Stolen Inspiration

OK, so I saw this idea last year, I think from our friends Karson and Betsy, and this was going to be my "cleaver" little gift to all the neighboors, along with some goodies..... But Stephanie from Brooklyn Limestone Stole it. That'll teach me to wait until the last half of December to do things.... now I'm going to look like a stinking copy cat..... Hopefully none of my neighboors read her fabulous blog. :) Or mine, for that matter. :)

The best decisions I ever Made

Winter Wonderland Indeed

I found great joy today watching this:

Snow shovels are good for more than just removing snow from driveways.

P.S. He's making an igloo

Elder Hirschi

Greg's brother Shaun reported to the MTC at the beginning on October. We'll miss him, but we sure are proud of what he's doing. We spent a few days playing with him, and taking pictures so we could remember and talk about him with the kids.

September Field Trip

I'm teaching preschool this year with two other moms and three adorable little boys. Septembers field trip was to an apple orchard to pick apples. Here are some pictures of the trip

Negligent

I was reminded that I have been incredible negligent in posting pictures of our youngest trouble maker. And sadly enough I don't really have time to write captions, so here they are:

Inspiration

I read something today that inspired me to be a better mother:

The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice. - Peggy O'Mara

Indeed.

The dieting woman

I feel like a dieting woman at Christmas time. A food lover who restricts her diet and allows herself nothing but fruits, veggies, and whole grains all year long, and then tells herself she can have birthday cake on her birthday, and pie at Thanksgiving, and thats it. Do you know what I would do if I were that woman? I would eat an ENTIRE cake on my birthday, and an ENTIRE pie at Thanksgiving.

I try to be frugal. I do not spoil my children, my husband, or myself. we buy what we need, and generally nothing else all year long. Then at Christmas or Birthdays my mind goes wild with all the possiblities of gifts that I could make and/or give. So many things I want to give my children and my husband. I want to eat the ENTIRE cake.

But I can't. And I shouldn't.

What is my purpse in giving gifts? As much as I would like to fulfill every dream of each person on my list, my purpose is to show my loved ones that I know them, that I pay attention, and that I care.

Fulfilling those purposes has little to do with money, or tags, or wrapping, but it has to do with the message that the gift sends.

I want to teach this to my children. Teach them that giving a gift is like sending a message without words (or sometimes WITH words).

Would one gift be enough to do that? Can I really shape my childrens perceptions of Christmas while the whole world is telling them that Christmas is about how many and how big? Is it fair to only give my children one meaningful gift? rather than 15 gifts that will impress their friends and fill up the recycle bin with wrapping?

I'm still working on my own answer to that question. If you have any thoughts or comments I'd love to hear them.

Sometimes we do things we don't want to do

(Leah, asleep in her birthday suit)

Potty Training, its the one thing I wish someone else would do for my children and would relieve me of my responsibility. I hate it, and just wish it would be done and over with. I would probably consider paying someone else to potty train my children. (any takers?)

Since birth Leah has had nudest tendencies. For a while I couldn't put her to bed in footie-jammies because she would unzip them, take them off, and then pull off her diaper. I thought this was a phase, but it turns out there was just a delay in her learning how to take off regular pj's and clothes. She started up again, and since she is no longer in a crib, she proceeded to remove her clothes, and her diaper, then fall asleep either before or after peeing all over the carpet. AWESOME.

If I have to clean up pee, I'd better be getting a potty trained child out of it.

PS: Is it weird to read posts about me potty training my children and such? It might be. I just realized that it might be the kind of thing that only I think is significant.... hmmm.... Anyway, we're a week in and had a delay because of vacation, but she's been doing well, with the exception of #2.... we're having issues not wanting to do that in the toilet. :(

Follow the Trail

(Jeremiah posing with Colette)

This morning was crazy. I was recovering from a trip this weekend, meaning cleaning everything, unpacking, doing laundry, etc. The kids were playing well together, although being super sneaky and got into our candy bowl from Halloween (is it too early to throw the rest out?)
Of course Jeremiah, being the higein concious child that he is, insisted on brushing his teeth afterward. A little while later I started upstairs to see what they were up to. I found one handprint after another going up the stairs and into the bathroom. What were these clearly intentional handprints made of? bright blue Colegate toothpaste.

I found Jeremiah washing his hands in the bathroom, a small dab of toothpaste still on his toothbrush sitting next to the sink. Clearly he had become distracted with a brilliant plan. He turned and looked at me

"Mom, did you follow my trail?"

Yes, yes I did.

What happens when mom gets busy

(Leah being goofy, and Jeremiah in his undies in the background)

You know there is some mischief being made when you hear one child whisper to the other "HIDE!" and then little feet scampering about.

