day of play

as i've revamped my time, i've discovered that i actually have more of it than i once thought. i guess, recently i've just been using it all wrong. i suppose that's what happens when you're used to juggling only two balls, and suddenly you have to learn how to juggle with three. and as time goes by, three is actually just as easy as two. 

here's what i've been doing with my newfound time...

my little mims and i had a little cooking session.

she learned the difference between "spoon" and "fork." way to go, mims.

we had story time. she will eagerly plop down on my lap, whether i'm ready for her or not, waiting to hear the story and my funny voices. i like making her giggle.

next on our agenda: tunnel time. 

she thought it was worth a few hearty laughs when i got "stuck." 

again with the cars. this time a pink one with "mr. ham" as the driver. she loves her some cars.

my favorite...the vacuum monster. she laughed and was easily entertained all the while the house was being cleaned. two birdies with one stone. we like this game. 

break time. chowing down on some sweet potato mash, giving dirty looks, and wiping food into her hair. atta girl.

i had promised Z and M that they'd get to decorate the tree today after school. there was a bit of a detour as we picked up sam and headed to the tire place for winterizing the car, however. in any case, i managed to keep my promise. here is their tree. i prefer soft, warm, white lights. they wanted candy colored. i don't blame them, it's a kid thing, i think. somehow all the ornaments ended up congregating in one spot.

they were pretty proud of their tree, and i'm glad they had fun.. we listened to christmas carols and had a dance party as we decorated. sam has the video recordings for that, thank goodness. even little mims got down. but the fun had to end because it was way past their bedtimes and i was so ready for some quiet time. it was really difficult for me to not be the mom who says, "okay, kids have at the tree!" and then turn around and "fix" it after they'd all gone to bed. i did rearrange a couple ornaments to cover the neglected spots, but that's about it. ;)

today i am grateful for:

*taking the time to play. i've always held "play" on such a high pedestal. i think it's important for children to learn through play and not just the tedious drone of my nagging voice and stiff, proper lesson-giving. my children need to laugh, and see me laughing with them.

*winter tires, that could possibly save our lives and/or prevent us from even getting into a very bad accident.

*the times when i have all three children at home with me, and in my arms. yes, it's nice to have a break and get to do my own thing...BUT, i really, truly do miss Z and M when they are off at school and i can't wait until i pick them up to ask them about their day. i love my babies.

simple days

 playing dolls with makayah. i just couldn't say no to her incessant begging. it was pretty fun and funny.

mimzy was more interested in the cars.

mimzy loves, loves, loves this doll stroller. she is content to push this thing around all day long.

...and i love watching her stroll.

we love reading time. 

makayah was nice enough to be our little photographer.

"david" books are hilarious.

when isaiah got home today, we started preparing our spot for the christmas tree. it took much longer than i thought it would. we ended up winterizing our windows. maybe we'll get to put the tree up tomorrow. 

today i am grateful for:

*naps and cuddle time with my little girlies.

*the humorous way in which sam diffuses arguments. although, sometimes i'd like to just be mad for longer than 5 minutes. but it's just so hard to keep a straight face.

*the relief society dinner at church tonight. eating a meal that doesn't include beet fights is actually quite relaxing. glad i missed that adventure tonight.

field trips

i'd forgotten i'd volunteered to drive and chaperone for mak's field trip to the rainbow play place today. in my haste and apparent dysfunction this morning as i scooped up my children to be dropped off at school, i left my house a complete disaster from the movie night we just had. but the sinks full of dishes, the piles of unfolded laundry, and unswept floors would just have to wait. 

today, playing at the rainbow play place was our number one priority.

mimzy in wonder of the baby swing abilities. she had fun for a couple minutes, and then she was done for the day.

on the other hand, mak could swing forever.

these slides were so high and so fast!

mimzy working on her climbing skills.

i love this preschool and mak's teacher.

there's something about little ones and wanting to play with steering wheels...

"telephoning" her friends at the top of the slides.

she was chatting non-stop. i'm not sure what about, but it sounded really interesting.

mims wanted to try it out too.

sisters on the tire swing.

we ran some errands before we went home. by the time we did arrive, it was time for a playdate with makayah's friends. isaiah, luckily, had his own playdate with his own buddy after school. it worked out nicely. sometimes, i get so caught up with my own little world of cooking, cleaning, helping with homework and field trips, working on photo sessions...and i forget that i have a really terrific supply of friends here in madison that i really need to make more time for. it's nice to have a healthy balance of family, work, and friends. and i think i need to do a better job of nurturing those friendships, because it's always so fun being with them, and i find i'm so much more happier afterwards - ready to tackle the rest of my to-do list.

today i am thankful for:

*early morning yoga. even just the breathing exercises put me so at ease for the rest of the day.

*early morning pbs cartoons so i can get ready for a field trip i had forgotten all about.

*sam's canceled meeting, which allowed him to help with bath night. thank you, sam.

sundays

we really struggle on sunday mornings. it doesn't make any sense when i have to get isaiah ready for school on weekdays by 8:30am, and makayah ready by 9am. maybe it's the dressing up, or wanting to stay in bed for as long as possible on the weekends. but it has been so difficult for us to get out of the door in time for sacrament. the past two sundays have been an improvement. 

today, i got up quite early. it was 6 or 7 am, and i thought we'd actually be early this time around. i'm not sure what happened, exactly. somehow the clock read 8:30 and i was still trying to feed all the kids. i looked at the clock again, and suddenly it read 8:58am. i looked at mimzy who had been completely overlooked and still needed something to wear besides her pj's. anyhow, we walked into the foyer seconds before sacrament was being passed. we kind of met our goal. kind of not. but, i'm so glad i made it for the sacrament. i feel so much more positive during the week when i do take it.

