Hard to believe it is almost April. Some days I wish I had a tape recorder to get down all the crazy things the kids do and say every day. We do have a video camera (which we never use) so maybe I should just create my own reality show and follow the kids around with the camera strapped to my forehead!

Bailey and Emma do not usually fight over very many things. The front seat (or basically NOT having to sit by Nathan) is a constant battle. I have told them I am out of it. I used to mark it on the calendar to rotate, but then if anything out of the ordinary happened the schedule would get messed up. They now have to decide how to work it out. Well, the ride to Church is usually a negotiation between the two of them. Ben is always at Church before us for meetings. he carpools and rides home with us every other Sunday. One particular Sunday, Emma had worked out with Bailey to sit in the front. When she realized Ben was going home with us and she would get bumped to the back seat she refused. And, being the kind and funny daddy he is, Ben sat in the back seat with the two boys. 

This was a picture I texted to Ben when I was terribly sick the other week. I could barely move around and I had two little girls screaming and crying at my legs. The caption said "Don't you want to come home early?" The girls were even more upset when I took the picture and ended up screaming on the floor. Good times....

 My new laundry system. Everyone has a labeled basket where their clean clothes go. They are responsible for making sure it is put away each night. It really saves the space in the room for piles of laundry.

Kate and Addison showing how they take their baskets to put clothes away. 

 The weather, in between rain storms, has still been really nice. We've been outside a lot.

Addison has been trying to master this scooter for over a month now. She is so excited that she can finally make it work. 

 Emma's class did the play "BUGZ" I think I could go back in blog posts and find the one where Bailey did this exact same play. Bailey wanted to stay home but I told him he had to go...so he brought a book to read:)

 Emma as the gypsy moth.

Miss Sassy pants herself. 

Nathan has been really into drawing pictures lately. Here is his latest. It is supposed to be me working out. Maybe I am jumping rope?

Speaking of working out, I am IN PAIN today! But my trainer posted this picture on our group facebook page today and I really liked it. Today, one thumb is sore and cut up from doing girl's camp preparations (dumb glue gun!), one thumb is bruised and sore from hitting the ball wrong at volleyball last night, my thighs hurt so bad that I can barely get up and down (which when you drink a lot of water and are always going pee....well no fun), and my nose is stuffy from allergies. So I would say I am in lots of healthy pain (because at least my stuffy nose isn't a cold!) It is nice to be in good enough shape that I actually told my husband I would go backpacking Father's Day weekend. Don't know what I just got myself into.... :)

One of the cute printables I found while searching Pinterest for sun ideas. Our ward is the Suns. How easy is that?! And I am now calling myself out for the Polar Bear swim. Ben said there is no way I will get up by 6:30 for 5 days and jump in cold water at girl's camp. I said I would because I want the charm. And now I said on here I would do it so I have to....guess we shall see.

Pinewood Derby 2012

Bailey had his last Pinewood Derby yesterday. That seemed to have gone super fast. He didn't win even one race but he was so excited that everyone loved his car. He won Judge's Favorite. That was enough to make his night.

Someone had the smart idea to serve nachos at the event....

The other kids were in heaven

So proud of his car:)

Behind the Scenes

This was our kitchen table this morning for breakfast. I made everyone oatmeal and hot chocolate. Breakfast is usually crazier than this so I wanted to preserve the moment:) They are doing a "Cheers."

Notice how Bailey is picking at his oatmeal. Well, he doesn't really like oatmeal at all. I can't blame him, I didn't like it much at his age. He however doesn't complain, he just picks and eats and then moves on with his life. I was surprised everyone else ate it because usually we have more opinions than The View on what I put in front of them at the table. 

Emma, posing for the picture. I love how she has this sitting on a front porch/talk show host pose.

And as usual, Kate is the last one at the table. I tried to sneak this picture but she heard the camera and made me retake it with her bow on.

Here is a fun little thing I have found that is the perfect snack. I acquired hundreds of little brown paper bags about five years ago from freecycle. I have used them here and there but have never run out. Now, I have the best use for them!

