My Kids are Hilarious Tonight!

Episode 1:

Alli: Who is the president of the United States?
Me: (prompting her) Ba
Me: (still prompting) Bara
Alli: Oh yeah! Barack Obama!
Brynne: Is it broccoli?

Episode 2:

Alli: Is there really a bag in your tummy?
Me: There is when you're pregnant.
Alli: What kind of bag?
Holly: A grocery bag?

My Quick Sunday 10

1. My kids are begging to go on a walk, so I'll make this quick. I can't seem to get enough sleep lately. I'm so tired. I guess it's my preparation for life with a newborn!
2. My mom flew out here on Tuesday morning. Yay! Always good to have the madre here.
3. My little sister Cindy had her baby in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. He's a tiny little thing, and we're so excited to finally have baby Logan here.
4. I had an appointment on Tuesday. Everything looks great. I'm measuring a whopping 1/2 week bigger than I am. I think that means I'm fat.
5. After my appointment, we headed down to Chuck-E-Cheese's for Brooke's birthday. The girls had fun playing games and going on rides.
6. Wednesday morning I took Alex to the airport. He's now in New York for the annual convention for his work. He puts many, many, many hours into planning this, so it's really exciting to see it all happening. There's just a few hours left of it today, and then it's over for the year. We're excited to see him come home in a couple days! I'm VERY grateful for all the excitement of having my mom here, the new nephew, and other activities to keep us busy while he's gone.
7. Wednesday was Alli's dance festival at school. I have a cute video of the dance that I need to put on here, but I'll do that on my next post.
8. Thursday afternoon we had roommate lunch at Chelsea's. It was back to 4 of us, as Ashley is in town for the week. I love that we still hang out so much. Thursday night we had Chelsea's baby shower at my house. Lots of fun. I always love an excuse to have friends around.
9. Friday was Alli's last day of school. I don't have a kindergartener anymore! That's crazy. After school, we went to the park and played for an hour, then headed down to Provo to visit the new baby. Then Liz met up with us and we all went out to lunch.
10. Yesterday I got a little weeding done in the morning while the kids played outside. Miji came over in the afternoon and hung out with my mom and I. After Miji went home and my mom went down to Provo, I played lazy mom and slept on the couch for an hour while my kids watched t.v. (Seriously, how did pregnant people do it way back when?!?) Then we had apple-cinnamon oatmeal for dinner (there are a few perks to Alex being gone!), I gave the girls showers, and we all crashed for the night. Lovely day.

So sweet...

Alli's thank you card to her kindergarten teacher:

I am going to miss you very much. You are my favrit teacher. You are what I call a flower. Love Allison.

How to Make Root Beer, in Holly's Words

"First you put chocolate in a bottle, then put it in the freezer. Then you take it out and wait for it to melt and then put spices in it. Then you stir it. Then you put bubble gum . . . or bubbly stuff in it. Then you mix it up. I think that's how you make root beer."

Anyone up for a homemade root beer party soon?

Sunday 10

1. I spent the first couple days of this week feeling under the weather, and the rest of the week making up for it. I wish that when I got sick, the laundry and dishes would just stop, but they keep on building, unfortunately.
2. Tuesday we got our new fridge. I was glad to be able to bring things back up from the basement freezer and stop having to run downstairs every time I wanted an otter pop (which is often these days!).
3. Wednesday afternoon Lindsay brought the kids over to play, and when the husbands got here we had dinner and cake for Jarrett's birthday.
4. Thursday morning we had Holly's preschool graduation. That night we went out to dinner for her. She chose IHOP, and Cindy and Chad joined us. Holly's preschool teacher gave each of the kids a DVD slideshow of pictures from the past year of school. Holly loves watching it, and will turn it on several times a day and tell me about all the kids in her class.
5. Friday afternoon my Aunt Carla and Grandma came down for a quick visit and a stop at In-n-Out. My Grandma LOVES In-n-Out, and will request to go there almost every day when she's out visiting my parents. Friday night we took the kids down to the Gardner's, left them with a babysitter and went to dinner with Jeff and Lindsay.
6. Alex went on a run yesterday morning and came back 13.2 miles later. Crazy! He loves to get himself a little bit lost and find his way home and see how far it takes him.
7. I got a much-needed haircut in the afternoon. It's always great to have an hour to myself and let someone else wash and style my hair.
8. We took the girls to see Shrek 4 yesterday. They loved it. I liked it, but it definitely wasn't my favorite of the Shrek movies.
9. I'm looking forward to a fun, busy week! My mom is coming into town, my sister is getting induced, and Alli is finishing up kindergarten! Alex is also heading to New York for his annual work convention. I'm dreading that, but I'm glad there is so much other stuff going on to make it go by faster.
10. Here's a picture of the girls last week eating chips on the front porch. I love my girls!

