A Last Minute Halloween Costume

Sully and Mike Wazowski from Monsters U.



Some years back, we were given a really great Sully costume from Monsters Inc. and a Mike Wazowski costume, as well.  The Sully costume continued in stellar form, but unfortunately, the Mike costume's big plastic eye got cracked and then just went downhill from there.  Since Monster's University came out the summer, the girls wanted to revive the monsters costumes.  So, we needed a new Mikey costume and we also wanted to make Sully look like he was from Monsters U.

In order to accomplish our quick, costume update, we went to JoAnn Fabrics and bought 2 green t-shirts ($3 on sale, each), flannel, and a blue visor.  For Sully's fraternity shirt, I just freehanded the letters with a pencil and went over them with yellow fabric paint.  For Mike, I cut out each piece of flannel in its proper shape and then glued each piece on in order with fabric glue (which dries in 24 hrs.)  I used sparkly, silver fabric paint for Mike's retainer.  Then, I drew the MU with an eye on the blue visor and painted that on, too.  And, voila, we had Sully and Mike for Halloween.  I think they made pretty cute monsters!

Speeding Toward a New School Year

Dakota, 3.

Isabella, 10, and Selah, 8.

Arianna, 7.

Livia, 5.

The summer has flown by and we are closing in on another school year.  The girls continue to grow and mature.  Dakota is 3, and even though she is our "baby" of the family, she isn't a baby any longer, but a smart, determined, and funny toddler.  Isabella, just 10 and going into 5th grade, is definitely in the tween years.  She loves the Kindle reader we gave her for her birthday and has not only read all 7 Harry Potter books this summer, but has also just started on The Chronicles of Narnia.  Selah, 8, is gearing up for 3rd grade by also doing lots of reading, and also helping Mom out with the animals and volunteering to help out when a job needs to be done.  Arianna, 7, remains as zany and energetic as ever.  She is always looking for a project and loves painting and drawing.  She also just started soccer this fall and is really into it.  Livia, 5, had her big 5th birthday party this summer (a family tradition).  She is sweet, inquisitive, and ready for a year of at-home learning with Mom before going to kindergarten next year.  I love my girls and the women that they are becoming! 

Back from Summer Vacation

Our first day of summer vacation started by taking our 2nd daughter, Selah, down to Children's Hospital for a week where she received antibiotics via a PICC line that aren't given orally.  This was followed up by giving the second week of antibiotics at home via the PICC line on our own after being instructed on the proper technique by an at-home-care nurse.  This, of course, was not how we planned to start the summer, but over the past year we have come to accept that there are situations that have to be accepted and walked through as part of our journey of having two daughters that have bronchiectasis (a chronic lung condition stemming from permanent lung damage).  During that time, I never once got back on the computer to blog and after that, I just disconnected from my school year routine for awhile along with the rest of the family while on summer vacation.  With a husband that is also a teacher, we really do live on the school schedule, so summer is our big time for kicking back and taking a break from the routine, doing household projects, and taking road trips.  Now, however, that is all quickly coming to an end.  School is quickly approaching and  my calendar book is filling up with appointments and events.  I will have new blog material as I start on a new adventure of sending to of our girls to a charter school where the majority of the school work is done at home, all while welcoming another litter of new little goldendoodle puppies into the household in the next couple of weeks. 

Another big part of our summer has been food preparation and eating.  No matter how the routine changes, feeding a family of 7 takes time and is always a big part of my day.  It has been a year now since we began eating a whole-foods, plant-based diet and the more we eat this way, the more excited I get about continuing to explore this way of preparing foods and enjoying the tasty results.  So, I will try and post food ideas and recipes here, too, to share our love of plant-based eating. 

A New Year - 2013

I can't believe 2013 is already here and we are 6 days into it.  I had thought I would blog more over the kids' Christmas break, but then it is always busy around the house on a vacation, so alas my blogging went by the wayside.  Then, on Jan. 2, our dog Lilah, that we bred a couple of months ago with a Goldendoodle, went into labor 5 days early and we now have four, small little Goldendoodles at home.  Thank goodness, my hubby was still on his Christmas break for a few more days because the last few days have been a blur of delivering puppies, caring for our wonderful mama dog, making sure our little "preemies" are being looked after 24/7, and getting a lot less sleep than usual.  I have to say, after having had 5 newborns (but not at the same time, thankfully), that puppies are even more work in the first few days.  There are more than 1, even when they are sleeping I keep a close eye on them so that Lilah doesn't accidentally roll on them, and due to their size, they need a little extra help getting the hang of eating off of mama.  From all that I've read, the first week of a puppy's life is pretty critical and when it comes to animal care, I can be a bit obsessive, so between the house, kids, and puppies things are pretty busy around here.  So, 2013 in our household has come in with a whirlwind and I for one, am just hanging for the ride.  To all those I know and don't know out there, Happy New Year and may God bless you richly in this coming year!

