2016 :: week 9

February 21

Will had a bad cough and was unable to go to church Sunday. My mom was kind enough to pick up Lauren on her way to church so at least ONE of the kids could get out of the house.

February 22

On top of missing church, Will missed school Monday and Tuesday. He wasn't that sick. He ran a low grade fever for a few days and was coughing enough during the night that he wasn't getting very good sleep and felt justified in asking for cough drops round the clock. But he felt well enough to want constant entertainment. He put together these 5 puzzles Nana brought him several different times over his 3 "days off." Several kids in his kindergarten class missed school last week with similar symptoms.

February 23

With the weather taking a turn towards spring, the kids and I have been taking more walks in the late afternoon/early evening. We usually walk for 1-2 miles or about half and hour. Lauren looks upset in this picture, but we were actually having a pretty good time. And Elliott was there too, but I  wasn't paying attention to my camera angle and Will's hand is blocking his face. I need to up my selfie game.
 

February 24

Anthony attended the temple with the youth Wednesday night.
 



February 25

If you zoom in closely you can see Will's little head in the corner of the window. He has to wait in the office for me to pick him up from school most days. Lauren gets out of preschool at 11am and half day kindergarten ends at 11:05am. Their schools are about five minutes apart, so if I get stuck behind a bus or hit the lights wrong I don't make it to Will's school until close to 11:10am. I feel bad because often the other half day friends and their mothers visit in front of the school for a bit and Will desperately wants to join them, but can't until I get there. He is a good sport about it though, and is getting to know Miss Connie (the school secretary) well.
 



February 26

It was a long week. All three of the kids were sick at one point. We had church-related commitments every single day. On Friday night I went to a very enjoyable 80th birthday dinner for a sister in our ward. While I was gone Anthony sent me this picture and the accompanying text: "This tycoon took the banks last dollar. The very fabric of reality is ripping. I have been playing a single game for 80 minutes. Someday Wills Wall Street nickname will be 'Prince John.' " I was not sad to have missed out on that game.



February 27

Lauren and Will have enjoyed using the perler beads this week. Saturday Anthony joined in and they worked together to fill in the 29x29 square with 841 beads.

2016 :: week 7

February 7

Elliott and I took a selfie before church. We are on the 11am schedule right now and it has been a nice change of pace. The hardest things is that it throws Elliott's nap schedule off a bit. We'll see how it goes in the next few months as he gets older and more mobile.

February 8

Monday the kindergarteners celebrated the 100th day of school. Anthony and I were both able to help facilitate a one of the "100" activities in his classroom. I love seeing Will in the school element and getting to know the kids in his class. He goes to school with a lot of great kids! Anthony and I were cracking up afterwards--almost every single boy drew a Star Wars related picture.

February 9

I love my mornings with Elliott. After we drop the big kids off at school we have just over two hours to ourselves. On most days we eat breakfast together, then Elliott goes down for his morning nap. Elliott is so cheerful in the mornings (all the time really). I'm grateful for the one on one time we have. He is usually just along for the ride in the afternoons, it is nice to focus on him for a bit.

February 10

We met up with some half day friends at 360 Gymnastics on Wednesday afternoon.



February 11

We've been treated to some gorgeous sunsets lately. My photos never do them justice. I took this Thursday evening as I walked to the school to help with a PTA event. I signed up for a lot of PTA committees last year at kindergarten round-up and they have been keeping me busy!

February 12

Friday night was our ward's annual family dance. As usual we had a great time and danced our hearts out. DJ TJ was dropping beats for the third year in a row. Will and the other primary age kids could have limbo-ed all night long. The cookies and hot chocolate were pretty good too.

February 13

Nana came to town! I bought some discounted tickets to Science City at Costco and we decided to use them while Nana was here. Will is interested in all things science and it was fun to explore the exhibits with a real live scientist. The exhibits are targeted towards elementary school students, so some worked better with our kids than others. This magnetic sand exhibit was a favorite-if I remember correctly we visited it three times.

2016 :: week 8

February 14

Anthony hosted a Bishop's Youth Discussion at our home for the first time. They talked about member missionary work based on the principles in the book The Power of Everyday Missionaries. It went well and he will probably host more in the future. For the past few years our ward has held the BYDs during the third hour at church, so having it at our home was a bit of a change.

February 15

With Nana in town and gorgeous weather we had to visit the KC Zoo. Because of President's Day, Anthony was able to come too. We visited most of the zoo and saw a lot of cool animals. We weren't sure what to expect because even though it was an unseasonably warm day for Kansas, it was still pretty cool for Australian and African animals. Favorites animal sightings from this trip: a roaring tiger, elephants, kangaroos, monkeys, crocodiles, painted dogs, a gorilla and a rhino and of course, the hippos.

February 16

Will and the Throssell twins dug holes in our backyard while Stephanie and I visited Tuesday afternoon. Will loved to dig holes and hunt for worms last year and it seems that love has not ended.

February 17

Peas are my least favorite vegetable, but I don't want to pass my biases on to my children. However, I couldn't help but feel a slight amount of satisfaction when Elliott wasn't terribly impressed with them. He ate the whole container though.

February 18

We fit a lot of things in on Thursday--Elliott's 6 month checkup, a half day friends playdate, a grocery trip, a car wash and the monthly relief society meeting. The big kids were extremely cooperative, which was nice because Anthony was in Texas for 3 days this week. It was a gorgeous day, with the highs reaching the low 70s.

