Thanksgiving week

Thanksgiving week. Love the food and the family time. Though I could generally do with a little less of both. :)

I'm blessed with a great bunch of in-laws who I love spending time with. Being an introvert, I can generally only handle about 6 hours of extended family time before I need to be by myself for a good couple hours to recharge. During the holidays, that six hours gets extended to 10 for days on end and despite loving everyone I'm with, I get worn out.

This year I made four pies and two batches of flaties/crusties. I was supposed to make two more for the Frohlich Thanksgiving celebration, but we didn't eat the four I made at the Watts', so I didn't have to make more

This year, we had Thanksgiving with the Watts' on Thursday. The Nelsons came down, so my girls were in heaven playing with their cousins.

On Friday, the Strattons were also there. Those boys are good kids and Mira especially likes playing with Keegan. Grandma and Grandpa Watts were generous enough to throw a "gingerbread" house-making party. (We actually use graham crackers.) All the kids had a blast, and most of the adults participated, too. Heather Stratton and I went all-out on our houses. We were the last two standing.

I was amazed at her architectural genius. Nicole and Wilda made a map of Disneyland. Carter Stratton made London Bridge and Xander made a couple of cars to drive across it. Emilia made a Ninjago monastery, Mira and Keegan made cute little houses, and Brandt made a house with santa's sleigh on top that got destroyed by invading gummy bears. There are 3 I didn't get pictures of because they went home with the Nelsons before mine was complete. Tristan made a bird's eye view of a Caribbean island, and he and Meg made a church with an elaborate garden. Grandpa and Jane worked hard on a fairy house that Jane said was her "dream house." It was fun to see all the kids so excited about their creations.

Saturday was a wind down and run errands type of day, though Steve and I did get to attend the temple in the evening. It started snowing right before we left, but luckily we only had about an inch when it was done. Today, (Sunday) we are up at my parents' house to celebrate Thanksgiving with this side of the family.

Rough week

It's been a hard week for me. A good friend of mine died. So we didn't do much this week. Emilia did have her art class. She won art classes for free when she took first place at the art contest a while back, so for the last three weeks she's had class on Wednesday afternoons. I'm not incredibly impressed with the class, and neither has she been, so I guess that's good. We can agree to not do any more after these are over. This last week, I didn't have a sitter to watch the other two girls, so I had to take them with me. The day was fairly nice for mid-November--mid-40s. So we got bundled in our winter coats and and drove to the park nearest the art classes.

The park on a sunny November afternoon with a view of Utah Lake seems like a good idea until your 2 y/o decides to slide into a puddle of water, then slip on the bottom of the slide 4 times before you can get to her and soak her pants through and when you finally get her up, the kids refuse to leave and want to go down the bigger slide with no puddle, but are afraid to go down by themselves, so you go up from the bottom (because going down the metal slide with them is just--no) and they slide into your feet, knocking you over, but you don't want to fall on top of them, so you fall off the slide instead, hitting your butt so hard you can barely walk three days later. Then it seems like less of a good idea.

We also went up to visit my parents on Thursday where my mom did a science experiment with them (my dad built the bubble-making machine because he's handy like that). These were dry ice bubbles that they could hold and when they popped, they turned into a mist. It was pretty cool.

There was snow Monday, so the girls played outside in it. Twice. It wasn't even that much snow, but we've been snow-deprived these last two years, so this was something to be celebrated. Especially for Mira. She LOVES the snow.

And of course there's baths.

Always busy

I have felt recently that I never have time to sit down during the day. I am constantly running, running, running. And I'm not sure if that is normal for a stay-at-home mom of three kids between 2 and 7, or if I am particularly good at giving myself too much to do.

I'll let you know when I figure it out.

"Do you like the style I'm using, Mom?"

This last week, we didn't have a ton of big things going on. Probably the biggest thing was yesterday when I had a wedding to photograph and writing group. So this week, I had to do my daily writing and read submissions. Plus, Emilia wanted to enter some art into a contest for the local museum, the Springville Museum of Art. So we spent quite a few afternoons designing and painting a picture to enter.

Emilia working on her picture.

The finished, framed product.

The weather was so nice this week that I made them go outside and play most afternoons, too. I'm a little frustrated with the neighborhood kids lately, though. Emilia comes in almost every day crying because one of the neighbor boys tells her he can't stand her and won't play with her or anyone who is playing with her. So the other neighborhood kids tell her to go home. It's so rude. I can see why her feelings are hurt. And Emilia has apologized to him, written him notes/drawn him pictures/talked nicely to him, but nothing seems to make a difference. He is the youngest of six kids, five of whom are boys, so I think he asserts control in his life by deciding who can play with him. I can understand it, but it still sucks.

