Give me an A! Give me a B! Give me an I! Oh, you get the idea.

Abigail came running home from school the first day back after being off track for a month. She was waiving a paper wildly in her hands. It was for a cheer camp up at BYU (down at BYU?) for that weekend, and she really wanted to do it. No, no. She HAD to do it. It was 2 days worth of cheer camping, with the culmination being participating in a dance WITH THE BYU CHEERLEADERS during the basketball game. I mean DURING THE BASKETBALL GAME! Can you even imagine?!?

I know. I know. I get it. She's cheering for the wrong team. Seriously. But, I lost that battle a long time ago when she and her dad would go to the football games together. It's their thing. And as much as I would love it if she were a staunch Utah fan, I love that she loves her dad and gets to have that connection with him. Love it. Besides, who can argue with the all caps and exclamation points she has in excitement for the cougs? I mean, it was THE GREATEST DAY OF HER LIFE!

At the gym during the camp.

Getting ready for the big show.

In the tunnel waiting for her cue. Where's Abigail?

And she's on!

That head in the way is the President of BYU, Cecil Samuelsen. I just have to mention that he graduated from the University of Utah. That's where BYU goes shopping for the really good candidates. You know. Just sayin'.

This head in the way just so happens to be Russel M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. You bet we snuck down into the really, REALLY good seats to get a glimpse of our girl.

It will never matter what team she cheers for. I'm always just going to be the biggest fan of Abigail's. I mean, look at this face. I was so proud for her to be a Cougar that day, my heart almost burst out of my chest. Rise and shout for sure.

The Oh Face

Holden started making this Oh face like crazy. I've only managed to catch it a couple of times, and I looohh-ve it.

A trip! To somewhere cold!

Because I am so crazy and spontaneous, I kidnapped my 10 month old boyfriend and hopped on a plane to the crazy and spontaneous town of Baltimore. In February. Woot Woot!

Actually, grandpa got a promotion at work, and he was sentenced to one solid month of training in the winter wonderland that is Baltimore. And since he and grandma are practically joined at the hip, she was going with him to hang out in the hotel for a month and be there when he got back from training. Which is good, since my dad turns into Harry from "When Harry Met Sally" when she's gone. You remember the part "I'm just going to lay here and moan". Go, ahead and find it. We'll wait.

Anyway, Holden and I wanted to go and hang out with grandma and see what Baltimore looked like in the winter, so we used our flight benefits and the flying is free for under 2 benefit and headed on over. What did Holden think of the plane? A hooray and thumbs up from him!

This picture is for Leah. Every time she and I would talk on the phone once I got to Baltimore, she would say "Mom? I have a question. Soooo, what's it like on the plane?" And I would tell her that it was pretty squishy, and feels like when you are in an elevator, only bumpier, and that we had TVs on the seats in front of us. And then, the next day when I would talk to her, she would read me the grocery store ads for awhile, and then say "Mom? I have a question. Soooo, what's it like on the airplane?" And I would tell her the same thing every day. The only thing that varied in our conversation was which grocery store ad she would read to me.

And here we are in Baltimore! Doesn't it look super exciting? I know! Call your travel agents now and make your reservations!

Flying Ace Fluffy did awesome on the flight. He ate, he smiled, he slept. Just like we had rehearsed.

When we arrived at the hotel we were greeted by a bundled grandma and papa. By then they knew all the ins and outs of the Charm City. All the good Subway sandwich shops, where the Kinkos is, and most importantly to never, NEVER turn left out of the hotel.

Fluffy was just glad to see his grandma and papa again. It had been awhile.

During the days mom, my boyfriend and I walked and shopped, and shopped and walked around. It was so nice. At night, we'd get the baby to sleep, have him wake up 10 minutes later, poop 2 times to ensure that he could stay up, and then we would retreat up to the hospitality suite until either grandpa fell asleep downstairs, or security was called on us because of our all nighters with a tired baby; whichever came first. See? I told you Baltimore was awesome.

