Someone is excited to be five!

Callie turned five on Oct 15th, and due to lots of sickness, I'm just now getting this post up! After weeks, and I mean weeks of counting down, the big day finally arrived! She was so excited to be five, and woke me up first thing in the morning and begged to open just one present! Well, I'm a sucker, and since you only have a birthday once a year, let her open one. I picked the playdoh ice cream shop set knowing it would keep her entertained on a day I knew we would be house bound for the most part, with sick ones.

She helped me make her cake while Ava napped, and was very involved in the decorating process as well.

Oooo, yummy. Hair in the cake!

The cake after I decorated it, thinking it was cute enough for a five year olds birthday.....

But apparently it wasn't quite "fancy" enough for her taste, so she added her own artistic flair to the cake!

And about a half pound of sprinkles too!

Her Masterpiece!!! After she was finished she said, "Now that's what I call fancy!"

Later that night, after dinner, and dolled up in her Sunday best (on Thursday) she opened up the rest of her gifts, and we all enjoyed her beautifully decorated cake!

Happy Birthday Callie! We love you, and we're so thankful you are in our family!

Now THAT Will Clear Your Sinuses!

Monday morning. Long story short. Busy morning. Boys off to school, all of us girls ready to head out the door in 30 min for yet another Young Women's meeting, and lookin' good I might add, and me quickly loading breakfast dishes thinking to myself how quickly this kitchen clean up is going with out my littlest "helper" who is up in her room entertaining herself, what a blessing.....or so I thought.

Not 30 seconds after this thought left my head, Ava is standing at the top of the stairs, opening and closing her hands like she has something sticky on them. Thinking I should have knocked on wood 45 seconds ago, I headed over to her to see what on earth she got into, when the smell hit me like a ton of menthol bricks! My sleep deprived self left the Vick's vapor rub (the tub) next to her rocking chair at 3am the night before, and she thought it would make great finger paint, and proceeded to paint herself, her whole self, and the rocking chair!!!! My immediate thought was HOLY CRAP, you've got to be kidding me, how am I going to get this grease off of everything! So in the tub she went with no drain stop so the smell would just flow down the drain, and I went into her room to attempt clean up!

I'll be the first to admit that this was not nearly as bad as the ink debacle a few weeks ago, but it was still a mess! I was in too big of a hurry to take any pictures, and I'm not sure how well they would have turned out any way, but if this was smell - a - blog, and I walked my computer up to her room, (Two whole days after the fact) you too would have the pleasure of having your sinuses instantly cleared! Maybe that's why she has slept so well the past two nights.

Out of the Mouth of My Babe

This morning I taught preschool at my house. During our opening circle time, one of the little boys said that his mom had a baby in her tummy. Then another little boy said that his mommy had a baby in her tummy too! Callie, my lovely little Callie, stands up, and says, "My mommy just looks like she has a baby in her tummy, but she doesn't!"

It's a dang good thing there was a room full of children that would have served as good witnesses, because it saved her skin!

Nice Callie. Nice.

Someday you too will get the privilege of looking like you have a baby in your tummy even when you don't. And when you call me crying about how you can't loose those extra baby pounds, I will gladly remind you of your kind little observation when you were almost 5. And then I will tell you that it is just the price you pay to be a mother, and bring beautiful (and blunt) children into this world.

Time to go do some sit-ups.

Oops He Did it Again!

Grant's been throwing things again. A few months back, it was the board book being hurled across the living room, intending to kill a bee, but shattering our window instead. {Do you remember? I'll never forget!}

Tonight it was a fountain pen being thrown across the kitchen at Callie, for no particular reason I might add, and guess what?

The dang thing EXPLODED!!!!

Grant with his "oh crap, this going on the blog, I better cover the ink on my head" pose!

Yes, I said exploded all over my kitchen, me, my floor, the girls, my walls, my drapes, my garbage can, my cupboards, everywhere! I did a great job of keeping my cool, had everyone check their feet for ink, put Ava in her high chair, sent Callie into the tub, and Grant outside, and I cleaned this up.....

Ava enjoyed smearing ink all over her tray, and that cute shirt is now trash!

Ink

Ink

and more ink!

Can you tell my back was turned during the pen chucking incident? Another shirt in the trash!

