LOVE LANGUAGE

SO what is your love language. My highest was quality time followed by acts of service. Don's highest was affirmation and then quality time. I think it is pretty typical for a guy to want his woman to speak highly of him. So take the test to see what your score is. http://edified.org/myspace/lovelanguage

Don is planning on leaving tonight. SO I will be single for the next two months. What a great b-day present. But I think I can handle it. Just not sure if the kids can handle only me. I get pretty grumpy.

OUCH

And YES Ethan stayed dry ALL night in his underware. I was so relieved. He did so well and even went into the bathroom all by himself to go to the bathroom. But then tonight he came to us telling us he had pooped in his underware. OH MAN. After about 4 or 5 kids this potty training business starts to get a little old. I looked at Don with this "certain" look that says "will you please do it?" But I knew as soon as he looked at me that I better just hurry and get it done before it gets worse. He is lucky it wasn't too bad. Ok so here is a little secret that I am sure none of you have ever done. There have been a couple of times that the poop accidents were sooooooooo bad that I just ended up throwing the underware away. Much easier that trying to clean them up. But this wasn't bad at all. So he gets to keep his diego undies. Lucky guy.

When I was nine I wanted so badly to be able to do the splits. But it hurt. So every day I would get into the split stance and keep pushing more and more------even though it really hurt. I did that for awhile and finally I was able to do it. And to this day I can still do the splits. So the kids were all trying to see how flexible they were and Rachel wins the flexible prize by far. I was never able to do what she did. It was so funny watching her and the things she could do. Don and I were laughing so hard. If you can't tell in that picture she is putting both hands straight to the side and she put her toe (yes her toe) up to her forhead. So how many of you can stand straight up with your hands to your side and touch your toe to your forehead. Pretty cool. I tried it but not a chance. I think I will just stick to the splits.

No need to clone yet

So Don's work called him the night before he was supposed to leave and said they don't need him to go yet. I did a dance and was all excited but I know that day will come sooner than I want but still I am happy to have him as long as I can. YEAH. So I guess he is on call for now and has to be packed and ready to go when they call him.

Today Ethan decided it was a good day to be potty trained. We have been helping him but not being very consistent. I gave up trying and decided to just let him do it when he was ready. He said he had to go potty and he went. So Don took him to the store and let him choose any underware he wanted. He chose Diego. He LOVES them and has been dry all day. When it was time for bed I was trying to figure out if I should put him in his diaper or let him keep the underware on. Don told me he thought we should do the diaper. So after his bath I told him it was time to get his diaper on and he got very upset and said NO. He was going to wear his underware. I am a little nervous hoping he will make it through the night but I guess tonight is as good as any. I will let you all know tomorrow if he wakes up dry. So cross your fingers. YEAH now only 1 in diapers.

Brilliant idea

OK so I have been thinking alot about an idea I have. Don will be leaving this Friday. He is an awesome help to me. Granted, he is gone quite a bit for his job but when he is here is in great. He used to make bread every other weekend. He helps change the kids' diapers. He makes the bed EVERY morning (if I am not in it). If it gets bad enough he will sweep. He does laundry sometimes. But the best thing of all is that when Mayah wakes up at night he can go into her room and tell her to lay down and she does EVERY STINKIN TIME. It makes me sooooooo mad because when I go in there she immediately stands up and screams and cries and I have to keep laying her down telling her to go to sleep and I even hum to her and scratch her back for her. But it usually takes a good 20 minutes to get her calmed down. SO whenever she wakes up I wake up Don and he goes in there and is gone for less than a minute and when he comes back I continually ask him for hints and secrets and all he says is, "I just told her to lay down". That's it? But I do that too. But do you think she listens?

SO here is my idea. I have decided that I have 3 days to clone Don. I am going to need the help and the company so I figured what better way to do it.

