I Love You Because

Apparently we're not quite done celebrating the holiday of Love.  Or at least documenting it.  Haha. Yesterday, after church, we ended up having a belated Family Home Evening lesson that never happened LAST Monday.  Grace was in charge of the lesson {and actually pulled something together that was really great} and Sophie planned the activity.  For Grace's lesson, I suggested that she do something to go along with the ongoing Family History project I'm trying to get the kids on board with.  {Which -- in case you're wondering -- is not really capturing their interest.  Haha}.  In the end, she threw together a pop quiz, featuring questions from all the information we've gathered so far on our immediate family members plus a few extended family members, and then had us pair up in twos to practice "interviewing" each other for future family history info gathering.  Aside from a certain number one son doing his ABSOLUTE best not to cooperate with anything or anyone, it was really fun and a good little lesson.  Sophie capped the evening off with a really cute activity of cutting out hearts for secret admirer notes and all of the girls got really into it.

Some of the notes that were put on Grace's bed.  Everyone got a few, and Jane was really cute about wanting to hang hers up on the wall right next to her bed.

 

 Cute little Jane on her Valentine for us from preschool.  It was originally wrapped in tin foil to look like a Hershey's kiss and this little gem of a picture was inside.  

  I found this little gift on my nightstand the day after Valentine's Day.  I'm pretty sure it was in response to Grace's finding out that Ethan brought me breakfast in bed the day before.  Hahahaha.

  A packet of notes was clipped together inside.

 My two favorites were, "Your so funny!" and "I love your hair! {heart}"

This weekend has been an interesting one of contrasting experiences and emotions.  On the one hand there have been MULTIPLE meltdowns and full-on trips to crazy town from each and every child in the family, while on the flip side, there have been moments of real sweetness and tenderness that leave me thinking I have the most wonderful and amazing children in the whole entire world.  It is quite the roller coaster ride up in here.

In church yesterday, I taught a lesson in Relief Society that happened to be on "Strengthening and Preserving the Family."  It's always so ironic when I'm assigned to teach something and then everything in my life conspires against me during that time to prove that I am the LEAST qualified person in the world to teach the subject!  Believe it or not, we do NOT have this on lock down over here.  I'm most certainly not a perfect mom {as my kids most certainly will attest} and I know that I make mistakes on a daily basis.  What I do know, however, is that it is my heart's desire to strengthen and fortify my family as best I can so that we can weather through any storm or challenge that comes our way.  The quest to be a better mom and a better woman is at the forefront of my mind and heart every single day.

When I hung up our family picture over the fireplace a few weeks ago, I hung a picture outtake on either side over which I wrote what I hope will become our family motto.  I took the following sentences from "The Family: A Proclamation to the World":

Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.

 I believe this is a recipe for happiness.  I have hope that even though the children are not always cooperative when it's time to read scriptures, or say prayers, or go to church, or even just get along with each other -- as long as we are doing our best to build our foundation on the Savior and His teachings, things will work out for the best.  Life can be trying and challenging and difficult and all kinds of hard things, but it can also be joyful and full of light and love.  Sometimes all in the same day.  Like today.

With another day off of school and Scott home from work as well, we tried our best to make it a "fun family day."  And I think we were mostly successful.  Even though we had our low points -- with mega-fits from certain firstborn children -- we also had a lot of highs as well.  The Lego Movie was our morning destination and it did not disappoint.  We braved the outing with all 5 children and were pleasantly surprised when all of the kids made it through the movie without having to be taken out once.  Of course, they did wear us down into making a mid-movie run to the concession stand since they were "starving," and lover boy only made it through because he fell asleep in my lap about 20 minutes in, but still.  All in all, it was a big hit -- even if the sensory overload of the animation did give me a pounding headache that lasted for the rest of the day.  Hahaha.  After we got home, the kids pretty much did whatever they wanted until dinner time and then it was Family Home Evening and off to bed.

  Everything is Awesome.

Life is good.  And sometimes, everything really IS awesome!  Like when I'm able to corral the children into "circle time" and convince them to play "I Love You Because" for the umpteenth time that week.  For those whose lives have NOT been entrenched in the world of Greg Heffley and company, this game is in one of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, and believe me when I say it is hilarious to hear Alex parroting the older kids and quoting the line from the book each and every time the bottle spins to him :  "I love you because -- you help me keep my body clean!"  Hahahahaha.  {Although, technically he misquotes it as "I love you because you keep my body clean."  It's still hilarious, though.  Then again, we're all really biased.}  Whatever the reason, it's always nice to hear that they love each other -- especially when their actions prove otherwise so much of the time!   Until next time...

Smorgasbord

I feel like this has been a loooooooong week.  Most likely because I've been taking care of sick kids while being sick myself, and also because Jane has decided to start waking up in the night again and keeping me up with her.  Boo.  She's been doing so good {relatively speaking} since we got back from Indiana at Christmas time that I was REALLY hoping she had finally outgrown her night-waking tendencies.  Apparently she has not.  

