OR and CO trip

I'm officially back from my week-long trip ... Physically if not mentally. I have never had such a hard time coming back home. I love home and all the people in it, but my personal space bubble had expanded to a size larger than toddlers permit. I was use to people talking to me with respect and being polite. Home was a harsh reality. But don't worry, after just one day my personal space bubble is back to non-existent. There are goobers on my shoulders again. Life is back to normal.

But let's do a little flashback and show you some more of my trip.
I did NOT take enough pictures in Oregon! You already saw the pictures of Stacy and I at the falls, here's one of my with my nephews Scott and Andrew. Andrew made me feel especially loved when he cried to his Mom, "You're hogging Aunt Nancy!" It was so fun to get to be the fun Aunt instead of the cousin's Mom.
Also in Oregon, I was introduced to Zuumba by Stacy, who is an instructor. Ate so much food that I was still full when I woke up the next morning. And shopped 'til I dropped with Stephanie as my person shopper.

Then it was on to Denver to meet up with my college roomies, Amanda, Shanae, and Erica. Here's Amanda with her sweet baby Kyra.


We ate out and enjoyed being served instead of doing the serving. And, yes, we talked about our kids for a good portion of the time. We ARE still Mom's! Below are Erica and Shanae.
It was our tradition to drink A&W and eat peanut butter M&M's. We use to have to pool our money to buy one bag of M&M's.
Our tummies have apparently matured a bit, and could barely handle the combo of root beer and candy.
Erica is learning a new hobby. Photography.
Below is all four of us at the fanciest hotel I've ever been in: The Brown Palace. We felt very pampered and loved that people were eager to jump to our assistance whenever asked.
Amanda and I at a 50's diner.
Who knew that Indian Poker could be this much fun? We were totally dieing in fits of giggles by this point in the evening.
And to top it off we bought a copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and took turns reading it. It was hysterical ... and gory! But nobody can beat Shanae's English accent.... Except maybe an actual Englishmen.
These are memories that will get me through many a tough day of parenthood. It was just so, so, SO much fun!

And the kids and Richard were even still alive when I got back!

Postcard From Oregon

Greetings from Oregon! I'm having a wonderful time! I've done a lot of playing and resting and sleeping and eating and shopping and site seeing. These pictures are from Multnomah Falls. It was very wet! Uncle Carl let me borrow his raincoat or else I would have gotten totally wet. Tonight I played games with cousins Cameron and Hyrum and Andrew and Scott. Scott gives me lots of loves and it makes me miss you kids even more. I love you! ~ Mommy

While you were out

We miss you Mommy. Glad you're having so much fun.

Things are alright here. We haven't left much. Oh, except today. We went and saw baby Ethan. And held him. My goodness were the kids cute. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Out of the Office

I'm sorry, Nancy is out of the office right now. She is in Oregon or Colorado visiting girlfriends. She isn't taking any complaints for the entire week. No snot will reside on her shoulder. She will only be wiping her own mouth or...er... anything else.

If you have any whining, complaints, requests, etc you will have to deal with them yourself or wait until she returns next Monday. (No guarantees that she'll do anything about it then, either, but she won't even be processing Whine Applications until her return).

In other words:
See ya!!

The Curse of the Trains

{insert musical "dunh dunh duuuunnnhh!" here}

When my Mom was in town last month we wanted to go see a model train display at Union Station. But instead we drove around D.C. for two hours because we could never find the parking garage.

So today we decided to give it another shot at a closer location that we knew we could get to - with free abundant parking. So we got the kids all excited about it and headed off. ... But we only brought a credit card and they only took cash. Doh!!! Foiled again!!!

Luckily, next door was an indoor carnival! And they happily took our credit card. (Not so lucky was the cost of the carnival - an arm and a leg plus half your spleen. But what could we do at that point?) The kids bounced in bounce houses, did science experiments, watched ballerinas, ate candy, rode rides, etc. All inside - because it was like friggin 20 degrees outside with 40 mph winds!

It was a good compromise and a fun Saturday, but I still really want to take those boys to see some model trains! What's a girl gotta do?

Resolutions

I've never been one for New Year's Resolutions. I've always felt like I didn't really have any goals that needed to be dragged out over an entire year. But I think my feelings on the subject have changed. I'd like to make a few goals to keep up for an entire year. I feel like in my life with these wonderful little kids, it's too easy to just let time pass. To just be thankful that I made it alive through that one day and then wake up and do it again the next day. I should be working on more than just living life. I should be working on living life better.

I've seen on some blogs that they choose a "Word of the Year" or something like that. A theme for the year, basically, summed up into one word. So I've decided to keep my individual New Year's Resolutions to myself, but to share with you my Word of the Year.