Merry Christmas 2012

I've been under the weather this past week with a bad cold.  Between being a little sick and getting ready for Christmas, I've hardly had a spare minute to sit down a the computer.  Christmas Eve was spent hanging out at home and then going to our Christmas Eve service at church.  We were up early on Christmas morning watching the kids open their stockings and then stretching out present opening for as long as possible after that.  We spent the afternoon and evening with my parents, Grandpa and Grandma, and my Aunt Barb, having a lovely meal and enjoying each others' company.  Today is the second day of Christmas, according to the church calendar, and the girls opened a present from their Aunt and Uncle in Utah.  The thing that touched me the most the last couple of days while watching the girls receive presents is that they were very thankful for all that which they received; additionally, they were just as excited to see their sisters open presents they had picked out for each other as they were opening the presents they had received.   Below is a little video of 4 of our 5 girls singing for us last night. 

Feeling Christmasy

There aren't that many weeks out of the year when the girls have a good opportunity to wear their Christmas dresses, so I try and break them out for a few occasions when I can.  Thankfully, since the dresses aren't heavily used, they are in great shape to be handed down to the next sister the following Christmas.  This year, Little D was given a lovely new dress by her godmother, Marsha, and in her own words, "It is beautiful!".

Hanging Christmas Cards

I'm always propping up Christmas cards around the house at this time of  year trying to display them in some fashion, but this year I was looking for a new way to do this.  I think I saw a picture of this idea somewhere else, but I can't remember where exactly.  So, I just did my own take on it. 

I traced the letters on pieces of white paper and had each of the three oldest girls decorate one of the letters the way that they wanted to.  Then, I hot glued the pre-measured ribbon onto the bottom back of each letter.  When the glue was dry, I used masking tape to stick the letters to the wall and to secure the bottom of the ribbon to the wall, as well.  I tried using double sided picture sticker mounts to tape the cards to the ribbon, but that didn't work out so well.  So, plan B of hot gluing them to the ribbon turned out to be the solution.  I think it turned out pretty well for a quick, little Christmas project. 

#MarchPhotoADay - 17 : Green

More Valentine Love

This was a darling book that my first-grader made for us in her class.  Her teacher is wonderful and has them work on really neat crafts throughout the year, not to mention keeping them challenged academically.

It says "Mom" but it is hard to see.

Her class just got ipod touches, so that is obviously a big hit.

A horse, and an ipod (I think).

The bottom item is 7-11 because she likes slushies.

Umbrellas on the beach.

Some February Fun

These are from my kindergartener.  She was very proud of her Valentine's cards and presented them with much love to each of us.  They are now prominently displayed around the house.

My Little 3 -Year-Old Sweet Pea

Happy New Year - 2012!

I'm back!  Vacation was great and very rejuvenating!  We spent a whirlwind week and a half in Oregon with my in-laws just chilling out, doing Christmas activities, and with 4 adults attempting to keep up with 5 energetic little girls.  But, now we are back home and back in the ususal swing of things - school started today both for the girls and for hubby (teaching 2nd semester). 

It's also a big day for our #2; she is turning 7 and couldn't be more thrilled that her birthday fell on the first day back to school.  Last night she made her own cake and frosting (which I helped assemble after bedtime) and she organized all the sisters to assemble small gift bags for her friends at school.  After seeing Selah sick and in the hospital at the end of October and then still sick for the following month on several rounds of antibiotics, it is great to see her doing better and more of her happy, sweet self; this is a New Year's blessing in itself. 

With the New Year already a few days in progress, I will be working towards being a little more organized at home, being less lazy in general, reading plenty of books in 2012, keeping up my re-found love of handmade goods, drinking my fair share of great cappuccino's, getting back to running, drinking nice glasses of wine and eating dark chocolate with the hubby, and above all, loving God and my family with a whole-hearted purpose!  May 2012 be a great year for you, me, and all those we love!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to you and yours!  May today and the remainder of the Christmas season be a time filled with joy as we celebrate our Saviour's birth! 

