Nativity video

Here is the nativity video our family made last year- I can't believe how much they've grown in 1 year.
I still think it's precious...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Florida

We just got back yesterday from our Thanksgiving trip.
We had almost my whole family there & had a great time.
Here's a few pics...

NOT a pushover parent

I recently read this parenting book that critized parents who end their instructions with "OK?". Those parents were pushovers, the book asserted & need to just state their expectations, not make it seem like there is another option if the one the parent stated is not ok with the child.

Well, I say "OK" a lot. But, I don't think I'm a pushover. I don't say "OK" asking the child's permission. It's just that "OK" is quicker than saying, "I've now finished explaining my expectations, now please acknowledge that you heard and understood them."

Still, the doubts lingered... Afterall, I've never had my parenting philosophies published. Do my kids think I'm asking for acknowledgment or permission? Should I stop saying ok? Am I a pushover parent?

Yesterday morning, however, the 1st grader woke up early & headed downstairs. I explained, "the dishes in the dishwasher are clean, so you can get yourself a drink. Also, you can watch a video, but make sure the volume is low, OK?"

His response? "Yes, sir."

Thank you, child. Can I kiss you?! You just validated that I'm NOT a pushover parent. Now, let's see if we can teach you how to salute? ...

Lil' What's-his-name?

My sister thinks I don't post enough pictures of the baby.
OK, so Miss H DID have more pictures than he did for his birthday post.
(Don't all 3rd children get lost in their siblings' shadows?)
So, here's a post devoted exclusively to lil' what's-his-name.
Some options for a blogging name for him other than "the baby"...
STINKER
because he makes this cute face where he scrunches up his nose like he's smells something foul...



or "B"
as in big brave boy who climbs stairs like he's a professional rockclimber.


Perhaps RERUN like the little brother on the Peanuts gang who looks just like Linus.
Don't you think he's a rerun of his older brother?

He even loves dragging around hockey sticks. (And because this is a post about the baby, I won't even mention that D scored 2 goals this season and is missing 2 teeth, so he even looks and acts like an official hockey player!)


So, cast your votes in the comments for a new blogging name for lil' what's-his'name.

Our October

The baby is now officially 1! (I'm going to have to find a blogging name for him other than "baby" pretty soon!)
Miss H just finished swim lessons & had such a great time.


I wish I had a better picture of D in his hockey gear...
He's started playing hockey in the house with his plastic golf clubs & has been sent to the "penalty box" a few times for "high-sticking" & "injuring innocent spectators". (We're the ones who need protective equipment when he plays hockey in the house!) It's sure fun to watch his games, though.
Hope everyone is enjoying fall!

Playing photographer

Here're some things you may not know about our kids:
D just started playing hockey. He's been working hard trying to figure out the skates. He's a great reader.

Miss H is a great singer (she may even get to sing in church with her daddy & brother Sun. if she doesn't get stage fright). She also does a great impersonation of a deaf person. But overall, she's sweet & cooperative.

The baby is almost a year old. He's such a happy little guy- laughs easily & likes to cuddle. He adores his brother & sister.
We sure feel blessed to have these precious little people!

Start of Fatball season

No, I didn't mistype. I couldn't care less about FOOTball. They say "time flies when you are having fun." but when you are watching football, 10 seconds of playtime could drag on for nearly an hour! Indeed you read it right: Fatball. Today is the kickoff for my family's weight loss competition. I call my new diet the "EAT MORE" diet & I'm hoping it will help me lose the rest of my pregnancy pounds.

Here's my diet (nothing is forbidden except excess):
-EAT MORE fruits & veggies
-EAT MORE frequently (so I don't overeat from being overly hungry)
-drink MORE water
-EAT MORE slowly when I do have an indulgence so that a little will go a long way

That's it.
But I'm starting to wonder- how badly do I really want to lose the weight? I mean, it's hard to consistently exercise & there are certain perks to having extra pounds. For instance...

Plus you have a distinct advantage in tug of war games and teeter tottering.

Wish me luck anyway!

Cakes

Miss H is now 3! She was thrilled with the Little Einstein's rocket. She also received a bunny quilt. She's in pjs for these pictures because she opened her presents at 7:30 am- who can wait?!

Not that I make fabulous cakes, but I'm always looking for kid cake ideas, so I thought other might also. If you click on the "cake" label at the bottom of this post, it will pull up pictures of:
Dora cake
Bunny cake
Via Rail cake (my son may be the only child on earth who is a fan of the Canadian passenger railway, but I'm adding it anyway)
Diaper cake
Cars donut tires cake
& Fancy Nancy cupcakes

Here are some great cakes from other blogger friends:
Hannah Montana cake (from Becca)
Robot & Skateboard cakes From Lisa- she also has some cute cupcakes & a volcano cake posted the same month
Duck cake (from cousin Sally)
Adorable monkey cake from the friends who gave us the name "Lempskies"
Pirate cake (w/ hilarious story! from my friend Amy)

It's been a somber week. I attended the funeral for a baby. My cousin's daughter (who lives just south of here) delivered preterm & the baby only lived 10 days. Sure made me want to hug my kids 10 times more! Our heart really goes out to them.

1st day of 1st grade

D's favorite things about 1st grade:
-big kid playground
-riding the bus both ways
-eating lunch at school
-hearing he was missed
(notice Miss H even wore her backpack to the busstop the 1st day.)

Nine & Counting

We've been married for 9 years,
have 3 kids,
claimed 6 addresses in 3 states,
earned 4 degrees, collectively,
owned 2 cars (been a one car famiy for 2/3 our marriage)
purchased 1 piece of real estate,
made 2 TV debuts,
attended 11 temples,
owned 0 pets,
explained our reasoning for not getting a pet 823 times to the kids,
had 0 fights (Seriously. Zero. We disagree at times, but we talk about it, we don't yell and insult each other's mothers because of it) and
shared COUNTLESS LAUGHS!

