listening ears

I wonder sometimes how much my children actually listen to me. Not just listen but really get what I am saying. On Saturday I was trying really hard to get some cleaning done around the house. This rarely happens anymore. I am usually trying to entertain Madeline while keeping Jacob happy and trying to get just the daily tasks complete. Saturdays are all I have and sometimes those are shot by all the activities!
It was early afternoon and I really really wanted to mop the kitchen. You know those dots of junk that appear on the tile after something gets spilled then dirt just adheres to it? Well, my floor was starting to look like one great big dot of yuckiness. The girls, bless their hearts, had done a really good job of entertaining themselves all morning. They had made a mess with the coloring books and markers, etc., on the kitchen table. I finally said, "okay, out of here for two hours! let me finish mopping and you can come back in." Well, I thought this would just be a rough estimate. No, it doesn't take two hours to mop my kitchen it really isn't that big, I was just multi-tasking.. trying to make rolls for a Christmas party too. Anyway. I was in the living room and I heard Emma say, "Rachael, only two more minutes and then we can go back in the kitchen." I thought I would die laughing. Had she taken me so literal. YES. In a big way. Later the next day I found a note that said..

"4:32 we can go done sters and color."

I would've scanned it in, but our printer is not hooked up correctly right now. Hilarious! Emma cracks me up.

Another Emma example. It always kills me when I hear myself out of my kids mouths! Again, on Saturday, I had made a scrumptious lunch of frozen nuggets.. that's it. Emma sat at the table and ate her four nuggets I had given her then cleared her plate. I was kind of shocked since she can usually put down 6+ of those things. I said to her "there are more nuggets if you want some"... to which she replied, "it's a little late for that don't you think." Hmmm.... I guess another plate and more ketchup is out of the question for this six-year-old intellect!

4th Picture tag

Sorry Elaine that I am just now getting to this... I am so slow at reading other blogs... yikes.. anyway... here is the closest picture to the 4th file folder, in the pictures folder, 4th picture... The only reason it isn't the one, is because there wasn't a picture in the fourth folder, only one video.. same with the next folder... I guess I could've just posted the video..
This picture was taken at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in Dallas, Mariano's. It was taken June of 2007. I tag anyone who hasn't already done this.

Handsome dude...

Jacob has grown so much in four months. He now weighs 16 pounds, is 24.75 inches long, and has a huge head... He is so adorable. We couldn't resist snapping some photos of him yesterday before church.. what a cutie! You will have to excuse the snotty nose, and you have to love the slobber on the sweater. Nice touch!

O Christmas tree

It's Christmas time already! Decorations galore! YEAH! We went and bought a tree on Saturday at Lowe's. It took us very little time to pick one out. It isn't the most perfect tree, but is there such a thing. It did take us forever to get it looking straight. Whether it is or not is still up for debate. Take a look at this picture and tell me what is wrong with it...



Yes, you are right. IT, the tree, is outside! Well, after all of this.....

Jacob asleep at Lowe's

The girls with hats they found waiting for dad to pay for the tree...

Getting the tree off the van..

Hanging the lights with care...

Hanging ornaments...




We came home from church on Sunday and found this...



Yes, I know there is no tree in the picture. I didn't think to take a picture until we had moved it outside. It was just one of those Sundays. The kids were driving Bryan crazy, we decorated the tree before church, had choir practice after church, got home around 5 (keep in mind we are fasting), cleaned up the tree for an hour, and had cereal for dinner. Hmmm.. We still haven't decided if we are going to just go buy a bigger stand and move it back inside, or just lite it up every night and open the blinds. Have we started a new trend or what people. Who said the tree had to come inside. After all, who wants that wonderful smell of pine filling up their homes.

I DO!!!

Argh...

Thankful

I think I sometimes forget how many things I have to be thankful for, even the little things that are actually huge blessings. Here are a few I have on my list right now... some of them aren't terribly recent, but in an attempt to play blog catch-up (one handed) here we go...

1. I am so grateful for Emma and Rachael's teachers in school. They are so wonderful. I have the opportunity to visit their classrooms and help out where I can. I am so thankful for the love they show to my children. I have only had children in school for two years and it is obvious there are some teachers who show more affection than others. I would never say that they don't love their students, but... you know what I mean.

