Mother's Day

I had an awesome Mother's day! Saturday morning J sent me off to enjoy some freedom. I got 4 hours of shopping bliss! No whining, no begging, no protesting or complaining. Lovely. I even came upon Downeast's huge sidewalk clearance sale and came away with a skirt and four shirts for $15. Oh, how I love a good deal!

That night AJ and I went to our city's scholarship pageant. The daughters of two different friends were competing and they won queen and 1st attendant! AJ enjoyed it so much that she has now determined that she wants to go every year until she is old enough to compete herself :). Sunday morning she cut out all the contestants pictures from the program so she could play with them. Since we have a rule that they need to read or draw things related to Christ and the scriptures during Sacrament meeting, she told me that she was pretending they were her future Young Women's class. She did play quietly with them the whole time so we'll let that go.

Sunday morning J presented me with a new camera, YAY! I still need to learn the various settings, but so far the lighting is turning out better. These pictures are of Sunday afternoon; everyone was on their own to make sandwiches for lunch. Of course AJ and I didn't waste any time getting ours ready! Hope your Mother's day weekend was wonderful as well!

Off-track and loving it!

My kids are on another break from school and so far so good. For the most part they are getting their chores done quickly and enjoying the activities I planned for them (also we have not done any worksheets this time so that helps their disposition). Here are just a few of the things we have been doing.

We have a subscription to Family Fun magazine which I LOVE! The Spring edition had a great article about terrariums, which I knew my kids would enjoy. We went to IFA and Michael's to get supplies. AJ chose Irish moss and Archers gold and got hers put together fairly quickly. Of course AP wanted something a little more exciting, so we are still trying to find a Venus Fly Trap (anybody around here know where to get a healthy one?). He did get his first layer done though, and hopefully we'll get the plant to put in it this week. Here's AJ's finished project.


These are the moments I love. I told them they needed to read or draw quietly while I put D down for his nap, and they did! After I was done with D I came upon this:

And finally the pottery wheel. Everytime A&A have seen this pottery wheel in the store they have asked for it and I have refused. I was afraid it would be another junky thing that promises glorious fun and just ends up being a big pain and mess. Well AJ was with me in Target a couple of weeks ago and saw it on the clearance isle. Of course she begged me for it, and I was reluctant, but let her carry it around while I thought about it. When it was time to check out I decided to go ahead and get it. It has been a huge success (it has been pretty messy so I made them take it outside, but they have been pretty good about cleaning it up). They spent hours with it the first day they were off-track making bowls and vases. It was so nice to see them quietly entertained and getting along so well while they were working away. Here they are painting their creations. The cutest part was when they broke into song (unsolicited). I guess I should also explain that AJ is in her swimsuit because we went to the pool a little later.

BOY Cousins!

Whenever AJ does a sleepover with Kate's girls AP complains how unfair it is that there are no boy cousins his age nearby to do sleepovers with. Well J's other sister and her family came down for a wedding and stayed with us Friday night, so he finally got his sleepover. The kids had a great time, although the visit was way too short! While Stacey & Daniel were at the wedding dinner we went to the park where the boys had a great time crawling through the tunnels and running around. The babies spent most of the time in the swings (no pictures). After we got back AJ helped me make cupcakes while the boys played Wii. Once the cupcakes were baked and cooled they had fun decorating them. Then it was time for bed. Matt gave the sweetest prayer saying how grateful he was for AP and his cousins and how sad he was to leave the next day.

AJ and Sam. She didn't want to wake up and he perfectly happy to play along. . .

Final game time, just before they left (they were literally walking out the door while AP was trying to show them some part of the game). The boys were so sweet to share the games they brought with AP. AP has been so sad since they left. He keeps saying how cute Sam is singing the Star Wars theme and asking "where [AP]," and how great the older boys are. He was so happy to have a sleepover with some boy cousins.

Has Spring sprung?

