Our Front Porch Looking In

Two Quick Things

2012-01-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

Last night Saryn decided that she didn't like her name. I said, "Okay... um, what would you like your name to be?" Pause... um, Diana?!? Okay, sure. Normally I would react and tell her how I picked her name special for her and she should like it - or else! But I, for some reason or another, decided to just say, "Okay, you're Diana now". So, three Diana's later.... "Mom, I just want to be Saryn, OKAY?" Done! Simple, effective and done! Glad that turned out the way it did - it could've been awkward otherwise.

Jaymeson has started to tell the BEST knock knock joke...

Knock, knock...

Who's there?

Jaymeson!

Jaymeson who?

Jaymeson Corbay (supposed to be Lervae, but close enough) Cahoon!

We're so proud of our little comedian. Seems like we have another "type A" in our family. Things are as they are, so why mess with it, right? Jaymeson certainly agrees!

Jaymeson's Tubes

2012-01-24T11:20:00.002-07:00

Not too much to tell with this story. Jaymeson just has a few speech delays and LOTS of ear infections. He hears just fine, but the pressure in his ears are off... so we got Ear Tubes put in. In this case, I think a picture truly says a thousand words, so I'll try to not to make it two thousand. Here goes:

He was up at 5:30 to get there in time, but he was excited about it all.

He waited patiently for about an hour in his surgical clothes, playing with the toys provided.

He thought it was really funny to have the cream on his hands. It tickled... Most kids don't get this special treatment, but he had to have an IV instead of just gas to knock him out. (Malignant Hypothermia in the family). The nurses were so good with him though. They'd check his Blood Pressure by "Measuring his Muscles" etc. You could tell they were trained with kids.

If it wasn't for this "Magical Light", he would've been far more grumpy. Especially after.

You can probably tell that this is an "after" picture. He was so loopy when they gave him the sedative, and then with the IV, he was so silly (and moody like a roller coaster) when he woke up. He would cry because he wanted to have the IV off, and then he wanted one in the other hand. He wanted the light on his finger, then he wanted it off. It was somewhat infuriating, but he pulled through.

He was also VERY okay with having a Popsicle. You can see his pink lips here.

His mask was no longer hooked up, but he thought it felt funny. It sure calmed him down during this "post-op" time. I was actually called into the room where they wake up because he woke up screaming because he was so freaked out. Usually they wait until they've woken up and calmed down to bring them to a Mom, but they brought me to him to calm him down. Pretty good sign that he wasn't overly rational.

At the end though, he thought he was pretty awesome in his wheelchair. Thank heaven for Tylenol!!

Can't go wrong with a Fish Tank with all the 'Finding Nemo' characters in it either... Thank you Alberta Children's Hospital! It was a great stay! His speech has improved drastically. People understand him and everything!!

A GIRLS PARTY!

2012-01-24T10:39:00.002-07:00

In November, the girls were all itching for a good party (as I'm not a HUGE birthday party mom - at all (this will be well noted in a soon to follow blog about Kaia's birthday party). So I told them that if they planned it out and they did their own invitations, we could do one in early December. There has never been such a discussed topic amongst the girls. They would stay up at night coming up with ideas, all through dinner was games ideas and activities. They had decorating themes, they had elaborate games and ideas. We had HUGE lists of activities to do, so we narrowed it down. We planned, we bought the supplies, we invited the girls and their moms and then waited anxiously for the day to arrive.

December 3rd couldn't have come fast enough for them. We had so much fun. A couple of the girls had to cancel last minute, but we had a blast regardless. (A couple of the husbands had to go to a Priesthood Leadership Training, so we ended up with a few brothers too...)

We gathered a lot of ingredients and made our very own Chocolate Trains. The girls had so much fun and were so artistic. I was so proud of them!

We also played a blindfolded game where you make your very own "Knight in Shining Armor" with the guidance of a friend. The kids had some interesting Knights by the end, but they had fun making them!

We also had some nail painting while the other groups made their knights.

We also took turns trying to turn a frog into a prince. I guess we'll just have to wait until we're a little older to make it happen, but Kienna got him on the lips, so I guess she's the most likely *gasp*.

Well, that is our Girls Party in a Nut Shell. We had a lot of fun planning it and getting it going, but we had even more fun letting the girls play and just visiting with the Moms too!

