Cabin Fever

This is going to be one random blog, but I hope it won't be too boring. The kids and I really need to get out because we are all going a little stir crazy. We can only watch so much TV. Our poor little Jeff needs a nap so badly, but every time I lay him down the kids start/continue screaming, crying, playing the piano etc., so then he also has his hypocrite mom yelling at everyone to be quiet. Right now I am really glad that we live in California where it is nice and sunny and I can send the kids outside to play. With what? you might ask. Well, nothing but dirt and empty snail shells, but hey, they are outside and my sweet baby has been asleep for approximately 15 minutes.


My poor son. He has been the only boy for 5 1/2 years. Ben is out of town a lot, so Reese is left with all his male attributes (teasing, being gross etc.) in a house full of girls. Thank goodness we now have Jeff. Hopefully in a few years things will even out a bit. It seems Reese is sick of being forced to watch Barbie movies and playing house and is rebelling a bit. A common phase around our house these days is "Are you Two???!!!" This can be used in conjunction with a 5 year old coloring on the walls and the banister, poking the dog in the eye, and recently sneaking scissors upstairs for a midnight haircut (on himself thankfully). He has a funny little boy sense of humor. The twins asked what we were going to have for lunch the other day and before I could answer, he said "Fart Salad." He was drawing pictures of all the girls, me included, with big brown handlebar mustaches. But the other night, the poo hit the fan when we found a little nail sticking out of Anna's pillow. The little turd was trying to poke her! The night before we had found a tack, but thought it was a fluke. I think that he needs an outlet for his naughtiness, and have thought about Karate. What do you think?

Exhibit A Exhibit B

On Valentines Day for the past several years, my husband has been at the World Ag Expo. This year he brought me a special present. He is such a sweetheart and I love him dearly. We aren't big gift givers, we usually talk about what we need and decide to forego any formal gift giving and get something we both need or want. It is when he surprises me with gifts that it is really special. Before I post the picture, remember that he works with cows. I have long been compared to a cow, not in the fat sense (or we would be divorced), but usually in the pregnancy or nursing sense. It is a family joke, so I am OK with it. At Costco a few weeks ago, Anna was talking about how I would feed our baby with my udders. I said "Anna! I don't have udders!" She said that she was afraid it would be bad manners to call them breasts. So, when Ben brought these home for me, we all got a good chuckle. I have to say, these are one of my favorite valentine's day gifts ever.

My lovely cow tag earrings

This is another gift Ben brought home for me a couple years ago. His name is/was Walter. Ben thought we could keep him in our backyard for a while. Great--except we lived next to the mayor! Thank goodness for my mom and her sheep pasture. Walter lived to the ripe old age of 1 1/2 years old before he became a freezer full of delicious steaks.

This is my pretty new washer. It is the 3rd one we've had in 3 years. My old one was in great shape until my sweet Jessica was helping with laundry. She has learned a good (expensive) lesson--you shouldn't put four loads of laundry in. It was smoking and screaming, but now I have a nice new washer! Maybe I should let her use the dryer so I can have a matching set! She is a good helper and I appreciate her so, but she is not touching this washer!

Well folks, that is pretty much all we have going on here. You can wake up now.

I got tagged!!!

I got tagged! Can you believe it? I don't know why I am so excited about this, maybe its because I don't get out much. Here goes---

What I was doing 10 years ago:

I only had one kid, we lived in Hooper, Utah in an old house we rented from the Stake. Weird, huh? We still slept in a full size bed and we had no dishwasher. I spent my days as a substitute teacher at Sandridge Jr. High in Roy, Utah, and spent my spare time making a lovely puff quilt for my bed.

5 things on my to do list today:

1. Take a shower and wash the sour milk smell off of me.
2. Write thank you notes.
3. Go to the store for diapers and milk.
4. Take a nap.
5. Bring in the trash cans.

Very exciting, I know.

