Malm Ducks

Jon the chef

2012-01-31T17:20:00.000-08:00

I have a bad reputation for burning bacon, rightfully so. Jonathan offered to make BLT's for dinner. I have found my bacon cooker- perfect.

Let me count the ways!

2012-01-30T21:49:00.000-08:00

Yes, she is.

Angry Birds

2012-01-28T16:45:00.000-08:00

Mike and Kenny have their phones.

Spelling Miracle?

2012-01-27T22:13:00.000-08:00

I had to give Mary Jane a practice spelling test on Thursday night. She had practiced writing them all week- which usually lends for her knowing them. After many tears, she spelled 3 of the 12 correctly. I had her write each word two more times. This only netted her spelling 5 of the 12 correctly. I told her to try her best and not to cry if she didn't know them during the test. She came home and she got an 11 out of 12- That was unexpected!

Kenny

2012-01-25T13:38:00.000-08:00

Last May I took Kenny to the doctor for a well visit. Everything was fine until the pediatrician
asked if I had any concerns. I mentioned that he did not have a very wide vocabulary. Maybe he could say 10-15 words and quote some weird phrases from the movie "Up". The doctor didn't seem concerned but said that we should get him checked out.

I took him to Child Find in our school district so they could evaluate him. Patrick could not speak when he was a child because of his hearing problems and Child Find placed him in speech therapy and he could talk by 3rd grade. I was thinking that this might be the same thing, without all the ear surgeries. Well, they did an evaluation with a speech therapist, a counselor and some other therapists. At the end of the session they told me they saw quite a few things that concerned them. I left with a sad heart, packets on Sensory Integrative Dysfunction and the thoughts that my child may be on the Autism Spectrum.

In August, Kenny started preschool as a special education student in a class with one other student and two therapists and three aids. He goes to school 2 1/2 hours four days a week. They have been working on speech, motor, behavioral, and other skills. It has been a whirlwind of emotions for me and the family. As I researched the autism spectrum I found some things that Kenny has been doing since he was little, like spinning and smearing poop on the wall. His funny quoting of movies is typical too. We are in the midst of trying to get a formal diagnosis, so he can get the therapies he might need while he is still little.

Since he has started the preschool, Kenny is now saying some sentences and is engaging in play with other children instead of sitting in front of a computer. I have seen much improvement in just a few months.

Harvest Hamburger Soup

2012-01-25T09:06:00.000-08:00

Soup for lunch. Kenny of course is eating "egg waters" most commonly known as hard-boiled eggs.

Adam

2012-01-13T09:07:00.000-08:00

In October I went to Adam's parent/teacher conference. He is a very exuberant child, who never ceases to talk or make an observation. I'm always a little wary to see what the teacher has to say. Last year, his teacher put his desk right next to her desk so he wouldn't have anyone to talk at. She also told me she loved Adam, and her own child had been much like him.

So, I go to see this year's teacher and she suggests that he should see a doctor, maybe for ADD. I then began crying. Adam is a yellow, according to The Color Code personality test, he is motivated by fun. It even says in the book that some yellow children are misdiagnosed with ADD because of their natural want of fun. So instead of drugging him up to behave, he has a card that he gets smiles if he behaves in class and frowns if he does not. He has 6 smile opportunities per day. If he gets 5 or more I give him a treat when he gets home, if he does good all week- he gets a bigger treat (like a trip to McDonald's) on the weekend. He is receiving an award above from the principal for "being LESS disruptive in class." I'll take it.

Patrick is a star

2012-01-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

Patrick advanced to Star Scout. I have my necklace that has all the cubscout and boyscout pins.

December

2011-12-11T12:38:00.001-08:00

Nana made Megan (14) a new dress.

Mary Jane (6) wasn't feeling well during the ward Christmas party.

Kelly (11) plays a cow bell for one of the choir songs. Kelly is in pink.

Everyone at the ward dinner including Nana and Papa.

