Valentines Fun

I'm finally getting around to blogging about Valentines. The entire week leading up to Valentine's Day was a fun one in our house. On the Monday before Valentine's Day, we had a "Love at Home" Family Home Evening. We talked about the importance SHOWING, not just telling, each other how much we love one another. At the end of the lesson, we drew names to do "Secret Valentines" for the week. It was our job to make our "Secret Valentine" feel extra special for the next seven days. We talked about doing some sort of service for that person, or leaving a little note telling the person how much you loved them, etc. It was a lot of fun & the kids had a blast. I think we all had figured out in just a few days who everyone's "Secret Valentines" were, but it was fun anyway. I wish I had taken pictures of all the sweet little things everyone did for each other, but I only captured a few. Connor was my "Secret Valentine." Here's a picture of how he "made my bed" for me one day, and the cute little note he left on top of it...


Aiden was Cohen's "Secret Valentine." Here's a picture of his hands & a heart that he left in Cohen's room for him. I love how he did it on one of my weather papers. Too funny...


It was so much fun & I think it will become an annual tradition for us.

On Valentine's Day, I woke up to all four of my Valentines jumping on the bed & smothering me with hugs and kisses. It was the best. Then, we went downstairs for some pink-colored, heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast...


After that, we gave the kids their Valentines presents. We always give our kids a little gift on Valentines Day. It's usually something that I buy at Christmas time, but then realize I've overspent my budget. Instead of returning it, I hang on to it & give it to them for Valentines Day. Here's Connor with some Star Wars ship & guy that he's been wanting "soooooooooooooooo bad"...

And here's Aiden with his Ni Hao Kai-lan legos. By the way, that show is EXTREMELY annoying to me...

We got Cohen a big bouncy ball since he loves balls more than anything else in the world. I don't have a picture of him because he was sleeping when we initially gave out the presents, and then the camera never came back out for the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, Mike & I haven't had our Valentine's date yet. It was supposed to happen this past week, but a co-worker of mine had a death in his family so I've been filling in all week. Now, our date is scheduled for a week from today. We're planning to go to Christopher's in downtown SLC. I can't wait!!

So, that was our Valentine's week in a nutshell. It was so much fun! I love all four of my Valentine sweethearts! --Lindsay

A Firm Foundation

We finally have a foundation!!!

Yay! Not much more to say about it. It's just nice to see this process actually progressing! --Lindsay

The Unwitting Confession of the Father-Son Secret Pact

So, the other night, we were all sitting at the table eating dinner. We were talking about a few errands that needed to get done sometime. I suggested we all go run them together. That's when the following conversation took place...

Connor: (Sigh) I hope Mom has a girl baby sometime.

Me: Why do you say that? (I was shocked because he loves the fact that there are no girls--or girl toys--in our house.)

Connor: Because shopping is a GIRL thing to do. If you had a baby girl, then SHE could go shopping with you instead of us. Then we could stay home with Dad and do boy stuff...(pause)...like watch VIOLENT MOVIES!

I looked at Mike. A very guilty smile began to appear on his face.

I think Connor just inadvertently broke a father-son secret "don't-tell-mom-we're-watching-this-violent-movie" pact. Haha! --Lindsay

A Resolution I'm Actually Keeping

My New Years Resolution this year was to clean faster & smarter, so that I had more time to spend with the kids. Many of you know that I'm pretty OCD when it comes to my house. I have a cleaning schedule & I stick to it religiously. I can be deathly ill & you will find me mopping my floors or cleaning the bathroom because "it NEEDS to get done." I would love to just say "Oh well...I'll get to it when I get to it" but I just can't. I will just sit & stress about it until it gets done. Yes, I know I have serious issues...thank you very much.

Because I put so much stress on myself in this area, I find myself cleaning way more often than I find myself doing things that are really important...like playing with my kids. My original New Years Resolution was to not worry so much about having a clean house. But, I knew that would last about 3 days & then the stress of looking at dusty furniture & unfolded clothes would get to me and my resolution would go out the window. So, I made the resolution of working faster & smarter, so that I could have more time with my kids. That was something I thought I might actully be able to do.

