Sometimes life is a little overwhelming for me. I don't know if you know this about me, I know I probably always seem like I have it together. Just a little sarcasm there. Anyone that has been in my general presence knows what a mess I am. At least I feel like it. I don't enjoy schedules, the house only gets cleaned in bits and pieces and then is messy after ten minutes. I have very little control over what my children pilfer from the pantry. I am a bit obsessed with food storage and couponing. I own 5 chickens and 5 tortoises and one meal worm farm (for the chickens). I don't even own a journal. It's hard for me to remember to give Clark his medicine every day (and brush his teeth). I'm not good at including vegetables with every meal, although I'm getting better at it. I'm sometimes very judgmental of people after which I have regret. I love to watch V, Modern Family, and Castle on TV (not that there is anything wrong with that). I have fat arms (there , I said it). I am a fan of adderall induced "get shit done" sessions (sorry, just quoting my sister Staci:) I'm afraid of our country being owned by China, socialized medicine (actually anything socialistic),and our country buying oil from evil dictators instead of just drilling in ANWR already!

Actually, I didn't start this post to tell you my quirks, I just wanted to note that I'm a bit of a mess and a worrier (did I mention that?) and I am resolved to enjoy my slightly messy life. One of the ways I do this is to make an effort to enjoy my children, especially when they are little and especially when I'm not going to be pregnant again. Maybe I'll try to blog more of the cute things they do and say. For example:

Christopher: Mom, those army pants make your butt move!

Clark: I'm fraid uh duh dowk!

One thing I have been doing well lately is reading Junie B. Jones books to my girls each night, and reading scriptures and having prayer with them as well. The books are funny and it's just fun to laugh with them, and the scriptures and prayer provide such great spiritual teaching moments. I am incredibly lucky to be Mom to these fantastic children and have such a wonderful husband !

Our precious little Christopher is having a bit of trouble figuring out a very important lesson in life- lying. No, not lying down, he's got that one down. I mean deceit. He knows a little bit, things that he's picked up from his siblings, but if you're going to be a liar you've got to fully commit and he definitely lacks commitment. This morning, Christopher came into our bedroom claiming that Ella spanked him really hard. This is not hard to believe as she has had a violent streak lately and has really been annoyed with Christopher. So, Rob asks him, " Well why did she spank you?" His reply was blogworthy , as is evidenced by this entry. " Well, I did Not call her a stupid head!" A giggle slipped out of me, but I regained my cool quickly. Then we called Ella in. She claims that she may have accidentally stuck her hand out while passing Christopher in the hall. We made up new rules. No calling people stupid head and no accidentally hitting people in the hall.

The Evil Three Year Old

Sunday was Fathers Day so we made the trek out to north Phoenix to honor our Fathers. Mom was just back from China so we all got fantastic gifts, we ate burgers and had a great time. Another perk for making the trip is that Grandma (time-out) and Grandpa (candy) let the girls stay for a sleep over. The next day they went shopping and swimming and partied Grandma Marolyn style, which included a trip to McDonalds with an awesome playland.

When the girls got home late that night and finished showing me the spoils of the day, they both launched into the story of the evil three year old at the McDonalds playland. Apparently the cute little girl punched them both in the face, punched Emma in the stomach and kicked Emma. This is a little funny to me for a few reasons. Number one: Emma was that little girl when she was three. Number two: Emma is nine and Ella is six. They should be able to block the blows of a three year old. Number three: the use of the word evil to them is soo Dr. Doofenshmirts.

Anyway, after recounting the beating they both received, Ella exclaims "that's okay, cause I gave her a payback!"
Worried about what that entailed, I asked, "what did you do?''
" I chased her!"
When recounting the story to Rob, Ella added, "That little girl sure wasn't as sweet as she looked!"
If only all little girls were as sweet as they looked.

Oui Oui !

So I was driving home from Wal-Mart the other day with Christopher and Clark in the backseat and Christopher asked while driving past the park, "Are those people at the park, Mom?'' to which I replied in my best french accent "Oui Oui!" I don't know why I busted out one of the only French phrases in my vocabulary, but obviously Christopher does not know any french because he started talking about his "wee-wee."
" I have a wee-wee, and mine brudder has a wee-wee, and you don't have a wee-wee, Mom!"
I didn't mean to bring up such an inappropriate topic, so I had to explain myself. "Christopher , "Oui" means "Yes" in french."
By this time I was unbuckling him from his carseat. He looked up at me, obviously very confused and asked me this shocking question, " So you do have a wee-wee, Mom?"
This conversation just shows me how much he really doesn't understand. He doesn't know what french is or why his Mom acts crazy sometimes and uses funny accents, but he does know what his "wee-wee" is. He is also very proud of his "wee-wee", like most boys, and recently he has trained it to only go pee-pee in the potty (or the grass if it's an absolute emercency)! We are soo very proud of him!

Ella graduates from Kindergarten

On graduation morning, I assumed that the girls would be eager to get ready for school (especially Ella), but I assumed wrong. After around the fifth time reminding them to get ready, I busted out my angry voice and threatened to withdraw my offer to go to build-a-bear-workshop for having a great school year. Surprisingly, Ella still didn't want to tear herself away from the television and was complaining, "Well, Mom, my neck hurts when I move it like this!" To which I replied, "Then don't move it that way!" Luckily I can get Ella ready really quickly and even though she lollygagged around I wasn't about to let her miss the last hour and a half of her glorious Kindergarten career. And oh, how glad I am that she made it! Although we don't have a great picture of it, it was quite the ceremony complete with "Pomp and Circumstance", the presentation of some very fancy diplomas and a delightfull rendition of "Off to First Grade," by the graduating Kindergartners. Well, that night, at around three o'clock a.m., Ella started throwing up quite violently. She yelled for me and I sprang out of bed and ran as quick as I could to her room. Rob was already there, because he's just that good, and when the throwing up ended Ella said, "Well, at least my neck feels like it's cleaned out!" That's my girl! She sure knows how to find the silver lining.

Clark Turns Two!!

Our little Clark Fu turned two this week and to celebrate, Mom made him a tasty gluten and casein free treat - Rice Krispy treats made with special "butter." He loved it! We are soo incredibly blessed to have him in our family. He is a ton of fun and personality and he just loves his Mommy! We are soooo lucky. We love you, Clark Fu!

Being a mother of four is hard work and sometimes the kids get left to fend for themselves. I fed Clark and then everybody else needed something ,so when I finally got back to him I found him sacked out in the high chair.
What a little angel!