Some Happenings

Life can get pretty crazy sometimes. For the past few weeks I have been barely keeping things together around here. I have reached the end of my rope and I am hanging on for dear life! General Conference last week provided just the spiritual boost I needed to get our life back in order and to be the mother I want to be. After a long Winter and a fair amount of Easter goodies, the children have been full of energy and hard to tame! Sometimes I watch Joseph run back and forth over and over from the kitchen to the livingroom and just laugh in awe of his ability to go from sun up to sun down every single day. Finley is a fabulous baby but hasn't been a fabulous sleeper as of late and I am just plain exhausted. I have had my fair share of bad mommy days and have gone to bed in tears with a hope that I will try better tomorrow. As I press forward through the challenges I have been blessed to see the tender mercies in our home and feel the joy that my children bring me each day.

I absolutely adore waking up to Mr. Finley's little grins each morning. Tummy time in the front room has become a new love as we both bask in the mornings rays and enjoy a bit of quiet time.

We have also had a few productive "school" days and are currently studying plants in light of Spring being upon us. 

I love that even though I plan things mostly for Camilla, the other two boys can easily join in and learn a little something too! We are currently waiting for our bean plants to grow and charting our observations each day. I love the internet and the vast resource it is for homeschooling!

And whenever I am having a tough day I catch a glimpse of these beautiful flowers from a friend blooming on my kitchen table. They remind me that I am not as alone as I sometimes feel and that there is beauty all around!

We have also revamped the chore charts in an effort to feel more organized. I think it's important for children to work hard and serve in the home as they grow. I recall dish duty growing up with fondness. Lots of memories and opportunities to chat with my parents and work through problems. They have been doing good for the most part. I just need to figure out how to stop Joseph from picking off the star stickers.

The weather has been beautiful this week and we have had many opportunities to play out side. In a way this has been really refreshing for me. I cherish the moments I get to spend in the quiet of my home while the children are out in the yard laughing and enjoying one another. They did a little "signs of Spring" scavenger hunt and my heart melted when I peeked out the back door to find Hyrum working so diligently on his little pictures.

We have had some nice afternoon walks and have enjoyed exploring the neighborhood again!

Joseph loves being in the backyard and is the happiest when he's there. This week he started spontaneously saying "I love you, Mom..." without being prompted. He will randomly say this with arms open wide as he comes in for a hug and a smooch. This guy totally holds my heart and moments like that make me almost forget all of the crazy stuff he does.  

I also couldn't resist a picture with this handsome gent the other day. He is getting so grown up these days that my heart can hardly take it!  And so I press on each day, mustering up every last ounce of energy I can manage, with a prayer in my heart that I will be able to be the mother my children need me to be.

Funny Face

Funny face, I love you!

(Somebody scratched himself in the middle of the night)

Hoppy Easter

Since we like to keep Easter Sunday to celebrate the Savior, the Easter Bunny visited our house on Saturday instead. Our day began before the sun even woke up. The boys were the first ones up and had to wake Camilla. I could have stayed in bed for a few extra minutes but I wanted to see their faces.

This kid is so cute it kills me!

Camilla was excited about her new Easter dress and the hubba bubba that the sneaky bunny left. We spent our morning watching General Conference and then did a quick egg champ so that we could enjoy egg salad sandwiches for lunch.

Hyrum and Camilla were our first competitors.

 Daddy and Joseph went head to head.

And Hyrum and I battled it out for the title. Turns out my little egg head was stronger than I thought!

We enjoyed Ham, homemade buns, pistachio pudding, garlic mashed potatoes and corn for dinner. It was pretty low key. For dessert we had lemon cheesecake, just like my mamma makes it. She made this dessert in a heartshaped pan the day Mr. Stannix and I got engaged. I love the tastes of my childhood.

After that we spent the rest of the evening together listening to Finley's stories and playing in the basement. We all pitched in to clean up the kitchen and the house was tidy and silent by 8:30PM so that Mr. Stannix and I could enjoy a few hours together.

Twenty-six

 Today I celebrated my 26th birthday. It started bright and early with breakfast in bed and gifts. Camilla excitedly brought me her gift wrapped in a brown box with a bow on top and a whole lot of scotch tape to keep it shut. She had wrapped it a week ago and has been waiting and waiting for my special day to watch me open it. Inside I found one of her teddies and an old pair of my slippers which she promptly placed on my feet to keep them warm. I love that girl and the love that she has for those around her. 

