Babysitting Swap ...

We have some great friends, the Johnsons, who have 4 kids who all match up in age with our 4 kids. Actually, their daughter is Masey, Paul's "girlfriend" (I guess that depends on the day). They all have so much fun playing together, so we thought we would try doing a babysitting swap once a month. James and I just don't get out much together unless someone invites us to do something, so this will make having  a date night a regular thing for us. I have such anxiety about leaving my kids with a teenage babysitter, even though I know some really great ones. But, if I can have family or good friends (adults) watch them, I can enjoy a carefree evening with James.

On Friday night we went out, just the two of us, for dinner and a movie. It was so much fun, and we actually saw several couples we know out doing the same. It made me feel like there is this whole dating world out there that I've been missing out on for the past 7 years! Like I said, I just can't get over my anxiety about leaving them with a sitter though! When we went to pick up our kids, Blaze was being cuddled, and the other 3 were on the floor with their pillows and blankets watching The Polar Express. They didn't want to go home actually. They had to much fun playing, eating pizza, ice cream, and popcorn! That made me feel completly guiltless about leaving them, because they were well taken care of and got to have a really fun evening as well!

The next night we got to watch the Johnson kids. I really didn't have to do much because they all just ran off and played together though. I did get to bond with Braxton, who is Blaze's age, when I fed him a chocolate chip cookie :) He snuggled up to me and put his face right in mine and giggled! We were good friends after that, and he let me hold him and play with him. The girls have all been over to play several times before, but I hadn't had a chance to be around Braxton as much since he is just coming out of the baby stage. I love the toddler stage between 12-24 months - babies are so  cute I just have to squeeze and kiss them! So, I think this is going to be a great thing for us, and I'm looking forward to planning our next outing!

Fun with the Palmers!

We got to meet up with the Palmers on Saturday, for lunch at McDonald's. I was a mean horrible mother and packed our own lunch to take there! Our kids LOVE playing with the Palmers though, so they weren't too worried about the food. Alanna wanted to wear pig-tails in her hair because Pyper usually does, and she wanted to look like Pyper. I guess it worked because later when we got home and Alanna ran to see James, he actually thought that Alanna was Pyper! These girls are just too cute, and they loved posing for pictures. They really do look like sisters, if not twins!

My Cheeky Beggars!

We don't usually have ice cream in the house, but I made an ice cream b-day cake a few weeks ago, and I let James, Alanna, and Blaze eat the "scraps" out of the containers. It was hilarious to watch James spooning ice cream into their mouths as they acted like little birds, standing with their with heads raised, mouths wide open, and their chorus of "uhuhuhuh"! I had to take a video of them because they were acting so desperately I couldn't believe it!

Snacks have been a huge issue around here lately. I don't buy fruit snacks, cookies, chips, soda, etc. etc. for my kids to snack on. We do have those things for special occasions like holidays or parties, but on a regular basis we stick to fruit, veggies, and nuts. It's hard to do when Jackson goes to school and many of the kids around him are eating a school bought lunch of pizza, cookies, chocolate milk, and other JUNK. He is always coming home telling us how his friends share their lunch with him - they are probably feeling badly for him that he has a sandwich on wheat bread, carrots, fruit, and trail mix! The other night we were awakened at 2am when Jackson was climbing to the top of the pantry to get into the candy box - our collection of Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc. candy. We have an entire large box full of sugar, preservatives, and artificial dyes! I should just throw it away!

Paul walks home from the bus stop to a friend's house to wait there for about 10-15 minutes until I arrive with Jackson. I was told this week that in addition to eating the snack that I pack for him, Paul goes in the theatre room at our friend's house and scrounges up any fishy crackers, marshmallows, candy, miscellaneous snacks that he can find. My friend thinks it's hilarious, and wanted to tell me this because she knows we are trying to eat a healthy diet. Paul also looks forward to eating lunch at a particular friend's house where he is served corn dogs with ranch dressing. I really don't care if my kids get to eat "treats" when they are out and about, but they just seem too obsessed with them!

Alanna is always wanting to go to a certain friend's house because she is given a sandwich baggy full of M&M's or Skittles to snack on while playing. She actually gets mad at me when I invite this friend over to our house, instead of Alanna being able to go play at her friend's house and get candy!

