Homemade Invitations

We are just about to kick off the birthday/holiday season around here. In the span of 33 days we will celebrate two major holidays and three birthdays. Yessiree, we will be busy for awhile.

The boys created their own birthday party invitations. Completely {designed created written} homemade. I love it. I love that it is good practice to write neatly. I love that they feel ownership. I love that they spend time deciding what they want them to look like.

Measuring My Day

I came across this blog post the other day and then yesterday after attending a beautiful funeral for an amazing man and while sitting at an all day foster care training my thoughts came together about what I should be asking myself at the end of the day.

This last year I have strictly been in survival mode trying to manage our home and family--two more kids really shook things up for us and we all had lots of adjusting to do.

I am ready to be more deliberate and thoughtful about my day and my time to keep peace and happiness in my home and to build strong family relationships.

I think this list will be a living document in which I can adjust things as me and my family change. Right now, at the end of the day I'd like to be able to say yes to these questions.

Have I read to both L and D?
Did I send Kyler and Kacin off to school with a hug, kiss, and smile? Did I greet them cheerfully when they got home?
Did I feed my family {mostly} nutritious food?
Did I work to tidy and create a pleasant, organized home environment?
Did I take time for myself by exercising, studying scriptures, and doing something I enjoy?
Did I spend time one on one with each of my children and my husband {playing or talking}?
Did I speak nicely?

Some of these I do naturally, some of these take a little effort, and some of these are really, really hard for me right now. I just hope that by deliberately thinking about these things I will get better.

Random Things

D is currently occupied eating burnt waffles that were left on the kitchen counter to give to the chickens today. So I'll take this opportunity to document a few random things from the past month.

Kacin's class performed a song for the Veteran's Day assembly. He really wanted Eric and I to come so we postponed our anniversary trip by a couple of hours to make it to the assembly. Totally worth it and wonderful to see a happy, proud Kacin smiling at us. I adore this boy.

L sneaking Halloween candy from the basket on the counter. It looks like too much sugar for you, little one. 

Kacin's seed project.

Kyler's work hanging up on the wall at school.

Kacin went with the cub scouts on a field trip to the fire station.

Sharing a snack while we were on a walk while Kyler was at piano lessons.

D has lost interest in burnt waffles so now I am off to play playdo. Happy Thursday afternoon!

Our Tenth

Back in August, during our family journal writing time, E composed a piece of poetry to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of his proposal.

He shared it with me.

"Ode to the Faye"

10 years ago in a land far away

I proposed to my dearest Faye

Inspiration I received from a Native friend

As upon one knee I did humbly bend

The fountain exploded as words began to rush

I said a bit of this and some of that--it was all mush

I paused and waited would my heart be crushed

It was as if the earth and the air had been hushed

The response came, it was a yes

A big kiss ensued, could she ask for less

And that was the beginning of life that day

10 years ago in a land far away

How romantic is that to get an ode written to you. Well, not to you, but to me. :)
It's pretty cute that he put his rhyming skills to work. He is so sweet.

Last week we celebrated 10 years of marriage.
Ten years since this day in Arizona.

Can you believe it? Ten perfect years of fun and adventures and changes and good and bad and beautiful and ugly-- all wonderful years!

My sweet, sweet dad took time off of his work and traveled to us and faced his fear of stinky diapers and watched our kids for two whole days so we could celebrate. Praise to the dad!

It was the most relaxing two days I can remember. Oh my goodness, you can't go wrong when you stay at a place in which you can sit in mineral pools and saunas and dine on a 5 course breakfast all while overlooking a beautiful waterfall.

Our second night away we stayed in Bellevue so we spent the afternoon at Bellevue Square and then we were off to an iPic movie theater.

We woke up early the next morning and learned some things about temple work. Like, eat breakfast before you do sealings, but if you don't and you begin to pass out, they have a nice stash of emergency orange juice and a sweet lady who stays with you til you can walk on your own. Goodness I'm old.

We tried to do a little reflecting on our ten years together. I think we got as far as the fact that this has been the most busy, stressful year ever and that we have moved 6 times in 10 years and that we do love each other more these days than we did when we first got married. And then we moved on to more serious conversations, like Thor and E's facial hair and how stuffed we were from a five course breakfast.

Looking forward to the next 10 years! And many more 10's after that.

A Few Days with R

L has loved playing big sister/mom the last few days. She happily holds bottles and when R needed a diaper change she got the wipes and took the diaper and insisted "I do it". This two year old sure loves babies.

Even D joined in on the baby loving. He offered her her sippy cup and shared his precious set of keys. I've never seen him let anyone else touch those keys so it was a very sweet moment. By the end of three days, he was even saying her name!

We loved having R here for a few days. She is the sweetest. It's funny though how my mindset has shifted a bit and now 4 kids doesn't seem so hard--not compared to 5. :) :)

Happy Halloween!

Minnie Mouse, Cookie Monster, Harry Potter, and Gandolf all had a great time trick or treating this year.

We got plenty of treats and D even played his own little trick and scared a lady half to death. About 4 houses in he got ahead of us and was up at the doorstep before anyone else. So he just opened the door ad walked right in to the house and reached for the candy bowl. He definitely startled the sweet homeowner. From then on, he held someone's hand.

Kacin ran from house to house. You know, somehow his basket is always filled a bit more than everyone else's.

One house left a bowl of candy out for trick or treaters. While D tried to grab a handful, little L took everything out of her own basket and placed it into the candy bowl.

Kyler's hair and whiskers bugged him all night. I figured that would happen. He says long hair is not his thing.

How sweet is this--the kids all helping D calm down and get his costume on.

Phone pictures of the friends we went trick or treating with this year

Happy Halloween!!!

Potty Talk

Disclosure: do not read ahead if you are not comfortable with the "P" words

I had no intention of potty training either of my littles right now. I still have no intention, but I guess they think otherwise.

I am scared of potty training. I've never done it before. And I'm especially nervous about D because I know it will be a long while before he is consistent and has it down.

D went potty once in August then not again until our trip to Idaho in which he started telling us he had to go and then actually went in the potty. He now says "gottagopotty" often. Either that or "gopoopoo".  Except he doesn't really go poo poo in the potty yet. But that's the word he has picked up on.

Since D is more interested in the potty, L is interested. Which means some days I spend a lot of time in those there bathrooms. No one is consistent yet. Like I said, I'm not ready. Can we wait a few more months please?

L went through a little stage of teasing. She would smile and say "Daddy poopy". laughter. "Kacin poopy". laughter. "Papa poopy." laughter. "Jesus poopy." (yeah, L, you probably shouldn't have said that one.)

L peed on the floor two nights ago right after bath and before we got her diaper on. "Uh oh, potty" she said and squatted down right there on the carpet and went. So then last night, after bath and before that diaper, she looked right at me with a big mischievous smile and squatted a little and said "potty" and then started laughing and laughing. The little tease didn't go,but she tried her joke a few more times and smiled and laughed.

We were at the store one evening, so L picked out Minnie Mouse underwear. And insisted on carrying it around for the rest of the evening. Kyler was especially embarrassed about this when she clutched her Minnie undies while we ate our dinner at 5 Guys. Then, in the car, he convinced her to put her underwear on her head.