Adventures in Parenting: Nutella Edition

Saturday night Greg and I once again learned some new things we may never have known had we not had offspring. One is that it is decidedly harder to clean up a giant sized container of Nutella spread all over the kitchen than it is to smear it there. The former is a task for a dedicated adult with deep cleaning experience, while the latter - well, any child can do it. Provided his parents think he is in bed asleep.

After tucking the boys in bed, Greg and I were watching a movie in our room. All was quiet and peaceful, until I heard water turn on in the kitchen. I went in to investigate and Kirby told me, "We were just cleaning up."

I saw chocolate around his mouth and thought, "Great. They've been into some chocolate chips in the pantry." Then I took in the whole scene and called for back up. Greg responded, as he was on his way in, "Is it hot chocolate again?" If only...

I'll say one thing for my boys: they are very thorough. There was not an inch of the handles on the fridge and freezer they had missed, nor on the dishwasher control panel. Sam summed it up for me quite nicely: "It's ah-mazing!"

They also proved they were creative and artistic. Beautiful Nutella handprints arranged in nice little rows. Who would have ever thought of that medium? Seriously, Nutella. Who knew? Thorough, creative and artistic, these are qualities we should encourage in our children, right? Ooh, and cooperation, dedication to a task... This mural must be an awesome visual attestation of our parenting skills.



When Greg came in, I was washing Kirby's hands while Sam was licking the fridge. Yes, you read that right. I wonder if Sam will appreciate his new nickname of "Fridge Licker" when he is older. (It did smell good. So thoughtful of them to make a mess that let me enjoy the lingering scent of chocolate while I cleaned.)

Not sure about what role the potatoes played, but they were also covered in Nutella, as was our butter dish. Also some plastic garbage bags, which we found hung up on clothespins on our art wall in the laundry room.

Greg took a picture and sent it to his sister. She showed it to her daughter (age six) who asked, "Is that funny? Or bad?" The answer is Yes and Yes. I have to say that a sense of humor goes a long way. Greg and I couldn't help but laugh as we cleaned it up together. Perhaps that may be evidence of our poor parenting, LAUGHING at such a naughty deed. We didn't laugh in front of the kids, though, for the record. Even though Kirby kept coming in and reassuring us with his commentary, such as:

"Me & my brother, we decided not to do it again."

And "I bet we're going to have a new rule tomorrow: No kids in the kitchen. But we can still help you with the laundry, right?"

And this was perhaps to ease our pain and put the present situation in perspective: "Remember the time I made an even BIGGER mess? When I went in my room and climbed up on my shelves and then DUMP! DUMP! DUMP! DUMP!" There is no forgetting that mess.

A word of advice: If it is quiet, go see what they are doing. They are never just "playing quietly" or miraculously going to bed without a fuss. They are ALWAYS up to something! Perhaps making a mess that they will describe as "The Biggest Mess I Ever Made! It even made me TIRED!" That was a mess to remember.

The Nutella Incident of 2012, perhaps not so noteworthy, but as Greg said in the midst of our cleaning, "At least now you'll have something to blog about."

Yes, there is Joy in the Journey of parenting, even late at night cleaning up a surprise mess. Still, I would not recommend Nutella for use as children's finger paint. At least not indoors.

Gingerbread Monkeys!

A message from Kirby, which I think would make a good non-swear-word expletive.

You never know what that kid will say or do. Or take pictures of when he steals my camera... What I want to know is, why can he get pictures of Sam and Jiorji that aren't fuzzy, while they never hold that still for me?






"MAG-ni-fi-cent!" -Kirby, tasting his first bite of dinner the other night. I have to say, I think that he is. But I may be biased.

P.S. This just in... I have to share a couple more Kirbyisms from dinner just now:

"Jesus loves you more than you think." Then immediately, under his breath, "Solar Power!"

"Sam, you can do it, you're a smart boy!"

"Kirby...Ad-am...Jen-sen. Kirby...Ad-am...Jen-sen..."

"Mom, we could put frosting and whipped cream on pancakes sometime."

We are never bored with Kirby around.

If It's Not Too Much Trouble...

