Sweet Cousins

Erica and Hyrum finally took us up on our invitation to watch Reed and Lucy last night. We had fun with them. They are so easy to watch, and to be honest Sophie did most of the work. Allie has deemed Reed her new best friend - best cousin and friend.

I went upstairs to setup Lucy's crib and I left her on the floor to play. Sophie was very concerned no one was holding her - I told her it was OK. Babies needed to have floor time. Anyway, I walked downstairs and found Sophie laying on the floor with Lucy singing to her. Lucy could not take her eyes off of Sophie. It was the sweetest thing to see, I had to snap a picture.

It is nice to have family around!

No More Stamina

Once upon a time, I was the mother of three darling children (and the fairy tale begins). We thought we could handle one more child, and the Lord saw fit to bless us with twins.

Since these were babies four and five, they went everywhere. I hauled that stroller and those carseats with me everywhere I went. I would even push the stroller and pull a cart at the grocery store. I was supermom.

Fast forward six years. I have a 16 year old babysitter, a 12 year old babysitter, a very responsible ten year old and two six year olds. I don't have to bring the little ones with me anywhere. There is always someone at home who can watch them. I am used to my freedom. It is bliss.

Well, this week both Ryan and Kelsey are at High Adventure and Girl's Camp. Let me just say I have LOVED the quiet. There has been no fighting. There has been no yelling. I have been no babysitters.

Yesterday, Sophie was at Rachel's house all day (they are moving on Saturday and I don't want to dwell on it for fear of sadness). Those two are having their last big thing this week. So, I had to bring the twins to the YMCA with me. Getting everyone ready and out the door on time took an act of congress. I had the complaints about not wanting to go to the YMCA, etc. I had to bribe them with Sonic afterwards. (especially since I did a double header and they were there over two hours)

Then I needed to go to the mall. So, for the first time in years, I had to take the two of them with me. They complained the whole time, their feet hurt, they were tired. Even a cookie did not totally satisfy.

See, while I have lost stamina, so have they. They are not used to working with me on my timeschedule. It is a shame.

Lucky for all of us, Kelsey comes home today, and Ryan on Saturday. Kelsey will be leaving again next week for Colorado. She will be gone a week and a half, so the responsiblity will fall on Ryan to work hard to make my life easier. Isn't that what being the oldest child is all about?

Lost Tooth!

Well, one of my babies has lost her first tooth. Caroline is down one tooth.

She told me on Sunday that her tooth hurt. Of course, it was during Sacrament Meeting, and I kind of waved it off. Kelsey and Sophie, always looking for something to do during sacrament except pay attention, determined it was loose.

That was all Caroline needed to keep wiggling it. Once I investigated, I found out her big tooth had come in behind it. I gave it the final tug and out it came. She is so funny. She told me she loves to have a missing tooth because she can put her tongue in the hole and it is fun. I am just impressed that the tooth fairy remembered to come - one the first night. Many times she is so busy getting all her teeth it can take a few days, or weeks, to make it to our house.

I think she looks cute. She also announced at dinner that she is sick of us calling them the twins. She said, "We have names. We are Allie and Caroline!" So, we have been put on notice. We will have to work on using their names. I wonder if that means calling them the babies is out...

Why, Why, Why?

Why do we have to have flight delays on Fridays? It is the last flight to Houston tonight, and I guess there is bad weather en route, so we are delayed. I have been gone all week and I am tired!!! "Get me home" I want to scream to the crusty gate agent, but it is not her fault I am tired and have had a long week. (how is that for enlightened?)

It was a long, but productive week. I even worked out three times. At one hotel there was no workout facility so I did squats, lunges and abs in my room. I have felt it the rest of the week! It will be nice to get home, and crash.

OOK LAHOMA

Sing it loud! I have spent the last few days driving from one end of the state to the other end of the state. I am in a CRAPPY car - I am trying to get a pic so I can post. It is a mettalic blue Ford something. No power ANYTHING!!!! No power windows, locks, no cruise control. It is gutless. Ah, my glamorous life.

I am hoping everyone is alive at home. I am really worried about too much fighting among the kids when I am gone. I am going to cut back on travel, especially this summer, because I don't feel great about the kids home all day killing each other. Keep your fingers crossed that everyone is alive.

You might be wondering what a salad from McDonalds has to do with Oklahoma? It is here I discovered this tasty treat. I have joined the likes of Jenny McCarthy and others - you know the Weight Watchers of America. Now, why would I admit that to the world at large? Two reasons. One, I pretty much put it all out there. Second, peer pressure. If anyone sees me eating crap you need to say, I thought you were on Weight Watchers? See - it does take a village. I am committed to be 40 and Fabulous in October.

Back to the salad. It is GREAT!!! If you are into salads, go and get one. You don't even need salad dressing because the chicken is saucy. The best part - only six points! So, go and get you some.

Have a great day!

Duct Tape

Have you ever thought about what a wonderful invention duct tape is? I am a firm believer in the tape - and just had it work its magic again.

First, for anyone who does not really know me, I don't sew. No really, I don't. I have begged, borrowed and stealed (I know it is stolen, stealed worked better) to get my sewing done - things like Ryan's scout shirt, etc. For me, when it comes to sewing, I try to use the duct tape. Look at any pair of my pants, and you will probably see the hem being held together with duct tape.