unfortunately, mims would rather go exploring during sunday school meeting times. she actually does a decent job of staying in our row during sacrament. by the end of it though, she races off. i didn't get to hear the sunday school lessons, but i did have the pleasure of chasing after mims (who thought that was the best game in the world), trying to find her missing shoe, and wondering where in the world she had found slices of bread to stuff her face with. ?? who does this kid think she is? i'm not going to complain much though, because i loved chatting with the other mothers as mimsy roamed around.

sam during this time was substitute teaching isaiah's class, which isaiah was ecstatic about. "c'mon, dad! c'mon!" i think the other kids were pretty excited to have brother crowfoot as their teacher, too. funny little story about primary. sam was sitting in primary sharing time, and the teacher was telling the story of the parable of the ten virgins, and one of the kids asks, "what's a virgin?"

the instructor answered, "they are righteous young women." and sam had said under his breath, "that's it?" then another teacher turned around and said to sam, "don't go there, sam!"

i'm still laughing.

i did get to make it to part of the relief society lesson and i loved it. it was just what i needed to hear. the lesson was a general conference talk, a time to prepare. you can read it HERE. with proper time management being our family's pitfall - or at least mine and sam's, i was grateful for the lesson, the comments, the inspiration to do better and be more productive with my time. 

after church, we gathered up our kids in their picture-taking outfits, took them on a drive around lake mendota (and i mean AROUND, all the way through waunakee, and some other small town - i actually had no idea where we were. i have zero sense of direction here.) - and then forced our sweet and unsuspecting children into the frigid air (it was 30 something degrees) to take family portraits. we had wanted to do them much earlier, but we just never got around to them. for one, i hate taking family portraits. it's all the prep work that i'm just not fond of, the dressing up, the coordinating outfits, the hair fixing, the face painting (that's just me). it is such a chore. but we were coming down to the wire, with very few days left of 30 degree weather. i was actually hoping it would snow, but no such luck. 

when we finally made our way back home, we all jumped into our pj's, had leftover turkey dinners and pie, and continued through the last day of our lord of the rings movie marathon. we even snuck in a lesson on how being obedient makes you have a "strong and good heart" to resist temptation as we explained the difference between gollum and the hobbits.

yes, even mimzy was into it. it was a good evening.

today i am thankful for:

*other mothers at church who also have wiggly kids so i don't have to sit all by my lonesome in silence out in the foyer.

*the lovely sunday exploration drive we had to today...we've got to do more of those.

*the candy i had in my purse to coerce the kids into being happy about taking photos out in the freezing wind.

The Joy of Cooking...and such

you'd think we'd had enough. but, every year, we have thanksgiving movie marathons which usually involves the lord of the rings trilogy or the star wars saga. anyhow, sam needs his thanksgiving leftovers during said movie marathons. and seeing as how i am so grateful for him in my life, i obliged.

it was yet another day of eating.

whole wheat blueberry oatmeal pancakes with freshly made whipped cream and bananas (not freshly made, but recently bought).

mimzy doing what she does best.

starting on the pies... 

i cooked the last two pumpkins last night. we started out with 5 from all the pumpkin picking we did over harvest season. and now we are done.

bye, bye pumpkins.

with the two pumpkins, i was able to squeeze out some pumpkin/banana baby food for mims.

...and two pumpkin pies. i miss working with clay, and pie dough is the next best thing.

the kids helped me with these two. i love having their help in the kitchen...when i ask for it. ;)

the "marshmallow masagna" as isaiah likes to call it.

homemade yeast rolls. i missed a step - this is only the second time i've made these. they still turned out yummy, but someday i'd love to get it right.

turkey sausage stuffing. we can't get enough of this stuff - especially on our leftover turkey sammies.

the bird. i think he's quite a handsome one myself. i soaked it in brine all morning. i didn't realize it would make such a difference. the meat was juicy and savory. best turkey i've made so far.

the beet/spinach/goat cheese salad. the kids were more willing to eat the beets than they are to drink the beets, go figure.

and the garlic smashed potatoes. i honestly don't know how i made all this food in one day with one oven and only four stove top burners. but i did, and i loved cooking. it was the most enjoyable and relaxing thing to be in the kitchen, listening to christmas music, cooking for my family. with the fatigue of the first trimester, i'd forgotten how much i loved cooking. i'm glad it all came back to me.

we had been munching on finger foods all afternoon long. veggie trays, hummus, cheese and crackers. but, the kids were begging for turkey and so happy to finally be getting their "chicken legs." 

after many corrections, makayah was still adamant about calling it her "chicken leg." stubborn child. ;)

mimzy joined the feast, as well. her favorites were the mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. thanks daddy, for feeding the squirming little one.

he paused for only a second. i guess it's quite a lot to ask a turkey-hungry child to take a break and smile for the camera. 

it was a busy day filled with cooking (and cleaning as i went), but so very worth it!

thanksgiving was also filled with football...

and the start of our movie marathons... with wrestling during the boring parts, it looks like. 

today i am grateful for:

*the absolute joy cooking brought me. i was surprised everything turned out so well, and so happily.

*my very first pot of gravy that turned out like gravy should. no soupy stuff this time. 

*movie marathons with all my cuddle bunnies. bliss.

19 weeks

today we made the drive home from green bay. sadly, there is never enough time in just one trip.

today, i also began the 19th week of baby growing. i don't know if the pumpkin pie helped much...

19 weeks has been awesome so far. two days ago, i felt the baby move - for certain, this time. this is the best time of all the baby growing phases for me. i've felt more "normal" than i have in months. it's good to feel normal again. :D

today i am grateful for:

* a safe trip back from green bay

* the healthy "green machine" juice we got from the gas station. it kept the kids quiet for the rest of the drive.

*the t.v. sam had bought...if he's happy, we're all happy.