Here it is... my ketchup post

2012-01-23T14:18:00.001-07:00

You'd think that writing "ketchup" instead of "catch up" would be because of some great pun: some ridiculous ketchup fiasco or some burger type post. Well, I guess I can say that you'll at least be surprised. I guess I'm like my Dad and I can crack myself up over a good pun (or even a not so good pun). Regardless... *ahem*. Here are some randoms of things that go around in our house (randoms would exclude things like Christmas, New Years, Surgery and others) so that you can "ketchup" with our lives.

The boys have loved this toy that Aunty Lella gave Benson for Christmas. Benson has even learned how to make his own towers to knock down after knocking down so many that Jay or the Girls have built for him.

Jaymeson has fallen in love with Marble Works. This has been over the past year, really, but he has collected his own now and he will drag anyone into playing them with him so he can have the best tower ever. This one was my personal favorite as it has two different paths that cross over each other. I was kinda proud of it, so I took a picture (I'm so vain).

Benson and Macy have been having their personalities develop. We find this to be good and bad. This would be on one of those bad times. They both really wanted those blocks. They sure loved knocking them over and off of the table though. They're so much fun to watch. It's as close as I'll ever have to having twins and it can be mighty fun. (Plus I don't have to do the night times with twins).

Jaymeson had graduated from diapers for a time (and will return to underwear shortly - PLEASE?!?), so we made a car out of his cardboard box. It included a key to put in the ignition, a specialized license plate - the works!! Although his face isn't overly convincing that he has LOVED this car to death, you can get an idea of how well used it was by this one: (please note the addition of the racing stripes and the duct tape on the steering wheel - which is a total upgrade!)

Kaia played the violin in Sacrament Meeting on Christmas Day. She played Silent Night and she did a FABULOUS job. She really practiced hard... as seen by this shot on my birthday! *Thus the ribbons in the hair*

We also went to see the nativity at Heritage Park. They do a great job of that every year. It was especially fun to see an old friend in it! My kids were really taken with the sheep at the end.

Well, that catches us up for now (minus some big things that deserve their own post). I hope to catch up with the big stuff soon and stop having to sift through the littler events in our lives... you know, like Hayley getting braces :)

Music Surrounds Me

2012-01-18T15:23:00.001-07:00

Ever since I was young, I've loved music. I inherited my Dad's passion for moving lyrics. I got my moms ear for tuning and expression. I have sung in many chorus' ranging from Star Singers and the Sunshine Generation when I was little to the World Recognized Calgary Girls Choir. I started at the piano when I was four and went down a long road of lessons, practices and exams. I studied with brilliant teachers, Music Theory, History and Harmony and I've received Honours with Distinction on many of those exams. I really started to love the performance of music when I started to accompany people (especially my husband)! I fell in love with his voice the first time I heard it, and after a matter of days, I knew enough of him that I loved him too. But the truth is, I first noticed his incredible singing voice. It makes me beyond happy! Through our dating life, we spent so much time (when we were in the same country) at the piano, singing duets and just goofing around with music (dancing, singing and playing on instruments). But my biggest dream has always been to be a Mom. ALWAYS. But I wanted to be a Mom who passed on my love for music... and secretly, very secretly, I wanted to have my very own string quartet. And guess what? My dream has begun.

I swore I wouldn't push my kids upon any one instrument, but they would play an instrument of their choice. Kaia started it - and once my dream began, I couldn't step back. She wanted to play the violin!! It was a slow start because we had to find the teacher that would work - and it was through multiple moves as well, but we're here and settled and she is doing fabulously!

Kienna came next and I showed her a selection of instruments. Pianos, violins, violas, cellos, harps, trumpets, you name it. We talked about each of them, and she chose the Cello! I felt elated. The Cello? I'm half way to my quartet! Kienna has been so excited about having the Cello. It makes her different and it just looks so good on her!

Saryn always would take Kaia's fake violin (which she received from one of her teachers) and play with it for hours. Since she was 2, Saryn has been determined to play the violin. No questions asked. She has picked it up and ran with it. This year she has started, and (although she most DEFINITELY has her frustrated moments) she has progressed at a magnificent speed. She has had her eye on the ball and she is NOT going to drop it.

Jaymeson, too, has watched his big sisters with their instruments and is SO excited to start one for himself. He is still so torn because he wants to play the violin like Kaia and Saryn, but he also loves the guitar and the piano and essentially anything that makes music. Today, his pick was the guitar. I'm kinda secretly hoping to get him onto the viola, so I can have the quartet complete, but it will ultimately be his choice when he starts Kindergarten.

