Mary Poppins Wannabe?

Apparently I can't get enough time with kids, because the day after my nieces left I went over to Michelle's house to help out while she recovers from her knee surgery. Mostly the kids played, but Eva is a very opinionated 2 year old who made Megan seem like a dream, ha. I was once again in charge of 5 kids and found myself wondering if the universe was trying to tell me something (I decided it was trying to tell me that 2 kids is just great).


Then yesterday I was at it again, this time driving Michelle's mini-van with a load of kids to Seven Peaks! I wish I'd had my camera there to document the craziness of it, but I don't like to bring it there for fear of it being stolen. Just imagine me pushing a stroller, with a lawn chair on my back, trailed by 4 kids all shuffling in flip-flops while carrying beach towels, pulling a cooler and carrying my polka-dotted turquoise beach bag. We were a something to see. Everyone did great, until Eva lost it at the end of the day (she was tired) so I found myself pushing her around the place in her stroller. I've never just strolled through Seven Peaks before, so it was kind of funny.


We stayed for over 3 hours and got icees through a drive-thru on the way home. I got a lollipop for Eva and she transformed back into the happy girl who charms us all. It's nice to know I can buy her affections for .25 cents!

I must say it was a good day in which I managed to be completely unriled (who am I?). The biggest frustration of our outing was that my sunglasses mysteriously broke while on my face (I still can't figure this out) leaving me exposed to the very bright sun. I had to buy a pair in the gift shop for $15, but they got me through the rest of the day without a headache so it was worth it. It wasn't until we were in the car on the way back to Michelle's house that I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and realized they look like something a Cataract Sufferer would be prescribed! Good grief, I paid for these!

I'm trying to console myself by remembering that it was battle conditions and if I hadn't bought them I would have had a migraine and new wrinkles, but what do I do with them now? Keep them in my beach bag for use at Seven Peaks? That means I'd have to wear them again. Oh dear? Maybe my grandma would like them...though I think she has better taste than this.


Adam, Amy and the girls came over last night for "game night" though we didn't end up playing any games. Instead Adam had us howling and wheezing in laughter with stories from their trip. I couldn't believe the girls wanted to come back here after being here for so long, but they were in great form, played with Landon and Whitney outside the whole time (nice) and left in tears because they wanted Whitney to have a sleepover with them. Crazy.

This morning I'm off to get my hair done (finally!!), my last appointment was the day before my Paris trip so it has already been 2 months! My roots have taken on a life of their own and I'm officially frightening.

Triple Digits

{Remember this??}

Oh why must it get to 100 degrees today? Is it me or does anyone else think this is just wrong? Even though there are many things I like about summer, I gotta say that part of me just endures it and yearns for fall. I just can't take the heat. It makes everything unpleasant (except swimming of course). I hate running errands and going back and forth between sweltering and chilled, though most of the time I'm never chilled. (Just having the car's air conditioning blow cold air on my hot face meanwhile the rest of me feels wet and irritable doesn't really count as chilled.) I'm such a whiner about the heat (not that this is new information), but I just have to say aargh!!

Happy Birthday Rebecca!!

**How are you coping?**

Good Mail Galore

I hate posting late in the day because I find I'm more irritable and less likely to write something enjoyable. I had started writing a post about yesterday's events and today's events but by paragraph 4 I was sick of myself and doubting anyone would want to read it, so I'm shelving it for now. Instead I'm posting the delightful mail I've gotten in the past 2 days. I don't know what's going on, but both days were great.

Today I received this package from Allison. We got each others' names for The Favorite Things Swap. Can I just confess my stupidity about this? I know the word swap implies...swapping, but for some reason I was thinking we were randomly assigned different people to send and receive from, hence my comment last week about "I wonder who has me??" Duh! So Allison sent me this package of her favorite things, which included her favorite Citrus Wipes, a gift card to Sonic, Peanut Butter M&M's (which she said are good for breakfast, lunch & dinner and I agree), a fleur de lis cookie cutter with sugar cookie recipe, and then in the gift bag was a very pretty silver "J" key chain. I hope she likes the things I sent her...once again duh on me!

Book club Amy sent me one of her fabulous homemade notebooks to thank me for some good mail I sent her awhile ago. Hooray!

New blogging friend Jen sent me my favorite candy bar, some funny cards and a nice note. Thanks!

