God loves me after all.

I dreamed of a white Christmas, and look what happened! It snowed!

Santa's snack plate,the note he left the kids and the tree.

Christmas jammies.

From December

Our sorry little gingerbread houses with runny icing. My kids are good sports. Although it's not too hard to have a good attitude about making a project where Mom says you can have as much candy as you want.

This is what we spend our days doing. Poor kid. I think he's getting used to it.

Notice Erilyn's "necklace." It's the net to our little basketball hoop. Anthon takes things apart, and Erilyn makes them into jewelry. Cooperation in action.

Anthon's class Christmas party.

Gettin' me some baby kisses.

Good job, Erilyn!

Reading with Daddy.

At an ice skating show. Erilyn LOVED it. And now asks constantly if she can have ice skates for Christrum.

Anthon "singing" with the primary at the ward Christmas party.

I love Tanner's face in this picture.

Texas weather...reminds me of Canada!

A few days ago...Canadians, eat your hearts out.

Christmas morning! Arizonans...eat your hearts out!

Note to self...

Erilyn came up to me a couple of days ago while I was feeding Tanner and said, matter of factly, "Mom, 'you don't feel well' means you don't have to go to Church.  So...I don't feel well."

Punk.

She also had a conversation with Kirk the other day that went something like this:

"Dad.  What does my shirt say?"
"It says, 'Your Highness."
"My highness?"
"No, 'Your Highness.'"
"My Highness?"
"No, 'Your Highness.'"
"Da-ad! What does my shirt SAY?"
"'Your Highness.'"
"My Highness?"

....you get the idea.

Last story...for now:

Erilyn was fighting me about putting a coat and shoes on to go outside and Kirk finally interrupted and said, "Just let her go out.  If she wants to be cold, let her."
Erilyn, "I DO want to be cold!" Okay.  Fine.
As she's headed out the back door, Kirk says to her, "I hope you have fun being cold!"
"I WILL!" she says. "I hope YOU have fun being warm." Sassy pants.

Domestic Bliss

Here are two slices from my afternoon.

Slice #1: Dinnertime

Clothes, stuffed animals, and toys are scattered throughout the house from our lazy morning and then subsequent scramble to get to church on time.  Tanner is lying on the floor on his back because he's very good at rolling from front to back but refuses to stay on his tummy long enough for some good solid tummy time and now that he's on his back, he can't reach the toys and so he's screaming.  Anthon and Erilyn are playing tag, or catch, or chase with Anthon "whipping" Erilyn with his scarf and yelling while Erilyn squeals with delight and runs frantically through the kitchen, Anthon right on her heels.  Some pop-Christmas songs are playing loudly in the background (The Forgotten Carols had played out, apparently).  I'm frantically trying to get the dishwasher loaded so I have enough room to make something for us to eat for dinner, though I don't yet know what.  And I'm not entirely sure where Kirk is.  All I know is he's not where I want him.

This is decidedly not my idea of domestic bliss, and certainly not a peaceful Sabbath Day.

Slice #2: After dinner/bedtime

The house is picked up, even vacuumed in places, the dishes are done, the kids are fed and I'm feeling okay with the fact that they ate cereal for dinner. Tanner is fed, changed, and happily swinging.  Kirk is listening to "beautiful music" (Josh Groban's Noel) and generally enjoying our company.  The kids are busily opening up candies in preparation for decorating gingerbread houses.  I'm contentedly building gingerbread houses (out of graham crackers), and not freaking out that the icing isn't working very well and that the poor houses look more like shacks that have been through a serious snow storm (the icing was dripping everywhere) than pretty little houses.  I break the news to the kids that we'll have to let the icing harden over night and decorate tomorrow.  They take it very well.  I'm amused that when I ask Erilyn to put her pajamas on, she comes back with a pull-up on, underwear, tights, more underwear (the kind that goes under a matching dress) and pajama bottoms and I smile at her fat little bottom. 

Ahh.  This is more like it. 

