Playing Pirates Can be Exhausting

Andrew has just started to play with this pirate ship. He got it last year for Christmas. My kids don't usually sit down and play with their toys. They just dump them out and make messes. So, this is a great change. The other day he must have gotten worn out from the exertion of playing with one toy for so long. I went downstairs and found him like this.

Missing the Dogs.

I miss my dogs...sometimes. I have to admit our life as been easier since I killed Milo and gave Ody away, but I do miss them at times. The biggest change since they left is the mess. Things are cleaner and messier at the same time. There is no more gross dog stuff in our mudroom, but the kitchen floor can definitely tell a difference in the dogs absence. After every meal we would let Milo and Ody in to clean up after the kids. With them gone I actually have to sweep after each meal. Well, not that I do sweep after each meal, but I should.
This is a pretty minor mess from the girls. Sometimes I wonder if they even swallow the food or if they just throw it on the floor.

Paige and Morgan will sometimes step in for Milo and Ody and clean the floor for me. They don't get it as clean as the dogs did, but they make a pretty good substitute.

New Temple

We went to the Draper Temple open house this week for Young Womens. It was a good time. I drove the Behemoth filled with 1 other leader, Alyssa, and some hyper girls. I hadn't felt old until that night. They wanted to listen to some good music on the radio. I don't know why they weren't interested in watching some Baby Einstein on the DVD player??? Anyway, they would change the station often to find the good songs. And I hadn't hardly heard of any of them! Am I that much out of the real world? I guess when your days are filled with diapers, Super Why, Mickey Mouse Club, toys, cleaning, cooking, and kid stuff you really do become detached from the real world (which isn't all bad). But I did feel old and uncool. Oh well, maybe I am.

To get back to the activity, the temple was so beautiful. And it felt so good to go into a temple. It has been quite a long time since Trent and I have gone. It made me remember how much I love the feeling in the temple and how important it is in our lives. Trent and I will be going together soon. I think we need the break from kids and we definitely need the spiritual upliftment that comes with attending the temple. If any of you haven't gone to the open house I would recommend it. I really loved it.

Blue Popcorn

My kids wanted blue popcorn yesterday. I was hesitant because I end up eating so much of it. I love the stuff, but is just doesn't go well with the diet. But I figured I would do it anyway, since I am such a good mom. I also justified me eating it because I would be burning so many calories while I made it. I used the stove top popcorn popper, which you have to continuously turn by hand. It is sad, but my arms were tired when I finished.And guess what? Andrew was the only one that ate the dang popcorn! Aiden and Oakley said the blue hurt their teeth. Ugh. I ask myself again, why do I make things for my kids when they won't even eat it? Now there is that much more for me to consume, because I can't be wasteful and throw it away....right?

Memory Card in My Mind...

I wish I could take pictures with my eyes. I miss so many moments while my camera is not in my hand. The close up shots of my kids, while I smother them with motherly kisses. The way their faces light up when I read to them. The wrestling matches that sometimes turn into fighting. The funny faces they attempt to copy. The hoard kneeling around the ottoman for family prayer. The everyday smiles that make my days a little brighter. The moment they figure something out for the first time. The fighting and whining-the "proof" of why I am crazy. When they play happily together. The chaos of meals, trying to feed the Furious Five. The games of Hide & Seek, which are pretty darn funny to watch. The tears following an owie and the cuddles that follow those tears. The way Trent chases, wrestles, tickles, and plays with our cute little creations. Simply, the daily interactions that make up our life here at the Jensen Hoard. If only I could take what I see everyday, store it in a memory card in my mind, and download the file whenever I wanted to relive any moment of my life. Oh, yes. I wish I could take pictures with my eyes.

Random Happenings at Our House

We have had a lack of activities to blog about at our house. With sick kids, cold weather, and trying to save money, it leaves us very few options to occupy our time. Because of that, unfortunately, we have resorted to watching the tube. My poor kids brains are going to be mush by the time they reach kindergarten. Here is my attempt at a blog post with nothing much to blog about. Enjoy the randomness!

