thanksbirthday

Addie is 1! She is fun. She's full of life and noise and excitement. She's tiny and cute and just a little crazy. We like her a lot.

She shared her birthday with Thanksgiving this year. What a perfect way to celebrate. She had pumpkin pie instead of cake of course.

I made the turkey and green bean casserole this year. I LOVE green bean casserole. I should make it more than once a year... maybe I will. I went to Vons this morning because I needed a few last minute items. I may just do my Thanksgiving shopping on Thanksgiving morning from now on. There was no one there!

I've never cooked a turkey before so I went with the easier, cheaper option, a turkey breast in the crock pot:

$11 for the 6 lb breast plus cranberry sauce, onion soup mix, OJ and voila. 

I got the recipe here.

Everyone loved it. That's what I'm doing from now on. So easy.

And we had a marvelous Thanksgiving for the first time in 3 years. Last year we brought Addie home from the hospital on Thanksgiving which was nice but super quiet (mom had the girls) and the year before that, Dan's mom passed away so we haven't actually been able to attend our family's Thanksgiving celebration for a while. It's my favorite holiday. It's just fun. It helps that I love my family. And they love my kids which makes me love them even more. 

Wendy definitely has a knack for the hostess thing. Check it out!

Yeah, pretty lovely.

Some of us partied a little too hard...

quotes

Winter: (at 7:00PM inside the house) Mom, how you get that umbrella? I need it for shade. I'm really hot.

Winter: My mom said I don't have to share today. (reported by her Preschool teacher Ms. Tracy)

Winter: Mom, why do you have make-up all the time? 
Me: Because I want to be pretty like you.
Winter: You have to be little like me if you wanna be pretty.

Winter: Pirates booty?! That's so silly! Pirate's booty booty booty!
Me: Booty is another word for treasure. So pirate's booty is pirate's treasure.
Mya: Yeah, it's like Spanish or something.

Mya: I miss Angela (my niece)
Me: Yeah I know sweetie, we'll have to go to Texas one of these days to visit her.
Mya: I don't want to go to Texas. They speak Spanish.

Me: (looking at a magazine at Vons) Wow, Beyonce doesn't even look black anymore! 

My friend Kady: Ummm that's Shakira Amie. 

I say dumb stuff like that all the time. I should start keeping track of it =)

thankful

It's so easy to get caught up in what I'm not thankful for. It's not a conscious thing, but unfortunately, it's where my mind goes a lot of the time. It's actually work to stop and think about the things I'm thankful for. 

I encourage you to do the same, especially if you're going through a rough time right now. We can all name a ton of things if we think about it.

So just days away from Thanksgiving, and Adelyn's 1st birthday, here are just a few things I'm thankful for today. I am really SO blessed, it's ridiculous. I could name a million things but I only have nap time so here goes:

1. My Dan. We thank God every day for each other. How did I end up with someone so compatible and perfect for me? And we are able to be honest with each other and trust each other. And he loves me like A TON. There are millions of people trying to find their match out there and I got mine. I'm a super lucky girl.

2. Our children. Our beautiful, smart, healthy children. I am thankful for the ability to have children. I know so many who have struggled to get pregnant.  Couples have spent their life savings trying to conceive. It is truly a blessing and a miracle to have 3 and one on the way.

3. My relationship with my mom and siblings. We are so lucky to have each other. We actually enjoy spending time together. I am fully aware that not all families are like mine and I am really thankful to have them. 

4. Dan's job that provides well. We have a nice home and relatively new cars that don't give us trouble. I remember taking my car to the mechanic weekly in my 20's and wishing for a new car. It is such a giant headache having a car that's not dependable and a house that needs constant attention. And my husband's job also allows me to stay home with my kids, something I never even considered an option growing up. I figured I would have to work like my mom did. But I don't and I am thankful for that. I get to witness each milestone and moment because I am here with my girls.

5. A dozen babysitters that go to my church. It may sound silly to be thankful for babysitters but it is so nice to know that these young women are women of God and I know their moms and most of their stories. We trust them with our kids and that's huge. It is a necessity for Dan and I to get out and spend time together. It is one of the things that keeps us going I think.

6. A church family literally down the street. How did we wind up living here in this community (my next reason to be thankful) a mile from the wonderful church we have the privilege of going to? Some of the members have to commute a half hour or so. Some people have moved out of state and are still looking for a church like COD and have made peace with the fact that it is one of a kind. What a blessing. 

