whirlwind

{Shooting a wedding with my brother Trevor on his 30th birthday last week!}

Remember a couple weeks ago when I said I was going to catch up here? Haha, what a liar.

That truly was my intention.

I guess I caught up a teeny bit {if you missed this entry about going to the dentist, please do read it for a good laugh}, but OH MY have I been busy! I think about blogging everyday while zipping from one thing to the next, and then I feel so overwhelmed with all the things I need to write about on here that I don't even know where to start! Do you ever feel like that?

Between Olivia getting into things and destroying my house 24/7, changing two kids' diapers, keeping food in the fridge for all these kids who are out of school for summer, laundry, "what's for dinner?", emptying the dishwasher for 3 times a day, picking up gifts for the baby showers and birthday parties, lots of photography shoots to go to and edit, trying to be a fun mom and do things before school starts again, swim lessons, family parties, and trying to find a replacement belt for the vacuum since one of the kids completely burned it up....I barely sit down these days! And that's just the beginning of my to do list. I always thought when I was a kid that moms had all the time in the world. Boy was I wrong! Anyone who thinks that is totally ignorant to the serious craziness that comes with motherhood.

I'm honestly not complaining. Just explaining. I love my life despite the insanity and high-speed pace. I want and need to make the time to record all the little things as they are passing me by so quickly! I can't believe Will is almost one and I can't believe how funny Olivia is.

So hopefully you'll hear from me here again soon. That's the plan anyway.

:)

spaghetti a la olivia

The evidence.

Here's what we had for dinner tonight :)

I hope you like it as much as we did. The house still smells like cinnamon and oregano, an interesting combination.

Spaghetti a la Olivia

Ingredients:

1 pot of really good spaghetti, waiting on the stove for everyone to eat

1 two-year-old, unsupervised

one entire bottle of dried oregano

one entire bottle of cinnamon sugar

one entire bottle of almond extract

one large bottle of vanilla extract

{optional...we almost had it in ours, but decided it wasn't a very good idea}

Let the unsupervised two-year-old climb up onto the counter and find the pot of spaghetti on the stove while dad is babysitting for five minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Find something else for dinner.

little miss minty mouth

Oh hi, baby. Your breath smells extra good today! Where did you get the gum? From Olivia, you say? Wow, that was really nice of her to share with you.

that's what i call a great afternoon

Last Friday, the kids were at school and the babies took a nap at the same time {YES!}. Add Cadbury Mini Eggs, some fun fabric and plans for new projects, a movie that I love, and that's what I call a great afternoon.

:)

if i had a dime for every one of these...

and every one of these,

and every one of these,

{Yes, that's exactly what you think it is. NOT in the toilet, but on the bathroom counter. Thank you, Olivia.}

I'd be rich!

If you're not totally offended by this post, read on! If you are offended, my apologies for such trashiness.

Olivia has sort of been in potty training mode on her own. I am totally not ready to commit to potty training her right now, and probably won't be until I'm done nursing the baby. C'mon! One thing at a time, please! If she tells me she wants to go, then I'll take her, but I'm not pushing it by any means.

One day in January I left to run some errands while Olivia was {supposedly} napping. Clayton and the kids were outside shoveling and playing in the snow. Luckily Hannah happened to come back inside because Olivia was wandering around the house with no diaper on and a poopy butt. Great. She had climbed out of her crib and pulled off her diaper and left her room, completely unsupervised and completely disgusting.

Then one day after I got out of the shower I opened my bedroom door and there she was, no diaper and a poop skid down her leg. "Where is your diaper?!??"

Her response was, "I wipe my bum on the carpet."

LOTS of carpet cleaner.

Another time she ran to go poop on the potty. I told her to tell me when she was done, and I left the bathroom for about 20 seconds. "I done!" she yelled. I came back, only to find her squatting on the bathroom counter. And yes, she was done, just in the wrong place.

There goes all the Lysol.

Somehow, she and Will tend to simultaneously poop. I can see it coming by the look on Olivia's face, while Will is laying there tooting up a storm.

They wear the same size diaper now so that simplifies it a little bit, I guess.

Flushing the empty toilet.

cozy kitchen day

Out of the last 9 school days, 8 of them I've had at least one sick child at home. I don't know what this flu bug is, but it has hit Ben, Hannah and Nina each twice in the last week and a half. Headache, stomach ache, cough, fever, and fatigue. They just lay on the couch all day with rosy cheeks and sleep. All the neighbor kids have had the same symptoms, so it's just going around I guess. Poor little Will has a really stuffy nose and a icky cough. Olivia, Clay and I haven't had it {knock on wood!}, but I'm so ready for everyone to be healthy again. I feel like if we could only get some sunshine and warmth, we would all feel so good!

At least the birds are back. That's always a sign that spring is right around the corner. We have had flocks of birds all over our back lawn, and swooping from roof to roof the last couple days. They always come back by March. One bird was singing and checking on the nest that's been on one of our outdoor speakers for the last five years. Maybe she's moving back in?

