Not a Happy Meal...

Matthew had his birthday party with his buddies yesterday. Yes, his birthday was a few weeks ago, but with schedules, basketball practices and games, etc., we weren't able to do it until yesterday. The kids had a great time. (I'll post a few pics later). Unfortunately, Steve had to work and missed out on the raging party. By the time it was all over and we'd cleaned up a little of the HUGE mess, I was not in any mood to cook and create more mess to clean up. I called my sis and she packed up her kids and met me at McDonalds. So on the way to Mickey D's, I asked the kids what they wanted to eat - to make the whole ordering while trying to contain my children thing a little easier once we got there. Now I was feeling all footloose and fancy-free, so I told the kids they could have Happy Meals. A little explanation: we never get Kids' meals when we go out. First off, we seldom eat out. When we do break down and go out, we are connoisseurs of the Value Menu. Happy Meals or any Kids meals are a special occasion kind of thing. When I offered the Golden Ticket, I expected to be met with the usual excitement and thrill in the air. Rachel didn't disappoint. In fact, she cheered. Matt, however, assumed the 'I'm going to break this to you gently' voice and said, "Mom, I think I'd just like a 10 piece chicken nugget." Not picking up on his subtlety, I replied, "Are you sure? You can even get one of those big kid meals." Matthew then went on to explain that a Happy Meal just isn't enough for him. I believe his exact words were that "a happy meal is more of a snack" and that he "could probably do 2 or 3 happy meals." I took the news in a very grown up manner and ordered him the 10 piece nuggets. (He polished that off and then ate some of mine and Rachel's to boot.)
So, I did take the news very calmly...but really...I was flipping out!! My kid is getting too big! This whole turning 10 thing was hard enough for me and now he's too big for kids' meals. What the heck?!? He's supposed to be perpetually five years old and excited about getting a whole meal in one bag or box! He's supposed to be excited about the dumb little plastic toy!
I need a coke.

Mamma Mia!

So, I've been considering what to post. I was getting ready to tell all about being in the Sandy Maceys on Monday and watching a guy fill his cart sooo full of Spring water ($1.99 a case), that the cart literally buckled and broke, the wheel bent under, and the cases of water went toppling all over the place. What did I do? Stood and stared. Gee, here's your sign...

I've been feeling all conflicted about something, though, and figured I'd ask the opinion of all the 2 or 3 folks who might read this. :) I watched Mamma Mia last week. I'll preface this by saying that I'd heard a bunch of people talk about this movie who absolutely loved it and couldn't say enough about it. One person said she saw it 3 times in the theater. All these women where raving about this show and what a great chick-flick it was. So my sister and were all pumped up and hoping to see it in the theater. Yah, because of 7 children between the two of us and crazy schedules, we didn't even come close to the movie theater. My brother in law surprised my sister and bought it for her the day it came out on DVD. She watched it then lent it to me - waiting to tell me her opinion til I'd seen it.

So here's my take: I'm not fully sure what I think. I had a REALLY hard time watching/hearing Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan sing. Yikes. I struggled with the lovely Meryl Streep wearing overalls and hippie hair. I had to keep reminding myself that it was a musical and it was supposed to be over-acted and campy. "Think of Music Man. Think of Bye Bye Birdie..." I just kept telling myself. I really liked the gal who played Sophie and thought she was darling. But c'mon, Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan. I struggled a bit through the show, but I love, love, love ABBA, so I made it. Then when it was all over, I turned to Steve (who earned a ton of amazing husband points for watching it with me) and said, "I think I kinda liked it." I told Steve I'd watch it again (at some point) and do the "sing along." I know my husband loves me and would do a lot for me, but I do have to make the pretty safe assumption that he won't be watching it again with me - sing along or not. So, anyone seen it? What do you think?

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

Tomorrow Matthew will be 10 years old! I'm not sure quite how this happened...I blinked...and now he's turning 10. He joined our little family in the wee hours of the morning on Tuesday January 19. The minute the doctor handed him to me, I knew my life would never be the same. Matt was a sweet and mellow baby. He smiled easily and was a snuggler.

