Monkeys and Elephants and Dinosaurs, Oh My!

A few weeks back (well, like a month ago) we went to the zoo! We don't venture out for things like that very often because Carson and I are seriously out numbered by the amount of kids we have. But we went with Grandma and Grandpa so that helped a lot-a few extra hands.

We've been looking forward to going to the zoo for a long time because Carson's company installed a bunch of air compressors for a dinosaur exhibit. The air compressors made the dinos move and some of them even sprayed water. Since we have a little boy in our family who adores anything of the dinosaur persuasion, it was bound to be a big hit!






We also saw elephants, and I didn't know this, which are apparently Audrey's favorite animal. We spent a lot of time there listening to the one of the zoo people (docent?) talk all about the elephants they had there which were a grandma, a mommy and a baby girl. So fun!

This is a big elephant outside the habitat. It does a little bit of moving and water spraying which Carson's company also did.

We also saw the monkeys which is always fun! There was this one baby monkey (I can't remember what kind-black with big, white, long tails-sort of look like a skunk) who kept bouncing all around the habitat and he had fun jumping up to the window and making faces at the girls. So cute!!!

We had a great time at the zoo!

Today

Today was particularly hard with Siobhan. I seem to be saying that a lot and then blogging about it. Not sure if that's the best thing or not. Anyway, I think when school starts things will be better. I think the hardest part was actually the last hour or so. And since I just put her to bed and am now cooling down from the shenanigans, I'm going to list some things that she did today that were great.

*She fed Ethan his dinner while I put Mr. Will down for sleep and she actually did a good job of it.

*She helped me get the plates ready for dinner. Anything have to do with helping prepare dinner and she is all over it! It also helps if allowance money is involved.

*She colored an awesome picture of a lion this morning. Seriously, it's really good! See!




*I needed someone to carry some important papers when we were at her school this afternoon and she willingly helped me out.

*She requested my favorite place for lunch...Taco Bell.

*She told me that she loves my homemade gravy!

*She loves Mary Poppins!

The girl knows how to push every button that I have, but I think I'll keep her around!

Royal Wedding

I've been wanting to post about this for a while and I just haven't gotten around to it.

The girls and I were so excited for the Royal Wedding. We kept talking about Prince William and Princess Kate (even though she's not really a princess until he's next in line). And since it's practically a law in England for ladies to wear hats to a wedding, we decided that we needed have fancy, fabulous hats as well. The girls thought their hats were so fun and they were very specific about their color choices-purple for Siobhan, green for Audrey. (perfect timing by the way, right after Easter, we were able to get Easter bonnets at the dollar store and decorate them up with supplies from the dollar store). I had DVR'd the wedding so the girls and I could watch the wedding in the evening. We had a tea party (orange kool-aid) and pizza. It was a great time!!!!

These fabulous hats from the royal wedding...A-MA-ZING!!!

Audrey wanted Green for her hat. You can't tell, but there is a butterfly coming right out of the top of the hat!

Siobhan wanted Purple. We had lots of fun with hers!!! Thank you dollar store.

Ethan had a great time!

Mr. Will was obsessed with the hats!

My best snooty British face!!

First image found here.

Second image found here.

The Grand Canyon...in Siobhan's Mouth

Well, the tooth finally came out! It's been loose for like a month (maybe longer). We've all taken turns playing with it and every time Siobhan ever met someone new or saw someone that she hasn't seen in awhile or spoke to a complete stranger in the line at Costco, she had to tell them about her loose tooth. We've been anxiously awaiting it vacating the premises. So we all decided that tonight was the night. Carson played with the tooth for about an hour! It took that long because she kept getting nervous and pulling away. But she was insistent that it come out tonight. Carson was so excited to pull it out for her (why, I don't know) but ultimately, I got it out. We can't wait to see what the tooth fairy brings her! Oh the reason for the title of the post? As soon as it came out, all I could think about was 'holy cow! That is a huge gap! It's like the size of the Grand Canyon!!!!'

