Meet Grace

Grace Marjorie Javadi was born on Tuesday May 27th.  She is beautiful and perfect...More to come soon!!!!

In honor of Mother's Day

One of the funnest things about being a mom is the crazy, funny things my kids do and say...Carolyn puts the iPod in her ears and sings away, totally off tune...Hannah has an obsession with anything wild...just today we were in mid-conversation and she wandered off to catch a grasshopper. Guess talking to me was a little less than stimulating. I love listening to and watching Katie pretend for literally hours. She sings and talks and does entire plays with her little people or dolls that provide me with daily entertainment. And, of course, Sam never gives me a dull moment (even at this moment, he keeps coming up to me and trying to cut my sweater with scissors then laughing his head off when I say no, no). So, this morning, the morning after the BIG DAY, I was thinking of funny things I have heard my children (and other children who are visiting my house) say over the years. These were my favorites.

When Hannah was little she hated to get buckled. We tried to explain and discuss it with her telling her we wanted her to be safe, etc. etc. Still every time we got in the car it was a wrestling match with Hannah that usually involved a few kicks to the face. Finally one day, Cyrus just said he was going to drive with her unbuckled. Hannah looked at him in total disbelief and said, "NO! Mama thinks me special."

Carolyn was almost two and she had a little buddy named Enoch who had lots of play guns. Cyrus and I looked over and saw her, huddled up with Enoch toting some play gun shooting it out the screen door. We asked her, "Hey Carolyn, what are you doing?" She replied, "Oh, I'm just shooting that boy chocolate." We looked out to see one of our black (or chocolate, to a two year old) neighbors little kids.

Zane, our buddy from church, was over at our place for our weekly date, and I had a Mac laptop. Zane, it turns out has a special place in his heart for Macs. After a whole night of fiddling with it and turning it on and off, he ventured to ask Cyrus how much a Mac laptop would set him back. Cyrus explained that they are about $900. Zane looked real concerned for a minute and then asked, "Do you think Santa has $900?" Oh how we laughed. His Mom was in the know though, she told us Santa did not have $900. Good to know.

The absolute funniest thing ever said by one of our children, is not for tender eyes. When Sam was born, I was changing his pants in the hospital and Katie leaned over and said to me, "Mommy, the baby has a finger on his vagina."

That is why being a mom is not for the faint of heart. The faint of heart would die from laughter on some days and that other stuff on other days.

Hot Hot Hot

It has warmed right up here in California...we put Mt. Tiki Soki (a sprinkler that explodes water sporadically) under the tramp and had a blast cooling off.

Katie wore goggles to keep water out of her eyes...and to add some comic relief.



Sam thought he needed socks and shoes on. That kid has his Dad's sense of style.


Mom was the only one that didn't brave the tramp. I thought maybe the jumping would have a bad effect on the HUGE stomach I have developed of late. It didn't seem to have too much effect on Cyrus' huge stomach though ;)

Song for a Fifth Child

I saw this on Malinda's blog and thought it so sweet and appropriate as I am having baby #5 and I think the poem contains a description of the state of my house...

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth
empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
but I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

Today was such a tough day with Sam but tomorrow I will try harder to remember that babies don't keep (even babies who hit you in the head with brooms--on purpose!!)

Sam Opens Some Presents . . .

Ok...if you're not the parents, you might not think this is video of Sam opening gifts on his birthday is adorable; but, I thought I'd post this for relatives who weren't able to see their grandson/nephew/etc. get excited on his birthday. Enjoy!

Dancing Queen . . .

As a father, I have a lot of work to do. Annie thinks it's ok and cute . . .

Sweet sisters

My girls are the sweetest sisters in the world!!! They were so excited that it was Sam's birthday...they wrapped up all the presents and squealed with delight at the thought of him opening them. It was so cute to see so many little hands, wanting to just rip open those presents but instead just patiently letting their pokey little brother do it....it reminded me of Alyse yelling, "Open it HARD Katie" when Katie was struggling with a birthday present.

When we gave Sam his cake and he tried to blow out the candles, it was so fun to see three little girl cheeks full of air but not blowing!!!



Once Sam got the candles (or "hots" as he called them) blown out he stuck his fingers in and sampled some icing. YUMMY!!!



At the end of the day, Kate cried and said, "I don't get to have a birthday this week." What a sweety.

