Mess-maker, Mess-maker make me a mess...

These are just a few of the messes the kids have gotten into lately.


Why the garbage is soooo facinating alludes me!


Liam really enjoys his brownie batter.


Daphne found an open package of white cocoa mix and had to further investigate it's contents by pouring it out and playing in it! Yummy!

I'm Out of My Mind!

I must be! What would posses a formerly lucid-minded, intelligent college graduate to take a job like this? My co-workers whine at me and fight with each other. My in-box is filled to overflowing with dirty laundry, poopy diapers and food that must be prepared according to strict guidelines so that the CEO's will actually consume it. And these CEO's are picky! Who would work 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and not get paid?!? There is no one to praise me and there is no one pining away for my job when I'm ready to quit. So why, you ask, do I keep doing it? There is only one reason someone would wade through this morass of frustrating work everyday: Love. Not from them but for them. I love my children so much it hurts! This is why we were meant to be parents: So that we could learn to love and know the kind of love our Heavenly Father has for us! To love and be loved is the greatest joy in life. So when I show my love through clean laundry, changed diapers, and healthy meals, or books read, crafts made or just through a listening ear, I am the one who makes the most, not in money, but in LOVE.

I'm Walking on Sunshine

I take 50,000 IU of vitamin D a week; my liquid sunshine. But I have to admit, I truely am ADDICTED to sunshine. So now that it's April, and we here in Oregon are seeing the sun more, I have to get out there! So I've decided to get outside and start running again. I used to run 5 miles a day. But now that I've had 2 c-sections and 4 kids, at 35 my body just doesn't respond the way it used to. ERRRGGG! But it's time to get out there and kick my owm butt! And believe me I am KICKING my butt hard! OUCH! Kristin and Chelsea have inspired me: I'm going to run the 5K on May 1st. Now that I've said it I have to do it. And now that the sun is on my side I CAN.

Here Comes Mommy-Cottontail

I thought I would post a few picture from our Easter Extravaganza! The kids had lots of fun coloring eggs, hunting for them and posing for pictures. Except for Liam of course, he was way too preoccupied to stop for a picture!

April Fool's Dinner...Fish Sticks?

I like holidays, even the often forgotten, obscure ones. I've even been known to make up holidays some being Fall Fairy Day and Dog Day. They all come with their own specific ways to celebrate. For St. Patrick's Day we always dance to Irish music and eat green eggs and ham and other green foods. We even celebrate half birthdays by making a half cake. For April Fool's Day I have to be careful because the kids are getting old enough to suspect that I am up to something. This year I made fish sticks out of wafer cookies and marshmallow creme(which was extraordinarily messy!) and corn flakes. To go with the fish sticks we had potatoes and gravy which was actually ice cream and caramel sauce.

When I announced that we were having fish sticks for dinner the complaining immediately commenced. But they slowly came over to the table and started to eat. Olivia, however, refused to try it. After Savannah and Liam tasted it they encouraged her to try it, she finally agreed. When they realized they were getting dessert for dinner they were pretty excited! Then for dessert a pizza was delivered to the door. (I wasn't about to make 2 dinners!)

At The Lodge

We went to Great Wolf Lodge in Washington for Spring Break and had lots of fun. It is a huge resort and indoor swimpark with 3 pools, 2 hot tubs, 6 waterslides and a huge water play structure that dumps a gigantic bucket of water every 2 1/2 minutes.

They also have this interactive game called MagiQuest that the kids had a blast playing. The kids all got wands and instructions to find certain things around the hotel that come to life and speak to you. They ran around from floor to floor finding different enchanted objects and fighting interactive dragons and talking to pixies. It was fun for them and exhausting for me! There were about 500 other kids doing the same thing, and running from floor to floor was tiring, but good exercise, I guess. It's a great place for a family vacation, just avoid the crowds and don't go for spring break!

Can-A-Rama!

This week Kristin and I got togther to can lots and lots of dry pack food. We canned 80 cans together on Monday and then today Chelsea and Christine joined us. After a couple of failed attempts (the can actually got sealed to the canner and we had to pry it off, breaking the can in the process) we got pretty good at it! Today we did about another 90 cans together! I walked away with 66 cans filled with spaghetti (a real pain in the butt to break all of that), penne pasta, sugar, powdered sugar, flour, pinto beans, and rice.

The fruit of our efforts!

Hot canning mamas!