Australia Day

Happy Australia Day, everyone! Go hug your favorite Aussie! Okay, so in Australia, the fireworks have all sizzled out...it's long over. But, we are still celebrating - with food, of course. Our dinner: Aussie burger. Mmmmm... hamburger, egg, cheese, tomato, lettuce, avocado, beet root, grilled onions, and pineapple slice. It was slip-sliding all over the place and oh, so tasty.

And for dessert, one of my favorites, Pavlova:

A dessert truely worth breaking my calorie limit for.

And while it's thinking about snowing outside here, tonight I'll be dreaming of eating fish 'n chips (why always the food?) on the beach, watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean.

My Favorite Things

I love it that Maren has been wearing this since watching Angelina Ballerina the other day: She informs us that she's a 'skating ballerina', hence the socks that let her slip around easily on the wood floor. Oh, and she MUST have a flower in her hair.

I love it that Lainey is totally a momma's girl. You betcha she knows her mom, and prefers her to anyone else. Of course this creates problems when she is, say, left with dad.

I love it that shoveling the driveway this morning was a family activity:

I love it that Nick makes our bread (anyone need a good whole wheat bread maker recipe? Let me know, because Nick has perfected it).

I love Nick's granola too:

I love it when siblings play well together (do you like Maren's Halloween bow? Me too.)

I love my "lounge" pants. And I love the days where nothing is going on, so I can get away with wearing them.

And I love that Everett pulls a stool up to the digital frame so he can watch the pictures go by and name all the people he loves.

My Kids

Rub a dub dub, three kids in the tub: Nick gave me some lights for Christmas, so we had to try them out. This inspired a photo shoot of the kids, which honestly, reminds me that sometimes it's totally worth the money to have someone else take pictures of your kids.

I do have cute kids though, see for yourself:


Notice the bruise on Mr. E's forehead? Not sure what happened. It goes with the territory of being almost two.

Yesterday Ellie had school off, and Nick was halfway to work before he realized that he'd left his computer at home. So, he came back home and decided to take the day off. Hurray! We went to BYU's Bean Museum, had lunch at the mall and just enjoyed a pretty relaxing day together. We were thinking our weekend wasn't long enough, so this was good. Nick and Everett were twinners:

And now, on a completely different topic...

Being a mother of four small children, and a home manager, is no easy job. I was really feeling like I couldn't keep up with it all (and I can't). I did what I always do when I need to get things back in order, I called my mother. She gave me some great advice (and she would have some, she's raised 12 kids) and told me to "get organized". So, I did. I made the "Keep Mom Sane" list (Nick approved):

* Do a 10 minute pick-up before heading to bed. By the way, I really fought this one. Once kids are in bed, that's MY time, and I really didn't want to give it up, but this has made a big difference for the following day.

* Date night once a week. Even if it's just watching a movie together after putting kids to bed.

* Do things just for me. It's okay to spend some time reading a book, writing on the blog, or just snuggling a baby.

* Kid's head to bed at 7:30 and Nick does most of the going to bed prep.

* Exercise is a priority. It makes me happier, and healthier too.
* Kids feeling loved always takes priority over laundry or clean dishes.

* One room will stay clean in this house. I'm determined. No kids allowed in the front room.

* Take advantage of the crock pot. Plan meals in advance, and keep them simple.

I can say that this last week has been much better. Putting priorities back in place makes a big difference. Thanks mom, for your great advice.

Oh Baby!

I can't seem to keep up with myself lately. There are always a thousand things to do, and not enough of me to go around. Really, I should give up this blog and pay more attention to my nearly neglected children, or my mostly neglected house. What do I do all day? I don't know, but it sure keeps me running in circles and nothing seems to get done. But alas, this is one of the things I do for ME to help keep my sanity, so I'm going to do it anyway.

Maren is learning to write her name. Notice the E? I love it. My baby girl is 3 months old now, which requires the taking of photos. Oh baby, she's cute, and even though she likes to be held ALL day long, we love having her around.

That being said, my baby needs me. Gotta go.

