Multiple posts in 1!

After School Snacks

I try to feed my kids healthy snacks most of the time and one of their favorite is smoothies. We do spinach, yogurt, milk, frozen banana and whatever other frozen fruit we have. They love it and we make popsicles with whatever is left over. Here are some pics of Broden and Alissa enjoying theirs!

 

One of Alissa's favorite snacks she gets herself is marshmallows. She will get a bowl out of the cupboard and climb up on the counter and get out the marshmallows and pour them in a bowl. I think she finally caught on to the fact that she gets in trouble when she gets food out without asking. So instead of asking, or not doing it she hurries and hides whatever food she gets. This is where I found her marshmallows the other day. I have also found bowls of graham crackers in our cupboard where the kids cereal bowls are. I just laugh at her. She is too darn cute to get mad at.

100 Days of School

Remi has loved learning to count in school and is always asking to count when we are in the car. She has been talking since November about when they will get to 100 days of school. She told me they would have a party at school on the 100th day. So my sister came to visit a few weeks ago and I let Remi stay home on the Friday she was here. Then on Monday morning I was too tired to get up and get Remi ready for school, and she had been a little sick over the weekend, so I just let her stay home that day. That night I realized it was the 100th day of school. I felt SOOOO bad. Remi missed their party. Then school got canceled the next 2 days for snow and the cold. So Thursday when Remi went back I warned her that I thought they had the party on Monday while she was gone. She didn't think so, but I emailed her teacher and confirmed that Monday was the day. Her teacher said they didn't do too much, but I still felt bad. So I had a party for Remi when she got home from school. We had a sugar cookie shaped like 100, had hats that said 100 and make a banner of 100 hearts. It was fun and I think Remi liked doing that and wasn't too sad about missing her party at school.

Bird Houses

For Christmas each of the kids got a little wooden bird house. Remi and Broden wanted to paint theirs one day while Alissa was sleeping and it was a perfect activity for them. I think they painted for like 2 hours. Then when Alissa woke up I helped her paint hers. She was so proud of it! She carried all 3 bird houses around with her for a couple weeks. The 3 bird houses along with a purse or 2!

 

 

Showing off her bird house.

Trying to hide the birdhouse from me.

 

 All 3 bird houses. Alissa's on the left, Remi's in the middle and Broden's on the right.

Breakfast in Bed

Remi and Broden love to bring breakfast in bed to Blake and I. It never fails on Saturday mornings when we are still in bed they will come in with breakfast for us. It was really cute the first time they did it in November, and still cute when they were doing it in December. It is still cute that they do it, but every Saturday morning between 6:30 and 7:30 for 4 months is a little much. Especially when it is our only day to sleep in! I even tried hiding the tray in the basement, in the laundry room. She found it. At first the breakfasts were a little scary. Remi is becoming quite the little mom though. She comes up with some good food. Once I got vanilla yogurt with bananas cut up in it. Another time a blueberry bagel with cinnamon sugar. She is so sweet to do this for us. Here are some pictures of The breakfast she took to Alissa in bed. I helped her with this one.

Finding Fulfillment Under a Pile of Laundry

So a long time ago when we were at BYU-I there was an activity where they had a bunch of different classes you could go to as couples on a Saturday morning. I went to one titled finding fulfillment under a pile of laundry. The lady who taught it had 8 kids I think, maybe more. She talked about how as a mom it is hard to find many of the things we do fulfilling because they are never done. The laundry will always need done again, same with the dishes, dusting, vacuuming, etc. Then she said one of the ways she has found to help her life be more fulfilling is to do something every so often that doesn't need to be re-done. I have always tried to remember this and done things like, remodeling, sewing, decorating and stuff like this. It is a good feeling to me when I create something and I don't have to re-do it. 

Laundry day! Before...

And after!

Before I had Parker one week I was having a hard time. I was struggling with being a stay at home mom. I was having a depressing week and somehow I had everything twisted into it being all Blake's fault. I don't even remember what I was so depressed about, other than having a hard time being a stay at home mom. I remember praying that Blake would change, and that the kids would change. One night I went to the temple and some thoughts started coming to me. One of them was that it wasn't Blake or the kids that needed to change. It was me! I needed to change my attitude. Yes, being a stay at home is what Heavenly Father wants me to do, but he doesn't want me to be miserable doing it. I needed to have a better attitude. I also realized that all my life all I have ever wanted to do is to be a stay at home mom. It was my choice. I chose, so I should make the best of it! So I approached life like this after that. I still have hard days, but things are better. 

I think I mentioned it before, but something changed when Parker was born. I have always loved my kids and loved being a mom, but something clicked when he was born. I started enjoying it more. I started doing things with my kids to have fun with them instead of keep them busy. Yes, I do still need to get things done and have them watch movies or play by themselves, but when we do things together I have so much more fun now. It is hard to explain, but I am so much happier now. I love being a stay at home mom and wouldn't trade it for anything. 