I told Mike about my resolution & he suggested that we give him & the kids a few more responsibilities to do each day so that there wasn't so much on my plate. "Oh that will work out great," I said sarcastically. "I'm sure they will be THRILLED to get more chores! It's just easier to do it myself than to fight them about it." But then, Mike had another suggestion. He said that we should start paying them an allowance for doing the extra chores. He said that he had been wanting to start an allowance with the kids so that they could learn the importance of paying tithing & saving up for things that they really want. I decided it wasn't a half bad idea. They might actually do it willingly if they knew they were going to get paid for it.

A few days later, I found this link on the Errand of Angels blog. It was for a free printable chore chart that you can customize to your child & their abilities...


I was so excited. I made up a chore chart for each of the boys with chores I felt they could handle (and that I could handle having them do.) Mike & I decided that they would get 5 cents for each check they get & that we would pay them at the end of each week. Then, we had an FHE about responsibilities. I made a train & we talked about how each person in the family is like a different part of the train. If we each do what we're supposed to do, the train will stay on track. But, if one person doesn't pull their weight, the whole train could become derailed. Then, we gave them their chore charts for the week & introduced the allowance system. I also told them that I wasn't going to nag them about doing their chores, I would remind them once & then it was their responsibility to make sure they got done. If a chore is complained about, then they automatically lose that check for the day...whether they do the chore or not. They were really excited about it & got right to work on a few of the chores.

That first week was kind of rough. We had several "meltdown moments" about picking up the family room or taking out the trash, but when allowance day rolled around, I was able to explain to them that they would have made more money had they not complained. I said, "Okay Connor. You made $2.05, but you would have made $2.45 if you hadn't complained about doing your chores." I did the same thing with Aiden. I think it worked because we haven't heard a whole lot of complaining since...and it's been a month now! The boys are having a great time with it & look forward to "pay day" each week. Here they are with their completed charts right after they got paid...

Each week, we figure out how much tithing they owe & put it in a special envelope. I've been surprised at how eager they are to pay their tithing. They just turned in their first tithe to the bishop this last Sunday & were all smiles when they did it.

Overall, this has been a great thing for our family! The boys are learning responsibility & money management...and I have less on my plate so that I have more time to spend with them. It's a win-win situation! This might end up being the first New Years resolution I actually end up keeping! --Lindsay

The Greatest Snow on Earth

Connor went skiing for his first time on Friday! Deer Valley Resort gave me two all-day lift tickets for Christmas this year. But, as many of you know, I'm not much of a skier. Okay, I loathe the sport! You'd think that since I grew up right in the middle of "The Greatest Snow on Earth" and I live only about 30 minutes away from 10+ ski resorts, that I would be a total ski bum...but, alas, no. I have only been skiing three times in my life & none of those experiences were what I would consider "good." The first time, I went with a group of Jr. High friends. They basically took me to the top of a mountain, gave me a brief lesson on how to "snowplow" and then left me there to fall down the mountain by myself. The second time, I went with my family & actually took some lessons. This time was okay, but I still wasn't a fan. The third and final time was a night skiing experience. It was spring & the top layer of snow had melted during the day, then froze again that night. We were basically skiing on a slanted ice skating rink. Not fun...not fun at all. Hence why I have never been a skier. Why would I want to pay big money to participate in a sport that has ambulances on standby at all times at the bottom of the mountain? Seriously, I don't get it!

Mike, on the other hand, loves to ski & snowboard. But, since he's married to a girl that is slightly "skiaphobic", he doesn't go as much as he would like, so I gave the tickets to him. He decided that it was about time Connor learned how to ski, so he decided to take him. Connor had Friday off of school for a teacher comp day or something & Mike had the day off of work, so they headed up to Deer Valley. Here's the little ski bum with all his gear...


Man, I live with some good lookin' people...


Here's Connor learning to ski with the other kids at the resort...

And, here he is snowplowing down the bunny hill...

