Sami's World

Wednesday May 21 was a fun day. We got up and did some school work and chores. Then we went to P.E. That was fun, especially since it wasn’t has hot as the week before. We got home by 1 and did lunch and naps and then just “chilled out” the rest of the day. It was a fun relaxed day.

Thursday, my busiest day of the week is about to get easier. Alix went to her last Science class. They learned all about butterflies and other insects. They even had snail races. Since Alix’s class is so small and it was the last one, the teacher asked Jaime if she’d like to stay and play too. So it was fun to go to the park with the three little one’s. It was fun to see Niah really latch on to Afton. They played so well together. Milo just road his bike around the park area doing “tricks”. After that we came home and had two hours to do our school work. It worked out to be great timing. We went to Jaime’s piano and Jaime’s last dance class. We got home and the kids were all so tired from no naps that everyone, except Jaime and I were asleep by 6:30pm. Jaime and I had dinner together and enjoyed spending some one on one time together. Scott was not due home till after 10pm. He’ll have to tell you all about that. After I put Jaime to bed I talked with the other primary counselor for a little while (we usually have meetings on Thursday evenings but our president is out of town so we just had a meeting over the phone).

Friday was a dreaded day for me. It’s not easy to explain but I REALLY don’t enjoy going to the doctor. Especially when I am pregnant. It’s just a lot of work for them to tell me exactly what I already know. Anyway, I decided I couldn’t avoid it any longer and that I should go for my appointment (I think it’s only my 5 appointment this pregnancy). Anyway, he did tell me all the same things. I did have some paper work to fill out and turn in and he had to do a test in the exam room and I had to go get blood drawn and and and. Anyway, by the time I was done I was so tired and wore out that I just came home grumpy!! It didn’t make for a very fun night but I got to bed “early” and tried to sleep it off.

Saturday May 24 I woke up with an awful headache but tried really hard to not be grumpy. Scott and Milo went to help a young man in our ward with is Eagle Project (Scott will have to tell you about that). I stayed home with the girls and we cleaned the house. I was going to be all done with my clothing project (finally) but I was two bins short, bummer!! So I neatly put the things in a corner of Afton’s room and I hope to get those bins soon. The rest of the house looked great by the time Scott got home. Jaime had a dance to perform at Fremont’s Kite Festival. Scott took her because she really wanted to spend some time with dad and this was the perfect opportunity So after they left, I put the three little one’s down for naps, let Alix watch a video and I napped. It was super needed. I didn’t get too long of a nap because Alix needed a video change, but it was enough to help the headache and grumpiness. Scott and Jaime got home about 3 and then we went outside to do some playing and car cleaning. Then we loaded the car with all the D.I stuff and then came inside for dinner. After dinner we made arrangements with a guy who was getting rid of all his camping gear (for a great price) to go and look at it. We went to the church where the D.I trailer usually is but it was not there. We proceeded on to this guys place, decided the stuff was worth the price and loaded up our van. We then tried another church building and found the trailer. We even opened it and nothing fell out onto our heads, success!! We got home and got the kids to bed around 9:30pm, VERY late for them. We could tell this morning how very bad it was to have them up so late on a Saturday night!

Guess that is the news. Not much else to report. The girls are officially done with their current grade level and are now doing “maintenance school” so that their brains don’t fall out their ears before September. That makes for less stress around here, yay!! Love you all.

Mother’s day was Fabulous!! We got to church early because I needed to help hand out the mother’s day gifts that the primary children made. All the mom’s with primary children got to wear these paper chain necklace’s. On each of the links the kids of the family wrote their favorite things about their mom. It was fun to wear it all through church. When we got home the kids gave me a compliment book and a book mark they had made at the Stake Primary Activity the day before. Scott gave me an awesome card and then told me I could go take a nap! Three hours later, I reluctantly got up because I knew I’d have a hard time sleeping that night. While I was napping, Scott had taken the time to call my mom and have the kids talk to her too. It was soooo nice of him to do that. After a supper yummy dinner cooked by my husband and a wonderful dessert cooked by Jaime, I called mom to wish her a happy mother’s day. It was nice to talk to her and not have to worry about the kids, since Scott was taking care of them. I also got to talk to Mom Thompson, that was nice too. After the kids were in bed, I was still tired and went to bed. What a great mother’s day. Exactly what I wanted.

Monday, May 12, was an at home day, good thing too, we are trying to get school done early so I don’t have to worry about it, we made great progress that day.

Tuesday we went over to my friend Tiesha’s house. They have a HUGE backyard and had just finished having it landscaped and made kid friendly. The kids enjoyed themselves tremendously and so did the adults, just talking and laughing while the kids kept themselves entertained. We got home in enough time to do chores and dinner and bed.

Wednesday we went to P.E. It was soooo hot. Each day was getting increasingly hotter and this big ole’ pregnant lady was having a time of it. We made it through and came home to a fairly cool house. Cool enough that we didn’t want to go outside. At 4 I had my last dentist appointment and am now the official owner of a fake tooth. Yay for me…..

