Fit For A Princess!

How does a Princess celebrate her third birthday?

With a princess tea party of course! I had so much fun planning this party, it was a little scary. So much fun that is that I did order my own Snow White dress! What else was I to wear? Rosie was so delighted when Snow White herself came waltzing down the stairs to host the party.

What does a Princess dine on at her tea party?

PB&J's, cut out in a star

Carrot sticks

Grapes

Gold Fish Crackers

Doughnut holes

Pink Lemonade

Cupcakes

What Kind of Cake does a princess wish for on her Birthday?

A Castle Cake of Course (made by her Royal Cake Maker...Daddy)

Who had more fun, Snow White or Rosie?

That is still up for debate, but I will tell you that Snow White had a harder time changing from her costume than Cinderella,Snow White 2, wedding dress Ariel, Cinderella again, (Rosie Changed her princess dress about four times during the party).
What was the Best Part of Rosie's 3rd Birthday?
Rosie putting her arms around my neck and saying "Thank you Mommy, Thank you!"

and calling my Sister my "Lady in Waiting" and my Mom "A Wench".

Oh Come all Ye Faithful

This year our ward jumped on the band wagon and participated in "A NIGHT IN BETHLEHEM" for our Christmas party. Take it from me, it was A TON of work, stress, and made for many sleepless nights. But, it was so AWESOME. I loved walking into the cultural hall that night and felt transformed into a different time and place. There was something magical about the evening, a special spirit different than any other church party I have attended. Our family dressed up in costume (as all of the ward was encouraged to do) and the girls thought it was so fun. They looked so cute in their little head dresses. Each family was given gold coins to barter with in different shops for their dinner. Families sat by each other on blankets on the floor. It felt like a big indoor picnic. We had the most perfect Mary and Joseph, as "Mary" sang Breath of Heaven (Amy Grant) it was so touching. I found myself wiping tears away from my cheeks, completely caught up in the whole experience. For a brief moment, I let my mind wander back to what it must have been like to be Mary. She had so much faith; to think of having a baby in a barn! The song is all about Mary asking for help with the task she was given to be the Savior's mother. Having the blessing of being a mother, I have a new appreciation and respect for Mary. Looking around I could see I wasn't the only one moved by the program. Lizzy sang with her primary class and was simply darling. Leading up to this one night, I did not have the Christmas spirit, I was so stressed about pulling this evening off. I felt jealous of others who were shopping and decking their halls while I was frantically planning a party. Looking back I realize that helping with this party was the best thing I could have done to get myself and my family into the "true" Christmas spirit. Lizzy especially seemed to eat the whole thing up and I could tell understood a little more about the events surrounding Jesus's birth. I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who knew exactly what I needed to keep a Christ-centered Christmas this year. Now for the SHOPPING!

"Sing Us A Song,

you're the piano man, sing us a song tonight." AND HE DID!!

Just got home from seeing Billy in concert for the first time, but hopefully not the last. LOVED IT. LOVED HIM. It was such a blast. A big THANKS to Ann for inviting me to a night I won't soon forget.

Updates

Thanksgiving was so fun with the Mann Clann!

We are all so thankful for the very best Nana ever! One that isn't above getting down and dirty on the floor with Barbies, Trucks, Little People or Lizzy/Rosie's Hair Salon (sometimes even Mommy has to draw the line in that Hair Shop)

It Finally snowed enough for Rose to have a yummy afternoon snack!

And, Lizzy is old enough to pull Rosie around in the snow, and thrilled about it!

She is such a great big sister.

Sadly, I was called a "Lady" twice this weekend. When did that happen?

A 1-derful Birthday

Max's First Costume.
And is name shall be MAX (10 pounds 2 ounces)

A scary week spent in the NICU, one day following his birth,
he has come so far!

A Pumpkin Cake, which he loved!

Max is one! I can't believe it. He is such a blessing in our lives, we can't imagine life without our little boy. The timing of his birth could not be more fitting; especially reflecting on his first week of life:

We are thankful for the health and strength he now has. We are thankful for the darling smile he so freely shares. We are thankful for his enthusiasm for life. We are thankful for his adventurous side. We are thankful for his patience with his Sisters. We are thankful for MAX! Happy Birthday Max, our sweet baby boy.