Ward shopping

So yesterday we decided to visit a different ward. We are looking to buy a home more west of Don's job and decided to see if the ward was any good. :) My brother mentioned that isn't how you do it but that is how WE wanted to do it. Being Easter the ward choir sang and had a presentation that was awesome. I really enjoyed it. I was so amazed at the amount of people that realized we were new. How can you not notice a family of 7 with five very active kids? But we had many people say hi to us and ask us if we were new or just visiting. It was probably one of the friendliest wards I have visited. The bishop even took us into his office and it felt like we were the most special people. He didn't act busy or like he needed to be somewhere else even though we ALL know how busy a bishop is. He just wanted to see if we had any questions about the area and the schools. He told us about the ward and it was just a very impressive ward. I felt so welcome. I love to attend Relief Society. It is my favorite class on Sunday. The thing I came away with was that they talked about first having faith then asking Heavenly Father for help and then the most important-------acting. It was all about CHANGE. I started thinking and realizing that were some things I wanted to change. And I love a challenge. But change is HARD. But how true it is to change we have to have faith and then we have to ask and then we have to act. I know I want to change a few things and I am grateful for lessons like this that help me focus and get back to doing those things that are important and bring me closer to Christ. That is what it is all about. I know in my own life I can tell a huge difference when I am praying and reading and doing those things that keep me closer to Christ. Then there are those times that I spend too much time on my blog or too much time doing other things and I can tell that my attitude is not the same. It helps me to attend church every Sunday so I can keep everything in perspective and try to do a little better. I LOVE Pres. Hinckley sooooooo much and his example is amazing to me. But he said, "Be a little better". I don't think that is asking too much.

I love any excuse to have fun so I love the Easter season. It is another excuse to have a party of to have family get together but I really think Easter has gotten too commercialized and that part I don't particularly like. But I love to see my kids happy and having a good time. SO we did an easter egg hunt at my sisters and Mohamed and Don hid the candy filled eggs so the kids could find them. It was such a cold day but the kids never mind that. The adults on the other hand were so cold and shivering. It was so fun to watch them.

As Sunday rolled around I had little time to reflect on the Savior but I took a little bit of time to think about Him and what He has done for ME. It is a little overwhelming to think of all the things that took place during the resurrection but to just think that Christ suffered for my sins and that he went through some pretty harsh things because he loves each of us. That is pretty amazing. I am so grateful for a loving Christ that loves me for me. He is so forgivinig and understanding of my weaknesses. I am in No way perfect and not even close. I have a long way to go but the thing I LOVE about the gospel and about Christ is that we are not expected to be perfect but we are expected to try hard and to do better each day. I know I will never be perfect in this life but I know I can try to work toward it. I remember in RS that Denise mentioned that the literal meaning of the word perfect does not mean without flaw. Literally in Greek it means a continuation of progression. So for us to be perfect just means we need to progress on a continuous basis. That really opened my eyes. The scripture that says, Be Ye therefore perfect even as I, takes on a whole new meaning now. We are not expected to be without flaw. I love my Savior so very much and I am so grateful to be a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I attribute every thing I have to the Lord. It is truly a blessing to know of His life and His teachings. I love Easter because it helps me to take some extra time to reflect on the Saviors life and to remember that He did die for us but that He does LIVE.

CUTE GIRL

Ok I know I am partial. But look at her. She is dang cute. I love her curls. I love it when she starts to sing when there is music or how she dances when we crank up the songs. But you don't know a temper until you see her not get her way. WOW watch out. Her eyes turn red (not really) and she screams and throws herself to the floor and kicks. It is ugly. I am just hoping that when we go to Moses Lake that grandma and grandpa will still love us even if we have temper tantrums. So guys can we still come and take over your house this summer? It is gonna be ugly. It couldn't be because she is spoiled either. OH just look at her cute face. She looks so innocent. And looks, in this case, ARE deceiving.

And there is Caleb and Mayah with easter baskets on their heads. Caleb is the master at taking care of his sister. He is amazing. He is gonna be the best dad ever. I love that he loves to play with her and help her with things. He is such a great big brother.

SUPPOSED TO BE THAT WAY

I was just informed from my very knowledgeable sister that the socks are supposed to be that way. I guess it is pretty popular right now. I haven't seen it much but that doesn't mean anything. If you want to see more go to http://www.littlemissmatched.com/Catalog/girls-socks Ok so I guess it is cute just weird.