Kelly lifts the top off her cupcake. Mary looks on.

Cold front

2011-12-03T22:02:00.001-08:00

Mary Jane (6) wore her red coat all day, even to bed.

Shoveling

2011-12-03T13:44:00.001-08:00

Mike asked the boys to wipe the cars off so he could go to work and I could go to Sam's Club. We looked outside and Jon had no coat and Patrick had shorts on, neither had gloves. Patrick said that it was cold out.

I'm not a cuddler...

2011-12-02T19:52:00.001-08:00

but he was cuddled next to me, on my pillow and we slept past 9 am. My back was so warm and toasty.

Kelly sings the solo

2011-11-30T19:53:00.000-08:00

Kelly belted out her solo at the B&N choir night. She had been chosen for the understudy for the concert for next week, so the choir director let all the understudies sing for the book store. She was so excited. Papa gave her the sign after the performance.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T12:52:00.001-08:00

After turkey and all the trimmings at Uncle Jim's house, Kenny had to sleep.

Are you my mother?

2011-11-20T20:28:00.001-08:00

The small fry is a 100 calorie packet from the Happy Meal. The back one is a large fry worth 500 calories per container.

The Music Girl

2011-11-20T20:20:00.001-08:00

Megan was in the play "The Music Man," she was in the Boys Band at the end of the show. Right at the end of the show she and the rest of the band come from the side door and marched and played to the stage. She was glad to be involved.

Magic carpet

2011-11-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

At the pack meeting, Adam rode the home-made "hover" craft around the gym.

Turkey time

2011-11-17T12:39:00.000-08:00

Mary Jane and the turkey we decorated with junk from the house. I hope Mrs. Lierle, Mary's teacher, loves it!

Is that your homework?

2011-11-16T12:34:00.000-08:00

We have been trying to burn all that wood in our backyard. Jonathan was working for this tree trimming service and we were getting free wood. We weren't really paying attention and we have so much wood it's ridiculous. Plus, most of it needs to be cut in half or in thirds. We told the trimmer- no more! He has since tried to bring more.

Kenny and Dad are cooking

2011-11-14T12:28:00.000-08:00

Kenny loves eggs. He would eat them any meal. He also loves to help prepare them. At Kenny's preschool conference the teachers said that he was learning to say, "He is _______ing." They showed us a picture of a person hitting something with a hammer. They said that Kenny will say, "He is hammering." He is doing so much better talking, it warms my heart to hear him ask for eggs a water. (Instead of bringing me the eggs and pan.)

Seven lunches in a row

2011-11-11T14:56:00.001-08:00

This is a blurry picture of the preschool doors. Kenny stands in front of the doors and says, "Locked" until they unlock the doors and he runs in.

Bridges

2011-11-11T14:47:00.001-08:00

For Young Women in Excellence, Megan presented that she made this dress for her Integrity Project. She did a really good job.

Snow Day!

2011-11-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

Another snow day- santa hat on, t-shirt, shoes and underwear- Kenny wants to go outside.

We woke up to a blizzard, nine inches of snow and cold.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T18:39:00.000-07:00

Nana made Mary and Adam Harry Potter cloaks but on the day of Halloween they decided to be Griffindor Vampires.

Adam was very excited.

The child who won't say anything, will say, "Trick or Treat."

Dancing fairies!

2011-10-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

Megan and Morgan went to the dance as fairies. They had a great time and looked beautiful.

Hey Cookie

2011-10-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

Mike made a coconut milk cookie, with agave and dried fruit. He then cooked it in the dehydrator. It was actually pretty good.

Happy 11th Birthday Kelly!

2011-10-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Snow play

2011-10-27T21:05:00.000-07:00

The water table is just as good in the winter.

With six inches of snow, Kenny really wanted to go outside. He thought the santa cap would be enough snow protection.

Kenny didn't get to go

2011-10-24T22:26:00.000-07:00

Go Sweden!

