Random Information

Zach loves to be first. One day I heard him say to Kate, "I go first, you go second first." It was nice of him to think of a way to make Kate feel good about going second all the time.

Kate climbed into Noah's bed yesterday right before dinner...and fell asleep.


I am a fan of waiting until my children are 3 before potty training, but I am seriously considering potty training Kate now. (meaning I need to get a "Potty Power" video for her to watch constantly for a few weeks and I need to buy a potty chair, so now really turns into within the next month.) Kate will turn 2 a week from today. She often tells me when she is pooping, it's the perfect time of year since we're always home, and it would be so nice to only have 1 child in diapers! The thought of Kate in big girl underwear and having her go potty when we still think of her as a baby is very weird, though.

Zach and I have been making a lot of marble runs lately. Usually I put the run together with the help of Zach handing me the parts that I need. This afternoon, Zach informed me that he was going to make a run and he would be asking me for the pieces. It was so cute the way he said it!

My kids always come home STARVING, so I decided today to make sure they have some sort of snack or treat waiting for them when they get home. I am so tired of hearing how HUNGRY they are and having them in the kitchen for an hour snacking and finding things to eat. So today I made them pancakes. It was nice having them all eat the same thing and having them eat until they were full.

Eleanor made a paper groundhog in school today. She keeps calling it a hedgehog and I keep reminding her it's a groundhog.

It's time to go feed my kids again.

Snaps

Snaps is the game, the game is snaps...
Want to play along?
Snap Snap Snap
No rules can be explained.
That's just the way it is.
Snap Snap
Right or wrong, it doesn't matter, that's the way it is.

P.S. Ave was right on the last one. :-)

Stumped

Matt & I have been playing "Black Magic" and "Snaps" with Zoe. It drives her crazy that she hasn't figured out how to play either game.

Snaps is the game, the game is snaps.
My name is Joey.
Snap (pretend I'm snapping my finger)
Snap Snap Snap (pretend I snapped my finger three times)
Noah is rolling around.
Snap Snap (pretend I snapped my finger twice)

Do you know the answer?

P.S. Zoe reads my blog, so don't let her know how to play. :-)

Trouble at school

You are very observant, Kris! My last post was written just after midnight because Noah had a power nap around 7pm and he didn't go back to sleep until around 12:20am. The great news is that he slept through the night and didn't get up until 10:20 in the morning! Now I know he is capable of sleeping all night long. He has been going to bed at 10:30, but last night he fell asleep at 8:45, which made it nice to have some of the evening to myself. I watched "PS I Love You", which I enjoyed, especially the ending. Matt watched parts of the movie and read. It is definitely a chick flick.

Eleanor is having a rough week. Her teacher had surgery on Friday, so she will be recovering for a week or two, which means there is a sub teaching. Eleanor loves school and looks forward to going, but on Monday afternoon she told me she wasn't feeling well and she probably wouldn't feel well the next day, so she was planning to stay home from school. She had also told me that a boy pushed her down at recess and she hurt her ankle again (she claimed she hurt it the night before and she put ice on it, but she was walking fine on it). Eleanor claimed being sick, but her actions were not consistent with her words. She was fine...something is going on at school. When she woke up yesterday, she claimed to be sick again, but we told her she was going to school. She sobbed and told Matt that the boy who pushed her down told her to bite down on a rock (I believed her), told her to eat some small rocks, so she did (starting to doubt), and her teacher told her not to go to school that day (don't believe her). She went to school and had a better day, or so I thought. She said the boy didn't push her down. Good. Then she talked about how she joined the boy and went around finding "bad kids". I don't remember how she exactly worded it, but when she was done talking and left the room Matt asked, "Did she join a gang?" It sure sounded like it. I just talked with the secretary at the school and the kids didn't have recess on Monday because of the cold weather. Interesting. The sub and Ed Techs who supervise at recess are going to be told of my concerns and what Eleanor has been claiming. I think she is having a hard time because of the sub. I was just told that it will be closer to a month before her teacher is back. Ugh.

Eleanor earned about 10 strikes yesterday. She mopped the floor (cleaned the floor with a wipe) and put away dishes before bed. I hope she has a better day today, especially since she only has a half day of school (along with Zoe & Emily) and she will be home most of the day.

