Here's what I did today...

Peace and Quiet

Ahhh, the peace and quiet of any empty house! Don't get me wrong, we had a GREAT time having so much family here for the holiday. But it was pure bliss to send the kids to school yesterday and have the house completely empty except for me!

Turkey Day was great. Dinner was so yummy. And it was super nice to have four extra "mom" hands helping prepare it. Actually, I was probably one of the helpers, I think Grandma was the head chef. We ate a lot and played a lot. One of the best things about living in Arizona is that we get to play outside a lot this time of year. Most of us (Grandma refused to come) played kick ball, soccer and baseball. I even scored a run for my team! Go Ekbergs!

We had a bunch of little monkeys around who enjoyed climbing trees and making messes in the house.

Olivia and Audrey showed off some sweet home improvement skills by making a cupboard thing for Olivia's room. They only put it together wrong twice, buy Grandpa was a good sport and helped them get it just right in the end.

Sam and Joey were inseparable. I thought for sure Sam would be so sad when "his Joey" left, but he seems to be handling it okay.

The big boys played more Wii than should be allowed by law.

But I guess they got along pretty well, so no big deal. They also eat more than should be allowed by law! Lance made some AWESOME chocolate chip cookies. But I don't think they tasted very good!

Now, it's back to reality for me. I started a new job yesterday. I have decided that I need to make myself go to work each morning (in my sewing room), not answer my phone and not get on the computer. Otherwise, how will I ever get 70+ swimsuits made by the end of January? Here's what I made yesterday:

Houseful

My parents usually come down for Thanksgiving. This year, because they came in September for Dan's Priesthood ordination, they said they weren't going to come in November. So we have been planning a small Thanksgiving with just the six of us. Late last week (Friday, I think), my sister called and asked if her family could come because they have some business to do in Tucson. Grandma and Grandpa decided to come too. Now I'm expecting a houseful this afternoon and I'm wondering where 15 people are going to sleep in my house! So since I got home from LA (which was fabulous by the way), I've been trying to get blankets and sheets washed (I have some smelly boys), clean the bathrooms, shop for food (I hadn't even bought a turkey until Monday, now it's trying to defrost), help in my kids classrooms, go to Primary Presidency meeting, wash some towels, shovel out the sewing room, etc. etc. I really don't have time for blogging, so what am I doing? Blogging.
I am excited to spend a little time with my sister and her family and my parents. The kids are SO excited to see their cousins. It should be lots of fun, or at the very least, lots of chaos!

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to LA I go...

I am going to LA to shop for fabric in the Fashion District. I am quite excited! It should be lots of fun. After all, I'm going with some friends and leaving the kiddos behind. What could be better?

I am...

...a lazy bum.
I have been enjoying the *slightly* cooler weather and doing not much of anything for the last couple of days. I love a good book. I'll blog more when I'm done reading and if I can think of anything remotely interesting...

1st Grade Musical

There's no High School Musical for us yet, but we did have a 1st Grade Musical last week. Sam did a great job! He had a speaking part and he actually said it. (It wasn't understandable, but at least he got up there and did it. I can't get him to do anything in Primary, even though there are a LOT fewer people. Go figure). I had the privilege of helping them paint their shirts (ugh), but they turned out really cute. Sam really got into the songs and he really jammed on the guitar! It was fun to see the kids get so excited about what they were doing. I think Sam might have a future in musical theater. He could be the next big star on the Disney channel. What do you think?

Seven Random Things

I got tagged by my friend Jessie a couple of weeks ago. I don't know about this one, but I'll give it a try. It is supposed to be seven random things about me.

