. Gladly, I obliged and was stunned to hear about her dream the next morning. It was creepy, sophisticated, and validly scary. She then went on to explain that she has lots of scary dreams involving talking mud puddles (according to Amber, those puddles are mean and very creepy). She also told us that Gingerbread Man (from Shrek) can hop around even though he doesn't have arm or legs and that he tells other people to sneak into their room to scare her and Karli.

Tonight, both girls started screaming and crying the moment we mentioned bedtime, saying they didn't want the same dream to happen again (Karli was convinced she'd have it, too). They were legitimately freaked out, and I had to build a fence around their bed with their comforter. I've never been a fan of lying by them at bedtime ("Self soothe" is my mantra when it comes to my kids), but I gave in and sat on their floor until they were asleep. Every light in their room is on (that means three), and we said a special prayer for them to be brave. Let's hope it works!

I think the reason I was sympathetic to their plight is that when I was young, I had a recurring dream that I was having a tea party with Hello Kitty and her friends in a logging yard. The men working there were dirty, loud, and scary, and this dream plagued me until I was a teenager. I always thought those mean guys would throw a humongous log at me or try to kidnap my animated friends. It seems so ridiculous now, but I remember how the dream bothered me. I hope that Amber and Karli's ultra-scary dreams don't haunt them more than once, for their sake and mine. After all, bedtime is the sacred hour in our house. I need my sanity!

The Five-Hour Cleaning Lesson

Yesterday was room-cleaning day. At 4:30 p.m., Adam tackled the upstairs bathroom (thank you!), I dug our room out from under three weeks' worth of washed-but-not-folded laundry, two garbage bags full of papers and miscellany, plenty of our kids' toys, etc. Amber and Karli were charged with cleaning their room, which happens weekly, so it wasn't a huge task. They've been cleaning their own room for a year now, so I didn't think it would be a big deal.
When we heard the complaints and could clearly see that nothing was being picked up, we told them they couldn't swim with their cousins until the job was finished. Two hours later, their room was an even bigger mess and they were both crying because they were hungry. We said, "Hurry and clean your room and then you can eat dinner," but that gave them absolutely no motivation. Amber kept lamenting, "We're just little kids and we don't know any better!" (her new favorite excuse for everything) and "It's too hard!" I replied with a kind but stern explanation that they've been cleaning their room for a year and that they were actually big kids (it's a relative term, right?). Still, no progress.
Finally, after Adam and I finished our jobs, fed ourselves and Rex dinner, put him to bed, sat in the hot tub, showered, and I did two more batches of laundry AND a pedicure, and after Amber and Karli had screamed and cried for an hour straight about cleaning their room, Adam and I went in to be available in case they had questions. It was so hard for me not to put the girls to bed and finish the job myself, but Adam reminded me to let them do it and at 9:25 p.m., the room was finally clean.
I'm really looking forward to the day when they realize that whining about tasks only prolongs the misery. I think I was nine or ten years old when the epiphany struck me, so hopefully we only have seven more years of these ridiculous events!

My Sweet Cousin Hayden

Hayden Sean Housel 2/7/1990 ~ 9/11/2009
Hayden Sean Housel was welcomed with open arms into the world on February 7, 1990.On September 11, 2009, our beloved Hayden peacefully returned to his loving Heavenly Father. Hayden was a member of the LDS Church. Hayden attended Bingham High School and graduated from Horizonte before attending Salt Lake Community College.
He excelled at many sports from the time he was a little boy. He played on high school football, golf, and lacrosse teams. He also played on the South Jordan Slammers, a competition baseball team. He loved to snowboard and play the piano as well.
To know Hayden is to love him. He had the biggest heart in the world. He loved his friends and large extended family. He had a special connection with children and babies. They loved his gentle heart and soft touch. Hayden loved the Dallas Cowboys and spent the last weekend of his life attending football games in the new Dallas Cowboys stadium with family members. He also loved the New York Yankees. One of the highlights of his life was a trip with his family to New York to watch the Yankees play. He enjoyed spending time with his family and had a special relationship with his cousins. Hayden also had many special friends who supported him and brought him great joy through his life.
He is survived by his parents, Sean Housel of South Jordan and Mary Ann Rydalch Housel of West Jordan; his brothers, Preston and Hunter Housel and his sister, Isabella, all of West Jordan; his grandparents, Don and Doralee Rydalch of Sugar City, Idaho, and Karen Housel of Murray; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Wayne Housel.
Funeral services will be Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009, 11 a.m. at the River LDS 6th Ward, 7350 South 1300 West. A viewing will be held Monday, Sept. 14, 6-8p.m. at Jenkins Soffe South Valley at 1007 West South Jordan Parkway (10600 S) and on Tuesday from 10-10:45 a.m. at the Church.Online condolences at http://www.jenkins-soffe.com/ Hayden, our hearts are broken. We miss you more than you will ever know. We love you and will think of you every day until we can hold you in our arms again.
Hayden was the sweetest boy and I'm so sad to know that he won't be here to play with my kids and talk with me about the musical preferences we shared. I know he's now on an important mission on the other side of the veil, and I'm thankful to know that we will see him again. I'll miss you terribly, dear cousin, but I'll cherish all the fun times we had!

