two cute

Our sweet and sassy Annie turned 2 last Sunday. She went to bed the night before with a fever. It was clear she wasn't feeling great that morning. She had the traditional number pancake with sprinkles for breakfast and only ate a few sprinkles.

 

 

Once Dave returned home from meetings, we had her open presents.With a pout on her cute face, she began. Fortunately she decided presents were fun after all.

Because she had a fever, cough and runny nose, we kept her home from church. After watching an episode of Dora, she fell asleep and took a long nap. After church, both sides of our families came over to celebrate with us. To prevent too much spread of germs, Anne mostly stayed in our bedroom watching Dora. She came out to blow out the candles on her cake. Once again, she had the most adorable sad face through this birthday activity.

Annie's history with birthdays has not been good so far. Last year, she spent her birthday stuck in a car on the way home from California. This year she spent it feeling sick and sad. Hopefully next year she will truly have a happy one.

Now for the party details! I wanted to do a "cute as can bee" party. As always, my plans were much greater than my execution. I spent most of the week before her birthday feeling awful due to a pregnancy-related ailment. This left me with just Saturday to get everything ready. I made a garland and bee decorations, made Jello and chicken salad, baked and frosted two kinds of cupcakes, baked a four-layer cake, tried to cover the cake with fondant and failed and then figured out how to salvage it with a too small amount of buttercream. It was a long day. I was completely aware of the fact that I am the one who cares the most about such party details. After finally going to bed when a feverish Anne needed me to lie down with her, I wondered if the time spent was really worth it.

Judging by the satisfaction I felt and the way the treats all got devoured, I guess I will conclude it was indeed worth it. What can I say? Parties make me happy!

sick and tired

This is what the end of February looked like around here:

After about a week of everyone (except me, thankfully) getting sick with fevers, coughs, runny noses, headaches, and upset stomachs, I am glad that February is over!

snips and snails and puppy dog tails

Baby #6 showed us at the ultrasound that he is definitely of the male variety. We brought home blue treats to share the news with the rest of the kids. Emma, while she had been saying she didn't really care, looked a little disappointed. The boys looked completely uninterested. As soon as you say the word baby, Anne just runs off in search of a doll. Dave is thrilled. And I am well on my way to fulfilling my dad's prophecy of me being the mother to five boys. Don't ask me how I feel about that!

curly

 

This is what Anne looks like if you don't comb her hair after a bath.

will you be my valentine?

We began our Valentine's Day celebrations last Friday with our homeschool group party. I really love this support group. The other moms are all fantastic. The kids are all nice to each other. I am so glad we've been able to make such friends. For this party, several moms pitched in with games and crafts. I led the kids in playing Who Do You Love? to get us started. Then they got to eat food, decorate cookies and cupcakes, make an iLove (iTouch knock-off), listen to stories, and make cards. Plus they exchanged Valentines. We had to make and bring 170 Valentines. All around it was a great time. Since I forgot to bring my camera to the party, I can only share our pile of Valentines and the post-party candy exchange.

On Valentine's Day, the weather was so gorgeous that we took the day off of school and went to the park instead.

Dave brought home donuts and chocolate covered strawberries for lunch.

I took the kids out to JCW's for dinner. Mmmm, milkshakes. Then the other kids went to Aunt Katie's house while Emma, Dave and I went to her violin recital. She performed Minuet in G by Beethoven and played really well. Since I am trying though always failing to be as awesome as my mom, I accompanied both Emma and another student. Eventually the accompaniments may get too hard for me to play but for now I am glad I get to do it.

12 on 12 | february

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1. I spent the morning at our stake Women's Conference. I am never excited about going to these things but I am so glad I went. First, we listened to a women's quartet called One Clear Voice. Their songs were beautiful and their messages quite touching. You can hear some samples of their songs 

here and here

Everyone, including me, was wiping away tears. Then we listened to Janice Kapp Perry who had us busting up with laughter and being inspired to take risks. I had no idea that she didn't start writing music until she was 40. A few things she said:

--have a goal and write it down

--even the smallest distance towards your goal is a victory

--don't let fear rob you of opportunity

--"Watch for the right time and season and then show gratitude for your gifts by magnifying them."

2. When I came home, I put the kids to work in their zones for a quick clean up.

3. Anne found someone's stash of candy from the previous day's party.

4. Emma and I went up to Salt Lake to go to a baby shower for my sister-in-law. I hate playing the games but I always enjoy the food and conversation.

5. Emma left to go tubing with her cousin, Melissa, so I headed down to Orem to go to the library.

6. Dave attended the worldwide leadership training this afternoon, hence the tie. He decided to try making mash potato pancakes for dinner. That didn't appeal to me, but Nathan sure enjoyed them.

7. When I asked where the pop came from, Dave replied, "I was filling my bucket" in reference to an earlier conversation we'd had. He rarely does anything for himself.

8. Slade has been spending lots of time laying on his bed listening to the Harry Potter books.

9. My baby belly has began to show. I am finally resigning myself to maternity clothes.

10. We spent a relaxing evening at home. Dave napped on the couch.

11. I read on the couch. This evening, I read How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. We are definitely not becoming vegetarians but I am on a quest to increase our fruits and vegetables and reduce our meat consumption.

12. Anne ran in circles in the living room while we sat on the couches. Easy entertainment.

snapshots of everyday life

We all love playing Just Dance 2. I especially enjoy watching the boys play. They've got some moves!

I managed to get Annie's hair into pigtails. She looked so adorable. Sadly and not surprisingly, the hairdo did not last long. She ended the day looking like this:

 I've been trying to reduce the amount of screen time at our house. Winter might not be the best time to try this since they can't always go outside. Instead, they do fun but messy stuff like making blanket pits at the bottom of the stairs.

