Creating the setting for imaginative play

Spencer, Caitlin and Courtney love to create scenery for their imaginative play. They use all kinds of props: plants, blankets, candlesticks and many other things to add to the decor. I thought I'd post a few of them.

My friend, Katherine, posted this on her blog. Spencer and his friend, E., set up this area while playing bionicles at our house.
Caitlin and Courtney prepared a tea party just for me. They served green beans and Wasa crackers because they knew it was okay with my diet! I thought the food choices were hilarious!


These candlesticks have been making the rounds lately with the kids. Spencer uses them all the time when he's playing (see picture #1) and so do the girls. They think they're beautiful even without candles in them.
Notice the dolls that joined our tea party (on the music stand)
I thought I'd share this morning's gorgeous sunrise.

Now this is the kind of scenery I prefer!

Winter Blahs. . .

A picture of the river near our house taken on my recent bike ride.

Every year about this time, I start feeling a little dreary. Bitter cold weather and sick kids make me feel like winter is never going to end and the walls of our house are closing in on me. I normally love being at home and am generally a homebody but right now I just want to fly away somewhere warm and feel the sun on my face. The last week has been holding sick kids, sleepless nights and too many visits to the pharmacy. Tomorrow I take Courtney for a re-check which will take me to a grand total of four visits to the pediatrician in the last week. My three little ones have had strep throat and respiratory problems. . . nothing that strong antibiotics, steroids and inhalers won't resolve, thank goodness.

When I feel this way, I have to find ways to combat the blues. I take walks, ride my bike or treat myself to something fun. So today while folding laundry I began watching the new Masterpiece Theater version of Emma which I had DVR'd (so far, so good!) I also want yummy food so I make cookies. However, in lieu of the diet, I made whole wheat bread instead (twice.) It was delicious and the kids loved it . . . .turns out my sister's recipe is foolproof, thank goodness! Finally, I convinced Paul to take me on a date Saturday night. We put the kids to bed and left them with Rachel and went to see "When in Rome." It was a nice evening together.

Okay, so I could go on and on about the never ending winter but the laundry doesn't do itself! So. . .adios for now!

Make believe with Spencer

You can always tell when the girls are playing dress-up with Spencer. . . forget being a princess! It's much better to be a fearsome fighter!

The other day, Spencer and his friend Sammy pretended they were on a pirate ship. Here, Sammy is reading the map while Spencer's steering the boat. While eavesdropping, I heard them say things like, "Shiver me timbers" and "Ahoy, matey." It was too cute! After they left the ship I heard Sammy ask Spencer, "Argh, why are we walking around in circles, Captain?" Spencer replied, "That's what it says to do on the map, matey." I enjoyed watching and listening to them until I had to take away a cane Spencer was using as a sword. I thought a metal cane might be a bit dangerous. Oh, the trauma of it all! Moms can be such pirate poopers!

Funny kids

Sometimes my kids crack me up and today was one of those days.

Spencer lost his front tooth during church and then literally lost it somewhere. He supposedly had it in his pocket but when he got home from church, it was nowhere to be found. I know, I know. . . I should take a picture of his toothless grin but I'm not sure where the camera is at the moment. Anyway, he asked me if we should write a letter to the tooth fairy to tell her to drop by tonight since he doesn't have a tooth to put under his pillow. Caitlin had the solution: "Just open your mouth and she will see it."

Caitlin was demonstrating her fast running skills for me this afternoon as she jetted around the house as fast as she could go. I responded, "Wow! You were running so fast I could hardly see you. You were almost a blur." When she heard that, Courtney started running around as well. After she finished, she came up to me and asked, "Mommy, was I blurry, too?"

A Wonderful Weekend

This weekend was wonderful. Friday night was Rachel's first ski club of the season. I drove up to Shawnee and watched her ski a little bit. She can ride home on the bus but it leaves about 9ish and they can ski until 10 when most of the falling ski club kids littering the mountain are gone so it's the best time to ski. Because of that, many of the parents pick up our kids so they can get in extra ski time when the crowds have dissipated. Friday was a bitterly cold night, with frigid temperatures in the teens and a brisk wind, particularly at the higher elevations of the resort. Before I arrived to pick her up, Rachel called and said they were making snow and it was blowing right into their faces as they skied down the mountain, freezing them. Normally she's not even cold even when she skis so I was worried. But she and her friends got hot chocolate and they were on the mountain the rest of the evening. Once again, when I saw Rachel skiing, it made me want to strap on some skis and hop on the lift. So I'm sure I'll have do it sometime this winter.


Rachel and Lauren arrive in the lodge after a long night of skiing


I made them ski down the bunny hill one last time so I could get a picture.