Yumness

I have always had an affinity for black licorice, and my pregnancy hormones magnify it to an unhealthy degree. I can eat a whole bag of Black Vines in one day, so you can imagine my delight when Mette, my friend from Denmark, introduced me to Danish licorice. It's super salty and so yummy. She gave me my very own bag of Haribo Lakrids the other day and I was in heaven! My sister Allison (on a mission in Denmark) also loves it, so here's hoping she'll bring me a massive stockpile when she comes home in March. Gotta love junk food!

Our Trial of the Month

Karli's right eye had been crossing once in a while, so I finally took her to a pediatric ophthalmologist and she was diagnosed with "severe near-sightedness" in that eye. Since the doctor seemed to be very rushed, I didn't catch the scientific name of her condition and was too flustered to ask about it again, but the coating around her optic nerves didn't wear away like it was supposed to and her vision is very bad in the right eye. Hence, she is now in glasses with a super-thick lens and required to wear and eye patch on her left eye "from the moment she wakes up until one hour before bedtime" according to the doctor.
She got her glasses on Monday afternoon, so we put them on her with the patch. She couldn't even see five inches in front of her and was completely frustrated. It broke my heart when I pointed out a butterfly that was resting on a flower. She put her face right up to it and sobbed, "I can see ANYTHING!" I had to fight back my own tears and tell her how great it was for her to be able to exercise her right eye. She seems to be doing better now, and even though we have to fight with her every time she needs a new patch, she's focusing a bit and can see a few things with her right eye.
Karli is supposed to wear "sticky patches" which are like eye-shaped bandages with adhesive all around the edges, but her poor skin gets pulled off every time we remove a patch and is sore, cracked, and irritated. I made her this flannel patch that slides right over her glasses, but I had to throw it away today because she cheats when she wears it.
The eye doctor said that six weeks of faithful patch wearing usually does wonders for kids with this condition, but there's no way to know for sure. We'll either be singing praises of joy in five weeks or gearing up for a long road of patches, tantrums, nagging, and the like.
One thing that has made this awful process bearable is all the great support we're getting from our families and friends. Everyone has been so wonderful, telling Karli how cute she looks with her pirate patches and Dora glasses, buying her fun rewards, encouraging her, etc. We couldn't do it without you!
All in all, though, Karli is a great little trooper and looks so precious in those tiny glasses. She carries around her Sleeping Beauty mirror and checks herself out all the time, which is darling, and we have loads of cool stickers for her to decorate her patches. Amber has been a wonderful helper, too. She takes such good care of Karli and helps her climb, walk, and navigate rough terrain, using her perfect "bossy skills" to ensure that Karli leaves her patches on. I'm proud of both my sweet little girls!

Current Events Are a Big Deal in Our House

I am always interested in the news and watch it every day. However, I am not nearly as obssesed as the rest of the Clark family (I do not watch Fox News all day long...only an hour or two). It made me so proud when Karli told me the following today at church:

Speaker: "...and that's what we learn from Cain's experiences."

Karli: "Hey! He said 'Cain'. I know John McCain. He tried to be president but he's not. Now only Barack Obama is the president of us, but not in our church...just in America."

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry because I was so amazed; I couldn't believe that she rememberd the 2008 presidential election (we were not fans of either candidate but watched a healthy dose of coverage), let alone the name of the losing candidate. I'm so proud of my little political junkie. Watch out you Beltway Boys, here she comes!

Doughnut Recipe

Okay, okay, I should have just included the link in my previous post, but here it is: the doughnut recipe. Once the doughnuts came out of the oil, I rolled them in a mix of the following:

1 cup granulated sugar
2 T cinnamon
2 t ground ginger
1/2 t ground cloves

The chocolate glaze recipe can be found here. Both options are completely delicious. Happy cooking and even happier eating!

