Little Things

It is finally starting to feel a little bit like Spring. For the last few weeks we have woken to the sound of birds singing in our backyard. This morning the combination of blue sky, first morning light, and birds singing made me giddy for warmer weather to come. After waving the big kids off to school I had a huge desire to start Spring cleaning. I tore apart the windows in the upstairs bedrooms, caked with dirt and grime, and washed them in the tub. The crisp morning air was refreshing! The boys played at my feet, wrestled on the toddler bed, and giggled away while I scrubbed the gunk out of the window sills. It's a simple thing that only I will notice, but it felt so good to see them all nice and white again when I put them back together. Once we were all finally dressed and ready for the day, we went out for a walk! Beautiful weather like this must not be wasted inside.

Lately balance has been a huge struggle for me. Our house always feels like a disaster and there is endless spills and messes to clean up. It's always hard to decided between work and play. If work wins, I feel guilty for not playing, and if play wins, then not enough work gets done.  There is a continual pile of laundry to be folded on my downstairs couch, and the sink is rarely empty of dirty dishes.  Just a few weeks ago somebody spilled their hot chocolate after complaining about how little they got compared to everyone else. The cup was too close to the edge and it truly was an accident. I had to swallow my anger over being called names and remind myself to have a gentle touch as I went over to said child and asked if he was okay. Then I looked at the floor and what I thought was an empty cup was not. I totally had to bite my lip as I mopped up the puddle of sticky hot chocolate and throw out the mug with the busted handle. I then took a deep breath and excused myself to my room. Sometimes all of the frustrating parts of a day build and build and when they finally climax ya just need a good cry. My dear boy found me tucked under the covers in my room, told me he loved me and apologized for spilling. I wasn't even really upset about that, just everything. He brought me his eye-spy book to cheer me up and asked if we could do it together. So, instead of starting dinner, we snuggled on my bed with our backs against the tear stained pillow finishing page after page of the book.

Motherhood teaches so much about forgiveness, patience, and understanding. I feel so blessed to have all of these littles in our home to help me learn more about myself. I've been jotting down these little things over the past month just so I never forget the way things are right now. The kids are growing up so fast! The older two spend more time away from home than at home and it's so hard for me! I am trying to make the time we spend together count and make sure that their needs and concerns are met. The little guys are so busy that most days feel like a blur. Sometimes it does me good to slow down and pray to see the world through their eyes.

Camilla is so grown up lately. Her sense of humor is hilarious and she is super witty! Sometimes she has a hard time with all of these brothers of hers and often asks for special girl time, or extra chats. She has kept her room clean for practically an entire year and has a nice little routine. She pre-dates all of her journal pages and makes sure to only write one page each night. She is ultra organized and often reminding us of when she needs rides to activities and where the meeting spot is for pick up. A few weeks ago she and Hyrum left for school without their fundraising forms (which were due that day). I quickly loaded the boys and headed to the school to drop them off. Just as I had parked my phone rang, it was Camilla, to remind me that the forms were due today and ask if I could drop them off. I told her Joe was just on his way to the office with them and she ran and met him there. She is always on top of everything and I love it! I never have to worry about her forgetting to do anything. She has just started gymnastics once a week and absolutely loves it! Her size and athletic abilities are definitely in her favor. My favorite thing about her growing up right now is when she hops up on the counter top at days end and chats my ear off over a bowl of ice cream. She is so great to be around!

Hyrum is our quiet boy. His mind is always scheming and dreaming. He often forgets school stuff, but still does incredibly well on the things he does remember to do. The other day he came home and excitedly told me that he had won the innovation challenge. He built a very geometric structure from straws, pipe cleaners, paper plate and pieces of clay. It was the tallest in his class and didn't fall over when tipped or shaken. He was super excited! I just smiled that's my Hyrum. He loves to draw art filled with shapes and designs and it's often very balanced on either side. His newest love is a hand-me-down skate board and he spends every afternoon riding it in the driveway.

