Stinky Feet

As I type this post I am listening to the sound of snow melting off the roof.  
 

Drip 

Drip Drip 

Drip

When I was out visiting my parents last, my girl and I started a new game that has continued until present. We were laying on the floor relaxing and enjoying having nothing to do. All of the sudden her feet made their way near my face.  I grabbed her little piggies in my hands and brought them to my nose for a sniff, "PEE-YOU!" She burst into a little girl giggle fit and insisted I do it again. So I sniffed those little feet (that didn't actually stink) over and over again exclaiming, "Pee-YOU!" "PEEEEEE-You!" just to hear that sweet little belly giggle of hers.

Now, sometimes when she's bored, she'll ask to come sit on my lap. Then she will ask, "Mom, please play stinky feet?" I smile and the game begins. It's something quite silly really, but it's something special that we share, just the two of us.

Mr. Determination

This morning, tiny feet overtook my kitchen. Hyrum was hard at work pushing his sisters pink chair around the kitchen floor. I side-stepped him the whole morning while I made breakfast, but he was a little man on a mission and hardly noticed that he was sharing this tiny space at all.

He grunted as he tugged and pushed that chair around and the odd time I'd hear a little giggle or get a huge triumphant smile from him. He was so proud to be up on his little feet cruising around. 

New Cutlery!

We got a gift card for Christmas to use towards new cutlery and today I finally cashed it in on a brand new, shiny set of cutlery! I was so excited that I washed them up and we used our brand new forks to enjoy our Grilled Chicken Caesar salad for dinner. The big set (for eight people) was on clearance and marked down a couple of times which allowed me to buy another smaller set as well.

We'll never have to buy cutlery again! I am excited to use them to enjoy delicious meals as a family. I am excited that we can have many friends over to enjoy delicious meals with us! It also made me excited for huge parties and family gatherings. Easter. Christmas. Thanksgivings! Oh the possibilities. So if you ever come to dinner at the Stannix's, you can be rest assured that you won't have to eat with your hands (unless of course you want to).

And just because I am in love with this boys long, dark eyelashes, his baby blues and his crooked smile, I thought I'd post a picture!

Claim to Fame

Our house woke up super early this morning. Hyrum wanted his bottle at 7:00am and soon after his sister was awake. I went downstairs with the kiddos and Camilla wanted "bepest". After a cartoon or two it was time for Hyrum to get a bum change again. I put him on the floor in the hallway and changed his bum while he screamed "Wah! Wah!". At the same time Camilla was trying to talk over her brother, "I have to go pee! I have to go pee!" over and over again until I acknowledged her. When everything settled I went upstairs and related my story to Mr. Stannix.

...."Wah! Wah!" "I have to go pee!" "Wah!" "I have to go pee mommy!" "Wahhhhh!"....Then we laughed together and he pulled me into bed for a morning snuggle. Seconds after I hit the bed we heard, "Mum, I need a wipe!" We both burst out laughing and laughed really hard and then I headed downstairs to help out the girl in the bathroom. Ah, the life of a mother.

We spent the afternoon braving the blizzard outside (seriously like 2 feet of snow overnight) and went to Costco to pick up my pictures. We decided to make Grampy's Taco's tonight but I needed corn meal. We checked high and low at Costco and had no luck. We hit up Safeway on our way home and they were out of corn meal. I even made a stock boy check the back for me. Since both the kids were napping we went to the good ol' IGA near our old place. I love that store, they always have what I need. On our way there Mr. Stannix had his "Claim to fame". They were talking about TV's on the radio and he text in about the story of Camilla spraying our TV with water. It was read over the radio and they gave him a shout out. Awesome. He was pretty excited.

When we got home we unloaded the car and then Camilla hung outside with Daddy while he shoveled the bazillion inches of snow that dumped last night. We're walkin' in a winter wonderland once again.

Then Mr. Stannix started dinner. Grampy's Taco's take a while to make, but it's a fun process. We cranked up the music, danced, sang and flipped taco's (it's all in the lips or so I've heard). It was a great thing to do on a Saturday night! The first three flopped and mangled and ended up on the floor. Mr. Stannix is back to pro status though and flipping tacos could be his next claim to fame! When we had stuffed ourselves full of yummy goodness we counted up our toothpicks to see who ate more.