I love to be in their classrooms and see what my kids are learning every day. I enjoy so much watching them interact with their peers and with their teachers. I honestly could not do their job!!!! I went out and watched Kindergarten recess. That was a treat. It's too bad that kids are already "not playing with" each other for whatever reason. There was a little girl in Rachael's class who didn't know how to skip. Something Rach has known how to do for two plus years now. I tried to teach her in a short lesson and in the process inspired one of the teachers to get up and show her. Happy to report, she can now skip... the power of teachers!!! Thanks to all the teachers out there who do a thankless job, wonderfully, everyday!

Emma's class

Rachael's class

2. I am grateful for the mercy of a policeman. Until this particular sunny day a few weeks ago, I could happily say I had never been pulled over... well, that is no longer true. In my hurry to get to the store, after a school visit, I sort of ran a stop sign in front of a motor-cop. He was turning left in front of me, and I just took off behind the big van in front of me... oops... I knew he was going to pull me over the second I noticed him. He was very nice and allowed me a by. I just kept apologizing. He asked me if I needed a ticket.. like I'm going to say yes... right! Anyway. My record is technically still clean, but I have officially been pulled over.

3. Sleep.. Sleep... Sleep.... My little big guy likes to wake up at night still and eat... then cry about an hour after falling asleep. (Last night was bad.) I do have to be grateful for the few nights lately that I have actually gotten to sleep all night long with no interruptions. Ahhh... precious sleep. If I just start him in his car seat it works wonders... why am I just now figuring that out?

Sleeping on the floor

4. Cousins! Aren't they the best. In a perfect world we would be able to live close to all the cousins. As it is, that isn't possible. We are fortunate to live about 500 feet from Bryan's brother Eric and his wife Tori and kids. Madeline absolutely loves Emily! A while back (remember I'm playing blog catch-up) Emily was over and they wanted to go outside and play. Lucky for them we had just bought some hats and scarves for our trip to Idaho at Christmas. It was a cold and windy day. Madeline refuses to look at a camera, let alone smile at one. She is such a turkey. She was trying to avoid me during this photo shoot... but I managed to win, I think.

I found this cute photo of the girls on Halloween. Too bad I didn't turn Jacob around in his car seat. He was a cute bumblebee.

Hero

Last night Madeline wanted to read from our Who's Your Hero book. If you are not familar with this book, it tells three scripture stories. After each story it applies the principles to our day. Madeline really wanted to read the Nephi story. So we did. Before we got started I asked the kids who there hero is. Rachael thought for a moment then said Grandma. Madeline piped up quickly afterwards and said Grandpa. Emma came in from the bathroom and said "Mom's my hero." I almost wanted to cry. I told her I thought that was so sweet and asked, "even though mom is such a bad mom?" To which Emma replied, "not that bad." Then I laughed. Turns out I won't be nominated for any awards this year!

Thank goodness kids are so forgiving. We are struggling from dad-is-way-too-busy syndrome, and Jacob-is-really-needy syndrome right now. I think the hardest hit has been Madeline. I feel like I am failing her as a mother. It seems that any spare time I have I use to clean, exercise, run errands, or heaven forbid take a shower (usually with Madeline). I keep thinking that maybe I will catch up on everything and be able to just hang out with her. It hasn't happened yet.

Rise and Shout... over nothing

Wouldn't you know that BYU's luck would run out on the one game we get to go to every two years here... What a disappointment. We actually took all of our kids. What were we thinking. The whole night was just yucky. We started out for Fort Worth at 4:30 and we didn't make it there until 6:30. It is usually less than an hours drive. Because we got there late, we missed the tailgate party and the food we had already paid for. We had to buy not-so-great-but-very-expensive food at the game. After our first possession we knew it wasn't going to be pretty. Luckily, we stayed for our one touchdown and left after the third quarter. The kids had a good time, and it was good to get a little BYU cheering in... emphasis on little...

Here are some pics from our night.

