Jeepers Creepers

How do you start a post when it's been MONTHS since your last one? Just like that, I guess.
So, my man has been out of town since Sunday and it's been especially rough, for some reason. He and I have spent a fairly massive amount of our married lives apart, so you'd think a week would be no biggie, but it kind of has been. You know the saying, "When it rains, it pours"? Well, Monday it really poured. I had serious "mommy meltdown", but thankfully it only lasted a day. Unfortunately, S.J. will probably remember it until he dies. So I'll probably spend the rest of my life apologizing for my incredibly imperfect self and hope that someday he forgives me for being "the worst mom ever". Amidst my imperfection, S.J. said, "If you act like that, no one will want to be your kid." I couldn't have said it better myself.
It has made me ever thankful for my wonderful husband who is incredibly swamped with school and work, but takes time to listen to me rant and even comes to my rescue, or the kids rescue, whichever the case may be. He's much more patient than I and incredibly unselfish. I don't know how I make it through these trips without him, but I think it's Heavenly Father's way of helping me appreciate him just a little more.
I've been watching 3 kids every day now since just before school started and I think it's been really good prep. for me, because we found out a couple months ago that I'm expecting our 5th. (Did I just say FIFTH???) I guess that maybe after 3 extras, 1 will seem like cake? Is that even possible? To say that I'm scared would be an understatement, but I am excited, too. I'm not a fan of the preg. part, but I guess it is a means to an end. ALL the kids are hoping for a girl. Isaac told me we have enough boys in our family. I hope he'll be okay when it's a boy.

Too Little, Too Late

Audrey had her gymnastics meet tonight at 8 (super late for us Taylors), so we dragged all the kids out and watched her smile and perform so proudly. She really did have a good time and it was fun to see all that she learned over the past few months. She doesn't often to get to be the center of attention, so I think that was really good for her.
It was hard for Spencer, Jr. to let his little sister be the center of attention, though. He told my mother-in-law as he sat down that he could do everything these girls were about to do and made sure Audrey knew that her metal wasn't real like his. How do you get kids to be uncompetitive? I just don't know.
So, we got home around 8:40 and the kids just barely went to sleep about 30 minutes ago. Late nights always make for fun mornings, so wish me luck. It's times like these when I'm tempted to just let them sleep. The less chaotic day is motivation, though. So, school it is!

A Quickie

Yesterday was a funny kid day. Isaac and Audrey were both in our bed yesterday morning and Audrey was climbing over Isaac to get to me. She had almost made it without incident, which is really something with Audrey, when Isaac yelled out, "Audrey, you on my toe and it has a tummy ache." Audrey was disgusted at his ignorance and was quick to let him know that our toes to not, in fact, have tummies.
Audrey had an assembly at school about the flag and Betsy Ross made a special appearance. Apparently she falls under the same category as Santa Claus and The Easter Bunny. I told her to tell Spencer who showed up and she replied, with all the confidence in the world, " Butts Rusty." She gets really upset if she sees you laugh at her, so I had to try to hide it.
Kids make life funny. That's for sure.

Nervous Tick

We had our RS birthday party tonight and I was asked to sing a solo, which makes me so nervous, but it really was a great experience. It has, however started me thinking about nerves. Why do we get nervous? I practiced the song I sang at least once a day for about a week, knew all the words and the notes I was to sing, but I was still a pile of the shakes. It took all the courage I had in me to get up in front of those sisters tonight. It's obviously insecurity and a fear of failure. So I have to wonder, how much different would my life be if I were brave? I don't think I'll ever know the answer to that, but, and this will sound strange, I'm thankful for my nerves. They keep me humble and help me appreciate the fact that I can't do much of anything on my own. It's blessings like the tummy flips that help me remember Heavenly Father's hand in my life. I never pray so hard as when I have to get up in front of other people. So, thank Heaven for my insecurities.
I'll end with some kid moments. Spencer asked how my song went and I told him I went squeaky a couple times to which Audrey replied, "Well, didn't you practice?!" Why didn't I think of that? Isaac was out in the office with Spencer yesterday and asked, "Dad, wayw is my bite?"(where is my bike?) He looked around for a minute and then said, "Oh, I sidin on it." And then he giggled as only an Isaac can. Thanks for kids that keep life funny.

Better Late...

