Thankful #4

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

So very much to be thankful for~

my top 3 today would be:

1. my family~ the entire crazy bunch of them. I feel honored to be a wife and a mother to them

2. multiple hugs and kisses daily from the 6 of them

3. a healthy body

Eric

1. my lovely wife & children

2. my home

3. to be in OMFS residency

Jacob

1. my family

2. the home I get to live in

3. that my mom and dad take us on fun trips

Luke

1. God

2. my mom and dad

3. grandma and grandpa

Ruby

1. YOU mom . . . I love you

2. Claire Bear

3. dogs and kitty's

Anna

1. mom

2. blankie

3. my bed

Claire

1. mom

2. brothers and sisters

3. food

If feels good to know that my family truly appreciates me and is grateful to have me in their lives.

g o b b l e g o b b l e !

Thankful #3

I am thankful for these. Yes, rubbermaid bins that line my garage wall. 53 to be exact. They simplify my life {not Eric's}. He is the one that has to get the very bottom one out for me on a weekly basis. Hands down the best way to organize kids off season clothes, holiday decor, ect. especially when you have absolutely no storage space in your home.

I am thankful for these gorgeous trees that I have been able to enjoy for the past few months and watch change. The leaves have finally fallen but what a vibrant view from my window. I am grateful for my adorable little neighborhood that we live in. It has been the perfect place for us to be while here in Jersey.

Thankful #2

Today I am thankful for. . .

the unconditional love.

friendship.

relationship.

&

spunk.

that these 3 sisters have. What a special and unique bond they share together. I am grateful daily that they have each other.

I pray that throughout their entire life they will stay as close as they are now.

Sisters are the best!

Thankful #1

It's Monday . . . man, where have the weeks been going? I can't believe it is the week of Thanksgiving. What a great time of year. I think Thanksgiving might just be at the top of the list for my favorite holiday.

I love being together with loved ones.

I love to cook. {good thing because it is me, myself, and I cooking this year}

I love to eat yummy food.

I love listening to Christmas music.

I love grabbing those "must haves" on black Friday.

I love having a month totally dedicated to being grateful.

So, this week I am going to make an effort to post daily one of the things I am most grateful for.

Since I recently returned home from an amazing 4 days in AZ with these totally awesome, funny, fabulous, talented, gorgeous, ladies~

TODAY I am so incredibly grateful for my FRIENDS~

{aren't they all so stinkin' cute?}

we craft.

we eat.

we learn.

we do hair and makeup. {some are better than others lol}

we laugh.

we cry.

we scrapbook.

we listen.

we dance.

we teach.

we run. {well some of us}

we shop.

we heart cardigans.

we cook.

we support.

we love orange and teal spray paint.

we know how to have fun.

we are a coterie.

I love you guys to death and am forever grateful for you in my life.

Hanging on

that's right . . .

we are hanging on to the ever so gorgeous weather we have had lately.

any chance to be outside . . . we most likely are.

especially when there are leaves + trampoline involved.

please, oh please, won't you just give us a few more days like this?

I mean just look at those faces~ pure BLISS.

OBX, NC

It seems fitting today for this post that I have been wanting to get done . . .

It has been rainy, gloomy, and cold for the past 3 days . . .

Could really use some sunshine and warmth about now . . .

Looking at these pictures will have to tie me over for a while {I'm afraid a long while} . . .

The Outer Banks, North Carolina.

Best kept secret going in September.

The island to ourselves.

Gorgeous weather.

No traffic.

=FUN.

a few of our highlights:

~nonstop digging in the sand

~dug a hole big enough for the whole fam to stand in

~tired out kids every single night {check out her lips- ginormous}

~truly spent the majority of our time on the beach

~boogie boarding. Luke really got into it this trip. He tried so hard and finally mastered it after many, many, waves crashing on him and lots of tears.