1. My favorite color is yellow. I'm wearing it right now. It makes me feel happy.
2. Before I had kids, I thought the perfect offspring would be two boys 18 months apart, then a girl three years later. I think I must have been crazy. Who would want two boys that close together? They would fight all the time! Come to think of it, all kids fight no matter when or where they are in the line-up. Maybe I should have stopped at one. (Just kidding, I think only kids are lonely).
3. I have moved 9 times since I've been married. Three different states. We have lived in Arizona the longest we have lived anywhere. (Four years, nine months and counting...)
4. I made lots of yummy things today: strawberry freezer jam, Lion House rolls, brownies (actually Olivia made them, I only helped), apple crisp, "Squished" potatoes, fresh green beans and steak for dinner (best dinner ever). I'm thinking I should have made banana bread because I have a whole bunch of icky bananas, but tomorrow is just as good, right?
5. I'm thinking about becoming a substitute teacher, but I'm a little afraid that my lack of patience would be a problem. On the other hand, I would only be with a certain class for a day, and I can do anything for a day, right?
6. I haven't scrapbooked since May when my sister came down for the weekend. I'm too busy blogging. At times, I think I should give this up and go back to the scrapbooks, but this is so much easier (and there is instant gratification AND feedback)
7. I drink way too much Diet Coke. But that probably doesn't really count as a random thing, because I think everyone knows I drink too much Diet Coke. But, hey, I needed one more thing for my list, and my brain hurts trying to think of something.

The rules of this tag state that I am supposed to tag 7 people, but I'm afraid of hate mail if I actually do it, so I'm leaving it open. If you would like to randomly think about your life and share it with the blogging world, consider yourself tagged!

Don't Die!

So, Olivia has been really sick this week. It all started with a cough last week, which kind of hung around, but didn't get a whole lot worse. Then on Sunday, she was dizzy, coughing, feverish and just plain sick. I actually thought she was faking--well, not exactly faking, but playing it up a bit. I guess I win the bad mom award. She stayed home from school on Monday, and I was going to make her go on Tuesday, but she was hot, so I let her sleep. When I got home from dropping the other kids off (I woke up at 7:30 that day, they usually leave at 7:33. Like I said, bad mom), she was up and had a really funky rash. Now, I've been a nurse, and a mom of four and I'd never seen a rash like this. So, I did what all good moms do, turned on the internet. When that failed me, I called the doctor. (This is actually pretty out of character for me--I think going to the doctor is a waste of time. Bad mom). Turns out that the rash is called Erythema Multiforme and they don't know what causes it. It'll get worse before it gets better. They were also concerned she had Valley Fever and/or pneumonia, so we had to go for x-rays and blood tests. After spending the WHOLE day in waiting rooms, we had to back for another chest x-ray because the first was hazy. After the second, they did determine that she has pneumonia. All hail antibiotics!

So, on to today. She stayed home from school AGAIN, but when I went to the school to pick up some homework, EVERYONE knew that she had pneumonia. The doctor's office called this afternoon and said she does not have Valley Fever (big sigh of relief), and that it is probably viral pneumonia because she really isn't any better yet. Bah on antibiotics! And the rash is getting worse (and really itchy).

After school, she missed Activity Days. A couple of the girls came by after it was over with this note:

I think it's HILARIOUS that they told her not to die! How funny are 10 and 11 year old girls? Can you say DRAMA?!?

I'm afraid that she will be my buddy again tomorrow, and then part of me wonders if she should even go to school on Friday, because it's FRIDAY! What can that accomplish? Is that a sign of a bad mom, or a really cool mom? Any thoughts?

Julia in the News!

Check out this article about Julia's first place finish in the Synchro meet last week. Too bad she quit the day after the meet! Oh well. I figure she is five and we'll start up again when (and if) she wants to. No pressure from me!

Synchro and Doughnuts

For all of you bloggies just dying to support Olivia's synchronized swimming habit, here are two lovely options for you:

1. Krispy Kreme coupons: Buy a certificate from Olivia (or me) for $6, and get a dozen original glazed doughnuts. Save $1.50 on each dozen, just by seeing us first! This will be an on-going fundraiser for Olivia through out the year.


2. Swim-a-thon: Olivia will be swimming laps (up to 200) next week. You pledge an amount per lap, or a set amount and then pay up after she swims. (FYI- she swam all 200 last year, no problem!) If you would like to contribute, please let us know. Also, her team is a non-profit, so anything you donate to this fundraiser is TAX-DEDUCTIBLE!!!

