The Graduate

Wahoo!!! He did it! Davis graduated from preschool this week. Considering his start in life and how behind he was, it's darn near close to a miracle that he's ready for kindergarten. We had him labeled as the kid of ours that was of average intelligence and wouldn't be much more. Boy, were we wrong! In the last 2 years he has come farther than I had ever hoped for. Much of that credit has to go to his preschool teacher, Mrs. Balls. She has taken a little boy that wouldn't talk much, wouldn't draw or color, and refused to be very social and transformed him into a boy that can count to 100by 1's, 10's & 5's, knows his address & phone number, and is starting to read. WOW! Who would have thought? Well, much to our pleasure that little guy is Davis.

He had his graduation program on Thursday. All of the kids had speaking parts and he did great. They sang some songs they had learned and then were presented with their caps and diplomas. He was so proud and is so excited to go to kindergarten at the elementary school with Spencer and Seth. Sadly, his best friend Hunter will be on a different track and thus a different class. But they sure had a great time together this year and such good buddies.

Thanks to Grandma Carol & Grandpa Howard for coming and supporting him. He was so happy to see you there.

El Cheapo

Yep, that's me. Dave makes fun of me because of the way that I shop. He teases me about the way I will bring home 8 boxes of cereal because it's on sale. But he never complains when he's eating said boxes of cereal. Funny. Anyway, I refuse to pay full price for anything. There are tons of deals to be had if you just do a little research and pay attention. In my shopping trip this week I totally scored. After combining coupons with sales I felt a little guilty (only a little) taking all this food from the store. Here's what I got for $20.31 (and keep in mind that NONE of this is the store brand):

1 box saltine crackers
8 boxes cereal
2 boxes Wheat Thins
3 bottles of salad dressing
3 packages of Crystal Light
2 bottles of Mayo
4 bottles of BBQ sauce
8 boxes of deluxe mac n cheese
4 pounds of bologna
2 packages of hot dogs

Impressed? So was Dave. Maybe he won't make fun of me now that I told him I saved $64.12! That's right, the total was $84.43 before all my good shopping and coupon use. I should start pocketing the savings for our next vacation.

Field Trip Week

I'm so glad last week is over. It was total chaos (just like every other week!) although some are worse than others. On top of lots of baseball, it was field trip mania. It started on Wednesday with Tiara's preschool class going to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point. I went with her and helped chaperon and took McCall with me. Kim was able to take Davis so I could actually help with the other kids. (thanks Kim) We hadn't ever been there before so it was fun to see what they had. The kids loved the baby chicks and ducklings. We all went on a wagon ride around the farm and the kids got to go on a pony ride. This was a first for Tiara. She picked out a little white pony and confessed later that she was scared. Fooled me! She looked right at home with her princess pony. We all had a picnic lunch and then headed back home. Tiara only has 2 other girls in her class and the 3 of them stuck together the whole time. Luckily for McCall, they let her join in with them for lunch.

Thursday was Spencer's turn. He went on a field trip to the Clark Planetarium and the landfill. I just couldn't pull off all 3 field trips in a row, so I didn't get to go with him. He said it was a blast. They saw everything at the planetarium and watched a star show and then had lunch at the food court in Gateway. Then off to the landfill. I must say that I wasn't too sad to miss this one. He enjoyed it though. They showed the kids what happens to the garbage after the garbage man comes and how they dispose of it and recycle some of it. I don't think I would have made it past the stink!

Friday was Davis' turn. Trudy took Tiara (thanks Trudy) so I could go with Davis. Once again, McCall came along although I'm not sure anyone even knew because she's so quiet. We went to the same place as Tiara's class, so it wasn't anything new for me. Davis wasn't quite as sure as Tiara and stuck close to me for a while. But once he felt comfortable, he and Easton terrorized the ducks and ran like crazy. He loved the wagon and pony rides and had a lot of fun feeding the goats. But the highlight was getting to be with his best friend Hunter and have lunch together. Next year they will be in different classes on different tracks, so I'm glad they had this year together.

Mudders Day

I can't tell you how many times I was told "Happy Mudder's Day" today. There is nothing sweeter to my ears. The kids were extra sweet today and they all had gifts galore. Actually, they've been coming in all week as they've come home from school proudly carrying their gift. More than the gift, I love seeing their little faces beaming with pride. I am so blessed to have these 5 little spirits in my life.

Not every Mother's Day has been like this. Some I've hated. Strong word and feeling, yes, but so were my feelings. I remember how much sadness I'd feel every time Mother's Day rolled around and there I sat, single and childless. They always made all the mothers stand in Sacrament Meeting to present them with a small gift. I sometimes felt that it was just to punish me and remind me what I didn't have. Then, after Dave and I got married, I had hope. Until a miscarriage stripped me of my claim to motherhood just a few weeks before the dreaded day. That was probably the saddest Mother's Day of my life. I felt empty and lost. Little did I know that one year later, I'd be holding my baby boy, only 6 days old.

Mother's Day since then has been a happier day. Not every year, though. Some were still hard as we juggled the things that came along with a split family and having so many kids so fast. Sometimes it was the kids, sometimes it was just me. Luckily, I don't remember any specifics about why they were bad days, I just remember some were.