~writing love notes in the wet sand

~spent a day on the 4X4 beach. You can only access this with a 4 wheel drive. It is a really awesome beach. It is where the wild horses roam. We saw quite a few this year which was really fun. Jacob also found his collection of sea shells on this stretch of beach. They really were cool looking.

~had to get in our yearly crabbing. This year we caught a lot. Jacob was in charge this year and new exactly what to do. We finally figured out our last day there that crabs LOVE chicken legs- that is the secret to catching those suckers.

~a new hobby for Eric . . . salt water fishing. It was fun for all even if only ONE fish was caught. The best time to go is sunrise or at dusk. The tide was high and a little wild which made it difficult to keep the line out. Yes, the one and only fish was used for bait (poor thing). And yes, Uncle Neil (Eric's little bro.) got to come with us this year which was such a treat. We all loved having him around.

~a little kite flying

~walking crab races in the swim pool

~E sporting some hot sun glasses (mine) AND the red swim suit again (he did purchase a new suit the last day- promise Jen)

~oh for the love of the Sand Dunes. Nothing beats getting sand in every nook and cranny. Imagine what our car looked like after a few hours at the Dunes.

~love this picture. I think it is a new fav. everyone is just doing their own thing (except I wish Claire Bear was in it).

~Claire was too busy experiencing sand, salt water, and mud for the first time. She completely was entertained for most of the week just messing around in it- oh, and eating it too.

~One of the best parts about being away in the Outer Banks was having Eric all to ourselves. There is nothing better than to be together with my family with no other interruptions. It truly was a vacation full of sun, water, sand & complete relaxation.

Until next year OBX. Love that place. We have one more year we get to go until we leave the East Coast. Would LOVE some company next September. . . any takers??

BOO

Alright, let's begin with the costumes . . . I so wanted to go with the Wizard of Oz theme with ALL five. After mentioning it to the boys back in September, they thought I was the dumbest mom EVER!! Huh???? "You mean you don't want to be the Tin Man Jacob and have duct tape all over you? And the Scarecrow costume will be totally cool Luke~ I promise!" Well, after getting the eye from Eric a few times about letting the kids be what THEY want to be and have fun with it, I finally let it go. My hopes were gone. I was OK with it. At least these three agreed to my fantastic idea~

The week was extremely eventful and was sure glad to have Saturday finally come so I could just hang out with my family and enjoy the day together. It was warm and rainy but we had a great night. We were in and done with the whole Trick or Treating jive by 5:45. Yup, that early. Kids started around our neighborhood at 4pm so we decided to go and be done. After our traditional dinner of hotdog mummies and a new hit which was dinner in a pumpkin, we got jammies on, turned the porch light off, hid down in the basement and watched Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaur which by the way is so cute~ loved it. The kids were in bed by 8:30pm and then Eric and I got to hang out and watch our movie. Couldn't have been a more perfect, fun, memorable night. However, the costumes are nicely folded and put away in their place high up on a shelf in the garage until next year~ and I am glad I don't have to think about Halloween for another 365 days. {although I am starting to enjoy it more & more every year}

Because she's EIGHT months.

And I just can't stand it.

This girl melts our hearts. She is so kissable, lovable, squishy, smoochable, and luscious. Just can't get enough of her sweet face.

Claire Bear's loves:

~ mac n' cheese and nilla waffers

~ drinking from a straw

~ aden & anais blankies

~ clapping her hands

~ swinging in the swing

~ getting on all fours . . . rocking back and forth . . . I bet 1 week and she is gone

~ playing with Eric's hair

~ saying ba-ba-ba

~ taking morning walks in the stroller

~ laughing at her siblings

~ playing in the bath

~ her binks- mostly just to chew on and play with

Oh how we all adore you little one.

3 in 3

{Oh how I love those little freckles of his}

My Bugga Boo had an eventful 3 weeks. He lost three teeth in three weeks. They were dropping out like crazy. Well, I must admit that the second one was probably a little forced out. He came home from school one day and told me his tooth was loose. Yeah, Yeah, I knew there were a few in there that were sort of loose. Next thing I know he is in the bathroom tugging, twisting, pulling, yanking, and even had string to tie to the door knob. Oh, if his dad were home he would have been giving him a lecture to just leave that baby alone until it is ready. About thirty minutes later he had it . . . it was OUT ~ only with a little bit of force. Hope there isn't too much damage done to the tissue and underlying structure.

