Update....

Today as I was helping the children with their journals, I decided that if I'm encouraging them to write in their journals every Sunday, I should be writing in mine at least once a week out of principle! So, I'll try to be more regular in my posts. It may be boring but C'est la vie!

This week was fantastic, fun-filled, and super busy! We began with my family coming into town, immediately followed by a luau for our sweet little Wiggles - SO much fun to catch up with some "old" friends and family we haven't seen in ages! That was followed by a trip to the zoo, Thanksgiving with both sides of the family, Black Friday shopping, a visit to This Is The Place for their Candlelight Christmas (Wiggles was TERRIFIED of Father Christmas as you can see in the pic), a Lia Sophia party, dinner with some good friends, and now it's off to New England for the Mr.

This week's highlight: Today at church, I taught our Primary Sharing Time about "preparing to be Moms and Dads". We discussed how, even though "we" (meaning the children) may be young, and being a mom or dad seems so far away, there are so many things we can do right now to prepare - such as developing our own testimonies, learning how to share, forgive, help, teach, etc. and so on. One of the scenarios we discussed went something like "Your baby sister wants your mom to hold her but your mom is making dinner. What could you do to practice being helpful?" This evening, as we were eating dinner, Wiggles was throwing a fit, wanting me to hold her. I said "Girl, can you give me 5 minutes to eat please?" Angel immediately excused herself from the table, took Wiggles into the living room and entertained her while I finished eating. Such a small act but it meant so much to me that 1) she was so eager and willing to help and 2) she had actually been listening in primary and was trying to implement what she had learned. :) She is SUCH a little sweetheart! I love that girl!

Tracy Aviary

Earlier this month, we took a little trip to the Tracy Aviary (or, as Grins call is, "the "Univa" - that V word where the birds live"). Although it was quite chilly, we enjoyed ourselves immensely! The kids just could not get enough of the birds! We were even lucky enough to watch the pelicans eat, which was incredible! And, though I enjoy bird-watching, I was having fun just watching my little kiddos! I love their enthusiasm and love of living creatures!

Thank You.....

Some kind-hearted soul anonymously left a plate of scrumptious banana muffins on our door earlier this week. Since I was still 'cleansing', I enjoyed them vicariously as my children eagerly scarfed them down. They looked and smelled heavenly! I questioned various friends and neighbors as to who our 'muffin donor' was, but have been unable to track our mysterious friend down. Then, my paranoia began creeping in....were they left by a stranger? Were they safe to eat, or would my children suddenly come down with food poisoning or, worse, death? Was I a bad mother for not 'tracking down' the source of the muffins before allowing my children to devour them? Or were they perhaps intended for someone else, and left on our step by mistake? Fortunately, days later, my children are in glorious health (despite an unfortunate lingering case of croup which began before the muffin delivery), so my paranoia has died down, for the most part. And the muffins have been appreciated. So, muffin friend, if you are reading this, Thank You for your kindness. We're sorry we can't thank you in person, and we want you to know that your thoughtfulness has not gone unnoticed.

I'm Going Raw....

So, for those of you who don't know, I am coming to the close of my first "master cleanse". For the past 10 days, I've been consuming nothing but a mixture of fresh lemon juice, whole maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water. At times it was very difficult to overcome some very intense cravings for food, but it's been liberating to realize that I do have more self control than I realized, and be able to see my goal through! I won't make the claim of "tons of energy" or "feeling better than ever before" I've heard some attribute to the cleanse, but I feel better than I expected to, considering I haven't eaten for 10 days!

Now that I'm returning to "food" I am making a goal to eat only (well, mostly) whole, raw, unrefined foods....whole wheat, raw sugar, etc, etc. We've already switched to whole wheat flour for most of our cooking, but I'm looking for more recipes to expand our menu. Any suggestions are appreciated!

And, if you want my advice on the Master Cleanse, give it a shot! I think it's definitely worth trying out! :)

Free Christmas Card Giveaway!

"Your Card Bakery" (The Blog) is hosting a Free Christmas Card Giveaway! You heard it...FREE Christmas cards! They have some incredibly artistic, unique and adorable Christmas Card designs - and so many different styles that there is definitely at least one (or ten!) you'll want as your family's Christmas card this year!

Check them out here, or by clicking the button at the bottom of my sidebar.

But hurry; the giveaway ends tomorrow (Sunday, Nov 15th) at midnight!

Happy Birthday, Wiggles!

My sweet little baby,

How can it be that you are one year old already?! I know it sounds cliche, but it seems only yesterday I was looking down into your precious little eyes for the first time. I simply can't believe how fast you've grown! And yet, I can't imagine my life without you!