But not today. This was one of the better ones. Don't know why, just was. Perhaps it was the flowers Dave brought home yesterday. Or maybe it was getting to spend church time in Primary with my kids. Or the sweet hugs and handmade gifts from each of my sweet children. Or maybe it was the many times today that a tiny little voice said, "Happy Mudder's Day, Mommy." What is sweeter?

So to all you Moms out there...Happy Mudder's Day!

Happy Birthday Spencer!

Wow! 9 years sure go by fast. Thursday night we were talking to Spencer about what we were doing the day before he was born and I couldn't believe it was that long ago. He's still by baby boy (although he'd die if I said that to him!) He's grown up so fast. I remember holding him and rocking him to sleep every night. I loved it, but it turned out to be a big mistake...He wouldn't go to sleep any other way. I remember crawling in his crib a few times to snuggle him to sleep and the crawling out of his room so I wouldn't wake him up. He was my first little guy and I loved every minute of it. He was the darned cutest 2 year old and loved being Daddy's pal. I cried the first day I dropped him off at preschool and was so proud of him when he started reading later that year. I've enjoyed being his friend and confidante. I love that he will talk to me about everything and still likes me to snuggle him at night. He's getting so big and reminds me of it often. (He's now passed my chin and growing like crazy!)


He had a good day. We surprised him with a present that he was dying for. Normally, we don't spend that much on birthdays, but we decided to pool his allowance and birthday money from Grandma Carol & Grandpa Howard with ours and surprise him. He was definitely surprised when he opened a new DSi! His old DS broke a while ago, so I traded it in and goat a great deal. He's played with it all day and was so excited to tell all his friends at school.

I like to go to lunch with the kids on their birthdays and today was no exception. He wanted Wendy's, so I picked up some food and took it to the school and ate with him and his friends. It's one of my favorite experiences. I love seeing the kids in their every day environment and socializing with their friends. It gives me great insight into their lives.

Both he and Seth had baseball games, so it put a damper on the night. We spent the night at the ball park and got home too late for much celebrating. I made him his requested cake (a volcano) today and he chose dinner (corn dogs). While we had to rearrange part of his birthday, it made it stretch out over 2 days.
Happy Birthday, Spencer! I love you more than you know and I'm so glad I'm your Mom and your friend.

Here We Go

It's started. Tiara had her first dance competition two weeks ago. It was cute to see the little tiny girls get up on stage and do their best, knowing that if they did well they would get a trophy. Well, at least that's what we told them. It's a Mommy conspiracy. Actually, they all get a trophy, but they don't need to know that. The girls did great and Tiara {loved} it. She was so into the hair, makeup, costume and being in the spotlight. "Mom, should we put my costume on?" "Mom, should we do my makeup now?" "Mom, are we going to be late?" "Mom...Mom...Mom..." was all I heard all morning. I'm glad she loves what she's doing, but OMGosh! She's going to drive me crazy!!! And we have how many more years of this? Not that I'm really complaining. She could be ugly, fat and only want to play in the dirt. But not her. She's a girly girl (with a hint of jock) all the way. I love it!

She carried her trophy everywhere that day. She had to take in into McDonald's and set it on the table "so everyone can see it." She slept with it on her nightstand and has taken it for Show & Tell. I'm sure this dance trophy adoration/addiction will end up costing us $$$. Anybody have a money tree?

Brakes

I need them. Badly. Not on my car, but on my life. Every spring is like this. I don't know why we continue to put ourselves through this over and over. Baseball season is always crazy, and then you add in the end of the school year with all its festivities, and birthdays galore - it's madness! Our house is totally nuts! I find myself checking the calendar several times a day just to keep everything straight and make sure we don't miss anything. This year, both Dave and I are on the Board so we now double the responsibilities of running a league. We have 6 kids playing on 5 teams, with Dave coaching 2 of them. We're averaging 11 games a week and at least one night of board duty. Throw in 5 or 6 practices and it's insane. Oh yeah, I shouldn't leave out the endless piano practicing for the festival next week and a dance competition Saturday. How we survive is beyond me. Dave and I haven't been to bed before midnight in ages. Yes, we could get there a little earlier, but after 10pm is the only time we have to spend together and catch up. I love baseball season and hate it at the same time.

But last night, we got a little break. It was a lot of rushing, juggling and arranging, but when Dave's dad called with playoff tickets we worked it out. It's not very often any more we get to go to a Jazz game and even less a playoff game, so we jumped at the chance. Luckily for us, the game had a late start which allowed Dave to see all of Dalin's game and let me get the kids into bed before my golden babysitter arrived. So off we went to enjoy a game with Dave's parents. And what a game! It was a hard fought, physical game and went down to the last second. But the Jazz pulled it off! I haven't been to a game that good in a very long time. The noise level was deafening, the food was abundant. I ate way too much, but it was so good. We didn't get home until about midnight and we were dead tired, but it was so worth it. Thanks Tom, for having other plans tonight and giving up your tickets. Thanks Loren & Marilyn for inviting us to go with you. We loved the game and being able to share it with you.