Valentine's Day 2016

Having a baby the week before Valentine's Day means absolutely nothing is going to get done. And I mean NOTHING. The kids were getting excited and some of them had started doing a few things related to Valentine's Day in school. Ailey had the chance to make some Valentine's a few days ahead of time and she brought this one home:

I'm still not positive what it says. To me it looks like: I like lies. But if she likes lies, isn't her saying that a bit contradictory? Who knows...

I was praying the kids would just make envelopes or something in class, but sadly - each and every one of the kids had teachers who thought the kids should make their own Valentine containers...UGH! 

I really had no creativity in my brain, but thankfully Shaylyn stepped up and filled in for me. She created some wonderful creations for her brothers and sister. Lex helped Shaylyn with his owl, but she did most of the work for each of them.

{...Skylanders for Nate, a Dalmation for Ailey...}

I kind of spaced Valentine's Day, to be honest. So when it came up I had NOTHING for Eric. I felt bad, and I still do. But, he made sure to remember me. The biggest gift will be the next post, but the day before Valentine's Day (14th), this little container arrived:

And it was filled with:

Purple and blue M&M's. Purple is my favorite color and blue is his. But the surprise didn't end there. He had special things printed onto these M&M's...

Some had a picture of us printed on them, some had the phrase 'Love You Smileybug' and the rest read, 'Happy Valentine's Day'. 

Chocolate was a perfect choice for being only a few days postpartum.

What Happens Next...

August's Antics

It's time once again for a look at all the crazy things that happen on a day to day basis in this crazy world of mine.

{...I'M NOT TIRED!...}

I could tell from looking a Jace that he was starting to fall asleep and he was ready for his nap, but when I asked him if he was ready for his nap, he told me no. Two seconds later he was out like a light.

{...I LIKE TO SNUGGLE TOO...}

One night we were getting ready to go to bed and looked over to find Domino snuggled up to a stuffed toy. (It's kinda hard to see with all his fur) He wasn't attacking it, just snuggled up with it like a human would be.

{...BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING...}

Eric's mom helped with back to school shopping. We had discussed taking different groups of kids at different times, but in the end decided it was a better use of time to go all together. I don't know if it was a good choice or a bad choice, but we had a full day.

The kids had fun being with grandma and choosing their clothes and they even got lunch at Chick Fil A. While in Target we found the perfect spot for a photo.

{...GET TO KNOW YOU JENGA...}

I got called to Activity Days and was way beyond nervous to be in charge of my first activity. After thinking on it for awhile, I decided to go with a Get To Know You game as the girls had 2 new leaders and we didn't know much about any of the girls. I found the idea online and the look for the Jenga pieces online as well, I just tried to make it my own.

Thankfully the activity turned out pretty good and I think the girls had fun.

{...LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE...}

I went to swap laundry one night and found the following sight:

Apparently the soft plastic battery operated tea-lights can survive a washing. Who knew?

{...HE MAY BE PART HUMAN...}

Domino definitely likes the softer things in the world. One of the kids decided he needed to be tucked in just like a kid. He didn't seem to offer any complaint.

{...IT'S JUST A LITTLE POKE..}

I got a little lax with Ailey's immunizations we realized when we registered for Kindergarten and then I slacked off and didn't get her into the dr's office as soon as I wanted. When I did call, however, I had to wait a week. This meant she was getting her last shots the day before school started. She was nervous about them and didn't want to go, but she was brave and went anyway. They had to take blood from her finger, which I didn't know about - but she did awesome and then she was ready for her shots.

She didn't do quite as well for her shots and was a sad little girl. But she brushed it off pretty quickly and I took her to Arctic Circle for lunch and let her play on the playground and then she got some toys from the store and she was a happy camper.

{...JUST LIKE DADDY...}

Jace is a very observant kid and knows exactly what Daddy does when he's on the computer. One day he wasted no time in imitating his Daddy.

I cleaned the desk a day or two after this...

{...TWO HEADS IS BETTER THAN ONE...}

With four boys there is no shortage of things that resemble fighting and wrestling. Even the two year old gets involved.

What Happens Next...

The Big 1-5

Trying to keep your kids from growing is a useless feat. I really was kind of sad about Tanis' birthday this year because this birthday signified a lot of things that I didn't want to particularly think about.

Things like Tanis heading to high school, getting a learner's permit, dating, a job and just not being home as much. Things I wasn't sure I could handle as a mom.

But, the sun rose the day of July 22nd and this kid had a birthday anyway. He's usually so obedient.

At some point in the day I let him open his gifts and out of all my kids, he is the most grateful for whatever we get him. I tried to do my best and get things that he would really like, but the budget for birthdays and with him getting bigger, it doesn't always mix well.

{...Sabrina Carpenter CD...}

Shaylyn ran across a neat idea previous to Tanis' birthday and really wanted to do it for Tanis. So I took her shopping previous to Tanis' birthday so she could do it. She really kind of amazed me with her talent and her brother liked his gift as well.

We spent the night playing Tanis' new games and just enjoying each other's company. I'm still sad this boy is growing up so fast and even more sad he's taller than me now. I'm thankful for the person he is and the person he strives to be. He's a terrific helper and is always willing to lend a hand. He has a hard time being the oldest, sometimes but he's learned to take everything in stride. I pray he continues to be such a person as he grows older.

Happy Birthday, Buddy!

What Happens Next...

A Link Between Worlds

Tanis had a birthday that was soon approaching and because his birthday is 2 days after Pioneer Day, he feels like less friends are able to come if we have a party after his birthday because it's so close to Pioneer Day. So this year he insisted that he have his party before Pioneer Day and even had his theme chose weeks in advance. He also had a lot of ideas that he found of things to have at his party.

His theme was The Legend of Zelda and so we of course started out with the invite.

I spent the two days up to his party putting together some of the treats and the day of his party cleaning the house and doing some last minute prep work (like the name signs that I had forgotten until about an hour or two before his party).

This is how the table turned out:

And individual items:

(These were taken more for my benefit so I can realize, one day, that I used to do cool things for my kids)

We had some decorations....I had planned to make the blue balls look like the bombs from the game, but completely forgot and then ran out of time...

I had to get creative with the candles. I just know years from now this picture is going to confuse the life out of me.

The traditional birthday song was sung, candles were lit and the kid made a wish that probably won't come true.

For the majority of the party these boys played Super Smash Brothers. It was nice to have a game so many people could play at once.

Then came present time...

{...Lovely photobomb from the girls...}

{...Group photobomb was awesome...}

{...Someone needs to lock those girls up...}

It was a crazy, fun night and somehow it's almost more exhausting hosting a birthday party for teenagers than little kids.

What Happens Next...