I learned this love of the tape from my father. He was always using duct tape to "fix" things. If it couldn't be held together with duct tape it was not worth putting together.

Recently, I have relied on the healing power of the tape. You laugh to yourself and say, what healing power? The power to remove warts. Yes they are ugly, and no one wants to admit they have one, but what can I say. I am an open book.

I tried to pretend for a while that what I had was not a wart, but after careful consultation with my book club, we decided it was. I tried the nail polish for a few days, did not work. I tried the duct tape. And guess what? Gone, or really almost gone. We will have to wait a few days to be sure.

So, if you do not have a supply of the tape laying around, and we all know it should be in your 72 hour kit, go on down to the Wal-Mart and get you some.

Back in the Grind

Hard to believe we have been home for one week now! It seems like just yesterday we were on vacation and having fun. Allie and I were watching GMA this morning, and they said "Live from Times Square" and she said, "Mom we were there!"

I think we are adjusting back to life in Tomball. I am trying to keep that balance of work and kids going. It is not easy, but my life would be boring with easy - right?

I have introduced a new chore chart - there are morning chores and evening chores. When Kelsey found out she had to do two things a day AND clean her room there was a lot of complaining. How could I possible expect them to do two things a day???? I am so mean. Even with that, it looks like a bomb exploded in here most days! I refuse to constantly pick up after them all summer. How is that for a stand?

The picture is my friend Lynn and I during our Little Italy experience. Hard to believe we are turning the big 40 this year - please just agree with me that we don't look it!!! Time marches on.

Well go and have a happy day.

The Little Blue Box

While we were in NYC, walking up 5th Ave we came across Tiffany & Co. I had been thinking I wanted a bracelet, and I thought how cool would it be to buy one here in NY on 5th Ave? So, I went inside and after 5 minutes of being ignored I walked out a little distgusted. I thought oh well, I don't really need anything.

Eric felt bad since I had not really gotten any souviners. I am not a real t-shirt kind of gal, and nothing jumped out at me as I have GOT to have this. I was not upset, and believe it or not I was not playing the martyr.

So, Eric said he and the older kids would go back the next day and get something. I showed him a few that I liked, and thought if he goes great, if now I am really OK with it.

Well, he took Kelsey and they picked out a beautiful bracelet which I love. I think Kelsey loved the chance to go and get it with him. She is a girly girl.

So, thanks to Eric and Kelsey and of course Tiffany & Co for my little blue box.

Caroline And The Subway

Blogger would not allow me to upload another pic, so I had to create a new post. This picture was a tribute to Caroline and her love of the Subway!!

The other is the girls in Central Park.

The rest of the Vacation

Sick of hearing about our NY adventure? This should be the last day of our trip blog. Then I have to go back to coming up with other material. I don't know about that.

Sunday, Eric and Ryan went to a Yankee game and we did some basic shopping and made the first of our two stops at American Girl Place. All four girls loved American Girl. We also found ourselves in Times Square and it was a mob scene. It was the end of fleet week, and Memorial Day weekend. Tourist heaven.

Monday we met up with my Best Friend from high school and her family. Lynn, Matt and their kids Stefan and Julia. We went to the Natural History Museum and Matt got us in for free! Thanks Matt. It was fun to look around and see the stuff from the movie. The kids loved the dum-dum statue. From there it was off to Little Italy where we had a very NY moment and ate right on the street at a great restaurant. It was just like Sex In The City - except we had seven kids with us!

Tuesday was Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We got stuck on Ellis for an additional 45 minutes when our ferry was full (we were next). BUMMER. Caroline really was excited about the statue since that really means NY to her. It was fun, but tiring. We got dropped off at Battery Park and we walked by ground zero - still a haunting and somber place.

We ended up in central park where we sat and watched a couple innings of softball and kickball. Now, when did kickball become an adult sport? The guys we were watching were WAY too into it, so it was fun to watch them. It is amazing to be in the middle of Manhatten and be in a beautiful park! The weather was beautiful, so there were lots of runner and bike riders. It was great just to chill.

We loved our time in NY. It made Eric want to enter the lottery to run the marathon this year, so I hope we get to go back. I am serious about Eric and I moving there once the kids are out of the house!!! My little Texans did not love NY, with the exception of Caroline. Ryan led the "we love Texas and not NY" brigade. I am glad to see he loves his home!

Caroline may end up to be our one city girl. She loved the subway and even said at one point she wanted to live on the subway! Yesterday, after we were home for a few hours, she said she missed New York. I am with you girl!

Graduation Day at West Point

This is the part of the blog that turns into an online journal documenting our trip, so if you don't care just click away.

It was nice to be out of our stinky clothes and ready for graduation on Saturday. It was not fun, however, to be up and ready to go at 5:30 am. The kids were troopers, and we were all ready to go on time (give or take 15 minutes).

The graduation was actually very interesting, VP Cheany was the commencement speaker. He had been to BYU as the commencement speaker in April, so some of the family got double credit for listening to him twice. Each speech was very different, but as far as graduations go, it was pleasant.

