our family

She's one!

2012-01-31T15:06:00.001-05:00

On her birthday, Faye enjoyed playing outside. (So happy to be doing the rocking horse all by herself!)

She also enjoyed opening gifts from grandmas and grandpas.

We played some family games, planned by Carson. (His idea was "pin the eyes on the baby" since duh, Faye is a baby.)

And she enjoyed some yummy birthday treats!

The boys were SO excited for her to make a huge mess and gobble up her cake. Unfortunately all she really wanted to do was pat it.

I made her taste a bit.

So she played with it a little.

Ate a tiny bit.

Spit it out.

And then finally smashed it like Carson wanted her to!

Carson says Faye's was the BEST PARTY EVER! We love this girl!

Day 7: Bright Colors.

2012-01-31T14:18:00.000-05:00

Maybe not the brightest outfit in the world, but the belt is a pretty pink, right?

Tomorrow's prompt is to dress up a coat. Coat?? Who needs one? We're off to the park to enjoy the 65 degree weather!

Day 6: Decade

2012-01-30T22:36:00.000-05:00

The 60s-inspired dress is actually from Old Navy, although I never would have guessed it would come from there. (Is 60s right?? I don't know my decades, I guess!) It wasn't long enough for my liking, so I wore a navy Target skirt underneath. The boots were purchased in Southern Chile!

Are you following the challenge on Kayla's blog yet? Here it is.

The Birthday Girl does Itsy Bitsy Spider.

2012-01-27T22:46:00.000-05:00

Should have had the video mode on for this one. But seriously, how cute is this girl?? I cannot resist sharing all these pictures!

The itsy bitsy spider

climbed up the water spout.

Down came the rain

and washed the spider out.

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain.

And the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.

Yay!

Day 5: Pattern Mixing.

2012-01-27T15:50:00.000-05:00

Pattern mixing!! This is the prompt I was most excited about. I pulled all the striped, floral, whatever out of my closet and mixed and matched. I got quite a few outfits I otherwise would never have put together. Here is today's.

shirt/belt: Target. skirt: DownEast. necklaces: antique store.

Another twisty bun.

Pattern mixing in action. It's Faye's big day!! More posts to follow, of course.

Day 4: Channel Someone.

2012-01-26T21:10:00.002-05:00

So today you were supposed to channel someone.

We don't own a TV. The only TV show I ever watch (and I watch it religiously) is the Biggest Loser. I watch it every week the day after it airs online. Whenever Rick catches me watching BL, his first question is, "what is Ali WEARING today???" So obviously part of my BL obsession is the anticipation of Alison Sweeney's wardrobe and hair styles.

I didn't really feel like wearing a super tight dress and heels today, though, so I wore a striped sweater like one she wore a while ago. And I did my hair into a fun twisty bun.

LOOK at that model-like facial expresson! Maybe I AM a fashion blogger!!
Also, thanks to my sister for handing down this sweater to me. It's Abercrombie, which makes me feel a little bit like I'm in high school. The jeans were $7 at Old Navy, and the boots are good old Target (the one Black Friday purchase I didn't return!)

Aaand, the hair looked way better when I did it at 7 a.m. It was pretty much falling out at this point. And it really fell out during my evening workout. Oh well!

Day 3: oops.

2012-01-25T22:39:00.000-05:00

So for today's theme, "embrace a trend," I was all set to wear my red pants. I even finished sewing a striped circle scarf to pair with it. But for some reason I just couldn't make the outfit look right. I tried a fun hair do and also failed. Meanwhile, my boys were playing a super fun game in the playroom where they pulled back the rug, imagined it was a giant whale, and fed the "whale" every toy in the playroom plus everything they could drag in from their room, plus a few furniture items. What?? So I wore my red pants with a boring black shirt, and after running errands, having a picnic, and making homemade tortillas, the outfit was wayyyy past photographable. Plus I had to hurry and change when Rick got home early so we could go on a family jog to the park!

Here's the lovely outfit from the evening...oops!

I don't feel too bad though, because I did get some cute pictures of the kids at the park.

I am so proud of this boy, who decided to stop sucking his thumb (except to go to sleep) a couple of weeks ago and has really stuck to it. And only occasionally asks for a treat for not sucking it.

It's nice that both boys can go to their room and independently get dressed, but really, I've got to hide things like Christmas-themed shirts and his beloved sweat pants.

It took about three years for Carson to get the courage up to go down a slide by himself. Miss Faye? She can climb up those stairs, sit down (or forget to) and fly right down that slide.

Climbing up.

Moseying on over.

Everett wanted them to go down together.

Whoops, there she goes! And thrilled about it!

Man, she is a fun girl.

Day 2: Monochromatic

2012-01-24T20:14:00.000-05:00

THIS is why I did the challenge. The pink skirt is Old Navy circa 2002. (BYU Freshman girlfriends, do I remember buying these together??) I never wear the skirt and never would have thought to pair it with more pink. But I kind of think it works! The cardigan is almost equally old, and the belt is a new-ish clearance item from the Loft. I think I can make lots more outfits out of my closet using this monochromatic theme. Yay!

I have lots of pictures like this.

I am (not) a fashion blogger.

2012-01-23T14:53:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I don't consider myself to be a very fashionable person. Being a full time mom on a budget doesn't really give me many opportunities or resources to dress super cute. But, lately I've subscribed to a few fashion blogs and have thought I could get a little more creative with my wardrobe choices.

SO, I am totally nervous about this, but I am participating in Kayla's 10 day challenge. I thought it would help me use more items of clothing that I usually don't pull out. (And maybe decide on some that I could give the boot.)

Day 1's prompt: Layers.

Here we go.

Totally awkward photo of me pretending to be a fashion blogger.

I feel much more natural when holding a baby.

You should join the challenge! See here for the next prompt.

Funny kids.

2012-01-16T23:18:00.000-05:00

Carson during his afternoon "quiet time." He often listens to a book on CD in this position.

We have been having daily dance parties in the playroom. Pandora's "Toddler Radio" is great.

Faye has taken to riding in her doll stroller instead of pushing it lately. She has also been stealing all my necklaces, putting them on, and wearing them around all day. She has also been making lots of friends at church: she tackles, hits and bites other babies and children.

We read the cutest book called, "The Gingerbread Girl." (SPOILER!! She is smarter than her brother, the Gingerbread Boy, and outsmarts the fox.) So somehow these two talked me into making gingerbread people and decorating them. At least I had leftover icing from Christmas.

While we decorated I kept pretending the gingerbread girl was trying to run away and I was holding her back. Carson's too smart for me, but I think Everett was trying to decide if it was for real.

Lovely girls!

Sometimes Everett just doesn't want to go to bed yet. (He takes a great afternoon nap, so I don't really blame him for not being tired at 7 yet.) So he gets to choose to sit here in the time out spot or to lay in bed. Lately he's been sitting here for several minutes, entertaining us with songs and chatter until he decides he's ready for bed. I sort of love it. (I also LOVE Faye's new/old high chair that she can't stand up in!!)