I so wish I had remembered to blog last night, because our Family Home Evening was one for the books and there's no way I'm going to remember it all now that an entire day has passed. I'm going to try, though.
Picture if you will Isaac running around like a crazy man, Spencer, Jr. asleep on his daddy's lap, and Audrey drawing pictures of, who knows what, while sitting next to me. Fortunately, after we sang and prayed, things calmed down a bit. We talked about Moses and the burning bush and there were several good comments made after I asked what they thought Jesus came to tell Moses. None of which I can remember now. Spencer wrote them all down since he's giving a talk about how our family is applying the ward goals, but he's downstairs trying to get the kids to stay in bed.
I've also had some great Audrey moments over the past few days that I've forgotten to write about. We've started locking our door at night, because we somehow end up with 2 extra bodies in our bed. Well, tonight Audrey and Isaac came back upstairs while I was folding laundry and since Spencer was at Mutual, I had the door open. Audrey volunteered to put her clothes away, but she wanted to make sure she'd be able to get back in, so she made me "pinky squared." I'm pretty sure that means more than your typical pinky swear.
She was doing something a couple days ago and wanted to make sure that her "nickles" weren't going to get scraped up.
And finally, she has made up her own language. She was talking to me yesterday and threw some word in to the conversation that I had never heard before. I asked her what it meant and, without hesitation, she had a definition. Since then, she's been throwing all sorts of crazy words around. She makes me laugh, that's for sure. She makes me cry, too, but I'm trying to focus on the good and there's definitely plenty of it.

KaBlam!!!

So, I've obviously been a slacker the past couple days. In my defense, it has been a little crazy, though. You see, I'm a little bit, or a lotta bit, of a dork.
Spencer had Friday off, so we spent most of the morning running around Provo getting things for his Klondike camp out and the finishings of our dining room. I dropped him off at home around 11:30 so he could get his math final finished up and I headed to Orem to drop some food off for my sister's work party and pick Audrey's glasses up. After we picked the glasses up, Audrey and Isaac were begging to get some food from my sister, so I obliged. While they were in getting grub, I waited in the parking lot in a spot reserved for someone else, but was assured by my sister that it would be fine since it was Friday and they weren't supposed to be working that day. As I waited, a car pulled out across the parking lot and since I was paranoid, I went to park in the spot they pulled out of. Just as I turned the car off, my sister came out with the kids. I was very careful not to hit the car next me, got to where I could see the kids clearly, and began waving excitedly toward them. The next thing I knew, I had slammed into a cement barrier. So, I backed up and my entire bumper fell off. That's right, the whole thing. To top it all off, many of my sister's co-workers came out to check it out. Not my brightest shining moment.
Now, I've gone over this moment several times in my head. How are you in such a place that you don't see a cement barrier.? Looking back, I still have no answer. A few funny kid moments have come from it, though. Audrey and Isaac saw the whole thing, so as I was telling another sister about it, Audrey became very animated as she reinacted the accident. There's no way I could adequately retell as she did, so just use your imagination.
On the way home, Audrey said 3 or 4 times, "Mom, I'm so sorry that happened." To which I replied, "Oh, Audrey, it's okay. It's not your fault." And she said, "Oh, I know. But, I'm still sorry you did that." The next words out of her mouth were, "Mom, I bet the people in their cars are embarrassed by our car." Yes, Audrey, I'm sure they were. I know I was. And when I picked Spencer, Jr. up from school, he looked at the car and said with a laugh, "Wow, mom! That's a bad one." Yes son, it is. It guess they know more now than ever just how human their mom is.
I missed church again today since Isaac and Michael are both sick, but hopefully all the kids will be well by next week, so I can become active again. Spencer did say it was pretty quiet since he and Jr. were the only two there. I'm glad one of us had some peace. :)

Do My Best

When I got the calling to be the Bear Asst. last July, I was super intimidated. First of all, I have never been a scout, surprising, I know, so I had no idea what a Bear even was. The only things I know about scouts were learned from going to Pack Meetings with my brothers. (Who pays attention then?) Anyway, the ward boundaries changed in November and I was suddenly the Bear Leader. Whoa!!!
Well, I'm finally getting the hang of it and am liking it way more than I thought I would. We had Pack Meeting tonight and it was pretty stinkin' fun. We got to make paper airplanes, yell a lot, and watch grown men try to whistle with crackers in their mouths. What other calling in the church is there that allows you to act like an 8-10 year old kid and get away with it? So, even though I was scared at first, I'm really liking it and the challenges it brings.