Steve were able to go on a date Friday night. We went out for dinner and then went to Toys R Us to start our Christmas shopping. I hope to be done by the first week of December.

We went to the library one night this week and they were having a book sale. I can't resist a book sale. I got 20 books for $10. I'm excited to read the ones I found for myself--you know--along with the twelve others piling up on my dresser as I try to finish writing my own book. I feel like it may be 10 years before I have time to read again. I suppose having my kids little is a blessing, too, so I have to remember it's okay that I can't read for a little while.

Thanksgiving decorations done and Cecily in one of Dot's dresses

I didn't have a lot going on this week. My to-do list was actually pretty short. And it's a good thing, too, because I had a bad week with depression and didn't have the mental energy to accomplish much anyway. The biggest things on my list were laundry and getting Thanksgiving decorations up. I got those two done, so I'll call the week a success.

Cecily has been super cute lately, and she's also been a major pill. I guess that's what comes of learning new things -- like how to talk in sentences and how to climb to the top bunk by herself. Independence + new ideas + plus new ways to express yourself = funny, crazy, often cranky 2 y/o.

Facebook funnies:
11/1
Me: What do you want to watch, Cecily?
Cecily: Dragons.
Me: Do you want to watch the movie or the ones on the disk?
Cecily: Dragon stick.
Me: Oh. Do you mean Race to the Edge? (Also a HHTYDragon show)
Cecily: No.
Me: Okay, so the movie?
Cecily: No. Dragon stick.
Me: Oh! You mean the dragon disk?
Cecily (nodding): Dragon stick.
Mira and Emilia commence telling her that it's "disk" not "stick" and Mira says repeatedly, "Can you say disk?" to which Cecily replies, "Stick."
Me: Let's try this: Cecily say "d" "isk."
Cecily: "d" "stick"!

11/1
I came out to the car after church to a bewildered Steve. Cecily had climbed into the driver's seat and said, "I drive dis one." As I took the picture, she held out her hand saying, "Need da keys." When I handed them to her, she inserted the right one into the ignition, then pushed the radio buttons and stated confidently, "Disten a sukick." (Listen to music)

11/1
Steve goes in to get Cecily out of her crib.
Steve: You took your clothes off! Why did you do that?
Cecily: Don't know!

10/5
Some things to know before you read this overheard conversation--Cecily often just repeats whatever the person she is with says. Like if I say, "Say thank you." She will say, "Say thank you!" Also, Mira is a quick thinker.
Cecily, upon finding Mira: Hi, Momma!
Mira: I'm Mira.
Cecily: I Mira.
Mira: No. I'm Mira!
Cecily: No, I Mira!
Mira (with the thinking): I'm Cecily!
Cecily: I Mommy!
Mira: Ergh...
Cecily: I Daddy!

9/30
We hear the "I can work miracles" song by Fall Out Boy on the radio and Mira pipes up from the back seat: "Jesus is a walking miracle. Right? Because he's perfect and he has miracles in his body."

9/29
I was picking tomatoes in the garden today when Mira and her friend came and asked me to do something for them in the back yard. It was easier to climb up the retaining wall than pick my way through the garden, so that's what I did. Following behind me, I hear Mira say proudly to her friend, "My mom's tough." Later, when she needed my help again, she told her friend, "My mom's awesome. But my dad is awesomer. He's taller than my mom."

9/19
I went in to tell Emilia it was time to stop reading and go to sleep. She astounds me sometimes.
Emilia: Mom, I've been thinking. When I read a book, I have all the stuff I read at the front of my mind. But then I want to read another book, and that other stuff has to move to the back of my mind to make room for the new book. And then I read another book and that other stuff has to move to the bottom of my mind, and the second stuff moves to the back, and the new stuff goes in front.
Me: Does that bother you?
Emilia: No. It's just that my mind sort of has traffic, too. That's why I have a hard time falling asleep. All that traffic in there going around.

9/16
A conversation with Mira.
Me: That is Not a Good Idea is in my church bag. Go get it.
Mira: What's not a good idea?
Me: The book. It's in my church bag.
Mira: What's in your church bag?
Me: That is Not a Good Idea. That's the name of the book. It's in my church bag.
Mira: Church bag is the name of a book?
Me: *sigh*

9/13
We're at regional conference today and half-way through the second hour, Emilia and Cecily are going crazy. They have sat still for far too long. So I tell Emilia to take Cecily out in the hall and walk around for a while. Emilia excitedly complies, but a minute later, she's back. Before I can ask why, she flings a diaper at me. "Mom, Cecily's diaper fell off." Ahahaha! The people behind us were laughing as hard as I was.