• We had the Wilsons up for dinner and a movie on Sat. It is so nice to have them over. They have some older kids that will entertain our kids for hours. We ate, sent the kids downstairs to play, and just sat and did nothing for for at least 20 minutes. ;) We had one of our faves for dinner, what we like to call "Cafe Rio." We basically just make the famous dressing and make chicken tacos. Here is the recipe for the dressing if any of you want to try it. 1 Jalepeno, 3 tomatillos, 1 packet buttermilk ranch dressing, 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup sourcream, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, & clintro to taste. Put it all in a blender/cuisine art, mix, and enjoy! I add a little corn starch to thicken it up too. Any questions give me a call/email.

• I finally purchased some Stephens Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows. I have been hearing of this new creation and its deliciousness for some time now. Hot chocolate is one of my favorite treats and my favorite hot chocolate is Stephens. Don't give me any of the weird flavors-just the milk chocolate. I fixed me a steaming mug and it did not disappoint. So. Good. (thanks to Kimmy for the pic)

• I talked Trent into going tanning with me so we wouldn't get toasted on our upcoming "outing." Trent was not very happy about it. To make a long story short, we have been a couple times and Trent has been in the bed for a total 16 mins and is SO burned. I tried to advise him to reduce his time and ask for a different bed with "older" bulbs, but to no avail. I call him Ross now. I guess Trent wasn't counting Mississippiously! Here is a little video of Ross's experience with the spray on tan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOLCwaHVtWs . Since I am computer illiterate I didn't know how to upload the video from YouTube.

• Oakley has not been taking naps lately. It makes me sad. Nap time is my favorite time of day. Now I have 3 kids not sleeping. Ouch. Friday night the kids stayed up late and, of course, didn't sleep in the next morning. Saturday afternoon passed without a nap and while as I was preparing dinner Aiden and Oakley fell asleep. It is so nice when kids fall asleep on their own and without a struggle with the parents! However, Andrew was getting pretty mad because Oakley kept falling on him. ;)
  

• I received a calling after 2 years of doing nothing in the church. I am in Young Women's, a Mia Maid Advisor. It has been fun....so far. Today I give my first lesson. I am not a teacher, I hate public speaking, and I am spiritually inept to be instructing someone else. We will see how it goes.

• And last, but not least, I did cut my hair. And no, that isn't a picture of Jennifer Anniston in my kitchen. It is me. Seriously though, I like the change, but am thinking it needs to be a little bit shorter. It is nice to have something different and I love how "healthy" my hair feels after a good trimming.

I hope you enjoyed the post, but I would like to have some future blogging material. If any moms (or dads) know of some fun things to entertain kids, that don't cost money, let me know. I am going crazy having the kids stuck inside all day and I am sure the kids are too!

A Couple Comparisons

With my girls being sick for a while they have transformed into some movie stars. Morgan is now Kilowatt from Space Chimps and Paige is E.T. Both happen to be aliens. Kilowatt is a tiny alien with a big head that scurries around an alien planet. Perfect description for our little Morgan. Paige, with her ribs showing, long, skinny arms, and little legs, could be a stunt double for E.T. However, Paige is a whole lot cuter.
Just a side note. We haven't had any throw up now for 24 hours. I am hoping this lasts for the next few weeks!

I think I'm gonna do it!

I don't know if any of you remember the poll I did months ago that asked if I should cut my hair or not. I have been going back and forth ever since. Well, I have an appointment to get my hair highlighted and either just a trim or, well, a lot of a trim. I have been looking at pics of Jennifer Anniston (for months) of when her hair was short during Season 7 of Friends. I have always loved the cut. I know my cut would never come close to looking as good as hers, but that is what I might attempt to do. Any last minute thoughts on my decision?

Should I keep it?

Or cut it?

So, thats where they get it....