USMA has a tradition where they allow little kids, ages 6-10, to run out and get the hats from the cadets when they throw them in the air. We sent out Allie, Caroline, Sophie and Josh (my brother Matt’s son). Each came back with a hat – actually Allie got three and gave one to Josh and one to another little girl who did not have one. They looked really cute all in their hats too big for their heads!

Patrick had his becoming a 2nd LT (there is an official name for it, but I can’t think of it now) ceremony after lunch. He changed out of his West Point uniform and into his army green one. Kind of weird to see him all official in the army now.

It was fun to spend our last day at WP, and it was good for the kids to see what kind of an accomplishment this was. We made our way back to Jersey and prepared for our next few days of fun in NYC.

The Pearsons Say Good Morning America!

I love GMA. I have watched it for years - from the Charlie Gibson and Joan Lunden days. Many have tried to get me to convert to the Today Show - and with Meredith it was tempting, but I have stayed true to GMA.

I figured we were in NYC, why not go for the taping? Now, if I was smart I would have looked into tickets, but since I wing my whole life this was not exception. I took the only two who wanted to get up early enough (Ryan and and Sophie), and we caught the first bus into the city. Now, this was at 6:50 and since we did not make it before the taping of the show I did not have a lot of hope we would get on camera, or in studio.

When we arrived, even the folks who were standing outside had been there since 6:30 in the am and the set was closed inside. Being the big mouth I am, I started working one of the security guys. We were able to get behind a shot outside and you can sort of see Sophie, but you really have to look. She was standing behind Robin Roberts.

Then the area cleared of the outside stuff. I found my friendly security guy, started talking and before you knew it we were in the studio. They stuck Sophie up front because, "they like to put the kids up front." We were in for the bridal and the weight loss segments, just in case you watched.

We did not have time for photos in the studio, but they kicked us out to do the ending outside. It was a mob scene of people and we could not get close to my friends, Diane, Robin, Sam and Chris.

I knew where the stage door was, so before the show ended we planted ourselves outside the door and voila pics with the stars. Now, we had gotten one of Chris earlier because he was doing a segment outside when we arrived. As you can see, all my friends posed for pics. They were all very nice and patient.

Kudos to Laurie and Rich who did not get snappy with me when I called them at 6:00 am their time to ask to tape the show so we can see because, you see, I had planned to DVR GMA the whole time I was gone just in case, and did not.

After our GMA fun, we met up with Kelsey, Eric and the babies and walked to the NBC store, American Girl Place (for the second time) up 5th Ave., across central park and to Lincoln Center to see the Manhatten Temple and eat lunch. The kids were wiped out, so we took the subway to Chinatown where, after three blocks, they gave up. Back on the subway to Times Square to Port Authority to get a bus back to the hotel. It was a great day, and a great vacation.

I will have to fill in the gaps of the first day and the last day later. We are homeward bound tomorrow!!

Finally A New Post

I realize no one will be reading this since it has taken so long to update, but oh well. It has been wild and crazy!!

Right now I am coming to you live from Seacacus, NJ. As usual, I am the only one awake - everyone else is asleep. And as usual I am doing laundry. Wait - is this vacation or home? Actually we are having a blast.

The trip started off not so hot. I flew out with the babies on Continental and Eric and the older kids flew on American. Since I was flying alone with the little ones, and I was going to rent the car alone with the little ones, we decided I would leave all the luggage with Eric to bring with him. He would arrive, get the bags and I would pick him up in the car. A perfect plan...

Well, Eric and the kids got caught in a good ole Texas storm when coming out. I arrived, rented the car and found out they were still in Houston because the DFW airport was closed. They did make it to DFW, but their ability to get out that day, Thursday, was in question. The only flight they could be confirmed on was Friday at 5:00 PM. That would mean they would miss the graduation parade, think not floats and bands, but marching and drilling. We wanted to make that because it was supposed to be cool. So, the kids really wanted to come in on Thursday.

Eric chummed up the gate agent and they went from 20 on the standby list to 7-10. They were the last ones on the plane. Now, said plane was supposed to arrive at 9:00 PM, but due to delays did not arrive until 12:49AM. I arrive bleary eyed at 1:15(since I had started my day at 4:30 AM) only to find out we have no bags. The crack AA staff tells Eric it will be on the next flight which will arrive in 30 min. Well, said plane arrives and you guessed it no bags. We drag ourselves to the hotel and arrive at 3 AM.

Luckily, my sisters had the little ones, but they were leaving at 7:00 AM to go to the not so much floats but marching parade. So, I had to go and entertain the troops until we could raise the dead and head up to West Point. We got there after the parade, but that is OK because we then got the Patrick Linford tour of WP. We were stinky in our same clothes, but that is OK. It was HOT, so stink was relative.

The pictures are a couple of the glimpses into WP (they are not edited, just raw so not perfect but fun). The group shot is all of us looking out over the Hudson River at WP. The dining hall looks just like the dining hall at Hogwarts. Ryan and Patrick are standing in front of some cannon (there are lots).

It was a great day and we were able to have fun getting a glimpse of the beautiful campus, and cadet life. Our bags did finally arrive at 11:00 PM. Good think because we had to leave our hotel at 5:30 AM for graduation. More on graduation, and our post WP NYC trip later.

