The Fine Print Of Motherhood

It seems that May is monopolizing a lot of my blog entries, but she keeps doing these mischievous things that are just too funny. It is not even winter and we have had a share of sickness. It must be easier to make the rounds when there are so many little ones to get infected. This time it is Madse who is sick. He kept complaining that his tummy hurt. Well he was up in the bay window playing and before I could do anything, he puked all over the back of my couch and in the bay window. I grabbed a bowl as quickly as I could but watched helplessly as he moved from one spot to the another. Why do little kids do that?! They travel with their vomit. It's really not cool. So I caught the last tablespoon of puke in the bowl I so desperately ran to get and then I stripped him down and put him in the tub. I had a game plan. Let him soak in the tub and I would start the nasty job of scrubbing and disinfecting my couch and carpet. When did I sign up for this? No one tells you this stuff when you are planning on having kids. It's like a veteran mother's revenge on a new mother who has no clue when she keeps this information to herself. So anyway, I was frantically scrubbing when Madse yells from the bathroom "MOMMA! May's in da tub wif her twose on!" I just left her there. What else could I do? I couldn't interrupt my game plan. I couldn't resist snapping a few photos and taking some video but then I got back to scrubbing the crap out of my sofa.
The look on her face is priceless, so sheepish and too cute to get mad at! Even though I had no idea what I signed up for, I get a kick out of the fine print of motherhood.

This Is Halloween!

For some reason I never think to actually get everyone together for a structured picture. So I have a few here and there of our Halloween activities. We did the ward trunk-or-treat party and we went to my friend Liza's for a party. Man does she know how to throw a feeding! Halloween is always laid back and so much fun! I love watching the magic in the kids' eyes when they realize that people give them candy for dressing up. We all dressed up! Ash was a vampire, Mikie was a witch, Madse was Spiderman, May was a purple people eater, Hallie was a care bear, Mike was a redneck, which means he just went as himself. The picture doesn't do his costume justice. He wore cut off bib overalls, a cowboy hat, and work boots. He would wear that every day if I let him. I wore a bright blue polyester dress that I inherited from Grammy. I was something right out of the 70's/ 80's but didn't quite pull it off but it was a blast! At the end of the festivities, Mike rummaged through all of the kids' candy for his favorite pieces. He calls it "The Daddy Tax".

Spiderman didn't want to wear his mask. He casted his fishing pole at the fishing pond.Witchy poo Mikie doing the cake walk!
Redneck Mike and monster May hanging out with Darold.

Little May totally pulls off the purple people eater!
This Carebear was trick-or-treated out!
Me, Liza, and Kristen.
Some of the kids posing for a picture!

So...About Those Callings...

Are you ready for this!? I know that I wasn't! One of my callings is with Michael. We are on the ward's activities committee. I can do activities. I like organizing gatherings. I am just glad that I am part of a committee and not in charge of everything. The only thing about being the organizer of the good times is that you are usually preoccupied with everything running smoothly that you don't really get to enjoy the party. It should be fun though. Now for the unexpected calling...NURSERY!!!! I know what you are thinking! "Well Ramanda has kids in there anyway so it isn't a big deal." Nursery is one of those less favored calling and seems more well suited for those who are wanting to practice their grandparenting skills. People apostatize because of this calling! I still really don't know what to think about it. I guess it is a step up from spending much of church sitting in the mother's room nursing babies. I wasn't actually there when they announced my new callings in church. I was frantically getting all five children, who have very short attention spans, into the truck and to church. Let me take a minute to be semi pleased with myself. Since Michael has been working an insane amount of hours at work (eighteen to twenty or more hours a day) and having to work Sundays, the job of getting us all to church rests fully on my shoulders and I am usually on time for the most part. I have gotten a glimpse of what every single mother or woman with a husband that isn't interested in coming to church feels like. It is humbling and very hard to have people in the ward help me. Today was the primary program. I forgot to pack a bottle for Hal so I left May and Madse with a family I was sitting next to and sat in the mother's room where I heard Mikie and Ashley say their parts. I was a bit dissapointed that I wasn't in there for moral support but they sounded great and oh so precious! Madse's underwear did a disappearing act. We finally found them around his knees during the last block of church. I sang a duet in Relief society and after I sat down, May was walking back to me and tripped and fell into the wooden chair and sliced her eyebrow open. There was a substantial amount of blood and a huge collective gasp from every lady in the room. I got it all cleaned up and bandaged and she seems to be fine. Anyway...back to the nursery thing. I think this is a test of faith thing. I am reassured by the scripture that goes something like "whom the Lord calls, He qualifies..." I am interested to see what I learn from this calling. All thoughts of apostasy are being suppressed for the moment. We will see how I feel after a few weeks with the little rugrats! On the bright side, there is snack time. They don't have that in Relief society!