Marble Run Fun

Oh, the fun you can have when you tear yourself away from the computer and Nintendo!

Zach and I built this marble run during Kate's nap today. We had so much fun! We tried making one the other night, but Kate insisted on taking the pieces apart as soon as I got them together. Not fun.

4 strikes and you're cleaning the kitchen

I sat down to eat lunch yesterday and started to think about the behaviors of my children lately. I grabbed my notebook and started taking notes.

I want my children to be...
Kind
Loving
Productive
Hardworking
Self Reliant
Aware of needs around them
Happy and to have fun
Temple Worthy and to make good decisions
Reverent during Family Home Evening, Family Council, Scripture Study, and Prayer Time
Positive and to make the best of their situations
Willing to try new food
Mindful of their manners/Use good manners
Respectful to adults...and everyone
Constantly Learning

Behaviors I don't like...
Hitting
Kicking
Pulling Hair
Pushing
Yelling
Mean Talk
Excluding Siblings
Throwing Toys
Refusing to help or work
Whining (Especially when Matt is trying to help one of them...mostly Zach...when they'd rather have me do it)
Lying
Being a Tattle Tale

Thoughts
I want my kids to know that I love them.
We need to have the Spirit in our home.
I have been allowing too much TV/Computer/Nintendo time, especially for Zach and Kate.
I need to do a better job of letting the kids help more with cooking and cleaning.
I want my kids to know that life is not fair.
There is a time to work and there is a time to play.
Our choices have consequences.
I don't want children or any of us yelling from room to room to get someone's attention. Go to the person and talk with them.
When it's time to leave somewhere, it's time to leave.period.
I appreciate Zoe checking the mail for me after school.
I appreciate the great cleaner Emily is.

I went over my notes and thoughts during Family Council this evening. I felt the need for a change in our family. A change for the better to be consistent with what I want my kids to be. We needed a plan. A plan that Matt and I would be willing to be consistent with together. A plan for Zoe, Emily, and Eleanor and a plan for Zach and Kate. The older girls will get a strike for each bad choice that they make. 4 strikes earns them a chore, most likely cleaning up the kitchen before bedtime. Each day starts new with zero strikes. They each went to bed this evening with 3 strikes. Zach and Kate will stand in the corner after a bad choice. Something about standing outside and going in the diaper pail was mentioned if they refused to stand in the corner, but I plan to stick with the corner. They each went into the corner twice. If the kids go from Sunday to Sunday without 4 strikes on any day then we will do a fun family activity during the next week. The older girls really liked that idea. I'm feeling good about our plan. :-)

Noah is clapping! He likes the plan, too.

New Obsession

Facebook.

Matt and Zach went to get Zach's hair cut this morning and then they went to the children's museum. Zoe, Emily, and Eleanor were at my parents' house, so it was me, Kate, and Noah here at home. It would have been more fun or productive around the house if I hadn't been preparing my lesson for Sunday School. I did get to go to the girls' JV and Varsity basketball games this evening with my parents, Zoe, Emily, and Eleanor. I discovered that Eleanor has no sense of personal space as she sat very close to a lady she didn't know at the game and she kept sticking her foot near the guys sitting in front of her and kicking them in the back. I moved her behind me, so she could kick me and snuggle next to my mom. It cracked me up when she took her boot and sock off and picked at her toenail. What are we going to do with you, Eleanor?

Our Own Musical

Zoe & Emily were constantly fighting with one another yesterday after school. I started singing "Love at Home". Emily chimed in with the word hate every time I sang the word love. They were in rotten moods! Then I sang "Kindness begins with Me". Eleanor was enjoying the songs as she swayed back and forth with me, but I was still getting scowls from Zoe & Emily. Then I sang "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam". By the time I started singing "I Lived in Heaven", Zoe and Emily were making up and smiling again. I couldn't help but laugh when everyone started singing the second verse to "I Lived in Heaven" together. It felt like we were in a movie and this was the happy ending to a scene with a rough beginning. It was great!

Remember when Zoe wanted to make a pillow case awhile back? Well, she FINALLY got to make one last night during Achievement. It is white and she wrote the "6 Be's" on it, which we learned last night that they have evolved into the "9 Be's".