Election Day

Today is the day we have been waiting for and working for. It is election day for the school bond. You know, get a second high school? I have been gone so much I have not pulled my weeght so I am working the polls from 7am to 7pm. It will be a long day. Thank goodness I am at a church with wifi and I can borrow, cause who wants to steal from a church, the internet. We should know the results tonight. Think good thoughts!!!

When A Dad Is In Charge Part 2

I am in Cleveland on my way to Houston. I called Eric to checkin. He had just been to the elementary to pick up Caroline. She had thrown up at school (twice). Why you ask? He gave her the antibiotic this morning without anything for breakfast. They were running late so no one ate breakfast this morning. Hello? These kids can't go to school without food. So, he had to go and get her and she is going to work with him again for the THIRD day this week.

Maybe they can put her on the payroll - she is a fixture at AB now!

When A Dad Is In Charge

I have been in Syracuse all week. I have been in sales meetings and other meetings all week long. It has been long, but clearly easier than it has been at home.

I guess it started on Monday because Sophie had her first practice and Kelsey had a choir concert and Ryan had football. There was a parents meeting for the soccer team, and Eric had to be there with the twins. When I asked if he got what we needed from the meeting he was very snappy to me. "No, I had the babies and they kept having to go to the bathroom and then Caroline has an accident (she pees shes pants). I had to keep dealing with them." I wanted to say, and your point is? Welcome to my everyday. I do need to note that I recieved three calls from the girls Monday night because Eric was being "so mean". I am not sure what I was supposed to do, but they kept calling.

Then came Tuesday. I got a call from Eric that evening. Caroline was coughing when I left, but there are tons of allergens out, so I chocked it up to that. I guess Caroline was sick on Tuesday. So what did Eric do? He brought her to work and laid out some plans on the ground and had her sleep under his desk.(not even a nice built in bed like Costanza's) Yes for real. Then he went to a meeting and had someone watch her.

I asked, does she have a fever? His answer, I think so. She told me she thinks she has strep throat. So, get her to the doctor. Well, that did not fit into his schedule on Tuesday, so he did not get her an apt until Wednesday (after he took her to work again). As all the moms know, if you have strep throat you need to be on the anitbiotics for 24 hours before you can go back to school. So, that meant she could not go to school on Thursday.

Eric's answer? Have Kelsey stay home and take care of her. I am sure it was not much of a hard sell. So, Kelsey and Caroline stayed home on Thursday. There was another soccer practice and I did not hear how that went.

I need to add that there was some kind of bomb scare on the busses, so I kept getting calls during my meeting telling me that the kids were still up at the school and their parent had to come and get them. Eric did not get there until after 5:30 to pick up the girls (minus Caroline who he had at the DR). Then there was a mixup with the prescription card, and it was 9:00 before that girl got her meds.

I am on my way home today. Working a 12 hour shift at the polls tomorrow. Lets think positive thoughts about the bond!! We need a second high school.

So I'm a Loser

Acknowledgement is the first step is it not? I know it has been a week since I have updated my blog. I know everyone in blog land is just dying - yeah right. I do not think that highly of myself, I have just had one of those weeks.

On top getting caught up with work since I have been out of the office so much, I have accomplished the following: getting some order back into the house, not to mention groceries; Sophie's club soccer try-outs; getting Sophie a dress for her Awards Banquet; football carpool each day (to make up for the Wilkinson's doing all last week); TWO music programs complete with the Chicken Dance; and Field Day for Sophie. All of this leading up to Saturday birthday party, bridal shower, Costco and finding shoes for Sophie. Please, someone feel sorry for me!!!! I don't remember all of this being in my contract, but then it is probably in that dreaded "other duties as assigned" line item.

I am glad to say the house is stocked with food, clean clothes and we are ready for Sophie's award banquet. I am gone all week in Syracuse where I hope it will NOT be cold. I will miss Kelsey's choir concert and that makes me sad. She did not give me the date until two weeks ago and I could not change my plans (although I am going to a sales meeting and could not change the dates anyway).

I am sure when I get back, everything will be undone and I will need to start all over again. Something is wrong with the picture...

It's A First

It's official. Melissa is the first Linford to earn a master's degree. She graduated this weekend from BYU with her masters in education. It is a great accomplishment, and one in which the Pearson clan is very proud.

I myself have never had any desire for education beyond my bachelor's degree. I figure I have been educated in the school of hard knocks (or the school of too many children, you take your pick). I am always in awe of those who willingly submit themselves to ongoing torture to get some more learnin.

Of course, like all hypocrits I do expect my children to do more than I did. Maybe it is not hypocritical, just a motherly desire for my children to achieve more than I did. After all, they have the best mother in the world!

Louisiana Landscape and Crawfish

I have spent the week going from one end of Louisiana to the other. I was with two collegues, and visited three prospects. It was a great week work wise. I met with one library who LOVED what we had to show. It was so fun to be in an environment which was so positive. It was fun, fun, fun.

I went out with one of the prospects on Wednesday night, and we had crawfish. I had always avoided crawfish since it seemed a little weird. After eating them, I can say they are tasty. The only problem? They are a LOT of work for a little bit of meat. All in all it was tasty food and fun times.

I will now be home for 10 whole days. It is a festivus miracle.

Crazy Life

Do you ever feel like your life is spinning out of control, and the best you can do is hold on tight and hope not to fall off? Welcome to my world. With all the travel, big projects for work, and a weekend trip to Dallas for a baptism, life is just crazy.

We ended up driving to Dallas on Saturday morning - in time to make the 10:00 AM baptism which meant a 5:30 departure, and a 4:30 AM wake up call. It was a fun weekend with family and friends. We drove back yesterday at 2:00 PM. (No pics because I forgot the camera!!!)

Eric has this love for the road trip. Me, not so much. It was OK until the last hour when the four girls decided they were not going to watch any more movies, but were going to be loud and crazy. I don't care how big your car is, four girls+loud noise=headache for mom. We made it home in time for Ryan to watch the Mavericks lose their first game. The boy's mood seems to revolve around how his teams do. The Stars won over the weekend, so that kind of evened things out.

Off to the great state of Louisianna this week. I leave tonight and will return Friday afternoon. It will be a long week with driving from one end of the state to the other. Oh well, as everyone knows my job and the travel is glamorous, right????

My goal this week is NOT to let the blog die down all week. We will see how that works out.

I Am An Old Woman

When I was in college, my roomates and I would comment on how old woman would talk about stupid things. How firm the peas are, how the azaleas are in bloom. We made a pact never to become weird old woman.

I am here today to break that pact. I have spent many hours driving across Texas the last few days. This is wildflower time. Right now the

wildflowers are BEAUTIFUL!! The contrast of the bluebonnets, indian paintbrush, green grass and blue sky is amazing. I liked to just look at the flowers and be amazed at the beauty which is Texas (Ok so that is going over the top, but oh well).

So, I will embrace my age. I will own that I am a weird old woman. I will enjoy the fact I can wax poetic about flowers at a time I should be working on a big proposal I need to get done. Anything to keep procrastinating....

Take a drive, look around and enjoy the flowers because they will be gone in a few weeks.

The Beginning of the next 30 Days of My Glamorous Life

My husband let me in on a secret. I will be gone 20 of the next 30 days. Then, we will be gone on vacation for a week. I know you are all jealous of my exciting life. It was at a high yesterday, when I had pulled up the carpet in our booth, on my hands and knees pushing an extension cord under the carpet so we could have power where we need it.

My ever so supportive husband called me on Tuesday night and asked what I was doing. Here is a playback of our conversation:

Eric: What are you doing:

Me: Folding laundry, getting the kids ready for bed.

Eric: Well, lucky you to tomorrow you get to go on vacation.

Me: Excuse me? Working 13 hours a day, standing in the booth real vacation!

Come on now. He was kidding (wasn't he?). I am leaving my room at 8:o0 am and I will not be back until 9:30 pm or 10:00 pm at which point I need to write a cover letter and do an executive summary for an RFP I am doing. This is after standing in a booth with NO CARPET PAD (pad costs more money you know) on the concrete floor for 7 hours, taking clients out to dinner, and going to a TLA bash. Vacation??? I don't think so.

What I Hate About Easter

There I said it. I HATE the aftermath of Easter. The eggs strewn all over. And the grass. Who invented this stuff? It had to be someone who was trying to torture moms everywhere. It does not help that the people who live here are slobs. They throw their candy wrappers, and any garbage, right on the floor.

This causes me to wonder where I went wrong as a mother. Are there not children out there who will all clean up their own messes? Are there not children out there who would not think of throwing the wrapper to their Reeses Egg on the floor? There sure seem to be some moms who tell me their children are very responsible. They would never do such a thing. So, where did I go wrong?

Am I not mean enough? I tend to think I am pretty mean, but maybe I need to be meaner? How do you instill a sense of responsibility in a six year old? Especially one who is the baby of the family, and is "too little" to do much of ANY work. If it were only the babies, it would be one thing. This conspiracy goes deeper than that -right up to the top.

Oh well. I have confiscated the easter baskets, the grass and most of the candy is gone. So, I guess I will call it a wrap on another easter.

On to the next mess.

Easter - 45 Degrees?

What? Is this Houston? Why was it so cold? The low on the night before Easter was in the 30's. What is going on? It is supposed to be nice at Easter, not freezing. It snowed just north of us. Crazy weather.

We had a nice easter. The kids enjoyed their baskets and candy - that is unless you are a teenager (or a wanna be) and you thought you were too cool. All in all, a great day.

Crazy week ahead - travel and lots of work.

Have a great Monday.

Oil Ranch

There is a place just north of us, the Oil Ranch. It is a field trip dream. They have a train, a cow you can milk, a pony you can ride, a petting zoo, etc. You get the idea.

All of the kindergarten classes go to the Oil Ranch. Many of the preschool classes go to the Oil Ranch. Till now, I had avoided going to the Oil Ranch. Since the elementary school will not allow younger siblings to go on field trips, I never had the chance. I always had younger ones.

Well, that ended this year. I was lucky enough to just go - not be an "official" chaperone. This allowed me to go, spend some time with Allie and Caroline, and then get home and get some work done! Win/Win for everyone.

