Why Thursdays Can Be Great

I don't think I have ever in my life heard anyone say that Thursday is their favorite day of the week, but here's 10 reasons why this Thursday is pretty awesome:

1. I only have 3 loads of laundry to do instead of the typical 4!

2. The sun is shining! (I'm so happy about it!)

3. It's the last day of January.  The January that never ends and is bitter cold.  There has been snow on the ground every day this month.  Definitely glad that it's the end of the month.

4. My visiting teachers came over today!  (Random happenstance that it's the last day of the month? ;))  And I always love having other adults to chat with.

5. Beckett slept in AND took a nap.  And it's only 1:15 in the afternoon!

6. I washed my sheets.  I can't wait to go to bed tonight.  I love fresh, clean, well tucked in sheets.

7. Chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting.  It makes any day better. 
(Although I'm kind of less excited about it than I would normally be because I have a final weigh in for a weight loss challenge on Monday and I think that this cake is going to ruin my chances of getting to my goal in time)

8. I'm teaching the presidency message lesson in Relief Society this Sunday and so I have been spending extra time just browsing Conference talks and reading scriptures trying to find exactly what I want to talk about.  It's uplifting.  I should do it more often, rather than only when I am getting ready to teach.  :)

9. I ignored the vacuuming for a little while and snuggled Talia and read her a stack of books.  It was good mommy time and I needed some loves from that sassy girl.

10. Did I mention THE SUN IS SHINING?!?

Lego Party!

Weston is going to be 7 years old next week and today we celebrated with his adorable friends.  He wanted a Lego party and it was a very fun, very easy theme.  I loved it!  This party was very budget friendly and pretty simple.  For decor I made these fun Lego banners and used balloons and crepe paper from the dollar store.  I did various solid primary colors for the table settings.  It all looked so festive!

The kids gathered and went nuts playing in the basement.  We gathered them up for some pizza lunch (thank you Little Caesar's!  So easy, so cheap, and so well liked).  After lunch we played a fun Lego game where each kid got a little bag of Legos to add to a group creation.  We did this in two teams.  It was pretty fun and was really the only Lego related activity we did.

 

 

 

 

The other game we played was the Name Game.  We played this group game at our neighbor's house last weekend and Weston had so much fun he asked if we could play it at his party.  Each person picks a random "name."  The name can be a phrase, a number, an actual name, anything.  For example you could be Sweaty Man or 5,000 or Hot Lava Booger.  Each person tells their name to the moderator who keeps a list of who is who.  Then you go around the circle and take turns guessing people's names.  For example, "Weston, are you Sweaty Man?"  To which he giggles hysterically and says "no." (because obviously he would be Hot Lava Booger)  If you guess someone correctly they join your team and you get another guess.  Whoever acquires everyone on their team by the end wins.  Anyway, it was silly and fun.

After games Weston opened presents.  He got a couple new Skylander characters, a couple Lego sets, and some Angry Birds Star Wars sets.  Such fun, generous friends!  Then it was time for cake.  I made a yellow Lego cake.  As you all know I am not much of a creative cake maker, but this one was pretty easy.  I just baked 6 cupcakes and the rest of the batter went in a 9x13. I cut off the cupcake tops and used the cupcake bottoms as the Lego nubbins.  Frost and voila!  A Lego!  Weston had a hard time blowing out all of his candles in one go and then he inhaled the smoke.  Silly boy.  I think you still get your wish though if you give it your best effort.  :)

 

 

 

By the time we finished cake there was only about 10 minutes left for the kids to play in the basement before parents arrived.  We had a few kids stay late because their siblings had basketball games so we watched a few YouTube videos too while Weston opened some of his Angry Birds toys.

 

I decided to forgo the traditional goodie bag.  Instead our guests got to take home a little baggie of Lego brick candy.  It tastes kind of like Sweet Tarts and you can actually build with it!