Happy Birthday Sam...Number 2!!!

Today was Sam's birthday! Mom woke dad up at 7am, and dad went straight to the kitchen and made 60 cupcakes to bring to church for Sam's nursery friends. Unfortunately, some rogue ants got to the cupcakes while everyone was in sacrament meeting....don't tell brother Salarpi! After church, we came home and had a nice party for Sam. Here is a birthday photo of Sam. More later...

Magic Fingers...

Annie just asked me what I'm doing on the computer. Instead of posting cute pictures of my boy's birthday, I've been doing random web exercises like this typing test. How fast can you type?

71 words

Speedtest

So much for being worth millions...

I found this link on a friends blog. It was kinda fun to do. I said I have a nutritious diet, no disease, yada, yada, yada. Give it a try!

Cyrus' cadaver:

$5375.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth.

Annie's cadaver:

$5425.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth.

Train Town

We took the kids to Train Town in Petaluma. They had so much fun...unfortunately, being the tightwads we are, we didn't want to spend $200.00 on junky rides so we only let each kid go on 2 rides and then the train and petting zoo.

Carolyn and Hannah LOVE ferris wheels...



Daddy and Katie on the ferris wheel...



Sammy loved the merry-go-round and especially loved waving to all his sisters every time around.



This is Katie sad because she only got to go on two rides. At times like this we wish we were at Disneyland.



Sam liked the mud puddle the best...



This is everyone (except photographer Dad) having a blast on the train. At times like THIS we feel a little like we are at Disneyland.

Primary Easter Egg Hunt

The Primary had an Easter Egg hunt. Unfortunately, they separated all the ages so we only got pictures of the two little ones...we really need four parents for all these kids!!! The kids had a lot of fun but were a little disappointed to find stickers and pencils in the eggs. They love candy.

Random Pictures

Sam's favorite ball


Hannah in her cute coat with a cute smile


A neighborhood meeting. I think it is serious.


These are my girls in their matching v-day shirts...aren't they cute?

Time Out

Guess who spends the most time in "time-out" at our house?

It makes me laugh every time I see him sitting there looking so innocent after pelting one of his sisters repeatedly with blocks or cars or whatever.

Our girls have a different consequence. If they are having a really bad day, we have them write sentences, like, "I will remember to be reverent and not make others have to change seats during stake conference." We have them write the sentences like 5 or 10 times. They hate it!!! You would think we trying to kill them when we tell them they have sentences. One of our friends said his kids act like they have been stuck in the eye with a red hot poker when they have to write sentences. The best part is it is highly effective. They not only don't want to do it (or whatever reason--they write 1000 books a week but 5 sentences is death) AND they work on their handwriting, since they have to be neat.

Aren't we the meanest parents in the world?

Procrastinator. . .

Who me? Not unless Bishop Bailey intended for me to reply to his Nov. 4, 2007 "tag" any sooner. But, I have good cause! Someone as complicated and deep as myself needs time to sift through all the details to find the six most amazing things about oneself.

1. Public Restrooms. They disgust me. When I was a small boy (younger and THINNER) grandma told me that public potties were gross. She even taught me how to build a "nest" with toilet paper so that my extremely clean hind-end would not touch the tainted porcelain of the public latrine. To this day, I still struggle with public restrooms. In fact, I go to great effort to locate "acceptable" bathrooms. For example, at the dental school, there are a total of 8 floors with restrooms. I've assigned a security clearance for each bathroom. And, within each bathroom, I've identified a stall or urinal that is "ok" for me to use. And, because I'm sure you're interested, you should know that I will under no circumstances use the restroom on the clinic floor (Floor C). If my bladder was going to explode or if my intestines were bleeding, I would wait for the elevator. My favorite bathroom is located on the 4th floor. It seems to get the least use and is usually the cleanest. However, if someone is occupying the adjacent stall when I enter the restroom, I will go to a different restroom--I just can't stand hearing other people's noises during a bowel movement.

2. Fans. Love 'em. One of my favorite things in the world is to go to sleep with a fan in the room. There is no better way to sleep than in a nice dark room with a fan on "High Speed" to drown out everything else. It is especially useful if you have a two year old that is a poor sleeper. Unfortunately, Annie hates fans. Every night when we go to bed, I turn the fan on "High." Then, reflexively, she walks over and turns the fan down to "Lo." I feign a surprised look, and then I walk over and turn it over to "Medium." She sighs and makes some comment about how "slow" I am, and that she "hates" the fan. Sometimes, if she's in particular mood, she'll tell me that the fan makes it so she won't be able to hear if some kidnappers break into the house and try to steal the kids. Sadly for her, this little bit of psychology doesn't affect me.

