"We're Off in a Cloud of Chicken Manure" --The Egg and I

Productivity is Channeled Elsewhere

2012-02-09T18:57:00.001-07:00

I love to crochet. I love to sew. I also love my house clean and my kids happy. Thus...more energy is channeled towards a clean house and happy kids. My photography business is pretty slow, on purpose. I stopped advertising a while ago and now only accommodate those who know me from church or repeat customers. Valentine's day gave me the chance to sew up some shirts for the boys. I lengthened the sleeves and bottom of Mia's shirt from last year with one of my old tee shirts. It looks even cuter! See the photos of her new haircut for the outfit.

In the past two weeks I also crocheted 5 hats for my awesome family Doctor, Dr Shaw, who has breast cancer. She needed some warmth to cover her head from the cold. The kids helped to deliver the hats. Amelia was impressed that a girl would get a boy hair cut. It was sweet to watch the kids give her a hug and kiss. Amelia told Dr Shaw that she hoped her body feels better so her Rapunzel hair can grow back. Course I forgot to take photos of the hats. Gasp.

Amelia found a spare 4t shirt I was going to use at Christmas. She told me that the shirt needed a cute Hello Kitty. I was down with that idea so we trolled the image pages on google for a cute and easy Hello Kitty. We both LOVE the ballerina kitty. The shirt sleeve got smeared with some black fabric paint thanks to Everett.

About a month ago I started a dinosaur hat for Phillip. Yep, it took me a long while to get that one done. A little here and there! I finished it this morning. He was SOOOOOOO excited to wear it to the library. He approached each of the librarians and growled at them. Crack me up.

Lastly, I made a couple items for birthday babies. One little guy had a photo shoot with me so I made him a party hat and two banners. Another little girl celebrated her first birthday. The shirt ripped a hole while I embroidered the "N", shoot. It looks obvious to me and tacky, but the buyer had no idea. Gotta love that.

***My good friend Madison told me a while back that her Mother-in-Law finally figured out why she felt so compelled to have projects like sewing, crochet, etc. It was the a part of her life that when the project was completed, it stayed completed. I give a hearty AMEN to that. Once Madison voiced those words they rang true and clear. During these busy times as a mother to three young kids, those little projects I fit in are not to be supermom, rather, to give me a sense of completion in at least one area of my life.

Butched

2012-02-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

I love Amelia's new poses! Can you tell she is taking dance? LOL!

Argh! Mia and I went to get much needed hair cuts on Wednesday. I love the guy who does my hair. He is a goof ball and always does neat tricks with my curly hair. He tried some innovative tricks he learned at a hair show last weekend on my head of hair. Never had a hair cut like that. The ways he pulled and combed and cut my hair were strange...and awesome. My hair is actually cooperating and in the end looks even and not frizzy. Hooray!

Mia was tired of long hair. She was tired of brushing out the gnarly tangles. I was tired of her whining. Her hair is so slick and straight most cute hair styles don't stick around very long. The top of her head has a patch of damaged hair from the one hair style that works. Her little friend, Lily, got a cute bob a little while ago. Amelia was inspired and begged for short hair. I wanted a cute a-line, a super cute cut with her fine hair and face shape. I instructed the beautician to cut her hair just below her neck hairline to an inch or two below her chin. Hummm, instead she got an uneven bob. Poor kid looks like a boy now. I don't want to cut bangs again so she will just wear a hat until it grows enough for an a-line. I was pleased the beautician offered to cut her hair for free when it comes time to fix it. Amelia LOVES her short hair!

Mother of the Year

2012-01-31T17:39:00.001-07:00

Phillip giving daddy "kicks" (kisses)

You would think by now I'd learn how to think like Phillip. Alas, no. That kid evades me. He was being so sweet and cute this morning. I had a really short photoshoot (like 15 minutes) for a Valentine mini session. He grabbed a boiled egg off the counter and carried it around half the morning. He gently pocketed it, carried it with tongs, lovingly wrapped it in a blanket, and crooned sweet tenders to his baby dinosaur egg. We have a dinosaur activity book with a fly wheel showing a dino egg, the egg cracking, a baby dino emerging, then a mommy dino. He muttered this cycle over an over to his egg. It finally cracked under all the attention. Phillip was dissapointed to discover a boiled egg instead of a baby dino. Amelia took up the charade and carried a basket full of boiled dino eggs around the rest of the day. Last night Amelia informed Justin that he was taking her on a date the next day for lunch. She woke up this morning and her first words were "Did you know Daddy is taking me on a date of McDonalds." She would not be disuaded. So, she had a nice quiet lunch date with daddy. Since my studio was set up took some daddy/kids photos. I shooed the kids outside to play while I worked on cleaning the kitchen and dishes. After a while I heard a "psssst" noise coming from the garage. Oh, crap! Phillip found a can of spray paint. I painted something the night before but put the paint away in front of him, so he saw where I put it. The kid climbed up to the shelf (it is over 5 feet high) and grabbed a lovely olive green color. Then he decided the van was too plain so tagged the passenger side. It was lovely art work. Luckily, the paint was really wet so it wiped off with a rag and some paint thinner. Phillip's naughty act about gave me heart failure dreaming about Justin's reaction. I also cleaned out our blue plastic rocking horse, Cactus. He was rattling something fierce whenever the kids rode him. Took some tongs and removed a whole pile of stuff Phillip stuffed inside poor cactus.

Amelia came back from lunch on cloud 9. Phillip and I had a picnic outside. I ran inside to get a drink, leaving Everett to play in the grass. I came back to find Phillip pouring his dirt loaded monster-size dump truck on Everett's head. I'd say he dumped about a gallon of garden soil on the baby's head. Geesh. Everett was amused and loved the mid-day excuse for a bath.

Preview: Letter G

2012-01-31T17:22:00.002-07:00

This is a snack view of what decorated our basement Monday morning. Cute aren't they? We learned about the sneaky letter G. Did you know it makes two sounds, a hard and a soft sound?! The soft sound is almost identical to the sound J makes. We learned about the color gold, painted some goldfish, read a fun book, practiced writing the letter G, then had snack outside. Phillip went to play with the Siler family. Bishop Siler reported that Phillip grabbed a harmonica, played it, and then made a bow. I wonder where he got that from?!

Outside Kind of Day

2012-01-31T17:16:00.004-07:00

Yesterday was a gorgeous day! It is so hard to believe the calendar says January. We spent some time outside for preschool, then most of the lunch hour, and right up until naptime. It was splendid. Amelia and Phillip made scrumptious mud pies. Everett ate rocks. I watched all the action, relishing every moment. I love how Everett's hair waves in the breeze.

Score! Missed...

2012-01-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

I think this week we are finally feeling and acting more normal. Amelia is doing so much better with her whining. I outlawed the words "I can't" on Wednesday. They are almost like swear words now. I hate hearing Amelia respond to a request with "I CAAAAAN'TTTT!" My first response is to say "Honey you can! You can!" It almost hurts me to hear her respond with so little confidence. We've had an ongoing dialogue since Wednesday about what she can say besides "I can't." She responds quite well to a little love with her medicine. Phillip needs a little physical reminder when asked to do something. My mom told me boys need a physical touch to spark obedience. Through experience I find that very true. Even if I just touch his shoulder and make eye contact he will listen and obey. Plus having a couple more months under his belt of growing and expanding his speech skills help. Wow, that was a tangent! LOL.

Everett loves his new high chair. He is constantly squealing as he watches me cook, clean, and such. The kids are often around me so Everett has constant entertainment. Amelia shares her toys with him. Both kids love to play peek-a-boo from under the table with him. I can also swivel his seat around so he can watch the fish.

Phillip finally jumped out of his crib on Wednesday. I love stealing peeks into his room as he settles down for a nap. He reminds me of a doggie getting his nest ready for the night. He circles around, arranges the blankets, talks with his monkey, plays with his crib light, and yammers on as he reads a book. I know he is almost ready to fall asleep because I hear a thump on the ceiling when he chucks his book overboard. Wednesday I heard the book thump then 3 minutes later a much louder thump followed by wailing. Found him on the floor, just fine but with a bruised ego. Put him back in the crib and he went to sleep. So far he has not tried to get out again. I am very surprised it took him this long to attempt an escape. Another funny story: most mornings after I remove his nighttime diaper he wants to use the potty. He went into the bathroom solo this morning while I changed Everett. I heard the normal scuffling like the step stool, the elmo potty seat, and him trying to take a seat. He came back a few minutes later like most mornings. I got him dressed an thought nothing of it. He's never peed before while on the potty. This morning he totally scored the pee part but missed the target. He must've sat with his legs squashed together causing his pee to shoot in a nice little arc right on top of the step stool. I can just imagine it. He showed me his yucky face and helped me clean up the piddle. I really want him to sit backwards on the seat but he absolutely refuses. Maybe he will potty train himself!

Justin is catching my nasty sinus junk. Poor guy. At least he is not crunching for year end accounting until odd hours in the evening. He kicked in a lot of help after my comments on the lack of house help. I really, really, really appreciate the little things and the big chores he helped me with. I am teaching a 5th Sunday class with Sherrie 3rd hour of church this Sunday. We have a temporary calling as ward profile specialists. Our duty is to help our ward get signed up with profiles on LDS.org, upload photos to their profiles, and learn how to use the directory, calendar, and how to navigate around the website. There is a lot of amazing information, activities, videos, etc on LDS.org. The church is putting forth quite a bit of effort into making the gospel readily available on the internet.

I updated *some* videos on my YouTube account. Check them out! Click me.

Flash Update: Everett sprouted his first tooth yesterday! Bottom left...only 31 more to go.

Everett is 8 Months Old

2012-01-27T15:07:00.002-07:00

Oh. My. Goodness. We sure love this little bite of baby goodness. He is so deliciously yummy and perfect in every way. I wish babies had a pause button to extend that 6-9 month old period of time. I LOVE this age. Perfection. This month Everett really started responding to his siblings antics. He will bust out with a belly laugh over the silliest things. Yesterday he about busted a gut string laughing at Ella waggling a set of cheerleader pom-poms. Discovered today that he really likes spinach and potato baby food. He is easily entertained with a basket of interesting toys. I can set him on the ground with a basket and he will amuse himself for a good 20 minutes. He laughs, smiles, gurgles, and blows raspberries about 70% of the time. Justin and I don't really enjoy the baby food showers Everett gives us with his raspberries. I swear, he says "Hi." In the last two weeks he entered what I call "The Claw" stage. His pointer finger is always extended ready to hook something...mostly my bottom lip. His chick fluff hair is so amazing. He loves to bathe in the bath chair with Amelia or Phillip. Tuesday he discovered the wonderful action of splashing water in the bath. He went crazy spashing himself in the face for 15 entire minutes. It was almost like he could not do anything except splash.

**Alison let me use her new house to take some photos of Everett yesterday while we came over for a Mommy-Kid playdate. Love the teal wall!!!

***Little Buddy sprouted his first tooth today! It was not there yesterday! His first tooth is the bottom one on the left-hand side. Hooray! He produced a tooth the earliest between the three kids.

Shaking Up Some Changes

2012-01-22T21:57:00.002-07:00

We are feeling much better than my last report on Tuesday! Hooray! Amelia keeps jostling her right arm doing things most normal 4 year olds do. Wednesday she was hopping around in the living room and tripped, catching herself on that arm. I had to pop the joint back in again. From what I hear other mothers say, that once the joint comes loose the nursemaid elbow injury becomes more common. We are icing it and trying to keep her from being to rowdy.

Wednesday the preschool kids had a really fun field trip to Pizza Hut with another preschool class in town. The event was so exciting that the newspaper ran a story on their trip...it made the front page! That makes me giggle! Amelia can be seen on the front page and in the continuing story. I was not able to get my hands on a newspaper so can't show you the story. Bummer. BUT I did steal a copy off Christine's FB page! Thank goodness for cntl & Prt Scr buttons on my keyboard.

I finally started to feel human again on Saturday. That was a long two week illness. I was inspired to get the family more involved in helping around the house. We are starting chores on Monday and also a new consequence program for rudeness. Amelia is quite the whiner and complainer of late. I've had enough. Usually when she whines I completely ignore her and send her to bed. It was not making an impression. Thursday Amelia was whining about getting dressed and earned the task of cleaning out the van for me. Today she was burping at the table and had to clean the dining room wall. She can choose not to do the chore and pay me to do it with some of her toys. So far she's cleaned something. Both kids love to clean so in the end they have a good time and their behavior improves a bit. I am excited the kids are getting old enough to help out a bit. So introduce the manners chart:

Friday I showed Amelia how to make her bed. Saturday she made it all by herself! She was so proud of herself that she wanted me to take a picture. I walked by her room three times looking for her. She was nestled near her animals! Made me laugh. She got a new nightgown last week. She wore said nightgown all last week too. She wore said nightgown to the Primary Breakfast...with slippers. We enjoyed the breakfast. I went with the kids to help out a bit. Phillip drank syrup out of the bottle and ate about 20 sausages. Delicious. Justin went hunting for "ditch parrots" or pheasant with a guy in the ward. He totally deserved a morning outside with his gun after working so late on Year Close stuff. Everett decided to stay awake most of Friday night. Seemed like his ears were bothering him. I noticed a white spot on his lower gum, he could be cutting a bottom tooth or it could be a milk spot. I found some homeopathic drops that numb the ear drum and clean out the ears. He did MUCH better last night with the drops.

Justin is enjoying our new Apple TV. It pretty much rocks. He's burned about 50 DVDs to the new computer and hooked up the Apple TV, the TV, and the new computer together. We can watch movies much like James and Miekka do with no DVDs just streaming the files over the computer. Pretty slick.

Oh yeah, Thursday I turned on the oven to start dinner. After 5 minutes I noticed a really funky smell. After lunch Phillip had carefully put the remainder of his corn dog, four carrot sticks, his ranch, and glass of milk into the oven. Yikes! The combo put off a really gnarley smell. He was so excited when I pulled out his charred lunch. He was jumping and yelling, "I did it! Done! I did it!" Guess that science experiment went off with flying colors.

ER Visit

2012-01-17T15:15:00.003-07:00

This morning found Amelia and I at the ER for a little visit. She was doing a fancy trick from the slide to bean bag and dislocated her elbow. I was in the shower when all the excitement went down. Amelia is quite the crier and such so sometimes it is hard to tell when she is really in distress. This time, I had no problem distinguishing her distress. My VT, Christine, came quickly over to take the boys home while I went with Mia to the ER. Our doctor's office was booked up clear through 4 pm with appts today so it was the ER for us. We were in and out very quickly. She ended up dislocating the two bones that connect to the elbow (commonly called Nursemaid's Elbow). The Dr popped the bones back in place, gave her some pain medicine, some stickers, and discharge papers. I am so relieved she did not break her arm.

I was back at the hospital an hour later for my own appt. I was getting over my sinus infection and finally feeling much better yesterday morning. After lunch my nose started running again and wham! I had a full blown infection, fever, chills, headache, and low muscle tone. Toasts to amoxicillian! Here's to modern medicine baby!

Not much else to report about the weekend. Justin worked, actually got the laundry done, fed the Elder's on Saturday, spray painted a little table, and appliqued two shirts. The house is a mess and all I want to do is lay on the couch and cry. Boo hoo! LOL.

**Phillip's newest phrase is "I DID IT!" He is all about doing it himself, if he gets some help he still claims all the praise. So endearing! Everett is working on a bottom tooth. Deb sold me a fun little high chair that clips to the table. Everett LOVES being at the table with everyone. The chair swivels around so I can feed him while sitting on the bench or on the chair. Check it out here: Chicco chair.

Under the Weather

2012-01-11T15:28:00.000-07:00

Gotta love this temper tamtrum from Little Everett

The anatomy of discovering an object with one's mouth

Sucking in that adorable bottom lip...sigh, sooooo cute

It feels like Friday instead of Wednesday. We are sporting some nasty colds here at the Call home. I have a nasty sinus infection and headaches, Justin is getting a sinus infection, Phillip is spurting snot and boogers all over, and to top it off Amelia and Everett got immunized yesterday. Everett is a ball of frustration and sadness. His sad/mad face is ever so endearing even when he is screaming bloody murder.

I was so proud of Amelia. She knew the shots were coming so put on her big girl pants and locked up her courage. She did not cry, rather pursed up her lips during the shots. Her eyes watered up a bit giving me some "almost going to cry" looks. She put on her ice packs and walked away like a big girl. We went to the dollar store for a small craft for her courage.

Friday I scored a big wheels bike at the local consignment store. Amelia and Phillip love it! Amelia loves how fast she can pedal. Hearing the rhythm of those plastic Big Wheels on the pavement sends me back to childhood. Watching the kids enjoy that bike gives me pleasure! The best part was that my consignment credit covered the cost completely. Whaoo. Phillip took a spill off his trike attempting to grab his fire fighter helmet that fell off his head. He scraped his little nose pretty hard on the sidewalk. While attending to Phillip's nose, Everett decided to flip out of my grip off the bathroom counter onto the floor spread eagle. It was not a fun day! We are feeling a bit better today, except Everett.

A couple weeks ago a power outage thanks to a wind storm fried the Mother Board on my old computer. We really want to get all our DVDs on the computer like the James Lance family has. So, we got a newer computer for media purposes and for Amelia's reading program (Rusty and Rosy). It came today in the mail! The ironic thing is the new computer is practically the same as my computer save the raid drives; the new one was half the price.

I am going to offer Valentine's Day mini-sessions this year for those interested. Never done that before because most photographers I know say it is not worth the time or money. Still they all do it. So mark your calendars for January 28th!

Sidney is having a nice blizzard today. I brought in the play slide for the kids to get their energy out. I showed Phillip how to race cars down the slide and let him play while Mia was at preschool. Today, Phillip insisted on wearing his "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" shirt from the Eric Carle book. He loves that book much like my brother Jared did. Jared could recite the book at a very young age. Phillip's other favorite book is "Commotion in the Ocean" by Andre Giles. He shies away from the shark, stings his finger on the ray, and toothily smiles at the whale. I read that book about 6 times each day.

