Pre-Halloween Fun

When did this little girl get so big?  She's going to be six months in just 10 short days!  Yikes!  Has it really been that long?  We busted out the walker a couple weeks ago but I took it back downstairs because Caleb kept getting into it.  I had the kids bring it back upstairs today to see how she'd like it.  Sister is loving it.  She can be up and see what's going on.  I think she likes it a bit more than the Bumbo because she can reach things that are in front of her without tipping over!

Thursday night Nash had a Halloween program at school.  He was the very first speaking part.  He did awesome.  He spoke slow enough we could understand him & he didn't put his mouth on the mic.  All the kids wore their costumes & so did his teacher, Mrs. Olsen.  There were about 16 songs & each kid had a talking part.  It lasted about an hour (which was torture for Caleb) but it was fun.  All the decorations in the back the kids had made during class over the last week or two.

Brooke has recently discovered her tongue.  She loves to stick it out & make the "pffft" noise.  However, since she has her tongue sticking out while she tries to make the noise, she mostly just ends up blowing bubbles.  It's still super cute though & I can't quite get enough of it!

Today I finally broke down & we carved pumpkins.  Grandma Terri was nice enough to come up and help us out.  Fortunately for me Brooke was napping for the entire adventure.  This is the first year we've carved pumpkins without dad so I was a bit worried.  Other than Sam's drama about the slime touching her, it wasn't too bad.

Sam & Nash wanted to paint blood on theirs & put a knife sticking out of the top.  Alas, the painting....(so much for EITHER painting OR carving)

Caleb couldn't be left out of the blood scene either.  So, his pumpkin is rather covered in red paint as well!

Brooke's pumpkin is almost as big as she is!  When I sat her next to it she kept touching it and smiling.  Not sure if she liked the cold or was just intrigued by the whole thing.

Usborne Books Party Details

Here are the details for the Usborne Books party that I'm doing. If you can't come in person, check out the website & order online!

What: Usborne Books Party

When: Saturday, Nov. 5th 7:00 pm - You can get your books in time for Christmas gifts!

Where: My house 182 E 100 S Hyrum

Online: www.myubam.com/K3919 (make sure you click on my name on the right side after you enter the bookstore)

If you bring a friend that wasn't already invited, you get free shipping! You'll also be entered into a drawing for any book of your choice at 50% off when you come to the party.

Reasons why I LOVE Usborne Books:

1-Their books are amazing & encompass many age groups.

2-Many of their books have internet links - the science ones are so cool.

3-They have everything from touchy feely books to chapter books to cook books!

4-Their books have a life time guarantee!

Smiles, naked legs, a birthday & a camera thief

This little girl has so many smiles lately that it's completely intoxicating.  She just grins most of the day.  Her squeals are undeniable in their complete delight of just being here.  She smiles whether she's eating her toes, milk or just watching everyone pass her by.  I'm so glad she's such a happy baby & I hope it's a good sign of how her temperament will turn out! 

On Friday the kids were over at the neighbor's house playing.  After a little bit Nash walks in the door.  Then I hear Samantha running in.  When Sam gets inside she finds me & says, "Mom!  Come help me!  Caleb is stuck behind the fence!"  I'm thinking it's the fence in the neighbor's front yard where they have a bunch of wood, so off we go.  I go over and find that he is not behind the fence I thought.  Rather, he is in the horse pasture.  How on Earth the kid managed to get back there is still a mystery.  From what he said it sounds like he flipped over the top and went in.  Why am I not surprised?  Once Sam realized he was behind the fence she grabbed his arms & tried to pull him back over to her side of the fence.  Unfortunately, she didn't realize that his pants were stuck on the fence.  As you can see from the pictures, the pants were sacrificed.