She's so proud of her first 'loosed' tooth!

My Siobhan-Nina

The last few weeks have been difficult for me and Siobhan. It seems that everyday either I couldn't do anything right for her or vice-versa. We've been at odds with each other. She's high strung and active and way too independent for her own good. But she's 5. When I think of her age and all that she's capable and all that she does right, I realize that the problems between the two of us are more my issues than hers. I'm the one that gets impatient. I'm the one who doesn't plan my days right so that we have enough time to get out the door and not have to rush her tying her shoes thus making me frustrated. I'm the one who speaks to her like a 12 year old expecting her to understand rather than speaking to her like a 5 year old and hoping that she might understand.

So where am I going with all this self-depreciation? I decided that I need to spend more time appreciating my daughter than getting frustrated with her. I love her more than life and I need to started showing that more to myself and the world. But please don't misunderstand me.....Siobhan isn't wanting for attention, she's not wanting for opportunities for learning and growth, and I give her hugs left and right, she totally knows that I love her. We just tend to get a little 'off' which I thinks happens to a lot of parents.

So here's some blog love for my first born....read on for some fun stories and anecdotes that will surely make your day!

*A few months back (well last fall) she came up to me one day so excited because she figured out how to tie her shoes! So exciting!!!!



* Last week was particularly hard and we were having a hard time connecting. I couldn't get her to do anything I wanted/needed her to do and I was at the end of my rope. But then she cleared the table after dinner without being asked and without expecting a reward. I almost cried! I had one of those moments where I was so proud of her yet so disappointed in myself for being so hard on her that week.

*Siobhan is such a great friend to her brothers and sister. She looks out for them all the time and I pity the fool who ever messes with her siblings when they all get older. Siobhan will take them down!



*I think that I've mentioned on the blog before how Siobhan changed Ethan's diaper with asking (or being asked) and actually did it quite perfectly. I was impressed that she had figured it all out just by observation.

*The other day I was upstairs folding laundry and I could hear Ethan stirring. Then all of the sudden he sounded a lot closer. I looked over the edge of the loft area where I was and I saw him laying on the floor of the living room (he had been asleep on our bed). Turns out, Siobhan heard him squirming so she grabbed a blanket and spread it out on the living room floor and brought Ethan (eek) out of my bedroom to play on the floor. She made a point to let me know that she carried him so safe, didn't drop him and put her hand behind his neck so his head wouldn't wobble. She was very proud!



*She knows all the dinosaurs on 'Dinosaur Train'

*She ran into Relief Society today telling me that she had a loose tooth. At first I didn't believe her because she tells me she has a loose tooth everyday. But I felt it wiggle and, sure enough, it's loose! We're all anxiously awaiting the tooth's departure from her gums!

*A conversation between me and her during overtime of the BYU-Florida basketball.
Me: Siobhan, we gotta cheer loud for BYU!
Siobhan: Mom, I'm going to say this one time...I don't like the BYU and I don't want them to win!
Me:But I thought you like BYU!?!?
Siobhan: (rolls eyes) Mom, I don't like the BYU!
Me: But Daddy went to college there, you have to like them.
Siobhan: Mom, I'm going to tell you this one more time, I don't like the BYU and I don't want them to win!
(the hand motions and facial expressions really make the story what it is, so you'll just have to trust me that it was awesome!)



*The girl could eat her weight in Carbonarra and parmessan cheese...she had three helpings tonight at dinner.

*Siobhan loves learning and loves school. She can do a whole bunch of math and is learning how to read really fast.


I love this little girl more than I could ever say!!!

Sleeping Babies

I think that there is nothing more peaceful than a sleeping baby! Case in point.....

*Sir Ethan, sleeping soundly which he does so well....are you totally in love with his face???? How could you not be?*

That is not the case, however, when it comes to toddlers and young children......