As a toddler, he was strong willed and independent, but we could usually reason and cooperate with him. Maybe as a result of that, he has been a wheeler and a dealer from a very young age. It was pretty funny to have this little kid trying to strike up a deal about just about anything. There was a time when we worried a little about the future of that little guy. He got a "Little Tykes" grocery cart for Christmas right before he turned one. He loved that blasted cart! We took many long walks collecting rocks, sticks, and leaves in his cart. If there was anything that we couldn't find (keys, mail,etc.), we'd know that the first place to check was Matthew's grocery cart. We kinda feared that he was headed toward a life full of ambitions of becoming a homeless man, but can happily report that his obsession did wane with time. :)

The month after Matt turned 5, he was diagnosed with a blood disorder. It was a frightening time for our family and lasted just over a year - after about 15 months it corrected itself. During that time, our Matthew proved to be such a strong and brave little boy. He was young and doesn't remember all the details, but I hope that he never forgets what he went through, and how courageous he was.

People who know Matthew sometimes wonder how he became such an entrepreneur. The answer: 'don't have any idea. The boy came to this world with a fascination for math, money, and numbers. He went into Kindergarten able to count from 1 to 100 backward and forward. He could count by 5's, 10's, and 20's. Sure the teacher was impressed until she learned that it was because he loved to count money. I mentioned before that he has like 6 different versions of Monopoly - and I wasn't exaggerating. He adores that game! Again, 'don't quite know where that came from as neither of his parents particularly like the game.

Matthew is just a great kid. He's kind, thoughtful, and generous. He is a good friend and genuinely cares about others and their feelings. He is talented and a wonderful student. We often have adults that come in contact with Matt (teachers, leaders, friends' parents) compliment us on what a good kid he is. I do have to admit, that he is just like any other kid and acts better for other people than his own folks, but truly, Matthew is just a wonderful son. He is a fantastic big brother - his sisters adore him and think that the very sun rises and sets on his shoulders.

Matthew, we love you so much!! We are so proud of you and are so grateful to be your parents. Happy Birthday, Buddy!

December

December came and went in nothing short of a whirlwind! We had a wonderful month. Instead of attempting to catch up on all that I didn't quite get around to posting then, I figured I'd just do a quick summary.
At the beginning of the month, Steve's dad came to Utah to visit. Since it's been about a gajillion years since we've gone anywhere, we decided to have a little mini-vacation and spend several days in Salt Lake with him. It was so good to spend time with Grandpa - we had a fantastic time.
One afternoon we went to the Children's Museum at the Gateway. I guess it's now called Discovery Gateway. (I'm old school and think about the old one off Beck Street. My brother was an "exhibit explainer" there, afterall.) The kids had a ball!

The kids made frame-by-frame movies, pretended to broadcast the news, checked out a Life Flight helicopter, did plays, and played in the little child-sized town.

We only wish that Steve's dad had been able to stay longer! The time flew by too fast, and before we knew it, we were dropping him at the airport. Come back soon, Grandpa!

Every year I overwhelm myself with plans of everything I'm going to do for Christmas. This year we tried to be realistic and enjoy the whole season more. Steve then ended up getting pneumonia about a week and a half before Christmas, so we did end up cutting some less important things out and it actually ended up being kind of a good thing. - Cutting out the unnecessary, not the pneumonia.

Matt and Rachel were so excited to make cookies for Santa. Funny though, they always peter out after a batch or two. It generally ends up that the kids are flitting around the house playing and I am in the kitchen making cookies for the big red guy. (You're welcome, Santa :))

The Fosters have a wonderful tradition of eating a big feast of Mexican food on Christmas Eve. We've been doing it also since Steve and I were newlyweds. For the last few years my sister and her family have joined us for dinner. I wish I'd have taken some shots of the food. YUM!

Christmas day was wonderful. We just stayed home all day, hung out in our jammies, played, and ate a great dinner. Matthew became the proud owner of his 5th or 6th Monopoly game. The boy is obsessed with Monopoly and has been since he was 4. He has many different versions of it as a board game and on CD rom. This new one is the World Edition and has electronic banking. So, we all played a rousing game that afternoon. Matthew won.

Bailey got some cute toys, but the Sesame Street pop up toy was her favorite. She couldn't quit giggling. Funny stuff.

Santa Claus brought Rachel a beauty salon and she loves it. She spent the day doing her hair and trying to convince Matt to play with her. (Not with a whole lot of luck.)

One of the absolute favorites of the day was the enormous dollhouse that Daddy built for his girls. Rachel adores it and has played with it every day since Christmas.

We had a wonderful holiday and hope for great things in this new year.

Happy New Year!!

December always ends up being such a busy month! This year was no different. We had a wonderful month and it just flew by. Our poor little blog was grossly neglected and we have a lot to catch up on. I just wanted to post quickly tonight to wish our dear friends and family a very happy new year! We hope that this new year brings wonderful things to you and your families! Here's to 2009!!