I had planned to play a game called I Spy Lego Guy but completely forgot to have the kids do it.  We had about 4 kids left after the party and they saw one of the little guys and played the game on their own.  They each took turns re-hiding the Lego guys and then searching for them.  I am glad that they ended up getting used!

I had also planned to play Pin the Head on Lego Guy, but I ran out of yellow paper and didn't want to go get more last night, so instead I just made the poster board Lego guy as a decoration.  He went on the front door to greet our guests.

 

 

Weston said he had a lot of fun at his party so I count it a success!  And I was kind of proud of my crafty efforts.  All ideas for this party were borrowed from HERE and HERE.  I honestly don't know how my mom threw birthday parties for 4 kids every year without the Internet.

Happy 7th Birthday Weston!

Train Show

Last Saturday I got a little one on one time with Weston.  I took him to the model train convention at Thanksgiving Point.  It was pretty cool.  We aren't super into trains, but there were quite a few set up and one had a little scavenger hunt list of things to look for in the exhibit.  We liked that.  We even had to find an action figure Agent P and Dr. Doofenshmirtz.  Weston also got to try his hand at controlling a couple of the smaller model trains that were set up. 

The highlight of the outing though was seeing the ginormous Lego train set.  It wasn't just trains though.  It was a train going around these huge sets.  There was a train depot section, alien section, Star Wars section, Wizard of Oz, Ghostbusters, tons of Lord of the Rings sets, the Statue of Liberty, and more.  It was very impressive and Weston was in awe.  After we saw the trains we went to lunch at the deli.  It was a really fun little afternoon with my almost 7 year old. 

Speaking of cute boys . . . my littlest cute boy is officially four months old!  Stop growing up so fast Mr. Beckett!

Who me?

Talia sharing baby secrets.

This kid loves his Bumbo!

 

Nerds

We are always a little nerdy at our house.  We love Harry Potter, we tell lame jokes, we watch/play Star Wars, we sing random songs and call each other silly nick names.  This week my family felt extra nerdy though.

Weston dressed up for "nerd day" at school on Wednesday for spirit week.  He was so excited about it and after trying on his nerd outfit he stayed in it and ran around with Davin and Talia playing Nerds and Bullies.  It was hilarious to listen to and he looked pretty great.

Later in the week Davin invented a new Skylander character and then wanted to show me how awesome his new character's video was by acting it out.  ***Each Skylander character has it's own little video showing it and it's powers in action***  I couldn't miss the opportunity to film it for posterity.  This reminds me so much of George Michael's Star Wars video from Arrested Development.  Classic.
Talia and Beckett are too little to be classified as nerdy, but they sure can make goofy faces!

I think I have officially crossed a line into nerdom as well.  I am currently reading The Hobbit and have plans to go and see the movie next week.  I'm not as gripped by the book as I was by Percy Jackson and the Olympians so I doubt I will read any other Tolkien books, but it's entertaining and I really like the actor who is playing Bilbo in the movie.  He's fantastic as John Watson in Sherlock.  If you haven't watched the BBC series Sherlock then you are missing out!  It's on Netflix.  Go.  Now. 

Liebster

I am excited to have been nominated for a Liebster blog award from my friend Amanda over at Musings of a Mommy !  Leibster is a German word that means favorite.  This award is passed from one blogger to another as a way to tell them that you enjoy reading their blog--and they should keep it up!  It was so fun of her to think of me and my little blog.  

1. Post 11 random things about myself.
2. Answer the 11 questions my nominator set for me.
3. Create 11 questions for my nominees.
4. Nominate 11 other bloggers with fewer than 200 followers (no tag-backs).
5. Go to each of their blogs to tell them about their nominations.

