Merry Christmas

I'm pooped.  2 too many nights of staying up till 3 and 4 in the morning.  Leta fell asleep on the car ride home and didn't wake up while I changed her, diapered her and put her back to bed in her crib.  I crawled into Annie's crib with her to snuggle her and tell her good night.  I could have fallen asleep in there with her. We are all exhausted.

So just a quick few thoughts:

Christmas is always happy when there is gratitude.  Lucy and Elsa were the perfect receivers today.  "Mom!  This is the best day ever!!!!"  "Thank you thank you mom and dad!!!!" (while giving a big hug).  I always get a little worried before the big day if our girls will be disappointed with their presents.  They weren't.  Many smiles from all today.

I am reminded once again of my many blessings.

- The blessing of creativity:
This year (and every year) you hear of stories of families who won't have Christmas.  Often I think, "but there is so much you can do without spending money.  Christmas magic isn't only about money."  And then I come back to reality and eat a dose of humble pie and realize that I was raised in a home where I was taught to sew and how to cook beans.  I know how to turn trash into treasures.  I know how to find free activities to entertain my kiddos and how to utilize the resources around me.  I know how to add a dose of magic into our home without spending a dime.  Not everyone was taught those things from infancy.

- The gift of health:
My newest little nephew, born a week and a half ago, was diagnosed with severe hemophilia type A and had bleeding on the brain.  Miracles have happened to guard and protect this little boy since before birth and we are ever grateful.  But once again I am reminded that our health, especially the health of our children, is more precious than the riches of the world.

- The gift of Christ:
Sometimes I feel utterly helpless.  I want to heal my nephew.  I want to take away all the sadness of a friend going through a divorce.  I want to say all the right words and be a great comfort.  Often, I can't do the desires of my heart.  I fall short.  But, we have all been given the gift of Jesus Christ.  Born as a baby in the most humble of circumstances.  He heals.  He comforts.  He knows how to love perfectly.  He is the reason to celebrate.  He lives!


Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

The Truth Behind the Pictures.

So, I love Pinterest.  I no longer save random pictures to my desktop and I can quickly get ideas and tutorials in a matter of seconds.  All of which are saved on the internet with corresponding links.  Perfect.  Each night I hop on for a few seconds (okay, maybe minutes - but Pinterest is much quicker than stopping to read blogs) and glean inspiration.

There are so many quick and simple ideas that I have already used from my few months on Pinterest:
- submersible lights in the bath
- water beads
- circle skirt tutorial
- home-made drain de-clogger
- oatmeal smoothies
- Family Home Evening Ideas
- Halloween costume inspiration.

The list could go on.

But, sometimes they make things seem easier than they are.

For instance, thanks to Pinterest, I came across some fabulous hairstyles for little girls.  I'm always in the hunt to have my girls be the ones in the crowd with cute hair, so I watched some tutorials and decided to give it a whirl.

The pictures and tutorial didn't say anything about the fact that my girls would cry the entire time with sensitive head issues.  I can only be so soft, and really, if I'm going to be as soft as my girls would have me be, that would mean I could never brush their hair again.

The pictures also didn't say anything about the fact that this hairstyle is great if you have a prize child, not 4 little girls.  What were Leta and Annie doing during the epic circle braid?  Eating toothpaste.  And I let them play and eat cause I was on a mission - to produce one day of cute hairness.

As you can see, we didn't make it that far with Lucy Tucy.  Too many tears, we couldn't go any farther.

 But Elsa...she held strong and we had to document the triumphant Princess Hair.  You bet I'm giving you 4 pictures of the same exact head.

 

And toothpaste eating Annie got what I call "The Quail"

And 2 seconds after Epic Hair Showdown, we went out to ride bikes and the helmet caused Princess Hair damage.  

Fail.

 Exhibit B:  Cinnamon Ornaments via Pinterest

We tried out the recipe today, 2 ingredients, it seemed easy enough.  Sure the recipe was easy, the execution...not so much.  I'm pretty sure I screamed, "STOPPPP!" at one point in our fun mother/daughter togetherness moment...now that I think of it, every moment is a mother/daughter togetherness moment but I guess I was just trying to make this one more special...back to my original thought...so I screamed out because I had 3 girls on the counter, one on the chair next to me, the two L's in the family were duking it out over stirring rights and cinnamon paste was being flung through the air.  My patience had met its max.

Eventually we finished, though 2 of the 4 lost interest after the STOPPP incident (apparently it wasn't as fun if you couldn't fling), but after the requested baking time, the bigger ornaments were breaking apart.

Fail.
(At least we went to the library today - even amidst the storms -  and checked out our Christmas books.)

So, the moral of the story:  I still love Pinterest, but once again, I'm reminded life can not be summed up in a picture.