Here are the city gals, remember they really want to live downtown by Uncle Mark, showing their country side.

Thank Goodness!

We went to see Wicked last night, and it was WONDERFUL. If you ever get the chance to go and see it, do it. It was Kelsey, Sohphie, Rachel, Becky and me. We went out and got some dinner, and then saw the show. Our tickets were great. The show was great.

After the show we had to pass backstage to get to the car. The girls got the autographs for the Wizard, Galinda and Elphaba.

Everyone is tired today, but it was worth it. Now I am off to the Oil Ranch with the twins. The being a mom thing really gets in the way of me having fun!

Fashion By Caroline

Caroline marches to the beat of her own drummer. We know this. She is now, even more, expressing herself in her fashion choices.

This outfit is one she put together and is one of her favorites. She added the belt the other day. She decided she needed this belt - Kelsey did not use it enough so it was now Caroline's. Sophie was mortified that I let her go to school like that. What is wrong with me? In the grand scheme of things, what is a silvery, sparkly belt?

She has also announced to me that she does not like pants. "That is just not my fashion." She likes shorts, skirts, dresses and short pants (capris).

So, there you go. Fashion by Caroline. When she is a great designer some day, that can be her label!

From Mud to India - a Great Saturday

Yesterday was the Lakewood Elementary Carnival. This the big fundraiser for the school, and the kids get all hopped up to go and play and spend mom and dad's money.

A few weeks ago, the PTO president asked Eric and Ryan to come and be clowns and do balloon animals. Eric said sure, then he let Ryan know. Ryan, being a good sport, said OK. Fast forward to two weeks ago when Eric decided to go to Utah. He talked Ryan into still being a clown, and decided we would work and make a ton of balloon animals to bring up there, which Kelsey and Sophie did, and Ryan could just hand them out.

When we arrived, we found out there was another clown - a "profesional" clown who was paid by the carnival committee to make balloon animals. Ryan was a good sport, stood there and pretty much did nothing because the "professional" clown was handling it. And as for the animals the Pearson Family contributed, no one wanted them. The "professional" clown made what you wanted onsite. That was more appealing than the ones Kelsey and Sophie had made.

Ryan proved he would follow through when he made a committment, and I was proud of him. I am much more bitter than he is, but isn't that how I am? Bitter old woman?

Add to that the fact it had been raining alll day and the playground at the school was a MUD PIT. No, really. Before Caroline even got on one ride, she fell, was stuck in the mud and I had to take her home,clean her up, and go back and try to get our monies worth of our ride bands (another source of bitterness since the prices were set high assuming each family had two children. What about all those mormon families with a ton of kids. Well, one official was heard to say, "You should not have had so many kids." Bitter, Bitter, Bitter.)

I tried to swallow my bitterness, and the kids had a ball. Allie thanked me this morning for a great time yesterday. So, I guess it was worth it if the kids had fun. Of course, I did not volunteer my time to go and plan and put this party on, so I should just keep my bitterness to myself (and anyone who reads this blog).

After the carnival, I went to see The Namesake with Sarah. It was only playing in one theater in Houston, the River Oaks Theater, so off we went. It was a great book and I was hoping the movie would be as good. It was. We had a really good time, and were very proud for getting out of our comfort zone.

At the end of the day, we all had a great day. Busy, crazy, muddy, a little bitter, but fun.

Mission Reunions and Strep Throat

Caroline has strep throat. It took me two days to take her seriously. She told me her throat hurt, I gave her tylenol. She told me her throat hurt, I gave her tylenol. (I am a BIG believer in drugs - both for me and my kids).

When she woke up today crying because her throat hurt, I decided I needed to take her seriously. One trip to the doctor later, and she has strep. Lets hope the antibiotic kicks in soon.

Eric left at the crack of dawn today - 4:30 AM - for a trip to Utah. A few weeks ago he found out they were going to have a mission reunion, and he decided he wanted to go. He is having a nice fun weekend in Provo and SLC, visiting friends and enjoying the scenery. I hope he has fun.

Me, I am here with Caroline - who, have you heard, has strep throat.

A Little Bragging

I am not really a bragging parent - at least I don't think I am. I love my kids. I think they are beautiful, brilliant and wonderful. But, I don't feel the need to tell everyone how wonderful they are. We all know braggers, and it is not a good look.

Well, I am going to make an exeption to that rule today. I got a phone call yesterday from the principal of the elementary school that went like this:

Mrs P: Mrs. Pearson this is Mrs. P from Lakewood Elementary

Me: (thinking to myself, what did Allie do now? As we all know, a call from the principal is not usually a good thing)

Mrs. P: The reason for my call is a good one. Sophie is our 4th grade A+ student for this year.

I was shocked. I was thinking, did she mean for her class? No, for the entire fourth grade. There is one for 2nd grade, one for 3rd grade and one for 4th grade. She went on to tell me about a special dinner in May for all the district A+ students.

Now, I am not sure if this is based soley on grades, or if citizenship plays into it. I will have to get clarification. It does not really matter. Sophie has worked hard, and this is her reward.

