"I Get To..."

Whilst blog-surfing I ran across this neat post. It got me thinking. Being a mommy and wife of a FULL-TIME student, sometimes you get bogged down in the things you don't have, or the things you have to do that you don't want to, or the daily, sometimes frustrating, repetitive child-care duties.

But, if you think about those things in your life as things you "get to" do, it changes your perspective.

*I get to stay home and take care of my kids. The beautiful kids who we tried and tried to get down here on the earth for over 2 years. I get to love and hug and squeeze them. I get to receive their kisses and see their smiles and hear their laughter as they play with one another.
*I get to clean the nice house we have to live in. Not only do we have a place to live, but we have all those comforts inside the house that we take for granted everyday.
*The laundry? At least we have multiple shirts and pants to wear. They may not be the most fashionable, but they are in decent shape and are a lot more than so many people in the world have.
*I get to stay up late waiting for my husband to come home from school. Not everyone has that luxury. I should be grateful he has the ability to attend school, and that I have him period. Some husbands aren't able to provide for their families, and some women don't have a loving husband to wait up for.
*I get to wake up every morning and get out of a nice, warm bed. I am able to breathe in and out, stretch my legs and look forward to a new day that my loving Father in Heaven has so graciously given to me.

I complain about a lot of things all the time. I really need to step back and look at all the wonderful things I have, all the things 'I get to' do.

Now I have to get to go make the kids lunch and put them down for a nap. I hope you have a great day doing all the things you get to do.

Happenings

Not much has been going on.

On Saturday my friend Pam & 'Baby Makenna' came over to hang out.

On Sunday we made lemon sherbet.

Monday my visiting teachers came over, we met with Annie & Pam at the park for a picnic, and we went to dinner at the Spaghetti Factory.

Tuesday we went visiting teaching and to a doctor's appointment for Emma.

Wednesday I went to book club. I'm excited about it. We are reading a nice variety of books this year.

Today we've basically just been bumming around the house.

That is all.

The End.

.

Lemon Sherbet

We acquired a TON of lemons, so Scott wanted to make homemade lemon sherbet. On Sunday we made it a family activity. The kids were {VERY} excited. Here they are squeezing the lemons:


You had to let the mixture cool for 2 hours before putting it in the ice cream maker. That made it so that the sherbet would be put in after I left for choir practice.

S: "We can't make the ice cream until Mommy leaves."
K: "Mommy, you have to leave. It's true! You have to go!"
M: "I want Mommy to go and the kids make ice cream."

Fine. I see how it is. I can take a hint.

The sherbet turned out quite tasty. I think it's great that Scott makes an effort to do fun things with the kids and make his time with them count. It's so important to make good family memories.

Spaghetti Factory

On Monday night we went as a family out for dinner to the Old Spaghetti Factory. It is a tradition in Scott's family to go to the 'Spag' every year at Christmastime. We decided to wait until January to go because every Monday & Tuesday in January, to celebrate their 40 year anniversary, they had part of their menu 40% off!

It was really nice. They seated us at a table that was in its own little room, so we had enough privacy and the kids were contained. But, the kids were actually really good about staying in their seats. Usually when we go to dinner they are bored before the bread comes.

Michael enjoying some milk:


Sorry, Emma, I must have given you a bite that was a little too big:

The whole fam:



The kids on the train. They enjoyed pulling the string to make the bell ring.

p{ARGH}ty

On Saturday Emma, Katelynn & Michael were invited to their friend Zach's birthday party. It was a PIRATE PARTY! The kids had a lot of fun, and Tanya put in a lot of work to make it a fun party for a bunch of 3-4 year olds. Upon entering the party everyone got a pirate bandanna, eye patch and beard. Then we read a pirate story.


On to games! There was an obstacle course and a game where they 'swabbed the deck' by sweeping a soccer ball with a broom. Here are the kids "walking the plank" at the end of the obstacle course.




Waiting in line to 'swab the deck':


After the obstacle course they all got a cannonball to bounce, then were able to PoP it! Next it was time for a cakewalk and treats, followed by present unwrapping. Last, but not least was the treasure hunt. A good time was had by all.