2011-10-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

Swedish Meatballs, mash potatoes, berry sauce and chocolate cake. I felt very Swedish. Megan looks so Swedish.

Megan and the straightening iron

2011-10-21T22:18:00.000-07:00

Take another look. Yes, it's curly Meg with straightened hair- I've never seen her hair like this. Her friend ironed it all out. It bounced right back after a shampoo. I love her curly hair.

Adam gets his Bobcat

2011-10-20T22:05:00.000-07:00

Pho 97 lunch

2011-10-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

Kenny doesn't think the mint and bean sprouts look good to eat.

He did enjoy the chopsticks while Mike and I ate.

Kenny helps the neighbor

2011-10-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

Mike and Kenny take the pine needles out of the neighbor's gutters.

Kenny starts fall break

2011-10-17T10:46:00.000-07:00

Kenny's school is on a different schedule and he has two weeks for fall break. So, I'm trying potty training again.

Pre-School day at Nicks

2011-10-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

Backpack

2011-10-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

Kelly finds a new way to transport Kenny around the house.

Instant? No.

2011-10-09T21:12:00.000-07:00

So, I bought these pants in July because the tag said, "Instantly slimming." Ahh, they were not slimming, I don't think I could button them. I was going to take them back but I forgot about them. Yesterday I put them on and they were comfortable. So- Instant- if they mean months of walking and watching what I eat. Too Funny.

Band dress

2011-10-04T19:26:00.000-07:00

She'll grow into it?

General Conference

2011-10-02T19:05:00.000-07:00

We played conference bingo, colored ties of the apostles on our Primary booklets and enjoyed the spirit.

Saturday night

2011-10-01T18:40:00.000-07:00

Jon set up one of the laptops so we can watch conference in the family room tomorrow, on the internet. Kenny saw it and wanted to play 'Angy Birds'.
Kenny loves pancakes. Mike fixed them using green smoothie as the milk. He didn't notice the extra veggies and ate all of them.

Around the house

2011-09-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

Kenny saw me taking a nap on the couch, so he went and got his blanket and pillow to nap on the love seat in the living room.

Mary Jane loved this flower at the funeral.

Patrick smiles for the camera for once.

Kelly vacuums Dad's head after he got a hair cut.

Kenny has been taking his blanket to school in his backpack- so sweet.

Serving bowls

2011-09-28T19:57:00.000-07:00

Mike is eating breakfast out of serving bowls to try to get enough calories not to lose weight... awwww that is so sad.

Sweet 16!

2011-09-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

Jon letters in academics

2011-09-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

To get an academic letter, Jon had to have a 4.0 or greater for his whole freshman year.

Slumber party

2011-09-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

The long anticipated invitations came in the mail. Aunt Chrystal, we are definitely coming!

Goodbye

2011-09-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

It was a sad day to say goodbye to my uncle, Mike Francks. There was sad, funny and touching stories told about him.

Swing

2011-09-04T19:30:00.000-07:00

Time to go home.

Patrick wins "Cherry Bomb".

Mike empties his pockets at the park- everyone's stuff.

Kelly backbends.

Jonathan and Kenny slide down together.

Ready, set, go!

Library time

2011-09-02T21:30:00.000-07:00

Kenny doesn't have pre-school on Fridays so we went to the library. He really likes the puzzles. It must have been nap time for other children because the children's section was empty.
Kenny is really liking his teachers and school. As we wait outside the classroom, he positions himself so he can run in first. Last night he was saying more words than I have ever heard him say. Hooray for Kenny.

Laundry

2011-09-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

Kelly found something else to do at the coin laundry. The parts finally came in for our washer and the repairman said that he needed another part! He said another week. This is frustating.