3. Shaved Legs. I was at the gym this week, and I noticed that all of the guys that were in shape had hairless legs. I looked down at my legs and was reminded of my half man, half werewolf appearance. The endorphins (or something) must've been flowing, because I decided it was time to trim the foliage. After the workout, I came home and jumped in the shower. An hour later, Annie was knocking on the locked door wondering if I was alive. I emerged to show her my shaved leg (not legs). It had taken me over 45 minutes and 2 razors to shave my right leg from ankle to waist. But, I still needed to shave the other leg. Later that night, I improved on my method. I got out the hair trimmers and pre-trimmed the left leg. This time I was able to shave my entire leg in 15 minutes. It's been 4 days now. And, the endorphins are gone. Now I have two very shiny, white legs. My legs are cold all the time. When I wear pants, my legs stick to the fabric nonstop. And, every time I get the goosebumps, it feels like I'm rubbing my legs against cacti.

4. Wedding Day. On my wedding day, while I was sitting on the bench just outside the chapel in the Idaho Falls Temple, I got a terrible case of cold feet. I started thinking of how insane I was to be getting married. I wondered what my father-in-law would do if I chickened out! Then, Annie walked through the chapel doors. She looked amazing and beautiful! After that, it was easy.

5. Odd Jobs. Here is a list of all the jobs I've had since I was 12: paperboy, bagger at a grocery store, lifeguard, plumber, painter, building framer, milk stocker at a grocery store, stock broker, tax accountant, MTC teacher, MTC computer support, Website creator, shipping and receiving at a hardware store, Taco Time, waiter at a comedy club, drafter, women's coat salesman.

My favorite was lifeguard. My least favorite was milk stocker at a grocery store. I don't think I need to explain why.

6. Socks. I love new socks. I prefer Hanes with the gray toes and heels. Nothing better than when I open up a brand new package of socks on Christmas and my birthday. In fact, my in-laws have caught on to my love for socks and buy me socks for every occasion. However, it was not always so that I loved socks. Between the ages of 11 and 14 I didn't like to wear socks at all. I'd wear sneakers every day, summer or winter, without socks. After a few months, a pair of shoes would smell so foul that friends and family wouldn't let me into their homes. In fact, for most of 7th grade, my feet stunk so badly that during PE the entire gym would smell like my feet. Some people don't mind their own smell, but other people can't stand it. I couldn't figure out why my feet smelled so badly. Strangers would actually buy me sprays to put on my shoes and feet. Eventually, I started wearing socks again. Now, I have friends again. Thank goodness for socks!

I tag Kendall, Matt Nielsen, Chris Drew, and Eric Blair.

Easter

We celebrate Easter (the bunny variety) on Saturday so yesterday the Easter bunny came to our house and hid eggs then we went to the Easter egg hunt here in our neighborhood. It was very fun!!!

The Easter Bunny came to the egg hunt on a fire truck. Sam loved the fire truck but I don't know how he felt about the bunny. The girls had so much fun searching for eggs and helping their baby brother search for eggs. The egg hunt is one thing I will certainly miss about here.



Another thing I will miss is the weather...notice, Hannah is wearing her swimsuit to color eggs, in mid-MARCH. That is because they were playing in the water outside when I called them in to color the eggs.

Sam looks like a bit of a mad scientist in the pics of egg decorating. He really got into it. He got really mad and threw his eggs when he ran out. They looked pretty cracked and broken too :).

(
We try to keep Sunday focused on family and the Savior. This year was less than perfect, but I tell ya, the longer I am alive, the more less than perfect I am finding out I am, so I won't worry too much. Next year will be better!!!

The kids looked so cute in their Easter clothes. They are such sweet hearts!!






The night before Easter, I put curlers in the girls' hair--it was so fuzzy when they woke up in the morning!!! Ha Ha. They felt like the belles of the ball with their pretty dresses and curly hair though.

P.S. Sorry about the fuzzy nature of some of these pictures. Someone touched the lens of my camera and I didn't notice till the weekend was almost over.