Of course, when we told Sophie she did not believe it. Her response? "But Rachel is smarter than me." Classic Sophie. That is what we love about her.

We could not be prouder! So, excuse the bragging just this one time.

Allergy to Thursday Rears It's Ugly Head

Remember my rantings about my allergy to Thursday - what do you mean you have not recorded to memory each and every post of Real Life? Well, today it was back.

The alarm went off. I could hardly roll over to turn in off thanks to my nazi aerobics instructor at the YMCA (I am sure she has no feeling in her thighs) Anyway, in my "got to make the dounts" stumble, I went downstairs and made the lunches. All five. Of course an integral part of that is my first glass of diet coke of the day.

Since I had not read a single blog in over two weeks, I told you I was busy, I decided it was a great time to get caught up. I now feel like I know what is going on in my friends lives, and I was just going up to get in the shower so I could go to the bus stop looking like a real person instead of the "mom" I am right now. I open the fridge to get my second coke of the day, yes it was only 6:50 AM, and that is when I saw it. Four exploded cokes. All over the fridge.

Now, the question is did I miss it earlier? Was I so asleep that I missed the coke splattered fridge? I don't think so, but can't be sure. I avoided my first thought which was shut the fridge, go back to bed and boycott Thursday. The reality is it would still be there when I opened the fridge again. So 45 minutes later I have a clean fridge.

Instead of showering and being a real person, I will go to the bus looking like a hag. Just thought I would share. When your day is not going great just think - at least I did not wake up to four exploded cokes in the fridge!

March 28, 2007

A day Kelsey has been waiting for. Why you ask? Because last year some time, I am sure when I was out of town - all "fun" things happen when I am out of town - Eric and Kelsey made a contract. This contract stated that on March 28, 2007 Kelsey could get a cell phone. The one and only catch was that she had to be able to produce said contract on March 28th.

Well, against all odds she kept the contract safe. True to his word, today was the day she got a cell phone. I just want to go on the record as saying I don't think she needs one. But, as I said, it happened when I was gone.

The good news is she is aware that this is a privilege. The violation of any number of rules will mean the phone is taken and she needs to earn it back.

What is this world coming to when a 12 year old has a cell phone. I blame my sister. She allowed Hannah to get a cell phone at 12 and that spawned the great cell phone contract. Oh well, she is on my plan and I can closely monitor what is going on.

I am guessing she will call her aunts and uncles a lot since they are all on the same plan as she is. The girl who can out talk Melissa is now armed with a cell phone. Linfords beware!!!

A few photos from Nevis. The island was beautiful. The one on the left is the view from the water of the resort as I was leaving. The monkey on the right is one of a group of monkeys who live on the golf course, 15th hole. They come out in the evening and wreak havoc on the golf course. After all the attendees had left, I got to go out and get a tour of the golf course and see them.

Last week was hectic, but great. But, as always it is nice to be home!

Yes, I Am Still Alive

It has been a CRAZY few weeks. I have been travelling, working like a dog, and completely OUT of my schedule. So what happened? No blog - a point which has been made by MANY people. I am back and I hope to be able to get caught up since I know everyone is dying to know what has been going on in the Pearson household.

We were blessed with the visit of both Uncle Markie and Uncle Patrick - or Rich Uncle Mark and Crazy Uncle Patrick, on Saturday the 10th. Patrick was here for spring break and to attend the wedding of his former roommate and that brought Mark and Jen out for a few hours. They spent some time with the kids, watched Sophie play soccer, and of course were used as a human jungle gym. Allie and Caroline think that is Mark's purpose in life - human jungle gym. He is nice enought to appease them! It was great to have them.

Patrick came back the next week, when I was gone, and I am pretty sure there was more playing and fun. He put together Eric's new model airplane - I guess Eric has decided to get a new hobby. Anyway, it was great to see both of them.

I spent last week in Nevis - a sister island to St. Kitts in the British West Indies. I will post some pictures later. I went to help Pia out with a show. She ended up stuck in the Charlotte airport for two days, and I got to jump in and be in charge. Not usually a problem, but that also meant I had to do two peoples work for a few days. It was a great week, a beautiful place, fun company, but very busy.

So, now back to real life. Soccer, house, grocery shopping and a ton of work to do. I guess it is better to be busy than not - isn't that what they say?????

Happy Birthday Allie!

It is hard to believe my baby Allie is six. (OK so she was six a week ago and I am behind!) Allie is our resident Drama Queen. Really - we only thought Kelsey was full of it.

From the time Allie was a little girl, so was full of it. You can just look in her eyes and see that she is thinking of the next thing she can do to wreak havoc on the rest of us (except for her twin of course, because she will defend Caroline until she dies).

When Allie was 12 days old, she stopped breathing in her bed. She was blue, stiff and would have been a SIDS baby, but something prompted me to get up and check on her. I can't imagine our life without this little imp in it!

She continues to make us laugh. This is a conversation we had just this week:

Allie: Mom I want to go to the YMCA

Me: You can' t go to the YMCA until you are done taking your medicine (for her strep throat)

Allie: All my medicine?

Me: Yes

Allie: Even my issues medicine?

Me: What are you talking about?

Allie: You know the medicine I take because I have issues??