As for Blaze....I think his face in these pictures says it all!

My kids are not deprived of treats. I am bake cookies and muffins and other treats that they can have a few times a week after they have eaten their healthy food. This is only motivating for one of our children though, the other two just figure they can skip dinner and wait to sneak candy in middle of the night. Or, wait for dance class or preschool where she is loaded up with candy and fishy crackers and Teddy Grahams.

This all drives us crazy. I am hoping that they will outgrow all of their silly tricks for treats, and just want to eat healthy food to feel better!

Simple Pleasures...

 My nephew, Peter, (and his parents) stopped by this weekend to play with the kids. We gave Peter his Christmas present which was a wooden fruit and veggie set that you can cut with a wooden knife. I thought it was a good gift for him since his parents are always cooking healthy food in the kitchen. As soon as he opened it, my kids dove in and took over. I should have bought them one too! These Doug and Melissa toys look so simple and boring to me, but they really know how to please the little ones.

 Paul was riding around the house on Blaze's wiggle car, and Peter just jumped on all by himself to hitch a ride. It was really fun watching them ride around together, and I think it gave Blaze the motivation to do the same thing! We have been so anxious for Peter to be old enough to really play with our kids because they really love him.

This picture was taken after 9pm and Blaze just wasn't cooperating enough to sit in for it. All it took to make it a great night for the kids was to feed them an endless supply of cookies (because they kept sneaking them), and pull out a few simple toys.

Fun with Cousins...

Cousin Ashlynn, had her 1st birthday party with a banana theme. The kids all decorated a banana. I didn't notice that I only got a pictures of one of the bananas! We also had a sailor, a princess, and a skier.

 For their Uncle Andy's Birthday, we celebrated at PF Chang's. These girls were all born within a few months of each other. Thank goodness for the entertainment provided by crayons and chop sticks!

 Jackson and Paul were entertained by playing on someone's I-pod Touch. They just don't get enough of playing games from their own Wii, Android tablets, or computer I guess!

 Check out these eyelashes! I wish I had a pair of these.

 Blaze and Cruz - the mohawk babies! I took so many pictures of them, but this was the ONLY one where both of them were looking at the camera.

Of course, all of the little cousins couldn't wait to blow out Uncle Andy's candles for him. Happy 19th b-day! He's anxiously awaiting his mission call. It's fun to have Uncles serve missions and be such great examples for our kids!

Our New Year's Vegan Meal !

My brother, Andrew, and his girlfriend, Cara, gave us the most thoughtful Christmas gift this year. They cooked our family a vegan meal after researching recipes on the internet and consulting with the chef at the restaurant Andrew works at. We have been on a plant based food diet since around May (basically vegan except when we eat out, have company who aren't "into it", or I may make pizza once every couple of weeks). It's been an amazing change for us - I feel so healthy and James has lost weight. The kids are learning to try all kinds of new foods and establishing healthy eating patterns I'm hoping will be life long.

Andrew has traveled to Ecuador a couple of times, and he made us a Yucca soup he's had there. The ingredients were things that I wouldn't have thought of combining (like a squeeze of lime and a squeeze of mustard for serving), but that's the fun of it! They also made some Enchiladas with a white Mole sauce (it has a touch of white chocolate which is not vegan, but we're not that technical !) The sauce also had different nuts and raisins ground up into it, and I've never tasted anything like it. It was just a party in my mouth :) I was so excited to dig in that I forgot to get a pictures of the enchiladas! I'll have to try making them and snap some pictures. Luckily, Andrew is one of our kids' favorite Uncles, so they were more than willing to eat what he and Cara cooked for us.

Thank you so much Andrew and Cara! We loved hanging out with you :)

Mind the Gap...

These are the photos I had taken a couple of months ago of my bella famiglia per sempre. Once again, Kristin did an AWESOME job! I had them taken as a Christmas present for my parents, so I didn't "reveal" them until Christmas Day. The only problem is the gap we felt because Paul wasn't there. It was kind of different taking pictures without my brother Paul, even though he has been gone for 5 1/2 years. When we took the sibling picture our photographer was asking us if there was ever any sibling rivalry, and to act that out in a picture. It was just so weird for me, because Paul was my "rival" growing up! Now, I just hold the place of the big sister, and my brothers have very different memories than I do. They remember me taking them to the grocery store to buy whatever they wanted, and interviewing them on my radio recorder. They remember me mostly coming home from college during the summers.

