Valentine's Day 2013

As January was coming to a close, I found myself dreaming and scheming about all the decorations, parties, fun festive foods, and activities I would do with our family for Valentine's Day.  Funny how it always starts that way. . . lots of cool ideas in my head,  but usually not much to show for it.

We did do a few fun things--not nearly as many as were floating around in my head.  But enough to feel the spirit of love in our home.  And that's the goal, right?

On the first Monday of February, we all drew names of another family member and tried to do secret acts of love throughout the following week.  Then we did it again the following Monday and got different names. 

My shoes were put away by a secret admirer, my bed was made numerous times before I could get to it, someone stayed up late and cleaned up the kitchen one night after I had gone to bed, I found nice notes in my closet saying what someone loved about me. 

It was fun to see what the kids tried doing to their secret admirer.  Some were much more excited about it (the younger ones) than others (the oldest. . . not going to mention any names though).  I liked that everyone was trying to serve each other and not get noticed.

We each wrote a valentine to all the other members in our family and heart attacked our kitchen.  Here it is, almost March, and I haven't taken those down yet. 

  Try reading this one. . Mason hasn't ever gotten an "O" for outstanding in penmanship yet. . . still working on that one.

For Valentines Day, I made heart shaped french toast layered with Nutella, strawberries, and whipped cream for breakfast, and heart shaped pizza for dinner that evening.  Then heart shaped fruit pizza for dessert, of which nobody was a big fan of except for me. . . weird how it works out that way sometimes.  Big bummer that I had to eat most all of it myself.

It was a good day, especially when John walked in the door with a beautiful bouquet of daisies. 

There's lots to love in this family!!

A Close Call

After weeks, months, and years of not liking parts of our landscaping, John and I are finally changing a few things.  Part of that change includes getting rid of a big cement "stage" (that's what the kids call it) in the corner of our backyard. In my opinion, it is totally wasted space.  We plan to extend the lawn and put a citric tree in that corner instead of the stage.

So this past weekend, we held the first official "LeSueur Demolition Day".  All hands were on deck, all sledge hammers and wheel barrows were on deck too.  This isn't any small job.  The cement stage is probably 8 feet long and spans maybe 16 feet across.  So one hit of the sledge hammer at a time. . . it'll be a long process, I'm sure.  But John is determined to do it with his boys help and not hire it out.  Great experience for the boys to learn how to work, right?

Andersen likes being close to his daddy, likes to "help" a lot.  And most of the time he's a really good helper.  John was working hard, bring the  sledge hammer up over his head, then down hard on the cement, trying to make a dent.  Andersen was close by, and as John brought the sledge hammer over his head to the cement, Andersen moved his hand and put it directly under where John had planned to hit.  John saw it and quickly tried to stop, but the momentum was too strong and the hammer came down on Andersen's hand.  OUCH!!!!

Lots of blood and lots of tears followed. . . for a long time.  John felt horrible, and both of us worried if Andersen's hand had broken bones.  After cleaning it all up and helping Andersen calm down, we both counted our blessings-- the hammer had only hit the tip of one finger and hadn't broken any bones.  What a close call.  And a very tender mercy from God.  Such a blessing.

That night, Andersen and I had a good talk about how Heavenly Father was watching over him that day.  If his hand was just a few inches in a different direction, the hit from the sledge hammer could have broken lots of bones in his hand, could have crushed parts of his hand, could have left lasting dammage.  But it was just the tip of a finger.  No broken or crushed bones.  No trip to the ER.  No lasting dammage. 

I was touched when Andersen said his personal prayers that night.  He thanked God for protecting him, for keeping him safe, and for helping him not get hurt too bad.

Four days later, here's all that's left.  A very fat finger and a little red scabby scratch.  

His right second finger is still quite swollen and puffy, but he can bend it just fine.  He was excited today to tell me that he didn't need a bandaid anymore, and it didn't hurt anymore.

I still cringe when I think about the incident.  Then I find myself over and over thanking God for such a tender mercy.  It could have been so much worse!

My New Best Friend

Yes, it's a blender.  But not just any blender.  With this blender, I can secretly hide most any vegetables into yummy treats, and my kids don't even know it.  I find myself struggling to get good nutrients down a few of my children who are fussy eaters.  This Blendtec has been a miracle worker.

Today, for example, I put water, a whole carrot, half an apple, two handfulls of spinich, half a large zuccini, two leaves of kale, a handfull of blueberries, greek yoguart, and cranberry juice into the blender.  Andersen drank it down, then asked for another cupful.  Kate got most of her cup down, and I couldn't get enough of it.  It felt good knowing that I was getting a few servings of fresh veggies and fruits in that drink.

Last Monday night for family night, I made vanilla ice cream, packed with spinich.  The kids named it "Popeye's Ice cream".  Yea, it had cream and sugar as most ice cream does.  But it also had protein powder and tons of spinich.

The blender also makes great whole wheat pancakes, and blends wheat into a fine flour, muffin batter, soups, etc.  Since we got it, I have used it at least once a day, sometimes three or four times.

The kids have a fun time guessing which veggies are hidden in their smoothies for afterschool snacks.  A few days ago, Abby could taste the bell pepper (maybe a little too strong).  We've done cauliflower, broccoli, kale, cucumber, zuccinni, carrots, cabbage, and plenty of spinich.  Add a few frozen strawberries, peaches, blueberries, a fresh apple or pear, or a banana and there you have it.  Deliciously fresh.

Without reservation, I can now say that the LeSueur family gets a healthy serving of fresh fruits and vegetables every day (at least half of which go down in a liquid form).  Awesome!

Stop growing, would ya?!

My kids are growing too fast, WAY too fast.  Especially Taylor. 

This past December, Taylor was just barely shy of my height, just barely.  And since then he's grown about two inches and has well surpassed his mother.  His voice is constantly cracking, he's in size 11 shoes, and last week he asked me to teach him how to shave the shadow of a mustache on his upper lip (to which I quickly referred him to ask his father. . . like I've ever shaved my upper lip before). 

He eats a massive breakfast, then a massive lunch, then a massive after school snack that resembles Thanksgiving, then another big dinner and constant snacking until bedtime.  After school, he always has a mouthful to tell about who likes who, what social rumors were spread around school, who tried to flirt with him, which girls are nice, and which other girls are "NICE". . .

When he was little, he was very physically demanding, as all little children are.  Now he does everything (but drive) by himself.  He takes care of his own hygiene, he does his own laundry and keeps  track of his own things, cleans his own room, and does his own chores without any help from me.  He is pretty independent and responsible.

But he has become much more emotionally demanding, as most teenagers do.  I need to be at the crossroads. When he comes home from one activity and leaves to another, I need to be there asking questions, giving counsel, complimenting, and showing love.  I need to be "all ears" when he's in the mood to talk, even when there are  a million things on my to-do list.  I need to make eye contact and show him that I'm interested in his life, in his feelings, in his friends, in his activities. 

As demanding as it is, I absolutely love it.  I love when he wants to tell me about his day, I love when he wants to invite friends over to "hang out", I love preparing good food for him, knowing that he'll love and appreciate it.  I love watching him lead out in social settings, sports, and church activities. 

There are bumps in the road.  There have been plenty of emotions-up and down, up and down.  And I'm learning that he'll occasionally ride that emotional roller coaster, but my job is to not ride it with him. My job is to be there when he gets off, to be a constant in his life, to uplift and compliment when he's struggling about an issue, to let him hold the reins and make a lot of decisions on his own, then to live out the natural consequences of those decisions.  My job is to be a mentor, and a friend.

And as difficult as it is sometimes, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I am learning how to be more patient, how to communicate effectively, how to let go of control, and how to love more deeply.

As my children are growing and developing, my role as Mother is morphing, changing, and developing as well.  And I wouldn't have it any other way!  Cheers to raising teenagers!

Uncle Sam is Home!

My brother Sam returned home from his LDS mission in San Antonio, TX  over New Years.  As all returned missionaries do, he had an awesome burning testimony, lots of humility, and lots of love for the Savior and for His Work, "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39).

We only got to be with him all of 48 hours before he headed away to start college.  I am so grateful for his faithful missionary service, especially because I have boys who I hope serve a mission for our church some day.  My boys idolize their uncles, talk about how cool they are, and want to dress like them, act like them, and be like them.  I'm grateful for the awesome example Sam has been because I know my boys want to be just like him.  Same goes with all of my brothers, all 7 of them.

So proud of you Sam!

Boys "Fun" Camp

Taylor and Mason plan to attend Scout Camp this coming Summer.  The cost is $200 each, and we've told the boys that it's their responsibility to earn the money. 