Smash, Crash, Bang

2012-01-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's one hungry baby!!!

Collage of the livingroom, post Christmas, with our updated family photos; the bathroom cabinet, and my rearranged diningroom area. Moving out the wine/waterbottle rack makes the room feel much bigger.

I called the roofing company, we hired back in August, back in October. The company said they were totally backed up and most likely would not get to our roof until spring. I totally forgot about our holey roof...until Tuesday. Justin asked me if I knew where in insurance checks were. I put them in a special place that took me a couple days to locate. I called the company on Tuesday for a status update. They said the workers would be there the next day. A little while later I looked out the window to find a huge flat semi off-loading three flats of shingles. That was fast work. I cannot even begin to tell you how grateful I am that we had 18 hours notice. Wednesday was a bit crazy. The workers showed up around 10 am and worked until 6 pm, the entire house was filled with scraping, banging, and crashing sounds. The vents must be in the upstairs ceiling because we could clearly hear everything while in the basement. Phillip was determined to go outside and use the pneumatic nail gun. We worked on cleaning up the house and doing art projects. Amelia had preschool and a Dr appt. She woke up Tuesday night complaining of an earache. The Dr said her ears looked great (grumble). At least I got a diaper out of the visit for a poopy Everett...that was an expensive diaper. After a short afternoon resting time we geared up for a Walmart trip. I would have waited but we were out of bread, eggs, milks, and diapers. Shoot. It was hellacious. Period.

To back track a bit Miss Ella spent most of Tuesday with us. I want to commend Alison and Matt for teaching that girl to pray. When the girls started to squabble I asked Ella to say a prayer for us to bring peace and friendship. She nearly waxed obtuse during her prayer, it was so endearing. I love hearing kids pray. A while back I asked Justin to expand his meal time prayers to more than one sentence for the kid's sake. Now he says 3 sentence prayers! LOL. The girls did not argue or fight much after Ella's prayer. While the girls and Phillip played I packed up Christmas. Our house was a disaster zone for two days while I worked on rearranging and cleaning. Things look much better now!

Today the weather reached a record high of 74 when the wind did not blow. The kids and I spent about 5 hours outside in the sunshine. It was heaven. We prowled around for loose roofing nails, made mud pies, rode bikes, went to the park, and had a picnic. I even spray painted a new-to-me (Salvation Army) shelf and finally sorted through my tangled mess of jewelry that Phillip made. We miss being outside.

Everett does the cutest thing with his lower lip of late. He sucks on it then pops it out with a loud smack. He hums whenever I carry him around. He seems so grown up the past few days. Stop it! I already miss the newborn baby part. Phillip learned how to dive into his bed on Monday. He throws all his Christmas toys into the bed then dives in head first...then yells "...'elp me, 'elp me!" Amelia is constantly whining about how she can't do this or that, how she is stuck, or needs help. Phillip, hearing all her yammering on, took up her example. He will put his foot under the stool then start yelling, "I stuck, I stuck, mommy!" He will stand on a stool and try to reach something then yell, "I can't!" After he yammers on for a couple sentences he unsticks himself, helps himself out, or does what he needs. I am not sure if he is putting on a parody of Amelia for humor's sake. Makes me laugh every time!

We Welcome 2012

2012-01-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

The amazing Olive Wood Statue Dad and Mom gave us for Christmas

Saturday we had a very strong weather system rip through our area. Wind gusts reached a nasty 60+ mph. The wind was so strong it woke me up when it started during the night. Around 11:30 the temperature dropped bringing on a full blown blizzard for about 30 minutes. Justin and some guys from our ward were helping a family move during all the wind and snow. Yuck! Neleigh came over to watch the kids so Justin and I could have lunch together. We lunched at Mi Ranchita on delicious Mexican food.

The Gull family hosted a rockin' party to welcome in the New Year. Ok, not rockin', but ever so fun. I brought cupcakes and lime tarts. Five other families kicked in other delicious snack foods. Goodness we dined on some excellent snacks. Alison made an amazing spinach dip, Alaina a delicious sausage dip, and Carly some tortilla rolls. Phillip spent about half the time glued to the food table. Within 30 minutes he found a dry erase marker (he was headed toward the wall), tried to feed the dog and himself some dog food, detached some wall art, and spilled a full cup of soda. I'd say he was pretty tame! Justin took him into the basement where the toys kept him amused in a better environment. All the ladies stayed upstairs to talk and listen. It's been a while since I last chatted and listened like that. So fun! We lasted until 11 pm. The kids were in bed before midnight. We stayed up just for kicks to welcome in the new year.

We made it through another Sunday, intact and not too stressed out. Amelia likes her new CTR teacher. I actually got to attend Relief Society! Other than that our day was pretty normal.

Today we felt the need to get out of dodge. After much consideration we drove to Cheyenne. We had lunch at Toyoko Bowl, a decent sushi bar. So delicious. We went to Home Depot for a new bathroom cabinet. Then Target for training underwear and a couch table.

I am going to attempt potty training with Phillip. He chose Thomas and Toy Story underpants. I chose a bathroom cabinet. Justin installed it and now my makeup, meds, and nail polish are out of reach. I will rest easier knowing he can't permenantly destroy something or make a royal mess as easily. The lower sink cabinets will soon have better child proof hardware. He wore his new underwear this evening for a couple hours. He peed twice on the floor. Once he actually pees in the potty we might make some progress. Once he earns a potty treat progress will go super fast. LOL. We invested in a sofa table/desk to put under the new TV for the DVD player and satellite equipement. Hopefully little fingers won't touch it as often now that it is 14 inches higher.

Resolutions:

Get to bed earlier (11 pm)
Finish reading the Old Testament
Get Amelia prepared for Kindergarden
Prepare more activities for Phillip to direct his energies

Happy for Seven Years, NO ITCH

2012-01-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

This post is 3 days late. I had good intentions to post an anniversary entry with wedding photos and sappy poetry. Instead we had a real day with an awesome experience at a wedding reception. Justin and I cannot believe that 7 years have flown by already. In 7 more years we will have an 11 year old Amelia and probably still be in Sidney...HAPPY. Strange but comforting. Our favorite memories are pretty silly. Most involve strange dreams (like when I dreamed about having twin boys). Justin sent me some gorgeous yellow roses! After 7 years he finally got my favorite flower right! YES!!!! I could imagine the flower store clerk writing down the card message: I love you more than and fat kid loves cake...Love, Justin. She probably shook her head at the strange sentence. It made me smile and remember our dating period.

We spent our wedding anniversary surrounded by our cute little family and our amazing ward members. David and Nicole were married in Utah before Christmas. Their family hosted a wedding reception Friday evening. Their decorations were similar to ours with trees and lights. The aura of love and laughter so reminicent of our wedding day. It was a perfect evening. I got to take photos of the reception for the bride and groom. We had a lot of help with our kids from Natalie and Rose. At one point I had Everett in the front pack but he was so excited that I could not steady my camera. Rose toted him around for quite a while. I loved the hot chocolate and cookie bar! Amelia and Phillip were ever so excited to meet a real live Princess. They wanted to get married to each other and suggested that Everett could marry baby Dani at the same time. Amelia's favorite part was the dancing. She was in raptures watching the bride and groom dancing their first dance. Justin danced with Amelia, melt me! My favorite was when Justin bribed Ella to dance with Phillip for an entire dollar. Phillip had the funniest adoring look on his face. Finally, Justin and I had a turn on the dance floor for a moment of bliss.
I can't wait for the next 7 years! Should be a fun and exciting adventure. Love you Justin!

Purple Lip Gloss and Mascara

2011-12-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

Yep, he got into my makeup...AGAIN. I am seriously considering installing a medicine cabinet in my bathroom near the ceiling for my makeup and bathroom valuables. I found Phillip sporting a girly look yesterday. He let me know that the color he chose was purple. It brings out his brown eyes. Add in a crazy eyes outlined with mascara for a rockstar look. His new favorite game is to dress up as Belle with Amelia dressed as Rapunzel; they play princess music and dance a waltz together. It is so hilarious. Justin is worried Phillip is walking the gender line. I told him not to worry. He is just copying the most interesting person close to his age which is a princess loving 4 year old girl. We are considering purchasing some boy dress ups. LOL.

Last night I used masking tape to make a race track and town in the basement. It was fun to make and use different toys the kids don't use very much. This morning both kids played with the track for 3 hours or more. Take care...

Seven Months Old

2011-12-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

Christmas must have side-lined me as this post is two days late (gasp). Everett is now seven months old. In the past month he learned several new skills:

clapping
babbling syllables like da-da or ba-ba
responding to peek-a-boo games
eating four meals plus 6-7 nursing sessions. He is always hungry
rolling over from back to tummy on occasion
sitting up unassisted, bathing in bath chair
wears 12 month pants now, he is totally off season now with Phillip's hand-me-downs (shoot-dang!)
is ever so ticklish under his chin and around ribs
favorite busy time is spent pulling items out of a box. I prop him in a corner with a short box filled with interesting objects
is quite vocal around other people, love to gurgle and burrow into my shoulder

We sure love our Everett Lynn. He reminds me of Phillip as a baby; easy going and always smiling. That makes my heart happy until I reflect on Phillip's change of direction once he learned how to walk. Either the boys will be the dynamic duo or the destructo twins. I made two new hats for Everett on our drive to Sterling on Monday! I love the wolf hat! I made a similar one for Everett Lance that looks like a fox. The ears are lined with chenille pipe cleaner so they stand up and are bendable.

Christmas of 2011

2011-12-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

Kicked off Christmas Eve with our annual clam chowder and bread bowl dinner. We made a delicious batch this year! I made an olive oil based bread this year that tasted great with the chowder. I keep forgetting to make a sourdough starter the week before Christmas. Maybe one day! Amelia did NOT like the smell of the chowder. She finally took a sip of the soup and then ate all the potatoes and bacon. The nelves dropped off Santa Jammies around 7:45 while we were getting Santa cookies ready. The kids were so excited to get their new PJs on. Amelia volunteered to get in bed with no stories and no cuddles...right after brushing her teeth. She is our bedtime procrastinator, takes that girl forever to get ready. The nelves did their magic and arranged the presents under the tree, added some sparkly bows, and filled the stockings. I joined my family (Dad in Jerusalem and Mom plus siblings in Utah) over skype during the last few minutes of their Christmas devotional. I enjoyed listening in while Dad read Luke 2. The feeling of getting Christmas ready is still so magical. I love imagining the kid's expressions. Santa hung Amelia's black ballet shoes ON the tree, not UNDER the tree. He is soooo silly sometimes.

The kids slept until 7:20 am. We are not experiencing the 3-5 am wakings the James Lance family is enjoying. Everett slept through the stockings and present opening. Our Christmas was relatively small this year. Each kid received a couple gifts from us, one from a sibling, and then grandparent gifts. Simple and fast! Amelia and Phillip were quite enthralled with the balloons in the tree. The balloons almost overrode the gifts! The highlight gift was an Olive Wood bust of Christ with the Tree of Life on the back. Mom and Dad got this sculpture from the world's foremost Olive Wood sculptor. It is so detailed! Most Olive Wood work is pretty plain due to the curvy wood grain.

About a month ago we went to Cabela's. Phillip had a candy cane treat in hand. He grabbed a stuffed turtle from a display case smearing his goobered hands and face all over the toy. We were forced to buy this stupid turtle. Yeah...I wrapped it and gave it to him for Christmas. To Phillip, From Cabela's. He opened it, "Turtle!!!!", turned it over and exclaimed, "Ahhhhh, MANNNN!" He remembered getting it dirty.

Justin made sausages and eggs for breakfast. We booked it trying to get ready for church by 10. The kids were soooo hyper. Phillip chucked a toy monkey across the chapel, not once but twice. It did not help that church went over 20 minutes. I enjoyed singing more songs than usual. We spent the rest of the day napping, eating, and playing with new toys. I made an easy dinner of a ham (with a bone), mashed potatoes, peas & carrots, beer bread, and Martinelli's. We also Skyped with Grandpa Lane, Grandpa Bruce, Grandma Lance and my siblings, and John/Courtenay/Everett Lance. John suggested we watch "Natavity!" on the Netflix cue. We did! It was very cute. I want to be Mr Poppy.

Justin has the day off so we went to Sterling for the heck of it. We played at the cold windy park for 40 minutes. Amelia, Everett, and I gave up after 20 minutes. We stayed warm in the van while I nursed Everett and the boys played in the snowy wind. Sounds fun?! We went to Walmart for a moment to get an HD cable and playdough. Then a lunch stop at Sonic. We are back home watching Stars Wars, rather Justin is napping to Star Wars while Amelia and I play on the computer. The upstairs is a disaster but the basement is clean. Odd.

Gift List:
Amelia received an art kit, a rubbing fashion plate kit, some books, play food (Calls), necklace (Calls), playdough (Jared), a movie (Jared), baby Aurora (Gma Lance), slippers (Calls), Nalgene (Cabela's), crochet owl hat (me), Princess Piano (Me), and Goldilicious (Phillip).

Phillip received an airplane, dinosaurs, train kit, turtle/Nalgene (Cabela's), lawnmower (Calls), Monkey (Calls), slippers (Calls), Blocks (Grandma), Jared gifts, and Cookie Monster (Amelia).

Everett got a lot of paper to play with and some baby toys.

Justin got a new down coat, a bacon press, hatchet, Star Wars in Blue Ray (plus the Blue Ray player), a nerf gun (Amelia), wrench (Amelia), Harry Potter 7b (Jared) and X-Men.

My big gift was an electric pressure cooker! Yipee! I also got some new pants, gloves, and a scarf. What a haul!

Christmas Photoshoot 2

2011-12-26T22:19:00.000-07:00

Christmas Photoshoot

2011-12-26T15:47:00.000-07:00

Christmas Glow

2011-12-24T22:18:00.000-07:00

Played around with my camera last night. I love the soft glow of the lights reflected on the kids. The only lights on were the tree lights! My 50mm lens was cranked down to 1.4 with the ISO bumped up to 1600 to get a nice exposure. The focus is pretty soft but still it fits the mood.

We saw the new Muppet movie as a family. It was so heart warming! I highly recommend it. Phillip and Amelia loved the dancing chickens! Everett and I danced in the aisle most of the movie. Amelia asked to watch more Muppets! That is awesome. Today the weather was around 52 degrees...warm enough for a trip to the park. Can't wait to show you the rest of our Christmas Eve...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Innej is Jenni?!

2011-12-23T15:22:00.002-07:00

Conversation while I put Amelia to bed on Tuesday:
Amelia: Mom?
Me: What?
Amelia: You know my nelf, Innej...well, that spells Jenni backwards! You share the same name as my elf but backwards!!!
Me: stunned silence. Um...well, her name is actually Refinnej but her short name is Innej. You are one smart cookies, we must be twins or something.

Dang, she figured it out about 15 years before I did! I still don't think she connected the dots. Innej has been busy at our house delivering more treats and little gifts.

I walked by the bathroom and caught a particular whiff of something rotten in Denmark. I was not sure where the smell came from so moved on. A little while later Amelia told me that something was stinky in the bathroom. I smelled around until locating the source. The sour smell came from my fancy jewelry box Phillip had emptied and filled with corn from our dinner on Monday. Justin was puzzled about where the rest of the corn Phillip had in a cup went...we found it. About the same time I realized that running water was turned on somewhere in the house. I ran all over finally discovering the basement faucet was turned on with the sink plugged up with clothes pins and the sink plunger. The water was brimming and rounding at the curved counter edges. I was able to divert disaster with only milliseconds to spare.

Justin went duck hunting with his boss and Bishop Siler yesterday. He shot a cute little mallard that is now snuggled next to the milk jugs in the fridge (barf). I went to an ornament exchange party at Alison's new digs. She (and her mother) practically unpacked and decorated the entire house in a week. It looks amazing. Amelia is enjoying all the Christmas crafts I have her doing instead of watching TV. My heart is warmed watching her learn to cut and glue. Her drawings are improving as well. She started imitating Innej's style of curly writing. She puts curlicues on all her letters now.

Preschool Christmas Party

2011-12-21T15:41:00.000-07:00

Preschool is on vacation until the New Year. I decided to host a little Christmas party on Tuesday. Call me crazy. CRAZY! It was fun! Six preschoolers, Phillip (who counts as at least 3 children), and two infants. We put together a foam snowman craft, exchanged cards, and chatted over yummy treats. I really loved Meagan/Stella's snack: green apples with vanilla yogurt sprinkled with cinnamon. I must admit that my mood was pretty cruddy. The past 72 hours were especially challenging:

Sat: Phillip.
Sun: Phillip. Amelia.
Mon: Phillip. Amelia. Everett.
Tues: Crabby family.

Ok, that was a poor explanation but you get the point. Phillip. That kid almost got tossed out the already shattered window Monday evening. Sunday our one crier in Nursery did REALLY well. He only cried for about 10 minutes. That was awesome. Phillip must feel the excitement of Christmas. He and Amelia were really naughty right after Ella left. I think they were so good while she was here that they HAD to get some mischief out. Bedtime was a chorus of screams and shrill shrieking. Monday I about lost half my hair. Both Amelia and Phillip were plain ornery. So was I. I really wanted a fun FHE to bring in the spirit of Christmas. I decided to make doughnuts from scratch and pass out about 7 plates to our neighbors. The dough making was amazing. After dinner I got the kids set up to help me. Strapped the baby to my back and went to work rolling and cutting dough. The frier was ready. So was Phillip. He kept stuffing his face with dough then spitting the dough into the frier. Then he'd take the pizza cutter and slice the frier ready circles into bitty pieces. Then, make a nice ball with all the doughnut holes. In the end dough was everywhere. He even had his own ball of dough to mutilate but only wanted what I was making. He dumped about 2 tablespoons of salt into the doughnut glaze (thankfully after most the doughnuts were glazed). He was all over the place. Add in Amelia doing her whining act and it was a circus. Everett was amused with the circus. Justin walks in just as I am about to lose it. He took Phillip to Safe-frommommy-Way for plates. The doughnuts were plated and distributed. My blood pressure went back to normal during the delivery. Amelia loved delivering the treats.

