Kids, Kids. Kids

Do you ever have days where your kids make you nuts but at the same time you are laughing your head off? We had one of those days yesterday...

Kate and Hayden were locked in a cage and loved it. (Okay, it wasn't a cage, but it looks like it doesn't it?) Hayden is so good to share his things with Kate. She swiped his binkie, and he just sat there and watched her with a proud look on his face. So sweet.

And Kate was so proud of herself. Hayden wasn't too upset either. Obviously!

Then later in the afternoon, Hayden was throwing a little fit.

You know, we have to have a few of those per day.

So this was a crazy moment. But then...

I told him to drink his soda and be quiet. I thought it was funny because it worked. He really was happy, but he had a huge tear still running down his cheek. Funny boy! And, yes, I know I am a bad mom to shove soda at my son to get him to settle down. But, oh well.










And then Rylee decided it would be funny to shove the little toy shot needle thing up her nose and let it hang. She had a long day at school and was super silly last night after her long day. I love it when she gets in these moods.

Lana tried sitting on a punch balloon just to see what would happen. Apparently those things are made of steel. I would have loved it if the thing would have popped. But no such luck.

Then Hayden tried to sit on the punch balloon as well. It took him a while to sit on it. He would back up against it and it would roll away. He ended up backing in circles around the room about three times before he finally caught the thing and sat on it. Then he bounced on it. Again, I wanted it to pop just to see the reaction, but either the balloon is made of steel or he is just a lightweight.

I tried getting the kids to bed, but after we put the girls in bed Hayden grabbed a sucker instead of snuggling like he was supposed to. So we put him on the bed with Kate, and again, she wanted what he had. And again, he is such a nice brother to share with her.

Two bright-eyed mischief makers. Kate wanted more sucker and I was telling Hayden to get down and throw away his sucker stick so we could get him to bed. (After the second round of teeth brushing, of course) What a fun day we had!

Rylee's Special Project

This past weekend, Rylee was doing a special "project" while I was showering and getting ready and getting the other kids ready, etc. It was one of those projects that I couldn't look at until it was finished. So when I could finally look, this was what I saw:


How cute is that!? She used about a thousand craft sticks (okay a bit of an exaggeration) and made a park. See the girl sitting on the park bench and she stood the tree up with a craft stick and LOTS of tape, and made soccer goals with the sticks too. And the field is my favorite kind of field - the kind that says, "I love you" all over it! But then that got me to thinking...

If my daughter can pull this off and be this inventive in first grade, I think I am off the hook when she has to do the dreaded diorama (yes, I had to spell check how to spell diorama because I have honestly never had to spell that word) projects later on in school. What do you think!? I can get her a bunch of art supplies and just turn the kid loose! I am very impressed. So, yes, this is a proud mommy post. I think she is very creative and I love her and am so proud of her.

The whole diorama thought got me thinking though. Who the heck ever made up that whole stupid concept? And really, I think they were having a bad day on the trot when they thought up the idea too. Because the name just sounds like diarrhea, and when you think about it, a diorama IS just a bunch of CRAP thrown on a board or whatever. There is my thought for the day.

On that note, have a great day!:)

EASTER

Happy Easter! I know we probably have about the same pictures as everyone else, but it is still fun to see sweet kids hunting eggs and pretty dresses and handsome boys dressed up for church. So I figured these were worth posting. Enjoy our Easter adventures...

We had an Easter egg hunt with my sister's family. The kids were so cute, and they love being with their cousins, so it was a good time for all of us.

Bill video taping Hayden and his cousin hunting for eggs. It was so nice to see the big kids helping the younger ones.

Rylee showing off her very fantastic Easter basket which we used for the egg hunt. Okay, I know we should have got out the fancy baskets, but, hey a paper bag with a name written on it serves the same purpose just fine!:)

Lana running with her egg. That girl went nuts. She is the kind of kid who gets so excited about such a simple thing. I love it! She was excited about all the eggs until she realized that they didn't all have Starbursts in them. That girl is obsessed with the pink and red Starbursts. I guess that leaves more chocolate for me.

