Nesting?

I guess I have been missing in action around here lately.  It doesn't seem like it's been that long but I guess it has!  I guess time flies when you are having fun...and when you're busy.  I've been a little of both lately.  We had a great warm up a week ago or so.  We're talking NICE.  No heater on at ALL for at least a week, windows open, not even a jacket needed, low 70s, and lots and lots of sunshine.  I was absolutely loving it.  Normally I'm not quite ready for Spring to arrive so soon around here because it feels like we've barely had a winter.  This year it has been so cold!  I mean...we got snow three times in one month!  That's got to be a record around here or something.  Definitely more than we've ever seen in the 6 winters we've had here.  But I have to say, I'm ready for our nice early springtime now.  When it warms up and the sun is shining it really has an effect on me.  It makes me want to get organized and cook healthy and clean.  OK...so I might have a little bit of "nesting" syndrome going on big time right now, too. 

I got a lot accomplished that warm week.  Completely cleaned out Claire's room and went through all her clothes and organized them, cleaned out the hall closet, boy's bathroom (ok...Tory did most of the work on those two areas), got the family room redecorated after the many months of "holiday" decorations, cleaned up the dining room, got the kitchen organized, cleaned out the fridge, cleaned, organized, and rearranged the boys room (yes, Tory had a big part in that project as well), raked and cut back all the flowerbeds in the yard, and cleaned out our bedroom.  I feel like I got a lot accomplished and for the most part things have stayed nice and caught up.  Feels so good to have everything in its place.  It may not sound like a lot but for a person who waddles, has a hard time bending over picking stuff up at this point, and who has little "helpers" all day...I felt like I did pretty well!

We also had to take a few trips to the park to soak in the sun, get some good vitamin D, and enjoy the warmth.  I've also been able to drag us out of the terrible "holiday" eating rut we got into the last couple months.  I could tell it was really getting us all down.  Seriously reduced amounts of fruits, veggies, whole grains and good stuff going into our bodies and a lot more of the stuff we normally avoid or at least seriously decrease like dairy, meat, sugar and processed foods.  Ugh.  Feels good to get back to our normal eating routine.  I'm always amazed at how what we put into our bodies affects everything from how we sleep to how we move and think.  The extra time spent in the kitchen is worth the effort. 

Now the cold is back. Sad. The sun hasn't made an appearance for a very long time, and suddenly I've become quite tired.  Still on the list...organize the pantry/laundry room, my closet, sort through baby boy clothes to see what's still usable, and get all baby things rounded up.  Only 4 weeks and 5 days until this little boy is coming!  That's not very long!  I wish the nesting bug would rub off on everyone else in this house!

Paper Airplanes

The kids have been home from school Friday and today.  We've had a nice long four-day weekend with beautiful weather to enjoy.  It's been getting up to 70 or close to it and it feels so nice to not be cold.  The heater has been off for a couple days now and it's great to have a fresh breeze blowing through open windows.  I can't wait for spring and one of the best parts about living in Texas is that spring is really on it's way!

Today the boys were playing in the backyard and decided they wanted paper airplanes to throw so I made them each one.  Of course Claire didn't want to be left out and came running (yes, she's always running now) over to me with her own sheet of paper.  They had a blast flying them and there was nothing cuter than watching Claire try to throw hers and to see how excited she got as it dropped to her feet.

Buttons

Coen thinks he's sooo big.  He really is getting so big though.  One of the things he is quite happy about is that he can button and unbutton his shirts all by himself now.  His Sunday shirts take a little more time and patience but he loves to work on his pj top.  I love to watch his concentration as he works on each button.  He is quite proud of himself when he finally makes it through the row.  So cute! 

In other BIG BOY news...Coen gets to go to the Sunbeam class now at church instead of nursery.  He has a class of all boys.  He started the first Sunday in January and so far so good.  I think he thinks he's pretty big stuff now that he goes to class and Sharing Time with all of the other big kids.  I wish I could sneak a peek at him.  I teach a primary class for kids Austin's age during that time.  I team teach with another gal in our ward so hopefully when she is back from vacation I'll be able to sneak in.  Dallin is in Sharing Time at the same time as Coen and says he is very quiet so I guess that's good.  Cute little people!

Happy 8th Birthday Austin!

Monday our Austin boy turned 8 years old!  I can't believe I have a child that old.  What a wonderful little boy he is.  We are so proud of him.  He is such a good big brother.  It is definitely the role for him.  He is such a smart, happy, athletic, kind, and inquisitive child.  We love him to pieces and are so thankful Heavenly Father sent him to our family first.