Yesterday was about the same. Little stinker was into everything. I spent the whole morning playing and cuddling him as much as possible. Still he found some scissors, filled all my pencil sharpeners with water, soaked the bathroom trying to wash his hands, filled his hair with 10 squirts of soap, spilled an entire box of cereal on the carpet, ripped up Amelia's special drawing, emptied Amelia's bookcase, broke two DVDs, filled his shoes with kleenex, stuffed my memory cards into the printer, got into the freezer and ate about a cup of frozen corn, dumped spaghetti onto the floor at lunch, and then bit Amelia drawing blood. He spent four hours in his room "napping." I was supposed to go to a birthday lunch but my mood was so foul that I stayed home and went to bed for a time out.

Alison came over to visit for a couple minutes. We exchanged Christmas gifts! That was a huge bright spot. She treated me to some cute new jewelry and a colorful poinsettia. I made her a wall decoration for her new kitchen color scheme. The girls were so cute trading gifts. Thanks for the bright spot. Right before I left Phillip finally broke into my special drawer in the bathroom. He dumped all my nicely organized jewelry into one big tangled pile. I hopped into the car 30 minutes early and just drove to calm down. Our RS put on a fun dinner and gift exchange. Thanks to Justin for understanding! The evening away was fun and therapeutic. Everett's little cheeks were cherry red and framed with his little hat. That little boy just warmed my heart with his joy and smiles. This morning I feel much better.

Santa Visit Version Two

2011-12-17T22:56:00.000-07:00

We had a great Friday. The kids were awesome! Morley had an ortho appt at 8 am in Sidney. The kids and I drove around until the van warmed up and watched Frosty the Snowman while we waited...in our jammies. The girls had preschool at 10, Phillip and I played with his farm toy, and I got ready for the day. We had lunch at McD's for a reward. After school the boys went with Sister Gull for the rest of the weekend. The Gull's have boys the same age so it was much more fun than lounging around here. Justin watched the kids while I went Christmas shopping by myself for 90 blissful minutes. Since I was out Innej came to play tricks by ringing the front doorbell, knocking on windows, leaving kisses and a fun note. She also broke the back window with her sharp knuckles. At least it was just the the outer glass! Dang it! Innej needs to pay attention the the temperature when knocking on glass that weathered many hail storms and is freezing cold. Ella even caught on to the excitement. She was convinced that Santa was fake and elves were imaginary. The candy convinced her a little bit.

Today we had a fun time going to McD's again with Justin this time. Then we went up to Cabela's store to visit with Santa again. I think there must be one fancy Santa Nelf here in Sidney because he sure looked like the one from Thursday night. This time Phillip was prepared to reject Santa...until he pulled out a 'andy 'ane. The treat convinced him to stand nearby for 20 seconds. Everett was all smiles. Ella finally told me what she wants for Christmas. I've bugged her for three days now. She wants a white puppy with a pink collar. Good luck Ali! The store had a room set up with treats and more crafts. Both girls wrote Santa letters.

I took the girls with me to Walmart. We went shopping for Justin's Christmas gifts. The first item they chose was a lovely set of Princess nail polish; I convinced them that Justin was not into nail polish. We headed to the tools. Amelia wanted to get Justin a $400 drill. Yah, no, nice try. We headed over to camping. Amelia found a $200 airsoft rifle claiming that her daddy loves guns and that he needs another one. Then it was a camo jacket so Dad could get lost on the grass. My favorite was a $50 nerf gun so Dad could shoot Phillip when Phillip pulls Amelia's hair. After much deliberation we settled on something that Justin is sure to love according to Amelia. Justin is having a blast teasing Ella. She brought a white unicorn her Grandma gave her. Justin teases her each time she eats something white that the item is unicorn meat, hair, milk, etc. Ella is quite perturbed! Amelia is not tease-able. She just crumbles into tears. Ella is made of steel with three older brothers and a teasing daddy.

Cabela's Christmas Party

2011-12-17T22:16:00.000-07:00

Note the foam piece in Phillip's ear! He is always stuffing things into his ears and nose

We started Thursday bright and early when Ella came to stay with us for four days and three nights. The boys stayed with us Thursday night then went to the Gull's home for the rest of the weekend. I am so very proud of the girls for not fighting and trying ever so diligently to be nice. Thursday evening we went to a fun Christmas party with Justin's coworkers. We brought along the Haley kids for extra fun and kicks. Morley was not so keen on the whole Christmas scene...he was almost a scrooge at the tender age of 12. He was glued to his iPod until bed. Everett was the one who elicited some emotion from ole Morley. Morley crooned and played with little Everett for quite a while. Back the the party. We walked in to find tables filled with different crafts. Amelia and Ella LOVED decorating paper ornaments made from special paper (scratch off the black to reveal rainbow colors). The boys made foam gingerbread houses, ornaments, and foam snowmen. Santa came in shortly after the party started. The top photo shows Amelia's reaction while he passed by.

There was a light dinner with plenty of cookies. Phillip is quite the John Lance. What I mean by that is our family has funny stories about John helping himself at church functions with his own plates and food. At the church party Phillip was infatuated with the food table. He hid under the table stealing carrots and dipping it into the dishes about 20 times; stealing food off plates parents laid down to help a child; and piling his plate with yummy delectables (actually he filled about 10 plates). I caught him under the table nicking some poor kid's cake right off his plate. He is so fast! Well, he loved the Cabela's food table. This time I knew what to expect so successfully thwarted him by giving him a plate full of food at the beginning. Silly kid.

After crafts the kids got in line to visit with Santa. Phillip learned how to say "ho, ho, ho" with a raspy voice. Hilarious. Morley was to grown up to join us. Wink. The kids each got a fun gift from Santa after visiting with him. Phillip was not so sure about sitting on Santa's lap. He lasted about 30 seconds. Ella was brave this year and sat on Santa's lap. The kids loved their gifts. Everett got a doggy blanket, Phillip got a deer pillow bigger than his torso, Amelia/Ella got dollies and butterfly watches, Brayden a nerf gun, Drew a snowball maker and snowman kit, and Morley a large chess game. Phillip about made everyone pee their pants as he loved and tackled his deer pillow. He dragged that thing around all evening. By the time he went to bed it was in desperate need of a wash.

The kids got settled in for sleep. Amelia and Ella only talked about 5 minutes before they fell asleep. The boys had a difficult night due to my negligence. I forgot to turn off the baby monitor. Unfortunately, Everett had a hard night. He was up crying off and on from 9:30 to midnight. After that I spent a couple hours in the van with a crying baby. His little teeth are trying to come in and so his nose was all stuffy. Usually I just go in the basement but the boys were all down there. He fell asleep around 3:30 am and woke up the boys at 6:30 with more crying. Sorry kids! I felt so bad sending them to school with a crappy night's sleep.

They Make Us Laugh

2011-12-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

experimenting with "bokeh", Christmas tree lights, and shapes.

Oh, Master Phillip. You are one of a kind. A diamond in the rough. A guy with sticky hands and a big heart. Today he discovered a Super hero dress up. He was thrilled. Put it on all by himself, removed his pants, and flew around the room. Too bad the dress up outfit was for Super Woman. The skirt framed those chubby knees to perfection. He was so thrilled with his outfit that he took a nap wearing it. He neatly covered his legs with the cape and threw his blanket overboard. When it was time to take Amelia to ballet both boys suddenly decided to wake up as we were walking out the door. Usually I leave them asleep in their cribs for 4 minutes to shuttle Amelia over the dance. I needed to go to the post office so they came as is. Phillip got to wear his fantastic outfit to the Post Office. He flew up the ramp with gusto and pushed the door button for all the folks coming and going. The best part is that EVERYONE knew he was a boy! Maybe he is the Scottish version of Superman.

Amelia is branching out with her artwork lately. She drew a fantastic picture with a single layer of green grass, a sun with beams, a layer of blue sky, and two pretty flowers with petal patterns in orange, yellow, and blue. She made Mrs Margaret a nice holiday card to take with her to ballet. She was so excited to give her gift away. She insisted on wearing her Christmas owl skirt with a tutu underneath to "celebrate the seasons." Crack me up.

This evening our ward hosted a musical Christmas fireside. The ward members were challenged to invite non-member friends to the event. It was fun to see faces from around town inside our chapel. The choir, accompanists, and speakers were inspired by the spirit. It was a great evening to share the gospel. Amelia and I attended DeAngela and Brandon's baptism on Sunday. Amelia was really aware of what was going on. She even asked me if the kids were baptized like Jesus was in the Book of Mormon. Guess all that family scripture time is paying off! I visit teach DeAngela and Brandon's grandmother. She is a Navajo Indian from Arizona. Grandma Baerwaldt (who served a mission with the Navajo people) gave me some tips to help them feel more welcome in church. The Betony family are the only Navajo Indians within a couple hundred mile radius. They are coming back to church off and on enough to help their grandkids join the church. My heart is warm whenever they attend church. Those kids are amazing. Little Everett just LOVES DeAngela!

I forgot to mention that Everett learned how to play peek-a-boo last week. He loves to play the game with Amelia and Phillip. He is also learning to love new foods like apples, pears, squash, sweet potatoes, mixed veggies, apricots, and corn. He hates peas. period. This week he discovered how to give full face kisses. Phew, it almost hurts my face he grabs it so hard. The kisses are nice! We will host the Haley kids Thursday to Friday and Ella from Thursday to Sunday while Matt and Alison attend a wedding in Utah. The girls are ecstatic to have a stay over for three nights. Amelia prayed for the past couple days that she and Ella would not fight and be nice to each other. I hope so too!

**we sold our 2007 Camry, aka, Gray Skull this week! Hooray! I will miss that car. It is a dream to drive! Sigh! Ah, the memories!

Letter W, Weather, & Star

2011-12-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

Monday was pretty crazy! The kids are always hyper on Mondays. We talked about the star shape and made a star with our fingers. I taught them how to draw a star. Then we learned about the letter W and the sound it makes. The kids bent pipe cleaners into a "W" shape for a tactile activity. We talked about weather next, specifically the wind. Each child experimented with straws and various materials like feathers, toy cars, rocks, yarn, cotton balls, and clothes pins. We first decided if the wind from our straws would move the object. Then we raced if the object could move. It was silly fun. We used wind to make awesome snow scenes on dark paper with white paint. I tried to make wax paper crayon pictures but playing with toys won. We had star shaped cheese, meat, and bread mini sandwiches for snack.

Wednesday Phillip tried to read us a book. He did a good job until it came to reading the words. We made the W shape with finger paints on a table. The kids had more fun playing "bloody hands" afterwards. We read a fun book about how to read the temperature and about the water cycle. For our craft the kids made weather wheels. The kids made dirt cups for snack: chocolate pudding, crushed oreos, and gummy worms. Funny story: Phillip opened up two boxes of pudding and poured it on the floor. Then he grabbed a carton of whipping cream and proceeded to make mud on the kitchen floor. I happened on him trying to drink whipping cream from the pudding box. He was most proud of himself.

Friday we focused on the snow aspect of weather. We made cute doily snowmen on pages the kids decorated on Monday. We read "The Biggest Snowman". We talked about how snow is made and what temperature the air needs to be. Their little snowmen have fancy sparkly buttons, glitter carrot noses, and googly eyes. Everett was having a major caniption fit so the kids played with rice for the rest of the time. They loved it! We snacked on snowballs. Basically, just sugar cookies pureed until a fine crumb, add cream cheese, and dip the balls of dough in powdered sugar.

A Letter for Santa

2011-12-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

Thursday Amelia really, really wanted to visit the Post Office and mail Santa a letter. She dictated a letter to me then signed and decorated the letter. She wants Santa to bring her a pair of black ballet shoes while she is sleeping. So sweet. She signed the envelope and made a fancy star then sealed up the letter. We made a stop off at the library for storytime first. Mrs Nightingale is awesome with the kids. She even lets Phillip join. Amelia was so excited about the special red mail box just for Santa letters. She had to concentrate extra hard to get that letter into the box. Little Innej is having way too much fun at our home this year. She knocks on walls, rings, bells, leaves little treats, and even rings the doorbell on occasion.

Little Everett is not very happy lately, he ran a low grade fever all weekend. My best guess is teething again. He is gnawing on everything. That little kid LOVES baby mum-mum, a rice cake that literally melts in the mouth. He will eat 3-4 while I make dinner. Thursday Everett started clapping his hands on purpose. One moment he was sporadically hitting his hands, a gleam came to his eyes...wham, he started clapping. It clicked. Saturday he started babbling "da-da-da." Justin and I could listen to him talk for hours. That sweet voice is the sound of angels.

Yesterday my dad called from Jerusalem. He enjoyed a musical fireside with the BYU students at the Jerusalem Center. I went to Walmart BY MYSELF...wow, that was amazing. Took me almost two hours of leisurely strolling around to shop for Christmas odds and ends and the regular food shopping. Made me giddy. Justin and I went out on a fun date over to the Hackleman's home for "dinner group." The Grunig's joined in the fun night too. Bro Hackleman roasted up an amazing pork loin for us, throw in some sweet potatoes, rolls, and rice crispy treats for a yummy meal. We took Everett along since it is hard to leave all 3 for one 14 year old girl.

Oh Deer!

2011-12-07T22:22:00.000-07:00

Our weekend was pretty relaxing. It seemed we did a lot but really didn't. The main item of the weekend was getting the tables and chairs I borrowed from the church back to the building. We had to borrow the right keys, a truck, the keys for the studio, and then ferry the kids while we loaded and unloaded. The missionaries were at the church while we unloaded. Turned out they did not have dinner scheduled so we invited them over for some food. I made roast beef and caramelized onion panini sandwiches with Gruyere cheese and a spinach/strawberry salad. For an impromptu dinner it was pretty scrumptious. I finished about 6 loads of laundry and folded...and put away before bedtime. That is an accomplishment.

Sunday was stake conference. Justin was called to be our ward Family History Specialist through the stake. It should be interesting and very exciting. He attended a fireside for the youth this evening to talk with them about family history. Our youth took up the Apostle's challenge to work on Family History. Justin will do amazing work with the youth and our ward. Two hours of stake conference was a bit difficult for us. The sound was crappy so it was hard to hear, then add Phillip and Everett as extra sound buffers. Sometimes it feels so pointless to sit through church. I know it will pay off but most Sundays I walk away feeling the same as before. I get more out of my personal scripture study than church.

Preschool is at our home this week. We are learning about the letter W, weather, and the star shape. I love teaching the kids when our turn comes. So far we conducted some weather experiments with wind (using a straw to blow various objects), made snow paintings, and learned how to draw stars. Today we learned about weather patterns, temperature, practiced drawing W with finger paints, and made a weather wheel. More fun to come on Friday!

I am also quite busy with several crochet orders this week. I have about 5 more hats to crochet and some headbands to sew this week. My new favorite hat was by request from Laurie Mason. She just welcomed her first grandson a couple weeks ago. She wanted me to make a deer hat with antlers for her new grandbaby. Her son loves to deer hunt! It was fun and challenging to make up a pattern for the ears and antlers. Turned out pretty cute! You may see a repeat hat for Everett. Shocker, I know. I ran out of yarn for the next two hats. The lady wanted matching mother daughter hats. Finished the mother and half of the daughter hat. Stink-0! There is no Walmart near enough to just jaunt out and snag up one more skein of yarn.

The kids and I visited Alison and Ella out on their new property. Holy smokes! Their new home is filled with natural light and spacious rooms. They have a huge garage and a shop nearly as big as their home. Alison was so excited to show off her new place! I was equally excited to finally get a tour. Alison, I am so glad your house journey is almost over! That was a long, hard haul.

Phillip decided he likes to bathe with whatever items are in or near the bathroom that are not bolted to the floor. Yes, he is bathing with 5 large bath towels, my carpet cleaner reservoirs, a ball, and bath toys. Today he decided to rip open two cartons of chocolate pudding mix...and fill the BOXES with heavy whipping cream. He was in thralls over the delicious flavor of cardboard and cream. Amelia noticed some dry skin on her knuckles. One spot had a tiny dot of blood. She freaked out! I lotioned up her hands and put a band-aid on. She asked me with Anne of Green Gables flair, "Mom, will I live?" What a dramatic kid. She goes around the house singing "Get Your Sparkle On" and handing out free fashion tips. Phillip's vocabulary is growing larger and larger every day. I can't keep track of all the new words he says now. He is also annunciating and pronouncing words instead of mimicking the inflections. Justin calls him Cawa-cawa Milk boy. He would drink nothing except chocolate milk if he ruled the world. That stuff is ambrosia for Phillip.

Lastly, the nelves made an appearance last night. Innej cropped up out of my past to become Amelia's new personal nelf. Innej was one of my nelves when I was a kid. Innej left some peanut M&Ms and a note. Amelia was so funny and hyper about being obedient. It is hard not to milk it. Amelia was convinced that the nelf would leave her a note under her pillow like Pinkalicious. I obliged and left a fun note and coloring pages for her. Pure joy this morning!

Flower Class

2011-12-05T14:35:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I had the brilliant to teach a community class on how to make fabric flowers. My intent was to teach some very interested ladies how to make their own accessories instead of me making them. Time invested was actually quite minimal. I went to Cheyenne for a Hobby Lobby run. After that I only spent a couple hours cutting fabric, dividing the doo dads, and setting up. Twelve ladies signed up, with one cancellation. Another 15 wanted to come but had other appointments. I rented a Go! Baby Cutter early Thursday morning. Amelia helped me cut silk fabric into circles and flower shapes during nap time.

I was in a mad dash to set up the tables, chairs, and supplies. Justin did not get home until 5:20. That left me barely 30 minutes to get everything ready. We learned how to make gathered jersey flowers, singed silk flowers, stocking headbands, felt flowers, and rolled fabric flowers. The ladies went home with 6-7 flowers and supplies to make a few more! Some ladies had never threaded a needle or worked a glue gun. I enjoyed helping out. Watching newbies work a sewing machine was pretty fun...reminded me of teaching someone to drive a stick shift vehicle. Thanks to Kelly Sudduth for letting me use her studio space. The ladies fired me on the beverage front. I only provided water, most wanted stiffer stuff! It was an opportunity to explain some about being a Latter-Day Saint.