Create

I love this video from Dieter Uchtdorf:
CREATE
An FHE idea... share this video with your family. Read Isaiah 64:8 about how God created us. Explain that God is pleased when we create- then use playdough or another medium to create something.

Summertime Shots

Happy 4th of July!
All smiles

Baseball season

Guess who learned to ride a bike? He was so proud & he should be! He learned how to ride in one evening (abt. an hour, actually). He still needs a steady hand while he gets a push off, but he can turn all by himself and "jumps clear" when necessary (and sometimes even when it's not necessary- I think the crashing stunts were his favorite part.)

Miss H, not to be outdone, started using pedals.

Hope your all are enjoying plenty of sunshine & watermelon. What a great time of year!

New Blog

To provide amusing anecdotes and to plug his business, my husband started an HR blog:

www.hrqa.blogspot.com

If you get a minute to read and/or comment on it, we would appreciate it!
There's a funny skit for you SNL fans.

Happy 6th Birthday!

As a follow up, things went very well in NM. The kids were really good for me (mine because they were happy to be with cousins, theirs because nearly every kid acts better for strangers than for their own parents... they aren't certain of the limits and don't want to push it when there are no other credible adult witness around.) The picture above is from a hike we did to the edge of the mesa.
D celebrated his 6th birthday with a ride on a real passenger train.
He was so excited & kept saying "this is the BEST birthday I've ever had!" Of course, he only has 6 to choose from and probably can't remember 3 of those, but that's beside the point. He had fun.


Here's a funny picture of the baby:

Happy 20th Birthday!

No, not us. We are both in our 3rd decade, but our 1989 Olds is now officially 20. .Here's a few interesting facts about it...
* My husband learned to drive on this car.
* It has enough miles to have driven to the moon, explored a bit, & then enough to achieve escape velocity BACK.
* Like most older cars, it has a few quirks. The A/C doesn't work & 2 of the windows no longer roll down, for instance. The flannel ceiling is falling. The tape deck eats tapes, so we can't even hook up our portable CD player.
* My children recognize Macco logos because it's had to be repainted twice so we are not embarrassed by the rust.
* Despite the cosmetic quirks, it has really good guts and has cost us much less to repair than our '94 Ford Escort that died last year.
* The Antique Automobile club of America will consider it an antique in 5 more years.

We are saving for a newer vehicle, but have been well served by the old gray goose

Help Wanted

Help me, wise readers. I need ideas to entertain 6 children ranging from 10 yrs. to 8 mos. (Mostly the 10 & 8 year old- I know what my kids think is fun). We are going to New Mexico this week to watch 2 neices and a nephew for the brother & sister-in-law who were nice enough to babysit for us while we went to England. I think it will be fun, but am a little worried about filling the time so their kids aren't bored. I don't want to go too many places- my husband will be working & the thought of going out with 6 kids alone gives me facial ticks.
Suggestions???
Help me... you are my only hope.

Cars Party

D is a cars movie fanatic. He wears cars shirts & cars briefs, takes a bath with cars bubbles, sleeps in cars pjs under his cars sheets. He has a cars backpack, can quote the whole cars movie, listens to the cars soundrack, & can't wait for cars II.

Here are a few pictures from his cars party.
We played "red light/green light" and had a "cozy cone challenge" where the kids raced backwards like Mater, used sidewalk chalk to make cars whatever color they chose (like Ramone), bounced a cars ball, weaved in & out of cozy cones, stopped at Luigi's for a "tire treat" (aka mini chocolate donut) & then raced to the checkered flag at the finish line. They had lots of fun & wanted to do it several times- I think mostly for the donuts. It was a great day for my favorite cars nut.

Beautiful Bride

My sister was married this last weekend. It was a great trip. We are so happy for her & loved seeing all my siblings together.
My grandparents were able to come also.


Here are just a few of the 13 grandkids...

Dr. Mom

Actually, my title should be "Med student Mom" because I am no expert at keeping children healthy, but I have been learning a lot more about illness lately than I want to.

The baby has been sick for a month and a half. He's had croup, a 3-week long cough, ear infections in both ears and now, pneumonia!

On the internet, I read that most bacterial pneumonias can be cleared up in 2-4 weeks. Viral pneumonias take even longer. I was not encouraged. I was really hoping he'd be feeling (and sleeping) better soon. I am sooooo exhausted playing nurse in the middle of the night for weeks on end. But, my brother (flight surgeon of the year, by the way- I'm quite proud) put in pretty long hours as a Med student, so I guess if I want the title, that's part of the territory.

Spring?

It has snowed quite a bit here lately. I like spring snows because they usually are more wet & you can actually make things such as...

and

Here are a few Easter pics. It snowed on Easter too.

The kids enjoyed decorating this bunny house- thank you, G'ma.

Painting eggs

I have a sweet Easter story. Usually D is more interested in justice than in mercy for his sister (as in "mommy, do you want ME to put her in time out?"). But the other night, she wouldn't stay in bed & I told her if she got out again, I would put her stuffed puppy in the top of my closet. (Great discipline tip from my sister-in-law... take away toys when ignoring rules & have to "earn" them back by doing something extra). Anyway, D is still awake in bed when I make this threat & responds "Don't worry, if you lose your puppy, I'll do something nice for Mama & get it back for you."
What a sweet illustration of what the Savior did! No matter what the proverbial "puppy" represents for us, we have an older brother who loves us and has given us hope to have what we truly want returned to us. What a joyful event to celebrate.