After I had just mentioned that I didn't want to cook dinner, Sam found me in the kitchen getting things out of the cupboards.

"What are you doing?" he asked. I told him I was making dinner.

"Why? You just said you didn't want to!"

I replied that I didn't WANT to but that I figured everyone would want to eat something so I was making dinner anyway.

He looked up at me and said in his adorable Sam way, "Well, I can just have water."


Bless his sweet little heart!


While I'm on a quote-my-kids kick, here are some more from today:


"Mom, look what my feet pajamas are good at! Wiping up milk!" -Kirby

"Turn on the lights dot com!" -Sam

Jiorji, looking at her reflection in a mixing bowl on the counter: "Hi, Jiorji!"

Write? Right.

I have been feeling like I need to write. The more I read, the more I want to write and I feel it is right to write. I came across this quote from President Hinckley that I find very encouraging:

"To you women of today, who are old or young, may I suggest that you write, that you keep journals, that you express your thoughts on paper. Writing is a great discipline. It is a tremendous education effort. It will assist you in various ways, and you will bless the lives of many - now and in the years to come, as you put on paper some of your experiences and some of your musings."
(From "One Bright Shining Hope, p. 46)

I realize I can feel bad and apologize and regret and make excuses for not writing for so long, but instead I am starting with today, and moving forward. The great thing about life is that you can always start right where you are to get to where you want to be, just face the right direction and go for it!

Thank you to all you more faithful bloggers who inspire me to keep writing and finding joy in the journey!

Being Thoughtful to Myself

Dear Brittany,
Next year when you have grated up your zucchini and are leafing through the pages and pages of zucchini bread recipes in your file, this one is your favorite. Why do you still keep those others around? Anyway, you are welcome.
Love,
Me

PUMPKIN ZUCCHINI BREAD
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup butter, melted
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4-1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1+ cup shredded zucchini

Mix eggs and sugar; add pumpkin butter and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in zucchini. Pour into two greased loaf pans (9x5x3). (Or my two medium plus one smaller, but not mini loaf size) and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until they test done (more like 40 minutes for the smaller loaves). Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack.


P.S. The recipe here is not the exact same as the original in the file. It is with my adjustments, just the way I like it.

Why Doing My Laundry is "Loads of Fun"

1. I have three eager little helpers who LOVE laundry! They are varying degrees of help, but each enthusiastically gets involved.

2. I have a laundry song. Are you jealous? It goes something like, "Iiiiiiiiiit's Laundry Time, It's Laundry Time, It's Laundry Time! Hurray! We love to do the laundry, we do it EVERY DAY!" (except Sunday, which is my day off.) Oh, and we march. Laundry Parade!

3. My kids love to be "The Great Kirbini/Stupendous Sam/Wonderful Jiorji in the Amazing Flying Laundry Basket!" and get carried to their rooms with their laundry.

4. I love to hear the washer and dryer running in the background of my day. It makes me feel like I am a super multi-tasker, getting laundry washed while I do something else. :)

5. I find it very relaxing to fold laundry. I think this came from when I worked at Clear Creek Family Ranch in high school doing all the laundry for the ranch. I got to go back and forth between the lodges across beautiful lawn and around a small lake and through a path with tree branches overhanging to gather and put away laundry in the various facilities. Beautiful. And I folded sheets for hours each week, just me in the laundry room I had organized just the way I liked it. I got to sort out life one load at a time, and I still do.

6. My laundry room is fantastic. When we moved in, it was just a spot for a washer and dryer with two shelves above, a hot water heater, a sink, and a couple shelves for food storage. One day I said to Greg, "I think it would be nice if we added a shelf above the sink, maybe with a rod for hangers." Less than an hour later my dream was a reality. Then a week or so later he added a couple more shelves at my request, which has made it much more organized, and I like things to be organized. It is essential to my sanity. The room is tiny, but a very efficient use of space.