Increase

Pretty vague, I know. But the idea is that that one word will remind me of all my individual resolutions in all their different areas - to increase my spirituality, physical strengths, mothering skills, wifely duties, and cleanliness.

So welcome to my Year of Increase! Let the increase begin!

*As "bonus reading", this talk may help you understand what I am thinking when I say "increase".

Silhouettes with my new Cricut

Richard and I have been having so much fun playing with our new Cricut. To use the Cricut you have to have special cartridges that are kinda like memory cards with certain images on each one. If you want some new image, you have to buy a new cartridge - which cost somewhere in the $80 each department. So rather than invest all kinds of money into cartridges, my computer-savvy hubby bought me a computer software that can turn any image into a basic shape that the Cricut can cut out. So now we never have to buy the expensive cartridges!

One of my first thoughts when Richard explained how the software works was "silhouettes!". I've wanted silhouettes of the kids for a long time. I even know where I'll hang them. But it's a lot of work to do it all by hand. Yesterday for Family Home Evening we took profile pics of the kids and then as soon as those kids were in bed, we got to work. It turned out that the software (which, by the way, is called Sure Cuts Alot 2) couldn't quite handle all the work by itself. So it turned into a collaborative effort between Richard on his computer using Photoshop and me on my computer using Sure Cuts Alot. In the end it worked!!!! It took so long that we only got one done last night, but look!

That's my little Asher's silhouette! Look at his cute little nose and chin. I just love it! I can't wait to do the other kids' and get them framed.

Christmas Day

Naomi with her fancy new doll.
Isaiah playing golf with his new baseball bat from Uncle Josh
Me displaying part of my take - including a Cricut!
And, since this blog is all about me, check out my favoritest present of all! New speakers for my MP3 player or laptop. I told Richard I wanted a tiny speaker that could sit on the kitchen counter and make just enough sound for me to hear it while I cook or clean.... He got me apples. That's right. Those two apples in the fruit bowl? They're speakers! Isn't that awesome! It's perfect!
Elefun!
Naomi and Isaiah playing with Asher's present that he has no interest in whatsoever - a car mat.
Naomi beats Daddy at Guess Who with Asher watches.
It was a great day!

The Magic of Snow

It started snowing last Friday. We stayed in/near our house all of Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday we only made one quick trip out each day. Usually under those circumstances the kids would be going absolutely insane - and me with them. But the magic of the snow really did it's thing. The kids played together so well! They actually played together. I mean TOGETHER - not just near each other or in the same room or fighting. They played together. All three of them would disappear upstairs for an hour or so at a time. It was seriously magical. I just keep saying the same thing over and over because I don't think you guys are quite comprehending how magical it was. In fact, I got swept up in the magic, too. I played with the kids and did crafts with them and lay around watching movies with them, and baked fun treats for them. I didn't wrap presents or worry about the house being too clean or plan this or that. So, because I was swept up in the magic too, I have a lot to do today. Not tons or anything, but enough to keep me busy until tonight when we head to Richard's parent's house for the evening festivities.

But the problem is, that the magic seems to have worn off the kids finally. They are fighting and bickering and taking toys away from each other in endless circles today. And it's hard to make pies and dip chocolates and plan Nativity costumes when I have to stop every three seconds to break up a fight or mediate some dispute.

But I suppose I should just be thankful for the five days of magic that I got. And that tomorrow they'll all have new toys to keep them busy and happy.

Wishing You

Merry Christmas Eve!

Killing Time

How to keep the kids happy when you're unexpectedly kept at home for the entire weekend?

Bake cookies
Decorate cookies

Eat cookies

Decorate paper Christmas trees


Make pretzel wreaths

Play in the snow

Watch Christmas shows from TV
Dig toys out of the basement
Fold laundry
Dip pretzels in chocolate
Eat chocolate dipped pretzels
Have friends over for dinner since they don't live too far away
Have a head stand contest
Chase your siblings in never-ending circles while yelling (oh wait, that's just for Asher to do)
Dress up your brothers in Princess outfits (oh wait, that's just for Naomi to do)
Play quietly while your siblings play outside (Oh wait, that's just for Isaiah to do)

The kids have really done amazingly well the last couple days considering that they've been stuck at home. Tomorrow we may brave the roads for a playdate with church friends. I made a trip out to Costco today for milk and such and the main roads were clear, and the parking lots were clear - but all the little roads inbetween main roads and parking lots were complete disasters. It's a miracle I didn't get stuck. My wheels were spinning and griding in several places and I really thought I was stuck for a few minutes - but luckily I made it out. I never heard an official total of how much snow we got, but I'd guess something like 14 inches.

