Alliances at the Yankee Swap

Ben's work has a tradition of having a semi-formal dinner and a game at their Christmas party. The game is yankee swap, but isn't like any version I have ever seen. In the middle of the room is a huge tarp/blanket covering a gigantic mass of assorted shapes. After dinner they remove the blanket to reveal the gifts. We are talking BBQ grills, bounce houses, big screen computer monitors, gps systems, ipods. . . you get the idea. It's exciting and stressful all at once.

Every couple gets a number. The first person chooses a gift from the pile. The second person can either steal a gift or choose from the pile. Each gift can only be stolen 3 times and can only be stolen once per round (a round ends when the stealing stops and someone finally picks something from the center).

Last year we won a complete Dell computer. This year I had my eye on a dual trainer elliptical/bike. We got the elliptical and of course it got stolen. Later got it again. . . stolen. Eventually it got stolen for the third time by the people sitting next to us. I was so bummed. Fortunately, we still had our eyes on the GPS system that was on it's second steal, and we currently had a fire pit set. We were discussing our strategy, when the people next to us overheard we were going for the GPS. They agreed that if we got the GPS they would trade. It was the next persons turn and Ben was peddling the fire pit set, while I was praying and they took the the set. So I came home with this:

Ah, a desperate and overweight woman's prayer answered.

The Real Santa Came To Our Ward Party!

This is the statement Hyrum has been repeating over and over ever since our ward party. "Santa" was a friend of our relief society president and I have to say he looked pretty darn convincing, white beard and all.

The best though was Hyrum trying to kiss up in front us Santa, literally. Any time he thought Santa was watching he'd lean over and kiss or hug Ella. Yeah, like that's gonna make up for a year of naughty :)

Here's some of the pictures of the kids with "Santa". They didn't hesitate at all to climb on his knee, although Ella talked more to me than to Santa. Logan just had a funny expression on his face, but he wasn't really scared. He hasn't gone through the stranger anxiety thing like the others . . . yet.

Christmas Stuff

Our first order of business, after returning home from Thanksgiving, was to get our tree up. It's not a huge tree, and we got it for like $20, but I've always liked it. I'm kind of a scrooge when it comes to the tree, because I don't let the kids decorate it. Yes, gasp and be astounded at what a horrible mother I am, but I'm really weird with things coordinating and looking even, etc. It drives me nuts if there's an ornament out of place, so the kids help set the tree up and then we decorate it when they are in bed. Then they are really excited to wake up the next morning and see how beautiful it is. I don't even let Ben help me decorate it usually, but I was exhausted this year and decided I valued my sleep more than a perfectly decorated tree. Ben is usually in charge of all the lights on the tree and tinsel. I don't have any patience for that. Someday I'd like to have a tree downstairs just for the kids to decorate with colored lights, popcorn strings and homemade ornaments. Maybe next year, but for now, it's my tree :)



I am excited about a new Christmas purchase I got this year, stockings. I actually bought them last year in Boise the day after Christmas at this fancy store for 75% off. Originally they were like $20 a piece, which is ridiculous (I don't even spend that much on what I put in the stockings). So I bought enough for our family and two extra (believe me I won't be needing more than that). This way they will all match, even after we have more children. My mom's friend even embroidered all our names on them and they look so beautiful. We don't have a fireplace or even a mantle, so I got creative and hung them from my hope chest. Pretty clever I think.

I'm really excited because our ward Christmas party is tonight . (We missed last years thanks to kids throwing up everywhere). It's catered, except for the desserts which they asked everyone to bring, so I was excited to try a fun Christmas cupcake I've had a picture of for years. Usually I just make Ben make the dessert (I'm more of a main dish kind of girl), or I just buy something, but I actually went to the trouble to make something for this years party. I'm sure all those primary kids are really going to appreciate all the time it took for me to cut out all those leaves from fruit roll ups (ha, ha) So keep your fingers crossed that no one wakes up from their naps sick.

Logan- 7 Months

Time continues to go fast and Logan continues to learn new things. Here are some fun milestones he has reached at 7 months:

*army crawls

*says da da (waiting excitedly for ma ma)

*feeds himself crackers and cheerios

*holds onto toys and can switch hands

*likes to play peak a boo and other social games

*recognizes family members

*is interested at looking in the mirror

*holds own weight when standing

*losing interest in pacifiers (but really likes his thumb)

*doesn't like being left alone (always wants your attention)

*has 2 teeth

We just put up our tree last night and I'm a little nervous as to what he will try. I mostly kept him in high chairs, exersaucers, or close in my sight and he just seems bewildered by the tree. He looks at it, but I don't know if he really realizes the damage he could cause to the helpless thing. I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

Love the Turkey, Hate the Holiday

Thanksgiving is a time where most people feel gratitude for all their blessings. I however, spent a greater part of it feeling guilt. I feel guilty because I realize that most of the year I haven't been feeling gratitude for all the many blessings I've had, and instead have been dwelling on all the hardships and trials and "I'll be happy when's. . ."

