Halloween cookies

For playgroup (yes, it's a miracle, we went once in a year!), they were decorating cookies. The girls aren't really being anything too "girly" for Halloween, and plus I didn't have their costumes done, so I told them to go grab some princess dresses. We had fun getting them all done up. I even let them wear mascara (which the girls were SO excited for)

Except when you have a meltdown before you go.......

All the girls at the tables (with the boys crawling around the gym......nice set-up if you ask me)

She was so excited.

And even ATE like a princess (check out her hand)

Iris knew EXACTLY what to do w/ it.

Oh, what's that you say? Iris is in another outfit?!?! WHAT THE. SURELY, that's not because she peed in her costume RIGHT when we got there! Surely not. Especially considering how I was JUST bragging on how awesome she was doing. Well, I guess that's what I get, huh.

Royce just wandering around.....w/ the rest of the baby boys.

Does ANYONE else's girls change their outfits as many times as mine do?!?!? This is the SAME day just a few hours later. (Outfit #4 for Iris). I had them dressed and told them to run grab shoes to go......these are the shoes they picked.

whatever.

How to kill fruit flies

These fruit flies have been HORRIBLE!!! Just when I sanitize and think I get rid of everything they would like, I leave a dishrag out (that they like). Then the next night I'll forget to clean out the bottom of Royce's highchair w/ a microscopic piece of cantelope in it. Seriously, they multiply by the hundreds it seems and they drive me nuts. Well, apparently, all I have to do is NOT try to get rid of them, and they'll go away..........oh, and also with a little help from this:

Last night was Preston and Mason N.'s last night here and since they wouldn't be getting breakfast at work, I thought I would make them so Cinnamon Monkey Bread for them to grab w/ some fruit or something at 4 in the morning when they left.

Brooks, Preston, Mason and the 4 older kids went to McD's for dinner. I stayed home and put the 2 babies down. Whoa, whoa, let me back up.

Yesterday morning, I made something in the oven and it turned out great. I turned off the oven, and it wouldn't turn off. It stayed on BROIL, which I never turned on. It kept blinking "FI" at me, which I kept thinking was "FIRE" and it would NOT turn off. I got a little freaked out, so I went downstairs and turned off the breaker to the oven.

Okay, so last night when I heated up the oven to cook the monkey bread (for 30 minutes), when I put it in, I noticed the "Broil" heaters were on again, but for some reason just thought they would go off and were helping w/ the heating of the oven. (lame, I know, but I was hoping against hope that it wouldn't happen again.)

I went downstairs (Biggest Loser was on, duh) and 10 minutes later I smelled smoke.

Instead of running upstairs to see, I KNEW what it was and ran into the garage to shut off the oven breaker again. Then I bolted up the stairs to see a THICK blanket of smoke of about 2-3 ft. on the ceiling and fog down to the ground. Went into the kitchen and pulled out (the lovely dish shown on the oven that was SCORCHED and about to catch on fire), ran it outside, and quickly started to open up windows, turn on fans, etc. The smoke was so thick, and it stunk so bad.

I immediately went into action and just kept trying to air things out, shake towels to help and freezing out my house in the process. It must've been pure adrenaline that kept me going before, because by the time I sat down, I just broke down thinking of all the "what-ifs".

My mind went crazy thinking about Royce and Iris sleeping, and my plan of action if there WAS a fire to go and save Iris and Royce, etc. The mother in me just felt a little shaky about it all. It was too cold upstairs and I really couldn't do anything else, so I went downstairs to finish watching Biggest Loser and decided that my heart rate had probably been higher then their's anyway.

Everyone else got home about 9:15 and probably wondered what the HECK was going on. Most of the smoke was gone, but I'm sure my face said enough......and it STUNK of MAJOR smoke. And that got me thinking about what would it have been like for them if they came home and found fire trucks in front of their house! (Actually, the kids would've been thrilled, but for Brooks, I'm sure his stomach would've dropped).

With all this, I didn't really get the kids in bed, so the older 4 just stayed up and finished Biggest Loser with me, even though Mason and Preston were trying to sleep (the TV is in their "bedroom") because they had to get up at 4 a.m. this morning.

Checking on the kids before I went to bed made me cry being so scared thinking about it again. Needless to say, I sat in bed and read some of the Book of Mormon to calm me down (because I figured my mind wouldn't let me go to sleep!). It helped as well as praying that I could feel a little extra peace. It was so nice to know that Heavenly Father still has time for something as silly as this to show me he cares and help me sleep.

However there ARE two things I learned from this:

1) The smoke alarm apparently does NOT work

2) Smoke kills fruit flies. They're gone.

Oh, and it STILL reeks of smoke today. Ick.