Snack size bags of popcorn. I bought kernels in bulk and just throw some in the bag and microwave it. Perfect size for the kid's lunches (or in this case snack on a minimum day). I did this in the morning to send with Bailey and Emma to school. 

Nathan came out and asked if we were staying home today before getting dressed. I told him yes and he was so excited because that meant he could wear his "short pants." DO NOT call them shorts he gets very upset. This is his sumo wrestling pose, I guess.

I soon noticed he was wearing his shirt from Saturday that had not yet been washed so I made him change, which of course meant he wanted another picture (this is beginning to sound like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...)

Because if you take a picture of one child, you have to take a picture of them all...

What's Going On?

Not a lot. I would say we are boring but in a good way. Who needs drama? :)  We are nearing the end of the kid's school year faster than I thought. Bailey and I had the funniest conversation the other day...

Bailey: So, I'm almost in sixth grade, right?
Me: Yup
B: Wow, that went fast (he says gazing off into his future)
M: Yes it did for sure.
B: So, I'll be in high school in a few years?
M: Sigh...yes
B: It will be time for me to get a job soon
M: Really?
B: Yes. But do they have any smart jobs for teenagers?
M: Smart jobs?
B: You know, like where I can use my brain and not just my muscle

Gotta love Bailey and how highly he thinks of himself!

Speaking of muscle, Nathan is quite the stud lately. We walk to the gym if the weather is good (which is 3.4 miles round trip) He never complains about it and is happy as a clam the entire way. The twins get to be pushed in the stroller, decked out in fuzzy hats and covered in their blankets.

Addison likes to crawl in bed with me in the morning. I am still very glad I don't take the kids to school in the morning. It is so nice to just get up and focus on two kids instead of five getting out the door. 

My new thing is checking craigslist for free things I can use for the house (of course with inspiration form Pinterest!) I got a huge tub of these tiles from a local tile outlet for free. Not quite sure what I will do with them yet but it will be awesome. I also got a box of glass wares for free. Hopefully I don't make Ben nervous with all my recent hoarding. I'd better start turning out projects or I will be banned from collecting boxes of free junk.

Flying High

What is better than this picture?

I am feeling a bit sappy today, and a bit ecstatic and a bit reflective. I think some day the kids will read this blog book and laugh about emotional old mom. 

The above picture was taken on my phone at MMCA while we were waiting for Emma's art walk for school to begin. I love being able to go to the kid's school and my little ones feel comfortable and know where everything is. They have grown up here and it will make the Kindergarten transition so much easier for them.

The art walk was crazy-basically Kate and Addison crawled around on the gym floor pretending to be puppies, with Nathan bouncing around like Tigger. Then Kate fell and hit her lip, busting it open so it spewed blood everywhere (OK, not really but she did get a bloody lip!). The thing is, that no one there cares too much and wasn't disturbed. It was pretty loud and informal anyway. There has been a lot of info going around Lincoln about how the school district here is going to have to lay off teachers and have more budget cuts, etc... I am so grateful that my kids are in a school that because it is a charter are not affected to the same degree as so many others. This is all I have ever known, but how awesome is it that there are two teachers in every class and loads of parent volunteers around. 

Earlier today, the twins and I cleaned their room to make room for these belated birthday presents from Grandma and Boppa. Nathan played outside with his friend Rayce (of course!) while we cleaned. I'm having a lot of fun with the twins at this age, even though they are super crazy sometimes. Every time they do something grown up I am reminded of how I am moving into that next stage of life with the kids. There are lots of things we have wanted to do "once the twins were old enough" and now we are getting closer. 

To top things off, Emma was upset tonight she couldn't help with dishes because she had homework. She too can be a handful, but if that is what she hates missing out on, then I think we got a pretty good trade. She is also been super sister, really making us glad that we put her in a room with the twins. 

