Tea Party, and other randomness

The other day, Samantha called to me excitedly, "Mom!! You HAVE to come in my room, for a VERY special surprise!" I was secretly a little worried, considering some of her recent "surprises" have included a big blanket fort, some stickers on the side of her dresser, a huge mess of dried clay on the floor, marker masterpieces on the kitchen counter, etc. But she was adamant that I would LOVE this surprise FOR SURE. So, I obediently followed her, and found her darling miniature tea set arranged on her little IKEA table, set up perfectly for a tea party.

I happened to be holding Natalie at the time, but was quick to show my enthusiasm by grabbing some chocolate graham crackers and juice for the party. Then I asked Sammie if it would be okay if Natalie joined us... What a fun idea! You can probably imagine how Samantha squealed in delight. And so, we had ourselves a little tea party, with Big Bear, and Natalie...

Natalie got her own special seat in Samantha's doll stroller (my idea, actually). She was very solemn and non-conversational, and didn't even pretend to taste the tiny graham cracker crumb I put on her lower lip.

I couldn't stop laughing, she just looked so cute/funny, sitting up to the table like a big girl. She really looked just like one of the dolls Sam is always strolling around the house...

I just hope Samantha doesn't try for a second round when I'm not around, eh?!

Some other random pics I thought I'd share just for fun...

I'm not sure what these three cousins were up to, but they each got one of Natalie's bottles and filled it with water that they were dripping into their mouths "without sucking on them," they told me. Must have been some kind of game. Betcha it was Seth's idea, he comes up with some fun and crazy stuff!

Another cute Natalie picture, just because I can't resist...

And I love this one of Sammie and Natalie together. Sweet smiley sisters!

Here's one of my grandma, holding little Natalie. She always says she doesn't like to see herself in pictures, but I think this one's a great one...

And this last one, I thought it was funny when I took it, because Spencer just curled up on the kitchen floor while I was making dinner one night and fell fast asleep...

Turns out, it wasn't quite as funny as I thought. The poor kid had a really high fever and was sick for several days after that. We had to take him to urgent care two different nights, and eventually made a trip to the ER. No fun! They never got a clear diagnosis of what was wrong with him, but the ER doctor prescribed some antibiotics that helped knock his fever down and get him back to normal.

Only, the antibiotic also messed with his digestive system, and he's still recovering from that. Sigh. He has a bad diaper rash and it stays bad because... well, if you want to talk poopy talk with me, I'll tell you over the phone. But I'll just say, the reason I'm STILL up at nearly 1 a.m. again is not just to blog. In the time that I've been writing this and checking craigslist and overstock.com for deals, I've also been in and out of Spencer's room probably 10 times since 10 p.m. (the time I put on my pj's and VOWED I would be in bed by 11 tonight). I've been comforting him, changing him and... there he goes again. Sigh.

Well, just a few more pics to put up while I have the time. Then hopefully he'll calm down enough that I can sleep. I thought I'd add a picture of our Christmas morning, after Santa came but before the kids woke up...

It was a great Christmas, and these two pics may be the only ones that end up on my blog, unless I get some spare time here in the near future (not likely, with 10 days till our move). Here's some of the cousins, at our Christmas Eve dinner/party. They all got their pajamas on, except Connor. I think they looks so cute all together...

And here are a few of the only pictures of our New Year's trip to visit with my parents and sibs...

Kind of a funny story, this series (above and below). My mom got some of those metal brainteaser puzzles, where you have to remove the small silver ring from all the hoops and loops of the bigger rings. You know what I'm talking about? Well, we had all seen them sitting around, but no one was really too interested in them. Then, one afternoon, my mom and dad left for a few hours. But my mom called on her cell phone and I answered...

Mom: Hi Kam! I was just thinking, your brothers are just sitting around there, visiting. Maybe they'd like to work on those little metal brainteasers that are up on the counter, if you wouldn't mind telling them.

Me: Okay, I'll let them know. (Thinking that was an odd request).

Mom: I especially think Blaine might like them. He's really good at figuring out those kinds of things.

Me: Yeah, he is.

Mom: And Trent. He is great at puzzles and problem solving, you know?

Me: Uh huh. I'll tell him, too.

Mom: Oh, and even Lisa might like to try them. She's really smart like that!

