Spring is Here!

Our T-ball stand broke so Lily and Anna filled up the dump truck with rocks from the yard and made a little stand for the t-ball pole so they could play. Such smart little girls! Lily is getting good and can't wait for T-ball to start. Ammon is excited too. I can't wait to watch them play!

I am loving this nice weather! The kids and I have had a blast playing outside all week. It has been in the 60's every day. It feels so nice to have the sun warm me up and actually feel HOT outside! We have had several picnics, played T-ball, tried getting rid of rocks and weeds in the yard, turned on the sprinklers (haven't run through them yet, although Lily has put on her swimsuit and keeps begging me to let her), played in the dirt and been so dirty! It has all been so much fun! I love great weather!

How Much Do You Pay?

I am wondering how much to pay for babysitters. Do you pay depending on the age of the sitter, how many kids, how much they need to do while they are watching your kids...? It has been awhile since we have had a sitter and I want to be able to pay one well enough that they are willing to come back, but not so much that I can't afford to go out. Please let me know what you think. If you don't want me to publish your comment I won't post it. All comments are emailed to me first. Thank you!

Messes

What does your toddler do when you are busy? Mine dumps out whatever she can get her hands on! This is a normal occurrence around our house. You think I would get smart and move the cereal to a different place... Oh well, thanks to our broom it doesn't take too long to clean up.

The Mountains

Here is a neat picture of Adam and Anna at Mt. Rose on Saturday. We go up almost every weekend to enjoy the beautiful wintry mountains and to sled. It is so much fun!

St. Patrick's Day

We had a fun breakfast for our St. Patty's morning. I made green German pancakes and green milk. The kids thought it was so cool, even though it is the same thing I do every year. Adrienne, did you do this breakfast? When I was about 10 we were at my uncle Kenny's and he and Johanna and my mom made us this for breakfast. We thought it was the coolest thing ever, at least I did! So, I have continued the tradition with my kids.

Ammon had a great idea for family home evening the night before to make a playground for the leprechauns. We used styrofoam, I hate that stuff, it is so messy, green foam paper, toothpicks and marshmallows. The kids were excited to see that the leprechauns had enjoyed the playground and a few marshmallows and left them each a dime! Holidays are so fun with kids!

Problem Solving

Last week I made the mistake of getting down a treat for Lily, who had finished her lunch, just as Anna woke up and was getting ready to eat hers. Yeah right! Like Anna is going to eat her bowl of rice when she sees Lily with a piece of chocolate. Ha ha! I would choose the chocolate, wouldn't you?! Well, I tired to give Anna her lunch anyway, and it was met with crying and refusal to eat. So I took her out of her high chair and decided we would just go run errands instead of battling over mealtime. Lily wanted to share her treat but I told her no because that would teach Anna that all she had to do was cry and throw a fit and then she would get what she wanted. While I was getting ready to go, Anna was still crying, it had only been about a minute or two since I had taken her out of her highchair, she suddenly stopped crying and disappeared. She came back into the kitchen carrying the stool from the bathroom. She placed it right next to the fridge and climbed up on it and tried reaching the top of the fridge, which is where I put the treat bag. It was so cute! She barely reached halfway up even with the stool. She didn't care though. She was determined to get that treat bag. What a sweetheart! I thought it was so neat that she figured out a solution to her problem all by herself! What a smart little girl. By the way, no I didn't give her a treat. I grabbed some fruit snacks for her to nibble while we were at the store. Thankfully we ended up at Costco and they had samples, so Anna got her lunch after all!

Bed Time

All the doll toys between the crib and dresser and bed and crib. Lily's little fortress. Cute girl!

Happy Kids!

Ammon is scared of sleeping in his room, so he camps out on Lily's floor every night. I think he feels left out since Lily and Anna get to share and he is all alone. Last week Lily had the brilliant idea of moving Anna's crib next to her bed so she, Lily, wouldn't be scared. The first night was out of control. All the kids were up way later than normal laughing and playing and making tons of noise. I went in to tell them to go to sleep and Lily had unloaded her entire doll box between her dresser and the crib and her bed and the crib. Lots of it ended up in Anna's crib too. It was hilarious. It was pretty messy, but she did clean it all up the next morning. She was building a ice safe-zone around the crib for her and Anna. So silly. Ammon has liked this set-up because he no longer has to sleep next to Lily's bed and imagine all the scary things that might be under it. He is so much happier with it this way. The only problem is that it makes it difficult fot Lily to get in and out of her bed and impossible to open her dresser drawers. I moved it back the way it is supposed to be last night while the kids where busy and when I went in later, Ammon had moved it back by Lily's bed! He promised he would switch it in the morning. He really hates being next to Lily's bed. She doesn't have a bed skirt so you can look right under her bed. He always builds a nice blockade with stuffed animals and pillows so he can't see under it. Kids are so funny!