I just love this age where they get to look like the toothless rugrat. It comes with the age doesn't it. Oh man, his tongue was all over the place because it felt so strange to have nothing there. It has been a bit difficult for him to eat lately. No more apples or french bread for you for a while buddy.

Working Wonders

We are so doing THIS.
It's a good thing I live in Jersey because apparently the rest of Utah is doing this too. No warm fuzzies to be found. So far the kids are loving the warm and fuzzy idea. Thanks to the Primary kids who gave them to President Monson. My mom had the idea of trying to get as many as we can in the jar and then for Christmas give it to Jesus. What a great idea. Anything for nice, happy, service-oriented kids around here.

and this

We decieded to call it our rock chart. I know there are no rocks on it. Originally we were going to have rocks but the kids and I decided to be a little more creative. So this is it.

How it works is at the beginning of every week they get ten "rocks" under their name. Then during the week if they do something they know they shouldn't {fight, get out of bed, not mind when I ask the first time, yell back, do anything inappropriate, hit, kick, tantrum} you get the idea, I say "o.k. you just lost a rock" and off it goes. Sometimes I give a warning but usually not. The goal is to keep your rocks under your name. At the end of the week if any of them still have any rocks under their name even if it is one they get to participate in our Friday Night Popcorn Party!! Oh boy, this is a tradition so NO ONE want to miss out on our Friday Night FUN! AND, depending on how many rocks each child still has represents something else {just a few examples}:

1: popcorn party

2-4: bike ride with mom/dad, 1 hour Wii with Dad, Baseball, friend comes over

5-7: Dollar Store run, out for Ice cream or treat

8-9: out to dinner, $5 toy

10: Chuckie Cheese, Bowling, Skating, Movie, Miniature Golf

If one of them does not have any rocks under their name well then they miss out. And they will have to try harder the next week.

What is great about this is I no longer feel like I have to yell~ I just simply say "you just lost a rock." And the key is they CANNOT earn rocks back~ they are expected to be good, respectful, mind, get along you know all of the things we wish our kids did. IT IS A PRIVILEGE to be in our family and do the fun things we do each week.

So, if you would like give it a try, it has been so successful with us so far. In fact, it is time to get a little more strict or we are going to be broke.

Supplies magnet board or fridge anything you would like. Magnets. Glue.

Jacob: Star Wars stickers that I stuck onto some cardstock, placed a page pebble on top, cut out with scissors, glued on a magnet
Luke: same as Jacob just different stickers
Ruby: Flowers & butterflies from Walmart

Anna: Brads that I cut off the back side from Michael's

I added a fun picture of each child instead of just names. I printed a 3x4 picture out and them found some 49 cent clear magnetic frames at Michael's on the counter at checkout . . . SCORE. Love em'.

I wish I could get credit for this idea but my friend got the idea from a Pediatrician who does it with his kids and he said it works great. They are down to starting out with 6 rocks. Hopefully we will get there. For now 10 may not be enough!!

I'm glad you are here. I was feeling grouchy.

It has been a cold, rainy, yucky day ~ I love when photos make me feel happy.

Today's Top Ten

1. had an upset stomach ALL morning long knowing that little Anna was going under general anesthesia to get tubes placed in her ears. Should've known that everything would be ok . . . almost too good . . . she acted like nothing had ever happened an hour later~ honestly that girl is a tough cookie.

2. chatted with a friend for an hour over lunch at my house about depression. She is feeling it right now badly. How do I help her? I will admit I am in a bit of a funk lately probably due to E's schedule this month~ in house call every other night~ ugh!! It gets us all at some point in our life doesn't it?

