Spanking at Sam's Club

Just thought I'd describe our hot Friday night out with the kids. By the time Tyler got home tonight I was at my wit's end and dying to get out of the house. So I figured I'd cross Sam's Club off my to-do list for tomorrow and we could go get-er-done as a group. We were DEFINTELY going to need some nourishment since I haven't really been cooking too much this past month we headed to Jason's Deli. (Of course we did!) Anyway, despite the spilled soda no less than four minutes after we arrived, we had a decent experience (which considering our number of kids 10 and under has increased, our odds have considerably dropped.) Then we went to Sam's and I was all about super-shopping to finish before Briggs needed to eat. So, I sent the boys with Tyler and the girls with me and we made our way through the store meeting up again over by the soda storage. I could literally hear Brevin and Brock squealing through the whole warehouse and when we walked up to the checkouts Brock totally whacked this lady on her butt! I kid you not! I didn't actually see the smacking, but heard the lady say, "Oh, did you just spank me?" WHAT! I looked at her to Brock and back at her and said what any other totally embarrassed mom would say, "Shut up! Did he really just spank you?" She was totally cute about it and pretended like she was going to tickle him or something and Brock's laughing while trying to hide behind my legs. I was still in shock, but I spotted a conveyer that was pretty empty and rushed over there so we could get out of the store. OF COURSE, the man in line on the aisle next to us has to comment about how full our hands are with all our kids. Next thing I know Brock has smacked him on the rear end. Old man was a little bit more crusty than the lady was and he totally gave us the "you are bad parents" look as Tyler grabbed Brock and explained to him he couldn't hit other people. So, good times on date night. The night ended with me literally carrying Brock out of the store whilst Caylee and Brevin whined about not getting an icee (hello! we'd just taken them to dinner. sheesh!) Shrug! I'm thinking we'll be getting a babysitter for every Friday so we can have a decent date night. Ya know, the kind that doesn't involve spanking strangers!

Birthday Girls!

I'm noticing the toll five kids is having on me in the little ways. Like, losing track of time. Yesterday I was at the post office mailing some stuff and I say a sign explaining postage going up as of May 12th and I honestly thought, "Oh, I better hurry and use up my stamps before May 12th." UHHHH, it was way past May 12th. Guess that ship has sailed. Another sign, I keep forgetting to bust out my camera on important dates, like MACKENZIE's actual birthday. Yes, yes, my girls turned a year older right around the time the postage rates increased and I documented Caylee's day, but neglected Kenzie's on the 13th. In my defense and to Kenzie's chagrin, we didn't do much for Kenz's 9th birthday. I had warned her that not every year was going to be a par-tay. She was a really good sport and as I was running out the door for a meeting on her birthday I gave her her birthday presents in a super fancy Wal-Mart bag. And I totally pulled a "Mom" the next day when I had to ask her if I'd given her the i-tunes card I had gotten her. When she told me I hadn't, I had to go track it down (it was in my purse.)

So, Caylee's birthday on the 10th was pretty low key, too. We had dance rehearsal that morning, but before we left Kenzie gave this jewel to Caylee. She has quite the Troy fixation, so the happiness is legit. (Notice how intently Tyler is watching the REALITY TV . . . j/k, he was totally channel surfing.)

Later that night we took Caylee to Red Robin with her friend, Kimbre at the Galleria mall. Grandma and Grandpa Garrard joined us and after a yummy meal, Caylee got her ears pierced. She was SUCH a trooper, not even flinching. I flinched plenty myself at the teenage PREGNANT worker at Claire's who's 6 month belly was totally sticking out of her shirt and pants. Nice.

Monday (between the girls b-days) and on Caitlyn's actual 3rd b-day we celebrated with the Barlow side at Jared and Mindie's. I owe Mindie a HUGE thanks since we totally ended up at their house after being blown out of the park with some insane winds we had. The Freed's cake was totally the highlight for me, but the girls enjoyed their presents from aunts and uncles and cousins. It was really a nice night with the family.

