Always On Holladays

Easter is definitely one of my favorite holidays.  I’m not gonna lie, the chocolate is a huge contributor to that fact, but it is also a celebration of one of my favorite gospel topics…the Atonement!  Which reminds me – General Conference was amazing!  I get so excited for Conference – like count down the days excited.  There were so many good talks given, but I have to say Elder Holland was definitely a favorite for me!  There’s a youtube clip on his talk that was quite amazing…take a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpFhS0dAduc  

We went to my parents house to celebrate Easter with some of my family.  That’s what we usually do.  Actually we’ve been out there for the better part of the last few weeks!  Russell and Bryn really like playing with their cousins.  

The haul

Anyways, on Saturday Stirling had a Easter hunt for the kids, so we went to that.  They got such a big haul of candy there that we decided to scrap the usual egg hunt around my parents yard (we usually hide those plastic eggs filled with different candies).  I think Bryn picked up as many pink sugar sticks as she could find.  

Coloring Eggs

We still did the traditional egg coloring with all the cousins that could make it.  As you can see, instead of finding old shirts for all of them to wear, we just had them strip down…it was just easier that way.  

Hard at work

Russell kept on dropping his and cracking them – which was ok by me!  I LOVE hard boiled eggs!  I don’t think I can ever eat just one at a time!  And really, the only time I eat them is at Easter, I guess I just never think to boil them any other time.  Except ever year I realize this, and resolve to do it more often…which never happens, just like my other “resolutions” at the beginning of every year!  Anyways…the kids had fun coloring the eggs – most of Bryn’s were pink, and Russell had fun mixing the colors to see what the new color would be.  

Easter Loot

After they found their Easter baskets in the yard, they checked out their loot.  Bryn looks very pleased with her new pink bedtime flashlight.  A lot of little girls get new dresses for Easter, but I have decided to just put a new little outfit in my kids Easter basket…that way they get less candy and a little something new to wear.  I’m sure Bryn will get a few Easter dresses…just not this year.  I don’t think she cares.  

Bryn in her Easter outfit...I hope it shrinks a little.

Check out that bracelet she’s sportin’!  Yours truly made that for her! (Marsha if you read this, I hope you didn’t just fall off your chair!  Pretty crafty of me, eh!)  I guess you can’t see it too well in this pic, I’ll have to get a better one and post sometime.  If anyone out there knows where I can get kind of a thick headband (one that goes all the way around her head) that’s like brown with pink polka dots or something, let me know!  She loves wearing headbands!

Russ in his new get-up.

And Russell of course, in his new duds.  He really liked that barking hand puppet dog.  His hat is a tad big for him, but the youth sizes just don’t fit that boy!  That’s ok, it doesn’t look too bad…and I’m sure he’ll grow into it.  

Ash and his meager loot.

And then there’s Ash.  He was asleep when the other kids got their baskets.  Gotta love the look on his face…”That’s it?  This is all I get?  What the heck is that furry platypus doing in my Easter basket?”  I’m sure he was thinking something like that.  He looks pretty disgusted, anyways.  He didn’t even attempt to take out the cute little platypus to see his cute little short set underneath…he simply looked at the basket in disgust, and then crawled away and started playing with some pine cones over at a nearby tree.  I wish I would have thought to just put pine cones in his basket to start out with.

Lest you should think there’s only scraps and whining going on at this house, I must say there’s some good days too. Russell and Bryn are actually getting a lot better at playing nicely together, and my hopes are high that this will increase in the summer time, as they generally tend to play nice outside together!  For all the times I’ve complained about the whining and crying and fighting, I admit I really do have great kids!  Afterall, they are only 4 and 2…what can I expect!  

Playing Together

I wasn’t even prompting them to “play together nice while I take a picture!”  They were playing so nicely all on their own with Bryn’s kitchen set.  Even Ash was getting in on the action! He likes to follow the older kids around (when he’s not at my heels) and play with whatever they have.  

Cooking Together

Usually on Mondays after Family Home Evening, we make some kind of treat together.  The kids love this.  I guess Bryn thought she needed to be the supervising secret agent for this undertaking.  I think they made butter pecan cake with cream cheese icing on top that time.  If you’ve never tried it, I strongly recommend doing so!  Mmmm!

