Grandparents

Last weekend Spencer, the kids, and I drove up to Brentwood for a visit. We got there Saturday afternoon and stayed still Tuesday. It was fast, but we had a really good time. I love how excited our kids get to see their grandparents. I have especially fond memories from my childhood of visiting our grandparents in Ontario, OR and I love creating those same memories for my own kids. Actually, this trip to Brentwood was specifically planned because my grandparents were up visiting my parents - making it an extra special visit.

I was excited for Calvin to meet his GREAT grandparents for the very first time!

Saturday afternoon we hung out at the house. Mom made a yummy smoked salmon dinner and Aunt Fay and Uncle Bob drove up from Half Moon Bay to join us. Bummed I didn't get a pic of all of us together at dinner, but isn't this a good-lookin couple!

On Sunday the girls sang a duet of "Teach Me About the Temple" during sacrament meeting. Spencer and I were both beyond nervous. They didn't have a whole lot of practice and the times they did practice, it was crazy slow and dragging. Of course I'm going to be more critical than others, but it definitely needed more work. Luckily, everyone else thought it was amazing and the girls received lots of compliments about what a sweet song it was, how cute they were together, and how beautifully they sang. I was just glad to have it over. Later I learned why Madi was dragging so bad. Second and third hour Madi complained about not feeling well. Then as we was got into car to drive home she started shivering with the chills. We found out she had a fever, and as soon as we got back to my parents she immediately headed upstairs and crawled into bed. Poor little girl.  She just didn't feel good. Elle had a great time in nursery though. Heather Tucker is amazing and always has the coolest activities. This Sunday they made gingerbread houses!

The rest of the weekend we just enjoyed spending time with Gram, Papa, Grandpa and Grandma.

Funny story . . . my mom and dad always like to get little special surprises for the girls when they come to visit. A week or two ago my mom asked the girls what they wanted for Christmas. Madi tells her a fly swatter. This surprised my mom and she proceeded to ask if we have a fly problem at our house. I just laughed and told her how back in the summer, when we'd be barbecuing or just happen to leave the back door open, a fly or two would come in. Flies are annoying though - obviously annoying enough to leave an impression on Madi. She's been wanting a fly swatter ever sense. Leave it to Gram to take care of my daughter's dreams. She found a nice big fly swatter and then added some bling to make it fit for a princess (notice second pic below- it's adorned with sparkles)! Thanks Gram for the awesome surprise!

More surprises from the weekend are mentioned below! The fun didn't stop with the fly swatter!! :)

Monday afternoon we all headed across the street to attempt a family picture (for our soon to be mailed out Christmas card). But of course, anytime I try to force Elle to wear anything, tantrums start and tears are shed. And this time was no different! Elle threw one royal fit - ripping off her dress, destroying her hair, causing her to look pretty much like a ragamuffin for all the pictures. And on top of that, I wasn't a fan of Madi's outfit, but realized it wasn't worth the argument. My goal for next year is to get a family picture taken earlier - not forced or rushed.

Wait . . . is that a smile from Elle!??! 

Four Generations:

It was hard to say goodbye Tuesday morning. Our kids are showered with so much love and attention every time they come to Gram and Papa's house, and this time was no different.

About 30 minutes into our drive home, Elle commented about wanting to go back and wished someone would "pull our car back to Gram and Papa's". Madi quickly chimed in in agreeance. Instead I had everyone help me make a list of all our favorite things from the trip. I was planning on writing a cute thank you card to send to my parents, but life won't seem to slow down and I haven't had a minute to do it, so I'll include our list on here for now.

Madi & Elle's favorite things:
*Playing with the Dora dollhouse (Elle)
*Getting our kitchen (mom and dad let them open an early Christmas present- another fun surprise)
*Projects with Gram (Mom is always prepared with all sorts of fun craft projects. This time they made an advent Santa Claus using cotton balls, a reindeer from tracing hands and feet, and a snowman with foam stickers.)
*Coloring in Papa's office (it's always a treat for the girls to join Papa upstairs in his office while he's working).
*Sleeping with Gram (Elle slept in mom's office and Madi slept on the floor in my parents room, and every night mom tucked the girls into bed. Elle would fall asleep within seconds of my mom singing and scratching her back. She thought Gram was going to sleep in the office with her, so every morning around 5am my mom would move into where Elle was sleeping so that she wouldn't be alone when she woke up. Elle figured Gram slept there the whole night. What lucky girls to have such an sweet Gram!)
*Stories with Gram (we all love the "Gram bag" that's packed with tons of great stories)!
*The park and swings with Papa (my dad's always up for a walk to the park and playing with the girls).
*Seeing Grandmother and Grand Papa!!