Mission accomplished!

Saturday, I spent the day running errands. My cousin's husband, Ben, posted a facebook link to this website called "People of Walmart." Readers send in pictures of bizarre people they see at Walmart. Because I was thinking about the site, I had a great time people watching while I was at Walmart picking up socks for the kids. Good grief, there truly are a lot of strange people at Walmart. I swear, I could have taken 100 pictures for that site (and I am not exaggerating.) It's not just the shoppers. There are many odd looking employees as well. The thing about Walmart is that it truly is a slice of Americana because people from all walks of life shop there. I guess I shouldn't have been amusing myself that way. Maybe I'll be the next weirdo featured on the site! I'll repent I promise

That evening, we left all the kids with Rachel for our first date night without having to hire a babysitter. Yeah, baby! I've been dreaming of it forever! Paul and I went to see Leap Year. I really enjoyed it. It was somewhat predictable but it's just the kind of romantic comedy that I love. Plus it was set in Ireland and the scenery was exquisite. It's a great date movie.

Sunday was exciting because I had the honor of speaking at Kim Joseph's baptism. She's the girlfriend of one of the boys in the ward and has been coming to my young women class for quite a while. Lincoln (her boyfriend) is an awesome young man with a powerful testimony. He left on his mission a few months ago and I'll never forget his talk: it was so full of the spirit. I wondered if Kim would keep coming to church after Lincoln left but she continued attending faithfully. A couple of months ago, she bore her testimony in young women and said that she wanted to be baptized but was afraid to tell her parents because she didn't want to disappoint them. Wouldn't you know my lesson that day was on courage to try. Long story short, she did tell her parents and they came and supported her at the baptism yesterday. The spirit was so strong in the service. Our entire chapel was full of people--nonmembers and members alike--who wanted to show their love for Kim. She is such a sweet girl and I'm so pleased that she made this important decision in her life. It makes me feel so happy to know that she's on a path that will lead to her eternal happiness.



Can you believe this sunset? This was our view as we drove home from the baptism. What a gift from the Lord!

Looking forward to the year ahead. . .

Well, it's the first week back to the routine after the crazy month of December. Things are getting back to normal. The house is much cleaner, the family scripture/prayer routine is more consistent and the laundry mountain has been conquered. I've been eating healthier after doing some of my typical holiday binging over Christmas. Thankfully, I didn't gain any weight despite my overeating, but now I'm back on track. (I lost another 2.4 pounds this week which puts me at 40 plus pounds.) We're busy running to basketball, piano, young women, ski club and managing three school schedules. In fact, I'm waiting for Paul to get home from work so I can head up to the Poconos to pick up Rachel and her friend from Shawnee Mountain Ski Resort tonight. Finally, Paul's back to work so I'm a lot more productive. For some reason, when he's home I tend to laze around all day. What is that about?

Because it's the New Year, I've been reflecting on my goals for 2010. My resolutions center around living a more joyful, simple life by focusing on what's most important: my family and my faith. Now I'm sharing them with you in hopes that it will make me feel more motivated to accomplish them.

• I will continue losing weight, now that I know it's possible. Shedding pounds so I can be a happier and healthier wife and mother and is well worth the work.
• I will be a better wife by focusing on the positive around Paul. I will complain and criticize less often.
• I will try to be a better mother this year. Being patient and loving in every situation can be challenging at times but I'll continue to work at it every day, every hour, every moment.
• I will feast on the scriptures each day instead of simply reading them.
• I will say more meaningful prayers.
• I will count my blessings more often.
• I will focus less on myself and more on serving others.

How about you? What are your ideas on living a simpler and more joyful life?

Happy New Year!!!

On New Year's Eve, I took the kids to a fun party given by dear friends of ours. We ate lots of delicious food, played cards and visited while the kids were busy celebrating with their friends and enjoying the MANY toys at the house. The kids rang in the New Year a little early with a pinata. Finally, we all celebrated the final moments of 2009 by counting down the seconds, watching the ball drop, setting off poppers and drinking a toast to the New Year (no alcohol, of course.) Paul spent the evening on an airplane flying home after attending our niece's wedding the day before. Finally, after a slick, snowy drive home for both of us, Paul and I met at the house around 1 a.m. for our first kiss of 2010. Happy New Year!

Caitlin goes Hawaiian for the New Year.

Spencer takes a powerful swing at the pinata


Cute girls smile after raking in lots of candy after the pinata breaks


Rachel's ready to toast the New Year!


5, 4, 3, 2, 1. . . Happy New Year! And the poppers start popping!

Courtney celebrated in a dream state. I was surprised that the other kids stayed awake the entire time!