Anderson Island

I spent last weekend with my mom, dad, two neices (Haley and Ellana), and my two kids at a little cabin that my parents have on Anderson Island.

What a perfect weekend to be there!  The cabin is on a beautiful, peaceful lake.  Here are the girls enjoying the paddle boat.
The sun was pretty bright, but the lake was perfect.
You have to take a ferry to Anderson Island.  It's not far from home as the crow flies, but the ferry makes the whole place a quiet retreat.
There is another lake just through the woods in the above picture.  It has a great kiddie beach and you can have motor boats there.  It gets a little more action on a sunny weekend, but is great for the kids.  Below is Ellana in the pink life jacket, Haley in the yellow life jacket, Bethelle in the white with red cherries, Dad holding Rigby, and Mom (yes, she's in jeans in the lake; she forgot to pack a suit or shorts).
We had a great time, but we were ready to come home.  We had thought that three adults could handle four children, but they were so little (8mo, 2, 3, and 4).

Some recent pictures

Just a few cute pictures - Bethelle and her favorite doll, Aiee, in matching dresses.

Rigby playing at the mall.  Get a good look at the crossed eyes.  They'll be fixed next week!   Aargh!

Bethelle at the park... we finally had a nice day!

Rigby too!  He is such a climber and always seems fearless, but even though we have one at home, he is a little unsure of the swing.
She usually likes a "big girl" swing, but she wanted to be close to Rigby.  Does anything make a mom happier than to see her kids love each other?

Bethelle is so good to let me do her hair.  This creation involved watching a little "Sound of Music" - a recent favorite.

The Zone

Nick and I are officially in The Zone.  If you haven't heard of it, it's a diet (or lifestyle, as it's supposed to be) that's pretty much what you see in the picture above.  Basically, everytime you eat anything, you keep your proportions at 9 grams carbs: 7 grams protein: 3 grams fat.  You can then make it better by watching your glycemic indices, getting your carbs mostly from fruits and veggies, and some of your fat of the mono- or poly-unsaturated variety.

I really like learning about health, and this seems a great plan to me.  I think that we were designed by an intelligent creator to be best fitted for survival by living off the land in a natural way.  This seems to me the way that people on a farm would eat.  I do not believe that we were designed to thrive in a sea of fast food and minivan lives.  I enjoy my minivan, but I'd like to prolong my life and health by eating farm-style, with a few added benefits of world-wide shipping and variety.

Some of you know that when I was pregnant with Bethelle, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  In a nut shell, this is like type-2 diabetes, except that it only lasts for the last three months of pregnancy.  Those who have had this have a 50% chance of becoming diabetic later in life.  Knowing now that I am predisposed for this scary, life-altering disease, it is so important that I maintain not only a healthy weight, but healthy cells and organs.  Although we may not keep up with The Zone forever, we've done it in the past and always learn to incorporate some of its principles into the lifestyle that we do maintain.

I've lost almost five pounds now.  I'm really not too worried about loosing much more.  I've never weighed any less than this since I have been this height, but I guess I wouldn't mind, and it just feels good to know how healthfully we are eating.  And my meals are so pretty with all these fruits and veggies!

We still enjoy opportunities to cheat!  Food is for enjoyment as well as health!  Bon appetit!

Explaining It Away

Bethelle bonked her head several times last night.  I try to keep little injuries light-hearted so that she doesn't learn to burst into sobs more often than she should.  "Is there a bonking magnet in your head?!" I quipped.  We had a few cute laughs.

Bethelle took my wisdom seriously, it seemed.  Today at the park, she was playing with some slightly older girls when she hit her head on something.  "I have a bonking magnet in my head," she politely explained.

If You Don't See Me This Week...

In the past week, dead bees have been collecting themselves on the floor in my laundry room.  If you read my post about the mountain beaver, you know that I do not deal with pest problems.  However, I am possessive about the laundry, so I don't think Nick knew about the bees until recently.  They've been accumulating so quickly, I've been afraid to go into that room.

Nick finally got in there today (he's probably wondering where his clothes are) to take care of them and to investigate.  He disposed of 22 fuzzy, little, fat bodies.  He pulled the dryer out and fixed a leak in the vent line and checked it from the outside, but we can't find the source of these hospice bees.

I am ready to go back in now, but I really hope that I do not find the source of the problem somewhere.  I hope it's just gone.

As the carnage has been building, so has the laundry.  I could be in there for quite a while.

If Patience is a Virtue

Bethelle got in trouble today.

In recent meals, I've had success getting her to eat the less tempting part of the entree by putting her fruit or other treat in front of her, in a little separate bowl, past her plate.  She knows what she has to do to get to the bowl.  Today at lunch, she had some dried apricots waiting to see the bottom of her chili bowl.  I came upon her with missing apricots and chili still chilling.

"Bethelle, did you eat your apricots?"

"No."

"What happened to them?"

"I don't know."

Lying is second only to disobedience in our house.  The first order of business was a time-out, followed by a discussion.  Next, I told her that since she had already eaten the treat, that meant that she had to finish the chili.  She must sit in her chair until the chili was gone.  She said she was full, but I told her that's what happens when you eat the treat first.

Bethelle sat in that chair for at least two hours.  Maybe 2 1/2.  She just sang and played and told me that I am "the best kid ever".  She only had about two big bites in the bowl, but she just sat and sat.  She finally ate it, happily.  I am amazed that she would do that without complaint.  Now we'll just have to see how much she minded it by if it ever happens again.

Meeting a Real Princess

Recently, Bethelle attended her first live play.  She went with both Grandmas and her mommy to Cinderella at Peninsula High School.  She was in love, and came back the next night with her uncle, Kyle.