*Mr. Will...we always find him in funny positions in his bed. But he's always in his bed and never in his closet or on his floor. Such a good boy!*

*Audrey is usually always on top of her covers which she insists on having on top of her when we tuck her in. Her and her brother definitely inherited their mommy's sleeping habits which include but are not limited to sprawling, flip-flopping, kicking and taking up as much space as possible with a tiny body....seriously, ask Carson how many times I've come close to kicking or pushing him out of bed while I'm asleep.*

Well, Siobhan may be a little more peaceful than the other two.....

*She may not look all that comfortable but at least she's not sucking her thumb!*

Spring is in the Air

*Yep, I totally copied this idea that Dana did with her kids over at Made. Just FYI, none of this was my own aside from the creativity that was had in decorating the butterflies...that was all us!*

We were supposed to have a friend come over to play today so I wanted to come up with an art project for the three girls to work on together. So this was the plan...decorating butterflies and hanging them up for all to see. Unfortunately, plans fell through and Emma couldn't come over (we sure missed her but I already have another idea of what to do when she does come over to add in with the butterflies) so me and the girls did the art project and we had so much fun!!!

Siobhan was very proud of her butterflies....this is a mommy butterfly carrying her baby butterfly.

The mess....it always happens when you craft with kids! But this is nothing compared to what we've had before!

Audrey hard at work. She would get so excited about them going up on the wall that she would just color a little bit and then make me hang it up!

The top of the stairs....

Bottom of the first flight of stairs...

The top of the second flight of stairs...

The bottom of the second flight of stairs....


We hung them up in the stairway going down to the basement and Audrey was so excited that Spring was 'coming up in our house.' We had a blast and I think they look so fun and beautiful!

Money Talks

*Go to the next post if you want to read about Audrey and St. Patrick's Day Parade*

I've never been an allowance type of person. I don't have anything against it per se, I just never really saw the merit in it. Inever really got an allowance. I vaguely remember my parents trying (I could be totally wrong and making that up) but it just didn't stick. I don't have any strong or deep philosophy of why I've never bought into the idea aside from the fact that I want my kids to take an active role in the household and I feel that they should do that without expecting payment for doing so. I also don't want my kids to start expecting more than I can give them so if I were to pay them too much, it takes a lot out of my pocket that I could spend on things that they actually need as well as giving them unrealistic expectations. Now while I still do feel that way, I feel like I've found a way to mitigate my concerns and still teach my kids the value of work. I also realized something else...how is giving the kids an allowance that much different than promising a new toy if they behave for a certain amount of time or taking them for special time with mommy/daddy or extra TV time. Those are all fine rewards, but they weren't working for our kids. So we tried a new approach. After reading some articles online, I combine a few different people's approaches and so far, the system that I came up with has proven very successful.

So this is how we do it...Siobhan never earns more than 30 cents a day (yes cents) and can only earn the money on weekdays but she still has to do the jobs on weekends. She has 5 jobs that are mandatory and five more that are more optional. The mandatory jobs include things like cleaning her bedroom and making the bed, cleaning the playroom, taking care of laundry both clean and dirty. The optional jobs are things like taking out the garbage, sweeping the kitchen floor and few other things. The five mandatory jobs are worth 4 cents and the others are worth 2.

Audrey earns 20 cents a day and four mandatory jobs that are similar to Siobhan's and four optional jobs like setting the table for dinner and cleaning up the toys and books that end up in the living room. Mandatory jobs are 3 cents, optional jobs are worth 2.

Mr. Will does a total of four jobs. Helping mom clean his rooms and put away laundry as well as coloring and cleaning the playroom. All for a total of 10 cents.

We settle up every night before bed rather than putting them on a two week payment schedule and here's why. Young kids don't really understand why they didn't get paid their full amount because they didn't do all their jobs last Tuesday for instance. This way, if Siobhan gets 24 cents rather than the full 30, I can explain to her that it's because she didn't do everything. And at the end of the month, we will total up all the kid's money and have them pay their tithing.

