Inflatable Fun

We're going to be out of town again during Hyrum's Christmas birthday. I really wanted to give him a real invite-who-he-wants-and-choose-the-venue kind of party. His choice was the "balloon house" and his guests were 11 rowdy little buddies from church and school.

I don't know if this picture completely illustrates the dog pile of boys in the center. The party was "dinosaur" themed, but it should have been WWF. There was PLENTY of wrestling, kicking, punching, jumping on top of, and laughing all at the same time.

Even the babies got to play.




Hyrum's only melt-down. I was so happy there was only one!

Hyrum was always such a cautious and careful kid until he reached 4 years. I didn't ever know how lucky I was not to have a daredevil.

This pics for my sis Luci, she doesn't think I'm in enough pictures:)

Our great friends the Thornocks- Kellen had amazing insight and volunteered to come help out with parental supervision. I was so grateful to our friends who stayed. Not only was it helpful, but it was much more fun for the "big kids".

Here's the Mackay's- we SO love them!

And of course the Lamms. If you can't find Ivy, chances are she's with Brent, her boyfriend.

Such cute kids! (just don't tell them I called them cute)

Here's our purple fashion show (and yellow).

After EVERYONE was completely exhausted, we headed into the party room for some pizza and cake.

Hyrum had his own blow up thrown of course!

I have absolutely no idea what's on Ivy's shirt.

Hyrum doesn't like cake, he's weird, I know. But, he LOVES doughnuts, so I made him a cake out of doughnuts. It's supposed to look like a dinosaur volcano. I made it while he was at school, so excited to show him when he came home. When he saw it he just started crying, "But, Mom! I wanted a real cake!" Can't ever win I guess.

It's not gonna win Food Netword Cake Challenge, but it was pretty fun and yummy.

Opening presents was a crazy whirlwind of wrapping paper and tissue. At least I saw him open our gift (a train set and table). He was super excited and immediatly came over and thanked me with a big, excited hug.

It was a great party with lots of adorable kids and good friends.

And no, he didn't eat his doughnut, just in case you were wondering.

Halloween Fun

We had a terrific Halloween, starting with carving our pumpkins. Hyrum completely surprised us by doing his all by himself (besides the taking out the guts part). He drew out his plans ahead of time on his Magnidoodle, compared and contrasted each drawing to make sure it had the right amount of spookiness, cut open the beast, and completed the whole thing in no time. He carved Ivy's also (Ivy went to bed early and missed all the fun).

Bry's is the pirate, mine's Frankenstein, and Hyrum's are the cute little faces.

Next was the Ward shindig the night before Halloween.

I made Bry dress as Ace Ventura, his alter ego (yes, seriously).

There were tons of games and yummy chili. Hyrum loved running around with all his superhero friends. Ivy loved giving me a heart-attack by disappearing into the crowd. After dinner and games we went Trunk-or-Treating in the parking lot.

Finally Halloween day came with rain and hot, muggy temperatures! Welcome to Virginia! At least the kids didn't have to wear snow parkas and cover up their costumes.

We went Trick-or-Treating with our friends the Didlake's and had a blast with their darling little girl. Many of our neighbors gave us gallon size bags of goodies for Hyrum and Ivy. They even remembered Ivy's allergies and only included foods that were safe for her. I was so touched that they even remembered her allergies. We have such great neighbors!

We spent the day watching movies, eating spooky shaped pancakes, and telling scary stories (all of Hyrum's ended with the victim karate chopping the monster to victory). We ended the night playing with glow sticks in the pitch black until way after the kid's bedtime. It was a great Halloween weekend with all our Virginia friends.

A Day at the Farm

This year's Berry Farm excursion was a momentous occasion due to the fact that Bry actually took the day off of school. This is a huge deal for our favorite school-a-holic. It transformed a day that would have been exhausting and frustrating into one of the best family days EVER.

This is Ivy's special backpack. It holds her priceless EpiPen, just in case she gets an allergic reaction. Bry carried it for her all day- REAL men sport Strawberry Shortcake backpacks!

Hayrides are great for snuggles.