And since I'm on an Iris kick lately on my blog (I could literally post a picture everyday of something she's done or got into), here's her this morning while I was feeding everyone else breakfast............NOT with my oven/stovetop.

WA-HOO!

Here is the BIG WA-HOO moment of the day:

Bronson came home from school and said he got elected to SECRETARY for his elementary school!!! (must've been the awesome mis-spelled posters I made). I was so excited for him.

Here is the eh-wahoo-moment of the day:

He THEN told me that there are TWO secretaries (what is this, PRIMARY where "Everyone wins"?!?!). I then asked how many were running and he said 3. So it stinks to be the 3rd person but I guess Bronson and another girl tied with the EXACT number of votes. (apparently Bronson's brothers didn't campaign hard enough). Whatever, he won, right? And he's happy.

Here is the NOT-wahoo moment of the day:

Have you ANY idea how NOT-SO-EASY it is to sweep up these sprinkles?!?!?

(while posting this, she spilled out a box of matches in the other room.)

THIS little lady, is TROUBLE!

Unbelievable

THIS little girl of mine (who happens to be nursing her babydoll and looking like a private school student) is unbelievable.

She's always been either hot or cold. Extreme or passive. Lovable or completely nerve-provoking. Even as a baby, that was just her. She ALSO really won't go near you or she'll be on your lap snuggling. (REALLY well, I might add)

Now we come to the potty-training.

I have been avoiding this for 6 months. Really. She would say things like, "pee pee Mommy!" I would just respond, "Go in your diaper." I did NOT want to face it. With as HARD as it was for Aleeya, I just figured girls were harder then boys and if Aleeya was hard, I was REALLY in for it with Iris.

She woke up last Thursday from her nap and INSISTED on wearing "panties". Okay, whatever. I let her. The problem with that is, by the time I pick up the boys to bedtime I'm busy doing homework-duty, dinner duty, teeth brushing, scriptures, referee-ing "discussions" among siblings, etc. I didn't really have time to stalk her all evening. She ended up being 0 for 4 in the toilet.

Great. Not the best of records.

The next day, I devoted to her. She ended the day with 16 for 16 peeing in the toilet. Went through naptime dry (and has to this day) AND she pooped in the toilet!!! (See what I mean by extreme one way or the other?)

As you can imagine, I got a little over-confidant on that FIRST full day of potty-training and took her to the public library, which ended up w/ poopy pants, but that was my bad. Pretty, sure I got over-cocky on that one. (The best was when Brooks took all 6 kids to play w/ the pitching machine and didn't realize he needed to pay attention to Iris. Yep, she totally took off her pants, undies and squatted to poop. I could NOT stop laughing when I got home!)

And 3 days later, still no pee accidents.

Pretty incredible. I just love her so stinkin' much.....even if she IS hot or cold.

Speaking of cold......this boy of mine is ALWAYS cold (probably because he's so skinny). When we're all in normal clothes enjoying fall weather, I usually find him dressed like this.

And when you spend your focus on a sweet 2 year old who is potty-training, it leaves your 10 month old AMPLE time to go digging in the trash. Here's what he came out with this time.

Fried chicken anyone?

*This potty-training post is dedicated to 2 things that made it happen: Crystal Light and Skittles. I'll forever love you and think of the potty when I buy you.

FINALLY the day came

Aleeya has basically been waiting for her 4th birthday her "WHOLE LIFE!!!!" (and had been planning who she was going to invite for basically that long too) So we're glad it finally came. For her pinata I decided to recycle an old store-bought pinata we got for free and used at Bronson's AND Camden's b-day. This thing is indestructible.

We cut off the head. Any guesses as to what we're making?

A Minnie PURSE!!!! Wasn't it obvious?!?!!? ;)

The day of the party Brooks had to man a table at a church open house. When Lily's mom saw that Brooks wasn't here for his daughter's party, she sent her husband to go do it (even though she was "manning" another table there too!) so Brooks could come home. Marianne is so sweet. Anyway, here's my cute husband in a suit chasing all the kids around in a mean game of tag.

Apparently it was SO mean that these 3 would have NOTHING to do with it.....even when Brooks tried.

My parents were still in town so I had my dad do a magic show.....the same one he did for all of my b-day parties growing up. Ahhhhh, the memories.

Here are some of the spectators. I loved watching their faces.

This one is awesome too.

The magic show assistants.

This is my favorite picture of the day. My dad makes "magic cupcakes" but had just put some bugs, grass blades and NOW toothpaste in the recipe. Aleeya was NOT thrilled and did NOT think they would be yummy.