Stay tuned for our Halloween costume reveal! (as though i haven't already told all of you what we're going to be)

One thing I'm doing Right

I am not the mother I always imagined that I'd be. I have little patience, I DREAM of silence, I don't like dirt, or messes. BUT, I have managed to get over myself just enough to let my kids get a little dirty. We have grass, but our backyard neighboors don't yet, so my kids play in their "yard" (sorry Kelly). It's their favorite thing next to Ice Cream.

Whats my secret for not letting the dirt overcome my sanity? Proper Equipment. Which means plenty of crappy clothes that I don't care about getting dirt stained, and rain boots. Sturdy ones that can withstand plenty of hosing downs, not those cutesy ones at Target (although I looked at those too, and I'll admit, I wanted them). Anyway, some rain boots, and dirty clothes and they are SET. And when they come back inside i strip them down to their skivveys and trot them right upstairs for a bath. Clothes go in the wash, and boots get dumped in a bucket to get a hosedown if the dirt has become mud with rain or sprinklers. Its Awesome. I don't have whiney children, they get to discover and explore Dirt (one of the 7 wonders when you're a kid), and I get a break.

Dear Anonymous

Dear Inconsiderate person who keeps letting their dog do its business on my lawn each night:

I highly dislike you.

The End.

Hirschi Cuisine

On Tuesday night I went to a fabulous Relief Society meeting on freezer meals. I'll admit, I was a skeptic, but the great thing was that all the ingredients were combined raw (even the meat) and then frozen, and either stuck in a crock pot, or casserole dish for a few hours to cook. It was great.

It inspired me. I CAN DO THAT! I should do that! So I started searched the web (did you know google is my best friend?), but here is my problem..... I prefer cooking from fresh ingredients, like from the vine/bush/tree/whatever. So how do I make that easier? I could probably take a lot of recipes and alter them for freezer meals, but the prep work for it, if you don't work from a can, a box, or a jar, increases exponentially. Do any of you have this problem? Cooking from fresh takes a lot of work, particularly fresh produce. Any reccomendations? Please Help.

Mud Pit Monday

There has been some "construction" going on in our back yard lately, clearing the brush, prepping for new sprinkler lines and more grass. I thought it would be fun to turn the hoses on full blast and let the kids play in the mud before we loose the dirt AND the hot weather.

The kids were really excited about the idea. I dressed them in junky clothes, and I was prepared for mud in their hair, smeared on their faces, in places the sun doesn't shine. But when they got into the mud they crouched down, making sure not to actually sit in it, but play only. They brough out all their diggers, match-box cars and the big road machines that our little neighboor Tyrus got for his birthday. They were much cleaner than I expected them to be.

Leah, however, had some trouble keeping her balance in the mud. She fell down, started crying and got back up to get out of there, then fell down again, and again, and again as she tried to escape the mud-pit. I couldn't help but laugh... hard.
But she liked it. Off went the pants and she ran around in a 12 month onesie.... as you can see its a little large on her. But for the record, I think it was just a huge onesie.We turned on the sprinkler in the grass for the kids to wash off, or just play in. Or drink, in Leah's case.When we finished up, Tyrus had a hard time accepting the end of a fabulously fun activity:
And Jonas and Jeremiah we chillin' in our camp chairs, eating some bananna bread (we were embracing our inner-white trash), I hosed them down pretty good, but Jeremiah was so muddy I just took off his pants. He didn't want anyone to see his underwear so he quickly grabbed a towel. All in all, SUPER FUN day, I would recommend it for any mom who can handle the mud. All the kids loved it, and we had fun watching them.

Growth Charts

3rd percentile.

Thats what Leah measures on the growth charts. She is finally over 20 lbs, and yes, she can wear her 3 month old sisters clothes.

Those are bloomers, which Leah calls "unders" (underwear), and a 3 month dress. And yes, she wore this for most of the day, adding a 3 month jean jacket later on. Because Layering is very in right now. :)

Exhaustion

This is how I look today
I haven't showered, I slipped on some jeans and an old shirt to take the garbage out this morning and haven't changed since. And yes, I feel as exhausted and terrible as I look. :)

Post Script -My sister in law said I don't look too terrible, I'm not sure this picture clearly depicted my appearance. Without a very important undergarment, hair falling in my face, I'm pretty sure I smelled, dirty feet from walking around outside and in my dusty basement, glasses around the tip of my nose... this picture is actually quite flattering compared to what I actually looked like this morning. I'll have you know that around lunch time I jumped in the shower real fast and had time to put on deoderant (Melissa, you can thank me later), and my usual array of nursing undergarment attire, normal clothing, I EVEN blow dryed my hair (which is kind of a big deal for me these days). I'll be honest, the above photo is the NORM these days. Oh well, theres a time and a season right?

