Halloween 2009

Here are some pics from Halloween. The kids were pretty sick all day, but they perked up in time to make it the ward's truck-or-treat and for a quick trip around the cul-d-sac trick-or-treating. Kate and Clara's favorite part of the trunk-or-treat was seeing the dogs people brought. Funny story--two of the dogs were white with black patches. When Clara saw a kid dressed up as the grime reaper, his face painted white with black patches around the eyes, she kept calling him a doggy!

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When we got home, James helped me make sugar cookies. He really got into it. He did NOT want to stop to smile for the camera!

Here are some pics of us trick-or-treating. If you can't guess, I went as a speed bump. ;) Kate and Clara really got into trick-or-treating, especially the candy part! Although, Kate didn't get that we don't actually go into peoples homes; she tried to walk into every house we went to!
Happy Halloween 2009!

Feed the Monster

Ok, NOW I'm a real mom. I had my first "oh, crud, it's 9 pm and I have to have a game for Jame's preschool party tomorrow morning!" moment. I'm sure this will be the first of many last minute, late night school project's I do over the years. As it turned out, James is sick today, so he missed his party. All that work for nothing! Well not nothing. The kids had fun "feeding the monster" the bean bags, and Clara got a kick out of hiding inside of it.

Ahhh! My sweet boy!

So, it doesn't happen very often, but just when I needed it, James popped the most adorable pose for me. I needed a photo of my kids folding their arms for family prayer for my church lesson on Reverence the next day and James played along beautifully! This is going to be one of my all time favorite photos. I knew there was a sweetie inside that whirling dervish (sp?) of chaos!

New Recipe!

Hey!!! Check it out! I finally updated my recipe box. This is an awesome recipe for chocolate cookies I made up after stealing tips from various family members. Definitely a keeper!

Anyone seen Poltergeist lately?

So I figured once he had touched 90% of the jello castle I had made, I might as well let him have the whole thing. Because, honestly, who wants to eat something a 3 year old boy has touched, breathed on, sneezed on, and licked? In the background, you can see my various (abet unsuccessful) attempts at getting him to eat that day. The only thing he wanted to eat was jello, and when he was done eating it, he wanted to smash it. We'll just call it sensory play, right? What a happy boy!

My little Cookie Monster

You have to love a girl who knows how to appreciate her cookie! Or, at least knows how to keep her siblings from stealing it.

Can you get the WHOLE cookie in your mouth, Clara?

YES, I CAN!

Bi-Zi Farms Field Trip

So, James' preschool picked the RAINIEST day ever for a field trip to the pumpkin patch. Luckily, my mom could watch the girls, so it was just James and Mommy, and 100 billion other kids at the farm. We had a very fun, very WET day! James loved the tractors and feeding the goats. I normally don't add all the outtake photos in my collages, but I thought it was so funny how determined James was to NOT to look at the camera. What can I say, I have a 3 going on 13 year old!

Are we having fun yet?

Summary of photos (counter clockwise):

Kate crying because she didn't get her way.

Clara on a table causing mischief; her favorite place to be.

James crying because he wants to ride in the stroller, girls happy/indifferent.

James happy because he gets to ride, girls unhappy and kicking brother.

Ok, so this week I get an A++++++ for effort. I had a childhood friend, Zina, visiting her sister up in northern Washington. She invited me up to visit, and I just couldn't pass it up. I entreated my mother to come along as a helper and we made the trek. It really went pretty well, except for the 40 minutes of screaming from my girls at my aunt's house before they fell asleep. And the moment Zina opened the door and Kate greeted her by throwing up all over the carpet. James screaming and wailing at the ice cream store because he wanted mommy's "big" ice cream. Oh, and then we stopped at Jack-in-the-box to let the kids stretch as eat dinner on the way home. While I'm trying to order: James is pushing the stack of highchairs into random people's tables, Kate is running barefoot around the restaurant, Clara is on the table dumping my purse out on the floor, which Kate later dumping a FULL glass of water onto. My mom placated James by pushing Kate around the restaurant in a highchair, putting her in "time out" in random locations--his favorite? He wanted to put her in the toilet.
I'm pretty sure in the midst of all of this I got a chance to visit with my friends, see some gorgeous scenery, and do something other than sit around the house all day long.

Am I a glutton for punishment??

So, I try again. Justin went up the the cabin to go hunting this weekend. For various reasons, he was going to be by himself, so I decided to take the kids up and keep him company. Any of you with kids know how much work it is to pack for vacations with kids. But I made it! The kids and I got up there during daylight hours with enough time for a trip to the lake. I was totally prepared for the rainy weather any everything. Kids were in bed by 7. I got some solo time to read and eat brownies before Justin got there.

Everything seemed okay.

I should have been warned.

It never goes this simple.

About 12 midnight James starts talking in his sleep about being cold. We can't seem to warm him up. We move him in the bed next to me. Next thing I know, in the dark, I hear gagging sounds. NOT GOOD. James throws up ALL OVER HIMSELF. 3 times. Needless to say, when Kate threw up a bit the next day, and I wasn't feeling so hot, I bailed. The kids and I came home the next day at 10 am. All that work for nothing. But hey, I get an A++ for effort, right??

There are MANY, MANY, MANY moments when I am over whelmed by the thought that I will have another baby to add to the mix in 5 months. That EVERY LAST THING I DO FOR THE NEXT 4 YEARS WILL BE PHYSICALLY EXHAUSTING. I dream about the day when I can get out of the house and go back to school or go to work or go anywhere but crazy. It's not the cleaning up after kids that I mind--it's the cleaning up the SAME &%$@# THING 4 TIMES IN 6 MINUTES while one kid slips in it and cracks her head and other one tracks it into the living room before I can get it cleaned up that I mind. It's not how hard it is to do anything with 3 kids, it's how hard it is, and then it doesn't work that gets to me. Really, I dream about going back to work, and getting to hire someone else to change diapers, and clean up messes and argue with nonsensical 3 year and 16 month olds. I would love going to school just so I can sit down for more that 15 minutes straight.