Hugs for Ash

Bryn absolutely loves her little “blovow”.  She gets really excited when he wakes up from naps and comes with me to get him out of his crib.  She loves to play with him (which often involves taking toys away from him), but she can be really nice sometimes too.  She keeps a close eye on him to make sure he doesn’t pick anything small off the floor, and will take it out of his hand and give it to me if he does.  That is really helpful, actually…she really looks out for him.  Sometimes it’s a bit much for the little guy, when she tries to hug him and ends up tackling him though.  He has actually started biting her when she gets in the way (like takes away his toys)…it’s at this point that Bryn announces that she doesn’t love him any more…she only loves her “mama”.  Once the teeth marks disappear though, they are best friends once more!

Picking a movie

Why in the world would I post a picture of them picking a movie to watch…you might ask?  Well, this isn’t usually how it happens! Yet here they are…the movies on “both laps”! (Ironcally the movie they chose that morning was “The Miracles of Jesus”!)  I’ll openly admit that they watch way too many movies during the Winter months.  Whatever, it’s Canada and it’s Winter – do I need any more excuse than that?  It’s not like we watch them all day long, they do know what a book is, and Russell knows how to read and do math, so I’m not too worried. (Obviously I’m trying to justify myself here, so I must feel some amount of guilt about the matter.)  I’ll get over it.  But yeah, they are starting to do much better as far as playing together.  I remember growing up we had FHE after FHE lesson on not fighting…so it must take some practice and patience.  I think we’re making some progress!

So I woke up this morning thinking, “Oh great, another long, boring, cold Saturday!”  I know…so pessimistic!   I guess you could say I’m not a “morning person.”  On Saturdays Justin goes  for his extra long runs – we’re talkin’ like 3 hours long!  So he came downstairs and said he was going to get ready and go.  I had curled up on the rocking chair all tired from the previous nights un-sleep and not looking forward to another day locked up in the house.  Upon seeing my pathetic state, Justin suggested he take one of the kids in the stroller with him.   What a great idea!  Since his run was 3 hours, he took each child out for one hour of it.  Wait, did I say “great” idea?  I meant to say brilliant! Russell was the first to go and when they got back an hour later, to switch for Bryn, they announced that it was so nice out and Russell just wanted to stay out and play in the backyard.  So Ash and I got our jackets on and went to join him while Bryn went for a run with Dad.  We played most of the morning, and then again in the evening, and had a most enjoyable time! 

Ash

Bryn

Russell

Ash Swinging

Ash has always been a really easy going guy (except for when it comes to sleep!).  Today I tried him in the swing for the first time since he was a newborn last summer (when we propped him all in a swing with several blankets and stuff.)  He absolutely loved it!  He just sat there all content, and actually would even start “gooing” whenever I pushed  him, it was pretty cute.  I’m sure he’ll hate me when he gets older for putting him in that ridiculous hat.  Oh well…that’s my prerogative as a mother!  

Bryn Swinging

Bryn is such a goof ball!  She’s always gotta be doing something silly and bouncing up and down…sometimes I think she has springs on the bottom of her shoes.  Hilarious kid, she is!

Russell Playing

Russell absolutely loves being outside! I like to keep a close eye on them when they are out there, and it takes a lot of convincing to get him to come in just for a minute while I feed Ash, or run upstairs to get something…I have to promise that he can leave all his coat and shoes on and everything and that he can just stand by the door.  Even then he stands there (in the house) complaining that I’m taking too long! We all really enjoy being outside.  There has definitely been some cabin fever, but today it was great to get out and feel some kind of hope that Spring is on its way!

Here we have just some random pics of stuff we do sometimes.  Nothing too exciting, but even the “ordinary, everyday” stuff needs to be recorded.

DNA strand out of silly puddy

The kids like to play with their Silly Puddy.  Russell made this DNA strand the other day.  After he made it I was like, “What’s that Russ, a snake?”  He said, “No…it’s one of these…”  and then he went and got his bone book and opened it to the that page and pointed to the DNA strand.  I said, “Oh, of course!  DNA…why couldn’t I see that!”

Silly Puddy heart

Then he made the heart…

Drawing

Bryn still likes to draw.

Shhhh!

Asher falls asleep…

Maps

We look at maps.  (I never said we were cool!)  The kids like to see where their cousins live and stuff.  Also – an incentive to get them to go potty – (if it works, it works!).