Justin survived the evening with all 3 kids alone. The house was still standing, the kids in bed, and in pjs. Thanks for letting me play!

Arrrrgh!

2011-11-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

I love this outfit on Everett. The priate monkeys, the bum words, the hat, and that cute face just about make me go crazy. Took the bubs to his 6 mth check up yesterday. He weighed in at 16 lbs 15 oz, putting him at the 50th percentile. He measured 27 inches long, putting him in the 75th percentile. His head is in the 25th percentile. LOL. All his figures made me laugh especially his head. He still has a Nefertiti shaped head. It is bigger than it seems just depends on which way you measure it. Those cheeks add a lot of weight.

Hoot-i-licious

2011-11-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

So. Yeah. found some delicious fabric at Hobby Lobby last week. It was too fun to pass by. Said fabric is now a sweet twirly skirt and coordinating top for the 2011 Christmas season. Amelia loves the owls. I love the non-traditional Christmas colors. If you look closely at the fabric it quotes Christmas quips. It is long on purpose...should fit next year too! I also crocheted up a couple things like a newborn hammock (for a local photographer mom), a replacement pink hat (shown above), and the warm cream one (above). I have some new yarn just waiting patiently in line for a date with my hook. I {heart} new yarn.

Tomorrow evening is my first Sidney craft night. I am teaching 12 ladies how to make 5 different flowers for accessories. It should be a fun evening! I am renting a Go! Baby Cutter tomorrow. Hopefully, it will speed up the process of cutting all the circle and flowers shapes needed for my class. If I can get all the shapes cut then the class will go faster...and cleaner. Teaching mini-classes every quarter might become a good idea! It is easy to make a few bucks and share knowledge.

Phillip is being two. Imagine that. He must be growing or teething because he is not sleeping well of late. He gets up between 5-6 am now, and then a couple times during the night wanting chocolate milk, snuggles, or something. That kid has a loud pair of lungs. Phew. Yesterday morning he fell asleep on my chest around 5:15 am down in the basement. It was nice to snuggle him. Last night he decided to be awake at 1 am. Justin proved to have the Midas touch and got him back to sleep. After being sick and then restless kids at night I feel like a train ran over my head. Sorry if I am a bit testy this week. Geeze, I just need a nap. I tried to take one today but as soon as my eyes closed Everett woke up. Tried again and Phillip woke up. Tried once again then Amelia wanted white milk. Shoot. Nothing is worse than a crabby mommy.

Six Months Old

2011-11-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

Everett reached the ripe old age of six months yesterday. He is one happy, squishy, gurgly, snuggly little guy. This month:

He started eating solid foods. He is eating two meals a day now and loving apples and rice cereal.
He will roll over from tummy to back if wiggling enough.
Will sit for about four minutes by himself when legs are spread apart.
Gives amazing kisses.
Is chewing on everything (teething?) and a huge drool monster.
Giggles at Amelia and Phillip.
Talks to us with little shrieks, rapsberries, cooing, and ohhh's.
Can spot me from across a room.
Grasps toys with lightening speed.
Is close to wearing 12 month clothing and is in size three diapers already.
Gets daily diaper changes from his big brother...and adjusting his digestion of solid food.

Charity, Kenny, Libby, Mason, and Reagan can attest that this little guy will steal your heart with his first coo and "melt in your arms" hug. I cannot believe he is 6 months old. The most exciting development for me is that he can now have Ibuprophen, much more effective and long-lasting.

**more updates tomorrow after his 6 mth well-baby appt.

Day After Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T14:46:00.001-07:00

Thanksgiving was awesome until about 7 pm when the nausea and headaches suddenly hit me. I was ultra tired all day but attributed that to being on my feet cooking. Not fun. Charity and I spent a long night between resting and making good use of the bathroom. The next day I got a short nap but no real rest. The gang decided to go to Chimney Rock and Scottsbluff. They were going to leave Libby with Everett and I but I did not want Libby to miss the trip. Thankfully, most of the action was over but the residual tiredness and nausea plagued me. The visitor's center is usually open on holiday weekends....they were two years ago. This year no such luck. We drove up to the vista and admired the rock from afar then meandered around the cemetery. Mason would sell his soul for some good Chinese food. We had a good Chinese restaurant in mind! I ordered a medium hot and sour soup. Goodness it was like a medium pot of soup, more than three people could ever eat. After lunch we braved Target on Black Friday just for kicks.

Reagan caught the bug Friday night. Justin caught it Saturday. I am anxiously waiting for the kids to start pooping and hurling all over the place. Still the James family decided to try for home once Reagan stopped feeling so nauseous. About 30 minutes after they left their new vehicle broke down. They bought it on Monday. Terrible luck. Of course all the Ford dealerships were closed or unable to help until Monday morning. We found a guy in town who tried to look at it but the closed transmission prohibited him from even checking to see where the engine was leaking. Their new car is in Sterling until it gets looked at and repaired. They drove our Toyota back to SLC with sick kids and sore hearts. My heart goes out to them, literally...it hurts knowing how tight things are for them. Kenny will drive our car back here next week to trade back with their hopefully fixed car.

Not five minutes after they left I found Phillip in the bathroom (grrrrr) painting his face and hands with fingernail polish while trying to lick Kaopectate (anti-diarrheal) off the counter and floor. Needless to say he has not had diarrhea. Phillip learned how to give Thumbs Up last week. It is funny when he gives you a thumbs up instead of talking. Justin helped me drag out the Christmas stuff from the attic. Amelia and I decorated the tree during nap time. I really want to change my tree colors but nostalgia prevents me every year. I love dragging out the same decorations and memories we've created over the past 7 years. Seeing all the handmade snowflakes made by Tanta Jo, the blue and silver decorations from our wedding, and other ornaments collected over the years just makes me smile. Amelia hung a silver bird on our tree and exclaimed, " Mom, look! It looks so flighty!" She even decorated her room with blue beads. I am just waiting to find Phillip on top of the tree. We seriously considered hanging the tree this year from the ceiling.

Today we are home from church still feeling grody and tired. Hopefully we'll feel better tomorrow. The James family made it home safely. I did not write done my blessings in the last post:

I am thankful for:
my wonderful, beautiful little family. My supportive and loving husband. Amelia, Phillip, and Everett
the amazing gospel of Jesus Christ
membership in the true church
health and strength
visiting family
Justin's job and my little hobbies
my parents and my siblings
patience (grown larger this year by one active little boy).

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T22:19:00.000-07:00

Wow! I am so amazed at how perfect this Thanksgiving is! The weather is amazing, nearly 72 degrees outside, sunny, and just a breeze. Family around to play with and visit. Yummy food. Phone calls from loved ones. The list goes on and on.

Kenny, Charity, Libby, Mason, and Reagan arrived early yesterday afternoon after a long drive from Utah. We are so glad they made the drive! Amelia and Reagan hit it off. I think this is the first time they've been around only each other without similar aged cousins for more than a few hours. Libby and Mason just adore little Everett, they vie for his attention. Phillip loves all the action and extra attention. We had a yummy pulled pork dinner with jalapeno-tomato warm salsa. Libby kept me company while I made a pumpkin cheesecake and "chunky monkey" pudding pie.

I started off Turkey day with a nice jaunt outside in the cold with Charity and Libby. We had a fun time at the park. Phillip decided to shake hands with a guy there so walked up to him with his hand out. The kids fed the ducks then we walked around the pond. Everett had his first ever swing ride. He was not so sure about it. He sure looked cute in his giraffe coat. We had "horse-duvers" for lunch. The turkey was amazing this year. I brined it in salt, peppercorns, bay leaf, rosemary, and Meyer lemons. Yum! Dinner was ready by 4. Reagan, Amelia, and Phillip used paint and bubble wrap to make fun patterns on some paper. I cut the dried paper out into corn shapes for name cards. The girls decorated the table. Most of the day we lazed about watching our new TV and playing. Our menu was: turkey, asparagus, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry salad, and bundt bread.

Now I am barfing my guts out...bummer. Nice end to a fun day. Nighty night

Mmmmm, mmmm Good

2011-11-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

I love this little guy. He is so happy and content. This week he really started talking. He will zone in on your face, give you an intent look, then start singing, cawing, and growling all with drool dripping down his chin. He loves to give out slobbery kisses. If his legs are spread wide enough he can sit for about a minute! I just adore the sparkle in this baby's eyes.

On another note...we have a dead deer hanging in our garage. I am so torn between fascination and gagging. Justin and Matt went out hunting all day yesterday again. Matt bagged a buck before 9 am. Looks like no deer for us this year since Justin does not want to go out on Saturday. Mr Brayden came over once the guys got home to help skin the deer. That kid LOVES bugs, animals, and hunting. Phillip got blood all over one hand which grossed the little guy out. At least our garage does not smell like nasty socks and rangy creature anymore.

Phillip's vocabulary seemed to double this week. He added a few awesome words: I can't (wonder where he got that from, Mia?), HELP!, Do It, trouble, TV, away, airplane, car, van, and gross. He pretty much will repeat any word you say but has not reflected the words later until this week. Good job buddy!

I decided to teach a class on making fabric flowers and accessories. The event is scheduled for 01 Dec. As of now I have 12 ladies signed up for the class. It will be a lot of work but fun at the same time. Kenny, Charity, Libby, Mason, and Reagan are coming to Sidney for Thanksgiving. We are beyond excited to have them out here for some R&R and spoiling. Amelia has a pile of art work for Reagan saved up. I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is next week.

2011-11-15T22:23:00.001-07:00

Today was a special day. Justin celebrated his 18th birthday...doubled. Friday he purchased bullets from Cabela's. The cashier asked him if he was over 18...he realized then that he was twice that age. What an age to be! With three loving, funny, and cute kids. A wife who adores him. Justin is one lucky man...and we are very lucky to be his family. Amelia made Justin several amazing art pieces using pen, ribbon, loose flower petals, and glue. She is into cards and scrapbooks right now. I think Ella gave her a new spin on what can be done with paper, scissors, and glue. She made a funny list of what Justin wanted for his birthday:

new monster truck
a shiny fishing pole from Cabela's
the stuffed elephant from Cabela's to put in our front yard
a blue tie with our photo on ita blue cake with blue beads around it
new socks

She sang song after song telling Justin how much she loved him with her heart and blood on his birthday. Today she wanted to decorate the whole house for a party that the Haley's would come to. Justin took the day off work. We drove out to Sterling for a change of pace. We had lunch at our favorite Mexican joint there, Santiago's. We found a new flat screen TV at Walmart. Ironically it was out of stock in Sterling but in stock in Sidney. Who'da thunk? Said TV is now hanging in all it's technological glory in the basement. We are cancelling satellite and going with Netflix and hulu+. Seriously, the TV has amazing quality. I earned all the cash for the new TV over the past few months! It is nice to have a little extra floating around. I almost bought Justin a new gun with my wad of cash but decided that TV would be more functional. Sorry honey...we will go to Cabela's for your real present tomorrow. LOL. Amelia snuggled with Justin at naptime. She read him two books and rubbed his back until he fell asleep. That was thoughtful! Happy Birthday to the love of our life. Thank you for all the effort you put into supporting us, loving us, and being an amazing father.

Jumping in the Leaves

2011-11-15T22:01:00.001-07:00

We jump started the weekend with a pile of leaves, the slide, and two excited kids. So cute and fun...and cheap! I pulled out my mini-apollo light box for my flash to practice with. It was nearly dark so the effects were not normal and sort of fun. Justin spent the evening getting his hunting gear all ready for deer hunting. He left around 4 am and arrived home at 6 pm. He was tired after a day of sitting in the brush watching for deer. The day was warm and windy, which did not bide well for drawing deer out into the open. No one in his party got a deer. The kids and I finished up 8 loads of laundry all folded and put away. Christine Landers kindly watched Amelia and Phillip for 6 hours so I could attend Nicole's bridal shower in Oshkosh. I figured the kids would have more fun with Zane and Morgan than sitting in a car for hours. I caught a ride with Betsy Durfee. We followed her google map directions and ended up on Ogallala, 50 miles away from where the shower was. Stupid directions! Betsy got us there in time to enjoy most of the shower. We got back home around 6 pm. I had 4 hats to crochet over the weekend. The drive time was a blessing! Phillip fell asleep within two minutes of getting in his car seat. He was super, duper cranky the rest of the evening.

Sunday was a bit taxing on Justin and I. Phillip gets violent when he is tired. He was so hyper during Sacrament Meeting. Justin reported that the nerd-o almost pulled the fire alarm. I could hear Phillip from mid-chapel over the microphone piped into the Mother's Lounge. Nursery was no better. He pushed, bashed, head cracked, and stepped over all the other kids. I was worn out after wrangling him and trying to keep peace in the nursery. It is hard to be a nursery worker with your own kiddos. We all took a long nap after church.

A nasty flu is going around Sidney of late. Thankfully, none of us have contracted it yet. Alison cancelled preschool at her home on Monday. Amelia was moping around so I held a special school session for Amelia and Phillip. We talked about art, the function, purpose, and love of art. The kids painted two beautiful murals with finger paints. They did a really great job following instructions and cleaning up.

Two funny things involving Phillip this weekend:
1. caught him in the bathroom with his nether regions bared, peeing all over the outside of the toilet. He was squealing with glee over the discovery that his pee can move where he moves. The little stinker was dancing his pee all over the white throne. I about swallowed my tongue trying not to laugh, making him clean up his mess.
2. yesterday morning I went upstairs to get Everett and Phillip some clothes. When I came back down, Phillip had stripped off Everett's clothing and diaper. He wiped off Everett's bum and was trying to put on a new diaper. The diaper was backwards thus caused him some frustration. Then he nursed his monkey and wiped it's bum too for good measure. Last week Phillip and I played house. I showed him how to change a doll's clothes and diaper. He was a very attentive student!

Blurry

2011-11-11T15:01:00.001-07:00

This week feels like a blur of activity and restlessness. I ended up sewing quite a bit this week for orders some local folks placed. To get it all done and still be an attentive mother I let the kids do several fun activites while I worked. Monday I made a cute zebra outfit for a baby's first birthday. I love the shirt, tutu, and headband. Since I was worrying about the size poor Everett got to try it on. He looked a lot like Amelia did at that age. It cannot believe he is big enough at nearly 6 mths old to fit into 12 month sizes. Stop growing little baby boy! It is going by way too fast. Yesterday Alison took all the kids from 9-1 and Amelia until 4. I took the chance to sew up a large order of two appliqued shirts (cannot show that yet), two coordinating skirts, and two head ties. Last week I got some chiffon to make some new tutus for my ballerina. She only has one right now! I love the crochet waistband and tie waistband.

Monday the Amelia and Phillip got to watercolor the bathtub. Both kids were occupied for over an hour! Phillip was in heaven to make a mess and not get yelled at. I was in heaven watching him enjoy the activity. Phillip painted while Amelia was in preschool. During Phillip's nap I let Amelia loose in the bathtub. She is quite the artist! That activity is something we will do again. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I let Amelia and Phillip play with paper, glue sticks, scissors, colors, and embellishments. Amelia made three scrapbooks. She cut paper for about 20 minutes with the neatest face of concentration ever. Phillip is pretty adept at using scissors...especially for a two year old. Not sure if that is scary or not. He made five awesome collages. Wednesday we had Ella and Bryn over after preschool for the afternoon. The girls played and played. Wednesday I introduced Phillip to the joys of our rice box. He loved pouring the rice into containers. When he got tired and threw some on the carpet his time was over. We have two tules with the rice box: no throwing rice and no rice on the carpet.

Wednesday I cajoled Kelly into taking more family photos of us in her studio. We were at her studio by 8:20 am...that was amazing. I loved the outdoor photos but wanted individual poses, family, kids, and spouse photos for a new wall collage. Phillip was done in about 5 minutes. Kelly worked miracles bribing him with a sucker. Being a photographer myself makes me a bit picky when it comes to what I want. Thanks Kelly for session number two! Can't wait to show you the new ones. The kids earned a doughnut afterwards. I earned a nap which was not realized. I appreciate Justin not complaining and being a good sport for me. That is true love.

Thursday morning Phillip woke up at 5:30 just howling. I went into his room and took him downstairs. When I looked at his face it was swollen, blotchy, and covered with bumps. The skin was warm to the touch and his eye was nearly swollen shut. He looked awful. After more Zyrtec, Benedryl, Ibuprophen, and medicated lotion his skin looked a bit better. Not sure what he reacted too. The only new food he ate was chocolate sprinkles. In actuality I noticed his skin becoming irritated about a week ago but it usually clears up after a day or so. I fear he is in for some allergy treatments.

Justin makes me laugh. He gets so excited over hunting. I cannot get this man to put away his clean clothes or help with the dishes. Yet, when it comes to hunting he is so organized. Tomorrow he is going deer hunting. Already his car is neatly packed, his gear waiting on the car spoiler, a new bolt installed to hang the dead deer in our garage (totally distgusting, gross, and morbid), and guns cleaned. Once I learn how to transfer some of that energy into helping around the house and with the kids I will sell the secret. Wink.

Lastly, my Kindle is out of time out. I can now borrow eBooks from the digital OverDrive Library System. Hooray!!!!!!!!!!

Family Photos

2011-11-08T18:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some favorites from our family photos last Saturday!

Crafties

2011-11-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

Rice Cereal

2011-11-06T15:53:00.000-07:00

Started da boy on some rice cereal Friday night. He was not so sure if rice cereal is delicious or not. The first three bites he tolerated then came the shivers, shudders, and sqinchy faces. Amelia thought it was super fun to feed him! It is hard to let go and start my babies on solids...means the weaning starts and my newborn is not so little.

