Where's the Baby?

It's time to play "GUESS WHEN JULES WILL APPEAR". I'm sure that any of you moms know exactly what I mean when I say the last few weeks of pregnancy are "lovely". We are so excited for her to come but who knows when that will be so in the mean time let's play a little game. So to play all you have to do is leave a comment with your guess on when she will make her grand entrance. My due date is JANUARY 7th and that doesn't leave a lot of time so post a comment as soon as you can. All of the prizes are things that help make the cold winter more bearable so take your pick and post which one you would like along with your comment.

Here they are:

What is better than curling up with a good book and a nice soft blanket. This blanket includes some yummy treats for you to munch on while you read. You'll have to find a book you like yourself though.

I LOVE it when my house smells good. There is something about candles that makes me happy. This is Salt City's German Streusel Cake candle. YUMMY!!

Like I said before, I like stuff that smells good and Bath and Body Works has A LOT of stuff that smells good. Take your pick between their fabulous body cream or their Wallflowers scented oil. It makes me happy just thinking about it!!


The winter is a great time to relish in a bath when the kids are in bed and it's all quiet. But a new bath towel and some nice bubble bath makes the experience even better



And lastly, I hate going out in the cold without a hat and gloves. I can never find them though or their never exactly the ones I want. If you feel this way too pick these and I'll get the kind that you want.

Have fun with this and hopefully all you who want to will get a chance to guess before she gets here. Happy Guessing!!

SNOW!!!!

It took a long time for the snow to come this year and when it came it DIDN'T STOP!!! The kids have been having a BLAST playing in it though. I have a lot of mixed feelings about the snow. I love it for the memories I have a playing with my brothers and sisters in it when I was a kid. If it snowed a week before Christmas and then went AWAY a week after I would be happy. But I actually think that I wouldn't mind moving to a place that gets very little of the stuff when Josh is finished with school. At least my kids are making HAPPY memories of their own with it right now. I baby sit a little boy and when we went out the other day he and Emma discovered ICICLES together. They cleared the snow off the picnic table for a place to examine them. It was fun to watch their EXCITEMENT over it.

Isaac loves snow!!! Loves to EAT snow that is. He likes it so much that he will even try to eat it off peoples shoes when they come in from outside. Can I say DISGUSTING!!! Unfortunately he has rubbed off on his brother. I have caught Jaxson doing it a few times as well. YUCK.
It's a darn good thing he's so cute, and that he has a good immune system or we might have problems.

My Wreath

I found this idea for a wreath on this awesome website called Piccadilly Peddlers. Well I actually found it through Tip Junkie but it had a link to this website and I fell in love. I had to make it. I didn't do the same colors that she did on her wreath but I actually like the way it turned out a little bit better. It is actually extremely easy and fairly inexpensive to make. I found a fabric bundle of Christmas fabric on sale at Joann's and then I added a few more colors that I had lying around and this is what I came up with. The wreath actually only cost about ten dollars to make but for those of you who sew and have scraps that will work already it will only cost you about 4.00 for the grapevine wreath.

I'll show you what I did but if you want more detailed instructions go to this website for them. I took my measuring cups (1, 1/2, & 1/4 cups) and traced all different sizes of circles on the fabric. The most time consuming part of the project is actually cutting out the circles but if you have a night that all your shows are on TV you could get most of it done while you watch. It also helps if you iron your fabric before you cut the circles out.

If your a scrapbooker like I used to be you'll probably have some ordinary old brads lying around. Layer the circles from largest to smallest and then stick a brad through the middle. You don't have to fold the brad down because when you have all your circles done you put a big glop of hot glue on the back of the brad and then stick it in the wreath. Cover the wreath with the circles, tie a ribbon around it and there you go. I was a little worried about whether the ribbon would match or not but I actually really like it. It was a fun project to make. What are your holiday projects this year? Do share. I need more ideas even if I don't get them made this year.

There are some things that kids like that I just don't understand. Like drinking the bathwater. That's just gross. Or sticking their hands in the toilet. Yuck. Or trying to get out the front door EVERY time it's opened even if there is six inches of snow outside that hasn't been shoveled and they have bare feet and no coat. One that my boys like is being sprayed in the face with water. You may think that we're mean parents but my boys kept asking for more. Does that look like the face of a kid who is not enjoying himself?


