GRADUATION

My life is a little nuts right now so I am going to post some pics for those of you that weren't able to make it & soon I will write a little about the BIG event.

here he is

I loved that he was on the front row

Angelo with his 5 honors

the proud papa's

my mom and the BYU Alum

Angelo's Sibs

my dad observing the immense amount of pictures being taken

i wore the HOTTEST shoes

( and by hot i don't mean temperature)

THANK YOU to all of you who came, it was a WONDERFUL day thanks to all of you!!

Yesterday, Today, & Forever

We watched

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

last night with my Mother , Father, & Brothers

My mother and I used to watch musicals ALL the time

we loved the dancing, singing, and of course we always sang along.

So, last night because it was our last normal Sunday before we leave ( next Sunday Chaucer will be blessed)

My mother and I decided we should watch a musical, needless to say the 8 boyz in the home didn't really agree with the movie selection. Mom and I decided it was about time we put our foot down & give the men some culturing ( that really isn't a word, but it just worked).

the movie begins

You all know how it starts views of the alps and little Austrian towns building up to the moment when Julie Andrews pierces the silence with her magnificent voice.......

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC

well the boyz had to make fun, of course

The women were not to be deterred we watched the entire movie ( and made them watch too) and sung every song as loud as we could, even Emeline was dancing and singing.

I made a mental note of some of the comments from the MEN

so without further adieu

me "you guys will like it better once she gets to the house"

Jonathon eagerly "does she shoot someone there"

each boy at a different time in the movie " WOW this is so suspenseful"

I had a great time, my mother and I still knew all the words to every song.

These Sunday nights will be missed

**note from the move crazed author**

I haven't read the book by Maria but it is on my list

Because of the setting of the movie I wanted to share one of my favorite books

Mans Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

he was Nazi prison camp survivor and the book is more than BRILLIANT

MUST READ

People of the Book

this is the book I am TRYING to read

I guess the problem is that I have too much going on

I start reading then my thoughts drift off to.....

how I am going to decorate my new dinning room

how it will feel to cook with two ovens

how nice it will be to let my kids play in the back yard

how we can eat FRESH fish whenever we choose

( you know I would choose every meal)

how my kids will not be on top of me every moment

( in 2700 square feet maybe they can find a place to play)

taking a bath in my new TUB

so....

I end up reading these, they are a little more suited to my current attention span

and they help fill my head with visions of the decor in my new abode

a little princess & little lord fauntleroy

I read these books to the kids along with some others........these are the two favorites

I love to read good lit out loud to my children, I am sure I enjoy them as much as they do !!

Here are some more pictures of the weekend in Seattle

Most Handsome men I saw in Washington

Funniest thing we saw

Angelo remarked that Seattellite's seem to need these cup holders for their coffee, we rarely saw anyone without a cup-a-joe in toe

Most comforting thing we saw

HOME

Greatest supermarket ever

aside from the staffed sushi bar, miles of organic local produce, rows of treats from under the sea, little shopping carts for kids to drive

It is only miles from our new house

Newcomer's Handbook for moving to and living in Seattle

2

airplanes

2

nights at the Marriott in Bellevue
1

thing I was tempted to steal from the hotel

( i loved this couch, too bad it wouldn't fit in the overhead compartment)

320

miles traveled in our rental car

1

day spent at Pikes

5

Mortenson construction sites seen

9

towns visited

11

homes viewed

# 3209

number of the home we loved

5

bedrooms in our new home

2

ovens in our new home

3

very tired travelers

3

very happy children to see MOM & DAD after 3 days

2

very tired ( and happy) Grandparents

We are waiting for the lease agreement, it should arrive Monday. When it is all signed we will breath ONE very big sigh of relief !

**funnest thing said about the grand kids 3 day visit**

Grandma**

"We woke up,

everyone got a shower,

I made breakfast,

we ate,

they played a game on the computer,

we made 5 batches of play dough,

then played with it,

cleaned up

........and then I looked at the clock and it was only 10:00 AM and we had the rest of the day ahead" if this doesn't make you laugh out loud you may not be a mother.

Family Home Evening Resource Book

this book has looked the same for umm.......i don't know over 30 years

i am sure we are not the first family to love the lessons in it

last night instead of this

Angelo brought THIS

to family home evening

I thought maybe a personal hygiene lesson

so I sat back to watch........this should be interesting

SONG

PRAYER

No prob.

if you have children you know before the lesson begins, you have to get everyone calm

then

next

Liam then decided he NEEDED to brush his teeth

.

then i looked at my spouse and he was

so i asked the kids what dad looked like

they did the

this made dad laugh in spite of himself

And

Angelo asked each child to take as many square of toilet paper as they needed ( if you have boys you can imagine the comments as multiple squares were taken)

Then he asked each person to, in turn tell as many nice things about the person next to them as they had squares of toilet paper.

I LOVE MY HUSBAND

We had fun saying all the things we love about each other.

****must include the funniest quotes of the evening****

"please get off his blanket, so I don't have to send him to heaven"

courtesy of Don Angelo

"I have to brush my teeth, right NOW"

Liam Agustin

" I just gotta dance, .......like a dude"

Jaxson

" look Cinderella dress, La La La"

princess Emeline

The American Girls Handy Book

This book is filled with all kinds of fun ideas & the writing is delightful

written in 1887 it is full of beautiful language and entries from the authors like

"In the girls handy book which it has been our endeavor to make peculiarly American, we have sought to introduce original and novel ideas, and by their aid to open new avenues of enterprise and enjoyment."

