Super Big Picture Post! Early 2011

 The kids playing on the slide on one of our trips to Artic Circle.  This place was nice during the winter because it was close, indoors, big and got their wiggles out.

 One of the first warmish days we had, they insisted on a picnic outside.  They are eating mac and cheese.

 On Sunday afternoon.  And I promise, this picture is not staged!  I walked into the living room and they were all sound alseep on top of each other!  Jeremy sure is a good daddy!

 I was cleaning out the kitchen and the little found these plastic margarita glasses.  They wanted their juice in them.

 Ace loves ice cream!

 My boys!

 I am always finding Lydia in weird places like this.  And with a dirty face.  That girl cannot keep clean!

 She also has taken to making her bed in weird random places.  I also find little beds for dolls everywhere too.  Like, in the kid's training potty.

 Wyatt has a hard time going to sleep by himself.  So we started locking him in his room at night.  At the beginning of this, he would always fall asleep by the door, and we would move him to bed.  This night, he fell asleep propped up in the corner.  Poor kid!  He is sleeping much better now.

 We were all being silly one night before bed and I drew smiley faces on their tummies.  Wyatt thought it was AWESOME!

Wyatt and his best friend Graham.  I have watched Graham all year long.  These two are only a few months apart in age and get along so great!  They are also the trouble twins and have wreaked havoc on many a thing.  It is so fun to see these to together.

First Cavity

Aidan unfortunately had a little tiny cavity and had to get it filled. (No, no baby teeth have fallen out yet. Aidan is anxiously waiting for that. Every single one of his friends have lost teeth except for him and he is feeling a little left out.) Anyway, he thought what anesthesia did to his smile was pretty funny.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

Tonight I am just wanting to write down some thoughts I have. And advance apology for the cheesiness.

I am thankful. I am actually so incredibly blessed and I spend too much time worrying about everything that I don't have that I never actually think about what I have. I have an amazing, hard working, kind and generous husband who is my world and I am his. I have 3 beautiful, wonderful, healthy children that I love and who love me. I have a family who loves me unconditionally and is willing to help out whenever we need them too. I have great friends who are such a support system to me and that I am able to have fun with. We have a warm roof over our heads. We have the gospel in our lives. Jeremy has a good, steady job with good benefits that he enjoys. We have everything we need and a lot of what we want. I have talents that I am blessed to share with others. I am happy. And I am thankful for that. I need to keep working on remembering that I am thankful for all the many things that I have.

I am also thankful for what I am. I wear many hats-mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, soon to be student, member of the Church, daughter of God. All these experiences have turned me into who and what I am. Every experience bad, good and otherwise have turned me into me! I wouldn't change a thing. And I am thankful for that. I am just thankful. Thankful for everything I have, am and going to be.

Random 11/17

Today, the babies (actually, I can't call them babies for much longer-they are getting too big!) were watching "Super Why" on PBS. When it got to the part that they said to "put your hand in" (talking to the "audience") Lydia squealed and pointed to the TV. Wyatt, on the other hand, politely shook his head no. I must have laughed for 5 minutes.

Wyatt does a mean robot. We found this out during one of our random dance parties. Lydia has a sweet twirl (and will probably be our singer) and Aidan jumps up and down and wiggles his fanny.

The no cable thing has been one of the best things to happen ever. We get so much more done, we have so much more fun as a family, even the Spirit is stronger. And honestly, we don't miss it all that much.

I had Parent Teacher Conferences for Aidan last week. He is doing great! His handwriting is looking so good, he is a reading maniac and he has a natural talent for math. We are so proud of him! Aidan loves school, loves his teacher, has great friends, and just has a desire to do good.

I am getting so excited for Christmas. I am making a good majority of gifts this year (unfortunately, I can't post about several of them yet because then it wouldn't be a surprise for you!) and it has been fun to find materials and try to make it perfect for the person recieving the gift. I love this time of year!

Wyatt, Lydia and I spent and hour and a half at the pet store today. We looked at every fish, every reptile (Lydia did not like these so much), every rodent (I think they both wanted to bring home a ferret) and every bird in the store. The were so excited and I just loved seeing them observing all the animals. I love watching them have experiences like this.

We got family pictures done. They really turned out well. Luckily, most of you will be recieving one shortly in your Christmas card. I think I look hot. You'll have to let me know what you think ;) I am designing new wall decor around this picture. I'll have to post when I get it done and perfect.

Jeremy and I are going to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow Part 1 on Saturday. I am so excited! 1-because I get to go on a date with Jeremy! We haven't done that in a while and 2-I love Harry Potter!

Creepy Little Friend

Ace found this creepy little dude outside under the swingset. He comes running in a panic, "Mom! Dad! There is a praying mantis outside! Come look!" I didn't even think he knew what a praying mantis was, but lo and behold-there it was. Jeremy picked it up to put in our flower beds (that are totally dead, but whatever) and the boys wanted a picture with it. I can't believe that I let this thing in my home!

NO CABLE!?!?

So, we got rid of our cable TV. For lots of reasons. To save money, wanting to spend more time together, get Aidan to watch less TV. So, we cancelled service more than a month ago, but no one ever came by to disconnect it, and after several phone calls, we just decided to live with the fact that we had free cable. What a tragedy, right? Well, Monday, the guy came and disconnected it. Right in the middle of Oso. Which is Wyatt's favorite show ever. The fit that ensued was epic. Only to be rivaled by the fit Aidan threw when he came home from school and discovered that he couldn't watch iCarly, and Phineas and Ferb, and his other myriad of shows. Crying hysterically for an hour and a half was a little bit dramatic, you think? Then, even Jeremy threw a tiny fit when he discovered that we can't even get digital TV with our crappy box and he couldn't watch "Castle." But I forgave him, especially when I realized that we couldn't get Fox so I could watch "Glee" on Tuesdays. Now, I am just hoping that we are able to find the best signal by Thursday so I can watch "Grey's Anatomy."