What was Fluffy's favorite part? Getting to touch grandpa's moustache. Baltimore will always hold a special place in his heart because of that momentous moment.

Thanks for letting us come and party like hotel freeloading rockstars with you, mom and dad. We had a great time.

Torturing the Baby and a MIlestone for Hudson

We all knew it would happen, right? The whole bottle propping thing? It had to be too good to be true. I mean, you can't just put a bottle in the mouth of a baby and then actually get to leave the room! That's just crazy talk is what that is. The magic had to eventually run out along with the formula. Sad, I know. And just like his siblings before him, the baby eventually outsmarts me, and Holden would have it no longer. But lame mom that I am, I actually NEED the baby to sleep. Just for a couple of hours during the day, and maybe a few hours at a time during the night. Ridiculous expectations, right? So when bottle propping no longer had the desired results of a nap, and when awakenings during the night came every hour on the hour, I had to resort to drastic measures.

Here it comes. Brace yourselves.

We were forced to embark on the (wincing) Crying It Out.

The poor, poor Fluffy. He brought it on himself, really. I just could no longer hold him for his entire nap. I usually get absolutely nothing done during the day anyway, and surprisingly his high maintenance snoozes were letting me accomplish even less than that.

So, it started. I had to put him down in his crib. It was 10:00 on the nose. I marked the time so that I could either congratulate myself on the short crying time, or (more likely) use it as a reminder that even though it felt like he had been screaming for days and weeks, it was actually just a few minutes. But then the minutes stretched into 30, then 60. And then at 12:02 he finally gave up. 12:02!!! Two hours of crying. Boy is that kid stubborn. Hudson began to panic. Those two little blue eyed boys have become best friends since all the other kids abandom them for school every morning. Me? I took a deep breath and melted in the quiet.

So that's the torture part. Where's the Hudson milestone you are wondering? Well, let me tell you!

At exactly 12:19 I hear the door opening through the baby monitor. What? Huh? Who could be doing that? It was then that I discovered 17 minutes into Holden's hard fought nap that Hudson figured out how to work our doorknobs! I was super duper proud. And so was Holden, who immediately jolted awake and started cheering for his big brother! Screaming and cheering. We are a supportive family around here, I tell you what. I then proceed to freak out, and then have to comfort both Hudson and Holden. Ah, well. I can just hold the baby the rest of the day and we'll try again tonight. By then he should be completely exhausted and then this plan will work. Either that or pretty soon I'll start entering body building competitions for my awesome upper arms.

What Happens When...

Harrison needs help loading a file on the computer?

Hudson gets a lesson in cleaning.

I have a feeling this guy is going to get a lot of these kind of lessons. It's a good thing he's so cute.

Boo

Leah Viola (Boo pronunciation Vo-lie-ya) is now one whole hand old. My how fast it goes.

My Boo is a just like a twinkling little Christmas light, she is. She came into this world wrapped in sparkly tinsel with a star right on top of her pink little head. My soul delighteth in that child.

That had to be my very favorite Christmas. I did my derndest to get everything up and ready for Christmas before she came. And then, when we brought her home in the worst snow storm in the history of bringing brand new babies home in snow storms, we were able to walk into a darkened home lit only by the glow of the Christmas tree. That girl knows how to make an entrance. Serene. I would lay with her on the couch during the night feedings with that Christmas tree as our only light and marvel at the blessing. It is so wonderful to be able to celebrate the birth of our Savior while cradling a tiny baby yourself.

But now that tiny baby has grown into my sweet ray of sunshine; although she still has her tiny munchkin voice that I hope stays forever. She packs so much love and happiness in that not-so-little-anymore body that it can hardly be contained. She's the perfect younger sibling, and accepts hand me downs from her big sister with honor and pride. Anything that was owned by Abigail is the best thing Leah could ever ask for. She's also a wonderful big sister, and can smother those two little boys until they scream. Literally.