*Insert pics of Kenzie's birthday on Thursday here.*

The following Monday we partied one more time with the other May celebrants (Zoee and Gus) at Erin's. The weather had turned wicked-summer-Vegas hot, so the kids frolicked in the sprinklers and blow-up pools while the adults sat inside and listened to Mom tell us how hot her office was that day (I KNOW it was 87 degrees hot and Mom, you should totally gripe about that . . . over and over.) Fun was had by all and the cake was DARLING that Stacy made.

SO, all and all, my girls are another year older and better and beautiful and I love 'em to bits.

This is Dedicated to One Friend I Love!

When I was in high school I had three very best friends (well, four if you count [my sister] Erin, but that sometimes depended on what clothes she would let me borrow). I met Leanne my freshman year in English class and she convinced me to try out for choir for my sophomore year. That's where I met Jill and Heather. Pretty much by the end of 10th grade we were pretty tight and pert-near inseperable our junior and senior year. I would love to say we never fought or had drama, but HELLO! we were four high school girls and so there were some bumps in the road (mostly due to stupid boys), but for the most part we were as close as they come. I feel very blessed to have maintained relationships with Nan, Jill, and Heather for the 15 + years since we first met. And today, Jill turns 31. I've been telling Jill (since she's the only one of us without a blog) that I'd dedicate a post to her since I know she's a lurker, and today's totally fitting seeing as it's her birthday and all. [Just FYI, Heather turned 31 in March, so this is another shout out to her, too, and one to Nan who will be 31 shortly before me in June.] Last weekend we celebrated the retirement of our choir teacher from Chaparral and the get-together has gotten me pretty sentimental (or maybe it's the hormones), so I HAD to bust out the scanner to really celebrate Jill's birthday in style! Happy Birthday JILL!

Here's Leanne, me, and Jill NOW (Heather's all ready to give birth to #4, so she was stuck up in Utah and missed the party. We really missed hanging out with her!)

And here's some of me and Jill (and others) THEN:

For one of my birthdays I got photo frame with pictures of the four of us. Some of the pictures were silly, some were posed, and this one is uber-serious.

This was on a choir trip our junior year. I want to say we were touring through Utah. Funny how I seem to remember more about hanging out with them more than the choir stuff.

Jill and I at prom our Junior year. Our dresses were similar, but not identical. Interestingly, they look a lot like our Expression dresses from our senior year.

Some random shot in the choir room (our junior year, I think) with Erin. BTW, Erin and I were wearing each other's shirts, so I think we were friends on this day.

For some reason Leanne, Jill, and Tiffany (another BFF) came to our house one Sunday after church. I can't remember why, but I do remember we had plums and Leanne was FEASTING on them. My mom was always good to grab the camera and take pictures of us hanging out, so it's fun to have a good collection of just hanging out.

The second year of college I was supposed to room with Heather and Jill and three other BEST friends I had made freshman year at BYU. I ended up getting married instead. It seriously is one of the bummer-things about getting married so early. I know I missed out on some good times at the Riv, but it was always fun to visit (this is with Moana, Nancee, Jenn, and Miss Molly in the spring of 1997 when I came up for a golf tournament of Tyler's, I think.)

K, and here are my peeps. These are my closest friends from high school and college all in one place at my bridal shower in Dec. of 1996.

And yes, Jill caught the bouquet at my wedding reception.

I love ya Jill! So glad we've stayed close and you've been such a great ear and support over all these years. Have a great 31st year!

Mother Load

I was feeling all bad that I hadn't posted much about mother's day, but at the same time found solace in the fact that Erin hadn't posted either. Then my more-on-the-ball sister posted yesterday about her mother's day and I figured I needed to step it up and actually post the pictures I uploaded over a week ago.

I have to admit I was a little hormonal about this Mother's Day. I was really afraid Tyler was going to blow it and not make it into much of a big deal (WHICH was completely unfounded since he has always done well with Mother's Day for me.) I think, since just having el numero 5, I just wanted to be recognized for the extraordinary feat of surviving. There wasn't much on my "want" list for gifts, other than to be praised for being freaking amazing because my head had not actually exploded off my shoulders in one of my many moments of overwhelm.