7. My WONDERFUL neighborhood. It feels weird to call them neighbors because they are so much more. They are some of our best friends. I could go on and on about the many awesome families that live just a few feet from our family. They are there for us and we are there for them. I let my kids run free and don't worry too much. It's kind of like a gated community so there isn't too much traffic coming in and out. Just the people who live here. My bible study meets just 5 houses down. So nice. 

8. Mya's school. She goes to a public school but her teacher and principal and most of the teachers working there are all Christians and just wonderful ladies. I love it there and hope to send all of my kids there. 

9. I live in Los Angeles CA. I used to want to leave but not anymore. Do you know how many people are dying to live here? Some are in other countries and wish to one day make it over here. Some are in other states and can't afford it. But we live here. I was born here. We may complain about LA but I know I am lucky to live here. The weather is wonderful and we have beaches, mountains, deserts and lakes within hours. And there is SO much to do. I really can't think of a better place to live. 

10. And because we live in the US, we are free to worship God wherever and whenever we please. There are people dying because they have openly admitted to being a Christian...DYING. It's actually happening out there. I don't know if I would have the courage to die for my faith. I have a family...my girls, my husband, my mom and siblings. I can't imagine having to make that choice. Thank the Lord I don't have to.

11. I am thankful for life. There are so many people battling cancer and other deadly diseases. Not just people that have lived their lives but young people too. I was just reading a final blog post from a young mom in England who died of cancer recently. She begged other moms to cherish their little ones and be thankful that we are able to see them grow up because it's not guaranteed. Life is not guaranteed. It may be negative to think that way but it makes me stop and say a prayer of thanks that I have the gift of watching my little ladies grow.

Nap time's over so I'm going to stop here. Thank you Father for your many blessings here on Earth. But thank you most of all for your son who died so that we could live with you in heaven one day. 

mess

Addie has become a little smarter than I have given her credit for. She pulled my diaper station off of the couch and opened the corn starch and the wipes and had a blast...all in about 2.5 minutes. When I yelled, "Oh my gosh!" she jumped because I scared the crap out of her and she knew she was busted. Then she shrieked in excitement and clapped her hands. I laughed then took pictures.

table

Mya fell asleep on the coffee table last night. 

It reminded me of a pic taken of baby Adelyn (by the fabulous Lindsay Willmer). Same table. Must be more comfortable than it looks...

adventures in groceryland

When I started this blog, I had no idea I would have so much to write about. But when you have kids, everything changes. A routine trip to the grocery store, browsing the isles, checking out the good deals becomes a few minutes in hell when you have children with you. I always think every time I go with the girls is going to be different for some reason. Maybe I forget the last trip or it's just positive thinking.

Today at home was one of my not so good days. I must have yelled (loud and angry outbursts) 20 times. On a normal day I yell maybe 5 or 6 times. I guess that's how I gauge my days? I decided to take Winter and the baby with me to Ralph's. We never go to Ralph's so I thought it would be a nice little outing for her. And when we walked in she said, "Mommy it's SO PRETTY in here! 

Every time we go to the store, I ask Winter, "What's the rule?" And she responds "Don't touch ANYTHING!" And I say "right." Yet when we get in the store, she touches EVERYTHING. She picks up at least 5 stuffed animals, a few dolls, some toys and some odd food items with cartoon characters on them. She even puts random stuff in my basket. It's not even fun stuff like candy or juice. She throws in things like sour cream, pasta, soup...whatever she thinks she can get away with in that moment. As soon as I turn my back on the cart, she tosses in another surprise. I'm usually pretty distracted with the baby, trying to keep her happy with snacks.

It's so embarrassing having to give the check out clerk a bunch of items I decided I didn't want at the last minute. I'm like "haha sorry my daughter put this in." I wonder if other people's children do this... I thought I caught everything today but when I got home I found an onion and a can of cheddar cheese soup. Ugh, no idea what to do with the soup. Maybe I'll donate it to those food drives happening this time of year.

Mya didn't go with me this time. She is equally as bad. She wants to steer the cart, put everything in the basket, take everything out, including the eggs, and put it on the moving counter. She's very bossy and throws a fit when I take over her responsibilities.

But Addie is by far the worst one I've ever had to take to the grocery store. She is not allowed up in the front of the cart where the babies sit. She somehow twists around with the seat belt on and stands up and starts dancing. After a couple of comments from worried employees at Target and Vons, I decided that she goes in the back where she can be free to bounce around without any danger of falling out. I just have to keep the eggs and my purse up front with me. 