I think I finally dare believe it has! It's still been a bit windy, but the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, and the grass is getting green and long! AP mowed last Thursday. He got out the mower, checked the gas and oil and got it started all by himself! And he had almost finished (front and back) before J even got home from work. He worked so hard and got so sweaty in the beautiful sunshine. I can't believe I didn't get a picture! We've all been out pulling weeds and J did the edging for the first time on Saturday. Here AJ is enjoying the freshly cut grass with a good book and the cats.

the dating game

We have been trying to be better about dating; not just between J & I (although that is part of the plan) but also with the kids. J took everybody on dates last month. He and AP did glow in the dark mini-golf and he took AJ to the Aquarium. He and D didn't do anything "formal" (they get plenty of alone time since if daddy is around D is attached). This month was my turn. Since AJ did such a great job talking up the aquarium that is where AP chose to go with me. He was so cute, wanted to hold my hand and was so excited to show me everything (I had never been). We were about to leave when he noticed the giftshop. I saw his eyes light up and was about to remind him that we weren't there to buy toys, but before I could he said, "I promised AJ I would bring her something!" So he picked out a little stuffed penguin for her (the penguin exhibit was still in the works when she and J were there so she didn't get to see it) and bought it with his own money. He was so cute trying to pick out something she would love and even called her to make sure he was getting the right thing. It was one of those experiences that makes parenting so satisfying!

Yesterday was my date with AJ. She wanted to go to the mall to ride the train and get some shoes that she had fallen in love with a few weeks ago. She was bursting with excitement and once we got to the mall she ran almost the whole way to the train. After the train ride and shoe shopping we got sundaes from DQ and topped it off with driving through In-n-out to take home for dinner. It was a lot of fun, but just not as great as the Aquarium (which is where she wants to go *again* on her next date; I guess we should just get a membership. AP on the other hand wants to go the mall to ride the train. . . As for D, he and I go on a date every Monday to the allergist. He loves to push the buttons and jump around in the elevator. At the doctors office there is a cute little playroom with a HUGE bucket of Duplos. He has a great time building towers and knocking them over saying, "Oh no! Crash!" They also have a box of dum-dum pops that he likes to choose from. He runs in saying, "pops, pops!" which makes the receptionist laugh everytime.

Sick

I have had sick kids this week. I kept AP home on Monday because he was so congested, but sent him on Tuesday because I think his is mostly allergies. Both he and AJ called that morning while I was out doing errands to say they weren't feeling good; AJ ended up being fine, but I brought AP home. He went yesterday and today; still congested but feeling a little better. Then yesterday I noticed D had a fever. Here he is just out of the bath (yep hair is still wet) watching Super Why. Poor little nose and teary eyes, but I still think they are cute and wanted to capture them (don't worry I wiped him up after I got the shots).

Look who turned TWO!

It's hard to believe it has been two years since this little guy entered our world; at the same time, he has made our lives so complete it's hard to remember life without him. He is so clever, and bright, and loving, and we are very grateful to have him in our family!!

He LOVES balloons (along with anything else bouncy and round) so we just blew up a bunch. He had a lot of fun helping me.

He also helped me with his cake; cleaning up the leftover batter that is!

The big wheel has been the biggest hit! J brought it home with him (after karate) causing all kinds of excitement among the kids!

Opening presents. . . he opened his boat/shape sorter first and then wasn't interested anything else! We had to keep prompting him to open the others. He did have fun with all of his loot.


And finally the cake. After a few bites he was done. When I asked him if it was yummy he said, "No. Mess." He is definitely our neatest child (takes after his dad).

AP's apology

AP's class is on a new system for behavior where there are basically four levels and if they get down to the lowest level the parent is contacted and in addition to the consequence at school is required to have a consequence at home. Along with his home punishment, I told him he needed to write his teacher an apology letter. That was the only direction I gave him and this is what he wrote:

Dear [teacher's full name],
I am deeply sorry and do admit it was foolish and cruel to yell you know what. I will NOT write it in this letter for fear of accidentally hurting your feelings again for you are an educator of the [name of school district] of [state]. I wish that I could send in a court order about paying teachers $5000 per week because without teachers there would be no jobs and every person would become broke. I am grateful that you endure the torture of getting kids to listen and to stop bickering. In the future I plan to try my very hardest to not get mad at you. I sincerely think you are making the world a better place.
From,
A------P------- H--------H--------
(he included my maiden name which I thought was pretty funny).

After enduring two hours of his shrieking and carrying on about the injustice of his punishment, I was grateful for the sincerity of his letter (and the laugh I got out of it).

Camera help!

Have I mentioned I need a new camera? Actually, I don't think I did, but if you have seen the pictures on my blog, you are well aware. To make a long story short, a big box containing canned food fell on my camera last summer almost severing the poor thing. It still functions, minus the flash, but sometimes you really need a flash (a lot of the time actually). I have been meaning to get a new one since said accident happened, but haven't done so because (1) I am afraid of getting another camera I don't know how to operate, (2) I haven't had time to do any research, and (3) the last time I got a camera I did a TON of research and still ended up with a camera I couldn't operate. I am no photographer, and I'm not very good with electronic devices so I am looking for something that is SUPER easy to use and will make every picture I take look professionally done (Oh, you actually need to have some skills to take professional looking pictures?) So give it to me: what is a simple point and shoot with a quick shutter speed and good pixel quality? Or if you can't tell me that, then just tell me what kind of camera you have and whether or not you love it! Thanks!

