Canadian Winters

I love Canadian winters. I love skating and watching hockey (which Mr. Stannix and I are going to do tonight for our date). I love the humor of Canadian winters though. You never know what to expect from day to day. Some weeks it's so cold that you don't leave your house for a long time, and other times, like today, it's practically T-shirt weather! I love the Winter-Spring transition time. As I played out on the back deck with the kiddos this morning a memory was brought back from growing up at the Acreage. One year around this time we built a walk-way out of plastic milk crates and boards over the snow and to the trampoline. We would go out in T-shirts, or shorts even, bare foot or socks, and just soak up the warm sun on the black surface of the trampoline, surrounded by snow. 

Today, we went out for some fresh air and our skins happily soaked up the suns rays while we relaxed on the back deck.

 Camilla cracked me up with her little toes.

 The sunshine was super bright!!

 We did some rocket-ship rides way up to the sky...

 I snuggled my little man (who's feeling much better today).

 Hyrum had fun in the swing and exploring on the deck. Camilla and I made snowballs to throw at the remains of our snowman. 

 Man, these two are getting way too big!!
 

Bul Go Gi House

Last night we spent some great time with family. Mr. Stannix's cousin, Tessie, was out from the East for a visit. We got together with some of the Stannix clan for dinner at the Bul Go Gi House. It's a delicious Korean restaurant! It was my first time there and it was super enjoyable. 

 Camilla enjoyed playing around with the chop sticks. We only had one major spill which is pretty good for dinner time and most of it was caught by the tray. When the waitress came by to see if any of us wanted drinks we were all good with water, but Camilla tried to order herself some pop, it was cute. Hyrum was a little warm and snuggly when we left the house. He cuddled Uncle Mike for most of the evening.

Auntie Chris ordered for us and picked some delicious things. Definitely next time we'll be ordering the Wantons again!

It was great to finally meet Tessie and be able to spend some time with her! I might have to get a cousin picture from Auntie Chris to put up here because I neglected to take one of the three cousins together. 

 Camilla tired so hard to use the chopsticks like the rest of us. She ate a lot of chicken and rice and also enjoyed her wanton. I was pretty proud of her.

Jake taught me how to use chopsticks and I had a blast eating with them! I only used my fork to cut my meat. Then Hyrum wanted to snuggle with his Mommy and no one else. He had a pretty good temp and luckily it was almost time to go. When dinner was over Hyrum ended the night by barfing all over the both of us. I think my shirt soaked up most of it. We went to the bathroom to clean up only to discover there was no paper towel in there. I stripped him down and wrapped him in my sweater so that I wouldn't be bringing a naked baby back to the table. He wore his diaper and his snowsuit home.

We all came back here and visited over dessert (big bowls of ice cream). Jake and Tessie read a million bed time stories to miss Camilla and she loved the attention. Great conversation was shared by all! Spending time with family rocks!

Chubby Fingers

Today after lunch Hyrum snuggled into his favorite sleepy-time blanket while I drew on his face with my fingers. Before long he was asleep. I couldn't help but stare at him while he slept. I am in love with his whispy hair. I adore his long, dark eye lashes. I am fond of his tiny nose and his pink lips. But his chubby little boy fingers will always have a special place in my heart.

Lunch Prayers

The highlight of my day so far is when Camilla said lunch prayers. 

My favorite line from the whole thing was 

"Please bless Camilla, she'll be obedient...." 

I had to try really hard not to laugh. She's such a sweetheart.

More of McQueen

Mr. Hyrum is super obsessed with this little red car. Now that he has mastered getting on and off he is on to a new challenge. He was such a laid back kid, we figured he would never have the desire to walk for a long time, but I guess we were wrong! If there's one thing I love about this little boy it's that he has his Daddy's determination. Once he starts something, there's no stopping him until he's mastered it. He walked around the house all afternoon yesterday with McQueen practicing his steps and his balance.