Preschool Graduation

This morning we went to Holly's preschool graduation. I cannot even tell you how proud we are of her! She has a tendancy to be shy, but she was awesome today! She sang all the songs nice and loud, said her part without whispering, and smiled her way through it all. And with Daddy's favorite shirt and curled hair, she looked pretty darn cute, too.

Waiting for the program to start.

Saying her part: "I've been quiet, I have giggled, I've sat still, at times I wiggled."

Getting her diploma.

Proud parents!

With her teacher, Miss Lacey.

Holly changed tremendously over this school year. She started out being so shy, scared of going to school, and afraid to say a word once she got there. Her teacher said it took her a good couple months before she would voluntarily talk in class. I went on a field trip with her to Cornbelly's in October, and she wouldn't leave my side. She rarely interacted with the other kids.

Now she tells me about her friends, waves goodbye to them as I pick her up, tells me excitedly about her day, sings loud in class, and she actually TALKS! I'm so excited to see these changes in her, and so proud of the little lady she's becoming.

Sunday 10

1. I don't really feel like writing right now, so I'm going to make this quick. To those of you who tell me I routinely over-do it, you should have seen me this week. I took it easy to the point of feeling really, really lazy. And it was really nice.
2. I went visiting teaching on Monday morning. That's right, just 10 days into the month. Go me.
3. Tuesday I had Alli's playgroup here. It was the last one at our house, so we made it fun and did a tea party and made snow cones. The girls loved it.
4. Wednesday morning an appliance repair guy came to figure out what was wrong with our freezer. Apparently we have a freon leak, which he tells me is the most complicated and expensive problem to have, and it would cost between $700-1000 to fix. No thank you. So Wednesday afternoon I dropped Holly off at playgroup and took the other 2 girls fridge shopping. Just the way I wanted to spend that money. Darn. It should be arriving on Tuesday, and I'm very excited to get to keep my otter pops upstairs again. It's getting way too tiring to run to the basement freezer to get them!
5. Thursday was a busy day. I had my 32 week checkup in the morning. My doctor started asking about my labor/delivery desires and it kind of hit me that this is coming up pretty fast!
6. After the appointment we picked up Holly and Alli from school, then headed to Orem for roommate lunch at Debbie's house. Delish. Afterward, we stopped by Cindy's for a few minutes, then went to play with Lindsay and the kids.
7. I got curtains put up in the baby's room this week. They look awesome, and pretty much complete the room. I'm so excited!
8. Alex had basketball games Friday night, so the girls and I were lazy and chilled at home and ate pancakes and yogurt for dinner.
9. I helped with the Primary Activity on Saturday morning. I was in charge of the frosting cookies station. Um, the amount of frosting some of those kids put on the cookies made me want to vomit. (Speaking of vomit, some kid threw up in the hallway at church today. He stood there for a second then ran to the bathroom where he threw up again before the door even closed. Thank goodness I'm out of the 1st trimester or that might have sent me to the bathroom, too!)
10. Brynne tells me that she's my "best friend", a "cutie", and my "buddy." I love that.

Painting Projects!