Sleepy Baby

I moved Anna's naps back about an hour and a half. She is so ready for her naps now. The other day she fell asleep in her highchair, it was so sweet. I love sleepy babies! Her head was nodding and her eyes kept opening and closing until finally she was sound asleep!

Wavy Hair

Lily always wants her hair curly, but it is hard with it short. The other day we did twists all over and it turned out pretty cute. She has agreed to grow her hair long again, we'll see if that lasts.

My Van

Okay, I don't know if any of you watched Oprah yesterday, thanks to Keri telling me about it, I watched. It was her Clean up your messy house tour show. She had a family on there and she brought in their car which was very messy. I just wanted to clarify that my van did not and does not look like her car. In defense of myself, I have never lost anything in my car, never been able to not find a gift I purchased and placed in my car, never had my kids grow out of bottles or clothes that were left in the car and there is always enough room for my whole family. When I told Adam about this he laughed. He said that was a pretty low standard to compare myself to. Just to let you know, my van is not always perfectly clean, but it isn't so out of control that it would take me an hour to just sort through the trash in my car with the help of Oprah's staff. My kids and I can usually de-junk the van in about 10 minutes and vacuuming always takes much longer. Since my episode last week, I am proud to say that what goes into the car always comes out when we get home. We have been doing a good job and I am trying to train the kids to be cleaner and more organized. One thing they said on Oprah's show was that when you don't take care of what you have you are teaching your children that it is okay to be irresponsible. Definitely a message I don't want to be sending to my kids. By the way, I organized my whole closet yesterday before I even knew about the Oprah show! Adam came home late and after I told him about the show he noticed the closet and said, "You should watch that show more often!" Silly guy! He makes me laugh. Yes, I do clean things on my own initiative!

Two Pigs in the Mud!

So, I started a carpool this week with a family in my neighborhood. She drives to school and I pick up. On Monday, the first day of carpool, I picked up Ammon and Breydon, who is 7 1/2. When Breyden got in and sat down he said, "It smells like two pigs in the mud in here. Maybe I have been smelling too many ferrets, they stink!" I tried so hard not to laugh! You have to understand that Adam is always telling me my car smells and looks like a barn. In my defense, I think most of you with three kids might understand that snacks get left in the car and smashed into the carpet... Anyway, Tuesday, I made sure I cleaned out the van and vacuumed it really well so Breyden didn't make any more farm comments! He hasn't said anything about it stinking since Monday, so hopefully we'll be okay. I should probably get an air freshener or get the upholstery shampooed to help out. Hope this made you laugh and not think I am disgusting. I guess I just have different priorities, and keeping my van in tip-top shape isn't #1. I do care about being clean though, I am just not meticulous about my van. I did want to share something from President Monson that Adam shared with me this morning. "If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly." (Finding Joy in the Journey Oct. 2008 General Conference). Even though my van smells like two pigs in the mud, my kids and I are happy!

Our Newest Family Picture!

Adam and I have been talking about how badly we need and want a new and recent family picture. Well, here it is...

We woke up to about 3 or 4 inches of snow yesterday! It was so pretty! You know, I really wouldn't mind it being cold if we actually had snow to play in. It was mostly gone by the time Ammon got home from school, but Lily and I went out during the afternoon and built our little family. Lily rolled daddy all by herself! I used our poor snowman from last week for me, but had to roll a new head. Lily helped pick out all the hats and scarves and wanted to dress the baby, Anna, so she wouldn't be cold. I told her she would be okay, but she still wrapped her up with two scarves just to be safe, what a good little mommy she will be! We had a lot of fun. We love the snow!

Well, I like everything about the snow except for driving in it. Poor Adam was stuck in traffic for 2 1/2 hours on his way to work. It normally takes 30-35 minutes to get to work, but not yesterday! The roads get so backed-up when it snows, it's ridiculous. Adam left at 7:20 and I called at 8:00 hoping he was at work and he was only 2 miles down the street! I called again at 9:00 and he was almost to I-80. He finally called at 9:45 and had just pulled in to the parking lot at work. Aggravation! I am glad I didn't have to go out!

I'm a Big Girl Now!