Zoe made this pillow case all by herself and she is very happy about that! She did a great job and she enjoyed doing it. She was a bit disappointed that she didn't get to hand sew, though. She hand sewed this purse the other night for Emily by herself. She even put the button on!

I'm glad my bad attitude about sewing hasn't discouraged her from learning how to sew herself.

Zach & I made a bunch of paper hearts yesterday. He loves the letter H, so he wrote H and then wondered what letter to write next to it. So we now have a wall covered with red paper hearts that say "Hi" and Zach now knows how to spell a word. :-)

I am so happy that Noah likes his bed. He took a nap in it yesterday afternoon and he slept in it again last night. He only got up once last night to nurse! He woke up again a little later, but then he fell back asleep on his own. He is doing so much better than I expected!

Noah has a bed!

Kate is posing in it for me.


I emptied out one of the plastic boxes that fit under the bunk beds and filled it with Noah's blankets. I had tried a smaller box after Noah was born, but he didn't like it. So, he has been sleeping with me and Matt. He is 6 1/2 months old and his sleeping habits were not improving (he would sleep and nurse all night long), so I decided yesterday that I had had enough of that. Not only did I make him a bed, but I started feeding him more solids and he is now eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner with nursing snacks in between. Here is Noah with his first piece of bread.

I mentally prepared myself to be up all night. When I nursed Noah to sleep and laid him down at 10:30, I predicted he would wake up in 10 minutes. Matt said it would take less time than that. Noah surprised us both by sleeping 3 1/2 hours. I got up with him at 2:07 and laid him back down around 3:00 when he was back asleep. He slept until 5:00 and I nursed him and laid him down again at 5:30 to get another half hour of sleep before getting up with the girls. All 3 of us slept better last night, which we needed. My will to live is coming back. I'm hoping more food and sleep for Noah will improve his mood during the day as well.

Wordless Wednesday

Snowy Sunday

This is the second Sunday in a row that it has snowed and we have only had Sacrament meeting. If only I could know that I'm not going to teach my Sunday School lesson BEFORE I spend a week preparing it. Oh well. At least I am learning and staying in the groove of preparing a lesson. I'm staying on track with the Stake schedule, so if we don't have Sunday School than I still move on to the next lesson for the next Sunday.

We dropped Zoe and Emily off at my parents' home for a sleepover and then came home to enjoy the storm from our warm home. The prediction is 9-14 inches.



Matt decided to make cinnamon rolls this afternoon.

The kids helped by playing with their playdoh on their end of the table.

The cinnamon rolls were done just in time for dinner.

Don't you just want to sink your teeth into them? They were so yummy! Kate shoved two pieces into her mouth and then choked on them. Matt had to dig a piece out with his finger and then the other piece followed. Kate went right back to eating when the episode was over.

Here she is showing how cool she is. :-)

New Testament Mystery Night

Here's a summary of our activity, Marilou. It was a lot of fun!
Our Seminary students and teacher (Tiffany Dauk) were in charge of an activity we had last night. They had us fill out a questionnaire after church last Sunday with questions like...
Name a book in the New Testament
Name a city in the New Testament
Name a parable
Name a food or drink that is mentioned in the New Testament
Name one of the original 12 apostles
Name one of the current 12 apostles
Name a miracle Jesus performed
Name a modern day Temple
Name a prophet who foretold the Savior's birth
What is the Primary's favorite song?
What is a popular snack for kids in Sacrament meeting?
Name a talent shown in Sacrament meeting (sleeping was a popular answer!)
What is President Dauk's favorite hymn?
What is the favorite hymn of the Ellsworth Branch?