I love reading this book

Now our "American Girl"

I know there isn't a MAKEUP section of the book, so here is our addition

My 2 year old is obsessed with MAKEUP, she especially likes mascara & lip stick

She always gets into my make up when I am at the grocery store--when moms away right

Angelo took these pictures of our Makeup obsessed child

She is sure she has done something good.......hmm maybe we shouldn't take pictures when the kids are doing wrong

Road Atlas

Our recent quandary:

How to explain to a 5 year old, 3 year old, & a 2 year old

that we are moving to another State.

The matter seems easy enough to comprehend, to an adult mind.

However the idea that Grandma won't be around the corner is a concept not quite so concrete. We love seeing Grandma, Grandpa & the Tio's , we have always been able to see them whenever we want, so what do you mean Mom, they will always be around the corner, right? After the last out of State move talk Jaxson came up with a plan " I guess we will have to get a Seattle Grandma" so.........if you are a Grandma in Seattle looking for 4 new grandkids give us a call.

We have done a few things to try and SHOW them the distance

*Google Map

* Atlas

*Explain until we are blue in the face

I guess this is one of the learn by experience situations

If you haven't looked at an Atlas lately I recommend it, I think it is very fun to see all the place you can go & how you could get there

Fun Family Activity

***Note from the Author***

The books are packed so........only web pics of my favs from now on, sorry

The Novels of Jane Austen VI Minor Works

You know me

It wouldn't be a book month without mention of one of my Favorite Authors

JANE AUSTEN

One of my friends, who knows my affinity for Ms Austen's work lent me this book.

It has a much more intimate look into the Authors world & work. It is full of letters written both by the author and to her & includes some of her first short stories.

I definitely recommend this book

***note from the author***

" By the time Chaucer is 18 yrs old we are going to be MD's " Angelo said last night

Our Current Credentials

* Able to speak with Respiratory Therapists, and ask wise thought provoking questions

*Able to use a nebulizer, even half asleep in the middle of the night

*Able to set up billi lights, use them, thus curing the patient

This has got to be at least a semester of Med school, right? It was all done while extremely tired and overworked ( I think that is a requirement of Med school)

The Complete and authoritative guide CARING FOR YOUR BABY & YOUNG CHILD

If you have children you know you need help understanding all the medical issues that come with them.

With 4 kids you can bet this book is always on hand

Last night after a long visit to the ER which begun at 11:00pm and didn't end until the wee hours of this morning we pulled out this lovely book to look up

PNEUMONIA

here is what we learned:Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lung.[1] Frequently, it is described as lung parenchyma/alveolar inflammation and abnormal alveolar filling with fluid. (The alveoli are microscopic air-filled sacs in the lungs responsible for absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere.) Pneumonia can result from a variety of causes, including infection with bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites, and chemical or physical injury to the lungs. Its cause may also be officially described as idiopathic—that is, unknown—when infectious causes have been excluded.
Typical symptoms associated with pneumonia include cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty in breathing. Diagnostic tools include x-rays and examination of the sputum. Treatment depends on the cause of pneumonia; bacterial pneumonia is treated with antibiotics.

Yup, Baby C has it! Here is what the book doesn't tell you:

**You will be up all night... not only because his breathing will be so loud you can't sleep for fear of well...you know, but because you will be in the ER getting X-rays, Suction & Respiratory therapy

** You will not be catching up on sleep the next day either.....you will be at the Doctors office ( not doubt getting more scared than you already are), the IHC medical equipment store learning how to use a Nebulizer (a nebulizer is a device used to administer medication to people in forms of a liquid mist to the airways .Also called "atomizers", they pump air or oxygen through a liquid medicine to turn it into a vapor, which is then inhaled by the patient), & at the pharmacy picking up medicine for the Babe who has already been poked and proded enough for an entire life time... in one night!

** You will be very very engorged because.....the sick baby will not want to nurse because lets face it HE IS TIRED from all the tests, poking, and such

** You will try to convince your 3 other children that watching a movie is just as good as...... doing pretty much anything else ( something you swore you would never do, let your tv baby sit)

** You will also have a Mom & friends who lend you an ear while you come totally apart, then help if with nothing but kind words and understanding......IT WILL HELP (thanks....you know who you are)

**You will wish you were the kind of MOM that was always calm and collected

** You will have a husband who even though he is Extremely busy, will do everything he can for you and your Family & will give your little babe a blessing ( which will be the only time you relax)

I hope you never meet my definition of pneumonia, but if you do have this experience......you are not alone!

Thanks to American Academy of Pediatrics for making these health issues a little more understandable

****Note From the Author***

Baby C not only charmed the ER Doc with his coo's and smiles, he won the hearts of every ER nurse with his dimples, Always the Cassanova

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

It's April !!

I had a great idea for an April fools trick, but instead I am going to start this months posts

This month I will be replacing song titled posts with Book titles

so without further adieu ...

This is a great read as self help books go, thank you Mr. Covey

his seven habits are...

1. Be Proactive

2. Begin with the end in mind

3. Put first things first

4. Think win/win

5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood

6. Synergize

7. Sharpen the Saw

while we agree with Mr. Covey

Here are some of the Carvajal's highly effective habits