Elisa sent some of her wonderful homemade soaps for me, Randy and each of the kids, along with a really nice thank you note for the baby gift I gave her.

New blogging friend Rebekah sent me a note and this decorated popcorn pan to thank me for popping into her blog. It got a little melty in the mail, but is still cute. Thanks!

Bryn sent me this nice thank you note for the stationery I sent her for her birthday. Thanks Bryn!

Susan sent me this thank you note for sending her these cards for her birthday. She wrote a really nice note, thanks Susan!

In other news, the blog party is one month from today (though it's a Saturday in July)! I'm still working out the details, but it's definitely going to happen so make sure you're available for the whole evening (you won't want to leave early).

**Thoughts??**

Flying Solo

Yesterday I ended up taking the kids out all by myself. I hadn't attempted this previously because we only went out to go swimming and I needed Lori with me in order to supervise them all. But yesterday I wanted to take the kids to lunch and to the park, so we all loaded up in Adam and Amy's Land Rover and had our adventure.

I think this self-portrait of all of us in the car is hilarious. (I can't believe I got everyone in the shot.) We drove to Little Caesars to pick up a couple pizzas, but they didn't have any ready. #$@! (What happened to Hot-n-Ready all the time?) They said it would be 7 minutes so we drove down the street to drop off our disposable camera at Macey's to get developed (Landon just ran it in, I love that he does this), then we washed the car (it was covered in bird crap because we had parked it under the trees in front of our house), then went back to get the pizza.

None of this took very long, but it felt like an ordeal by the time we finally got to eat lunch at the park. It was amazingly difficult to get the kids to look at the camera at the same time, so by the time I got this picture they were fed up with me (hence Bella's thrilled expression). They snarfed the pizza and then ran around the park to play and ride their scooters.

I actually got to sit in the shade and read my book! I just started this book (which was recommended by my friend Betsy) and am thoroughly enjoying it. There were a ton of interruptions as the kids kept returning to the blanket for water and cookies, but it was so nice to be in the shade and to have the kids wearing themselves out AWAY from me. Ha.


We returned home around 3:00 so I could get Megan down for her nap and then prep for Activity Days. It was my day to host and I hadn't heard from my partner, so I feared she forgot about it and went camping or something (she never showed up). She usually brings the treats and then drives the girls home in her Suburban, so I was scrambling to find some treats (not that hard to do at my house). Our activity was a water party, so it wasn't stressful for me. We ended up having 2 new girls come to our activity, plus one of the girls brought a friend and Bella, Whitney and Tess joined in too so I had 13 girls here (4 girls didn't come). Wow.

After making pancakes (made to perfection by Randy) and bacon for dinner, the girls took a long, long bath (I can't stand the smell of syrup so they knew they'd have to take one after pancakes). While they were in the tub (which was a very tight fit), I did my first ever iron-transfer t-shirts. I've seen Kristi and Barb post about the cute shirts they've made, but felt like that was beyond my skill level. But then Natasha posted the photo t-shirts she made last weekend and I was intrigued. (It must have been the allure of using photos that drew me in.) So I did it! I was particularly pleased that I figured out how to reverse the text and photo in the Scrapbook Factory Program, because that way it turned out the right way on the shirt, woohoo!

The girls were very excited (though Tess wasn't super keen on it because she prefers her pretty blue nightgown) to wear their shirts. They immediately wrote their names on the back of them (though Megan drew rain) and drew smiley faces on the front of them (I gasped, but then recovered).

I made one for Landon too and put this on the back of his, he was thrilled and wore it around with pride, like it was a trophy or something. (It's no small thing to survive 16 days with Megan, maybe I should make myself a shirt too!)


Adam and Amy came to pick up the girls around 10:00am this morning. I took it as a compliment that the girls didn't immediately ask to leave or burst into tears upon seeing their parents. They ran to them and hugged them, but then went back to playing with Whitney! This picture is pretty funny because if you look at Whitney you can tell she's not very happy about Adam and Amy's arrival. I think she wants the girls to stay forever. Last night after we had family prayer the girls were talking about us adopting them! Very cute.