I suppose it's human nature to always be wanting the next thing in life, but it isn't the nature of God and therefore shouldn't be the nature of those that have faith in him. I can recognize that we have been blessed, but I have not let it bring me peace and contentment.

I've read all kinds of books and talked to all kinds of people on how to feel happy and grateful in the present amidst adversity and found some wonderful advice. It's the applying part that I can't seem to figure out. I know something is true, and can apply it just fine when life is easy, but when life gets complicated. . . principles just go out the window and start sounding like something off of a seminary video.

Normally I don't like to open up on blogs. They aren't journals, they are public domains, but it just felt fake for me to make a list of things I'm thankful for that I haven't really appreciated. It's not that I'm not thankful for them, but rather I keep losing focus of them when things are hard. Obviously I'm grateful for the gospel, and my family etc. but I know I could do better.

I've actually always dreaded Thanksgiving, because unlike most people who use it as time to thank the Lord for their many blessings, I use it as time to take inventory of my blessings and if I've really shown them the gratitude they deserve. Being the perfectionist that I am, I always find myself lacking and needing improvement.

I think that's also why I've always been more comfortable with Christmas. I'm so busy with the spirit of giving that I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. That's one of the reasons why we are commanded to serve others, but again it can only help for so long, then reality sinks back in, the tree goes back in the closet, trials return, and I get stuck in the same rut.

It's that vicious Book of Mormon cycle. It's pretty easy to be righteous when you are prospering and have no trials, but the downward cycle is a lot harder to fight against. I know it's not impossible though. The scriptures are full of prophets who had difficult lives and yet still remained faithful and had gratitude, even in their difficult times. I guess that's what I'm really thankful for. A lifetime to try and figure out how they did it and a Father in Heaven that knows I'm really trying.

Ready to Go!

Well, it didn't take long for Logan to figure out how to do the army crawl. He's still rocking back and forth on his hands and knees and almost taken a full crawl, but either way he is on the move! Beware!

Check out this impressive push up. Sometimes he just hangs out on his toes, before he pops up on his knees. I know I certainly can't do that.

Logan also had his first tooth pop through the surface yesterday. Four month before any of my other kids had teeth! All I can say is boy am I grateful I'm not breastfeeding right now :)

A Farley Good Birthday!

Ben turned 31 on Saturday (and sadly enough this is the only picture I could find of him. He avoids the camera about as much as I do). I didn't take the camera along for the day, but we still had a great day.

We started with a nice yummy pumpkin waffle and bacon breakfast (thank you Daddy for helping :) and were so full (not to mention ate so late) we didn't even bother eating lunch. Plus we were saving up for dinner later.

Ben enjoyed watching the BYU game while I ran errands, and he claimed BYU won just for him. I thought that was rather nice of them to win the game just because it was his birthday.

That night we went to his favorite place for Chinese food and we ordered TONS of food. I'm still full today! Afterwards we came home to open presents and to have pie and ice cream, but we bagged the pie and ice cream since we were so unbelievably full, and decided to just save if for Sunday.

After dinner and presents our wonderful neighbors came over to watch the kids so we could go to see Ben's favorite thing of all time The Farley Family Reunion at the Scera. Those of you who are unfamiliar with the Farley Reunion are really missing out. It's a one man comedy show, where he is making fun of mormon family reunions, while doing all the parts. Ben remembers watching a video of this guy way back in the 80's in Ohio, so imagine our surprise when we saw he was still doing shows and one right where we live.

Ben and Ruth (Ben's sister) were laughing so hard throughout the whole thing, that people kept turning around to look at us. I was cracking up as well, especially when he acts the part of the magician, classic! I can't even explain how absolutely hilarious it is.

Then there was a section of the show where they asked if any ones birthday was today and Ben actually got to go up stage and they ad libbed him in as part of the family. Of course he would have to tell them his name was Samsonite Farley (we had name tags to put on at the beginning, I was Persephone). The guy gave him a bunch of random coupons, plus a free ticket to his Christmas show. Ben was so excited like he'd met a real celebrity. He claimed it was the best day of his whole life, which I'm not so sure about since there was a wedding and three kids mixed in there. I guess you just can't compete with the Farley Family. We love you Ben!