First day tradition: mailbox pics

2011-08-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

Jon (15) 10th grade

Megan (14) 9th grade

Patrick (12) 7th grade

Kelly (10) 5th grade

Adam (8) 3rd grade

Mary Jane (6) 1st grade

Kenny (3) preschool

All around the mulberry bush

2011-08-21T16:47:00.000-07:00

Megan's first day of school

2011-08-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

9th grade here she comes!

Washer not fixed yet!

2011-08-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

Time to do the laundry.

Family get-together

2011-08-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

Mary Jane

Kenny liked the dogs' ramp and door.

My brother Jim had a birthday shout hooray! We all got together and celebrated.

Experience the Pride!

2011-08-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

After a week of marching band camp, the campers showed off their skills. The band marched around the parking lot for the parents. They looked much better than last year.

Kenny antics

2011-08-11T22:22:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to potty train this child and this is what he thinks his little potty chair is for! I'll try again tomorrow with smiles and positive statements and steam clean the stairs- his potty hiding spot.

Kenny doesn't prefer to sit on the couch or a chair when his stroller is inside- here he is watching Sponge Bob.
See, I slept in and Kenny did not and so this is what 4 cubes of butter look like melted on the kitchen floor. After I cleaned it up, that place has a real shine to it. Too bad the floor was too dirty to even think about making chocolate chip cookies.
Apparently Kenny's imaginary uno playmate was going to win so he stashed his cards into a bag of shredded cheddar cheese in the refrigerator. I hope Kenny won.

Good news/ bad news

2011-08-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

Meg could fit in the machine easily but it was so hot to take the clothes out!
I wanted to hug this machine when I saw it, the attendant helped us load it to the max.

The washer started ringing constantly with an error code ND. No drain. Mike took apart the pump and washed out all the hoses but it still error coded. The good news, we bought the longest warranty they had and it will expire in November 2011. The bad news, the repairman cannot come out until Tuesday!
I usually run two to three loads, in a front loader machine, daily of laundry. Of course, the washer would break when I'm behind on the laundry. So Megan and I loaded 8 full baskets of clothes and towels and went to the Coin Laundry. The attendant was so helpful. We filled the 62 pounder machine with 6 of the loads and did separate for the whites and one of the loads of towels. In 35 minutes the clothes were clean and in the super dryers. I need the 62 pound loader for sheets and towels day... The attendant said that Tuesdays and Wednesdays were the least busy- I guess I'll probably see her again next week.

Salsa

2011-08-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

Mango salsa in the blender. Yum, yum.

Baptism

2011-08-07T18:48:00.000-07:00

Adam jumped up on the bathroom counter to see what he looked like in his jump-suit.

Adam and the Savior.

Adam's baptism day. Megan gave the talk on baptism and Jonathan gave a talk about the Holy Ghost. Mike baptized him and Kenny ran around the building while Kelly chased him. We felt the spirit and Adam was very excited.

Surgery again

2011-08-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

This year I took Jon and Patrick to their Boy Scout physicals and the doctor looked into Patrick's ears and said they were awful. The ENT agreed and Patrick went to surgery to get tubes in both ears again. As when he was little, everything in the world has been too loud since we have gotten home.

New Cubscout

2011-08-04T14:46:00.000-07:00

Adam is really excited for his first den meeting. The meeting isn't for four more hours.

Getting over-confident

2011-08-03T21:57:00.000-07:00

Help arrived when I offered left0ver rootbeer from the party on Sunday.The finished organized cupboard. Below: the unorganized stuff and all the bins on the floor.

I've been in this organizing/decorating mood, but today I really went over my limit. I bit off more than I could chew. I found out how unorganized my kitchen was, while I was rearranging it. I know, kitchens are permanent? Not if you move the cabinets around. Yeah, I was out of control and I am not sure I really like it, the finished kitchen that is. At least some of the cupboards are organized now.

IKEA Date night

2011-08-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

We went to check out all the Malm beds. We only walked one of the two floors (in 2 hours). We were going to get Swedish Meatballs but the line was to long. We really liked the magnetic knife bar that one could put these magnetic spice cans.