Last night, we each got a card with a name of a city on it before we were allowed in the gym. We had to find the table with our city's label. Matt and I were at the same table (Jerusalem) with Zoe, Anne & Greg Dalton, and President Dauk. Emily was in Bethlehem. The younger children went with Sunshine to color and play. The first activity we did was a scripture chase. We had Bibles without cheater tabs and Tiffany called out a scripture or scripture reference to find. Anne won a couple for us. I was never good at scripture chase and that has not changed! Then we played "City Feud" where the answers to the questionnaire were used. I love the game "Family Feud", so I really enjoyed this activity. I slapped the table first to answer what hymn is President Dauk's favorite and gave the correct answer of "If You Could Hie to Kolob", but apparently most of the members in our branch slept through his talk about his favorite hymn because it wasn't one of the top 3 answers. So we didn't get control of the board...even though I was right. We did win the game, though. We got a card that had Matthew 5:14-16 written out on it and a candle was given with it. After the game, Lily read a scripture about the bread of life and then bread was brought to each table, then a scripture was read about oil and oil was brought to each table to dip our bread in, then a scripture about baptism was read and water was brought to each table and then Tiffany explained that during the Last Supper Jesus and the disciples supped to explain our soup. There were several different varieties of soup on a table behind us. A video about the Savior played while we ate and visited with one another.

We encourage her to be honest

After a fun "New Testament Mystery Night" activity at church this evening, Zoe declared for many close by to hear, "And you said you didn't want to come tonight, Dad!"

Surprised

I have lost 41 pounds since having Noah! I have 2 more pounds to go. I'm really surprised that I haven't gained 5 or 10 pounds in the past few months because I haven't been keeping track of points. Somehow I have managed to stay around the same weight with my m&m, pizza, macaroni & cheese, breadsticks, and pancake binges. Sweet!

A trip to the dentist

I went to the dentist today to get my broken tooth fixed. Matt came home to watch the kids and I was ALL BY MYSELF! Noah is eating enough solids now that we figured he would be fine for a few hours without me (at least I hoped he would be) and he was. The only thing he did was carry on the tradition of rolling off the bed when he woke up from his nap. I was impressed that he made it to 6 months old before rolling off. I was hoping he would break the tradition, but guess not. So anyway, at the dentist I had a decision to make about my broken tooth that turned out to be one of my baby teeth that has disintegrating roots. The tooth is not going to last much longer I am told. Putting a crown on it was not an option. I could have it filled, which in my dentist's words would be an "expensive patch" (about $200 and something) to last who knows how long. The best option long-term would be to have the tooth pulled and have an implant put in, but it was also the most expensive option estimating around $2800 and it would involve a specialist. Having the tooth pulled and leaving a space there was an option or having a bridge done, but the dentist didn't think that was a good option for me because my teeth by my baby tooth look good and he doesn't want to mess with them. I hated making the decision by myself, but I made the decision I thought Matt and I would both agree on and I was right. Whew. I had the tooth filled figuring this baby tooth has lasted longer than expected and it isn't giving me any problems, besides breaking, so I am counting on it lasting awhile longer. It looks better now than it did before without a silver filling showing. I love how the filling now looks the same as the tooth. My only concern during the filling was when my dentist was smoothing down my tooth, it felt like pieces of my tooth were flying around my mouth and I had visions of one going down my throat and choking me to death. That would be an interesting death don't ya think? The tooth is sore from all the drilling and pushing on it, but I'm glad it's fixed.

Matt's first e-bay sale was a huge success and the manual is off to it's new owner. It sold for $50! Matt asked me to mail his e-bay package for him when I was done at the dentist. It made for an interesting adventure since half of my mouth was frozen and it took a lot of effort to talk normally. The lady at the counter was super talkative and was giving me tips about mailing e-bay items, which was nice, but I just wanted to leave and go home.

I was annoyed while eating dinner that half of my mouth was frozen and I could barely taste my food, but now the numbness is wearing off and I am in pain. Time for some medicine and rest.

Now what?

I finished reading "The host" yesterday and now I don't know what to do with myself. Oh, I have plenty to do, but I'd rather be reading about Wanda, Mel, Ian, Jared, Jamie, etc.

Lots of words Wednesday

Kate is in heaven when she gets her hands on a Nintendo, which is not very often. Matt and I discovered one day that Kate cares more about the Nintendo than me leaving when she happily said goodbye to me and then started whining "tendo, tendo, tendo!" when she saw one in my coat pocket.

Here Kate is saying no to Zach because she wants to say cheese for the picture by herself.


One of the best things about living on a hill is the sledding during the winter. The kids love to go outside when they get home from school, after their chores and homework are done.

Did I play basketball?