Other favorites from Spencer's list:
*Gram's rolls
*Sugar cookies
*Hair cut from mom
*Movie (Lincoln) with Dad and Grandpa
*Visiting with Grandpa and Grandma
*Hot tubbin

Yup! Always a great time at Gram and Papa's! Thanks Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and Grandma for the fun weekend!

Oh, and Mr. Elf had a good time as well. He snuck into our car sometime Saturday morning after his nightly visit to the North Pole and kept an eye on the kids the entire weekend. Calvin especially liked where he decided to "hang out" for the drive home. . .

It was a little too tempting though. The girls had to keep reminding Cal not to touch him!

Leg surgery

This morning (6:30am) I went in for the last of my vein procedures - Stab Phlebectomy on my right leg. Of all the vein stuff I've had done, this procedure was the one I was nervous about- mostly because of having to go under anesthesia and all the effects of it. Thankfully everything went well. Spencer was a champ and handled our morning routine perfectly - kids fed, dressed, lunch packed, Cal napped, Madi to school, and Elle dropped off at a friends house all before heading over to the hospital with his mom to pick me up. He's been swapped at work, so after checking me out of the hospital, he headed to the office while mom drove me home and spent the day with me. Originally I had told her I'd be totally fine and had everything taken care of. I'm not the type to ask for help, don't like putting people out, and I'm usually pretty controlling about all the house stuff, but I was so thankful for her help today. I was super dizzy and groggy when we first got back, so while I layed down, she took care of feeding, playing with, and putting Calvin down for a nap. She picked Elle up from her friends house, and helped entertain the girls once Madi was home from school. Then around 4pm the girls started getting antsy so she loaded them up and took them to her house to play. Spencer picked them up there, ate dinner with mom and dad, and got home just in time to get the girls off to bed.

At the end of the day I was left feeling extrememly grateful . . .
-For an incredible husband who, no matter how busy work gets, always stays so involved in the day to day stuff.
-For his great job providing us with insurance to take care of these types of things.
-For a wonderful mother-in-law that was more than willing to drop everything from her busy schedule to come take care of me and the kids.
-For fabulous friends who were quick to volunteer to help with school pick up, drop off, lending breast pump, etc.
I am truly blessed!

That time of the year!

November flew by much too fast for me. I have yet to record all the tree/turkey/thankful crafts that the girls finished during the month. Thanks to Madi we always had some sort of art project going. Then before I knew it, December was here and I have a feeling it's gonna fly by just as fast. We got our first Christmas card in the mail on Saturday (which I LOVED- Christmas cards always make me happy :). But the start of the cards also leave me feeling just a tad of pressure. There's so much to get done and just not enough time!

Our first weekend in December was action packed! We got our Christmas tree Saturday afternoon, which included a complete transformation of the front room- moving Madi's art table to the garage and Elle's to the play/guest room. I loved how anxious the girls were about setting up our tree and getting out decorations, but in all honesty, their excitement was just a bit overwhelming and I was sure ornaments were going to get broken before even getting on the tree.

Saturday night was our Ward Christmas party - Polar Express theme. I was "Anie the Elf" and did the reading of the Polar Express story before Santa showed up. You can't tell it from the pictures below, but Madi and Elle could barely contain their excitement about sitting on Santa's lap! They'd rehearsed what they were going to say in addition to what they were going to ask for - Madi, a diary with a lock and Elle, a trampoline and princess baby. Madi had authoritatively decided that she was going to sit on Santa's lap first since she was older, and Elle would go second. Then one of the young women accidently sent Elle up first which left Madi in tears. Thank goodness they didn't last for long.

Is it just me and the matching jammies, or do my girls look SO much alike!?!

Cal's first time meeting Santa and we even got a smile!!

Please excuse all the bad shadows, fuzziness, and awkward smiles. Pictures in the church gym never seem to come out for us.

Sunday we had tithing settlement and I had a little chat with our Bishop about a new calling I'm going to be getting- leaving me feeling a lOT overwhelmed!

Sunday night we recorded the First Presidency Christmas devotional (cause we weren't home to watch it) and had all intentions of watching it as a family for FHE. But then Spencer had to work late (again) and the girls were a bit hyper, so I changed our activity and made a home movie of them singing primary songs instead. I was able to watch the devotional later by myself and as always, was so touched. It was exactly what I needed to give me the direction and focus for this Christmas season.

Oh, and one more thing... Mr. Elf is back! He arrived a couple weeks ago (Thanksgiving night) and has been having all sorts of fun while the kids sleep!