Right On Track

OH, WHAT DO YOU DO IN THE AUTUMN TIME WHEN YOU ARE ON FALL BREAK?

DO YOU PLAY IN THE LEAVES?

TAKE A TRIP TO 'BOISEES'?




OR FEED A HUNGRY 'GOAT GUY'?

IS THAT WHAT YOU DO? SO DO I!!

I wasn't sure how I felt about year round school. It was different than what I did as a girl, therefore I had my doubts. Tonight marks the end of a 3 week fall break that was truly so much FUN!! Making the most of our time, we set off for some Fall adventures. We kicked off the break with a road trip to Boise (see past post), went to the farm, attended many Halloween parties, took walks almost daily, went to the park, met friends for lunch, discovered the Children's Museum, watched afternoon movies with popcorn (Sound of Music being the favorite), had sleepovers with Nana (on school nights) and just hung out and relished a less hectic schedule. Now, I must admit there were times that I was missing school for Lizzy. But, for the most part I loved the time to be able to enjoy autumn time without the worry of homework and napping around carpool. Now, as a wise friend once said: "All Good Things Must Come to An End", so back to school she goes and I will start dreaming up some new adventures for our next "off track" time together.

There's No Place Like Home

This year marked the first year we stayed home for Halloween. In years past, we have traveled around the valley seeing family members and friends. Finally this year we said: IF YOU WANT TO SEE US, COME TO US. It worked beautifully. Our kids had a blast trick-or-treating in our own neighborhood and we had equally as much fun decorating our house and passing out candy. I felt a sense of belonging that I have only felt when we have stayed home and started our own traditions. We love our family and are so happy they came and saw us (and had a yummy dinner as a bonus), but for this one time, we felt like we had it all! It was only fitting that our costumes were themed around the Wizard of Oz because....there is NO PLACE LIKE HOME!

Firsts

NUMERO UNO:

• When 'best best' extended the invite to join her and her darling crew for a celebratory weekend in Boise, I was excited, but nervous. Could I drive their with the girls and Max alone? Would we be able to handle all of the kids by ourselves....and still have fun? Is there anything fun to do in Boise???? Yes, No Problem, Tons of it, and Surprisingly Yes:

Driving there was easier than I anticipated, thanks to a DVD player, patient girls, a sleepy baby and a tasty caffeinated beverage from the golden arches. Once we hooked up in Boise, we rode around in Phoebe's tricked out Mini and danced the day away to 'Phoebe gets Funky'.
The crew was very well behaved-
then again, we did spend 4 hours at Boondocks one day.

Boondocks wasn't the only thing we discovered in Boise.

We had a very exciting afternoon at Cabella's! Neither one of us had ever been there before and let me tell you it was an experience. The kids had a great time looking at all of the wild life (Rose still thinks they were real). Phoebe and I had a good laugh because her mini-van was the smallest car in the parking lot!

Boise also has a very nice mall that we did drag all six of our flock around. It is amazing how well kids behave when See's Candies are involved. I loved the thrill of this adventure and would do it again in a heartbeat-though it must be said that our husbands did fly in Saturday to help drive us home; a very kind and smart move on their part as we stayed up much to late chatting each night. I simply adore my Phoebs and relished the time we spent together. My road trip to Boise earns ****!

NUMBER TWO:

• Rosie recognizes her cousin's doll as Ila's cousin and insisted on us taking a picture of them together......twinkle sparkle. We have never had a child or met a child who loves their baby as much as our little Rose. She was so excited for Ila to have a play-date with her cousin.

Twinkle Sparkle!

Cowboy Hat: $7.00

Christmas P.J. top from last year: $6.50

Old baby bib used as a handkerchief: $4.00

Dress-up Dress tucked in and worn as a skirt: $11.00

Plaid p.j.'s bottoms from another set: $6.50

Pink Ribbon for her lasso: $.50

The imagination and ingenuity of a five year old: priceless!!

My Sister-in-law once used the term: Twinkle Sparkle to describe pride and joy emotions she feels for her two cats. I enjoyed the phrase very much and now coined it for my own (thanks Krissia).

