I Love You Because

This year's 5 Days of Valentine was more tedious than fun -- if we're being honest about it.  Womp Womp.  I think it was mostly due to the fact that all 5 days consisted of Alex whining/crying/complaining/demanding that I had to buy him some certain kind of Pokemon cards for the occasion, and that got old real quickly.  I think he has misconstrued our extension of the Love holiday as some sort of Christmas, Jr.  Which it is NOT.  Nor has it ever been.  So, I'm not really sure where all his expectations were coming from.

(Day 4's offering was a bunting of hearts with an "I love you because..." for every member of the family.)

Other than that, though, the holiday passed by as it usually does, with conversation hearts, token "gifts" and treats, and -- of course -- the making of actual Valentines and boxes to hold them in.  The older three have all phased out of this rite of passage now that they're in the upper grades, but Jane, Alex, and Isaac are still fully in the fray.

(BE MINE)

Watching the process of creation for all of their valentine-y goodness was one of the more entertaining parts of the month.  Each one was so perfectly THEM that it made me laugh out loud.  Jane took the longest -- because my little artsy-craftsy moonbeam had a specific vision in mind; Alex was finished the quickest -- because he mostly really doesn't care about making stuff like this; and Isaac was hilariously attentive to details as he fashioned his little box out from an empty sandwich bag box along with construction paper and hearts.

(He insisted on writing his name on the INSDE of the box.  Hahaha.)

As for the valentines themselves, they each went a different route and I loved the final products!  Initially they were all going to use an idea from a few years ago, by making heart-shaped crayons from broken crayon pieces in a silicone mold.  In the end, I convinced Jane to use some smaller flower shaped molds instead (they required FAR fewer crayon bits than the hearts), and Alex totally came up with his own idea that he executed on his own and finished in a matter of minutes.  Isaac was the only one who used the hearts, and since he doesn't have nearly as many kids in his preschool class as the other two, we had just enough crayon pieces left to finish his batch.

 (I haphazardly created this little graphic and pun myself!  It was the only thing that sold Jane on the idea of using the flowers instead of the hearts.  Hahahaha.)

 I literally LOL'ed when I saw Alex's valentines and heard his under-the-breath comment right afterwards.  He used some of the dozens and dozens of Pokemon cards that he already has and turned them into "Valentines" by adding everyone's name from his class.  When I complimented him that it was really nice of him to give away his cards, he as quick to say that he was fine with it, followed by the aforementioned follow-up of "I gave them all weak cards."  Hahahahahahahaha.  Oh Alex.

Lest you think the older three missed out on Valentine's Day this year, have no fear!  They each had their own special experiences this season, too.  Ethan was given a "candy gram" type secret admirer gift at school -- I didn't take a picture of it, but it consisted of a can of Strawberry Crush soda with some kind of punny note attached to it with curly ribbon -- and I think he was equal parts baffled by it and flattered.  Hahahahahaha.  Grace was in charge of the decorations for the Young Women Valentine Party for mutual, and let's just say she went ALL out.  She spent HOURS working on stuff up in her room every night for a couple of weeks before the big day and she also required an hour and a half before the party started that night to set everything up with Sophie, Gianna, and their friend Katie.  I'm pretty sure it made quite the impact.  :) And FINALLY (I've saved the best for last), Sophie had her own not-so-secret-admirer experience on Valentine's Day as the deacon in question colluded with Grace to get all the goods delivered.  I think everyone in the family enjoyed the spectacle.  Hahahaha.  :)

 These hand-cut hearts were hot-glued to fishing line to make a "curtain" for the entryway to the room.

 Balloons, streamers, photo backdrops -- she went with the works!

 (Scott's texted commentary while the decorating was going on was pure comic gold.  Overheard from GRACE: "I'm going to be an amazing Young Women's leader when I'm older.  I already kind of am." Hahahahaha.)

 (Gianna, Grace, and Katie)

"Because I like you I try too hard,

that's why I write in this card

To explain my feelings it's kinda hard,

that's why I write it in a card."

And that is about that, folks!  Another 5 Days of Valentine in the books.  Maybe next year's festivities will be more inspiring...  ;)

 I did cave and get them all a present for Valentine's Day itself.  And even though Alex was initially dismayed (UNDERSTATEMENT alert) that I didn't get the Pokemon cards he wanted, once I sat down with him to work on the Pikachu block building set that I got him instead, he was able to dry his tears and enjoy his day.