Happy 83!

2011-07-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and the model A Ford are both running strong. Here is Grandma and Grandpa with some of their grandchildren. We had a party after church on Sunday.

I call her Belinda

2011-07-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

Above: Milk, baked potato, cheese, some spices and bacon slices on the soup cycle. Hot potato soup!

Put in: water, a carrot, a stalk of celery, a quartered tomato, and a bullion cube and then turn it on a soup setting. It comes out hot and ready to eat soup. Now that is awesome.

Lunch

2011-07-29T22:14:00.000-07:00

Green smoothies and salad- oh so good.

It's great to be 8!

2011-07-27T22:10:00.000-07:00

Adam plans his birthday activities days, months, years ahead of time. I have had to tell him to keep those plans to himself because if you listen to them once you'll hear them a million times. Some of his outrageous plans did not come to pass, but he did get to go camping and swimming and eat at the frozen yogurt shop.

Not a fashion option

2011-07-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

Meg and I saw this shirt at Target. The shirt said, "Awkward" and then the sheep were literally fluffy. Yes, it would awkward to wear this shirt.

Mike conquers the mountain

2011-07-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

Mt. Evans: he biked to the top. Amazing.

Dinner

2011-07-20T23:31:00.000-07:00

End Lefty Discrimination

2011-07-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

says the sign at the Bike store and the left-handed woman who writes this blog.

I have hope

2011-07-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

that the trash truck has enough room for all of it.

Just as good as my birthday

2011-07-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

Nothing like finding out that it took 40 years to build the Salt Lake Temple and Mary yells, "My mom is 40!"
"Yes, I am" as all the children in the rows around me assess this new information. "No, I didn't see that temple built."

Adam's room

2011-07-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

Honestly, since Adam moved himself into the hall about two and a half years ago and lived in the linen closet I didn't think much about his "room". When Nana was redoing all the kids rooms when Mike and I were away Adam made the comment that he was ready to move back in with Kenny. So I ordered a loft bed, bought a light, a comforter and some new chairs and he's back to bed.
At least he'll have a good story about how his room was in a closet when he was little.

More to Potter

2011-07-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

Kelly and Patrick went to see the movie this afternoon. Patrick has a Merit Badge college tomorrow and I required him to finish all his prerequisites before he could do anything today. Yes, it was the 4:45 show, and Megan helped him with his power point presentation. It is very sweet to see the children helping one another on projects.

Potter 7

2011-07-14T22:58:00.000-07:00

Megan was invited to go see Harry Potter 7 (b) with her friends at mid-night. They decided to dress up as characters, so she whipped together a Hermione Granger outfit. She figured she has the hair. She looked great.
Megan said that a little girl about 7 years old woke up next to her during the movie and said "Hermione!" And some other kids wanted to take a picture with her on the way out of the theater. Too funny.

Vacation

2011-07-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

Mike climbs the ladder at the Mesa Verde ruins.
I don't think this little room would fit our whole family as the sign says.

Mike and I went on a little get-a-way for a long weekend. We stayed at the hotel with the jacuzzi again and with nice weather did a little hiking and touristy stuff. While we were relaxing, my parents stayed with the children and did some room re-do's.

Where are my socks?

2011-07-08T22:40:00.000-07:00

I went out and purchased the mesh bags and wrote everyone's name on them in sharpie and told them what I wanted. Sometimes the bag comes unzipped if the button on the zipper is not fastened.
Problem 1: too many clothes articles in the bag makes it so it does not dry in one cycle. Which might be because of Problem two.
Problem 2: People are stuffing the bag with all their clothing, not just socks and underwear. Jon had a bag with jeans coming out... hmmmm.
So far, this is still a solution but has some bugs to work out!

I re-did the entry way

2011-07-08T22:21:00.000-07:00

Before: plain, two tone of brown with a few small pictures, and the front door was still white from Lowes.

