Haunted Happenings...

First of all, thanks to everyone who responded with kind words and deeds last week, it meant so much to me! I'm finally feeling good about the whole situation, if we are going to have another tiny spirit in our home Heavenly Father will bless us with one!

On to the week of Halloween Happenings.  We don't usually celebrate just one day for a holiday, we have many days of celebrating - and that includes birthdays!  We started on the 24th by having my sister Laura down and my friend Crystal.  We had yummy Costco pizza and a really yummy pizza made by my dad with roasted veggies...mmmmmm... Afterwards we tried to watch Coraline and make sugar cookies.  It is definitely NOT Halloween without pumpkin sugar cookies! And I say "tried" to watch Coraline because half way through it got SUPER scary! So we started Harry Potter (the first one, and the best in my book!) until the girls came off their sugar rush and went to bed.  Then we watched My Life in Ruins.  Oh my heck! Talk about a fantastic movie! Hilarious and romantic at the same time! Loved it!

I don't know what that was all about, but I wanted to show off their darling aprons my mom made them last Christmas!

 Oh my goodness, these cookies were fabulous! I got the recipe on the Martha Stewart web site.  My frosting is butter, powdered sugar, a little milk and vanilla.  Heaven!

Weird Week...

I don't normally post things like this, but it's definitely been a weird week.  Ever been so sick on and off you feel kind of like you're floating outside of your body and watching yourself go through the motions of living life? We've had this weird cold I guess, that's lingered for weeks! Maybe it's the flu, I don't know.  And if anyone asks if it's the "s" flu I'm going to scream.  Plus it's just a busy time of year for everyone, so I've felt really out of touch with family and friends.  And then on Saturday (too much info coming up, sorry!) I think I had a miscarriage.  My period was late and I took a pregnancy test on Thursday with the result being negative.  I thought "hooray!" because I didn't want to get pregnant until this next summer.  Just not ready, ya know? But then some things happened on Saturday that makes me believe that I really was preggo but just not far along.  They say many women have miscarriages and don't even know it because they aren't far along when it happens so they think their periods are just heavier for some reason.  I thought I was ok about the whole thing until Sunday's primary presentation.  For some reason I could not turn off the tears! I really want a 4th baby, and I'm so happy I've got the 3 I have.  They are my life.  But I REALLY want a 4th.  So I thought, what if I can't have anymore? I'll be 33 in February.  Am I getting too old? Am I done having children? I think that's what made me so sad.  I'm not in the right place right now to be pregnant, but I really do want another one.  So, lots to think about this week along with everyone (except Claire so far) being sick.  One bright spot though, was yesterday's parent/teacher conference...we were told Emma is a "superior" student, what a wonderful thing to hear about your child! Thanks Emma for being such a great little kid. :)

How Tall This Fall?

Dave had the week off last week, so we decided to take the kiddos to Schilter's Farm.  Usually we get to go on a hay ride and see pumpkins sling shot, but we got there at almost closing and missed that stuff.  The bright side was that the girls got the animals all to themselves! They were very excited about that! Here are a few pics of the event.

 

 

Their "goofy" faces...

 

 

 

 

Hallie loved the "hoceee" .

 

The kittens were by far the hit, until one scratched Claire.

 

I think the goat's trying to eat her scarf! Yikes!

Crafts and a Visit from a Friend

A week ago one of my best friends came for a visit.  Back in the day, I watched her baby for her when she went back to work - her baby Morgan, was born 1 day after Emma! It was so fun watching the two babies together.  All good things must end I guess, because right after the girls turned 1, Shayla moved back to Utah! Sad day.  BUT, luckily the place she works for sends her to Seattle once a year for training, so I get to see her! We've been able to stay good friends even if we are separated by a few states.  It's nice to have a friend that has real history with you, isn't it? Here are a few pics from our visit.  The girls LOVE Shayla.  In fact Emma kept saying she was leaving me and going with Shay to stay with her.  Hmmm...tried not to let that hurt my feelings! :)

Emma had to pop her little head in the picture...

 

Playing with Hal

 

What a nice friend to let my girls do her hair!

A couple days after that I had some friends from the ward over for a craft day and yummy potluck! We made banners out of burlap and talked a little too much to start the second craft! Shocker! We had a lot of fun!

Eating yummy food!

 

Becca holding baby Adelyn! She's a fav around here!

 

Wyatt goin' to town on that sucker!

 

Rachel is concentrating REALLY hard on her banner!

 

Thanks ladies for comin' over for a fun day!

My friend Rachel's little girl Olivia.  She was totally rocking that awesome headband! The 80's are back my friend!

Cinderelly Cinderelly Night and Day it's Cinderelly!

...make the fire, fix the breakfast wash the dishes do the mopping, and the sweeping and the dusting! They always keep her hopping! She goes around in circles til she's very very dizzy, still they holler keep a busy Cinderelly!