Joseph is looking older these days! He is tall, and charasmatic, and goofy. My very favorite thing about Joe is the freckles that dust his nose and the twinkle in his eye when he smiles. He is the kind of kid that needs to be busy and active. When he starts complaining or teasing someone, he gets a job. His favorite thing to do is wash the walls. I love the way he describes things. One day he told me that something felt "scrubby" and another day that something felt like "dry cleaning". He is one of a kind and certainly knows how to push my buttons. At bedtime he always farts in his bed right before I lie with him to ask him about his day. Often he will knock on the wall after I've tucked him in just to make the dog bark, which makes me furious because the baby is often asleep an hour earlier. He thinks it's hilarious and I smile at his quiet giggle as I yell from the livingroom that it's time to settle down. He and Hyrum are sharing a room in the basement now and he loves feeling grown up and having his big brother around. He loves making new friends, and seeks to please others. This is a good thing, and a bad thing sometimes. There has been moments of mooning at the park to get a laugh. The other day we took the kids to an indoor play place and he spent the entire time running around with a boy he just met. Making new friends is his very favorite thing.

Finley is adorable, and strong willed, and full of spunk these days. I wish I could record him all day long because the things he says are hilarious. Maybe not so much the things he says, but the way he says them. He often asks for "toast and dam" for breakfast. He never says "yeah" or "yup", it's always "yes" with the sweetest little "S" sound at the end. I love his random "I love you's" when he notices I'm frazzled or having a hard day. He is the biggest tease and gets great joy out of bugging his older siblings...and the dog. Often I find myself shouting "FI---Joe--FINN! Stop teasing the puppy!" Sometimes at the dinner table he will look across at Joe and say "Are you stinkin' what I'm stinkin'?" He means "are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" but it's turned into quite a funny thing with the older siblings. He pronounces Oliver's name "aw-viv-er" and it melts my heart. He loves the word "super" and often uses to it to describe things. "I super wuv smoodies!" or "I just wuv dees jammies super much!" He is at the tricky age where he could still nap, but doesn't always need to. Often he crashes late afternoon on the couch or in a corner somewhere. And somehow after everyone else has been tucked in and fallen asleep, he manages to sneak downstairs and enjoy some special mommy and daddy time. We let him stay up with us because he won't be little forever, and as a fourth child it's not often you get one and one with your parents. He shares our snacks and kisses our cheeks and tells us he "wuvs" us. Then he falls asleep next to me on the couch and Daddy carries him to bed.

Oliver is such a little man now! He is looking so grown up and I am cherishing his whispy blonde hair because I know it won't last forever. He loves hard, as in, he loves to run across a room and crash into you for a hug. I love the way he hooks his arms around my neck and kisses me with his wet lips. My mornings often begin when Ollie knocks on his door and says "mom...moooooommm...mum!" repeatedly until I let him out. Daddy is one of his very favorite people in this house and he always looks for him first thing in the morning and screeches with glee when he gets home after work. His favorite thing to do right now is rearrange my kitchen chairs. He is constantly pushing chairs up to the counters and climbing right up. The other day I came upstairs to find him crawling around my freshly wiped counter tops. He had emptied half of my hand soap and swirled it around the counters with my scrub brush. He had the hugest grin on his face and was NOT happy when I took him down. He is quite the dare devil and loves to balance on the arms of our couches and try to jump from the highest parts of the parks. He has graduated from his old open-close handed wave to waving his whole arm back and forth. His whole body practically shakes as he waves good-bye with his crazy eyes and open mouth. He's such a riot! Now that the weather is warmer he is always wanting to be outside and often cries or gets upset if I sit down on the couch instead of putting on his shoes. He has mastered his bum-drops on the trampoline and is learning to stay away from the edges. He loves playing with "reese" and says her name so well.

We are loving the warmer weather this week and the way that the sunshine is warming our souls. I feel like the change in seasons has given me a new energy and appreciation for things. It's so refreshing. One of my favorite times of day right now is when I get to tuck in the little boys. Fin will often ask me to lay with him and rub his back. Almost every night without fail the Geese fly over just as he's falling asleep. It's such a fun thing to listen to while we are snuggled in that dimly lit bedroom. Life is busy and full right now, but we sure love it!

Ordinary Afternoons

After a few months of mediocre blogging I have decided to get over my insecurities and put my heart back out here in blog land. The kids are growing up so fast and I know that I am going to forget the little things that make life rich once they're grown. I want the sleepless nights, the crazy, the good, the bad and the ugly all written down so that I can look back and enjoy it later. 

It snowed all day today! We were supposed to get up to 10cm but luckily it's warm enough that it melted shortly after it hit the ground. We cheered ourselves up with a dozen donuts from timmies. Some of the kids stayed in jammies all day today, and we found interesting ways to keep busy. I lost count of how many times Joe pushed Ollie around the couch in this empty basket while I folded laundry.