7. When I go in and out of the laundry room, I hear various animal noises. It never ceases to elicit a smile. This is because of a little wooden puzzle of animals I left on a shelf in there one day, which, when you lift up the pieces (in theory) they make the sound of that animal. In reality, any change of lighting (flipping the light switch) or any vibration (shutting the washer lid, the garage door closing...) alerts its sensor and we hear, "oink oink" or "moooooo" and so forth. I may never move that puzzle because it gives my laundry room character.


These reasons are each getting longer and I seriously doubt anybody in the world could be THAT interested in my laundry so I'll sign off. I have towels to fold. Hope you are enjoying your laundry, too!

Are there any household tasks you especially like, or have ideas to make more enjoyable? I would love to hear about it!

P.S. No, I do not pretend that I am perfect or that my laundry-doing is perfect. There is a good reason I didn't post a picture of my laundry room today. I still get behind and sometimes I'm lazy about putting it away, resulting in mountains of laundry piled up waiting there for me. But the nice thing is, it just waits. And it doesn't whine.

Strawberry Muffins: Delicious. Oh, and Safe!

In an effort to continue blogging somewhat regularly, I want to tell you about these muffins.

They are blueberry muffins, a fabulous recipe from my fabulous sister in law, with strawberries substituted for the blueberries. I thought it up yesterday when I made the blueberry muffins and tried the substitution with just 2 muffins, then had to make a whole batch today because they are my new favorite.

Why haven't I heard of these before?! Just a tiny bit sweet, with the goodness of fresh strawberries baked in. Strawberries are my favorite! I just feel so bad for people who don't like them (I'm looking at you Leta-Kaye!) because almost all my favorite recipes include strawberries.

I've shared the recipe below for the blueberry muffins, and if you are up for something new, try it with strawberries before they are totally out of season and cost $5 and have no flavor.

Anyway, delicious they truly are, and as for safe, well, they are a safer topic than the botched job interview of last week, my oldest starting Kindergarten (and me crying, even though I swore I wouldn't get all emotional), potty training in progress with Sam (IS there any progress?), and my horrible hair inadequacies trying to help my baby girl look like a girl. I tell you, I was ready for some Success I could share with the world, which today came in the form of a strawberry muffin. Enjoy!

Sara J's Blueberry Muffins
1 3/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh blueberries (or thawed frozen blueberries)
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup melted butter

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix wet ingredients and add to dry ingredients, along with berries, stirring JUST until moistened. DO NOT OVERMIX! Batter will be thick and lumpy. Put in paper-lined muffin tin. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Makes 12 lovely muffins.

"Indeed We Can"

One day last year when we were driving somewhere, Kirby asked about if he could do something in the car, and if he could do that at home as well. I can't remember what we were talking about, but my response was, "When we get home, too, indeed we can!"

He thought that was hilarious, and when I asked why he was laughing, he responded, "You named our house 'Indeed We Can?' That's wacky!"

I hadn't even realized what I'd said so I had to think back over the conversation to figure it out. Since then, we have referred to our house as the Indeed We Can.

I like houses with names, like in Anne of Green Gables, and one of our family favorites, 121 Pudding Street by Jean Fritz, about a house the kids in the neighborhood call "The Raisin." I guess we just like naming objects in general, because we have a vacuum named Mr. Gordan and our Kitchen Aid stand mixer is Camille.

Anyway, I think that "INDEED, WE CAN!" is a great motto. Over the past few years, my horizons have expanded exponentially and I am finding things I not only can do but things I love to do and I realize I don't have to be great at something to find a lot of joy in doing it. How I have limited myself in the past! But NO MORE!

Very recently I have decided I want to learn to sew. Since I got my machine for Mother's Day, I have been itching to sew something. With three young children and a household I already can't keep up on, time doesn't magically appear for sewing, so all I have squeezed in is re-purposing an old child's skirt into an apron, which was fun, but I have been wanting to sew a project from start to finish.

I guess I wanted to prove to myself

I can finish a sewing project

because despite innumerable attempts, I have NEVER seen a sewing project through from beginning to end.

I found this tutorial on how to make a drawstring bag, which I want to make bigger and make into a rag bag to hold all my scraps of fabric. I thought I'd do a trial run first in the size of the bag in the tutorial, so here it is, my FIRST FINISHED SEWING PROJECT!