These three.

2012-01-09T22:28:00.000-05:00

It's funny how in a matter of minutes I can go from feeling like my kids are the most wonderful things in the world to wondering why anyone ever describes children as sweet and innocent. I go from snuggling a sweet Everett to recovering from another Faye smack-in-the-face. I go from watching them adoringly as they participate in library storytime to the frustration of getting out of the library without tearing every book off the shelf. We go from playing/wrestling on the floor to everyone's crying and injured. I go from feeling confident in their progression to wondering if they will ever be truly kind to each other.

This mothering business is a crazy job! The wonderful thing is that they go to bed hours before I do. I can filter out the bad of the day and remember the good. I can pray that I will be a better, more loving mother tomorrow. I can sit and record their little lives in pictures and words and feel so blessed that I have three little people to love. They are good children after all.

(P.S. I do not scrapbook. But with a Groupon about to expire, I have been dedicating HOURS every day to making Faye's first year book on Mixbook. It's going to be awesome, but I cannot believe how many hours I am spending on this!! I feel like I haven't participated in real life for days. I think I can get it done by the end of the week. See you then, real-life people.)

Post-Christmas Activities.

2012-01-07T12:18:00.000-05:00

A little hike on the Appalachian trail.

Faye is asleep on my back. (This was actually at the end of the hike.) Everett really wanted to sleep, and his poor little head kept bobbling. He whispered to Rick, "Is there a bed... outside?"

At the beginning of the hike, Carson heard there might be snakes or even bears near the trail. He freaked out a little bit, but Pappy can always help him get over his fears.

We went to the Festival of Lights at Bull Run. Faye thought it was fun to be out of her car seat and in the front. Carson asked me to take a ton of pictures of the lights, which obviously all turn out pretty much the same.

At the last minute, we extended our stay to not miss out on the New Years festivities. My mom and Mackenzie ran a 10k, and we enjoyed the post race party!

Both boys really didn't want to ride the pony, but I made them. I'm still not sure if that's being a good or a bad mom?

Banging pots and pans at... 7:30!

Really fun game night with the Taggs.

Christmas Day 2011.

2012-01-05T21:21:00.001-05:00

Presents.
Church.
More presents.
Delicious Christmas brunch.
Really big presents outside.
Christmas feast at Tagg's/Gram's.

Mac 'N cheese!

My mom's big gift: a buffalo skull! She was pretty excited about it.

Ready for the big reveal.

So turns out Carson was extremely disappointed that his new bike (actually a hand-me-down, thanks Jeanel!) has no pedals. But today for the first time he rode it down the sidewalk and had fun!

This kid, on the other hand, had the perfect reaction. He said quietly, "it's what I always wanted!" Later he asked me if Santa went to Ace Hardware to buy the tricycle for him, since he had seen it there. Cute boy. He's working on learning to pedal well.

Watch out when this girl's behind her new stroller. (Another hand-me-down, thanks Reagan!)

Pappy probably takes the cake for the coolest gift received. A unicycle!

Gram's house. Oh the memories from Christmases when I was little!

It's Christmas Eve In Washington...

2012-01-04T13:53:00.000-05:00

That song seriously came on just as we were driving into my parents' neighborhood on December 24th! The 5.5 hour drive there was amazing. We woke the kids up at 5:30 a.m. and put them straight in the car. They didn't sleep but were quiet and calm for the first couple of hours; I handed out breakfast; they did a few books and activities; Faye napped a little, and then we were there. It was the best drive we've ever done!

The whole Dickson family was together for the week, and we had lots of fun. Here's Christmas Eve.

"Bethlehem dinner." Hummus, pita bread, dates, olives, etc. (So we cheated a little and had some grilled chicken also.)

The wise man.

A shepherd.

Joseph leading the donkey.

Mary and Joseph.

Mary checking out the wiseman's gifts.

Angel!

Wrestling.

2011-12-22T18:29:00.000-05:00

Random pictures, and I'm 28.

2011-12-20T14:25:00.000-05:00

I'm so close to being done with Christmas preparations, I can taste it! (Literally... I am licking my fingers from an early morning in the kitchen making cute Christmas tree Rice Krispy treats for Carson's pre school class PLUS peppermint topped fudge. That stuff is good.) On the to-do list today are to finally address and mail those Christmas cards and finish up some home-made gifts.

A few things we've been up to...

Making gingerbread houses...

Twice!

Having a few Christmas-y playdates.

This was a fun game: roll the dice to see which part you put on your snow man.


Our church's Christmas party. Rick is singing with the boys.

I love this: note the sheep who are getting a little wild, and the shepherds putting them back in line. And then there's my Carson, being a good little sheep.

Yep, there he is.

BYU baby. Watch out: she walks!!

And jumps off of couches!

Lots of holiday baking. Everett is always up on that ladder with me.

One morning, as soon as we got back from taking Carson to pre-school, Everett wanted me to teach him how to take pictures with the camera. Here is his best shot.

And then he asked for some pictures to be taken of him! He wanted pictures of himself smiling,...

doing tricks, and...

dancing.


The other day Carson was SO excited that I had forgotten to make my bed, because it meant he could do this!

All I wanted for my birthday this year was to go to the Golden Corral. It was only my second time ever going to one, but I love everything about that place. I love that everyone gets exactly what foods they want. (Carson: mostly mac and cheese, a little pizza. Everett: olives. A hamburger was the only other thing he said he would eat, so I grabbed a roll and a piece of meat and put one together for him. Faye: pieces of ham, cheese, grapes, etc. Rick: A lot of everything. Me: A huge salad with everything on it, and then little tiny tastes of most everything else.) And I love that my kids can be noisy and play under the table and no one cares. And I love the people-watching at this place! And I love that someone else cleans up all the food Faye throws off her high chair. See why I wanted to go there?!?!

AND I love that the meal includes dessert! Cotton candy!!

And now Faye even pulls her ponytails out. What are we going to do with this girl? I had a great birthday, and now I'm 28!

We are a family of runners!

2011-12-13T15:06:00.001-05:00

So I know some sisters of mine would deny it, but these photos prove that the Dicksons are total runners!!

My mom, little sister Mackenzie, Rick and I ran the Mistletoe half marathon, and Mackenzie's husband Beau ran the 5K. Pappy was on kid duty. My mom decided the week before to run it, and although we had to wait around for a bit, she finished strong! I hope I can do that when I'm her age!

Last year I ran this same race (the 5K) 8 months pregnant with Faye girl!

My friend Emily and I trained together for this race. We finished at 1:47, and although it's what we thought we would do I was quite disappointed since the only other half I have run was a 1:46. I was also a little disappointed that Rick majorly beat us (1:34) without much training. Emily and I are confident we can crush that time, though, and are ready to do some speed workouts!

We all ran out to run the last stretch with Grandmama.

We are totally a runner family!