So the girls really left, then my mom and Lori came and picked up Landon and Whitney to take them to visit my grandma at the rehabilitation place and then go to lunch. It's totally quiet here and I can't figure out what to clean first. Seriously, should I do the bathrooms, the bedroom, the toys, or what? Also, I slept poorly last night so I wouldn't mind lying down either. I have to leave around 4:00 to take pictures at a wedding and reception tonight, so it's going to be a long, hot night (and not in a good way). But my plan is to buy the black armoir I've been wanting forever with the money, so I am motivated to do this.

**Can you believe the 16 days are over?
Have you made iron-on tshirts?
What would you clean first?
Should I nap? Oh the possibilities...**

SPT--Hello

I am grateful that this week's SPT is an easy one, just a regular old self-portrait. This is me today, the last full day and night of the big cousin sleep-over. It's only too appropriate that Megan is in the background eh? (She's running with her flip-flops on the wrong feet again, how does she do that?)

Early Birthday Gifts & Good Mail

I have some good mail to post and two early birthday gifts as well. How delightful (at least for me).


I got this sweet thank you card from Collette. Thanks for your kind words! June 20, 2007


Georgia sent me this very kind thank you note for some good mail I had recently sent her. Thanks Georgia! June 21, 2007

Natasha sent me this beautiful postcard (of her daughter Luci's fantastic painting) to thank me for the birthday gift I sent her. Thanks Natasha! June 23, 3007


Tasha sent me this nice thank you note for the baby gift I send her to celebrate the arrival of her sweet daughter Stella. Thanks! June 25, 2007


Mandy sent this pretty thank you note for the housewarming good mail I sent her recently. Thanks Mandy! June 25, 2007

I got this early birthday present in the mail from Tasha today. I thought it was a good mail package, but then saw the "Birthday Girl" written on the envelope and got a little jolt of excitement. I love all this cute stuff. Thanks Tasha! June 25, 2007

My new bracelets from Tasha went so well with Lori's work t-shirt that I let her borrow them right away. Don't they look snazzy?

Crystalyn stopped by my house last Saturday to delivery a package for my nieces (from Amy), but also gave me an early birthday gift. I had planned on saving it until my birthday (I tend to horde) but once I opened the gift from Tasha I ended up having to open this from Crystalyn. She wrote me a very sweet card (which is the best part to me) and gave me this great bundt pan (along with her favorite bundt recipe). If you'll recall, my orange rolls were sub par at our "Meet The Sistas" breakfast last month and I had lamented that if I'd had a bundt pan they would have been better. Crystalyn must have suffered through my dry orange rolls and remembered my words because she cleverly got me one for my birthday. Now I can make Amy's fabulous cake recipe, but without the lemon, I think I'll do almond instead.

This is the self-portrait of me and Crystalyn from her visit Saturday. I am refraining from criticizing myself, but let it be known that it is not easy to do! I just have to document these blogger friend visits no matter what I looked like that day right?

**Do anticipate your birthday and
get giddy about the possibilities?
Will you make Amy's cake recipe?**

Survival of the Fittest

I don't want to throw my arms up in celebratory fashion too early, but after yesterday's cool-tempered success, I'm feeling good about the next few days. Our Sunday was downright pleasant and rather cute. Having Family Home Evening with 5 kids instead of just 2 is definitely more fun.

{The state of affairs in the kids' room}

The girls were playing in the garage playroom last night and happened to find a bag full of Hello Kitty figurines I had "hidden" in there. My hiding skills are seriously poor. I guess I had thought that a garbage bag heaped on the work bench was above suspicion, but they must have caught sight of some pink packaging and gotten curious. I told them if they were good all day I would give them each a package that night. Just before bed Bella came to me and said cautiously, "Jill, were we good all day?" When I told her they were she went running and proclaiming "We did it, we did it!!" They were euphoric.


Since they all picked the same kind of Hello Kitties I had to write their names on the bottom of them. I left them on the table like this for them to wake-up to in the morning. They went to bed so excited it felt like Christmas Eve. Too funny.


Today we're going swimming (Lori is coming to help) at the Rec Center, so they're beyond excited about that. Megan keeps confirming these plans with me and I have to remind her that it doesn't open until lunch time. Then she goes out to the garage to "tell her sisters" and says "we're not going today!" This causes a huge panic among the girls, but then they consider the source of the info as I remind them that we are indeed going today! I think we'll do something fun tomorrow too, but I won't tell them until just before we go so as to avoid the constant questions and misunderstandings.

