Scott rocked the (school) house

Scott had such a great year.  He loved his teacher who was all about music.  They made a cd and this track was one of Scott's finest!  He does the speaking at the beginning and ends it with a sweet solo.  Enjoy!

Yes, It Would!

My pretty sink stayed clean all week, even when I left for the weekend to visit my sweet mother, all clean!  Sunday night after a long car ride, a get-together at my house, unpacking and tired kids and mommy and sick daddy, I still conquered the sink. 

Having a clean kitchen all day just made everything so much easier, well, at least the food things.  Clean up was easier at night for the kids.  Having room to work was so much nicer.  All things considered, I will definitely keep it up.  Maybe not quite so dedicated, but I'll try. 

Would it make a difference

if I cleaned my sink after every single meal?  After one week, we'll see...

Live or Blog? Plus a really big house!

Seems I can't do both!  The last month or two have been crazy.  I haven't really had any desire to blog, just guilt!  But I do again, not sure what changed.  It may be the sunshine and arrival of spring.  I've popped out of my winter malaise like my crocuses and daffodils have popped out of their winter bulbs!

Last month Matt and I escaped to St. George for a little sunshine and quiet (only taking the 7 month old qualifies as quiet for parents of 6 kids, I'll tell you!)  What we didn't get was much sun and warmth, it snowed!  We did have a wonderful time.  Thank you to the super Grandparents who made it all possible!

We drove into Kolob Canyon of Zion National Park.  It was probably our sunniest day (the drive down).

We always check out the home show while we are there.  This time we saw more houses than usual because of the overall stormy weather which made hiking less than ideal.  In a questionable move, we decided to see the biggest house first.  It was a mere 10,764 square feet with four master suites (sweets!).  They each had these funky bathrooms.

 
But the true master had a shower with the coolest glass surround.

The first thing you saw was this fabulous garage, but admittedly it wasn't the prettiest approach. 
You walked into the courtyard where there was a fabulous seating area with fireplace
 and fountain.  We both loved this and want to make a smaller version for our back patio.  Wouldn't it be perfect?  No pool for little ones to drown in, very natural with real rock and a nice splashing. 

The backyard wasn't hurting in the fountain area either.  This was the coolest!  Here it is in daylight.

 And here it is at dusk!

 Even with the four master suites, there was plenty of room for a huge kitchen.

 The formal sitting area was flanked by huge stone covered columns. 

And the view wasn't too shabby. 

 It was a beautiful house and so fun to look at.  Of course it had a theater room, pool and lots of there pretty stuff, but I had to stop somewhere! 

Hope you enjoyed seeing this monster house.  I'll show you more beautiful desert houses over the next few days. 

Bananas, pancakes and babies

This morning I fed my 6-month-old sweetheart bananas for the first time while listening to Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson (I love that song). Summer didn't love the bananas as much.

But being so cute counts for a lot.

Inspiration for Decoration

 Found a new blog, Inspiration for Decoration.  It's just like I like it, not much chit chat (which I always read even though I don't have the time, generally to hear someone pontificate over a pretty picture) and lots of pretty pictures. 

Today I'm thinking about mudrooms or the lack thereof.  I'd love to have this:

But instead I barely have room for this:


But mine isn't nearly as pretty.  Darn.

Jimmer and the Co-ed

I downloaded pictures off my camera today. I hate doing it. I always have a million pictures to take care of before I get to the ones I want. I still had Christmas on there!

Anyway, what I was looking for was the one and only picture I took at the BYU vs. UNLV basketball game where we took our kids and met our cousins last Saturday. What a great game! We are totally Jimmered, especially Scott and Andrew. Okay, and Matt and I as well.

Did you see the awesome Facebook/Daily Universe bru ha ha about Jimmer? It is hilarious.

Let me start by saying I love the Daily Universe, BYU's student paper! More specifically I love the editorials. They are legendary. When I was going to school I remember an epic battle about girls carrying bags where the strap went across the chest (gasp!) and totally accentuated the nearby womanly parts. It was definitely causing immoral thoughts to blossom unchecked in too many male students. It was hilarious!

So this week a co-ed wrote and complained about the Jimmer-worship going on at BYU. But whereas back in the 90's we didn't have Facebook and replies only came out every Tuesday and Thursday, she got hundreds of replies overnight! And they are all so hilarious. Check out the article about it here or here.

Being Sick

Today I've been thinking about being sick.  No, I'm not deciding whether or not to feel yucky, I already do.  I've just been pondering health.  What a blessing health is.

What a bummer being sick is.  It really wipes me out physically as well as emotionally and even spiritually.  And it certainly doesn't just have to be me that is sick.  Try a child sick with a high (104-106!) fever for 8 days.  Being sick really changes the whole game of life.  You must act differently, spend your time differently, and really pace yourself differently. 

So here is a little blessing (shout up?)  for all of you who find yourself or a loved one sick today.  I hope you feel better soon!

