A Fun Idea!

So I've been trying to think of fun ideas to make memorable and useful photobooks.  I've really enjoyed filling my new Pinterest board with ideas!  (Thank you, Pinterest!)  One that popped up that I want to try is making my own ABC book using toys and things from around our house and also I saw one about feelings and stuff, taking pictures of my own kids.

However, one idea that I was super excited about was using my kids' favorite toys as characters in a story.  (Think Winnie the Pooh.)  And then I thought how fun it would be if I made one of the kids the main character!

So on a whim, I decided to write my own story with Maddie as the main character... I'm thinking as a Christmas gift.  However, I was pressed for time and couldn't think of a story.  I tried to elicit Matt's help, but he was at work, so he suggested I have Maddie tell me a story.  I did.  I followed her around for about an hour with a pen and some sticky notes, listening, interviewing, and asking for more information when the story seemed to have gaps.  I then had her draw pictures of some of the characters and things, we created a rocket ship, and I did a quick 5 min photo session having her pose in different ways (mostly just telling her to do different things and then trying to get as many pictures as possible).  I also did a 5 min photo session with a few of the other main characters, scanned in her drawings, and Voila!  One of my most favorite photo books of ALL time!!

....Now all I have to do is create one with Sean as the main character.... :)


To see the book, click on the link below.

http://www.picaboo.com/?share=a685d440461ab02c0abd7c882f1ab0a0&version=508915&siteID=ViaPreview

Insulation

10/23/14

Maddie wants to insulate the house because it's cold.

I told her we'd insulate ourselves by putting on warm clothes and wrapping up in blankets.  She got pretty excited by that.

Be happy happy

So last night as I was putting Maddie to bed, I got a little irritated with her and snapped at her.  After saying her prayers (during which she poked me in the face) I sat there for a second, just thinking.  Maddie asked me "What's the matter?" and I just started crying.  I try not to cry in front of the kids, especially when there's no reason for it.  She picked my head up and asked if I was okay.  I started choking it back and said yes and apologized for snapping at her.

Maddie: Mom, you sad?
Me: Yes, a little.
Maddie: Puppy (her favorite stuffed animal) told me to be happy happy.
Me: What?
Maddie: Remember when I was like you earlier? (She had a melt down when I told her she couldn't take something from Sean).
Me: Yeah?
Maddie: I told puppy that I was sad.  He told me to be happy.  I think you should be like puppy and be happy.

Well, I couldn't help but smile and gave her lots of hugs and kisses.

Maddie: Momma, I'm sorry.
Me: Oh, no, Maddie.  You're fine.  It was my fault.
Maddie: Momma, I'm sorry it was your fault.

At this point, I laughed out loud.

What a week...and a half!

What a whirlwind of a week!  I'm so shocked it's already over, and at the same time I have no idea how we got everything done!

This organizing stuff has been a lot of fun to do and plan.  This week there were a lot of sales on things I was wanted for my organization project.  So, lots of shopping, returning, etc.  Matt also totally mutilated a pair of yard work shorts, so I went out and got some options for him, then returned the rejects.  I feel like after this week I've mastered shopping with two kids.  Key things: pacifier for Sean, snacks for both, and a stop at the park.  Also, anytime there is a patio swing on display, stop and rock.  On the celebration side: I have started on the basement!!  This includes much of my teaching stuff, and piles of things I haven't wanted to even start doing for the last 4 or 5 years.  I have a long way to go, but I am so proud of my initial progress!!!

At one point this week, Maddie was watching a show and Sean wanted to share the rocking chair.  Maddie called me over to help.  Once Sean was seated next to her, she rocked and they laughed and giggled  for a while!

Friday I took the kids swimming by myself.  That was another adventure.  Wanted to see if I could do it alone, and then also I wanted to test out the new things I got the kids.  Sean's floating thing works great! And it folds up into a small bag. Maddie's little floaty-vest didn't work as well.  It kept her at the surface of the water, but if she leaned too far, she couldn't really get back up.  However, I was able to do a couple of laps (one arm at a time) by holding onto one end of Sean's floating seat, Maddie holding onto the other, and then I dragged them along behind me.  That was Sean's favorite part, too.  I'm excited for the second pool to open because it will have more things for the kids to do and they won't have to just sit and float.  :)

Saturday was Astrofest, so Matt was helping with that all day long.  We stopped over and made rockets and took a tour of the ane...a... the room that has no echo.....  It was kind of weird.  My ears felt like they were plugged up for a little while and the room got uncomfortably warm.  Otherwise I was fine, probably because I had to focus on the kids who wanted to touch and play with the expensive material on the walls. Making and shooting the rockets into the air was definitely the highlight for them.  I think we launched them 5 or 6 times.  Awesome!