I played on the YMCA team in 5th grade (I'm pretty sure it was that grade). I was good enough to play for the all star team after the regular season, but then I fractured my finger doing gymnastics, so I never played on the all star team and I didn't play basketball again until my Freshman year of high school. I got into cheerleading more than basketball, but when I didn't make the cheering squad during my Freshman year, I played basketball instead. I didn't enjoy it because I lacked experience and for that reason I didn't feel like I belonged on the team. I skipped the last game of the season to go watch a cheering competition. I never played basketball again. I also never made the cheering squad. Softball was my sport. I played Farm League up until my Senior year of high school. I didn't make the Varsity team my Senior year like I had my Junior year. I think that's because I struck out every time I was at bat as a designated hitter my Junior year and I missed 2 weeks of the season to go to Utah for EFY.
I joined the diving team my Senior year and I was good at it (a judge gave me a 10,the highest score on one of my dives my one and only meet), but I ended up quitting after the first meet because it made me super nervous to dive in front of judges and a crowd and it wasn't worth it to me to be that stressed out my Senior year. And again, I didn't feel like part of the team.

So, if I had my school years to do over (thank goodness I never will!) I would continue to play basketball my 6th grade year instead of doing cheering, and I would join the diving team my Freshman year.

I love to shoot baskets and play knock out (I can get into a groove at times making foul shots, so that is super fun when I am playing knock out and winning :-) so I look forward to practicing with my kids.

Thanks Kris for giving me something to write about today!

AUGH!

That was my exact reaction when I spotted this...

Why yes, that would be a mouse poking out from the washer. Fortunately it is dead, so I didn't have to figure out how to kill it. I just had to figure out how to get rid of it without touching it.

It took me a few minutes to get up the courage to sweep it up. Zach wanted to hold it. I let him carry the dustpan to dump it in the diaper pail.

Weekend News

Friday night, my mom, Zoe, Emily, Noah, and I went to the girls high school basketball games. The end of the JV game was awesome! Our JV team is undefeated, but they were losing Friday night, until the last 10 seconds of the game. The crowd was very much into the game, which had Noah's bottom lip pouting and Noah was on the verge of crying, but then the game ended (our team still undefeated) and it quieted down. A lot of the crowd left, which made for more elbow room to watch the Varsity girls, who I think have only won one game this season, I think and they lost the game we watched. Zoe is learning new things every time she watches these games. She has a friend that is often at these games wandering around with a few other friends. Zoe never asks to wander around. She loves to watch the games! She has set a goal to be good enough to play JV and Varsity as a Freshman. If we can keep her practicing throughout the year every year, she just may reach her goal. I would love to go outside and go to the courts near the school to shoot baskets with her and I'll be more available to do that as Noah gets older.

Zoe & Emily spent the night with my parents Friday night, so my parents took Zoe to her basketball practice Saturday morning. They also signed Zoe, Emily, and Eleanor up for basketball practice in Orland (our neighboring town), which starts next Saturday. Our Saturday mornings for awhile will look like this:
8:00-8:45 Eleanor's Orland basketball practice (I'm looking forward to watching her play!)
9:00-10:00 Zoe's Bucksport basketball practice
10:00-11:00 Emily and Zoe's Orland basketball practice (I'll bring Emily to this practice from Zoe's practice, so she won't be late and then my dad will bring Zoe over when she is done, arriving a little late)
I'm thankful my dad is willing to help out with these practices! We've been participating in the Orland basketball program since Zoe was in Kindergarten and the coach is a favorite among all of us. He is great with the kids and he makes the practices fun.

I had a great Sunday School lesson prepared for yesterday...and then it snowed, so we only had Sacrament meeting. I will definitely save the lesson for the end of the year when we're supposed to give one of the lessons that we skipped. Now I'm back to square one preparing for the next lesson.

Matt spoke in Lincoln yesterday (about an hour and 40 minutes away). My mom was going to Lincoln yesterday as well for her Stake Primary calling, so they rode together in my mom's car and they took Zoe, Emily, and Kate with them. Friday night, Matt asked my mom to give a talk before him on Sunday, so even though it snowed, they were committed to go. My mom's talk focused on the song, "A Child's Prayer", so my mom had Zoe and Emily and one of her nieces sing it with her during her talk. I wish I could have been there to enjoy that. Lincoln had all 3 meetings, so Matt and the girls got home about 3 hours after we did.

What the?