8 months

Cal's 8 month old today! Each month seems to fly by faster and faster. He's a total dream these days - always happy, lots of fun to play with, finally becoming a better sleeper (not waking up at all sorts of random times in the night), taking 2 regular/predictable naps a day, and did I mention FUN to play with! He jumps in his jump-up thing now, loves reading books (listens, follows along, shows excitement, laughs and smiles when appropriate), rolls around the room as his method of movement (recently started worming around on his tummy), loves peak-a-boo, and says "Mama" or "Mom" all day long! Cal's definitely a mama's boy. Today I had to get sclerotherapy done on my leg, so I dropped Elle and Cal off at a friend's. I guess Cal cried the whole time. So sad (mostly felt bad for my friend). A little over an hour later I walked in the door and he was instantly better. He rarely cries though (that's why it's so sad when he actually does) and it's usually easy to get a smile out of him.

Isn't he just so darn cute!! I really can't get enough of him. None of us can for that matter. Elle begs to get him up in the morning. She'll take a bath every night now just so she can play in the tub with him. Madi loves to tease him and he returns the love with pulling hair. And I can most always get Spencer to rush home if he knows he won't get to see Cal before bedtime otherwise. 

Cal's got such a sweet little personality. He's fun, playful, and silly, yet very focused and concentrated. He reminds me a lot of Madi as a baby. He's taking the signing thing very seriously (can't tell if he's signing milk or waving though, but opening and closing his hand is his new favorite thing). He says, "Mama" all the time and usually when he wants me for something. He'd stopped saying "Dada" completely until Spencer surprised us and came home early from a business trip. Cal was so happy to see him that he said "Dada" the rest of the night. 

And check out that hair! Is it just me or is he in need of a hair cut?! Spencer says NO WAY! 

Cal a total tummy sleeper and wakes up every morning completely soaked - through onesie and jammies. Tonight I moved him up to size 5 diaper (didn't have any 4's on hand) and we'll see if it helps. 

The biggest difference in this baby than my other two is that I'm determined to have him be good eater. I didn't go the baby food route this time, but rather stuck to fresh fruits and vegetables - sweet potatoes, squash, broccoli, spinach, green beans, carrots, avacado, blueberries, peaches, pears, bananas, and apples - along with oatmeal, brown rice, and pasta. Steaming, baking, cooking, chopping, blending. . . I tell ya, I've become a pureeing machine. It's WAY more work and I feel like I'm constantly doing dishes, but it feels good to know that I'm feeding Calvin lots of good stuff! Hopefully my hard work pays off and I'll get a non-picky eater out of it. He sure is bigger than both his sisters were! Cal still nurses great, but recently his two bottom teeth broke through and I experienced my first bite! Anymore of that and he's done! Those little baby teeth do make for a super cute smile though (can you see em?)!

Love LOVE loVE this little boy!! SO glad I get to call him mine!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving I was particularly thankful for living close to family. Growing up Thanksgiving was  the one holiday we traveled for. I always looked forward to seeing tons of cousins (usually 50+), aunts, uncles, and both sets of grandparents. It was always a crazy fun time and I'll forever have such fond memories of the Thanksgiving holiday. While I would have loved for my kids to have their cousins to play with, we feel so blessed to have grandparents nearby. This year we joined Boppi and Grandpa Al at their house. And it really was such a wonderful Thanksgiving day. Spencer's mom knows how enthusiastic I am about cooking and let me bring whatever I wanted (made raspberry pretzel jello and bought a pumpkin pie). It was nice not to have the stress of cooking. I love a good meal, but I am not a fan of all the work and dishes involved. When we got over there in the morning, the turkey was already in, mom had made the apple pie the night before, rolls were being started, and everything else was easy. Mom and Dad have this meal down to a science. Dad does the turkey, gravy, and stuffing, and mom does the sweet potatoes, butternut squash, mashed potatoes, rolls, and apple pie. And let me tell ya, it was a meal fit for a king!

Cal was diggin the turkey. . .

Our after turkey walk - in preparation for dessert!

Thursday night the girls slept over at Boppi and Grandpa Al's (such a treat that rarely gets to happen). Spencer had to work on Friday (I'll be so happy when this arbitration's over) but mom and dad joined the kids and I at the beach. I was so grateful for their company! Thanks mom and dad for the memorable Thanksgiving weekend!!

Cal got a kick out of chasing seagulls with Grandpa Al!

Madi's blog

At the park this afternoon Madi kept wanting me to take pictures of her with her baby. She mentioned how when we got home she wanted to write a story about all the things they did together. I suggested to Madi that she start her own blog. She's always taking pictures and can now write simple sentences by herself. I figured it'd also be a good place for me to record all the projects she does. I could just take a picture, post it on her blog, and then not feel so bad tossing it!