After Astrofest, I ran Maddie over to Alexa's brithday party.  We gave her some of the puffs (pom-pom) animals.  Sean and Maddie loved the whole thing.  Maddie got a butterfly and ladybug painted on her arm and Sean discovered the joy of dirt... which he shared by dumping dirt down his momma's front while she wasn't looking.  Mix dirt with the sticky of a dum-dum sucker and the picture below is what you get:

Later, after naps, we went to Jeff and Becca's party.  It was so good to see them!  Becca is one of my favorite people ever!!  They had a pinata that all the kids loved.  When it popped little pieces of paper came out announcing that they are going to have a baby!!!  Soooo excited for them!  Unfortunately, Maddie got a hold of a Butterfinger, so we had to rush home where we had a rough night of allergic reactions.  But after a blessing, a few yucky buckets, and a bath, she quietly slipped off to sleep, poor girl.  We went to Sacrament meeting, but then I brought the kids back to get a good nap to recover.  Then we went to dinner at the Swingles.  The kids liked all the toys and we parents enjoyed getting to know some others in the ward.

Monday was normal, believe it or not.  :)  Tuesday was not because I got a bad stomach ache that had no explanation and ended up immobilizing me on the couch by late afternoon.  I have the satisfaction of knowing that I made a door to door salesman a little uncomfortable when he asked Matt for a drink of water and walked in to find me on the couch.  Bwahahaha!  Wednesday dawned to a full recovery and an itching to organize and sort, which I did every second I could until about 10:30pm.  Phew!  The kids have been great, so sweet while I was stuck on the couch, and so helpful with sorting and keeping me laughing!  And Matt has been an angel!  He stepped right in and took care of everything on Tuesday, even when he had to go back to school to help some scouts get their astronomy merit badges!  He's amazing!

Organization, laundry, and pom pom toys

Well, we've had some colds this week which has slowed us down... a little.  Good ole' necessity doesn't let you slow down too much, huh?  :)  Besides pretty long naps and long snuggle times, life is pretty much normal.  (Though the extra snuggles are a really nice treat!)

This week the kids and I decorated a couple of cardboard boxes and called them cars!  Maddie is currently loving the movie Cars and asks for it constantly.  Sean thinks it is really funny and will laugh at just about anything Mater does.  :)  I started pushing them back and forth in the cars making car noises.  After a while, I needed a break, so I said, "Red light!"  To which Maddie immediately responded, "Green light!" and we started all over.  Now I have to say "Stop sign," because they require a slight pause in motion, and Maddie can't rush it.  :)  It's fun.  One of my favorite parts about these cars is that occasionally, Sean will find one and he'll climb in and then look up at me with an expectant expression.  Another is that I tease them by "crashing" them into each other.  Maddie will giggle and giggle.  Today I came up with "Traffic!" for which I inch one forward a few inches, and then inch the other, and back and forth.  It's a good break trick.

So, I love the Orem library!  One of my favorite things is 10am story/lap time.  We try to go once every other week.  The last time we went, one of the activities they showed us was "making a pizza" on your toddler.  So every now and then I'll scoop one of the kids up, toss them like pizza dough, roll and smooth out their limbs and then I'll spread sauce on them (miming of course!), place pepperoni, and then sprinkle with cheese (which usually involved some light tickling), followed by eating the pizza (for some serious tickling!).  Sometimes I'll ask Maddie what she wants on her pizza, and we get some crazy toppings.  :)

The last two weeks of doing the laundry, I've had a lot of help.  When I fold, I'll separate the kids' clothes into bags that I can take into their rooms later.  Last week, I brought Maddie's clothes in, and asked her to help me.  Well, Sean followed her and wanted to help.  So he would pick something out of the bag, I would tell Maddie what it was while he handed it to her, and she would put it away.  It was incredibly cute to see them laughing and putting the clothes away.  Sean looked so proud to be helping.  He then followed me into his room and emptied his bag, giving it to me so I could put it away.

