Yep, he’s a cutie but do you also see the smirk?  He’s three now which means he’s growing horns.  Maybe you remember another little somebody being a troublesome 3-year-old.  (Read some of the older stories found here.) 

Oh three… why must you be soooo long!!  A whole year is [...]]]> Look at this face…

Yep, he’s a cutie but do you also see the smirk?  He’s three now which means he’s growing horns.  Maybe you remember another little somebody being a troublesome 3-year-old.  (Read some of the older stories found here.) 

Oh three… why must you be soooo long!!  A whole year is just too much!  And yet, I LOVE that age just as much as I loathe it. 

They are so darn cute and say the darndest things. 

His favorite thing to do recently is to pretend to be different people.  Grandpa W. (my grandpa), Papu (my dad), Pops (Anthony’s dad), John (our friend/neighbor), or Dad (Anthony).  And of course each person comes equipped with props. 

Grandpa W. – ‘toy car’ (a little off road car thing that I don’t know the real name of.  He comes and gives the kids rides in it once in a while.)

Papu – Pepsi.  B will grab a cup of water or milk and pretend it’s Pepsi.  Papu always has Pepsi…. always!

Pops – bike.  Anthony’s dad is a bicyclist.  The real deal spandex, bikes that cost more than you knew a bike could, ride from Logan to Jackson Hole (Lotoja) kind of bicyclist. 

John – boat.  John owns a boat and takes us out in it once in a while.  Anthony goes with him often every summer.

Dad – could be anything.  It might be a tool or a flashlight.  Or something completely random.

Goodness sakes!  I sure do know how to get off track. 

The real reason for this post was to tell about something that happened at dance the other day.

So, there we were.  Typical Monday at dance except that more little ones showed up than normal because they were doing pictures right after.  They were all playing in the toy room. 

The toy room that’s connected to the bathroom. 

I went back to check on them only to find 5 little ones in the bathroom with plastic cups dipping them into the toilet and dumping it back in.  EW!! 

I promptly freaked out and told them to throw the cups away.  Then I proceeded to make my boys wash their hands in the sink. 

Pictures got done and we were just about to leave.  Several people had already left.  Then one mom comes into the waiting area frantically trying to get to the other bathroom yelling, “We need a plunger!  The toilet is flooding.  There is water everywhere!”

According to her son, his ‘best friend’ (that would be B) flushed a plastic cup down. 

Not a moment later we see water coming from under the wall into the waiting area.  Myself and another mom ran in to see how bad it was.  This other mom has older kids NOT involved in the incident and yet she was the first one to jump in head first and start taking care of business. 

(She’s the one with the daughter that got her butt slapped by my little C.  When I told him he needed to apologize because that wasn’t appropriate he responded with, “But why?  Daddy does it!”  Nice!!  Anthony got a stern talking to about that one! )

I was so grateful that she was willing to get it taken care of.  She threw her shoes off and just started scooping water up with a dustpan and throwing it into the toilet.  I started mopping and ringing out the water every half a second.  There was literally at least an inch of water on the ground. 

The boys and I had a ‘chat’ when we got home.  A chat that stuck with them for all of maybe 10 minutes for C and didn’t even register for B.  He just laughed at me.  I don’t know what to do with that kid!   

Father’s Day isn’t nearly as much fun.

It could be the fact that I love having an excuse to sleep in, have breakfast made for me, receive adorable homemade gifts from my kiddos, and not having to change any poopy diapers (pass if off [...]]]> What a fabulous holiday Mother’s Day is.  I love it! 

Father’s Day isn’t nearly as much fun.

It could be the fact that I love having an excuse to sleep in, have breakfast made for me, receive adorable homemade gifts from my kiddos, and not having to change any poopy diapers (pass if off to Dad!). 

All of which happened. 

The kids and Anthony woke up early to make breakfast for both myself and my mom.  Dinner was taking place at Anthony’s mom’s house so my mom got breakfast.  Pancakes, hash browns, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, orange juice, chocolate milk, and real maple syrup! 