These were taken back in January and I had no idea that Lily was even putting makeup on. We left to get Ammon from school and she did this while we were on our way to pick him up. When he got in the car he said, "Mom, what happened to Lily?!" I turned around and saw her face and laughed so hard. I felt so bad because we made her feel totally embarrassed. As soon as we got home I ran to get the camera and she was already in the bathroom trying to clean it off. I took her picture before she got it all off. She was sad and I felt terrible. We were on our way out the door for a bike ride and she didn't want to go outside until her makeup was off because she didn't want anyone to see her. We worked it all out and she ended up being happy and as you can see, she still loves her makeup! By the way, she has on lipstick, not eye shadow. I had a little Mary Kay lipstick sample that came with a little brush to apply it. It looked like it could have been eyeshadow, at least to a 4 year old. So it was a little difficult to get off because you know how lipstick is, and it was so dark!

Lily loves makeup! She has gotten into all my old stuff, that hasn't been worn for almost nine years, wow! Anyway, she absolutely loves to dress up and look pretty. She is so cute. Well, Anna is now liking it too! She is a baby and she likes makeup?! She cries when I take it away from her and clean her up. It is so sad to hear her cry like that. She acts like her heart is broken. Yesterday Lily and Ammon put a little on her and then left it where she could reach it. She came into me and her face was covered! She just kept putting on and in her left eye. I think they were really irritated, poor girl. She looked so cute though and she was so proud of herself! She loves to look pretty. What am I going to do? She and Lily are so girlie and I am not, I think I am in for it. Well, the other thing Lily loves to do is paint her nails. She is actually getting pretty good at it. Yesterday before dinner she disappeared and came out with bright pink nails and toenails too. She did a great job. Today she wanted purple to match her dress, so she redid it. She cracks me up. Girls are so fun. I love them both so much!

Stake Conference

We had our Stake Conference broadcast from SLC today. It was great! The adult session last night was awesome too! I love listening to our leaders speak the words of God. I love hearing what they have to say and learning what I need to do or how I need to change. President Monson based his talk around Doctrine and Covenants 88:119 "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God." I love listening the prophet.. He is such an amazing man. I felt so much through his talk. The home is so important and I do want my home to be house of God. I want the Spirit to be here, to influence me and my family to do our best and make right choices in everything we do. This scripture was also quoted from last night as well. I know it is important and I am thankful for the spirit speaking to me and helping me know where I need to improve.
This past week I have been working on the house of order part. I made a goal to have my kitchen clean every night before bed. For most of you this is probably already routine, but I struggle with it. So I did it all but Thursday night because I was at enrichment way late with Adam and the kids and by the time I got them in bed it was after 10:00 and I was tired, and honestly just forgot, oops. Oh well, I keep trying and I am getting better. All the other nights I had the dishes and sink washed, all the counter tops washed, the highchair and table clean and the floors swept. I was so proud of myself! I also organized the kids drawers, closets, under beds, and bookshelves and reorganized the toy closet! This week my goal is to reorganize the kitchen cabinets and also keep the kitchen clean like last week. I think I will have to have that as my goal for 30 days at least. They say it takes that long to form a habit right? So, little by little I am working on a house of order. I know that the Spirit cannot dwell where it is not orderly. That isn't to say I can't still be influenced by the spirit, but I know I will feel it more and things will and are better when my home is orderly. I am thankful I was working on part of these things before conference, and I am thankful to know the many other things I can change as well.

Anna is 18 Months!

So Anna is now officially old enough to go to nursery but of course, she won't go. She won't let me out of her reach in the nursery room. She has to be on my lap or touching me or she cries. The other night for Enrichment Adam was in charge of the nursery and she wouldn't even stay in there with him. Lily didn't go until she was 2 years and 9 months old. So, it might be awhile. Anna is such a momma's girl. I love her and love that she loves me, but I would love it if she would just happily go to nursery!

Foods My Kids Like

My kids absolutely love broccoli, lima beans, and prunes. They love a lot of other things too, but I think these are usually foods most kids would complain about. I am thankful to have pretty good eaters! Lily is funny. She likes tartar sauce, and not just on fish sticks. She ate it today with tortilla chips, and a few times she has put it on her bread for a sandwich. She doesn't eat the whole thing and I don't blame her one bit! Gross! Ammon loves shrimp and asks for it all the time. I don't even remember where he has eaten it. Anyway, I promised him we would have shrimp for his birthday dinner. It's too expensive to eat often, even though I would like to eat it more often too.

