Happy and Positive

I have been accused of being too happy and positive at times, but my attitude pales in comparison with my son.  Even when Alex is in trouble he looks on the bright side of things.  He was found writing all over the bathroom counter (yes, he still loves writing EVERYWHERE), so he was told he had to scrub off all the writing.  After a while it was obvious he would need some help and so I joined him.  He immediately started chanting, "Go, Mommy, Go!".  "Go, Mommy, Go!".  "You're doing such a good job!".  "This is a cleaning race and you're winning!". "Go, Mommy, GOOO!!!!!".  He kept it up until all the drawings were gone.  Seriously...the kid knows how to work his audience!

Cookie Bouquet

I had a friend come over and help me put together a sugar cookie bouquet for a baby shower.  I was pretty excited about how it turned out!

Emma's carnivorous behavior

Noall made some yummy ribs last night for dinner...even though we ALL enjoyed them, no one enjoyed them quite like Emma.  Not only did she devour hers, but she went from plate to plate begging and polishing off everyone else's!  She's a character!

Here she's in her high chair...

Now she's moving around the table...starting w/Daddy's leftovers.

Happy Valentines Day!

 

For Valentines Day, we delivered cards to a nearby rest home.  The kids really seemed to enjoy themselves (especially because they have cats, dogs, fish, guinea pigs, birds, etc.)!  It was a really nice afternoon - I don't have any pics of my kids, but I thought this one was so sweet of one of their friends who came with us.

 

New Baby Cousins!!!

We're so excited about our new baby cousins!!!  Londyn O'Rien is here already...Feb 5th. 7 lbs. 11 oz.  Do they come any sweeter than that???  SERIOUSLY!!!  (Camilla says, "She's cute with the bow and the bunny on her bib.")

 

  

Eliza Lane is on her way...just a few more weeks!

"Sweet" Science

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/5905441d9b63b1c9d48c58754486af81/video/10194157

We had a fun "science" afternoon with the kids and their friends.  We made invisible ink, made goo, checked to see what floats, inspected the garden to see what part of plants we can eat, etc.  They had lots of fun!

Thanks, Grandma & Grandpa!

 

The kids are showing off our "new" slide ("new" to us from a friend).

Alex and Emma have been spending half the morning out there laughing and playing on it!  

I love how the next few pictures totally show my kids' personalities:

 

Zach models his new shirt from Grandma and Grandpa Silvester.

I THINK Alex is eating a banana, wearing apron, and posing with his new bomber jacket with a thumbs up!

 Camilla is now a card-carrying member of the library!

Emma is excited about her flower in her hair and refuses to look at Noall!  She's such a tease!

Rockin' Out

Isn't this cute?!?!  Alex and his little buddy are rehearsing for something big I can tell!!

2010

My posting are going to wax more reflective until we fix our camera, so consider yourself forewarned...  I am probably the exception, but I love taking about a month (most of January and sometimes even February) to reflect on my past year and decide what direction I want the new year to take with me personally and with my family.  So that's what I've been wrapping up over the last few days.  I've refined my "system" over the years to where it really works for me.  I actually probably shouldn't call them all goals (there are a lot of them)...it's more of a brainstorm of what things I want to make sure to do this year as a mom w/my kids, as a wife w/my husband, as a daughter of God to redeem the dead, proclaim the gospel and perfect the saints.  Some are specific goals, but most are things I want to remember to do that I think will improve relationships and create opportunities for connecting with and serving my family and friends.  I get so excited when I have all my thoughts down on paper (actually an excel spreadsheet...) and I feel inspired and ready to go for the year.  So, I'm on a little bit of a high this morning!  Have any of you set goals this year?????

Jackpot!

My confession for the evening: I have an ongoing dilemma with feeding my family dinner.  Breakfast and lunch seem to be a breeze, but finding dinners that are inexpensive, healthy, and that everyone likes (my goal is actually only 4 out of 6 people) is an impossible task it seems at times.  Every week I sit down to meal plan and brainstorm things to try.  I start the week convinced that I will meet smiles and "thank yous" at the dinner table...and by the end of the week...well, you can guess.

Tonight, however, I hit the jackpot!  Do you want to know what it was???  Drumroll, please...chicken and rice soup.  I know...it's not that exciting, but everyone had seconds (even the babies - I was watching a friend's little boy) and Zach asked to bring it to school for lunch tomorrow.  Zach is my PICKIEST eater by far...he only likes food that comes from a can, bag, or anything other type of packaging.  His problem is that I like to make things from scratch (that helps with the healthy and frugal part).  So my goal tonight was to replicate Healthy Choice's version of chicken and rice soup which Zach loves...and it worked!  Since when did home-cooking try to copy the canned stuff?????  Oh well, I took it as a compliment that I was told over and over again, "Mom, this tastes just like Healthy Choice! Thank you!"  and no one believed it had onions.  I can go to bed a happy momma!

 

Disclaimer: This is not actually my soup, but it looks good enough to be Healthy Choice, too!

Rodeos and CT Scans

I hate posting w/o pics.  I'm not convinced anyone is actually interested in what I have to say and a picture says a thousand words so much better than I can...Oh, well - here goes!

First of all, I had an AMAZING day on Saturday with my kids.  Noall and I got the garage cleaned out the day before, but I had a bunch of cleaning to get done in the house on Saturday.  With very little complaining, we split up the chores between the kids and got it all done.  It was perfect!  They were troopers and worked very hard.  It's amazing how much easier everything gets as they get older!  Now they are each "experts" at their jobs...everyone was patient enough that I could take the time to show them each the ins and outs of "their" job.  It was fun to see how much pride they had in knowing they did their job well! 

That morning we went to the Farmer's Market.  Alex used his birthday money to buy some AMAZING mini-bundt cakes (chocolate peanut butter) and shared them with everyone.  Camilla requested a free massage from the chiropractor there and Zach played soccer with him.  It was a perfect morning for everyone!

More fun stuff: My kids literally crack me up all the time!  Last Monday night, they decided to have a rodeo after FHE.  They had costumes, made tickets, and prepared all sorts of events (wild bronco rides, barrel racing, etc.).  It was SO FUNNY (especially because they took it pretty seriously)!  Tonight I think they are preparing a circus...

Not so fun stuff:  Alex had to get a CT scan this morning.  Never fun even with sedation (especially when restraining him to get his IV).  But it went well and hopefully we can get his ear taken care of soon.  In the meantime, we're helping to keep Baskin Robbins in business since that's what he always requests!