A New Boy...

So Bud has needed a haircut for a long time. The other day, I decided to take the plunge (I put it off because he doesn't like hair on him, and usually tosses himself around so it's nearly impossible to buzz his head nicely) and buzz the locks. Surprisingly, he sat amazingly still... under bribery of a cookie. (Aunt Rebecca, he's been coveting your Christmas cookies. You're getting fresh ones... Bud's going to eat the others.) I should get "before" shots to go with the "after", but I'm too embarassed by how shaggy he looks. So here he is a new boy. He'll tell you he's a man, but he's still too little for that. This is blurry because he couldn't wait to see the picture, and kept moving before I was finished. It's one of three that I took... all are/were blurry.

Are you Influenced???

As a child, are you influenced to choose a college by the clothing your parents put on you? If so... Caroline comes from a family where many are BYU Alumnus... Savannah wants to go to BYU Hawaii (can't say as I blame her...), Caroline is just cute. And look at her new trick! Personally, I think she's just super cute. Whatever college she decides to go to. After all, that's still a good 17 years away. We'll cross that bridge when we get there!

Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies

Since this is a popular item at our house, I'm sharing the recipe. It's Andrew's specialty - he makes them every time we have them... We made 150 of them for Christmas Eve, the cat's had the 5 burnt ones that we couldn't get out of the pan. We threw 145 cleaned off toothpicks away. They may make your arteries clog up just by THINKING about them, but they're worth eating.

Bacon Wrapped Little Smokies

1 pkg. Hillshire Farms Little Cheddar Smokies
1 lb bacon, cut into three sections
2 lb. pkg brown sugar
toothpicks

Drain the little smokies. Wrap each piece in 1/3 piece of bacon. Secure
with toothpick. Once all the smokies are in the pan, cover with brown sugar.
(some say 1 c. is all you need, we use about half the package.) Bake at 350
until the bacon is cooked. Cook for just a few minutes before serving. That's
it. Heaven on a toothpick.

Serve at your next gathering next to the veggie tray and see which one disappears first! I dare you. In fact, I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU!

Christmas 2010 Highlights

I was going to do this two weeks ago, but I'll have to make do with only being 5 days late... If you're celebrating OLD Christmas. (It's on the Old calendar. Ask any Russian.) I should have a New New Year's Party... just for laughs. I don't have that much energy though.

Christmas was, for the most part, uneventful. I forgot to take pictures of the children with their presents... you'll have to wait for the tree pictures. They're not on the computer yet.

Savannah is completely and totally enthralled with "Little House on the Prairie". She wanted a bonnet for Christmas. Grandma Stahr made her one. (It didn't make it to the list until three days before Christmas...) She loves is, and is currently disappointed in herself for leaving it at someone's house the other day. I finished her skirt on New Year's Eve - she's worn it no less than 7 times since then. She was thrilled with the oatmeal under the tree... She loves Instant Oatmeal, so it's a treat to have it. It was gone two days later.

Margaret's skirt was under the tree... if it wasn't in the wash, she'd still be wearing it. She also got a bonnet for Christmas. She wasn't thrilled with the pajama bottoms I made her... they didn't have a shirt to go with them.

LeGrand got a toy gun for Christmas - He and Andrew went outside to shoot "nuns", and I'm really glad that it didn't take the batteries long to die. His other favorite toy was his "Ractor" that has really fun bouncy tires. He's only taken the tires off more times than he's actually played with the tractor, but it's been an adventure finding them. He loves to play with the Little People Nativity - they fit nicely into the LP bus that he has... he takes them to "Basketball games" and the Wise Men make super bus drivers. Sometimes, all the shepherds have a party on the roof of the stable with the angels. It's fun to watch LeGrand play pretend with the Little People.

Caroline wasn't all that interested in much this Christmas - except for the paper. She loves the little bug puzzle from Aunt Sheila - it's been a big hit around the house.

I took back all of the presents I got for Andrew and exchanged them for the right sizes and types... teach me to shop with a cold! And Andrew gave me some amazing Cast Iron. I find it funny that I'm thrilled by the thought of Kitchen Ware - but the bread pan makes pretty great meatloaf!

Perhaps one of the greatest things of this season was seeing the Radio City Rockettes and their beautiful interpretation of the Christmas Story. Read from the Bible. In Oregon. In a Public Performance. I was moved to tears, and very touched to have such a simple reminder. (The box seats weren't bad either! I may never attend another performance in any event without wanting that treatment... the free popcorn and sodas were a hit with Margaret and Savannah... as was the "free closet" that we had to hang our coats in.)