Fall Snow

2011-11-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

I do love snow in the autumn...because it snows then melts! You get the beauty and excitement of first snows but then it melts and you still can enjoy the autumn color and splendor. We had another such snow on Wednesday. Justin went out on a walk Tuesday night when the snow started...it was snowing pretty hard. By morning the snow collected to 4-6 inches. It was so gorgeous! Preschool cancelled so the kids and I headed outside to enjoy the snow. Phillip loved the snow this year...except when he fell down and could not get up. I first put him in his snow pants from last year. They were so tight and stiff he could barely walk. Luckily, I remembered Seth handed down his old snow suit that fit perfectly. He grabbed Justin's grumpy hat from Disneyland to complete his ensemble. Amelia was mobilized by Phillip's enthusiasm and soon donned her snow gear. All the little portraits of beauty in just our yard alone was enough to bring a smile, add in the kid's reactions for an especially fun morning. I could not get enough of the pretty yellow leaves on the white snow! We played for an hour. Then had the kids grab snow in a bowl to make snow cones. I usually just sprinkle a packet of drink mix over a bowl of snow for a yummy snow treat. The kids looked like vampires after a meal once they ate four huge bowls of red snow.

The snow was mostly melted away by Friday. I have a new piano student starting on Tuesday. Someone gave my name and phone number to the 3rd-4th grade school music teacher. About 20 folks called me in the past couple weeks wanted piano lessons. I could not say no to this particular little girl and mother. Maybe after the New Year I will add more students again. I made a fun mess in my craft room making more flowers. Amelia loves to help me craft while the boys nap.

When Amelia goes to preschool I started having a special learning time with Phillip. This week we learned about fish. He wants to get into the fish tank more than anything. So I made him his own little aquarium with water, tub toys, rocks, an aquarium plant, and net. He was in heaven playing with the set up for over an hour. When he tired of just the water I added in a sponge, then some tongs, and lastly some fish food. He loves our special time.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-02T22:18:00.000-06:00

I am so original with my title. Not! This Halloween seemed to last forever. It started with the Trunk r Treat, story time at the Library, then Cabela's Halloween Alley, preschool, and actual Trick or Treating. Once is enough for me, but the kids love all the excitement and I LOVE to watch them. Amelia dressed up as a purple princess, thumbelina, and a wedding bride. Phillip was Pig Pen from the Peanuts comic. Everett was a dino and a baby chick. All the kids have worn the chick outfit so he had to wear it per tradition. I am tired after all that fun and junk food.

The Halloween party at Cabela's this year was so cool. Each year it gets a little better. Each department sponsors a room for the kids to trick or treat through. Amelia loved the Wonka room and the pirate room. Phillip fit into the Peanuts room. We spent some time visiting the ladies upstairs and raiding their candy jars. Phillip caught on way too quick. He would shovel hands full of treats into his kunkin bucket. Temperance, son. Friday I also installed the ceiling track for my studio curtains. It looks pretty awesome but the fabric needs grommets because Phillip can pull the fabric down with a gentle tickle. One day this project will be completed.

Saturday I photographed my first family with their dog. The session was a bit challenging with an 18 mth old boy and a large hyper puppy. This little boy was the first I've met who would not react to all the silly noises and gestures I make. He was a tough nut to crack. In the end I felt satisfied with the results. For weeks I've stressed over our own family photo outfits. I wanted two outfits one to go with the decor in the living room and another fun colorful outfit. Alison lent me several sweaters and two skirts to try out. I made a trade with Kelly Sudduth (Highby) props for photos. It was well worth the effort. She has a plethora of new props and I have new family photos. I will post them as soon as I edit them to my liking. You can view her edited photos here. Phillip was crazy man after about 10 minutes. We were all tired afterwards. The kids earned a McDonald's dinner.

Sunday, Justin was getting ready for church. Our room smelled like his soap. Amelia walked in and asked him what our room smelled like. He said, what do you think? She said, it is like roast beef flowers...and open window bacon. That girl comes up with some funky tunes. Nursery was crazy. Balloons is all I will say about Nursery. We painted our pumpkins this year. Amelia was acting like a banshee so Phillip and I painted pumpkins while she wailed in time out. She is having a really, really hard time listening and being obedient. She had to clean up her room for a consequence before painting pumpkins. She went to bed crying. The next day Amelia cleaned her room in less than 5 minutes and painted her pumpkin after lunch. Phillip loved using real paint, glitter, and tacks to decorate his pumpkin.

Halloween day was so warm and nice, the calm before the storm. We spent most of the day clearing out the garden, raking leaves, and enjoying the 73 degree weather. We were ready to go by 5:30 pm. Alison, Ella, and Brayden were not ready yet so we drove out to see Stan and Susan Adamson (Justin's boss and his wife). They were excited to get some traffic! They let Phillip and Mia put 80% of the candy into their buckets. You should have seen the light of glee in Phillip's eyes! He also bossed around their big dog when it came too close. He put the dog in time out several times. We met up with Alison, Ella, and Brayden to trick or treat near our home. It was fun to watch them run from house to house. Phillip took it slow trying to climb up and down front steps. His Ella Mama often got candy for him and delivered it to his bucket. Amelia sang a trick or treat song to get candy at each door. That was so cute. Everett just sucked his binky and observed the dark world from the stroller. It was warm enough that we did not need jackets! Once the kids melted and were put into bed I sorted the candy and threw away about 60% of it.

Yesterday I ran out of patience with the drain in my bathroom sink. I took apart the s-bend and removed the plug. It was draining slow because someone named Phillip stuffed the drain with play dough. There were little balls of play dough stuffed between the rubber collar and the drain outlet. That kid bests me! How he thinks of things like that is beyond me. Justin put the drain back together after work since my helpers prohibited my concentration. I went on a fun flower making binge this week during naptime using my old discarded knit shirts. Some of the flowers are so adorable. Can't wait to share them!

**read the most amazing article in the Oct Ensign by Elder Neil Anderson. It inspired me to read the Book of Mormon and glean parenting advice from its pages. What better manual to use than scripture? I want to get a new cheap BOM and take notes just on this topic.

Trunk r Treat

2011-10-27T15:34:00.000-06:00

Last night our ward Primary hosted a Trunk r Treat. Excitement was super high in our home all day. Amelia and Phillip "helped" me make cookies right before lunch. Justin came home from work a bit early to help me get ready. Phillip's costume was easy. Just let him muck around in his costume for a while, add some brown face paint, a sign, and kazam Pigpen is born. Amelia was so excited that Justin picked her up from ballet. We got her all gussied up with glitter, face makeup, fake jewel earrings, and an up hairdo. Everett wore a cute dinosaur costume from my friend Meagan. The most stressful part was trying to get the kids together for some photos. Phillip's photos are so dang genuine. Amelia looked crazy as she tried to pose like a princess, mostly she looked constipated.

The church was packed to the gills. Folks from all over show up at this once a year party. I heard that the food actually ran out before everyone had a chance to eat. Phillip's eyes were huge as he took in the loud noise and chaos. Being three feet tall can be a bit intimidating. We gathered together for a sing-a-long, then dinner, a cake walk, then outside for trunk or treating. I missed quite a bit of the action outside while nursing the baby. Still I ripped open our bag of candy and it disappeared like magic. Everett's costume was perfect for keeping him nice and warm. It was freezing outside!

First Snow

2011-10-27T14:51:00.000-06:00

Like most folks along the Rocky Mountain base we received a dusting of snow yesterday. It was wet, heavy snow accompanied by cold temps. The snow was perfect for making a snowman. The middle ball was so heavy I could not lift it! He turned out really lumpy and dumpy. Regardless, the kids were pleased as pink punch. They spent 2 hours outside playing in the snow.

Fru-fru

2011-10-27T14:50:00.000-06:00

This little one LOVES ballet. She loves dressing up for her lessons...and I love to play along. She chose the poofiest tutu I have on hand yesterday. I had to laugh over her preening. She thought she was Odette from Swan Lake yesterday.

Five Months Old

2011-10-26T14:45:00.000-06:00

Everett is five months old now! Yesterday he was immunized at the clinic. No stats to share this report. It seems he is thinning out again so he must be a little taller. He is wearing 6-9 month clothing just for the length. Everett started in with the baby nazgul about a week ago. He shrieks with laughter and delight when the kids maul him, when I come near by, for Justin, and most importantly for his feet. We started calling him wet sock per his wet left sock/shoe. Monday his sock was so wet with slobber it very nearly dripped. My favorite development is what I call Inspector Gadget arms. His go-go arms are always locked out probing for things to grab. He successfully grabbed my glasses yesterday. I am not very good at tummy time, instead opting for moby wrap time (it is like a front carrier). Everett will roll from tummy to back with a couple well-placed pokes. He holds up his head like a champ.

I think we will start teaching him to eat baby cereal soon. He can't sit up well enough yet but is super close! I like my babies to be nearly sitting on their own before starting them on cereal. Everett is one cute little boy. We love him so very much. That ready smile and shriek of delight is so endearing.

Primary Program

2011-10-26T14:14:00.000-06:00

We bought a new microwave a month or so ago to replace our current one. Friday Justin found some time to take a look at the microwave situation. The folks who installed the current microwave hard-wired the appliance into the wall with a length of heavy duty wire to the main house line. Justin installed a new electrical box in the above the stove cabinet after we removed the old microwave. We went on a little jaunt to Cabela's to break up the evening. Justin got a new shirt for our family photos this week. Phillip fell in love with a camo fleecy. He hugged and cooed over his new treasure. We stopped at McDonalds for cones before heading home.

Saturday Justin let me take a morning nap. I woke up after 25 minutes but decided to sleep a few more minutes...that turned into another hour or more. I felt so groggy. After I woke up Justin wanted to get a tool to finish the microwave install. We could not find his wallet ANYWHERE. Between the two of us we tore apart the house on and off for the rest of the day. No wallet. He had it in the car at McDonalds so it got misplaced between the van and our bedroom. Most likely Phillip squirreled it away in one of his cubby holes. I had two photo sessions over the weekend. One with Miss Addy who turned one last week and another with the Bishop family. Both sessions were super fun. I got my new fancy 50mm lens on Thursday so enjoyed playing with it.

Sunday Amelia participated in her first Primary Program. She had a line which she memorized perfectly. The program was absolutely amazing. All the kids said their lines, sang with pure intent, and invited the spirit. I think about 3 non-member families were in attendance. I rarely cry but a tear or two fell during the program. The kids sang some beautiful songs this year. We went on a nice walk after dinner in 75 degree weather. The calm before the storm!

Monday I hung most of the photos in the basement. It is looking pretty homey and comfy now. My ceiling curtain track came in the mail...at least half of it did. I was bummed that half the track was not shipped. The company is mailing another track. We wanted to go to the Pumpkin Patch for FHE. Most of the local pumpkins this year were ruined by the hail. The pumpkin patch did not even open this year! So we packed up the kids and went to Walmart for pumpkins. We should get a chance to decorate them sometime this week. Amelia is learning about the letter R in preschool this week at Bryn's home. She begged for a tea party all last week. She made invitations with glitter and glue then passed them out at preschool.

Yesterday we hosted a little princess tea party. I had an order to sew up while the girls played and the boys napped. Alison subbed at the Drew's school yesterday so we had Ella from 7:45 until 3:30. The girls must be going through a developmental stage. I call it contrary syndrome. We are really struggling to teach Amelia how to be obedient, not just obedient but quickly obedient. She is using procrastination and creative excuses 99% of the time. Mostly it ends with me getting frustrated and her in time out. Ella and Amelia going through the same stage was sort of funny to watch. Poor Ella ended up being excluded from part of the tea party for some reason or another. I think she said it was because she did not want to play unicorn baby pet. The best part of the tea party was hearing little Lily use a totally authentic English accent. "Will you please pass the tea and crumpets, dearie?" LOL. The girls drank chocolate milk and ate ice cream cone cupcakes for about 10 minutes. The tea party migrated into unicorn pet games.

Phillip must be growing or teething. He is waking up quite a bit this week and is pretty ornery during the day. He bit my leg the other day and left little teeth marks on my leg,. This morning he threw an impressive tantrum over M&Ms when he wanted a tootsie roll. I think our Halloween candy will only be around a couple days. Mr garbage will enjoy the rest.

Fall Fell

2011-10-20T23:46:00.002-06:00

It seems fall suddenly plopped into our lap this week. After I pulled up my tomato plants it promptly froze and now all the trees are shedding their leaves. It feels bittersweet to me. I love the colors, crisp air, and change of the season, however, I don't much care for winter. Give me spring, summer, and fall...maybe one or two good snows (like a month) that would be perfect. We have one more day of preschool for our turn this week. Monday was cra-zay with silly kids yelling like banshees and exhibiting a serious case of wiggle worm-itis. Wednesday was MUCH better. Tomorrow I will update the preschool blog with details.

Monday we had our upstairs carpet cleaned. It smelled so good to have clean carpets! The guy did an amazing job for an excellent price. This week I painted some walls in the basement on Tuesday. I did not like the first green color so added some brown to my limey green paint for a nicer green that coodinates with the curtains. The original coat went on super fast in about 90 minutes then finished the cabinet wall after the kids went to bed. Yesterday the paint went a lot slower because the brown paint I used to deepen the hue was a bit chunky. I had to fish out clumps of brown paint before I painted. It was sort of gross. Amelia helped me paint in her underwear much to her amusement. She played over at Ella's the first day of painting. This morning I hung the curtains amongst much muttering and a couple swear words. The west basement wall is more concrete than wood and drywall. Good thing the kids were amusing themselves with kiddie scissors. They cut about about 10 pieces of paper and Phillip successfully cut a swathe of hair off his head. No more scissors while Phillip is awake. Amelia also made a couple cute greeting cards for Reagan. Tuesday I covered our new dining room chairs with a fun damask white/black vinyl covering. That pretty much covers the basement fun. Wednesday I rearranged the living room and removed the wall collage. This afternoon I painted some frames from red to green to match the new color scheme. The end is in sight! My ceiling curtain track is en route, hopefully to be installed early next week.

I made some uber cute newborn headbands yesterday evening while paint dried. Yesterday I was sewing something and left the room to get Everett. I came back into my craft room to find Phillip at my machine with a length of fabric correctly under the presser foot and turning the fly wheel. My kid was sewing...and it was NOT the girl. You go boy! Everett got a new fun aviator hat I crocheted during the drive to Cheyenne. I added a fun pair of faux glasses for a fun finishing touch.

Phillip's new phrase this week is "op'n dis" or "open this" in regular English. His speech is improving everyday. He gets really upset when Amelia uses one of his toys, grabs something, or steps on his tender feelings. He will promptly say, "Amelia NOT nice, be nice!" Phillip is learning about ownership and the word "MINE." Unfortunately this change in Phillip is also heralding the unwanted act of sibling fights. We need to figure out some way to nip this in the bud. Amelia keeps slamming Phillip's fingers in the door, he hits in return, etc and etc. It is so ironic to me that one moment they are fighting and the next being so sweet to each other. The image of a roller coaster comes to mind. He had a total meltdown when I used his car to photograph Everett and his new hat. See the above collage and two photos below the collage. He went from meltdown to smile then realized he smiled and back to meltdown in seconds. Made me laugh.

Our evenings were quite busy this week. Usually we are always home after dinner. Tuesday I had RS enrichment meeting. Sister Hackleman did an amazing presentation on Fusion Grain Cooking. I am inspired to use more grains in my cooking. It does not make much sense right now because pretty much I cook for two people. Still getting my family used to eating fillers like whole wheat etc does make sense. I really want an electric pressure cooker. Yep, they have those now. Check out this link for the BYU Fusion Grain chef. Last night we hosted two YW and 4 YM for an Iron Chef cook off. Each team arrived at a member's home with a box of food and instructions to make an entire meal with the items. As hosts we could provide some seasonings and guidance. The kids made calzones, pasta salad, and apple/strawberry crisp. Guess what?! Our little team WON! Hooray for calzones. This evening was book club at Sister Gull's home. We read "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. An intriguing short read with lots of discussion questions. Only three people attended this meeting. Several were missing because our two Elder's are leaving their mission tomorrow so their host family threw a party. It looks like we might have full time Elder's in Sidney. The mission president was quite impressed with our little town and the amount of work going on. I photographed the Elder's shoes this afternoon! They were in an amazing state of disrepair. Good use of those shoes Elder!

Everett started using a funny little growl of delight, sort of like a bark of laughter whenever something amuses him. He is so delicious I could eat all those tickles he has under that cute double chin. Well, I think that is about it.

No Boys Allowed

2011-10-16T15:49:00.000-06:00

Amelia cracks me up. Period. This week she got the idea to make a "no boys allowed" sign for her door. We started listing the guys who will never be able to see her room (which is quite honestly fine with us). Mainly her sign relates to no Phillip allowed in her room because he makes a mess. Everett is allowed because he is cute. Daddy is not allowed because he reads books too fast. So when Ella came over to play on Thursday they made some signs. Amelia immediately taped it to her door. Mostly the sign says: Amelia and no boe. Ella spelled the other words out for her. Those two crack me up. Another funny: there is a popular game around, Angry Birds. Amelia calls the game Mad Birds. We saw some plush toys at Walmart and Amelia started yelling about those Mad Birds. We got a couple giggles over that.
Friday Susan and Nan came by to visit the kids. They are the ladies who helped us buy our home two years ago. They love to see the kids every so often. This time they came with pumpkin buckets filled with candy and a small gift. Talk about awesome! We enjoyed catching up with them for a few minutes. The kids were hyped up after all that candy! Before bed both kids ate their treat with the buckets on their heads. I also finally got around to yanking my tomato plants and hanging them upside down in the garage. Apparently, the tomatoes will continue to ripen on the vine just like the plant is still in the ground for a couple more weeks. Maybe I will get to can my spaghetti sauce after all.

I forgot to tell a funny story about Phillip. Last Sunday I laid out his clothes for Justin to help Phillip into. The shirt was a pink one with a navy vest over the top. He totally refused to put on the shirt! He yanked it off ran into my bedroom, threw the shirt on the floor, and yelled, "no, Amelia!" Not once, twice, but three times. He did end up wearing it but not without a fight. Once the vest was on he forgot about the color. We are still giggling that Phillip knows pink is totally an Amelia color.

