Groundhog Day

Waking up today to another first day of school made me think of the 1993 movie, Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. And then I remembered it was our anniversary today. Well, at least we're not getting married again today, because that would just be really freaky.

In Harm's Way

Jeremy joined his big brother Matt at school today. His new teacher is Mrs. Harms. She's from Minnesota, and is new to the school this year. Jeremy was very excited to start kindergarten and wanted Matt to walk him to his class. Of course, I followed closely behind.
The school bell rang, and Mrs. Harms politely dismissed the parents. As we all shuffled slowly out of the classroom I got to thinking; given Jeremy's extreme precociousness, I'm not sure if it's the student or the teacher who I'm putting in "harm's" way.

Get ready, get set, get learning!

Becoming a Ririe

My first memory of Brent was at the end of my senior year in high school, 1987. We were all piling into cars after seminary, and because I had an orthodontist appointment after school, I was privileged to have my parents' truck for the day. Brent was standing out there alone, trying not to look too obvious that he was in need of a ride. I offered, he accepted. We both distinctly remember hanging out in my parents' truck that morning before school, talking about who knows what. There he was, this awkward little fifteen year old boy looking at me with those wishing eyes. But he was a sophomore, and I was a senior.
After graduation I headed off to BYU. I returned home in December1989 to pursue my nursing degree at a local college. Two months later, at a Young Adult dance, in steps Brent again. I didn't even recognize him. He wasn't a little boy anymore, and he was old enough to date. The following month, St Patrick's Day, we met up again at a really lame institute dance. It still turned out to be a lucky day. Several of us ditched the dance to go hang out at Denny's. My sweet little Brent trying to look all cool in the family station wagon. Our conversation began over a hot fudge sundae at Denny's and continued at my parents' house until about 2:00 in the morning, when Larraine called wondering where her son was. (She had good reason to worry. The year prior, Brent had fallen asleep at the wheel, crashed into the axel of a diesel, and, by the grace of God, survived virtually unharmed.)

The following week, Brent invited me to Janeal's 21st and Cami's 7th birthday celebration. From that point on, I was just another Ririe. 14 years ago today we made it legal, 13 years ago today we made it eternal, and 7 years ago today we made it permanent.

Happy Anniversary Brent! Love you forever!

It Matches!

Usual Sunday morning routine. Ask Jeremy where his new tie is, hoping to carry the bait one week longer. Is it church day? Yes. And then he walks off. Was that excitement I saw in his eyes? Returns from his bedroom holding a hanger with a striped shirt, his new tie, and his Spiderman underwear hung around it. He had this planned since last Sunday. There's was no convincing this child that his outfit didn't match. Stripes and stripes. See, they match!
Isn't that how it goes? Fix one problem and create another.

Kindergarten Woes

Making Adjustments
So I took Jeremy on Thursday for kindergarten assessment testing. He insisted on bringing his new backpack. Sure, fine. Get to the school, Jeremy's turn. Waiting....waiting. Soon Mrs. Hyre appears with Jeremy's new backpack; no Jeremy. "Here," she said, "we had to...um...make some adjustments." I hope this isn't any indication on how the rest of the year is going to play out.

Making the Cut
On Friday at 4:00 pm, the elementary school promised to have the kindergarten class rosters posted. "Come on, Jeremy, let's go see who your new teacher is going to be!" We searched and searched each class list. No Jeremy. I called Brent, "You're not going to believe this! Jeremy's not listed." A momentary pause, "Oh, so he didn't make the cut for kindergarten?" Very funny.

The Name Game
M-backwards E-upsidedown backwards J-backwards Y. This is how Jeremy writes his name. I've tried to correct him, but he insists that this is how Miss Lindsay (his preschool teacher) taught him how to write his name. That's what I get for not doing my job. Hopefully his new kindergarten teacher (whoever that may be...) will be successful in teaching him how to properly spell his name by first grade. Maybe that's why he didn't make the cut. Or was it the backpack?

Catching the Wave

Mr. Matt had his first day of school today. He was such a good sport; he let me walk him to class, and he even let me hold his hand. I just love this little guy. When he walked into his new classroom, his teacher, Mr. Rob, came up to shake his hand. Matthew hesitantly shook his teacher's hand, then shyly looked away, trying to hide his dimpled grin. Just love it!