 

My 11 Things

1. I wear sweat pants 80% of the time.
2. On some level I am afraid of all animals.  Not crippling fear, just kind of uncomfortable/freaked out type of fear.
3. I wish I was better at reaching out and making new friends.  This is not something I thought I would ever struggle with since I'm a pretty social person, but it's harder as an adult!
4. I love to check the mail every day.  Even if it's just ads and junk mail I like to open it all.
5. I like black licorice, but none of the other kinds. 
6. If I could, I would sleep 10-12 hours every night.  Someday . . .
7. A messy house gives me anxiety.  It doesn't even have to be my house.
8. I love chick lit.  It's a guilty pleasure.
9. I stopped growing in the 7th grade.  I'm 5 feet even.
10. I am a California girl.  Even though I have now lived in Utah for 12 years I still have a hard time claiming it.  And I still struggle every winter with the cold and snow.
11. I get hot flashes in my feet.  It happens more often when I'm pregnant, but even when I'm not I find myself ripping off my socks every once in awhile because my feet are all of a sudden flaming.

Amanda's 11 Questions

1. When was the last time you cried?

Last Sunday morning while I watched videos on the You Tube Mormon Channel.  I'm such a boob these days.

2. What is your favorite outfit?

Jeggings from Target, coral sequined top from Downeast, tall brown boots from Target.

3. What is your most recent triumph?

Successfully sticking to healthier habits and seeing the results! Goodbye baby weight!

4. Where have you always wanted to visit, but haven't yet?

 Hawaii.  Not overly imaginative, I know, but it's a place I really want to go and plan to go someday.

5. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

 A gymnast.  I thought for sure since my name was Shannon I could be just like Shannon Miller.

6. When you have 10 minutes of time to spare between responsibilities, what do you do?

Play Words With Friends or read a couple pages of my book or check my favorite deals website.

7. What is your least favorite household chore?

Cleaning the tub/shower.

8. What is the household chore you might actually look forward to?

I like to vacuum because it forces me to tidy the floors and the house looks/feels so clean when I'm done. 

9. What is your favorite kids' music?

We don't listen to "kids" music.  They listen to what we listen to, but they have their favorite songs in a playlist and of those I would say I most enjoy listening to "Pork and Beans" by Weezer.

10. What talent do you wish you had developed in your youth?

Cooking skills.  I really don't enjoy cooking, but I definitely could have spent more time in the kitchen with my dad learning how to make dishes my own.  One of my favorite things about going home is knowing my dad is going to cook me delicious meals.  

11. Without looking it up, what's your favorite go-to recipe?

Um, real recipe?  Well, I know my chocolate chip cookie recipe like the back of my hand.

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. shortening

3/4 c. brown sugar

3/4 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

2 1/4 c. flour

1-2 c. chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients in order, spoon onto greased baking sheets, bake at 350 for 9-10 minutes. Do not overbake.

 

And now for the lucky 11! (You know you want to!) These are in no particular order. They're just blogs that I love to stop by and read. I nominate the following bloggers, (linked unless they're private):

 

My Long Time Buddy at The Trophy Wife in Training

Joy Henshaw at The Henshaw Family

Lori Bassham at Livin' In A Fishbowl 

Tara Matagi at And Then There Were Six 

Kayse Pratt at Live Authentically, Laugh Joyfully, Love Intentionally 

Miranda Giles at Good Morning Good Morning 

Tasha Donovan at Donovan Traditions 

Pamela Ankeny at Organized Bedlam 

Paige Green at Casa de Verde 

Jenessa Christie at The Christie's: Our Life Down Under

Liz Smith at Randomness . . .

 

Your 11 Questions

1. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

2. What was the last thing you ate?

3. If you could meet anyone alive or dead who would it be?

4. What was the name of your first pet?
5. If you had an extra $100 to spend on anything you wanted what would you do with it?

