Typical Bedtime

So, we try to have the same bedtime routine every night: scriptures, stories, songs and bed. We got our old rocking chair back from storage and the kids have loved sitting on my lap each night while we read stories. Sometimes there is a bit of a fight over who gets my lap. It seems that although I have two legs, so technically two kids can sit there, only one child wants to sit there at a time since sharing is just a concept reserved for Disney movies and sunday school lessons. Here is Ella happy to have won a spot on my lap while Mason cries because she beat him to it:

Then Ella went to brush her teeth so Colton sneaked up and took her spot:

9 year olds are NOT too old to sit on their mom's lap.
Then Mason finally got up and we were ready for some serious book reading. Or silly face making.

Mason

Mason has really started to come into his own lately. Maybe because he is branching out from being in Ella's shadow, playing with other kids more and growing up a bit. Now, don't get me wrong, he still loves Barbies and can't walk past a pair of high heels without trying them on, but he is playing Super Heros more and more and roaring and growling much of the time too. We are still working on expanding his dietary habits. He seems to eat the same four things over and over: grape nuts, french toast, chicken nuggets, clean pasta. Oh, and he loves fruits. What's clean pasta? Well, pasta that hasn't been contaminated with anything horrible like sauce or taste. Just butter and salt. So, the other night I made chicken and rice. Pretty boring and bland. I thought I wouldn't have too much trouble convincing him to eat. WRONG! Mason didn't want to eat it. There were Halloween cupcake holders on the table from us going through Halloween boxes earlier in the day. He grabbed them and said he wanted cupcakes. I said, "No can do. How about we put the chicken and rice in the cupcake holders? Will you eat it then?"
Mason: "SURE!"
So, I put the chicken and rice in the cupcake holders, poured some dinosaur and star sprinkles on the top, and he ate it. Yeah. Then of course Ella wanted the same, so, we scooped up some for her too.
Guess who was the first one ready for school this morning?


Yup, Mason!! The only problem with that is that Mason is the only one who doesn't go to school yet. So, while the other kids were still getting dressed and getting all their stuff together, Mason was heading out the door.

Ella's Project

Don't you love when teachers assign a project that their students are supposed to do with their parents? Do teachers actually think that the student and parent will be joyfully sitting down at the kitchen table one Saturday afternoon while classical music plays in the back and we snack on wholesome goodies fresh from the oven and together design and assemble this wonderful project as we build lasting memories and giggle over long forgotten funny tidbits? WRONG!! When a teacher assigns a project that the student and parent is supposed to work on together, it ends up being a project that the parent does mostly by him/herself while the student runs around the house spraying all the creative art materials you scrounged together all over the house. Usually while holding a pair of sharp scissors. So, Ella's kindergarten class was assigned to do a family project, using four pieces of paper to show their family members, using pictures, stickers, drawings, etc. (you get the idea) This project had been looming over my head for the past four weeks and finally on Sunday I got serious and took Ella upstairs to look through all my stamps, stickers, and art supplies from my past creative scrapbooking days. Left alone, she would have stamped every inch of the walls and poured glitter all over herself in an attempt to look glamorous. I intervened and tried to direct the flow of creative juices to just the paper we were given. I printed out some pictures on the computer, let Ella choose which stamps and which colors to use, and we ended up with some fun pages depicting our family. Here's Ella with the final project:




And here's Mason playing hide and seek in a blanket while Ella and I finished her project:

Crepes, Apostles, Super Heroes and Halloween

Well, the title sums up the past three days. Although Sunday was Fast Sunday for me, I don't make the little ones fast, and tortured myself by offering to make them crepes using Sean's new crepe pan that he hasn't even seen yet. Thanks Sean. It works great. You'll love it. I still can't make them as well as Sean can, but my clients aren't too picky. The favorite was sugar crepes, followed by strawberry jam ones. Here are the kids enjoying their breakfast:

Then I got a call from Mason's nursery leader asking if I was going to bring in cupcakes for Mason's birthday. Well, sure, I'd love to. Even though I'm fasting and I LOVE cake batter more than the finished product, I am strong and can bake without test tasting, if I really have to. So then in walks Jaxon with a brilliant idea.
"How about cake batter crepes?"
LIGHTBULB!!
Sounded delicious to me, so we made a few, and I saved one to eat when I broke my fast later on.