I KNOW! I KNOW! I KNOW!

If I was back at work I would be dreaming about the moments I was missing with my kids. When James gives his sisters hugs and kisses and offers them toys, when Kate does a head stand and then looks up to make sure you clap for her, when Clara offers to share her sucking thumb with you. I know there are so many rewards and blessings right now from being home with my kids. I know I dreamed of these days for years when I couldn't have the family I wanted. It's all a great blessing in disguise as a tornado right? I just have to weather the storm.

Where's my poncho?

20 week preggie pics

On the left is me now, 20 weeks pregnant with baby #4. On the right is me 20 weeks pregnant with the twins--not counting the 10 extra pounds I had when I started this pregnancy!

Halloween 2009 costumes Done!

Here's James in his Halloween costume. He LOVES it!! I had to find something with wings so he wouldn't try to steal his sister's fairy wings. He is so adorable it in. I actually got a smile for the camera!!!

Just some cute pictures!

Ok, so after a day like today I need some reminders that really my kids can be adorable. Today I decided to try out story time at the library. Hum. Kate was in the storyteller's chair and out the backdoor twice, Clara was face down on the floor (not idea why), and James was spinning around and screaming. That was the first 5 minutes. When I looked up and realized more kids and adults were watching my trio than the story teller, I decided we needed to make a quick exit. Gotta make a mom feel great when you not only have the worst, but the first, second, and third worst kids at story time!! ;) To their credit, they actually LOVE reading and spend quite a bit of time everyday reading/fighting over books. So, here are some cute photos to remind me of how sweet they are.

Clara playing hide-and-seek in the cabinets.

I don't remember why, but James decided all three of them needed to be in timeout.

I don't think the girls get the idea of time out.

Here my mom is, doing the tedious work I have ignored because I wanted to be sewing fairy princess costumes, not making new covers for couches . . . She got a few helpers along the way!

3 Little Monkeys

What's wrong with this video??? What's wrong is that it was taken at 8:10 at night. 30 minutes PAST bedtime! Way too much energy for this momma!

twins garden fairy costumes

I Love Having LITTLE GIRLS!!! I have had so much fun making the girls' Halloween costumes this year. Kate especially likes wearing the tutu and wings. Clara's not so sure about the headband. The real problem is keeping James out of the costumes. I've decided to make him a bumble bee for Halloween so he can have his own set of wings and I'll make a yellow and black tutu for him to wear.

Garden Fairy Clara

Garden Fairy Kate
Garden Gnome James

15 week belly shot

For Ashley: So I never really posted about this surprise baby #4. We are so excited for this little boy, and more than a little overwhelmed. Because of a very specific revelation I had in the temple last spring, we knew that another baby would be coming our way sooner than we had originally planned. However, we didn't know it was going to be QUITE so soon. Never-the-less, little boy Jochim is on his way! Here are my 15 week belly shots. Next month I'll do a side-by-side comparision with my twin pregnancy belly shots, but for right now there's not a ton of difference. :)

Sometimes there IS a way to make everyone happy

Ok, so after an afternoon of intense biting, pushing, pulling, squashing, and wailing over the red car, the kids found a way for everyone to be happy and to share in a way. Ahhhh, remember the moment Jessica, it may be a long time until another one like comes along. ;)

Cedar Creek Grist Mill

Here are some pics from our outing to the Cedar Creek Grist Mill. An absolutely beautiful place for a picnic. We watched them grind flour and corn and then enjoyed a walk up the creek.

R.I.P. snake-worm friend

Some relationships burn slow and steady over decades. Some blaze hot and intense for an afternoon. Such was the dear friendship between James and snake-worm friend. For an afternoon James treated his snake-worm with the kindest, best attention a friend could hope for; he fed it dirt, gave it rides in the wheelbarrow, laid it down for a nap on a brick bed and lay down with it, he made it a sofa for it to sit on, a petted it . . . basically loved it as no worm has been loved before.
Alas, friendships between a 3 year old and a worm are not meant to last. Snake-worm has been laid to rest--in several pieces--next to last week's best friend--ladybug, who was also laid to rest in several pieces. A moment of silence for snake worm . . .

Summary of my life right now . . .

And I still had 5 bottles I didn't get it. ;)

Florence, Oregon

Here are some pics from our Athay family trip to florence, Oregon last week. We had a great time at the beach. We totally recommend the adventure sand dune tours in the bus size dune buggy. Aweome! We stopped by the Newport Aquarium on the way down and all the kids loved seeing the fish. Kate couldn't stop pointing at them!

Playground Rant . . .

Ok, I just need to get this off my chest.
There are certain rules for the playground. Obviously, SOME PEOPLE just don't know them, or they choose to ignore them. If you have your 3 year old in the baby swings, and there are regular swings open, it would be kind to move your 3 YEAR OLD to the big swing so the lady with 2 babies could use one of the baby swings. I mean, for cryin' out loud--I put BOTH girls in one swing, so really I don't take up more than my share of play equipment.

If for some reason your 3 YEAR OLD (who was physically capable of riding their trike to the playground) can't go in the big swing, then take your 5 minute turn in the baby swing and then let someone else go--you know, someone like the lady with twins giving you the evil eye as she tries to take both babies down the slide because she can't send one down ahead and she can't leave one behind.
I mean really. Don't people know what playground etiquette is?