Musically Immersed

Emma has loved music since she was aware (even before birth). If she was rowdy, I could sing her a soft tune, and she would settle. Her favorite at 4 month was "I am a Child of God". He now favorite is "Tinkle, Twinkle". she sings it all the time. For the past few months I have been trying to get it on video. Finally I set the camera up and pushed record. After 12 minutes, this is what I got:



I have loved to hear her "singing" some tune as she plays, and have just stood there and watched. She thinks it amazing when we go somewhere and she hears someone singing this song or another that we sing at home. She will just look around and smile or giggle. Delta also does the same thing. Pin It

Summer fun!

I finally got around to pulling pictures off the camera. Here is Katia at swimming lessons:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Pin It

More than just "Double Trouble"

Today, as most of you know was the "short" Kindergarten day. Early out, which means school goes from just before 9:00 until just after 11:00. I decided that this would be a great day to see just how much I could get done. It all started when I couldn't get back to sleep at 4am. I got up before 5 and got the coupons done and ready for a quick shopping trip. I woke up elyse, then Ari, then got Emma back to sleep after waking up WAY too early. I then got the older two off to school. After showering and eating breakfast, I woke up Jayden (Katia woke up while I was getting ready to go get him). I got everyone else breakfast, got them dressed, and hair done. Then I loaded them all into the vehicle and headed to drop Jayden off at school. I then sped to the store, did the quick shopping trip, then returned home to put the groceries away. I got a snack for the little girls. Then I went out and cleaned off the lawn so I could mow. I finished mowing the front yard, then came in to check on the little girls. I started to sit down on the couch when I noticed it seemed dirty. It felt like sand. Knowing that they hadn't been outside, I asked where the sand came from. Katia said a container. I had her find the container which turned out to be a cocoa container. As I looked closer, I saw that it was indeed cocoa. And not just sprinkled on. It was licked. (it is cocoa after all.) Now when you lick cocoa, it becomes sticky. When you lick cocoa on a sofa, it too becomes sticky. I couldn't believe it. How do you clean a BUNCH of sticky cocoa off of a sofa? I called my mom (she has microfiber as well). I called Tony (who chuckled--gotta laugh at times like this. Thanks for the reminder.) Then I called the store, who went and found out what to do.
Here are the steps I proceeded to follow:
1. Pick up the children and take them to the bedroom.
2. (I told Katia I had a special mission for her: Play with the girls until I was done.)
3. Close the bedroom door.
4. Get a dish rag wet with warm water.
5. Start scrubbing.
6. Keep scrubbing until it seems that the cocoa is coming off.
7. Moved on to the next cushion.
8. Keep going until all the cushions have been scrubbed.
9. If that doesn't seem to be getting it off, add a small amount of mild dish detergent.
10. Use a soft hair or tooth brush to fluff up the fibers.
11. Let dry.

Now, as anyone who has twins will tell you. They are not just double trouble, it is more like quadruple trouble. They teach each other things, so they are getting into and doing more than just 2 toddlers. They are doing what 4 would be doing. they can move much faster than 2 toddlers, they can find and lose more than 2. It is amazing that I can even get anything done. As I go from one mess, to another mess, they are creating the 10th mess. How do you keep up?? Well, I put them down for naps, then I see how sweet they are. I sing songs with them and read them books. They laugh and play and have so much fun that it makes it more than worth the messes. And if I get overwhelmed, I can put them in their room so that they can't move onto another mess until I have gained control of the current one. Then I do it all over again. Because I love it!! I am a mom, after all. Pin It

I am not only losing my mind...

This past week was so crazy with all the school shopping and such. Friday I finally decided I needed to fit groceries into the schedule. Well, while coupon-ing and getting the lists ready, I decided that in order to keep Delta and Emma busy, I would share my cell phone with them. I have done this a number of times so didn't think anything of it. Then it was time to go. I went to retrieve my phone and it was no where to be found. I tried calling it, but had it on the lowest setting so couldn't hear it. I decided to go with out it and find it when I got home.
I returned home and after fixing lunch, went on another search. Nothing! The phone battery died, so no more calling it.
Saturday it still was missing. So we went on an Easter Basket search (where you take everything out of everywhere, and return it, looking for whatever is missing). The front room is where we began. Nothing. Then the kitchen. Nothing. Today we will be starting on the basement. I hope that we can find it soon.
I keep asking the girls where my phone is, but they just start looking around for it.
I saw Delta put a toy phone in a cereal box, so I thought I had found where it would be. I checked everywhere in the pantry, and NOTHING! This experience has helped deep clean rooms that have needed it all summer, but I would rather be reading books to the kids or going on a walk. Maybe even sitting next to my DH and watching a movie or having an intellectual conversation. As it is, all I have done since Friday is either look, or think of where to look, for the phone.
Will it turn up? will it be lost forever? Will I ever share something like this with them again? Who knows. I guess we'll see how the week goes. Pin It

Ready for School?? ALREADY!?!

This summer has been the best, most fun, relaxing, crazy summer so far. It started out with a trip to Arizona. Then we came back and had a mad dash week for Elyse and Julia to get their home summer fun in. Then it was swim lessons, outing Tuesday, craft Wednesday, movie Thursday, and run, read, run the rest of the time. The 4th was a blast, the 24th as well, visiting Mimi in WY. Just finished school shopping (I love shopping for supplies; the pens, paper, crayons, glue, binders), registering, and now it is "get a good schedule" time. I haven't been able to get up before 7:00 am. How am I suppose to get up at 5:30 for early morning seminary?? How am I going to keep track of who needs what when?? How are we going to keep on top of things?? Well, I guess the only way to find out is to dive in. So...Here we go. Thursday will be a tiring day. Friday we will be exhausted. Saturday will be like a long needed vacation. Then by next Monday we may have things going well. So, I guess we will see what happens. Pin It

What has saved me time in cleaning.

Some of the best cleaning investments I have made this year have been microfiber wash clothes and a microfiber mop. I don't know what the deal with this is, but they seem to be able to grab things and it requires less scrubbing, which a definite plus, as I don't have the time to scrub any way. The only thing that is a bit crazy is that you aren't suppose to use fabric softener on them. This is hard for me, because I love soft towels. But Martha Stuart says you shouldn't use fabric softener on towels, because they don't absorb as much moisture. Hmmm... Strange. Pin It

Fun at the Gorge

We had such a blast playing at Flaming Gorge. We just hung out on the beach. The kids played and swam in the water, floated, played in the sand(dirt) and ate lunch. It was so much fun. The weather was great. There was only a gentle breeze and it wasn't too hot. The clouds occationally covered the sun, but not more than needed. Elyse, Katia, Mimi, and I didn't get too much sun. Can't say the same for the rest. Even with sunscreening everyone up, it just wasn't enough. But that was the only thing to be complained about.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/32247666@N04/show/ Pin It