Church was good, then we went to our home teacher's house for dinner. My vegetarian son, Colton, ate two servings of chicken. Wow, I better get the recipe.
On Monday, we had a great Family Home Evening. I wish I could take credit, but Christy rocks and lent me the pictures of the prophet and apostles along with fun fact cards about each of them. Then, on line, I found a fun song to sing that teaches you the names of the first presidency and the 12 apostles. Google LDS PROPHET AND APOSTLE SONG. It is to the tune of an old hick tv show theme song, I can't even remember the name, but it makes you want to pull on some cowboy boots, stick a piece of straw in your mouth, and belt out the names of all the apostles. Very fun. Even Jaxon who, upon hearing it for the first time said, "You've GOT to be kidding me!!" sang loudly as we learned all the names. Here's Ella pointing to the pictures of the prophet and apostles as we sang:

Here's Jaxon getting in touch with his inner Halloween self wearing a sweet witch hat while singing:

After FHE we were privileged to be visited by our favorite Super Hero. Who's faster than a German tractor on a one way priority road? Who's stronger than a former East German wrestler when powered with enough juicy and sugar? Who's able to leap off bunk beds and trampolines with a shout and a roar? Yes, it's SUPER MASON!!!



After rescuing Molly from a perilous situation, Super Mason was rewarded with pumpkin bread for dessert. He graciously shared with his fans.

Roller Skating

On Saturday I hurriedly assembled the last of the salads that I needed to bring to the Stake Relief Society meeting. I attended some great classes before whisking off to the kitchen to help with the lunch preparations. They had planned on about 110 sisters attending, but more and more tables kept being put out and we were running out of food. I think they fed about 140 sisters. One of my friends was worried about being able to feed everyone, and then said we should just put out two fishes and five loaves of bread and say to everyone, "Ok, if you want to eat, let's see how great your faith is and if we can make this food miraculously grow." Long story short, I think everyone ate except the people in the kitchen putting together all the food. Anyways, I had to leave early so I rushed back home to take the kids to birthday party number 1. It was a party for my German teacher's two kids so I thought we better go in case she was taking roll. The party was at the roller skating rink on Vogelweh. We have never been there before so it was my kids' first time on skates. I should have brought the video camera. Everyone put skates on, even me. Just standing up in them was a feat for Mason. I held him for a while as Ella clung for life to the wall as we slowly made our way around the rink. Colton took off looking like he was trying to swat a swarm of bees off of him as he jerked and flinched and tried to keep himself upright on his skates.
Here we are as we attempted to skate around:





As I flash backed to my junior high days and waited for a Cyndi Lauper song to play, I secretly prayed that I wouldn't fall down on my rear while I was skating around holding Mason. It seemed my worrying was for nothing as Colton did my share of falling for me. I should have strapped a pillow to that kid's rear because he kept going down hard and I worried about his skinniness factor. There is not an extra ounce of paddling anywhere on him. Ella fell a few times but was a trooper and kept going. Next time though, I think I'll bring bubble wrap for them. After skating we went to Kid's Zone for birthday party number two. This one was for one of Ella's friends from her class. The kids had fun, even Colton who had boycotted going earlier in the day, so we stayed a while and played some of the games.

Dick and Jane and Angela

Meet Angela.


Angela wants to be great.
Angela is 38.
Angela wants to reach a celestial state.
Angela misses her eternal mate.
Angela likes to help people in a troubled state.
So Angela volunteers.....

Volunteer, Angela, Volunteer


But soon there is too much on Angela's plate.
Angela's day reaches a stale mate:
There is too much to do and no time to wait!

Faster, Angela, Faster


Angela watches other children to try and be nice
Although wiping other's bums is considered her vice


Wipe, Angela, Wipe

Angela counts membership forms for the PTSA
She tallies and reports numbers in an efficient way


Count, Angela, Count

Angela grills chicken for a RS luncheon tomorrow at noon
She is worried she'll poison the sisters by taking the chicken off too soon


Grill, Angela, Grill


Angela buys groceries and hurries to put them away in their place
German kitchens are small and have limited cupboard space


Shove, Angela, Shove


Angela got no sleep since her daughter woke her up at 2
Angela is tired and feeling a bit blue

Yawn, Angela, Yawn


Angela's daughter has two birthday parties tomorrow and presents must be bought
Off to the BX we go, though their present selection ain't so hot

Shop, Angela, Shop
Wrap, Angela, Wrap

Angela's eldest is going to a school dance tonight
The thought of Jaxon and girls gives his mother a fright


Find a happy place, Angela, Find a happy place....