Pictures Happenings From the Last Month or So

I'm so behind in posting that you get 3 in 1 day.  Bet you are so excited!

We drove to South Mountain on the cold, windy, dustormy Friday in early November.  Much colder than I thought it would be, so we didn't stay up there long.  But still a fun drive.  I only got car sick on the way back.  I enjoyed listening to Ryan tell the girls about the Weedle on the Needle and then we used our Groupon at Honey Bears.  Love family time and family dates made cheaper through Groupon.  And Honey Bears is the one restaurant we can take our girls to that they behave - Leta and Annie love the french fries which seems to act as a calming aid and they will actually sit for more than 2 minutes.  (I think I made it sound like we go out to eat a lot.  We don't.  We've only been to Honey Bears about 3 times in our kid to restaurant career, but each time, the girls have done great.)  

Leta nests...and nests...and nests...and loves her tiger mask

How many children do you spy?  That laundry basket that Leta is in was my grandmothers.  Many a children have hid in there.

Leta loves sitting in this hamper.  And can you spy my new slippers?  I used my vinyl cutting money to purchase these when I went Black Friday shopping.  I may or may not live in these and these may or may not be my favorite shoes to wear in public too.  Hey, they are shoe-like enough and they are keeping my feet nice and warm this winter.  And a comfy Kathryn equals a happy Kathryn.    

pop goes the weezle

We participated in Small Business Saturday.  Thanks to American Express, this family lunch date only cost us $5.  

Leta and Annie got to go to work with Ryan.  They traveled to Tucson with him to inspect some land.  I got 5 hours of no kid time.  I made me a huge list of everything I wanted to get done.  I think I finished only one thing completely.  (I was feeling quite spoiled - a date night and a kidless morning all in the same month.) 

Leta is like her daddy and doesn't like to wear jackets.  Annie is like her mommy and freezes.  (Lucy and Elsa are the same way - Lucy would wear shorts every day if I let her.  Elsa gets too chilled just drinking something with ice in it.)

I love a husband who volunteers and enjoys taking kids to work with him when the opportunity arises.    

Sometimes I bust up laughing at the outfits I put together for my littles.  We go for comfort (and of course, whatever is clean.)  

And sometimes they like to dress themselves and I realize, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

We went to Ryan's cousin's house for brunch...and some princess time.  I supplied 5 of the princesses, Amy supplied the fabulous breakfast food and the fun dress-up.  

Annie likes to savor her chocolate which means it gets licked until it's gone, or at least until she has a little guido mustache.  Who is the mom who didn't do this child's hair?  

Not pictured:

- The time Annie walked around for about 5 minutes in ONLY snowboots.

- The time my pops picked up Lucy and Elsa for a fun fishing afternoon (and more Happy Meals). 

- The time Leta and Annie made a "crib" out of my shallow tubs for Christmas decorations.  They barely fit in them, but they enjoyed climbing in and letting their twin put on the lid and lock the lid in place.  Needless to say, those tubs are put away so that no children suffocate.  If you wonder how accidents happen - there might be a good chance twins were involved.  After all, one of my sister's boys climbed in a microwave and his twin shut the door....

Good Friday

This day, Friday, December 2nd, was one of those days that made me exclaim, "Holy Cow - these are the golden years."  So I decided to document it - Kathryn style.  (Long and detailed.)  Here was the day's highlights:

Lucy coming in that morning in just her pink leggings and a purple shirt - expecting to only wear that to school.  "Mom, this was all I could find."  Guess I needed to do laundry.  We added a skirt and called it good.  

Snuggling with Leta and Annie on the floor of our living room and watching Sesame Street.  Annie finally stopped her morning cry because she wanted me to "tickle" her back.  (Really, it's scratch, but she calls it tickle.)  Such a Melzer.

Ryan and I found out how much in unclaimed money we had.  Months ago we saw on the state website that we had unclaimed money.  At first I was worried they were just doing it to find where I was to give me an 8 year old red light camera ticket, but we finally filled out the paper work and it was legit.  We had unclaimed money.  I called them to see how much it was on this Friday.  The lady kindly told me, "$7.13 from unpaid payroll."  I know, ungrateful me thought, "Ah crap, I was at least hoping for $20."  And then I had to laugh because $7.13 was probably a whole week's worth of pay when I was a teacher's aid.  Okay, that may partly be an exaggeration, but many of my jobs only paid me minimum wage - guess that's what you get for choosing to work with kids (and minimum wage was $5 and $6 back then.)  But, I then thought to ask the lady on the phone, "but, I think we had two unclaimed funds."  So she transferred me to our case worker and I found out we are getting a few hundred dollars back from unclaimed funds when we sold our old house.  Sweet!  It kinda made up for the low December pay - kinda.  I guess it just lessens to blow.  But, I'll take it!  