Austin requested an "8" ball cake for his 8th birthday.  Clever child!  I never would have thought of that!  Ha!  It was so nice of him to pick something easy to make.  Really.  I can't thank him enough.  One pan, one piece, and one color.  I baked it in a metal mixing bowl.  Took about 55 minutes to bake!  Then I tinted some chocolate frosting with black food color.  Seemed to make a better "black" color than other attempts in the past.  Then I covered the frosting with crushed Oreo cookies.  Turned out pretty cute.  I found some black and white candles that were perfect.

For his birthday dinner he requested Ravioli, Texas Longhorn Toast (he's the one who started that and still calls it that.  To be quite honest I don't know if he realizes it's just Texas Toast!), and salad...ok he didn't request that but I included it.  He picked cherry limeade in bottles for his drink.  Such an "Austin" dinner!  Ha!

After cake and ice cream we moved to the family room for present time.  First he opened his brand new set of scriptures.  This is an important birthday for him since he will be baptized now that he's 8!  He was sooo excited to see that he had a scripture case.  And then he was even more excited when he unzipped it and found that he had ALL of the scriptures-Bible and Book of Mormon.

He also got a new bike helmet since Coen needs a new one now that he has a scooter.  So the helmets are all moving down one kid.

He gets to start Cub Scouts now that he's 8 so he got his new uniform.  Wow!  He looks so grown up in it!  It makes me think of my little brothers when I see him all dressed up.  They are the last ones I've seen in the Cub Scout uniform.  Austin's first meeting was tonight (Jan. 13) actually.  They cooked dinner outside, made cookies, and each brought a piece of fruit to make their own fruit salad.  He had a blast!  He's just going to love scouts.

And to complete his wish list...a hula hoop.  Both of the boys have been wanting one.  So funny!

Dada really got into it...the bike helmet AND the hula hoop!  Cracks me up!

Happy Birthday Austin Gavin!

We love you!

Out to Eat

We don't go out to eat...ever.  Tory and I got to go out for our anniversary thanks to his boss, but as a family we never go out.  Gets a little expensive.  In fact the last time we went out to eat was for Valentine's Day 2008.  Two years ago!  It's easy to remember when you don't go out much. 

Well for Christmas we received a gift card for Chili's.  At first Tory and I thought we could just go by ourselves and go all out.  But the boys have been wanting to go to a restaurant and sit "inside" so we thought it would be fun to bring them along, too.  And of course Claire came.  It was her first time at a restaurant.  We went Saturday, Jan. 9.  They were all sooo good and loved it!  Austin said "This is the best day ever!  I can't believe I get my OWN pizza!"  They got to pick whatever kid meal they wanted.  It was a blast.  And to top it off we told the waiter it was Austin's birthday (two days early) and they came and sang to him and brought him one of their famous Molten Lava Cakes for all of us to share.  (I've always wanted to try one of those.)  He was very surprised!  It was a fun evening for sure!

New Year's Eve

For New Year's Eve we once again were all alone but had a little bit of a party with some of our favorite appetizers.  We had Little Smokies, Poco Pepper Snacks, and Seven Layer Dip.

We played Pictureka...

...and our new Rodeo-opoly game that Grandpa Mac (my dad) gave us for Christmas and had lots of fun...even though Tory gets a little intense with Monopoly games.  {Ahem} 

The boys stayed up until 10:00!  Wahoo!  Since we don't have any TV right now...no, not even rabbit ears...Tory played some games online with his brother and I read fell asleep until Tory woke me up at midnight to wish me a Happy New Year.  Yes, it was an exciting last couple hours of 2009.  At least I have an excuse.  I did have an earache and all.  2010 still feels like a blur to me.  For some reason since I was sick and slept through the excitement of the night it kind of feels like I missed it and it's still sinking in for me.  I'm excited to see what 2010 will bring.  I know one thing for sure that is coming on March 5th!  Our newest member of our family!  But after that...who knows!  But I predict big changes for our family in one way or another!

Christmas Eve

OK...It's time to get serious about doing a Christmas post.  We had a wonderful Christmas here at home all by ourselves.  Christmas Eve day we were pleasantly surprised with a beautiful snow that fell all day long.

Of course the kids had to go out and play in it even though it was very cold. 

Now it really felt like Christmas!

Grandma and Grandpa (Tory's parents) always give the kids new PJs to open on Christmas Eve.

They all got changed into their new cozy jammies and then we ate our traditional Clam Chowder and had some breadsticks to go with it.

Then we did our family tradition of opening a family present which is always a game to play on Christmas Eve.  We started this when we first got married (and before Grandma and Grandpa started their Christmas Eve PJ tradition) because Tory grew up getting to open a present on Christmas Eve and I didn't (and I was OK with that).  We compromised and decided to do ONE family gift on Christmas Eve.  Tory made special wooden pulls for every member of the family and he is in charge of wrapping the game in such a way that when we all pull our handles on the count of three, the package opens!  It's lots of fun.