This coming week should be fun! We are hosting preschool at our home. Our theme is MONKEYS, the letter M, and the color brown. We are totally ready for a monkey party. Yesterday we crammed the kids into the back of our Camry and drove to Cheyenne for new front tires and shopping. We got to browse Walmart for 1.5 hours, eat at Chipotles, shop for Everett clothes at my favorite consignment store, and stop at Hobby Lobby. Now we are ready to sell the Camry. Any takers let me know!

Life Other Than Cleaning

2011-10-13T15:57:00.001-06:00

Outside of cleaning like a mad woman life continued, gasp! I wanted to mention a couple items. Just had to post this photo again of Phillip since it is soooooo, well, Phillip!

1. Amelia is so excited for her Primary Program. We are memorizing her little part and listening to the program music all the time.
2. Amelia helped me pare down the toys in her room. She did so well giving up half of it to other little girls who don't have many toys.
3. Amelia is having a hard time staying in her bed. Sunday night she earned the consequence of cleaning the bathroom by herself. I played Drill Sargent and bossed her around for an hour. I remembered my dad playing Drill Sargent, just passing it on!
4. Phillip sucked a straw full of ranch and ketchup and blew it all over my shirt and pants. I smelled like salad.
5. While waiting for Amelia to get out of ballet Everett started laughing at Phillip laughing at him. That was a first for Everett. Made my heart sing with joy! Phillip also carried his monkey to ballet in a toy baby carrier. He coddles that monkey!
6. While enjoying dinner with the Missionaries on Tuesday, Phillip got his monkey and Grandma Jean blankie then commenced to nurse his monkey at the dinner table. What a kid.
7. Amelia went to the post office for preschool. She mailed herself a picture of her family. So cute.
8. Showed Phillip and Amelia how to slide down the stairs in a sleeping bag on Sunday. THAT was FUN.
9. Made myself 5 new "Cami-Secret" things. They are like mock camis that clip to a lady's underclothing. Used my old cami's to make the mock ones. I hate wearing shirts under shirts so this project was perfect for me.
10. Everett is not feeling well. He was up all hours of the night wanting loves. Poor kid.

Cleaning Bug

2011-10-13T15:37:00.001-06:00

Ever since we contemplated moving the itch grew and grew inside me until I exploded with a huge can of jelly whoop clean all over my kitchen and basement. I clean everyday, it seems about a 100 times per day. Still my poor kitchen had not received a deep clean since the month before Everett was born. I knew it would take me FOR-Ev-ver to clean on my own so I enlisted some help. My basement was a thorn in my side even before we moved in. With help we made amazing progress towards a cleaner, simpler home.

Monday: Alison watched Amelia while I sorted toys. Ended up consigning about 60% of the kids toys. We have one little box upstairs, a little basket for bedroom toys, and now all the other toys fit into one cabinet. As a parent you buy your kids toys, they get gifted toys, they bring home stray toys, etc. It all piles up. Man, oh man it felt great to lighten the load to the toys the kids only play with. Pretty much I threw out all the toys that were NOT on the floor. Spent sporadic hours moving my photography props and making room in the storage room.

Tuesday: Alison came over again and helped me move furniture. Took a large load to the Salvation Army and Consignment store. Rose came over after lunch and helped me deep clean the kitchen for 4 hours. Together we scrubbed all the cabinet doors, pried dried food and such from corners, and polished every surface until it gleamed. I took breaks for piano lessons, nursing, and putting Phillip down for nap. The girls (Amelia, Ella, and Lily) all enjoyed zooming down the basement stairs in a sleeping bag. The whoops and hollers were enough to bring tears of joy to my eyes. I love happy sounds. Ella ended the party with a fun carpet burn and nose bonk. Was up until 12:30 mopping my kitchen floors and working in the basement. Alison had a great idea to hang Amelia's dress ups into the space where the previous owners had a mini fridge. Pretty much Alison gets credit for most of the good basement ideas! It is so strange how you can fashion everyone's spaces but when it comes to your own you get stuck.

Wednesday: Made another trip to Salvation Army. Alison came over and helped to organize my yarn and help put my craft room back together. Finished putting the basement back to sorts at 12:30 am once again. Found a cute area rug at the furniture store here in Sidney.

Phew! I am one tired...AND...pleased gal.

To do:
Paint the wall behind the longer couch and the TV a green color
Sew up a fun curtain to hide my photography studio area
Move my photo collage from the living room to the basement
Organize the movies into a CD case
Finish going through the rest of the closets once again

Since Friday I was super busy cleaning out my clothing, the upstairs closets, and the bathrooms. I am a cleaning maniac! Once I finished the kitchen it felt like a whitened sepulcher since all the inside cabinets are still dirty. Gleaming cabinets hid dusty shelves. Ah well, at least I know when to get help. Let them hide their secrets for a while longer.

I am so excited for this evening. Justin is watching the kids while I go have ice cream and a movie with ladies from our ward. CanNOT wait.

Drool Monkey

2011-10-07T16:06:00.001-06:00

Everett is producing mass amounts of drool lately. This week he started stuffing three fingers into his mouth. His clothes are usually wet down to his navel within an hour of getting dry clothes on. Sometimes he dries out during his afternoon nap too. I don't see any tooth buds so he must be enjoying the discovery of his hands and fingers. My new favorite thing he does is growling at his toes while in the carseat. He started wearing shoes which is terribly exciting. He loves to talk to his shoes and taste them!

Yarn Fest

2011-10-07T16:02:00.000-06:00

Been having some fun with the yarn lately. Made 7 hats in less than 5 days! Three of them looked sorta funny so ended up reworking the bottom halves (Phillip's monkey hat, the pumpkin, and one of the bluebird ones) after taking photos. Phillip was so excited to hold Everett for the hat photos. He loves his brother!

My cousin's wife, Denise Adams, sent me four gorgeous headbands earlier this week. Wednesday and Thursday I spent some time whipping up 8 of these beauties during naps. I love me a fast and easy project. I only wish I had more amazing fabric! Each flower and band are a little different. They look pretty cute on Amelia too and on me when my hair is pulled back into a messy bun. Thanks for the inspiration. I took some ideas from this tutorial to make them. The headbands are about half the width from the tutorial since skinnier looks best on little girls and in curly hair. Last night I finished the last shirt in my stock for Everett. My inspiration came from Courtenay's love of argyle. After I finished the applique part the shirt seemed to be missing some pizzazz...so I sewed around the button enclosure and collar with a messy edge. I love how it looks!!

I had to laugh after conference was finished. Amelia took some of my acrylic yarn with my permission to cut and cut lengths of yarn. She stayed busy for an entire hour cutting yarn. She cut about 20 oz of yarn! It was a mess but that is how they learn right? I love to crochet and watch conference. Balm to my soul.

DMB

2011-10-07T15:37:00.000-06:00

Justin often calls Phillip "DMB" or Dirty Monkey Boy. Pretty apt considering his current doings. It seems this week was rather difficult. My kitchen is cleaned about twice a day but it still has fingerprints everywhere, small bits of food stuck here and there, sticky patches on the floor, and etc. I feel overwhelmed by all the little details that are not cleaned. Yet, I know that as soon as I clean my sidekick will help put it back. These are SOME of the highlights this week ala Phillip:

I am learning important things like:
*It is best to wait an hour or more to clean up shredded cheese, spaghetti, noodles, ramen, etc because then you can sweep it
*When I hear a chair or bench moving it is time to book it into the kitchen
*Chortling sounds from the bathroom is not a good sign
*Phillip responds best to root knockers, me saying no is not heeded in the slightest
*How to laugh inside and be stern at the same time
*The true meaning of "Duuuuuuude!" and "Oh Man!"
*I am Mother to one amazing little boy. He is so delightful and curious.

Please laugh over the chart above because I am. Everyday is an adventure. Most of the time his mischief is because I am not paying attention to him. He loves to help clean up his messes for the time being. I also know why I feel so exhausted by the end of the day! LOL.

Hard Choices

2011-10-05T14:05:00.000-06:00

Justin was approached around the 16th of September with a job offer with Cold Water Creek by his head hunter. That same day I was busy saying that I was done with my house and ready for a change. Justin told me about the job offer on Monday after considering it personally for a weekend. We spent the next while stewing over the opportunity. Justin had a 1.5 hour phone interview then was invited to come out to Sandpoint, ID for an interview. We ended up taking the whole family out for the interview so we could see the town.

We drove down to Denver early Thursday morning for our flight to Spokane, WA. Amelia is sooooo loopy when we wake her up for special trips like this or going to Utah. She entertains us for a couple hours with her random observations and comments. The logistics of moving through an airport were a bit more complicated this time! The last time I flew Amelia was 18 months old! Add two kids and the growing pile of luggage and carseats make the airport more exciting. Justin dropped Amelia, Everett, and I off at the terminal while he parked the van with Phillip. I nursed the baby while we waited. Then bathroom breaks. We headed to check-in and go through security. Phew, I was sweating by the time we got through. There was sufficient time to grab some lunch before boarding. I totally expected Phillip to be running down the aisles naked, stealing snacks, and kicking shins during the flight. I hardly heard a peep from him! Justin and Phillip sat 7 rows back from Amelia, Everett, and I. When we landed Amelia yelled over and over, "Dad, we landed, can you hear me?" She got some chuckles for that. The lady in front of Phillip cursed a bit after, I guess Phillip played with his tray a bit too much. I think he did awesome. We grabbed a rental car that was barely wide enough for three carseats. I wedged the infant seat in while Justin and I pulled the other two carseats apart. Amelia was a little distressed that we weren't getting into our own van. Explaining distances and travel is a bit challenging! After a 1.5 hour drive we drove into our hotel. It is so nice to be closer to two large cities (Coeur D'Alene and Spokane).

Our hotel sat on the banks of lake Pend Orielle (said ponderay), literally! Our room opened out onto a cute little beach and pier. We drove around a bit after resting and exploring the hotel. I found a cute little pizzeria for dinner. We met with one of the Bishop's there in Sandpoint after dinner. We enjoyed asking questions in a laid back setting. The Bowcut family in our ward moved from Sandpoint to Sidney about 18 months ago. We spent last Sunday evening with them hearing all about the area and Cold Water Creek, where Bruce used to work.

Justin interviewed from 8:30 to 3:30 pm. While he was busy the kids and I drove around with a Real Estate Agent checking out the town. Sandpoint has about the same population as Sidney but is a resort town, a hub for about 20,000 people, and is surrounded by other small towns so it has a totally different feel than Sidney. Throw in lots of pine trees, a gorgeous lake, mountains and more stores for the general idea. The kids lasted about an hour. We went back to the hotel for some downtime. Phillip discovered he fit in the coffee table drawers. His most favorite part of the hotel was....drum roll... the toilet. It had an auto function and button. He was fascinated with the button and probably flushed the toilet over 100 times in less than two days. I drove almost to Canada after lunch so the kids could get a nap. Phillip became attached to a bag of pretzels, which he also used as a pillow.

Sleeping with Phillip was an interesting experience. Our room had two king beds. I took the wiggle worm for bed duty. The first night he fell asleep after 30 minutes of adjusting his sheets, his monkey, and playing with his diaper. He insisted on falling asleep with his hand down the back of his diaper. The second night he was plain hyper. He jumped all over the bed for a good 30 minutes then commenced to adjust his monkey and talk to it. I was trying so hard not to laugh as I watched him interact with his monkey. They had a great conversation about who knows what.

We took the kids to visit City Beach after Justin finished with his interviews. He said the interviews went well! The beach was a great end to our stressful day. The beach has a gorgeous view of the lake. A little replica of the Statue of Liberty stands on the end of a pier. Across the way a million pine trees tower over the shore. Little sail boats floated by as the kids played and played in the water and sand. It felt a little surreal to be wading at the beach in October. We had dinner at a Mexican place with Mark Haley and his family. Phillip made an amazing recipe with his food much to the kid's delight.

Early the next day we were back on the road for our trip back to Sidney. We missed most of conference but still felt a measure of peace as we traveled home. I really thought we would know what to do after our visit. We both feel torn between two choices, each with measurable pros and cons. Now we are waiting for an offer from the company. Justin may need to travel back for one more interview with the CFO since he was out on business. The biggest pros: Cold Water is offering more money, Justin is comfortable and happy with Cabela's. Cons: Cold Water Creek is not doing so well but the President of the company is giving his all to restore it, with Cabela's they probably will not offer a raise. Who knows! Anything could happen at this point in time.

This afternoon we finally heard back from Cold Water Creek. Our final decision is that we are staying here in Sidney. With all the current financial challenges facing Cold Water Creek staying where we are seems to be the best option right now. It was FUN to have a free vacation on someone else's tab. I still cannot get over how gorgeous the scenery is up there. We are both glad to finally have an answer and be done with all the stress. Phew!

Chunk

2011-10-04T09:57:00.000-06:00

Last Wednesday Phillip got another nasty bug bite behind his ear and a couple on his cheek. The side of his head was pretty swollen and red. From behind he looked like Chunk from "The Goonies" movie. We kept trying to teach him to say "Baby Ruth?!" but all he'd say was baby Eberett. Poor kid! He is on Zyrtec so I cannot even imagine what the bite would look like without it.

We had a good weekend enjoying some much needed rest, excitement, and family time. Conference was a balm to my soul. Justin is especially excited that Columbia is getting a temple in one of the cities he served in. Elder Holland's talk during Priesthood session was amazing. I crocheted six hats over the weekend! Can't wait to show you!!

Amelia is gearing up for Halloween as seen by her lovely face paint in the bathtub. She asks me everyday if she can get her costume on yet. She cried and cried when I cleaned off her face. Phillip enjoyed the fun too. He keeps on enjoying the fun with any pen or marker he can find. His limbs are consistently decorated with some type of drawing.

Everett definitely found his feet! He is so cute just rolling from side to side attacking his colorful shoes, getting his socks wet, or laughing at his crazy toes. He is pretty much perfection! He laughs whenever I change his diapers or remove his clothing now. He loves to get naked and move his body around. The kid is wearing 6-9 mth clothing already because he is so long. I had to lengthen the pants I made two weeks ago to accommodate his long legs.

Last week I had the best newborn photo session ever with little Cecelia. She was so tiny at a whopping 5 pounds. The little gal was born 5 weeks early so spent three weeks in the NICU. I went from set to set and pose to pose without her hardly waking up at all. It was a dream session. Check it out here: Cecelia.

Rockin' the Sweatband

2011-09-27T22:27:00.000-06:00

My little monkey boy decided to go 80's this afternoon. He found a soft baby headband and rocked with sweatband style. What a funny boy. Yesterday I got him up from his nap to find his socks on his hands, his pants on his head, and his shirt on his bum. Guess his is experimenting with how clothes function. He really wanted to wear his shoes to bed this afternoon with a Strawberry Shortcake bandaid. He seriously is a crack up! I can't help but smile, feel frustrated at his antics, hug, and spank him all at the same time.

Pinkalicious

2011-09-27T22:17:00.000-06:00

Loved Amelia's outfit so much we had to do a little photoshoot with her, the new outfit, and my new pink backdrop paper! Goodness, she has so much spunk and personality. She knows how to pose and move like a little dancer. Reminds me of someone I intimately know (myself). Love that she is now using ballet positions to pose. We all got haircuts today! Her hair looks MUCH better, not so stringy at the ends.

Four Months Old

2011-09-27T22:09:00.000-06:00

Everett turned 4 months old yesterday! He had his well-baby visit this afternoon, thus the post one day late. Goodness, this kid is so long. He is already wearing 6-9 mth clothing just for length. Amelia and Phillip are both pretty short kids so to have a long one is sorta strange. I think he just wanted a new wardrobe for the winter since he has already outgrown all of Phillip's hand-me-downs. Bummer.

Everett weighs 14 lbs 13.5 oz and measured 25.5 inches long.

He grasps for things (especially my dinner plate), clasps his hands, reaches and holds his toes, loves to explore his hands and fingers with his mouth, can wet a new shirt with slobber in no time flat, rolls to the right side when holding toes, bats toys, laughs especially hard when Phillip and Amelia play with him, is ticklish under his chin, absolutely loves baths, blows the most amazing spit bubbles, blew his first raspberry on Monday, has the most endearing sparkle in his eyes, and smiles all the time.

Everett is earning the nickname, Bubs, after my Grandpa Everett. Grandpa went by Bubs most of his life. The nickname came when he was an infant and blew impressive spit bubbles, his family started calling him bubbles, then just bubs. Our Everett can produce enough bubbles that it looks like he is foaming at the mouth! Amelia and Phillip just adore Everett. The poor kid has snot crusties all over his head from loving Phillip kisses. He sleeps amazingly well, especially at night. He usually goes to sleep around 9:30, has a night feeding at 10:45, then wakes up around 5 am for a snack, he wakes up around 8 am! He is not a great napper. He takes a 20-30 minute cat nap around 9:30 then a 10 minute nap around 12:30 then naps for 2 hours from 2-4, lastly a 20 minute nap after dinner. It is strange to have a kid who naps short amounts of time all the time. I am still working out the logistics of sharing a room with two napping kids. Everett naps in his crib, then in my arms, then in the bean bag, then crib, etc. At least he is learning how to be flexible.

Since his last monthly update Everett finally learned how to put weight on his legs! I pulled out the jumperoo 10 days ago and he caught on to putting pressure on his legs after a couple days. It is so much easier to play games with him now! He is a bit wobbly when sitting in the bumbo chair. He does this funny little circle wobble then centers with a comical "boing" move. Enjoy some photos of Everett cuddling with his new monkey friend and a new silly hat.

Modge Podge Week

2011-09-25T22:10:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it is Sunday already. Everett decided to nap again. I forgot how newborns/infants tend to go through spurts of napping then restlessness. Wednesday afternoon Amelia and Ella wanted to have ballet class together. I put on our silly little ballet DVD, helped the girls get dressed, then sat down for an amazing recital. Both girls were flouncing around like little prima ballerinas. Ok, it was a bit more hilarious than that. I almost peed my pants from laughing behind my book as I peeked at them. Their looks of concentration about put me over the top. I also had fun sewing two outfits this week. Yep, made another froofy number for Amelia and a fun monkey outfit for Everett. I love how the pants turned out.