Nashes 101

It occurred to me that there will be some that happen upon this blog that are not familiar with the details of my family. So I will attempt to give a general overview to get you caught up. So get a drink, use the potty, get a snack, and then get comfortable because this is gonna take awhile!

The Nash family consists of seven members (so far). Michael and I have been married for eight fulfilling years. Doesn't seem that long yet on the other hand it feels like we have always been together. Michael, for those of you that do not know him well, is impressive! I think the best way to describe him is homegrown. No frills. He is just honest and true. He has a fond, deep-seated, appreciation for family values, traditions, and heritage. That man can work harder than anyone I know! He was raised on his Grandparent's farm. He loves hunting, fishing, off-roading in and fixing his Bronco, and he loves his family. He is a very active presence in the home. He is a dish doing, laundry folding, diaper changing machine! He is a giver and I adore him.

Michael and I on our last "real" date in Dallas.

One night when I came to bed, I found that I was the only one not in the bed! (Ash and Madse were at the bottom!)



When we got married, we hit the ground running in the kid department! Our oldest is soon to be eight. Her name is Ashley and she is too smart for me! That girl keeps me on my toes! She is in second grade and has inherited a love of reading from the Nash's. She is an author and an illustrator. She is an organizer. She is a very good helper to me. She can be very strong willed at times and I am learning quickly to choose my battles.

Michael, we call her Mikie, is almost six. This little girl is a nurturer, a little mother. She lives to help and please. She is fragile and petite. Punishment to her is having to wear pants. I stopped buying them. Mikie has quite the fashion sense and loves the eighties style. If she has her heart set on something, she will achieve it, even when I tell her no. She just does what she wants quietly and under the radar. It is hard to get upset with her.

I can honestly say that I have a favorite son because he is my only son! His name is Madse (it's better than Johnny Cash. That is what Mike wanted to name him but I pulled rank.) He just turned three and he is good enough to eat! He is obsessed with "tamping" (camping), "shashwights" (flashlights), fishing at the "yake", and with "mine cowboys...boots." He thinks he is a Jedi, a puppy, Superman, and Spiderman and has sound effects for them all.




Next is May, who is sixteen months. She was born on Mother's Day. May-May is one spunky kid! She gets into more mischief than all of the others combined. She is an escape artist! We even had a run in with the police, which wasn't funny at the time but enough time has gone by that I can laugh about it now. She is already talking in sentences and will soon talk better than Madse. She likes to clean up and throws EVERYthing away. She also has a fascination with the toilet, resulting in a ruined remote and soggy stuffed animals.



Our newest arrival is Hallie. She is now eight months old and on the move. A little background for those who may not know, we are in the process of adopting Hallie. Her mother and I became fast friends. She was nineteen, pregnant and not married and living with her parents. After Hallie was born, I babysat for her often and they both spent a lot of time in our home. When they moved to Texas I wondered if I would ever see them again but we kept in touch and last May I got a phone call asking us if we would be interested in adopting Hallie. I will write more about the whole adoption soon I am sure.


Now for me, I am just trying to keep up with everyone that I have already mentioned. I am nursing both babies and I have three in diapers but Madse is potty training so I won't be changing so many bums. Thank goodness! When I do have a spare minute I like to quilt. I put on a movie and make a cup of herbal tea and I just sew my little heart out! I also play the guitar a little. Someday I would like lessons. Other than that I mostly do the mom and wife thing. Nothing monumental or of great consequence has happened to me. I have no college degree, I haven't traveled, and I don't have a butt load of money, but I have small day to day experiences that have made me who I am. I am sure that there are other things I could tell you but I might as well save that for another blog.

It has been an adventure and life is beautiful, crazy, and so worth it! It has been humbling to look at it all and see how things have turned out. Things seem to change so quickly. My children are all growing too quickly and I feel like I am just watching it all happen in fast forward and wanting to relish in every minute of it because it is constantly changing.

(This is our only current family photo. It was taken the minute we got home from Texas with Hallie. So I am not looking so hot because of an early flight with two nursing babies and then a four hour drive home from Denver. Can you say exhausted!?)

Best Buddies!

When we decided to get a dog (When I say we I mean Michael, who had his heart set on it and promised the kids that we would bring one home and me going along with it because I was too exhausted to argue.), our thinking was that the older kids would enjoy having the attention and affection of a puppy dog. They were the ones who insisted on getting him ( I know Michael had some involvement in that). So I was surprised when May was the one who took a liking to Ignacio/Nacho and he to her. They are inseparable. Nacho is very watchful over May. On rare occasion when May has strayed he follows her, which is comforting, especially when the police are involved. At meal time Nacho is vigilantly perched under May's booster seat and she generously feeds him from her plate.

We picked up Nacho the same day we flew in to Denver with our new four month old baby Hallie. Let's just say that it was a big adjustment having a new infant and a new puppy. Nacho is now six months old and is a big part of our family. I just have to keep him and May out of trouble. I am still trying to figure out who is the instigator of the mischief they get into to.