But anyway, the beginning of the week saw a brief fever and sickness for Alex along with a cough and runny nose that left him out of the running for anything fun.  Tuesday was the worst of it and unfortunately it was also the night that the Pinewood Derby was FINALLY able to take place.  Seriously, the poor leaders had to reschedule this event two different times thanks to the lovely wintry weather we are experiencing these days.  Ethan was really hoping that his final run in the Pinewood Derby would have him coming out on top for once, but sadly that was not to be.  Scott ended up taking the 4 older kids to the church for the race while I stayed home with Alex to try and get him to bed on time. 

 Pre-race -- So full of hope.

 Can you spot Ethan's?  I'll give you a hint -- its colors are an accidental nod to our barely there Swedish roots.

I think his face says it all.  Don't you?

On a completely different note,  I thought I'd feature a few goodies for you tonight in a Recipe Round-up of sorts for the blog.  First up, are the Gooey S'mores Bars I made for the cancelled Pinewood Derby from 2 weeks ago.  I pinned the recipe a while ago from my good friend Karissa over at her food blog, Dish Up Delish, and had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to make them once No Junk January was over.  They did NOT disappoint.  Unfortunately for my waistline, I cannot have these bars lying around the house ever again!  And while the kids were SUPER happy we didn't end up having to take them to share at the Derby, I was really, really torn.  Because when it comes to delicious baked goods hanging around the house, I have absolutely no self-control.  Like at all.  So, really -- it would have been for the best if they would have made their way over to the church that night like they were supposed to!  :)

Gooey S'mores Bars

{picture taken from website.  sorry karissa!}

You can click here for the link.  I didn't manage to take any pictures, but Karissa's are much better anyway, so go ahead and drool over that deliciousness above and make them as soon as you dare.  Hahaha.  The only changes I made to the recipe were due to what I did (or didn't) have on hand.  So for instance, you'll need a jar and a half of marshmallow fluff when putting the bars all together, but I didn't read the fine print before going to the store and only bought one.  They were still really good, but I would have liked that little bit of extra oomph from the marshmallow if I would have had it.  Also, I forgot to buy chocolate bars and figured I'd just use chocolate chips instead, but lo and behold I discovered we were all out after I had already starting making the dough.  Luckily, I discovered some leftover Dove chocolates from the kids' teacher gifts for Christmas and they were the PERFECT addition to the bars.  In fact, I think I will always use them in the future.  But then again, I really love those milk chocolate Dove pieces.

Next recipe is also a dessert and is one that I discovered via Pinterest on Sunday when I was trying to decide what to bring to our friends' house who had invited us over for dinner.  As I was looking through various cookie recipes, these basically had me at "brown butter."  I'm a huge fan in case you didn't know. 

brown butter + sea salt chocolate chip cookies

{not my picture either.  sorry!  but don't they look to die for???}

These were SOOOOO good.  I think Ethan swiped half a dozen himself, and everyone else seemed to love them as well.  I followed this recipe to a "T" except that I didn't have sea salt, so that crucial component is missing, and I was still out of milk chocolate chips, so I used a combo of semi-sweet choco chips, butterscotch chips, and white chocolate chips in the hopes that there was a little something for everyone.  Hahaha.  I'm probably an anomaly, but I usually prefer more cookie to chips and in the future, I will most likely reduce the total amount that go into them.  However, I do want to try the ACTUAL recipe's call for milk chocolate and semi-sweet chips before I decide exactly what to do with them after that.  Either way, these are REALLY good.  And what I like the most about them (other than the brown butter, obviously) is that the recipe uses whole wheat flour which tricks you into thinking that they're not that unhealthy.  For a cookie.  Hahahahaha.  Again, these are some more baked goods that I can NOT have lying around the house.  

With Valentine's Day today, I resisted the urge to bake anything more, and instead spent the day being a "fun mom" {at least for the morning} and trying to minimize the fights.  Because for some inexplicable reason, the kids have a scheduled 4-day weekend EVEN THOUGH they've had 8 snow days so far this winter.  I think today is a teacher in-service day and Monday is President's day, but seriously!  Couldn't they just eliminate holidays for the rest of the year so that we don't end up going to school until the middle of July????  Oh well.  What can you do?  

My Valentine morning was started off today with a sweet surprise from Ethan!  Okay, scratch that.  My Valentine's day was actually started EXTRA early this morning with a wake-up call from Jane who had wet the bed and came into our room around 3:30 AM.  Unfortunately, after I changed her and tried to get her back in HER bed, she would have none of it.  For the next couple of hours she kept us awake as she laid on the floor in our room next to our bed {I had to kick her out because she was twitching and itching all around and driving me insane!}, and kept trying to convince me that it was time to get up for the day.  Finally, around 5:30, I managed to convince her to go back to her own bed and there she she stayed and slept while I went back to sleep in my own bed for another hour or two until Ethan came in with some breakfast-in-bed and woke me up.  It was really very sweet.  He brought me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that was cut with a heart-shaped cookie cutter, along with a giant card and a tall glass of milk. 