We didn’t make it to Sacrament Meeting at church due to breakfast running a little longer than we thought but we weren’t worried.  The girls were sure the primary wasn’t singing.  They hadn’t practiced anything. 

They sang… and we missed it.  Since my kids are pretty much half the primary there were very few kids to sing. 

UGH!  The girls and I were ready on time, too!  I should have left with them and let Anthony deal with the boys.  I love seeing them up there on the stand singing.  C still refuses to do it.  But he’s still very willing to bear his testimony on fast Sundays.  Go figure. 

It was a great day!  I got some sweet cards from the girls, H gave me a Kit Kat, a flower made out of handprints from C, a bookmark from K, and some fun banners from all the kids.  Those were for my Mom also.

It was a really great day!  Next up… Father’s Day.  That’s the day I get all the poopy diapers. 

But I choose not to think about that.   

And this is what Baby Munch gave me… an adorable picture of himself.  Oh how I love that baby boy!

When I look at these pictures I already miss the little butterball in them.

Miss him because I know these moments are fleeting.  Before I know it he’ll be running around with his brothers, causing trouble. 

On that note, we tried building a nest this week.  A nest.

For birds.

Not as easy as you might think!  My girls learned quickly that they would not make great birds.  They can’t build a brilliant nest.

{That… and they can’t fly… weird!}

Their science book [...]]]> I don’t do nearly enough homeschooling posts. 

On that note, we tried building a nest this week.  A nest.

For birds.

Not as easy as you might think!  My girls learned quickly that they would not make great birds.  They can’t build a brilliant nest.

{That… and they can’t fly… weird!}

Their science book suggested the project and so they thought they’d give it a go.  They had just learned about all the different types of nests that birds make.

Ingredients were gathered.

Mud…

Sticks and twigs…

Weeds…

And with that they set to work.

They even tried soaking the twigs in hopes of making them more ‘bendy’.  The dry ones kept snapping.

In the end, they came up with a great little basket thing (or maybe a potholder?)

And C made some delicious pies!  (He was so proud!)

H was determined to build a nest.  This is what she came up with. 

She even put it up in the tree because she thinks a bird might use it.  I don’t have the heart to tell her otherwise.  It could happen!

He’s thrilled, I’m sure.

First of all, let me just rant and rave about how lovely General Conference was.  [...]]]> Any men reading this?  Dad?  (Sometimes he likes to check in to see what we’ve been up to… little did he know when he checks in today he’ll get to hear about my boobs ). 

He’s thrilled, I’m sure.

First of all, let me just rant and rave about how lovely General Conference was.  I love the Gospel.  I love my Heavenly Father and am so grateful for all the many blessings he has bestowed upon me.  Conference always lifts my spirits at just the right time.  Love those inspired men!  More about some of those talks later.

And now that I’m extremely behind, let’s talk about Easter.  We celebrated in a much simpler fashion this year.  No new clothes, no fancy toys, just a simple bucket (already have them, we just set them out for the Easter Bunny to fill) with only a few fun items… bubbles, Hot Wheels cars (for the boys), and sunglasses for the girls.  A book and a pair of sandals for each kid.  Somehow, the Easter Bunny got sizes all wrong.  Each girl got a size too small. 

Not a single lick of candy anywhere in the house (except a tiny marshmallow bunny in each basket) because EB knew we’d be heading to my aunt’s house for an Easter Egg hunt.  And trust me, there were plenty of candy filled eggs there!

Anthony’s birthday actually fell on Easter this year, too, so we had to get a family pic… plus another to make sure I was in one. 

These pics of B are just too cute.  My SIL dropped off an adorable little fireman truck that her kids had outgrown.  C really likes it but he looks pretty ridiculous in it.  He’s just too big!  Even B is slightly big but I couldn’t resist taking a couple pics.