 

In the late morning a dear friend gifted me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a trip to the grocery store sans kids. It was pretty great! I spent the day surrounded with those I love most and enjoyed many birthday calls from family. I enjoyed a few quiet moments of self reflection and set some goals for this next year. Mr. Stannix arrived home from work a bit earlier than usual and ordered pizza for the kiddos and Auntie Chris who kindly agreed to babysit for the entire evening! I left a bottle in the fridge and prepped myself for a whole evening away from my baby.

 

Our night began at a cute little Italian joint called Franco's. The atmosphere was lovely and the food was delish! If I could eat pasta every day I would!

 

Mr. Stannix and I both ordered different dishes so that we could share, but both of us ended up liking our own dishes better anyway. I had a delicious chicken lasagne topped with mushrooms and lots of cheesy goodness and I ate the entire thing.

 Mr. Stannix watched me eat with a twinkle in his eye knowing how much I enjoy food and feeling pretty proud of himself for picking such a great place to eat. I love that guy!

We finished off our evening in Row 7 at Rexall to watch the Oilers take on the Kings.  We snuck out a few minutes early missing the final goal that led to their 4-2 win against LA. We beat traffic and arrived home to a quiet house and sleeping kiddos.

A Favorite

Bathing my baby is one of my favorite things.  Sometimes when I look at him tears of gratitude well up in my eyes for his perfect little body, his happy disposition and the joy he brings to our family. He is such a little blessing

Good Friday

Our Good Friday was oh so good. The weather can't quite decide what it's doing though so we've been alternating between snow covered ground and brown grass. I am looking forward to packing up the snow gear until next year. 

Mr. Stannix had the day off yesterday and we kicked off our weekend with breakfast at iHop. The kids each got a funny face pancake, I enjoyed a huge plate of french toast and Mr. Stannix had an egg sandwich. I enjoyed having him around all day to help with the kiddos and snuggle Finley while I tried to get stuff done.

After dinner we decorated Easter eggs. It's been a tradition since forever and the littles are finally catching on to the whole thing. 

We had a vast array of colors and some crayons to get the job done.

Joe started out with the trustee whisk to avoid any casualties...

But quickly graduated to the spoon after watching the older two.

Hyrum LOVED putting his eggs in the food coloring mixture.

And concentrated extra hard when it came to scribbling on them.

Camilla got extra creative and made a few two toned eggs. She was pleased as punch about those little eggs of hers.

Mr. Stannix always puts a lot of effort into his eggs.

He turned his two into "Fire" and "Water".

Here's his game face for the egg champ which will take place tomorrow!

I loved hanging out with this little man and watching. It seemed weird to have such a quiet Easter, just our little family.

Surprisingly we only had one casualty the entire evening.

Lots of fun had by all, even if my minions looked more like egg heads than minions.

Easter Minis

Last week my sister was close by doing Easter minis and we went out for part of an afternoon to keep her company while she waited for her next shoot. She snapped a bunch of awesome pictures of the kiddos and we had a lot of fun despite the chilly weather. When I look at these I can't get over how big and grown up these kids are getting! We will be spending our weekend listening to General Conference and celebrating Easter as a family. The Easter bunny will be visiting on Saturday so that we can keep Sunday as a special day to remember our Savior and all that he has done for us. Because He lives I know that I can be together with my family forever. Happy Easter!!

A New Treasure

I have been drooling over these wooden growth charts for a while now. Not too long ago I e-mailed the idea to my Dad hinting at a Christmas present for the future. Last time I was out at the Acreage, my Dad was out in the garage working away and he came in and surprised me with my very own wooden ruler. He is a pretty busy guy, so the fact that he took time out of his day to do this for me really meant a lot. He built a jig to help him router out the lines evenly and took care finishing the edging. We then worked together painting the tick marks, sanding, and staining the board. I will never forget how loved I felt when he walked into the house to show me what he had been working on when he could have been doing a million other things. I love my Dad. This will definitely be a treasure for our family and a constant reminder of how much my Dad loves me.

April Fools

 The wind sang and howled all night long blowing in a nice, slushy storm. The snow began around 7:00am and hasn't stopped. I looked out the window this morning and felt bad for this poor robin. It seems Mother Nature frequently likes to make it snow on April Fools. 

We braved the wind and wet snow to make it to and from the grocery store before it got any worse. The children were pretty well behaved. I only had a few people inquire if they were all mine and a sweet elderly gentlemen smile and wave at Joseph while he told me I had my hands full. Camilla was standing on the front of the cart, Hyrum was standing on the back,  Joseph was strapped into the seat, and Finley was sleeping away snuggled next to me in the carrier. I joked that I actually had a cart full and got a good chuckle out of him.

 

Camilla kept Finley happy while I unloaded the groceries. Today has officially been dubbed an inside day. That wind is insane. It's a good day to eat chicken noodle soup for lunch, and bake cookies!