Another post

I know I already posted today but I am really confused. OK so I love FREECYCLE. I was all excited to get brand new baby girl socks especially because they said they were bright and funky. Who wouldn't love bright and funky socks? My sister is due June 1st with a girl and everyone is SO excited. SO I wanted to put these in with the other things i am sending soon. SO I get the box and I get home and open it up. I look at all the bright and funky girl socks. Yes they are brand new but I am still confused. Is this really how they are supposed ot be? I am afraid to send them. So all you fashion guru's let me know if this is right or if this is some type of mix up.

CHORES

SO now that it is spring break I am trying to get a little more chores out of the kids. My understanding of having kids in the first place was to lighten the load of us parents. That is why I have five. I have my baskeball team but I also have 10 extra hands when I need them. I thought how great it would be to sit back in my recliner and watch the kids work and bring me lemonade and massage my feet and get me the remote when I need it. But all I hear is "why do I have to do that". I just did a chore. I have to do everything. Why do we always have to take out the garbage. Doesn't anyone else have to do anything. SO that is what our spring break has been like so far. Very eventful and yet the house..........it is still a mess. So bring it on people. What do you do in your home to get your kids to do chores without the belly aching. Or is there such a thing? My only true tactic YELL. It works everytime but then I feel so bad afterward.

Differences

Well it is spring break and the kids LOVE not going to school. We have been passing some germs here and there and Zach said, "MOM, if I get sick I want it to be later so I don't have to go to school." He wanted to be healthy on spring break so he could play. Too funny. So far so good. He hasn't been sick yet. So today we went outside and played. It was really fun. The kids tried getting the basketball from me. But NO such luck. We dribbled and pretended to shoot. I got some pretty good exercise. It brought me back to when I played church ball. We were actually very competitive. I love sports and wish I would have continued my volleyball playing and not let a couple of things get in the way of that. Oh well. We really need to get us a hoop out front so we can really shoot. It was fun to play outside with the kids. I am very excited that the weather is getting warmer so we can get out there more. Caleb loves soccer so we can get out there and pass the soccer ball around. I wish he liked basketaball like I do but I guess you can't force them to do everything. I am just hoping one of the kids does basketball/volleyball. And in Don's idea he hopes they all play the piano and sing. It is pretty funny that Don and I even get along. There are very little things we have in common and it is kind of interesting to compare sometimes. We both love the outdoors. We love to hike, camp and fish. He is lucky he likes to do that. Our first date was fishing. We both enjoy getting out and just doing something. WE both have strong beliefs in our religion and that to us is the most important. We have a common goal and try to accomplish the things that will get us to that place and at the same time teach our children the same. And pretty much all the other things don't really matter. In fact, we try to think of it as bringing a lot of variety to our marriage. If we both enjoyed the same things that would be pretty boring. He brings alot more variety to the marriage and that is awesome. He loves music and poetry and writing. I like sports. I like music too but have NO ability in that area like he does. He HATES playing sports. He always said he was uncoordinated. He has alot of knowledge about different things. He loves politics, talk radio and history. Can I say YUK. He is good with computers. NOT ME. He speaks another language. NOT ME. He is pretty well rounded. I pretty much stick to certain things that I like. I love country music and he likes ummmmmmm......... I don't even know what to call it. Maybe rock. But not the good tasteful Rock. HEHEHEHE. But because I am so smooth I have him hooked on a lot of country songs. If you don't like country all you have to do is listen to the country station for a few hours and you will be hooked. There are a few other things but not worth mentioning. I love him so much though and we stick together and try our best to raise these five mean machines. I have come to realize that the most important thing is not what you have in common but how you treat each other. I have to say Don treats me much better than I treat him. He spoils me and I usually end up being a big NAG. So maybe I need to change that.

Rachel's birthday

Yeah it was so fun to celebrate with Rachel today. Don made it back late last night about 11:30. So Rachel was very excited because she knew that once Don got home we would celebrate her birthday. Last night after we put Rachel to bed, the boys and I stayed up later and put up some streamers and put a fun table cloth down and put a party hat at each place and blew up some balloons to put on the wall. The boys actually did everything. I made Rachel her Mermaid cake but it didn't turn out so Don took her to town this morning and she picked out one she liked. Thank goodness it didn't taste too great. I don't want to be tempted with the left overs. So this morning Rachel ran up to my room and said, MOM, thanks so much. She must have loved the decorations. She was very excited. WE let Rachel choose anything she wanted for lunch and she wanted waffles. So for lunch we had waffles and then we had cake. Caleb wanted to make her a special candle holder out of paper. It was funny because he got a piece of paper and wrote the number 5 on it and the candle was underneath that. Then Zach told him it was going to start on fire so he decided to get another candle and put it on top of that. Very cute and very nice of him to do that. After everyone was done eating their cake (except Rachel) Caleb got the silly string and sprayed it all over her. She was NOT happy about that. She cried. But if was funny. Check out the picture.