Today was gray with rain that turned to snow in the afternoon. Nina was sacked out on the couch and Will was sniffling through his tiny clogged nose, so clearly I wasn't going anywhere. I feel so bad for all these sick little kids, but I have to admit, I actually like it sometimes when I have the excuse to not go anywhere. I decided to spend some time in the kitchen in an effort to make a seemingly cold and dreary day into something cozy. I started out by getting a soup simmering on the stove for dinner, even though it was only noon. Clayton came up for a little break from work, "What's that awesome smell?" Then since the babies were sleeping too, I made myself a spinach salad and spread a couple pieces of flatbread with butter and orange marmalade from IKEA {my favorite}. I actually sat down to eat for once!

Baking is a sure way to warm up a snowy day, and I was in the baking mood. I found some big cans of pumpkin in my pantry. Usually pumpkin only sounds good to me in the fall, but Chocolate Chip Pumpkin bread was sounding pretty good today. Halfway through mixing it together, I found that Clayton had hard-boiled all but 2 of the eggs that were left in the fridge {again!}. Grrr...I needed 4 eggs!

Lucky for me, I have an awesome friend across the street. Even though she wasn't home when I called, she offered her garage code and told me to help myself to eggs in the fridge in her garage. I was so happy I didn't have to go to the store! {Thanks Krystal!}

Candles were lit and we all enjoyed some warm food tonight while watching the snow come down.

:)

Here is the link to the Herbed White Bean and Sausage Soup recipe. I don't use dried beans when I make this. I use four cans of white beans instead {drained and rinsed}. Sometimes I add a little pasta to the soup too, and serve it with parmesan cheese grated on top.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

3 1/2 c. flour

3 c. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. allspice {or cloves}

2 tsp. cinnamon

4 eggs

2/3 c. water

1 c. canola oil

16 oz. canned pumpkin

1 c. chocolate chips

Stir all ingredients together, except the chocolate chips. When everything is combined, add the chocolate chips and mix well. Bake in 2 greased bread pans at 350 degrees for approx. 50-55 minutes, or until set in center.

the apple orchard and other stories

This past Friday while the kids were off track, I promised to take them to pick apples at the orchard, and miraculously we made it out the door that day before noon. Yay! The orchard was pretty picked over, but they still had fun running through the trees and smacking apples down with sticks.

Like I said, the kids were all off track so it was all 5 of them with me...I was a little nervous about going to Costco afterward, but we were so close it didn't make any sense to drive home and back again. So, to Costco we went. The kids were so excited, it was funny! They hadn't been to Costco for years because I always go while they are in school. They skipped from sample to sample, which was great because then I didn't need to worry about feeding them lunch! Then, we were so close to Target, I decided to get them some new pants for the colder weather too. Wow! I can't believe we did it all in one day. I really was kind of proud of myself for getting all that done with all 5 kids, haha! Thank goodness the kids were good and the baby slept through it all. So that was the good part of my weekend...

That night I was so tired I was determined to go to bed early for once. Haha, yeah right!

The baby decided to stay up until about 2 am, then Nina was scared and came in at some point, then Olivia woke up crying really early, around 6:45. Thank goodness one of the kids got her up for me. But then around 7:00 Nina had a screaming poop wiping dilemma so I had to get up for that wonderful occasion. I went back to bed, only to be awoken a half hour later by the kids telling me that "Olivia has poop on her hand." UGGGH! Then of course the baby woke up. It's all kind of a blur. At least I think that's how everything went!

cleaning lady

Okay, so I don't have a cleaning lady. I wish I did. But these cleaners are the next best thing. I am going to a "favorite things" bridal shower for my cousin, so my sisters and I thought these would fit the bill perfectly. If you have never tried method cleaning products before, I highly recommend that you do. I actually look forward to using them because they smell so gosh darn great. Wouldn't you rather have your house smell like lavender, cucumber, grapefruit, almond (or any of their other great scents) than ammonia?

Find method cleaners at Target and you'll never go back to the harsh chemicals. Oh, and try their hand soaps while you're at it too. I love 'em!

baby you can drive my car

Grocery shopping with the two littlest...Olivia had never been in a "car cart" before and she had never been so happy! We topped it off with free cookies at the bakery (and a bag of Cadbury mini eggs for me...shhh...).

one day i'll look back and laugh, right?

This is my life in a nutshell the last couple of weeks.

Nina, poor thing, was hit in the night with diarrhea (and actually managed to poop the bed, hence the poopy pink pajamas). The next day I had to take her to the doctor to figure out what the rash was on her face. We have no insurance, so that was a lovely bill to pay after the doctor was with us all of 10 seconds, said it was impetigo, and to "just put Neosporin on it three times a day." Later that same day, while I was taking care of Nina's rash, Olivia emptied the box of cornstarch all over herself and the kitchen floor!

The day before that, Olivia splashed in the toilet, so I put her in the tub. As soon as I got her out she peed all over the carpet. Back into the tub.