My Creations of Late

I've been busy doing projects while enjoying my last two weeks of vacation from teaching; here are just two of the items I've crafted:

I made this carseat slipcover for Karli since her chair was becoming faded, torn, and completely crusted with disgusting material like crumbs, spilled milk, old french fries, and the like. I have to brag about fabric procurement: there is an awesome store in Draper called Design Company Fabrics. Every once in a while, they send me a coupon for one free yard of fabric valued up to $30. I had two coupons, so the Passion Suede (usually $30 per yard) I used in this project was totally free. Nice, 'eh? I used scraps and leftover buttons to make the flowers and it turned out to be really cute. The flowers are also removable so I can use this chair for our new baby when Karli outgrows it.

Next, my sister Marianne and I made these doughnuts that were divine! My favorites were those coated in sugar and spice mix, but all three toppings were delicious and I, of course, ate way too many. The dough itself was fragranced with a bit of nutmeg, which completely made the doughnuts. I think I may have to make this a Thursday tradition.

I also made a three-layer chocolate cake with 7-minute frosting for my dad's birthday party, and today I think I may paint the basement bathroom a divine color called Pyramid Gold (by Behr). We'll see how ambitious I feel!

Top Ten

Randomly, I feel like I want to share the ten things that delight me and the ten things that irk me at this moment.

Ten things I love right now:
1. Sewing
2. Crystal Light with lots of ice
3. String cheese
4. Abdominal crunches with my Body Ball
5. Sore abdominal muscles due to #4
6. Concerts
7. Rex's newfound cheesey smile
8. My kids' notice of recently-cleaned rooms
9. Alone time
10. Vacation from teaching

Then things I can't stand right now:
1. Neediness
2. Whining
3. Slow computers
4. Hot weather
5. Living in limbo
6. Debt
7. Bananas
8. Waking up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night
9. Facebook quizzes
10. Doing laundry

Thank Heavens I'm No Pioneer

Today, the temperature in Alpine maxed out at nearly 100 degrees. Hot, yes. Bearable, usually...especially when there's a swimming pool in the back yard and a nice, cool basement for retreat. HOWEVER, all these wonderful extra hormones in my body make the heat so miserable that no matter what I try to cool off, my sweaty forehead continues to glisten and my elbow creases never dry.
The upstairs air conditioner went out today, so it was 87 degrees when I last went into my bedroom and I wanted to cry! How lame am I? I know I am thoroughly spoiled and freely admit it, but come on...I could barely breathe!
I can't imagine how awful life must have been for the early Utah settlers who trekked across the United States in covered wagons, long-sleeved-petticoated-high-necked dresses and shoes (or no shoes...even worse!) and am very thankful that they were strong enough to do it so I don't have to. I'd much rather be a "pioneer of the 21st century" and find clever ways to avoid cyber addictions, text-bullies of my children and the like. I'm just not cut out to be a hardy, pregnant lass during the summer heat!

The Holy Ghost Told Me

Today was a hard day for all of us; the kids didn't take naps, so everyone in the house suffered. One of the many meltdowns occurred when Amber wanted an ice cream sandwich like the other kids, but none was left. I offered her a cup of ice cream instead, and she proceeded to throw a gigantic fit yelling to all of our visitors and neighbors, "My parents are so mean!" After she had calmed down enough to be reinstated to civilization, she came to me and said, "Well, the Holy Ghost told me to come tell you that you are being too mean to me!" I had to bite my lip not to laugh. She is a crafty little kid, but I love her imagination and cunning ability to manipulate almost any situation. I'm SO excited for adolescence.

Don't Drink the Water

Lest you be stricken, too, by the lovely baby bump, stay away from the Clark home! Here I am with my three sisters-in-law, breaking every rule about not photographing us poor, pregnant ladies until we've had at least three months to recover from the child-bearing ordeal.

Aren't we a sight to behold?

Even though it's pretty darn annoying to have not one, but FOUR pregnant gals in a house at one time ("Where's the ice!?" "Why is it 75 degrees in here?!" "If I hear one more scream from you kids...!"), it is so fun to all be in the same miserable yet miraculous boat and have a great support system with all the wonderful, patient, kind, and semi-understanding men and one fantastic mom/mother-in-law in the family.

A Gentleman's Sport

It's official: Rex loves golf. About two months ago, he found a plastic golf club in the closet and began toting it around with him. Eventually, he learned to putt, and his first phrase was "golf ball". Now, he won't ever let go of his club and ball (I have to pry them from his hands to change his clothes or put him to bed) and he's becoming quite the preppy little athlete (if you can call golf an athletic event). Adam took him outside today for a manly game in the front yard.









Hopefully, his golfing abilities will translate into other sports and Rex will be the outright winner of the perpetual Man Test involving all of the Clark nephews.