This year the game was Let's Go Fishin'.  One of these days the kids will be old enough to get something GOOD like Ticket to Ride or something like that.  Ha.

They had fun playing a few rounds and then it was time to watch Mr. Krueger's Christmas, a show I grew up watching every single Christmas Eve.  Love that movie!  It's nice and short, too.

The boys threw some treats out for Santa's reindeer-Dallin had "Reindeer Food" which is dry oats and glitter and Austin always likes to make sure he throws out some carrots and celery.

They set out the milk and cookies for Santa and off to bed they went.

You can see the reindeer food scattered across the sidewalk and lawn.

Cozy!  Looks like it's going to be a white Christmas in the morning!

 

All ready for Santa to come!

Christmas Day

Christmas morning came and we actually decided to wake the kids up when 8:00 came and still no sound from the boys' room.  I'm sure it won't always be like that!  They all lined up and waited while we turned on all of the lights and let them know that Santa had indeed come!  They all came running and looked for their stockings to see which pile was theirs.  I think all of their wishes came true.  Throughout the entire morning we kept hearing them exclaim "This is the BEST day of my LIFE!"  They were soooo happy!  It was probably one of my favorite Christmases, too, just to see how happy they all were.

Austin's been dreaming of getting a Tech Deck for months!  He was so excited to see that Santa had brought him some and a ramp.

Dallin got a Spyro game and a pirate ship complete with shark.  I think he would have been happy if all he got was the shark.  He loved it!

Coen got his very own scooter...in his color-green!  Now he doesn't have to wait his turn to ride his big brother's.

Claire got a stroller and a baby doll.  Her brothers also hooked her up with all things princess.  She is now the proud owner of a pink boa and a princess wand.  Pink was the color of the day for her.

After checking out what Santa brought, they went to see if Santa had eaten his cookies.  Sure enough!  And he left them a note, too!

Then it was time to open some presents.  Dada displays his new work socks and belt and his rice pack.

Mama scores with a new sheet cake pan and oven mitt from Austin and a candy thermometer and earrings from Dallin!  Thanks boys!

The boys open their new pillow cases and rice packs made by Mama.

We ate some breakfast of cinnamon rolls, breakfast casserole, and OJ and then played and played with presents.  It was a super fun morning!

That evening we had our Christmas dinner of ham, potato casserole, raspberry jello, shrimp pasta salad, and blueberry delight for dessert.  It was a good ending to a wonderful day!

Christmas Crafts

Tory and I decided to make a lot of our Christmas gifts this year.  We had a lot of fun doing the various projects.  Some were for gifts and others were things people asked Tory to make.  Either way, we kept very busy sewing and woodworking!

I made 4 cinch up bags with drawstrings for 4 of our little nieces.

I also made 4 little purses/totes for them. FRONT

Same 4 little purses/totes BACK (Claire tested them all out and loved them.  I had a hard time getting them away from her.  Coen actually really liked them, too :)
GASP!  I just realized I never added the cream bows!  I was going to put one on each side where the handles attach.  Man!  I knew something was missing...

I also made 5 rice packs out of flannel.  They are filled with just plain white rice and then you just pop them in the microwave for 3-5 minutes and you have nice warm heat that lasts a long time.  I've been using mine everyday for my earaches.  The boys like to warm theirs up before bed.  I also made the boys matching pillow cases in their flannel. L-R:  My paisley print (yes I made myself one.  I didn't want to feel left out.), Tory's hockey print, Austin's skateboard print, Dallin's space print, and Coen's lizard print.  I bought all of my flannel at JoAnn fabric the day after Thanksgiving for only $1.50 a yard!  Nice!  It's normally at least $5 a yard!  I got a few extra prints to make our new baby boy some fresh "new" blankets that aren't all worn and faded from 3 older brothers.  But those are projects for another day.

Since Claire's a little too small to use a pillow and I didn't make her a rice pack, I made her a rag quilt instead.  It turned out cute but every time I make one of these I remember why I don't make many more.  So time consuming to clip and snip every single edge!  It has pink and white stripe flannel and brown with pink strawberries to coordinate.

And then another project I made was this weekly menu frame for my sister-in-law Wendy.  I saw it on someone's blog several months ago and saved the picture because I loved the idea.  You write your menu right on top of the glass on the frame with a dry erase marker.  There's a place to hang your grocery list and marker on the side.  I thought you could also put a master copy of your rotating recipes on the back if you wanted.  I really liked how it turned out and think I'll make one up for myself!   I could use a little organization in that department! 