Logan-6 Month Checkup

Logan had his 6 month checkup today, and I can't believe he's halfway to turning one years old! Time goes so fast, and each kid just speeds up the time dial even more.

Logan has been a fun surprise for us. By your third child, you think you've seen it all, but Logan is completely different from Hyrum and Ella. He is already to the rocking back and forth phase, when my other kids weren't even rolling at this age. I'm wondering what I'm going to do with my Christmas tree this year???

He is also a really terrific eater and will eat anything you put in front of him. (Hence the fact that he weighs pounds more than my other two at the same age).

Logan is just a super active and happy baby and we love all the fun surprises he hands us. (I'm not sure I will be saying this next month when he's crawling all over the place and into everything.)

Here's some fun statistics and milestones for Logan at age 6 months:

Weight: 17 pounds 5 ounces

Length: 27 inches

*Babbles reciprocally

*Holds onto objects and puts in mouth

*Rocks back and forth on hands and knees

*Recognizes own name and will turn when called

*Stands when held and holds own weight

*Eats pureed fruits and vegetables 2 times a day, cereal twice a day, and meat.

*Eats fruit or veggie puffs

*Can hold bottle when placed on the floor

*Enjoys reading Jane Austen (no wait that's me :)

A "Beauty" of a Week!

It seems like this week was so busy, that all I did was change from my pj's to my costume, back to my pj's. Fortunately, I'm unhealthily obsessed with Halloween, so I loved every minute of it. My fabulous friend Calista, was good enough to sew my Belle costume for me. I learned so much from watching her, although I don't know how much I'll remember. I really want to learn how to sew just so I can make mommy dress up clothes :) It was a lot of fun though, and she was great to put in all the time to make it, especially since she's dealing with all the yucky pregnancy stuff as well.

So, the week started on Monday with my sister Andrea flying in from Boise to stay for the whole week. She shares my passion for Halloween, so we had a great time together.

On Tuesday was the ward Halloween party. I somehow got roped into planning it even though I'm not on the activities committee. The last ward party we had was Christmas last year, and my kids were sick so we didn't get to go. Needless to say our ward was in desperate need of some social interaction. Especially since we have like a 60% turnover every semester. Everyone feels new. I'm in charge of all the relief society activities groups so I figured we'd just count it as that and throw a huge party since we were all starving for some fun in the ward.

My group leaders were so great and helped out so much. I was stressed out for months, but it all came together and turned out to be a great activity. Here's a few pictures, from the activity. We had about 120 people come! (I was running around too much to get more than this)

The tables were all decorated black or orange with a pumpkin and leaves on top. Then we put a sticker on the bottom of one chair at each table, and whoever had the sticker, got to take the pumpkin home.

For dinner we had all people with last names starting with A-L bring soup and last names starting with M-Z bring desserts. The ward provided rolls and drinks. There were so many yummy soups. I think I went back 4 times to try as many different soups as possible. We had TONS of food, so I was relieved!

After dinner we did a parade for the kids. This picture is of the babies lining up for their turn. It was so cute!

After dinner the kids could go to different rooms to play games. We had a ring toss, cake walk, bean bag toss, fishing pond, and eyeball relay. The kids got tons of candy and prizes. (note to self: get treat bags for next year). I was mostly running around trying to clean up dinner and make sure the games were all going o.k. that I didn't get to see much of the kids, but they sounded like they had a good time.

When the games were finished, we had everyone come back to the cultural hall and we handed out prizes for the costumes. Hyrum won the best overall costume for the junior primary age group. I couldn't believe how many adults dressed up and how amazing their costumes were. It really was a fun activity and hopefully everyone had a good time!

Thursday was Ben's work trick or treating. The kids got to dress up and go trick or treating to all the different cubicles. They got so much candy! All the employees dressed up and their were some hilarious costumes. Ben and a bunch of developers all dressed up like women. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of Ben in my maternity clothes, makeup and a wig. At least he didn't fit into my regular clothes :)

They also had a contest for the best decorated cubicle and Ben won a $50 gift card to best buy. He had this stuffed person with a pumpkin head slumped over a key board with a mother board sticking out the back of his head. Then he had spider webs, skeletons, and different banners hanging everywhere. We were totally jazzed he won, because we went out and got wii music for free!

Friday was the craziest day. I dropped Hyrum off at school, then drove back and changed as fast as I could so I could come back to help with his class Halloween party. I thought it was funny that I was dressed as Belle and I was in charge of reading Halloween stories.