Christmas Cookies

Every year, the girls and I make Christmas cookies - some years more than others.  I try to make a wide variety to give away, but no matter what, we always make decorated sugar cookies with royal icing.  This Christmas, this was the only variety we got around to making.  They are our family favorite, not only because they taste great, but also because they are so fun to decorate and are pretty to look at on a plate.  I always think that painting would be great fun and since I'm no painter, this is a great way to "paint" an edible treat.  I love this Christmas tradition of ours and hope it will keep going for years to come . . . maybe even with my grandchildren one day, God willing.  :-)

Wordless Wednesday 12-21-11

The Great Rush to Christmas Break

It seems every year, that the week right before Christmas break and the week before the end of school in the spring are the two busiest weeks of the year in our family.  Given that my hubby is a high school teacher, this makes sense; not only are our girls finishing up before the holidays with school work, school Christmas celebrations, and last minute teacher gifts, but then my hubby is also preparing his final exams, finishing up grades, and wrapping up his semester.  So, needless to say, this past week has been quite a whirlwind for us - from our internet being down for a couple of days to my hubby's car breaking down (towed and fuel pump replace, too), then baking 4 dozen cookies for my kindergatener's school cookie exchange, volunteering in my first grader's class for a holiday luncheon, and baking undecorated sugar cookies for my third grader's class party.

Blogging is an activity that I thoroughly enjoy and gives me an outlet of communication with others as I traverse my way through motherhood, but when it comes to the holidays, it has to go by the wayside to some extent.  The joys and pleasures of being with family and spending time together monopolize my time (in the best possible way).  So, between now and the New Year, my posts may be rather infrequent . . . and you'll know I'm off having fun!  :-)

Awww, Mom, Was This Really Necessary?

Lilah's an extremely tolerant dog, but that's my impression of what she is thinking while I took these pics. 

Pictures with Santa [or Terrifying Your Toddlers]

Why is it that toddlers never seem to want to see Santa or take a picture with him?  Before the age of 3 or 4, I think that kids are only excited about this idea because someone has told them about it in an excited voice.  I'm pretty sure that the whole excitement over Santa in my children's imaginations last between about ages 4 and 6 until they realize that Papi and Mommy are really Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

The business where my Mom works was offering Santa photos to their clients as a holiday treat, so I took the 5 girls in with hopes that all of them would somehow be in this picture smiling all at once.  You can see the results below; at least we have some pictures for posterity. 

Simplifying Christmas

A few weeks ago, we sat down as a family and had a chat about how we are in the process of decluttering our house and our lives from the "stuff" that so easily entangles us.  Things are great when they have a purpose and are used, but when they just end of being "stuff" instead and start to demand our time (because there is no end tojust attempting to organize them), then things have become a burden instead of a tool.  Since we moved houses last year, many of our things have been in boxes and it helps to see how much stuff we really don't need to have in the house and get rid of stuff that has accumulated.  Little by little, we are making progress on this goal of decluttering and living more simply.  We have been blessed with generous friends and family members over the years and have benefitted from their many gifts and gently used items that have been passed on to us.  But, in an attempt to no accumulate as much this Christmas, we made a family pact to give fewer gifts, give away things that we don't need or use, and focus on the importance of giving to those in need at this time of year.  As an alternative to traditional Christmas gifts, we have asked our family members to write each of our daughters a personal Christmas greeting that includes the sender's favorite Bible verse.  We will collect these and put them together in a scrapbook as a special Christmas 2011 gift that will be a wonderful memory for the girls in the future.  Also, as a family we are going to pick out a gift from the World Vision catalog that will be given to a family in another country to enrich their lives - a goat or some chickens, perhaps.  And that is what it really comes down to when we think about Christmas, anyway.  God sent us His Son, the best ever gift at Christmas to be the Saviour of the world; at this time of the year, it only seems appropriate to direct our thoughts to giving in meaningful ways rather than just on the things that we will be receiving. 

The Climber

Literally overnight, #5 (the baby of the family) figured out how to climb up on a chair and from there climb up onto the table.  And this is how I found her, very pleased with her new accomplishment.  So, now not only is she even more closely supervised, but I am pulling chairs away from the craft table in the play room to discourage this type of adventure.  Not that I don't appreciate her adventurous spirit, but I would prefer to keep the climbing to hiking around our yard outdoors.  It is amazing the things babies learn and so quickly, too, especially with older siblings as models.  And, yes, my kids are the type that like to stand on the couch, etc., when Mom isn't looking (I admit it).

By the way, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  May your day be blessed and joyful as you celebrate with friends and family on this day.