Halloween

It is a very sad time when you get older and realize you are too big to dress up and go trick-or-treating or run into the living room to see what Santa brought you. At some point you just outgrow it all. Then you have kids. And it starts all over. It is so fun to experience it all again through them. They are getting old enough to really enjoy it too. 

This year Dan asked if we could just wear some of the costumes we already had instead of buying $30 new ones (times two) at Target since we already have a "dress up bin." I gave it a try, expecting some whining and sad girls but they both were excited to go pick out their favorite princess dress every time there was another reason to dress up for Halloween. We did several trick-or-treat type things. There was Trunk-or-treat at church then school parties then downtown Glendora after school then actual trick-or-treating around the neighborhood tonight. It was great! We didn't even have to buy candy this year. We just recycled ;)

Winter: Mommy where are we going?

Me: Downtown Glendora to get candy!

Winter: Yay! I love Dora!

She does love Dora. 

I love that other people are taking pictures of my kids for me. I get pictures from Winter's teacher almost daily.

And a friend who stayed for the festivities at Mya's school sent these to me today. They have a costume parade followed by a party. Sounds like the perfect day to me!

I stayed home with the baby while she ate cheerios and bananas. 

Then we dressed her up in her first Halloween outfit. This is a momentous occasion in more ways than one. It is the first time she's worn something in her hair long enough to take a picture AND she's wearing fancy socks. Found those in an old diaper bag yesterday. I should clean out my bags more often.

This is why people reproduce I think. OMG. Seriously. Who wouldn't want one of these?

I am what I am

I've come to realize something recently. I'm just not that mom that dresses her little girls in cute outfits with matching shoes and socks and hair done perfectly in braids and bows. It is amazing just how many of those moms are out there. And I'm not knocking it. I wish I was like that. I wish I had that extra little motivation in the morning to brush my girls' hair and find matching purple socks to go with the purple bow. But I am usually really proud of myself if MY hair is done.

My mother-in-law used to subtly ask if I had any ribbons for Mya's hair. "Wouldn't that look so pretty?" She would say. Poor thing. She had no idea who she was talking to. I would say something like, "I didn't know ribbons went in hair."

Mya has been dressing herself since she was 18 months old and around the same age, she started dressing Winter too. And why not? She was like her live baby doll. She's also in charge of picking out clothes for Addie most of the time. Sometimes I just throw on whatever is lying around; usually out of the diaper bag. 

I don't do french braids. I braid Winter's hair about once a month while she's eating breakfast and that's only to keep the hair that falls in her face from getting maple syrup or apple sauce on it. I rarely brush the girls' hair. Mya's is perfect. Always. No brushing needed. And Winter's is usually too tangled to brush and she freaks out when you try to brush it. Hence the short hair cuts. 

I do bathe them so they are clean. And their clothes are clean. I rarely let them wear an outfit twice, especially Winter. She has a talent for getting anything dirty in 5 seconds or less.

I see these little cute babies in the nursery with socks AND shoes AND hair bands around their heads. How in the world?! Last Sunday it took me forever to find a onesie without stains on it AND pants that matched. (Usually Addie sports something like a flower patterned shirt and leopard print pants around the house) When we got to church I had to clean her feet because although she is bathed regularly my floor is not and she gets super dirty crawling all over the place. Oh and add some dog hair and you have a pretty impressive sight. I've learned to change her just as we are headed out the door so she doesn't look too ragamuffinish amongst the cute little babies with the socks and shoes and bows. 

Addie has never worn shoes...or socks for that matter. What's the point? She would definitely take them off. She takes out anything I put in her hair as well. Rubber bands last a few minutes but they come out pretty quickly too so her hair is usually in her eyes. 

Even if I had that stuff for the baby and she didn't remove it in a minute, I doubt it would be where it was supposed to be. The girls would use the socks and shoes on their baby dolls and the hair bows that we do have are all over the house on various pieces of art work, stuffed animals and in bowls of make believe "soup." 