Snacks I enjoy:

I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but I do really enjoy Grasshopper cookies and Stephen's Belgian Dark hot chocolate, but my FAVORITE snack is Cheese. I love artisan cheeses, so I am especially glad that my husband is in the dairy business. Some of my favorites include:
Dubliner Cheddar- it is so good and the salt crystals just add an extra something special. I also have a recipe for Dubliner Spread That they sell at Yokes in the good ol' Tri-Cities--So Yummy!
Fiscalini Bandage Wrapped Cheddar-literally one of the best in the world. Oprah is a big fan of it also. You know when you eat it that it is only made from the best milk from the healthiest cows milked in the cleanest parlors as they use DeLaval products:):) (That's my husband's company.)
Fresh Mozzarella cheese-I love it! It tastes a little bland at first, but then you figure out how to use it with fresh basil and tomatoes on crusty bread and in homemade lasagna and you think that you might die and go to heaven.
Rouge River Bleu-I never thought I would like Bleu cheese, but this one is fantastic! It is so creamy and delicious! There was an article about it in the Oct 2007 Country Living Magazine.
Seriously, go to a good cheese shop and sample everything. I am sure you won't be disappointed. Beechers has a cheeseshop at Pikes Place Market around the corner from the Inn at the Market. They also have a marvelous Flagship Cheddar Cheese.

What I would do if I became a millionaire:

I don't really know, besides pay off cars and houses etc. I would probably go on vacation, but I think that I would probably save/invest the rest. Isn't that boring? When I was younger I thought a million dollars was so much money, but now that I am older and live in California, I realize how fast it could go. Although I certainly wouldn't turn it down, it just doesn't excite me like I would think it would. How is that for Cynicism?!!

Three Bad Habits:

1. I stay up way too late.
2. I say a few bad words and play dumb when my kids say them:):).
3. I am a procrastinator.

5 places I have lived:

Only 5????? Most recently--

1. Turlock, CA
2. Kennewick, WA
3. Payson, UT
4. Nampa, ID
5. Crescent Valley, NV aka He_ _.

5 jobs I've had:

1. Odd jobs at Realife Photography
2. Phone girl at Pizza Hut
3. Media Lab at Ricks College
4. Day Care worker
5. I sold Salt City Candles

5 things people don't know about me:

1. I've never had a cavity.
2. Sliver removal is a passion of mine.
3. I can unwrap a starburst inside my mouth.
4. I won second place and $15 in a handwriting contest in High School. That darned Pheng Siharath won first place.
5. My feet don't get sweaty so sometimes I wear the same socks two days in a row. Don't tell.

OK. Now I tag Sara, Josie, Tsveti and Kari. Josie, now you will have to update your blog!

Our Visitors

We have had a busy postpartum week. Ben had to go to the World Ag Expo and since I wasn't real comfortable taking care of a newborn and five kids a week after a C-section, my wonderful family stepped up and came and took care of everything! Meghan came first. I had such a wonderful time with her! I miss all of my brothers and sisters so much! It was so nice to visit with her and spend a delightful day watching 13 hours of Anne of Green Gables. It was nice to be able to take a nap and to have someone else make dinner for me! She was wonderful. Right after she left, my parents and a few more sisters and my niece came. It was also great. They all kept apologizing for not doing more to help, but I assured them that my poor kids have been so BORED with a grumpy invalid for a mother and being off track (AAAA!!!) that just being there to entertain them was a huge help. I am so grateful that they were here! It would be a lot easier if we still lived within 5 minutes of everyone!!!

My visitors--Grandpa, Grandma, Jeffrey, Gracie, Maddie, and Lauren.


Meghan and Jeffrey Grandma and Jeffrey

Bella and Maya have always been HUGE fans of Grandpa! They were so excited to see him and were so fun to watch and listen to as they played funny little 3 year old games with him. I think he enjoyed them, too. This is them at the aquarium in Monterey.
Kids in Monterey

Number Six!!!

I have finally created my own blog. I have been a bit of a blog stalker in the recent past and thought that it was time for me to play fair and let the world read about us. We are very interesting.

Our big news is that we have a new baby!

Jeffrey Allen Kern

was born onFebruary 4 at 11:46 am. He was 7 lb. 10 oz and was 19 in long. He is our biggest baby, complete with chub on his fanny. This is a big deal, as many of our children have had none. He has a nice head of hair and is a champion nurser. He is an absolute angel!!!

This has been the first time that it has been easier to have the baby on the outside than it is on the inside. I think Heavenly Father makes the last few weeks so MISERABLE that you actually look forward to having the baby come out, whatever way that is. For us, it was c-section #5. I have found that each one has gotten progressively better and now, a week later I feel like a million bucks! This is me getting to "hold" Jeffrey for the first time. It was more like a quick squeeze, but I will take it!
Here they all are! Jessica, Anna, Reese, Maya (green jacket), Bella (pink jacket) and baby Jeff! Notice the tennis shoes with no socks--kids need moms at home.

And here is the love of my life! Ben is such a wonderful father who loves his family so very much. I love to see him with our children. He is so big and strong, yet so tender and kind. I am so happy that he is mine!