I Got Tagged!

8 TV shows I like to watch
1. 24
2. Lost
3. The Office
4. The Unit
5. House
6. Sometimes ER – (even though John’s commentary on how unrealistic it is can take away from any medical shows).
7. I used to like Grey’s Anatomy but decided to put the ban on it – it was getting way too trashy
8. Sesame Street? I’m struggling to come up with 8 on this one – Oh yeah, Wipe Out is pretty good, too.

8 things that happened yesterday (I'm cheating and writing about today).
1. Walked Olivia home from school
2. Jackson’s fever and stomach bug from Sunday are gone and he’s eating again (3 granola bars in one sitting).
3. Did laundry
4. Went to Gas Works park - had to take advantage of a sunny day!
5. Got advice from a homeless guy (“I wouldn’t go in there [the picnic area of the park] if I were you. I seen ‘em throwin’ punches back there. Anything could happen. You don’t want to take your kids back there.” (I was grateful for the warning – I didn’t know that was the homeless hang out area of the park).
6. Helped Olivia with letter T homework
7. Decided homemade rolls sounded good so I took too long to make dinner, but didn’t have all the ingredients for the soup to go with it so kind of made something up.
8. We had a very irreverent Family Home Evening on being reverent

8 favorite places to eat
1. Café Rio
2. Filibertos
3. Cheesecake Factory
4. Garlic Jim’s Pizza
5. Culver’s
6. Olive Garden
7. Anywhere that I get a night off of cooking
8. Cold Stone
(I haven’t found many Seattle favorites since we don’t eat out much lately, besides McDonald’s when grandparents are here, but that doesn’t make the list of favorites).

8 things I am looking forward to
1. Weekend – always
2. A new house (someday)
3. The last 10 lbs of pregnancy weight coming off (maybe never)
4. Halloween
5. Christmas
6. Finishing the seat covers for my dining room chairs
7. Vacation - any
8. Snowboarding – last year my big belly held me back – now only the cost of a lift ticket stands in my way!

8 things on my wish list
1. Trip to Arizona this fall (or sometime before my baby’s not a baby!).
2. Shelves in my garage
3. Shelves in my laundry room
4. New clothes shopping spree
5. A maid
6. A potty-trained Jackson
7. A new kitchen (or at least a less-ugly kitchen)
8. More hours in the day!

8 people I tag:
1. Kerri
2. Abby
3. Laura H.
4. Cailean
5. Sarah C.
6. Michelle
7. Wendy J.
8. Carolyn

Remembering the Moments

My favorite conference talk (and probably the favorite of about every other LDS mother) is this one by M. Russell Ballard. Here's a quote from it, but you can use the link if you want to go back and read the whole talk.

"I am impressed by countless mothers who have learned how important it is to
focus on the things that can only be done in a particular season of life. If a
child lives with parents for 18 or 19 years, that span is only one-fourth of a
parent’s life. And the most formative time of all, the early years in a child’s
life, represents less than one-tenth of a parent’s normal life. It is crucial to
focus on our children for the short time we have them with us and to seek, with
the help of the Lord, to teach them all we can before they leave our homes. This
eternally important work falls to mothers and fathers as equal partners. I am
grateful that today many fathers are more involved in the lives of their
children. But I believe that the instincts and the intense nurturing involvement
of mothers with their children will always be a major key to their well-being.
In the words of the proclamation on the family, “Mothers are primarily
responsible for the nurture of their children” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Liahona, Oct. 2004,
49; Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102).
Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard
times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments
of joy and satisfaction."

There is a mechanical horse at the Fred Meyer's where I do must of my grocery shopping. Sometimes the kids would ask if they could ride it, and I would say "no, not today." I just wanted to get home (remember, this is how my store trips are) or didn't have quarters, or thought if I let them this time, they would want to do it every time, etc. I saw one day that it was only $.25, and thought I should let them ride it sometime, maybe on a special occasion. I don't know what type of special occasion I thought would come - FHE at Fred Meyer's? Or Nana's here so let's go to the store? So the other day, we rode the horse. It turned another grocery trip into a special outing for them. It wasn't so amazing that they want to do it every time, but just sometimes. It was one of those little things that they're excited to tell Dad about when he gets home. Lesson learned, use those quarters before they're too big to ride that silly horse! What better way is there to spend $.25 than to see those big smiles.
Lately I've realized even more how fast they grow (I know, I already said that when I posted about kindergarten starting, and also watching a third baby get big so fast), and thinking of the quote "live in the moment, or the moments will pass you by." It doesn't always have to be big things, but the small things each day with these little ones that we'll remember, and hopefully they will, too!