After: a shock of green, a brown door, a quote, and pictures of the family.

The closet is clean (said like in Poltergeist)

2011-07-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

All the closet stuff all over my room.

Mike's side

Beth's side

Why does it seem like one organization project becomes ten? Yeah, because it becomes ten. I took all the stuff out of Mike and my closet and put it in the bedroom. I put back only closet stuff and then took two full sacks to Good Will, five very heavy garbage sacks to the curb and three laundry baskets of items that had homes elsewhere in the house.

3 in the back seat

2011-07-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

It looks like Kenny's seat takes up the most space.

80 year-old car

2011-07-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

Jon did a driving lesson at Cherry Creek Park with my brother Jim in the 1929 Model A Ford.

Bananas all in a row

2011-07-02T22:36:00.001-07:00

They must have been fighting- so they had to separate.

Sock Solution

2011-07-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

It's a mesh bag with a zipper. My mom said that she would sew names for all the bags. Mike's concern was black socks- we'll see. The bag is mocking me- Simple Solutions.

I hate laundry- picking it up, putting it in a washer or dryer, sorting it and putting it away. My laundry nemesis is socks. With 9 people who wear socks that is 63 pairs of socks per week. (Yes, Adam you need to change your socks everyday.)
I have tried putting names with sharpie pens on the bottom of the socks, putting all socks in a communal bucket, and have tried to convince younger children to go without sometimes. I had a brain storm last night- each person gets a mesh bag that closes. They put their dirty socks within and the socks are washed and dried and delivered back to their room. No sorting! If they cannot find their socks- it's not my problem. Do they make bags big enough for each persons clothes... hmmm invention opportunities.

Kiddie Kuts

2011-07-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

All the curls on the shop floor.

Kenny had his first hair cut at the hair cut shop. The hair-stylist showed him how the clippers tickle and then she preceded to shape the mop. He played video games the whole time and even conquered a level.

It's a snap

2011-06-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

I sent Mary out to the garden to pick snap peas.

Big Red

2011-06-29T22:23:00.000-07:00

I bought a stuffed Clifford and book at Kohls yesterday. Megan said he was scared of the dog last night, but held onto him tonight while she read him the book.

Sweet Rush

2011-06-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

Adam and Meg going to Sweet Rush.

Megan

Kenny and Kelly

Patrick and Jonathan

It's always fun to unload all 7 kids out of the minivan at the yogurt shop. Mike was out riding his bike and we met him there. Yum!

Bicycle

2011-06-28T13:48:00.000-07:00

Front yard flowers.

uh o

2011-06-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

Spaghetti O's. Kenny really likes the o's. I found him in the kitchen trying to open the can himself.

Play place

2011-06-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

The kids played with Kenny at McDonalds. Jon's shoes didn't fit in with the others. I remember being 9 months pregnant with Megan climbing into the play place trying to get an almost 2 year old Jonathan out so we could leave.

Happy Birthday Megan!

2011-06-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

14 years... heading into 9th grade... time goes so fast.

Waiting

2011-06-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

Kenny was enthralled with the statues at the library.

2011-06-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

The top three got their box cars finished and took them to the "drive-in" at the mutual activity tonight. There was an awesome turnout- almost everyone made a car and the cars were so original.

In the Box

2011-06-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

Even though Jon's box car "the coffin" was voted least likely to be seen at the Temple, Kenny wanted it in his room so he could sleep in it.

8th grade dance

2011-06-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

Megan was excited to go and dance on her last day of middle school. She said she had a great time and even asked some boys to dance and some asked her.

Kindergarten

2011-06-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Wetherbie

Mary Jane graduated! Watch out first grade here she comes.

Black Belt

2011-06-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

Our fourth Black belt Recorder winner is: Kelly!

Cardboard box cars

2011-05-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

Megan, Patrick and Jonathan worked on their cars for the mutual activity on June 7.