The kids went to bed shortly after dinner because we took so long with the prep work. I am so proud of how easily they both go to sleep. Prayers, stories, hugs and kisses, lights out and they both lay quiet in their beds awaiting sleep. Now it's time to tidy up the house and get it ready for Sunday!

Boycotting Naptime

Camilla's bed was clunking as she moved around upstairs, likely tucking in all her teddy bears and baby dolls for nap time. Hyrum was sleeping soundly in his crib and I prayed that she wouldn't wake him up. Having missed his morning nap, he really needed this one! I sat in the big chair in the living room and read my scriptures with my ears nice and big to hear any movement upstairs. The bed was still clunking and Camilla was whispering to herself and her baby dolls. I stood at the bottom of the creaky stairs and said "Shhh!" for what seemed like the millionth time. She got out of bed three times to pee, and I tucked her back into bed three times. After an hour or so I heard Hyrum say, "OoOo!" I scooped him from the crib, kissed Camilla good night for the 10298th time and headed down stairs. After a bottle I sat Hyrum in his saucer so I could do my hair in the bathroom (Hryum sometimes likes to dump Camilla's potty on the floor and play in it, hence the no babies in the bathroom rule). Since I shoveled the walks and made a batch of bread this morning I hadn't done anything more than dress myself. Mr. Stannix wanted to take us for dinner tonight to celebrate him not having to work tomorrow and I gladly welcomed the break from cooking. I wanted to look good for him, like really good, so I spent a few minutes dolling myself up for dinner while Hyrum chatted at me from his saucer. When I finally finished, Camilla was still rustling around in her bed. I went up to quiet her once more and try to get her to snooze. As I stood on the landing between the two bedrooms she had noticed my change in appearance.

"You don't have your glasses on!"
"Nope, I took them off and put in my contacts"
"Ohhhh... and your hair is all dry? After your shower?"
"Yup"
"Ohhh.... Did you do it?"
"Yes I did, do you like it?"
"Yes. Can you turn around so I can see your ponies?"
"Sure"
"It looks pretty Mommy"

I walked over to her bedside to pull up the covers once more and tuck her in.

"Thanks! After your nap I will brush your hair for dinner tonight with Daddy"
"Ohhh...Okay. And baby can come to dinner?"
"Of course"
"She wants to fly there"
"Okay! Now it's time to go to sleep"
"Ohhhh...."

I kissed her on the forehead and went back down stairs to Hyrum opening and closing cupboard doors. If Camilla doesn't fall asleep, I think I'll just go up and take her place on that comfy bed of hers. I'm exhausted!

Under the Table Smorg

"Sweet! I scored myself half a chocolate chip cookie AND a cracker today!"

Yes you did, buddy. Yes you did.

Your chipmunk cheeks gave ya away this time!

Gently Falling Flakes

"Mum, it's time for bepest! I'm HUNGRY!"

 These are the words that I have woken up to every day this week.

I looked out the window late this morning and saw snowflakes slowly whirling and twirling to the ground. As I watched the snowflakes dance, a feeling of excitement overtook me. This winter scene always seems so magical to me, especially when snowflakes are gently falling out the window. I decided it was a good morning to turn on the oven and whip up a batch of my favorite chocolate chip cookies. Hyrum went down for his nap and then my girl and I gathered the ingredients into a bowl. First we measured the margarine, then put it in the microwave to melt. Next, she dumped the sugar into the bowl. As I went back to the cupboard her little fingers made their way into the bowl for a little taste. I smiled to myself as I grabbed the margarine from the microwave and poured it in. Then it was time to mix in the vanilla. Once we had a nice soupy mixture the oats were added and swirled in. Then a few spices and then it was time for the chocolate chips. 

Again, her little fingers made their way into the bowl to pick a few chocolate chips up that were sitting on the surface. Then I gave her a few on the table to munch while I stirred in the rest of the dry ingredients. 

I left her in the kitchen for a few minutes while the cookies baked. When all was too quiet I went in to check on her and found that she had filled my measuring cup up with sugar and was eating it with her hands. Just when you thought she couldn't get any sweeter right?

Then we ate chocolate chip cookies hot out of the oven. Can there be anything better on a cozy winters day?

I've just been informed that it's time for "Munch". I think someone is growing again.

Waiting for Daddy

This afternoon shortly after 4:30 pm we began our wait for Daddy. The warm sun was illuminating my living room and the shadow of the lovely tree out our front window was cast upon the wall in the hallway. We occupied ourselves for a good half an hour making shadow puppets and playing with the sun. 