Hayden and his cousin, who is just a couple of months younger than he is. They are so cute together. When they are together, we don't even notice them because they just keep each other entertained. I love it! And they just barely made it into the house (notice the door to the right) when they had to sit on the floor and immediately start going through their loot. I love these kids together!

Saturday afternoon, after the egg hunt with cousins, we colored our eggs. Funny little story about this little Lana. Last year when we told her we were going to color Easter eggs, she got everyone a piece of paper and crayons and told us to "color Easter eggs." So we had to draw and color eggs. Pretty funny. This year, she understood though. But I promise she does have real clothes. She just loves dress-ups!

And Rylee decorating eggs as well. She has real clothes too. But now that I think about it, why do I bother getting them real clothes when all they want to wear is dress-ups?

Me and all of the kids while we finished the eggs. We were letting the kids do the stickers on them, and I had to put this picture in because I LOVE Hayden's face! When bill saw this picture he said, "Raise your hand if you're tired." Do you think Lana looks tired?

Bill and Kate just before church. Both are wearing their new Easter church outfits.

The Easter bunny left all of us new church outfits and lots of other goodies. But I won't bore you with the rundown of what was in each basket. We had a lot of fun that morning. Rylee had to really wait for the rest of us, though. The girl was up at 4:00!!! What a stinker. She gets so excited for holidays. You would think it was Christmas yesterday. Funny kid. I'm paying for it today though.

Our handsome Hayden just before church. He kept dodging the camera, but I had to get a picture of him in his new Easter outfit. It came with a tie, but we could not get him to put it on for anything. Personally, I think he looks studly without it. Do I see a GQ cover in the future?

The pretty girls in their Easter dresses just before church.

The whole family just before church. Do you ever look at a family picture and think, "Crap, we have a big family?" That is what I think when I look at this picture. I feel like we have a circus.

The kids with Uncle Jordan. He was nice enough to come over before we went to church to take some pictures of all of us together. So I had to take one of the kids with him since they absolutely adore him. (Not that I can blame them;) It is always fun to be able to see family on Easter. We saw Jordan again after church, as well as my mom, my other brother's girlfriend, and my sister and brother-in-law. I was just too brainless to take out my camera yesterday afternoon. But we loved seeing all of them and spending time with them. We hope you all had a fabulous Easter! Let's hear about it!

Very Clever Email!

This is one of the best emails I have ever received. My dad is so fun. He always sends me such fun stuff over email. I love my dad. He really gave me something to chuckle about today. So I thought I would share:

This is one of the cleverest E-mails I've received in awhile.Someone out there either has too much spare time or is deadly at Scrabble.(Wait till you see the last one)!

DORMITORY: When you rearrange the letters:DIRTY ROOM

PRESBYTERIAN: When you rearrange the letters:BEST IN PRAYER

ASTRONOMER: When you rearrange the letters:MOON STARER

DESPERATION: When you rearrange the letters: A ROPE ENDS IT

THE EYES: When you rearrange the letters: THEY SEE

GEORGE BUSH: When you rearrange the letters: HE BUGS GORE

THE MORSE CODE:When you rearrange the letters: HERE COME DOTS

SLOT MACHINES:When you rearrange the letters:CASH LOST IN ME

ANIMOSITY: When you rearrange the letters:IS NO AMITY

ELECTION RESULTS:When you rearrange the letters:LIES - LET'S RECOUNT

SNOOZE ALARMS:When you rearrange the letters: ALAS! NO MORE Z 'S

A DECIMAL POINT:When you rearrange the letters:IM A DOT IN PLACE

THE EARTHQUAKES:When you rearrange the letters:THAT QUEER SHAKE

ELEVEN PLUS TWO:When you rearrange the letters:TWELVE PLUS ONE

AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE:

MOTHER-IN-LAW: When you rearrange the letters:WOMAN HITLER

Yep! Someone with waaaaaaaaaaay too much time on their hands! (Probably a son-in-law).