Then Don gave her the gift he had planned this last week. While he was away at training he was able to go to the beach. He found some seashells and he collected a few. He chose the two that most resembled each other and he put one on a chain for her and one on his chain that he keeps his tags on. He told her that when he is at work or gone on a tour she could look at her seashell and remember him and that he would wear his and always think about her when he was gone. I thought that was so cool. I know she hates having her daddy gone. She cries every once in awhile for him to come home. This way we can look at the shell and remind her that daddy is wearing the other one and thinking of her.

Then we ended up having a scavenger hunt for her other gifts. Caleb and Zach took turns reading the clues and she would hunt for the clues and then open up her gifts. She had so much fun. WOW 5 years old. Time really does go fast. But she is a very happy girl that loves books, princesses, purple and pink, movies, and playing with her friends. Pretty typical of a little girl. We love her and are so glad she is a part of our family.

I posted some pictures to go along with the party.

CAN'T SLEEP

I tried going to sleep and normally even when I can't sleep I never get out of bed. I just usually stay in bed until I fall asleep. I never understood why people got up when they couldn't sleep. For me it makes me even more untired. Is that a word? But the phone was ringing at 10:30. I tried to get it but was too slow. I knew it was Don. He left a message and he has been trying all day to call to tell Rachel happy birthday. Well what happened is I ended up sleeping for about 4-5 hours off and on today. I kept the phone beside me just in case someone called. When I went to grab the phone to put it on the holder I realized it had been on the whole time. So whenever anyone tried calling it went right to voicemail. Frustrating. Oh well. And now here I am on the computer and unable to sleep. Must be all the sleeping I did earlier.

Don is coming home tomorrow and I can't wait. We will celebrate Rachel's birthday on Saturday. Caleb stayed home from school today with a sore throat. SO we both just sat around and pretty much did nothing. The younger kids watched a ton of t.v. I don't like to use the t.v. too much but on days like this it is the best babysitter. It is pretty cheap too. :)

ALL FOR PRETENDS

Ok so every night the boys get a story before bed. They get to read plus either Don or I tell them a story that we have made up. It isn't as easy as it sounds. I am terrible at trying to come up with stuff. I tell the kids all the time "I can't think of one". They then tell me just make it up as you go along. Oh that's easy. SO one night I was laying there next to them and I started telling a story and making it up as I went along. The story started to get very sad and I started to cry. Zachary looks at me and starts to laugh. He says, "MOM, you are laughing at your own made up story." I realized that and thought it was pretty stupid myself. But as I went on with the story I cried even more. Caleb started laughing too. I just couldn't help it. It was a very sad story. Later that night Don came home from doing home teaching. He could tell that I had been crying and he thought I was just very stressed from putting the kids down and wanted to know what happened. I told him that while I was telling the kids there story I started to cry. He just gave me this look. So he was very curious to know the story. I began to retell the story as I remembered telling it to the kids. Then I started crying again. He laughed at me too and I began to bust up laughing because it was so dumb. WHO cries at their own made up story? We had a pretty good laugh and Don thought the story was actually pretty good and he wanted me to write it down. I just know that when I go to write it down I will need a box of kleenex. That is if I can even remember it.