The girls. We just need to convert Reagan and Ashley. :)

Family Pictures 2011

2011-12-06T14:45:00.000-05:00

I LOVE taking family pictures each fall. Getting everyone all dressed up and then having fun together while someone else worries about the camera is just so fun. Luckily I scored an awesome Groupon deal for our last two family photos shoots for Ashley, who is so talented. Here are some of my favorites from a few weeks ago.

Ha!

Thanksgiving + Football.

2011-12-04T21:47:00.000-05:00

We had a nice little Thanksgiving. I decided I should practice cooking in case we start playing host in years to come, so I cooked EVERYTHING! Then we ended up eating at our neighbor's house, so we saved our turkey and some other sides for a meal the next day. I am realizing now that we took no pictures of all the beautiful food! Sad! Let's just say that injecting your turkey with a little butter goes a long way. This recipe was awesome!! I had some good learning experiences (bake the rolls for less time, don't drop the pumpkin pie toffee cheesecake on the floor while pulling it out of the fridge, etc.), and Rick and I seriously had fun cooking up a storm in the kitchen together for two days straight.

The kids' table at our neighbor's house. Again, no other pictures is breaking my heart! But thanks to the Walton's for hosting a lovely meal.

Ok I did find one more picture. The salvaged part of the dropped cheesecake, and an apple pie. (I am a little bit proud of my beautiful crust.)

The boys were pretty excited about these little candy turkeys we made. We stuck name card in them for the table setting.

I convinced BFF Carrie to go Black Friday shopping with me. We headed out at 9:30 p.m. and got back before 2. We had SO MUCH FUN, but let's be honest: the deals were just not worth it to me. I actually have now returned most everything I bought that night.

We got to go to a Wake football game Thanksgiving weekend. (The last of the season, which means it was our last chance ever to attend a game while living here! Thanks Jared for hooking us up!!) The game was just perfect. Beautiful weather, all three kids had a blast, Rick got to watch a football game, and I got to chat with BFF Etta. (I have a lot of BFFs.) You can see how the kids felt about the game:

So maybe we don't look thrilled, but I'm sure we were chatting about something important.

We learned that big pretzels keep Faye occupied for a long time.

The loudness of the game plus the threat of the Deamon Decon mascot coming near had Carson doing this for the first half of the game, but he loosened up eventually.

If you look, you can see Everett hugging the Deamon Deacon. Lately, Everett wants whatever is exactly opposite of what Carson says or does. So, I ask Carson if he wants to go meet the Deamon Deacon, and of course his answer is, "No way." Everett immediately says, "I do!" And there he goes.

And now we are feeling all Christmas-y around here! Off to work on some home-made gifts!!

He's four.

2011-11-30T23:05:00.000-05:00


We are so glad Carson is the "biggest brother" in our family. He has been doing a great job for the past four years. Carson requested a volcano-themed party after checking out the entire shelf of volcano books at the library. We had lots of fun planning it together!

After making a few of these birthday banners for Christmas gifts a whole year ago, I finally made one for myself! Carson's party food included a chocolate volcano cake, ice cream dipped in red sprinkles, and red cake pops. (Thank heavens a volcano was much easier to make than the disaster of a digger cake last year!)

The guests each painted their own mini-volcanoes, which were to be taken home and allowed to erupt.

We learned a little bit about magma, lava, ash clouds, etc.

Pin the ash cloud on the volcano. Kind of lame, but Carson thought we had to have a "pin the..." game.

Rick led an obstacle course type game, something about stay off the hot lava (leaves).

Cake time.

The little siblings corner.

The grand finale of the party was supposed to be the eruption of this awesome volcano that Rick made out of paper mache. The baking soda and vinegar just wasn't cutting it in the practice runs, so Rick bought some Coke and mentos just before the party to see if we could get the "lava" to really shoot out of there. Welll it didn't really work, and all the kids were just sort of waiting there for a while. (Laura has no fear!) So eventually Rick shook the Coke bottle real hard and it exploded all over him and the wall. The kids still thought it was cool!

Carson's actual birthday was Sunday, and after church and naps we had a nice family dinner and opened the Grandma presents. He's being funny when I asked him to smile here.

Opening presents = real smiles.

You better believe Everett can't wait til April 4th after all this birthday talk.

His birthday dinner request was mac 'n cheese. (NOT from a box, thank you very much! Actually I didn't have any cheddar and made it with mozzarella, feta and parmesan, and it was really, really good.)

We love it when Carson has a laugh attack. Usually it's because Everett is about to do something naughty.

So glad this boy's awesome wavy hair is growing back in!

The boys had fun blowing out the candles at our "fancy" dinner.

I'm certain that this sneaky little look means she is thinking about standing up and trying to jump out of her high chair, which she does every five seconds during every meal. Do I need to get a high chair with a five-point harness or what??

First ponytail!!

2011-11-27T21:21:00.000-05:00

Faye loves riding this thing around. She's our little dare devil.

Also, Faye is 10 months old today! She celebrated by taking two or three steps by herself. She still prefers crawling for sure, but she gets the biggest grin when she tries to walk!

Fall Leaves: Carson joins in.

2011-11-27T21:14:00.001-05:00

He did get a little upset after being thrown in the leaves here.

Twins!

Rick just looked at this and said he could have jumped way higher.

Rick's pee wee football portrait.

The girl. We can't believe it's been so beautifully warm in November! Playing outside in the nude is the best.

Today.

2011-11-20T20:55:00.004-05:00

(Actually started this post yesterday, so "today" means yesterday.)

Starting the day with an awesome 14 mile run, plus having no heat on a chilly day made me feel 0 desire to get anything done today. So, the kids and I bundled up, cranked up the space heaters, and broke out Carson's new birthday goods. Usually I go crazy staying home all day with the kids, but for some reason we just had a wonderful time all day. I think it was because I really allowed myself to just spend time with them instead of trying to sneak in work, laundry, cooking, etc. These boys are pretty fun playmates.

Not related at all, a few random pictures from when we were making Carson's birthday cake. Everett looks like such a goof; it cracks me up! (He is doing so much better, by the way. Actually today was the first day since he started acting differently that he didn't have any terrified moments or outbursts or anything. Thank heavens. I thought we were going to have to send him off to some reform school or something at age 2.)

Carson finds interesting places to read. I was trying to get him to do something the other day, and he told me he was too busy "studying the solar system." And he really was. (That reminds me. A few days ago we were watching a cute little girl who was a little upset that her daddy had left her here. Carson, trying to comfort her, said things like: "Shiloh. SHILOH! All the outer planets are GAS GIANTS!!" Yeah, that really made her feel better.)

Faye girl had her first little fever a few nights ago. I was in heaven since it slowed her down and made her actually snuggle me for once!! She even fell asleep on the floor like this; very unlike her. It sounds awful, but I sort of wish the fever had lasted a little longer so I could have snuggled her more.

Rick coming home at 5 (still loving this emergency medicine rotation), having dinner with some friends (I brought butternut squash soup, which I LOVE), and going to an evening church meeting made for a lovely day.

Fall leaves.