My post is hiding

I just posted a couple videos, but they didn't appear at the top. I guess it's because I had uploaded them earlier, before these last 2 posts but didn't publish it until now. Anyway, so scroll down a little if you want to see them. I don't think it appeared on Google reader either for some reason. And if you don't use Google reader yet, I highly recommend it!

Rainy Saturday

There's a museum downtown Olivia wanted to go to today, but you can't park close and I didn't feel like taking them myself and walking around downtown in the rain. John went on a backpacking trip with a friend from work this weekend, so we had to find something fun to do, right?


So I took them to a closer museum, the MOHAI, that sounded like it would be fun for kids, too. It wasn't.
(I should have known not to take them to a Museum of History and Industry. Not sure what I was expecting, but it was in a book on places to take kids in Seattle, and the description sounded like there would be lots for them to do. They liked some of it, but weren't too impressed. Oh well, check it off the list).


But from the parking lot, there's a path and a bridge that lead to "Marsh Island." Since it was raining on us, they decided it must be a tropical rain forest. So we went, we saw, got wet, and went home.

Country Village

While John and his brother and friends went to the BYU/Washington game a couple weeks ago, we (Grandma & Grandpa, Laurel, kids, and I) found this little place called Country Village.

Ducks to feed, an old caboose, and a boat to climb on.

A really ugly caterpillar tunnel

This fun old merry-go-round, and
there's usually a train to ride. Except no train for us, it was being repaired.

But that's okay, because the best part? Sno-cones.


Olivia and Jackson were so excited to have Mike here for the weekend. They call him "The Park" and are always thoroughly entertained the whole time he is here. This is one of the few times they weren't climbing on him.

Jackson: On Rocketships

His voice sometimes gets kind of deep and gravelly in the middle of his sentences, and it is just one of my favorite things.

I don't think I've caught that voice at it's best on camera yet, but here's a sample anyway. Once I asked, "Jackson, how are you today?" He turned to me and said a deep, "Bad."

P.S. Thanks for all the great responses on being organized! We're making a little progress, and I have big plans for lots more. All the ideas helped, so if you think of any more, keep them coming!

Operation: Organization

I'm hoping this is a skill that can be learned.
The goal is to not have my house look like a war-zone the day right after a full-day's cleaning. More kids, less time, and way too much stuff building up - I feel like I have to be cleaning all the time to keep my house presentable, which I don't want to do. There are way too many other important things I want to fit into my day (wrestling with Jackson, squeezing Katelyn, etc. - plus my long list of projects). I don't just need more time to pick things up, but I'm trying to make it more manageable, and a better "system."
So I want tips, advice, what works for you?

The Markland's Go Big

What did YOU look like in 1987? This good?

Kindergartener!

Kindergarten Day #1:
Olivia had a wonderful day. She is doing half-day, but they said she can still stay for lunch, which is exactly what she wanted. She picked her favorite new shirt, and explained that maybe she would wear some other pants that match another day, but for the first day she could only wear pink. And purple socks and blue shoes.
"Mom, I made a friend! I played with her at recess and then we sat together at lunch! And I met a FIRST GRADER! She showed me around the school."
Summary: We're going to make it just fine - this is going to be a great year!


What got me most at the drop-off was when Jackson got really sad as her class was walking away, saying, "I forgot to say bye to her!" It made me want to cry along with him, but I didn't.(Well maybe a little, but not until after bedtime that night).

Olivia excited to come home and see her sister.

Kindergarten Day #2:
She is the only one in her class that goes home at half-day. Her class size is huge - 28 kids! And, her kindergarten teacher is now sporting a nose ring.
"That girl that was going to be my friend doesn't want to play with me. She says she doesn't want to be my friend because she's 5 1/2 and I'm only 5. So now I don't have a friend."
Summary: Oh no! Are we going to make it? Should we move?


Olivia and her teacher at back-to-school night.
I found out the hard part wasn't really having her gone, but just not being able to be there if she needed me. What if she was scared or needed help with something or got hurt 0r anything. We want our kids to be independent, learn through experience, blah, blah, blah. But still! There's that part of me that wants to protect them, or at least be able to be there to hug/comfort them after the stubbed toes or hurt feelings - or punch in the nose any girl who isn't nice to her! (That probably wouldn't go over so well once she's in junior high).
But I also must say any worries about her needing me are unfounded - "kindergarten is the best thing ever" and of course she doesn't even look back when we drop her off. And yes, I know there will be plenty more of the "I'm not your friend anymore" drama to come. Okay. Enough of that.

Katelyn Marie

Katelyn is now 6 months old! And she is about as good as she is cute. Such a happy girl. It's hard to catch her without a smile on her face.