But they seemed to turn out anyway. Everyone loved them, except Aleeya who saw first-hand what when into them and would NOT eat them. :)

Blowing out the candles on the cake. (which she DID like)

She wanted a Strawberry Shortcake Cake....and she's obviously thrilled.

Buuuuuuuuut BEFORE you think I made it and know how to do fondant, then I better hurry and tell you that I have yet, ANOTHER awesome friend, Jenny, (does that bring my friend tally to 2 now?) who's daughter had a b-day earlier in the week. She made this 3-tiered cake and only ended up eating the top tier. So she gave me the bottom 2 tiers that she kept in the freezer and we threw frosting on top and figurines to hide where the top tier was. And check out how cool it looked in the inside. (Hope my boys don't feel like they get the shaft now!)

We went outside to whack the pinata. The thing wasn't budging.....surprise, surprise. Peer pressure was shouting at me to take a whack at it, and I caved. (and um, sort of missed)

BUT instead of letting them beat the treats of out if (as I suggested on the movie), Brooks decided he wanted a piece. So I threw the pinata at him and he smashed it open...........AND all the treat bags that I had individually assembled. Oh well.

All in all, Aleeya said, her party was "the coolest ever". So to all my friends, Dad, Mom (decorator), Brooks and the already made Batman pinata, I thank you, for making the party "cool".

Old Salem

Old Salem is just one of those places you HAVE to visit when you're around Western North Carolina. It's a town that was settled by Moravians wanting religious freedom back in the 1700s. Truly a fascinating history! Anyway, their buildings look like they did way back then and the tour guides, etc. dress as they did.

We found this old bridge pretty cool too.

I should've just taken a picture of my sweet Iris in her cowboy boots smelling the flowers, but here is yet ANOTHER piece of proof that I absolutely STINK at french braiding.

Here's me hopin' my allergies don't flare up hangin' around the ol' carriage house w/ straw and hay. Just me and my girls........

I was REEEEEEEEEALLY looking forward to getting this water pump to work. My reason? Well, I started pumping as hard as I could and told Aleeya to put her face RIGHT by the opening to tell me when the water came out. My hope was to watch her get squirted in the face (yes, I realize I act like a kid), but the darn water pressure stunk (maybe THAT dates back to the 1700s too!) and it just trickled out. Oh well. (For the record, I got her good later on at home when I told her to look in the hose while I held it kinked.....and then didn't hold it. tee hee)

We kinda lost dad. It's really not hard to do if you know my dad. Behind the Single Brother's House was this HUGE garden of all types of crops we've never HEARD about. So dad had one of the posing Single Brothers come give him the run-down on the garden while we sort of walked on. We only lost dad for a little big though....

before ROYCE FOUND HIM!

Grocery Store conversations

I think it's safe to say that WHEREVER I go I get the "You have your hands full", "Bless Your Heart", "Are those are your's?!?!"comments. Grocery stores just happen to be my most frequent places to go and it ALSO seems to be the place where people just seem to WANT to tell you whatever comes to mind......especially Walmart.

Good news? Royce is old enough now and the girls have bows that I haven't gotten mis-gendered comments ("Aw, 3 little girls?") type comments.

I usually just smile and act friendly. Yesterday at Walmart there was an older lady that just REALLY wanted to talk about her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and every ONE of their potty-training stories. I kept handing crackers from my pocket to the 3 younger kids I shop with and hoped that they would behave (it was RIGHT smack in the middle of their naptime). She asked if my husband helped out w/ the kids and I said he was super helpful. Then she said, "Does anyone help you out during the week?" I smiled and said no.

As I walked away I could've kicked myself. I sooooooooo should've just pointed up, because really, I DO have help, a Heavenly Father that gives me perspective and patience.

And speaking of patience...........

Here is yet another encounter I had the day before. Royce was a tad tired during that store so I had him on my hip for part of the shopping then put him back in the cart. I was in the checkout line and an elderly lady (yes it IS usually them that comment) asked if the 3 kids with me were mine. Then she just looked up and down me and said, "You must have ALL the patience in the world!!!!"

I quietly thanked my lucky stars Aleeya and Iris weren't fighting in the cart and just started thinking about patience. Patience has been a slow learning process and I'm still not even CLOSE to where I would like to be. With each kid I feel I've gotten more though. My patience level today is a LOT more then when I just had 1 child. I've always wanted patience so it's probably a good thing I have so many kids to keep giving me more chances to practice.

So there I was in la-la land thinking about how much my patience has grown, etc. I paid for the food and walked out to the van. Then I looked down and saw this.......

(however it was WET at the store)

There I was thinking of the wonders of patience and how I've improved and that lady probably made that ol' "You must have ALL THE PATIENCE in the WORLD" comment after noticing I just did my grocery shopping with my baby's poop on my shirt!!!!!!!