Me (just starting to think to myself, "what about ME being smart like that?" while at the same time thinking, did she really just call to tell me to tell them to play with her metal puzzle things?"): I'll tell Lisa, too, Mom.

Mom: You know, even Brian might like to try those. He's so good at figuring things out!!

I waited again for my own invitation. Nothing. So finally, Me: Yeah, Brian's really smart. (pause.) Um, Mom? Did you really just call to tell me to tell them to work on those brainteasers?

Mom: Well... yes. I just think they'd really like figuring them out.

Me (feeling slightly defensive, in a joking way, of couse): Ummm... what about me?

Mom: YOU?? (longer pause) I, uhh, I don't think YOU would like those puzzle things, would you??!?

Ha! I got the picture. And I passed on the message. And, they all laughed, and then proceeded to play with her little brainteasers for more than an HOUR!

I tried working on them for about 5 minutes. My mom was right; I'm not smart like that. heh heh.

Welp, I think/hope Spencer is finally sleeping. Whew! And it's my same ol' bedtime again... 1 a.m. Like clockwork. So off I go, ready for another night of a few blessed hours of sleep.

Endless Torment

There's a phrase in the scriptures that describes what will be the punishment for those who do really bad things in this life, or do not live up to what they were capable of... those who just don't "make it." That phrase is: Endless Torment.

Well, I am quite sure I know what part of my own personal Endless Torment would be, if I'm one of those unlucky ones who just doesn't "make it." ....

I'd be placed on a big, soft comfortable bed with the perfect pillow and the perfect amount of blankets and the lights dimmed just so, and maybe even a "just in case" glass of water on a little table beside the bed. Then, I'd be told that I could sleep whenever I wanted to. Oh boy!!!

Only,

every time I'd close my eyes and just barely start to drift off to that heavenly dreamland of sleep...

SOMEONE WOULD...

WAKE

ME

UP.

And that, my friends, would be Endless Torment. To me, anyway.

Sigh.

I know, because it happens to me alllllll the time around here. I long for just one sleep where I get to wake up all on my own. Just once. It seems soooo very long ago that I had that privilege. Here are pictures of my sweet little "tormentors."

Here's the main source...


I know, she looks all innocent and sweet, right??

Who? Me??

And here's a likely accomplice...

Don't be fooled by that cute little finger-and-blanket rouse.

Or those sweet baby blues...

And this one here... yeah, she's as tough as she looks...

They look like they're just sweetly posing for a sibling picture, right?

But what if they're secretly plotting??

Conspiring. See, doesn't it just look like Samantha is whispering to Natalie, "You take the 5- 6:30 a.m. shift. Spencer's got 2-3 a.m. covered, and I'll make sure I'm up for the day by 7." Can't you see it??

Because this is what they want...

And they do usually get what they want, of course.

Even this one gets in on the "tormenting" action, often taking the "lets talk while I'm taking a 12:30 a.m. work break" ...

And naps are usually scarce these days, between this...

And this...

There's really no need for this...

When I've got this...

All of this is in jest, really. Except for the part about me missing my sleep. I guess it just comes with the Mom territory, huh? And I'm happy to take it. In fact, I'm quite sure my Endless Torment is not as bad as Brian's current Endless Torment... he just never gets to sleep. Period. But that's a story for another time.

Bye for now, just thought I'd share some cute pics of the kids and a "secret wish" of mine... Sleep. Sleep. Sleep.

Change of Plans

Well, it's been a long while again. And it may be another while before I get a lot posted on here. I'm just not in the blogging mood these days. (I think it has to do with having three kids, which would be worth blogging about, if I could just find the time.) But for today...

It has been brought to my attention that I have news to share and I might as well share it in a way that it travels fast and reaches the people who like to keep up with our news. So, I'm blogging about our move.

For those of you who got our Christmas card (and sorry if you didn't... I lost my address book awhile back and am still "reconstructing"), well, you probably think to yourself, "Ah! I know what this news is she speaks of. I read it in their Christmas card." Right?

Well, actually... right, and wrong. See, I have been quite remiss in blogging these past few months, and have deliberately not mentioned our move because nothing seemed very definite except the fact that we were moving. To London. To do the same thing we were doing before we moved to Idaho.