Fashion Show

Sorry, no pictures, the babe is now wrapped in her blanket and sleeping soundly in her crib BUT - today I had a little too much fun playing dress-up with Colette with all the hand-me-down clothes from Leah. It's like going shopping, only free! I had some really cute clothes for Leah when she was 3-6 months old. I love it.

Also, Leah has been binky-free since Friday morning, and took her first binky-free nap today... which means she hasn't napped since thursday afternoon. We're getting there. I think she's doing really well, she doesn't ask for it anymore. I hid them in the depths of the linen closet, never to be found by a certain little girl. Anyway, we're on our way to being a big girl. The next mountain to climb is potty training. I think I might wait a while on that one. She did just turn two after all. Maybe after Christmas. We'll see.

Also, did I mention that Colette rolled over last week? Please, my children, stop growing, stay little forever. I really mean that. I love them at their current ages. I'm enjoying (almost) every minute of it.

What a week

I have a double ear infection. It hurts. BAD. I have much more empathy for my children now.

It's also the start of Binky Week at our house. You know, the week where we wean the 2 year old from pacifiers. She just turned two this week, I wouldn't mind waiting a while longer, but when your child can request which color of pacifier she wants at bed time, and does the fake cry if you tuck her in before giving it to her... you know it's time. So, all my kids are in bed for naps right now... but only Colette is sleeping, she's been sleeping for the past hour while Leah has cried and screamed and yelled, and Jeremiah is crying in his bed because he doesn't want to take a nap. If he had his way he would watch The Backyardigans all day long.

On the docket this week: Halloween Costumes, and house cleaning, binky weaning, and finally organizing my sewing room (ie- The Basement)

2nd 1st day of school

Today was Jeremiah first day of preschool this year. Last night we had our back to school night at Grandma and Grandpa's house, since Greg "needed" to watch a football game. It wasn't even his team?! Oh well, I've never claimed to understand football, or it's fans. For back to school night Jeremiah ordered up his favorite meal: Chocolate milk, "Real" chicken nuggets, potato wedges, grapes, and salad. Jeremiah didn't request that, I added it for nutritional value, and because I was in the mood for a nice salad. I made everything from scratch, chicken nuggets included, although I did not milk the cow for the milk. Hmmm, I wonder if I could find a dairy cow to milk for next year.

So today was the big day, and Leah was just as excited as Jeremiah, even though she didn't get to do anything fun. And yes, this is the best picture I could get of him. Awesome awkward smile buddy. :)

And this is what my 3 hours looked like. I watched my friends little girl, while she taught preschool to the boys. When I teach, she will watch my littler kids. Less distraction that way. But for 3 hours, I had a 2 year old, a 1 year old, and a 3 month old. Whew!

Older and Wiser

Today I went to the Shade store because, as you know, they are going out of business and are having a mega sale.

I'm not sure what I was thinking, I went to the fabric store and the Shade store (to try on swimsuits no less) all in one day WITH THREE CHILDREN. Oh right, I do know what I was thinking. I was thinking..... I never get the chance to go shopping without the kids, so no time better than the present.

The Fabric store went ok.... No running laps around the isles, pulling off bolts of fabrics... our trip was pretty mild. Then we went to the Shade store. OH DEAR. There were all of these lovely Utah Ladies (you know what I mean by that) walking around without children, with their pretty clothes, high heeled shoes and freshly glossed lips, browsing the racks for items they might want. And there I was, no shower yet today, no make-up, two kids who had just had pizza at Daddy's office for lunch (i love their chef, by the way), and they had it all over their clothes. The kids were running, hiding, fighting, pushing, pulling, selecting their own items of clothing off the racks..... onto the floor. They were barely paying any attention to me.

We made it out alive, thank goodness.

Have you ever had those moments when the kids are SO crazy. Like yesterday when Leah and Colette and Jeremiah were all crying at the same time for about an hour and I could only do two things at a time (one thing at a time died after kid #2).

But after those moments are gone I think.... "Ahhhhh.... peace and quiet. That was crazy; I love it." And I go on with my day not even thinking about the insanity that had passed.

If I had had one of those moments before I had kids they would have served as at least 10 years of birth control. I would have thought "Ahhhh, I can't do this, I can never have children."

I know I am not the most laid back person, but I am so glad that time has given me this small bit of wisdom, and the ability to not absolutely lose it when I have those moments of pure chaos.

The moments of pure bliss make it all worth it.

I love my chaotic, blissful life.

Colette's Blessing