Dinner Discussion

Tonight at dinner the topic turned to St. Patrick's Day. Rylee said that her teacher at school told her that if she caught a leprechaun, he would give her three wishes instead of all of his gold.

So Bill asked her what her three wishes would be. Here is the way the conversation proceeded:

Bill: Rylee, what would you wish for?
Rylee: I would wish for a fluffy bunny, a bubble machine because I love bubbles, and I would know how to cook better (I want that for her too).

Bill: Lana, what would you wish for?
Lana: I want a puppy. (Do you think my kids want a pet? Too bad.)
Me: What else would you wish for, Lana?
Lana: A kitty. (Still...Too bad!)
Bill: (Trying to help her think of a third wish as he is looking at her in a dress up that is way too big and the neckline is sagging to her waist)...Something to cover up your boobies!?
Lana: Yep.

Me: What would daddy wish for?
Rylee: He would wish for you, a date with you, and snuggling with you Mommy.
Bill: That's right, and smooching with Mommy.
Rylee: (As she rolls her eyes) Oh great.

Bill: What would mommy wish for?
Me: A break.
Rylee: You need three wishes.
Me: Three breaks.

The family then laughs. I was dead serious. What is so funny about three breaks? Now you see how often I take a break. My family thinks it is a big joke when I mention it. I REALLY need three breaks!

What are your three wishes? (Just in case you have the good fortune of catching a leprechaun)

Summer Legs

Kate hasn't had as much of an appetite as usual lately...

Bill says it is because she is trying to get ready for "Short Weather."

St. Patrick's Day

I write this post for two reasons...

The first reason is to share a cute idea.

The second is to get more ideas. Selfish, yes, but I need some help or my kids will figure out who the real leprechauns are.

Last year I came across this idea on Family Fun. I saved the little story, so just in case any of you want it, here it goes:

"This St. Patrick's Day, let your child in on a well-guarded secret and start a new family tradition in the process. The fun begins with the leprechauns and leads to a treasure box filled with goodies and gifts. Here's what to do. On the day before the holiday read aloud the following tale:

Full of magic a trickery, the leprechauns remain in their hidden world until the night before St. Patrick's Day. On that one night of the year they appear throughout the world to dance and sing and frolic.

Disguising themselves as leaves and grass, and sounding like the wind and crickets, they come and go unnoticed, but sometimes they drop coins or jewels on the way.

However, it is said that if a decorated treasure box is left empty under the moon, the leprechauns must fill the box with gold or jewels or gifts. But then they will hide the box in the most unlikely places.

If the box is found on St. Patrick's Day, the treasure remains in our world. If not, the leprechauns may retrieve what is rightfully theirs. And though the leprechauns are very clever, it is not impossible to find the treasure because, unknowingly, leprechauns often leave a trail of greenery behind them.

Now, have your child decorate an empty shoe box or tissue box with paints, glitter glue or stickers. If he/she tries to bargain for a bigger box, tell them leprechauns are tiny and if they can't reach the top of the box, it will remain empty. Just before bed, he/she should place the finished box on a window sill where the moon will shine on it.

Once he/she is sound asleep, the resident leprechauns can fill the box will small treasures, such as foil-covered chocolate coins, costume jewelry, or a bag of marbles, and then hide it in a special place. All that's left to do is lay a trail of green leaves or paper shamrocks from the windowsill to the box. Your child may even enjoy the challenge of several trails to follow, some with dead ends (you know, the trickery of leprechauns!)"

Whew, that was a long type! So, anyways, we did this last year with a few modifications. Here are our adventures from last year:

First, we made the boxes. I covered them with green wrapping paper, and then let the kids go to town with all sorts of stuff. They had lots of fun. So this is the boxes from last year. (I kept them just in case I am too lazy to do the project again.)