Christmas Eve was at our house this year, and dinner was a spectacular success. We had marvelous appetizers and home made napoleons for dessert. And I will freely admit that I broke the cardinal rule of entertaining and tried out at least three new recipes on my guests. And then thanked my lucky stars that none of them turned out like "Skurvy Pie" (that's a different story for a different day... Someday I'll post the recipe and reasons NOT to make it.)

And now... I'll close. I have dishes to do, laundry to wash fold and put away, a Christmas Tree to take down, two bedrooms to clean, Savannah to motivate in the scholastic direction, LeGrand's hair to cut, and photos to pick up before my client arrives. And sometime today, I hope to have time to breathe.

The Whole Family...

My Sister, Brittany, took this picture when she came with my Dad to visit this past summer. We were at Silver Falls, and found a great place to take a family photo. It will be out of date in another 6 months, but until then... it's all the children and their parents!

Thank you to Brittany for a fabulous photo, and a great time!

Almost Forgot... The Pumpkins.

Savannah's Pumpkin, LeGrand's Pumpkin and Margaret's Pumpkin. After finding giant slugs in the pumpkins that were on the porch overnight, the girls and LeGrand stuffed them with sawdust and put them on the burn pile. As far as I know, they're now entombed in sawdust and we'll have pumpkin mash when the pile degrades.

For Aunt Buh-Rittany

"That's Me! I am Bud! I have a "ninnen" on my hairs!" (Seriously, it's a direct quote from Bud who has been carrying this photo around for the last week...)

This particular hat is one that we got from Aunt Brittany. LeGrand found it one day, and wore it non-stop. He wouldn't turn it around to wear it properly, but the girls found it great fodder to sing: "Bud has got a bird on his head. Bud has got a bird on his head. Bud has got a bird on his head, he keeps it there all day!"

All Worn Out

This is what happens when you play hard and work even harder. She was OUT almost as fast and Andrew was!

A Quick Update

For those who haven't heard... We got a major surprise a few months ago.

Baby number 5 will be joining our family sometime at the end of May to the middle of June. There will be approximately 15 months between Caroline and the next baby. We are actually very excited about a new baby coming - it'll be a little stressful, but apparently, the Lord thinks I can handle it. I just wish He'd send me a preview of what He'd like for me to do for the rest of my life... so that I can approve of it - or at least have some sort of an idea what's going to happen!

It's PUMPKIN time!!!

Every year the children and I take a 20 minute drive south to Jefferson and purchase pumpkins. We pull our favorites off the pile, load them in the wagons, drag the wagons across the parking lot, pay for our pumpkins, drag them BACK across the parking lot and load them in the trunk of the car.

This year, we had two wagons and a wheelbarrow... fondly labeled "Pumpkin Barrow". Why do I make this drive to the Pumpkin Pile instead of going to the grocery store?

Economics.

Pumpkins at the grocery store are 18 cents per pound. Some of you are probably saying, "I wish I could get my pumpkins that cheaply!!!" On average, the pumpkins we purchase are a lot bigger than 1 pound. (We bought 13 pumpkins this year...) The rule at our house is that you have to be able to carry your own pumpkin across the parking lot (since that's usually the distance from the car to the carving location...). Margaret ALWAYS chooses a small one. Savannah ALWAYS chooses a large one that she ends up grumbling about because it gets heavier the farther she carries it...

LeGrand chose his pumpkin based on how heavy it was, Caroline is too small for a pumpkin.

Pumpkins at the Pumpkin Pile are $1.00 EACH. The big ones. The little ones. The medium sized ones. All $1.00 each. If figure that I average out to what I would pay for one big one at the grocery store.

And then... the pumpkins turn into Jack-O-Lanterns. I'll post those photos after we're done. These are destined to be carved this weekend. And if ALL of them get carved and there's not one left for pie, it's only $1.00 (plus fuel) to get another. I think I can handle that...

Our New Alarm Clock.

I'd like to take a few minutes to tell you about our newest alarm clock. He's two. And he's discovered freedom. And WE'VE discovered that he can't open the door INSIDE... So far, that's a very effective lock. Until, of course, he figures out how to open the door. Margaret was three and a half when she figured that out, we MIGHT have another year...

Saturday night, some very tired parents put an equally tired little boy into a toddler bed for the first time. Ever. At 6:30 in the AM, that same little boy woke up, realized that he could get out of his own bed, and that the door was open, and he came downstairs to find a MOM on the couch (he promptly woke her up by saying loudly, "MOM! I GET UP!") with a BABY, and a 4-year old sister on the chair (he promptly woke her up by sitting on her). Dad was next to be woken up - I'm sure because of the exploratory noises going on downstairs... and when we were all up and downstairs, same little boy looked around and noticed that an 8-year old sister was missing. "NANA! I go wake her up!" And off he went. The next thing we heard was, "BUD! Turn the light off!!!"

