Low-Key Halloween

I haven't forgotten about you my dear, dear blog. You were in my thoughts everyday. I'm finally not feeling completely zombieish anymore. Because of many sleepless nights, a vacation, and lots and lots of sickness the blog has taken a back seat. I have missed writing about our silly little lives and keeping updated on everyone else's!

Delia had a super hard October with needle-like protuberances ripping through her gums all day and night ("teething" just doesn't do this EVIL stage of life justice). Our darling, happy-go-lucky baby has turned into a grumpy monster!!!!

I was talking to my friend about our difficulties and she sent me this PERFECT quote:

In the church news today, they quoted Elder Holland about the seasons of life a woman goes through. I thought you might relate at this time in your life. I sure remember feeling this way.

"The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. The young years are often those when either husband or wife--or both--may still be in school or in those earliest and leanest stages of developing the husband's bread-winning capacities. Finances fluctuate daily between low and nonexistent. The apartment is usually decorated in one of two smart designs--Deseret Industries provincial or early Mother Hubbard. The car, if there is one, runs on smooth tires and an empty tank. But with night feedings and night teethings, often the greatest challenge of all for a young mother is simply fatigue. Through these years, mothers go longer on less sleep and give more to others with less personal renewal for themselves than any other group I know at any other time in life. It is not surprising when the shadows under their eyes sometimes vaguely resemble the state of Rhode Island...Even so, young mothers will still find magnificent ways to serve faithfully in the Church, even as others serve and strengthen them and their families in like manner. Do the best you can through these years, but whatever else you do, cherish that role that is so uniquely yours and for which heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones."

THANK YOU ELDER HOLLAND (and Stephanie)!!!! It's amazing how just sending along a simple quote can give so much comfort!  The most difficult moments I've had as a mom have been during sleep deprivation- BY FAR. I'm grumpy, I don't eat healthy, I don't exercise... I pretty much stop taking care of myself and just survive, it's miserable (I'm not sure why this happens, maybe some sleep expert can tell me).

So... on to the actual topic of this post:  I usually make a big deal about Halloween and have costumes planned and made months in advance, activites and crafts prepared ... not so much this year. It still ended up being a fun holiday and I don't think the kids noticed things weren't planned or prepared!



We had a great time at the Ward Festival.
 (Dee Dee was too sad to party, so Bry stayed home with her)
Here the kids are eating a healthy dinner of rolls and Root Beer.



I always think such a well-rounded meal should end with a cupcake.
(Does anyone else think there's too much junk-food at stuff like this?)

Besides candy, cupcakes, and doughnuts the kids got lots of fun little toys and stickers at the carnival.
The best prize of the evening were super cool balloon shapes
(Hyrum's is a light saber of course!)

Ivy chose a fairy wand which almost survived the whole night. 

Carving Jack-O-Lanterns is always the funnest Halloween activity (not so much the clean up)

On the actual night we tried to have a quick dinner and get homework done, but the kids were too excited to Trick-or-Treat... we figured it wasn't a battle worth fighting. 



Poor Dee Dee couldn't walk in her bumble bee costume, but she sure looked adorable!



She didn't quite get the Trick-or-Treating thing this year (it wasn't expected that she would).  She just wanted to sit and eat the treat the FIRST house gave her.  Why would she put it in a bucket?  Why would she walk up to complete strangers when she already had a piece of candy?  It was so fun to see her confusion and frustration.



Ivy decided to go as a fairy/princess/ballerina. 
We love how she poses for pictures now.




Hyrum chose to wear his Spiderman pjs (could it be any easier?). 
He refused any make-up on his face, but I couldn't complain! 



We have a SUPER fun neighborhood for Trick-or-Treating now.  Everyone goes all out with decorations and music.  The festivites even ended early since it was a school night.  It ended up being a fun weekend of celebration!