You wanna know 5 fascinating facts about my Boo? It was a rhetorical question, so here you go!

1. Her favorite song of the season is "George to the World". It's a Christmas classic. You know it, "George to the world, the Lord is come."

2. Leah is still deathly afraid of EVERYTHING. No, seriously. Everything.

3. She was at her friend's house the other day, and another friend didn't want to share something. She came home and told me that kid was being like Nathan.

"Nathan?" I asked. "Who is Nathan?"

"You know, Nathan. The bad guy" she said with her nose squished up. "Not like Jesus. I was sharing so I was being like Jesus. That other kid was being like Nathan."

4. She's a pro at preschool now. Favorite days are when she gets to bring the snack bucket and show and tell Fridays. Being 5 is like being a rock star, right?

5. She is deathly afraid of EVERYTHING. It's worth mentioning twice because you probably thought I was exaggerating. I'm really not. I really mean EVERYTHING.

Seeing my Boo turning 5 feels like seeing a shooting star. She's just so happy, that kid. And when she's around, it's so wonderfully contagious.

The One Thing

There is only one thing that's redeeming about winter. Just one. The rest I can do without. If I never saw another snow flake for the rest of my life I would die a happy and warm person. Snow comes from H E double ski poles. And along with that, Christmas would be so much better if we were to wake up and wish each other "Mele Kalikimaka" instead of "Merry Christmas".

So, what could it possibly be? What could make the lack of bare feet and short sleeves just the tiniest bit tolerable? The one and only good thing that comes from winter is...

DRUM ROLLLLLLL

Footie jams! Couldn't you just sprinkle them with a little cinnamon and sugar and devour them whole. Mmmm, warm little piggies in a blanket. Delish.

Christmas By The Numbers

As kids, my mom got us each a new ornament for the Christmas tree every year. Plus, you have the years here and there where you make one at school to bring home as well. This means that I came into our marriage with a good 2 dozen or so ornaments. Jeb also had a few that came with him, not quite as many, but a few. Plus, my mom continued the tradition of new ornaments and added Jeb into that as well. So, we each have 15 more ornaments in our Christmas boxes.

Then came Abigail. She now has 11 of her own ornaments just from grandma. Plus a few from school here and there.

Add in Harrison. He has 8 grandma ornaments.

Leah has 6.

Hudson has 3.

Holden got his first one this year.

Woah, that's a lot of ornaments, right? Want to see how it looks when every single one is given the opportunity to be displayed on the tree?

Ah breathtaking, I know. The secret? If you put at least 4 or 5 on each branch, you can make it work.

Sometimes at night I can actually hear the tree groan.

Public Service Announcement - you can thank me later

With the Christmas season upon us, and children everywhere and in my house making lists for Santa, I thought it would be right neighborly of me to offer a bit of advice regarding certain children's products that might be requested from the Jolly Old Elf.

Namely, Moon Dough.

Now, all of the smaller versions of Brammers that live here have a fascination with Play Doh. In fact, I'd call it more of a love affair. But, all of the mom versions of Brammers who live here have more of a love/hate relationship with that stuff. Well, more of a hate relationship I'd dare to say. It's great and all, but it gets left out. And then it dries up. And then when it gets thrown away there is much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth by the ones who didn't put it away in the first place. So, when we were shopping to replace our now rocks of Play Doh and saw the Moon Dough there with it's huge, sweeping, label stating "NEVER DRIES OUT!!" we thought a mighty miracle was about to come into our lives.

Little did we know that Moon Dough is actually of the devil. Here, let me show you.



The stuff has the consistency of really bad cotton candy. And It. Goes. EVERYWHERE!! Instead of saying "NEVER DRIES OUT!!" what it should really say is "THIS PRODUCT WILL NEVER DIE!" And then laugh. A really evil laugh that will make you cry and almost curse the day that you ever had children who need stuff to play with.