The kids were already getting photo-shooted-out.

They still had some cute smiles in them though!

Ivy kept screaming, "PUNKIN! PUNKIN!" People would look over to make sure she wasn't being murdered. Nope, that's just her volume.


Here's what everyone picked:



After pumpkin picking we explored the farm.

We enjoyed duck races (rubber ducks), chickens, turkeys, goats, cows, sheep, bunnies, and an emu- with Ivy screaming the names and sounds of the animals the whole time. But our favorite event, by far, was the pig races. The first one to the platform gets a cookie!

Who can resist the wooden signs with places to stick your head?

After lunch we were brave and tried our luck in the huge corn maze. This could have been a big mistake, but the kids loved it and we followed a parade of people that seemed to know what they were doing.

Our last stop is my favorite of the day. The corn pit. It was getting hot and the corn was cool and so dang fun. The whole family jumped in and laughed and played. We found corn in the funniest places for the rest of the day including Hyrum's ear, Ivy's diaper, and all our unmentionables. So if we ever get lost just follow the corn trail!

The Life of an Allergic Toddler

Our dear Ivy girl is officially one of those kids I always felt so bad for. (And I'm one of those moms I was so glad I wasn't.) She is allergic to peanuts, eggs, and milk. So her list of non life-threatening foods is pretty short.

We knew she had problems with milk from a very early age due to the unmistakable hint of vomiting every time she ingested dairy. I was sure we eliminated all dairy from her diet, but I still noticed a rash around her mouth on occasion. She also kept having tummy problems. I knew this because she would lift up her little shirt so I could see her bare belly and say "Urt, Urt". So I took her to a cruel Allergist who pricked her back, informed us of her diagnosis, and sent us packing without any advice, cookbooks, or enlightenment whatsoever as to what we were supposed to do next.



For the first month after I found out the terrible news I hardly let her leave the house, afraid she'd go into anaphylactic shock at any moment. She'd previously eaten peanuts and eggs and only had a mild reaction- but the doctor said, "She could have a serious reaction at any time!" Oh how those words haunt me!

Life is starting to get back to normal. I am finding lots of great recipes for the whole fam to enjoy. I never knew there were so many great vegan alternatives to "regular food". Bry, Hyrum and I still eat food she can't -especially eggs and milk. She is actually super sweet about the deprivation (surprisingly). She informs us when she wants the food we're currently eating by opening her mouth wide and saying "Ahhh". We only have to explain that it will give her a tummy ache and she drops it and moves on. I have a feeling she remembers all those tummy aches and long nights.

To Punish or Not to Punish

I love having a child who is not a baby. He can dress, feed, wash, wipe, and entertain himself. He doesn't scream at my feet if I'm trying to do the dishes or make dinner. He doesn't constantly ask for milk and then throw it on the floor and scream (again with the screaming) for no reason. Independence is a great thing. Very slowly a burden is being lifted off my shoulders.

For some reason babies make me feel claustrophobic, like I'm trapped forever with no escape. Hyrum is helping me realize babyhood doesn't last FOREVER, which in turn is helping me enjoy the baby years more.

Along with independence comes more complicated issues though. Nothing is black and white anymore. For example: The other day I went to pick up Hyrum at preschool and his teacher pulled me aside and explained that Hyrum had a problem pushing that day. I was surprised. Hyrum isn't an aggressive boy and we've never had an issue at his school before. I didn't take it too seriously though, I assumed the boys were playing a little rough and Hyrum was the one who got caught. So on the way home I explained in my most authoritative voice that we never push. Hyrum's anxious response startled me: "But, MOM! They wouldn't stop scaring Sara! Sara's my friend and I had to protect her!"

Ummm... do I punish my child for trying to protect a friend? Am I a "Zero Tolerance" Mom? I tried to explain that pushing is unacceptable if the offender is only teasing. BUT if someone is actually hurting him or another person he can kick and bite and push all he wants in order to get away. It's so difficult to teach kids to be polite, but if someone crosses a line, to become a super ninja.

No matter what phase of life my kids are in, motherhood is HARD- in a beautiful, exciting and courageous sort of way.