9/5
My kids went with the rest of the family to the pool while I stayed with the napping little ones. When they got back, I asked how it was.
Mira: There was a kid's pool.
Emilia: Yeah and a splash pad. But we didn't get in the big pool because it was cold.
Mira: (echoing Emilia) c-o-o-o-l-d. It was as cold as the sun is hot.
Wow. That's pretty cold.

8/29
After we arrived home from the beach, Steve took Cecily in to shower her off. Apparently, he got in first to rinse off his feet.
Cecily: Daddy, you doin'?
Steve: Washing my feet. Because they're dirty. Dirty as sin!
Cecily: Yeah. Exacwy!

8/16
From Mira's primary teacher today:
Some older people came into Sharing Time and were sharing stories of Jesus as if they were actually there.
Mira turned to me and said, "Fat people are weird."
I said, "What do you mean?"
She said "Well, look at them! They are all fat!"
I said, "Do you mean old?"
She said, "Yeah! I get those words confused all the time!"
-----------------
Today I held up a picture of two kids fighting and asked what they were doing.
Mira said: Fighting
I said: Good, and how do you think they feel?
And she said: Vexed!
At the end of class she likes to re teach my lessons, so she held up the same picture and asked, "What are these kids doing?"
I said: Fighting
She said: How do they feel?
I said: Vexed
She puts the picture down and says, "You cant just say the same things I said!"

8/12
When Cecily thinks something is scrumptious, she always says, "Mmm! Dish-iss!" (Which is super adorable, BTW.) Tonight, she picked out paint samples at Home Depot and as she looked through her choices, told me, "Mmm! Colors dish-iss! Nom, nom, nom." Totally an #artistatheart

7/26

Mira was the only child in her primary class today. After the teachers finished their lesson, Mira decided to teach. I asked her what she taught about and she told me, "The old lady who saved the baby from being flushed." That's a funny thing to teach about, I thought. But after asking the teachers about it, I found out she had found this picture and pointing to the Pharoah's daughter said, "The old ladies are trying to save the baby from being flushed in to the ocean." Such an imagination! And not too far off, really. Except maybe the "old lady" part.

I love my kids (and Halloween costumes)

I keep missing weeks because I keep going out of town. Last weekend, we went down to St. George to stay with Steve's sister, Cindy. Her son, McKay, is the oldest grandchild in the family and he is heading off to Russia to serve an LDS mission. The whole family gathered and we had a great weekend playing games, talking, and going to church. The girls were in heaven running around with all of their girl cousins from Steve's side of the family.

This week was stressful because of Halloween. I got all the costumes done on Tuesday. Wednesday, we went to Steve's grandmother's nursing home for their Halloween party. We've gone the last two years--and it's always been kind of terrible--but this year it was really terrible.

Steve wasn't going to get off work in time to come home before the event, so I had to feed and costume all three girls by myself. And with Cecily's new found independence, that was NOT fun. Then we get there, and the assisted living place has crammed 75 chairs into a  room that should only have 35. Then, they brought in the residents, most of whom need a walker or a wheel chair in order to get around. Then they expect the people coming in to find a way to get to the chairs on the other side of the room--like hurdling the infirm is a fun sport for moms with small children. They have these chairs set up because they have a magic show. The last two years, the magician was really good. But since we never got there on time, Emilia still hated it because she didn't get to sit up front where she could get chosen to help the magician. This year, we got there on time, couldn't get a seat, though Emilia could sit up front, and I ended up sitting in Grandma Great's room with Cecily, who decided to scream about not getting candy immediately upon arrival. Then, when the magic show was over, they decided to send the employees into the room with large trays of goodies to hand out, while they dismissed all the children to hurdle the old people while the parents got stuck behind them and unstuck family members attempted to maneuver wheel chairs and walkers through the chaos. Super fun times. After feeding all the children a donut and a sugar cookie, they send them around to the resident's doors to collect candy (so the kids can beg to eat all of it immediately and never sleep again).