Yes, it is reversible. And there's patchwork, which actually lined up decently. And I made it myself!! I threaded the machine, cut the fabric, sewed, ironed seams, fixed the problem when the thread bunched up and got stuck in the machine, and I even put in the drawstring by myself! Silly, but I have never done that. I always have someone else pull drawstrings through sweaters or bags or whatever if they come out. (I am fairly new to the Indeed We Can Plan.)

What is something you never thought you could do until you did it? Don't you love that sense of empowerment and energy that comes with it? I am ready for more!

Be Your Own Best Friend

Sam was trekking down the driveway just now with a wadded-up, scribbled-on paper in his cute little hands. I asked what he was doing and he said, "I need to mail this!" I asked what it was and he told me, "It says, 'Come to my costume party!' " I asked who he was mailing it to and the response was, "ME!" Then he came inside and put on his Winnie The Pooh costume. He has worn it continually (night and day, only off for washings - his and its) for the past few days. When he first put it on I asked if he was Winnie the Pooh and he said, so practically, "No. I am Sam. This is a costume, Mommy."


I love this innocent, serious yet lighthearted soul. My mom has been teaching him fun songs and poems that he LOVES to memorize and share. His most recent is "Are You Sleeping" in both English and French. (But he thinks the French is Spanish and can't be convinced otherwise.) Once when we were at my in-laws he found two stuffed dogs that sing "I Got You Babe" to each other when you push their paws. He pushed the button over and over again, mouthing the words as he caught on to the lyrics, until he could sing the whole thing. My mom was playing with him recently and said, "I got you!" and that seemed to be his cue because he sang her the rest of the song! This little boy is here to make the world a better place.

Simple Pleasures

I wrote this last week but forgot to post it.

One of my favorite sentiments is that


Tonight we found just one of those "simple things" in the form of paper whirly birds, like these.


NOT my image. The picture and the pattern are found at this link. I love the paper she used. It reminded me of a stack of origami paper I had stashed somewhere from my adventures in Japan almost 10 years ago. Miraculously I found it and we enjoyed about 2 hours of fun making these and dropping them off our beds, the porch,


the pull-up bar - which Kirby hung onto with one hand while dropping the "twirly whirlies" with the other.


When Kirby first saw one in action, he practically squealed, "It's like a propeller!!" Great news for a boy obsessed with airplanes and helicopters.

I highly recommend making some of these!

Paper you have lying around: Free.
Time: Free.
Sharing smiles and making memories with your children: Priceless.

Organization, the endless quest...

And sometimes we succeed! Just came across THIS and thought I'd share... I like organization tips and seeing other people's ideas at overcoming obstacles many of us encounter in running our households.

Pictures (Please See Previous Post)

Just some snapshots, not great photography, but these mark some happy moments in our life lately. Random, I know.

Jiorji loves to climb and she is the smilingest Jensen you ever saw.

Lilli's Swedish Strawberry Cake, for Greg's Graduation party. My first time making it. I was rather pleased with how it turned out and appreciated Sam (Shrope)'s help to make it "Authentic."

At the Hogle Zoo. Sometimes ya just gotta Be the Turtle!

FIRST of all... and please stay tuned!

This picture is not really significant. It was just a really happy day at Zion National Park (back in April!) and I wanted to remember it.

For some reason blogger is not letting me add more pictures tonight so when it's working again, there will be pictures...
ANYWAY, it's already been several weeks since I started writing this post and I am not procrastinating it anymore so without further ado...

I love the world of blogging! I have been too overwhelmed simply making it through each day to post anything lately but I sometimes still catch up on others' blogs and I feel like I have support as I know that others go through the same "Mom" and woman things that I do. I started reading blogs about two years ago and they have really influenced me and how I see my role as a stay-at-home mom in a positive way.

I hope to soon (in the coming months?) be on top of things at home enough to post regularly because I really want to share the Joy in the Journey that I experience daily as a woman/mom/Mormon/wife/friend/writer/cook/LurkingBlogReader/artist (HA! in my own little way! Those who are laughing now, having seen my pathetic attempt at crafts as a teenager - I will show you. I am turning over a new leaf!)/home organizer and so forth.