Last night, Julie and I got crafty!  We pulled out a bunch of my craft supplies (many from her) and made little pom pom animals.  I need to go get my camera so I can show a picture of them.  Maddie loves them!  I'm going to use them as church toys.  (Always looking for quiet toys that don't roll away because our church is sloped.)  I hope they last a few weeks.  Sean has a good grip!  He thinks they're pretty cool, too.  Julie and I had a blast, and I am planning to make more... once we get some more big puffs.

Other than that, we're very happy with Matt's Spring semester schedule!  He's home so much and both kids just love it!  Not to mention their mother!  We just bought some swimming floating stuff for the kids because our gym is supposed to reopen their pool this month, but it's all 3ft or deeper, besides the ramp to get in.  Got Sean a floaty he can sit in, and Maddie a life vest that fits her better.  I've been working through some of my "deal with later" piles and organizing some things.  Wal-Mart has shoe box size tubs for 88 cents, so I've been stocking up on, and using, them.  It's so nice to be able to see what I have and have it stack-able!  Hooray!  I love organizing!  Can't wait to attack the basement and the garage....!  One half hour at a time (since that's about all I get a day without kids to worry about).

Speaking of which, it sounds like nap time is over!  Grocery shopping!

Just a Week

My family came down to see Julie's commencement, though she doesn't graduate until June.  She's looking for jobs and things for theater and/or film makeup.  I still think her major is one of the coolest, but probably because she can kind of live the dream of being in the movies... or at least your work being in the movies.  I think the one-on-one interaction and the behind-the-scenes setting is perfect for her personality.  Everything she does matters in the final product.  She worked on a lot of Studio C's season 4 sketches because she had an internship with them this last semester.  (If you haven't seen them... hilarious!  BYUtv's Studio C is a comedy sketch group.)

It was nice to have everyone here.  They always do so much for me!  It's like a little holiday.  Thanks for the time, everyone!  It was a blast, and I miss you!

So I guess we must be pretty polite at our house because one of the first frequently used phrases Sean learned was "Thank you."  Only, he doesn't always use it at the right time.  When you hand things to him, he'll say it about half the time, which I think is pretty good considering we never specifically taught him.  But the cutest part is that when he hands something to you, he'll say "Thank you" as if saying "Take it."  Just recently we realized that his "Thank you" when handing something over sounded different.  Matt figured out he was saying "Here you go."  It's pretty adorable!

Last night, Matt told Maddie a story with Princess Madison Ann and Sean the Bomb.  In the story there was a giant rabbit that was eating all the carrots in the kingdom.  Matt set up Maddie's flashlight on the shelf so he could make a bunny shadow with his fingers each time he talked about the giant rabbit "boom, boom, boom" hopping around.  Well, after he was done, Maddie decided she needed to tell us a story.  She went on for about 10 minutes before we told her she had to wrap it up.  Every few minutes, she would suddenly go "boom, boom, boom" while making a bunny shadow with her fingers.  I'm not sure how it fit in her story, but she was so proud of her giant bunny shadow.  

Matt starts his class tomorrow.  It's been nice to have a 'normal' schedule for a few days.  The kids have acted like it's a holiday each time he comes home.  And who doesn't love hearing "Daddy!" and watching two smiling toddlers run at you?  Or going on a Maddie hunt because she likes to hide from him when he comes home.  I'm not sure anything else is better than that.  :)

SPRING!!!

Which, honestly has been going on since about February with very brief moments of cold.

Well, Sean is walking!  Has been since just after his birthday.  He is trying to climb on everything!  It is cute to watch him copy everything that Maddie does.  She's not always excited about that.  Sean also has this funny trend where he will do something challenging over and over again.  It's cute to see him so proud of himself when he masters something... like sitting and standing from a kid-sized chair.

Madison is growing so big!  They both are!  She is getting pretty clever and will solve a lot of problems by herself.  She can tell amazing stories and is making up songs and dances.  I think her storytelling comes from Matt who will tell her elaborate stories at bedtime about the Princess Madison Anne and the Prince Seanie, and their arch nemesis Radison Nann.

My favorite thing the last few weeks has been hearing the kids "talk" together.  Occasionally that will result in peals of giggles and laughter.

Well, Spring brings about Spring Cleaning.  I've been making a "Drives me crazy" list, which is pretty much a to-do list of things I haven't gotten done yet.  Cleaned out the shed, prepping the garden, and working on organizing a bunch of things.  Can't do a ton at a time, but making progress, and that's what's important!

Matt's finals will be over on Wed, and then he'll get a couple of days before he's right back at it.  2 semesters left!!  He's so amazing!  I'm looking forward to those couple of days between semesters!  The kids are, too.  You should see the kids when he gets home!  There's just not enough Dad to go around, they both want 100% of his attention.  :)

Julie has been a BIG help lately.  I'm so glad that she is here!  She walks this week, but she's graduating in June.  Excited for her!

A Letter to my Grandma.... sums up life today.

Hey (Great-)Grandma Richards!  

We love you!!  Thought you'd like to know that Sean, my little red-headed boy, is going to turn 1 years old on the 12th.  He's just starting to venture out and take steps on his own.  He's so cute!  He'll prop himself up on the table or couch, wait until he has my attention and then will let go and clap a few times before grabbing onto the couch so he won't fall.  Then he'll scream in pure delight while we all clap for him.  He loves to be tickled by Julie.  (Julie is living in our basement).  When she comes home and he sees her, he knows she's going to come get him and he starts wiggling all over in anticipation.  His laugh makes us all smile!  Had to cut his hair again.  We did it last night.  That's his 3rd haircut!  I can't believe how much hair he has!  Well, not anymore... I cut it a little short....  Not way short, just a little short.  

Madison is growing faster than I can keep track of.  She loves to play, and has an amazing imagination!  She will play for hours!  We really enjoy listening to her stories.  My favorite thing is when she colors and then comes to tell me the detailed story she has sketched out for me.  I just love the way her eyes light up.  We read a story about a seed the other day and how they need water, dirt, and sunshine.  Then I drew a small flower on a paper and then let her color the rest.  When she was done, she had drawn the rain, sun, and dirt all around the flower.  I was amazed at her understanding at 2 1/2 years, and it was sooooo precious!  

It was a three day weekend this last weekend.  Matt's parents took us to a Train Show at Thanksgiving Point.  It had a lot of model trains and a huge lego display with scenes from different movies from Lord of the Rings to Back to the Future to Star Wars.  Madison loves Thomas the Train, so she and Sean loved watching the trains go around the tracks and make noise.  They got little train shirts.  Maddie was pretty excited!!  After that we went to the Car Show to see all the latest and greatest cars for the upcoming year.  Matt was pretty excited by that!  He loves to see all the cool cars.  I chased the kids around while they climbed in and out of all the cars.  (Maddie running, and Sean crawling).  Maddie loved playing "driver" and I think Sean was just happy to practice climbing in the cars.  It was a lot of fun!

Well, Matt's on his way home from doing a Planetarium show at BYU.  He teaches the outreach shows every Tuesday, now, and helps out with the Friday shows.  He gets to do the show he co-wrote this Friday called "Murder on the Solar System Express" where their focus is on educating people about the different moons in our galaxy.  At least the major ones.  There are hundreds!

I'm just trying to hang in there.  I started teaching piano lessons on September.  I have two students.  It's a lot of fun, and I'm learning a lot about teaching one-on-one, which isn't something I experienced too much while teaching 5th grade.  Small groups, yes, but not a lot of one-on-one.  I like it, it's different and more personal....more tailored and direct.  I'm also trying to practice the piano more.  Matt bought me a 4 hour recording session at a studio for Christmas.  The session is in a few months.  I'm trying to get one or two of my songs ready.  I'm a little nervous because I want to do more with the songs, but I don't really have a good ear for more than just the piano and melody.  Other people put harmony, etc, with my songs, so....  But at the same time, I'm super excited!  It's kind of a dream come true!  :)

Well, I've got to go,

but we all love you lots!

You're in our prayers!

Loves,

Karen, Matt, Madison, and Sean