And then, finally, by Christmas, I felt like I had wrapped my head around the whole idea enough that I could at least include that bit of info in our Christmas cards. "We're moving to London," I wrote, trying to sound more enthusiastic and less overwhelmed than I felt. There are pros and cons to a move like this, and I'm afraid my current trend is to "gear up" for the cons, before trying to get excited about pros. Why can't I be more like Brian, or Blaine, or my mom, and focus on the positives first, I wonder? But that has very little to do with what I'm actually trying to write here.

Well, so we're NOT moving to London anymore. We're moving to New York. As in, New York City. And Brian's going back to work for the same firm he worked for in London, but he'll be in their New York office this time. And the kids and I will live in the suburbs nearby, and Brian will most likely live in his office most of the time, and see us on weekends. (You are reading that last sentence as a joke, I presume, and I wish it was. sigh.)

There. I've officially announced our move on my blog. Whew! I'm not sure what else to say? I could tell about the weird struggle Brian and I were both having about the decision to move back to London. It was officially my idea, way back a few weeks after Natalie was born... Brian was trying to decide whether to go back to work for his firm from before, and I told him NO WAY did I ever want to live in New York, (which is where one of the partners in the New York office wanted him to go). But I admitted I could probably do London again for awhile. Within a few days, the idea grew on us both, and we talked to S&S and got things set to go back to the UK.

But then, there was this incredibly long wait for visas (they eventually told us mid-February or March?), and the second-guessing started. I started getting really wistful and sappy about every little thing we were leaving behind. I started buying clothes (because they cost so much more there than they do here) and all my favorite "American" things to stock up and bring with us (like Kraft Mac&Cheese... how could my kids survive without it?! ha!). And every family event felt like our LAST time with everyone all together -- our LAST Thanksgiving, our LAST holiday season, our first AND LAST Christmas in our new home. (I blame all the sappiness partly on the fact that I'm still a sleep-deprived nursing mom.)

By New Years, I still felt like I was really dragging my feet, thinking about how hard it was going to be to drag three kids around London. Little things -- like paying a pound deposit to "rent" a shopping cart at the grocery store, or all the driving frustrations on those tiny roads with speed cameras, or trying to take three kids on a bus or the Tube -- kept getting to me. I'd get this overwhelmed, panicky feeling, like I just really didn't want to go. Poor Brian, to have to constantly be reminding me that it would be okay.

Then, one morning last week, Brian woke up and decided we should move to New York instead. It wasn't really that simple, but it kinda felt like it, to me. Once he mentioned it, it was almost like someone turned on a light bulb for both of us. We mulled it over, prayed about it, talked about it incessantly through last weekend. And by Monday afternoon, Brian asked the partner in NY if it'd be okay to change our move plans and come to NY instead. Two minutes later, it was a done deal.

I'm still not sure why I was so adamant that I DIDN'T want to live in New York when we first started talking about it. And I'm also not sure why we were so definite about going to London, or what changed to make New York suddenly seem like the right place for us. But it's where we're headed, and I'm actually quite excited about it now. Even though it's going to be sad to leave here, this will be a good thing for our family, I believe.

And that's a true story, written at midnight, by a very tired, uninspired blogger-mom who is now very content to go to New York instead of London, and is also very ready to go to bed! G'nite!

Christmas favorites

It's Christmas Eve day, and Brian took Samantha and Spencer shopping with him so I could rest and get some things done. Instead of toasting the bread for stuffing or slicing the yams (we're having a big Christmas Eve dinner here tonight), or taking a little nap with Natalie (tempting, as I'm a little "under the weather" today, sigh)... well, instead, I'm blogging quickly about all the fun Christmasy things I like....

First, our tree...

We get a real one every year. I love it. This year I picked it out with Sammie and Spencer, after picking up Sam from preschool one day. We looked around the lot for 3 minutes, and found a nice round $20 fir tree, and said, "this is it!" The rustic Santa-man tree seller hoisted it on top of our van and tied it down for us, Brian cut off the base and put it in our stand, and the kids helped me decorate it. It smelled wonderful for the first day and a half. And yes, it is now dead and needles are everywhere. But who cares? It's Christmas tradition and I've decided it's one we'll keep for

now -- the Bishops are a Real Tree family. And a Colored Light Tree family. :)

Next, favorite thing -- our wall of Christmas cards. I LOVE the tradition of sending cards back and forth. I'm one of those people who really does read every last word you write on your extra newsy letter. And I'm also one of those people who gets self conscious about our newsy letter and tried to keep it brief for those other people who don't really like the long newsy Christmas letters accompanying cards. Anyway, here's our lovely wall of cards, if you look close, yours is probably up there! Even the ones from the bank get a place...