Don't let the flip-flops fool you, Mr. Rob is the most organized and well prepared teacher I have ever met. He has a "no stress" policy about homework. It's just "extra practice at home". Definitely my most favorite teacher yet. His beach themed room is a riot. Check out the straw umbrella, beach chair, palm tree, and surfboard. He even has camoflauge chair pouches for the kids; blue for boys, purple for girls. Just an overall fun and relaxed environment. His welcome theme invited the kids to "catch a wave into 3rd grade". Matthew, most definitely caught a wave of excitement in starting school today. The first thing he proudly reported was that he wrote his name in cursive for the first time. He's also changed his name to Matt (it doesn't take as long to write as 'Matthew' ) I guess that sort of thing is allowed in our family :)

Thankful Thursday - School Bell Ringing

When I told my friend Heather that I was thinking about my "Thankful Thursday" post, she wondered why there was any deliberating. To quote my savvy friend, "You mean it's not 'School is in session. The end.'?"
Amen sister. Amen.

To ring the school bell, click here.

There She Goes!

Class schedule, 8 periods, locker combination memorized, school book (and I do mean book), back to school wardrobe, pink plaid backpack, 101 items of school supplies listed by various departments, nails painted to match the outfit.....ready, set, go!



Well, Brent, here's our baby girl off to junior high. "Love you, Mom, bye," and off she went running to the bus stop in pure excitement. You can't help but be excited for her. Go Megan! Now, I guess for the next six years, it's us on our knees praying for good friends and good choices, as we continue to guide her. Heaven help us.

True Story

9:15 pm-Kids (temporarily) settled in bed.
9:18 pm-Put Andrew back in bed, Natalie crying.
9:20pm Take Natalie to bed with me to nurse her to sleep. Fall in and out of sleep as Natalie periodically cries and wrestles in her sleep.
10:58 pm Brent calls from California.
11:04 pm Put Natalie in her swing, listen to her cry. Give gas relief medicine.
11:30 pm Put Natalie back in bed with me. Refuses nursing. Refuses pacifier. Walk around bedroom with her.
12:00 am Back to bed. Natalie restless. Finally falls asleep on my chest as I pat her back. Fall in and out of sleep, intermittently waking up, gasping for air. My allergies so bad, can't breathe well, Natalie on my chest makes it worse.
2:56 am Put Natalie back in swing. Wakes up crying.
2:57 am Leave Natalie screaming in her swing, go downstairs, call Brent for sympathy.
3:02am Desperate for relief. Get up to take antihistamine. Check active ingredients of two different possibilities. Retrieve drug book out of nursing bag in van. Cat's meowing, out of water. Get cat water, cat runs in as I walk out. Chase cat back outside before she pees on my carpet. Back to investigating possible harm of drug to nursing baby. Read sedation as possible side effect. Opt to continue to suffer as I have to get up with Megan in 3 hours.
3:40 am Natalie finally cries herself to sleep in swing.
4:02 am Jeremy comes wandering in my room-Mom, can I sleep with you?
5:00 am Megan comes in-Mom can I start getting ready for school?
6:15 am Get up to help Megan.
6:30 am Matthew and Andrew wake up. Breakfast all around.
6:45 am Megan off to school.
7:00 am Pray Natalie stays asleep and Andrew stays out of trouble as I try to sneek in a few more ZZZZZ's.
8:01am Reprieve over, my little birds are chirping.
Today's schedule: 2:00 pm Jeremy's kindergarten assessment testing, 3:45 pm Natalie's immunizations
Looking forward to another sleepless night as Matthew starts school tomorrow.

New Is Always Exciting

The boys' new backpacks arrived just in time. Getting soooo excited to start a new school year!

The Last Hoorah!

We had a few of Matthew and Jeremy's friends over to bid the lazy, flip-flop days of summer goodbye. Slushies, rice crispy treats, and waterballoons-simple, fun, and refreshing.

Megan filling up waterballoons. What would I do without this girl's help?

Cameron and Jeremy
Partners in Crime

Under Surveillance

Another one just for you, Mariah!
Early this morning Matthew brought Natalie to me. I thought I must have been sleeping very soundly to not hear her cry. Later in the day, I noticed Jeremy had the baby monitor plugged in his room. The receiving end. I was unaware that he had removed the transmitter from Natalie's room and plugged it into my room. So I asked him why he had the baby monitor in his room. He answered in a very casual manner, "Oh, that's so I can hear when you and Dad wake up."
Nice.
That's the downside to having five kids. Sometimes you just don't notice things right away.