And so it was that we learned to keep the door closed so that our little alarm clock would stay in his own room.

Monday morning, we ALL slept until 7:30. He's getting later.....

Caroline at 7 months...

Already. It's already been 7 months. She's a LOT bigger now than she was then, and of all the girls, she seems to be on the go a lot faster. (I'd say of all the children, but LeGrand was climbing stairs at 5 months. Caroline can't do stairs, she's too short. Thank goodness.)

So... She may have started out small, but she's now pushing 20 pounds. She crawls all over the place, and when she comes to an obstacle that looks like it might be fun to stand next to, she does. She started pulling herself to a standing position BEFORE she started to crawl. It's a little disconcerting to see such a little person poking her face over the top of the cedar chest (because she can't quite see over the top... but she can peek!).

Mom is still her favorite person, but Margaret is the only one who can make her laugh. She loves LeGrand, lets Savannah hold her on occasion, and goes willingly to Andrew. She tolerates the Johnny Jump Up - but only when she can see me... and smiles ALMOST constantly.

Caroline and LeGrand seem to be in cahoots for trouble most of the time; one will distract me (Caroline) and the other (LeGrand) will find something he's not supposed to be in and see how long it takes me to catch him. He likes to help - last week I came into the kitchen after being in the bathroom and found LeGrand with a wooden spoon full of formula. He told me he was "Me feeding Baby, Mommy. I help you!" It would have been a bigger help for him to leave the formula on the counter rather than spoon feeding it to the baby...

I'll get some updated photos up soon, for now, enjoy these, taken two weeks ago! (As a side note, these photos were taken on 9/16 to get ready for a birthday... not mine.)

P.S. Don't the wood floors look FABULOUS?!?!?!?!?

My Birthday...

Was really a day like any other. I got home from work at 4 in the AM, went immediately to sleep; got up again at 5 in the AM to take care of Caroline, went back to sleep. Got up at 8:30 to start school; encouraged (read: raised my voice on occasion) the children (Savannah) to stay focused; took Margaret to Primary Activity Day; exercised patience with Savannah during the next few (4) hours to get her 1/2 hours worth of school work done; made dinner - a roast, which I completely forgot to season aside from cooking it in water... it was okay - sat down for dinner at 8 PM because the potatoes never did come to a boil- put children in bed, and left for work.

I am officially 36 years old. (20-16 if you really want to get down to brass tacks...) So far, the only difference I've noticed is the cake I had for dessert during lunch at work. That and Ian is 15 years away from being 40.

Really, it's not half bad.

For my birthday, Andrew is sending me to Time Out for Women in Portland. I am SO THRILLED!!! I've never been, and I'm really looking forward to it! YAY!

Oh yeah. I also ran over one of the kittens on my birthday. Twice. It didn't suffer at all. I wouldn't suffer either if someone ran over ME twice... well, maybe I would a little. The kitten didn't. It wasn't funny until Savannah told me that its name was Lucky... kinda ironic, don't ya think?

Cluster of Stahrs

And here you have it. The reason most of you read this blog anyway. An updated photo of the Stahr Children - and this time they're all together! If you want updates on what they're doing, keep reading. Otherwise - there are no other pictures in this post.

Savannah is 8 (she'll be 9 on November 16) and in the 3rd grade. She's on an accelerated track for Math (something about numbers just really clicks with her); studying about creatures in the sea for science (ask her the difference between nekton, benthos and plankton...). For history this year both Savannah and Margaret are studying US History (and truth be told, so am I...) with lots to read and learn - we'll spend two weeks focusing on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution will figure prominently in learning as well. Savannah loves to read. Her favorite author is Beverly Cleary; she's read nearly all the "Ramona" books. We're focusing this year on writing also - it looks to be a good year for Savannah!

Margaret is 4. She started Kindergarten (although she told me in no uncertain terms that she's "not a garten" and nor is she a "Kinder!" I did have to differ with her on the kinder thing...) and is enthusiastic about learning to read. I was able to pick up Hooked on Phonics for free... (And was reminded of Nick's t-shirt "Huked on Fonix wurked 4 me") and she's loving learning. Margaret studies science with us as well as listening during history. It will be good for Savannah to have a little challenge this year.)

(Check us out HERE to see more pictures and school updates!)