Olivia thanks you all in advance and wants you to know that she LOVES synchro, and she is really hoping to make it to Nationals this year with her solo and trio. She is super dedicated, and I really admire all that she sacrifices in order to excel at this really difficult sport.

Thank you all in advance, and we hope to hear from you soon!!

A couple of weeks ago (during Fall break), Dan and Olivia went boating with some friends. I thought some of these pictures were really cool, so here there are:

I love this picture!

Miracle!

I thought I should let all my concerned blog buddies know that a miracle occurred the other day. I brought Sam in to talk about the table with his really nice printing on it. He, of course, went into hysterics because he thought I would be so mad. I told him I wasn't mad, but he did need to try to clean if off. I handed him a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some Q-tips and told him to get to work. Now, I was expecting him to put in a lot of elbow grease and not see any improvement-thus reinforcing that we should not write on the furniture. Imagine my dismay (!) when the stinkin' marker came off with so little effort! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the table looks better, but I really wanted this to be a learning experience for Sam. I'm hoping that the lesson he learned was NOT that it's okay to write on stuff because it comes off easily! Not really the lesson I had in mind. But nevertheless, truly a miracle, I think.

Finding the Joy

I'm trying to find the joy in Motherhood today. It's been a little tough. Especially when the girls' room looks like this: The boys room smells like this: And then I find this on the lamp table in the living room:Yep, that is PERMANANT marker. On the only piece of furniture that hadn't previously been ruined. I guess I need to be looking more for this kind of thing:

Super Crazy Saturday

Here's a recap of our crazy, busy Saturday:

6:00 am: Brandon left to play tennis with some friends.

7:30 am: Leave for synchro meet with Julia and Olivia. Brandon wasn't home yet, so I got lots of phone calls from Sam until about 9:00 when Brandon got home. (I don't think I should have shown Sam how to use the phone for a few more years) This was Julia's first (and only) meet. It was a figure meet, so it was pretty boring to watch. I had to judge. So exciting. Julia threw a fit and didn't want to do her figures when it was time. We finally figured out that she was scared (I guess it could be a little scary--you do a figure all by yourself in the pool, in front of a panel of judges). They made a big concession for her and allowed her to go last (out of order) and with Olivia in the water by her. She actually had some pretty good figures and ended up finishing in first place! (Disclaimer: there were only two competitors in her age group)

12:00 pm: Arrive home from synchro meet to discover that Brandon and the boys have cleaned the house and now Brandon is at the grocery store. I love this man.

12:00-12:30 pm: Frantically finish a few Halloween costumes for a few friends.

12:30 pm: Leave to take Dan to his football game (dropped him off), then deliver Halloween costumes to big smiles and rave reviews.

1:00 pm: Frantically finish cousin Audrey's Halloween costume.

1:30 pm: Leave to mail Audrey's costume, Brandon arrives home from store and deposits groceries on counter, then takes off for Dan's game.

2:00 pm: Brandon and Dan home from football. After Dan quickly showers, we are off to the mall for Dan and Olivia's piano recital. They did awesome!

(Disclaimer: they were allowed to wear their Halloween costumes. Olivia doesn't usually go to the mall dressed as a princess.)

3:20 pm: Home from the piano recital. Frantically try to sew Julia's Halloween costume before the Trunk or Treat at 6:00.

3:20-5:45 pm: While I am busily sewing, Brandon supervises Olivia making cupcakes for the party, Sam finding the cape and lightsaber for his costume, Dan finishing ripping a shirt up for his costume, and I don't know what else because I was busy sewing. I love this man. He also came up with a great idea for his own costume: Michael Phelps. He wore one of Olivia's swim caps, goggles and a few medals. Everybody loved it and they all seemed to know who he was. Amazing man. Did I mention that I love him? By the way, I did finish the costume (I even amazed myself. Doesn't it look great?)

5:45 pm: I taped some jack o'lantern shapes to an orange shirt for my costume, we loaded up the candy, cupcakes and the "Wanted" poster from the party a few weeks ago and headed off to the church. (BTW, I got a lot of grief over the costumes that I made for everyone else and then the fact that mine was paper taped to a shirt. It's kind of like the people that wash windows for a living, but always have dirty windows themselves, right?)