Going to Katie's house and eating her Mini Wheats for breakfast.  I love Mini Wheats and I'm thankful for sisters close by that have food when I haven't gotten out to the grocery store in too long for easy breakfasts on lazy mornings.  Katie also made me stir fry for lunch.  You can all be jealous that you don't have a Katie.  

Elsa coming home from school with bright red lips.  She bought some lipstick samples at the holiday house at school.  

Leta and Annie taking a nap!

Lucy and Elsa's drawings.  

The girls eagerly awaiting the arrival of grandma Melzer.  All the girls were picked up by grandma Melzer and got to enjoy a date to McDonald's.  Then the older girls got the spend the night.  My girls LOVE spending the night at their grandma's.  They would have packed a week in advance if I let them.  They were so stinkin' excited. The girls all got Happy Meals and grandma and grandpa time.  Seriously, a million dollars wouldn't make them happier. (I count my blessings everyday for 2 sets of grandparents and a great grandma who do things for my girls.) 

Waiting...

No girls, which equaled a very welcomed date night for Ryan and I.  Date nights don't happen very often around here.  It was one of those nights where all the stars lined up and the choirs of angels sang.

Gift card to California Pizza Kitchen =  Free date night.  Whoot whoot.

Finding the perfect "free" coat at Ross.  Several months ago I had purchased some shoes at Ross, but decided I didn't need them.  However, I made my return too late so they only gave me store credit.  At the time I was ticked because I didn't want to spend that money.  Fast forward to this month when our money tree didn't grow enough for a winter jacket budget.  I decided that since I never get out to go shopping, I better use this chance to use up my store credit before Ross does something quirky and clears my credit from their system.  Also, I have been looking for the last 10 years for a Pea Coat, but have never found one in my budget and that fit right.  Lo and behold, Ross had one that was perfect so I used part of my credit and did a happy dance because I wasn't spending any extra money.  I'm chalking this up to major tender mercy.  It may feel silly to say an article of clothing was a tender mercy, but it was.  (And my pea coat is made out of recycled material, so that either means it is awesome or it will fall apart in a year or so.  And the dark color reminds me that I shed like a cat.  But, either way, I'm so thrilled to finally, after 10 years of searching, have a warm coat I feel cute in.  Hence, the cue of the choirs of angels because Ryan actually agreed to go shopping with me and I found my dream coat.)

Going to pick up Leta and Annie after our date and seeing Leta so relaxed on her grandpa Melzer's lap.  She is a grandpa's girl.

Seeing grandma and grandpa's new flooring.  I'm so excited for them.  This remodel was long overdue (like Helen thought she would get her new carpet before Ryan left on his mission over a decade ago, but life got in the way...)

Hearing Annie read "No David."  She has is memorized.  It's so cute listening to her say, "Stop that this instant!" or "That's enough David."  Lucy and Elsa had "David Goes to School" memorized at her age.  I don't think I got them on video, hopefully I can get Annie.

Watching Leta try to pin Hobbes to her crib mattress and her telling me, "Mom, shut the door."  She really wanted that cat to sleep with her for the evening.

Having to tent Leta and Annie in by placing a blanket on top of their crib.  They like to feel like they are hiding in their cribs so they request it.

Staying up late working and dreaming.  Realizing how blessed I am and realizing how silly it is when I try to prove that I'm awesome and compare myself to others.  Hence the quote on my blog header.  I just need to enjoy the journey and stop dwelling on my failures.  Simplify, work at a pace comfortable to me and have joy.

This day was chalk full of too many blessings to overlook the joy.

The Reason for the Season

Last week in church I thought I might get up and bare my testimony.  Usually I have 4 good excuses to not go in front of people to blubber and cry and pour my heart out, but the older ones were sitting with their church grandma, and Ryan took the younger ones out for being loud.  But right before I could get up, Ryan came back in with the youngers who had quieted themselves down.  But, their sweetness lasted about 2 seconds.  So, Ryan and I both ended up in the halls with screaming and active children.  So much for that thought.

Church is wonderful.  Sure, my kids are loud and Annie likes to scream, "MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY!" but, watching the girls play with Ryan's tie, or hearing the hymns of praise as my olders color pictures, or having Lucy and Elsa make a comment about what they are learning...seriously, if you don't go to church, you are missing out.  It makes all the crazy worth it.

Our current favorites of the season:

Annie's favorite:  singing songs - she has an excellent song memory

Leta's favorite:  her tiger mask and elephants

We had an incident yesterday where we tried to get her off this elephant statue to go into the museum.  Let's just say there was screaming and whaling and gnashing of teeth.

Could someone please just gift Leta this elephant statue?  

We finally made it to the museum - thankfully.  Seeing Santa there helped lessen the blow that Leta had to leave her beloved elephant behind.  