After Hyrum's class party I once again quickly drove back, changed into pj's and ran to a doctor's appointment (that's a whole other post in and of itself).

Then I drove back home, had a fun Halloween lunch of pumpkin and bat sandwiches with the kids and then quickly finished decorating the house, and making dinner. We had potato cheese soup in these cute bread bowls that looked like pumpkins. Then we had a few trick or treaters and then headed up to Springville, to our old ward and went trick or treating. We only had to do one street before the kids bags were too big for them to carry. The weather was so good for most of it though. We didn't even have to wear jackets.

It was a great Halloween! The kids had tons of fun going to all the parties, I had so much fun hanging out with my sister, and we have enough candy to last until next year. I have to say though, I did breath a little sigh of relief when I was able to flip that calendar to a calmer November. I may pull out my Belle costume to vacuum the house or something though. After all Halloween is still 363 days away!

Fancy Nancy Turns 3!

Ella turned three on October 21st, and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate it than the Fancy Nancy way. For those of you who aren't familiar with Fancy Nancy, first of all you are missing out, but she's this little girl who likes everything fancy, frilly, and over the top. I love, loved this book, since I'm a Fancy Nancy at heart, and my little protege, Ella is even more so.

The morning started out with the house decorated in pink balloons and a Fancy Nancy Survival Kit for Ella. It had the new Fancy Nancy book, a princess crown, chapstick, lotion, glitter headbands, butterfly stickers, and rose petals that dissolve in the bath tub.

After we had breakfast, Ella, Ruth (Ben's sister), and I headed to get manicures and Ella also got her toenails painted. (I had a picture, but it just turned out blurry). She just seemed at ease and totally in her element. She just talked with the lady doing her nails and when she was done, the lady was sweet enough to read Ella some of her Fancy Nancy books while we finished.

When we got home from getting our nails done we had a tea party complete with flower peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, heart cucumbers and cheese, chips, and fancy milano cookies. And it wouldn't be a tea party without teacups and rose tea (fruit punch). The kids were so funny. They ate with their pinkies up the whole time and addressed each other as "darling".

Then Daddy showed up during lunch with a special surprise. Flowers for the birthday girl! Ella was so excited. Good thinking Daddy, every fancy girl needs flowers (hint hint :)

For dinner we told Ella she could go wherever she wanted and she kept voting for Taco Bell, so we tried to upgrade her to at least a Mexican restaurant. She actually didn't care as long as she got a soft shell taco. We all dressed up fancy, even daddy and Logan. (Hyrum is frowning in this picture, but I totally looked fat in the other one we took :)

Hmm. . . she's not eating with her pinky up?

The girls side of the table. Ella is totally striking a diva pose here.

After dinner Ella opened presents. She got plenty of girly, girl stuff and loved all of it.

Daddy made her cake, which was supposed to be a crown, but we got a little strapped for time. Hey, I can't complain, I didn't have to make it and it tasted great! I still cannot write on cakes without it looking the kids did the writing.

So, now my baby is officially three! Before you know it she'll be off to kindergarten. Don't grow up to fast my little Fancy Nancy!

Pumpkin Day

It started out being a fairly normal day, and somehow turned theme: Pumpkin Day! First the kids decorated some pumpkin pictures that grandma sent them with the instructions to mail them back so she can decorate her house. (Don't worry Laurie we'll send them out tomorrow). The kids went crazy with the puff paints and glitter, and it was a mess to clean up, but they had so much fun being creative. It's painfully obvious which one Hyrum did, not that he's obsessed with pirates or anything.

For dinner we made pumpkin pancakes, which are so yummy! Thank you Karen. They also have this cinnamon cream sauce that goes over them, and I swear they are one of the best things I've ever tasted. My kids wolf them down, which is another plus.

After dinner we carved pumpkins. I'm not really good at that whole free hand pumpkin carving thing, so I found some cool templates online. My hand is killing me, but I think they turned out great. Mine/Ella's is Cinderella's castle (maybe it's Sleeping Beauty's, I'm not sure). Ben and Hyrum's is the dragon from Sleeping Beauty. Now, I'm just praying that no mean kids decide to smash them, because there is no way I'm carving another pumpkin. For the last couple of years we just let the kids paint them, because I don't like touching the goo, but I dug my hand in there and totally shocked Ben. It was kind of fun actually.

So, our unplanned pumpkin day was a success! I'm exhausted and orange, but I can't wait to cook those seeds. Yum!