6. What's the nicest thing someone has done for you?

7. What is your favorite thing to cook/bake?

8. What is the farthest away place you've ever been?

9. What book are you reading right now?

10. What is your favorite outfit?

11. What was your childhood nickname(s)?

 

***Disclaimer, this "award" is more like a way to pass readers onto other fun blogs, so as much as I would love it if all my nominees would participate, I totally understand if it just doesn't happen.  :)  I love reading all of my cyber buddies' blogs!***

All Smiles

"I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite."
-Buddy the Elf, from the movie Elf

We have some great smiles in our house.  Some days they are more frequent than others.  Recently Weston's smile has undergone a few changes.  On Tuesday night one of Weston's front teeth finally fell out!  It's been wiggly for at least 6 months.  He was so excited to have that front gap and couldn't wait to go to school the next day and show his friends and teacher.  The tooth fairy came that night and it was all kind of fun.

Thursday was even better because his other front tooth fell out at school!  Weston thought it was awesome that he lost his tooth at school during his spelling test.  He got to go to the office and get a little tooth container on a necklace to bring his tooth home in.  He wanted to surprise me though so he hid the necklace in his pocket and waited to see how long it would take me to notice that he was missing both of his front teeth.  I am proud to say it took me less than a minute to notice. :)  Now I am calling my firstborn "Toothless" and his is whistling his "S's."  Can't believe how grown up my big boy is!

As long as we are talking about smiles, Miss Talia has a pretty great cheesy smile.  Whenever she thinks you are taking a picture of her she will tilt that head back, squint up her eyes and grin.  It's awfully cute.

 

Can't leave out Davin's smiling face!

And finally, our sweet Beckett likes to just stare around and take in his surroundings . . . much like this.

But when you are playing with him or talking to him his whole face lights up with the most adorable baby smiles on the planet (no! I'm not biased!).

 

Oh how grateful I am for these four smiley faces!

New Year Newness!

We spent Christmas break relaxing and enjoying having Ian home with us.  It's literally the one week every year where he isn't working and we are all home (as opposed to when he's not working and we are on vacation).  It was wonderful. 

The kids finished up their Christmas Lego sets.

 

 

We spent New Years Eve playing Wii Fit and eating fun food.  That night we went out to dinner and to the Nicklecade with friends.  It was a blast to be out and about.  The kids loved it and were really well behaved.  It was kind of crazy planning the excursion because we had to find a restaurant that could accommodate our crazy broods.  There were 4 adults and 8 kids.  Yikes!  How did that happen?!?  Anyway it was a successful New Years outing. 

 

 

When we got home a little before 9pm I put the babies to bed.  The boys stayed up and watched an episode of Tron with Ian before they hit the sack too around 10.  Ian and I decided to stay up until midnight.  We watched about half of Hunger Games then rang in 2013 with Martinelli's and a few smooches. 

New Year's Day we sort of slept in (until almost 9!).  Our tradition is to get ready for the day and then go to the bookstore to buy a new calendar.  We had to drive pretty far to find a big box bookstore this year.  They are so few and far between these days.  We found calendars we liked at Barnes and Noble then went out to lunch together at In N Out.  It was a good holiday.  A nice way to end Ian's break from work too.  I am stoked for 2013.  It's going to be a good year. 

In other New Year newness . . .

We got everyone into their "new" beds.  The main one was Talia moving into her big girl bed.  I got her headboard, box spring and accent mirror on KSL several months ago for $50.  The cube storage and bins are Closetmaid and the dresser and bedding are from Walmart.  The lamp was a Hobby Lobby find.  I'm really happy with how her big girl room came together.  She loves her new bed.  She's fallen out a few times, but it's working well because it's too high for her to get down from so she will stay there for naps, time outs, and bedtime.

 

 

 

Since Talia moved into her new bed the crib was free for Beckett!  We are still working on getting him to sleep well in it.  He got a little too comfy sleeping in his bassinet, but right now he's napping in his crib, so I'm sure we will get there.  I love having his nursery finally come together and look like he belongs in that room.  Picture to come later when I'm done hanging things on his walls.