Snowy Weekend

No snow-play is complete without coming in to hot cocoa!
(These pictures were taken at 10 this morning -it hasn't stopped since.)
It's a serious blizzard here. But, like a good blizzard, it didn't start until everyone was snug in their houses Friday night. But since it started that evening it hasn't let up one bit. The back door has a snow drift several feet deep. Our cars have vanished. In fact, it's so bad that they already canceled school for this coming Monday and Tuesday! That means our winter break from school has already started!

Luckily, we really didn't have any big plans today. Just some playing and baking. The snow will put a serious damper on the delivering of all the treats I had planned to bake, so I scaled way back. I'm kinda wishing I could let the kids open a present early or something to keep them busy, but I think opening that can of worms wouldn't work out well in the end. Bad precedent, ya know?

On an unrelated note, look at these adorable scarves that I made for each member of the family. They were waiting for the kids in their stockings this morning. They're just fleece leftover from a no-sew blanket that I made for Isaiah for Christmas. Then I stitched a fleece monogram onto each one just using a quick-and-dirty stitch. The big plan was to wear them to the ward Christmas party tonight, but that's since been canceled.

Christmas Spirit

My Mommy was in town this past weekend. We made a gingerbread house, drove around D.C., Christmas shopped, lunched, sat and talked, drove around endlessly, saw the lights and sights, heard beautiful music praising our Lord, etc. It was a wonderful weekend that truly felt holiday-ey.

And now that it's over and my house is all clean, and my presents are all bought, and my stress is all over, I can focus on the true spirit of Christmas. Giving of time and talents and special feelings of love to friends and family. Tonight our Young Women's and Young Men's groups have a big joint service project that I'm helping out with. I just bought supplies to fill gift boxes for our troops overseas. I baked dozens of cookies - only a dozen or so of which I am keeping. And I did it all with my Pandora station "Country Christmas" playing in the background. I am feeling the love.

I am so glad that this is how my Christmas season has worked out. I dislike it when Christmas gets so busy that there's no time for the really important stuff. Or even when I make the time, but it's hard to remember that I want to do these things because it's stressful. Between all the traditions and fun and commitments and even spiritual things, sometimes there just isn't much time left to follow my heart in the direction it wants to go to honor the wonderful gift that is the birth of my Savior.

I am thankful that this year I have the time to breathe and ponder and follow my heart. I am thankful that I have the means and strength and desire to serve my fellow man.

Merry Christmas!

Quote Of The Day

The quote of the day today comes from 3 year old Asher. Just after waking up this morning he said:

"There are people marching inside my arm and they're trying to get out!"

Translation: His arm was asleep.

Wii fun

Things to know before watching the video:

The game is cow racing - you hold the Wii-mote sideways and tilt it to steer your cow around the curves, move the Wii-mote up suddenly to jump over obstacles, and purposefully hit other things for points

Naomi's cow is on the top half of the screen, Asher's cow is on the bottom half

Isaiah thinks he's playing, but he's not

Watch the bottom of the screen to see that Asher is making his cow just jump, jump, jump. Not a good strategy if you're trying to win the cow race, but very good if you think it's hysterical to see a cow jump repeatedly.

Self Realization

Lately I've been thinking about myself a lot. Not in a selfish way, but in a self-exploring way. I've realized that I worry quite a bit about other peoples thoughts and feelings. I go out of my way to make things easier for other people. I'm always willing to fill in or help out or do extra when I can. Maybe "worry" isn't the right word. It's not like I'm loosing sleep over other people's feelings - I just am always aware of others and how whatever is effecting them.

I know that to most people this trait of mine looks pretty good. I come across as a caring, thoughtful person. But I think the problem is when I sometimes expect others to be thinking like I am. I expect Richard to (hypothetically) see the garbage cans outside and think, "I'll take those into the garage now because I know that will make Nancy happy." But really he's thinking about work or what he's going to do when he walks inside or, heck, I don't know, humming his favorite song to himself. And that's OK! He doesn't need to be thinking about how to please me at that moment. But sometimes when I (hypothetically) see him walk past the garbage cans without even giving them a second glance, I think to myself, "Ugh! How can he just walk right past those garbage cans without even thinking about taking care of them!" Or I think, "How could that person at church just leave when we're all cleaning up?" Or, "Why did that man just walk right in front of my cart loaded down with three kids and 100 pounds of groceries? He should know that it's nearly impossible for me to stop!" Poor guy. There's no way he could know how hard it is for me to stop my cart. He's never pushed a cart with 100+ pounds of kids plus groceries.

My expectations are too high. That's where the selfishness comes in - in my expectations of reciprocation.

Also, this traits of mine turns into micro-managing sometimes. Because I feel like I see what needs to be done better or clearer than others.