Party On

More of Ellie's birthday. We really had an awesome day. While Ellie was at school, I made her cake: She requested a Barbie cake this year. I'm no cake decorator, but I think it turned out pretty good with my amateur skills. And the birthday girl liked it, and that's all that matters.

In the afternoon, Ellie and I went to Build A Bear, where she brought "Allie" to life. I enjoyed watching my girl, and she had fun. She loves her pink bear.

That evening we had dinner at McDonalds with cousins and then cake and ice cream at our house. It was also a good time.

The party continued on Saturday morning when we went to the pool. Our friends met us there, which was especially good for Ellie because it inspired her to be a little more brave in the water. It was a great morning! Ellie is a good little floater:

Messin' around with our waterproof camera.

Nick took this one, the camera was underwater, Maren was not.

Thanks for having a fun birthday, Ellie! We all had a good time.

Six

Today Ellie is six years old. Six seems so old. I know this is cliche, but my, how the years have flown.

0 years:

1 year:

2 years:

3 years:

4 years:

5 years:

6 years (taken this morning before school):

SIX wonderful things about the birthday girl:

1. She is very complimentary. Every day she says, "I like your shirt, mom."

2. Her favorite colors are pink, purple, and green.

3. She is very helpful. Whenever mom or dad needs an errand run, she's quick to do it.

4. Maren is her best friend. She loves to play with her sister, and includes her in just about everything she does.

5. She is a social bug. She always wants to play with friends.

6. She is such a happy girl!

Ellie,

We love you very much! Thanks for always being such a happy, helpful girl. You are a light in our home and we are so grateful to have you.

Love,

Mom

Ring in the New

I could also call this "The Really Long Post" because there is quite a bit to catch up on, and a lot of photos. My husband had all of last week off, and we very much enjoyed our time together as a family. Blogging was not my top priority by far. Let's get started here.

My mom threw her annual Christmas party on Christmas Eve, so while Nick prepped desserts, I snapped photos of the kids.

Every year mom tells us to come prepared to share a talent. It's fun and all, but we just didn't have a talent to share. So this year we did something a little different - sled racing. Every family was given materials and 10 minutes to make a sled, and then we raced them down a board. It was fun.

Then the nativity. Ellie was an angel this year, Maren was Mary, and Lainey was the star as baby Jesus.

Christmas morning was awesome. Really. The girls were SO excited. This is the magic right here. Of course, Ellie kept complaining that we had more presents last year. Still working on the gratitude thing.

Maren's Barbie car she requested Santa. Poor Ellie really wanted a bunk bed, but I guess Santa just couldn't fit it in his sleigh.

Lainey in her new seat.

The damage.

After church on Christmas morning.

This one just cracked me up. We all look pretty ridiculous.

That evening we went for round 2 with Nick's family.

The day after Christmas we joined my family at a cabin in Daniel's Canyon. We've been going up there for years now, and I dread all the packing and moving of stuff (usually we have to snowmobile in - this year there was just enough snow to enjoy sledding AND drive 4x4 vehicles right up to the door! It was great!), but once I'm there, I don't want to leave. We don't do much - we eat, play games, read, watch movies, eat, prep food, sled, eat, wash dishes, do puzzles, and eat. Did I mention that we eat?

Lainey made the rounds with everyone, here her cousin mesmerized her right to sleep.

Does this scare you? A good portion of the time the cousins were chasing each other with these nerf guns.

In the time we were there, 41 of my family were there too. We left and others came up, but it was so great to spend that quality time with family without any distractions.

Today Nick is back at work, tomorrow Ellie goes back to school. Real life is here once again. It's a bittersweet thing.

Nick thinks that New Years is a silly holiday, and we don't do much celebrating around here (we were awake this year, and saw fireworks going off all over the valley from our bedroom window, does that count as celebrating?). I have done some reflecting though, as a year has ended and a new one began. This last year, I'd say, has been the most challenging in all 7 years of married life. We've had several bumps in the road. However, I can honestly say that through it all, we've been happy, and have grown closer as a couple, and as a family. Despite it's challenges, it's been a good year. Bring on another.