This is going to completely contradict the last few paragraphs, but I want to record it anyway. I have a hard time when Blake gets sick. I don't know why, but I don't have tons of compassion. I think it is because when I was growing up my dad NEVER got sick. If he did he didn't tell us he was sick. I think he just kind of toughed it out. So when Blake tells me he is sick and how he is feeling I have a hard time. It is kind of awkward for me. A couple weeks ago he got the flu, then Broden got it. Blake got it while we were at a cabin with friends. So when we got home he went to bed and I did the unpacking etc... I was kind of bitter and kind of wished I could get sick and go to bed so someone else could do my jobs for us. Then last week Blake came home from work on Tuesday and didn't feel good. We had a volleyball game, so I went and he stayed home with the kids. When I got home he was asleep on the couch, Parker was in the swing and the other kids were down stairs. Remi was taking care of them. Blake went out with the missionaries, then came home and went straight to bed. Anyway, he was really sick and ended up having strep. Wednesday morning he went work then left and went to the doctor. He called and asked me to pick him up there. As I was driving there a thought popped into my head that maybe Heavenly Father is trying to teach me compassion. Maybe that is why Blake keeps getting sick. How sad is that, that he has to suffer so I can learn to be compassionate. I don't know if that is the real reason, but it sure helped me have compassion for him.

Something else I have thought about a little more this week is Faith. It talks a lot in the scriptures about blessings coming about because of faithfulness. I wondered if something happened to my kids, or to Blake would I have the faith necessary to help them. Is my faith strong enough? What if one of our kids, or even a family member got sick and I wasn't faithful enough or acting on my faith enough that they didn't get better. This is a lot harder to put into words. I guess I am just realizing how important it is for me to be obedient and faithful because it could be affecting so many more people than me. I heard an awesome quote tonight at relief society "Your future is only as bright as your faith." This is so true.

Funnies

Today I was in doing my hair and Broden walked in. He said,"Mom, Alissa is on the counter. Her has a dog nose that you can't see and she found candy. Her can smell candy anywhere in the house and find the candy with her dog nose."

We talk quite often about how Alissa can smell candy anywhere. I guess Broden caught on and decided it is because she has a dog nose.

A few weeks ago the weather warmed up and we were sitting outside chatting with our neighbors, the Ingersolls. They have kids the same ages as Remi and Broden. Remi and Avery were playing out back and Broden and Drew were watching a movie. The adults were in front visiting while watching Livi(1) play. We realized that Alissa had gone up to their house alone. I sent Blake up to check on her. She had somehow gotten into their house, climbed on the counter and found Avery's Valentine's Day candy. She really can find it anywhere.

Another thing that happened today that I am still laughing about... Blake came home from work and was rushing to change into his nice blue uniform, with the coat and everything. Remi walked into our room and said,"Remember when we were at PJ's(a friend in Ohio) house and they called dad up and did some things to him then they punched him really hard in the arm?" She was laughing so hard and so were we.

When Blake got promoted to a Captain we had a ceremony at the Hegewald's house. One of the traditions is after you pin on the pins you punch them in the arm. She remembered that part. She doesn't talk about Ohio very often, so I wonder if she even remembers. Sometimes she comes up with little things like this that make me realize she does remember. Usually it is funny things I have forgotten.

Another funny from Broden: He loves kicking balls. He has just started this in the last week or so, but he spends a couple hours a day kicking his ball. He runs up and down the hall and through the living room and kitchen kicking the ball. I asked him to go kick it downstairs and explained that the pictures on the walls have glass on them and they are breakable. The decorations in the basement aren't breakable. He started talking about all the "glassable" pictures that will break if he hits them with the ball, and about all the "glassables" we have on the counter and in the china hutch. Sometimes kids come up with words that make more sense than the ones the grownups come up with.

Lego Man

Blake showed Remi what he made out of "play doh" when he was in school. It was his Lego man. She wanted to make one too. So they got out our play doh and this is what they came up with. They had lots of fun working on it and I had fun practicing using our camera while they worked. Remi came up with the hat all on her own.

School at home

I have tried doing different fun things throughout the year to help Broden learn a few letters, how to write them, what they sound like etc. I decided it might be fun for him to use our window paints to do school. So we did that for a few days and he loved it. I have also tried all year(well for a few years) to get Remi to do fun learning activities with me and she refuses. No matter what it is she just doesn't like learning with me. Well I had her do "school" one week when she came home from school. She used our big front windows and wrote a story and then drew a picture. She had tons of fun and so did I. Alissa even joined it the fun!

 

Broden's first day of window school. The letter "A"

Alissa doing school with Remi on the window. Yes it is after school and she is still in her jammies and her hair isn't done:) We had a sick week that week!

 

Remi hard at work writing her story. It went something like this...

We like to go to the park and play. At the park there is a lake where we can catch fish.

 

 Here is Broden being sick on the couch.