I also don't understand why it has taken my kids almost a year to really get into a gift that they got for Christmas last year. Jaxson got a tool set last year and they have played with it off and on but it hasn't been until this last week or two that they have really taken more than a few minutes to play with it. I don't get it but at least they're having fun now.
Josh got those goggles from a chemistry class that he took at BYU-I and the kids love to play with them. If only they were magic goggles that every time they put them on they were suddenly obedient!! If that were the case I'd make sure that at least one of them had them on all the time.

I get such a kick out of watching the expressions on Isaac's face. I love it.

My baby turned two on the twenty-third of October!! I can't believe that he's two already!! He is such a joy to have in our house but he sure gives us a run for our money!!! Between pulling him off of the counter, off the oven or the dishwasher door, out of the toilet or the bathroom sink, off of the window sills, off of his dresser, or off the TV stand, he keeps us pretty busy. He is such a sweet fun kid though. He is always happy and consequently I'm always laughing at the things he's doing. I'm so glad that Heavenly Father blessed us with this little boy because he is a very important part of our family. He actually opened his own gifts this year instead of me doing it for him. He had a lot of fun with that and his new toys.

Josh did most of the decorations on his cake this year. I love that he was a part of something that I normally do. I think he did a great job!!
Who needs to take just one bite when you can have the whole cake!!!

Emma is Six!!!

Yes this should have been blogged forever ago but I guess it's better late than never right. Emma turned six on October first and I can't believe that she's grown so much. She is such an energetic wonderful girl and I'm grateful she's my daughter. There have been many times that I don't think I could handle having the boys so close in age without her help. I have been thinking this week about her life and what she was like when she was little and how much she's grown since then and I thank Heavenly Father that He sent her to me. She is truly a blessing and I love her.She is a fantastic big sister and her brothers just LOVE playing with her!!
We had a family birthday party for her on her birthday and then her party with her friends a week or two later. We gave her our gifts at the family party and she even got to go to the store a pick out a cake. I'm such a pushover. I should have just had her get cupcakes because I was going to make her a cake at her friend birthday party but she got one for both.

I think she enjoyed the gifts that she got this year. Now if we can only teach her to be thankful for them and say thank you without us telling her too. She is getting better at that though.
It was a really good cake but I think I ended up throwing away half of it. It was just too big.

THE FRIEND PARTY: Emma really wanted a "flower" party this year which was a big challenge for me because that theme is hard to do in the fall. We decorated with paper flowers all over the walls and I cut the last of our cosmos and other flowers and put them around the room. It actually turned out pretty cute even though our Halloween decorations were mixed in with the flower decor.
Sadly I didn't get many pictures taken during the party. We played pin the butterfly on the flower, which is why the big flower is on the wall. We also adapted the game musical chairs to musical flowers which turned out fun. I think the kids had fun and it actually turned out better than I thought it would.
I had fun making Emma's cake this year and finally I made a cake that I didn't feel like throwing against the wall in the middle of decorating it. Isaac liked it to and wanted to add a few more candles to liven up the party.
A little note: Emma has decided that she is now old enough to do her own hair. And she does it about half the time now. It's kinda sad that I don't get to do something anymore that I've done her whole life for her. I know she has to grow up sometime but I just don't want to let go of the little things like doing her hair for her. These are pictures of the first time she did her hair by herself.

Shower Notes

Is it a surprise that I'm behind on my blog again?!! Not really. I feel like I'm behind on pretty much everything these days. Some day I'll get my act together. I do want to start blogging more though so to start out a new period of blogging (who knows how long it will last) I wanted to post this because it made me laugh.
Josh and I have some bath crayons in our shower because we think it's fun to leave notes to each other and it seems Emma likes to leave notes for us as well. If you don't understand this cute kindergarten writing it says. "Mom, I want a dog. Signed by Emma." and of course " I love you mom and dad." I love how she is getting old enough to try to express herself through writing but I honestly wonder where the time has gone. All of a sudden she is a six year old with a mind of her own. Actually she has had a mind of her own since she was a toddler but you know what I mean. It makes me realize how precious each moment is with our kids because it doesn't last very long. I hope you are all enjoying your kids!! What a gift they are.

It's that time of year and soccer has started. It's amazing the change in Emma from last season to this one. Last year she would rotate in and then say she was tired and wanted to come out after only being on the field for a minute. This year she gets right in there and plays the whole time. She is really enjoying it and it is really pleasant to spend the evening on the field, assuming the weather is nice.

The boys really enjoy going to watch her. They were a little out of control when we took these pictures but now they sit on the side lines and cheer for Emma. Even Isaac does and it's so cute!!
Is it just my kids or does every kid go through a stage where they can't smile normally for a picture and they wind up looking funny? At least he's cute!!