Now for the part you’ve all been waiting for… MASTITIS!  Oh the joys of having the chills, a fever, the shakes, the dizziness, the sore breast, the midwives office closing early so you can’t even get prescription called in (What are they thinking?), the whole shebang! 

**Sigh**

Nursing is wonderful!  Nursing is grand!  Nursing is fantastic!  Until this happens… Oh, and the first two weeks.  They stink, too. 

UGH!

{It’s a great way to get out of doing P90X for a day or two…   Totally planned it!}  Have I mentioned how sore my legs are?  Stupid PLYO!

In the winter.

Little did we know that the backyard was not covered in luscious, green grass come spring and summer.  Oh no, it was covered in lovely weeds. 

Anthony tried his hardest to keep the ‘lawn’ mowed and looking nice.  Well, as nice [...]]]> We moved into this house about 7 years ago. 

In the winter.

Little did we know that the backyard was not covered in luscious, green grass come spring and summer.  Oh no, it was covered in lovely weeds. 

Anthony tried his hardest to keep the ‘lawn’ mowed and looking nice.  Well, as nice as trimmed weeds can look.  I mean, there’s only so much you can do. 

The plan was to put grass in ‘next summer’.  That was the plan….. every summer!

Um, yeah.  Next summer never came.  We just kept trying to keep it looking… reasonable.  But it wasn’t.  It just became a giant potty pad for the dog.  Landmines… everywhere.  Until now. 

I’M SO EXCITED!! 

One day, very soon, my kids will have a real yard to play in.  They might actually prefer the backyard to the front. 

A couple weeks ago we rented a tractor.  Is it a tractor?  A contraption of some sort anyway. 

Good thing I wasn’t in charge of it.  I don’t even know what it is.  All I know is that 1) Anthony gutted the entire yard, 2) the boys thought they were in some sort of heaven with that thing here, and 3) we have been waiting for an opportunity to get rid of that stupid shed for YEARS.  We never used it, it was full of the previous owner’s garbage, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if there was a dead cat or two in there.  Plus the roof may as well have not been there at all.  The hole in it was about the size of a giant beach ball.  A highly effective piece of tin that shed was.

Doesn’t my Afony look hot from behind?  {Mom, don’t read this!} He looks good from the front, too but seriously…

This is how the kids watched much of the action.

Even Moe got excited about his new play area.  {Have I ever introduced you to Moe?  I think not.}  Blogland, this is Moe. 

He’s our doofus.  But we love him.  Except when he gets into the garbage and chews up diapers.  Or when he darts out the front door because the kids left him an opportunity to do so.  Luckily, his bad hips have slowed him down enough in the past several months that K is able to catch up with him so he doesn’t end up running the neighborhood.  Or at the pound.

This is the boys… in Seventh Heaven!  They were devastated when we had to take it back the next day.  Every day since, C has asks when we’re going to buy our own.

I can’t tell you how excited we all are at the thought of an actual yard.  One that we can play in and entertain in.  What will we do with ourselves?  Guess I better add ‘Doody Duty’ to the chore list, eh?

Deck railing coming this summer, too.  Now if only we could afford a new fence between us and the back door neighbor.  He hates us!  (Actually, he hates Moe.)  UGH!

I think my fingers lack the dexterity needed to accomplish all the twisting, turning, braiding, etc… needed for all those fancy hairdos.  Not to mention, it [...]]]> There are so many wonderful websites out there for doing little girls’ hair.  And I love every hairdo I see.  But I am definitely not a hair mom. 

I think my fingers lack the dexterity needed to accomplish all the twisting, turning, braiding, etc… needed for all those fancy hairdos.  Not to mention, it takes me about a year and half just to complete one of those dos.  Um, yeah, just not my thing.  (I do everything slow… just ask my mom.)

But hey, I’ve got the side ponytail, regular ponytail, flip ponytail, pigtails, and the small french braid across the top (headband style) leading into a ponytail down PAT! 

Yep, I can do a mean ponytail! 