Easter & Conference

Easter was pretty low-key this year. The weather was yucky and since the city egg-hunt was the same time as conference we opted out of it. Instead, on Saturday we just stayed inside listening to conference and decorating eggs. Then when J went to the priesthood session I took the kids to the park and then to McD's for dinner. When we were leaving we decided to check Redbox and got The Princess and the Frog. Loved it! Even D sat for the whole thing and kept cracking up saying, "Frog, funny!" Here are a few pictures from our weekend:

Grandma helped AJ come up with a bunny costume so she could be the Easter bunny for D. What a cute bunny!

We took the eggs we decorated over to the park so they could throw, I mean roll them down the hill. D thought it was great.

The Easter bunny brought them each a new webkinz along with their candy.

Examining their loot. . .

With each egg he opened, D kept saying, "oh! candies. yum."

And now the epic conference tale: I did not plan very well this year. . . I've tried the conference packets in the past without a whole lot of success so I didn't even bother with them this year. I had gotten each of the older kids a journal (they were only $1 at Michaels) and gathered up my colored pens, stickers, and rub-ons for them to decorate their books while we watched. Well if there is anything that brings out AP's "aspergerness" it is stickers; he despises their stickiness and it's so bad that the site of them sends him to gagging fits. It's one of his sensory issues that really is beyond my comprehension and makes me crazy. However, I hoped that he would give rub-ons a try or in the very least just draw or write with the pens (he loves to draw comics). I asked him if he'd like to use the rub-ons, got a definite NO and told him to just take a pen with his book onto the bed (we were watching in mine and J's room). However, he didn't want any part of the book, and as it turned out AJ wasn't that interested either. Well it didn't take long before disruption ensued, with yelling and tears and AP ended up in his room. It was bad enough that I just wanted to turn the TV off and forget conference; I was definitely not feeling very spiritual. Well J gave AP his book and a pencil and told him he had to fill 11 pages before he could do anything fun that day. After some weeping and wailing he finally calmed down and got to work. In the meantime I got AJ to join me in making our books. A little later AP rejoined us and wrote quietly in his book while we finished watching conference mostly in peace. Here are our books:

That night they wanted to read them as their bedtime stories and AJ said to me, "Mom, let's keep working on our books so we can finish them by the end of the year." I was happy the books turned out successful after all and we decided we will spend a little time each Sunday working on them.

As far as conference being a success, I guess that is yet to be seen. J and I felt pretty deflated that our efforts to make it a good experience were once again thwarted and it certainly wasn't the spiritual feast we were hoping for. We just hope our persistence will pay off in the end and the kids will learn that listening to our leaders is important. . . because while we did "watch," in truth I can't tell you much about what was said. . . can't wait for that conference edition Ensign!

Fooled!

I had so much fun with my dinner trick last year that I decided to do another food joke this year. I was going to do mini sandwiches with raw veggies cut really small (matchstick carrots, tiny broccoli florets, cherry tomatoes, tiny gherkins, you get the idea. . .) and tell them that dinner shrunk. But I realized they would recognize the pickles (AP loves them and asks for them all the time) and canadian bacon (I use it in their lunches with crackers) and not be fooled. So I decided to use my mom's Thanksgiving joke and do a cornish game hen instead with baby corn. James and Ariel's kids were coming over so I told A&A that we were going to trick them that it was Thanksgiving (I also did a big turkey and regular corn). It worked beautifully! My kids thought they were in on my joke, welcoming their cousins with, "Happy Thanksgivings," and weren't expecting any other tricks from me. . .

Gearing up for church

AP gave the prayer tonight and in preparation for church tomorrow said, "please bless the people sitting up front that they will be able to withstand the meeting." When I asked him later what he meant by that, he said he didn't want them to get bored and fall asleep in front of everyone. Leave it to kids to say it how it is.

My Lucky Day!

I love St. Patrick's Day, though, I'm really not sure why. Maybe because green is my favorite color and seeing everyone decked out in it just makes me smile. It's also the one day of the year I can serve cabbage and no one complains (in fact my wee ones think it's cool that we are eating traditional Irish fare). Or maybe I just like the idea that everyone is lucky on this day!

