We're Thankful for... Jet

"When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way From your first bassinet to your last dying day."

We adore Jet. He is such a ham. He finds everything hilarious from stealing and wearing others' bathrobes or blankets to snuggling with loved ones.

He's still my baking buddy and makes just as many messes as he used to (sometimes more).

For Jet's birthday this year, he managed to blow out all the candles on his cake himself.

For his birthday, we picked foods we thought he'd like again. Apparently he wasn't interested in eating everything on his plate but was interested in the ice cream we got him. Neapolitan ice cream since he likes multiple flavors. He prefers ice cream to cake.

We did introduce him to a new trick for his birthday- blowing bubbles in milk.

 

He had no problem opening presents and cards, however.

Lucky, in his thoughtful way, wrapped up a toy in a blanket for Jet to "open." So sweet.

You're an absolute blessing in our lives, Jet. 

We love you and are so thankful for you. Happy Thanksgiving!

What She Missed- August 11

Wednesday, August 11-

Play in the Sand Day. After doing chores again, the boys convinced me to let them play more video games- either sandbox games or games that had sand in them.

We didn't have any real sand so the toddler had to make do with what he could find while Mom wasn't looking.

Good thing I hadn't put the eggs in yet. 

I'll say my reaction was good, though. He's a toddler. It's not like he would understand if I gave him a talking to about what he did wrong. So I let him play and took pictures. I figured the mess to clean up wouldn't be different if I stopped him as soon as I saw or if I waited until he was done. There would just be less screaming if I waited so I did then moved him over to the kitchen sink where I could wash him off. Then I gave strict instructions for people to watch him and keep him out of the kitchen while I cleaned up and started a new batch of cornbread.

This isn't the first time I've handled a messy situation with a toddler and managed to get pictures. I even blogged about some of them, especially when I kept my temper. When Jr. was little, he drew all over his face with a sparkly pen. I blogged about it in September of 2009.

When Jr. Jr. was little, he got finger paint on our new bed. I blogged about it in July of 2013.

There are others but sometimes I'm pleased with how I handle situations. I think it helped that I was already in a good mood when I found Jet with the cornbread mix.

Halloween Fun

Trunk or Treat and ward party! We even made chili this year to contribute to the chili cookoff (and there was enough left over for dinner another night). I don't have indoor pictures to show from the ward party.

The kids' costumes: Jr. Jr. was a pirate. Lucky was a pumpkin. Jr. was a Ten Man from The Mysterious Benedict Society book series. Nichole was Kate Weatherall from The Mysterious Benedict Society book series.
How do you like my costume?

I fooled several people thinking I had a baby in there. Nope. It was candy to hand out.

Beautiful weather for being outside. Several of us wore short sleeves.
And the next morning? Snow on the ground.

Then it stayed pretty cold through Halloween (depending on the time of day. There was no more snow, though).
Halloween day, I went to watch Jr. Jr. and Lucky walk in the school's Halloween parade. Then I got to watch Lucky's kindergarten presentation, sharing what they've been learning. He was so happy to have me there and to give me a hug afterward. I love supporting my kids like that. And I'm so glad he loves school.

After school, we met up with friends to do trick or treating at the mall.

Then the kids and I went home to have some dinner and did some trick or treating in our neighborhood.

We stopped off at a neighbor's fire to warm up and roast some marshmallows. Then we collected Jeremy who by then was home from work and went to visit and trick or treat at my sister's.

On a side note, after the ward party, Lucky was proud to show me what he did to his face and hands (and armpits) with a stamp. I let him know (nicely) it was not the best choice since we had church the next morning (the Primary program). Thankfully it washed off.

Let's Face It

You know?  My family is awesome.  Yes, it's true.  And we do a lot of neat things together.  Yes, we do.
But...
Let's face it.  Sometimes things are just not that great.
Today things were not that great.
One of my children and I did not get along very well.  That's a nice way of putting it.
After taking some time to cool off, I went to the kitchen to find that another of my children dumped cereal out all over the already messy kitchen.

Later on, another child decided to play in the cereal and spread it around even more.

I needed the motivation to clean the kitchen floor.  I got it.

I managed to throw away a lot of stuff that needed to be thrown away and I managed to sweep, but Lucky woke up before I had a chance to mop.  Oh well.  Save it for another day, I guess.
By the end of the day, though, the kids and I were getting along.  They even got to watch me play a computer game while we ate dinner in the living room since there was no room at the kitchen table.
Sigh.  Life.

I Did It Again!

When Jr. was 2 years old, he drew on his face with a sparkly pen.  I was so proud of myself for not losing my temper.  I don't always lose my temper (though I admit sometimes I do), but the kids don't always do things (when I don't lose my temper) that are blogworthy.
This morning, my current 2 year old did something that I'm proud to say I didn't lose my temper over.  We were cleaning off the kitchen table and there were some containers of poster paint to put away.  I put them back in the package they came in and figured I'd just set the package on my bed while I was working on other things and put them away in the closet later.  Off I went to do other things. 
At one point I saw Jeremy in the living room with the older two kids, but I didn't see Jr. Jr.  I checked in his room; he wasn't there.  I checked back in the living room; he wasn't there.  Hmmm, maybe he was in my room.  Why yes, he was.  The talented kid was able to get the paint containers out of the package, open them, and do some finger painting on our bed sheet and mattress and box spring, besides dripping paint on whatever was lying on the floor at the time.
I called on Jeremy for help and as he was leading Jr. Jr. to the bathroom to get his hands cleaned off, he reminded me to grab the camera.
So, here you go:

Even though we didn't lose our temper, Jr. Jr. was still upset when he had to get cleaned up.

Well, we still have a long day of cleaning ahead of us, so if you'll excuse me...