And don't you think they make the cutest pirates you've ever seen?!

Overheard

I just ran across this website that is {HILARIOUS}! It's called Overheard in the Ward. It's chock full of funny things kids (and others) have said. And, you can submit stuff you "overhear" as well.

Here's an example:

Scripture Reader: …and I looked, and beheld the multitude.

CTR7: The mullet dude? Who’s the mullet dude?

Overheard by: Billie Rae

So, if you need a good {laugh}, check it out!

Beauty & the Beast

Today the kids were watching 'Beauty & the Beast". I love that movie, but I've always wondered...

Why didn't the local townspeople ever clue in to the fact that their prince had been transformed into a {BEAST} and all the servants at the castle had been turned into magical objects?? I mean, you'd think that would be something everyone would FIND OUT about!

And what about the families of the servants? "Uh, I just got a letter from Uncle Lumiere. Seems he's been turned into a candlestick and won't be able to come visit for a while." Huh?!?!

It also cracks me up when Belle's Dad is lost in the woods and says to the horse, "Phillippe, where have you taken us?!". Uhm, HELLO! YOU were the one who chose the scary path. It was Phillippe that wanted to take the non-scary-looking path. It's kind of your own fault, old man. Don't blame the horse.

*

All this reflecting on "Beauty & the Beast" reminds me of a somewhat embarrasing tale from 7th grade. One day, in my seventh grade English class, our teacher shouted out a homework assignment as the bell was ringing and we were leaving. In my haste to gab with my friends, I heard the teacher say, "Write a poem about a scary animal. Due tomorrow."

That night, as I was washing the dishes, I remembered the assignment. I tried to get my parents to let me forgo the dishwashing to write my poem. No dice. SO, I had to write the poem in my head, and memorize it so I could write it down when I was done in the kitchen. I decided that Wolves were a scary animal to write about. Here is the fantastic poem:

Wolves are scary, and very hairy
They attack, in a pack, at humans
Wolves attacked Belle and the Beast.
They thought it would be a good feast.
The Beast threw a wolf or two.
And then they bit.
How mean can they get?!
I still think wolves need mental help.
But before they get any, you'll probably try kelp.

Yes, it is a dumb poem. And you would think the embarrassment would end there. Oh, no. It gets worse. Our assignment was to write about our favorite animal, not a scary animal. So, when it was time for all of us to read our poems out loud in front of the class, you can imagine my seventh-grade horror. I could have died of embarrassment right then. But, luckily I didn't and you were all able to hear my lovely poem.

Guess I should have paid more attention in class...

***UPDATE***
I just remembered that I left a couple lines out of my poem. After "they attack, in a pack, at humans" it should say "Other animals don't have a chance/They get so scared they run to France." I was going to say "they get so scared they pee their pants", but I didn't think it would be appropriate. So, I came up with 'France' to rhyme with 'chance', and I think that's where the Beauty & the Beast references came from. And the fact that my little sisters were watching it in the next room.

Junior High... gotta love it.

Bunco!

Tuesday night I was able to get together with some fun ladies and play Bunco! I had never played before, but it was lots of fun. We have decided to make this a monthly thing, and I am SO glad. It was nice to get out of the house and be Jillian for a night, rather than "Mommy of triplets".

Here is Annie explaining the rules.


Franki praying she gets a good roll. Lisa and Carly are also seated at the table.
Ok, not really. She just had her eyes closed when I took the picture, but it made for a good caption, I thought.

Bree, Pam, Alyssa & Brittnee


Brittnee getting her game face on.


I wish I had more pictures. We wanted to get a group shot at the end, but we forgot. I didn't even get a picture of myself, or of everyone who came! Maybe next month. :)

Michael the Artiste

A week or two ago Michael drew some pictures on Scott's dry erase board. I was excited, because I hadn't really seen any of the kids draw pictures of people and I was getting a little concerned about it- developmentally speaking.

Here is a picture of Daddy. I think he has the right amount of hair drawn. (ha, ha, ha) Oh, and I guess arms are optional.