So why am I sharing all this? Well, for starters, I'm really proud of myself that I came up with something even slightly clever. Second, we're starting on the 3rd week of this system and almost every night, the kids have gone to bed with clean rooms, a clean (straightened) bathroom, clean playroom and me having to do very little clean up of their messes before I go to bed. It's all so much less contentious and I love it! The kids actually get really excited to do their chores and to tell me that they've completed their job. 3rd, we changed one of Siobhan's jobs from making sock pairs to doing the breakfast dishes. Today was the first time we tried it and she did way more than I expected or asked for. She did every dish in the sink including the glasses that were there from the night before, she loaded everything into the dishwasher, put dishwasher soap in, and started the dishwasher. I was really impressed. But here's how the dishwasher looked......
Such a good try and kind of awesome!

First Meeting

Here's some fun pictures of Siobhan, Audrey and Mr. Will meeting Ethan for the first time at the hospital. Siobhan and Audrey were immediately taken with the handsome little guy and Mr. Will was just excited to have all the Oreos and Sprite that a little guy could want from the snack area. So all in all, it was a pretty great experience for all involved! Now, enjoy looking at how cute my family is....especially the kids!

Siobhan loves being the biggest sister. She's even changed Ethan's diaper...one time by herself without telling me. She actually did a great job, but was instructed that from now on, she can only do it with Mommy or Daddy's permission and while we're there with her. She loves him so much!

Love this picture!!!! So sweet!

Audrey is, as always, her sweet loving self with him! Every time he cries, she says, 'Mommy, I think he wants more boo boos milk!' She enjoys babysitting him while he's in his bouncy seat.

While at the hospital, Mr. Will just pretty much ran around and was very cute yet very indifferent to Ethan. However, things have changed a lot in the last six weeks. He loves to give Ethan hugs and kisses and is always concerned when he cries. Even though I caught him dragging Ethan across the floor one evening, he just wants so badly to play with his little bro!

Best picture we could get of all four.


Wow, this family is getting big!

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BTW, the stuff on Siobhan and Audrey's faces are Utah Jazz tattoos.

I Really Want.....

I really want to blog tonight, but I'm so tired, I just don't think that a really meaningful post is going to happen. I'm exhausted! I did some math today and between illness, vaccines, and well child checks, here's what's swimming around our house....2 flus, one more coming I'm sure, 2 blocked tear ducks, 5 shots on two different kids, and a scraped knee. We're in bad shape but keeping positive. That's why I'm so tired.

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I said in my last post that I wasn't going to promise much with the blogging, but if I don't write down what to expect, I won't do it. While I'm not sure when I'm going to do it, here is what I'm planning on writing about this week.

*I will blog Sir Ethan's birth story
*The kids meeting Ethan for the first time.
*Having lunch with (near) D Will from the Jazz
*Our VIP (sort of) tour of Energy Solutions Arena
*Valentine's Day
*Will's 2nd birthday

A Post That Is More Pictures Than Text-Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All pictures where I am present are super unflattering...just keepin' it real. But the kids look cute as always!

The girls got in trouble for fighting so they were sent to the couch holding hands. They were NOT happy about it!

I know I posted a very similar picture in my previous post, but I couldn't resist. He's just so cute!

Tried to snap a picture of Audrey who had fallen asleep on the couch. But Mr. Will could not pass up an opportunity to mug for the camera! Such a silly boy!

While getting ready for FHE, I snapped a few pics of me with the girls. I pledged to get more pictures of me being a mom. Whether these qualify as such, you decide.

She has a knack for making weird faces totally unintentionally for the camera. Let's just say that unless the smile is totally candid, it very rarely looks natural. But she's still adorable!

This one on the other hand couldn't really make a weird face to save her life.

7 pm Tuesday night. Not sure why she was so tired, but she slept until 7:30am Weds morning. I've found her like this a few times and it's always so cute!