Ivy the Hairdresser

Ivy is obsessed with hair lately.  Anything with hair that will hold still long enough for her to wrap an elastic around a few strands is at risk.  This is one of her creations:



She's not a gentle, or tidy hairdresser, but she's already better than her dad:)

Pumpkin Patch

This year we decided to tag along with Hyrum's class when they went on a field trip to a pumpkin patch in our area.  It was a fun little day trip. The kids loved feeding the farm animals and eating a picnic lunch... I love that we were prepared with lots and lots of wipes.



On the itchy, itchy hay ride



Playing with the pumpkins

Here's Hyrum's cute class.  He loves his teacher and classmates.

Fun Runnin'

Hyrum's Elementary School's fundraiser this year was called "Boosterthon Fun Run".  It was great to support a cause that encourages an active lifestyle and sportsmanship... instead of junk food...

The gist of the whole thing was: students gathered pledges from friends and family and then ran a certain number of laps around a field on the actual day.


  

The recommended number of laps were 25-35 and Hyrum did 43!  It was crazy.  He just kept running and running.  I seriously couldn't believe it.  We've never considered him athletic- until now.  I guess I shouldn't really be surprised.  Both his Grandpas were amazing distance runners and Bryan is crazy fast too.  It was so great to see him do so well, but the best part was his attitude.  He just kept smiling as he ran, even though there were plenty of bigger and pushier kids sprinting past (and then walking the rest of the time). I can tell you it was a proud mama moment.

(Be patient with this movie, there are only a few quick glimpses of our sweet boy:)

Autumn Time

Even though it still feels pretty Summery here, I still can't help eagerly decorating and celebrating the actual season.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Autumn!

When the calendar FINALLY reads "Autumn Equinox" we dig out the dusty boxes and explore their contents, discovering so many fun decorations, games, and costumes- completely forgotten all winter, spring, and summer. 

Some of my favorite surprises are the fall-themed books we stow-away all year. 

Here's some of our favorites:

This is better for older kids (6 and up)

Also 6 and up

A little scary

Beautifully explains why we celebrate Thanksgiving

Dee Dee's Daily Fiber

Yep, that's sand all over her face and you can bet it's in her mouth.  I would have never DREAMED of letting Hyrum and Ivy put sand in their mouths, but Delia eats it by the handful.  Welcome to having three kids...



Dressin' Up

There's nothin' like a great dress to boost your mood and confidence and make you feel ultra feminine.  We all have our favs we secretly wish we could wear every day, we just choose not to, 'cuz wearing the same clothes every single day would be weird... I wish I could communicate this fashion sense to my little 3 year old. 

Here's her beloved dress at the moment:

She picked it out with her daddy while she tagged along during a dress-pant shopping trip.  I'm not sure if it's her favorite because of the memory of precious daddy time, because of the sparkles (the girl loves her bling), or because it has a picture of Hello Kitty.  Speaking of--- what is this magical attraction little girls have with Hello Kitty?  I don't get it.

This was my favorite dress when I was three:

I totally remember wanting to wear it everyday, as if it had magical powers or something.  I have several pictures with me in this particular outfit, including this hilarious one:



I love all the different facial expressions (sorry it's grainy).


Even though she has a closet full of in-style fashions, Ivy would prefer her comfy, sparkly, special memory dress.  I guess it could be much, much worse.



Paleo Update: The Kids' Diet

Once I started feeling so amazing on the Paleo Diet, I knew I needed to get the kids eating healthier.   I wasn't very worried about Ivy and Delia- they are both GREAT eaters.  I was super concerned about Hyrum though. 




DD is a bottomless pit when it comes to food.  She eats (almost) everything with delight.  (Her tray has strawberries, scrambled eggs and sausage)


Pre-Paleo his diet consisted of cereal, bread, crackers, pizza, and chicken nuggets.  I knew this wasn't healthy food, but I had this irrational fear of letting my child starve to death so I let him limp along nutritionally.

It took him a few weeks of near starvation, but every week since we've started the diet he's added at least one new food (this is a MIRACLE for anyone who knows how picky and stubborn Hyrum has always been concerning everything he puts in his mouth).  So far he's added: beef patties, turkey patties, oranges, bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, eggs, and pineapple.  His palate is maturing and his attitude toward food and trying new cuisine is becoming so much more positive.  It's very, very exciting!