Dinner, scriptures, stories and off to bed
Angela will soon be ready for another day ahead....

Sleep, Angela, Sleep

My newest son

I have a new son. No, no, no need to throw me a shower or send flowers. I am just borrowing him for as long as I can. He has been adopted into the Burke household over the past weeks and is adjusting quite nicely to our routine. He used to be Aedan Turner, but now he is Aedan Burke. I still can't get him to call me mom, he will only say "uh, Mason's mom?" when he needs something, but we're working on that. Yesterday Aedan's old family got their household goods delivered, so we stole him for the day. He and Mason played great together. Aedan is exposing Mason to the world of legos, Play mobil, knights and pirates. Quite successfully I might add. We all went to piano lessons together and the kids had a fun time playing tag at the little park by the piano teacher's house. I don't know what I'm going to do when it starts getting dark and we have to sit in the car for the whole time. Oh, wait, ECL is right around the corner...never mind.
Here's Aedan showing us how tough he is:


And here's Ella showing me she learned how to skip. Wow. Just like that. She couldn't do that a week ago. She's also been singing songs in German and Spanish around the house. First tying shoes, then skipping, what's next? Driving? Algebra? Maybe.....CHORES!!! Hee hee



And here's what happens when you wake up too early and get frustrated that you can run fast because your shoe got wet:


After piano lessons, we walked over to the eis shop and ordered some ice cream. Yup, all in German since I started hosting German lessons in my house today. Every Thursday, 10:30-11:30. Kids are welcome. You're invited. A sweet sister in our ward is a native German and after I explained to her my duress about not being able to master the pronunciation of the German alphabet after taking German classes and finding it hard to leave Mason so I can take a German class, we worked out this great arrangement and now we have Micaela teaching us German once a week in the comforts of our own home. Those umlauts better watch out! I will be pronouncing you with perfection in no time!
Here are the kids on their first round of ice cream cones:

And here they are on their second rounds:

They all ordered erdbeer (strawberry) the second time. Sean, they are definitely your kids.

Ich bin hier (I am here)

I'm here, I'm back, I know I'm a few days behind, but I've been busy with life. One house, four kids, church callings, service opportunities and school volunteering can all add up ya know. On Monday we were privileged to have Tyler over again. No naked bum shots this time, sorry. I borrowed Aedan for a few hours too since the three of them seem to have more fun together. We went to see Despicable Me. Now, I had just taken my kids to see it on Saturday, but it's a really cute movie so I thought it would be a good way to spend some time on Monday with the boys. For those of you who have seen it, Mason and I have been yelling "It's So FLUFFY!!!!!!" to each other all afternoon. Tyler fell asleep in the movie, but the other two stayed awake and totally enthralled the whole time. After the movie, I met up with Christy and we watched the kids play at the food court playground for a while.

Things got interesting when a fourth little boy started to invade Tyler, Mason and Aedan's play turf. At first, stern looks were exchanged. Then air kicks were placed near but not touching each other. Then things came to a stand off when the other boy started doing karate moves to Aedan. Quickly Mason took one side of him and Tyler came on the other. The three Ninjas stood poised, ready for any battle scenario that might occur.


Negotiators, (aka moms) were quickly called in and the stand off was resolved with no blood shed. The boys quickly moved on and played all together once again.

We came home and spend the rest of the afternoon playing Super Heroes, playmobil and legos.
So how was FHE on Monday?
Well, thanks for asking!! No screaming or crying fits to report for this week. We talked about prophets in anticipation for General Conference in two weeks. We sang the Latter Day Prophet song and tried to learn all their names. Being a convert is my excuse for not knowing all the Primary songs still, but I think after 22 years, I probably have to lay that excuse to rest. Ella kept calling Joseph Smith 'John' Smith, but she could tell me about him so that's what's important. We colored some prophet pictures...

had some yummy ice cream for a treat...

listen to Jaxon prepare for an Ebay bid he is going to place on a used Alienware computer tomorrow morning at 2:51 AM (yup, he's gonna wake up in the middle of the night and try to win one).....

and see Mason as cute as can be, once again, in Ella's clothes.....

Put another dollar in the therapy jar, and call it a night!

