Books I read in 2010

As you may know, I am a bookworm. If I could, I would hole up in a library and tear through the shelves. But since my children would not survive without me (especially Evan) alas I may only read when I can find some time. (Occasionally even when I don't have time, but I am totally absorbed in a book....okay, maybe more than occasionally...) I thought I would mark a few that I recommend for reading....also the titles followed by (J) are considered juvenile literature.

You may not have noticed the list I had going on my sidebar this past year, but here it is:

*These is my words by Nancy E. Turner ( This will be added to my collection on day.)
*Forgotten Skills of Cooking by Darina Allen (Excellent advice on "old time-y" cooking.)
*11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass (J)
*Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs (This will be added to my collection shortly. Highly recommend for great relationship advice...not really a fun read.)
*The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
*Lemony Snickets' The Unauthorized Autobiography (J)
*Lemony Snickets' The End (J)
*Lemony Snickets' The Penultimate Peril (J)
*Lemony Snickets' The Grim Grotto (J)
*Lemony Snickets' The Slippery Slope (J)
*Lemony Snickets' The Carnivorous Carnival (J)
*Lemony Snickets' The Hostile Hospital (J)
*Lemony Snickets' The Vile Village (J)
*Lemony Snickets' The Ersatz Elevator (J)
*Lemony Snickets' The Austere Academy (J)
*Lemony Snickets' The Miserable Mill (J)
*All Creatures Great and Small by James Harriot
*Lemony Snickets' The Bad Beginning (J)
*Lemony Snickets' The Reptile Room (J)
*Lemony Snickets' The Wide Window (J)
*The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
*Pick another checkout lane, honey by Joanie Demer
*Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (A great classic. A long, but excellent read. )
*Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
*Freakonomics by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
*Unclutter your life in one week by Erin Rooney Doland
*The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
*Like Gold Refined by Janette Oke
*A Quiet Strength by Janette Oke
*A Searching Heart by Janette Oke
*The Tender Years by Janette Oke
*The Book of Mormon (If you don't know what this is...check it out.)
*Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (J)
*Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (J)
*Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (J)
*Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (J)
*Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (J)
*Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (J)
*Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (J) (This series is a must read! And slightly addictive....ask my ignored husband and children.)
*The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
*Finally by Wendy Mass (J)
*Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
*Anthem by Ayn Rand
*Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks
*The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
*Cold Train Coming by Larry Barkdull
*The Lighthouse Keeper by James Michael Pratt

I look forward to all the books that I will read in 2011!

Snow Day!

This morning at 6am we got a call. Luckily, I was up feeding Evan or I would have been very unhappy. It was the superintendent calling to say that school was closed for the day. Snow day! Kim was very excited to hear she didn't have to go to school. We celebrated with Hot Cocoa for breakfast. (OK, I normally have hot cocoa for breakfast, but it was a treat for the boys.)

We looked outside to check out the snowfall. There was at least 4 inches. Check out this pic. I shoveled the walkway to give you an idea how deep it is...

Steven proposed that we pay Kim to shovel the driveway and I seconded the idea. Kim was very excited to earn some money for Christmas presents. So promptly got bundled up and I gave her a quick tutorial on how to shovel snow. For the most part, it's pretty easy going since it is snow that had fallen overnight and isn't compacted yet. Just to test it out, I did the walkway and a strip to the far side of the driveway to get her started.

Here she is saying "Come on mom" (in that annoying, yet entertaining teenage whine) when she noticed I had come outside with the camera.
Here she is digging in deep to get a shovelful. Put your back into it! Use those arms!
And getting ready to chuck the snow. Check out the driveway behind her...only 30 minutes in and she has one side pretty much done. Good going Kim!

Here she is waving at the camera (at my request after some more of that whining) just to prove that I'm not a complete and horrible mother subjecting my child to slave labor...hey, she is getting paid.Ah, the joys of an older child. Now the snow won't get all compacted when we head out to the gym and library in a little while. It's a win-win situation for all!

Happy Snow Day!

Monies....

As a part of raising children, Steven and I feel it is our job to help our children understand how money works. There are way too many people out in the world that have no concept of money and how it works. People who think money grows on tree and are fiscally irresponsible. I don't want my children to live from paycheck to paycheck because I didn't teach them how to use money. (Don't even get me started....I could rant for hours on people and their poor money choices.)

So, to start teaching our children young (or brainwash them while young and highly impressionable), we decided to give them some chores to do around the house and assigned dollar values to them. When they complete a chore, they get to check it off their chore chart and at the end of the week they turn in their sheet and get cold, hard cash.