Then Hyrum got hungry for a snack and chilled out in his chair while he drank. Those little toes are the cutest things ever!

As I finish preparing dinner this song will continue to play on repeat along with this one.

And the wait for Daddy continues....

Discipline

Lately I've been struggling with the concept of obedience and discipline as I try to teach my two year old each day. It's been a frustrating learning experience, mostly because I have high expectations. The best way that Camilla can learn is from me and my example. I need to be careful how I speak, act and respond to things. When she is doing something and I feel the urge to tell her to stop, I ask myself three things.

1. Am I asking her to stop out of annoyance? (not a good reason)

2. Is it hurting anyone? (good reason)

3. Will what she is doing/learning negatively affect her in the future? (good reason)
  
These have helped me chill out a little bit and allow her to explore the world around her to the fullest. As I let her take the lead I've been able to see her in a whole new way. I am proud of her and the sweet little person that she is. It's awesome to see her grow and explore who she is as she gains more independence.

For the longest time this scripture has been on my fridge and throughout my day I would find myself repeating lines from the verses. "No power or influence ought to be maintained..." is one that gets repeated frequently. Other days it's "persuasion and long-suffering, persuasion and long-suffering.." And sometimes it's "love unfeigned".

I like the extra phrases that President Hinckley adds to these verses...

“Reproving betimes with sharpness, [When? While angry or in a fit of temper? No.] when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; [Does the Holy Ghost attend contentious reprovings? No.] and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;

“That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death” (D&C 121:43–44).

Being reminded of this scripture throughout my day helped me keep things in perspective. I was still feeling flustered though and continued to read conference talks and advice from others.

"Love should be the ruling principle and the motive force."
~David O. McKay

“Pure love is an incomparable, potent power for good. Righteous love is the foundation of a successful marriage. It is the primary cause of contented, well-developed children. Who can justly measure the righteous influence of a mother’s love? What enduring fruits result from the seeds of truth that a mother carefully plants and lovingly cultivates in the fertile soil of a child’s trusting mind and heart? As a mother you have been given divine instincts to help you sense your child’s special talents and unique capacities. With your husband you can nurture, strengthen, and cause those traits to flower”.
~Richard G. Scott

In my studies I stumbled upon a quote from a fabulous talk that has been a great help. It's perfectly simple and simply perfect.

"There is no discipline in all the world like the discipline of love. It has a magic all its own."

~Gordon B. Hinckley

Meet Saiko

 Saiko is super cute and likes to play.

Saiko made my Dad a Grampa for the third time.

Saiko is my brother's Great Dane puppy.

 

 

 My kids are in love.

Hryum couldn't stop giggling and "Ohh" ing all night

 

 

Saiko nibbled Hyrum's toes and was very gentle with the children.

 Saiko loved playing tug of war with Camilla.

We all loved spending time together as a family.

We also loved Kristen's cooking!

Walking Walking

This boy has loved being on his feet lately.

The Influence of Mother

We are still hanging at Gramma and Grampa's house for the week! As I type I am mising my hubby big time. I packed his orange Roots hoodie before we left so that I could cozy up in it whenever I needed to. FYI this is the longest time that we have spent apart in our whole 3 1/2 years of marriage. I can't wait to smooch him when he gets here tomorrow night!

Camilla has come down with a flu bug and is all feverish and snuggly. I like the snuggly part I'm not going to lie. I think I'll crawl into the big double bed with her tonight just to keep and eye on her. Since I was gone all day I took some extra time to snuggle with Hyrum before bed. I was overwhelmed with feelings of love for him. The unexpressible joy that comes from motherhood is amazing! He's been smiling, giggling and pulling himself up on furniture all week.

I have fallen in love with another quote that I spotted on a friends blog. It's been great to ponder and learn from it this week. Lately, I've been working on the "every response" part. Hopefully I'll have this mastered before all my kids leave home. Anyways, I think this quote is beautiful.

"A mother has far greater influence on her children than anyone else, and she must realize that every word she speaks, every act, every response, her attitude, even her appearance and manner of dress affect the lives of her children and the whole family. It is while the child is in the home that he gains from his mother the attitudes, hopes, and beliefs that will determine the kind of life he will live and the contribution he will make to society."

~ N. Eldon Tanner

Beauty All Around

 The sunrises have been just beautiful this entire week so far. I can't help but take pictures of them. Although I'm super tired in the morning, a part of me is glad that my kiddo's get me up to see them!