Then I read the story to the kids and put them to bed the night before St. Patrick's Day. They were so excited!

The next morning, instead of leaves all over, there were trails of gold coins leading to the boxes, which were hidden in the bathtub with this rainbow I found at a party supply store hanging on the wall. (You know, treasure at the end of the rainbow!)



The kids thought that was great! They loved finding their boxes filled with goodies. It was lots of fun. Then we had even more fun playing leprechaun throughout the day. Here is where I need your help! I need more sneaky things I can do this year!



Last year, I carried green food coloring in my pocket and put some in the toilet and used a paint stick to stir the water so it had "Leprechaun pee" in the toilet. The kids thought that was hysterical. It was even more funny when our real little leprechaun named Hayden got a handful of the gold coins and threw them in the toilet when no one was looking. It really made the girls fall for it because they knew where Bill and I were and that we couldn't have possible done it. Classic!



Then while we were all outside in the yard, I ran in the house and to the backyard where we had the little kids' table. I made a fist and painted the pinkie side of both of my hands (make sense) and dabbed them on the table, adding little toe marks with my finger so it looked like the leprechauns had run across their table. See below picture:

I then quickly washed my hands and went back outside and the kids were shocked to go outside for a picnic to find the footprints. They tried so hard all day to "catch" the leprechauns. Rylee even made a sign to go on the bathroom door with a picture of a leprechaun and a circle with a line through it and it said "STOP" at the top to try to stop the leprechauns from peeing in her bathroom. So when they peed in the master bathroom, she was busting a gut. Cutest laugh!

If you really want to go nuts, you can have green homemade bread, green twice-baked potatoes, green jell-o, green salad, and a white cake with white frosting sprayed with air brush frosting in the Irish flag (really easy to do). It is fun. See, I am trying to like St. Patrick's Day and make it something other than "Pinching Day" (I hate that!)

So if any of you out there have any fun ideas we could do to be sneaky little leprechauns, let me know! I only have a week to come up with more ideas! And if you do any of these fun little things, I would love to hear about it!

Our Busy Week...

We have had quite the eventful week. We have had two birthdays and another very special event as well...Stay tuned! If you make it to the end of this post you will see our other exciting event!

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First of all, we began the week with LANA'S BIRTHDAY!!!

The little stinker turned four this week. I can't believe it. She is our child who makes us laugh the most and yet drives us the most crazy. I guess it really is true that there is opposition in all things. We can't always have the hilarious one without having the tremendous fits as well.

Lana is a sweetheart when she is around her brother and sisters and has such a tender heart. She plays with Hayden all day long (which I love) and she is always willing to help with Kate as well. She loves pre-school and can't stand missing it when she is sick. She is a social butterfly and loves all of her friends and extended family so much. And we love her too...



This is Lana opening her presents on the morning of her birthday. She was nice to let Hayden help her. She was feeling a bit crummy that day, but she was a great sport all day and smiled through it all (I'm sure presents and cake helped that a bit:)

This is Lana blowing out the candles on her birthday cake. It was quite the cake - an entire castle complete with princesses. She loved it! And look how cute she looks in her new little dress she got for her birthday. I love her in this color.

Lana and her best buddy down the street. Look how much they love each other. It was funny to watch the two of them just eyeing the cake. They couldn't wait to get their hands on it. It was like they couldn't sit close enough to the cake (and each other, apparently). Cute girls!!!

We love you, Lana! Happy number four!

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Next event of the week...BILL'S BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy Birthday, Honey! Bill is officially enjoying the last year of his twenties now. I have the right to mention this because I am older than he is. He was able to take the day off and be with us. We were all thrilled to have him here. The girls hate it when he has to go to work on his birthday and they can't watch him open presents first thing in the morning. Waiting all day stinks...even if they aren't your presents to rip in to.

