I just want to cry!

In fact I did just cry. A lot. Sometimes that's all I can do. All I can say is Daphne...tantrum...ordering a sandwich at Subway. Just about anyone else would have beaten her senseless by now, so I guess it's good she came to us. I'm exhaused. She's sleeping and I'm going to go lay down now.

I Love To Read...

I just do! The older I get the more I love it, and need it. Because I don't work outside my home I just need to read to give my brain some exercise.

Life is all about "what do you need sweetie?" and "okay, everybody get in the car" and "what do you guys want for dinner?" and "of course I'll play a game with you". Life is good, but most of my day is spent doing things for everyone else. Reading is blissfully, completely, and unabashedly all for me!

That being said, here are some of the books I read in the last year and loved:

The Alchemyst (series) by Michael Scott
The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Forest Born by Shannon Hale
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
The Hunger Games (series) by Suzanne Collins
Fablehaven (series) by Brandon Mull
Percy Jackson and the Olympians (series) by Rick Riordan
Guernsey and Literary Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

I read more than just this list, but these are the ones I would recommend to others. The Red Queen, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and Guernsey and Literary Potato Peel Pie Society are not as quick/easy to read, but all are great books.

Date Nights

A few months ago we started having date nights with the kids individually. I have to say that it has been more fun than I thought it would be! I think the kids sometimes feel like they don't get all the attention they would like and so they create attention for themselves, usually in ways that I don't approve of.

So we take one of them at a time and let them choose where they want to go eat and then they get to choose an activity. Savannah picked PF Changs and reading a new book at Borders. Olivia wanted Red Robin and pottery painting. Liam chose Pegasus Pizza and lasertag. (Daphne gets lunch dates with Dan and I frequently, so she will have to wait for these "grown-up dates" for a little while.) Each of the dates were lots of fun, but the best part was being together with the kids one-on-one. The funny thing is that when you are alone with each of them the usual bickering is banished, the nit-picking is nil and the fighting is forgotten and you are left with a perfectly-sweet and delightfully-charming child. Ahhhhhhh....now this is the life! :)

Christmastime!

The Bustos Family loves being together and having fun! We went to Shelter Cove at Willamette Pass and had a blast sledding. We even saw a train!





We also love snuggling!




The kids, of course, love the magic of Christmas morning and opening their long-awaited presents!


I even made them matching pjs with their initials on them. They LOVED them! They said it was like wearing their snuggly blankets to bed.



We made crafts, sang songs, took treats to friends and neighbors, and danced our hearts out! We also remembered Jesus on Christmas, the whole reason for this day, and we paused to sing Him Happy Birthday! The glow in our hearts told us He was listening. Merry Christmas!

Snow Day!

Oh how wonderful it is to wake up to a wonderful world of white!



You look out the window then switch on the TV to see if your school is out for the day. Sure enough: It's a Snow Day! Even Dad has to start work late. So we make some pancakes and have breakfast together, then run around the house trying to find all of our snow clothes. And when everyone is so bundled up that we can hardly move, we head outside to play in the white stuff!



It's just barely enough to cover the ground, but it's icy so we get out the sled and PLAY!!!



And even though it means more work for me, and less time to get things done, I just don't care. Why? Because even if it's just for a few hours the world stops and we all look around to appreciate nature's possibly dangerous and beautiful accomplishment. Or maybe it's because I'm still a kid at heart and I JUST LOVE SNOW!


11/23/10

A teenager and a toddler

What great joys and blessings the month of November has brought! I can scarcely believe that my once "little critter" aka, Savannah is now a 13--an official teenager. Savannah, who at the wee age of two coined the phrases, "but I don't want to co-operate" and "I want to be frustrated". As precocious as she was cute, Savannah has always been a ray of sunshine in my life. In fact, when she was a toddler she would come into my room and wake me up with, "Mommy wake up! It's a sunny, sunny day!" Happy Birthday Sunshine-y Savannah!

Then there's Daphne, aka Daphzilla the Destoyer. I'm so happy she made it to the ripe age of two. Happy happy birthday! Daphne has definitely made my life more challenging, and rewarding at the same time. I like what Amy(the mom) says on Good Luck Charlie (our new favorite Disney show). When asked, "Why didn't you stop with 3 kids?" She replys, "Three was just too easy, three is for quitters!" Three was too easy and we needed to shake it up a little! Enter Daphne, result: life is not longer easy! But we still love and appreciate every minute of it. As President Monson recently counceled the Church: Count yout blessings! So we are counting our blessings every day and finding our lives richly blessed! Thanks be to God for these many blessings!

Why I Love Autumntime:

Haymazes! The kids love to run around and hide in the sweet-smelling hay.
Pumkins! I love carving them, smelling them and most of all: EATING them! So far this fall I've made pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cake, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin pie!
Hayrides! Especially at Johnson's Farm, where you'll lose your lunch and everything else you came with if you don't HANG ON TIGHT!
Fall leaves! We love to play "Ding dong the witch is dead" in the freshly fallen leaves. They smell sooo good!
Costumes! We all love to dress up. I made Daph and I tutus so we could both be fairies. This is our school fall festival--Holtoberfest.