Long Update

Do you know the 80's song "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)", I'm sure if you don't your kids do because if they're like mine they love the Chipmunks movies and listen to the soundtracks ALL of the time. I kid you not, that song invades my every thought and I hear it in my sleep at night - they have listened to it so many times. Anywho, that is what my life has felt like the last few weeks. Spinning round and round like a record, totally chaotic and crazy, but with a few fun things thrown in. I guess our family wouldn't know what to do with itself if we actually had normal peaceful lives. Here's what we've been up to:

*Riley*
Work, soccer, work, soccer, work, soccer, soccer, soccer. Usually I don't see him until he gets home after practice at night. Or after games, or after he's travelled really far from work. So we don't see much of each other during the week. Last week he travelled over 500 miles in two days for work. He is pretty much just going as hard as he can go every day to get everything done he needs to do and then tries to squeeze in some time with the kids at night if they are still awake when he gets home. I can tell it is starting to wear on him a bit and he misses being more of a part of the kids' lives and every day going ons. But he still manages to help me with the babies at night and the other little things that make a difference the most. He will always take the older kids with him whenever possible to give me a bit more quiet and I really appreciate that. He's looking forward to summer, BBQing, and a little slower pace.

*Me (Mom, Sarah)*
I turned 30 on Monday and feel like I have reached a milestone. I didn't feel good or bad about getting older, just glad that I am liking the person and place that I am at in my life. I have been feeling like every day is a marathon sprint to keep up and get things done. From the time I wake up in the early morning hours, until I lay my head on my pillow at night I just go as hard as I can to keep up with everything and everyone around here. I think there only a few moments in the day where I am not multi-tasking four or five different things at once. It can get to be kind of a circus at times, but also at odd moments it strikes me as hilarious and I will laugh out loud that I am making dinner, unloading the dishwasher, handing out snacks, pushing a baby walkers off my feet, answering phone calls, looking at homework, listening to piano practice and trying to catch snippets of the news to have some sort of sense of the outside world. Ha. The five o'clock hour 'round these parts can get pretty brutal, it would probably scare most people away with how crazy it can get. To me that is just what's normal at the moment and although I'd wish for more sleep I'm trying to relish these ever fleeting moments. No amount of preparation or organization can prepare you for the onslaught of what I call the 5:00 "cranky time" of the day. The kids are cranky, the babies are cranky, heck I'm even cranky. Once we get through dinner and clean up everyone is feeling much better and it's off to conquer another task, problem, etc.....Super human or super woman I am not -I just use super speed as a coping mechanism in order to survive. I understand a tiny bit more the term "survival of the fittest". I never thought I could be one of those tough pioneer wives, but now I think maybe, just maybe, I could hack it if I had to.

But, in my "spare" time I have been learning that the old saying "necessity is the mother of invention" still applies and I have made some great discoveries. I've mastered using Riley's big old smoker/grill which always seemed complicated and scary. Riley is hardly ever home during dinner these days, so what happens all the times I want something grilled for dinner? I had him walk me through how to turn it on and the other steps, and ta-da I grilled up some delicious dry rubbed salmon and veggies, and found out it's not so hard after all. I think guys like to make us women THINK it's complicated so we seem more impressed. :) Also the fact that I can't always run to the store at a moment's notice has made me more resourceful and more willing to try new things. I needed some tortillas this week and decided to try making my own. They turned out delicious and were pretty simple to make. Now I think I will make them all the time. Had I never been in that situation, I don't think I would have ever attempted making them. I've had more experiences like that and it's a good feeling to know I can rely on myself and come up with solutions. I realize my being "stuck at home" more these days has been a blessing in many ways for me and my family. On the TV front, one of my current fav's right now is watching "America, the Story of Us" on the History Channel. It's fantastic and so interesting. It is great for teaching your older children about major events in our nations history. As I get older I fall in love more and more with the history of our country and the people who sacrificed so much to make a better place for future generations to live.

*Kendle*
I would describe Kendle as a never ending question asker. I fear it will only get worse as she gets older. In her mind, everything deserves an explanation. She loves to be busy and have lots of things going on. She is always reading something, making something, or making plans for something. As I type this she is making a F.H.E. jar filling it with fun activities for our family to do together. She is really into telling jokes, but doesn't like it when we all guess the punch line before she's done. She had her first softball game Monday night and got a really good hit. I think she is more excited about playing now. She's been practicing for her first piano recital coming up as well and has her song memorized. I can't believe she's nearing the end of 2nd grade and will be a big 3rd grader next year. She loves to ride her bike and read, read, read. I can't get her new books fast enough and to her, one day of library at school is no where near enough. She is a typical 2nd grader- slightly sassy, growing out of everything, turns up her music loud when she retreats to her room, and thinks everything is hilarious.

*Morgan*
Morgan is good at entertaining himself. He plays well and has a great imagination at this age. I can't believe he will be turning 3 in June. I want him to stay as cute as he is right now forever. His little face just melts my heart. He loves going outside and right now the cool thing for him is occasionally getting to play out front which I usually never let him do. The other day I gave him a treat and let him eat it out on our front bench where I could see him and I swear that was the most blissful little boy in the universe. His back was to me and he just was rocking out and eating and probably thinking in his little mind, "this is the life". I love watching him because he relishes every little thing that we mostly take for granted. He is adamant about being on a schedule and it will be interesting to see if that is a trait he will keep as he gets older. A few weeks ago, our whole family worked out in the yard on a nice sunny day and Morgan had to have been the hardest working 2 1/2 year old I've ever seen. For over an hour straight with not one whine or complaint, he'd come along after we pulled weeds, gather them all up, dump them in our big garbage container and repeat; all the while smiling and doing a thorough job. It was totally amazing, and he does stuff like that quite often when I need help. I thought back to when Riley gave him his blessing at church as a baby and I specifically remembered him blessing Morgan with a love and desire for service. :)


*Cooper*
Cooper is so mellow and patient. He often will cruise around quietly in his walker without a peep, just checking things out. He is a super champ sleeper and always wakes up happy. He sucks his thumb only when he sleeps and can self soothe himself if he wakes up which is great. I love the way his little eyes pop open wide when he smiles at me and gets excited. He also has started doing this adorable little shy look where he will tuck his chin down and gaze up at you. He is rolling over a little more and starting to really like baby food. He doesn't get mad when Kale (who is quite the grabber) will pinch or hold onto him. He is just so good natured. He also loves bath time and splashing in the water. He only cries when he is really upset about something and will sit and rock with me at night. Quite simply he is a dream baby and about as sweet as they come.

*Kale*
Kale is a wonderful baby too, but he is a "now" baby. When he wakes up, he wants you to come get him NOW. When he is hungry, he wants to eat NOW. When he's mad, he needs to be picked up NOW. He is a feisty little guy, but also sensitive and gets his feelings hurt easily. When I'm feeding him a bottle, he will push and push his little legs against my arms or legs, or anything else in the way. He is a busy body and likes to jump - my arms get quite the workout when I hold him for long periods of time. When he smiles his whole little face lights up and his grin spreads from ear to ear and his little eyes twinkle. I can tell how much he loves Cooper because he will look around trying to find him. He likes to grab and hold onto him. He rolls over a lot in his crib and wakes himself up which is not great because he's not the best sleeper as it is. But he is a good eater, and happy most of the day. He likes to follow me into the kitchen in his walker and pull on my pant legs. I think he likes knowing where I am most of the time.

*Both boys are getting huge and are about 19 pounds right now. Good thing they move around so much during the day.

And that is just a little taste into what is going on with us Dodson's.

*More to come about our trip to Portland over the weekend