He would get so frustrated when he would fall down, but before long he'd decide that crying was a waste of time and then he'd get right back up and continue saying "Go! Go! Go!" over and over.

Right Left Right Left Right Left

And ya know what? He's almost got it!

Backwards

This is kind of how my day went today...

After much practicing, lifting and lowering his one leg, 

Hyrum can finally climb on to his car all by himself.

Backwards...

But none the less, this boy couldn't be more proud!

I could just eat those cheeks!

Spiritually Uplifted

Today I had the privilege of attending a Stake Relief Society activity. It's always hard for me to work up the courage to actually go, but I always come home grateful that I went. Mr. Stannix gladly watched the children all day and encouraged me to go. I always like to get there super early so that I can find a table and have other people join me, I don't like doing it the other way around because I'm a super shy type when it comes to things like that. It started out with an awesome brunch with delicious fruit and muffins and then we moved on to the service projects. There was lots of sewing and knitting going on. I tied quilts for a good two hours and my fingers are still a bit numb. I think all together we all tied 60+ quilts. They were all so gorgeous too, the type that are hard to give away. I hope they will make someone feel loved and warm.

After the service project we had the privilege of hearing from Sister Wendy Watson Nelson (here and here). Her talk was great and just what I needed to hear today. 

She talked about how before we came here we all made "premortal commitments". These can be covenants, talents, promises, and help us find out who we really are. It is important that we find out what these are and maybe try to list them so that we can better ourselves and learn how to better "fill the measure of our creation".

She told us how our Spirits long to PROGRESS. If we aren't progressing and learning our spirits will probably not be happy. Sometimes I can get in this rut and it seems that if I start praying and studying and desiring to progress I begin to feel much better. 

She talked about how angels are on our right hand and our left and all we need to do is ask for them. This was very comforting to me and something I had never really thought about before. 

The last part of her talk focused on the importance of being holy. What would a Holy woman do? She talked about how important it is as mothers to "keep our homes and the hearts inside of it pure". I love love loved this point! It awakened in me a new desire to keep the hearts of my children pure and holy and watch closely what we are allowing into our home. She shared a story about a couple who did a spiritual inventory of their home and got rid of bad movies, music etc so that the spirit could be there in FULL ABUNDANCE. Ask ourselves, "Whose agenda is this supporting?". 

She then spoke of the importance of being WITH our children and not just around them. Sure as mothers we are home with our children daily, but she talked about playing WITH them and spending time WITH them. Last week I kept the computer shut down during the day because I felt that it was something that was hindering me from spending quality time with my children. This limited blog time, facebook time, e-mail time...and it was wonderful! We sang, danced, watched Little House on the Prairie and played silly games together. Those were the happiest days I've had in a long time. I now have a new found desire to spend time WITH my children. 

She talked about seeing each child as a child of God. As we see them with these new eyes we will have an increase of love for them and be more careful with our words and actions. She said, "You can comfort them best and that is your PRIVILEGE". Wow, what a great perspective to have up your sleeve for those late nights and tough moments.

She quoted an awesome verse from Doctrine and Covenants which talked about how "ye must practise holiness before me continually". I am still pondering on this and am so excited to bring this into my daily life with the little things I do each day. When faced with a challenge, a troubled toddler, a screaming baby, I can ask myself, "What would a holy woman do?". 

I came home so excited to share these things with Mr. Stannix and to share my thoughts, desires and struggles. I am so glad I have a husband who is willing to listen to me, hold me close and dry my tears. Today has been an emotional day (in a good way) and I loved the feelings of the spirit that I received. I got a little jealous of Daddy's today. I walked in the door and the look of excitement on Hyrum's face was the best thing ever. His eyes lit up when he saw me and a huge grin spread from ear to ear as he opened and shut his little hands and waved hello. I was so glad to be home to mommy my children and hold them close.  

