A few of their favorite things

I thought it would be fun to post a few of my children's favorite indoor things -- for posterity's sake!

1. They LOVE watching PBS kids. They watch "Curious George" until they have to get on the bus at 7:25 am, then after school they like to watch shows like "Arthur", "The Electric Company" and "Wild Kratts". (A few others they like are "Fetch, with Ruff Rufmann", "Martha Speaks", and "Word Girl"). I love the fact that they like PBS- such great and educational shows!



Cynthia is especially fond of "Wild Kratts". Here she is singing their intro song!


2. They all love to play on the computer, taking after they father! (Frustrating because it makes it hard for ME to get on unless it is while they are at school or after they are in bed!). Lillian loves the websites Starfall (I HIGHLY recommend it), PBS kids and such. The older kids love mini-clip games such as forest and light temple, PBS kids . . . AND MOST OF ALL CLUB PENGUIN. Marcus also plays Wonderking, like his dad.



3. They also love playing with Jon's iphone if it is available - - especially the apps such as "cut the rope" (even Lillian does a great job with this), and "Fragger".

4. Cynthia and Lillian's favorite toys still revolve around "Littlest Pet Shop" and Lillian loves playing with the dresses from her princess set (they are rubber and stand up on their own- - the dolls themselves have all lost their heads!). They also love to goof off and rough house a bit with their brothers . . . every night is a bit of a challenge getting them to settle down enough for scripture reading or prayers and bedtime.

5. Tyler LOVES anything to do with cars, balls, or trains. He is ALL boy and knows how to pretend with them already! He also loves taking a bath and running after his older siblings!

6. Favorite snacks: They all love white cheddar cheezits, Trix Yogurt, Fruit by the Foot and plain cheerios. Marcus- string cheese, pudding snacks, and the "four bread thing"- four pieces of toast- one with Peanut butter, one with jam, one with butter, one with cinnamon and sugar. Cynthia- cheddar cheese!! She also like lunch meat ham and apples. Lillian loves chocolate milk, strawberries, cheddar cheese, plain pieces of bread (no butter and no crust). Tyler- CHEESE (this is actually one of his first words!), yogurt, hard boiled eggs, lots of chocolate milk . . . that boy already has an opinion!

7. Marcus really enjoys playing the piano- much to my delight! I have been teaching him and love to listen to him play. He is so good about practicing the first thing he does when he gets home from school, and his ability is taking off this year!

What richness my children bring to my life . . .

Another Cynthia-ism

A few weeks ago, Cynthia had to have her blood drawn. She was really brave and was told she has great blood vessles.

She came home and told Jon "Daddy- I have good blood missiles!"

Shamrock cookies

What's St. Patrick's Day good for without a fun green treat to eat? So far this has been my favorite- YUMMY!

Shamrock Cookies

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 stickes)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla or peppermint extract
few drops of green food coloring
2 cups flour
green colored sugar

In a large mixer, beat butter, sugar and salt until fluffy. Add egg, peppermint or vanilla extract and a few dropps of green food coloring. Beat mixture well. Slowly add flour and mix until blended.

Divide the dough into three equal parts. Shape each part into a roll about 1 inch thick and 8-10 inches long. Roll each in green colored sugar. Wrap rolls in plastic wrap then chill for at least 2 hours or up to one week.

Unwrap rolls. Slice crosswise so the slices are 1/4 inch thick. To shape each shamrock, place 3 slices of dough with sides touching in a shamrock shape on a cookie sheet. Cut several stems from a fourth slice and attach one to each shamrock. (make sure to overlap the different pieces slightly in the middle then gently flatten to even thickness- when I made them I didn't do that and the different "leaves" came apart really easily).

Bake in a 350 degree oven about 8 minutes or until they look dry (but not brown). Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then lift them gently onto a cooling rack.

** Store the cookies in a tightly covered container room temperature up to three days, or store in the freezer up to two weeks.


Funny quote of St. Patrick's Day this year:
The first thing Lillian said to her teacher when she arrived at school: "I am wearing green underwear!! They are white with green flowers!!"
I am just glad she didn't try to show them to the class . . .

Baby Blessing in Ohio

I love that I have two siblings living close by. The Coons did the baby blessing for Elizabeth on March 11th. We came down Saturday morning and spent a day and a half with them, and my brother Steve and his family who came from Chicago. Saturday actually had decent weather, so we took the kids to the park and mostly just had fun hanging out together.

Little Elizabeth all bundled up at the park- isn't she a doll!




Fun picture of Ben!


All dressed up for the blessing! Elizabeth is wearing Laura's old blessing dress:



I really wanted to get a picture of Joshua (my brother Steve's little boy) and Tyler together. . . . but as you can see it wasn't going to work . . . I love these pictures! This is what I get for trying to take pictures of one year old boys! Oh well- boy cousins all the way!

Date morning . . .

It was about time- it had been a couple of months since we had been on a date. We had a couple of times we almost went, but then one of the kids got sick, or somthing else got in the way. We were determined this weekend! Babysitting is always the challenge, and the most expensive part of the date- and with a tighter budget, it was just so much easier to stay home and watch a movie or something. The youth in our ward also live so far away- it takes anywhere from 35-45 minutes to go pick them up and come back. Luckily, by chance we met a family with some nice teenagers that live only a 10 minute drive- so we have better options. ANYWAY, life is busy, people have been sick, money is tight- so a couple of months slips by without us going out without the kids. I can tell you, I felt a difference. We have a fairly good relationship for the most part, but I am realizing how much we needed some time with just the two of us.

Jon was scheduled to work tonight (moonlighting- yay!!!), so we decided to go out in the morning and catch a cheap before noon movie and go to Lakeside mall (specifically the Disney Store), which I hadn't been to yet. When we pulled away from the house without the kids, I immediately felt the tension of life raising four children lifting off my shoulders and the excitement of doing something fun with someone that I love so deeply. I looked over and saw the amazing doctor and hansome father of my children and marveled at the life we have built together, and all that we have been through together. Although we love doing things as a family, doing something fun without the distractions of keeping track of children and having the chance to focus on just each other is so important. It is so easy to loose track of that sometimes! I resolve to not let it go this long again- I need to budget for more regular dates- - in the end our marriage and our happiness is worth the sacrifice.

As a side note- we loved the movie we saw this morning- "The Adjustment Bureau"- definitely a good flick!

Reading before potty trained?

I am so excited that my four and a half year old is starting to read! Lillian has been putting letters together to form simple words, and will read simple words we spell out. I just had to say good job to Lillian! I am so glad we live in a state where she will get to start Kindergarten next year (her birthday is in September). If we still lived in Washington, she would have to wait an extra year until Fall of 2012 when she would be few weeks from turning six). Not only will she be academically and socially ready this next fall (when she is a few weeks from turning five), but she is also tall for her age (in the ninety-something percentile)! As a girl, being older and taller isn't necessarily an advantage . . .

Now if we can just get her to stop having frequent little pee-pee accidents . . .
(she IS potty trained, and has been for a while for the most part, but has such weak bladder control!)

Marcus Update

I just had to write a quick update. Marcus is a whole new kid. He is happy, energetic and his relationship with family members has really taken off. It's also amazing to see his spritual growth. This is MY SON! This is who he is, not the unhappy, irritable kid he was before. I am so proud of him and his efforts, and for the help we have been able to get him. I just wanted everyone to know how much things have gotten better.