Phillip and I are enjoying some alone time while Amelia is at Preschool or in dance. We went to the park together, played Phillip games in the basement, and snuggled some. He enjoys the attention and I enjoy his little personality. We caught a butterfly on Friday during preschool. He helped me catch it, fill a mason jar with grass and butterfly flowers, and punch holes in the jar lid. He was so excited to show Amelia that he chattered the entire way about the bug.

The series of photos above just about makes me cry with joy. I love the little stories on each child's face. Phillip's puckered lips and Everett's unknowing stare about what is going to happen tells a story we see around here every day. Then Everett's look of "Why, Mom, why are you letting him kiss me again?" Through it all Amelia sits with a look of curious by standing, only intervening when it gets interesting. Pretty much sums up our kids right now.

Justin and I are going through some interesting developments. We were able to hold a little family fast today to consider said developments. This week will be interesting, busy, and fun. More details when we have a better idea of what we want to do. Sorry for the suspense! Buhahaha, this IS my BLOG. Justin bore a sweet testimony about our bedlamite stage of life in church today. Our Bishop challenged our ward to read the Book of Mormon in a year's time about a month ago. Justin said he promises we will NOT read the entire book as a family, but that we will read every night and teach our kids to love the Book of Mormon. Scripture and prayer time is sort of crazy right now. It feels like the kids...and parents are not grasping much. His testimony bolstered mine that the point right now is to teach them a precedence for future learning. The spirit comes in small ways as I hear Amelia singing Primary songs, reading herself the scriptures, and saying her own prayers then watching Phillip emulate her makes it all worth it. We now have the stewardship to teach our nursery kids each week. More bedlam! More chances to teach!

One Strong Arm

2011-09-21T14:15:00.001-06:00

A picture Amelia drew of baby Everett, he has "E" hands, lol

We enjoyed having Justin home for the entire weekend! The first weekend in a couple months. It was nice to have time to clean and get the laundry done and folded. Justin worked on fixing the front screen door, which was partially ripped away from the door frame during one of the storms this year. Amelia had a fun service project with the Primary. The kids sang songs and handed out cookies at the rest home then cleaned trash up at the park. Each child earned ice cream toppings by reciting memorized scriptures. It was a fun day.

The weather is starting to turn a bit crazy with one cold day then warm then cool, then hot, then cold. This also means the wind is a lot stronger of late. Our utility bill is grateful for a break with the cooler nights. Justin gets the whole house fan going each evening for a couple hours. It really cools down the house in a jiffy. Sunday evening we all went on a nice walk. Amelia wore a cute little white dress with a white sweater over it, she also had a black purse slung over her shoulder. Justin and I looked back at her and both noticed how much she looked like a Sister Missionary. I regaled her with mission stories for part of our walk. THAT WAS FUN. At one point she said, "hey!" I said, "hay is for horses." She replied, "honking horns are for pigs!" I was totally stumped.

Everett decided to take short 15-20 catnaps Sunday-Tuesday. I feel like Popeye with one huge arm after lugging him around for three days. Monday I was so tired I went to bed at 9 pm, totally unheard of in these parts. He napped pretty well (so far) today. Maybe he was just going through a funky phase.

Monday we met Justin at the park for a fun little picnic. The weather was perfectly amazing! We noticed the Evans family taking a picnic lunch so joined them. Sister Evans said we looked like a perfectly adorable family. Awwww. That was nice. Amelia looked pretty cute in her vintage dress and boots, with pigtails to boot. Phillip said "I love you" for the first time, at least for the first time that we understood him. He keeps getting up between 6 and 6:30, that is early for me since I go to bed so late. I finished a cute outfit for Everett on Monday and a cute onsie for a little girl. Courtenay gave me the pants partially completed, I put in the waistband, cut the leg length, and hemmed the pants. The little chick hat I made last week was so cute that Everett totally needed one too. I enjoyed crocheting while Everett and I snuggled. I am so grateful to Justin for helping me clean up more this week since my arms were so full of baby.

Crafty Alert

2011-09-16T17:27:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple projects completed since July. Yes, production is down but still uber cute! Some of the photos are reposts just to get it all in one location. The pixie hat shown on the little baby (in yellow) outside was actually crocheted in green. I keep forgetting to take photos of stuff so don't have about 10 things I've made that went out the door. Oh well! Most were just repeat hats. Can you tell which photos were taken with my crappy point and shoot? I sure can. Makes me crazy! It does take good videos. The lace crowns were made with prefab crochet lace. I brushed modge podge on the lace and allowed to dry. The just glue ends and of course decorate (or spray paint). The crowns remain flexible but still pliable. Next time I will not use the semi-gloss modge podge.

Walmart Cart Full of Fun

2011-09-14T20:10:00.000-06:00

Other than ballet classes we've had a pretty fun week since I last wrote. We enjoyed joy school on Friday, see my new blog here. Saturday our ward participated in commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Welfare Program. Justin got up bright and early to help remove a tree hanging over a member's home. Eight guys and one gal worked hard to remove the tree and saw it down for firewood. He spent a good 6 hours working hard. Two other service projects were going on as well around the same time. What a neat way to commemorate that anniversary. I felt out of the loop staying home like usual. I guess my service was to do the same thing I always do!

Sunday I was able to photograph a lovely young lady from our ward who lives 90 minutes away. She is graduating from HS in December. We had fun capturing that special time in her life. The new Elder's drove by while we were in the country. They stopped for a few cool photos with Nebraska landscape in the distance. Monday my visiting teaching companion, Megan, brought over her new baby girl for me to play photographer with. Little Dani slept through most of the session! I had a blast practicing my skills. I am getting better! Amelia, Ella, and Stella all played and played while Megan and I worked.

Last week I made a cute hat for Ella with yarn Alison has tried to pawn off on me for a good six months. She worked hard to find that shade of yarn but with my hands and new life changes I was not able to make her hat. She shipped the yarn off to her Mother-in-law but she also did not have time. Alison suggested a trade of hat for a day babysitting. She took Amelia and Phillip on Tuesday. Phillip insisted on pushing a toy walmart cart filled with a toy kitty, elmo doll, fire truck, and Belle shoes. Amelia brought a bag of princess clothes so the girls could play dress up.

Today I spent a couple hours assisting with a newborn session for a 4 day old baby girl. It was heaven to work with Kelly! We planned out about 7 scenes and completed them all in less then an hour. That is a wonder! Thanks to Christine for watching my kiddos. Sounds like she enjoyed snuggling Everett. We also went to visit the ladies at Justin's work. They love it when we come to visit. This was Everett's first time at the office.
Phillip's speech is really improving to the point other folks can understand him. Everett found his feet. He pulls up his feet under the bouncer to play with the toys. I watched him grab his toes for the first time on Tuesday and realize that those toes belonged to him. He also loves to do the "rainbow" move in the bath: arch his back so only his head and toes are touching solid surfaces. Phillip had the same moves. My favorite thing right now is when he clutches my shirt while he nurses, it is such an intense show of his concentration. He decided to nap a little better this week. At least he sleeps through most every night now a days. He gets up about 2-3 times a week around 5 am for a snack every other night or so. Amelia is having a hard time hearing. I looked in her ears with my otoscope and could not even see her ear drums. I could see her tube lying in the ear canal! That is exciting. We started putting drops in her ears again. I am tired of repeating myself 20 times instead of the usual 10 times.

It was soooooo wonderful, MOM!!

2011-09-14T19:29:00.000-06:00

We enrolled Amelia in ballet classes a little while ago. Her first class was this afternoon. I knew she would love it, but was still amazed at her love of dance and music. For the past year we read ballet books, danced recitals in the livingroom, and watched her prance about in her ballet clothes. Her class has about 10 little girls between 3-4 years old. She was one of the few that did not cry. I was so proud of her when she walked up her to teacher, did a curtsey, and stuck out her hand to introduce herself. She has no reservations! Phillip, Everett and I had to wait in the hallway while her class went on. We heard a lot of jumping, skipping, bouncing, plies, and music. She bounced out of the classroom after class to exclaim, "that was the best lesson I ever had! Ballet is so wonderful, mom!" I had a great time meeting two other mom's in the hallway. Her first lesson she learned:

bounce, bounce, plie, plie
heels together
skip, skip, hop
marching in time

Joy for Joy School!!

2011-09-07T19:32:00.000-06:00

This morning marked the start of joy school for the year. We hosted the event at our home, kicking it off with some fun. Our theme this week is "All About Me," the letter is "F," and our shape is an oval. I am starting a blog for our joy school this year so check over there for details! Hopefully at the end of the year we can give the kids blog books of our joy school year.
Here is Amelia starting her first day of joy school, year two. I made her outfit two weeks ago and held back the tremendous urge to post photos early. She totally rocked the pleated skirt, appliqued shirt, and hat. I love this fabric line from Timeless Treasures. Reminds me of fall, school, and hot chocolate.

Alison took Phillip for me (major thanks) and then invited Mia over to play afterwards until 4 pm. Everett was not so happy today. It made joy school a little challenging. He ended up crying for about an hour since he would not nap, eat, or settle down. He was not happy the rest of the day either so maybe he was not feeling well. I think we will survive joy school! This week I am investing in the Rusty and Rosy reading program by the Waterford Institute. Jacob Lance used it and practically learned to read in preschool! They also have a cool looking DVD teaching the letter sounds that I want.

Riverside Zoo

2011-09-07T14:47:00.000-06:00

Monday we had a hankering to go somewhere for Labor Day. The zoo was closed most of the summer after the North Platte river flooded the zoo. It reopened a couple weeks ago. We decided to take the kids up there for a fun little outing. We had a fun time! Amelia was feeding the fish and ducks when a lady asked her where she was from. Amelia responded, "I am from Nebraska, not the zoo." Crack me up. The kids loved the lion drinking fountain, the monkeys, and the tiger. Amelia especially loved petting and feeding the goats. I forgot to grab some quarters to buy feed for the animals. A couple people shared their feed pellets with Amelia to give the goats. She was in heaven. Most of the animals were back in their cages but there were quite a few empty cages as well. The Bengal tiger was in a foul mood. He paced, growled, and roared while we watched. Amelia told us she was brave so went to stand by the fence. The tiger charged towards her stopping an inch shy of the fence. She ran to me and said, "mom, I guess I am not so brave anymore!" Had we been in the wild and a tiger charged we'd all need a change of pants! LOL.
The weather was cooler so I did not bring any swim wear for the splash pad. We let Amelia run around in her undies and Phillip in a diaper. It worked out well. The water was way too cold for getting totally wet but perfect to wet your feet and legs. Phillip got caught in the water once (see the collage). He did not get wet again. Fun times. We ended the day with treats from Sonic for our long drive home. I crocheted two hats during the drive. It felt nice to crochet something again.

In Order to Get Dinner Ready....

2011-09-02T16:32:00.001-06:00

Dinner preparation is the hardest time of day. The baby wants to be held, the kids are hungry, and I am tired. Yesterday I shooed the kids outside for 10 minutes to finish making dinner. Dinner was delicious, by the way! We had bacon, chard, and tomato sauce over pasta. The meal was dished up and ready for the hooligans to come eat it and throw it on the floor. I came outside to find two naked jay birds dancing on the slide and splashing in the pool. The same jay birds decided it'd be fun to fill the sandbox with water too. I had to laugh at their white little buns. Sometimes you just have to sacrifice one thing for another.

Yesterday Everett scooted himself over to a monkey hanging on his playmat to chew on its foot. He did not move very far, but at 3 mths six inches is quite a ways. He entertained himself with that monkey foot for 10 minutes. He is finally feeling better and sleeping more normally. He is waking up at night with coughing spells. Today he finally decided to nurse on a normal schedule. I've pumped most every day this week just to keep my milk supply normal. Phillip had me milk his belly button several times. I am taking zicam and echinacea to fight off my body's desire to get sick again. I am tired of all this sickness.

This week I sewed a couple cute things, made some new headbands, and hung more photos in the boys room. Everett modeled a fun headband made with peacock feathers. Wednesday evening I had a photoshoot with a family from Sidney. I had the mom bring balloons for their little two year old. For the baby I brought an old tin tub, water, bubble bath, towels, and a rubber duckie. We had a great time in the warm evening! The baby was not so fond of the COLD bath water, he was much more cooperative once the water was emptied. Check out their fun session: HERE.

We're BEET

2011-08-31T15:18:00.000-06:00

Ha, ha. We're beet?! Yep, on more than one level. Saturday was a busy day. Justin had an Elder's Quourm activity all morning then helped the Haley's move the rest of their stuff until 4:30. Only a couple guys showed up to help out so that was a bit frustrating for everyone involved. Saturday night we went to the park for a little while then had ice cream at DQ. Everett started running a fever that evening. I expected a fever after getting immunized. This time it lasted a lot longer than usual with more side effects.

Our first week in nursery was fun. We have 8-11 kids at one time, which is a vast improvement over the 2-3 we used to have. Thankfully another parent decided to come and play with us. Justin held the baby until he fell asleep. Then we had music, snack, lesson, and activity. Phew! Should be interesting to say the least. I plucked a huge beet from our garden.

Monday and Tuesday poor Everett was very sick. He acted like his ears were bothering him so I took him into the DR on Tuesday but they said he looked just fine, except for the constant crying. Monday night he would only sleep if I held him a certain way. It also seemed that even touching him caused pain. My heart strings pull watching the little tyke suffer like that. He is finally acting more normal today. I am starting to feel sick again. Everett and I keep swapping sick germs. Plus a missed night of sleep did not help. My arms are getting buff from toting around a 13 lb kid. Guess we just needed to pay a copay to figure out he was getting better. I started piano lessons yesterday for Traeli. This term I only have two students.

Amelia and Phillip super, duper, pooper love Phillip's new dump truck. Not for dumping but for giving and getting rides. Last night they raced up and down the walks pushing each other. Phillip was not a very straight driver, he kept bonking into the pavers nearly popping Amelia out. It is funny to watch them play together. They also started a funny game at the dinner table. They each take a bite, then yell: "DUUUUUUUUDE!" I am not sure why this is funny but they love it. Phillip suddenly learned how to pronounce the "K" sound. He asks for milK, with a capital K. He asks for Kakalate (chocolate) MILK about 5 times a day.

Today I noticed Everett started bringing his feet up to his chest on purpose! He is pretty close to grabbing his toes. Ella came over to play in the sideyard. We filled up the pool and put our new/old slide (thanks Alison) inside. The kids played and played! I put Phillip and Everett down for naps then went to check on the girls. They both stopped me in the garage saying I would get mad if I saw what they did. That made me pretty curious. They made sand pies! I laughed! They piled sand, grass, leaves, and marshmallows into a bowl and poured water on the concoction. Ella made a special perfume in a spray bottle with grass and water. Next week we start preschool. Yikes! I need to get ready since I am teaching the first week. Today Amelia said, "Mom do you know what bumble bees are? The bumbles are bees... and the bees are bumbles." Perfect sense! LOL.

Phillip's Day

2011-08-26T15:14:00.002-06:00

We had a fun birthday with Phillip. His eyes light up when we sang him happy birthday before Justin went to work. He helped me make cupcakes...more like he got a bath after helping. Ella came over to play most of the day. We had lunch at McDonald's with Justin. He was over the top excited to have lunch with both Ella and Justin. It took him over an hour to finally settle down enough to fall asleep. We played in the sideyard with punching balloons after he woke up. His balloon popped, he carried around the rubber shreds asking me to blow it back up every few moments. The Haley family now lives a block away since their home sale is closing on Monday. They moved into a small rental home until they find a home with property that meets their needs. We are NOT complaining in the slightest! We walked Ella home like old times and hung out for a little while. Ella and Brayden came with us to the park for cuppy cakes, ice cream, and presents. He loves his new huge tonka dump truck, a rescue hero fire truck (that shoots water bullets), a Buzz Lightyear gun, a gyro ball, and a robot bug. Justin said his dream to play with boy toys with a kid in his lap was finally fulfilled last night as he showed Phillip how to work his fire truck. It was pretty cute. We got Phillip to say "I'm two"...it is a bit garbled but those who speak Phillip understand. Happy Birthday big boy!!!

**the photos of Amelia are to showcase a hat I made for Neleigh. I made her three hats but forgot to take photos of them before I gave them away, until yesterday.

Three Months Old

2011-08-26T14:54:00.000-06:00

Say hello!! Aren't I just adorable? My dimple is so fetchin' cute it begs for kisses.

I had to capture Everett in his blessing outfit before he outgrew it. I love the contrast of black against cream! This week Everett learned how to laugh. He sometimes laughs when tickled, helped to touch his toes, or when his nose is suctioned. At three months Everett can maintain eye contact, smile, recognize people, bat at toys, suck on his hands, nurse like a champ, and sleep through the night. He is almost ready to transition into Phillip's room. The only thing he does not do that both Mia and Phillip did is to put weight on his legs. It is so strange to stand him up and have him retain no weight on his legs. His favorite things are: mommy, daddy, Amelia, Phillip (sometimes), his monkey binky, bouncy chair, baths, and the play mat. After being sick for 10 days he is not going to sleep by himself anymore. He wants to be snuggled to sleep, who can blame the kid? We are working on that again.

This week I found a used crib and mattress through a friend. The boys room is ready for two. I am not ready! Mostly I cannot wrap my head around having two napping kids on different schedules in one room. Everett usually wakes up between 5-7 am to nurse, I can just see Phillip waking up too when I come to get Everett and not going back down to sleep. Everett also cries a bit when settling down to sleep, so how does that work at 10:30 pm? He really needs his own room. I considered putting Phillip and Mia together but it was a little overwhelming for me at this time to move everything by myself. It is so convenient to have Everett right beside me! I can just roll over at night get him and nurse in bed. That is amazing! He is almost too long for the bassinet now. I just need to try it out and not be so concerned.