Tagged

The first six words I thought of to describe my life are:

Brent
Megan
Matthew
Jeremy
Andrew
Natalie

but seriously...

disorderly
overwhelming
challenging
mismanaged
drowning
breathe

sorry...caught me at a bad moment :(

And I'm going to tag:
Megan
Janeal
Mariah

A Little Bit of Jeremy in My Life

Jeremy's new job
With the realization that Megan will be catching the bus at 6:45 a.m. every morning :( , and that her opportunity to complete morning chores will be pretty much annihilated, I decided to graduate Jeremy to unloading the dishwasher. I took a very child psychological approach. "Jeremy," I said, "since you are a big boy now, and will going to school with Matt soon, I think you should take over Megan's job of unloading the dishwasher. Jeremy's response?
Day 1: Yeah! I'm a big boy now and I'm going to go to Matt's school! (Johnny on the spot, unloads the dishwasher in 3 minutes flat.)
I thought I was such a genius until the next day that I requested he do his new job.
Day 2: Mom, unloading the dishwasher is boring. Why do I have to do this boring job all day? (With a little coaxing and prodding, completes job in a little longer than 3 minutes.)

Lighting the way
Last night while cleaning up from dinner, I asked Jeremy to turn out "all these lights". I meant to not have so many of them on, but of course, he took me literally. He logically responded that if we turned out all the lights, then we couldn't see. And then came the solution: "Oh, I know, Mom." He proceeded to turn out all the lights, as requested, and retrieved his flashlight. "Here Mom, I'll light the way for you."
Those words resonated so deeply, I couldn't help but willingly clean up the kitchen, illuminated only by the arbitrary motion of Jeremy's flashlight.

Progress?
Jeremy woke up about the time that most of us were ready for church. I had pre-selected a polo shirt and some slacks for him to wear. He wanted to wear his new tie. Who would have thought? No arguments or protests, just the new tie. He chose his black socks and black shoes to complete the ensemble. I just listened to the little voice inside my head, "pick your battles, pick your battles......who cares if he doesn't match ?!"

Given the week I had with Jeremy, how hilarious to see him come from Primary with this sign around his neck. (Where's the tie?)

Thankful Thursday - Loving Arms Around Me

I am not looking forward to the next few weeks as Brent is slated for travel to California, Las Vegas, and Colorado. As much as I miss his help with the kids when he's gone, I miss his daily affection even more. His loving arms around me often give me a much needed second wind to make it through the evening and bedtime routine. Brent had fallen asleep next to Natalie's swing trying to get her settled down to sleep. I had snuggled up next to him when Jeremy hijacked my camera. I thought I would be deleting this one like I do all his silly pictures, but this was one silly picture I thought was worth keeping.

A Vision

This morning I had a vision of what my life will be like in just two short weeks. Andrew and Natalie were awake, while my three older ones were upstairs, peacefully asleep. Andrew was excitedly eating his breakfast, and Natalie was happily entertaining herself, while my three older ones continued to sleep. Five days a week, two and a half hours a day-Andrew and Natalie. I need to say that one more time. Andrew and Natalie.
Once upon a time I was sad to see my little ones graduate to kindergartenhood. Oh, don't get me wrong. Seeing Jeremy venture off into this crazy world definitely tugs at my heartsrings. It's just that twelve weeks of managing five children of varying ages all. day. long. helps one see the wisdom of tax dollars at work in the public school sytem.
Speaking from the heart, I'm truly excited for Jeremy to begin his school days adventures. I'm thrilled for Matthew to escape his boredom of summer. I'm looking forward with anticipation to the few hours of mommy & me time I'll have with my little ones (uninterrupted by requests of older siblings). I'm full of hope, prayers, and apprehension as Megan enters a new level of challenge in her life. And will probably shed even more tears than I did seven years ago as I peek from my back window (maybe with binoculars) while she boards the school bus.

How very fast the time does fly



Megan's first day of kindergarten
August 2001

Matthew's first day of kindergarten August 2005

1974-A very long time ago. Crafton Elementary School, Redlands, California. Nice navy blue shoes with my purple polyester pants. Notice my very short bangs. I cut them myself.

2001-Megan on the same playground at Crafton Elementary School. Notice her very short hair. She cut it herself.

On the Chef Side of Life

Did I ever mention how much I hate to cook? I cannot tell you how much I love to see the chef side of Brent's personality emerge. The part I most admire is his undefeatable attitude. For me, attempting a new recipe is a major feat. If I try it and it doesn't turn out, I scrap it. For Brent, if at first he doesn't succeed, he tries, tries again. Menu item of the week: PIZZA!