3. dealt with a phone call from my son's teacher about NOT bringing toys to school. Those little round balls called Bakugon's are the hit right now. He knows better. He has been told. Is it a social acceptance thing? We talked. He listened. He felt bad. Let's see if he obeys.

4. cleaned up spilled rice krispies & milk. a picture of OJ spilled on my floor. a trail of fishies were crunched all over my floor. rice from a heating bag spilled out everywhere for the 4th time because of a hole (can I please find time to sew that up). little girl spit up went all over my couch. picked chewed gum out of a car seat (when will I learn not to give gum out).

5. dragged five kids around to four different stores trying to find a particular item to make a discipline chart. Bribed them like crazy to be good. This is when I miss UT. You can usually find what you need (except warm fuzzies~ LOL). Will have to go to plan B.

6. cereal and milk for dinner? Can't get better than that.

7. dealt with 2 crying boys because I made them go to bed after I had told them they could stay up and help me with a project~ not realizing how late it was. Note to self: never say yes anymore until it happens.

8. got 4 little cutie pies tucked in bed in 10 minutes flat. I have this down to a science. Oh I sure miss when E's not around at nights.

9. enjoyed snuggle time with the last little one on my bed for 20 min. before she got tucked in too. She loves it. I love it. Please don't ever end. The best part of my day today for sure.

10. soaked myself in a book of romance and found myself in another world. Love when I can do that. Doesn't happen too often. Then had to come back to reality gosh darn it.

I know this isn't reality but wish I could be back here. pictures still to come on our trip.

p.s. what is that little girl in the pink doing?

a major addiction

Yep . . . I will be the first to admit that I have a serious addiction. I don't recall any time in my entire life that I really have had any sort of addiction~ chocolate doesn't do it for me, diet coke makes me sick if I drink too much, and certainly blogging doesn't count- right??? I am hear to tell you friends that my addiction is this:

P90X baby!!

It burns . . . It hurts . . . You sweat your guts out . . . It's a commitment~ at least an hour per day 6 days a week {Sunday you choose to rest or stretch} . . . you will never be so sore in your life the first week . . . and the second . . . and maybe the third.

But it ROCKS!!

OK, you know it has to rock if Eric is in bed now by 8:30 pm so he can wake up to his 3:55 am alarm. Yes, 3:55 AM!!! He is crazy, but is just as addicted as I am too.

Just finishing up week 6 and I haven't missed ONE day, except for our trip to OBX~they didn't have the equipment we needed but we ran . . . and we ran hard on that soft, squishy, luscious, sand.

I dare you. I dare you to give it a try and see for yourself. Just google P90X and the beach body site will come up and give you the run down.

It's worth every cent spent.

BRING IT!!

farewell summer~

Luke came home from school today and told me it was the last day of summer- his teacher had taught them at school. With the cool weather setting in, the leaves starting to change color, doors & front porches being plastered with Halloween decor {ugh, too early}, and mums decorating the neighborhood, I couldn't help but believe him. Sure enough~the calendar says so.

Oh summer, how you will be missed.

living in swim suits summer projects (even if your phone ends up in the stain)

traces of Ruby left behind painted little piggies

all you can eat . . . corn on the cob lunches outside~ half eaten always

learning to ride a bike one successful

eating all day long the summer art tray being used more than once a day

cooling off with popcicles oh, and homemade ice cream

begging to go swim togetherness~and their own made up dino game

exploring the outdoors showing off her little figure

sister H's black cat~her best friend she claims mastering the monkey bars

so much wasted paper on these lazy mornings

playing in the rain 4 extra helpers~they did work this summer too

chillin' outside gorgeous Philly summer skies

eating outside most meals pickin', eatin', & jamin'

hanging with cousins 1st swing

So long summer . . . you were wonderful!

back to the banks

Spent the last week in the Outer Banks of North Carolina with my little family.

It was perfect.

Every little bit about it.

We loved being back in the Banks.

Stay tuned . . . more of the Banks to come!