You see what I mean?! Grocery shopping! This is what it has become. My neighbor friends and I like to text each other when we are going to the store to see if the others need anything because sometimes you would rather go without bread and milk than take these crazy little monkeys to the dreaded grocery store. 

17 weeks

It occurred to me this morning that I don't think I have any pregnant pics of me with Adelyn in my belly. How sad :( 

So since I showered and put makeup on this morning for my Dr. Apt., I figured now would be a good time for a 17 week shot. Here she is. We will find out for sure in January that it is indeed another wag woman.

And yes I made the bed for the pic. I mean, I always make my bed as soon as I wake up in the morning.

craft time

It's that time of year again. The annual craft boutique for Growing Up Mom happened last Sunday and I had so much fun making stuff. I made soap this year. It was quite freeing. You can put literally anything in it and make it your own. I didn't get too crazy since this was my first time but I did use a few of my Bath 'n' Body fragrances I had. And I still have a whole bottle of CK1. These are the flavors I made: Sweet Pea (Bath 'n' Body), Citrus Jasmine (CK1), Oatmeal Honey, Chamomile, Apple Blossom (B&B's Endless Love), Aloe, Candy Cane and Barbie Shoes (it is exactly what it sounds like, soap with Barbie shoes in it). 

I used a small sour cream container. Worked perfectly. I used the following blog here for instructions. Each soap costs about $1.50 to make. I sold them for $4 so it was worth it. I got the glycerin cubes at Michael's. I'm excited to make some more for Christmas gifts. I think my favorites are Oatmeal Honey & Chamomile. (Ugh, I just realized I misspelled chamomile on the tag)  All the soaps were made with things I already had like fake flowers, perfumes, oatmeal, etc.

I made some other "crafts" from things I already had in my gift box. I filled a couple of cups with some drink mixes and made some cheesy bracelets with the beads in my craft box. Someone actually bought all of them for $2 a piece! 

Oh and my mom was getting rid of this really nice ceramic pitcher from Starbucks so I decided to decorate it for the craft fair as well. (Be still comes from Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God")

And I made some bath paints out of baby shampoo, cornstarch and food coloring. I cut up a clear egg carton and put some cellophane around it with a paint brush and sold them for $4. Didn't get a pic but they looked pretty cute. I also made some of these tasty things.

I was kind of bummed they all sold. I guess I'll just have to make more for Christmas! You can get the recipe here. And who knew my pumpkin bread would do so well. I didn't really make it. Trader Joe's did... I just added eggs and stuff.

This year's craft boutique (and bake sale) was a success. We made over $1000. Go GUM! 

what a turkey

Wednesday we went to Winter's preschool's turkey day celebration. Each class sings a couple of songs then we eat a thanksgiving meal together. It's nice. It's nicer when your kid actually stands with their class and participates. 

This is Winter's class. Where's Winter?

She's here next to Daddy with his arms folded across his chest, totally annoyed. This is the first time he was able to make it and she's not even in it.

They started early for some reason and lots of kids were not able to be in it. So after we ate, they decided to do an encore. After getting some food in her belly Winter decided she wanted to sing with her class. It may or may not have had to do with the pumpkin pie I bribed her with. I told her it was only for the kids who sang. Hey, it worked. 

hair

One fun thing about having girls is the fun you get to have with hair. 

Crazy hair nightat AWANA's. 

And Winter cut bangs! I'm actually shocked it took nearly 4 years for her to figure out that she could cut her hair with scissors. I expected more of that sneaky thing. She actually did a really impressive job. What do ya think? We were like, wow, looks nice actually... I think we'll leave it that way. Of course she was punished and banned from using scissors at home for one year.

Baptism

Dan was baptized Sunday!

by our good friend and pastor Dave. He's a hugger. So is Dan =)

We had a ton of people come out to show their support. It was a lovely day. 

Winter is such a frustrating picture taker. At least she's in it...

nausea

This past 10 days, we've been sick with the stomach flu and my sister Scarleth came to visit from Honduras (awesome timing) so I've been a little busy to post. 

If you get grossed out easily you may just want to skip this one...

People usually don't talk about this stuff because it's pretty gross. They just say, we had the stomach flu last week and everyone sympathetically says, "Oooooh so sorry for ya. That's the pits." And that's kind of where it ends. Well, if you ever wondered if other people with small children somehow avoided the grossness that comes along with the flu, the answer is no. We sure didn't. This week, I wished for teenagers. At least they can get up and go to the toilet when they're sick. Kids kind of panic and freeze. 