2011-11-15T11:12:00.002-05:00

These pictures remind me a lot of last year. Except everyone's a year older, and there's a cute little girl crawling around. (And the pictures are NOT as good, thanks to our nice camera dying. It breaks my heart every time I take pictures on a cheap little thing.)

Rick was seriously asleep for a few minutes here.

We're enjoying Rick's wonderfully predictable schedule, as he's on Emergency Medicine right now.

I need to start styling her messy hair, but I embarrassingly don't know what to do. And she rips out most things I try!

And there was certainly no playing in the leaves from this boy. He had new books from the library. Carson has recently gotten good enough at reading that he will sit absorbed in reading a book for long periods of time. (I know. He's three. I take no credit for his smarts; I taught him the letters when he was itty bitty, and he randomly started reading any word he saw over the summer.)

Happy Veteran's Day (yesterday).

2011-11-12T06:11:00.000-05:00

We're grateful for this handsome soldier. He works so hard and stays cheerful despite getting very little sleep. (He went into work last night at midnight. But don't worry, he'll get off just in time to make it to Saturday morning football!) I'm grateful I have a husband who I would consider the ideal example for my boys.

Grateful.

2011-11-10T22:39:00.001-05:00

I was going to follow the trend and post something I'm grateful for every day in November, but obviously I'm a little late to begin. Tonight I am feeling particularly thankful for a friend's visit and wanted to at least record this one.

Everett has been quite the challenge lately. I'm not sure where to begin as I think about his behavior changes, but this little boy is having a hard time for some reason. He wakes up crying at night and during naps, scared of things I can't see. He cries when I leave him at the church nursery or in the childcare at the gym. Sometimes he cries if I leave the room and he's feeling particularly scared. I can't even remember what set him off this afternoon, but the crying and screaming lasted for about two hours, no matter what I tried to do for him. I had to resort to locking him in his room so I could at least have a few minutes without him in order to nurse Faye and put her to bed. And wrestling a very upset Everett into pajamas and brushing his teeth is a downright miserable job. This has been going on for nearly a week now, and I'm feeling quite worried about my cute boy.

So tonight just after I got everyone to bed and was about to start on the dishes, I was so grateful when I good friend came over to chat while she did some sewing. I really believe that my Heavenly Father knew that I needed that. I don't think I could stand another night alone with only my Everett worries to keep me company. So tonight I am grateful for a God who is aware of my needs, and for really good friends who uplift and inspire. Now if only I could figure out what Everett needs!

A recipe share.

2011-11-07T22:16:00.001-05:00

Lately I've been on a total baking and cooking mode. I think I'm feeling the excitement/stress of getting ready for Christmas, but I'm not quite ready to do anything about it yet.

So, time to share a few recipes. Here are our dinners from last week:

Crock pot lasagna. I didn't really use this recipe; I just layered it all in the crock pot with what I had. I use cottage cheese, not ricotta. And ground turkey for the meat. I was so happy with how great lasagna turns out in the crock pot! You still get the yummy, crispier edges that you do with traditional lasagna. This was a winner for everyone in the family; Faye and the boys loved it and Rick said it should be in the regular rotation.

Breakfast casserole with roasted sweet potatoes and peppers. I do a pretty boring breakfast casserole, but we all love it. Cube 5 or 6 pieces of bread and squish them all down in the bottom of a pan. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top. Then pour over that a mixture of about 5 eggs (beaten), 2 cups of milk, 1/2 t. ground mustard, and salt or whatever seasonings you like. Cut up ham or bacon on top. When you bake it (325 for 1 hour), it gets nice and poofy!

Chicken bakes (like from Costco). Although as much as I alter these, they don't taste at all like the Costco ones. I start with wheat pizza dough and roll it out to the rectangle. This time I wanted to use up some cottage cheese so I spread that in, then cubed chicken, a little caesar dressing, mozzarella and Permesan cheese, snuck some peas in, and some red onion and spinach for the adults. It's fun to roll them up and then let the kids put something fun on top like cheese to spell their names or something.

Sweet potato burritos. Read the reviews: black beans instead of kidney, and don't add all that water. Soo good with homemade tortillas.

Chicken and broccoli alfredo. I totally cheat and used canned cream soup to make the sauce. It's just too easy, and everyone likes it just as well. One can cream of chicken or mushroom soup plus half cup milk and half cup Parmesan cheese. Stir in cooked cubed chicken and steamed broccoli, and add it to your favorite pasta.

We made more than one batch of pumpkin bread last week. When I looked for a recipe I just couldn't make the ones that called for three cups of sugar. This one I linked to is perfect; it has yogurt and less sugar. I even cut the sugar to a half cup the last time I made it, and the kids still gobbled it up. Oh, and add a few chocolate chips of course!

And we have a fresh batch of granola at our house. Here's how I make it:

Mix in a BIG bowl:
12 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups chopped almonds
1 cup coconut
2 cups dried apples
sometimes flaxseed

Blend:
1 cup brown sugar
1 t salt
1 1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup oil
1/3 cup water
2 t cinnamon

Pour the syrup over the oats mixture and stir until evenly coated. Spread in a jelly roll pan and bake at 250 for at least an hour. (This amount should fill three pans.) Bake longer if you like it crispy; shorter if you like it chewy.

I don't take pictures of my food, so here's this crazy girl instead. She loves to dive off the couch, and I usually catch her with her head inches from the ground. She now can do the sign for "milk," and it is so cute, except for when she randomly asks to nurse in public places. I am going to miss her gummy smile with just those two little teeth; two more on the botton have broken through!

And Halloween night.

2011-11-04T14:55:00.000-04:00

Carson about died of happiness when I told him we would be trick-or-treating with Olive and family. Once recently he told me his favorite people in the world are Mom, Faye, Olive and Etta. With some convincing he added Dad to the list. We know he loves Everett, he just won't admit it.

You know you wanted to see Miss Peacock again.

And the peacock's mom.

A street in our neighborhood gets blocked off for trick-or-treaters. Most of the houses are decorated, and the place is packed with kids and parents in costume. So basically the whole block is one big party.

I think this is the house where the witch offered alcohol to the parents. Wow.


Isn't this street just so fun??

Carson and Olive acted like big kids and raced from house to house. Little Elmo was soooo slow and would stop to check out all the decorations. And Faye was for sure the cutest baby on the block.

Halloween Costumes 2011

2011-10-30T22:43:00.000-04:00

I never really liked Halloween until I started making costumes for the kids. This year, the hot glue gun was my best friend and allowed me to make everyone's costumes really quickly. The boys decided on a skeleton and Elmo, respectively, a couple of months ago. They never wavered in their decisions.

Carson and I had fun looking up diagrams of the skeletal system and cutting the bones out of felt. Then I just hot glued them onto the same pants and shirt he wore for his costume last year! (So the total cost was about $2 for the felt.) He learned the names of the bones, and he LOVED having his face painted.

