"Is General Conference when we eat cinnamon rolls?" The tradition must go on. Saturday morning Erica and Henry scoped out the ones they wanted as they rose.
They looked better once they were baked and even better slathered with frosting. I have mixed feelings about them. The super soft dough was difficult to work with. They tasted great warm out of the oven and even later that day but by Sunday they were pretty dry and by Monday they were no longer good. I think if I made them again I'd either freeze half of them or just make sure they all get eaten the same day.
Between sessions of conference we went to my mom's house for the egg hunt with all the grandkids.
James should have been over there but he was pretty tired and ornery. (It was past his nap time.)
Like "why am I not in my bed with my blankie" tired.
Nothing a little chocolate on the ground can't distract him from.
I wish I could have been in 4 different places as my kids went 4 different directions in a very big yard!
Jared is getting womped by an egg he shook from a tree.
Justin asked the big boys if they found the 10 eggs hidden in the wood pile. (There were no eggs hidden in the wood pile.)
Then we went home so James could nap up for the afternoon egg hunt at Justin's parents' house. It was also Braden's birthday.
Here are a lot of pictures of my kids because they never all look cutest at the same time so just look at who I say and head swap them in your mind.
Erica.
Erica.
Erica.
Henry and James.
Henry.
Everyone but Erica.
Henry and Sarah.
James.
James and Erica.
Uhhhh. No one. No one is looking at the camera.
Points for creativity.
Henry.
By this second round, James was all over picking up plastic eggs and cracking them open. We let him have a head start.
Meanwhile Braden was keeping the other kids
Later Sarah showed James how to spin the wheelbarrow wheel. Big sisters are the best.
Happy Easter from Erica!
Alrighty, spring break. We didn't do much because the whole state is on spring break and the whole state is crazy busy crowded. We plan on going to St George in a couple of weeks so we just stayed around home and Sarah watched a bunch of the Cosby Show (because he's in court again so it reminded me how much I love that show).
"This show is so funny."
Oh Cliff Huxtable.
Tuesday we met friends at Chick-fil-A which is as good as Disneyland for my kids.
Wednesday we went to the dentist. (Yes, I am that mom that takes her kids to the dentist during spring break.) No cavities for anyone so that means to Ream's for doughnuts. (I may be the last person that spells it doughnuts, not donuts.) I haven't been to Ream's in a very long time. They have these little carts which made nuisances out of my kids.
Wednesday night the kids slept over at Justin's parents which meant date night for Justin and I. We went to Siro's in Salem. We had a bogo coupon so it was $10 for the both of us. I liked it but I don't know if I'd go back without a coupon. Thursday I went grocery shopping with just James and that was refreshing. Friday we hung out at my parent's house for awhile and made chocolate chip cookies. Saturday we went to Home Depot with the rest of the world.
James brought up all the Lego wheels he could carry up from the basement. I wish I got a picture of his hands piled high with these wheels. How he crawled up the stairs with his hands cupped together is beyond me.
He loves wheels. He loves chewing on them too.
And Erica is cute too.
Henry wanted to make is own sandwich for lunch one day for school. When he couldn't find any chocolate syrup, his backup idea was pepperoni. I present the world's first pepperoni and peanut butter sandwich. "Henry, this smells disgusting." "What? You got a try new food 'cause it might taste good." Dang you Daniel Tiger.
I really think he wanted to have something to gross out everyone else at his lunch table. He said he ate it all and wanted another one the next day but we were all out of pepperoni.
One thing I like about my kids is that they are not easily deterred by bad weather. On this cold and blustery day, Sarah and Erica and their friends Nora and Madison were outside scrubbing wood boards they found in the garage (your guess as to why is as good as mine). It started to rain and instead of coming inside, they built a shelter and waited out the storm.
James has had a few rough months. All 4 of his molars came in one after another with no reprieve for weeks so he was pretty much a demon baby. Even my long-suffering Erica would ask him, "Are you going to cry all day, James?" Now he's feeling better and I am remembering all the reasons I like him and he's doing normal cute 1-year-old things. Like putting all his cheerios in a measuring cup, dumping them out, eating a fistful then repeat.
Or putting on anyone's sunglasses.
Aw look at that face.
He's entertained by the Easter decorations Sarah made.
We put up the neighborhood kid magnet trampoline last week and there was quite a gathering one afternoon when James woke up from his nap.
Crazy kids outside.
Serene sleepy baby inside just watching.
This was Wednesday. Just minutes after I took this picture Henry discovered his hearing aid was missing. I kicked all the kids off the tramp and made them scour the grass to look for it. After a half hour they decided my yard was not so fun anymore and skedaddled. An hour later and after raking the entire lawn, I couldn't find it either and was just sick about it. (Henry didn't really care.) To replace the part he lost would cost us $1500. Once I searched every possible place between here and there, I concluded that he lost it long before he realized it. I called the bus people and the school secretary the next morning to let them know. I got a call back from the school at 11:30 that Henry had his hearing aid back. A neighbor boy found it on the bus when they got to school and gave it to Henry at breakfast. He didn't think to call and tell me but once his teacher got the message that it was missing, she sent him to the office so they could call me. He actually had it back by the time I talked to the secretary the first time. Sigh. Heavenly Father answers prayers. That's the takeaway here.