This year the kids made gingerbread houses over at Grandma and Grandpa Bishop's house. It was so fun. I didn't have my camera there, but here's the shot of them with their finished houses when they brought them home... before they picked off all the yummy gumdrops...

We got some lovely Christmas snow this past Sunday afternoon. It was the big, soft, fluffy kind, perfect for making a snowman. So, Brian and Samantha made this lovely guy in our front yard....

Then, on Monday, Brian pulled Samantha and Spencer around the back yard on the sleds. I cheered them on from our back porch, in my slippers. :)

And of course, we love all the Christmas goodies. We've had fun making treats for our neighbors this year. Brian has been the ring leader with this. Here he is with the kids, making oreo truffles. We also made chocolate fudge, peanutbutter fudge, coconut joys, chocolate dipped pretzels, and ... hmm, seems like we made one more thing, but I don't remember what is was. Hopefully our neighbors enjoyed it!

One more new favorite for me this Christmas is our sweet little baby Natalie. She's so much fun! I just have to include a picture or two of her, for fun. She's supposed to be Baby Jesus in a live nativity tonight. She is a bit congested, so we'll have to see how she feels tonight. Here she is in her little Christmas outfit this morning...

And another one from yesterday, just because. Oh, it's the wrong direction. Oh well...

Merry Christmas to everyone! Hope all is well with everyone!!

My time

I've been wanting to write this post for quite some time.

But have had trouble finding the time.

See, I'm not even sure exactly how I mean the title of the post...

Am I talking about My time -- as in, I wish I had more of it to myself?

Or is it more of a statement like, My time, maybe with a little question mark at the end, -- as in, where is it going? how do I spend it? how does it slip away from me soooo fast?!

Or do I really mean it with a small sigh, like, my time -- something I used to organize and plan out, but now I just do what I can, when I can.

I guess the real statement here is that I have some "issues" with my time right now. I mean, I know I still have the same 24 hours a day that everyone has. But somehow, I feel like there's just less time to get it all done now. I'm sleeping less, showering faster, and still barely managed to be on time for church yesterday. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I mean, I'm doing laundry more often, vacuuming the floors more, shopping more, cooking more, (even blogging more) and yet my list of daily "to dos" seems longer than ever! How is that even possible?!

Ah, yes, I have THREE kids now, instead of TWO. And yes, I'm still "adjusting" to that new phase. But in my mind, it seems like it HAS to be more than just that. I mean, I kind of feel a little bit crazy right now. Not in a you-should-be-worried-about-me way, but in a way that I just can't focus on one thing at a time anymore. At all. I honestly feel like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off.

For instance, I started folding yet another load of laundry the other day. I found a pair of Samantha's tights with a hole in the toe. Oh, I thought to myself. I should go sew that hole really quickly, and she can wear these again. So, I go to the sewing machine and start to sew the tights. Halfway through the one-inch stitch, I notice the cap that holds the thread in place is missing. Now, where was that missing cap? I think, as I start looking around in drawers and on the desk near the machine. I move a pile of Natalie's clothes that are on the desk, and realize they are yet another pile of too-small clothes that I meant to put away. Actually, maybe I should call the lady in our ward who had a newborn and see if she needs some cute winter jammies for her girl. So, I leave the room, holding a pile of clothes, and call the lady and leave her a message. I set the too-small clothes on the back of the couch and continue with my laundry for a few minutes. Then I see the clothes again and remember I meant to clean out Natalie's drawers, getting out ALL her too-small clothes so the next size can fit. So, I take the clothes back to her room and start organizing her drawers, pulling all her clothes out and putting them in piles on the floor. But there's a couple of toys the kids have left in her drawers, so I start to put them back in the toy box and see that there are lots of non-toys in the toy box. So then I start putting all the non-toys back where they go... the spatula goes back in the kitchen. Is the dishwasher clean? Oh yes it is. So, I start unloading. Spencer comes to help and has a poopy diaper. Dishwasher still open, off we go to Spencer's room to change him. In the process of changing him, I notice his suitcase from our trip last week, still sitting halfway unpacked under his bed. I better unpack his clothes back into drawers, right? But as I'm unpacking him, I start to wonder where his little red Christmas sweater went. Did we leave it in Utah? I better check on the dryer and see if maybe I already washed it. Nope, it's not on the dryer, but there's my pair of jeans -- maybe I should get dressed? I take my jeans and head for the shower, passing the couch full of laundry again. The laundry reminds me of the tights and I head back in Natalie's room/sewing room to find a huge pile of Natalie's clothes on the floor, the tights still on the sewing machine, and that cap for the thread sitting on the corner of the desk. Ah..... You can see where this is going, right? Just around and around and around. Even more dizzying than it used to be.