As part of this lesson, the children need to pay their tithing, put money in savings and then they can do what they want with the rest.

For those of you who don't know what tithing is, let me explain. In our church, we believe that God has given us everything that we have. He in turn asks us to give back one-tenth of our increase. That money goes to the church and they use it to build and run the church.

This is a difficult concept to teach to a small child, especially a 2 year old who is getting money of his own for the first time. In my infinite wisdom, I attempted to explain to Owen that he needed to part with some of his money. Since he has a great love of Jesus, I decided to try that angle. I told Owen that he needed to give some of his "monies" to Jesus. Jesus would use it to help the church. He said, "Give Jesus monies?" I said, "Yes." He said, "Okay." Much easier than I thought it would be. We counted out his tithing and put it into and envelope. He was very excited.

Here is Logan showing you his allowance with tithing slip in hand.
Owen was so excited about his monies that he couldn't be bothered to look at the camera. Holding his monies and tithing slip (ie. Monies for Jesus).
So to wrap up this charming tale. Yesterday, wile we were at church, Owen and I we were looking at his quiet book that has various church related pictures. When we got to the first picture of Jesus he says, "Jesus...monies!?!" Sure enough, we had forgotten the tithing envelopes. At least Owen learned where his tithing money goes.

Evan is offically mobile...

Evan is only 6 1/2 months old, but he is convinced he is older. For the past few weeks, he has been actively trying to move on his own, mainly trying to get his brother's discarded toys. It started with him scooting backwards. Then he moved onto "belly-flopping" his way around the living room. He would get up on his hands and feet and push forward and land on his belly. From there, he moved to his hands and knees, but it took a bit to get the hand/knee moving coordinated. Last Friday, we decided that wasn't good enough and he was determined to crawl. Little man had the art perfected by Saturday afternoon when I found him eating food off the kitchen floor...guess that means I will either need to sweep every night or Evan will be well fed.

Here is a video I took this morning. He couldn't decide if he wanted to get the zoo toy or the camera. Guess mom and the camera won.


Tell me that isn't the cutest kid in the world...You know he is.

Check out a couple pics....The shirt is so fitting (in case you can't make out the writing, it says "Prince Charming") and yes, he is quite charming...just ask all the YW in our ward. :)

Halloween

(I actually typed this up a few days ago, but just didn't get the pics off my camera until today...this past week was super jam packed with stuff.)

Since Halloween was on Sunday this year, I hardly even thought about it. Steven and I talked about it and didn't feel right taking the kids out to trick-or-treat on Sunday, so we decided to stay home and spend time together as a family.

Saturday night our ward had a chili cook-off/carnival. There were carnival games for the kids and lots of talking for the adults. As prizes for the games, the kids got candy. There was a booth to eat a donut tied to a string and suspended above your head. Steven got a great video of Kim and Logan doing it. Hilarious. Owen just gave the camera the "stank-eye" and held his.

Because we were taking the kids out, I didn't bother buying costumes. So Kim wore a pair of my old scrubs, carried the Fisher Price Doctor's Kit and was a nurse/doctor. Logan wore the Thomas the Tank Engine costume I'd bought a few years ago on after-holiday clearance. Owen was wearing a pair of overalls, so I scrounged up a construction hat, belt, boots and tools (which we was excited to wear at home but refused to put on at the church...but as you can see, he loved playing with his flashlight). Evan wore the traditional Winnie-the-Pooh dressed as a Honey-bee costume that both of his brothers wore.On Halloween, we went to church. Came home, ate lunch and had naps. (Okay, the boys and I napped while Steven and Kim cooked.) After we all woke up, it was time to decorate pumpkins. The boys shared a pumpkin. Here they are hard at work. The girls shared a pumpkin. Here is Kim posing with her creation....all I did was give suggestions and cut the top off. Evan had his tiny 1st Halloween pumpkin. He colored on it with a pen and sucked on the stem.
Here is Logan posing with the boy's finished product. We then ate super yummy pumpkin waffles with apple cider sauce. Such a wonderful tradition in our house.

We decided that since the kids didn't get to go out trick-or-treating (but Owen and Logan are at the age that it's super fun), that we would have them trick-or-treat inside. We had bought a bit of candy and dressed the boys up. Logan as Thomas again and Owen as Elmo (Logan's costume from last year). Steven was stationed in our bedroom, Kim in hers and I was in Evans. (This is my view from Evan's room. Ignore the mess in the hall and don't judge me...we all have that area that collects stuff....okay, maybe a few areas...this is one of mine.)The boys knocked on our door, said "Trick-or-treat" and were given candy. They then moved onto the next door. By the end, we were all laughing and having a great time....perhaps we will do this again.