I was eating my cereal this morning when I bit into something hard. Who is putting something in my cereal?...Oh, I am. Part of my tooth broke off! It doesn't hurt and nobody will notice, but it feels weird when I touch the spot with my tongue.

A Little Bit of Heaven

Last night, Noah slept through dinner and kitchen clean-up. It was so nice!

Not the end of the world, but upsetting

Zoe was devastated yesterday when she found out she couldn't go to Achievement last night. Matt had his High Council meeting last night and he had taken the Yukon, so I had no way to get her to church. Sunshine is now doing Achievement and they had a planning night last night. Zoe didn't miss anything fun, but she was still upset that she couldn't go. I'm glad she likes going to Achievement and I was bummed too that she didn't get to go, but that's just the way it was. We live in an area where the kids usually only see each other on Sunday, so these activities are important to strengthen their friendships and their testimonies. I'm sure Zoe thought I was the meanest mom yesterday. I sure felt like it depriving her of an opportunity to be at a church activity...but I think she'll turn out great anyway. :-)

6 Months Old

What time did you get up this morning?

It is 5:09 AM and I am up with Noah. Zach woke me up just before 5:00 for a book. I refused to give him a book last night at 8:00 when it was time to collect Nintendos and time for all good children to fall asleep. I got up this morning to get him a book because I knew he wouldn't go back to bed until I did. That woke Noah up and the rest is history. So Noah is off to an early start of celebrating being 6 months old today! Even though I long to be baby free, I am trying hard to enjoy Noah at this stage for the short time that he will be in it. He is getting to the fun stage of being able to sit up by himself. I have to watch him closely when he sits because he's also at the stage where he falls back or off to the side without warning. It's nice that he will lay on the floor and play with toys when he is fed and happy...like right now. I am constantly scanning the floor for choking hazards, which there are many of around here! I love it when Noah smiles at the kids and interacts with them. Soon enough he'll be running around and causing trouble with them.

Thank you for all of your kind and helpful comments on yesterday's post. It was so fun to hear from you, Bonnie! I went throughout the day wondering if I should have written the post at all. I don't like being so honest, but my goal this year is to be honest with myself, so I guess I'm on the right track. I do agree that motherhood can cloud my judgment of myself and everything else. I am tired a lot of the time, surrounded by children who are fighting a lot of the time, constantly changing diapers, feeding children, and rarely getting time to myself. I wouldn't have it any other way. I keep reminding myself that my children will not be around forever and things will quiet down and be less demanding as they get older. The needs and issues will change. I'll probably long for these little kid days again...but right now I have a hard time believing that. Matt and I watched "The Nanny Diaries" last night (great movie and I actually stayed awake through the whole movie!) and when it was over, I was grateful that I raise my children myself. It is a lot of work, constant work, but I can proudly say that I am my kids' mom! I am also a woman who likes to watch movies, especially romantic comedies, and I like to read. I started reading "The host" by Stephanie Meyer last night. I like to be productive (notice I'm blogging right after I wake up so early!). My days fly by as I putter around the house and take care of the kids. Speaking of kids, I need to go wake the girls up to get ready for school.

Random Notes: Matt has been wanting to sell something on e-bay, so he got on yesterday and listed a Samurai manual. Maybe we'll start making money from our de-cluttering!

Zach lifted up his shirt yesterday, noticed his belly button and shouted, "I still have a hole!" What would I do without these entertaining children of mine?

Discovering Myself

I've been wanting to watch "Runaway Bride" lately. I love the ending when Maggie (Julia Roberts) goes to Ike (Richard Gere) and tells him that she ran from their wedding because he knew who she was, but she didn't. She then tells him that she loves eggs benedict and she hates all other eggs (throughout the movie she would eat whatever eggs her boyfriend ate, and she realized that she didn't like big weddings, which is why she always ran. I have been thinking that I am a lot like Maggie in the fact that I tend to go with the flow of things around me and agree with everyone because I want to be liked and I want to get along. Something must be wrong with me if I have a different opinion or don't like an activity that someone else does, but of course that's not true. One of my goals this year is to find out what I really like and what my opinions really are and to be me. I have never been a fan of me. That is something I need to work on, too, loving me. It's hard to let other people love me when I don't love myself because I don't understand what there is to love. I focus too much on my weaknesses and that needs to change. I know that women are daughters of God and that we have many talents and strengths. It is time for me to believe that I belong in this group and to discover who I really am. And of course I'll be blogging about this journey of discovering me. :-)

P.S. Noah has 2 bottom teeth!