There are moms at preschool that do their daughter's hair really cute on a DAILY basis. We're talking french braids, hair spray and bows that match their dress AND sparkly shoes that aren't scuffed up. We don't have shoes that look new. Even our new shoes don't look new. Actually, I take that back. Every once in a while we come across a new looking shoe. But that's only because we've lost the match and haven't been able to wear them. 

It's good that my girls are cute because it distracts from the fact that they are usually wearing a hand me down dress held together with a safety pin and faded very used pink crocs. 

For years now, I've thought, one of these years, I'm going to start dressing my girls super cute. I'm going to do their hair and they are going to wear dresses that match their shoes and they are going to look like pretty little princesses just like their friends. 

OR I can just accept the fact that I have never been a pretty little princess so why would I be that way with my girls? I refused to wear dresses as a little girl. I hated them. How can you cartwheel or climb a tree in a dress? It made no sense. Dresses were for moms.

(me age 8ish)

It was just not in me. I didn't start wearing make-up until I was in college and have never really put more than about 15 minutes into my appearance. A lot of that is just deciding what to wear. I buy my make-up and clothes at Target while grocery shopping. All my purses, shoes and jewelry used to be my sister's at one point. 

(me age 16ish. anti-princess)

This is me at 24.

And that is what I've looked like since. Jeans. T-shirt. Converse. Ponytail. Although since I started having babies and my size changes like every day, I've discovered that maxi skirts and dresses are really the way to go. They grow with you! But as soon as I'm back to normal, jeans, t-shirts, converse, ponytail it is.

I have a feeling that my girls are not going to be like their mom in this department. They both LOVE dressing up fancy. Winter plays soccer in a sundress and cleats for crying out loud. And I've found them both on multiple occasions putting my make up on...correctly!

But until they are old enough to put the effort in, they are going to look a little more "natural" than their peers. And I'm totally okay with that. They don't care. Why should I?

Why didn't God give me boys?

11 months

Addie is SO fun these days. She is just packed with personality. She grunts and barks and yells. She is by far the loudest baby we have had so far. Sometimes it drives me crazy but most of the time it is amusing. Winter's always yelling, "I can't hear! The baby is too loud!" haha. She is loud. She's also starting to play with her sisters a lot. They all had a tea party the other day at breakfast. It made me melt just a little bit thinking about the future tea parties in their 20's and 30's. What lovely times they'll have... anyway, I'm just loving this stage if I haven't already mentioned that. 

And I love that when she's tired she just lays her head down wherever she's at... on the hardwood floor, on the kitchen rug or the table...

And one of my fav pics. She and Twitch are kicking back on a lazy afternoon. She's havin' a nice warm bottle o' milk with her foot up in the air.

interpreter

One of the funniest things about Winter is that when she's really upset and crying and is trying to explain why she is crying, it sounds like she's speaking Dutch. She's hard to understand when she's not crying so it's pretty impossible to decipher the words coming out when she's really upset. I keep meaning to get it on video so I can share it with you but I never know when it's coming... One of these days I'll get it. 

The other day, Winter came in from outside and was crying and explained what happened and Mya and I looked at her intensely trying to understand her but I couldn't make out one word. At the end of her 2 minute explanation, Mya said, "She said Daddy made her come home but she wanted to stay at the Andersons'... That's all I got."

I'm glad someone speaks Winter.

spoooooky

A few nights ago as we were cleaning up downstairs, I heard the garage door open... all by itself. And Dan was at work. And the only neighbor that knew the code was out of town. So yeah, I freaked the freak out for a few minutes. Mya started laughing. I didn't really think about it because she gets pretty loopy at night when she's tired. So I slowly walked over to the garage door and opened it, expecting someone I knew to be standing there but there was no one out there. I looked around in the dark and there wasn't anyone outside. I ran back inside and Mya was still laughing and said, "Hahaha I pushed the button but I didn't know it worked!" She found a spare remote in a drawer in the kitchen and pushed the button and opened the garage. Whew! What a relief.  And what a perfect time of year for the garage door to open all by itself with no explanation. 