He actually caught on fairly quick & was having a great time. He wanted to go up to some of the higher & more difficult runs, but Mike forced him to stay on the lower runs for the day. Mike didn't want him to attempt something he wasn't ready for & then be traumatized for the rest of his life, like a certain blonde girl that shall remain nameless.

By the end of the day, he was getting pretty daring. He even wanted to ride the ski lift all by himself. I seriously can not believe that Mike let him do it! My baby sister was rushed to the hospital about 10 years ago because she fell off a ski lift. And, Mike let Connor...a seven-year-old...do it. The man is brilliant, but I swear that his brain just shuts off from time-to-time. Sigh...

It was a good day! You know it's a good day when this happens on the way home...

Haha! I love this picture! So awesome! Connor loved his first skiing experience & says he can't wait to go again! I'm glad he had a great time...and that he is slightly more coordinated at this extremely dangerous & overpriced sport than I am! --Lindsay

The Elephant in the Room

Cohen has a new best friend lately. It's a big, black elephant that used to be in my sister's bedroom when she was going through her "Asian Buddhist decorating phase." Cohen found it the other night when he was at my parents' house and he wouldn't let it go.

When it was time to go home that night, Cohen picked it up & started heading out the door with it like it belonged to him. It was so funny that my mom just told him he could take it home. Thanks Nana...I guess. Cohen seriously hasn't put the thing down since.

That night, Cohen insisted on sleeping with it...pointy tusks and all. Mike tried to take it away, but Cohen would have none of that. We let him fall asleep with it & then took it out of his crib once he was in dreamland.

The next morning, Cohen felt his "friend" needed to eat breakfast with us. And, he felt the perfect place for him to eat would be right smack dab in the middle of his tray...


And now anytime you see Cohen, chances are that bizarre black giant will be right by his side...


At dinner that night, I made the mistake of moving the elephant off Cohen's tray & placing it on the table in front of him. BIG mistake, as you can see by the look on his face...

Seriously, I don't get it!?! There is nothing fun about this elephant. He's big, heavy & hard...with extremely pointy tusks. What does my son see in this thing? Hopefully, this is just a phase...a very bizarre phase. --Lindsay

Cohen's Way of Creating a First Impression

Yesterday was Cohen's first "official" day of nursery. I say first "official" day because we've been sneaking him in there several times over the past few weeks to get him used to the idea. But, yesterday was to be his first day that he would spend the entire time there. Here's the big boy (and his handsome daddy) right before we headed off to church...

After Sacrament Meeting, I took Cohen to his class. I decided to stay with him for a few minutes while he got used to his teachers & the other kids. After about 5 or 10 minutes, I tried to sneak out. No such luck. Cohen caught a glimpse of me leaving & started pitching a fit. I hid outside the door for a few minutes and, luckily, he stopped crying. PERFECT! "That wasn't so bad," I thought as I headed off to Sunday School with Mike.

After SS, it was time to go to work. I stopped back by the nursery & asked the nursery leader how Cohen was doing. She said that he was doing really well. YES!!! This was going swimmingly! As I walked out the door to go to work, I thought to myself, "This is going soooooooooooo great!" BIG MISTAKE!!! I pretty much jinxed myself on that one! Why did I not find some wood to knock on?!?

Only a few minutes after I left for work, the nursery leader brought Cohen to Mike. He was SOAKED from the waist down. Yep, he had some how managed to pee his pants...and to make the situation even better, his teacher was holding him when the incident happened! OH MY GOSH!!! I think all nursery teachers get an automatic "Get Into Heaven Free" card just for accepting the calling...especially the ones that are called to teach my little monsters. Oy vey!

Mike took Cohen to the bathroom thinking his diaper had gotten too full & had leaked. But, when he got in there, he was surprised to find an almost dry diaper. All we can think is that Cohen's "extra appendage" somehow got out of the diaper or got pointed in a weird direction or something. Regardless, it's quite the fabulous start his nursery experience! Way to make a GREAT first impression son! I'm so proud!! --Mom