So I wanted to post some pictures of the baby's room, and then I realized that I still haven't posted any of either of the girls rooms. So here's a kid bedroom picture tour!

This is my latest project: the baby's room! It's about done. I just want to add a couple more accents, some curtains, and whenever this child has a name, I'll add his name on the squares behind his crib.

I repainted this shelf I had, and Alex's parents gave me this train that someone made for Alex when he was little. I think it's the perfect touch! On to Brynne's room. Hers was the second room I did, just a few days before I found out I was pregnant. She loves her butterfly room! I painted while Alex was out of town, then we added the chair rail when he got back.

You can't really see this, but that has her name with some flower and butterfly wooden hooks that the previous owners left. Perfect.

And my inspiration for the butterfly room! I saw this easy craft on a blog a long time ago, and I had it saved on my computer for months and months while we tried to sell our house. I was so excited to finally do it.

Now Alli and Holly's room. They requested daisies. We had some daisy wall clings left from our old house, so we decided to reuse them. I painted the green, the pink border on the wall, we got some new mattresses, a new dresser, and new bedding.

You can't really see the pictures, but those are fairies with daisies. I love the whimsical look of those pictures. Perfect for little girls.

Mother's Day 10

1. I blame it on the pregnancy hormones, but I was feeling a little emotional about motherhood this morning as we started church. I was sitting there next to my 3 beautiful daughters, getting kicked repeatedly by a son whose birth date is getting closer, and feeling so grateful that I get to call them mine. That emotion lasted a few minutes until Brynne began to be her normal church self (read: LOUD) and I snapped back into reality. REALITY: little kids are a handful. They are energy-draining and constantly needing attention. BUT they give me a purpose and a big reason to love life.

2. REALITY: I looked down at my shirt today and noticed a small stain. Kids are messy. They wipe food on my pants and snot on my shoulders. They run around outside without shoes, then come in and leave footprints all over my freshly swept floor. They have a pile of toys that has to be cleaned up a dozen times a day. In my dream world my house would always be spotless and my clothes always clean and put away. BUT that's not life. My kids teach me to relax and let loose. They teach me that it's okay if the dishes pile up in the sink one day, because we've spent that day playing games and reading together.

3. REALITY: Potty training is awful. So is dealing with attitude, temper tantrums, stubborn children, sleep training, and picky eaters. BUT it's encouraging to know that I go through all that hard work in the hopes that a competent, mature, respectful, and helpful teenager/adult will emerge. It keeps me from just throwing my hands up in the air. I have a duty to raise children who will be responsible members of society.

4. REALITY: Play groups, carpools, birthday parties, school activities, church activities, running errands. Life is a constant green light. BUT spending all that time running here and there with my kids has given me such greater love for them. I'm happy to do all those things with and for them because I love them. I want them to love life and be happy, and know that I'm willing to do so much for them to help them feel that way.

5. REALITY: I seem to get sucked into news stories and blogs about kids who are suffering with a terminal illness, or expectant mothers who know their baby won't live long once it's born. My heart aches for them, and all the while I think it could never happen to me. BUT I know that it could. At any time, one of my seemingly healthy kids could get sick. I thank my Heavenly Father every single day for a healthy family, and pray that it will stay that way.

6. REALITY: I couldn't wait to go to bed last night. I spent this week painting, cleaning, going on 2 field trips, and helping put together a trampoline. My growing body was sore and tired. I slept so good, but woke up feeling stiff and sore. My belly makes it hard to stretch out and impossible to lay on my stomach how I love to. BUT I'm so grateful for another chance to be pregnant. It's easy to complain about feeling uncomfortable, but I will take that discomfort a hundred times over for the opportunity to have another child. I am so blessed.

7. REALITY: I majored in Marriage, Family, and Human Development in college. That degree doesn't mean a whole lot without a Master's. I always thought that it would be such a great major to have so I could use what I learned with my kids. After a year or two I realized that I really don't remember much of my time in the classroom. BUT life as a stay-at-home mom is an education in and of itself. I've had to learn things about health, sewing, effective stain-removal, cooking, home repairs, and balancing a schedule. I've turned into an art teacher, P.E. teacher, science teacher, geography teacher (definitely need some work on that one!), gospel teacher, math teacher, and English teacher. That's just life as a mom.