Living That Pre-Teen Life

A couple of Fridays ago, Sophie celebrated her 12th birthday with a small group of friends and our not-so-small family.  Her big request was to go to an escape room place here in town and try to break out with 3 of her friends from church.  Since I've never been to one, I gladly volunteered as tribute to take them over and participate with them in a "Clue" themed room.  And boy am I glad I did!  Hahahaha.

(Sophie was Miss Scarlet, Eva was Professor Plum, Adelaide was Colonel Mustard, Lauryn was Mrs. Peacock, and I was Miss White.)

It was even more fun being in {mostly} observational mode while trying to break out than if I were actually trying to break out myself.  :)  I was beyond entertained watching the girls puzzle things out while hopping from clue to clue to clue.  It was the most epic case of "SQUIRREL!" I've ever seen in my life.  Hahaha.  The excitement eventually wore down enough that they were able to focus on the clues long enough to solve them, and in the end, we came thisclose to breaking out in time.  We came right down to the buzzer and ended up figuring out who did it, what they did it with, and WHY they did it, but we missed out on the where.  :(  In our defense, I think the "hints" that the employee gave us towards the end were unintentionally misleading/confusing.  Otherwise, I think the girls totally would have known it was the bathroom where the crime took place, and not the garage.  Haha.

(My hat was quite fetching.)

It was all good, though, because this group of girls were fine enough with their near guess, and after we finished up taking some pictures, we skedaddled on over to the cupcake bakery across the street because I had made a last minute decision earlier that day that there was no way I'd be able to create a periodic table of elements cake on such short notice.  It was a good call.  The girls all got to choose the flavor they wanted and then I bought a bunch more for the rest of the fam to sample and I even got a little pupcake for Maxwell!

Scott arrived home with the pizza for dinner just as we were getting back from our outing, and the rest of the evening was a chill party of eating, opening presents, enjoying those cupcakes, and then playing some games up in the bonus room while waiting for the girls' parents to arrive.

 (They played Listography.)

All in all, I think it was a rather successful celebration!  And now that I'm 3 kids deep into "12 year old birthday parties," I think I can authoritatively say that they're MUCH easier to orchestrate than the 5 and 8 year old ones.  Hahaha.  I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again -- Sophie has really lucked out in the friend department with our move!  All of these girls are just so great.  Now if only Sophie will NOT follow in the footsteps of Ethan and Grace and turn absolutely psychotic during the course of this year.  Hahahaha.  {But seriously -- please, let's hope she bucks the trend!}

February Funk

Last week, as a family, we read about the beginning of Christ's miracles in the New Testament, when He turned water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana. (John 2)  What followed from this reading was a fairly cooperative discussion about Christ's miracles in the here and now.  While talking with the kids, I remembered a quote from a Conference talk a few years ago that has made me re-think my idea of what constitutes a "miracle" and provided me with an opportunity to share with them an experience I had earlier that week.

You see, I've been in a bit of a funk the last few weeks.  Maybe even the last year, if we're being technical.  But the last few weeks in particular have been rough.  I feel exhausted all the time, keeping up with any kind of housework has been (quite literally) a chore, having the motivation to just DO almost anything has been a struggle to overcome the inertia of doing nothing, and I kind of just want to sleep.  In addition, I've felt lonely and alone and forgotten, even though intellectually I know that none of those things are actually merited. 

In Elder Hallstrom's Conference address, Has the Day of Miracles Ceased?, he shares the following thought: 

Often we describe a miracle as being healed without a full explanation by medical science or as avoiding catastrophic danger by heeding a clear prompting. However, defining a miracle as “a beneficial event brought about through divine power that mortals do not understand” gives an expanded perspective into matters more eternal in nature.

I love what a broadened view this idea gives to the concept of miracles.  Yes -- there are miracles that are huge in scale and nature.  But I think that defining a miracle in this manner lends itself to categorizing many more tender mercies as such.  

Last Tuesday night, I fell asleep with a song stuck in my head.  Ethan has been playing "A Child's Prayer" on the piano for the last couple of weeks, and the words kept running through my mind.  As I prayed that night, I found myself asking the same question as the song -- "Heavenly Father, are you really there?"   Not because I doubt it, but because sometimes I do feel forgotten or inconsequential or lacking in some way.  

