Home day

Today was a much needed day at home. Mostly. Addie and I did go to the eye dr (eyes are getting worse, but rx stayed the same), couponed at target and cvs, and did several loads of laundry at buxtons.

Laney said our (pizza) dinner prayer, and in it she prayed she'd have a better day tomorrow and that she'd be able to water the grass safely. She had a no good, terrible, very bad day. She fighted with her sisters, fell in the dirty pool water as she was trying to water the grass with it, (she said "at first I thought someone pushed me, but then I knew I just fell in," I die!) and bonked her head as she was telling us about her rotten day. Pretty sure there was more, but you know, no memory.

It's late and there's still things to do before our day of rest tomorrow. So here's a picture of 3 cute girls at our crazy school carnival yesterday.

Today. And other days.

I don't know where to start. So. Behind. I know I should let all the past stuff go, but I take lots of pics and want to document and remember these days. I can do better.

Today was super productive. I helped a friend move this morning and came home this afternoon and painted the laundry room that will be put back together TOMORROW. Tomorrow, y'all! It's been on the rocks for almost 3 months! My hampers are bursting at the seams, we are all so excited to do laundry at our house again!

And child labor is alive and well. 

This was actually my very good mom moment of the day. I totally didn't want to have to worry about a messy 4-year-old tracking paint all over (or her messy 7-year-old sister after her), but I am trying hard not to say no to unimportant things. So there you have it. And it was fine, no extra mess, so yay.

All that painting done wore her out and she climbed into bed and went to sleep. She had told A and F to leave her room and turn the music off because she was going to sleep, but she sometimes does that just to be a bossy pants. This time she actually slept, so I can dig it. 

We went to (ridiculously overpriced) 5 Guys for dinner as a fundraiser for C's National Skills competition - but more on that to come. We thought it was cool that our fry potatoes came from little old Rexburg, Idaho.

This one swallowed her tooth last night. At least that's what we think happened. We ate a cookie before bed, she went upstairs, and 2 minutes later she realized she was missing a tooth. Now she has 3 holes in her kisser. The missing tooth earned her 3 sparkly dollars, and a poem from the tooth fairy (daddy edition). She took the poem to school and Mrs. Henry said she'd never heard of anything like that. Because we are awesome.

Frank's made this super cute Earth Day art piece. I totally looked at it and thought 'recycling this' until Frank's pointed out her cute little self there holding up the earth. Adorbs! She says she can help the earth by making signs to say help the earth. She's original. (:

And the boy for good measure. This 18 year old not only became a Notary Public for St. Marys county, he also worked as an election judge on Super Tuesday. My neighbor wrote the nicest note about him on fb, I'll post tomorrow because I'm posting every day for awhile.

#dontcallitacatchup

21 questions for Delaney

And baby Laney's turn:

 

1. What is something mommy always says to you?

"Please put your pajamas on."

 

2. What makes mommy happy?  

"Clean up my room."

 

3. What makes mommy sad?

"Poopoo in my diaper." (amen sistah)

 

4. How does mommy make you laugh?

"Tickle me."

 

5. What was mommy like as a child?       

"I don't know, like a baby? You had no hair and no teeth."

 

 6. How old is mommy?

"25"

 

7. How tall is mommy?

"So you start by your feet, you are, (hand sliding from feet to head) that tall.."

 

 8. What is mommy's favorite thing to do?

"Not clean up poopy diapers. But... wash the dishes."

 

9. What does mommy do when you're not around?

"Uhhh, run for you. To get me back where I was. (asked again) Sweep and clean up everywhere."

 

10. If mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?

"Uh, your heart."  (i.love.this.)

 

11. What is mommy really good at?

"Recycling."

 

12. What is mommy not very good at?

"Cleaning up garbage." (That's because I'm always busy recycling I guess)

 

 13. What does mommy do for her job?

"Go to the bank."

 

14. What is mommy's favorite food?

"Sandwiches. Bologna sandwiches." (gross. never have we ever had bologna in our home. and it's not cause we're snotty food connoisseur's either. just yuck.)

