Hero's and Hummingbirds

As I picked up the kids from school, Taurin excitedly told me that she got to draw a picture of her hero in school.  I thought that was great and asked who she drew.  She said, "Mom! You can read?!"  as she help up her paper with the drawing.  As I looked in the rear view mirror to see her drawing I saw the cute m-o-m drawn under her picture.  "Oh! And this is your Octopus car!!" She exclaimed.  (There was a interesting looking vehicle next to my portrait.)  I asked why I drove and Octopus car and Marinn jumped in and explained I was a super hero and that's why I was driving the Octopus car.  My heart was filled with joy and I expressed to Taurin how much I appreciated it.   

Later that evening we were looking over her school work and came across the picture again.  I asked her why she drew me, she thoughtfully said.  "Well, I started out drawing Daddy but I made his hair too long so I changed it into you."  I couldn't help but laugh at her honesty.  As I started looking closer at the picture you could see where she had drawn short hair (for Andrew) and then I think she probably started out drawing his cop car, but when she made the mistake with the hair she turned it into my Octomobile because I obviously don't drive a cop car.  She is such a funny kid... I love her randomness! 

Earlier this week we were at the park and Taurin and the boys were hiding in and out of the bushes making "camp sites" and having a great time.  On the drive home this is the conversation I had with Taurin.... 

Taurin: Mom! I found a hummingbird at the park! It had a broken wing!"

Me: Oh My!! Was it alive?!? 

Taurin: Yes!  I found a piece of tape and fixed it's wing and it flew away.  

Me: Oh...................... well, I'm soo glad you were there to help. 

Hilarious! 

****no hummingbirds were hurt, present, close, or taped in the making of this blog post****

Valentine's 2013

 

Marinn had to make a Valentine's Box or animal for school and so we decided to let Taurin and Shaw make one too... Can you guess who's is who's??

 Marinn specifically suggested that we not give her "Love Bug" any front teeth... Hmmm I wonder where she got that idea??

Taurin carried around her butterfly pretty much all day... Her name was Lizzie.  How do you like Taurin's all pink outfit?  I thought it was so fitting for the day.  

I didn't get a picture with Shaw and his monster guy but he had a great time suggesting all the colors and accessories for him.  He especially loved the pipe cleaners.  

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

A little taste of Christmas...

I just wanted to post two of my favorite pictures from Christmas....

The first one is from Christmas Eve when we were about to put all the kids to bed and Andrew was telling them what Christmas is all about (baby Jesus etc...).  He wanted them to be attentive and they were doing great, then in the midst of it I capture this split second of a moment where Shaw is reminding Blaize to pay attention... and well, Blaize is doing what little brothers do best.  Why the girls look like zombies?? I think they are exhausted.  **Kelly: That striped blanket in the one you gave me a few years back for Christmas, that I'm pretty sure you got at an amazing black friday sale... it is one of our favorites and is constantly being fought over**

This next one is from Christmas morning at my mom's when the whole family comes together to open presents after opening all the presents at our own houses.  I feel like this one just needs a caption.  It's my niece Tearony.

"With my mind on my money and my money on my mind!" 

Let's DO THIS!!

Tonight was our churches annual Christmas concert.  I wanted to go but was trying to figure out how to fit it in with Andrews crazy work schedule and 4 children.  I decided to just throw in the towel and pass on this years festivities.
Then this afternoon as I'm on the phone with my sister she mentions that she is going to the concert and suggest that I come along.  I express my concern that attempting an hour + concert with 4 kids doesn't really sound like something that will put me in that holiday spirit.  She suggest I pull out the secret weapon.... Candy.
I give it some thought and make the decision... let's DO THIS!

Being a mother of 4 young children I have come to realize that being a mom has A LOT to do with planning and preparation... so I made a plan.

-Gather Supplies:
     -$7 worth or candy = 1 bag of suckers, 1 bag of gummy bears, 1 bag chocolate covered raisins.
     -Large bottle of water (to wash down all that candy).
     -Blaize's sippy cup with fresh milk.
     -Wipes... lots of wipes.
     -Single stroller = to lock down the little one.
     -Hearty Bear. This is Blaize's favorite stuffed animal pal.... he just makes life a bit happier.

-The game plan:
     -Divide and conquer. Split up the children between my sisters kids who are helpful, older, and distracting and my sister.
     -Lock down Blaize in the stroller so he has limited movement.  He runs fast we don't want him taking off.
     -Distraction = let them enjoy a sucker so they think they are just hanging out eating candy when actually they are enjoying O Holy Night.

The result....