I want to share some experiences I've had and what I've learned through them, such as:

• My decision to get married at age 18
• The story of our car accident in 2007 and Sam's subsequent premature birth (28 weeks gestation)
• Postpartum Depression after Jiorji was born
• Struggles with low self esteem
• Discovering I like being me
• My recent obsession with white boards
• Learning to really breathe
• My dream of one day proficiently playing the cello
• Experiencing the joys and sorrows of mothering
• Acquiring a "Can Do" attitude
  

I have gained so much from the blogs I've followed as people have shared a part of themselves, and I want to share what I have to offer, whatever it may be. Keep writing! (That's a little nudge of encouragement to me as well!)*If you're interested, at the end of this post I've listed a few blogs I enjoy. I love discovering new ones, too, so PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT WITH BLOGS YOU LIKE!


Now, as far as updates in our life since I've dropped off the Internet for some time, there are a few things worth mentioning in our life lately (not in chronological order or in order of importance, just in the order in which they randomly came to my mind):

Greg became the FIRST COLLEGE GRADUATE of his family through his Jensen line, when he graduated from SUU in May in Psychology. He plans to continue his education at grad school Fall 2012.


I got my FIRST SEWING MACHINE! Until a couple months ago I never had any ambition to sew as I had never had a positive experience with a sewing machine, but after looking at people's fun projects "upcycling" things and creating fun bags and such, I started to have a desire to learn. For Mother's Day Greg bought me a BERNINA! I am so excited and have many plans for fun projects to squeeze in during the kids' naps or Greg's days off this summer. :)

We enjoyed JIORJI's FIRST TIME SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT in her 11 months of life. :) :) :) I think with a few nights in a row of that, I could be a whole new person!

We took our FIRST TRIP TO THE ZOO - ever! Well, I think I went with my family when I was a toddler, but for the first time I can remember. I took my 3 kiddos to Hogle Zoo with my sister and her husband on Memorial Day. Kirby was so excited. He told me, "I always wanted to see a REAL elephant!" Although ironically his favorite part were the "Robot Dinosaurs." Figures.

I experienced my FIRST TIME DRIVING TO SALT LAKE CITY. I had never driven north of Provo because, being from a small town, the traffic really intimidated me but I found it was no big deal and I drove up there 3 times last month.

I got to ride my FIRST MOTORCYCLE. As the driver, not just the passenger. Greg taught me to ride on the 4th of July and I feel really empowered because a couple of years ago I would have just chalked that up to “things I can’t do” and frankly, didn’t really want to, but it was so fun and I look forward to getting in some more practice so I can go riding with Greg.

Today, Jiorji took her FIRST STEPS! Ironically, while I left her with her aunt while I went to a sewing class. The first time I’ve left her in ages. She’s with me 24/7 but decides to walk for Aunt Sara. :)


*
One Mom's Musings
Not That You Asked
Quite Contrary
Brittney's blog
Endless Pile of Laundry
Live It, Love It, Share It
I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar
Just Cook Already
(P.S. Becky, I LOVE your blog! It's not listed since it's private, but I wanted you to know that I always read it and look forward to new posts!)

Aging Gracefully

Greg just came in the kitchen and asked me, "How old do I look?" I tactfully told him "27 1/2!" (He is 28.) The question surprised me though because he never says stuff like that so I naturally inquired why he wanted to know. He said he was at a meeting today and someone asked him if he had kids. Greg said, "Yes, three." The guy then said, "So, do they live around here?" Note that our oldest is 4 years old. Greg, in relating the experience, said, "AROUND here? They sleep in my bed!" I never thought of him as looking that old. I guess it's the baldness. This just totally cracked me up!

"If you're wondering how to get confetti out of your carpet...

...Use a comb." This is Greg's advice tonight. We went to a late movie and left all three kids with a sitter. Apparently the baby took a lot of her attention and left Kirby and Sam free to dump out the paper shredder all over our bedroom floor. Since we don't want to wake the kids at midnight by using the vacuum, Greg is using the comb method to clean up and it's working pretty well actually. For some reason he doesn't see the humor in the situation that I do. Hmmmmm.