Hyrum's super excited because his FAVORITE food is burgers.  He also has sweet potato chips, strawberries, lettuce, and carrots on his plate- and no, bottled mustard is NOT paleo:)

We try to stay positive about food at meal times to create a happy atmosphere.  If the kids don't want something on their plate we ask them not to voice their complaints, just don't eat it.  If they would like second helpings of a particular item, they have to at least TRY everything on their plate.  We've chosen not to make mealtimes a battle anymore (that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of tears and plenty of chaos though).  It's a long process, just like anything that's really important in life.

The only guilty situations with this crazy eating plan are when we're out in the world or if the kids have friends over.  Hyrum will come home from school and say, "Violet had a lunchables today" or "Dylan gets pop in his lunch" with such envy and frustration.  It's really hard to compete with junk food!  It's sad for me- not being the "fun mommy" of the neighborhood with never-ending sweets in all the drawers and cupboards.

The first thing Ivy asks when we visit someone's house is, "Do you have any food?"  I know she's attempting to break as many dietary rules as possible before she has to come back to her own strict house.

Ivy is THRIVING at mealtimes.  It hasn't been very difficult for her since she's always been the odd-one-out because of her allergies.  Now we eat one meal and I don't have to make something different for everyone!  (The delectable drink in Ivy's green cup is called a "green smoothie"- I know it looks gross, but it's yummy.)

I REALLY don't want my little ones to be the crazy, sugar deprived kids of the neighborhood who roam from house to house consuming as much food as they can before they are forced to come home.  I want them to be proud to give their body healthy nutrients and understand how much stronger they can be because of it...
we've still got a long way to go...

  

6 Days later...DeeDee's Walking!

Erin has spent years encouraging me to write a post. I guess it just took me being the one to witness a "first" for once.  Too many times I've come home to hear all the amazing and cute things my children do while I'm at school. But today, I am one proud dad.  Just six days ago we were enjoying Delia's spider-crawl.  While upstairs playing, she just stood up and walked across the room like it wasn't a big deal.  I was afraid that I had missed my chance.  With her you have a very small window of opportunity to catch her performing.  I can't recount the number of occasions we wished that we kept the camcorder on us at all times.  I ran downstairs as fast as I could, grabbed the camcorder, ran back up and started recording just in time...

Ivy's Collection

Being the mother of a curious and mischievous 3 year old is never dull. She's always asking questions and questions and more questions. She's obsessed with knowing and understanding EVERYTHING and gets so frustrated when the topic is out of her grasp.  Here's a common scenario: we're out in a public place and Ivy sees a man with long hair. This doesn't make any sense.  He's a man... but he has long hair.  So in a loud, carrying voice she HAS to ask, "Is that a boy or a gul (girl)?" Did a mention it's pretty awkward being the mother of a curious three year old?

We were at Hyrum's t-ball game and Ivy attached herself to a cute little 6 year old girl watching her younger brother play. Ivy was of course asking her all kinds of questions like, "Why aw (are) you sitting in that chaiw (chair)? and "Why do you have howt (heart) socks?".  After coming back to sit with me for a while she returned to the girl and said, "Hey, can I sit with you?" The girl replied, "Yes, if you don't ask any more questions." Ivy's obvious response was, "Why?"

Another cute Ivy quirk is her collection. Shiny rocks, leaves, flowers, and other random stuff of the day are treated like precious treasures. Walks and family activities are brought to a halt if Ivy spies anything worthy enough to add to her assortment of specimens. When her trike (inevitably) tips over due to her crazy steering she could care less about her own injuries. She screams, "MY COWECTION!!!" and isn't satisfied until every last artifact is stowed away safely.

Proudly displaying her stash.

I absolutely love this stage: entering independence, but still completely innocent and reliant on me for reassurance

 and security (I'm not ready to be out of the picture yet!)