Over Christmas Break, my boys decided to hold two days of "Boys Fun Camp" for all boys between the ages of 4 and 8.  The cost was $5 per boy per day. I helped them by thinking through different activities, crafts, snack, "attention grabbers", etc.  But when it actually came time to entertain the boys, Taylor and Mason did it all on their own, and I was pretty impressed.

The first Friday, we had 15 boys show up for two and a half hours.  Taylor and Mason directed them in some stretches (counting out loud just like you see football teams do),then they had some competitions on the trampoline, then some relay races, then a craft, then a snack, then kickball at the neighborhood park.  No one got hurt, thank goodness, and everyone seemed to have a good time.

The second Friday, 10 boys showed up for two and a half hours.  Taylor and Mason started with a few relay races, then taught the boys about bike safety, played Red light, Green light, then a craft and snack.  Then they all headed to the culd-e-sac which was coned off for some bike races.  All of the boys brought either a bike or a scooter.  They weaved through cones, practiced going/stopping at green/red lights (made out of construction paper and Popsicle sticks), and had a few team races.

I watched through the kitchen window a lot of the time and was impressed with a few things.  First, Taylor and Mason always gave really clear directions before proceeding to the next activity, then made sure each of the boys understood exactly what was expected of them.  For example, instead of saying "OK, now we're going to go ride bikes, so go get your bikes", (which would have been an absolute disaster with 10 little boys), Taylor had all the boys sit down and then waited until all were paying attention.  Then he said, "First, we're going to go into the garage, find your helmets and bikes, then wait for further instruction".  Then, after that task was completed, he said, "Now, I want you to ride down into the culd-e-sac and sit down right under Parker's tree in front of his house".  Then, after that was accomplished, Taylor and Mason proceeded to tell the boys what games they were going to play.  I checked outside a few times, and all 10 boys were eagerly waiting their turn in line to ride through the cones, practice stopping at a red "light", etc.  I was surprised to see how organized things went.

We have some darling little boys in our neighborhood, and I'm grateful for their parents who entrusted their little boys in my big boys' care. 

Overall, after all expenses were paid (craft materials, snack) Taylor and Mason earned about a third of their way towards Scout Camp.  And better yet, they had a great learning experience that will some day benefit them as they try to entertain their very own little boys. 

No More Passies!

She has graduated from the pacifier, finally!  With all my other babies, I helped them put away childish things, i.e. pacifiers, bottles, etc. . . shortly after they turned one year old.  And for good reason too, because usually there was another "baby" on the way and the current baby needed to grow up and become a big girl/boy. 

But Kate is still our baby, now heading towards 3 years old.  So she still sleeps in a crib, because no one else has booted her out.  And up until two weeks ago, she was still totally and completely addicted to her "passies".  This past six months, we've tried to keep them in her crib and let her use them only for  bedtimes.  But frequently, she'd somehow get ahold of them and hide in the corner while sucking away.  Comfort.  Pure comfort!

As I was christmas shopping at Target one day and going through the toy section, Kate noticed a princess baby doll and wanted to hold it.  Without thinking, I said, "You can have that princess baby when you're ready to give up your passies". 

So for the next few weeks, she would frequently ask me about going to the store and giving the store worker her passie so she could get the princess baby.  We talked about it with the kids, and they each visited about it with Kate. 

Finally, when she said she was ready, we found all the pacifiers in the house and drove to Target.  While in the store, she kept putting them into her mouth, then I would remind her that she was a big girl and that she shouldn't put them in her mouth. She'd pull it out and say, "I'm just kissing it bye bye" and would give it kisses.  So funny!

We found the baby she wanted, went to the counter, and while Abby distracted Kate, I explained what was going on to the store clerk and paid for the baby.  Then Kate came up and stood on the counter, kissed her passies one more time, then very solomnly, almost tearful, she handed them to the clerk as the clerk called her a big girl and handed the baby to her.  Sounds funny, but it was a little emotional for me.  I could tell that it pulled at Kate's emotions.

Since then, we've had a few rough nights.  But I felt like Kate was old enough and aware enough to remember the experience and reason with me.  "Remember Kate, you gave your passies to the store worker at Target. So now you can snuggle with your princess baby instead of your passies."

Now she's a big girl.  But still, my baby.