Friday night Sarah had her spring piano recital. She was not feeling well and actually was running a pretty good fever by this time but she's a trooper and did great.
Her teacher has a lot of students.
Since James is down to one nap, I have to do more cooking while he's awake in the early evening. That means he gets to sit on the counter because babies love that.
He actually gets to touch things he's only seen from my hip.
Getting used to one nap is always harder for me than for the baby. I held on as long as I could but when he would roll around in his bed for an hour and a half before falling asleep, I figured it was time. I'm recording my school day schedule here for my own amusement in the future.
7:45 up and at 'em.
8:00 Get kids to turn off TV and get ready for school
8:20 Sarah and Henry catch the bus, Erica and James finish breakfast while I clean kitchen.
8:45-9:15 Exercise while James alternates between lying down in my way or playing with Erica in the other room.
9:15 Chores, shower, cleaning
10:00 Breakfast-me. Then if we have an errands to run, it's at this time. Or more housework if there's not.
12:00 Lunch
12:30-4:00 James's nap and the glorious quiet time. Erica and I do puzzles or read together, she helps me start dinner. Sometimes she plays with a friend. She'll watch a show while I blog.
3:30-3:50 Sarah and Henry get home from school. Sarah beats Henry home because she rides a scooter home and he takes the bus.
4:00-6:00 All hell breaks loose. James wakes up and needs a snack, kids want a snack and must do homework and chores when all they really want to do is go outside or play with friends. Arguments and negotiations ensue. All cleaning comes undone. Somehow during this time I make dinner. Oh, and someone is playing the piano.
6:00 Justin gets home and we eat dinner.
6:05 Erica declares she's not hungry and languishes in her chair. James throws food off tray, stands up in highchair and yells for the remainder of the meal. Henry gets in trouble for teasing Erica. Sarah asks 8 times if she's eaten enough for dessert.
6:06 Henry loses his plate, Erica finally swallows a few bites after being reminded that there's no more food until breakfast. Sarah finishes her dinner on the chance I'll be doling out Oreos later. James gets sprayed off at the sink.
6:15 Kids make their way out to the tramp or downstairs to the basement. Justin and I try to have some semblance of a conversation while breaking up arguments, getting milk for James, and cleaning up dinner.
7:30 James goes to bed and I inwardly rejoice. Or outwardly rejoice.
7:40-7:55 Kids decry getting ready for bed as if they were blindsided by the concept. PJs, tooth-brushing, washing face. Book of Mormon time and family prayer.
8:00-8:15 Story time.
8:17 Tell Erica to stay on her side of the bed.
8:17:44 Tell Henry to stay on his side of the bed.
8:18 Tell Henry and Erica that the next time I see either one of them, both will go to timeout so stop tattling.
8:19 Ignore Henry and Erica giggling.
8:30 Tuck in Sarah and tell her to turn off her lamp and put her book away.
9:00 Notice Sarah's lamp is still on when I go down to put clothes in the dryer.
10:00 Call it a day.
I love spring even though it toys with my heart. One day it's beautiful and there are buds and the tips of tulips all around, the next day it's frosty and muddy and dreary. But as a kid, a day would come when I'd get home from school and need to change my clothes because I was too warm and I'd go outside to jump rope or ride my bike and it just felt like spring. I could feel it in my lungs and heart. I haven't had that feeling yet, maybe because it's been so chilly, but it will come. Meanwhile, I'm pressing forward with a perfect brightness of hope and put away all the snow boots and snow pants and have plans to put the trampoline up before the month is out.
Last week Erica and James busily gathered rocks around the yard and gutter and put them in the big Tonka truck.
It was actually quite helpful and kept them busy for awhile. I don't know where the rocks came from.
So many things right with this picture.
Erica got sad watching me put the snow clothes in totes then out to the garage so she put on Sarah's hat to cling on to winter. I told her she could wear a snow hat any time she got sad about the snow being gone.
This was the only picture I took on St. Patrick's Day. I was doing dishes and looked down to see James getting warmed and soothed by the dishwasher.
He finally noticed me taking a picture of him. I usually run the dishwasher at night so I guess this was a rare treat.
First day of Spring! We celebrated by going to IFA for some lawn fertilizer and watched the chicks.
I forget how noisy they are! You can hear them as soon as you walk in the door.
Erica wanted to take one home as a pet, especially after I told her they were only $3. I had to show her a picture on the cage of what they look like when they grow then she didn't want one.
I was observing just last week that James doesn't really play with cars and Henry was obsessed at this age. Well a week later and that's all James wants to play with. He's got to have a car in each hand everywhere we go. He even says car now which makes it like his 7th word.(Hi, no, go, mama, cold, mine, and car--in that order. We can thank Erica for teaching him "mine".)