Everyone in their green eating our traditional St. Patty's meal: corned beef, cabbage, and new potatoes. Yummy!

We painted AJ's fingernails light green with sparkly little shamrocks, and though you can't tell they turned out pretty cute!

cuz why?

D has started his "why" stage.

Me: time to get your shoes bud
D: cuz why?
Me: to go to the car
D: cuz why?
Me: to take the kids to school
D: cuz why?
Me: So they can learn
D: cuz why?
Me: to be smart
D: cuz why?
Me: Just because!
D: oh. (pause) cuz why?

You get the idea. I know it's a stage all kids go through, and we've been there before. So I don't know if it's just been so long that I don't remember how soon it starts, but I was not expecting the never-ending stream of why's before he has even hit two! Oh well it's cute and I'm enjoying it (for now).

Oklahoma!

Last week weekend we flew to Oklahoma to visit J's parents and little brother for a few days. AJ was very excited to learn that Grandpa and Grandma's house not only bordered some woods, but they had seen coyotes and foxes out there. She was determined to have a sighting of her own. Unfortunately that never happened, but she did have fun on her nature walk with Grandpa and Daddy. She made the "bridge" so that baby foxes could cross safely.
On Saturday we took a drive to the Oklahoma temple. D stayed with Spence. It was cold out! J and I had only brought jackets and I was shivering so much he gave me his to layer over my own. He had to be freezing but didn't let on. What a man!
After the temple we visited the Federal building memorial. Sad, as can be expected at any memorial. There was a chair sculpture for each person who died in the bombing; the most heartbreaking were the tiny little chairs that represented children who had died.

Love the quiet moments; especially when they involve a book and snuggles!

Not long after they moved in, Grandpa had a storm shelter dug in their garage (had to get ready for those tornados!). He was excited to show us and the kids were excited to see it; until he told them about the spiders he had recently found in there. Then A&A couldnt' get out fast enough! D liked it though and the rest of our visit he kept begging to go to the "goj" and when took out diapers he would point insistently at the hatch door. Gotta say, I understand. It's the kind of thing I would have loved as a kid (I admit it got my imagination going).

whose team?

We were at the park where a group of teenage boys were playing football. As we passed by one of the boys let out a few expletives. AP looked shocked and then said shaking his head, "That kid must really love Satan."

Get fit!

My husband is a genius when it comes to nutrition and exercise. Most of what I know is the result of him, and he is largely responsible for my own good health. You might think I am biased, but with as much interest as he gets in his program, and the success of those he has helped, I can confidently say he knows his stuff. Because he does get so many questions about fitness and nutrition he decided to start a blog. If you're interested you can check it out at:

http://average-dna-fitness.blogspot.com

Wishing you good health!!

The meanest mom

The kids are off-track and their mantra begins: "you are the meanest mom!" And what can I say, the evidence is there:
(1)I make them do homework (including the hard stuff like crafts and art) everyday but Saturday. Sometimes we make cookies or some other treat for math, but I make them figure out the measurements. What's worse though is that sometimes we play math bingo with candy.
(2)I make them do chores (including making their beds and getting dressed everyday). They also have to do things like dishes, vacuuming, and laundry.
(3)I make them walk to the playground so they can get sunshine and fresh air. You know how offensive the sun can be, but to make it worse I play with them while we are there. Can you believe my nerve?
(4) And the final and greatest offense is I limit their electronic time even on vacation days and Saturdays. I mean, didn't you know that every other mom in the world lets their kids play video games all day when they are not in school? Apparently it's true.
So there you have it, I am the meanest mom; but just to make sure I keep up my reputation, what could I possibly do to be meaner?

Putting together my kitchen

I decided before we moved that it would be fun to have a coastal style kitchen; something bright and cheerful where I could display some of our beach finds as a reminder of our fun and relaxing trips. This first picture is similar (with the light wood cabinetry and gray countertops) to mine, and I love the refreshing blue and green accents.


So I knew that I wanted to use blues and greens, but with the layout of the house being so open, I feel like I need to tie in some red (since that is the dominant color in the front room). I like this color scheme.


I LOVE this table setting. I'm hoping to find a red, green, and blue stripe fabric and some fun colored dishes. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with shells sitting on the table uncontained though. . . they would end up in my little one's mouth. I'm thinking that an apothecary jar filled with shells would be a better way to go.

Or several jars like these! I do have sand, shells, and pebbles.

