Grateful in 2014

Dear Kids,

We had a really nice Thanksgiving. You spent the morning playing downstairs while Dad and I finished preparing our food, and then after you cleaned up, we were off to Grammie's house! 

We had the usual yumminess: turkey, ham, potatoes, stuffing, bread, relish tray, yams, 7 layer dip, shrimp cocktails, and salad. I tried something new this year, I don't think you guys tried it. It was a Spanish pie made with caramelized onions, dates, and bacon. Uncle Dave's friends from Spain who joined our dinner brought it and I thought it was really good! We enjoyed their company too, along with Uncle Dave's sister.

Uncle John didn't make it into this picture of all the adults, since the turkey sleepiness had already kicked in

After dinner we played a few games,

and you kids just ran around screaming and dressing up and doing whatever else cousins do together.

And of course whenever Uncle John is around then all of you guys have to gang up on him and jump on his back. He kind of loves it, kind of hates it.

Oh, and then dessert. Delicious dessert. We had more pies than I even counted, plus cookies that Grammie and I happened to both make, and the famous berry dessert. We all love Grammie's berry dessert!

Just before we left Grammie had the Uncles get her Christmas decorations out and then all the grand kids decorated the kid tree.

I had forgotten our big camera, but Daddy had his camera on his phone and I got some from Uncle John too. Then to finish off the day we got to open presents from Grandma and Grandpa when we got home that night. You guys got new jammies!

Baby, you didn't get to be in this picture since you were crying yourself to sleep at this point. It's pretty rough when you don't get a long enough nap at the right time. You did get cute new jammies though that you went to sleep in.
Thanksgiving was pretty great wasn't it?

The Monday before Thanksgiving we traced our hands to make turkeys and wrote on each feather something that we are thankful for. I have kept past years and it's fun to see how your hands have grown and what things you are grateful for each year. 

This year I said I was grateful for Dad, Church, Grocery Stores, Digital Pictures, and my Kids. I like to think of ways to show my gratitude for what I'm thankful for. So, let's do it.

1.  I'm grateful for Dad. I really couldn't be the mom I am without him. He makes me happy. So to show my gratitude I will plan more dates with him. This was probably a previous goal, but we can definitely improve in this area. 

2. Church, of course I'm grateful for church. How to show it? I think I"ll try harder to read scriptures or listen to conference every day. 

3. Grocery Stores, is that a random one? But I really am grateful that whenever I want something to eat I can just hop in my car and buy it down the road. I don't need to plant it, or grow it, or harvest it, or can it. How can I show gratitude for that? Shop more? No. Maybe I'll try to grow something new this summer and can it, to reinforce how much work it takes to bring food into this world and have it ready to eat! I'll try to grow some carrots.

4. Digital Pictures... I love my camera! And I really love that I can take as many pictures as I want until I get the perfect, or good-enough, shot. To show my gratitude I will organize my digital pictures on my computer and print more of them.
5. My kids. I have to include you guys since you will always be one of my biggest blessings. I think to show my gratitude for all of you I will try to be nicer in the mornings. Less yelling, less snapping, more gentle reminders, and hugs and kisses before you leave. I want your last interaction with me each morning to be positive and for you to know that I love you so much.

There you have it. Wish me luck.
I really do feel very blessed to have you all in my life.
I love you,
Mom

15 months

Dear Baby,

You were 15 months old yesterday.
It's been 15 months since you came into my life. That's a pretty long time! I've had 15 months of not sleeping through the night. 15 months of diaper changes. 15 months of feeding you, a lot. 15 months of bathing you and getting you dressed. Having a baby is not an easy job. But I'll tell you what... when I look at these pictures I don't see all the work. I see a sweet heart. I see a big soul inside a little body that is growing every day. I see how much you love me in your eyes. I love it when I get you from your crib and you put your little arms around my neck and squeeze. Sometimes those hugs are even accompanied with kisses on my cheek. I also love it when you stroke my hair absentmindedly. I don't think you even know you are doing it sometimes, but it's one of your comforts. I love being the one who can comfort you and make you smile.
I've had 15 months of feeling even more needed and loved. 15 months of snuggles. 15 months (almost) of baby smiles and giggles. 15 months of watching you learn new things each day. 15 months of kissing your chubby cheeks whenever I want to. All the sleepless nights and messy diapers are so worth it my Baby.