Thursday, May 15, was our “normal” busy day! We went to Alix’s Science class. They fished for craw dads using bacon and then for the second half of the class they got to hold a snake and watch two HUGE snakes eat mice and then do a couple of snake crafts. She once again had a TON of fun. We came home and crammed in a little school and then were off to piano. So hot. So by the time we got to dance class there was no way I was going to sit outside again so the kids could play. So we sat in Jaime’s dance class. It was fun to watch Jaime but so hard to keep the little one’s off the dance floor. We got home and had dinner and, since it was so hot, just let the kids stay up late. By the time the sun went down it was cool enough to put them to bed.

Friday, Scott was doing an overnight fishing trip and wanted to take Milo. It didn’t make much sense for him to drive all the way back home just to drive to the fishing site. So I volunteered to drop Milo off to him. Since it is park day and the kids really enjoy going I had arranged with my friend to watch the kids at the park while I dropped off Milo. We were running on time, perhaps a little early, when I pulled out of the driveway. Then I got to Warm Springs Blvd and the traffic was at a dead stop! I quickly took the back roads but that only helped to a certain point. As I approached the park I noticed no one was there. Then I got a call and it was Camille. She said it was just too hot to go to the park, she wasn’t kidding, and that I should meet her at her in laws house and the kids could just go swimming. So that is what we did. Anyway, the 2 miles from my house to her in laws house took me 30 minutes! Lucky for me the traffic was only one sided. Once I left there I got to Scott in 15 minutes. But coming home…. Once I got on the 880, it was about 8 miles to the house where the kids were. It took me 50 minutes to get there. It was awful!!! And HOT!!! Why so much traffic? There were 2 major accidents on 680, three on 880 and one on 580. Little accidents all over the place and that basically put traffic at a standstill from South San Jose to North Oakland. Anyway, the kids had a great time swimming. We got home, had sandwich’s for dinner and I put Afton and Niah to bed. Then Jaime and Alix and I got the house cleaned up and got ourselves cleaned up and then waited for Camille to come over here. It was my Friday to pick up bread and so the girls went with me. Camille came over and stayed with the sleeping little ones. By the time I got back there were already a few people waiting for me. We opened up the six bags of bread and box of pastries and everyone had at it. By the time they left, there was only two bags of bread left. It was awesome! Jaime and Alix got to bed sometime after 10:30 and I crashed about midnight.

Scott and Milo got home about 11:30am on Saturday morning. It was so nice to see them. Scott will have to give you the run down of the fishing trip. We cleaned on Saturday but it was just really hot and none of us were motivated to do much but sit in front of a fan!! The kids did go out and play in the sprinklers and a little boat pool we have. I went up stairs and attempted to switch clothes for the kids. It was a bigger task than I had anticipated but I got pretty far, not done, but made good headway. We got all the kids to bed on time, since we were going to have church in the morning. Scott and I diligently worked on our lessons for the next day and retired to bed by 10.

Sunday, May 18, was a cooler day still, which was nice. We went to church and enjoyed it very much. The kids in primary were a little antsy and so that always makes sharing time a little more interesting, but we made it through and the kids seemed to enjoy themselves. We came home and did a bit of light cleaning and then went right into cooking. We were having some families over for dinner. It’s our new tradition. The Toh’s, Bennett’s, Hook’s, Lease’s, Louise and us are trying to get together once a month and have dinner together. It’s very fun and we are bummed that next month there will be no gathering. I suppose we will all survive. Anyway, we did a breakfast theme and we had EVERYTHING!! It was so yummy and since it was a cooler day it was actually pleasant to sit and talk after eating. By the time they left it was bed time. We got all the kids and us to bed at a pretty good hour….

Monday was wipe out day for me. I didn’t get up till 8:30 am (thanks to the kids for entertaining themselves) and then I fell back to sleep at noon till 3. I was pretty wiped out but felt much better after my afternoon nap. When Scott got home we had some dinner and then we did FHE. Our activity was pulling the weeds in the backyard. It was fun and the kids enjoyed the time we all spent together. I’m grateful for my kids and their willingness to help so much around here.

Tuesday, today, was a very low key day. We got all our school work done before 11 and then Li-Li came over and we made egg rolls for lunch, so good! She stayed and chatted for most of the afternoon. When she left I sent the kids outside to play in the water, they loved it and I went upstairs to try and make more sense out of my clothing mess. It’s getting better, not done, but better. After the kids cleaned up from the water fun, we cleaned the house, had dinner and then beds. Here I am now, 9:30pm and typing away. I am so ready for bed, so good night now and we love you all.

Friday was like any other “normal” day, except we got started so late that the afternoon/evening was pushed even later too! Scott ended up coming home in enough time to take Milo to his sports class. Jaime and Niah went along too. Afton and Alix needed to go to bed, they were both exhausted. After Scott got home and all the kids were snug in their beds, I left and went to Wal Mart to do some shopping. I guess I looked pretty helpless because they closed a check stand so that the guy could load my stuff in the cart and walk me out. I have never seen that at a Wal Mart, but I am getting pretty big I guess….. After getting everything in and put away Scott and I crashed. I guess I didn’t realize how hard it can be to push a loaded cart around. I was pretty sore by the time I laid down.