My thoughts were letting her type her sentence and post the picture I took of her and baby, but by the time I layed Calvin down, switched loads of laundry, and put a few things away, she was already done with her "blog post":

HA! I loved it! It was a perfect documentation of our park outing - Madi and purple baby on the swings, Elle going back and forth between the swing and slides, and Cal trying out the slide for the first time. The clothes were totally off though. I wore jeans with my blue checkered shirt, and the kids -well, they're posted below:

Madi doesn't play babies much anymore so I was loving how excited she was to push her little stroller and baby all the way to the park! 

Notice Elle's outfit. This was her 6th of 10 outfit changes today! This little phase she's going through is super exhausting, especially when she wants me to redo her hair after every outfit change!

Oh, and I'm still gonna get a blog set up for Madi, just not today.

This weeks happenings

Felt that the blog needed a little updating. It's been a rather eventful week and I wanted to document . . .

Monday I finished a project for Christmas. Feels SO great to be done with gifts for the Jenkins side of the family! And speaking of Christmas, our stockings arrived this week! Up to this point we've been unsuccessful with finding stockings we loved. Think we finally have a winner! After hanging them up I didn't want to take them down. We might just be decorating a bit early this year!

Tuesday was election day. It was fun having Elle and Cal join me at the polls. They were angels and didn't make so much as a peep.

Wanted to get a pic of the 3 of us together, but Elle ripped her sticker off too fast.

After voting, the kids and I headed over to the church for my parenting class. It was our third session and focused mostly on how to have a happy successful marriage. We also talked about the love languages and color code. No matter how wonderful a marriage Spencer and I have, I know we still gotta continue doing the little things that keep it alive. Like: writing love notes, going on dates, meeting him at the door with hugs and kisses, and letting him know how grateful I am that he works so hard- allowing me to be at home with the kids. Sometimes I joke about how nice it would be to be able to leave the craziness of home (drama, fighting, messes, etc) and actually go to work. But honestly, he and I both know what  an absolute disaster I would be if I had to leave our kids with someone else all day long. Even leaving the kids with Spencer for an afternoon makes me homesick for them. I feel blessed to have a hard working, super awesome, smart husband! Something else I really want to be aware of is not arguing in front of the kids. Personally, I view our arguments as disagreements and we're just "talking it out", but Madi has stopped us several times telling us not to fight. I want our kids to grow up seeing how in love I am with their dad, not feeling like we argued a lot. My favorite quote of the day: "One doesn't fall out of love. One stops doing loving things."

Random pic from sometime this week- an afternoon home with the kids. Never want to forget them this little.

Overall, Tuesday was a great day, but ended in a very disappointing night (it took a couple of days for Spencer to get out of depression). I was just sad. Sad to loose a candidate who would have made such an amazing President. I was so hopeful and anxious for Mitt Romney to be the leader of our country. Ya, life will move on, but life could have been so much better with him in charge.

Wednesday I had a dentist appointment in the morning, followed by my first round of sclerotherapy on my left leg. Calvin was a trooper and joined me for both appointments while Elle hung out with her buddy Lily. Sclerotherapy was a piece of cake - just a bunch of pokes and a little stinging that went away with pressure applied. The hardest part is having to wear my stockings 24/7 for the next 2 weeks. I actually wasn't allowed to take them off for 3 full days afterwards. Finally getting to shower Saturday afternoon felt glorious! But actually, the hardest part is definitely gonna be not running for 2 weeks! Walking is all I'm allowed. I'm planning on posting pics once I have something good for an "after" (the before pics are a bit scary :). I should be all done with procedures come mid December.

Thursday I worked in Madi's classroom. Mrs. Newton was out sick and it was complete mayhem without her there. The sub was a sweet old guy, and the kids were taking total advantage of all that sweetness. I so wanted to take over and whip those kids into shape. How I miss teaching!

Friday the girls decided to be angels. They got all their jobs done (by 9am), earning them "popcorn movie" after school. Then after dinner we ended the night with a bonfire. Unfortunately, those "angel" girls don't do so well when they're tired (sugar doesn't help either). The drama started even before the bonfire did. Crying over what to wear outside about threw me over the edge and I was tempted to call the whole thing off. Good thing I've got Spencer to keep me from loosing it.

Staying up late resulted in an extra early wake up. Didn't help a mama who was up a lot of the night with a sick, stuffed up baby. Spencer was a love and took the girls out for two hours this morning. Then tonight Spencer and I were able to escape to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. A great end to the week!!