Sometimes they even get to have a bath.  I know people that bath their kids every single day. I am not one of those people.  I don’t let them get too stinky – like you couldn’t call it neglect – but I think I’ll start doing it more often.  They love it, so why not. Maybe that will be a new years resolution (Nah!  Then it won’t happen for sure!)

"How long are you going to let her do this to me???"

Ash is a pretty good sport.  Bryn likes to comb his hair and wash his back.  He even had a cup of water poured on his head.  There was some sputtering and coughing after, but he didn’t get too mad.  Sorry Ash…this is the cost of having a big sister.  Get used to it!

Chocolate Fondue

And we have the occasional chocolate fondue.  It was delicious! Personally I think we should have them more often.  We tried a new crock pot fondue recipe and it was really good.  We poured the leftover chocolate onto a pan of rice crispy squares, but it didn’t taste as good as it sounds.  In fact over half the pan ended up in the garbage!  Two things I never thought I’d ever throw in the garbage – chocolate, and rice crispy squares.  But it just didn’t turn out.  Oh, and note to self:  Don’t cut so many oranges!

“My first Book of Mormon”

We’re trying really hard to get into the habit of studying the scriptures with our kids every day.  Mornings are crazy for a few reasons: 1: Justin leaves early and can’t help with the morning routine, 2: the kids wake up at different times every morning, and I REFUSE to wake them up earlier than they already get up, and 3: I can usually barely keep my eyelids up long enough to pour milk on their cereal and throw in a movie.  (I generally get 4-6 hours of interrupted sleep per night, and so yes, I use a movie in the morning to get myself an extra half hour of “peace”….so sue me.)

I think I got sidetracked…oh yes, scripture study.  So we figured out the best time to read with them is right before bed.  They are tired, and willing to cooperate with pretty much anything to put off going to bed a little longer.  We use those board scriptures “My first Book of Mormon“, those ones, and they are amazing!  Usually when we read them I will stop and let them fill in different words in the story as they learn them.  Russell has been doing it for a while, and actually knows quite a few stories, but Bryn surprised me the other day.  She was actually puting in some of the right words, though most of the time her answer was “Pomise Wand!” (Promised Land)  She is learning though.  She remembered King Benjamin’s name, and knows the story of Nephi building the ship and how the Lord showed him where to find the wood and tools to do it.   Bryn gets excited about “scripture time” and will run and grab one of the books, jump on the couch and say, “Tell me some stories of Jesus!”  It’s so exciting to me to see my kids be excited about the gospel, and learning it so young.  It’s so important for them to develop a love for it right from the start.  If we can instill in them some good habits and a love of the scriptures, they’ll have so much of an advantage when they get older.  It’s sticking to the routine now that’s key though.

I was under the impression that my kids wouldn’t start fighting until they were a bit older.  I was wrong!  Russell is almost 4 and Bryn is 2, but I’ve never seen kids fight with each other like these two at such a young age.  And they fight over the craziest things!  As long as they’re not hurting each other I sometimes just listen and chuckle to myself, because it is actually quite funny.  I’ve even captured a little bit of one on tape – if I ever get a good one I’ll be sure to post it. The other day for example, Russell was trying to take Bryn’s picture she drew away from her.  Here is how the dialog went:

Bryn: (screaming at the top of her lungs) Nooooo!! Neva, neva take away! 

Russell: Yes, I’m gonna take it away and never give it back!

Bryn: No! Neva take away!  You make my mad!

Russell: I’m gonna slam your fingers in the cupboard door and you will cry all day long! (He slammed her fingers in the cupboard door a while back and messed up her fingernail, so now he uses it as a threat. Also, I’m not sure what that had to do with him taking her picture away.)

They carry on like this and I have no idea where they learned it! 

On the other hand, starting late this summer, they have started actually playing nice together once in a while!  I still remember the first time they did this.  It was dinner time and their food was ready when I looked out the window and couldn’t believe my eyes!  My first thought was, “Who are those kids in my back yard, and what have they done with Russell and Bryn??”  Not wanting to disrupt their play, I saved dinner for later and they actually played for quite some time!  Since then they have done this more and more.  Hopefully it continues and gets a little more frequent!  Generally they are really good kids though, and I can’t complain.  Actually I couldn’t ask for better!