February 19

My long-time friend Carrie and two of her kids came over for lunch Friday and I made this salad. I am currently obsessed with it and have made it 3 times in the past week. It's always fun to visit with Carrie and it is nice that four of our kids match up in age. Will and Josh get along especially well, but it seems like most kindergarten boys (and lots of girls) like to search for worms, play angry birds and fight with light sabers.

February 20

During the day on Saturday I went on a date with Will and a date with Lauren. That night we ventured to the park as a family. Elliott enjoyed swinging and Lauren was very gentle with her pushes. I love the sound of his laugh. It is impossible for me to have any sort of bad feelings when he is laughing. We had a great time at the park swinging, crossing the monkey bars and taking turns on the zip-line. Even mom and dad got in on the zip-line fun.

2016 :: week 6

January 31



Our Stake Conference was this weekend. It was nice to have Anthony sit with us, though we still had to drive separately as Anthony had meetings before and after. Elliott gets more and more wiggly every day, so I set him on the ground for a bit. Lauren joined him down there for awhile too. It was a good meeting and I left feeling motivated to work harder on a few goals I had previously set for myself.

February 1



I like to help out in Will's classroom about once a month if I can make it work. Monday I visited and tested him and his classmates on how many letters of the alphabet they could correctly identify in one minute. It was harder than it sounds because the letters were not in any order, both upper and lower case. I love getting a peek into what Will's "school life" is like. I've been really impressed with the teachers, staff and parents I've met this year and am grateful that he gets to spend his mornings in such a great environment.

 

February 2

I think I am a morning person, even though I struggle to get up and get going. I love the promise of a new day and the all the things I probably won't, but hopefully will accomplish. I was in a really good mood when we walked to school Tuesday morning. The sun was shining, it was fairly warm, we were ahead of schedule, and my kids were laughing and having a fun time together. My heart felt very full as I walked behind my enthusiastic, sweet kids.

February 3

Will goes through phases where he produces a lot of art. Right now he is producing a lot of art. A lot of it is influenced by what he and his friends play at school. He has also produced some Star Wars fanfic, complete with illustrations.

February 4

It was a red-letter sample day at Costco Thursday. The past few times we've paid Costco a visit it has either been after dinner or right after it has opened--NOT great times for the sample-minded patrons.  

February 5

I don't want to jinx things, but we had a great week with Elliott. Two times this week he slept through the night until the six o'clock hour!! Both times I woke up and panicked when I realized the time and that I hadn't heard from him. Friday evening we watched an abbreviated version of Attack of the Clones with the kids. I snuggled with Elliott until well after his bedtime because it was so pleasant holding him I didn't want to stop. I love this little guy.

 

February 6

I ran a lot of errands Saturday, and listened to the book One Summer, by Bill Bryson while I did so. It tells the story of a variety of events that happened in the U.S. during the summer of 1927. Turns out 1927 was a pretty eventful summer--Charles Lindberg successfully flew across the Atlantic, Babe Ruth set the single season home run record and Herbert Hoover organized the relief efforts for millions of people affected by the Mississippi River flood. 

2016 :: week 5

January 24

The kids have been learning the song "Search, Ponder and Pray," in Primary this month. After church they were showing off some of the actions they are using to help them remember the song and recruited Pepaw's help. Lauren is searching, Pepaw is pondering and Will is praying (though it looks more like he is hugging himself).

January 25

We only have one wall left to conquer in our quest to rid the dining room of wall paper! Unexpectedly, Will has been a great helper. He has gotten really into it which has helped me stay motivated. I've enjoyed working on the project with him. It has been especially fun to have a buddy that can share my excitement when one of us peals off an especially large piece of wallpaper.

January 26

We have a standing weekly playdate with the "half day friends" on Tuesdays. These three are the little siblings of the half day friends that regularly get together (plus Elliott, obviously). I'm enjoying watching them become buddies too. At times Lauren can be a little standoffish. They are all the same age and will start kindergarten together in August of 2017.

January 27

We got together with a bunch of friends from church on Wednesday night for a potluck dinner. Between work and church Anthony hasn't been around nearly as much as I assumed he would be after Elliott was born. At this season of our lives his responsibilities require him to spend a fair amount of time away from our family. I'm grateful to have so many good women around me to keep me from feeling lonely. I hesitate to list them because I know I'll leave someone important out, but I am overwhelmed when I think about all the amazing people around me--near and far--that I count on for support. They help me stay sane when I need to vent, commiserate when I'm feeling overwhelmed, and listen when I want to chat. Also, Lojo loves to dress up with her friend Kenni.

January 28

Bedtime is a struggle. Lauren struggles to keep herself from playing with the toys in her room after bedtime. Most nights involve some sort of conflict over the aforementioned toys, noise and struggling to sleep. With Anthony gone most evenings it is sometimes more than I can take. When bedtime rolls around I'm ready to go off the clock! This week I was fed up with it so I had them haphazardly put all the toys that tempt her in the hallway before bed. Obviously this is not a long term solution (we worked on that this weekend) but for a few days it did the trick.

January 29

My new visiting teaching companion is from China. We had her family over for dinner a few weeks ago and I felt a little bit of stress about what to make. We don't do much adventurous eating over here. She was very nice about the food I made and offered to make us some authentic Chinese food. Friday we went to their home for dinner. It was delicious! Anthony and I loved it. Will and Lauren ate it without complaint which is akin to them loving it because tears have been shed by both of them over spaghetti. Thanks, Yujia!

January 30

Will and Lauren have been bitten by the Star Wars bug. We've had these light sabers for almost two years, but recently they've started battling with them regularly.