After Wendy opened it she asked if I could make a weekly planner to go along with it.  (Both the weekly menu and the planner are just made from digital scrapbooking kits.)  She's going to print it in a poster size so that it's nice a big and do the same thing using a frame and dry erase marker.  What a great idea!  And now I need to copy that, too.  I just need some wall space to hang it.

Tory's been busy, too, of course.  He made these cute, cute, and I do mean CUTE gumball machines for our parents, his brother, and each of our boys.  Six total.  They are made entirely out of wood and the jar is a mason jar that just screws into the lid that is inside the top of the wood!  So clever!  I just love them!

He also made a couple child size picnic tables that a lady ordered.  She wanted them not only specific colors but with specific patterns, too.  One was red with black polka dots with their two little girl's names on it and the other one was brown with black zebra stripes.  They both have chalkboard tops.  He didn't take a picture of the zebra one!  Too bad because the stripes were pretty cool.  He used a special stencil that she wanted him to use. 

One of the communities in the area asked him to make some giant candy canes for their "Meet Santa" community activity.  They turned out pretty cute.  He added some red glitter to the red stripes and some greenery and giant red bows.

Here's a picture I swiped off my friend's blog just so you can see them in "action" since we didn't get a chance to go to the activity.  It was fun to see how they were used since we didn't really know.  I think they look good!

So there you have it.  A taste of what was keeping us busy last month!

The End of the Break

I'm sad that it's the end of our Christmas break.  The boys go back to school tomorrow.  I'd much rather have them home every day.  The break went by way too fast and now it's back to reality which means early breakfasts, packing lunches, perfectly scheduled naps that don't interfere with pickup times, and grouchy little boys that have to readjust to all day school.  Not to mention their appetites that seem to go out of control when they come home from school which means even more food preparation.  Sometimes I think I'd really like to home school.  Maybe someday I will...

Right now I'm very behind on my blog but who wants to sit at the computer when your kids are all home?  Plus I have been sick, sick, sick since the day before New Year's Eve (well since before that but that's when it got really bad.)  We all got this weird cold that was a cough only but it seemed to linger forever.  Austin got it first several days before break even started and he is still coughing.  Tory got it next and he said today was the first time he's felt like he could sing at church without feeling like he was going to cough.  I was one of the last to get it and I don't know if it had changed or just because of my pregnant state but my version of the cold was miserable!  I got the cough first and that wasn't so bad and it seemed to be going away pretty fast for me.  Then on the 30th I got this random fever.  No fun. New Year's Eve my left ear started feeling like it was getting stuffed up and my throat started hurting.  This was around noon.  By 2:00 I was in so much pain!  I heated up a rice pack and kept that on my ear hoping it would help.  It got to feeling slightly better that evening but I couldn't hear very well.  Then at 2:30 in the morning it started hurting again so bad that I couldn't even sleep.  I finally fell back asleep at 5:00 am.  Ugh.  It hurt pretty bad all day and just drained me.  I finally took a Tylenol and felt like a semi-normal person again, but one that still couldn't hear out of that ear.  I slept good but had to get up early the next day to go to a "Meet the Teacher" breakfast for primary at the church.  I probably would have skipped it but my team teacher had family in town and didn't want to leave them so off I went.  My ear felt a lot better with just a little pain but pretty much total hearing loss.  I felt like I was in a tunnel.  I couldn't hear half of what was being said.  So frustrating!  The kids in my class wanted to play a whispering game...I had to suggest something different!  Ha!  And now today has been my first day with almost no pain but still no hearing and now my right ear feels like it's lost about 50% of its hearing.  Ahhhh!  I'm about to go crazy!  Church was miserable!  I couldn't hear anything!  Not my own kids, not the speakers, not the kids in my class I had to teach.  We learned a new song in primary and I have no clue how it goes.  I could see the words but couldn't really hear the music.  I felt like I was in my own little silent world where the only thing I could hear was my pulse beating in my ear (which is about to drive me crazy by the way!) and the faint sound of voices around me.  I can't wait to get my hearing back!  My throat is starting to feel much better, too, so that's good.  I just think this is so crazy!  I have 4 kids and I've never had one get an ear infection.  Ever.  Just me.  Go figure.  Oh well.  Better me than them I say.

So anyway, I'm hoping to be able to catch up a little on this blog after the kids go to school.  I have a doctor appointment tomorrow morning (they've moved me to the every 2 week schedule now.  Oh boy!)  Hopefully I'll have some more hearing come back tomorrow, too.  I feel like I've been in a daze for the last few days.  I can't even wrap my brain around the idea that it's a new year.  Seems like I've been in my silent tunnel wallowing away the days.  But it's got to get better and...I'll be back!