I was at Goodwill (in Tacoma, Washington of all places) and was looking around for a red shirt and pants to make Everett's costume. I found this Elmo outfit for 6 bucks! It is way too big for him, so I cut off half the legs and made one of them into the hat. Ping pong balls are the eyes, and the nose I just made out of orange felt. I didn't plan on painting his face, but after seeing Carson he just couldn't live without it.

And oh, sweet Faye, how I love having a GIRL!!! The idea for the costume came from here. I decided to make the whole thing a part of the onesie instead of a separate piece. So I just cut and sewed the feather shapes out of turquoise felt, adding some batting and the stick part of the peacock feathers in sandwiched in the middle. I used the same felt to hot glue the feathers on the front of the onesie. I ended up just using straight pins to attach the feathers to the back of the onesie. It was way too thick to sew. I had a safety piece of sandwiched felt on the inside of the onesie so she couldn't get poked. I hot glued all the peacock feathers to the back of the felt feathers. I found the sequin fabric last-minute and added it on with hot glue, of course! For the orange tights, I just happened to have white tights and RIT dye on hand!! I tried to come up with a cool headpiece but decided she would just rip it off anyway, so in 5 seconds I made this little clip. Isn't she ADORABLE?!?!?!?!?! (Also, I did take pictures of the process of making the peacock costume, if anyone wants a tutorial.)

Happy Halloween!!

Faye is 9 months old.

2011-10-28T06:36:00.000-04:00

This baby girl is so easy to love. She has curls. She laughs all day long. She has blue eyes. She does "how big is a baby," and it's SO cute. She is a crazy mover. She dives in her crib when it's time for her naps. (Ok, so she has some cranky moments, and sometimes her naps are too short, but now that she's asleep for the night I only remember the good things.)

I can't believe she is already pushing chairs all around the kitchen.

This is my favorite. So cute. She ducks behind the couch to do peek-a-boo.

Carson wanted Faye to have an "interview."

It's fall!

2011-10-25T16:47:00.001-04:00

We got in the Fall spirit a couple of weeks ago by going on a fun hayride with some other moms and kids. The weather was perfect, which made for a lovely time at the park afterwards.

Dates.

2011-10-23T21:20:00.000-04:00

The boys love it when they get to go on "dates." Last week, I told Carson that if he took a nap he could stay up and go on a date with Rick to his intramural football game. Carson was thrilled, although during the game showed no emotion; he stood and watched with a serious face, clapping occasionally. When he got home he showed his excitement and gave me a play-by-play. These two sure are cute together!

2011 Utah trip.

2011-10-18T22:59:00.001-04:00

Visiting Utah in the fall rather than at Christmas time was wonderful. Utah really is beautiful, and the no-humidity sunshine felt just perfect!

Speaking of perfect, these kids were awesome travelers!! Faye is AWFUL in the car and can scream for hours, but she did great on the plane and even slept on me for once in her life.

There was even an hour when Rick had all three and I got to lay down and sleep on the other aisle. That is a dream come true!

We had lots of fun at Grandma GJ and Grandpa Sam's house.

Everett is getting pretty good at shooting hoops!

The whole Otto side got together to celebrate a few birthdays, and we played some fun games per Carson's request. Here Rick is trying to guess whose toes he's touching.

Carson and Ryker are BFFs.

The Treehouse, a children's museum in Salt Lake, totally put our little museum here in Winston to shame. It was so great! We had a good time with Jeanel, Grandma and Ryker there.

The ladies.

A large part of our trip had to do with getting comfortable with dogs. Everett turned out to be a natural with Maisy and was sort of obsessed with feeding her. Carson got a little braver by the end of the trip, but he still would freak out sometimes when she would run in the room.

Jaclyn snuggles.

A little excited about Chick-fil-A.

We spent about half our time down in Orem and Provo staying with Suzette and fam. Oh hi Faye, you're cute!! (Also, Jeanel took Faye on a shopping spree. She's wearing jeggings here.)

Bowling at BYU! We did everything fun imaginable at BYU. The kids are already fans, and we promised them if they go to college here they can eat ice cream from the creamery every day.

We should take them bowling more often; they LOVED it.

There's that cute little thing again!

We let the boys get whatever they wanted for lunch from the Cougareat.

I had to have a wrap from L&T, just like I used to eat all the time while studying! It was so fun to be at BYU and remember those fun, fun days there.

Chocolate covered cinnamon bears = happiness.

"I love BYU!"

The boys wanted to stay at the duck pond all day. This is right by where we took our engagement pictures.

And here it is folks, the Pendulum Court in the Eyring Science Center, where it all began. Rick thought I was sitting at this table when we met. I'm certain it was a table on the other side. Oh well.

Magleby's Fresh pancakes were a must for this trip! This also begins where my eyes are too red and dry to wear my contacts. I am still wearing glasses, and I HATE glasses.

Fun snacks at the Greer's. Faye looks like such a big girl.

This is what watching General Conference looked like for us this time around. Fun!

Some cousin fun for Faye.

At Jeff and Joni's, Everett really really wanted to pick up their rabbit. He almost got it.

Cute Jana.

There are always rainbows in Utah! This double one was even more amazing than the picture. After a bit you could see both entire rainbows.

Everett hanging out with puppy Rosy.

And this is all the STUFF we fit into our little Taurus on the way home from the airport. All of this, plus FIVE PEOPLE. Our Taurus is amazing. And I got to snuggle real close to Rick on the way home, which was a nice bonus!

Dixie Classic Fair

2011-10-09T21:29:00.001-04:00

We are back from a great trip to Utah and have lots of pictures to post from the West. But first, here is proof that we really live in the South: we went to the Dixie Classic Fair! This is our fourth and final year living here, so we finally forked over the 8 dollars per ticket and went to see what it was all about.

Turns out the fair is mostly about sucking money out of you to buy gross food and go on silly rides. But we had a good time anyway. They had a kiddie area with a free "petting zoo." Look how brave Carson is! He came within 6 feet of a goat! While he was standing here, he said, "MOM, WE HAVE TO WASH OUR HANDS AFTER THIS."

And there were quite a few kids there like this poor boy, who had a nice hoop earring in each ear, just like his dad. Unlike his dad, he still had all his teeth.

The pig races were so cute!

All right, so Rick actually did it. He ate the Krispy Kreme burger. Luckily our friend John agreed to split it with him, so he didn't have to eat all of the 1,000 plus calories on his own.

Sweet Faye has no idea what her dad is about to do.

There he is, ready to eat his burger... I mean donuts... I mean both.

Oh yeah.

And then he fed that nastiness to my children! Actually I think Everett is eating the deep fried Reese's cup, which I will admit I had a taste of and it was pretty good. But two bites was enough.

We had a great time, but we won't go again!

curtains!

2011-09-23T07:18:00.001-04:00

I finished my curtains, and I am in love with them. I slept on the couch the night after I put them up just to be with them and peek at them if I woke up.

I wanted to move the rods up higher, but since we're renters and leaving in a few months I just hemmed them a little shorter. I'm working on some really fun pillows too. I can't take credit for the fabric choice, my favorite design blog was my inspiration.