Well tonight, keeping the Halloween spirit alive, I came home to A BAT in my garage. A BAT. I walked in with the baby on my hip and some bags on my arm and something flew right over my head and I dropped the bags, not the baby, screamed and ran out. Then as I looked from the drive way there was a bat circling in the garage. It wasn't leaving. It just kept circling. I invited the neighbors over to check it out. It's not every day you have a bat in your garage. I figured the garage light would go out and it would leave. And it did. Why is Dan always at work when crazy stuff happens?

winter's list

Winter is just a little stinker. She possesses other nice qualities like being affectionate and hilarious and goofy but right now, she is more of a stinker than anything. Here are some things she did just yesterday:

She emptied her sandy shoes on the floor 2 minutes after I swept. (We have daily conversations about taking them off outside)
She pushed reverse on the fan remote in my bedroom so that all the dust came flying off and into my unmade bed. 
She filled the dogs' drinking bowl with dirt...again.
And lastly, she fell asleep on the couch and peed on it. After she woke up, she ran upstairs and changed into dry clothes. When we found it several hours later, she lied and said it must have been her water that spilled. STINKER!

This pic was taken by her preschool teacher Ms. Tracy who always says that she is great at preschool. I'm not entirely convinced.

Underwood Farms

For years now, my sister and I have been going to this pumpkin festival at Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark and always have the best time. We went before I had kids and painted pumpkins, walked the corn maze, rode the tractor ride and more. It's a little different now but still just as fun. They have tons of stuff for kids like pony rides, a cow train, bales of hay to climb, animals to feed and tons of yummy food. We didn't do the maze this year but it really wouldn't have been fun with kids. I think after a few minutes of being lost in the giant corn stocks, they may have panicked. Maybe we will brave it next year. It took others over 30 minutes to get out. Yeah. It's intense. 

Hangin' in the wagon Auntie Wendy rented... 

 On the cow train! Mya's cow was Mary

 Winter's was T-Bone. She was ecstatic.

Winter's horse's name was Candy. Mya's was Tinkerbell. Winter refused to call them ponies. They were just small horses. Whatever floats your boat sweetie. Not sure why Winter loves this more than anything in the whole world. You wait about 30 minutes in line just to go around in a circle slower than molasses on a smelly mini horse.

 Happy to be hangin' in the wagon with the pumpkins and not in the stroller... 

They found the perfect pumpkin. 

Ah, the tractor ride. Selfies are really the only way to document that I was anywhere these days. 

We always bring Mom to things like this. She's fun to hang out with AND she's a super duper big help with the girls.

The tractor ride is always a gamble. But you have to go because it's the only free thing in the whole place. It goes through a row of sunflowers so there are flowers on each side of the tractor and the bees are darting across in front of your face but they weren't bad this year. The first year I went was the worst year for the tractor ride. The bees were busy and my heart has never beat faster. I was so scared. A little boy about 6 years old asked me if I was okay. What a sweetheart. I survived.

musical chores

I don't know why I stopped listening to music at home. I used to have music playing all the time in my room growing up and into adulthood. Some time after I had kids I stopped putting it on for some reason. I think it just became an afterthought and something I didn't have time for like creating a good playlist and finding the docking station and so on.

But whenever I go to other people's houses and they have music playing, it's just so lovely. It immediately puts me in a good mood. 

I am not a fan of dishes, especially dishes at the end of the day when I'm yawning on the couch and I have to get up and empty the dishwasher then load it then clean all the pots and pans and knives etc. 

What I've been doing lately is waiting until the kids are all in bed then putting on Pandora or a playlist on my phone and doing the beloved chore to my favorite tunes. What a difference. It makes it go by so fast and sometimes I'm even bummed when I'm done because then I have to turn off the music and go upstairs and get in the shower. 

So if there is a chore you hate doing like cleaning the bathroom, folding laundry, making dinner or doing dishes, try doing it to some good music. An even better idea would be to make the best playlist ever and only play it when you're doing that dreaded task. A combo of Taylor, Pink and Katy does the trick for me!