Of course, Sunday proved to be just wonderful. I probably gritch too much about my kids so that the general public thinks I don't really like them too much, but I do love them a ton and it really warms my heart to have them tell me that they do love me (even though I am "SOO mean" so much of the time.) Here's some of the lovely treasures I received from them this year:

A cute candle holder from Caylee. Normally school crafts don't make it too long in our house, but I did really like this one. It looks great with my other knick-knacks above my cupboards. I can't really figure out if lighting a candle would make the adhesive melt the flowers off the glass. It's definitely a look-at kind of gift to avoid any of that kind of catastrophe.

A cute key chain from Brevin, hand-colored, thank you very much. And Tyler just thought my keys were bulky before!

Mackenzie is about as crafty as they come in 8 (almost 9) year olds. She made me this darling card and a scrap-booky framed picture that she made at Activity Days. It was really cute, a-la Becky Higgins style. One of these days I will actually scrap with her cuz I think she'd really get into it with me.

Here's why I love being a mom:

Because I get to listen to Brock's sound effects all day long. And we have good, in-depth conversations about Spiderman and the state of his diaper (which, according to him, is never poopy, just a "lil bit wet").

Because I get to still cuddle with Brevin when he gets all broody and moody. I'm teaching him the fine art of NOT SASSING his mother and he's teaching me that "FINE" really means, "Just stop lecturing me and I'll stop doing whatever you told me not to do." And even though he gets mad at me when I pick him up from his playdates, he told me he still does love me.

Because I get to witness my little 6 year old act like she's a teenager and then tell/show her a NICER way of acting like a grown-up. I love Caylee's spunk and passion (as trying as it may sometimes be) and have enjoyed seeing her mature and understand more complex dynamics of our family relationships.

Because she started it all, Mackenzie carries a lot of responsibility and I can really relate to her "trials" and "afflictions". She keeps me on my academic toes by asking us all sorts of questions and I am grateful she's such an obedient, responsible little girl (who's growing so fast and getting progressively hormonal - oh joy!)

And because someone has to be the end, I love Briggs for being the sweetest (hungriest) lil peanut of them all. He's got a strong spirit and an opinion already. Let's face it, that's how they're sent to us, and for that I'm grateful, too. It means I'll be learning and growing more than I thought possible. All thanks to being a mom of these 5 darlings.

So, thanks to Tyler for the wonderful day complete with breakfast, tulips, kid gifts, a gift card to Barnes and Noble, and new cordless phones. More importantly, though, was being appreciated and recognized for being alive and there for my kids. Me and my brood got somethin' special for sure!

Not for the feint of heart

This newborn stuff is hard.

I cried for an hour this morning when Tyler's alarm went off because he was leaving early for work.

The ugly cry. Snot all over. Can't catch my breath cry.

Because I knew I'd have to get up with the other four kids sooner than I wanted.

And I had only slept 3 hours at that point.

We're bustin' out the formula soon.

I'm going to have to rely more on supplementing.

Sigh.

And PS. I can't think of a reason why 6 would be better than 5, yet. So those of you thinking we'll do this again . . . RASPBERRIES to you.

At 11:12am

I am checking blogs and totally trying to ignore reponsibilities right now while Brevin is yelling this at me from the bathroom,
"I just can't take it anymore. What is taking so long? Come and wipe my bum, Mom! I just can't sit here forever. I just can't, can't, can't! Moooommmmm!"

All I'm saying is you are four years old Brevin! Learn to wipe your own freakin' fanny!

Fun baby things

Since this post is titled "Fun" baby things, I won't write how stinkin' tired I am today. Not that we had a particularly bad night, but I think getting such sporadic sleep catches up to me every few days or so. This week I am trying to keep up with all the normal stuff of mom-hood. We'll see how that will go; hopefully I won't lose it too bad too many times. Saturday was Caylee's birthday, Sunday was, of course, Mother's Day, yesterday we had a family party for all the Barlow May birthdays, and today's Kenzie's birthday. Those posts are next on may agend-er, but first I wanted to share a few pics from last week:

Since we were SOOO done having kids, I sold our cute crib bedding set at one of our garage sales (or maybe I donated it or something). When my girlfriends gave me a fab Target gift card I took Mackenzie to the store to pick out some new bedding. Since I decided to put the crib in the girls' room (easier for naps and less likely that THEY'LL climb into the crib compared to the risk of Brock bedding-in with the baby) Kenzie was concerned the bedding not be too boy-ish. So, she picked out this cute pastel-y set. Once I found the screws to the crib I was finally able to finish putting it together. YES, I put together the crib. I've done it 4 out of the 5 times we've set it up. I would think that would be a husband job, but I get too antsy to wait for Tyler's time table and end up always doing it (and book shelves, and painting, and rearranging furniture, and cleaning out the garage, etc.) Anyway, Briggs has yet to nap in the bed, but it's ready for him nonetheless.