I also touched up the piano and am really happy with the color. I won't be painting this guy again for a while!

Working on a few more things for the room and then I promised myself I would stop decorating and move on with my life!

Faye's abilities.

2011-09-19T17:08:00.001-04:00

Untitled a video by page.otto on Flickr.

Our Faye is proficient at crawling, waving, and standing up. She is intermediate at clapping and wrestling with her brothers. And she is above proficient at making everyone around her smile.

Carson's surgery.

2011-09-19T14:48:00.000-04:00

Now that our special out of town guest (aka Daddy) is gone again, it's back to projects and blogging!

While Rick was here, Carson had a little surgery, an orchiopexy. He did great and was running around that evening.

On their way to the hospital. (They walked!) Interesting to think that Rick could be performing this same surgery in the near future.

I got to go pick him up after the surgery. It took a bit to wake him up. It helped when I whispered the promise of Chick-Fil-A in his ear.

When he woke up and was given a popsicle, it was pretty funny to watch him try and get it into his mouth.

We're glad he did so well (didn't wake up freaking out like his mother does), and that the chance of him producing some grandchildren for us someday has increased!

Day 29: Par-tay!

2011-09-11T21:50:00.000-04:00

The last of the countdown chain.

The first thing Everett said (in his cute little voice) was, "Dad... can we play 'you can't get away'?" So they played "you can't get away." We're happy campers over here!

Day 28: the fridge.

2011-09-11T01:34:00.000-04:00

Today's accomplishment included cleaning out the fridge, really cleaning the fridge (like taking the racks out and wiping it all down with vinegar, not just the usual cheating clean-where-you-can-see job that I normally do!), and putting in a new rack on the door that had broken.

We also planned a killer welcome home Daddy party for tomorrow. We're having this for dinner and this for dessert, and Carson is in charge of the games so it should be a great time!

Day 27: making a list.

2011-09-09T21:43:00.000-04:00

I wanted to finish out this little "Survive and Thrive" challenge with a bang. For the past two straight days I feel like I've done nothing but sand, prime, paint, keep the kids from touching the paint, paint some more, wash paintbrushes and rollers, and paint even more. But when a friend put the piano back together for me tonight, instead of being thrilled with the result, I saw all the spots I had missed. And all the places where I applied the paint too thick. And where I got paint where it wasn't supposed to go. I will admit that I cried a little. I wanted to surprise Rick with a perfectly painted piece, and I have a splotchy, bumpy, but certainly turquoise piano.

Then I looked over at the wall where I had filled in all the nail holes and tried to fix the paint that had peeled off and realized that there, too, there are noticeable splotches. And then I started thinking about the past month's goals and how it all went: the car I cleaned that is a disaster again, the bow tie I made that everyone refused to wear, the cake stands that are a little crooked, how awfully unbalanced our meals have been over the past month (I think bread + cheese has been the base of 90% of our dinners: grilled cheese, cheese quesadillas, cheese pizza, pasta with cheese...), the budget I'm not keeping up with, the awful times when I lost my patience with Carson, the stack of papers I never went through, the scrapbooks I never even started, the closets I didn't organize, oh yeah and that time a few days ago when I backed out of the driveway with a car door open, totally smashing it against a concrete wall. Etc., etc., etc.

It's times like this when I go back and remember the night I knew I should marry Rick Otto. I was overwhelmed and discouraged by college-related responsibilities. I'm sure I was crying, although I don't really remember. But what Rick did was perfect. He didn't try to flatter me with compliments and reassure me that I was doing great. He didn't fix me a bowl of ice cream and tell me to forget about it all. He made me sit down and get out a paper and a pen. And we made a list. He would ask me to name all the reasons I felt like I was failing or things I was worried about. Then we would think up what we needed to do to overcome each challenge. When the list was done, suddenly I felt in control again. I probably didn't 100 per cent fulfill everything on that list, but it kept me going.

So, tonight I will make a list, and I'll quit thinking about all my failures. (The first thing on the list will be: have Rick help me fix the piano paint job!) I think the point is that we just keep going. It doesn't matter that my kids' shirts have permanent stains on them; I just keep washing them. It doesn't matter that my house is a mess again; I just keep cleaning it. It doesn't matter that my kids misbehave every day; I just keep loving and mothering them. I think God wants us to just keep going, and to have faith and hope that in the process my family and I will overcome challenges and become something great.

New haircut + messy room. :)

Day 26: writing in the kids' journals.

2011-09-08T23:05:00.034-04:00

It's been way too long, so I made myself sit down and write in the kids' journals tonight.

Here's what they were up to today:

While big brother was at school, Everett had a friend over, and we did a couple of activities. Ev helped me make some simple alphabet cards, and we played games where he had to run to the letters and hop on them, or touch them with his head, etc.

This kid totally surprised me by knowing almost all the letters and their sounds/words that start with the letters. The funny thing is, when Carson came home and we tried to play again, Everett gave wrong answers and acted silly. It's pretty obvious that when Mr. I-know-all-the-answers Carson is around, Everett looks for other ways to get attention. This is why Carson is going to pre school: so Everett can have some time to shine!

Faye is eating like a big girl these days. She already wants what we're eating instead of her mush, which is fine by me. I do not like these days of cooking and pureeing and all that mess!

Today she finally grabbed that bowl right out of my hands. She was very happy with that accomplishment.

Look at those legs go!

I couldn't choose just one picture of her, obviously.

Our neighbor/adopted grandma Barbara found this great water toy on clearance, and Carson of course didn't forget my promise that we'd try it out today. Made me miss my class at the gym, but they had lots of fun!

Day 25: the craft table.

2011-09-07T23:57:00.001-04:00

I'm working on a couple of big projects, but nothing ready to post about yet. So for today's "extra," Carson and I organized the playroom craft table. I feel like so many nights I tidy this area by just shoving workbooks on the shelves and sweeping all the tiny pieces of paper Carson has cut up into some container. (Because you know he would freak out if I threw them away.)

So now everything has a place. It was Carson's idea to group some of the supplies by the first letter of their names. Pencils, pens and paintbrushes go together.

Pipe cleaners and popsicle sticks make another "P" container. And then there's the "S" jar with scissors, a stapler, and sticks. When I looked in there just now I saw that he'd also stuffed in a couple of seashells for good measure.

In other news, Carson started pre-school yesterday. He'll go just two days a week, and we hope he has lots of fun! Doesn't he look handsome???

Day 24: sending a package.

2011-09-06T23:33:00.001-04:00

Sending cards and packages to family is another one of those things where I usually have great intentions but never actually follow through. So, to thrive today, we put together a package for those crazy girl cousins up in Virginia. The twins' birthday is coming up, and Adriel wanted to try out a few headbands I've made. Carson and Everett had a great time making cards: they cut out a bunch of pictures from magazines and glued them on to make collages. Maybe from now on I can be better about remembering birthdays and sending little things sometimes.

Day 23: finishing touches for Faye.