I can also do a twist braid and the occasional bun.  But most of the time, as I’ve mentioned before, you wouldn’t even know that we own a brush.

Seriously.

My kids look like ragamuffins quite often.  K’s hair isn’t too bad.  It’s pretty straight so it lays pretty when it’s brushed.  A and H, however (and I should include myself), have some wicked frizzy waves going on.  It doesn’t look too bad on the girls the day of their shower.  The day after is another story.  They can brush it a hundred times and within 20 minutes it looks like they haven’t touched it.  As for me, if I leave my hair alone straight out of a shower I end up looking like a guy…. with long hair.  It’s scary.  Let’s move on.

So, on a whim a couple weeks ago we did this bun in A’s hair for dance. 

She has joined K in Jazz class playing “Annie” in their ‘Let’s Go to The Movies’ dance.  I originally just did a simple twist braid but she didn’t like that it whipped her in the face when she did turns so I put it into the bun.  The moms at dance were asking how I did her cute bun.  They couldn’t believe I didn’t have a single bobby pin in it. 

Since that day, both A and H have asked for this hairdo several times.  They think it’s so pretty.  And I am asked just about every time we do it how it was done. 

Let me just tell you… it couldn’t be simpler!  You’ll probably laugh at my ‘attempt’ at doing hair and posting it as a blog entry. 

But here goes nothin’.

PLEASE START WITH WET HAIR.  AND THE NEWER THE PONYTAIL HOLDER, THE BETTER. 

First you want to gather all the hair into a regular ponytail.  Then you divide it into two sections, twist them both in the same direction, then twist both pieces together the opposite way.  This creates the twist braid (but you probably already knew that).  Finish it off with a ponytail holder.  Note:  The finished product will look better if you use a much smaller ponytail holder on the end.  I just didn’t have one.

Now take the twist braid and wrap it around the original ponytail, starting at the top and twisting around.  Tuck the end in as well as you can.  Then add another large ponytail holder around the entire bun.  Twist it once and wrap around a second time.  This will secure the bun into place. 

And there you have it!  Fast, easy, and pretty without much fuss at all.  That’s my kind of hairdo! 

Here is H’s twist bun adorned for St. Patrick’s Day.

I don’t know, all I know is they’re just not right!  Pumpkin is one of the best flavors in the world when paired with sugar… and chocolate chips (unless it’s pie, because… EW!).  [...]]]> There’s a war going on in my house.  And it’s all because Anthony’s taste buds are dying? dead? deranged? insane? disturbed?

I don’t know, all I know is they’re just not right!  Pumpkin is one of the best flavors in the world when paired with sugar… and chocolate chips (unless it’s pie, because… EW!).  But seriously, it causes me much anguish that he doesn’t love pumpkin the way I do. 

Maybe I should have screened him better before entering into this lifelong commitment… I kid, of course

Every time I make a pumpkin dish (besides pie because he already likes the pie) I force it down his throat and I just know that this will be it!!  This will be the time that he says, “WOW!  That is great!  I love it, give me more.” 

No such luck.  He always politely eats (if you can call his unacceptance as ‘polite’… psh!) and then says something like, “I just don’t love that flavor combo.”

Who is this man? 

Ugh! 

Anyway, I found a recipe that I LOVE!  (Original recipe found HERE) I modified it slightly because the original recipe made a gigantic batch and I like my pumpkin treats to be full of spicy flavor.  And I lowered the temp of the oven as well.

These are TO DIE FOR, moist and delicious!  I promise you’ll love them (unless you’re my husband, then you’re just a weirdy! )

Mix together the following:

• 1 c. softened butter
• 1 1/2 c. sugar

Add:

• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla

In a separate bowl, combine:

• 2 1/4 c. flour
• 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 – 3/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/2 tsp. allspice
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

Add to butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix…

Add:

• 15 oz. pumpkin puree

Once all is combined well, stir in:

• 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips

Bake at 325* for about 20-25 minutes.  This made 24 muffins. 

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