Hryum has been enjoying his time with Gramma and Grampa and has been full of smiles and giggles all week. His newest love is throwing himself backwards on the floor and laughing as he turns over and sits back up so that he can do it all over again.

This little lady has played hard this week. She's been doing "school" with Gramma and learning to recognize the numbers 1-5. She especially loves following her Auntie Emma around the house all day. She was so tired that she fell asleep on the chair this afternoon.

Be My Valentine?

Dear Mr. Stannix,
Happy Valentines Day darling. Will you be my Valentine? I put my hair in french braids this morning and thought of you. I took it out this afternoon and it's all wavy, just the way you like it. After breakfast I gave Camilla her Valentine treat (chocolate hugs). She's been wishing everyone a "Happy Balentine's day" all day and was thrilled to talk to you on your lunch break. Thanks for calling me today by the way.

It stinks being 227km away from you over Valentines. Thanks for the Valentines gift addressed from "Your Hottest Accountant Building of Love". Can't wait to cozy up next to you and watch that hockey game in the chilly Arena. Hope your day was good and you're enjoying the peace and quiet and having the bed all to yourself! Miss you like crazy!

Love,
Your wifey (and the Munchkins)

Sunrise

Dear Mr. Stannix,

This is how early I was up this morning. The sunrise was beautiful and made me think of you! I had a rather productive day (despite chatting with my sister until 2:00 am) and the kiddos enjoyed their time with Gramma this afternoon. I miss you and can't wait for next week!

Love,

Your Wifey

Hot Pink

Tonight Mr. Stannix insisted on going out to get Subway for dinner. I stole his shoe so he couldn't go because I was planning on making dinner. Then he convinced Camilla that Subway was yummy and she started getting her boots on to go with Daddy. After a mini wrestling match over his shoes he finally won and he and his girl took off to Subway. He came home later with eighteen hot pink roses. He made sure that I knew they weren't for valentines day (he thinks flowers on valentines is cliche) but "just because" roses for my long hard week. He pretty much made my week! I love that guy!

Happy Ending

Today was not my day. Everything that could go wrong did. I was awoken when Camilla dropped her baby on her brothers head while he was sleeping in the crib. Not fun. I left for our library program this morning with two screaming kids, thinking to myself, why oh why are you doing this? I was late picking up Mr. Stannix from work (but so was he, so it was okay). My metal mixing bowls have served me well the last couple of days and the kids love to drum on them. This is how I got my dishes done yesterday. They were quickly moved to the carpet after this shot to help dull the dinging.

My afternoon was full of a screeching baby and an expressive two year old. The highlight was listening to the two kiddos giggling when Camilla was hiding behind my curtains in the office. Alas, it didn't last long before Hyrum got pushed over. My patience-o-meter had gone way passed it's limit. I pulled dinner out of the oven only to discover it was burnt and threw in my oven mitts for the day.

Because Hyrum has had a bad case of the virus that's going around he got to bath on his own tonight. While I bathed Camilla he waited in an empty laundry basket at my feet so he wouldn't get into trouble. He only tipped it five times and almost smoked his head on the toilet bowl once. When it was finally his turn he loved having the whole tub to himself. It was quite funny to watch.

Mr. Stannix was out cold with a terrible headache (there will be ice cream later tonight to fix that). So I went ahead and put the kids to bed. And wouldn't you know it, I got a paper cut while reading the bedtime story, from a board book! It was cute watching Hyrum try to eat his sisters face as he jumped on his knees on the bed.

Hyrum needed help getting to sleep which resulted in me standing over his crib patting him to sleep. When I finally finished that, my girl was still awake. I tapped her side and she scooted over. I then crawled in next to her for a snuggle (it was more for me than for her). She quietly rolled over and fit her tiny body next to mine with her baby doll hugged in her arms. I ran my fingers through her damp blonde hair and massaged her head. Memories were brought back of when my Mum would do that to me at night, and it would comfort me and make me tired. Then I tugged up the leg of her pant and massaged her leg. When I finished with one, she pulled it away and moved the other one in for a rub. Next her arms were massaged and then we snuggled quietly in the dark. Neither of us saying anything to the other. I looked over and she was giving her baby a head rub, then we had to scratch baby's arms and legs too.