LeGrand is 2. He loves all things Boy. He loves to help - he doesn't care who; loves to put wood in the woodstove when I'm not looking (one of these days he's going to find that it's hot...); loves Caroline, and is super happy most of the time. He's truly a joy to have around the house.

Caroline is 6.5 months. Who would have thought that starting out so small she would now be so large! Her favorite things to do are eat, sleep, poop, chew on anything she can get near her mouth, eat, drool, and occasionally barf on Mom. She is now an upright, and becoming very mobile. She crawls all over the place after toys, with her favorite being the kind that roll away from her just as she gets to them. She's a happy baby and we all adore her.

Not So Boring Church...

There's always something interesting about going to Fast and Testimony Meeting in the LDS Church. Little children bear testimony about how much they love their parents; people ramble about the spiritual experience they had visiting the Cysteine Chapel... We've had people get up and bear testimony for someone else... And then there was our ward on Sunday. And I missed it. We had three sick children, so I was home during one of the most interesting Sacrament Meetings in all of church history.

Andrew came home and told me that I would never believe what had happened during church Sunday. You just can't make this stuff up...

In our ward is a family with 8 children. One of their daughters got married yesterday. Apparently, it was a very spiritual experience for her sister's boyfriend. Today, during testimony meeting, he stood up and rambled on and on about how good the temple sealing was, and how great it was he was able to attend... Andrew tuned out. (I think many people did...) until he said the following words; "L, will you marry me?" And then it got very quiet in the chapel... then, "Well?" Finally, from the back of the room came the answer: "Yes." It's now the talk of the ward.

I can think of one other extremely inappropriate place to stage a proposal: SOMEONE ELSE'S WEDDING RECEPTION! Had it been me, I would have stood up and walked out of the room and not answered until the question was asked in a more appropriate and private location. While it makes for an incredibly interesting proposal story, it also goes down in history as one of her most embarrassing moments. (It would mine. Above and beyond wetting your pants in junior high, walking to work naked or anything else that could be deemed embarrassing!)

Sunday School was all about what is and is not appropriate to bear testimony about. Andrew's class was all about the time and place to propose - and these guys are just deacons! (Here's to hoping that they internalize that information...) I'm betting that our next meetings are all about testimony... Hope your meetings were this interesting!!!

FYI: The parents moved out of the ward... (a planned event BEFORE the fiasco at church), the entire family left after sacrament meeting was over. Not sure if that was planned or not... it certainly became planned after the proposal! Can't say as I blame them, either.

What About Jersey?

Margaret has this cute little mind that comes up with the most unique of things.

Last night as we were being home taught, we were talking about temples and their importance. Our home teacher was relating the message from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, and all of the children were listening intently. Bro. B stated how temples were for everyone... "not just in the United States; so it doesn't matter if you're from Russia or Mexico or Canada..." and at this point, Margaret very quietly says, "or New Jersey..."

The conversation stopped, and, since we hadn't heard her very well, we asked for clarification. "What did you say?" "I said New Jersey! What about New Jersey?!"

Even from New Jersey, Margaret. Temples are for everyone.

Mowing the Lawn

Mowing the lawn in Oregon isn't something that we do every week. More like every two weeks... or, when Andrew is less busy, every three days. It doesn't grow that much during the summer though since we don't water it. We water in the winter when it rains a lot. And then, we mow more. Odd, I know, but that's just the way it is.

A few weeks ago Andrew and LeGrand mowed the lawn together. I love seeing my family work together! LeGrand is a great helper when it comes to stacking wood, too!

Learning Balance...

This picture is a little blurry because just as I was snapping it, Caroline started falling. Her balance isn't perfect yet, but she's getting better! Right now, she's trying to add in her two cent's worth by reaching for the computer. It's an area that's still off limits. I just can't allow someone who lunges at everything as if it's food to do any typing. Caroline will be 6 months old next week; it's amazing how fast time flies! She's starting to be a little more vocal with everything, but still hasn't shown her gut laugh more than once. (Margaret was the recipient of that...)

Some of Caroline's favorite things are (not necessarily in order) Mom's finger. FOOD. Sleep. Clean diapers. LeGrand. She's learning to coordinate herself with the toys around also and is a great little top. (Meaning: she spins herself around to get whatever toys are out of her reach - it's not a tight circle, more the roundabout way of doing things, but it works for her!) She also likes chewing on her toes - mostly because she can do that in a sitting position too - her way of saying: "I've fallen over. No one is moving me. I'm going to make this look as if I MEANT to do it..." It works.

updated caroline photos...

Doesn't she have the cutest sister???

This is NOT something he learned from Mom...

I came around the corner to see LeGrand doing this... It is now HIS gallon of milk. He backwashes. He also likes milk.