Sorry, these pictures reminded me of that little ditty and we LOVE that movie. 

For those that don't believe in child labor, walk away from this post! Do not read any further! The following pictures are not for the faint of heart...they are of my children ACTUALLY CLEANING! Oh yeah, the ONLY chore the girls fight over doing is mopping the floor! They love to take turns "helping" mommy soap up the floor.  And they actually do a pretty good job! Most of the water ends up on the floor and not in the bucket (they're not so good at ringing OUT the mop before putting it back on the floor)! Quite often we're slipping and sliding for a couple of hours until the floor dries up (after using 5-6 bath towels to mop up most of the soapy water).  So to all of you, get a bucket of soapy water and a mop and put up your feet while your children slave away on the kitchen floor.  Laugh at them as tiny beads of sweat roll down their temples and they sigh in pure exhaustion! Mop my little darlings...mop! Muuuuuaahaahaahaahaa! Now if only they would fight over the rest of their chores!

Be Grateful...

I saw this poem on a blog that I absolutely love! She is an amazing woman who decorates beautifully and has some great insight.  I was perusing her blog when I saw this poem:


Be Grateful


for good music, for dark chocolate,
for a place to call home, for warm hugs,
for quiet time, freedom to dream, for family time,
for understanding souls, for kindred spirits,
for true forgiveness, for sweet memories,
for pink bubblegum, for silliness, for red shoes,
for blue skies, for every breath,
for sunshine on your face, for a child's laughter,
for God's grace


--Bonnie Jensen
(c) 2009 incourage


Hope that gives your day a little more meaning, I know it did mine! :)

The Big Sister

Well Em's first day at school went off without a hitch.  She voiced no concerns or worries but I could tell she was relieved when she saw a couple little girls from her preschool last year.  There are actually 4 other little girls in her kindergarten class that she was with last year; Madeline, Ella, Peyton and Hailey.  They are the cutest little kids! Her teacher, Mrs. Kukas seems really nice.  Like in one of my previous posts. you always worry that the teacher will appreciate your child and are kind to them.  Emma really likes her, so I guess she's alright.  I've got my eyes on ya though, Mrs. Kukas! :) I actually made it all the way home with no tears that first day.  But when I sat down and thought of her sitting at her little desk at school I did shed a few tears.  When I picked her up after school and was asked how her day was, she said, "I did great! And you know why? Because daddy gave me a blessing!" I'm so grateful she acknowledges the priesthood and realizes how important it is in our family. 

Here are a few little pictures of my Emma Lou Who through the years...

Claire's New Adventure...

My middle child started preschool this week.  It's been a hard couple of weeks what with Emma starting kindergarten and Claire starting preschool.  Not because I need to see them 24/7, but because it's the beginning of them without my constant protection...both spritually and physically.  Will the teacher appreciate them and treat them with kindness? Will they make friends? Will they feel comfortable? Will they be strong when something is said or done that's contrary to what they believe? While Emma is in public school, Claire is in a private preschool with an LDS teacher.  At least this year, she will be with those that share her religion and values and I know she'll be taken care of while I'm not with her.  And she has done so well! She's only gone 2 times but she LOVES it! No crying, no fits, no whining! She is such a big girl! I'm so proud of her!  I can't believe she's 4, but it's fun to see all the new things they learn and discover the older they get.  Good job my big girl!

New Hair!

I know this probably sounds crazy, but it was really hard for me to go back to my "natural" color.  Every time I'd go to touch up my highlights, Dave would ask me ,when he could see what I looked like with my original hair color.  I always said, "You fell in love and married a blonde!" BUT, I thought the other day, change is good right? So I took myself over to Safeway and picked out a color I thought might be close, although after 15+ years of highlights, who knows what my color is!!! So, I went home and colored.  And I like it! I think! I'll get used to it.  I know it's not earth shattering, but it was a tough decision!    ;)

Our Little Friend...

We have a little friend that lives outside on our porch.  Dave first noticed him when he rang the doorbell to be let in.  When the girls discovered him/her (how do you check the gender of a frog?) they at once wanted to introduce it to a new friend.  Emma said "look mom, do you think the frog will want someone to sit with it on the doorbell?" I laughed out loud when I saw Em's tiny dog sitting there staring at Froggy (original name, don't ya think? Claire is good with making up names, let me tell you...).  Just then my mom walked by with her dog Sophie.  Emma decided that Puppy (another great name) needed a larger friend to take him around.  My little girlies are pretty funny the things they come up with! I do need to work on being a little more creative with names however...

Doesn't it look like they're sizing each other up?

 

'Ello!

 

Gettin' a lift! Reminds me of the movie The Great Mouse Detective - ya know, Toby the basset hound?

My next post is about Emma's first day! The tears!!! On my part anyways...