Winter got sick in the middle of the night last week. Dan and I have never really dealt with this kind of thing so we just kind of looked at the mess and shrugged our shoulders. 

Me: What is that?! Is Winter throwing up?
Dan: I don't know! (runs into the girls' bedroom) Ugh gross, uckckck!
Dan: What do I do with it? (vomit covered blanket and sheets) 
Me: I don't know throw it in the washer?
Dan: All of it?
Me: shrugged my shoulders

As he went to throw it all in, somehow he spilled like a gallon of vomit all down the side of the washer and on the floor. 

So after we cleaned Winter and the side of the washer and the floor, washed the pukey blankets etc. there was a bunch of clean puke in the washer. Like a lot. I was hoping it would magically disintegrate and go down the drain but nope. So I decided to vacuum it up. Brilliant right? I know. Then I washed the stuff again, and one more time for good measure. Done.

After a week Dan and I thought we were pretty lucky that no one but Winter got sick. Then a few days ago the baby puked in the car, then Mya followed suit that night. She puked in her sleep and it was all over her face. Nice. Scarleth was sick too but with some kind of bad cold, not the stomach flu.

Mya's so funny. She is such a questioner. She was asking questions while she was puking like, why am I blahh! When am I blahh! I don't want to blahh! Hmm look at that. We expected to be up all night with Mya like we were with Winter but Mya only puked once during the night. She did however keep us informed every hour to tell us she had to pee, her stomach felt better, she didn't want to sleep because she was scared she would throw up again. Then she wanted her vomit covered blanket. Then she wanted a hug. So, yeah we were up all night.

Dan and I have yet to get it but that means nothing. I'll keep you posted. I used to love fall...

And don't worry, I don't have pictures of the grossness but I do have pics of Mya's fabulous hair done by Auntie Scarleth:

We did manage to do some shopping, bike riding at the beach and went out for sushi so the week wasn't a total wash. It's been nice hanging with my sis and catching up too. And it's been so nice to have an extra set of hands to help out with the kids.

love my fiery one

Last week, after picking Winter up from preschool, she got in the car, pulled down her pants and underwear and went to sit down in her car seat. I yell/laughed at her, "What are you doing?!" I think she was in potty mode?

She laughed and said, "hehe wups, silly me." We laughed for like 5 minutes back and forth. 

I feel like I don't write enough good things about Winter. I just want to clarify that obviously I love her. She is not an easy child but that has nothing to do with the amount of love that I have for her. I'm not sure why God paired Winter and me. Maybe he felt I needed a challenge? 

It's like when I used to run hills during hell week getting ready for Volleyball season. Those hills were not fun. But I felt so much more accomplished and prepared after running up and down them as apposed to just running on flat ground. That really wouldn't have made me feel like I was doing anything at all. Don't get me wrong, after a bunch of hills, that flat ground looked mighty inviting but I still really appreciated working hard and seeing the result; endurance and strength. 

Winter is giving me endurance. She's also a lot of fun. She's the reason I started this blog after all. She was two and oh so draining so I just had to start writing about it. For me on a day to day basis it was hard, but in writing it became amusing and funny. 

I'm hoping she will appreciate these stories later and not read them and think, All mom did was complain about me... 

Well future Winter, you tell me you love me about 20 times a day and I just want you to know that Mommy loves you SOOOOO much, right now just the way you are at 3 years old. (almost 4) You are perfectly feisty and fun. Your dad and I thank God every day for you. 

Big hug and kiss! 

-Your Mommy

TOO LOUD!

Okay I mentioned this before but I feel that I need to devote an entire post to this. Addie is LOUD. Brain-rattling loud. We don't really allow yelling or screaming at home...or in the car. I just can't deal with it. Sometimes I feel a little guilty depriving them of having fun and being kids but I worry that I may flip out if the noise continues. It's really them I'm protecting, not my ears.

Well look out ears, hear comes Addie, haha get it? Man! Okay, before you listen to this video, turn the speaker all the way up and put it right next to your ear and you may begin to understand what I'm talking about.

I'm hoping this is just a phase. I don't know if I could handle years of this. I'm starting to wish for poor hearing. I just may get it if she keeps yelling in my ear! I've seriously considered wearing earplugs to take the edge off.

She yells when she's happy, sad, hungry, excited... it doesn't end. She yells all day. She's a baby so there's not much I can do besides say, "Addie, seriously, you've gotta stop. Mommy can't think."

Praying for patience...