I know Christmas doesn't come in a box, but...

Out came our Christmas boxes from the garage today and it feels more Christmasy with the decorations strewn about the house. The first thing I brought in was a wood nativity set which Kirby opened up then announced to Sam, "This is our activity!" He spent several minutes setting it up just right, then started pulling out all the decorations from the other boxes. He found some tiny paper chains I made years ago and put them in random places throughout the house: his dresser knobs, on the little bin of Jiorji's diapers, on the TV... He found his stocking and hung it up, remembering just where it went from last year. Sam is just following him around the house, balloon in tow. I know, all kids like balloons, right? But he is OBSESSED! He will carry one around for days, everywhere we go, until ALL the air leaks out. He's not ornery-obsessed, like HAS to have it; he just enjoys it so much that he pleasantly takes it along like it's a friend he's inviting to share his little world.

We watched the First Presidency Christmas devotional together at home and I was so grateful for the Internet so we didn't have to try to keep the kids sitting still at the church. Of course I made pumpkin pie cake for dessert tonight, because that is my tradition for when we watch the Christmas Devotional. It's quite tasty with fresh whipped cream on top. Here's the recipe:

4 eggs
3 cups canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups evaporated milk
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves

Preheat oven to 350. Mix in order given and pour into ungreased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle a box of yellow cake mix over the top, and pour melted butter (1 cube) over the cake mix. Top with 1 cup chopped nuts and bake 1 1/4 hours. Note: I think it'd be better with less cake mix, maybe just half a package.

Jensen Family Band

For today's Countdown activity we sang songs. It was supposed to be Christmas music. First I tried to put on a cassette tape I had of kid Christmas music but Kirby took it out and put in a lullaby tape. Later I played some Christmas music on the piano and Kirby got out his ukulele and played along and said, "Sam, you sing! Sing 'Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are!'" Which was a great idea, but I happened to be playing Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.

Greg came home and got out his guitar and we moved into the boys' room (where we hung Christmas lights a week or two ago so it felt festive) and enjoyed some more singing time, this time all singing kid songs together. The picture is dark and I think it's funny how it looks like Kirby is toothless and Greg has a huge beard. We'll keep working on teaching some Christmas songs. The only one Kirby wants to sing so far is this: "Jingle bells are ringing! On Christmas Day!" He sings "Jingle Bells are Ringing" to the tune of "Christmas Bells are Ringing" (Primary Children's Songbook) and the "On Christmas Day!" to the tune of "all through the town" at the end of The Wheels on the Bus.

Anyway, a great time was had by all.



I came across this outfit tonight and had to put it on Jiorji even though she was already in her pajamas. My sister-in-law gave it to me when I was pregnant in 2005, but then I miscarried and didn't think I'd ever have a baby that would fit it at Christmas. Still, I couldn't quite part with it. Sentimental old me. With Jiorji born in July and it being a 0-3 month size, I didn't expect it to fit her either, but it sure does! This just made me happy somehow.

Christmas in a Cup

For today's Countdown to Christmas activity the boys colored pictures for these make-it-yourself mugs.


Greg took a few minutes to sit down and color with the boys.



Kirby's attention span was very limited (big surprise, right?) and his goal seemed to be to cover the whole paper in orange colored pencil scribble as quickly as possible. Shouldn't we all set goals like that, that we know we can achieve and be happy with?

One Hundred and Eighty MORE Elf Hats

This time they were red. And I really didn't get too sick of it until the last five. And those were worth it when Kirby was so excited to see them all there, and I saw some kids putting them on their heads, and one little boy saved his to take home. Today's activity was the ward Christmas party. Oh, and making 3 tons - at least - of fancy mashed sweet potatoes and 180 more elf hats in preparation for said party. My kids hung out with me and enjoyed making many messes. "Mom's doing it, so I can, too!" was the philosophy I guess. By the way, I am thinking of holding off on volunteering to help with things that need 2 hands until Jiorji is weaned. Folding the hats while feeding her was ok, but peeling potatoes was a bit tricky, believe it or not.