We choose a nice seat on the second row.... now some of you might be saying, "What are you thinking?!? Sit in the back!"  But sitting in the second row gives you great motivation to keep everyone obedient and quiet and it also gives you and them a great view of the show.
All the kids did fabulous.  Blaize enjoyed the large screens that always seemed to have some kind of movement playing on them that he found quite mesmerizing.  He also realized it was cool to clap and cheer on the second to last song.  Shaw enjoyed a nice comfortable lounge with his head rested on Aspyn's lap and his feet elevated on my sisters lap... such a dude.  Marinn and Taurin did so great the only time I knew they were there is when they were asking for another sucker.
Overall I would say it was a success... but when they say it takes a village to raise a child I would totally agree.  I couldn't have done it without my sister's family helping me out and helping my family enjoy the holiday festivities.

Don't think you've missed out on the Christmas concert fun because they are doing it again tomorrow night!! And guess what? Tomorrow night they offer child care ; ) ; )  (You might be asking why I just didn't go tomorrow night...well, that because I'll be there to watch your kids!  Don't worry I'm leaving the candy home.)

Some things you don't want to forget...

There are some things that you don't want to forget....

Shaw demonstrating proper thumb etiquette.


Blaize asking his sister for a hug.

Does it get any cuter than this?!?!  I love these boys!

Christmas Decorating:Memory Making

Since we don't have a mantel,  we found a new place to hang our stockings this year.  I particularly like this idea because it's about 2 feet or more higher than any of my children can reach... perfect! 

We also devised this space saving placement of our tree... that's right we put it right on top of the coffee table in the corner.  I really like this because there are no lights in this living room and it always seems dim in the evenings.  I'm considering just leaving the tree up all year so we have a nice happy glow in the living room :) 

I have such beautiful tree models. 

For the last 3 years I have video taped parts of our Christmas morning to put together a video of some highlights of Christmas.  Last year I decided to put them all on one DVD and pack it away with our Christmas decorations.  So that this year we can sit down as a family on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and watch the years past and see how everyone has grown and changed.  I didn't really plan it out to be that way but just thinking about having something like that, that we can add to every year is so exciting.  Many years down the road when all the toys have worn out and the memories have faded I will be able to give my children 10+ years of Christmas mornings. 

This year I decided to record our tree decorating, it's not crazy exciting or wild but it shows us as a family and it will be fun to add to our Christmas DVD collection.  Here's to making some memories this Christmas! 

Vacuuming...

We were cleaning up the house today and the kids had picked up their toys but wanted to help more. Yay! Could any mom turn that down???

Taurin got to vacuum and Marinn and Shaw tackled the dishes.  

 Taurin was hilarious vacuuming... she was so concerned about holding the cord up out of the way.  Thanks to my Kirby's awesome "Drive" mode she was able to maneuver the vacuum quite well.  

Now the dishes are done, the carpet is vacuumed and the kids feel accomplished. 

Taurin Turns 4!

Taurin's Birthday was on February 15th... she turned 4!

 Had some fun with balloons, the siblings, and the cousins.... 

The party wasn't quite exciting enough for Uncle Brian....

Yes... she got a lizard from Aspyn and Tearony.  She loves it! Shaw hates it! (SEE VIDEO HERE!)

 She blew out the candles after about the second line of the Birthday Song.

Now for a few highlights / Birthday girl interview.... 

Chili's Coma

The other night we went to Chili's with a few friends, it was a busy night there and we waited for awhile and the kids were really hungry by the time they got their food.  

Shaw had a corn dog kids meal and 3 glasses of chocolate milk, he was a happy camper.  We were all visiting and Marinn leans over to Melissa and says, "SHHHHhhhh, Shaw is sleeping." And she looks over to see this....

 Shaw was totally out, in a Chili's coma.  This is very uncommon for any of my kids but it was soo hilarious.  How could we not take a picture??

Shortly after this we headed home and as we were walking to the car, Taurin says to Shaw, "Shaw Boy,  you looked so cute when you were sleeping in the rest-R-ant.  You looked sooo cute!"

Some perspective from a 3 year old...

The other morning Taurin was awake while Andrew was getting ready for work.  We had a conversation on one end of the couch while Andrew put his boots on at the other end.  It went something like this....

Taurin: "Dad is a cop mom."

Me: "Yeah, he is.  A cop is also called a police officer."

Taurin: With full confidence in her voice. "Yeah, and he saves us."

Me: "Yes he does, and he helps save other people too, and protect them from the bad guys."

Taurin: "Who are the bad guys mom?  What are their names?"

Me: "Well, I don't know their names but they are people who break the law, and hurt other people... stuff like that."

Taurin: "Yeah!  He is soo amazing!"

Me: "Yeah... he's kind of like a hero.  Like a super hero."

Taurin:  "Yeah! He IS a super hero!"

Andrew: "Taurin, mommy is silly."

Me: "Daddy is just trying to be humble Taurin."

Taurin: "Yeah Dad, you are being a humble."


How I love that she believes that he is the strongest, most amazing man in the world.  That's a good dad.

