Friday, December 30, 2011

Five for Friday

1.  On Monday we had a Christmas part 2!  We played Wii games, DSi games, watched movies, stayed in our PJs (at least the kids did!)...pretty much took it easy!  We have spent the rest of the week doing a lot of lounging around and enjoying our break!  Ryan did take the girls to the movie theater to see Tin Tin.

2.  I was finally able to get in this week to get an MRI on my shoulder (I hurt it the end of September and it just isn't getting better...in fact, it's getting worse).  The day after my MRI I had to go back to the doctor to see the results which thankfully were that I don't have to have surgery!  But I do need physcial therapy.  That will be a pain, but it looks like I can get in early in the morning, so it shouldn't disrupt too much of our routine.

3.  We spent one morning finishing the girls' rooms.  We got a dresser in Kessiah's room and moved the trundle that Sienna had been sleeping on under the bunk beds.  Jenessa moved to the top bunk and Sienna now has the bottom bunk...that room seems much bigger now!

4.   Corbin has mastered the art of sitting, I keep waiting for him to start crawling...it won't be long!

5.  On Friday night Ryan and I got to go on our 2nd date this month!  Pretty funny when you consider how rarely we get a babysitter and go out without the kids!  The stake presidency were having dinner together and since Ryan is the stake executive secretary, we were invited!  It was a nice dinner and we played a fun game of "The Newlywed Game"  Book of Mormon style!




Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Family Pictures

We haven't gone and had a family picture for 2 years!  We did it today!  I would have liked a few more shots...but when you're working with this many little ones you have to learn to say we've done enough!










8 months old!






This little guy is 8 months old today.  He is adorable!  He has learned how to get on his hands and knees and rock back and forth...sometime during the past week he has learned how to get on his hands and feet (he looks like he's ready to do a push-up!)  It won't be long before he is crawling around!

He is also an expert raspberry blower...I, however, do NOT appreciate this talent when he is eating!  There was one day recently when he ended up with peas all over his face because he kept blowing while I was trying to feed him!

Unfortunately, he still refuses to sleep through the night...which is making me tired!  I'm hoping he figures it out soon!!


Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas Day 2011



Christmas was on a Sunday this year and we have 8:00 church...we were a little worried about how that was going to work out...but it went fine.  We told the kids they could get up at 6:30 (they used my cell phone to set an alarm!), they had time to look at Santa stuff before we needed to get ready for church.  We only had sacrament meeting today, then we came home, took a few pictures, got back in our pajamas (because it's our tradition to spend Christmas Day in our pajamas!) and enjoyed the rest of our day!

We weren't sure how the day was going to go...with it being Sunday...because there are certain things that we don't do on Sunday...like play the Wii or DSi games, watch T.V. or movies (except for "Sunday" movies), etc.  But the kids never even asked to do those things (even though there were some new Wii games and DSi games and movies)...I was really proud of them.  They kept busy with other gifts including a big cardboard house, new board games, science kits, art kits and we watched the Ten Commandments (one of spiritual gifts from Ryan)  It was a nice day...it made me wish that every Christmas was on a Sunday!












Saturday, December 24, 2011

Christmas Eve 2011

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

We did our annual acting out of the Nativity.  I have been buying some material remnants lately at Joann's...so this year we had more than bathrobes, towels and sheets to dress up in...it was nice! 

As usual, the "wise men" brought pajamas for everyone!  The kids looked so cute and cuddly!






Friday, December 23, 2011

Five for Friday

1.  On my first day of Christmas Break I cleaned my bedroom (it REALLY needed it...amazing how long it takes with 6 kids!), put up hooks in the kids bathroom for their towels (hopefully, that helps!), and wrapped the Myrrh presents.

2.  On my second day of Christmas Break I focused my cleaning/decluttering attention on the front room.  I also helped Sienna and Logan make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and assisted Kessiah and Jenessa while they each made a treat (hopefully, we'll get those to their Primary teachers tomorrow!)  The kids got their sibling presents wrapped and Mason's therapist came to play!

3.  On my third day of Christmas Break we did our regular library trip (unfortunately, our piano teacher called this morning to tell us she had fractured her ankle and was at the doctor and wouldn't be back in time for lessons!)  My cleaning/decluttering focus was the family room which drifted a bit into the game room since I was cleaning out the toy basket in the family room.  I helped Kessiah finish her cookie dough truffles and my visiting teachers came for a visit.

4.  On my fourth day of Christmas Break Jenessa and Sienna each invited a friend over for a few hours (they happen to be sisters so that makes it easier!).  I was cleaning/decluttering the kitchen and Ryan was out doing the last of our Christmas shopping.  That evening we went to tithing settlement and then delivered some goodies to the kids' Primary teachers.

5.  On my fifth day of Christmas Break we did some furniture rearranging!  The daybed is now in the game room which is now mostly Kessiah's room and one of our big cubbies got moved from the game room to the boy's room (which I wasn't thrilled about having toys in their bedroom...I have been fighting this idea for a year!)  Of course, this process including getting rid of a bunch of stuff that was in the game room.