Now Benson (yes, he is only 14 months old) has immediately taken to the piano. I have no idea how or why, but he calms down immediately if there's a couple piano keys to bang on. He has learned to reach beyond his height and gently play on the piano keys. He loves the sound that comes from it and loves to sit on my lap as I play too. Now, same as the others, if he decides he wants to play something else, he's welcome to, but I have a strong feeling that he will be my little pianist.

So there it is. My little musical family. I am so happy with how it is going, and I can't wait for them to progress and get to the point where they can play the gorgeous string music that is out there. Nothing moves me more than music. Nothing gets my emotions stirring, my body moving or my brain thinking like music. When my kids need to get moving we bust out a song about going faster. When we need to be happy, we sing about being happy! When we need to calm down, we sing a calming song. When it's time for bed, we have a lullaby. Everything in our house is done to music! I am surrounded my music and I wouldn't change that for anything!

Hmmm.

2012-01-16T22:19:00.002-07:00

This week has been a crazy one. Started out with Benson throwing up on our dinner guests. They were soon excused to go home when Jarett started pacing the floor because he was soon to follow. Monday, it was Kaia (who was so sweet because she felt so bad that Jarett had to clean it up while I was out on errands, and he was home sick from work). Tuesday, it was Jaymeson. Then on Friday, I got a whole other bug that took me out for the weekend.

We also got back to school this week and started into a schedule again. It feels heavenly to have set times and places to be. Just takes a lot of discipline to get it into gear.

I am doing a challenge with Sachie for the month of January, and we're only having 3 normal sized desserts a week - or it's $50 to the other person. I tell you, it makes you think twice before you put that cookie in your mouth if it's going to cost you $50. So far, I'm down 4 pounds. Not the extreme difference I wanted, but it feels good either way.

I had a moment this week which made me proud of myself. My theory students (my first set) did their exams last month and after 6 weeks of waiting, I found out that they all received Honors with Distinction (93, 94, 97 and 99)!! I think I was more nervous for their grades than I was for my own back in the day. It's a lot of responsibility to be a teacher and train people for an exam. I was so relieved to hear that all their hard work paid off and I didn't lead them astray.

Well, I realize this is NOT a particularly exciting, interesting or creative blog post, but it is here for the week. I'm living up to the goal (thanks to some coaching and encouragement). I was hoping to do more than this, but it's something, right? I'm still not 100%, so I'm going to head to bed. I'm so grateful for a generous, loving Visiting Teacher who brought me a pot of soup today to feed my family! I am also grateful for my mom who is just amazing. She had the girls sleep over last night (after she threw a little birthday party for Kaia) so that I could have a break and sleep better. It's good women like that that make other women push through their rough patches.

Here's to a good night's sleep and a productive week!

Jaymeson is...

2012-01-08T20:45:00.001-07:00

Jaymeson has really been discovering thing like you can be "cute" and "Jaymeson" at the same time. It's been interesting. He's now realizing he can have nick names, and hobbies and other things that define him. For example, the following story happened when my Dad was driving Jaymeson and I around making deliveries on Christmas Eve.

Me: Hey, Lovebug, you need to sit down so I can buckle you up!
Jaymeson looks at my Dad and says: My name's Lovebug! (pause) I'm a cowboy!

I loved this. It was so connected in his mind that these were definitions of who he was. The other day, Jarett and I were playing Scrabble for date night. Then, in strolls Jaymeson, all sneaky. Jarett says to him, "Jay, are you being a bad boy?" Jaymeson's response was "No, not a BAD boy, I'm a BIG boy!" Jarett said, "Oh, you're a big boy?" Without hesitations Jaymeson says, "Yep, look at my feet!" He's so proud of how big he's getting (yet another identity).

So, we have established that he's a cowboy, named Lovebug who is a big boy... You still with me? Good. Because today, however, he announced to me, "Mom, I'm not a cowboy anymore, I'm a SUNBEAM!"

His first day in Sunbeams went well, he sure seemed to love it! He's been so proud talking all day about how he's now a big boy sunbeam.

He's so cute when he's excited!!

He was also Joseph for our Christmas Eve nativity pageant. So darling!!

(and of course, Jarett was the... um, "donkey" :) )

We'll keep you informed with all his other "identities" as they come, but I sure love this sweetheart of a boy.

A New Year, A New Day... and of course some goals.