Kate is 23 months old today.

Enjoy your binkie during the day for another month, Kate because the day after you turn 2 it is going in the drawer until naptime and bedtime. Oh how I am dreading that day!

Well, I did have a productive day yesterday, but I didn't really get to the organizing I wanted to do. I did get 3 loads of laundry done and I made sugar cookies for Family Home Evening, and I started organizing the game box, and I held a very cranky Noah. I was happy to discover Noah's first tooth last night! It's nice to know he has a good reason for being so cranky.

Back to School

The girls are back to school today! We all got up on time this morning and the girls were happy when they left, especially Eleanor. Eleanor tolerates vacation. She would much rather be in school!

I would like to get some organizing done in the kids' room today. There are still some Christmas toys that need homes in their room and I've received some clothes for Kate and Zach that need to be put away. Noah has developed a cough, so I'm not sure how well he's going to be feeling today and how much I'll actually get done though.

Zoe had basketball practice on Saturday and her skills are improving a lot. I think taking her to some of the high school games has taught her to be more aggressive rebounding and to look for ways to steal the ball when she is playing defense. When she rebounded the ball, she always broke away from the other players and headed right to the basket. She needs to work on her layups, but she definitely knew what she needed to do. She was fun to watch!

I took Zoe, Emily, Eleanor, and Noah to the Children's Museum on Saturday for a few hours while my parents watched Zach and Kate. The girls had a lot of fun and they look forward to going back again! They loved the dancing room, especially Eleanor. The diner was a big hit and the climbing tunnel to the egg is always a favorite. I think it would be fun to take Zach by himself and then Kate by herself sometime. They could wander around as they please and take as much time at an activity as they want. I'm just not sure when that is going to happen. I sure could use a Nanny around here!

A New Year

Did you ring in the new year? We almost did. I brought Eleanor and Zach over to my parents' to spend the night and then I stopped at the grocery store to buy ingredients to make a chicken casserole. We put Kate to bed at 7:00 and then had a late dinner with Zoe, Emily, and Noah. Zoe, Emily, and I played the dice version of Phase 10 while Matt cleaned up the kitchen. Then we all played Yahtzee. Zoe, Emily, and I played a few rounds of Attach Uno and then Noah had had enough. He was ready for bed. So I sat down to read my book ("It's all Good" by Jill Stevens) and feed Noah. Zoe and Emily then became bored and sleepy. Emily fell asleep at 11:00 and Zoe was nodding off at 11:30, so I sent them to bed. At 11:50pm, Matt and I said Happy New Year to each other and went to sleep. Next year, we can send Noah to bed with Kate and party until midnight. It's funny how staying up until midnight on New Year's Eve can be a struggle to stay awake, but there are many nights that I am wide awake until 11pm. It must be the idea that I have to stay awake until midnight that makes me sleepy.

Eleanor and Zach spent most of the day with my parents yesterday. Kate spent the day with Matt at home. I took Zoe, Emily, and Noah to Caitlin's birthday party and then I dropped Zoe and Emily off at Patti's house for a sleepover. I drove to my parents' home to pick up Eleanor and Zach, but before heading home, my mom and I played a game of Phase 10 and ate a late lunch with my dad. It was 5pm by the time we got home. Matt fed the kids pancakes while I took the decorations off the Christmas tree. The tree went out the door after dinner and I vacuumed up the needles, so Noah could be put on the floor again. We put the kids to bed, Matt cleaned up the kitchen (isn't he great?!) and I went to read and relax with Noah. I was exhausted!

Last Friday I weighed in at 123! 2 pounds away from my goal weight. Today I weighed in at 123.4, but I am still thinking of making a delicious cheesecake today. I also want to take down the rest of our Christmas decorations, do a few loads of laundry, and go get Zoe and Emily.

This year I would like to focus more on building up our food storage and 72 hour kits. I also want to work on my Sunday School lesson a little bit everyday, instead of waiting until Saturday. What are your goals?

Happy New Year!