Elsa and Lucy's favorite:  paper, writing on said paper and stashing said paper in any purse, wallet or bag they can find.  I am constantly throwing out (recycling for all earth friendly people) paper.  But, for some reason, there seems to always be more.

All girls' favorites:  Making "spots" "nests" or "cribs"

Lucy took a nap like this:

(Lucy and Elsa don't normally take naps, but they were cranks, so we made them go lay down - they dozed off which resulted in much happier children)

My favorite:  Finally doing some simple Christmas traditions that are working.

CHRISTmas - making Christ the center of the season.  I often think, "Oh, when I have more time..." I can do all those fun things.  But, I have come to understand that if I don't stress, there really are some simple things I can do with little to no money and in a small amount of time that make all the difference:

- The Spirit of Christmas Bowl:  I typed up some strips of paper with a gift the girls can give each day.  Each day they pick out one strip of paper and do that thing on their own time and will.  Some examples are, 

"Pray for those who are sad or lonely" 

"Give the gift of a smile" 

"Give the gift of a hug"

"Be extra happy with what you are given - don't complain about what you don't have" 

"Give the gift of laughter" 

"Do a service for someone without them knowing" 

"Write someone a note"  ect.  

Today Lucy noted that the speaker in church said to be happy with what we are given.  "Mom, that was my job today!" she exclaimed.  Then after church, Elsa snuck into our room and made our bed to do her secret service.  I love that they get excited to give these kinds of gifts.  And it is teaching them to do things without constant reminders.

- Advent Calendar:  This one gets better each year.  I finally got all my envelopes numbered and made.  I got the Christmas ABC scriptures from the friend and added a fun thing to do each day.  We got a little behind, so although we aren't perfect with it, it helps me make sure I'm doing something fun and festive and family centered with the girls each day (or almost every day). 

- A Child's Nativity:  We have the Little People nativity thanks to my mom, but I have the strong opinion that there needs to be at least one nativity that can be man handled by the children in the family.  Not thinking, I got out my good nativity and left the Little People one in the garage for a few days until I had time to get out the rest of the decorations.  Needless to say, a wiseman lost his hands in the battle.    

- FHE:  Thanks to Pinterest and Google, there are some great family home evening lessons I found already prepared for the season.  These are two that I plan to do this month:  symbols of Christmas and Jesus and Santa.

- Songs of Christ:  We are trying to learn some songs (which requires me to just start singing at random times throughout the day).  But, we are doing better this year with listening to Christmas music too.

Merry Christmas!

Here is my advent calendar if anyone wants to just copy and paste:  

1: Angels (Luke 2:1–9)make paper chain countdown till Christmas 

2: Bethlehem (Luke 2:10–15) put up nativities – talk about Christmas story 

3: Christ (2 Nephi 25:23, 26)write a letter to Santa and to Jesus 

4: Deeds (1 John 3:18, 23–24) make paper snowflakes for decorations 

5: Everlasting (John 3:16–17)put up Christmas village 

6: Family (Luke 2:16–17) – Decorate tree, go get free Bahama Bucks 

7: Gold (Matthew 2:1–11) Zoo lights 

8: Herod (Matthew 2:12–16) make Christmas ornaments 

9: Israel (Matthew 2:19–21) go downtown to see our wreaths and to 2nd Friday 

10: Joseph (Matthew 1:19–24) go see Santa at Bass Pro 

11: King (D&C 128:23) make Christmas cards for our friends and family 

12: Lord (D&C 19:1; Isaiah 26:4) look at old Christmas pictures 

13: Mary (Luke 1:27–38, 46–48) go to the Temple lights 

14: Nazareth (Matthew 2:22–23) paint toenails and nails festive 

15: Obedient (John 8:29; Hebrews 5:8–9) Go to the Library and check out Christmas books 

16: Peace (Luke 2:14; Isaiah 9:6) Dance to Christmas Music 

17: Quickly (D&C 49:28) bake Christmas goodies and take to some neighbors 

18: Redeemer (Job 19:25; Mormon 9:11–13) act out the Nativity in Luke 2 

19: Steadfastness (2 Nephi 26:8; 31:20) go for a drive and look at Christmas lights, have hot chocolate by the fire 

20: Teach (Matthew 28:18–20) play musical chairs with Christmas music 

21: Unshaken faith (2 Nephi 31:19) watch a Christmas movie with popcorn 

22: Voice (Alma 5:38; Helaman 12:23)Play don’t eat Rudolph in pajamas 

23: Willing (Mosiah 26:17–18) Go caroling 

24: Young (D&C 43:20) Girls dress up fancy for a “fancy” home dinner 

25: Zion (1 Nephi 13:37)- Merry Christmas! Enjoy your gifts and the spirit of Christmas.