N is for Nest

 After studying plants for the last few weeks, it's time to move on to something new. I came across a bunch of cute bird crafts and this weeks focus will be all about birds! Since the littles have been around baby chicks a lot, I am excited to reinforce the tiny bit of the birds life cycle that they know about. 

Today we started out with the letter "N" to incorporate some preschool letter recognition for Hyrum (honestly, he knows most of his letters already thanks to his stellar big sister). But they both had fun gluing and writing!

After that we did up a simple homemade bird feeder for the backyard. Later this week I plan to make up some toilet paper roll binoculars so that we can do some bird watching. 

 I am beyond excited about the leaves popping out on the trees! The grass gets greener every day and we are enjoying the blue sky and sunshine!

While Joseph and Finley were napping we whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies. It's always fun baking with these two! Camilla loves to crack the eggs and grab ingredients. We've made cookies together so many times that she can basically list off the things we need. 

I enjoyed some post nap cuddles with Joe while he munched on a couple cookies. Even though we didn't get much cleaning done, I'm feeling accomplished because we have played and laughed together today! I am loving the extra "please" and "thank-you's" I've been getting! There is nothing better than when they wrap their little arms around my neck spontaneously! I am pretty sure a little extra love and time can cure almost anything.

Grass Between the Toes

Yesterday was a terrible, rotten, no good day. It started out with Joseph chucking a bottle of BBQ sauce from the shopping cart resulting in a "clean up in aisle two". The older two were so amazed by it that they squatted nearby and asked if they could watch it until someone came to clean it up. I never knew BBQ sauce could be so interesting! The rest of the day was filled with melt downs and all kinds of tantrums imaginable. I bit the bullet and took them to the park hoping some sunshine and fresh air would help, but we had a potty accident soon after arriving and a second little who needed to use the potty even though I reminded him ten times before leaving the house. Daddy was at a board meeting which meant that I had to do bed time solo. I sat down after everyone was asleep and let out a sigh of relief. One more Monday down, a bajillion more to go! 

One thing I love about Motherhood is the tiny moments of joy that can be found amidst the chaos if we're looking for them. The temperature reached well into double digits today and the littles were beyond excited to spend the afternoon in their bare feet in the backyard. At one point in the afternoon I was upstairs rocking Finley to sleep in my arms and I walked over to the window in my bedroom with him to check on the kids. Through the opened window I could feel the fresh breeze and hear their sweet conversations. When I realized they were drawing all over the trampoline with chalk I bit my tongue and asked myself, "Is it hurting anyone?" The answer was clearly no, so I stood in silence and let it be. 

In that moment my heart was filled with so much love and joy for these three little people. Even though they fight and argue their relationship runs deep. I love watching them be kind, say sorry without me asking, and defend each other with a fierce love. It's moments like these that help me brush off all the bad and remind me that I have good kids, and that I need to stop being so hard on myself.

Oh how I love those barefeet, the grass between my toes, and the Summer sun! Children really do bring so much joy to our little home!

Four Months

 Finley is four months old today! He's got lots of awesome rolls and is loved by all. He is such a fun little guy and I love watching his personality develop. We all love how easy going and chill he is. When he wakes up in the morning he always greets the day with a smile. He loves when his older siblings gather around him for morning chats. The hugs and kisses are endless and he is getting used to a certain someone who likes to occasionally poke him in the eye as of late. His days are filled with lots of cat naps, and lots of play time. He enjoys his play mat and exersaucer and is learning how to use the jolly jumper. He also spends a lot of time snuggled in the baby carrier while I help the other children and tidy the house. Lately his fists and fingers are constantly in his mouth and I am pretty sure the teething process has begun. He sleeps a nice long stretch from around 8:00PM until midnight and then is up every few hours to feed during the night. Between him and Joe I usually wake up feeling just as tired as when I went to bed, but I wouldn't change it for anything! Finley brings so much joy to our home and I couldn't imagine life with out him! 

Home

 I love going home, and I extra love Mr. Stannix for letting me go home to get some rest and "country air" and indulge in lengthy conversations with my wonderful parents. It's been a great visit! I love that the littles always request Gramma's pancakes for breakfast. It was nice to take a break from cooking, and they like hers better anyhow. 

The last day their I said I was "kind of pancaked out" when Gramma asked what we should have for breakfast. Hyrum quickly said, "I'm not! I'm pancaked in!" Eating stacks of them with peanut butter and Gramma's wide variety of fruit syrups always makes a good start to any morning. Post breakfast baby snuggles are always good too!

The littles loved all of the extra space to run and I loved not having to shush them while they played outside. It was fun watching them explore and have a little independence. The older two went on a few fun dates with Grampa and I even got a whole afternoon break from my Joe. I love them all to bits, but it sure is good for a Mommy to catch a break every once and a while. 