At the end of a day, I look at my list of "to dos" (if I can even FIND it and don't have to write another one), and I do wonder where my time has gone.

Where was I going with all of this? I don't think I even remember.

Ah, Spencer needs me to find his blanket. And get him dressed. And I'm still not showered. And we have to go pick out Sammie's present from Grandma Eva and Grandpa Doug at Walgreens. And mail Christmas cards (that I stayed up till 1 a.m. writing, again). And we have rehearsal at 11 for the nativity that Samantha and Natalie will be in this week. Speaking of Natalie... I think it's time for her to eat again. Oh my!

Maybe it IS just three kids?

I do miss my time.

and I do wonder where my time goes.

Sigh. my time.

Samantha, our FIVE-year-old

Hard to believe, our sweet Samantha turned five yesterday! She has been soooo excited about her birthday this year, and had an official countdown -- telling everyone there were only 11 more days, then 9 more days, then 6, etc.

Sadly, we forgot the camera for ALL of our birthday festivities, and didn't get a single picture of our Birthday Girl right on her actual birthday. But here are some recent fun pictures of her that I love...

Some things about Samantha that we love:

-- She really IS our big helper girl. She sets the table every night -- often without being asked. She also helps unload the dishwasher, and keeps her room clean(er). When I need something from another room, she loves to bring it to me, or loves to calm Natalie while I'm doing other things.

-- She loves learning new things, especially reading. She is starting to spell things out and sound things out on her own. When her friend Brielle (and family) was here visiting last month, she made a sign to put on their door to keep Spencer and Zachary out. It said, Keep Out Boys, as follows...

-- Samantha is really creative, and loves to draw, color, paint, and "make" things with paper, glue, and scissors. She can go through a ream of paper a week, easily, if we let her. Markers are a favorite, and coloring books too, but she also loves to make her own original artwork. (She has taped as many as 30 different drawings to her special wall in our hall, and changes them out regularly.)

-- She loves to make a plan, and stick to a schedule. She'll often ask me in the morning, what's the plan for today? If I've suggested an idea of something fun we might do, it automatically becomes part of the "plan" and cannot be forgotten.

-- She also really enjoys spending time with friends and family. Her cousins are by far her favorite friends around. She gets soooo excited when we go to visit any of the cousins, here or far away. Here she is, being very silly with her cousin Seth...

--Samantha loves to read the scriptures as a family. In fact, we have some scripture videos that go along with our animated scripture story books for kids, and she LOVES to watch the videos while she colors or draws. If she asks to watch a movie, most of the time she prefers the scripture stories, and can recite them back almost verbatim.

-- She also loves to go to church. She has the most wonderful primary teachers and she adores them. I've never seen her be so eager to please as she is when she's at church with her teachers. She soaks up their positive attention and is the angel child when they're around. (We should start trying to sit by them during Sacrament meeting, ha!)

-- Samantha has an optimistic attitude most of the time. She can be a bit of a drama queen, but usually tries to make the best of any situation. She stays cheerful and forgets the "wrongs" of her bad days very easily.

-- Her best friend is Spencer, and she loves to be his big sister AND his boss. I have to remind her frequently that she is not the mom. But other than that, they love to play together and entertain each other all day long.

-- She has recently decided that she does not want to be called Sam. (It's too boyish). Or Sam-Sam. Or Sammie-Kabammie (it's an inside thing with her grandpa). But Sammie or Samantha is still okay.

-- She loves all things princess and strawberry shortcake, and got a Polly Princess set for her birthday. She still loves playing dress-up, and some days will still change 4-6 times a day. But I can see that phase starting to fade, as she prefers to spend more time reading books or coloring.

And now, for some less recent pictures of our girl, just for fun...