So tonight I am feeling a little overwhelmed about all of my records. I was feeling pretty good thinking I was mostly caught up on the blog, just a few pictures to post from my phone. I thought I had just a few on Marty's phone as well, but as I imported them it was more like 600! Then I made this goal that I would find one name - just one name - from FamilySearch to bring to the temple before I finish up the Family History Sunday School class that Marty and I are taking. It's a blessing that I have an amazing family who has done so much family history work, but there's got to be someone waiting for me to find him or her, right?
Anyway, On Sundays I have a couple of precious hours after I put the kids down for the night to spend on this kind of stuff, so here I go eating my elephant; one bite at a time. The first bite is just these few pictures....
The pioneer ward activity:
I guess this would be a good time to explain the pairs. I know of at least four big families who use some sort of "team" or "buddy system" in helping to get all of those kiddos raised. And they happen to be families I look up to about as much as anyone in the world. I have thought about doing it before, but thought I'd hold off. Then I realized I'm not sure why I was holding off, I need help now! BandB have always been great to help with the babies, but I decided it was time to make it a bit more official. So I have put Brynn "in charge" of Gabe, and Bryce with Camille. If we are headed out the door somewhere, I'm hoping to get to the point where they can mostly get their buddies ready and loaded if I ask them to. Right now we are still training, but I'm loving it. It's important to me that the older kids still get a childhood, I'm not asking them to parent the babies. I've made it clear that it's not their job to discipline or anything like that. But hopefully if I'm unavailable they know they've got a helper.
I'm waiting for the older kids to grumble about it, but so far they just seem really excited and proud I think they feel special. If Gabe comes to me with something and asks for help and I have raw chicken on my hands or something and tell him to go ask his buddy, Brynn hears it and jumps up, "Gabe! I'm over here! What do you need?" I've had them help me with getting buddies in and out of the car, snacks, church, getting ready for bed, reaching things, answering questions, etc. BandB seem genuinely excited to help most of the time.
I'm waiting for this grand idea to fizzle. We started it up "officially" when we went to UT over the summer and I was feeling overwhelmed with the packing. So far they are still into it, though. It's a bit more exciting for Brynn, just because she's such a mommy, she's older, Gabe's older, and he has latched onto her like glue. There is less I can ask for help with regarding Camille, but there are still things and Bryce takes it as seriously as a five year old boy can, I suppose (he always has been Camille's little protector). Oh, one of my favorites is to ask the kids to go get the buddies from their naps after homework time. That took a bit of training as well, after a couple major incidents where BandB bounded in to see the babies with loud shouts and I-don't-even-know-what, but the babies did NOT want to be awakened that way. But now it's cute to see Brynn walk down the stairs holding Gabe's hand and it's funny to see Bryce hefting Camille (who is usually being dragged more then held at the bottom of the stairs). But again, I'm still waiting for a complaint over that particular job and I haven't heard one yet.
ANYWAY. One Saturday Brynn came to me with her Disney Princess Cookbook and asked if she could make a treat "with her buddy." So I told her Sunday would be a great day for it and we went out and got all the ingredients. I thought it was really sweet of her, and Gabe thought he was the biggest boy in the world helping her in the kitchen.
I guess I'll write a little update on the bedroom situation. (By the way, I guess it would make more sense to pair off the boys and the girls as buddies, but they will already be bonding while sharing a room so I thought switching it up would give them a good chance to bond with a different sibling. Also, it's a little hard to tell with Camille being so young, but Gabe's and Brynn's personalities seem so perfectly matched. They are quite different, but seem to complement each other so well.) Bryce and Gabe are still doing pretty well together sharing a room. There are still quite a few fireworks, but only a few nights where we couldn't take it and had to split them up for the night. I hope they can be great friends. I had to take a picture when they were playing with the train set because it just felt so good to see them playing together without any big eruptions. It will be interesting to see them grow up together. Bryce has such an intense personality and Gabe just wants his environment to be so mellow, and that's where most of their issues come from. I love these boys of mine.
And an update on the Destroying Angel - she's still doing her thing. It's so funny to me how quiet she is about her messes. I can't figure out if she really is just mellow about them, or if she is trying to outsmart me and be sneaky. I knew Gabe was an easy baby, but I don't think I realized just how little he was into "stuff." I feel like my whole day revolves around disasters. I am having to totally re-babyproof. I am having to check her fingers for cuts (I had no idea she could climb back far enough in the cupboard to disassemble the food processor, or to climb high enough in the bathroom to get to Marty's razor). I am having to check her mouth all the time for foreign objects. Her favorite thing to eat is - no kidding - her diaper. I've had to completely stop putting dresses on her, even onesies don't cut it. She just grabs a section of diaper, pulls hard, and puts it in her mouth. At first it's just a bit of lint, but eventually...you get the idea. I mentioned what church was like last week on my blog. Each week she gets a little harder. Today she, as she so often does, ran way faster than she had any business doing on those weak, chubby legs and face-planted on the tile right as choir was about to start. I didn't think it would be that bad, but I could NOT get the bleeding to stop so Marty just gathered everyone up and went home. And STILL. She is hilarious and adorable and entertaining. She is happy as can be, she is so rarely fussy. She is just a busy little bee.
This is from when she was covered in grease (just don't ask). I gave her a bubble bath, scrubbed her with baby soap, then dish soap, and then finally the miracle that took it right off...drum roll please...my facewash. Since then, I don't even want to KNOW what is in my makeup.
Queen Creek got a splash pad!!
Here's another example of when I just can't cut it. Hopefully one of my kids can. I'm not sure what was going on this particular night. I just remember that the kids hadn't read at all that day, and Bryce really wants to get to the 300 hour party with Brynn. It's not too hard for her since she can read easily on her own. But for Bryce it's going to be really hard since he needs us to help him, plus he's not a total bookworm so if we forget, he usually does too. One night he came to me asking to read "Oh the Places You'll Go" (which happens to be a favorite of mine). I couldn't do it and was feeling guilty and asked Brynn to go read the book to the boys and then put them down. She was totally up for it. So I came in later to check on them and had to take this picture:
I seriously feel so lucky that Brynn was our first child, I don't know what I would do without her.
Here is one of my quirky Oldham things. I think play places are kind of really gross. I never go there during cold and flu season. I like to find out when they clean and then go right after that. I hate the crowds and seeing fifth grade boys plow into my toddlers. Having said all that, they do help to keep the sanity in the summer when it's just too hot step outside. So here it is: from time to time I love to go to Chick-fil-a at like, 7:00 on Saturday morning. I think we must be the only people that know they even have a breakfast menu, because we always have the entire establishment to ourselves. And it's a lovely play place, small enough to actually be able to keep clean. :) Often when Marty is on a scout camp or something on a Saturday, that's where we'll head.
Oh Millie. Why do you have to be SO adorable?
Welp. Here it is, bedtime. I only ate one bite of the elephant tonight when I was hoping for more. Blast my long-windedness yet again. The 600 iphone pics will just have to wait! G'night...
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