In other news, I finished my Favorite Things Swap gifts last night while I watched "While You Were Sleeping" on the computer. It was so enjoyable ("These potatoes are so creamy"). Randy is mailing the box for me today, so I'm actually not in a panic about it. I'm always so shocked when I am ready for a deadline before the last minute that I end up thinking about it all day and wondering how it happened. That must seem foreign to some of you early achievers like Natasha and Jenny, but it's just not my way normally so it's a strange feeling. I'd like to think I'm turning over a new leaf, but I think it's only because I knew I wouldn't have time to work on it today and didn't want to brave the post office with 5 kids!

**Are you a last-minute kind of person
or hyper about deadlines?
What movies do you like to quote?
Do you think it's too early to celebrate
my even-tempered victory?**

Sunday Thoughts

"First, “charity suffereth long.” That is what patience is all about. Charity “is not easily provoked” is another aspect of this quality, as is charity “beareth all things.” And finally, charity “endureth all things” is certainly an expression of patience (Moroni 7:45). From these defining elements it is evident that without patience gracing our soul, we would be seriously lacking with respect to a Christlike character." --Elder Robert C. Oaks

Yesterday the girls were a bit short-tempered and whiny (especially Megan and Whitney) which made life difficult for everyone else. Landon was gone most of the day with a birthday party and then to Seven Peaks with Michelle and her boys(thank you, thank you, thank you), so he missed most of it but still ended up in tears (again) at bedtime just from Megan's antics.

I'm sure the girls are ready to go home and see their parents, and my kids are ready for their normal lives again (though Whitney doesn't really want to see the girls go, maybe just Megan, ha). But Randy and I were both at our wits end by bedtime (actually long before) so after the kids were all asleep I was recommitting us to a better day today.

I think I've been very even-tempered, patient and loving through most of this experience, but I hate it how I can be doing so well and then get pushed over the edge enough that I start raising my voice and being snippy. It's not fair to the kids and it doesn't help anything. Today I am telling myself to "cease to riled," "cease to be flustered," "go with the flow," and "just love them." Wish me luck as I work on building a Christ-like character!

**Thoughts??**

P.S. Adam called this morning and they got their luggage 2 days ago!!

Edited at 9:00pm--We made it through today without losing our cool! It was a huge effort and major accomplishment, but all was well. Our prayers were answered and our intentions fulfilled. Wahoo! They're all in bed so now Randy and I can gear up for tomorrow.

Late SPT--Through The Eyes of Love

I was finally able to put some make-up on and have Randy take some pictures of me for this SPT assignment. I actually felt sheepish asking him to take pictures of me (what's up with that?), but then it ended up being kind of fun. My hair could definitely look better, but this is what it looked like after letting it air dry and spending the day going in and out of the house helping the kids with the pool, making dinner for a family from church, and not getting ready until 7:00 at night (also I desperately need to go to the salon and get my roots done). But enough of my disclaimers, the Interim Blogger (aka Randy) will now take over this post. I'm afraid, but curious to read what he has to say.

IB: "Be afraid...be very afraid." Okay I couldn't resist. The setup was too easy. So, Jill asked me to write about the pictures I took and I think I have the perfect thoughts.


I like this photo because it shows Jill's kind eyes and ever-so-slightly crooked smile. I love to watch Jill laugh because that is when her smile is in perfect full bloom.


Here is a close-up of Jill's blue eyes. I think having the camera 2 inches away from her face was a bit unnerving. Landon and Whitney have such pretty eyes--thanks to Jill's gene contribution.


I took this closeup of Jill's cute nose because smells affect so many aspects of Jill's life. If she were a superhero, she'd be the Masked Sniffer (somehow that sounds creepy). I have never known anyone in my whole life whose sense of smell is so acute. Which is a great thing because everything in our house always smells great. Towels, laundry, the kitchen, sheets, the air, everything. Did you know the cleaning products isle is Jill's favorite aisle at the supermarket?


I chose this as a follow up to the previous section because her sense of smell can also be her greatest enemy. Rogue smells can instantly trigger headaches for Jill. I thought this photo was funny because it captures Jill perfectly. I also think her hair looks great in this one. I enjoy her as a blonde because that is how she looked when we first met.