There is just that gap that will never be filled, no matter how many years go by. There isn't a single family gathering we have where his absence isn't deeply felt. Every time something exciting happens I want to tell him about it, and sometimes I still forget that I can't! I like to think that he does check in with us and knows every detail about our family still. I love that my kids know all about him and talk about him very often. Sometimes my little Paul will say that Uncle Paul is his favorite uncle! I can't wait to see him again!

Welcome Home from Russia!

 Paul got a lump of coal from Santa, so when we saw some at Walmart, he wanted to get some for his Grandpa Joes. He was so excited to give it to him! Paul is quite the prankster! He is wearing his camo shirt from his grandparents, and also got an army helmet, flashlight, and even camo gum!

 James's brother, Stewart, just returned from his mission in Russia. He brought back each of his brothers a hat. James's is made from rabbit! It has flaps that droop down the side, and those are pulled down in the case that one is drunk and needs help! Obviously, drinking is a big part of their culture! It was so interesting to hear about Russian life - the climate, the food, the people. Surprisingly, Stewart said he was always very warm, and Russians HATE the cold. Even thought the temps would get down to 35 degrees below 0, the government pipes heat into all the houses and actually makes them too warm. They open their windows during the winter to cool off! Also, they are accustomed to using every scrap of food that they can get from an animal or dairy products, so they eat some pretty creative things such as gelatinized fat with small pieces of meat. Or, they take the whey and ferment it into a drink. I don't know if I would survive eating the things the Russians eat!

We played charades, and it was hilarious to watch everyone act things out. I got some videos of Grandpa Joe trying to "walk like an Egyptian"! Unfortunately, Grandma Leslie did her disco dancing too quickly for me to get the camera out, but James likened it to the Harry Chrisna dances :) Poor little Blaze touched the glass on our very hot gas fireplace, and we took him to Insta Care. They bandaged up his hands and slathered them in a cream that takes the heat out of burns. It wasn't anything severe, but I'm sure anything of the sort is tramatic for a 15 month old. James and I felt soooo badly - thank goodness for excellent medical care close by though! Blaze is doing just fine today, and the bandages haven't bothered him too much.

The kids always love to see grandparents and ucles, and we are so fortunate to live close to both sides of our family. We hope they know that they are always welcome and have so much fun being with them!

Welcoming 2012!!!

I just CAN'T BELIEVE that it's 2012! It seems like only yesterday that we were celebrating 2000 back when I was in college still. I have a completely different life now, but I guess time just flies when you are having fun :) We went to a really fun neighborhood New Year's party geared towards entertaining the kids. We played Pictionary, Just Dance on the Wii, were read an AWESOME hammed up pirate story, and the kids shoved their faces in a pile of whipped cream to see who could find the hidden piece of candy first. At midnight we went outside to watch the fireworks from the great view in our neighborhood, and got sprayed with bottles of silly string! I love our neighborhood and the great friends we have made! I think this year is going to be amazing, and I'm really looking forward to what 2012 brings us!

The way it was meant to be...

Our best friends, the Palmers, stopped in for a visit. The kids played like they were in heaven. No fighting, no naughtiness, it was just perfect play time! The girls were too cute playing with their babies and making jewelry! Pyper said she would come and live with me. Jackson and Preston stayed busy playing with Hex Bugs and building race tracks. I REALLY wish that they would come back here and live across the street! Maryann and I did some shopping at H&M and ate at the Cheesecake Factory. I really miss her too! We talk on the phone often, but it's just not the same as actually being together. At least they only live a couple of hours away for now :)

Cookie Cutters!

This place of business has got it figured out! I took Alanna to get  hair cut here, and she keeps asking to go back! The kids get to pick out a special car chair, and a movie to watch while they are being primped. Alanna ended up with a beautiful hair-do with sparkle hairspray. Blaze enjoyed playing on the playset while Alanna was pampered. When it was time to go, Alanna got a pink balloon, and a pink sucker. Mission accomplished :)