February in the rear-view mirror

Addie & Heidi came home from school and made up these yummy fruit kebabs on February 1st. They were good, especially because they cleaned up their mess. In school, they have Healthy Eaters Club sponsored by the food pantry and Albertson's. They try new foods each week and discuss healthy habits. I don't know how the program is doing overall, but it's working great on my kids! They love trying new fruits and veggies, which works great with all the interesting things we get from Bountiful Baskets.
Niles can eat neatly through his whole meal, and then, in one crazy head shake, he can make a cereal mask and be reeeeeally messy.

See?

This was when Great-Grandma Lyn was feeding him on February 2nd.

On February 4th (Saturday), we drove to Billings to pick up a free piano. (We also took Grandma Lyn to HuHot, but she didn't love it as much as we do). The kids are more interested in practicing now that we have this piano and we are VERY grateful for it!

Here's Gram with her little buddy, Niles. She was so helpful, snuggling him and feeding him when Mama gets busy. We miss her so much!

Niles with Gram

On February 8th, we took off to Pocatello to take Gram to meet up with my mom & Mark. It had snowed the night before and Bozeman Hill was dusted so beautifully!

Addie came with me to help with Niles in the car. We drove 5 hours, ate lunch, then turned around and drove home. We miss Gram A LOT! Here we are saying goodbye at Five Guys Burgers & Fries in Poky.

Niles in his car seat at Five Guys.

Me, Gram, & Mom...3 generations of tired ;)

Me, Gram, Mom, and Addie...4 generations of first-born girls.

(1931, 1951, 1971, 2001! I broke the chain, but kept the right year)

Addie was THRILLED to see this hippy van outside of Five Guys, she took a picture to show her dad (a fellow VW freak).

A sticker on the van.

***

As you can see from the photos, it was starting to snow, and we once again drove home from Idaho in a blizzard (I think this is my 5th time this winter). But we were home in bed by 8pm and Gram got "home" safe to Eagle Mountain.
I snapped this pic because I just love this view. It's just a few blocks southwest of my house (one of the few ways out of my neighborhood) and this hill is also part of my 3-4 mile walks. I love when there is snow on the big mountains and when there are cows in the field.
***
The Friday after the Wednesday I drove to Idaho and back, I chaperoned an all-day field trip with Addie's class to the Museum of the Rockies and the Bozeman Symphony. I was so dang tired, but it was really fun.

4th graders at a 1930s gas station in the museum

Addie & Dakota exploring dino bones

Addie at the symphony. She went the next day, too, with Uncle Mike.

After the field trip, we hurried home for my first guitar lesson followed by Thai Food--what a great night!

***

Saturday 2/11, we went to Bozeman. Rich, Niles and I went to Costco while Mike took the 3 other kids to the symphony matinee. These pix of Niles are while we were waiting for them to come out.

***

The following Saturday, I took the girls to get their hair cut.

We sent the hair to Beautiful Lengths, which makes wigs for women with cancer at little or no cost to the patient. We chose them rather than Locks of Love this time because of minor controversy, although I think both are a good cause. I estimate I lost at least a third of my hair postpartum, and I don't recognize what's left as human hair, so I couldn't help wishing there were such a thing as hair transplants, especially between mothers and daughters. Cuz really, how fair is it that I lose what little hair I had because I gave these girls LIFE, and they get flowing manes of Barbie hair? Not very, I say! (kidding)

Also, earlier this same week we celebrated Valentines Day (see previous post) and Rich whisked me away on our anniversary temple trip to a NEW temple, in exotic Rexburg, Idaho (and we didn't take a single picture). We actually had a most relaxing, wonderful 2 days there 2/15-17, and now we've been married 11 years. Woohoo.

Niles loves to play the piano and Heidi is really good at making up songs.

Cuties!

Lastly, Niles.

Laura took this picture, which captures his deadpan face. Lately, he's taken it upon himself to be the straight man to the other three kids' comic antics. He is not amused, so stop trying. What a little character.