I don't know where this painted rock came from but Erica loves it as it looks like the rock from Moana. She took this picture of it.
She was chatting a ton the other day, just saying hypothetical things and I was only half listening but even fully listening I have a hard time following her trains of thought. "Erica, I don't know what you're talking about."
"I don't know what I'm talking about."
Sarah has been training for the Hershey track meet next month. She told me to remind her to only eat 2 pieces of candy a day so she can "get fit." She then asked me how many yards around the house was. Yesterday, she and Nora were practicing the softball throw in the backyard.
Nora has been an answer to Sarah's prayer for a good friend. She moved in down the street and is the sweetest and funniest thing. All my kids love her. Henry is even planning his birthday party in May around her. "We'll have my party at 12 o'clock because Nora says she eats lunch at 11:30 on Saturdays."
I got Sarah a cookbook for Valentine's day and it is the gift that keeps on giving. She made strawberry shortcake for all of us.
They turned out really great. Justin helped her but he said he didn't have to help her too much. The recipes aren't simple but the directions are very thorough so she was able to follow along, no problem. I could hear Justin quizzing her on tablespoons vs. teaspoons.
Henry's best friend Myer came over to play one Saturday because his mom said she couldn't get anything done with him around. Lol. He lives a little far away for 1st graders to walk so it's a rare treat to have him over. They made "car tracks' with the blocks and asked me to judge whose was better.
I had no idea what I was looking at so I declared a tie.
I serve with Myer's mom in YW and come to find out, Myer and Henry both consider Zoey their girlfriend. I'm beginning to think it's just a game or competition they play and that neither really love her, despite what Henry's journal says.
Furthermore, she lives like 5 houses away and he never asks to play with her. He does give her his candy though.
Back to the blocks. Pretty sure I schooled both of them next day with this awesome creation I made with every single block all while keeping James from toppling it over. These blocks are super fun.
We were stuck in the house building with blocks all day because this is what it looked like outside.
Nearly 10"
Sure do love having to shovel before we can pull our cars in.
You know it's deep when the rims get packed.
I want a high-five, brownie points, and a pat on the back for getting all my kids to church on time this day at 9 am by myself. Nay, we were early! Sacrament meeting was pretty empty and then the fire alarm went off right in the middle of the sacrament. The snow was still coming down pretty hard. Bishop declared a snow day and sent us home after the sacrament was over. (I felt bad for the people who walked in during his dismissal that had to turn around and go home again.) The fire alarm situation needed to be sorted about plus there may have been a concern we'd be snowed in by noon. He encouraged us to all go home and help shovel out our neighbors. I stayed inside with the littles while Justin and Sarah helped shovel like 10 driveways along with a band of neighbors. Henry got suited up under the guise of helping but I saw him in the backyard building a snow pile. Speaking of Henry: The other morning I awoke to the sounds of Henry teasing and fighting with his sisters in the kitchen By the time I rolled out of bed, he had come upstairs to get dressed but heard James awake so went into his room and I hear him say so sweetly, "Good morning James, my little brother." Then he reads him story after story. I came in a few minutes later and thanked him for looking after James and asked him why he can't be nice to his sisters like he is to James. His answer, "Because James is cute."
He brings notes home all the time from his teacher or aides praising him for his helpfulness and cheery personality. I find these notes in his backpack while he's standing on the counter keeping Erica from getting a snack or while he's in time-out for hitting Sarah.
I'm sure hoping the novelty of this will wear off soon. Sarah taught James how to climb onto the chairs and I was so mad at her because he barely paused on the seat of the chair before he climbed onto the table.
He's tumbled while climbing down a few times and it's hard to feel bad. I feel like telling him, "Either figure out how to get down or stop climbing up." Okay, I made have said it under my breath a couple of times. On the bright side, this forces me to keep my table cleaned off.
Erica took this picture. I think she's anxious for the trampoline to go back up. Me too.
James has been sick since Sunday. This was a rare moment yesterday when he was awake and not crying. He boohooed all day, even crying during his naps every so often. He had a fever and goopy eyes so I imagine his throat was bothering him too. Poor kid. He's doing better today but I noticed his drool had blood in it. His molar cutting through is making his gum bleed. This kid has had the worst teething time ever. I really think it's why he's been grumpy his whole life.
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Say this sentence. "We are eating caramel in the Arctic on a Wednesday in February."
How do you pronounce the following words?:
arctic
February
Wednesday
caramel
Do you say every single letter? Justin gives me a hard time because I don't say the first r in February. I don't think most people do. I also don't think he has any room to judge me since he (and everyone else) doesn't say Wednesday or caramel correctly. We don't say Wed-nes-day and caramel is just car-mul. I say February falls into this category of words that it's perfectly acceptable and normal to drop a letter. (And no one says arctic much anyway so I don't really know about that one. I only include it because I'm pretty sure I was in college before I even knew it was spelled with 2 c's.)
(I do want to mention that I say library correctly.)