Rolling
the
dough












The two different versions of pizza dough. The part where I would scrap the recipe because it didn't turn out the first time. My chef husband figures out where he went wrong, and fixes it.
















The
finished
product


A variety
to choose from
















Very cheesy. Very Yummy! Brent's final conclusion: Not quite Domino's. I couldn't disagree more! BETTER than Domino's, or Pizza Hut, or Papa John's or any other pizza joint.

Out of Ideas

The saga continues. Every Sunday morning with Jeremy is another version of "I hate church. I'm not going." Today we ignored his protests as we all got ready. Then the clock struck nine, and Jeremy was still in his pajammies. And then I remembered.....

lightbulb appearing above my head in the sky

THE NEW TIE!


The picture on the right reflects the current status of the old tie, therefore, I purchased a new one. Jeremy was very excited to wear his new tie. His attitude took a 180 degree turnaround and he immediately got dressed for church. And then...a step back. He suddenly remembered a previous warning (threat?) that if he did not take care of his tie (the old one) we would be buying a new one rather than the toy he wanted. With great concern in his , "Mom, did you buy this tie? Does this mean we don't have money for The Beast now?"
After being reassured that he could still earn The Beast, he continued in the direction of going to church. Whew! Made it through that one. The only problem is: I'm out of ideas for next week.

A Day of Nothing

Everyday this week I've had appointments and other commitments that have taken me too many hours away from home. My supervisor called yesterday and asked if I could do a home visit for today. I told him I had to check my calendar, and when I did, it was completely blank. Nope, sorry I can't. I was going to be too busy doing nothing.
And nothing is just what I did. The dishes are still in the sink, the laundry is still in sorted piles on the floor, the toys are still scattered througout the house, the toilets still need scrubbing, the beds are still unmade, the cupboards are still bare, my babies are still in their pajamas, and oh-is that the garage door I hear opening? Is it 5:00 already? And I still don't know what's for dinner.
Sorry-I tell him, I've done nothing all day. It's OK, he says with a kiss, you're day of nothing is still busier than my day of somethings.

Thankful Thursday - Reminders

Matthew had the rotten luck of having both of his best friends go on vacation in the same week. I decided he could use a dose of one-on-one time after such a boring week. So McDonald's it was. At first, I felt a little lost sitting there with only one child who could feed himself independently. In the quietness, I found out that he's only sort of excited to start a new school year. He's not looking forward to having homework again (neither am I). And that's about all I got out of him before he was off to play.
So I sat there. I was bored. And then my mind wandered back to last week when I had asked Brent for a blessing. It was most unique in that he named each of our children individually and addressed a particular need that I should be conscious of meeting. It made me think of how truly unique each of my children are in their personalities, interests, needs, love languages...just everything. For a moment I was disappointed, thinking this "special" time wasn't as fun as I had hoped. I then realized, for Matthew, tonight was like having three wishes granted:

1. Are we going to eat inside or out? (meaning go through the drive-thru)
   What would you like? Inside! OK.
2. Can I get an M&M shake? Yes.
3. Can we go to the drive-in movie? Sure, why not?

Our Father in Heaven knows each of us perfectly as an individual. I am thankful for the reminder to know, and enjoy each of my children individually.

Natalie 5 Months Old!

Every morning I wake up to the sweetest smiles from this little angel. I can't help but just smother her in kisses. I wish I could spend my whole morning hugging and holding her, and laughing and playing with her. Little by little, she is becoming more interactive with her world. She will grab anything within her reach. She loves to have a toy in her hands to play with. She likes very much to be in the center of activity. She really wants to be mobile. She arches her back and kicks off with her feet to move herself. She's graduated to sharing a room with her sister, which is good because I think she needs more "girl" influence. The other night Brent informed me that she fell asleep with her baby truck. She's also expanded her dietary repertoire to include rice cereal, which is also good because we're still working on sleeping through the night. Yaaaaawn.
Here's the squealing, giggly little girl in action:

Church Day Revisited

This morning as we began to get ready for church, Jeremy let me know that the Church called and said there was no church today. I'll have to admit, he's getting more creative in his protests. Once we get to church, he seems to do just fine (minus the helping him to stay reverent during Sacrament meeting part). However, I find following the Prophet's counsel to attend our Sunday meetings is a good thing. Tonight at dinner Jeremy once again showed evidence that somewhere along the way his Sunday lessons are sinking in a bit. As he was saying the blessing on our meal, his last words were "...and I will follow God's corrections..." Commandments, corrections-it's really all one in the same, don't you think?