Southern Living Showcase Home

 Hooked on Houses featured this beautiful home recently. 

I love the ceilings, the light colors and pretty windows.

And this kitchen is so beautiful.  I love the cabinets, counters and colors!  When my kids get out of the drive cars all over the floors, leave lots of spills around, play in the snow period, I want pretty wood floors just like this. 

It's About Time for a Pretty Picture

Wouldn't you say so?

This one reminded me of my sister, Chelse; probably because of the yellow and the frames she used at her wedding reception.


I found this along with so many pretty bedrooms on Shorely Chic . 

This one undoubtable belongs in a warm, sunny beach house.

And I would love to have french doors just like this in my bedroom.

Shorely Chic has captured my attention with these beautiful images.  I really want to visit this pool!  You have to go here to see the rest of this beautiful house!

103, 104, 105, Oh My!

All week long my sweet daughter has had a very high temperature.  The only list I've been keeping this week is when she last had her Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen. She feels awful.  6 days now.  I'm hoping this will not stretch into another whole week of missed school.  And that is all.  I'll see you again soon.  I hope.

Sleeping In

Sleeping in always puts my day off schedule.  It almost always causes something to a pain later on. 

But it is always worth it :).

One by One

Today we're having a birthday party for my oldest, Dawn.  She turned 11 in December, but, well...you know December.  So today we are having a friend party.  She's so excited.  It's not a huge affair, but it is hers.

Having 6 kids is, well, busy.  Really busy.  We try to focus on each child, knowing each one has an infinite amount of worth, love and life inside.  But as I mention, we're busy.  And I know you are busy, too.  That's the life we have.

But you know the story about Jesus and blessing the children, the one where he is very tired and his disciples try to give him rest by sending the throng away.  (Throng would be a good word for how my family feels at times!).  But Jesus welcomes them, beckons them.  And then he blesses them one by one. 

One by one.  Each one individually.  So that's what we try to do with our kids.  All too often we don't get it done.  We try to have one on one "special times" with each child.  It varies a lot.  So we are working on it.  And tonight Dawn gets the attention.  It isn't one on one by any means.  But it is a special favor just for her, just to help her feel special.  To help her know that we value just her, all by herself.  Because she is worth it. 

Blessings on the (Kiddy) Throne

I hinted yesterday that we are potty training at our house.  Little Charity is learning to be a big girl! Yea!  I was so nervous to start, because, I think we can all agree, potty training has to be one of the worst parts of parenting!  Okay, I may be overstating that, but you'll understand in just a moment.

Our last child to potty train was a train wreck!!  We worked on it for a year. and. a. HALF!  I kid you not.  We would go for weeks on end with poopy pants every single day.  Yucky, really stinky poopy pants.  We'd throw up the white flag and go with pull ups for a few weeks.  Then we'd repeat the process while trying something different. 

Food rewards, toy rewards, wearing no pants at all, being time-out-ed, charts, bribes, maybe a time or two of yelling (yes, I admit I lost it more than I wish I had).  We tried everything we could think of or read about or dream up.  We prayed, and prayed and cried.  Seriously, this was major drama for us.  Imagine 18 long months.  78 weeks!  540 days in a row of failure!

Fast forward to our sweet Charity.  Last Tuesday her friend at play group had panties on.  I thought, "Oh yeah, with the holidays over, I should try that."  So we went home and pulled out the big girl panties. 

We put them on and a cloud of potty blessings descended upon our tired and very nervous potty training nerves.  She is done!  She was done in three days!  She had 3 accidents the first day, one when I was in the shower, one when I was on the treadmill and one during family prayers (on my lap I might add). 

The next day she had an accident when she pooped.  But the third day when she figured out how to poop in the potty, she was done.  She's had like 2 accidents since then.  She doesn't even get me for help.  I just hear the flush, and I go help her wash her hands.  We've been shopping, to church, to play groups and she's fine!

It is a certified miracle, a blessing from heaven direct to my tired head.  Someone is watching out for me.  I just might be able to handle six kids after all.

Balance

For the new year, I'm focusing on balance. It is a tricky walk. With a husband and 6 kids, 7 fish, 1 potty trainee, 80 loads of laundry, 12 full rooms, and so much else I have to carefully decide what to focus my time and energy on.

Last month, it was not this blog! It was having a magical Christmas with my 7 favorite people (plus many more family and friends). But we got it all done. Gifts for each other, for lots of extended family, cards, gifts for neighbors, decorating, baking, projects and lots of fun outings took up every available minute until the 24th (okay, and beyond, like the cards that might have gotten to you before 2011).

But this month, I'm thinking I want to write more down, share more thoughts. So I'm laying all out this month. We'll see how it goes. I have lots to tell you. Like the miracle of my 5th little potty trainee. Oh, the blessings of heaven have been heaped down upon us and her little froggy potty!

So, organize a closet or two with me and love a child or two. I'm getting in better shape, getting my house in shape and trying to get my schedule in shape, but all with balance (ie. sloooowly).