You are SUCH a mover! If I couldn't tell by how much you moved in the womb, you have certainly lived up to your nickname "Wiggles" from the moment you were born! You are constantly on the go and the only time you are still is when you're sleeping! And yet, you are a very good snuggler too! You are so curious about everything; constantly opening cupboards, emptying shelves, bookcases and baskets faster than the rest of us can straighten up! You have the cutest little "one-leg spider-monkey" crawl, which is surprisingly fast, but now that you've learned to walk you insist on walking everywhere. And now that you've learned to point, you insist on getting what you're pointing to.

You are SO friendly! Your first word was "Hi!" and you say it to everyone, everywhere! When I'm carrying you you'll crane your neck so that your face is directly in front of mine, so you can say "Hi!" until I respond. Sometimes you'll even crawl/walk across the room, just to say it to me! You love picking up phones and saying "Hi" too. It's the sweetest little thing! You also love clapping your hands while shouting "Yay!", and you say "Weee!" everytime you swing or slide.

Speaking of slides, you are fearless - way more than either of your siblings at this age! You love going down the slide, and you very quickly figured out how to climb the stairs, sit yourself at the top of the slide, and then scoot yourself off the edge - all by yourself! Before you could even walk! You never tire of it, and I have to drag you kicking and screaming away from the slide when park time is over. It is so cute!

You are so easy-going! Your older brother and sister often lack patience with you grabbing their toys, etc, and as a result you're sometimes "picked on" - but you take everything in stride! When you cry it's brief and soon you're back to your happy, smiley little self!

You love babbling and, just like your body, your mouth rarely slows down! You love being part of the conversation and often interrupt the conversations of others to make sure your 'piece' is heard!

You love playing with balls, stuffed animals, and little people! And you love reading books! You have figured out how to climb up on the chair, right next to the bookshelf, pull a book down (well, usually the entire shelf of books), and sit down and read, just like your older siblings often do. It's the most adorable thing ever (even though I have to put the books on the shelf about 50 times a day - but you're worth it!) You love your older siblings and want to do everything they do!

You are so precious to me, my sweet little girl! You mean more to me than anything else in the world, and I love you more than I ever thought possible. Thank you for your patience as I learn to juggle three children and as a result sometimes neglect you. Thank you for your smiles and wet, open-mouthed kisses. Thank you for your snuggles and the sweet spirit you bring to our family! Oh, that you would stay like this forever!!!!

We love you, Wiggles!

Love,
Your Mommy

Holiday Art and Gift Show - starting tomorrow!

Food Storage Analyzer

Lately I've been feeling the need to be more prepared for natural disasters, etc. We have 72 hour kits but they are quite old (meaning I probably wouldn't want to eat the food inside even if I WAS starving). And we have a little bit of food storage but we just don't have room for much at all. So, I was so excited when I found out about an awesome thing called the "Food Storage Analyzer" - where you input your family member's ages, it calculates your family's caloric need, and then you input all the food you have in your pantry right now, and it tells you how long your food will feed your family. Isn't that amazing? I found out that, if I needed to, I could actually feed my family for much longer than I thought, so it made me feel a little better about my whole no-space food storage situation. You should totally check it out - it's free, it only takes a few minutes, and you can even win a $10 gift card for doing so! Just click the link at the bottom of this post for more info.

Dinosaurs

Forgive the poor quality of my cell phone photo, but I LOVE this picture - Angel's arm around Grins' shoulder, the staged scared looks on their faces - it's just too much!

The kids ADORE the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. If it weren't so far away and so ridiculously expensive, we would definitely go more often....but maybe the novelty is what keeps it exciting. I love my kids' enthusiasm for learning...I only hope it rubs off on me!

Reading

I am so delighted with my childrens' love of reading. Although I no longer read (for pleasure) nearly as much as I used to, simply due to lack of time, reading is one of my greatest pleasures in life. I remember, as a child, curling up on the couch with a good book, and getting lost in it's pages; completely losing track of time as I devoured every word, interrupted only by chores and mealtimes. Ah, the joys and freedoms of youth. These days, my reading has taken on a completely different nature. That is, I read the same books over and over and over again. To and with my children. Fortunately there are a great many books we read and love, so that at least we have some variety. And I SO enjoy reading with my children that I don't mind the repetition. But we have finally entered a new phase of reading....that of chapter books.

The Mr. was so excited when, a few months ago, I suggested he begin reading a few chapters to Angel and Grins each night. This brings back fond memories of his youth as well. So we took a trip to one of our happiest places on earth - the library - to see what we could come up with. It was somewhat difficult, though, to figure out what books were interesting/age-appropriate/etc. for our children. I know you can (almost) never go wrong with a "classic" so we started there....

We started with "Heidi" but for some reason the children quickly lost interest, so that one only lasted a few nights. So we moved onto some of our own childhood favorites. We read BFG but it required quite a bit of editing. James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, though not "classics", were both big hits. Now we're nearly through "The Boxcar Children" which the children are devouring ("Just ONE more chapter, PLEASE!!!!?") So, my fellow book-lovers, I need your recommendations. What books have your 3-5 year olds loved? We're heading to the library in a few days and I would love any input!!