His little giggles were to die for and Joe felt so big and strong. I love it when my kids find something ordinary and turn it into something fun that keeps them occupied for hours! We have a whole shelf full of toys, but this was the toy of choice today. I also love it when they play so well together! Joe has a big heart and although he is the best button pusher in our family, he is also a pretty great big brother!

Sunday Snapshot

Today was a crazy day! The kids were up early (of course), breakfast was eaten so early that we pretty much had to have second breakfast just before we left to keep hungry tummies happy. I have two very rambunctious boys who refuse to hang out in the primary room while I set up and instead run around the halls before church. Ollie is quite the handful these days and sacrament meeting is almost impossible to make it through. While we had a few awesome moments during sacrament where 4 out of 5 kids were sitting so quiet that angels were practically singing, we also had an episode of world war three on our crowded bench when someone refused to move over and give someone else their spot and someone stole a goldfish from a very determined toddler. Camilla rocked a musical number on her violin in front of the entire congregation. I was so proud of her! We got back to our bench only to be welcomed by a spitting war between Fin and Joe while Daddy was in the foyer with Ollie. Daddy came back for a split second to tell me he had drive someone home, and plopped a busy toddler on my lap while I strong-armed a certain boy to a new spot so his sister could have her old spot back. Then we were off to primary with a ton of new changes and new teachers and new things to take care of. The children were all very high energy, and teaching was trickier than usual. Then Daddy helped me wrestle everyone into the van and I came home solo while he stayed for a meeting.

When I got home, I felt a lot like throwing a bowl over my head like Ollie here...Sundays are crazy in the Stannix home! Thankfully the little guys went for naps. Joe fell asleep balanced on the arm of the couch, and the older two found a good movie. Fin snuggled in next to me and quickly fell asleep. Napping next to him was probably the highlight of my day. When he woke up he told me how warm I was and how he slept so good, and how much he loved me. His little voice right now is so adorable and I love the way he pronounces things. I wish I could just bottle him up the way he is right now and hold onto him forever.

Daddy was my hero and made up a batch of Grampy's tacos for dinner even though he had a rough day as well. We were all pretty cranky as we ate dinner unfortunately. We had a quick family home evening since Daddy will be working late tomorrow, and then he had to run off to another church meeting. I tucked the kids into bed and cleaned the kitchen. It will be super satisfying to wake up on a Monday morning to clean counter tops and an empty sink. Happy Sabbath!

Fortifying Families

We weren't able to do our annual Easter picture last week because we cozied up at home to watch General Conference. So this week, despite the fresh blanket of snow, we braved the cold and gathered on the front porch for a quick picture. I set my camera on top of a ladder, and we kind of lucked out. My heart swells with joy as I look at this picture of siblings cuddling close and holding hands and loving each other. This is not how every day looks in the Stannix home, but at least I know that deep down they really love each other!

Today I had the opportunity to speak in another ward about how we can teach our families to live the gospel well. As a mamma, teaching my children is something that I am very passionate about. Instilling a love of the gospel in my children has been accomplished by one family scripture study, one family prayer, one family home evening, and one bedtime story at a time. I know that as we consistently do these things, the gospel will catch fire in the hearts of our children and our families will be strengthened. I am so grateful for these littles that aren't so little anymore, and the things they teach me each day!

"As we teach our children the gospel through word and example, our families are spiritually strengthened and fortified." ~Robert D. Hales

Welcome April

This year is flying by so fast! We are already here in April and wishing hard for the snow to go away. We just got so much of it this year that it is taking a long time to melt! I am craving warm, sunny days, and afternoons at the park. The kids have been begging to get their bikes out, and have even attempted roller blading in the driveway with toques under their helmets and scarves wrapped around their necks.

I hung my Spring wreath to welcome April in hopes that the weather might take a hint and warm up! 

Despite the snow and the cold, the kids asked to stop at a favorite park on the way home from errands this morning. They walked through knee deep snow to climb and play on the monkey bars and didn't want to leave even though they were half froze.

Ollie scooted slowly down this slide and then we hung out in the van for a few minutes while the big kids finished up!

 The kids are on Spring Break this week and it's so nice having them all home (and not having to pack lunches). I am already loving the slow mornings and extra time in Pj's. We are all hoping for warmer days ahead this month. But for now, we will try and enjoy this very snowy April weather.