So this was Martin Luther King week. Sunday started out great! Then after church we gave Alissa a nap. When she wakes up from her nap we just crack the door and let her come out when she is ready(she has a child proof handle). So she played for a while then came out of her room happy as could be. If anyone approaches her after her nap and she isn't ready for interaction she gets really grouchy. So I just watched her play. Then she came over to me and I could smell throw up. She had it on her arms, but I couldn't see it until I looked really close. So I went into her room to see if she had really thrown up and yep it was all over her bed and Remi's bed that pulls out from under Alissa's. So I put those sheets in the washer. We weren't sure if she was really sick, or having a reaction to the Penicillin she was taking for her ear infection. She threw up another time that night. But other than that she seemed fine. 

Monday was just kind of a lazy day. It warmed up outside enough to build some snow men, so Blake built a snow family with Remi and Broden. Alissa and I went out for a little while, but she had started acting a little sick. Then Alissa threw up again that night. 

Our snow family!

       The Friday before this when I called about Alissa's doctor appointment for her ear infection they informed me that I needed to add Parker to our insurance before he is 3 months(the following Tuesday). I don't know why I have to go through the hassle to add someone that they obviously know exists. They did cover all my pregnancy appointments, the labor, delivery and hospital stay. Do they really think I just don't want him on insurance, or that he doesn't exist. I just don't get it. So anyway, I asked if they could transfer me to the office that handles that. And of course that office doesn't take calls. So she said I just need to go in. It is right across the hall from the pediatrician. So I load up the 3 kids(Remi is in school) and go in to the clinic an hour early with all Parker's birth stuff to prove he exists. (No birth certificate yet just SS card.) I walk in the office and they said that we needed to go to the DEERS office on base. So I called that office to see when I could come in. They were closed that day, because Monday was Martin Luther King Day, so they were having a family day on Friday. GREAT! 

     Sooo..... Tuesday morning first thing I called the DEERS office. They told me Blake had to be the one to go in to add Parker to our insurance. They also said a SS card and proof of birth letter was what he had to take. I sent him everything we had, ss card, crib card, bills, the bracelets and everything. Then later that morning I had my 6 week check up(a few weeks late). I didn't want to have the kids go to anyone's house because Alissa had been sick. I have never been "checked" at a 6 week appointment, so didn't think it would be a big deal to just take the kids. Well, the nurse got out a sheet and said the doctor wanted to check me. FUN! The kids were really good about it, but in the middle of the appointment I started getting texts and phone calls from Blake who was at the DEERS office trying to add Parker to insurance. They said they can't add him without a proof of birth letter or birth certificate. So I returned from the doctor's appointment, left the kids in the car and frantically searched all my hospital papers, again, for a proof of birth letter. No luck. So I called the hospital hoping they could just get me a new one because I must have lost it. I left messages for a few people. Then I figured I might as well unload the kids. So I brought them in and started lunch. The hospital returned my call and said they don't do proof of birth letters. The lady did tell me she would type me a letter though that I could use for one. So we finished lunch, loaded in the car again and drove to the hospital. Unloaded the kids took them up to the labor and delivery floor, got the letter, back to the car and buckled again. Then we drove to Blake's work to drop off the letter. I was DONE loading and unloading kids so we waited outside until Blake could come get it from us. It took forever! By the time he came out it was 2:30 and we had to go get Remi from school at 3. So, I just drove around until 3 so Alissa could sleep and so I didn't have to unload and reload again. Poor Alissa was still acting a little sick and Broden even fell asleep. A sure sign that he is getting sick. He NEVER falls asleep in the car unless it is really late at night. 

So after work Blake headed over to the DEERS office AGAIN and of course it was closed. They closed at 4. Luckily they let him add Parker the next day without any kind of penalty except that he wouldn't be officially on the insurance until February 1st, so we could only take him to the base clinic. That was a huge relief. I did not want to hassle of trying to get him added after the deadline.

Sure enough Broden threw up Tuesday night. He had a fever and threw up a couple times that night. Poor boy. I think after that he carried a bowl around for a week just in case he threw up. He would just walk around the house with his bowl and sippie cup of water saying he was sick.

Luckily no one else got sick that time. Alissa was sick for like 3 weeks with her ear infection, a cold and the flu. We finally realized it was her teeth coming in after taking her to the doctor 3 times. She would just hold her ears and cry and had fevers off and on the whole 3 weeks. Makes it hard to know when to leave the house and when to lock ourselves in. I wonder if people in places where it is warm year round still get sick in the "winter." I don't want to complain about our sicknesses though. Yes we get colds and sometimes throw up, but overall we have great health and I am so grateful for that. We have definitely been blessed in that area.

He did it!

Parker just rolled over for the first time. He was on his tummy and when I walked into the room again he was on his back! He was all smiles and so proud of himself.

I did it!!!

Parker is still such a good baby. He has only slept in his actual crib a few times, because he sleeps so good in his car seat. I was going to transition him a few weeks ago to sleeping in the crib(as opposed to in the carseat in the crib) but he hot a little cold and I liked him being elevated. Now his congestion is pretty much gone, but we are going to Utah in a few weeks and I love the convenience of how good he sleeps in his car seat no matter where we are, so I will switch to the crib in a month or so.