My kids are crazy. Aiden is the worst. He has no fear. Back when Trent was putting up the Christmas lights, Aiden amazed us again. Trent was on the roof hooking the lights in place and all of a sudden Aiden says, "Hi Dad!" and he was standing next to Trent. What? Aiden had climbed up the ladder, which is about a body lengths (Aiden's body) away from the rain gutter when it is set up. We have no idea how Aiden pulled himself up on the roof, but he thought he was pretty cool for doing it.

So, a few weeks later Trent had the brilliant idea of sledding off the roof, while the boys watched. Perfect example for our mischievous boys....
You do have to admit it is a pretty cool picture. Luckily, I don't think Aiden could get himself AND a sled on the roof...

Wasting Away...

Well, I posted too soon that our kids were better. Yesterday morning was good, but quickly turned bad by the afternoon. Paige threw up during her nap and Morgan threw up when we got her up. This morning I woke up to throw up and poop all over cribs. When I had the girls in the tub trying to scrub everything off their bodies I couldn't believe how skinny they looked. My kids have no fat on their bodies to begin with, so naturally, Paige and Morgan are starting to look like starved Ethiopians. I will be calling the Dr today, which I am sure there is nothing to be done but wait for this wonderful thing to work its course, but any suggestions she has would be great.

Now, I am asking all you mothers out there for advice. Is there anything your kids will keep down when they are sick? Has anyone tried anything like Pedialite (sp?)? I would take any advice there is....we are up to 15 loads of throw up laundry. I think we will go through a Costco tub of detergent this week alone. ;)

I {Despise} Vomit

We honestly have had sick kids since the beginning of October. They have had runny noses and coughs for a few months. Then the week before Christmas they all got really bad colds and 3 of them were put on antibiotics. We finished the medicine off in St. George and we had one good day with no one sick, which happened to be New Year's Day. I thought maybe this will be the start of a great year with a lot less sickness. Oh, how wrong I was. The next morning we went to get the girls out of their pack & plays and Morgan had thrown up all over. The next morning we went to get the girls up again and Paige had thrown up all over. The next day we were leaving and had to stop and eat at Burger King and Morgan threw up all over there (I felt really bad for the people that were trying to eat right next to us). During the night Trent decided to join the fun and he threw up his 2 In & Out Burgers, a couple chicken sticks, and a spicy chicken sandwich. And why did he have a sick stomach?

The next morning back in our own home, Oakley and Morgan both had thrown up in their beds. Paige's turn was next and she threw up in her bed during nap time. Paige and Morgan threw up periodically for the rest of the day. The next morning miraculously there was no throw up in any one's bed. Yay! But the lack of vomit only lasted 1 hour, Paige and Morgan started throwing up again. Grandma Teri came out and helped out a bit. It is hard to hold 2 sick babies that cry nonstop and clean up throw every couple hours. I was so thankful for the extra set of hands.

That night Aiden said he didn't feel very good. We put him to bed with a bowl and told him that if he felt sick to throw up in the bowl. We didn't actually think that would happen, but we thought we would try. To my amazement I heard him throwing up and I went in and found he had made it ALL in the bowl. It was the most cute, disgusting thing ever. He was so proud of himself for not getting anything dirty. We had to go downstairs to tell dad. I don't know who was more exciting about it, Trent & I or Aiden. ;)

The next morning the girls were still not their usual selves. We dealt with a few more throw ups through out the day. I think over the past few days I have done at least 12 loads of throw up bedding, blankets, clothes, and towels. Along with the wonderful vomit we have experienced quite a bit of diarrhea. Gross stuff coming out of both ends is not fun for the ones experiencing it or the ones that have to clean it up. I feel like I have permanent stench about me. Yuck.

Today I am happy to say that no one is throwing up, the girls are walking around playing (they didn't move for the past 3 days), and I will be getting back to normal things. I will be spraying everything in this house with Lysol to make sure we don't deal with any other sickness for at least a few days.