2011-09-06T00:30:00.000-04:00

I started working on Faye's nursery long before she was born. Finally, today I hung the last picture or two, fixed a flower that had fallen down, repaired a hole in the wall, and pronounced it finished! This is my favorite room in our house. It is peaceful and every piece has a special meaning behind it. It is also my favorite because it belongs to such a sweet little girl.

The crib was purchased for $20 at a church rummage sale for baby Everett. (The same church where Carson will go to pre-school.) The crib sheet was made by me and was the first time I bought cute pink fabric for a girl! The rocker was a Craigslist purchase, and the pillow on it is from Faye's great-Gram. The fabric for the flowers was a baby shower gift from our good friend Carrie, and putting those up was one of my favorite projects.

The desk-turned-changing-table belonged to Rick's parents. It was supposed to be for Rick to use for a medical school study desk, but has always been used for babies instead. The mirror was a $10 yard sale fine, spray painted by me and Faye's Grandmama. The lamp and all baskets in the room are from one of my favorite stores, World Market. Aunts Jeanel and Suzette babysat newborn Faye while we searched for the perfect baskets to fit under the desk.

The very day I told my mom I wanted a couch in the new baby's room, she had started to try to sell this one. It was lovingly donated to the nursery. The pictures above show the important men in Faye's life. (All right, the nursery is actually not finished. I should make a couple more pillows for the couch!)

The big letter "f" is from local store Re-Tale, spray painted of course. The other "F" just from a A.C. Moore. I went to that store 3 times to get that thing! For some reason they had every letter except F.

Curtains made by me, with help from Grandmama. We made them while she was visiting over Christmas break, before we knew that the baby would be a girl! The pink desk is from our neighbor's yard sale. The elderly neighbor said he remembers picking out that desk and painting it pink for his little girl (30 plus years ago).

An etsy print. I just love this little peacock. Can't you tell it's Faye??

Ikea chandelier hung by Pappy, and we still love to look for his fingerprint up on the ceiling. The soft fluffy rug was a sale at Bed Bath and Beyond.

I love the memories that came about from creating this nursery both before Faye was born, and then adding her personal touches afterwards. Oh how we love this girl!

Day 22: recipes.

2011-09-04T23:48:00.000-04:00

I don't know how many times I've started baking something with my trusty, ever-present assistant Everett perched next to me on his ladder and had to be like, "HOLD ON EVERETT. DON'T TOUCH THAT HOT PAN. I'VE GOT TO RUN TO THE COMPUTER TO SEE WHAT THE RECIPE SAYS NEXT." The demise of my old laptop may be party due to me dragging it back and forth from the kitchen to look at recipes while I cook or bake.

So, today I wrote up some of the recipes I most frequently find myself looking up and posted them in a very accessible place: inside a cupboard door.

It is pretty fun to collect all your favorite recipes in one place and remember where they came from or the first time you made them.

What are your go-to recipes? Maybe I will add them to my collection!

Day 21: piano painting.

2011-09-03T22:41:00.000-04:00

Not sure how Rick is going to feel about this one. So, I started painting the piano today. Well, actually I should say RE-painting, since we painted it red a couple of years ago. And by that I mean Rick painted it red while I watched. We used oil-based paint that time, which was a MAJOR PAIN. You did a great job, sweetie, it was just time for a little change.

Lately I can't stop thinking about the color turquoise. I get that way with colors sometimes. I start liking a certain color combination and before you know it, I looked down today and my shoes are turquoise and my shirt is too.

So, since I decided my living room is totally blah and took down everything hanging on the walls, it was time to bring in some... turquoise! I even brought my shoe into Sherwin Williams to compare the color. I am actually going to use that deep turquoise for some accents and got a way lighter color for the piano.

I sanded, primed and painted the top part of the piano. Aaaand that's where it stopped. Try as I might, I cannot figure out how to remove other pieces from the piano. And the thing takes about 6 strong men to move, so there's no way I can move it out from the wall to paint it there.

So, Rick, how about a piano painting date when you come home in only 8 more days???

The playroom right now.

Swirled the extra paint inside of a mason jar. Isn't that what everyone does with their leftover paint??

Everett's idea of fun today. He could have done this all afternoon. Carson put up with playing in the mud for about 5 minutes and wanted specific instruction on how to make a mud pie.

Day 20: mending.

2011-09-03T00:16:00.000-04:00

I have a lot of clothes with holes in them. Maybe it's because my kids tug on them all the time. Maybe it's because I buy cheap clothes. Or maybe both. So tonight I took out anything that had a tear or rip in it and went to town with the old sewing machine. It was so easy! I officially have six items of clothing I can wear again.

My favorite fix was the blue skirt with the fun floral print. This was actually a dress I bought in Chile. One of the straps of the dress tore off, but instead of fixing it I decided it would be cuter as a skirt. So I cut the top off and hemmed the top of the new skirt! I don't even know if that's the right way to do it, but it fits and I love it.

I'm excited that I actually had fun sewing tonight! Usually I dread all the ironing, pinning, winding that dang bobbin, etc. But this was an instantly gratifying way to sew.

Day 19: yogurt.

2011-09-01T22:25:00.001-04:00

I made yogurt!

This is really so exciting to me. I have been meaning to try making yogurt for a while and hadn't gotten around to it. It was much easier than I thought, once I figured out how to read my thermometer. I can't tell you how exciting it was to unwrap the towels off the crock pot, open it up and see the whole thing full of thick, creamy yogurt! It totally felt like magic.

If you're curious about making your own, I just did a search and read a bunch of tutorials. Basically all of them have you heat milk (I did a half gallon) to 180 degrees to kill the bacteria you don't want. This took mine an hour or so on low in the crock pot. Then you cool it down to 110 and stir in your starter. I took my crock pot out of the warmer and let it sit for a while to cool. For your first time you use store bought plain yogurt as the starter. I was supposed to add a half cup of the starter but accidentally added 6 oz. Maybe this helped it turn out so nice and thick? (Actually, I had to have my friend Erin add the starter since she was babysitting at the time. Hey Erin, you made yogurt!) Then you want to keep it at 110 degrees for several hours to grow all the good bacteria. You can do this by wrapping the crock pot in towels and putting it in the oven. (With the oven off.) You can leave it for 6 to 12 hours. The tutorials I read say that the longer you leave it the more tart it gets.

The funny thing about mine is that it turned out that my 6 hour mark was going to be at 2 a.m.! I went to bed and thought, "oh well, I'll get it in the morning and it'll be tart this time." Well, I woke up randomly last night and looked at the clock: exactly 2 a.m.! I do think I have a talent of telling myself exactly what time to wake up. So I got up and stuck the crock pot in the fridge. I woke up to this! We all enjoyed delicious fruit and yogurt and granola this morning. We'll keep making yogurt for sure!

*A few more notes: I used whole milk, mostly because Faye will be eating it. You can use low fat milk for sure, but it might not be as thick. You can also stir in some nonfat dry milk to help it thicken. You can also blend in fruit and even make it vanilla. We'll probably try that next time.