Sleep Walking

I think that occasionally Lily sleep walks, but only when she uses the bathroom in the middle of the night and only if she is super-tired. She never goes on her own. She usually starts tossing and turning or crying and I go in and wake her up and take her to the bathroom. She usually wakes up, but a few times she has been so tired that she gets up and goes, but she doesn't act awake. It is really kind of funny. She doesn't respond normally and when I give her toilet paper she doesn't know what to do with it when she is done. She just holds it in her hand and then drops it on the floor and freezes. I tell her to pick it up and she just ignores me or cries. It is really kind of frustrating. It's like a power-battle, but it is crazy because she isn't awake and I get frustrated for nothing. Anyway, it is really kind of crazy and only happens once in awhile. Well, back in Vegas she needed to go in the middle of the night and I went in and got her and followed her to the bathroom. She walked right over to the side of the toilet, between the toilet and the tub, I think she was confused about where she was at. She sat on the edge of the tub and started peeing into the tub. I couldn't believe it! I was trying not to laugh and was trying to figure out what she was doing. She finished, pulled up her pants and walked back to her room, never acknowledging me. It was the funniest thing ever. Maybe I shouldn't have written it because it is an intrusion of her privacy and she would probably be embarrassed about it, but I had to write it before I forgot that it ever happened. Please don't say anything to her about it. The next morning I asked her if she remembered what happened and she said no. I told her and she laughed so hard and then Ammon laughed even harder when she told him. They think it is hilarious and love it when I tell them the story of the night Lily peed in the tub!

Stickers

I went to the post office back in December to get some stamps and I made the mistake of letting Lily hold them for me. She absolutely loves stickers and she thought they were stickers. When we got to the car she was saying something about stickers and I told her we didn't have any. She said we did and showed me her pretty stickers she had put on, the stamps! I feel so bad because I got upset with her and told her they weren't stickers and they cost a lot of money, well, if you are using them as stickers, then yes, they are really expensive! The look on her face made me so sad. I was way too hard on her and for what, a dollar of wasted money?! I wish I could go back and erase that one. I need to relax and not make such a big deal out of little things that could really be a fun and silly memory rather than a sad one. Sorry Lily!

Renocasally

My little Lily has such an imagination and is so good at playing by herself. The other day she dressed up her animals and herself and made a car with the chairs and told me she was on a date. I asked her where she was going and she said, "To renocasally, it's between the mountains and the freeway at the top of the mountain. Then we are going dancing." She was so cute and happy and her animal was dressed in Anna's church shoes and a dress. Lily is such a fun happy soul. I am so glad she is so good at playing by herself.

I Love My Husband!

Adam came home from work last night with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me and a big container of chocolate and caramel covered macadamia nuts! He is such a wonderful husband! I feel so blessed to have him. He truly is an amazing man and I admire and love him so much! Thank you Adam, I love you!

Half Snow Day

Lily helping baby bear make a snow angel!

So Ammon's school was delayed by 2 hours yesterday morning because of snow. There really wasn't very much, but I was happy for the delay. We don't get much snow out here and when we do it melts within a few hours, so we made sure we got out right after breakfast to enjoy it. We played outside from 9:00 until 10:00 and then I took Ammon to school at 11:00. We made a big snowman and the kids had tons of fun. I started a ball for them and they rolled them all over the front lawn to get them bigger. I was really surprised with how big they turned out. I had a difficult time lifting them up to build the snowman. My back was hurting last night and now I think I know why, oops! Anyway, we had lots of fun and it turned out great except that the sun is on him all day so his face keeps falling off and he is leaning really bad. I think he will tip over soon. Oh well, we had fun. Anna did well for awhile but then she had decided she was through. She was super-tired because she went to sleep late and woke up early. She is normally so happy. It was unusual for her to be crying like she was. I tried to take her in and get her snack and open the blinds so she could watch us, but she wasn't happy about being left alone. So then I got her car seat and big warm blanket and got her all comfy on the porch but she was screaming even more. Then I just took her inside and closed the door, because she was only in her pj's. But, she opened the door and came out screaming and kept trying to walk over to me, through the snow, in just her pj's... The neighbors probably thought I was being so mean. So I got her dressed up warm again and just held her and no more tears. Wow, moms are magic. All you have to do is pick them and suddenly, the crying is gone...! All in all it was a great morning and I was thankful for the extra time with Ammon. He and Lily had fun making snow angels and Lily even helped her baby bear who was dressed in a swimsuit, go figure, make a snow angel too! That girl is so sweet. She loves her animals. By the way, we used most of the snow from our front yard and by noon, all the rest had melted. Adam said it looked like we had used all the snow from our neighborhood, silly!