All I want for Christmas....

The other night as we were standing in line to see Santa I asked Marinn what she was going to tell him she wanted for Christmas.  She told me she couldn't say.  I reminded her that it was me and Daddy that bought the gifts so if she wanted something specific she should let us know.  Her reply was precious.
She said, "Mom, you and Dad can get me whatever you would like to get me, I will like it."
She was totally sincere and it just melted my heart.  She still wouldn't tell me what she was going to tell Santa.  After a good 45 min of waiting in line it was our turn.  Marinn and Taurin sat on his lap and he started to ask them if their room was clean and if they cleaned it themselves. He was a great Santa!  Then he asked Taurin what she wanted and she told him a baby doll.
Then he asked Marinn, she replied, "Some gloves, my hands are pretty cold."
We couldn't help but giggle when we heard her request, we had been standing outside in the cool weather for quite a long time and I guess gloves sounded like just the right thing for the moment.

Later the next day I mentioned getting rid of some of the old toys to make room for the new ones they would be getting for Christmas.  The next thing you know Marinn and Taurin have loaded up all of their toys but about 3 stuffed animals and anything that wouldn't fit in a Wal-Mart bag.  I was happy to see that they weren't so concerned about having it all and they would freely give it all up in a moment.  We went back through their toys and put some back so they would have something to enjoy until Christmas came.  I'm excited to see their faces light up on Christmas morning,  even more so feeling like they know the true meaning of Christmas and the joy of giving.

Health Food and Fasting

As parents we try to feed our kids healthy foods, but what do we do when they don't enjoy our selections?  Do we give in to their pleas of disgust and give them the bad stuff they enjoy? 

In general my children have done pretty well eating what I serve them,  I always try to make things taste good and allow them small servings at a time so they aren't overwhelmed by new flavors.  Recently there have been many meals where my kids just don't want to eat what I'm serving and the other night at dinner I was frustrated that no one was eating and asked Andrew what I should do to solve this problem.  He had an idea that we have seen used by friends that has been effective and decided it was time to get serious.  

THE RULE: When dinner is served you have 30 minutes to eat what you are served, if you do not complete your meal dinner is over and you can continue eating what was served for dinner at breakfast the next morning.  This rule continues to all remaining meals until it is finished.  

So... I let the kids know the rule even gave them some incentive of a piece of chocolate cake for finishing their dinner.  Here were the results.

Marinn: Quickly finished her food and happily enjoyed a piece of chocolate cake. 

Shaw: Ate a few bites and was dissatisfied with the flavor.  He was served the same meal for the following breakfast and ate a few more bites,  but still didn't complete the meal.  Lunch time came and his hunger got the best of him, he quickly finished the dinner and then gladly enjoyed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  

Taurin: Ate a few bites of the dinner.  Ate a few bites the next day at breakfast and lunch.  All day she was hilarious... she kept saying she was sleepy, that she wasn't hungry, giving us puppy dog eyes and asking for hot dogs.  The funniest part was I kept finding her laying like this....

Face down in the carpet, pitiful and patiently waiting our surrender.  Dinner came and she had about 5 bites of food remaining from the dinner before.  She finally finished and was rewarded with lots of mac and cheese, a hot dog, and a cheese stick.  

Since that day, meals have been pleasant.  Everyone is gladly finishing their food and actually complimenting the chef.  

Guacamole!

The other day...

Taurin finishes her food first (which rarely ever happens), she holds her bowl and says, "Ok Marinn I'm gonna show you my bowl and you are gonna say, 'Holy Moly Guacamole Guacamole!!!"
Marinn just looks at her.
Taurin shows Marinn her bowl...
Marinn exclaims excitedly, "HOLY MOLY GUACAMOLE!!!!"



Then today....

We are in the car and Andrew hits the breaks a few times, the car is silent, then in a soft voice Taurin says,
"Are you freakin' kidding me?"

*she looks oh so innocent*

All in a Day

The kids got some serious play time in the "pool" the last few days.  They have been splashing and jumping and flinging water, having a great time.  It's been in the 100's so being wet is the only way to survive the heat and they all have a pretty good tan to show for it. 

 Marinn was sitting in this basket and requested that I take a picture... she waited patiently while I tracked down the camera.  So glad she asked because I was able to get all these other great shots too : )

 I love Shaw's face in this one... so desperately trying to be like his sister. 

 Great fish face Taurin! 

 I think this picture could totally sell some sunscreen, swim suits, snorkels, color contacts, etc... Love it!

 Great example of their real personalities.

 Blaize watching all of the craziness... dreaming of the day he'll get to join in.

 Daisy lounging around keeping an eye on all the kids.  

Quote of the day:

Taurin, "Rolly Polly's have poop and pee in their mouth and they put their head in the toilet and poop and pee out of their mouth."