Friday was also my 31st birthday.  Since Travis was gone hunting, the kids and I went down to my parents' house and had dinner.  My sister & her family were there too, which was a nice surprise.  We had bad guys for dinner & mom made my favorite chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting & lime sherbet ice cream.  We had a good time.  Caleb bonked me over the head with a gift from my mom & dad.  It was a really nice jelly roll pan like hers that I keep telling her I'm going to steal from her.  Then, she brought out another gift for me:

 A few years ago mom & dad got me a fishing pole & a nice hard case.  This year while we were at Lake Powell I asked the kids where my pole was and got, "Dad said I could have it." from Nash.  Now, I'm sure he didn't mean he could have it, have it, but I couldn't tell Nash that he had to fork it over.  So, when we got home I told my mom about it & told her I wanted a new pole for my birthday.  As you can see, she produced!  I took this picture on my cell phone and sent it to Travis.  His response?  "It's pink!  I can't use that!"  I told him that was the point!  Maybe he'll keep his grubby mitts off & not give this one to one of the kids!

The other day I was sitting on the couch feeding Brooke.  I looked up to watch what Sam & Nash were doing.  Turns out, Sam is teaching Nash to play piano.  Guess I need to talk to Sam's piano teacher about adding Nash to the lessons list!  He actually does pretty good.

Last night I took Samantha & a friend of mine, Amanda, and we went to What A Witch Wants.  It was a craft fair of sorts.  I thought about doing a booth of mine own, but I didn't want to pay for an outside booth that would end up being in the dark and cold.  And, I didn't want to pay $50 for an indoor booth either.  So, we went to check it out to see what it was all about.  There was face painting and pictures to be taken.  There were also a lot of random booths.  I saw a Papparazzi booth but since my sister is doing a party next week, I decided to wait to spend my money there.  I did cave & spend money at the Usborne Books booth. And, I've committed to do an Usborne Books party on Nov. 5th.  More information coming on that later!  Sam & I got matching face painting (no pic of me) and then had our pics done.  (I will post the pics when I get the cd.)

 This morning I am laying in bed still when Nash comes in and says, "Mom.  Caleb has your camera."  Great.  That child gets my camera all the time & I know the day isn't far away when he either a-deletes all the pix on the card, b-breaks the camera or c-both.  I've decided I should tell him that if he's going to steal my camera he shouldn't take pix like this to incriminate himself!

 Here's Caleb's, "Mom I just want pink milk." picture.  How can you say no to that face?

I saw this in a magazine a month or so ago & decided I needed to make it for Scott.  Since his birthday is Oct. 27th I finally got everything to do it and got it made!  He loved it & I thought it turned out pretty cute too.

 On my birthday while we were at my mom's my sister and I put Brooke & Sunny down together.  I must point out that every time I put them down together at least Brooke starts screaming.  This night however, they must have known it was something special because they both played really cute together and no one cried!

Worst mom ever!!

So I have this bouncy fish chair that my mom bought when Samantha was born.  My kids have all loved it.  It vibrates and has a bar that goes over it that you can turn on (lights, music, bubbles, etc).  I have used the chair with all 4 kids.  They eat in it, they bounce in it, they sleep in it, they even poop all over it!  If you've noticed, many of the pictures of Brooke she's sitting in a blue chair.  This is the infamous fishy bounce chair.

Last night I had Brooke in the chair sitting up on the counter on the island.  I had just finished feeding her and had cleaned her up.  I left her up there so she was out of the foot traffic of the kids & could still see what was going on so she didn't get fussy.  I ALWAYS put Brooke in this chair up on the island.  Lately, I've noticed that she never quits kicking her right foot.  This little leg is always going.  She bounces herself to sleep in the fish chair and the car seat.  It's quite convenient for me really.

Anyway, I had finished cleaning up Brooke's dinner mess and started making dinner for the rest of us.  I had three kids running circles around the island and a husband in the bedroom playing his guitar.  I was going along, multitasking like a pro, when I hear a loud THUMP.  Yeah, I got that sickening pit in the bottom of my stomach when I heard it.  At first I thought it was Caleb dropping something on the floor -- something heavy.  I turned around and noticed Brooke was no longer on the counter.  Crap.  I run over and she's face down on the hardwood floor just in front on my refrigerator.  I grabbed the chair and flipped it up.  Brooke had been really quiet until I picked up the chair and sat it upright.  Once she was upright, she started screaming.  She had split her bottom lip open - no, she doesn't have any teeth through yet.  The top & bottom lip on her right side were swollen already.  She had a red spot on the top of her forehead, and, she had a bloody nose.  Thank goodness she was strapped in and didn't bounce!