See, what did I tell you? The girls thoroughly enjoy the present-opening! Lana was determined to get Bill "Spiderman 3" for his birthday. I don't know why, but that is what she got him. And Rylee got him the hand held "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader" game. (I think she wants to show him up;)

Hayden likes to help rip open the presents as well. In most of Bill's gifts, I added a bag of his favorite candy. So each time he opened a present Hayden would exclaim, "A TANNIES!" (Hayden for "candy" of course) It was so funny.

Bill is the glue of our family and he deserves to always have fantastic birthdays. At least he looked HOT in his new clothes! I love shopping for him for birthdays. He loves clothes. That makes shopping for him so much fun! Happy Birthday! I love you!

This brings me to our next fun event of the week, which was also on Bill's birthday (we had a busy day).

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ELDER JORDAN JENNINGS HAS (FINALLY) RETURNED WITH HONOR!!!

Do you see the handsome dude sitting by my handsome husband? That would be my brother, Jordan, who just returned from his mission in Jacksonville, Florida. We missed the guy so bad. My kids were so excited to see him again. (A side note: Bill is covering his mouth because he was rough-housing with Lana just before dinner when she jumped up and smacked him in the mouth and cut his lip pretty bad. Thank goodness for my brother-in-law and his excellent super-glue skills. Poor Bill. That was an extra birthday present from Lana - delivered in classic Lana style.)

Backtracking a bit...This is at the airport when we all went to meet Jordan. What a good-lookin' missionary! We had quite the group at the airport to meet him...I'm sure we REALLY looked like a circus!

Jordan at dinner posing for a picture for me. I'm sure he got used to that on his mission. We had so much fun that night. Besides poor Bill's lip it was a nice evening. We had a turkey dinner at our house with all of our families and enjoyed being together.

And look how sweet this is. Yesterday Jordan came over and helped me install our new computer since I am such a retard at computers. Look how nice he is - his first day back and he is already helping me out. What an awesome brother - and an awesome uncle. Hayden was only two weeks old when Jordan left, and it is like Hayden has remembered him or something. He loves to snuggle Jordan. He sat on Jordan's lap while he was working on our new computer and he just fell asleep. So sweet!

Kate loves Jordan too. She looks like she is ready to rip his glasses right off his face. (She is at about the right age!) Jordan is seriously such a cool uncle and brother and we are so glad he is home.

We love you, Jordan! We are so glad you are back safe and sound and that you served so well. You make us proud!!!

My Life...In Six Words

So, yesterday, Blackeyedsue did a post on "My Life Monday" in which she said we were supposed to sum up our lives in six words. She got the idea from Rachelle, who I just remembered to link. Man, I am still such a newbie at this blog stuff!!! Please forgive me! So, I will give it a whirl.

Wow, this is a challenge.

I know this is Tuesday, so call it Tardy Tuesday in my case. But after some thought (I know I am putting way too much thought into this) I came up with this:

Totally, crazy in love with Bill.

I know that my life consists of other things, but who I am today revolves around this sentence. I am his wife because I love him and wanted to always be with him. We have our kids because we love each other. And we make it through everything because we love each other. Cheesy, I know. But really that is my life right now.

And notice I said I am IN love with Bill, not just that I love him. To be able to say I am still in love with him after the trials we have faced together and to be able to say I am looking forward to spending forever with him says that I am happy in my life right now. Does that make sense? We still have our ups and downs but through it all we are still nuts about each other.

He doesn't define who I am and I don't define who he is, but together we define one family, one purpose and one life together. Therefore, my six words had to involve him.

I did have some sarcastic ideas though. You have to have a sense of humor about the whole thing too. Other ideas that ran through my head were: "Love: Junk Food, Hate: Vegetables. Amen." You know things like that!?

Anyone else want to sum up their life in six words? I'd love to hear them!