6:00 pm: Trunk or Treat at the church parking lot. We used the "Wanted" poster to decorate our trunk (Brandon sat behind it and handed out candy). Chili and hotdogs for dinner. I was so glad I didn't have to make it. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got drafted to be a judge for the costume contest. How nerve wracking! Dan was mad at me that he didn't win. (He actually had a pretty creative costume: he (we) made a wooden "stocks" like they used to use for public humiliation--all his own idea, too.

(I didn't get a picture of his costume yet, but this is the idea)

8:00 pm: Home from the party, get kids ready for bed. Take away candy.

CRASH! I can't remember what time, but it was well deserved!

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that I am going to bed now. All sewing projects can wait for another day...

Piano Man

I have decided today that I need to brag a little on my oldest. He is a fabulous pianist, and best of all, he actually loves to play. He walks in the door from school and sits down and plays. He plays something just about every time he walks by the piano (which is often). I love to have my house filled with music, and I especially love when the music is created by one of my own. I'm grateful that he has been blessed with this talent, and I'm so glad that he enjoys sharing his talent.

He also plays the bass and has played the organ in church a few times. I am always stopped by people and told how wonderful he is and how much they enjoy hearing him. One lady in our ward even took the time to send him a card in the mail telling him how impressed she was. She said "the closing hymn on the organ rocked!" His strings teacher at school loves him (he is the only bass player), and she comments often that she wishes her strings players at other schools were as good as Dan.

Thank you, Dan, for filling our house with music and for enjoying it while you do.

Update

Sam's foot is getting much better with the antibiotics. Looks like we avoided a lovely trip to the hospital. Whew!

Big Girl

Julia has been BEGGING to get her ears pierced for many days. We finally came to an agreement yesterday and went to the mall. She picked these cute earrings and didn't even make a sound when they pierced them. She was quite the brave girl. Once we got home, she didn't quite understand that she couldn't take the earrings out for bed. Oh well. I think she gets it now. She is especially looking forward to Christmas, because then she will be able to wear different earrings. All in all, she is definitely more of a girly girl than her sister. I hope that's not a bad thing...

Thankful Thursday

Today, my post is going to be an ode to my main squeeze, the most wonderful man in the world. His desirable qualities are quite numerous, and frankly, out of this world. In no particular order, here is a small sampling of those qualities:

• he is tall (no need to ever look down on this man, he has a stature that is heads and shoulders above the rest)



• he is charming (especially when he comes home from work and sweeps me off my feet to give me a thorough "Honey, I'm home" kiss)



• he is dependable (for instance, I can always count on him to think of me endlessly while at work, or to eat the dinners I make)



• he is romantic (I can't tell you how many times he has planned a romantic evening without the kids at Home Depot)



• he is supportive (especially if I am up on a tall ladder)



• he is funny (my sides hurt even thinking about the jokes he tells)



• he is a gracious loser (ever hear of a game called "Quiddler"? When I beat the pants off him, he only complains a little, and for only a day or two)



• he is a hard worker (and he folds the laundry, too!)



• he never, ever, ever gives me a bad time about the amount of time I spend blogging. Which is why I had to let the entire blogging world know what an awesome man I married. Slobbery kisses coming your way, Brandon!

Editor's note: Said wonderful man thinks that this post is a tad bit sarcastic. My reply: Exactly what I was going for (and he was warned beforehand!)

This little piggy

Here Sam's left foot. Looks fine (except for being a little dirty, but hey, he is a boy!) Now, here is a picture of his right foot. Doesn't it look like it hurts? Turns out he has cellulitis. He is on antibiotics and if it doesn't look significantly better by tomorrow, the doctor says to call and he will need IV antibiotics. I'm REALLY hoping we don't have to go that route, especially after the lovely time Lindsay and her family had at the hospital last week. So, everybody keep their fingers crossed that his foot will be looking like a foot tomorrow and not like a sausage.