All I can figure is that she had that leg going so hard that the chair kept hopping forward until it slipped right off the island.  I had slid her back so she was in the center of the counter a few times.  Considering how many times I have put not only her, but Caleb in that chair and on that counter, I am amazed that this hasn't happened before.  Yes, I knew better.  But, I thought it was safer (and easier for me I guess) to keep her up there where the other kids couldn't trample her!

Once we finally got her lip to stop bleeding and her nose to stop bleeding I just snuggled her.  She had a hard time nursing because of her fat lip.  Poor girl had a rough night and was awake quite a bit last night.  Fortunately today she has been doing well and doesn't seem to be any worse for the wear!  Lucky mom!  My lesson has been learned and sister will only be up on the counter in her chair while I'm standing directly in front of it while I feed her!

Some cute kids

These days it's hard to get a picture of Brooke without a sibling sticking their face in the picture too!  Not sure if it's because they love Bob or if it's because they like having their picture taken!

Caleb learned about pirates at pre-school this week.  He then proceeded to walk around the house saying,
"Argh matey!" for about 3 days!

Crazy eyes!  I made this skirt for Sam this winter (I cut it out last fall).  Every time she wears it she picks a top that is the same colors.  I've tried to explain that just because the colors are they same, that doesn't mean it matches!  I think she gets her fashion sense from her daddy!

Girlie loves, loves, loves her toes.  If she is wearing socks she gets mad because she doesn't like the taste of socks!  Can't say I blame her much!

We had to take a picture of Bob in this outfit for uncle Zack (he has an octopus tattoo).  I got this onsie & another one that is pink with a fish on it when she was born.  They are a 6-9 month size.  I got cute bright skirts that go with them too.  I'm hoping I can figure out a way to make them warm enough for her to wear now that she's long enough to wear them!  I guess I can pair tights with them!

I was trying to get a good picture of her in her chair the other night.  She was sitting there playing with her binki & had her one leg just going to town to bounce her.  Every time I took a picture of her with her leg moving, she was just a blur!  Finally had to settle for a picture that didn't show the leg movin' but it shows how content she is!

This was the "NO!  Don't take my picture & send it to Dad!" moment this week.  Yes, that's Caleb with his nose on the wall.  The wall & Caleb's nose are getting to be good friends these days.  Last night I kept telling him to go to bed & he thought it was a game.  I had swatted his bum a few times & he just laughed at me.  I finally pulled his pull up down & swat his naked bum a good one.  He didn't think it was too funny after that & he didn't get back out of bed!

Brooke rolled over completely last night!  I had laid her down on the rug & went downstairs to tuck the other three kids in bed.  When I got back upstairs this is what I found:

 She was sooo proud of herself.  She was all grins & giggles.  I cheered her on & took her picture.  Not 30 seconds later she flopped over onto her back.  She was still pretty stinkin' proud of herself.  As she should be, I know.  She hasn't done it again today but she has sure tried.  She's been all but there for at least the last 2 months but she would get high centered on her shoulder & just flop back over & give up.  She's gotten really good at going around in a circle on her back in her efforts to flip herself over!

I thought this was too cute when I saw it the other night.  She always has to have something to hold onto when she's sad/tired.  Doesn't matter if it's a burp cloth or a doll or her cow.  She's like Caleb this way - she loves having something to hold onto.  Following in that same manner, she's started to give killer hugs too.  She gets quite a death squeeze around my neck & just wiggles her way up into a little ball.  I love it.

A cute story

My sister had this on her blog & I really liked it, so I copied it.  I think I might have to do this in my classroom some time soon.




One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in
the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.
Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.
It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and
as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper,
and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.
On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire
class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much," were most of the comments.
No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they
discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter.
The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with
themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.
Several years later, one of the students was killed in Viet
Nam and his teacher attended the funeral of that
special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin
before. He looked so handsome, so mature..
The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took
a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.
As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to
her. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. She nodded: "yes." Then he
said: "Mark talked about you a lot."
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a
luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.
"We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his
pocket "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."
Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that
had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher
knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed
all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.
"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see,
Mark treasured it."
All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled
rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home."
Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album."
"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary"
Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her
wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this
with me at all times," Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued:
"I think we all saved our lists"
That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for
all his friends who would never see him again.
The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will
end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be.
So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and
important. Tell them, before it is too late.