The love fest continued as I went downstairs and was rewarded with more cards from Sophie and cheerful moods from everyone.  As the morning wore on, I decided what we all needed the most was a chance to get out of the house and do something fun!  Knowing that Scott could probably use some peace and quiet since he was working from home, I took the kids to a giant indoor playground and let them run around until lunch/nap time then headed home and put Alex down to sleep.  An added bonus for the kiddies was a stop for ice cream and treats on the way home, and an added bonus for ME was an almost empty house for the rest of the afternoon as the 3 older ones went to play at a friend's house in the neighborhood as they practiced for an upcoming talent show at the school.  

 Ethan's art work that he created last night.

 The card that the kids picked out for Scott when we were at Target the other day.

All in all, it was a good day.  :)  The only real downfall is that yet another snowstorm has come through and Scott and I had to cancel our plans to go out for the evening thanks to the roads being bad once again.  This winter is SERIOUSLY never going to end!  And on that note I'll leave you.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Golden Girl

Sophie, Sophie, Sophie.  So much personality housed in such a small little body.  As of yesterday, the daughter formerly known as the super muppet is officially seven years old.  And since her birthday is on the 7th, she's been begging for weeks and weeks to PLEASE have a party since it's her GOLDEN birthday and she'll never be turning 7 ever again.  Haha.  I don't know where she even discovered the concept of the golden birthday, but I was unfortunately unable to oblige her request.  At least for a friend party.  A family party, however, was always in the plans. 

 The birthday girl on her way to school.

 This is her "Mom, I'm going to miss the bus!" pose.

 Followed by a classic "Can we please be done???" look.

The two big things she was excited about on her big day were: changing out her earrings for the first time and getting to take a picture with the birthday bear in her classroom.  Having her hair put up in a bun was just the icing on the cake.  Even though her actual birthday was on a Friday, we had decided a while ago that we would celebrate with cake and presents on Saturday so that we'd have more time to throw everything together and not cut into bedtime.  Especially since the Mustache Bash was on Friday night as well.  So, after the requested birthday meal of chicken nuggets last night, Ethan and I headed out the door for the dance, while the girls settled in for a double feature movie night.  

 Chicken Nuggets!  Yay!

 "I mustache you a question."  Hahaha.

Cuttin' a rug!  It was a lot of fun.  Even Ethan admitted on the drive home that it was a lot better than he thought it was going to be.  Hahaha.  I'll take it!

For Sophie's celebratory Saturday today, Scott took the girls to see Frozen this morning for the second time and Ethan joined them as well.  While they were getting their movie on, I was finishing up Sophie's felt flower disco ball {the coffee filter one from a couple of years ago was dismembered long ago} and trying to get a cake made.  Since Sophie is allergic to most cakes, I stumbled across a genius idea on Pinterest this year for a Rice Krispie Treat cake that would work perfectly for the Golden Girl!  At her request, I used a heart shaped pan to make the treats in and then whipped up some chocolate "butter" cream frosting using Blue Bonnet Light margarine (which is dairy free) and a little bit of soy milk.  {Too much and it makes her tongue itch.}  After frosting the "cake," I topped it off with the sloppiest bit of icing writing you'll ever see and a few leftover felt roses from various Valentine projects that were lying around the house.  And a single solitary candle that was the only one remaining from the stash that Alex and Jane got into while I was frosting the cake. 

 Ta da?

 Oh Jane.

 

 There's that disco ball!

 Those felt flowers took a deceptively long amount of time to create.  I probably wouldn't have even started this had I known how many hours it would take to finally complete it.  But at least it looks really pretty.  Right???  And Sophie really loves it, so I guess that makes it worth it.  Haha.

 I think this is my favorite shot of the bunch.  Isn't she a cutie?  

 Or maybe this one's my fave.  It's hard to choose!

Despite the fact that there were a paltry number of presents for her to open this afternoon, Sophie was excited and happy about each and every one.  Always nice to see!  After having Sophie ask me yesterday to please buy her a rainbow loom for her birthday, I thought to myself -- heck no, we will NOT be adding a 3rd rainbow loom to this household mix!  So, upon consulting with Ethan he agreed to give her HIS loom and extra rubber bands for a birthday gift and I agreed to slip him some money under the table to reimburse him for part of the price.  After all, he did buy it all with his own money.  {And to be honest, I think he was happy at the prospect of making some money off of it since he hasn't really used it since way before Christmas.}  Rounding out her selection of presents was a Kidz Bop CD from Jane, earrings from Alex, a necklace from me and Scott, and another pair of earrings from Grace.  All in all, she was pretty stoked about her loot.

 I was surprised at how excited ALL the kids were about this addition to the household music collection.

So there you go -- a golden birthday for the ages!  Haha.  When Scott asked her at bedtime what she likes best about being 7, she responded that the best thing about it is being an inch taller.  I don't think that's even accurately true, but we'll let her think it anyway.  :)

Happy Birthday to the Super Soph!!!  We love you!

Okay, just kidding.  THESE are my favorite pictures of the day.  :)