Yeah, Auntie Laura came to visit with Cousin Jared over Feb 24-25th. We had such a fun time--she even brought us matching jammies!--but we didn't take pictures together. Shucks. I love when she comes, and so do the kids. Now we just need to get our other punk sister to get her booty up here--Aunt Lisa, Niles said he won't smile again until you get here! Is school out yet? ;)

Little Renaisance Man

I just noticed I don't have many (any?) pictures of James this month. It's not because he's not adorable or not doing amazing things--he is. But he's definitely NOT a squeaky wheel or a camera hog, so I have to try harder to remember to take pictures of him and the sweet things he does/ makes. Like this:

I told him a couple of weeks ago that he could/should practice numbers games or sentence writing when the girls had homework. So this is the first sentence he wrote during said "homework time." I find it terribly cute (and hey, it starts with a capital and ends with a period!). He's so bookish and sweet, sometimes I am surprised at what an avid hunter and fisherman he is turning out to be. I think he'd rather go to Cabela's than Disneyland. This may have made me cringe or cry out, "Where did we go wrong?!" ten years ago, but somehow (I'm turning Montanan, turning Montanan, I really think so) it's okay with me because James is such a thoughtful, spiritually-minded, well-rounded kid, I'm not too worried about him becoming a killing machine or anything. He loves deer and elk, so it's pretty cool that they like to hang out at the ranch all winter long.

His parent-teacher conference was a glowing report last week. His teacher reiterated that she's never seen a kid do so well academically AND socially--usually if they're strong in one, they're weaker in the other, but James is strong in both (yay). She was also SHOCKED when I told her I was really glad I decided to send him to school even though he didn't turn five until a week into the year. "I thought he turned SIX!" Nope, he was four when he started kindergarten (you will never catch me "redshirting"--don't get me started, and don't start quoting Gladwell to me because I've seen him admit that most cumulative advantage disappears by middle school) and I knew he was ready. Now he's getting obsessed with music theory. I did flashcards with him twice and now he can name all the natural notes on the keyboard or the staff. And nothing seems hard for him. He is pleasant and happy 97% of the time. He's an anomaly, but he's MY anomaly. I am super grateful to be his mother.


UPDATE : Okay, here's a good one. This is my very favorite photo of my kids, snapped with my phone on the second day of 2012. We were in Billings having frozen yogurt and they were genuinely happy and I just love looking at it. I can't believe they're MINE!

The Wildest West Show Ever (0224-25)

Addie's School (3rd-5th grades) did a theater workshop and show last week. It was really fun! Here is some of the documentation, courtesy of Aunt Laura...

Rehearsal

Addie singing with the other Canexican Bandits 02.23

(Canadian-Mexican Bandits, "it's a multi-national enterprise")

SHOW TIME! Director Dewey Kemp on Opening Night

The Bandits (Addie in the middle making a funny face)

These are the Tumblin' Tumbleweeds, the fiercest gang in the west.

More Bandits, singing their anthem, "O, Canada/La Cucaracha"

Main villain Snoodly and his minions

The finale.

We loved the show (more importantly, so did Addie) and are so grateful to have a program like Crazy Mountain's Outreach to give our kids these fun experiences!

Valentine's Day 2012, Melin Style

This is not an update, I don't have time for catching up right now, but here is TODAY. Happy love day to everyone!Valentine's Breakfast by Daddy this year...

banana-nutella and strawberry-cream crepes!

Heidi, Addie, Mommy, James

My baby-with-m&m-eyes in Rich's old walker from Germany.
He's like a crash test dummy in that thing, running all over the upstairs like a hurricane!

Daddy with the kids before school this morning
Heidi, Addie, Daddy, James

"Stained-Glass" cookies for my lovies to eat at lunch time

***

When the kids left at 8am, I fed Niles and cleaned the kitchen up. At 8:40am, I put Niles back to bed and ripped open 2 cake mixes and started baking 48 mini cupcakes and 24 regular cupcakes, racing to finish before the baby woke up.


Chocolate mini cakes for James' class


Awesome secret weapons: A cereal box repurposed as bakery box (tape it closed, cut open one side) and aerosol frosting. OMGoodness, that frosting in a can makes cupcakes SO MUCH EASIER!






Red Velvet cupcakes for Heidi's class



(Addie also got 2 dozen regular size cupcakes for her class)

*I don't mean this as a brag because, let's keep it real, I'm no super mom--I'm often grumpy, ungroomed, scatterbrained, my house is a mess, and my kids don't do extracurricuar things mostly because I'm unorganized and broke and impatient--so please dont think this is THAT kind of blog*

I took a picture of the clock to prove that I made 72 cupcakes--from box to icing--in less than an hour! WOO HOO!