After getting all the mess cleaned up, I wondered to myself what Empire of Evil could have possible come up with the demon that is Moon Dough. And then on the label, right below the proclamation of "NEVER DRIES OUT!" I saw this:


And I heard an evil laugh, but this time with a swedish accent. It all makes sense now....

Robyn Michele And The Horrible, Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I was going to write some long, morose post on why it's taken me so long to put anything up on the good ole blogeroo. You know, the "we're so busy", "things are crazy around here", "5 kids is super hard" post that all the kids are doing nowadays. But then I came across this in my archives. I wrote it, put the pictures in, and then ran out of time to just push the publish button. I think it explains a lot. Anywho, here's an oldie but goodie. I think it came about somewhere in July, which is the last memory I have before sleep deprivation turned me into an actual zombie.

I woke up to the computer screen looking like this.

Each one of those blue blurbs is a dictation for one tired, sleepless child. When I receives these files at night they take about 30 minutes each to complete. But when I receive them during the day, it takes a slightly longer amount of time. Instead of completing them like I'm driving on the freeway, I'm suddenly moving at the speed of a handcart company. Traveling through tar. Or as fast as the kids move when they are supposed to be putting on their shoes. After cleaning their rooms. S L O W L Y.

Here's why things go so slowly during the day. It starts off..

Patient name Harrison Bra

Stop to insert binkie.

Brammer. Date of birth March 1st 2003. Date of stud

Reinsert binkie.

study June 30, 2

Break up some fight between some kids who are mad because one is "thinking" something the other one doesn't want them to think.

2010. Referring physic

Reinsert binkie.

Physician, Dr. whatshisname. History: Harrison has a history of being super weird for the past

Pull a loose tooth. Seriously.

past 7 years. He began having symptoms of weirdness beginning

Find the child who is obviously rotting from the inside out and change the diaper. De-fumigate the house by lighting every single scented candle we have and opening all the windows. The hot air that comes in is way better than the stench that needs to go out.

a few days after his birth. Symptoms of weirdness include

Reinsert binkie and get up to make a bottle. Wrap baby up super tight and prop bottle. That's right. I'm a bottle propper. And I use a sweater that my Oma made to keep that bottle right where it should be. Oma would approve, I'm sure. Bottle propping can turn this..

Into this.

Now I can get more than 10 words typed in a row. Unfortunately the kids are off track. Usually I love having all of them around me. Usually does not include when I have more than a days worth of work to do. So, after interruption upon interruption I load them up with popsicles and other equally healthy snacks and send them (lock them) outside. Nice. I love you, outside.

I know. You're shocked and probably outraged. Go on, call the authorities. That's okay. Me and the authorities are Besties. The authorities have my number on speed dial 3, right after the fire department and their mom. The kids and the authorities have play dates at least twice a week. So, go on and call. They'll be expecting you.

I manage to get about 1/3 complete and when my hands move from achy to tingly to numb I decide that I need a break in the form of a shower. I beg, plead, and threaten the children with bodily harm to not open the door whilst I am showering, even if one of them bursts into flames, as this will wake the sleeping baby. So, instead I just get a lot of this.

Which surprisingly does not wake the sleeping baby. What does wake the sleeping baby, however, is the pure genius of the smoke detector placed just outside of the bathroom door. This brain trust goes off every time I take a shower with water temperatures even 1 degree hotter than room temperature. Ah, the builders at Centex. I'd love to meet you in person so I can punch you right in the face.

Yeah, yeah. More shock. More outrage. I refer you back to the previous authorities paragraph.

The rest of the day continues on this same course until I serve the crazed monkeys dinner in the form of 5 buck pizza promptly at 8:45 p.m. I survey the damage done to the house and decide to throw in the towel and head over to the 'Circle for ice cream cones. A balm that can heal all the day's wounds. I gather all my chickies into my bed for a movie and decide to tackle the rest of the work after they fall asleep. At least the day ended on a good note. I love these guys.

And sometimes after a day like today, I can't believe that they love me right back. It gets me every time. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.