A couple days later she pooped in the tub.

All the while I'm sipping ginger ale and eating ginger snaps, trying to relieve the morning sickness that seems to last all afternoon and evening. I've only gone 2 or 3 days without throwing up in the last 2 weeks. Ugh!

And Olivia has a nasty cold and is crying all the time since she is teething.

Phew! I'm not complaining, I mean, this is what I signed up for, right? To be a mom? I just thought I'd share so that you other moms could get a good laugh since we are all in the same boat. And one day we will look back on all this and laugh, right?

On The Road Again

I meant to post this about a month ago, but better late than never, right? I've been getting back into running again. It's so nice to be outside and get the heart rate up! These are my cute little running buddies. Olivia usually falls asleep, and Nina likes to get out of the jogger and do a little running herself. Funny, huh? Even in her Dora nightgown, so sporty. We count animals that we see while we are out...one day we counted 17 horses, , three llamas, three goats, two chickens, one rooster, eight airplanes, and a thousand million potato bugs. "And no pigs," says Nina. I love being able to run now, I always miss it when I'm pregnant.

Why You Shouldn't Leave Your Bike in the Driveway

Wanna severe wedgie?  Take a spin on Hannah's bike that wasn't a banana seat bike, but now it is!  Weeeeee!

Nina Quotes

"I want Huncha Boats for breakfast."  (Honey Bunches of Oats)  While eating her Huncha Boats, she pulled out one of the sliced almonds.  "Do you think this looks like a beaver tooth?"  Why, as a matter of fact, yes!

She also had some advice on what to feed babies:

"Babies like to eat binkies, bottles, and mommies."  (Nursing mommies, that is.)

Barfy Baby

Yes, Olivia spits up a LOT.  My dad said, "I think she's bulimic."  Maybe that's why she's smaller than all my other babies, hmm...

 The other day she had a particularly strong barfy smell from all the curds she had regurgitated, so I gave her a bath.  She was smelling all sweet for about 15 seconds after I bundled her up in the towel.  Then a fountain of puke spouted up and all over her face, AND she peed in the towel.

On A Cold And Frosty Morning

We woke up to ANOTHER snowstorm, the third or fourth this week.  Isn't it spring yet?  The birds are back, big fat robins today.  One sat on a chair at the table in our front yard this morning.  "He's waiting for someone to come have a tea party with him!" Hannah said as we watched him through her bedroom window.  He flew off with his friends before I could get a photo.  

I made Swedish Pancakes for breakfast, which makes the weather feel more cozy than miserable, I think.  (I made the batter last night before I went to bed, otherwise it NEVER would have happened...no matter how hard I try to be, I'm just not a morning person!)  After breakfast, we sent Ben and Hannah running to the bus, and Nina warmed up by sitting on a heat vent.  Clayton headed out to a meeting for work, and I climbed back into bed and cuddled with baby Olivia.  

The day you clean the bathtub...

...somebody will poop in it.

"But it was already there," Nina said.

Right.

Toyland

I just picked up a lovely mixture of Barbies, Sweet Streets, Polly Pockets, Littlest Pet Shop, Disney Fairies, AND all of their accessories off the family room floor.  I'm sure they will all magically reappear by morning, especially with all these sparkly wands lying around.  (I wonder, if one day when the kids are all grown, I will miss all these messes?  Is that possible?)  

A few days ago a Polly Pocket (or a "Pick-a-Pocket" as Nina says) left her shoes next to mine.  I gave them back to her since they didn't fit me very well.

I Made Bread!

Something I've never done before!  I was so excited watching the dough rise, it was like a miracle.  I've been wanting to try this for a while now, and since Clayton was gone tonight at a LAN party (a.k.a. stay up all night playing computer games party) I decided to give it a go.  Something to do, you know?  And it even tastes pretty good too.  Yay!

Olivia's First Ride in the Jogger

This was last week when I decided to start up running again (after who knows how long?).  Olivia couldn't really move in that little snowsuit, but she was cozy so she just fell right to sleep and didn't wake up until we came back home.  Nina was surprisingly not whiny, maybe that's because I gave her a bag of snacks for the ride.  She wanted carrots and sugar snap peas, funny, huh?  She does like vegetables, but she also loves sugar...I guess it must balance out somehow.  The whole time we were gone, Nina kept asking if she could play with her friends when she got home.  She's like a teenager lately, always wanting to be with her friends.

I'm Embarrassing

Ben:  "Mom, don't put chips and salsa in my lunch ever again."

Mom:  "Okay?  Why?"  He loves chips and salsa at home, so I thought he'd like it in his lunch at school.

Ben:  "Because it's embarrassing.  You can put chips, but don't put salsa because everyone kept asking me, 'What is that?' 

Mom:  "So just say, 'Haven't you ever seen salsa before?'"

Ben: "No, just don't put it in my lunch, okay?"

Okay, got it.  I'm assuming this is just the beginning of many years to embarrass my kids!