When the littles were occupied I went to my Grandparents place next door for a visit. My Gramma enjoyed some baby snuggles and I enjoyed visiting and serving them. I drove back to the city feeling renewed and energized despite the late nights spent visiting and the early mornings. I am so grateful for my wonderful parents and all that they do for me!

Spring at the Acreage

We took a bit of a spontaneous trip out to the Acreage this week for some new arrivals. The post office called the house bright and early to let us know that we had a box of baby chicks waiting for us at the loading dock. We took the kids in nice and early this morning to pick them up.

Camilla was instantly smitten with the little peeping chicks and we listened to them cheep all the way home!

Camilla got to hand them to Grampa one at a time so that he could show them how to drink and find their food.

It was quite exciting piling in the coop to watch these little chickies for the morning!

Hearing all fifty of them peeping all at once is one of the sweetest sounds! 

Hyrum loved holding them all by himself this year.

So sweet!

It was fun zooming out and watching the kids from the background. 

We spent a good chunk of time just watching the chicks run around, or eat, or walk in the water, or sleep under the light. 

My parents were also lucky to have a mamma hen set some eggs. They just hatched a few days ago and it is unreal watching her with them. When I see the way she huddles her babies under her wings it makes me want to snuggle my children closer. There is much to be learned from a mother hen about mothering.

Joseph wasn't into the little chicks as much. He spent the morning saying "Yee-haw Cowboy!" and running around the acreage. He spent all day outside! When he came in with dirty shoes, I took them off to find dirty socks, and took those off to find dirty little toes! He is a boy through and through!

When it came time to let the chicks settle we could barely peel these two away! I'm sure they will have just as much fun with these little baby chicks tomorrow! And I am now signing off, way later than I should be! I'm sure my baby will be up to nurse soon! I will be pondering that mother hen and mothering all night I'm sure. 

Undivided Attention

Today the littles and I escaped the city to visit an old friend. Before leaving I made sure Mr. Stannix was taken care of on the meal front by leaving some leftovers in the fridge and baking up a batch of bagels for his breakfasts. After folding three loads of laundry, tidying up the house a bit and packing, we managed to leave before lunch! We arrived at my friends place in the early afternoon. 

It was fun to reunite our kiddos after a whole YEAR and see them play so well together! Our first babies were just eight days apart.

We keep in touch on the phone and share our mothering woes quite often...

So when our two little trouble makers got together to do what they do best, we just had to laugh!

And take pictures of course...

On our way out to the Acreage we stopped part way for a picnic dinner and a stretch at the lake. The littles were thrilled with this little park that we found!

The swings were an especially big hit!

This little girl cracks me up so much lately. Her personality is so so great! I can't believe how big and beautiful she is. She is a hoot!

I loved traveling with these little people today. Some might think that a road trip with all four is brave, but they are honestly so good! I loved spending the day with them disconnected from technology and connecting with them. I loved the fact that Camilla sat behind me in Joe's seat and chatted my ear off the whole way. 

I feel like I've blinked and they have all grown so much! It seems like just yesterday I was paranoid about them braving the stairs and following them up to the slide or catching them at the bottom and now I don't have to worry! Except, I will always worry, because I am a mother. I will always worry if I have taught them enough, loved them enough, or spent enough time with them. I'm sure I will worry when they become more independent as teenagers and definitely I will worry about them when they leave home. But for now, I enjoy watching them learn and explore each day. I love their optimism and zest for life. I love watching them dare new heights and push themselves to do new things. Being a mother is one of the greatest things in this life!

Jolly Good

Somebody is starting to really love his Jolly Jumper!!

Yee-haw Cowboy

I was nursing in the living room and heard a "Yee-haw Ca-boy!" from around the corner.

Had to laugh when I checked him out!

Love this kid.

A Delight

 There was a moment this morning when Mike and I were sitting quietly in the front room and he looked over at me and said, "Today is a good day. It's been a while since we've had a good Sunday." I'm sure parents with littles can relate. Most Sundays I wake up with a vision of a perfect morning before church in mind. If the children squabble and fight throughout the week, surely we can make Sunday a better day! And then before you know it everybody is asking you for things all at once. "Mom! Where's my church shoes!?" "Make him stop poking me!" "The baby spit up again!" "Mom!" "I'm hungry!" And I can feel my face getting hot as frustration in the home builds. Then after a certain child pokes his brother for the millionth time that morning I kind of lose it. And I feel like my Sunday is ruined. 