Oh Christmas Tree...

On Wednesday night, the guys brought in the Christmas tree. We'd had wonderful Currier and Ives dreams of driving up to Idaho and cutting down our own Christmas tree while creating warm, fuzzy memories. We then started thinking about hauling our trio to the boonies in Idaho, trudging through the cold, and trying our hand at lumber jacking... Steve wasn't as warm and fuzzy about the idea. His idea was to put up our artificial tree (that won't die before Christmas) and light a pine-scented candle. We decided to wait until the baby is older to have that adventure. So they brought it in from the garage and put it up. We actually decorated it last night. The end result was quite charming, fun, and festive.

As we embarked on this annual family Christmas kick-off, I grabbed the camera to capture the sweet moments of my children decorating the tree. Umm..nope, didn't get much of that. They did have a great time. They just didn't have many Kodak moments between Bailey getting tired and cranky, Rachel being sooo excited that she lost all impulse control, Matt losing patience with afore-mentioned excited three year-old, and Steve coming down with flu-like symptoms and shivering with cold chills while telling the kids not to touch anything as he put together the train at the bottom of the tree. Ahhh...creating Foster Family memories.





Matthew was good to pause for one sole actual tree-decorating picture. It was fun getting all the ornaments out. We start with the "ornament parade" during which we line up all the ornaments that each child has acquired since birth. Our family tradition is to let each child choose their own ornament every year. They generally choose one that reflects their interests that particular year. This year Bailey's is a gift from her sweet aunt and it's a "Cherished Teddies Baby's First Christmas." Rachel picked Dora the Explorer after long and careful deliberation. We'll have to keep you posted as to Matthew's. He hasn't quite found just the right one yet.

Rachel was such a bundle of excitement and energy that she had kind of a tough time containing it. As a result, she was being too rough with her baby sister. After several warnings, I resorted to telling her that I was going to take a picture of her being naughty and send it to Santa. (I know, this is what causes people to need therapy as adults.) She ran and hid behind Bailey's chair so I couldn't document anything for Santa Claus.

Bailey wanted to chew on everything in sight. She adopted this snowman.

After Rachel decided "to make better choices," she turned up the Christmas music and danced, and danced, and danced.

Overall, the decorating was really fun and the house looks cute. We only had a few fights, a few melt-downs, and one time out. To cap off the night, Matthew and Rachel sat down and shared a bowl of ravioli as a little bedtime snack.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love Thanksgiving! No, not just because we get to eat incredible food until we're sick -- although that part is definitely awesome. It's good to just slow down for a day and think about how much we have been blessed with and all that we have to be grateful for. (I know, bad prepositional use...)

The night before my wedding - when I couldn't sleep a wink, I wrote in my journal. It's kind of gaggy to read it now, but I remember writing that I must have done something amazing in the pre-existence to deserve such blessings in this life. You know, after 11 years, a ton of trials, a ton of blessings, I still adore him. I'd choose him all over again. Thank you, Honey, for the best ride of my life.

This morning as I lied in bed smashed between my two girls who somehow made it into bed with me, I was thinking about how much I love my son. (Matt added that last part.) It's true, though. As I attempted to dislodge those little limbs from my side, I couldn't help but think how grateful I am for my three miracle babies. I love them so fiercely and wouldn't trade those little stinkers for anything! They regularly push me to the very brink of sanity, but there isn't anyone else in existence who I would rather be with, laugh with, and love.

I love this crazy little family so much and I'm so grateful to know that there is a promise of forever. I love having a belief in a God who loves us as powerfully and intimately as only a parent can. I'm so thankful for the Plan of Happiness and for my Savior who gave His life for us.

I'm so grateful to live in a country where I can openly have these beliefs and worship how I choose. I'm thankful, so thankful, for the families who sacrifice so much to ensure these freedoms. Enough cannot be said to families like the Allemans who are separated by thousands of miles for such a selfless reason. Thank you!! Thank you to those men and women who desperately long for their spouses -- long to simply touch their faces and breathe the same air. Thank you to the children who miss their dads and moms so much and will only get to share their holiday greetings over the phone. I am so grateful for this country and for the pure goodness of people.

That's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. I am thankful for family and friends who make life so much better. I'm grateful for a warm home to live in and for comforts that we often take for granted. I am so thankful for this time of year... and I'm thankful for the obscene amounts of delicious food that will be on the table this afternoon. :) Happy Thanksgiving!!!