When I was about to leave it was as if she could sense it. She gave me her heat bag, "It's so warm and cozy from the microwave Mum". Then she tucked me under her fluffy warm blanket. Then she massaged my head and gave me a kiss. It was nice to slow down after a crazy day and just take in the moment. I never want to forget the way her fine, blonde hair slipped through my fingers. I never want to forget her cold, wet little lips on my cheek as she kissed me. I never want to forget the way she whispers "Low-you-too" as if it's all one word.

"If I could have one thing happen for parents and leaders of this Church, it would be that they feel the love of the Lord in their lives each day as they care for Heavenly Father's children." 

~Bonnie D. Parkin

Tonight, I felt of that love as I snuggled with my little girl. What a wonderful blessing little children are in our lives.

I am now off for some valuable Mr. Stannix time. I've missed that guy lots this week!

Sunset

It was just before dinner and time seemed like it was at a stand still. The children were crazy and ready for dinner. Usually around this time we play blocks, or read books, or stack up the blankets and pillows into a fort in the living room. Since it's near the end of the day, I am usually yawning non-stop and hanging out on the floor with my short people waiting for the sweet moment when I hear Mr. Stannix's feet hit the doorstep so I can smooch him. Yesterday, while we waited, we climbed up on the back of the couch and watched the sunset together. 

It was perfect.

From Nicaragua With Love

This afternoon Camilla had a hard time falling asleep at nap time, so we went outside to enjoy some sunshine and fresh air instead. I spotted this lovely little swing sitting in the corner of the office and came up with the genius idea of hooking it up where our porch swing used to hang last summer. Voila! 

My brother packed this darling swing back from his adventures in Nicaragua and gave it to us before we ever even had kids. 

Today my sweet little boy enjoyed swinging away the afternoon on our back deck beneath the suns rays.

As I watched him I pictured a chubby boy in just his diaper 

enjoying fresh, juicy fruit in the heat of the summer sun.

It was bliss.

Eating Peanut Butter 101

 Today Camilla requested a Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwich for lunch. 

I left the kitchen to check on Hyrum who was attempting to climb the stairs.

I returned to Camilla who was enjoying some peanut butter her own way.

 Step One: 

Extend pointer finger and dip

 Step Two:

I mean REALLY dip

 Step Three:

Be seated and enjoy

That's what I like to call finger lickin' good!

The Parking Meter

Today has been a great day! I woke up just before 7:00am to warm Hyrum a bottle. While he inhaled his bottle, I studied my scriptures on the couch, and soon the whole house was rockin'. As I made breakfast, Hyrum pulled out all my cookie sheets. I went over to rescue him and the honey bottle fell onto my grill and melted. I had to wipe it down and start again. When Mr. Stannix finished his shower we had heart-shaped pig in a poke, or egg in a basket, or toad in a hole. Everyone calls it something different. We are still debating between egg in a basket or pig in a poke.

The sun seems to be coming up earlier now. As I looked out our balcony this morning our deck was sparkling in the sunlight. Camilla begged me to let her outside, but it didn't last long. She checked out the snowman (who by the way is quickly losing weight on the one side) and kicked her ball around a bit and then came in to play with Hyrum.

When the kids went down for their nap this afternoon I sorted Hyrum's old clothes into a big box labeled Newborn - 6 Months.  There is one newborn outfit in particular that made me instantly want another one! I always find it a little bit sad boxing up clothes that are too small, it means my kids are growing up too fast!

Last Friday I took the kiddos to Strathcona Library for Hyrum's little program. I could only find metered parking, and didn't want to walk far with the kids, so metered it was. I got out, got the kids out, and then put the coins in the parking meter. Camilla burst into tears because she thought the parking meters were candy machines and wanted her jelly beans before we went inside. Silly girl. So we had a mini lesson on parking meters in the cold winters air and THEN went in to the library.

Yesterday Camilla was sitting on her Daddy's knee and watching a quick video. I walked in part way through. At the end a picture of the temple was shown and Camilla looked up at us and said, "I'm going to the temple someday. Im'a get married in the temple". It was really sweet to hear her say that to us as she continued to talk about how her Daddy and I were going to go with her too and some other stuff that got jumbled in. She has a picture of the temple by her bed and sometimes after stories we talk about the temple and how we are together forever.

I am so glad that I get to teach them simple lessons like this as we go about our day to day activities. We are constantly learning and growing together, and it's wonderful!

He's Got His Mamma's Eyes