Hannah

Hannah decided to play with photo booth.

Pudding Head

Sam is really good at feeding himself.

Actually he thinks if anything resembles the texture of shampoo, it belongs in his hair. Like this chocolate pudding.






We have found Sam in the shower just sitting there, covering himself in shampoo (no water, of course).

Sam smeared half a bottle of lotion all over his hair and the couch.

He puts toothpaste in his hair almost daily.

He painted himself and the living room windows and carpet with Eucerine.

He puts eggs in his hair.

Shortening and butter have both been in the boy's hair.

Also, he loves barrettes.


Cyrus is so proud.

FIVE!!!

So, most of you know I am pregnant with #5. We weren't going to tell anyone until we knew what it was, but this little turkey was a bit uncooperative. Now, finally at 26 weeks, we know that we are having ANOTHER little lady. We are so excited. She will come at the end of May . She wouldn't show her face so no funny, blurry pictures to post...Sorry.

My friend Lainie tagged me...I did a different tag a while ago but this one is kinda fun too...Cyrus has also been tagged by Bishop Bailey. He may someday do that...we'll see...

A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.

C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog

10 years ago: I was dating the boy I thought was my dream...his name was Nathan. Obviously he wasn't my dream.

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Laundry
2. Baby shower
3. Clean out drawers and closet in my bedroom
4. Babysit Smiths
5. Help girls clean under their beds (Cyrus did that one)

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. Rolls
2. Berries of any variety
3. Potatoes of any variety (except fries and chips)
4. Sugar cookies with icing
5. Icing--alone or atop anything


What would I do if I were suddenly made a billionaire:

I would get a full time maid or maybe two (one could focus entirely on the laundry while the other took care of all the other messes...wait, maybe I need three).

Buy a house.

Buy Cyrus a big truck.

Buy my mom and dad a decent car.

Get a 6 quart Kitchenaid

5 Places I have lived….
1. San Rafael, CA
2. Bettendorf, IA
3. Detroit, MI
4. Shelley, Rigby and Rexburg, ID
5. Provo, UT

Jobs that I have ...

1. One summer I made telephone wire. I actually stared at a machine that made telephone wire. It was a thrill a minute. I worked with Ginny Boutin. She was about 50, had false teeth and puffy "Methodist hair" as my Aunt once called it. Ginny's mere existence reinforced every desire I had to receive a college education. She asked me once if the Mississippi was flooding my house in IDAHO!!!!!
2. I sorted potatoes on a harvester every fall for years
3. I worked at a potato factory
4. I re-bound and repaired books in the BYU library
5. I managed BYU-approved apartments
6. I taught Jr. High English as a mid-year replacement teacher (what a nightmare)
I have had many other horrid jobs. I could go on and on. Thankfully now, I get to be a mom and wife...even on its worst days, it is better than Jr High.

5 things people don't know about me:

1) I HATE to speak in public and despise conducting meetings at church. Planning things stresses me out.

2) I HATE mating socks

3) I come from a family of loons. I have relatives who love to dip bread in bacon grease and eat it. They actually discuss eating bacon grease and tomato sandwiches like they are the best things ever invented. My cousins and I used to pile on a crib mattress and ride down my Grandparents stairs at about a million miles an hour. We used to act out the TV show Hee Haw at family get-togethers and we used to have lawn tractor races in the yard. We made videos of ourselves--ugly toe contests, hairy leg contests, etc. etc. and then watch them and laugh until our sides hurt. Also, we played baseball outside (see we weren't entirely nuts).

4) I LOVE food (not bacon grease sandwiches, I promise) in a way that is slightly abnormal. I sometimes read cookbooks at night to go to sleep. I love the food network. I think beautiful food on beautiful dishes is one of this earth's greatest pleasures. I think cooking is the greatest thing in the world and would honestly do it all day every day, I just hate the clean-up that goes with it.

5) One of my favorite smells is potato dirt. I love riding behind a spud truck in Idaho and smelling the clean smell of freshly harvested potatoes. It reminds me of everything wonderful about my childhood. Also, every time I smell cow poop, it reminds me of my Uncle who always said when we complained of stinky cows, "smells good to me--smells like MONEY." I think maybe I am a hick.


I tag Candice Drew, Kara Blair and Bethany Nielson