So Behind

There has been way too much going on and I am soooo far behind on blogging...I will get to it very soon.  For now here are a couple of new posts, but excpect more soon.

My Favorite Gift

I've been reading it and can't wait to get started on my garden this spring!  Expect great things....(I hope).

Lucy's Baptism

Lucy was baptized yesterday by her Dad. It was a very nice day, with lots of family able to be there. Her Tutu played the piano. Grammy and Mom gave talks. Pop Pop and Bidu gave the prayers. After the baptism we had a lunch at our house. It was a very nice day and Lucy was very happy.

The whole gang:

Millie being mauled by the hungry masses:

Gavin and Katy:

Emily and Jayson:

Tutu and Bidu:

Whit and Rob:

Maren and Harrison:

Thanks everyone who came and made it such a nice event for Lucy.

Teething?

I was up holding a fussy and unhappy baby until three in the morning last night. I think she was teething. I've never experienced this before with teething, but it is normal right? I remember the baby I nannied for screamed all night once due to teething. Fortunately for me I wasn't on duty during the night. No such luck with Clara, though. Usually my kids open up their mouths one morning, happy and refreshed, to reveal a whole row of denture like sparkling little teeth, but Clara is not a happy little camper. All my other kids were addicted to their wassy's (pacifier) but Clara never took to it. She just likes me instead. I wonder if that is what made the difference. Anyway....yaaaaaaaaaaawn!

More Holiday Cheer

I was going to post these pictures last week but our camera USB cable wouldn't work, so here is a backlog of some of the other fun holiday things we did last week: Made a gingerbread house, finished up the decorating (getting up the pine boughs...mmmm smells so Christmasy), and having the cousins up for dinner and some caroling with Uncle Phillip on the guitar. Not pictured are the gazillion treats I spent all day Friday making for neighbors. It was a lot of work, but felt pretty festive. I made gingerbread cookies, peppermint bark, truffles, toffee, and fudge. If I would take a few seconds and learn how to hyperlink I could tell you to go to Emily S.'s blog for the declicious and very easy truffle and bark recipes and to Sarah's blog for the very easy and amazing toffee recipe. (But I am too lazy and want to go eat breakfast.)

A Winter Wonderland

Yesterday we escaped the valley for a couple of hours. We drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon and went and played in the snow. It was so beautiful and we had such a good time in the deep fluffy snow. Our camera ran out of batteries by the time we found a good sledding hill. Winter isn't all bad when you can get out and enjoy it. I really want a pair of snow shoes now.

No Carpool

Today I didn't have to leave my house once. I didn't have to take anyone to school or pick anyone up and it was such a productive day! I couldn't believe it. Driving everyone everywhere breaks up the day so I can't get much done.
Here is what I accomplished:
1. Finished the laundry
2. Made Peppermint Bark and Toffee (thanks Emily and Sarah for the recipes)
3. Wrapped a jazillion presents
4. Painted and put together a present that needed to get done
5. Straightened my room and living room and kitchen
6. Read a few chapters of my book
8. Made dinner
9. And the absolute best part of not having to drive today was Clara got a very good nap!!!
It felt good to get a few of the things that have been weighing down on me checked of my to do list!

Very Highly Recommend

Rob and I have really been enjoying this series.  It is so well done, so interesting, so different from other crime dramas.  I missed them on Masterpiece Theatre so we have been getting them from the library.  Helen Mirren is amazing and I whole heartedly recommend them.  They series has been very highly acclaimed critically and I think it may be one of the best TV dramas I have ever watched.

Under the Weather

Well, it's been quite a week. We thought Anders had the flu last weekend, but was having a hard time coming out of it...then his nose got all funky and infected...ouch. Rob came down with said "flu" on Tuesday and was sick as a dog, but by Thursday thought he may have strep and not flu. So he went to the doctor, and yup it was strep. So we took Anders in and he had strep and a skin infection in his nostril...ouch again. And Clara has been snotty and gross and coughing. Oh well, everything is under control now, and we are on the mend (knock on wood). I just love winter! Speaking of winter we got another storm....the kids played outside yesterday almost the entire afternoon with Rob.

Me Too, Maren...

Maren posted a clip for next season of Masterpiece Theatre on her blog, and I have to add my two bits....

Hooray! It's been a bit of a MPT drought and this will definitely quench my thirst!!!

Stuck In My Head

Ander's sometimes watches this show on PBS.  Our TV is in the basement so I don't ever really watch with him, but this song is catchy and I can't get it out of my head!!!!

A Fun Idea

I participated in an activity kit swap last weekend.  Let me tell you, I usually hate swaps. The last swap I participated in was back in Omaha and was a Family Home Evening kit swap.  I was cutting, coloring, cutting, laminating, and cutting for weeks and I HATED it!!!  I also barely use the kits because I usually just wing it with FHE lessons.  Anyway, I hate big commitments that require me to be crafty or creative.  I am not crafty and have a hard time coming up with crafty things.  I can come up with games and science projects by doing a google search, though. That is exactly why I decided to participate in this swap.  My kids beg to do projects, play games, etc.  So I put together 2 kits.  One was a game and another was a kit to make Santa and Reindeer puppets.  I got 12 other kits (12 for each kid) that had all sorts of fun activities from making ornaments to making birdfeeders to experimenting with salt crystals to making their own playdough.  It actually wasn't that crazy or involved, like I dreaded.  We are going to do another one this summer and my friend is going to include a make your own volcano activity--which my kids would dig!  Anyway the rules were you had to have everything the kids will need in the kit, or else for example, if the kids will need scissors that item must be highlighted on the instructions.  Also, we got a kit to make pinecone birdfeeders.  Each kid has their own pine cone and yarn and birdseed, but just one jar of peanut butter for them to share. The instructions need to be detailed and if doing a craft include a picture of the finished project.  Anyway, for those that just don't get that crafty with their kids, maybe this would be a fun idea.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Last night we decorated our Christmas tree. We drove clear to Provo to buy our tree, a beautiful Balsam, then came home and had our "decorate the tree" family party, with a candlelight dinner. Clara was a MANIAC, and seemed to absolutely eat up the chaos that accompanies tree decorating (you know, boxes, paper, and small chokeable size pieces of plastic strewn EVERYWHERE!).






And then, just as if we had ordered it ourselves, to help set the tone for Christmas, we woke up to this: