The Dot Party

We had a fabulous Dot party over the weekend for Oakley. She was so excited. Prior to the celebration I would ask her what she wanted for her birthday and she would say, "Dot Party." Thats it. No presents, just the party. Easy enough for me.

I bought some big polka dot sprinkles for her cupcakes and as soon as she saw them she gave the bottle a big hug and said, "I love them!" I guess I really didn't have to buy her a gift.

Here is a quick recap for those that didn't make it or even for those that who did and wanted to be reminded how much fun we had. I mean, nothing beats a 3 year olds Dot Party...

Present Time

Everyone is always so nice to bring presents. Oakely had the funnest time opening them. One of the major themes of the gifts were "lips." I think Oakley ended up with 10 chapsticks/lipglosses. She is hugging some in the bottom right picture. The simple things that make her happy...

Polka Dot Hunt

The kids got to do a polka dot hunt for fun treasures. It is always chaos. Paige and Morgan were pretty cute joining the big kids on the hunt though.

The Dot Birthday Cupcake

Oakley was so excited about her dot pancakes (I kept telling her they were cupcakes, but she never got it right). However, she picked the sprinkles off and only ate the frosting. So much for the excitement...

The Salon

And what party doesn't end with a trip to a Salon? Both Heidi and Oakley looked beautiful. I don't know which hair do I like better, her messy hair from a long day of playing, the 80's work out video do, or the spastic do from the salon. Whats your vote?

Thanks again to everyone who came up and for all the gifts. Oakley was spoiled and loved it!

Just so you know...

...I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. We have had one of the busiest past few days, so busy I haven't even blogged. What? Really, it was that busy. For now here are a few 'Just So You Know's.'

• I have a new job. I do the same thing as my other job just for a different company. Started today, should be good.
• My little Oakley turned 3 over the weekend. We had a fun packed Dot Party to celebrate. Oakley loved every minute of it.
• I tried Asparagus for the first time (thanks to Kristen) and loved it. It may be my new favorite veggie now.
• Morgan has gone over 1 week without throwing up. I am thinking I might be able to take the ticker off soon.
• We watched Slumdog Millionare. I loved it. Loved the music, the actors, and the story. Loved it
• Thanks to my friend Melissa, I am starting a new challenge. No treats during the week. And yes, that means my dear friend, the Reese's Egg. 
• Closed on our refinancing stuff. It's great to have a lower rate/payment and not have to make a payment for a month. Perfect timing.
• Had a fun Veigel breakfast, always good food. Love my mom's Aebleskivers, which are little ball pancakes for those that don't roll in Danish circles. Delicious.
• Had a Sunday where we stayed home. Missed the good food and family, but it was nice to have a relaxing day.
• We are getting caught up on our Tivo'd shows. Tivo is the greatest invention out there. 

Stay tuned for some real posting soon...

Cousin Pictures

We took cousin pictures at Wheeler Farm last night. It was chaos. How do you get a good picture with everyone smiling and looking at the camera with 11 kids? It may seem impossible, but I am sure with Karina's magic we will end up with some cute ones!

I took my camera out for about a minute. I didn't take that many because I was trying to help control kids, but here are a few of my faves:

I love Trent when he is with his girls. So cute.
Aiden loved throwing rocks in the river. He is a total boy.

Andrew smiled like this for every picture. I kept telling him not to say "cheese," because this is what is mouth looks like when he does it. He just couldn't figure it out.

I didn't have any real cute ones of Oakley. Not that she isn't cute in this picture...

Paige was running around the field having a blast. I need to get my video camera going so I can document her run. Her fast little waddle makes me laugh every time.

Morgan in all her scab glory. That thing is monstrous! Lets hope, once again, that Karina can work her magic and photoshop it out!

DFCU 5K

We participated in the first ever Deseret First Credit Union 5K last night. It was a good time and I always love the feelings I have after I complete a race!

Trent and I were planning on pushing all our kids, but as soon as we pulled the triple stroller out of the back it had a flat and the tube was beyond repair. So, Trent was the only one blessed with being able to push a stroller. Jill was nice enough to forfeit running and stayed behind to watch the girls for me. Thanks Jill! 

Just a side note-Whenever Jill is left with any camera there are always a few self portraits of herself that magically appear on the memory card...

The fam after the race. Trent did amazing and got a time of 18:50, pushing the boys, and just 2 days after running a marathon. He is a machine! I got my best ever time of 23:41!!! I was so excited about my time, that is until Trent had to inform me the race was actually .15 mile short of a 5K. I am still going to pretend though.

Laid Off

On Monday I got some bad news. I actually had been expecting it for a few months now and was surprised it took this long. I was laid off! It really sucks, but I am actually doing pretty good with the news. That's the nice thing about being a nurse, I can really go anywhere and work and I already have a few options. So, in light of this new development I have thought about a few things that can help Trent and I save money. Enjoy the list!

• When using the bathroom, we (& visitors) can only use 3 squares of TP. We really "can't spare a square."
• We can only shower once a week, that means you too Jill!
• We will be reducing our meals to 2 a day. Hey, I have been trying to get rid of some extra weight right?
• Periodic grocery shopping trips through my mom's food storage. ;)
• Birthday gifts will all be home made. And when I say home made I mean with anything we have lying around the house.
• We will only change the girl's diapers when they are poopy or about to explode with urine.
• Oakley, Paige, and Morgan will have to start wearing the boy's old clothes.
• We will not be turning lights on. Eyes can adjust to darkness, right?
• My Lent project will be extended indefinitely.
• We will wear the same clothes for a few days and only do laundry once a week.
• When we do have meals they will consist of Top Ramen and Saltines.
• Family vacations will be sleeping in the backyard.
• We will be taking extra napkins, utensils, ketchup packets, salt and pepper, and straws from fast food places, that is if we ever eat out again. ;)
• No more fall out for family, garage sales are money makers my friends.
• "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" will be our new family motto!

I hope you all liked my list and I was only serious about half of them. But if you come visit us you might want to bring your own toilet paper, because that is one of the serious ones! HA! If any of you have real money saving tips let me know! We really will be okay, we just have to get used to half as much income. Self control is the key!!!

Our First BBQ of the Season!

Here are some of the highlights from Yesterday's BBQ with my family:

• Some of the best food ever, in fact I am eating leftovers as I type this.
• Playing in the sand box. I think we have half the sand in my house now.

• Sending the kids outside and having them play forever in the warm weather.
• Bike rides (with a few crashes) down the hill.

• Morgan thinking she could ride the bike off the deck steps. Just in time for cousin pictures this week.

• Eating more delicious food. There was a constant stream of food going into my mouth from 5:30 to 8:30.
• Watching some HGTV. Not a big fan of the green home, not that I wouldn't mind winning it!

• Of course some Rock Band.
• A cute little chunk sleeping. Don't you just want to kiss those cute, chubby cheeks?

• Finding new hiding places.

• Consuming an entire pan of brownies in 5 minutes 42 seconds. I couldn't believe how fast the "kids" were inhaling those things! I mean, I hardly had any...;)
• Getting my kids in bed after a long day. Always a highlight!
• Going one more day with NO incident!!! The BEST thing ever!

Shower at Sizzler

Today I went to a shower for my cousin Ashley. It is always good to get together with extended family. We had such a good time chowing down on some good food from Sizzler. Nothing beats their cheese toast AND all you can eat dessert! We must have had a little too much to drink-I mean eat-because we thought everything was funny. Or maybe that is just the Allred in us...

We were having some fun with the camera as you can tell. After looking at some shots, we started making fun of Mandi's "smile" like the one in the top right pic. She DOESN'T smile because she hates her braces. So in the bottom right pic we decided we would switch poses. Steph and I were supposed to be sexy like Mandi's seductive poses and Mandi was supposed to smile like us. Mandi looks cute smiling, but we decided Stephanie just looked like a creepy molester or something. We couldn't stop laughing. I am sure none of you are finding this the least bit funny, but I still laugh when I see Steph's sexiness! I honestly have a great time with these girls, but it does make me miss the old days! We sure had fun back in the day. We just needed Autumn to complete the foursome!

And a major update! We have just broken the Days Without Incident record! We have made it 3 days!!! And in honor of that I think I will go eat a LARGE Reeses Peanut Butter Egg. I deserve it, right?

Feeling Old School

Just a little update on my Lent project. I made it the whole time without spending any money on clothes, shoes, jewelery, hats, scarves, books, or purses (thanks to Sarah) for myself. It was hard at first, but after a while you get used to it and then you stop feeling the need to buy things. Well, I guess I can't say I stopped feeling the need, I just learned to control it.


Anyways, on Tuesday night I was walking through Smiths Market Place (which I didn't know had so many cute things) and enjoying the fact that I could buy something for myself if I wanted to. I was wandering through the little girls section and started looking at jewelery in a Hannah Montana display. I know, disgusting that I even looked through such a display, but I saw a heart charm that took me back to my childhood. I had something just like it growing up and it was my favorite thing of all time. As soon as I saw it my heart filled with happiness and I had to have it. After making this sweet purchase (only $1.80 I might add!), I was driving home and found Micheal Jackson's, Billie Jean on the radio. Seriously, with my rainbow heart charm and Michael playing on the radio, I was right back in my old yellow room teasing my bangs and getting dressed in my tight stirrup pants. Ah, I love that old school feeling...

It is kind of cute isn't it?

Popcorn Pajama Party

I go to mutual every Tuesday and Trent is nice enough to watch the kids every time with no complaints. Last night as I was getting ready to leave, he had everyone get in their PJ's so they could have a popcorn pajama party and watch a flick. Isn't he a cute dad?

(Heidi, the boys have worn Josh's PJ's every night since you gave them to us. They love them!)

Easter...

I have no desire to do an Easter post. I have no idea where these strange, new feelings are coming from. Usually I am thinking about what I am going to post about when the activity is taking place. Not so with all our Easter activities. And believe me, we had a lot of Easter activities! Do these new feelings make me a bad mother? Or, heaven forbid, a bad blogger? Who knows and who cares...really? So, here is a picture from Easter. All the kids sitting on our bed waiting to find their baskets and eggs. Morgan was a little upset obviously.
The Easter Bunny was good to all of us. I got showered with Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs. My whole top shelf in my freezer is chuck full of this delicious treat! I mean this is what Easter is all about right? Peanut Butter Eggs. ;) I don't want all you people out there that did egg hunts and Easter fun for my kids to think I don't appreciate all the time and work that went into it. Thanks to all of you! We had such good times at all these events, but my heart just isn't into going through over 100 pictures and picking the "best" ones to blog about. What is happening to me???

Chillaxin

Nothing much to say about this picture, except that I love the crossed legs and the total relaxation with his T-Rex.

The Solution

With Morgan's excessive throwing up we had to think of something to give her so she wouldn't wither away to nothing & how to give it to her so we didn't have to clean up tons of throw up all over the place.

1. Pedialyte Popsicles.


2. In the sink, naked, with some nice warm water.

Days Without Incident Continued...

The record for days without incident is 2. 2 whole days. So, in about 60 days, we have maybe had 10 days that haven't included our good friends, vomit or diarrhea. I shouldn't have complained, because once again, my kids are sick. So, instead of 1-2 incidents a day we deal with 8-10. So far it has been Paige and Morgan with the issues, but this morning Oakley said she wasn't feeling well and went right back to sleep on the couch. Aiden is laying down as well and Morgan is still the one with the major issues of throwing up all over.
This is what I look like after a long night of Morgan getting up about every hour. Not good. Luckily, Trent got up with her half the time and even slept with her on the floor. I have a great husband. Then Morgan joined me in bed at 6:00. I tell ya, she is a mover! And that is my second shirt for the day, the other one is already in a batch of throw up laundry...

With this round of disease in our house, Morgan is turning back into Kilowatt. Nothing but skin and bones. Hopefully today will start getting better for her sake...and mine.

Coloring Easter Eggs

Here it is. The egg coloring post. Not much to say about this, except I feel bad for our kids. Trent and I are so worried about the mess that could happen, that we don't let the kids, well, be kids. Oh well. In the pictures they look happy. Except for Andrew that is.
Aiden was pretty proud of the eggs. He had to hold up as many as he could for the picture.

Andrew was angry. He did NOT want to take a picture with his finished eggs. He is so stubborn. I have no idea where he gets it...

Oakley LOVED her Tinkerbell eggs. She actually liked putting the stickers on herself more, but we will pretend the eggs were more fascinating.

Paige just liked breaking the eggs on the counter. She probably would have liked to actually dye the eggs, but once again Trent and I are paranoid about messes.

We love this picture of Morgan. She loved pointed and playing with the colored eggs. Such a cutie.

Cupcakes

Last night while the boys went to Priesthood all the girls came up to hang out. I made some cupcakes for the kids to decorate. We have to do activities like this when Trent is not around. He wouldn't have been able to handle the thousands of sprinkles getting EVERYWHERE! The kids had fun and enjoyed eating their Masterpieces. When the boys returned we chowed down on some Pizza Hut and played some Rock Band. Over all it was a great night! Thanks everyone for making the trip to our house and thanks Mom and Dad for dinner!

I am TRYING not to complain...

...about the weather. I know it saved the day earlier this week, but really, this is ridiculous. When Andrew sees the snow falling he gets so mad and says, "Mom! I am DONE with snow!" I hear ya Andrew. I hear ya...
So, in honor of another blistery day we are going to stay inside, wear our pajamas, drink hot chocolate, watch movies, and dream of sunny days filled with swimsuits, pools, and popsicles!!!

(It is hard to take a picture with a timer and have ALL the kids looking at the camera. This was the best we could do!)

The Old Neighborhood...

I had lunch with a bunch of the girls from our old street in Kaysville. It was a great street, with great people, and a TON of little kids. Too bad we moved right after we had the boys, but it is a good thing we did. The Hoard that was in the works definitely would not have fit in our tiny 1,100 square foot house. But it was the cutest little house ever and being with this group made me miss it even more!

3 of the girls still live on the same street, 3 still live within a couple blocks, 2 live within a couple miles, and I am the loner that chose to move 3 cities away!

I did a drive by our old house on the way to lunch. It was a great starter home and we have so many memories there! Isn't it just cute?

Thanks Tiffany for putting lunch together and doing all the food and thanks to every one else that came. It was fun to catch up with everyones lives!