Egg Champ

 The kids look forward to champing eggs every year. It's something that we did in my family growing up. While we have no rhyme or reason to the order that we smash eggs together, it's always fun to see the cheering that goes on! Camilla was our champ last year, and was hopeful that she would win again. Ollie really enjoyed his first time smashing eggs and wanted to keep doing it over and over again. Joe and Daddy had the final two eggs and while we were all rooting for Joe, Quatro ended up the only egg un-smashed. We then peeled and washed them and turned them into delicious egg salad! Yum!

Dyeing Eggs

 Today we spent the day watching General Conference. It began with a solemn assembly to sustain our new prophet, President Russell M. Nelson. It was such a neat experience as I hardly remember the one that took place for President Monson. I am so grateful for continued revelation and the joy and peace the gospel brings. There were so many amazing talks and quotes that touched my heart today! 

With conference taking place, and family far away, Easter feels a little bit weird this year. Last night we did our traditional egg decorating after dinner. It's so fun to watch the kids creativity grow each year.  I love the way that they look forward to traditions!

This year, Camilla thought it would be fun to use elastics on her egg so that it would have cool patterns after it came out of the cup of food coloring. The boys all followed suit and we had some pretty cool looking eggs!

Finley dyed every single on of his eggs purple. It's his favorite color right now for some reason. So funny!

Ollie colored his egg blue, and then promptly smashed it and ate it. 

Joe made sure to take his time and was very careful with his color choices...

Daddy did Uno, Dos, Tres, and Quatro from the movie we had seen at the theater and the kids thought it was hilarious. 

The Easter Bunny hid them very well and the kids had fun finding them this morning!! We enjoyed traditional egg salad sandwiches for lunch, and another session of General Conference this afternoon while the children quietly played and built lego.

Ferdinand

Today we took advantage of $3.00 movie tickets (a Spring break deal) and brought the whole family to the movies! Mr. Stannix loves the theater and was so excited to bring all of the kids to experience a movie on the big screen. Only the older two had ever been, so Joe and Fin were pretty excited to watch a movie at the theater for their first time. As we loaded them up, Mr. Stannix worried we wouldn't have enough time to find good seats by the time we made it into the city. A plan was put into place for me to take half of the kids and rush into the theater and grab seats while Mr. Stannix took the other half of the kids to the concession to grab popcorn and drinks. 

When we arrived Mr. Stannix had barely turned off the ignition before he hopped out of the van and peeled open the doors. I felt like we were in the middle of a military drill as we hurried the children from their seats and shuffled them into the theater. I was the last to join the group as I fiddled with Ollie's belt, slung the diaper bag over my shoulder, made sure to lock the doors, and hurried across the parking lot. Joe, taking up the tail end of the big kids group, tripped a few times on the sidewalk. I caught up to him in time to help him up and hold his hand the rest of the way in. We turned the corner to enter the theater only to find that the doors were LOCKED! We had arrived so early, in fact, that the theater wasn't even open yet. I laughed out loud (and hard) as we lined up outside with very few other families who had arrived as early as us. Yes, Mr. Stannix loves his movies!

The little guys were so excited when the credits began! The look of amazement on Joe's face as he looked down the row at us was priceless. Unfortunately, Ollie only lasted through the credits before he started whining for drinks of Daddy's pop and pretty much took over the bag of popcorn. He and I quietly exited the theater and grabbed the stroller from the van. We wandered around the mall for the next little while, and he even got a nap in! Mr. Stannix was super dad and did amazing with four littles. They were so tired after that they slept all the way home!

Playful Pup

This morning I looked out the window to discover big, fluffy flakes falling from the sky. This Winter has felt so long already and I am so over all of this crazy snow! Watching our wookie pup play in the white fluff helped me see a tiny bit of joy in it. While my boys beg me every day to get their bikes out of storage, at least someone in our family is still enjoying Winter.  

Easter Cupcakes

Before the kids left for school today they shared a brilliant idea for Easter cupcakes. "You could put mini eggs on the top and they would be like bird's nests!" So, this afternoon I mustered up all of my energy and whipped up a batch of my very favorite, fluffy, moist vanilla cupcakes. I piped some vanilla icing on the top and added some mini eggs. The kids were super excited when they walked in the door and smelled the aroma of fresh baked cupcakes. I may have eaten three...