The boys switched bunks for the new year, so they sort of have new beds too.  They were both really excited to swap and spent the whole day that they moved decorating their new sleeping areas and playing on their new beds.

I picked out new glasses!  It's been about 3 or 4 years since I have had new glasses so I'm excited about it.  They should be in this week.  The ones in the pic are the sample frames.

 

This is the year for a new slimmer me.  I am working on getting my body back this year.  I did a "healthy holidays" weight loss challenge for the 6 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas with some Facebook friends.  It was successful and helped me establish an exercise routine.  I lost 11 pounds! 

 

I took the week between Christmas and New Years off.  Now it's back to the grindstone.  I'm having a hard time remembering I can't eat all day long.  I also need to get all of the chips and chocolate out of my house!  This week I started another weight loss challenge with friends using dietbet.com.  My strategy so far has been to track my eating using My Fitness Pal, exercise 3-4 times each week using my elliptical machine in the basement, and play Wii Fit games in the evenings instead of eating. 

For FHE this week we talked about setting goals and why we do it.  It's good to try to be better and setting goals helps us strive toward something we want.  We set a family goal to have morning prayer every day before Weston leaves for school.  The boys set goals too.  They both want to learn to ride a 2 wheeler.  Weston and I are reading the Book of Mormon together this year.  Davin set a goal to "go in space" and wanted to do a research project about one of his invented creatures.  That kid is a crack up.  Love his imagination!  We are definitely all psyched for being a little bit better in 2013.  Happy New Year!

Beckett's Birth Video

Ian is such a talented man and I am so grateful to be the beneficiary of his talents in lots of ways.  One of my favorite ways he shares his talents is when he makes these amazing videos of our children's first few days.  Beckett's took a few months to get finished, but I love it and all the sweet memories it brings back.  Enjoy!

Christmas Day!

We had a very fun, relaxing Christmas Day.  I told the boys they couldn't come out of their room until 7, but when I got up to feed Beckett a little after 6am I could already hear them talking in their room.  They stayed in there until 7 though.  Once Ian and I got our teeth brushed we went out on the landing and opened our stockings.  Then we headed downstairs to see what Santa had brought. 

Mel and Brad were sitting on the couch downstairs waiting for us to come down.  It was a fun surprise for the kids that they were there.  I guess I should mention that Talia slept through all of this.  She didn't wake up until about 8:30 after we were all done opening all of our presents.  The boys were really excited about their Santa presents and couldn't wait to tear into their Legos.  We tried to take it slow and just take turns opening presents from under the tree. 

They loved all their fun gifts and got almost everything they asked for.  Santa brought them their big Lego sets.  Other highlights were Skylanders, Wii Fit, Star Wars mugs, Avengers and Super Hero tee shirts, and Star Wars guns.  It was a fun morning.  Ian made us omelets for breakfast.  While we were eating Talia finally woke up. 

She got to have her own little Christmas.  It actually was kind of convenient because I could help her the whole time.  She loved her Hello Kitty necklace from her stocking, the Hello Kitty slippers from Davin, her Rapunzel doll, and her Cinderella tea set.  She didn't really get excited about the Disney Princess Little People castle that Santa brought until later in the day when I put it together and got batteries in it.

 

We spent the whole day just hanging out and playing with our new toys.  The boys set up shop in the basement with their Legos.  It was super cute. 

 

Ian got me a Kindle!  I was so surprised and I love it!  I'm already on my 4th book so far.  I can't tell you how great it is to have so many books at my fingertips and the Kindle doesn't hurt my eyes like reading on my phone does since it just looks like a paperback book page.  I can get Kindle books from the library too.  Seriously, such a great, unexpected gift!

I made ham and cheesy potatoes for Christmas dinner.  It was so fun to have Brad and Mel here to share it with us.  Such a wonderful day.  I was glad that we didn't have to go anywhere since we got a ton of snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  I sure love Christmas with my family.  We are so blessed.