I've been a little worried that Kirby would be disappointed this year because we want to keep presents very basic and simple and he's been asking for a BIG trampoline, a Wii, and a big TV (none of which I have any intention of getting) plus many, many small things as they come to his mind. Tonight I asked what he would get if he can have just ONE thing, and told him that's what he should ask Santa for. He'd been trying to remember a long list. When it was his turn, he ran up and hugged Santa. With no hesitation, he declared that he wanted "A little toy boat like at Grandma Richins' house!!" Which happens to be a dollar-store toy she puts in the bathtub when we go there. Sam was a little more shy around Santa, but managed to tell us (not him) that he wants a harmonica. There is hope for a happy, simple Christmas after all!

One Hundred and Eighty Elf Hats

I want to keep Christmas simple and family-focused, with a huge dose of quality time replacing a huge dose of unnecessary consumerism. After reading *this and checking out the link she had for an easy advent calendar to do with kids, I thought how I would love to do that and make this Christmas season more meaningful for my children, BUT (isn't there always a "but"?) I don't have time/energy/patience/ability/"insert any other lame excuse here" to make a cutesy little calendar right now and isn't-it-too-bad-I-didn't-think-of-this-sooner because I'm an all or nothing type and can't start on Day 3 or something. SOOO... I modified the idea and wrote down a bunch of ideas of Christmas Season activities and we're putting them in a bowl and drawing one (or more) out each day. (I prefer to think of myself as "flexible" rather than "disorganized" thank you very much.) A plus of this way of picking Christmas activities is not having to assign days because some things you just can't know ahead of time, like if there will be enough snow for "Go sledding down the big hill at the high school" or if I will have the energy that day for "Make a gingerbread train and and train station and decorate them with way too much candy" (Kirby's idea of course) so this way we can put it back and pick a different one if it doesn't work for that day. Today we watched Dr. Suess's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

It's one of Kirby and Sam's favorites so we watch it year round but it was with an especially Christmas feeling that we watched it today. The boys also "decorated" a tree with jingle bells and candy canes. Kirby explained with all his 4-year-old, older-brother wisdom to Sam that these candy canes were not for eating. Then he later modified his decision to "we can eat the ones that break" and suddenly a surprising number were falling off the tree and getting accidentally stepped on. Oops.


Kirby decided to make a Christmas cake. I came in a little late on that one. I explained he needed to measure and follow a recipe if he wanted it to be actual Cake. He said the recipe was a secret and he DID measure: "3 cups of sugar, 3 cups of flour, 3 cups of milk, a LITTLE salt, and a LITTLE duh-nilla (vanilla)." (Well, so much for the secret!) He used my hand mixer and everything, which I just barely rescued from getting dumped in a very soapy sink where Kirby was responsibly washing the dishes from his cake making escapade. Greg let him bake the batter and it was quite the concoction as you can imagine.


He served it up for him and Sam with sprinkles on top.



Oh, and I made 180 elf hats out of napkins for a church Christmas party tomorrow night and of course the boys wanted some to wear after watching me make them all day so we made one for each of them out of tissue paper.

The first few napkin hats - they got better as I went along but my pictures didn't


Sam trying on his own tissue paper elf hat (Kirby wouldn't hold still for a picture in his)


Jiorji was very cooperative and picked this day to be good at taking naps. Love that girl!!!


Anyway, this was a long post because I have really been needing the unique therapy of writing. If you have any ideas for fun Christmas activities, please leave a comment! I am very open to ideas and won't even have to rearrange or reschedule. That's FLEXIBILITY, my friends!

*I love this blog! I've been reading it for just over a year. I stumbled across it when I was looking up info on if you can ride in a hot air balloon when you're pregnant. I've found a lot of similarities with Emily and love her writing style. By the way, if you ever get a chance to go in a hot air balloon, you totally should! (Unless maybe you are pregnant, as I found out, but it didn't really matter because I wasn't. Pregnant that is.) We took my Dad for his birthday and it was AWESOME!!!