Flour Tortillas

Today was pretty good. I definitely felt the tired, end of the week feeling that comes with Friday. We had to get out of the house so we hit up the swimming pool for most of our morning. The kids enjoyed it! Then we had some chicken noodle soup for lunch to warm us up. "This soup is warming up inside my belly, mamma," is what Camilla said. All day today she's been calling me "Mamma". I blame Little House on the Prairie. That girl seriously loves that show, and I'm not even kidding. It's sweet. She's been calling me it all day but I still have to register it before I answer her. Hyrum discovered the garbage today (yuck) and is enjoying the world at this new found height.

For dinner I decided to try out home made flour tortillas. I tried a recipe a few years ago and love this one way better! The texture was great and they tasted way better than store bought! I rolled them out so thin that I could see my green counter through them, but they are super sturdy and didn't break when I would flip them over. They were a little small though. I might double the batch next time and just make them bigger. I've been thinking about trying out some Cafe Rio recipes for a while. It was Mr. Stannix's favorite place in the whole world to eat while he was on his mission in Utah (and still might be). I've been told he would (if given the chance) take a flight down there just to have lunch at Cafe Rio. I've found some fun recipes people have made claiming to taste like Cafe Rio and figured I'd have to perfect the homemade tortilla before I could try any of 'em. 

After dinner we cruised around Wal-mart. We needed milk for the weekend and also saw that Dr. Seuss books were on for a pretty good deal. Hyrum fell asleep in the cart and Camilla just had fun chatting our ears off about everything. 

Then it was bath time. Hyrum stood up in the tub so many times that I'm surprised he even got wet. He's such a mover now! Camilla protested like crazy when it came time for hair washing... After prayers Daddy took the girl upstairs to read her some Dr. Seuss. I cozied Hyrum up in his favorite soft blanket and we snuck up the creaky stairs to have a listen. I went into our bedroom across the hall and layed on our bed with Hyrum on my chest. 

Mr. Stannix's voice was so lovely to listen to. Listening to him read is one of my favorite things. His voice was so soothing. Hyrum suddenly became limp and he drifted off to dreamland. Then kisses were had and lights turned out. I enjoyed my boy for a few minutes and then took him over to his crib, smooched and hugged Camilla good night and headed down stairs. A day well spent.

The Weak of Stomach

Today was a busy, productive day for me. I was done two loads of laundry, breakfast, dishes, folding, and tidying all before 10:00am. For the rest of the morning and afternoon I watched my friends sweet little girl. The kids played fairly well together. We brought out the blocks, the tunnel, the little chair, dolls and strollers to keep us all occupied. It worked out well. 

After lunch Hyrum was a little antsy given that it was almost his nap time so I lifted him up on my shoulders to keep him occupied. We bounced and danced around the house while the girls played. Then Camilla ran to the bathroom to use the potty and I heard Hyrum let out a big burp, followed by puke running down my hair and face. It was thick and white and pasty. I imagined this is what it's like when a bird flies over and drops that white stuff on your head...I lifted him off my shoulders and bent down to sit him on the floor. He had puked on his white sock, so I proceeded to wipe it up. As I bent over to wipe his sock off puke dripped down my stray strands of hair and onto the floor. Dripped! I could have vomited myself, but at the thought of having to clean THAT up, I talked myself out of it. I let down my messy bun and stuck my head under the shower to rinse it out. I shall never forget March 1st of 2012. 

After a good visit with friends, our house was once again just the three of us for the rest of the afternoon. Hyrum went for his nap without complaint and Camilla and I turned on some Little House on the Prairie at her request. It was fun to snuggle up on the couch and watch it with her. I then remembered the pail of ice cream in the freezer. Last night after dessert I had left maybe one scoop in the bottom (don't ask me why). I pulled it out, drizzled some Caramel on top (if it was Mr. Stannix it would have been chocolate) and grabbed two little spoons. We then sat on the couch together and ate ice cream, right out of the bucket, and giggled. Oh how I cherish those little moments Camilla and I can share together.

This month I am excited to cook some green food and celebrate the Irish in me! 

Happy March everyone!

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.