Times like this make me smile and enjoy motherhood! Cheers to the imagination of our five year old; may she always keep it and never be afraid to share it! Yee-Haw!

I live in a Toliet!

So, most of you know Max has had an awful case of Diarrhea for the last 2 1/2 weeks. According to our pediatrician (who we love) he will get better, it's just taking a LONG time to resolve. At this point I am wondering if it will ever go away and if I will ever stop smelling like bleach and poop. I hit the wall tonight and thought I can either laugh about it while blogging or cry myself to sleep. I choose to smile in times of utter desperation:
I was battling the evening alone tonight as Kel had a meeting (famous last words). Things seemed to be going smoothly until I noticed on my arm that Max needed another diaper change because he obviously had blown-out. I am sure you can imagine what his little bum looks like after such a long stint with diarrhea. Because of the diaper rash, he screams and tries to crawl away every time he needs a change. I find myself crawling after him as he his rolling around with no diaper on and smearing poop everywhere he goes. Finally, after I have to hold him down to get him cleaned up, the thought occurs to me: "Maybe I should take the doctor's orders and let him crawl around naked to "air" out a little bit; surely he won't go you know what since he just went." Thinking that I can watch him and throw a load of dishes in, I begin to clean the kitchen. I don't even think I cleared the table by the time he was going all over the kitchen floor and crawling around in it. I grab him, put him in the kitchen sink and start rinsing him from head to toe. As I am washing him, I notice different but equally gross smell. I turn around and see Rosie at my side asking for help with wiping. She looked like a mummy wrapped in used toilet paper. Quickly taking Max out of the sink and putting Rosie in, I start hosing her off as well (I figured I had to bleach it anyway, might as well get some good use out of it). No sooner than me taking Rosie out of the sink I hear "Mommy Max is going poo-poo's all over in here!!!!". I was so focused on cleaning Rosie up that I had not put a diaper on Max. MY MISTAKE. So, I repeated the sink bath and this time put a diaper on promptly. By this time I was ready for bedtime. I sent the girls up to their room while I got Max in p.j.'s. As I am walking up the stairs, to my utter disbelief and horror, I hear these words "Rosie went to the bathroom all over my bed Mommy!". I am thinking NO WAY!! But, sure enough Lizzy's bed and pillow were soaking wet. At that point I officially lost it. I called my Mother in tears wondering what I had done to deserve this night. She assured me that it's just motherhood and that every thing would get better soon. I hope so Mom because I don't know how much more I can take!

NURTURE

I was so touched by conference this last weekend. Thoughts of wanting to improve have been wheeling through my mind ever since. One word has stuck with me and I am not able to let it go: nurture.

As mothers our responsibility is to nurture our children right? But what does nurture really mean? How do we nurture? How can I improve? How does Heavenly Father want ME to nurture Rosie, Max and Elizabeth? What ways do you nurture? I would love to read any of your thoughts on the subject and promise to share any insights I receive.

Yes I Can!

I love Canning! It is one of the big reasons I love fall so much. I love going to the farmer's market with my girls and picking up some yummy produce. I love seeing the fruit all lined up in our food storage and the sense of accomplishment it brings. But, most of all, I love spending those long hours in the kitchen with my Mom! We chat about everything in great detail and she shares with me precious words of wisdom and gives me insight that I would not have gained otherwise. She teaches me so much and on a small occasion, I believe I have taught her a thing or two too.

note: Rosie came up with that outfit all on her own.

Wishing Upon A Star

It was MAGICAL from start to finish.

It was Beautiful waking up to this each morning.
It was Deliciously good.


It was Surreal.

It was Relaxing at times.

And Exhausting at others.

It was Memorable.

It was Lucky we had such patient family members who rode on Small World

again

and again

and again.

It was Charming.

It was Exciting.

It was Thrilling.

It was Wonderful.

It was just plain Fun.

We are so glad we had this Magical, Beautiful, Delicious, Surreal, Relaxing, Exhausting, Lucky, Charming, Exciting, Thrilling, Wonderfully Fun trip. Thanks to Papa who is the king of planning amazing trips for his family, he made "Our Dreams Come True"!