But not today! Today was a good Sunday, and not because everything was perfect, but because I tried my best to have a good attitude despite the bumps along the way. Since we missed taking Easter pictures we braved the wind and cold today to get a few quick shots. Hyrum got a new suit for Easter and Joe got new church shoes (which he refused to wear) and I wanted a picture of my boys in their Sunday best.

 After a quick lunch we were off to 1:00PM church. Sometimes Joseph falls asleep on the short drive there and if we are lucky we can lay him on the bench and he sleeps through the first meeting. When I pulled up and heard him sneeze in the back seat I knew we were in for a long Sunday, but we cheerfully pressed on. As I walked into the building I realized that I had split the zipper on my skirt. I tugged and pulled in attempt to fix it with no luck. I left the children seated reverently with Mr. Stannix and took Finley home with me so that I could change. He had just filled his diaper anyways and could probably use a change as well. I quickly changed (and brushed my teeth because I didn't have time to earlier) and got Finley settled. By the time we made it back the meeting had begun. Finley was asleep in his car seat so I brought it into the chapel with me (even though we NEVER do) just to keep him asleep. I opened up the doors to the chapel in a hurry only to find all of the young men lined up at the back since they had just finished passing the bread. Embarrassed, I mouthed a "Sorry" and waited in the hall for the water to be passed.

 I went in and found our bench MUCH fuller than we had left it and felt terrible about bringing the huge car seat in. The boys fought over who was going to sit on my lap, Hyrum bonked someone in front of us with his arm and they were both being so loud. Just when we got them settled Finley woke up and then all three of them fought over who would entertain him while he sat in his car seat. Hyrum then fell funny off the bench banging his knee and began crying loudly so Daddy quickly took him to the hall. Then Finley began crying because he was hungry and there was no way I could leave Joseph there on his own, so I got up to leave while whispering for Joseph to follow me. Well, that two year old was bound and determined that he was NOT going anywhere without his shoes. I stood, or slouched in the aisle while I watched him struggle to put on his runners before he would follow. The first one went on the wrong foot and didn't quite fit, so then he tried the other foot, got frustrated and switched shoes. Meanwhile my face was beginning to burn and I am sure I was red from head to toe. I didn't really want to crawl over the family beside us AGAIN just to grab Joe and exit again. Thankfully the man sitting beside us recognized my frustration and quickly put on Joseph's shoes. I am certain that two year olds have more determination than I will ever have in my life. I met Mr. Stannix in the hall and explained the whole scene and we had a good laugh about it.

 I spent the last bit of that meeting in the mothers room changing the boy's bums and nursing the baby while Joseph rocked on the second chair. When it came time to drop Joseph off to nursery his lip turned to a pout and he burst into tears at the door. I knew it was probably because he was just so over tired. I got down to his level with Finley propped on one side and he threw his arms around my neck and sobbed. I was due to play piano in Primary any minute. Thankfully Daddy came down the hall and saved the day! I scrambled into the Primary room just in time for the opening song while Mr. Stannix ran out to the van. Camilla had made some things for her class (gifts are truly her love language) and left them in her mexican backpack in the van. Mr. Stannix came in with the wrong bag, it looked more African than Mexican. We giggled in the back of the room since I had told him it was in the Mexican bag, before I ran out to get the right bag. I arrived back just in time to play the piano so that we could all sing happy birthday to the kids who recently had birthdays. Finley slept through the rest of Primary while I played for two separate singing times. Choir was canceled after church so I loaded up all the kiddos and we made our way home. Joseph had fallen asleep on the way so I carried him in and plopped him on the couch in hopes that he wouldn't nap long. While I took the "I'm Hungry" complaints I preheated the oven to throw in a homemade frozen lasagna. Then I made up some cheese and crackers to tide over hungry tummies until Dinner. Daddy got tied up with Priesthood responsibilities and we didn't see him until an hour after church had finished. When he came home I was fast asleep in a chair with Finley on my chest. We had just survived another Sunday, but this time it was better. This time it was a delight all thanks to the scripture that Mr. Stannix shared with me that morning before we left for church.

“If thou turn away … from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, … and shalt honour [the Lord], not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord.” Isaiah 58:13-14

"Bike Business"

Today Hyrum got to spend the day with Daddy on "bike business" as he called it. Mr. Stannix has started biking to and from work and went to check out a few new bikes today. The trip included a few different bike shops and lunch at Wendy's. Hyrum loved chatting away and spending time with his Dad and came home grinning ear to ear. Instead of a new bike for Daddy they ended up with a new bike for Hyrum. He is at an awkward size right now, in between his old and new bike. His old one is small for him and this one is almost just right. Mr. Stannix decided to fix up his old Kona instead of buying a new bike. Hyrum enjoyed tinkering around with him in the yard. It was a pretty special day for the two of them!!