Come to think of it, THAT would increase patience too.

Thank You Robert Jeffress

Really, I'm GRATEFUL to the man who went on national television and declared that "Mormonism" (although he clearly doesn't know that my church goes by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) is a cult and that we are NOT Christian.

I know it sounds odd that I might be grateful to him, but as I watched that news clip on my computer my sweet 8 year old was watching it with me. He asked what a cult was and also why we weren't "Christian". It started a GREAT discussion of truth and I felt so peaceful explaining to him the definition of a true Christian. I even found these definitions online for a "Christian":

Chris·tian

   [kris-chuhn]

adjective, noun

exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ; Christlike:

of, pertaining to, or derived from Jesus Christ or His teachings: a Christian faith.

of, pertaining to, believing in, or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ:

a person who believes in Jesus Christ;

a person who exemplifies in his or her life the teachings of Christ:

I explained to Bronson that I DO believe in Jesus Christ.

That makes me a "Christian". However, it said it is an adjective and a noun, but I consider it MORE to be a verb. It's an action word. It's in how I want so badly to exemplify him and treat others as He did. I explained to Bronson that we belong to a church that INDEED has his name in the title. This IS His church.

We talked about how the Savior that I believe in cares about each of us. That he KNOWS him and He knows me. He is aware of what we go through and I feel his strength, understanding and friendship with me. No one person could tell me I don't believe in someone in whom I have a personal relationship with.....and it's up to Bronson to develop his own relationship with Him as well.

He knows and understand me so well because of what he did for me and for EVERYONE else too

I know he suffered for my sins, my ill feelings, my grief, my pain, my suffering and my concerns. He knows each of my feelings so intimately because he went through them Himself. I KNOW this.

It would be one thing for an evangelical to come out and say my beliefs aren't "Christian" because we don't believe in the Nicean Creed, or that God, the Father is some "immeasurable" being or mass that is one Being with Jesus and the Holy Ghost. That person would be right. However, that is NOT the definition of a "Christian" nor is fair to attack my most treasured relationship.

I am okay with anyone knowing that I don't believe in the document men drew up in 325 A.D. or the one in 381 A.D. for that matter to define my Heavenly Father. One who I know DOES look like my Father and cares for me as a Father would. Jesus Christ is my brother and therefore separate from the Father, as is the Holy Ghost. The Bible and all scripture I believe in testify of that. Not only that, the Holy Ghost has PERSONALLY testified to ME of this truth, and that knowledge is worth more then anything to me.

So to you Robert Jeffress, thank you. Thank you for giving me the chance to once again talk to my children about the One Man who made it possible for me to return and live with my Heavenly Father, even Jesus Christ, who I love with all my heart. To live with Them one day is truly my greatest desire.

If that doesn't make me a Christian by your definition or means I belong to a cult, then so be it, but good luck trying to convince others of that.

Conference is Different

For my little family here then it was for me growing up. I remember watching EVERY session (4, 2 hour sessions over 2 days) curled up on our couch downstairs and knowing I would be asked about what the Prophet and Apostles had taught us. Since it is only 2 times a year, I look forward to it so much. Just think, 8 hours worth of hearing about kindness, prayer, scripture reading and testimonies of our Savior Jesus Christ!!!! It is truly uplifting and needed.

However, since we gather around a rather small computer screen, I usually crank up the volume and get some freezer cooking done at the same time. And YAY for the fact that my kids are actually HELPFUL in dicing up my vegetables.

There are FEW things that bring a warmer feeling in my belly then walking in a room and seeing a cute man in scrubs smiling at me..........lucky for me I have TWO! ;)

Okay, I don't mean to brag but this idea was genius. GENIUS I SAY!!!!

While the kids worked on some Conference packets and drawing pictures of what they were hearing, I figured out a way to keep Royce and Iris contained (w/ a WHOLE lot of extra snacks thrown in too!)

Penny Campaign

The boys' school are collecting change to go towards some cancer foundation or something like that. Well, they came home w/ these cute little boxes and REEEEEEEEEALLY wanted to go ask the neighbors for their pennies. I had a hard time saying no.....especially because THIS time they're actually going to ask, rather then rummage through their recycling bins looking for cans like they did last time.

I didn't want our family name embarrassed so I asked what they would be saying at the doorstep. Bronson said, "May you please give me some change to go help kids with cancer?" Okay. I guess. Then I asked Emerson (because Camden was NOT going) and he said, "Can you give me some money?"

No, no, no, no. I went over w/ Emerson the polite way to say it over and over again. Then I told him to practice ONE more time before they walked out the door and he said,

"Can you please give me cancer?"

Perfect......he might actually end up with MORE money then Bronson!!!