This is how Paige and Morgan brought in the New Year. Sleeping, crying, and throwing up on this couch. Poor girls...and poor parents. I did have a huge post of things I wanted to change for the upcoming year. That post is gone. All I want is sick free kids. I know I shouldn't complain, because we have very minor sicknesses when compared to others, but I don't know if I can handle anymore disgusting bodily fluids coming out of my kids. So here is to health for the next year...please.

Happy New Year Everyone!

The St. George Experience

We had a great time down in St. George over New Year's. Although much different from mine and Trent's experience a few weeks ago. We had fun in the pool, chillin' in the house, climbing on rocks, eating Pirate Pizza, and hanging out with family. I am warning you that there are a lot of pictures. Proceed at your own risk of boredom:

The Pool

Aiden turned into quite the swimmer while we were down there. He was going all over the pool by himself. I am glad at least one of my kids liked the water!

Andrew wasn't as big of a fan as Aiden. By the end of the first day he was jumping to me in the pool, but that was after everyone had left. Maybe he was just a little shy and didn't want to show off his jumping ability.

Oakley loved the water.....if she stayed in the hot tub. And I love the picture of her going down the slide with Trent. I must say the photographer must be real good to capture the moment that well! ;)

Paige and Morgan joined us the second day. I have never seen them so stoic. I think they enjoyed themselves. They looked so little and cute in their swimsuits though.

The Jensen House

We went shopping one night and left Trent and his dad to babysit. I think they are doing a fine job in the pics above! And Jenny was trying to catch up on some laundry in the other pics.

Grandma Wiggles

Grandma Wiggles had us over for a big turkey dinner on New Years Day. The food was so good. It was fun to have the family together. All of my girls cannot get enough of baby Oliver, as you can see in the right pictures. (We missed Jake, Becky, James, and Jackson)

The Veigel House

The boys loved climbing on the rocks in the backyard. They were truly being boys, building campfires (for pretend), finding bad guys, and getting dirty.

Everyone that played the Panda game got prizes. The favorite were the parachute men. They didn't work that great, but everyone had fun. More often than not they got stuck in the tree.

Pirate Island

Cade and Emily found a very cool and fun place to eat lunch on Saturday. It is like a glorified Chucky Cheese, but substitute Chucky with a pirate theme. It was a huge place and was decked out in Pirate paraphernalia. It was a pretty cool place. I would recommend it to anyone that has kids and likes to eat.

We enjoyed being down there with both our families and love that their houses are so close. Thanks to both for letting us invade both spaces. It makes St. George so fun having a nice place to stay.

Kung Fu Panda Party!!!

Being the slacker that I am, I had a hard time planning a birthday celebration for Aiden and Andrew. We went to St. George over New Years (more on that to come) and I decided I would do a little Kung Fu Panda party down there. And, of course, I waited until the night before to plan anything and begin preparations. We were sad that not all the family could be there, but having a birthday right after Christmas is the pits. With so many things going on, we decided to push their party back a week.
Even with having only the Veigel's there (and Grandma Teri!) the boys were still spoiled. They haven't stopped playing with the toys they received. It is so nice to actually see them play with toys instead of dumping them out and leaving the room! Poor Andrew broke out in a rash the day we got to St. George and by the time his party came around he had it all on his face. Makes for some memorable pictures!

I couldn't think of any games to play, but I finally came up with "pin the noodles in Kung Fu Panda's mouth." We could barely get Aiden and Andrew to do it. Andrew was freaking out that he couldn't see. We tried to explain that was the point of the game, but he couldn't get over it. So, not that big of a hit. And to think I spent 1 hour coloring in the black parts with a fine black marker. That'll teach me to be nice.

Finally the cake. The boys loved their Kung Fu Panda cake....Trent not so much. Trent was hating the black frosting. So, before I gave each of the kids a piece I "had" to scrape off all the black stuff. I know, we are no fun as parents.

We had a great party and the kids did end up having fun, even if the game was lame. Thanks to everyone for the gifts, my parents for hosting the party and feeding us, and thanks to Grandma Teri for representing the Jensens. It was a great day!