 

15. What makes you proud of mommy?

"Go in a band. (explains) when you let me watch tv."

 

 16. If mommy was a cartoon character, who would she be?

"Alice in Wonderland."

 

 17. What do you and mommy do together?

"Visit."

 

 18. How are you and mommy the same?

"Because we both got black hair. We both got brown eyes? Oh yeah, you got blue eyes. Sorry!"

 

 19. How are you and mommy different?

"I got golden and brown hair, you just got brown hair."

 

 20. How do you know mommy loves you?

"(makes kissing noises) Because you give me kisses."

 

 21. Where is mommy's favorite place to go?

"Visit at peoples houses. Meetings at church. Post office." hmmmm.

21 questions for Frankie

I had an idea to ask the girls questions about me one day and I really loved their answers. Actually, I loved most of their answers. Some were not my fav, but probs a good dose of medicine. It was so fun to sit and talk with them and see what and how they think. This is what I used for my questions (cause I'm British at heart):

 

 

1. What is something mommy always says to you?

"Blow your nose."

 

2. What makes mommy happy?  

"Cleaning up our room."

 

3. What makes mommy sad?

"Not cleaning up our room."

 

4. How does mommy make you laugh?

"Tickling. And also saying funny words."

 

5. What was mommy like as a child?       

"Ummmm, blond hair. Where did you live? In the woods, or not in the woods?"

 

 6. How old is mommy?

"18"

 

7. How tall is mommy?

"Uhhh, let me count... 20."

 

 8. What is mommy's favorite thing to do?

"Play games. And watch Dr. Phil."

 

9. What does mommy do when you're not around?

"Clean up."

 

10. If mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?

"It would be for getting a clean house. And being the famous rock tv star."  (how did she know???)

 

11. What is mommy really good at?

"She's really good at being mad.  (insert sad face here) Ok, she's really good at being an expert mom."

 

12. What is mommy not very good at?

"You're not very good at climbing." (I beg to differ)

 

 13. What does mommy do for her job?

"She does working. Like cleaning up and laundry and reading Ramona." (True dat)

 

14. What is mommy's favorite food?

"Macaroni and cheese and fish."

 

15. What makes you proud of mommy?

"When we watch tv. (explains) having a party at our house."

 

 16. If mommy was a cartoon character, who would she be?

"You would be Ariel."

 

 17. What do you and mommy do together?

"Play in the snow. Do stuff at school, like, when we're having a party."

 

 18. How are you and mommy the same?

"We have the same blue eyes."

 

 19. How are you and mommy different?

"We don't have the same hair."

 

 20. How do you know mommy loves you?

"Cause you already love us. (how do you know though?) Right now."

 

 21. Where is mommy's favorite place to go?

"At a lighthouse. And at the beach." (#nailedit)



Mess

On January 30th my washing machine sprung a major leak. None of my old faithful tricks worked, and it ended up going through the drywall and onto the lower level. Since then laundry has been super touch and go. And frustrating. And messy. We finally figured out what we wanted to do and got on schedule to do it and today was the big day. Or, the second or third big day, since they cut the 4x4 square of drywall in the ceiling a while back. Anywho, this is now my bedroom. I haven't done laundry in 10 days and it shows. 

And this is now my laundry room. It's super fun. 

I've decided I wouldn't make a good and patient woman living in construction. Or at least not this kind, unplanned and unwanted. In addition the the laundry room, half of our houses lights are out from a project to replace our porch lights. Uhhh-to-the-gggghhhh. 

Anyway. Today was a special day. I was able to meet up with N and L and dress Sister Everett. It was special and sacred and I'm grateful to have been able to be a part of it. It's my first funeral and its been a very spiritual experience. 

Ballet and piano and PTA this evening. 