Happy Fall, Crazy Hair, and Fair

1. HAPPy FaLL!! I love this time of year.. who doesn't? While most of you enjoyed cooler weather over the summer compared to our lovely temps, if you live in a place like Texas, you can finally go outside and not sweat to death. We can enjoy this full day of nice weather through December sometimes January. (Yes, it does get cold enough in February that we stay inside.) Anyway. I love fall colors: orange, yellow, red, brown.. put them all together and it is quite a site. I love the smell of pumpkin pie. I love to decorate for fall. I love pumpkins and gourds. I love the brisk air in the morning, and actually opening my windows for some of that fresh air in my home. I just love fall. Here are some pictures of my kids decorating pumpkins at a local nursery. We had a lot of fun.

2. Crazy Hair Day. At our little Elementary School they have way too many theme days. A few weeks ago it was crazy hair day. I couldn't talk Rachael into doing it, and I didn't give Emma a choice. I think she had 8 pony tails. She really didn't want her picture taken.. yet again, not a choice. I thought it was cute and fun!

3. Fair. Anyone who knows me, knows I love the fair. Big or small I love them! I grew up raising pigs for the county fair. My grandpa would take us to the rodeo every year in our little town that actually had a PRCA rodeo. FUN TIMES! The great state fair of Texas runs for three weeks and we try to make it there at least once. The big hit this year was the kid farm. Thanks Kayla for coming along! And a huge thanks to Tori for taking Jacob!

Emma thought she was so clever and sneaky to give me bunny ears.

Madeline feeding a wooden pig.

Emma barrel racing.
Rachael steer wrestling.
The mighty cowgirls after the big rodeo.

Notice Madeline's hands covering her eyes... what a turkey!

Legoland, Ike, Homemade takeout

Legoland, Ike, Homemade takeout

1. LegoLand. I think the girl’s favorite activities are doing anything with dad. Bryan saved all of his legos from when he was a kid. We occasionally get them out of the massive popcorn tin we have lugged around for years and the kids (and Bryan) get creative. I wish I were more creative with the kids. It is no secret at our house that the girls enjoy playing with their dad more than me. I think it is because I am always telling them "in a minute". They must think that a minute is an infinite amount of time, because sometimes that minute never ends. I wish I were better at letting my house fall by the wayside and playing with my kids. You know, it is falling to shambles and I'm not doing a lot of playing, so I should just forget trying right? Easier said than done... dishes still need to be washed, clothes cleaned, and dead bugs vacuumed off the floor (a task I don't do enough). I told Bryan the other day on the way home from church that we are not very fun parents. What is our deal? I told him we need to not be so anal about everything and just have fun with them. I read some of your blogs and think, wow... I wish I were a cool mom like that. We are trying harder! Thanks for all the good ideas you all post!

Here is our LEgoLanD....

2. Ike. It's always good to be prepared for natural disasters.... well... our tree wasn't prepared for the storm. I kept watching this tree to see if it would actually stay standing. It did. Not the prettiest tree anyway, but we didn't really want to lose it.

3. Homemade Takeout. A couple of weeks ago, Bryan and I went and had Pei Wei for dinner. The man working there asked if I would like a to go box. Yes. (Didn't end up needing it.) The family sitting next to us had these really cool things on their kid's chopsticks that held them together. In an effort to be more FuN, I thought it would be a good idea to get some to go boxes chopsticks, bridges for the chopsticks, and some fortune cookies. My kids love sweet and sour chicken. Who doesn't like a good fried piece of breaded chicken... I made a big batch of chicken, some yummy Japanese rice, and some sweet and sour sauce. We enjoyed some homemade takeout at our table. And, I might add, there wasn't rice all over the place like there usually is afterwards. YEAH!

The Stevens Bunch

The last time my in-laws were in town we got a babysitter and we all went out for a night on the town. For some reason we decided to take a trip down memory lane.... via singing. Here is the clan with their not so complete version of an oldy but a goody! You can't see much, it was dark and we were driving.... just listen and laugh.

My favorite song that night was the theme song from Green Acres. We were all surprised how much of that song our chaufeur knew.

After a great game of miniature golf here is how the men entertained themselves:

If you can't tell, they are juggling the golf clubs on their faces.