The very next day, however, came my own personal miracle.  One of my best friends from college (whom I haven't talked to in a couple months) called me out of the blue.  And in the course of our {super long} conversation, catching up on all that's been happening over the last little bit, I recognized how inspired she was to give me a call and see how I was doing.  And in the course of our  conversation, I was inspired to finally make some phone calls and set up some doctor's appointments.  {I've been on medication for depression for about 2 years now, but I'm pretty sure I've been needing some adjustments.}  Another tender mercy -- or miracle, as I like to look at it -- in this story was that when I called to make those appointments I was able to get one for THIS week thanks to a cancellation from someone else.  

That phone call alone would have been enough to turn around my day and mood, but almost as soon as I hung up with my friend, I received another, out of the blue, call from my sister!  She confessed that she didn't really have anything to chat about, but had been thinking about me the last couple of days and thought she should call.  After getting off the phone with her, all I could think was how grateful I was that Heavenly Father answered my prayer so quickly and let me know that YES -- He is really there.  And He does hear and answer my prayers.

I'm really excited and hopeful that I can get things figured out.  And I promise that there ARE some fun February things to catch up on as well.  Really -- there are!  Stay tuned for tomorrow's post to see how Sophie's escape room birthday party went.  :)

  

Maxwell -- my favorite funk buster.  

12 Going on 20

She's had a birthday shout hurray!  Although, there were certainly no hurrays being shouted at 7:16 this morning, when she burst into my room freaking out that she was going to be late to school.  Doh!  Apparently, I picked the wrong morning to assume that I could handle hitting "Stop" on my alarm rather than "Snooze." Double Doh!  Hahaha.  As a result, she barely had time to scarf down her requested powdered donuts for breakfast and throw a quick lunch together before we had to jet.  Jane managed to get herself ready in time as well, but Alex remembered he had homework that was due and opted to have me come back and get him after dropping off the girls so that he could get it done.  Those kids!

I tried snapping a picture of the birthday girl before we left for school, but she was not really in the mood.  And that's an understatement.  Thankfully, she was much happier when she got home this afternoon and let me snap away!  :)

 We finished the evening off at Chick-Fil-A for Sophie's requested birthday dinner.

Since she's turning 12, she gets a friend party this year, and tomorrow night is the big bash!  {Although, in full transparency, it's not all that big.  And this year, once again, I feel like it's snuck up on me and caught me unprepared.}  The plan for tomorrow night is an escape room adventure with a few of her good friends.  After that, we'll head back to the house for some cake, presents, and more fun!  :)  Wish me luck for tomorrow -- I've got to try and figure out how to execute a "Periodic Table of Elements" themed cake while also trying to get the house cleaned up and ready for a party.  ;)

 Sophie had a presentation yesterday in GT for some project where they had to represent an inanimate object.  I think?  I know for sure she had to create a disco ball costume and this is what she came up with.  :)

 Two umbrellas -- spray painted silver and covered with foil squares.

Hahahaha.

Februar-Yay!

I had grand intentions to blog the last two nights (an unofficial new year's resolution of mine is to get back to blogging everyday during the week -- only because I know my kids really enjoy it), but I've been derailed both nights by falling asleep while laying down with Isaac at bedtime!  Last night, I think I was out between 8:30 and 9.  Needless to say, I never got around to updating the blog.

With today being Friday and the first day of a new month, I can't say enough how excited I am to another week down!  Hahaha.  Ethan might think he's the main one counting down until summer, but I guarantee I'm up there, too.  Only four more months of shuttling 6 kids to 5 different schools with different start and stop times on an almost daily basis!!!  Yeah -- I'm definitely counting down.  Hahaha.

I'll save all the starts of our Creative February for another post, but tonight I can't let the week end without documenting Grace's latest achievement.  Almost 2 years to the day, Grace got her braces off yesterday morning!!  It was such an exciting event, that I totally caved and gave in to her request for taking the rest of the day off of school after the appointment.  We celebrated by going out to lunch and then heading over to Target to purchase some necessities before heading home.

(She's holding up a picture she took on her phone of her braces, up close and personal.  Haha.)

Grace's first comment after getting her braces off were 1.) her teeth felt slimy, and 2.) she missed her braces.  Hahaha.  Oh Grace.  She was super stoked about the goody bag she was given at the end of the appointment -- nothing says "yay for no more braces" than lots and lots of candy -- and she was equally stoked at the prospect of finally being able to chew her favorite gum again.

All in all, it was a day to remember.  :)  Now that Grace is all done, perhaps it's time to check back and see if Sophie still needs to do a phase 2 treatment...

Grace -- January 30, 2017

Grace -- January 31, 2019