Happy Birthday to Our Phillip Anson

2011-08-25T08:33:00.001-06:00

Today is such a special day for our little man. He is two! I feel like we've been in the "2's" for a while now so to actually reach it makes me take a step back. He is growing up so fast. Phillip is one sweet, curious, mischevious, and adorable little boy. He makes the rhyme of puppy dog tails and snails true. Yesterday when I set up my studio to take a few photos of him he got sooooo excited. When I actually let him up on my platform he was about to die of happiness. As you can see he dished out every face and emotion I see most of our days. When I put on his new shirt (yep, made it!) he was stuttering about the cool two on the front. I LOVE how he shows the number two, with one single index finger from each hand.

We went to see Grandpa Doctor on Tuesday. Phillip weighs in at 28.4 lbs, is 33.25 inches long, putting him in the 71% and 31% percentiles respectively. He can walk/run, jump, crawl, roll over, somersault, and climb like a monkey. He is trying so very hard to talk, I understand him about 50% of the time, when he gestures about 90% of the time. Phillip loves to get dressed, brush his teeth, drink chocolate milk, eat snacks, make messes, kiss Everett, annoy/play with Amelia, snuggle with mom, read books, wear hats, play with sticks/rocks/sand, ride his bike, wrestle with dad, and take long baths. He is most often found in my wake putting back everything I just put away.

Goodness, it is so hard to verbalize what Phillip is! He is amazing! He is cute! He is snugly! I love how solid and chunky he is, makes it fun to wrestle him. He has the funniest little personality part goat (garbage disposal), donkey (stubborn), monkey (climber), and chicken (fast). My favorite times of the day is when he first wakes up. I get him some chocolate milk and he snuggles on my lap until the milk is gone. Then he pats my face and goes adventuring. Phillip does hear "NO!" way too often. We need to help him learn boundaries and limits. Thus is the life of an active two year old boy. Just imagine "Pig Pen" and "Linus" and that is a good combination for our boy. Happy Birthday!!! We love you so very much!

Phillip's Style

2011-08-21T15:20:00.000-06:00

Phillip likes to accessorize his outfits...man style. He has no fashion sense...well at least he did match the color of his tie this time. He came out of his room so proud of himself. He grabbed my finger pulling me towards the door saying, "outside, cheese." In translation, let's go outside so you can take a photo of my awesome outfit. What a crack up.

Justin and I were released from our callings as Elder's Quorum President and Primary 1st counselor this morning. We were called to work in the nursery as a couple. Yes! Justin wants to bring bacon and eat snacks for two hours. Should be fun! I also received another short-term calling that will come next week. What do you think of my new table? Yesterday Everett started hacking and coughing, I am getting worried about him. I remember how fast Amelia went from a cold to RSV when she was about the same age. We will be at the Dr's come Tuesday for Phillip's 2 year well-child checkup. I cannot believe he is turning 2 years old on Thursday!
I finally finished editing the 8 photo sessions, blogging them, and making cds for everyone. I bit off a little more than I could chew! That was a lot of work. You can view my recent work: here and here.

The Never-ending Week

2011-08-20T15:52:00.001-06:00

I thought this week would NEVER end. It was long and hard for us all. We started the week off with a great FHE out at the Webb's home. About six families congregated with camping food to share around a fire. The kids were all over the place exploring the animals, the hills, the pond, and such. Amelia even shot a pellet gun with the help of Brother Grunig. She was so happy to shot a gun like dad, but was sad that she did not shoot an animal. LOL. On the drive over she sang "we are almost out of time..." over and over to some tune only she knows. Poor Everett started with a nasty stuffy nose on Saturday, he was happy in spite of not feeling well.

Tuesday I took Phillip and Everett to the DR for Everett's 2nd month well-baby visit. I thought maybe Phillip gave Everett the yucky nose so wanted to treat them both. I also finally showed the DR Phillip's nasty allergic reactions to bug bites. He often has red swollen bites. Everett weighed in at 13 lbs 02 oz, 25 inches long, 35 cm head circumference. He is in the 90th percentile for height, 50th for weight, and 25th for his head. He has a funny shaped head that sort of reminds me of the Nefertiti bust, making hats for the kid is not fun. The Dr put Phillip on Zyrtec and told me to just use saline and humidity for the baby. I hate that colds are no longer treated. It is murder to try to feed a baby with a yucky nose, sleep is just as hard.

The rest of our week is a summation of dealing with sick kids and sick mom. I can barely talk due to a sore throat and stuffy nose. One of the most difficult things about being a mom is not being able to just be sick for a day or two. Instead I walk around on little sleep which stretches my recovery out. When the kids are sick too it makes for crabbiness all around. Our schools are back in session now so Neleigh is not around to help out. She was a great help!

Happy 50th Birthday Cabela's

2011-08-12T14:58:00.000-06:00

Look at those dimples!!!

Last night we celebrated Cabela's 50th year of business. The company arranged to have a huge party at the fair grounds for over half the city plus those in surrounding cities. We swarmed the fairgrounds by the thousands. Cabela's brought in huge bouncy houses, the National Guard, Policemen, Fire trucks, etc. Even the state governor was in attendance to give a speech. We ate a yummy dinner of grilled meats, beans, potato salad, chips, and drinks. Amelia was begging to go play so we explored the outside games and such. The kids got their first taste of cotton candy. Phillip was not a fan! It was pretty muggy and hot outside. We left early to go clean the chapel. That was a bit frustrating since the cleaning carts and supplies were locked away. We did our best with what was available.

**our new table also came on Wednesday late afternoon! It looks MUCH better than the monster table. I learned a family of 6 kids purchased the huge table for their huge home. One day I will get a photo of the new table. I ordered the first table back in mid-April...it is mid-August now. Four months to get a table? Goodness, gracious.

Driving Home

2011-08-12T14:27:00.000-06:00

We enjoyed a rather lazy Sunday with the Lances down in Eagle Mountain. So nice to unwind a bit, I even got a nap! YESSSSS! My amazing friend Sarah came over for an hour that evening to visit for a while. Monday I decided to face the fact that my wedding ring was lost. I misplaced it on Thursday. I'd looked here and there for the past couple days. Freak out mode started when I had most of our stuff packed up and ready for the van, my ring was MIA. After trying to think of possible locations it seemed my ring was removed when I put lotion on Everett after his bath or it slipped off my finger at the park. I finally fessed up to Justin and got some pretty tender text messages from him. He said I was worth more to him than some silly ring. That was nice but I still felt really awful. Add the fact that my car keys (both sets) were misplaced too and I was a basket case. One set of keys were in my jeans pocket...in the washing machine...nice and clean. I grabbed those keys and drove to Mom and Dad's to spend a couple minutes with them. During the drive I remembered where the other set of keys were. Miekka called me a while later to let me know my ring was in the dryer. It was in my other jeans pocket! Phew. I must have put my ring in my pocket while greasing up the baby. Now that all the important stuff was located it was time to get it packed before I misplaced them again.

Mom and Dad were super busy unpacking and organizing all their stuff that came from Jordan on Friday. We sat in the chaos and enjoyed some time with them. I had a lunch scheduled with my awesome friend Casey. Mom offered to watch Amelia and Phillip. Heck, I could not turn that down. Right before leaving Dad decided to dish out some vitamin "L." It's been a long time since I last had a lecture from Dad. My eyes did not roll back this time. He pretty much advised me to not do so much, that having 3 kids is enough work. I do need to look at everything and simplify. That means sewing, crocheting, piano lessons, joy school, photography, and blogging need some scrutiny. Back to the bones! I enjoyed lunch at Paradise Bakery with Casey. Phillip napped on the way home, he was so tired he kept sleeping at Miekka's home too. I packed up the van while he napped.

The kids and I stopped at Courtenay's long enough to say good bye. Court had Amelia try on her cute bandanna aprons. Yep, I have a poser girl. Some ladies from my mission met at Rumbi Grill for dinner. I have not seen some of them for years now. We caught up on the news from "those golden days" over rice and chicken. Amelia and Phillip were mostly well-behaved only running around a little. I enjoyed seeing how much we've all changed over the years as we've gotten married, had kids, and such. Oh, the stories we told! Our time came to a close way too soon. I had the kids get their jammies on in prep for our evening drive to Rock Springs. Amelia needed some help so I reached over Phillip to zip her up and get her belted in. Phillip must have snatched my keys out of my pocket because the next thing I knew the doors closed and the locks snapped with all the kids inside. I watched as Phillip threw the keys on the floor. Oh Fetch!!! The police had to come and open the van. Phillip and Everett cried and cried while Amelia laughed at our antics as we tried to help her get out of her belt. My van was not enjoying getting wrenched open by a long metal rod and air pocket. The policeman would get it unlocked and then it would lock the doors instantly. Talk about nerve wracking. Thirty minutes and many attempts later the van was opened up. Oh, the snot on Phillip's face, even I was impressed. The ladies almost convinced me to stay another night after that stress. Phillip fell asleep within a couple minutes so I kept driving. We arrived to Rock Springs around 12:30 am. Let me tell you, juggling three kids and a bag into the hotel room was a feat worthy of a golden reward. I deserve a star.

The drive home was surprisingly innocuous. The kids all slept from the time we left until a little past noon, meaning we arrived to Laramie in no time. We stopped again in Cheyenne to look for winter clothes at Once Upon a Child, the most amazing thrift store for kids. Love that place. The ladies in the store even offered to hold Everett and entertain Phillip while I shopped. We made it home by 6 pm in time for dinner. We also tailed a nasty storm that trashed my garden with hail, wind, and rain. Dang it! At least the tomatoes were a little protected.

I walked into the door surprised to find a clean-shaven husband. He shaved off his goatee for my birthday gift! Love it! We had a crazy evening settling in and cleaning the sticky van. Even Everett seemed to remember home. He snuggled right into bed with no issues.

Phillip was so happy to be home. He went right back to his curious self. By 11 am the next morning he had: found my mascara, discovered the properties of flour, threw many fits, trashed the basement, and blew snot everywhere. LOL. Welcome home. Oh man, it is so nice to be home.

Going and going

2011-08-07T16:29:00.000-06:00

Monday: tried to have a relaxed day. Miekka and I left Eagle Mt to visit the DI in West Valley around 9:30 am with the kiddos. Found some winter clothes for the kids. We had lunch at Cafe Rio! What Utah visit would not be complete without a visit to Cafe Rio?! Yum. Miekka, Courtenay, Phillip, Everett, and I went Hobby Lobby and Target after dinner. James stayed with the other kids. While in the Target parking lot Phillip said his first sentence: poopy diaper. Figured out Phillip is teething his molars after he kept sticking his hands halfway down his throat, ubers of boogers, crankiness, rashes, etc.

Tuesday: helped Miekka hang pictures and clean. Kids played on slip and slide. Took photos of Amy's, Marrisse's, and John & Courtenay's family...all in under 2 hours. Phew!! To get little Katrina to smile I pretended to be a beaver and took a bite out of a tree trunk and ate a rock. She was one hard cookie to crack.

Wednesday: Got up early to drive to Ogden for Grant's birthday celebration. Had to stop in Layton to feed hungry baby and go to Toys r Us. Enjoyed lunch and cuppy cakes with Grant and the Call family. Watched Rio, a cute animation about parrots from Rio De Janerio. We drove down to Bountiful and spent a few hours at Charity's home.

Thursday: spent the day with Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Lane. The kids played with hoses in the backyard in their underthings! Phillip followed Grandpa Lane around as he tried to organize the garage.

Friday: celebrated my 34th birthday. Decided to stay at Miekka's for the day so my crabby kids could have a break. Phillip napped from 9:45 until 2:10. Went to Walmart and Maurice's by myself. Miekka baked the entire morning making cookies and my birthday cake. Mom and Dad's things from Jordan arrived so their home was a flurry of boxes and unpacking. They made enough time and space to have a dinner and cake for me. Amelia and Lia put flowers in their hair like Princess Tangled. Justin got me a popcorn maker (whirly pop) like Miekka and Courtenay have. I also have a surprise waiting for me at home. Tired, but good day. Before we left Lia came into the front room with a round brush swirled in her hair. Amelia said she was a unicorn, a comb unicorn. Lia was not so happy but brave about the brush removal.

Saturday: Family gathered to witness Seth's baptism at 10:30 am. He was a sparking boy in his whites! John and Mary gave talks on baptism and the holy ghost, respectively. I led the music for the program. We retired to the Lance home for salads, rolls, limeade and cookies. I am so proud of Seth and his decision to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. I took a 2 hour nap, dead to this world. The kids and I spent a couple hours alone while the Lances ran errands.

For Daddy

2011-08-05T13:46:00.000-06:00

My Daddy is a die-hard Star Wars fan. Jedi-mind trick! Those guns at Cabela's are not the guns you want to buy. Phoosh, may the force be with you.

Camping Day 2 Completed

2011-08-05T13:17:00.001-06:00

We all had some lunch back at the campsite. Dave and Doug took the guys, including Seth, out to shoot guns for a couple hours. The weather clouded over and sprinkled a bit here and there. The girls and kids watched a movie while the guys were gone. All the kids really needed some rest. I helped Miekka with dinner prep and Courtenay made paper rockets with the kids. After the guys returned and dinner was nearly ready we decided to pack up and head home. The weather prediction called for a lot of rain over night and into Sunday morning. We ate a delicious meal of boneless ribs, beans, and fried potatoes. After dinner there was a mad dash to clean up, pack up, and clear out. I left first with a van full of crying kids. Poor Phillip had a nasty diaper rash, his thighs were rubbed raw. I took the northern route back to Logan. I saw about 10 deer on the road so our going was slow and a little nerve wracking. Everett cried for the first 90 minutes of the ride. Only the last 30 minutes were in relative peace. I called ahead and asked Grandma Baerwaldt if we could spend the night. It was an awesome decision all around. We pulled in around 11 pm. Amelia and Phillip went right to bed in a super deep sleep. Everett and I soon retired after chatting with Uncle Dave.

Wow! Visiting with Dave and Grandma by ourselves was a real treat. Phillip woke up first so we went downstairs and watched the chickens for a good hour. Dave made me breakfast...that rarely happens!! I bathed the kids, talk about dirty water. We visited until Grandma needed to leave for church. I was packing up the van when I overhead a conversation between Grandma and Amelia:

Grandma: Amelia? Do you know I am your great-grandma
Amelia: ....I am a great kid!!!

Grandma and I laughed and laughed. That was music for our souls. We stopped to visit with Charity and Grandma Call on our way down to James and Miekka's. Kenny helped me salve and bandage Phillip's thighs. Dad suggested we meet for dinner at James' to finish our last day of camping. John made his amazing waffles for breakfast dinner. Dad had everyone present their favorite New Testament story for FHE. That was a long, long day.

Camping Day 2

2011-08-03T23:20:00.003-06:00

Wal-dork photos (above)

John and Courtenay made breakfast burritos for breakfast. Amelia spent the morning feeding the goats. When we finally came up for some breakfast she announced, "Mom, I want a baby goat, I will name him horny!" Course I could not resist a laugh which made her wonder why that was a such a funny name. Little Everett Lance explored the area with complete contentment. His knees were soaked and dirty from his escapades. He has the sweetest expressions which belie his growing desire to explore and find trouble. He might be quieter than Phillip but his little world is growing by the moment as he moves towards walking. Phillip dragged his grandma blanket all around like Linus. Everett produced an enormous poo, leaking through his onesie, jammies, and blanket. Even Phillip was impressed! He gave me all the right words: yuck, ewww, p.u., and stinky diaper.

By 11 all the troops rallied together for a hike up to Bloomington Lake. Dad drove the van while I nursed the kiddo. Amelia forged ahead with Jana while Phillip helped Grandpa Lane up the trail. He started off clean and ended up covered in dirt, even his ears were caked with dirt. Jeremy and Jared insisted I take "Wal-dork" photos, Jared's version of Where's Waldo. They turned out pretty funny. Dave had the boys wear their swimsuits. At the glacier lake someone put up a rope swing. Only the crazy and daring take a chilly plunge into the water. When I met back up with Amelia she said, "You go girl!" Courtenay taught her the girlfriends handshake, slap front hands, slap back of hands, and flip hair. The view was so refreshing! I was surprised at the number of people there. Good times.

Pioneering Adventures in Paris, ID

2011-08-02T22:32:00.000-06:00

Mom and Dad had the great idea to go camping as a family. My Uncle Dave works with Doug & Diane who own Pioneering Adventures, an outfitting and reenactment business. They operate from their gorgeous property in Paris, ID. Dave helps them conduct family tours and such. Our drive up to Bear Lake area was, well...so fun that I will never forget it. Dad drove with me to help out with the kids and spend time with us mono e mono. I think he had flashbacks to those crazy days with four kids under the age of four. We stopped numerous times to adjust this, burp that, nurse here, and eat there. At one time all kids were crying for some reason or another. Dad and I looked at each other and said, "This is FUN?!" The drive through Logan is an all-time favorite. It was gorgeous! Last time I saw Bear Lake the water was at an all-time low, it is now very full. The location was so verdant and peaceful. The owners kept chickens, goats, peacocks, horses, cats, a dog, and a donkey. The kids were highly amused by the goats and chickens. The kids also really enjoyed the tire swings. Jeremy and Jared helped put up Dad's fancy new tent (a Spring bar), then took a plunge in the pool. Jana helped dunk the boys into the pool at the dunk bench. Mom and Dave cooked up a delicious stew and fry bread for dinner. I decided before dinner to try camping in tents for the evening. Diane offered to let the kids and I sleep in their attic room. John and Dave let me borrow their pup tents, one for Amelia and Phillip and one for me and Everett. Jeremy played some guitar tunes while the kids burned marshmallows over the fire. Phillip was a fine example of true boyhood, dirty from head to toes. We all crashed into our tents totally exhausted.

I made the mistake of stuffing our full size air mattress into the tent. It filled the entire tent plus some. That also meant that the mattress was not fully inflated. Everett and I ended up wallowing around for half the night. I sort of felt like we were walking on a huge jello mound, jiggly. Phillip developed a croup cough around 2 am. He was so miserable by 3 am that I took him, Everett, and I to the attic room. We all slept cuddled together on a small foam mat.