2012-01-01T22:26:00.000-07:00

Over Christmas, many wonderful things happened! One thing that is on my mind today though, is a book that Sachie (my SIL) gave to us. She researched the Cahoon family history and got pictures and stories and put it into a book for each child in the family. Kaia's already set a goal to memorize the family tree and read through the book. I have been so moved by a few of the stories of Jarett's ancestors that it has brought tears to my eyes. What a great legacy of faith this family has.

While reading this book, I realized that while I sometimes blog to vent, and I sometimes blog to see what people think, the main reason I started all this was to make a record to look back on and enjoy. I really hope to make my blog into a book one day and have each of my kids be able to read what I wrote about them as kids. This is a wonderful way to scan back and see the world from my eyes in years to come. How nice it will be to have a record, complete with pictures for me, my kids, my grandkids and so on. I have made a goal this year to blog at least once a week (along with a few others). Please pester me if I'm lagging behind!! Please get on my case, because I LOVE looking back, but sometimes life catches up and I forget.

Happy New Year one and all. May we have good attitudes, believe in ourselves and have the courage to attain our goals this year. (The ABC's that came from President Monson this year in the Ensign).

As an afterthought - The funny thing is that I don't usually make New Years Resolutions. I don't really "do" the goal thing. I just take things a day at a time and try to improve. Can't say I do it, but I try. This year, I wrote it all down. I need to be focused. This year is going to be a major turning point in my life and I'm going to change who I am for the better. I NEED this time to push myself and become a better person. I'm so excited for this year and I truly hope and pray that goal making has a lot of follow through for me.

I'd love to hear from you and find out what some of the goals you're making are!

A Christmas Carol

2011-12-08T15:50:00.001-07:00

We finished reading a Christmas Carol today. I cried and the kids made fun of me, but what a powerful message it has. I think I have two favorite quotes from it and would like to write them down to reflect on and remind myself of the true meaning of Christmas.

The first is said by Scrooge's Nephew Fred. He wishes Scrooge a Merry Christmas and Scrooge says,
"If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas', on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!"
"Uncle!" pleaded the nephew.
"Nephew!" returned the uncle, sternly, "keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine."
"Keep it!" repeated Scrooge's nephew. "But you don't keep it."
"Let me leave it alone, then," said Scrooge. "Much good may it do you! Much good it has ever done you!"
(this is the part that gives me chills)
"There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say," returned the nephew: "Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round - apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart form that - as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!"

The second quote is one that Scrooge says when he has repented of all his ill doing and he is pleading with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come to let him know if he can change the things he has just seen. He makes an oath that moved me so deeply that I was surprised.

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!"

and to close as Dickens did:
"It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!"

2011-12-05T11:40:00.001-07:00

I'm holding my poor, sweet Jay in my arms and he's crying about how the girls were mean to him. It's enough to rip anyone's heart out. I ask him, "Why were the girls mean?"
"Saryn almost screamed at me"

These kinds of moments have been peppering my life recently. My ALWAYS happy Jaymeson has become a crying, whining mess. It all started with his ear infection. He has started to wake up at night and come in to our room crying. He asks to go to the doctor constantly and is always wanting something to help his ears. We went to the ENT (luckily I was concerned about his hearing a few months ago and got an appointment for last week). There was so much fluid in his inner ear that he mentioned to his resident to look for the bubbles too. He said he'd get Jaymeson in for ear tubes in January. Luckily, there was a cancelation when his booking agent called and he can get them done right before Christmas.

I sure hope that he has a quick recovery because I sure don't want my sweet little boy to be all grumpy at Christmas. Does anyone have any advice as to how to keep him happy(er) until then? I'm starting to feel my fuse being cut in half (over and over again).

What if... Mommy had a Guilt Trip?

2011-11-24T10:35:00.001-07:00

My Brother-in-law introduced the game "What if?" to my kids while we were in Arizona in August (because that's when all the sensible people go to Arizona).

Yesterday, they decided to play it while we were at my moms house. On one side of a strip of paper, you ask a question that starts with "What if....". Then you put your question in the middle and have someone else answer it. After that, you read your question, then the person next to you reads their answer. You get some funny question/answer combinations as you go around the circle and everyone has a good laugh.

After a couple rounds, I had to go clean the kitchen while the girls kept on playing. When we were leaving, I found one of the scraps on paper which said, "What if Mommy played with us?" and on the back, "I would be happy!"