And on a super happy note- I was measured at the gym today. 4 1/2 inches just off my waist in one month! This is with working out, eating better, but not going crazy at either. I'm glad to have found a good balance that lets me still eat like a normal human being and not live at the gym:)

All About Love and Other Important Things

We don't typically do a traditional Valentine celebration in our house. Our anniversary is only 4 days after Valentine's Day so it seems odd to do something twice. This year, the kids were all really excited about Valentine's Day. Even the twins and Nathan were talking about it. So, I decided to get a little more creative than other years. I also see pictures and blogs of other moms going crazy for holidays like this, with red everything and special presents and hoopla. I think it's amazing I just never remember to do it. I had signed up for the missionaries to come over for dinner that night. It was a lone spot on the calendar and I am guessing because most people do a date night. I've been wanting to try a variety of appetizers from Pinterest. But, those are hard to fit into a menu. So we had a dinner of nothing but appetizers! And some very green leafy salad to balance out the fat of course. I really wished I had taken a picture of the table when it was all decorated. I used cloth napkins and our fancy plates and everything. But, again I forgot and all I have is the after picture....

There is no food left because it was all eaten(minus the one breadstick and one wonton). We had mozzarella sticks (made with wonton wrappers), cream cheese and chicken baked wontons, copycat breadsticks from one of my favorite pizza places in Utah and salad. I think one of the Elders had about five breadsticks alone. Then we brought out the box of 6 dozen home made cookies I brought from a cookie exchange party earlier that day. They pretty much ate through all of those too.

Here were my cookies for the party. 6 dozen Chocolate Turtles. OK, seriously the best cookie ever. Chocolate cookie dough rolled in almonds, then caramel filled. I won best looking cookie at the party:) Thank you Pinterest!

Another thank you to Pinterest for all the home made replacement recipes. Here are my Cheeze-its. I would say that as of now we only have two things I have made myself that I'm not too fond of. The yogurt (it is too runny and my kids won't eat it) and the fruit roll ups if you use a seeded fruit. They look funny and kids won't eat them. 

But the graham crackers are truly amazing, as well as the cleaning products. This has become more fun than couponing for sure. Which I still do, but now have eliminated a large chunk of things I was buying. I told Ben I felt like a Pioneer making all these things from scratch. He agreed that the Pioneers probably enjoyed their home made Cheeze its as well...ha ha

In other news, our house work is plugging along. I still need to do the painting post because it has a funny story. We have now cleaned out the garage multiple times and are getting things situated for our family long term. Our kids still ask how long we are going to be in this house, and I guess I can't blame them since we have moved so much. What I have realized about buying a house we need to do work on, is that it is always changing. So I don't need to move to get that itch of change scratched! It's like moving without the packing. 

Saturdays have been beautiful here and we take advantage of them. I really really really really (can you tell how much) love not having sports or anything on Saturdays for the kids. Because this is what we do:

And last but not least, the kids have been taking over some cleaning jobs in the house. Dishes are now a kid job (for the most part). I still have issues with how they load the dishwasher, but they are getting better. 

 Emma LOVES to do dishes and gets upset if she can't. Wouldn't that be a fun punishment:) 

Kate likes to clean the benches too. And I have finally gotten the girls to keep clothes on during the day! Even though those "clothes" are their dress up clothes, it still works right? Baby Steps...

Nathan is FIVE!

Talk about time going quickly... Nathan turned five on the 31st and was so excited to have his first friend birthday party. A big thank you to Burger King for providing one of the cheapest and easiest birthday parties for little boys ever. Nathan has quite a little posse of friends and was super excited to get to have them all in one place to bring him presents.

 Burger King play place.

 Nathan and some of his friends. Cole, Hunter, Cooper, Rayce.

 Cole showing us his funny face

 Nothing cuter than Nathan:)

 Emma came as my helper. She would do anything for an ice cream cone

 The party was fun for a bunch of 4 and 5 year old boys. 

The following Monday we had family over to celebrate. I decided Nathan would just have to think that was his actual birthday as he was getting way too nutty about everything. So, January 31st came and went without much ado. But he had a great time leading up to his birthday.

I made homemade ice cream sandwiches. Nathan could have cared less as all he wanted to do was play with his new toys. In just seven short months he enters the world of Kindergarten:)