Here we have Mommy. I don't usually wear that much lipstick. Or any at all...


And Mommy with Michael. Looks like Michael is an alien with the eyes, nose and mouth in weird places. Oh, well. He's still learning, right?

Rub-a-dub-dub

The kids {love} to take a bath. They would stay in the bathtub all day if I let them. Here are some fun pictures from their fun in the tub. Yes Pam, these are "nude-y pics"! Enjoy! ;)

"Do my hair like 'dinosaur spikey'!"


Oh. my. word. Is Michael a little 'Scott' or what?!


I love Emma's eyes. Her eyelashes are so long.


What's the thrill in scooping up bath water in your mouth and spitting it out?!


Emma loves to put her hair underwater and feel it *swooshing* around.


Katelynn "swimming".



Emma shaking her head like a dog.


Forget mud wrestling... it's tub wrestling!


Katelynn & Mommy being silly.


Mommy & Emma, just out of the tub. (emma out of the tub, not mommy)

What a Beautiful Day for a Picnic!

"What a beautiful day for a picnic.
What a picnical day for a lark!
We will frolic all day
In the happiest way
And we won't get back home until dark!"*

Indeed, it was a beautiful day for a picnic. I took the kids to the park for a picnic lunch and Scott was able to meet us there. It was fantastic to have some fun in the sun with Daddy.

Usually Michael refuses to have his picture taken. But, today he was all for it. "Take a picture of me on this. Take a picture of me doing that." It was great! Here he is about to go down the tall slide.



"Take a picture of me being so strong"


I love that they love each other so much!


Whee!


Emma climbing the twisty ladder

Sisterly love



Daddy's here!! And he brought a 'great big chocolate..I mean, lemon.. cake'!



Picnicking

Daddy & Michael checking out the big dump trucks and backhoes that came to the park as a special treat just for our picnic!


Mommy about to go down the big slide. That thing was high off the ground! I'll admit...I was a bit scared!

Katelynn on the lion..or "yie-yon"

We had some uninvited guests at our picnic. "Bees! Bees! Bees everywhere! They're huge! They're ripping my flesh off! Run for your lives! Save yourselves. Don't be the hero! They're huge, and they're sting crazy! Save yourself! Your firearms are useless against them!" (I couldn't resist. Hee, hee, hee...)

Running down the trail with Daddy.


*Note: the quote at the beginning, and the reference to a great, big, chocolate cake, is from the story "Mickey Mouse's Picnic", which was one of Scott's favs as a kid that he now reads to our kids. The "Bees" quote is from the movie "Tommy Boy". Surprised you didn't know that...

Dancing

Last night the girls were dancing with each other and it was really cute. Before and after each 'dance' they would bow to each other. Not quite sure where they learned that, but it was awesome anyways.

In the background you can hear the song "Forever and For Always" by Shania Twain. It really touched me, listening to the words and watching my girls dancing and laughing together. Read the words and see if you don't get choked up.

And there ain't no way
I'm lettin' you go now.
And there ain't no way
and there ain't no how.
I'll never see that day....

Chorus:
'Cause I'm keeping you
forever and for always.
We will be together all of our days.
Wanna wake up every
morning to your sweet face--always

Sleeping Bag?

Michael got a new kid-sized sleeping bag for Christmas. He loves it. He loves it so much, that when he didn't have the actual sleeping bag, he opted for the sleeping bag's bag. What a silly goose!

Pic-A-Nic

The weather has been {beautiful} the last few days. So, we decided to take advantage of that and go to the park for a picnic.

All three looking and smiling. It's a miracle!


Mommy & Katelynn:


Woo-hoo!


Emma swingin':


Katelynn lovin' life:


"I'm so strong!"

All three swinging. As you can see, they love to scream while they swing.


Emma & Katelynn 'digging for treasure':




They love the 'whale slide'.


And last, but not least... the money shot! I told them to blow me a kiss to get them to all look at the camera at the same time. I think Emma looks like a rockstar. Her bangs are finally getting long enough to pull back, but she loves having her hair in her face!