AND, if you thought I was kidding about the super-dooper-cool packages we get from the Petersens in Cedar City (ie, Caffeine-Free Mountain Dew), then you gotta be impressed with these items we pulled out of the old mailbox last week.

Yes, that would be custom made onesies with the #5 All-Star BRIGGS printed onto them. Isn't that about the cutest idea EVER? I mean, we've gotten some darling baby gifts (of which I am VERY grateful and am REALLY trying to get thank you cards written and actually SENT!), but these are one of my faves. Since it's a little cool and breezy today Briggs is wearing one of them today, and I think I will be keeping the other one as a keepsake. Beyond the cute-ness of the onesies, though, was the newsletter the Petersens also sent. Click on this picture below and you can read it better. Seriously, John and Amy are a couple of the most clever people I have EVER met and I just love 'em to bits! Thanks, guys!

Have a great day!

Baby Love

Say what you want about little babies, but my guy is WONDERFUL! I held Brock today and could not believe how BIG he felt to me. He's such a little boy now all thick and beefy. Then I hold Briggs and he's all light and smushy and I know the time will go so fast when he's teensy. Eventually his head will get big and his baby fat will cover his skinny little legs and we won't be able to remember how dainty his arms were because they're covered by boy muscles. So, I am just really trying to enjoy lying on the couch next to him (because we both can fit) and carrying him around with one arm (because I can still support his neck and his butt at the same time) and that the one package of Newborn diapers I bought will be plenty (since his fanny will fit in sz. 1s by the time we need to buy new diapers). Briggs is eating a ton, staying awake for longer amounts of time, and I look forward to when he smiles in his sleep, and I know it will all change so fast. We went today for his circumcision and he's gained 9 oz. since last Wednesday. I'm telling y'all he's eating a ton. Here's some of my fave pictures from this week.

Bathtime

One of the best parts about having a new baby is smelling him. I love the freshly bathed smell and the smell of his breath (it smells like static electricity to me) the most. Pretty much at this phase I think his poop don't stink, either (which it really doesn't since he's just nursing.) Anyway, since we're just in the sponge bath phase I thought I'd capture these sweet moments from Monday night. Briggs had to get all sweet and clean to go to Aunt Erin's for the Bachelor party. (Yes, even after childbirth I have to keep my priorities straight!)

Here's Briggs pre-bath. He's just angry that he's not eating. This is a common look when he's awake and not hookin' up to mom.

I really do NOT like cradle cap. I understand it happens sometimes, but I fully scrub my kids' heads with a baby brush to keep the dead skin off their sweet scalps.

And here's the post-bath buzz. After getting all worked up, bathtime ends up in the calm and peace that I REALLY love. THEN, I start to sniff and suck up his glorious-ness all over again!

One of the hard things about having a newborn . . .

I am sure I could make quite a list to go under this post, but I have to just drop this off in the blog world before my head explodes. ONE OF THE HARD THINGS ABOUT HAVING A NEWBORN is staying home each night "to take it easy" and having my husband watch the golf channel night after night after night. I know he works hard and likes to unwind watching old golf tournaments and listening to the commentators praise the prowess of Tiger BUT SERIOUSLY!!! I can't take it anymore. I am putting my foot down tonight and we are watching some Grey's Anatomy. FOR REAL! We're w.a.t.c.h.i.n.g. it and NOT on the DVR, but when it's on. Can I get some drama? Something important like frivolous love affairs in unrealistic settings? Because if I have to listen to the challenges of this hole compared to another or the way so-and-so has changed his grip on his driver my head my seriously pop off my shoulders. I can't wait for life to get back to normal so I can increase my social calendar JUST SO I won't have to watch/listen to channel 323 EVERY NIGHT! AAAAAHHHHHHH!