See how the TV has ruled our life? We have all had our fits this week (well, except for Lydia, who thinks the TV is her own personal music box and she dances to every jingle that comes on) about various shows that we "just can't live without!" What an addiction that we have! We pay much more attention to this square piece of plastic and wires than to each other. So, this is a good thing! Think of all the time we can be with each other now! Think of all the things we can do! Not having to stay home on Thursday because "that is the best TV night." This is a blessing in disguise! This is liberation!

We just might have a short adjustment period to make. . .

Bowapalooza 2010

My friend, Ann-Michelle, and I spent a solid 10 hours over the course of 2 days making hair bows for our girls (she has 3-so she made even more than I did!). Here are the fruits of our labors. Now, however, I just want to make more! Lydia's hair is always well dressed. I just can't choose a favorite. Which one is yours?

My Labor Days

So, I really don't know exactly why we celebrate Labor Day. I am sorry. But I don't. And we didn't do a thing noteworthy today either. But every time I think of "labor day" I think back to my labors, and since I have seen several other blog posts about this, I am going to copy them and record some of my memories of my "labors."

Aidan-August 9-I was induced at 9 AM and had Ace at 3:50 PM. Nothing really noteworthy about this one. It went really quite easily (for giving birth). My mother in law brought me hair clips and Jeremy a candy bar (that most likely I ate) and she told me jokes while I was in labor.I remember that "Friends" was on right when I delivered. And that I was really hot and sweaty afterward, and they brought me a fan to cool off. Also, the hospital had amazing crossoint sandwiches and we watched "Top Gun" together that night as a family. All the doctors thought that he was one of the most beautiful babies that they had seen.

Wyatt-March 8-We were house hunting when I went into labor with Wyatt. Just running around town, going to all the open houses when I started noticing that my contractions were getting really close together and really painful. I remember being scared every time a contraction stopped, because I felt fine and I was scared I wouldn't have another one and it was just false labor. But no, I went into the hospital at 1 PM and had WyGuy at 5 PM. And the whole time I was scared that they were going to send me home saying it was false labor. Mom was also in delivery with me and that was pretty special. I was shocked to see Wyatt's hair. It was long and full, but dark blonde! I had never seen that color of hair on a newborn before. After, I was so shaky (from the epidural) that I was scared to hold him because I thought I might drop him. They also brought me lots of food after his delivery. It was quite tasty. I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. I felt really good, except my arms and legs were sore from pushing. I thought that was weird. We had lots of visitors that night too.

Lydia-February 21-We did not have a name before I had Lydia. We had some narrowed down, but we were waiting until she was born to officially name her. I woke up with contractions at 4:30 AM and started timing them, but they were really super random, but they HURT! So, I woke up Jeremy, took the boys to Mom and Dad's and got to the hospital at 6 AM. They kept telling me that I probably couldn't have an epidural because I was too far along, and I kept telling myself that, "It doesn't really hurt, it doesn't really hurt" and everyone laughed at me. I had Lydia at 6:29 AM, and the second the doctor placed her on my chest, Jeremy and I looked at each other and said, "Her name is Lydia." I felt so good after having Liddy. Everyone who visited me that day was amazed that I was up and showered and dressed. With Lydia, it was the first night that Jeremy didn't stay overnight with me in the hospital, so Liddy and I slept together in the rocking armchair that was in my room (way more comfortable than the bed!) The nurses thought she was so beautiful and kept making hair bows for her. We left the hospital with 12!

That is my long winded story of my labors. I am so lucky to have such easy ones. And now I am glad that I have these written down somewhere so I don't forget. These were the details that I wanted to remember and pass on.

School Supplies

I just love school supplies. There is something about them that scream "here's your chance to start over!" to me. I love a fresh box of crayons, crisp paper, new folders, sharp sissors. The start of a new school year has always allowed me to reassess-make changes, improve something, start something new. I have my list of things I want to do-what are some of yours?

5/28 random. . .

Liddy is trying out a new hairdo-I love little girls! And I love that she has enough hair to have some fun with! I just keep staring at this picture-I love it so much! Her expression, her eyes. I might need to print this one off.

Aidan's last day of school was today. He told Ann Michelle (my friend-we do carpool together) that he was "happy/sad". A child's version of bittersweet. I fear he has a boring summer ahead of him. I vow now to do my best that that doesn't happen.

I have a 2 year old for sale! He likes to dump food out on the floor, flood bathrooms, and throw tantrums. But, he also gives wonderful hugs, amazing kisses, loves to cuddle, is a wonderful brother and says "Mama" adorably. On second thought, maybe I'll keep him.

It's the first day of summer vacation, and it is windy and rainy. So we made this to feel better. Cake can cure many ills. Especially if there is a smiley face on it.

Isn't it cute? The boys helped, by eating the leftover frosting.


It is also National Hamburger Day-and we are going to celebrate in style! (Reeeed Robin!)Hamburgers are my favorite food-I am glad they have a day dedicated to them.

Thus ends my random ramblings of May 28.