THINKING

Yesterday was very hectic. The kids didn't want to go to sleep and I wasn't as patient as I should have been. Rachel was up until 11. Part of it is the time change and the other part is that she doesn't like to be alone. I am trying to teach her she can go to bed without me there but she doesn't think that is the case. Caleb and Zach also do not like to be alone. Not only do they not like being alone, I can't leave them alone because as soon as I leave they start goofing off and they won't calm down enough to go to sleep at a decent hour. They share a room and the minute I am gone they are laughing and whispering. So bedtime at the Puhlman's is probably my most stressful time of the day (especially when I have to do it alone). So last night as I was saying my prayers I was thinking, "How it the heck am I going to do this by myself for 2 months"?) The thought came to me to just take it one day at a time. So that is what my focus will be one......one day at a time. It will be a bit easier when the weather gets warmer. I can take the kids to the park. I am pretty bummed because last year I would take the kids up to a park here and I would put Mayah on my back in a backpack and put Rachel and Ethan in the double jogger. But my stroller was taken and so was the backpack. Kind of irritating to say the least. I love to walk and I especially love to walk outside. I guess I will have to be on the look out for another one. That is what craigslist is for. Hopefully somone will be selling one soon so I can take advantage of the spring weather that is soon to come.

LITTLE BUT AMAZING

I went to Walmart yesterday. And going to Walmart with 3 young kids is not my idea of a fun time. I feel like I am more of a referee than anything. So I get all the kids out of the car. Rachel always walks but she always manages to "ask for everything". Mayah rides in the front with a buckle. She is usually pretty good. And then we have Ethan. Ethan rides in the back of the cart. He wants to walk but there is NO way I am letting him. Him and Mayah have this thing that they do back and forth and it drives me crazy. They put their tounge out and blow so it makes spit go everywhere and it is really loud. I have tried ALOT of things to get them to do it but once they start it goes on for a LONG time. In fact they are doing it right now and I am just going to ignore them.

I am walking through the store (quickly I might add) to get all the things on my list. I left my list in my pocket but it was small and I remembered everything without taking it out. Pretty good huh? Well Rachel is constantly asking for items and I keep telling her NO, you don't need that. And she just keeps getting angrier and angrier. I don't understand why she continues to ask for things because she knows what the answer is going to be. But does she let up? NOT A CHANCE. We finally got everything and headed to the check out. Mayah turns around (even though she is buckled in) and starts to hit Ethan on the head. Inside I am starting to lose it but since we have an audience I have to keep my cool and "act" like I am a patient mom. Those kids are lucky we were not at home. So then Rachel starts piling her arms full of miniature sized boxes of goldfish that were at the check out isles. I look at her and shake my head no and she starts to cry and put the boxes back. But then she looks at me with this look and she says "I'm getting frustrated with you". YOU THINK YOU ARE FRUSTRATED? I finish paying and go out to the car and get the kids inside. I am very irritated but at this point I don't say anything. As soon as I got in the car I remembered that I had forgotten one thing. AAAAAAAHHH!!! It was the main reason I had gone to the store but there was NO way I was going back in. I decided I could call Melonie and borrow some until I could go to the store another day. I was surprised to find my phone off. It is never off. So I turned it on but Melonie wasn't home. At that point I decided it wasn't that big of a deal. I would rather go without than try to get back into the store. Nothing was that important. I pulled out of Walmart and the phone rang. I thought Melonie was calling me back. It was the school. Caleb had a bad headache and needed to be picked up. OK so after I really started thinking about it I realized that it was a good thing that I turned my phone on----which meant it was a good thing I forgot what I needed at the store. I would have gone home---put Mayah to bed and then I would have checked my messages on the phone. That would have been a pain to wake Mayah back up and get all the kids in the car in order to go get Caleb from school. It might sound like a small thing but it was HUGE to me. I think someone was watching over me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD

Was I the first one? Does that sound familiar Dad? I just want to let you know how much I love you. It is so amazing to me the impact parents have on their children. I often think about this actually. There are so many saddening things that go on in families and it makes me so very grateful for you Dad. Think about it!!!! Think about all you did for us kids. You sacrificed alot for us. You worked your butt off for us. You supported us in many ways. The person that you are is something I want to become. You are so selfless, caring, nonjudgmental. You are one of a kind. I have many memories that go way back. I first thought of the spankings I used to get. I never deserved them but......Oh let's not think of those. Ok so remember when you took us ice fishing? Remember on summer when I caught the ONLY fish on the boat that day and you and Jack convinced me that if we cut it up for bait we would be able to catch many more. Well we did cut it up but did we catch any more? I am still mad about that. Remember when you took Ron and I fishing and we were trolling. It was time to go so you brought in your line. Do you actually remember what was on your line. That was the smallest fish I had ever seen. That was hilarious. Remember the times you made me cry when I just couldn't get it in math? Remember when we would run and you would flip us over your legs? And I was the one that got my teeth shoved back because of that. Good thing I can't remember that. Sounds painful. Remember all the work you made us do? I hated that. "Why did I have to do everything? Remember when you started my car on fire? Remember the beans you burnt and the whole house filled up with smoke. I had to get down on the floor and actually crawl to the kitchen. Oh wait, that was me who burnt the beans. Remember how you taught us to work? Remember all the times "we" came back to live at home? Remember all the times you helped us even though you didn't have much yourself? Well I could go on and on. You are my hero Dad. I love you more than any words can say. I am most grateful for the way you raised me. I know we don't agree on some things but I will never forget any of these memories you made for me. Thanks for being my father, my dad, and now my friend. Happy Birthday.

BEST THINGS EVER

OK the best thing is when the weather starts to turn nice again. I absolutely LOVE the sun and cool breeze (not wind) of spring. It has a way of lifting my spirit. I am starting to get some things cleaned up and just doing a bit of spring cleaning. I have the windows open today even though it is a tad cold. It is just plain gorgeous out. I may have to take the kids to the park. They are probably so sick and tired of always playing inside. Another great thing is listening to country music and dancing around with the kids. It reminds me alot of home. We love to dance. When we go home to Moses Lake in the summer we usually will have one dance and that is usually around the fourth of July. It is a lot of fun and the kids really like it too and they learn to dance. Some like it more than others. Another really really good thing is eating pita bread with hummus (has to be with garlic). It is my new snack. I think I am addicted. I would take that over icecream or brownies any day. Don got me hooked. He brought back a delicious recipe, that consists of chicken, pita bread and some type of sauce and ofcourse hummus, while he was overseas in Jordan. OH YUM----is all I can say.

Admiring the talent of others

Today was play group. I love going to play group. It gives me a chance to visit with other moms, get out of my house and let the kids play with other kids. I also love to admire the talents of others. Today I was admiring Andrea's curtains that she sewed. A couple of weeks ago I went to Emily's house and admired her painting and her handy woodworking skills. Amazing things that these sisters can do. It makes me feel even more dorky as to the things I cannot do. But I love to see the things that others can do. I really have NO talent when it comes to things like this. I am still trying to figure out what my talent is. Not bad for being almost 33. I still have a few years left to try and figure out what I am good at. :)

OUR ANNIVERSARY

SO Don and I had our 12th wedding anniversary on Feb. 10th. I wanted to surprise him. We were at my sisters house in Springfield. I told Don I was going shopping for some new shoes (which is true---I did get some new shoes). But then I went to a restaurant and waited. My sister made it seem like we were getting take out. So she sent Don to pick it up. He was confused at first saying he needed to wait until I got home so he could have our vehicle. But my sister told him to use their car. He was a little hesitant. It is a brand new Toyota Rav4. But didn't take him long to be OK with that idea. Anyway he called me on his way to the restaurant to see if everything was OK. I just about busted up laughing when he told me he was on his way to get some take out. I was waiting inside the waiting room. As soon as he walked through the door (he didn't see me yet) I said, " HAPPY ANNIVERSARY". I wish I could have taken a picture of his face. It was hilarious. Needless to say, we had a great night. Thanks, sis, for watching the kids while I spent a couple of hours with my best friend. It was awesome. And you are the one that will suffer for LYING. HEHEHEHE

Rachel's first talk (age 4)

Rachel did such a fabulous job on her talk. This was her talk:
Our primary colors are 1, 2, 3. Red, Yellow, and Blue.
Each has a message for you and me. Each is a symbol true.
Red is for courage to do what is right. Yellow for service from morning till night. Blue is for truth our thoughts and our deed. We can be happy when this is our creed. She did it almost all by herself. She had construction paper of each of the colors and on the Red we had a picture of Nephi for courage. On the yellow we had a picture of someone doing service and on the blue we had a picture of Christ for truth. It was exciting to see her confidence. She wasn't a bit hesitant at all. I am very proud of her.