Steve says this story is a bit over the top. I'll let you decide. :)

Thursday our church ward had a trunk-or-treat. This is something I never heard of until I moved to Utah, but it happens a lot out here. People line up their cars in a parking lot and kids walk around to cars (sometimes the trunks are decorated) and get candy that way, instead of having to walk to houses around the neighborhood. The weird thing is, this doesn't generally stop people from taking their kids around to the houses in the neighborhood, too. Steve was going to get off work late. Again. So once again, I had to feed and costume 3 (now sugar, sleep-deprived cranky) girls by myself. Then when we got to the trunk or treat, it was over--because my kids eat slower than molasses in January--and because it was raining, so the trunk or treat turned into 'hand out all the candy to the kids who showed up on time and are standing in the gym.' Plus, Cecily hadn't napped that day and the chili cook-off that happened right after the trunk or treat turned into Cecily screaming her head off if you so much as looked at her wrong.

Now I tell you these stories and you might think I despise being a mom and think my kids are annoying hassles I wish I didn't have to deal with. But that's not it. I tell the stories because I think you might find them funny. And I adore my kids. Even though Cecily is getting more headstrong and tantrum-prone every day (because she is 2 1/2), she makes me giggle regularly. She calls lunch "munch." She jumps almost everywhere she goes. She has known the names of all the letters of the alphabet for six months now--genius, right? Tonight, for example, we were driving home a little late from Nana's house and near the end of the drive, Cecily requests a stuffed bunny that is sitting on the floor of the car. She has it say hi to Steve and Steve asks if the bunny is tired. Cecily immediate slams the bunny down on her lap, makes a snoring sound, says, "cock-a-doodle-doo!", shoots the bunny up in the air and has it dance to the How to Train Your Dragon theme song, which she is humming herself. Maybe you have to know Cecily, but that right there is funny. I giggled.

I love my girls and I am grateful daily for the chance to be a stay-at-home mom and raise these three crazy, fun, headstrong, beautiful, smart, girls.

Mira's Lego creation one night.

Cecily made these towers and Emilia made a sign to hang by them that said, "The Towers of Cecily." 

On Friday, both girls could have worn their costumes to school. Emilia did, but Mira wasn't feeling well, so she stayed home. We did go to the costume parade to see Emilia, though. Afterward I took them to the park for a while. We found a cool one in Mapleton, the city next-door, that has fun spinny things, and big slides and a gazebo. Mira calls it the "Legendary Park." I could have taken the girls to Steve's work and let them trick or treat around the office that day, too, but I declined having to costume them by myself again, and then have to drive them a 1/2 an our to his office, and then leave right at 5 on a Friday. No. Way.

Our new cat, Mystery, likes to lay by me while I write.

Saturday, we cleaned and Steve took the older two trick or treating, while Cecily watched a movie and I wrote.  And today, we drove up to my parents' house for a dinner to celebrate Steve's and Alison's birthdays. The weekend was much more relaxing than the week.

One sock off, one sock on...

playing in the leaves at the park

The produce from the last pick of the season. Sheesh.

A wood block creation of Mira's.

Cecily trying hard to stack blocks.

Emilia at her school costume parade.

All three girls in their costumes on Thursday.

Cecily was Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Emilia was Hiccup from How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Mira asked to be a "rock star bat." I love her uniqueness.

Mira fell asleep within a few minutes of starting bedtime stories after trick or treating.

I need to simplify

I thought last week was busy. This one was even worse. I made a list at the beginning of the week of all the things I needed to finish. I showed it to Steve and said, "There is not a way to complete everything on this list even if I ignore the kids all week. I don't know what to do." He kindly offered to do a couple of the things--laundry and grocery shopping--to ease my burden. But I still didn't get everything done. And I still ignored the kids for most of the week.

I did take the younger ones to a park one day. The trees are just beginning to change color here.

Part of the problem this week was that I had my writing retreat all day Friday and Saturday. So I had to get everything done that I normally do, with two fewer days to do it in. Plus I had to read all of the submissions this week, which ended up totally about 180 pages in Microsoft Word. That's a lot of reading. The view from the condo was gorgeous, though.

I also needed to process the pictures I took when we went to Boise a few weeks ago. My contract says I will get the pictures processed in approximately three weeks. And this weekend was the three week mark. I could have done them this week, but the couple was asking about them and I have a lot to do this next week, too, so I decided to be uber busy last week instead of this week.

Decorating for Halloween was also on my list, since I knew if I didn't do it this week, I wouldn't do it all because it's not worth changing all of my decorations for a couple weeks. Plus, the girls enjoy it so much, I like to be festive for them.

We also took the girls to Cocoa Bean one night this week and watched Empire Strikes Back for the first time with the older two. That needs to go down in the record books. :)

I was sad that I missed my Grandpa Frohlich's 90th birthday party. I couldn't swing two trips to ND in one year, but I'm sure they had a great celebration without me. Happy Birthday, Grandpa!