Day 18: poster frame.

2011-08-31T23:46:00.000-04:00

I've had this huge poster frame sitting in the basement for a while. I got it on clearance one time and had some idea for it that I've forgotten about now. Thanks to wonderful friends and babysitting trades I've gotten to get out of the house without kids a couple of times this week, and while at World Market I found the perfect poster for my frame! Carson and I spray painted the frame white today. (It was brown.) Then we put the poster in. He's been asking me the names of all the countries. He is a super memorizer so I wouldn't be surprised if he learns a lot of them.

I love the colors.

And I didn't even notice until later that the state names of the US are hidden there!

I have absolutely no place for this poster in my home. After we look at it for a few days I guess it will go back to storage for some fun room in the next house!

Day 17: a big flower.

2011-08-31T00:25:00.002-04:00

Well, I didn't get to do plan A for today's accomplishment, but luckily I had made this flower while playing with the kids this morning. I even finished the back! Usually I get lazy towards the end of projects and finish them up sloppily. Not when I'm THRIVING!

Since the flower wasn't made 100 percent for the challenge, I just climbed up a ladder and cleaned all the dust off of the ceiling fan in my bedroom. All right, that's enough thriving for today.

Note: here's a tutorial for this kind of flower.

Sunday after church.

2011-08-30T14:31:00.000-04:00

Lunch on the deck.
When I got him after his Primary class at church, his tie was like this. He can't stand to have it up around his neck!

Here's the child who never eats any lunch. He's pretending to buzz his hair instead.

These two have been playing together soooo much better. They used to fight all the time or just do their own thing, but for the past two or three days I have been amazed at them doing puzzles and things TOGETHER. I hope it keeps up!

Working on that bush again. With something he apparently stole from the grill?

Practicing a Montessori lesson. Just kidding; I only wish I was that organized to be doing things like that. We just happened to have a pitcher and cups outside.

"Huhhh?"

Faye is full-on crawling now. I thought I only made calm babies who didn't crawl until 8 or 9 months and didn't walk until after a year. This girl is different! And crazy!

Speaking of crazy, you should see her in the bath. She bounces, splashes, stands up, dives in, crawls around, etc. It's quite an experience, and I have to be right there wrestling with her the whole time.

Big brother can handle her for a minute at least!

Sometimes I give the boys shaving cream to play with in the bath. They usually paint the tub and the wall, but I suggested they try painting themselves this time.

It was a nice Sunday!

Day 16: painting!

2011-08-29T22:14:00.001-04:00

Finally! I have been meaning to do this for months. A while ago I got reallllly tired of my "gallery wall" that I had put up when we first moved here. So I took it all down. And then I was left with a wall full of big chunks of paint and wall that had come off with those lovely 3M picture hanger things. It really wasn't hard to fix; I just had to motivate myself to go get the paint color matched, caulk the holes, etc. So today I took most everything down off the walls in my living room and caulked and painted away.

I will admit, after looking at my bare walls I have spent hours today dreaming up new ways to decorate. I have to keep repeating to myself, "you are moving in less than a year. You are moving in less than a year." My taste in design has changed a lot since first putting this house together, and how I would love to start over! But I will try to enjoy the simpleness of blank walls for now.

Lovely self timer shot before I attacked the wall. I've got to move fast when I get a few minutes without kids!

Day 15: the Flip.

2011-08-28T23:37:00.001-04:00

A while ago we got one of those cute little video cameras. As of yesterday it was completely full of videos and I had no idea how to get them on the computer or do anything with them. So, today became the day to learn how to make movies with the Flip software. (I think I am going to be one of those old people who is really slow about learning technology. I don't like to use Rick's iTouch thing because it confuses me, and although I'd like a fancy iPhone or something I'm a little afraid to learn to use one. My kids are going to have some good laughs at me when they are teenagers.)

I need to do "interviews" like this more often with the kids. This is from about 3 months ago, and Everett has already grown up a lot since then!

Day 14: headbands.

2011-08-27T23:48:00.000-04:00

Lots of babysitting today, which was a great way to make a Saturday nice and busy. My Carson took a late nap and then stayed up late with me tonight. It was kind of nice having him by me doing his workbooks while I tidied up and cleaned.

My "extra" today is making headbands. I wanted to make some comfortable stretchy ones. I didn't have any great material for those, but then I hit the jackpot: my huge pile of clothes to donate to Goodwill! I started cutting up some shirts and tried to make up my own headbands out of what I had.

Now I remember that the bottom headband is made out of the shirt I wore on the day that baby Carson was blessed.

And here is a headband FAIL! I don't know why I thought this would be cute. I obviously took it apart and made it into the one you see at the top. We let Faye wear it around for a while so we could get some good laughs though. (Also notice me in the mirror getting Faye to smile.)

Day 13: magazines.

2011-08-27T00:01:00.001-04:00

Losing steam a little over here. For today's extra I just cleaned out all the magazines out of my little corner office. Carson had to look through them, and Faye had to chew them up a bit before I either recycled them or boxed them up and put them in the attic.

This afternoon we made little "kites" and tried to fly them outside. When Carson would feel a little bit of wind, he would freak out and grab his kite to try to get it up there. Later I caught him in his room with the fan on trying to use that. Poor kid; I didn't really know how to make a kite so it's just paper!

The boys are wearing borrowed shirts and no pants from getting soaked playing at a friends' house this morning. They have an awesome creek in their backyard, and we had so much fun playing in it!

Day 12: the budget.

2011-08-25T23:29:00.000-04:00

We've never been great at doing our budget. I pay the bills, watch our bank account balance and sort of monitor what goes in and out, but we don't sit down each month and plan out a strict budget. We usually use the excuse that we live pretty frugally, so doing a budget wouldn't really change how or what we spend. Well, the real reason is probably laziness! So, today I did a little work on that. I'm using mint.com, which is awesome! I spent a lot of time looking up accounts, figuring out forgotten usernames and passwords, etc. So, I'm not totally finished here and this might be my accomplishment another day as well.

Day 11: Loose change.

2011-08-24T21:57:00.000-04:00

Today's "extra" was really fun. The boys and I went around the house and collected any and all loose change. (We really only had to look in a couple of jars and my diaper bag. This also prompted a spontaneous cleaning out of my diaper bag, which could be its own major accomplishment!) They lugged the bags of coins into the Food Lion and had great fun dumping them into the CoinStar machine. Then they each got a dollar and could pick out a treat. Mom got the other 47 dollars; isn't that fair?

Tissue, anyone?


Boo-yeah!

With the goods. They're still young enough that I can totally guide their "choice" of what to get!

And this is what dinner looks like when dad's out of town. Lovely, isn't it?

Day 10: a bowtie.

2011-08-23T23:42:00.001-04:00

After a frustrating time with the sewing machine (why can't we ever get along??), I have one little bow tie for today's accomplishment. Modeled by Peanut, our pet horse.

Also, found spray paint on sale!