Today, Saturday May 10 was our stake primary activity. It was super fun. The kids had a great time. Jaime invited 3 different non member friends and they all said they couldn’t come. Alix was able to have a friend come, Milo doesn’t have any non member friends and Niah’s friends said they couldn’t come either. But everyone had a great time anyway. I picked up a little girl from church and we picked up Alix’s friend. So we left the house about 8:45am and made it to the church right at 9:30am. I was asked to help with the garden station and had a great time doing that. The kids planted seeds of friendship in “mud” and “dirt” (chocolate pudding and crushed cookies). They even topped it off with a worm. It was fun but again I didn’t realize how tired it made me till I got home and sat down. On the way home from the party I stopped by and got Jaime’s dance recital tickets. I guess we are all ready for that. She got her costume on Thursday, we got her tickets today and now all she has to do is dance! After we got home I did a little more shopping at the regular grocery store and got to go out to lunch with myself. That was nice and quiet and really appreciated, Thanks Scott!! When I was done with that, Scott went out to do a couple more errands and I took a little nap and did some primary stuff. We bbq’d some carne and polo asada. Not as good as Ramey’s but VERY good indeed. After that we started the bed time routines. Now here I am on Saturday night. The house is super quiet, except for the taping of my fingers on the key board. I am about to finish up my sharing time for tomorrow. Not that I should start any rumors or anything, but my president has expressed concern about me continuing in the my current calling with the baby on the way. She has talked to the bishop too and at our last presidency meeting she told the other councilor they are talking about replacing me very soon. So who knows. Once again a very short life in the primary presidency (last time I was in for 5 months). Anyway, I will miss this calling if this actually comes to pass. I love working with the primary kids and I love working with my current presidency. But I also know that it’s important to focus on my family. So we shall see what happens. It’s all just rumor for now.

Afton is progressing well on her journey in life. She is officially out of 12 month clothes. She is wearing her 18 month clothes. She also graduated to size 4 diapers. Almost 2 years old and she is still our smallest baby. She will be petite I think. She has also decided that 6am is the perfect wake up time. She stands in her crib and either yells a persons name over and over again, or she does this high pitched scream that sounds like we are beating her. Thank goodness for the new windows…

My friend Li-Li from church is in the young women’s presidency. She called me last Sunday and told me they were having a lesson about the priesthood and that all the older girls shot up their hands and told them they already know all about the 3 P’s of the priesthood They said that they remembered the lesson/game I had done with them when I was in the primary presidency 5 years ago. It was a very nice compliment and it has given me a greater determination to do better with my sharing times!

Our garden, once deemed as not so healthy, is doing extremely well. We have plants growing for each of the veggies we planted. We are excited to see which ones will ultimately produce a crop.
This last week, I decided that Niah, Milo and Afton needed some of the “fun” play I used to do with Jaime and Alix. So I gave them paper and paint and let them at it. They had a TON of fun and played for almost an hour while Alix and Jaime and I worked in the house on school. The creations didn’t make it up on any walls, mostly because they got left out over night and blown all over the yard. But I got some pictures and that is what will stay the longest anyway, right?

The other night, after having done Jaime’s scrap book on her baptism, I decided I should finish the one I had started for Milo about his first surgery. So I went searching through “the box” to find the pictures. I found so many fun pictures that I got too distracted. One picture I found looked like a chubby Chinese baby. I had to take a double take to remind myself of who it was. It was Niah. After that a flood of memories came back to me. My two good Chinese friends, Li-Li and Louise, used to joke with me about how I ate too much Chinese food while I was pregnant with Niah. She was a big chubby baby. She had rolls and everything, first of my kids to get thigh and arm rolls. She is far from that now. My little light weight just had an appointment and weighed in at 36 pounds and was 39 ½ inches tall. She is too tall for 3T clothes now, but the 4T clothes won’t stay on her waist! Anyway, fun times looking at those old pictures. About 10pm I found the pictures I was looking for but didn’t do the scrap booking I wanted to do. Maybe another night I’ll get to it!

The kids have been enjoying feeling the baby move. They love to push on my tummy and see if the baby will kick back. Sometimes I have to tell them to be more gentle, but for the most part they are very gentle and very excited to be the owners of a new baby. They continue to talk about how cool it would be to have more children so they can all have a baby to take care of. Kids have no worries, do they?

We are having a stake primary party on Saturday morning. The theme of the party is to learn how to be a good friend. They asked all the primary children to invite a friend to the party. Niah insists that she is going to invite Caitlin (her cousin in Washington). No matter how often we tell her that Caitlin won’t be able to attend, she insists that that is her only friend and that is who she wants to invite. It is just so cute, it makes us all laugh!

Love to you all!!