If you need ideas, here's my jogging dishes playlist. =)

1. Roar - Katy Perry

2. Bruises - Train

3. Jump Around - House of Pain

4. Harlem - New Politics

5. Glad You Came - The Wanted

6. Raise Your Glass - Pink

7. Timber - Ke$ha

8. Feel Good - Gorillaz

9. MMMBop - Hanson

10. All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor

11. Shake It Off - Taylor Swift

oh winter

We have soccer on Saturdays. Winter was not fun last game. She threw fits left and right about not wearing her uniform, not wanting to play, wanting a snack before the other kids and on and on. 

Here she is pouting by the goal because I told her she couldn't bring her stuffed doggie on the field with her. Rules are rules.

loving 5

I heard some screaming and crying upstairs while doing dishes the other night so I yelled up to Mya to see what was going on. She came to the stairs crying. 

Me: Mya what's up? 
Mya: I hurt Winter and I said I'm sorry and now I'm crying about it.

I asked Mya to take rubbing alcohol to my neighbor friend around the corner. She needed it to get silly putty out of her carpet. (FYI it worked) It's pretty far for Mya's little legs (about two blocks) but she was super excited about the assignment. She put on her shoes and ran out the door to deliver the goods. She returned about 8 minutes later out of breath. 

Me: Did you give it to her?
Mya: No! I forgot it!
Me: Haha! Did you talk to her?
Mya: Yeah I told her, Hi, I forgot the thing, then I came back to get it. 

I laughed.

I don't know why that was so amusing and cute. Probably because it's something I would do.

We were at my mom's and Mya let out a pretty loud and long fart. She laughed and said, Excuse me! Wow! That was like a huge one! I should say excuse me again. Excuse me! 

She's so delightful. I just love her.

the secret

I've figured out the secret to a happy marriage. I know, I've only been married 6 years and I've already figured it out. Amazing right? Well, let me share what I've discovered. It's not complicated. Here it is:

Put God first, my husband second and my children third. Notice I am not putting myself before anyone here. This is really easy to say and really hard to actually do. In the first couple of years of marriage, I would have said that communication was the most important thing. Although it is important, super important, selflessness is key.

Some people argue that you need to take care of yourself first. This is a popular belief in non-christian circles... and some christian circles come to think of it. But I would like to talk to the spouses of these people and see how happy they really are. 

Think about it. If a husband and wife are putting each other first, that really leaves no room for hurt feelings, miscommunication, jealousy, and all the other arguments that commonly arise between couples. 

If I am putting Dan first, I am keeping the house clean, laundry done and generous with my love if you know what I mean. If he's putting me first, he is helping with the kids and giving me time to myself. If we are thinking about what is important to each other and making it a priority, we are both happy. 

I make it sound like we do this. We don't. But we try. Lately I have been sick with #4 so most of my time is spent doing what is absolutely needed like changing diapers, doing the dishes, and lying on the couch. Dan is left picking up the slack and doing an awesome job. But things are not ideal these days. It's a season.

Most of the time, I think we do pretty well together. But I think we both struggle with putting each other first. We are selfish by nature. It is hard work to practice a selfless kind of marriage but at least I've figured out the secret! We just need to practice...a lot.

I don't ever expect to have a perfect marriage. I know very Godly older couples who still struggle in their marriages but I'm sure they've come a long way from the early days.

There you have it. If you have a spouse, go forth and be selfless. Good luck! Maybe say a prayer first ;)

sometimes

Sometimes my heart is so full of love for my girls it's overwhelming...

And sometimes I contemplate going in my room, locking the door and sneaking out the window with some sheets tied together...

Depends on the day.

vegas babies

Well, since my local Grandma (mom's mom) is no longer with us and I miss her every day, I decided to take a trip Sunday and Monday to see my only surviving grandparent (My Dad's mom) in Las Vegas. Four hours isn't THAT long after all. At least I don't have to take a plane to see her. So, I asked my mom if she was up for it and of course she said yes. So off we went to Sin City. The kids did great. We borrowed a DVD player for the girls and my mom entertained the baby and we were there before we knew it. 