So I think that the conclusion to this self realization is that I need to keep up the thoughtfulness for others, but stop expecting people to give it back in exactly the same manner. I need to see that eventually Richard does take the garbage cans in (hypothetically), and the person at church has a nursing infant that she's running home to(hypothetically), and the guy in the grocery store did say "excuse me" and I'm sure he felt bad for walking in front of me and maybe he won't do it next time (not hypothetically). I need to see that just because nobody was thinking of me and how something-er-other would effect me, doesn't mean that nobody loves me. It doesn't mean that there was any maliciousness in that act of omission.

I'm not sure this is really coming across right in writing. I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, or knock myself down or get compliments. I'm just noticing something about myself. And now that I've noticed it I am figuring out whats good about it and whats bad about it. So that I can continue to become a better person like Heavenly Father has asked me to.

And Since There's No Place To Go

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!!!
And snowing it is. A lot. The weather forecast said it wasn't going to start until after 1pm today and that it wouldn't be that big. Boy were they wrong! We had to postpone our planned 10am Christmas tree getting trip because the roads were already covered. Instead we went sledding!

The kids had so much fun! Naomi and Asher are both old enough this year to haul their sleds back up the hill all by themselves so that's a lot of fun. Isaiah can't quite drag the sled behind him on the way back up, but at least he can walk up the hill unassisted. (Last year Richard or I had to drag Asher and Isaiah up and down the hill)

So that's what we're up to today. Playing, watching Frosty the Snowman, drinking cocoa, and later Richard and I are going to his fancy work party. Below is Naomi and Isaiah doing a picture search/Where's Santa type thingy. What a fun Saturday!

What are you up to today?

It's Elmo All Over Again

Think back a few years to when Tickle Me Elmo was new and everybody wanted it for Christmas. It was before I had kids, so I wasn't a part of the rush at all, but I heard about it plenty. It was chaos! It's a pop-culture reference now! I imagine that toy makers have been trying for that kind of a release ever since then.

And I think maybe I came across it. But the trouble is, that I didn't know it was Tickle Me Elmo all over again until after I had passed the toy up several times.

Probably any mother who has walked through the toy aisle at Target with a son in the last few months knows what I'm talking about. There's this huge dinosaur on display that walks and roars and rears up on his hind legs. I think he's like 3 feet tall. And he costs more than $100. The dino I'm after is that big guys "little brother". Spike Jr. I've passed Spike Jr in the toy aisle multiple times, each time thinking "I am definitely getting that for Asher for Christmas."

So yesterday I started my Christmas shopping on Amazon. There was Spike Jr for $19.99. Great! Even cheaper than in the stores! So I put it in my "cart" and kept shopping. I went back after naptime to actually buy the stuff in my cart - and Spike Jr had jumped in price to $39.99!!! That's friggin' double! Well, fine, I thought. I'll get it somewhere else. Wal-Mart had it listed as $18.99 online. But they were out. Target had it listed for $21.99, but they were out. Grrrrr!

So today I went to Target and Wal-Mart in person to see if they have it. Nope.

So I came home in shame and hung my head while I ordered stupid Spike Jr. from Amazon for $39.99. Because obviously it's in low supply after such a great sale. *sigh*

He better friggin' LOVE that dinosaur. He better play with it until he's like 25. It better be the best Christmas present he ever gets!

Christmas Advent Calendar

I made this last year, but I didn't get it finished until after Christmas. So this is actually our first year using it. It's an advent calendar made out of a mini-muffin tin! How clever is that! (I can say that since it wasn't my original idea.)

This morning the kids were so excited to get to peak into square one and see what was inside. Today was candy, but we'll also do bigger prizes like coloring books or making cookies with Mom. For those ones I plan on putting a piece of paper into the muffin tin that will either describe the activity or tell them where to find the hidden prize.

Each muffin space has a piece of magnet over it. The kind you can buy in a big sheet (like 8 1/2 x 11 maybe) that rolls up and it's sticky on one side. I cut the magnet sheet into the right size squares. Then cut scrapbook paper squares the same size. After that it's as easy as embellishing each one. Scrapbook paper, embellishments, stickers, jewels, etc. When you're done embellishing, you peel the paper backing off the magnetic square and put your paper on. Number them 1 through 24. I didn't use any pattern, but some of the ladies I did this with did and it looked very cute that way, too. (I hope this explanation makes sense.... I tend to babble.)

This picture below seems kinda lame, but it's a shot of the back of one of my squares. So you can see that the entire back of each square is magnet.

I am not a perfectionist. This becomes especially clear when I do crafts like this. Each of my squares is not precisely the same size. I think it would look better if they were. They would all line up better. But this works. And I still think it looks great.

It's important to recognize that kind of thing in yourself I think. I'm not a perfectionist. But I'm OK. Nobody died because I didn't do this perfectly.

I'm adding this to Today's Creative Blog's Get Your Craft On Tuesday. I love Tuesday's!