Crepes and Shoelaces

On Sunday we went to Stake Conference. For some of you, the thought of two hours, four kids, hard metal chairs and no spouse may seem a bit daunting, but for me, I say, BRING IT ON!! I was adequately prepared for this event with M&Ms, mini oreos, water bottles, sippy cups,crayons, coloring books, and a box full of new activity books from Deseret Books. Things didn't look too good as we got there early and the only seats available were in the very back row of the gym. Maybe it was a good thing we were way in the back since we aren't known for our ability to sit quietly and reverently throughout church meetings. Except when the bag of M&Ms spilled, I rather wished we were in the carpeted chapel section rather than the noisy gym floor section. Oops. The kids did pretty well, I only had to give the stink eye to Ella once or twice when she got a bit antsy. The new books kept Colton totally enthralled the whole time, and even Jaxon who prides himself on his level or maturity, broke down at the end and did a few word searches. Mason spent 99% of the time on my lap with his blankie, trying to figure out how he can unravel my skirt since it resembles the crocheted edging of his beloved blankie and he has picked all the stitching apart over the past few months. I'm glad he had no luck taking apart my skirt, as things might have gotten embarrassing as I tried to make a subtle exit in just my slip. After Church, we went to the Turner's house for crepes. I bought an official crepe pan yesterday at the Bazaar and thought I better try it out to see if it's any good before our official crepe maker, Sean, returns home. I even bought one of those little rolly things that spreads out the batter evenly on the pan. It was cool. Christy and I cooked up a ton of crepes, set out all different toppings from berries and nutella to syrup and sugar and let every one dig in. They were well received.



When we got home from Christy's, Ella was determined to learn how to tie shoe laces. Remember all those shoes I got for her yesterday? One pair of shoes had laces and she really wanted to figure out how to tie them all by herself. So, we sat outside on the front steps for a few minutes while I tried to show her how the bunny went around the tree, threw the hole and then you have to pull him out by the ears. I don't know if that's the official shoe-tying story, but it seemed to help her visualize the whole process. Within minutes she was a pro. We moved to the wintergarten where she continued to tie and untie her shoes for a while. Then she turned to her family members and asked one and all if she could tie their shoes. This morning she was still on a shoe tying kick and had to tie and untie my workout shoes for me. Here she is during and after a successful shoe tying experience:


After shoe tying, we moved onto the game portion of the night. Lo and behold, all on their own, the kids played some games together. Nicely. No fighting. Happily. They had fun. Together. No bribing. It was AWESOME!!!

And to finish off our evening, Colton turned into ManBat. You mean Batman? No, he called himself ManBat and went around chasing Ella and Mason. Although the noise level reached maximum heights at some points, they all had a good time.

Flea Market Finds

I admit, I am one girl who loves a good deal. I love flea markets, thrift stores, and yard sales. So, I was excited to go to the monthly flea market at Rhine Ordinance Barracks this morning. Of course it was made extra fun because I met Christy there, and she is my favorite shopping partner (besides you Sean). I struck gold at one booth with three ladies selling girl clothes, sizes 6 + 7: Ella's size: PERFECT!!! Now, one might ask, does Ella need new clothes? But to me, that is like asking, does one really need to eat every day, or can you skip a day here and there? Or does one really need to shower after a grueling workout, or can't an extra squirt of perfume cover things up? WRONG!!! Ella is my only daughter, and by holding that title she is guaranteed the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of super cute clothes on sale. I found some great pants, jeans, and sweaters for her, which she genuinely needs since winter is fast approaching and the girl really only wears dresses right now. And then I turned the corner and saw them.........................shoes. All for either $1 or $2 a pair. Yes folks, the clouds actually parted, angels came down and played trumpets as I made out like a bandit and scored some sweet deals on fabulous foot wear. I found a cool air hockey table for Colton and a play gun for Mason, but who am I kidding, Mason loves Ella's clothes as much as she does, so I knew he'd be wearing those clothes and shoes too. Here is my sweet girl with her new stash of stuff:



And this is how I found Mason when I came back from the flea market:

And that toy gun I got for him? Guess who picked it up right away and used it on his younger brother?

Here's Ella in one of her new outfits which she modeled for us in an impromptu fashion show:




And probably my best find of the day was a box of these:

There was a Krispy Kreme fund raiser going on today so I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to help support the Fisher House by not buying some glazed donuts for the kinder. Yes they were old and a bit stale, but 10 seconds in the microwave can do wonders with them, not to mention it's been over nine months since we've had the real deal, so we're not super picky.