It is a lot different going to Vegas with little ones. There wasn't any gambling, drinking or staying up late. In fact, we were all in bed by 8:30 :) 

We stayed in a lovely little smoke free Best Western off the strip that came with lots of fun things like free coffee and ice water any time of the day AND free breakfast. It was so nice to walk right outside our room and see plenty of tasty treats to choose from. There was even a waffle lady making blueberry waffles upon request. My kind of hotel. 

Anyway, we did a short dip in the pool and spent the afternoon with my grandma Wilda and her husband Bill. He's kind of a grandpa by marriage I guess. Her first husband (my grandpa) passed away years ago. They are in their late 80's so their lives revolve around doctor's appointments and their little dog Buttons. So, they were happy to have an afternoon of excitement. 

Of course they had lots of breakables to be broken. Thank goodness nothing was actually broken. My mom and I had our extra fast and observant mommy and grandma hats on. Not only did they have breakable things, but they were like 100 year-old antique breakable things. 

But we were glad we went and they were glad we came. After hours of darting here and there to prevent broken antiques, Winter getting into pills, the baby from attacking poor little Buttons, exhausted, I finally said, "I think it's time for us to leave you guys." They agreed of course.

party of 6

Before I got married, my dream was to be a stay-at-home mom and have 4 babies just like my mom. Well, the dream didn't look exactly like I thought it would. I don't remember my mom yelling this much and I didn't think I was a lot of work as a child but I was because I was a child. And that is what they are, work. Some fun but mostly work, especially when they are little. 

Well, I could say that my life is a dream come true! Number 4 is on her way! I say her because who am I kidding? We have girls. 

A video of us telling the girls:

I never find a cute way to tell my husband I'm pregnant. It's usually a phone call or a text message with a curse word in there somewhere. This time this is literally what I wrote in my text: "Positivo! Shit! (pardon my french) I'm not ready! I wanna go snowboarding = (" Dan said something like, "Wow, we are so blessed. Supersperm!"

I was just so shocked and bummed that I wouldn't be able to go away for the weekend when Addie turned one. I had it all planned out. We were going to go to Mammoth, sit in a jacuzzi, drink red wine and go snowboarding. None of which I can do now. BUT, after the initial shock of it all, I was truly thankful and kind of excited. 

It has been such a huge blessing to have Mya and Winter so close together (16 mos) They are BFF's and just too adorable. It was hard at first but we say all the time how thankful we are that we had them so close.

Anyway, so I decided that since I never get it together to announce the pregnancy to my husband in a cute way, I would do it on Facebook instead. I came up with the plan to get them all in "Big Sister" shirts and take a picture. It was a great idea in my head. They would all sit together and look at me and I would snap a quick shot and post it. No more than 2 minutes tops right? WRONG. When does anything ever take 2 minutes with kids??? I took over 50 shots. I'm not kidding. It is nearly impossible to get 3 little girls to sit still while displaying all the letters in "Big Sister." Most of them looked like this:

But after some tears, spankings and bribes, I pulled out the big guns and made some really crazy noises and managed to get them all to do what I needed.

Looks so easy doesn't it. I don't recommend it. But I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I'm framing this puppy. I worked hard to get it.

(We are due April 27. This will be our final child, even if it's a girl. Addie and 4th baby will be 17 months apart exactly.)

thanks

I've been blessed with a healthy amount of self esteem. I don't think I'm like wow beautiful but I'm comfortable in my own skin. And I think I look pretty good... with clothes on ;) But if my head were ever getting a little too big, the kids around me would definitely put me in my place. Things I've heard this week:

You look tired when you wear your hair like that. -Rylie, 8 

Mommy, you have chubby thighs. You know, like wobbly. -Mya, 5

Awe kids. They're so cute aren't they?

10 months

Nothing too special about 10 months. We've discovered our tongue...

Oh and I was at Mari's and mentioned that this was Addie's first hair-do. She reminded me to snap a pic of this first. Thanks Mari!