Earlier this month for Family Night we made a garland of "Things the make our hearts happy" cut from magazines. I really love it--there's even a heart from Gram on there!

Oh, PS, back on the 4th we got a free piano (more on that later). Here is is holding our valentines.

Happy Valentine's Day!

P.S: A poem for today

[say what you want about this sonnet from Shakespeare being over-used...it's beautiful because it's true, and I come to know it's truth more every year as what little beauty and health I started with fade away and yet the love between me and my sweetheart grows--it doesn't alter when it alteration finds--and for that I am deeply humbled and grateful and happy this day!]

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

PPS: Scriptures for today

"A new commandment I give unto you that ye love one another as I have loved you."

-Jesus in John 13:34

Light at the End of the Sleep Deprivation Tunnel

If you even try to talk to me right now, I will yammer incoherently about whatever, and the convo will eventually meander around to SLEEP, or more specifically, my lack thereof. Between whacked elbow, crazy leg, sick/teething baby, and bed-sneaker-inner kindergartener, I am losing my mind. And whatever trace of immune system and hormonal balance I had achieved post-partum. Frick.

And so, dear reader, it is from this state of delirium that I now present to you The Best Post I've Read All Year, courtesy of Kacy.

I am [knock on wood] doing great. I don't feel depressed, mad, tired, overwhelmed, and out of it like I did the first ten years of having kids. I am sure this has everything to do with getting more sleep. If you are in the thick of sleep deprivation it might make you cry to think about other people getting a good night's sleep. I am not saying this to make you feel worse. I just want you to know that there is hope. Sure--it's many, many years away (depending on how many babies you have) but it exists. You might think you are inept at things, can't get it together, don't understand how other people actually do things. It's not you, it's sleep. Just know that you are not functioning on full capacity and you won't for a while. I wrote this two years ago:


I’m lucky because my youngest child, now almost 2, has always slept perfectly and easily. Before you decide to hate me like we hate those people who just can’t seem to gain weight, know that I have 3 other kids who have put me through the ringer. Christian and I are so over staying up all night with kids. We can’t take it. It’s as if little Ellen came to us knowing that one more round of crawling away from the crib on our hands and knees while holding our breath would kill us.

That said, Ellen is going through a phase. I refuse to think of it as anything else (like a permanent change–Don’t even SAY that). She’s napping irregularly and waking up all night. I blame daylight savings. And diaper rash. And a growth spurt. And, in a moment of desperation last night with a flashlight, pin worms. I also blame the devil. It really sucks. The crying, the numbness of arms, the obsessive adding and subtracting to figure out the hours of sleep you will or will not get, letting her cry for too long, giving in and regretting giving in but wishing you would have just given in and put on Super Why 5 hours ago. As awful as it is, it does make me appreciate that it is not always like that anymore. It used to ALWAYS be like that. With little non-sleeping kids, you live like a zombie and you don’t even know it until you come out of the haze 11 years later feeling refreshed. And suddenly you have the time and stamina to foster dogs, sew dresses, and blog like a mother.

I’m sure I’ll miss my babies when they are grown (people always say you do). But here’s some food for thought: What if I don’t? I have an 11-year-old and while I occasionally feel pangs as he grows, I don’t miss him as a baby. Now he’s fun to talk to, has good taste in books and movies, can carry stuff, and knows how to make quesadillas. What’s to miss?I just want to say that I get even more sleep now because I regularly take a nap while Ellen watches a show in the afternoon. I do have to stay up late in order to pick up my son--now 14--from games and activities but for the most part life is getting better. And I still don't miss having a baby. I mean, I like babies and I appreciate them and remember my babies as being cute but I don't miss it. So if I can spare you the guilt you feel when old ladies tell you to "Enjoy this time" I would like to do that. You should enjoy it if you can but if you don't--don't feel bad.

[I remember reading this last year before I was pregnant and thinking, "AMEN! I am fersher not a baby person. I wish I could tell moms of babies that it gets SOOOOO much better! Don't get homicidal/suicidal just yet because it really is just a year or two and then--VOILA!--all better!" Aye, aye, aye...I'm just so bloody TARD. And imbalanced. And appreciative of my husband who is the reason anything around here still functions AT ALL.]