Me: (knowing she was talking about her Claritin) No, you don't have to be done with your issues medicine.

So, there you have it. Allie has issues and she is not afraid to talk about it. She has her father wrapped around her finger, and tries to manipulate him ALL the time. Most of the time she is successful. When she gets in trouble and he is not home, she will start crying that she wants her daddy. When I tell her he is not coming, she will stop crying because she knows it is wasted on me.

She is my only child with her dad's beautiful green eyes. She looks even more like he did as a little kid than Ryan, and that is saying something.

She was named after her grandfathers. Both of our fathers are named Alan. She has now taken on my dad's nickname Big Al. She does not like to share it with him, too bad it was his first. She will allow him to be referred to as Big Al, but only because she loves him. (they had to have a talk about it) He is nice enough to let her think she is in charge.

We are grateful for our Allie, Big Al. She makes us laugh. She can melt you with her smile. Now, is we can just harness the dramatics....

Sweet Caroline

I have not taken the time to write my "birthday" post for Allie or for Caroline. So, today it is my sweet Caroline (sing it like Neil Diamond).

Caroline is a sweet and fun child with big beautiful blue eyes. She has historically, stood back and let her sister move forward and take the lead. She was fine to follow. She still does, somewhat, but I have been glad to see her taking the lead more often. I think as she gains more confidence, she will continue to put it out there.

She lives in her own world most of the time. She will come out with the funniest things - and you think what is she thinking? She is usually happy and smiling, so it must be a fun world she lives in. She loves to play imaginative games. She creates these elaborate stories to set the stage for her playing.

She loves to go outside and play. She is like Sophie in that regard - she can't get enough of outside. Now that she has a bike and a scooter, she is set.

Caroline loves school. She told me she does not want to have spring break because she will miss school. She loves learning, and is doing great. She is starting to read and her writing is great. She puts periods at the end of the sentence, and starts with a capital letter. She is good about putting her finger spaces in between words, so I can usually figure out what she is saying.

She loves to help fold clothes, but not put them away because that is not fun. When she is in the mood, she can clean her room in no time - it is the in the mood thing that gets her. She also loves to swiffer vac the floor. That is not a chore, but a fun thing!

Caroline is our baby - since she is 2 minutes younger than her sister. She loves to snuggle and hug, and I can never get enough of that. She loves her family, and in her prayers she has to make sure and name each one in case Heavenly Father forgets who we are.

She is funny, quirky, and loving - and she is all ours. We feel very blessed she is our baby!

Birthday Party Wrapup and Allie has Strep

Well, the babies had their party, and fun was had by all. The thing that is the saddest is that I did not get any good pics. Although, I will admit, I did not try very hard. It was very kicked back and easy for me. The only stress was when we opened presents and it was chaos. The two teenaged girls who were running the party for us got overwhelmed and there was no order on the island. Besides that it was six year old bliss.

I should not just say six year old. All three of the older ones wanted to come to the party and not just come, but come and jump. Ryan was out there playing with the kids the entire time. He did such a good job that the owner of the Jumpin Party has given him an application for a job there. See - when you help out and have a good attitude, great things can come as a result. We have to see if his not working on Sunday will be an issue. If it is, then oh well.

Allie kept coming to me with tears in her eyes over stupid things during the party. I chalked it up to being overwhelmed with all the love. You know, it is always the birthday girl or boy who is HORRIBLE at his/her own party. This is just one of the many reasons we don't do parties very often (At age six, this was the first one for Allie and Caroline).

Back on track. One time when she came to me in tears, she felt hot and had the sick eyes. I could not do anything about it, and pretended it was because she was out jumping (plausible I think). Anyway, we came home, took her temp and it was 101. She went to bed. Sat morning she was just fine. Sat night, fell apart again and told me her throat hurt. I looked and the mess of swollen stuff and pus was gross.

So, Sunday morning we were off to the Dr. Yes she has strep. She will not be a school today, but can go back tomorrow. For anyone who was at the party whose child later develops strep - sorry. I am hoping no one will be affected. I am also hoping it does not run the course through the family. I don't have time for strep!

My Babies are Six

I will post more later - but wanted to get a pic of them in their NEW birthday clothes. These were the only ones that fit them - I bought everything else too small. I guess I can't accept them getting big.

Off to have lunch at school - of course they requested McDonalds! Birthday party after school. All in all a fun day if you are six.

Caroline's Treasures

I have five kids, and they are all different. I thought I had seen great trash collectors before. When Ryan was little, you had to shake him down when going from playground to class because his pockets were ALWAYS full of stuff. Sophie never wants to thrown anything away.

However, I think the winner is Caroline. She moved into the space once occupied by Sophie. When I redid Kelsey and Sophie's room, I made these boxes which are used to display stuff - specific stuff not junk. She does not get that. She thinks she should be able to put whatever suites her on display.

This is what she chose to display. Now, what is more concerning - the McDonalds cup or the headless Ariel? Ariel had no head when she was put up there. That was fine with Caroline, because even headless Ariel suited her aesthetics. I am not sure what it all means. She has always marched to a different drummer. This is just one more example. Let's hope she just liked the colors and this is not the beginnings of a fascination with all things headless!