Sometimes

Sometimes you have to do things that are not fun.  Sometimes you have to make your own birthday dinner with a house full of screaming children.   Sometimes the child you hoped and prayed for does not come or dies too soon. Sometimes your husband is out of town. Sometimes kids pee on your brand new couch. Sometimes you have to put all the kids to bed by yourself. Sometimes your kid throws up on you. Sometimes you find out you have cancer on your birthday (I love you Bonnie). Sometimes your car breaks down.  Sometimes you fail your test.  Sometimes you don't get the job you really wanted.  Sometimes your spouse is in grad school for a long time.  Sometimes you move to a new place.  Sometimes your kids wake up in the middle of the night.  Sometimes you find out your child has cancer. Sometimes you are overwhelmed. Sometimes you lose your job. Sometimes kids scream. Sometimes you miss your family and friends.  Sometime you feel like a bad parent. Sometimes there is too much to do. Sometimes you lock yourself in the bathroom and cry.  Sometimes your spouse has to work late.  Sometimes things don't work out. Sometimes you are sick. Sometimes you are depressed.  Sometimes you are tired. Sometimes life is hard.

Here's to all of you who keep your chin up, who keep moving forward, who keep a positive attitude, who throw in everything you have. Thank you. Thank you for your example of hope and faith, for pushing through your sometimes. I look up to you my dear friends.  Here is to better days ahead.

Neverland, Dry Ice, and Knives

Sounds exciting doesn't it? It was.

Way back in February when the girls were in their Peter Pan phase they decided what we would be for Halloween. Lauren would be Wendy, Rachel-Peter Pan, Emily – Tinker Bell (because she is small), Daddy-Captain Hook, and Mommy – just a pirate. And so that’s what we were.

Peter Pan

Peter Pan and Wendy

Tinker Bell

Off to Neverland! (or Candyland)

 This was our first year with ALL of us dressing up, usually adult costumes are too big of a hassle. Luckily Lauren has plenty of blue dresses, we inherited a Peter Pan costume, and some friends of ours had a fantastic Captain Hook costume. Easy peasey. The pirate and Tinker Bell were easy Goodwill finds. Yay.  With the ward trunk-or-treat, preschool party, and stake singing time party, by the time Halloween night actually came around we were all treated out (Basically we had more candy than three young children under 5 should have). So we made some yummy food, invited some friends over, and stayed home. Our new Halloween night tradition is eating egg rolls and homemade root beer and carving pumpkins. Just as we were sitting down to eat I went to give the root beer a stir and all the dry ice was stuck to the bottom of the glass jug.  (*Note: Ryan knew that glass and dry ice are not a good combination and advised me to make it in a stock pot. I started to and then decided the jug would be better because it has a spigot. Plus I made it in the jug last year and it was fine.)

I hit the dry ice with the spoon, hoping to dislodge it and the side of the jug blew out. All I could do was stand there and watch as a gallon of root beer spilled all over the kitchen walls, floor, cabinets, and fridge. Bummer.  So while everyone else was eating dinner, I mopped up the kitchen. I am still sad about the loss of all that root beer, I love homemade root beer.

 After dinner we carved pumpkins. I had the great idea of making one of the girls’ pumpkins into a Cinderella carriage.  Super easy carving wise, just carve a door, then you just need to add everything to the outside. After our friends left and Emily was in bed, I was trying to figure out how to make wheels for our carriage. I decided on poking bamboo skewers through plastic lids (the old yogurt container kind).  The skewers weren't strong enough to poke through so I grabbed a pairing knife since we had plenty out on the table. I was pushing hard to just poke a hole but the knife unexpectedly burst through the lid slicing my finger (classic boy scout mistake).  BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD!!!!!!!(Ryan added this part) Ryan thought I had stabbed a skewer through my hand, but was relieved when he learned it was "just" a knife.  It was a pretty deep cut and I was pretty sure it was going to need stitches.  Luckily I have a good boy scout who knows basic first aid.  I then spent the rest of the evening with my finger wrapped tight and held up in the air above my head, no stitches necessary. Yay. Unfortunately Rachel’s pumpkin looks like Cinderella’s after midnight.