I have found myself busier than I'd hoped. I have enjoyed PTA, but I really wish I could somehow get out of it for next year. I hadn't anticipated a huge calling change when I committed to two years.  I feel ok balancing it all, but it's a lot on my family. We will figure it out and make it all work. We always do. (:

teeth and birthdays

addie's 4th loose tooth has been crazy loose! bubba tried to pull it a few times before it was ready, and it made her gun shy. so that thing hung on by a thread for way too long.

grumpy monkey eating a healthy donut breakfast. we are working on the grump. also, i think it's pretty cute, so i document it a lot. she's not always grumpy.

since frankie's birthday fell over spring break, i owed her lunch at school and cupcakes to share with her class. since siblings aren't allowed in the cafeteria (so lame) i haven't ever gotten to eat with her yet, so it was double nice. i went in on wednesday while lanes was at preschool.

frankie and bestie rosslyn. these girls are goofy-goofy.

i stayed and had lunch with addie. as she ate her happy meal, her tooth got even grosser! (i like making words up) if i was a tooth puller, it would have been gonzo.

sarah sent me this from when she picked the big preschoolers up after their busy day. so grown up.

that evening our daisy crew went to spend some of their girl scout cookie money at a new pottery place. they all loved it!

sarah kept laney and i decided to let addie tag along and paint too. can you tell what she chose to paint? it's a ceramic "mom." i told her that was really sweet but that she should pick something for herself, but she assured me that this was really for her as she will someday be a mom. can't argue with that logic.

everyone loved the colors frankie choose! can't wait to see how her cut tea cup and saucer turn out.

addie was in heaven too. she wants her birthday party here. it was pretty fun!

cute daisy girls.

i had a meeting at church that night and chris sent me this snap. no teeth!

getting a cute picture of her toothless mouth is tough. good thing she's cute no matter what.

and this one. "take a picture of me. now let me see!"

that was last week, from tuesday on. same ol', same 'ol.

conference

since we missed all of conference yesterday i was even more excited than usual to watch today. i, along with thousands of my lds sistahs, made and enjoyed some cinnamon rolls. today mine were totally just from a tube though. i've made from scratch and from tube, both are pretty tasty.

last night i waited up for chris till 1. at 1:30 he called to tell me that the gates at csm la plata were locked and brian couldn't get his car, so they stayed the night at zane's. around midnight the wind picked up and it got SO blustery. so windy that it took down our brand new schools sign. there were gusts up to 60mph, it was crazy and loud.

conference bingo complete with lots of candy, and yes, frankie is wearing a witches costume and laney is wearing a hula skirt and no shirt. it's just how we do it.

during the break between sessions we went on a mormon parade with the streeters. it was nice to get out and stretch a little. and then round 2!

laney was rolling her feet and hands and asked that i take a pic. and conference popcorn is delicious as well.

conference watching was not completely idyllic. but there were a few moments that were. :)

i loved lots of the talks. i didn't get to take many notes, and elder holland went last, so his is easy to remember and it was so good. i also loved brother gong and brother kearon. just good, good, good.

bonus pic:
one of chris' dental friends had a birthday so they went to dinner friday night. and why is my baby boy so often the only boy around? he is such a lover, not a fighter, swears.

April Fools Fun!

I.love.pranking. i love fun and silly pranks. i hate, HATE mean pranks. a silly, light hearted prank is unifying, i think.

around 11pm the night before april fools day the hubs and i were talking in bed when i remembered that we needed to prank some littles! i took to pinterest and we quickly settled on drawing mustaches and eyebrows on the girls. it was SO MUCH FUN. matt and i giggled like school girls the whole time. he had the red marker, i had the green. we tag teamed laney.

he did frankie. and don't ask why she has a jean jacket on her head.

and i did addie. because i'm full time fancy i added eyebrows.

i posted the sleepy time pics to our families fb group page (seagroovin') and amy suggested i record their reactions. these two room sharers discovered our prank before i could catch them. i came up to find them staring incredulously at themselves in the bathroom mirror. addie said "i saw frankie and i said, 'frankie, you have a moo-stache!'" and then frankie said "what? wait, you have a moo-stache too!" they thought it was soooo funny! and it was! we could't look at them without laughing.