Remember,
you reap what you sow. What you put into the lives of others comes back into your own.
May Your Day Be Blessed As Special As You Are

Look alike meter

I was curious to see how these would turn out.  Honestly, it was nothing like I had anticipated!  Fun though.

A random assortment of things...

I've decided that putting the pix from my phone on the blog is kinda like a "day in the life of the stay at home mom".  Why?  Because I'm always taking pix of the kids & sending them to Trav.  Some of the pix are completely random & others are just because the kids are being cute.  And, I've even taken pix of the kids to show Trav that they're being naughty.  Telling the kids, "Ok.  I'm taking your picture & I'm sending it to dad." generally results in, "NO!  I'll be good, I promise!  Don't send the picture to dad!  PLEASE!"  Even Caleb has resorted to this speech!

I took Brooke to the pediatrician a week ago & she had Bronchitus.  Since we ended up with a prescription I ventured over to Shopko.  Of course I had to wait for the prescription, so I walked around the store.  (Generally an excuse to spend money!)  I looked at purses because I have had the same one for like 4 years & it was getting pretty beat up and gross.  Much to my luck, I found this cute one.  It was originally $49 & I got in on clearance for $14.  Since I had a $10 off your $20 purchase, I bought a cute zebra wallet too & ended up spending less than $20 for both items.  BARGAIN!

This is Brooke's new favorite past time: eating her toes.  She's quite proud of herself when she gets them in there.  I noticed the other day when she was chewing on them that she had her little toe up her nose while she was chewing on her big toe!  Made me laugh pretty hard!

I can't believe how fast this baby girl is growing up.  She's so darn stinkin' happy & cute all the time.  Even when it's late she's still happy.  I can't be mad at her when she's still awake at midnight some nights because she's like this the entire time!

The other day Caleb wanted a banana.  So, I got him one & set him up to the counter.  Here's what I found a few minutes later:

 It's how he eats his hot dogs too!  Little weirdo!

Friday night I let Sam have a sleepover with her cousin Jade because Nash was gone hunting with Trav.  Caleb got into Jade's bag & found her headband.  A few minutes later, I see him walking around like this:

I was really glad Brooke was this happy they other day because Caleb was making me nuts & I was ready to lose it!  How can you still be mad when you have one doing this though?

Brooke got to have bananas this weekend.  She ate a big bowl of oatmeal & half a jar of bananas before she got full!  It reminded me of when Sam was little.  She shoveled green beans and funeral potatoes into her mouth faster than you could believe.  Brooke would see the spoon coming, get excited, flail her arms until she found my hand then grab my hand and shove the spoon into her mouth as fast as she could!  I was surprised she didn't end up gagging on the spoon!

We went down to my mom's the other day & she was making caramel apples (yep, did that later on).  I remembered that when Nash was little we'd sit him in the walker & hold apples for him to munch on.  He loved the green Granny B apples the most.  So, I got a slice of apple & held it in for Brooke to try.  I thought she might like it because she's teething & chews hard on everything.  Well, she rather enjoyed her apple slice.  She didn't bite any bits off & she slimed it quite good!

This is that photo for the day of "I'm taking your picture & sending it to dad."  He was on his way back from the end of the stair railing!  GRRR!  I told him the day before that if he didn't get off he'd fall & break his neck.  His reply?  "No I won't."  Well duh, not on purpose you won't.  So, I grabbed him by the arm & yanked him down toward the stairs to kind of scare him (he was pretty close to the beginning).  He just laughed & thought it was fun.  Great idea mom.  I'm afraid if I put up a baby gate across the stairs he's just going to try & climb over it and he'll end up going down the stairs head first.  Any ideas?

Today will be my first day with students at my new job.  I'm excited.  It's probably going to be crazy because it's a short day.  But, oh well.  I'll take what I can get!