Rachel's, Lauren's and Ryan's pumpkin.  After stabbing
my finger I decided it would be best not to carve another pumpkin.

The Homebodies

A little bit of the girls not in school:

Emily is big. She has broken the mold as far as our children go. She has two teeth (which is big for us, L was 12 months and R was 18 months before getting any teeth)  She was the first one not born on the Tuesday after and Monday holiday.  Her hair is still brownish. She has a decent amount of hair. She has been our best eater (nursing wise) and sleeper...and loudest and most high pitched screamer.  But just like the other girls she is delightful and super silly. She adores her big sisters. She loves socks, but never on her feet, just to chew on or wave around in triumph. In other news she has recently started "scootching" and is getting quite fast now and can find me no matter where I am.

Lounging 

Her signature move.  Every kid has had something silly
that just they do.  Emily cocks her head to one side when
she is interested  in something or just to be silly.

Rachel:  On Lauren's first day of school we came home from dropping her off, put Emily down for a nap and I said " Rachel it's just you and me, what do you want to do?"   She shouts "EAT!!"  And so we did.
       
With Lauren being gone at preschool all morning and Emily taking a nap, Rachel and I get some quality one on one time every morning.  This has been really great.  We were going through a pretty rough time behavior wise with her. Lots of tantrums and crying and screaming (not just on her part) All. Day. Long.  Once preschool started and she was getting some serious individual attention everyday her behavior totally changed for the better.  My behavior toward her has changed too as I am better learning to understand her personality and her needs, and that is good. I love my Rachel.

This happened twice in two weeks.
I buy pears, put them in a bowl on the counter,
come back later and every pear has been nibbled
all the way around.
Nice.

The Culprit
"I was hungry!"

T is for Tigers, Tricks, and Tattletales

First Day of School

Lauren started real preschool in September.  I had a lot of mixed feelings about preschool before hand.  After much debating over several different programs we finally chose one. It is five days a week for three hours a day, which I feel like is a bit overkill for a preschool, but it has actually been really good. It has been a really different transition for everyone but still good. It is an excellent program and Lauren is thriving.  It does totally drain her though and she comes home and collapses somewhere until she is ready to be around people again. By that point she has forgotten everything they did, or so she says. But at random times she will fill us in on the little gems that she learns at preschool.  Some things good, some not so good, and some interesting:

 "On Saturday my teacher says she is going to stay home and drink coffee."

 "What is a booty?"
   I ask "Like Pirate's Booty?" (a snack they have at church sometimes)
  "No at preschool they said to sit on your booty."

  I ask Lauren what she does at preschool, "Mommy you should just come and stay with me while I'm at      preschool and then you would know what we do." Touche.

She has also been trying out new words that she hears, which is amusing:

She ran into the kitchen table: "This table is so pokey, it's ridiculous!"

A little song she sang while lining up crayons on the floor: (To the tune of The Farmer in the Dell)

"The crayons were in despair. The crayons were in despair. 

They were using themselves as a sidewalk"

Dressed up for Story Book Day aka Halloween

Lauren and her favorite friend from school

Preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch:

Searching for the perfect pumpkin

Some days we want to scream, some days we do scream, and some days...

...are just great. Or even a combination of the three. Since I haven't posted since July here is our life in lots of pictures... and some words.

Our tomatoes did awesome

We did lots of canning

Homemade fairy wings.  In case you are too cheap to buy them
you can make them with hangers and nylons...and of course
duct tape. Then in the event that your little fairies complain
about ugly brown wings you can paint them with super
watered down acrylic paint.  Just FYI

 

 

She likes to suck on her toes... or sometimes
just the big one.

 

This is how it really is every day...  (plus or minus wet spots on the floor)

Happy day to you!