Emma finally got to take out her studs on the 7th. She has had a wonderful time trying out all her cute earrings ever since. Sometimes she looks entirely too grown up!

We've been doing our schoolwork upstairs in the kitchen more often this month. It is just too cold downstairs. I can hardly believe we are in the middle of our 7th year of homeschooling. There are always things I need to do better (writing, reading, music, art) but I think we have a really good system going on.

The younger kids always enjoy getting a little Starfall time on the computer after their Math is done. I couldn't help but take a picture of this set-up.

let them eat cake

Emma has a definite interest in cake decorating. She recently decided she should try out her skills instead of just watching shows like Cake Boss. I showed her a picture of a chocolate cake and she made her version completely on her own.

Then, today we decided to try out royal icing on sugar cookies. She invited a friend over to join in the decorating too. While nowhere near the quality of the cookie blogs I often visit, they turned out pretty cute. These are the ones I did. I really need to work on my outlining skills.

Wouldn't it be a fun way to earn money as a teenager if she got good enough to make cakes for people? We could go into business together--Danny Cakes, LLC. Maybe? Perhaps we're not quite ready for that yet but this is the kind of practicing that is fun!

is this thing still on?

Is anyone still out there? Apparently I've taken a leave of absence from my blog. No one has complained so perhaps no one is reading. However, I need the record for my own sake so I guess I better come off the blogging hiatus and catch up on my life. Ready or not, here I go....

I'm 17 weeks pregnant. Baby #6 is due to arrive July 8.

It is cold. I'm feeling jealous of those members of my family basking in temperatures above 50 degrees. Hello, out there in Atlanta, Anthem and Los Angeles! We have been blessed by a few lovely days but my children like to go outside regardless of the temperatures. Usually without jackets or shoes. They always leave evidence they were there.

Emma is growing into a young woman. She attended her first New Beginnings, got a cute haircut, has a role in a play at the elementary school (even though she didn't audition and doesn't attend school there) and performed in her first Triple Threat Showcase with On Broadway. She was wonderful. So wonderful in fact that the director invited her to move up a level.

One day, I let the kids stay in their pajamas all day. It wasn't even Saturday. They thought I was the coolest mom ever.

We are spending far too much time in front of screens. I really try hard to limit it our viewing time but still it is a little out of control. Between the laptop, computer, three TVs, smart phone and iTouch, we have enough screens at our house that every single person can be doing something different. That probably isn't a good thing.

 

 

Anne swallowed a battery so we got to go to the ER. Fortunately it passed down her esophagus and into her stomach without any problem. The doctor thought it would continue to go through her system in the next few days. As my friend said, this too shall pass.

Nathan begged to take Taekwondo. He was so excited about going that he asked every day if he had class that day. When we got there, he refused to try even one thing and just sat watching instead. He asked every day the next week when class was and promised profusely that he would try it. Once again, he just sat and watched. I'm willing to keep taking him but now he doesn't want to go.

Anne is completely and thoroughly attached to me. I think Mommy is her favorite word. She loves to take baths. She pleads to watch her "show" which is Backyardigans. She puts her little hands together and says, "Peas, Mommy. Show?" all the time. She's usually has food in her hair, her thumb in her mouth and personality busting out all over.

Slade is still Slade--sweet one minute and then raging, crying, and defiant the next. On a positive note, he has started singing along to the hymns during Sacrament meeting. I think he likes finding the correct page mostly but he does try to follow along. He still utterly refuses to give a talk in Primary though.

I've read four books this month: In Defense of Food, Nutureshock, The Price We Paid, and Persuasion.

Dave is working 60 hour weeks. He still swears he loves his job.

Here's to February. Maybe I'll blog more than twice next month.

12 on 12 | january

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First a technical note: I discovered when I downloaded these pictures that my camera had been set on high ISO all day. Tons of noise in all the shots. Frustrating!

1. We have all been having a hard time waking up in the mornings. I'm sure the Christmas vacation contributed to the sleep issues we're having, but mornings are just brutal any way you look at it. 

2. Anne's collection of essential sleep paraphenalia: two babies, a sippy cup and a blanket. 

3. 10:00 means school time. Emma, Nathan and Sawyer are getting started on their Math.

4. Anne spends the school time pulling books off the shelf, playing with alphabet magnets and sorting toys, and watching the kids play Starfall on the computer.

5. Slade had been sitting here working on his Math. He stormed off in frustration over something I said. Pretty typical. Why do we have to have the same fights day after day? Man, he wears me out. He finished his Math so that he could lunch but he never did complete the rest of his work today. No screens or friends for him this afternoon.

6. Nathan and Sawyer worked on a puzzle together after lunch.

7. I dropped Emma off at history and science co-op today since we have lots of nasty coughs and snot at our house. Anne has had a low fever the last two days also. I didn't think we should share our germs so the rest of us stayed home. Emma brought home the extra balloons they used for a game and they provided lots of entertainment for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

8. I enjoyed a bit of quiet time in my room reading a couple of new magazines plus email and blogs on my iTouch (I totally love that thing, by the way).

9. The kids get to enjoy some screen time at 3:00. Nathan usurped Anne's chair in front of Backyardigans, her most beloved "show".

10. Wednesday is Leftover Night. Nobody was too thrilled with the offerings tonight.

11. Bath time. 

12. Slade loves building with these Trio blocks. Mostly he makes weapons but he created this bug creature for me tonight.

Dave didn't make it into today's photos at all. He came home for lunch and then didn't walk in the door until 6:50 p.m. which has been the norm lately. He quickly ate some dinner and changed clothes before walking back out the door at 7 for Elders' Quorum meetings. When he came home at about 9:20, he changed back into his work clothes and went back to work. I don't expect him to come home until after midnight.