I hate trying to figure out the balance between keeping a clean house and being an actively involved Mom. How do you find the balance?

The Best Kind of Plague and the Best Kind of Cousin

2011-11-23T12:45:00.001-07:00

We also caught the Tie Die Plague

My girls have caught the plague... the READING plague. They love Harry Potter and Roald Dahl more than their MATH. Imagine. We're reading A Christmas Carol as a family, but I can't seem to get them away from their other books no matter how much I try (which honestly, isn't too much). They get ready for get early and quickly if we promise them their half hour or reading time. It has been WONDERFUL.

If only they cared as much about their math and keeping their room clean...

Benson and Macy are the best kind of cousins. Why? Well, simply put, they share. EVERYTHING. It's getting them to NOT share their diapers, bottles and everything else that's the hard thing. When we went to the farmers market one day, Macy even shared her blanket with him.

When I was watching Macy one night, Benson decided she was too tired to hold her bottle, so he did it for her. See, they're just so sweet!

Two Boys, Too!

2011-11-23T12:20:00.001-07:00

Just thought I'd throw in a few pictures of what my boys have been up to.

Jaymeson has been taking up dancing. He's working on ballroom right now ;). The girls dolls have been his dancing partner while he's been dancing to our Pianos Demo Song, which our family has named, "Candyland".

He is also starting to fold and fly paper airplanes. We might run out of paper soon, but he sure LOVES it!

Jaymeson is also being potty trained, loves Lightning McQueen and has decided to tell me who should drive EVERY car, truck, tractor... that we see. He is a little ball of energy and has recently returned to waking up a million times a night. Yesterday, we (hopefully) found the cause to be an ear infection. He also loves to tell people about his "Broder", Benson.

Benson has learned how to open up pretty much anything... including someone ELSE's Brownies. I mean, what else do you do when your mom is helping your Gran decorate?

Benson is also crawling like a maniac and getting into EVERY thing he can possibly find. You got to keep your eyes on this little guy or he will disappear up the stairs, into a bathroom or into some unsuspecting food, toys or pretty much anything that could be considered "out" in any way.

He LOVES anything electronic and loves to chew on cords... yet another reason to watch him closely. We've had to move MANY things in our house.

He, of course, also ends up pretty deep in your heart because he's just so darn cute.

Benson, despite all of his snitching and sneaking food (and being fed a ton) is throwing up almost everything that goes in and has dropped from the 54th percentile to the 18th over the last 6 months. He's now turning 1 on FRIDAY and weighs just over 20 pounds. My lightest baby by FAR. Most of my kids were 20 pounds by 6 months (Saryn was probably 20 pounds by 2 months). Anyway, we will be seeing a pediatrician soon and find out what's going on. He loves to have a bottle in his mouth at all times. If he's fussy at all, he just needs to suck on a bottle for a minutes (whether it has anything in it or not), but until then, he's still just the sweetest little, oral-fixated, non-sleeper I know!

Map Madness

2011-11-23T11:33:00.001-07:00

I love maps. I love figuring them all out and deciphering them. Most of all, I like to boss people around and they give me an excuse to be in charge (true confessions here). My kids have picked up the fever. We're studying maps in school and they have loved this unit. Today, however, the kids have decided to do a little short cut. It made me laugh out loud!

Kaia's map was all about gulfs, bays, islands, peninsulas and lakes. Her questions and answers were something along these lines:

1. Why might a bay be a good place to keep a boat? Cause it's water.
2. How is a bay like a gulf? They are both partly surrounded by water.
3. Find Florida on the map on page 286. What landform is Florida? Lake
(my thoughts here became, "Kaia, Florida is NOT a lake, PLEASE tell me you know that")
4. How is a peninsula different from an island? Okeechobee
(Okay... so, apparently Lake Okeechobee is a major landform IN Florida... that's what you were looking at... and somehow you just didn't see question #4??)
5. In what way are a lake and an island similar? They both are surrounded by something.

Kienna's questions were based on a map of the United States (we got this book in Utah). She had some ridiculous answers - reminds me a little of what I would do as a kid.

1. Find this symbol on the map __________. Okay, I found it.
2. Find your state on the map. What is the capital of your state? We don't have one
3. Find Oregon. What is its capital? I don't know.
4. Find Texas. Wat is its capital? same.
5. Is Washington, D.C., in the east of west part of the country? e

So ridiculous. Those kids make me laugh.