Then again jars might be better on a shelf. I have a little nook right above the microwave that I have been trying to figure out how to decorate. Maybe something like one of these shelves?
I can picture it all in my head, but it has been impossible to find the things I'm looking for in a store! If only wishing them here would do the trick I could have my kitchen done (not to mention the rest of my house)!

Daily with D

After dropping off the older two kids our morning goes something like this:

D: ur Da-deeee? (Where's daddy)
Me: at work
D: Oh. Ur Bah-beeee? (where's AJ)
Me: at school
D: Oh. Ur Ah-deeeee? (where's AP)
Me: at school
D: unt da-deeeee! (want daddy)
Me: I know. He's so fun, but he's at work.
D: oh. unt Bah-beeeeee!
Me: she's at school.
D: (big scowl) unt ah-deeeee!
Me: he's at school
D: ma-meeeee! (like it's my fault somehow)
Me: sorry bud. How about Caillou? (gotta distract him somehow!)
D: unt Cai-yooooooo! (want Caillou)
Me: Ok! Let's go!

so we do. He sits on my lap and watches while I catch up on computer stuff (thanks to the joys of youtube and split screens!) After the show is over we get to work!

and then it starts all over again. . . although we watch Kipper ("dog") or Thomas ("tins"). Or we read books, sort shapes ("chapes"), play with trains, duplos, etc (so we're not watching shows all day). He also REALLY likes to vacuum and sweep the floor and wipe the table. Well now Caillou is over so we're off to try some of those chores!

Wishing you [future] Happy New Years!

AP saw a history channel special about the world ending in 2012 that gave him nightmares. Nothing I could say could say helped him feel better, but when he got back to school his teacher handed out bracelets with the year 2016 on them. That was enough to convince him they were from the future and therefore proof the world would not end in 2012. He came up with this song and sang it to Grandpa and Grandma New Years morning:

Into the future what a surprise 2016 we'll still be alive Some people think the world will end 2012 maybe it's a trend but I say Into the future what a surprise 2016 we'll still be alive!

Nativity blooper

J's mom made us a set of nativity puppets, so AJ was excited to do a production for us. Unfortunately, as soon as the innkeeper refused Mary and Joseph room he lost his eye. . . we thought it was pretty funny (except AJ). But AP explained the innkeeper got what was coming to him; in fact they did more bloopers with Herod being done in by an earthquake, swallowed up by quicksand, and having the star fall on him. Hope we don't offend anyone by using creative license with the nativity story ;).

Backtracking

So as much as I want to "let it go" and not catch-up, this is my only way of keeping track of things these days. So I've got to get it down here before I forget what pictures happened when ;)

Be forewarned this is a whole month's worth of pictures and they are not in order!

D "undecorating" the tree (which AJ decorated for us)

"Best friends" sleepover

A couple in our ward does a nativity open house every Christmas. It was awesome!! Not only did they have nativities on display from all over the world they had all of the costumes for the kids to dress up in and get their pictures taken. We had a great time!

We found a recipe for cornstarch playdough in Family Fun magazine and (of course) had to try it out!! Probably the best GF playdough I have found.

Each of the kids got a cake mix in their stocking. AP used his to make Google a birthday cake.

They also each got a box of mac'n'cheese. Here AJ is making hers with Ashley. They are sporting the matching aprons Grandma made for them (Hannah Montana print).

Playing in the snow!!

Christmas cookies; we made a TON, but they didn't last long. So yummy! Oh and I have to mention the sugar/gingerbread man with the sad face is sad because he fell down playing and got covered in grass stains (thus the green). Each cookie had a story and they all cracked me up!

Christmas eve (one present each gets opened)

Christmas morning!

Just hangin out Sunday morning (yes I had to get him reading his scriptures on film!)

This is the bouncy ball maker they got for Christmas; they made the balls then gave them to D to play with

Help!

So tell me, how do you fit it all in?! Personal scripture time, scriptures with the kids, scripture study as a couple, prayers, one-on-one with the kids, one-on-one with your spouse . . . in addition to the daily grind of drop-off/pick-up, lessons here, scouts/activity days there, PTA, church responsibilities, working out . . . Not to mention time for fun things like books, movies/tv, etc. Aghhhh, I forgot to include house upkeep (LAUNDRY especially!) AND let's not forget sleep. Oh how I need my 8 hours. Seriously, I am one of those people that doesn't function well on less than that. So help a girl out: how do YOU make it work. Where do you find the hours in the day? Tell me your schedule, give me some ideas because I could use the HELP!!