I really could use another week of Christmas Break to continue cleaning and decluttering but next week I need to focus on getting some things ready for next semester!  It has been great to have some time to do what has been done this week!





Sunday, December 18, 2011

Thanksgiving in December!

We went to Utah for Thanksgiving this year, but several people in our family wanted to do our own Thanksgiving dinner at home!  So we finally got around to it today (I didn't mean to do it so close to Christmas, but that is just how it worked out!)

Friday, December 16, 2011

Five for Friday

1.  We started out the week by making our gingerbread houses for Family Home Evening...we do this every year although it is usually earlier in the month!  This year I bought a kit that had 5 small houses...so every child except Corbin got to make their very own!  Mason just tore his apart and tried to eat all the candy and icing he could...but the rest of the kids had fun with it! 

2.  After a break for several weeks from speech therapy (because his therapist moved), Mason started back up this week with someone new.  

3.  I really thought that I would be ok decorating the whole Christmas tree this year...but I was wrong!  I keep finding ornaments in strange places...even the garage!  So, many ornaments are making their way to the top of the tree and for another year our tree has lots of ornaments on the top and the bottom is rather sparse!

4.  We had a surgery follow-up appointment for Mason in Mesa on Friday.  He did NOT want to go in the office and screamed for 10 minutes once we got in.  Thanks to his outburst though, they got us in pretty quickly and the appointment only took a few minutes.  

5.  While we were "down south" we went to the Arizona Science Center.  We spent several hours exploring the four levels.  During the morning there were some school groups there that made some areas a little crowded but after lunch we practically had the whole place to ourselves so we revisited a few favorite areas or some places that were too crowded in the morning.  It was a fun day!

Friday, December 9, 2011

Five for Friday

1.  Our big event this week was Mason's eye surgery.  We went to Phoenix on Monday evening and I was at the hospital with him at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning.  The procedure went well, we have a follow up appointment in a week down in Mesa.  The reason for the surgery?  His right eye wasn't tracking correctly.  The doctor cut a muscle in his eye to (hopefully) correct the problem.  The doctor commented that the muscle was about twice the size that it should have been...so the problem was definitely not going to just go away on it's own! Mason went into the surgery well...thanks to some medication they gave him to help him relax and give him amnesia!  But he woke up in an awful mood!  I was warned that could happen!  He finally calmed down on the way to the hotel.

2.  Corbin slept HORRIBLY in the hotel!  I seriously got 2 hours of sleep that night!  If we have to repeat that surgery (or for anything else) in the near future...one of us will have to go down alone!  He has continued to not sleep well since we got back...which makes for one tired mommy sometimes!

3.  On Friday we finally got our Christmas tree decorated!  It has been a crazy month for us with sick people, snow and the surgery...we just weren't able to do it before now!  We also got the Christmas village set up and Ryan got the outside lights up.  It's beginning to feel like Christmas.

4.  I love the Friend magazine that the church puts out.  Every December they have some kind of a count down to Christmas Advent Activity Calendar.  We are using the one from this year as well as a previous one...and the kids got a Christmas chain with an activity to do each day before Christmas...so we are having fun counting down!

5.  We enjoyed the ward party on Friday evening.  Good food, good company!  The Primary children put on a nativity and Jenessa got to be Mary (her name was drawn out of a hat...because of course, everyone wanted that role!)  Kessiah and Jenessa were able to go to Sis Ipson's house last week and help her with the costumes.





Friday, December 2, 2011

Five for Friday

1.  We started out the week on Sunday with Jenessa, Sienna, Logan, Mason and Corbin all sick with a stomach bug...well, on Monday me and Kessiah ended up with it while everyone else was feeling better!  Jenessa was such a good little nurse and substitute mother while I was laying around all day!

2.  On Wednesday (which happened to also be Kessiah's birthday), the BYU  basketball team was in Prescott Valley playing NAU...Ryan took the girls, he met some friends of his from BYU at a restaurant before the game and they all went to the game together (read between the lines!...they had a nice dinner and I had leftover mac & cheese with Logan and Mason!...ok...not complaining...just sayin')  It was kind of cute before they left, Jenessa was telling me that she felt bad that I couldn't go to many things because I had to stay home with the little ones.  It is true that I would get out more if I didn't have my little guys...but it is worth it!  They will grow up soon enough!

3.  Thursday was just one of those days when I couldn't keep up, felt very overwhelmed and basically wondered how I was supposed to manage this life I have been blessed with!   I decided I really just have to be more organized and then have the self-discipline to stick to the plan!   Ummm....I'm looking forward to Christmas break when I have some time to contemplate some changes I need to make!

4.  My shoulder has been bothering me since the end of September.  I hurt it while trying to get the car seat out of the Suburban and I slipped and pulled it...it has bothering me ever since.  I went to the doctor on Friday, thankfully, he doesn't think I've torn anything...just lots of inflammation.  So, we'll see how the next 6 weeks go...if it's still bothering me then he'll order an MRI.

5.  On Friday evening I enjoyed an evening out with my wonderful husband (a rare occurrence in my life!)  We went to a Mannheim Steamroller concert...wonderful music!  Kessiah reminds me that next year when she turns 12 we can go on more frequent dates!