Kraft Dinner

2011-11-21T22:42:00.001-07:00

Tonight, I told Kienna to have an intermission in her Cello Practice while I went to get dinner in the oven. She requested Macaroni and Cheese, which is pretty standard for her, but the way she said it really made me laugh.

"Mom, can we have Mac and Cheese? That way we can have a Kraft for dinner!"

Can you tell she's a crafty little girl? So funny.

Nothing like Today

2011-11-16T20:51:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, while making dinner, Kienna and I played Scrabble. It was really fun and she has found a way to really enjoy her spelling. We actually found a way to use all 100 pieces on the board. It was kinda thrilling!

Tonight, Jaymeson just came out of his bedroom and said,

"Mom, Benson's not sleeping!"
"Yeah, that's because you're playing with him!"
(pause) "haha, YEAH!" and then he ran back in his room and the squeals of glee and laughter continued at a new high.

It all just seemed to match the random and hilariousness that was today.

We woke up, packed up and headed to Lethbridge to the best Dentist ever (my cousin Justin). It's really fun to go to the dentist who is someone you have known since you were a baby. He is SO good with my kids that it's easily worth the two hour drive to see him. See the smiles of a three year old??

Anyway, nothing exciting there otherwise (which is exciting in and of itself) - well, except for Jaymesons Lightning McQueen toothbrush which he held and talked about the entire remainder of the day.

After that we went to visit my Granny and Aunty Beryl. They spoiled us with attention, love and a yummy lunch with treats (of course) and then they had to jet to multiple appointments. I decided to run over next door and visit with my cousin, Kara who I haven't seen for a long time. We visited for a while and she reminded me of my book list that I have wanted to read. I can't wait to get it back and see how much more I have read!!

I had to race home to get back in time to teach Theory, but the ride home really had me in stitches. There's something special about a car ride with five kids in tow. You just get to know so much about them (especially when it's 4 hours in one day). Their little personalities come out so strong and you hear some GREAT thoughts. My favorite conversation went something like this:

Kaia: "Mom, I want a po-uppy"
Me: "Do you mean a poppy? or a puppy?"
Kaia: "Either one"
Me: "Okay - there's just a SLIGHT price difference there..."
Then Saryn pipes in: "I want a pet sting ray!!"

Oh, to live off in fairytale land again. I wonder what they dream about??

Kaia: The Perfect Daughter

2011-11-15T10:28:00.001-07:00

Sightseeing on the edge of the Grand Canyon! She has her walkie talkie ready to go!

Yesterday, while I was making lunch, I asked the kids if they could clean up the basement. When I called them for lunch, they were close to being done and they hadn't whined or complained or tattled or ANYTHING. I was already counting my blessings. Then Kaia noticed that the dishwasher needed to be emptied. Her statement just about knocked my socks off.

"Mom, Can I empty the dishwasher and then go finish cleaning the basement?"

I acquiesced to her request. She just so sincerely wanted to do it, how could I say no?? Can anyone say "Dream Daughter"? She really is such a great little girl and always looking for ways to help. It's how she feels good about herself and she's realized that really young. I'm so proud of her!!

My Day Off

2011-11-13T20:49:00.001-07:00

My parents were angels on Saturday and took my kids ALL DAY so that Jarett and I could get in some Christmas Shopping (one of the things that has becoming a little harder since home school started). We were able to do the WHOLE mall, Walmart, Superstore and Costco. We also went to the Home Schooling store and Jarett had an hour long massage while I read and relaxed on the couch. We had a lunch date, a cinnamon bun and many other naughty things that made us keep saying, "Hmmm, why do we have weight problems?" I couldn't believe how much fun it was to just have some good, quality time with my husband sans kids. It's been TOO long.

And what did the kids do??
The kids had a blast seeing Cars 2. They went to a football game of my cousins (provincials) and did some Christmas shopping of their own with Gran and Grampa! It was FABULOUS for all those involved.

THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!! (what would I do without you??)

Just a home schooling thought for me to have written down to reflect on:

"Everyone is a genius! But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." --Albert Einstein

My Little Princess

2011-11-11T19:37:00.001-07:00

Kienna was introduced to Princess Diaries this week at my Mom's house. Mia finds out she's a princess and she fights it because she just doesn't want it. Kienna looked at my mom with complete shock on her face and just said, "Why doesn't she want to be a princess?? I want to be a Princess!!"