Lastly, I chose this picture because it shows Jill's silly and lighthearted side. During the photo shoot I said a lot of different things and asked her to make the corresponding face. This one I said, "Now think of IHOP." Food, Folks and Fun aptly describes Jill's take on life. Meaning, what is most important to Jill is quality time well spent with people close to her heart--people who she is invested in and who are invested in her.

If you are on that list, count yourself very, very blessed. I know I am.

--Interim Blogger

Megan #$%@! (a loving tribute)

I am no stranger to Megan's BIG personality, but this extended sleepover has given us all a heavy dose of Megan from which we might not recover. Our weekly game nights have schooled us in the ways of Megan, but usually Adam and Amy are the ones she harasses so although she is still challenging for the rest of us, on those nights they're the ones who have to "deal" with her. Not so with this trip. She is ruling the roost and wearing us all down. She has had each of us in tears at different times, and packs a whole lot of Megan into her tiny, almost 3 year old self.


Adam (her father/my brother) often says "There's just so much Megan" and that is the truth! It would be impossible to ever overlook her. I don't know if it's because she's a 3rd child or what, but she is an expert at making herself heard. The amount of noise that comes with her is quite staggering. She is loud and tends to repeat herself constantly to make sure she is heard. Last Sunday Randy was making sandwiches for lunch while I was getting ready for church and this was the conversation that brought me to tears with laughter.

Megan: (Loudly) Um Randy, I want a p'nut butter and jelly samich.
Randy: Okay
Megan: (Louder) Ranny, I want a...
Randy: Yep, I got it.
Megan: (Louder) Ranny, I wanna
Randy: A peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I know.
Megan: (Louder still) Ranny I wanna p'nut...
Randy: Yep, you told me, I'm making it.
Megan: Ya, I want a p'nut butter and jelly samich!

It was amusing to overhear this, but this is how she operates and wears us all down. Even when we confirm that we have heard her request and are working on it, she reiterates it to the point of insanity. (This is a very effective technique and guarantees she gets what she wants because she keeps talking until we give it to her.)


She had Landon in tears in the car on the way to Seven Peaks the other day because she wouldn't stop talking to him and repeating things over and over. I told him to talk nicely to her and he immediately burst into tears (he's almost 9!).

As for me, I have been doing my best to be super patient because I know there's no changing her. But she works on me all day long, starting with her march into the bedroom to wake me up by chanting "I want brefast" over and over again until I'm practically running to the kitchen to get it for her. Once in the kitchen she will squabble with the other girls until she gets the seat she wants, then will tell me 20 times which kind of cereal she wants, then she'll tell me she wants milk in it (I know this), then she wants to look at the back of the box of cereal. I am then granted a 5 minute reprieve until her next need is shared.


During the course of the day she is insatiably hungry, often asking for food within 20 minutes of finishing breakfast! How is she so skinny? I have no idea, except that she's keen on fruit.

She leaves her kitty and her blanket all over the place and then gets distressed when she can't find them.


She always asks to "Watch a little show."


Her puppy bladder is very active and often she'll go outside only to return 30 seconds later (forcing me to come open the screen door because she can't reach the handle) because she has to go potty. (Even if I asked her right before she went outside if she had to go!)


She can never seem to locate her water bottle and tends to find everyone else's before finding her own. This makes all of us crazy.


She changes her clothes 10 times a day, usually it's her swimming suit or pink leotard, but this means many pairs of underwear which usually end up anywhere except the dirty clothes.


She is good about wearing "Sun Spring" but makes me crazy with it because I will just get her all lathered up only to have her at the pool for 5 minutes and then back inside to watch a "little show" and lay on my couch covered in sun screen!


Of course, these are just the antics of an almost 3 year old which means there's a whole lot of cute that goes with her. She's funny, she's cute, she's sweet, and she's fairly irresistible even with all the taxing behaviors.

{Notice her CocoPuff mustache}

She says things like "I need my sisters," "I want to see my kids," and "Jill, I be lots of quiet." She is good about going to bed and takes a 3 hour nap every day (this is her best quality), so this makes up for a lot.

This morning I said "Megan, you're killing me" to which she sweetly replied "No, I not."

No doubt her strong spirit and personality will serve her well in her life. There's no need to worry about her fading into the background and letting people take advantage of her, that's just not going to happen. What an adventure this has been (and still is) for all of us. Good times, good times.

**What are we to do?**