Pizza and Pedicures

Hungry?
We have pizza!!

Carson wants every pepperoni to be perfect!



Not bad for first time pizza chefs.

We are loving our homeschool freedoms which allow the opportunity to teach, and learn life skills as well as book skills. Last week, we learned to peel and dice potatoes. Hmmmmm, 4 kids with sharp objects. What could possibly go wrong? Perhaps I should have read Lydia's post before handing peelers to the kids.... (Hope you're healing nicely Lydia! Sheesh, if you just needed a break from the kids, there are easier ways.) Luckily, we just had 2 very minor cuts. They'll be preparing 7 course meals in no time!

OK, back to the pizza...

Pride in their accomplishment!




They were so excited about making pizza that they didn't even get out of their jammies first!

Doesn't take much to entertain my kids...



Two days later, Amanda accompanied me to get a pedicure. She was definitely all girl while we were there, loving the foot massage and having trouble deciding what color to paint her nails.

Bright yellow on the toes please! Oh, could you add some glitter?

And for my fingernails I'd like that bright turquoise, and more glitter please!

Now THESE are some HOT shoes...

Wonder if Macy's or Nordstroms carries them in different colors. I simply must have a whole rainbow of them to match my spring wardrobe.

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I will never be able to express the gratitude I have to God for being so profoundly blessed with such incredible children but, I have a feeling He already knows.

Friday Flashback

Sometimes, pictures speak volumes...
and no explanation is necessary.

Makes me miss the old days!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Yesterday, a friend of mine helped me take the kids on a tour of the new Draper LDS Temple. We loaded the kids in the car and drove to a church where a bus picked us up and shuttled us to the temple. I had discussed to great lengths what appropriate temple behavior was with my little ones prior to our departing the church.

Keeping four 6 year old's in check is like herding cats.

My apologies to anyone who was touring with us.

The children were good until they saw stairs. The three boys just could not help themselves from running like charging buffalo up the incline. Running after them in heels wasn't easy, but necessary. Upon capturing my little run away's, they began to pester each other. "Mom, he's touching me" and "Mom he's looking at me", followed by attempt to smack each other, made me wish I could put them in individual bubbles and outfit them with blinders. Towards the end of the tour there is a room called the Celestial Room. I believe this is one of the most sacred and reverent rooms in the entire building. Not an appropriate place for tag team wrestling but my boys tackled each other on the white carpet. The Lord must have truly been looking out for us because there was no blood. I turned to the woman behind me and said "Thank heavens the Lord loves the children because sometimes they can push my limits!" She said "Amen sister" and told me she had a dozen kids of her own. At that moment I was truly thankful for the kind understanding of a stranger.

At the end of the tour, we stood in a line to catch our bus back to the church where the Suburban was parked. The fighting continued. I attempted to remove the instigator from the WWF event to no avail. It didn't matter which boy I tried to hold, the other two continued their testosterone laden activities.

Jaxon's frustration finally got the best of him. He blurted out (very clearly I might add) "I'm gonna kick your a$$ Mason."

Totally defeated, all I could do was laugh.

Fiday Flashback

What do you get when you mix flour, sugar, oatmeal, pancake mix, and 4 unsupervised two-and-a-half year olds?

Answer:

Four lil' Bakers

In order to take a shower when the kids were small, I would put them in a fenced area, get them interested in a video and then take the fastest shower I could. I never spent more than 5 minutes in the shower and I would run out, dripping wet, wearing nothing but a towel to check on them. This particular day, not only had they stopped watching the video that they were so engrossed in two minutes prior but they had managed to breach my "high tech" security system on the kitchen cupboards. You can't tell from the pictures but the fruits of their labors were on every surface of my kitchen, both high and low. The kids were completely covered in baking supplies, even under their clothes and into their diapers (don't ask me how they did that)!

My first thought was to cry. My second thought was relief that Amanda had not opened the bottle of oil that is sitting next to her. (30 more seconds and I have no doubt she would have!) My third thought was to just chill out, grab my camera and start taking pictures. I liked my third thought best so I acted on it. It wasn't too funny then but I knew it would be in a couple of years! Many of the things the kids have done end up being hilarious AFTER the fact, so it's always good to have pictures. I think those types of moments end up being some of the best memories! However, had Amanda opened that bottle of oil I'm not sure if I'd be laughing yet since I would likely still be cleaning it up today, 4 years later.

Thank Heavens I only had to vacuum to clean it up!