She was a little nervous when she got to meet Cinderella in person after the show...
But she seemed to warm up to her, and even showed her that she was a princess too (princesses always wear dresses).

They spun in their dresses together.  It was so cute.  Bethelle cried a little when we left; she loved her soooo much.

{The school wall behind them was ugly... Princesses need sparkles.}

Get Out Your Kleenex

In the car yesterday, Bethelle was talking about Rigby, and said, "Mom, we're the best friends in the whole world!"

. . .

Tonight I was reading on the couch with Bethelle snuggled up next to me, drawing, and Rigby playing on the floor.

Bethelle: Mom, did you know that I love Jesus and Heavenly Father?

Me: You do? That makes me so happy.

Bethelle:  Yes.  I love Mommy and Jesus and Heavenly Father.

Me: Did you know that they love you too?

Bethelle: Uh-huh.

Me: Did you know that they made you?

Bethelle: Yep.

Me: Isn't that nice that they would make you so that you could come live with me?

Bethelle: Yes, because a long time ago, you didn't have me and there was no Rigby and there was just Mommy and Daddy and I lived with Jesus and I didn't love you yet.

Me: Are you glad that you got to come live with me for a while?

Bethelle: Yeah, because I love you, Mom.

. . .

sniffle, sniffle

A Real Mother's Day

I know that the actual calendared event was several weeks ago, but I have the greatest husband!  Last night I was up late.  When I finally went to bed just after midnight, I crept slowly in the dark to my side of the bed.  Nick is very particular about sides.  It is important that he sleep on the right.  So, as I was silently slipping into the left side, I was very surprised to bump into Nick.  He had fallen asleep on my side so that it would be warm for me when I went to bed.  Isn't that great?  I am constantly cold!

This morning, Nick left for church meetings just as I was getting out of bed.  Every Sunday, because of Nick's meetings, I have to get the whole family ready for church myself.  We sometimes run a few minutes late, like today...  When I was approaching the car with my hands full of babies, diaper bag, scriptures, and lesson materials (I should've tried for 2 trips), I remembered that neither of the car seats were in the van.  Errr!  In the happy ending, I got to the car and saw that Nick had installed both of them on his way out.

For Mother's Day, Nick got me this clock for my kitchen.  I had wanted it, and I was so excited.  I just love damask.  Isn't it pretty?!!  But the better mother's present is to know that he took a couple moments to help me and was thinking about me when I wasn't even around.

Camouflage and Go Seek

Move One Space

Bethelle is very loving to Rigby lately.  I can occasionally get out of a baby-proof room for a minute or two while she entertains him.  We have a ladder set up in the family room right now (don't ask why - I'm not going there).  Today I heard Bethelle calling for me, "Mom, Rigby ate the ladder!"

Her stomach growled before dinner and she said, "My tummy sneezed!"

We try not to say words like shoot, darn, heck, etc. around Bethelle.  I just don't want to hear these words coming from such a cutie yet.  Her grandma recently took her shopping and got Candyland.  They played it together.  Grandma drew a "one square" card and said, "oh darn." Bethelle asked why she said that (this was a brand new word to her).  Grandma explained that she had wanted a two square card, but got a one square.  Bethelle drew next.  She saw it and said, "Look, I got a darn!"

This one's for you, Meagan!

One of my former roommates just found out she's having a boy!  This post is in response to her request for a list of my favorite baby products.  I think that many of you who read this are also young mothers or grandmothers, so enjoy...

Baby Bjorn - Gotta have it.  I have two.  You don't need two.  Why do I have two?

They're a little pricey, but we got one of ours on Craiglist for just $30.

Munchkin fresh food feeders - These are like an extra pair of hands.  I can put a chunk of apple in these in 3 seconds flat and Rigby loves to suck on it.  It really buys me a lot of time and keeps him happy.
Highchair with a snap out, dishwasher safe tray - This one is not particularly attractive, but it shows the tray.

An exersaucer -  I didn't have one when Bethelle was a baby.  I have regrets.
The one-piece-and-you're-dressed romper - Babies do not have waists.  Pants and shirts do not stay in their proper place, hence the onesie.  The romper is the next step in the evolution of the onesie.  It stays on them just as intended, so the baby looks cute and together.  When Rigby wears regular pants, they end up off of him by the middle of the day.
Pack-n-play - So he can sleep at Grandma's and so he's safe when you find out the house is not as baby proof as you thought it was.
Avent binkies - Both of my kids have been pacifier snobs.  I tried many kinds, but they both will not take any other style of binkie.  On my next child, I will save time and money by skipping straight to Avent.
Joovy Caboose - You really don't need this until you have two kids, but if you get it with just one, you can use the extra space to carry shopping bags, 2x4's, whatever.  I love my stroller.  It has this great little sit-or-stand place in the back, perfect for Bethelle to get off and on as she likes.
Desitin - I haven't tried any other brand, but this stuff is like magic.  Oh!  I have tried the Target knock-off version.  Don't.  It is NOT like magic.  Be sure to have this before you need it.
Tums - Why?  This is also a diaper rash cure/preventer.  There is not much harder on a mom and baby than a bout of chronic diaper rash.  My dr told me about this cure.  It neutralizes the acidity of their... output...  Anyway, you crush half of a Tums and mix it with 2 ounces of either apricot or papaya nectar (not the juice stuff with the corn syrup in it - straight nectar).  They can have this up to 2 times per day.  It really fixes the problem.  Keep some nectar on hand; it can be hard to find in an emergency.
iPod - If you have one, you love one.