We then got the kids ready for bed a little early and snuggled onto our bed to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks and Garfield Halloween movies. The kids all thoroughly enjoyed it. Then we packed the kids off to bed and Steven and I watched "Date Night". It was pretty funny. So glad that our dates don't turn out like that...well, seeing Mark Wahlberg's naked chest would be entertaining a time or two, but I don't want to have to pole dance in a western style outfit....

Happy Halloween from our family to yours! Check out this little monster....

On a much cuter (and less stinky) note...

Check out my super cute and adorable baby.

Mr. Evan is such a good little baby...well, aside from the every 2-3 hour feedings around the clock (I think he's going through a growth spurt and should go back to sleeping more at night...at least I hope so).

At his last doctor's appointment (Oct. 5th) he weighed in at 15 pounds. (Keep in mind his brother who is 20 months older than him is only 21 pounds.)

Here he is this morning posing in his "Little Pumpkin" outfit. Yes, I know Halloween is still a couple weeks away, but he's just getting too big for his 3-6 month outfits.


Here he is pushing himself backwards under the table. This really annoys him because instead of going toward the objects he would like to suck on, he is pushing himself further and further way. (I think Steven took this pic on sunday.)


He is also hugely into blowing raspberries. When ever he has skin-to-mouth contact he starts blowing away. Yesterday it was driving Kim nuts because she thought he was trying to spit on her...it was hilarious.

Tell me you don't want to just kiss those huge, adorable cheeks. Evan is just such a sweet, happy baby. I think we might just keep him.

I laugh only to keep from crying...or worse...

Let me first start by saying....I love my children. Each and every one of them. They are the reason I get up in the morning...literally, they cry and make me get out of bed to attend to their needs. :) But really, they are the meaning to my life. They are my calling and duty on this Earth.

But there are times I find myself muttering the phrase: "I brought you into this world and gosh dang it, I can take you out of it." This morning has been one of those days....

One of these things is not like the other one, one of these things just isn't the same.... (Imagine the Sesame Street song playing along...)

Here are my curtains from a different angle. (BTW, do you know how difficult it is to take a picture of windows...all that sun just messes it up, as you can see from the previous angle.)

Figured it out yet....one of the sheers from my curtains is missing.

Why? you ask. Well, let me tell you. Owen got poop on them.

While I was cleaning the kitchen this morning he decided to dig in his diapers and smear it all over my window, curtains and ottoman....oh and the couch. (Which was just cleaned FRIDAY from the last poop smearing incident.)

So I change Owen's diaper and get him cleaned up. Then I attack the couch with my "Kids and Pets" cleaner (which I highly recommend and need to pick up some more because Owen dumped 1/4 of the bottle out in the kitchen last week). I then clean the ottoman and window. I decided to wash the curtain, so it sits in my laundry room waiting until I have the energy.

After a little yelling on my part and a well placed spank (I'm not so proud of it, but I'm being honest here) I hoped this would put an end to it....as you can now see....

IT DID NOT!

Most people have children who use markers and crayons to color on the wall. My child is a bit more...um..."earthy" and uses his poop instead.

This second incident occurred while I was eating lunch. Logan had gone into the bathroom to go potty and Owen was over "talking" to him. I went over to check on Logan and find this smelly mess waiting for me.

He wiped it on the textured wall (which BTW, do know how much it SUCKS to get poop out of textured wall....take my word for it....it SUCKS big time.)

He got it on the white door and door jam and also on the floor.

That child is wearing my patience thin. I just don't know what to do with him. If I'm not physically holding him, he is getting into something....dumping EVERY SINGLE toy out of the toy bin, cooking a squash in the toaster oven, dumping cleaning solution on the kitchen counter, dumping his cough syrup on the counter, floor and himself, opening vitamins then half eating them then spitting them out, coloring on my couch with pink highlighter, then coloring on the other couch with green marker.....that is a small sample of what the kid can do.

I try to give him attention. We snuggle on the couch in the morning and watch Curious George together, we read library books over and over until I almost have them memorized (I now know a lot about dinosaurs and garbage trucks), I talk to him about things that he likes, but I can't spend every hour of every day babysitting him. I have a 6 month old who needs to be fed every 2-3 hours and I actually have to run a functioning household with clean laundry, clean dishes and food for people to eat....

Hopefully this is a phase and he will get over it, but until then....please pray for Owen and ME.

No, I didn't kill him. He is sleeping...Look how stinking adorable he is....If only he were this good while awake...