Talents

Kirk is reading a book with Anthon about kids who go to a special school because they have a "talent," or, to be more precise, a magical talent.  This afternoon, Kirk was teasing Anthon that he'd have to go to school on weekends and holidays if he didn't unload his rack on f the dishwasher, or some such chore, and Anthon said, "Like Blorr's Academy! But I don't have a talent."  Even though I knew he meant he didn't have magic, it got me thinking of my kids' talents, and, more specifically, mine.  I'm very good at many things.   (Side note--I love that my niece said that she was "feeling amazing about [her]self for not scorching the bottom" when talking about making her first chocolate pie--way to look on the bright side, Kins!).  I'm excellent at loving.  I'm very compassionate.  I'm not too bad of a writer.  I'm a very good reader and test taker.  I'm a good friend.  I'm a pretty good cook/baker.  I'm great at talking to my kids about the world around them and explaining things in a way they might understand.  I'm a spectacular hugger.  I think I'm pretty insightful, most of the time.  I have great instincts about things, and I've gotten a lot better at trusting those instincts.

One thing I'm not so good at, though, (Kirk would disagree, which I appreciate, just so that's on the record) is making a house feel cozy and homey.  Especially during holidays.  It always seems just half done, to me, or at least very amateur-ish.  Ideas?  What's the one thing that you feel makes your house a home?  Cozy and loving, functional and beautiful, warm and welcoming?

Personally, I think curtains and rugs are totally underrated (mostly because we don't have any yet).

My boys

Here are Tanner and Anthon at almost exactly the same age. I'm so in love!

Granted, I have cut Tanner's hair twice, and pretty much buzzed the sides and back because he rubbed it bald, but I've only trimmed the top and it's NO WHERE NEAR as glorious as Anthon's hair was at the same age. And Anthon's hair had been cut at least four times by this age. CRAZY! They're both just as drooly, though. Boys will be boys, I guess.

5 and 6 year old Kirk

My hubby was such a cute kiddo! 

Kirk was showing these pictures to Anthon today to show him what his daddy looked like at his age.  So I admit, my kids' cuteness doesn't all come from me.  :)

This too shall pass

I adore my children.  They bring so much joy into my life.  I have to say that, not only because it's true, but because what I'm about to admit will make it seem as if I don't. 

Today, they drove me crazy.  Anthon has this habit of saying everything twice, which is super annoying if you didn't want to hear it the first time.  He does it CONSTANTLY.  And Erilyn has gotten SO melodramatic.  I hear Kirk frequently singing, "It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine..."  I think it's his way of coping with her moodiness.  It's insane!  I'm usually better at dealing with it, but I was NOT good at it today.  I was literally ready to pull my hair out.  Bed time could not have come soon enough. 

Here's to hoping tomorrow will be better.  Or that I at least will be better able to deal with this phase (and it is a phase.  It HAS to be.)

Go Rudolph!

Anthon and I ran the one mile fun run at the Allen Rudolph Run yesterday. It was FREEZING! But we did it! I was proud of Anthon and his good attitude. We especially loved the hot chocolate afterward:)

This and that

Erilyn and Daddy playing with Tanner. He seemed to like it. I thought is was hilarious.

This is Tanner sleeping in the AMAZING cradle my dad built for him. I LOVE it. It's perfect. And Tanner loves to be rocked in it.

Erilyn fell asleep in the car one day while running errands and I nearly crashed a few times trying to help her up because I couldn't stand to see her sleeping like this. She flopped around like this for a while before I could safely reposition her.

A friend let me borrow this carrier and I LOVE it. Tanner loves to be held, and while I like my sling I made, this allows me to be completely hands free and it doesn't hurt my back to carry him like this. I love it! Here we're at the park.

Some things I love...

I love that Kirk makes the kids bark like seals and clap their hands before he'll put bits of cookie into their mouths. Or chirp like birdies.

I love that Erilyn says "prelly," for pretty.

I love that Tanner is a Mama's boy. He is SO comforted by me. I love this, and it exhausts me.

I love that Anthon's new favorite saying is, "Oh, come on!" This also annoys me.

I love how excited Kirk gets about sharing stories with Anthon. They've been listening together to a book on CD for the past two days. They sit, cuddled up on the couch, staring at the swirling light patterns on the TV screen while they listen to the story. It's cute, and mesmerizing.

I love how Erilyn likes to layer her clothes. At least she's wearing more than one outfit now, even though she wears them simultaneously.

I love this picture...(notice Erilyn's shoes. No matter how hard I try, I can NOT get her to consistently put her shoes on the right feet).