love these fun sillies!

we pretty quickly cleaned them up and the marker came off fairly easily. matt, being the good daddy had tried it on himself before we drew on the girls to make sure of that.

then laney woke up. you really never know what you're gonna get from her. she is so extremely hot and extremely cold. she came out of her room and had no clue, so i was able to film her reaction. she looked at herself for several seconds before angrily/accusingly asking "who drawed that?!?"

then the fit started as she said/cried "i don't want to wear this!"

and it was a good one.

sooooo dramatic.

we cleaned her up quickly and she was grumpy about it all day. she has since watched the movie, but hasn't seen the humor in it yet. if you'd like to watch, it's pretty funny and i'm happy to share.

the big girls practiced their stealth moves in preparation of pranking matt and i. we are fine with them doing it, as long as it's not permanent marker. i'll probs help them "prank" matt sometime soon. that was the extent of our april fools pranks. lex asked why i didn't draw a moo-stach on chris, and my answer was that he sleeps with an air soft gun under his bed and i'd prefer to not get shot. since he seemed left out though, i have been brainstorming pranks that do not include bedtime. suggestions welcome.

so many miles

today was a never ending day. now i am sitting in the quiet dark, (home improvement projects are FUN) catching up on blogs that I'm behind on and thinking i really should be doing something. blogging is something.

matt worked today and chris had a track invitational in dc. i usually go, i really try to be super supportive and a regular attendee at anything my children do, but with a) conference, b) no hubs support, and c) the event being in dc, i had decided i wasn't going. but then chris needed a ride home because he, brian, zane, and noah were going to concert, so going we were.

we started the day with family bath time. three girls in the bath and momma in the shower. this is the way we've been doing this lately, and i feel smart because it doesn't waste water and the water heater doesn't have to heat up twice. not that this is notable but it's been a long day. so there.

then we went to scott and anderson's baptisms. they were in preschool with addie forever ago and it's been so exciting to see all these "big" kids getting baptized this year. addie is next!!! delaney was extra temperamental and a&f where on the crazier side while we were there too.

then we made the long drive to dc. i've made the long trek several times in the last few weeks. it wouldn't have been so bad, but the girls were extra super crazy today. it's probably because i've been extra super temperamental lately too. any who, the last 5 miles took about 10 hours and felt even longer. we finally made it and the school and day were all so beautiful. the meet was at a gorgeous new high school smack dab in the city. there were all these cool homes all around the school.

sweet fwankie. my fav thing about her is how chill she is. she laughs at herself and is generally easy going.

add in a temperamental lady. delaney is sweet and super loyal. and my baby, so, you know.

and the addie-cakes. she is a smart little peace maker and such a good helper.

da boy (black shirt with red stripe down back) and his track homies.

i've gotten used to the craziness that is a track meet. i know what to expect and how to follow along now. i probably even like it a little better than i used to. there is still a little something that burns a little to drive for 2 hours to see my child run for 56 seconds (a new pr).

delaney has been dressing herself lately and so has been wearing lots of skirts and leggings. i brought her jeans to change into today though (she was not happy about it) and she looked so cute in them. and also peeking in on your sister in the potty is always a fun time.

i solemnly swear i am up to no good.

twas a long ride home as well. 4 hours in the car, plus an hour at a baptism, plus 2 hours at a track meet do not make for the funnest day for the under 8 year old crowd. but we survived and tomorrow i will actually get to watch conference, so it'll be great.

bonus pic:
this chic is a hot mess. she puts lipstick on on the reg, dresses herself (note the leggings and skirt and unmatched top), accessorizes with the best of 'em, and can mad dog you like no other. what am i gonna do with her??? it's a very good thing for her that i am smitten. especially since i am still changing poopy diapers almost daily. i am taking a new, calmer approach and have been praying aloud that she will not be afraid to poo on the potty. I'm not sure that's what the problem is, but prayer can only help, right? I've also been telling her how brave she is, to which she replies "i am not bwave!" BIG deep breath.