8. REALITY: I actually kind of like cooking, but I hate thinking up meal plans. When Alex and I first got married I was terrified to cook for him, because I knew my limited meal abilities were nothing like what he was used to. Then we threw kids in the mix and I had to really start figuring out how to cook. I still hate planning ahead for a week's worth of meals BUT I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn, and for a family who is patient with me and lets me try new things even when they're too spicy or don't turn out like I'd hoped. I'm also grateful for kids who love quesadillas and pancakes on those nights that Alex is gone!

9. REALITY: Like most kids, I grew up thinking of all the ways I wasn't going to be like my mom. I had all the answers as a 14-year-old. BUT then I had kids and realized I didn't have the answers. Any of them. And I was going to have to figure it out for myself, just like my mom had to figure it out for herself. And it made me even more grateful for my mom and all good moms who have made a great life for their kids without knowing if their way was going to produce the results they hoped for in their child. It's really scary to think that I can do the absolute best I can do and still have a child turn out to be rebellious and disrespectful. Thanks to all you mothers out there who have survived! You are amazing.

10. REALITY: So many days I seem to be counting down the seconds until I can put Brynne down for a nap and get the older girls settled with some activity so I can just have a little quiet time. Some days it works. Other days it doesn't. On those days I find myself getting so frustrated that I don't get any time to myself. My time isn't mine. BUT it's a constant reminder that my time isn't mine, anyway. My time is a gift from a loving Heavenly Father who wants me to use it wisely. On those days that I never get a break, it helps me to remember that I have spent all that time doing the best thing I can do right then: be with my kids.

Alli Turns 6!

We had quite the weekend of celebration for Alli's birthday. Alex had to go out of town on Friday morning, so we started her birthday celebration by going to Applebees for dinner on Thursday. Alli loves Applebees. Loves, loves, loves. And it didn't hurt that we had a free kids meal coupon. Friday morning we had her dessert, I mean breakfast request: waffles, whipped cream, strawberries, white chocolate chips, and chocolate milk.

After breakfast she opened her presents,

saw that we weren't on the ball enough to set up a trampoline in time,

and then she took off for school, where she was so excited that her principal was going to call her in to pick out a special birthday pencil.

After school the girls and I headed off to the store where we got items for her party bags and picked out a couple random movies from the soon-to-be-closed Hollywood video.

Saturday morning we spent getting ready for her party, and she asked approximately 8,000 times how long until everyone was coming. 12:30 couldn't come fast enough...

We had a pizza party, followed by pin the tail on the donkey, cake and ice cream, and presents. Alli was in heaven. She also had a few random games that she made up along the way. Funny kid.

Here she is blowing out her candles,

having a group hug after presents,

and sitting with her guests: Brooke, Alayna, Ellie, Alli, Kate, Dakota, Abbey, Holly, and Ella.

On Saturday night we went down to Spanish Fork, where Alli and Holly were lucky enough to have a sleepover with a few cousins (and I was lucky enough to have just Brynne at home on Sunday to survive Stake Conference with!) I went back down to Spanish Fork Sunday afternoon and Alex met us there on his way back from Las Vegas. We brought cake and ice cream down and had one final hurrah for her birthday.

So there you have it. My Alli is 6. She's practically a pre-teen. I was looking through the papers in her backpack today and seriously started getting a little emotional that she's 18 school days away from being done with Kindergarten. It's just so surreal! She is such a great helper (when she wants to be) and also can have serious attitude. We have definite power struggles sometimes, but I really couldn't imagine a different Allison.

Here is the joke she told me today:
Alli: What did the chicken say when he crossed the road?
Me: Um, cluck cluck?
Alli: Nothing, he died.

Alrighty then.