I love you more than you know,
Mom

A Long Week

Hey kids,
Remember how I was saying on this blog that Lulu got sick on Halloween and that nobody else got it? Well, the very next morning, which was a Wednesday, Mr T got sick. It had been 5 days since Lulu had it, so I was surprised that someone was sick. It was pretty bad for a few days. Then 5 days after Mr T got it, Hammer got it. He had it the worst. I was so scared for who would get it next because it was getting exponentially worse! Hammer missed 4 days of school with the dumb flu. They were 4 long days filled with lots of crying and whining and belly aches and having to be close to the bathroom, not to mention they included 4 terribly long nights. Hammer slept on my floor and nobody in that room got much sleep.
Taking care of a sick kid is hard. Taking care of sick kids one after the other for days on end is crazy hard. I feel so bad that you are sick; I am constantly worried about making you comfortable; I try to stay strong and positive so you are not scared; I have to wrack my brain thinking of foods you should and will eat; I am physically tired for running back and forth throughout the house with dirty laundry and taking care of healthy kids then back to the bathroom with the sick kid then back downstairs to change the movie; I don't sleep well since I'm so worried you will wake up sick; and I have horrible anxiety that someone else will get it next and the process will start all over. It is so exhausting. At the end of Hammer's day 3 of sickness, which was like day 9 counting the other two kids' illnesses, I was so tired physically and emotionally that I nearly gave up. I just wanted to sit on the couch and cry. But I kept putting one foot in front of the other, and leaned heavily on Dad. Thank goodness for Dad, who helped get us through. He did dishes and laundry and cooked us dinners while helping Lulu with her homework and playing with Baby and Pluto. I am one lucky mama.
The good news in this story is that no one got it after Hammer! Baby only had a fever for a few days, and was whiney, but never got the stomach part! It was a mini miracle. So was the fact that I didn't get it. When I have a stomach bug I am completely out of the game. I can't function, let alone take care of kids. I guess Heavenly Father knows that and has blessed me twice now to not get sick at the same time as my babies. Thank you!!!! And Daddy only felt sick for a few hours two Sundays ago.
Last Sunday I said to Dad, "Was it only a week ago that you were resting on the couch and feeling yucky?" It felt like it had been at least 2 weeks. But no, it had just been a really long week.
Yesterday I kicked it up a notch and got us back into our routine. It's back to exercising and housework and play dates and carpool.
Life is always busy isn't it? I think we're doing a pretty fine job though of living the mundane parts of life while still having fun and making memories. It's a hard balancing act, and one that I am constantly re-balancing.
I'm so glad everyone is feeling a-ok now. Let's stay healthy for a while now, ok?
Love you,
Mom

October Edition

My kiddos,

Here are the pictures from my phone for October.
Life Lately, According to My Phone:

You guys love shopping with me at Smith's because you get a free cookie each time

Conference cinnamon rolls left over!

Hammer, you made friends with Josh on your soccer team. Here you boys are playing at the park before your last practice

Baby, look what sometimes happens if I leave you unsupervised

Mr T, you had your first play date! You loved playing at Jack's house. You were playing super heroes when I went to pick you up.

I found these pretty flowers on clearance and took them to my cousin's baby shower

We shared a box of honeycrisp apples with some friends. Look how big they were!

This was at the school fundraiser, a Halloween carnival. Mr T, you won the stuffed animal walk and chose this giant frog. He was cute, but I'm sorry he got ruined when I put him through the washer. 

Mr T, you wanted me to draw Elsa at church, and you added the wicked hair

October was canning season. Daddy did tons of tomatoes and salsa!

Here you are Mr T in your favorite Ninja shirt

Hammer, you got to go out with me for a date to Taco Time for sorbet. Here we are bringing home the extra to share with your siblings just before bath time

The leaves turned red and fell off our trees

Hammer, I LOVE this fox you drew and colored at school. Really, I love it. It's my phone screen saver now

Pajama day at school!

Then we went through the car wash later that day to get our Vernal trip dust off the van

Crazy hair day at school

Looking at the solar eclipse through our special glasses

Lulu, you got 100% on your spelling test! Woo hoo!

The Monday before Halloween we made our regular butterscotch oatmeal cookies, but died them green and added eye balls so they would look like little monster. 

I tried something new one day for exercise... step aerobics. Baby, you wouldn't let me do them. You thought this step was for your entertainment, and we can't both fit on there!

This was at our ward trunk or treat. It was so dark so I tried to take a picture of you three cuties in the car's headlights. It sort of worked

Here comes the bus. Let's take a picture, quick quick! Halloween party day at school

Mr T, I made you a spider toast for Halloween breakfast

Trick or Treating at Dad's work!

Lulu, you and I did our nails on Halloween morning, using little stickers from your Happy Meal. 

On to November now, and so far so good (minus Mr T finally catching the dumb virus. That's no good. No good at all).

Love you,

Mom

Olaf

Hammer,

You had it in your mind that you needed to be Olaf for Halloween. I tried to convince you to choose an outfit from our dress up box, but you just really wanted to be Olaf and we had no Olaf costume downstairs. Daddy asked Grammie if she could help us out. She graciously agreed, and created this cute costume for you. She made the hat, the body, and the pants, while I added on the felt and pipe cleaner details.  We were going to add balloons or something to make you more round, but couldn't figure out what would look best. I think you look pretty adorable just the way you were though.

I didn't let you wear this to school, since it's white and it's not recess ready. You were fine being Spiderman at school though. I did let you wear Olaf at Dad's work. We had to let a few more people see all the hard work! Plus, like I said, you've been looking forward to it for months! You even kept that nose on the whole time you were trick or treating!
Love you my little ham,
Mom