And here is some additional proof of the huge mess I had to clean up during the 5:00 dinner rush. But good news, 55 minutes later with the help of Mr. Clean Magic erasers, soft scrub with bleach, and good old fashioned elbow grease, my kitchen is mostly back to normal! I'll tackle the shirts tomorrow.

Note to self: NEVER allow another fountain pen in this house again!!!

I thought I would, but I don't.......

Have soooooooooo much more time now that school has started! Maybe it was wishful thinking, maybe it's the fact that I still have 2 busy little girls at home to take care of, whatever it is, I wish I had more time! {BIG sigh} Oh well, such is life!

The kids have been really enjoying school so far. Everyone likes their teachers, and I think they are just happy to be back with their friends, or maybe they are so happy because the homework has yet to get going at a serious rate! They have been riding bikes, skateboards, or roller blades for the most part to and from school, and I'm happy they enjoy being so active! We are all well aware of the fact that this will come to an abrupt end here in the not too distant future, as Minnesota becomes covered in snow and ice, and sub zero temperatures! {Another BIG sigh}

Here's a few pictures of the kids on the first day of school...

Grant 2nd grade, Dallin 5th grade, Callie preschool, and Ava, still my baby!

My cute little (okay very big) 2nd grader!

Ava and Callie on her first day of preschool.

Dallin "I'm too cool for first day of school pictures" Palmer!

Best friends, arch enemies (depending on the minute) heading to the bus stop together!

Now, I must admit, I did do a bit of a happy dance that morning, especially as I dropped Callie off at preschool and headed to brunch with some friends from the ward! We had a great time laughing and celebrating together!

Now it's time tighten up my schedule, set some new goals, and check some things off the list, and make the most of everyday!

Twins Game and an Unexpected "Show"

My sister Marya and her husband Daren flew into town a few weeks ago for a visit from Utah. We love when they are here, it gives us all an excuse to do more fun things together as a family. My brother Dave arranged for us all to go to a Twins game the night they flew in, so Marya and Daren came straight from the airport to join us at the Metrodome. We thought it would be a fun activity to do all together (in theory that is). We arrived and realized the cheap seats were now $10 a piece, the kids had NO intention in staying put in their seats,or their row for that matter, and no matter how much food we bought, they were still 'starrrrrving'! In spite of all the typical craziness, we did enjoy ourselves, and loved having all of the cousins together - except for Ava who stayed home with a sitter!

Making an attempt to get a good picture of the kids together while we waited for tickets. Very successful as you can see!

Daddy and Callie!

Bethany, Alaina (Sarah's friend), Sarah, and Dallin.

Us. Another one of those attempts at a good picture!

Callie and Lydia!

We lost horribly that night, and in spite of all of the complaints of desperate hunger, we had an enjoyable time as a family, and lots of good laughs.....especially at what happened in the row in front of us half way through the game!

WARNING!

The following story contains mature subject matter, and may not be suitable for all readers!

There is a photographer that walks around the stands of the dome and takes pictures of people watching the game. He gives them a ticket so they can purchase the overpriced picture if they so choose. The photographer just happened to walk up to a young twenty-something, touchy feely couple in front of us, and they wanted to get their picture taken. The photographer walked back one row behind us, and the young couple proceeded to stand up and turn around so the baseball field would be in the background. Not a big deal you say, except for the fact the girl just so happened to be wearing a small, tight little pink and white Twins jersey that buttoned up the front. Well, it was way too small, and her heaving bosoms just so happened to pop the top FOUR buttons open, flashing us all with her 'girls' that also happened to be in a bra that was WAY too small! We weren't sure if we were at a Twins game or a strip joint! Made for an exciting night to say the least! I'm just grateful the boys didn't see, and that she was at least wearing a bra, all be it a very, very small one! She realized a few minutes later, when her boyfriend pointed out, that her shirt was unbuttoned. She turned around and apologized for flashing us all! Maybe it's just me, but how do you NOT realize your boobs are hanging out for the world to see??? This was one game we won't soon forget, not for the great baseball we saw the Twins play, but for some other "Twins" we saw that night!

Simple Joy

I found this quote today, and it made me cry. Cry like a girl (oh, wait...). I plan on typing it up and framing it and putting it in my kitchen window where I will look at it many, many times a day. Hopefully I will remember to see the simple joys around me everyday....

"A house does not have to be perfect to be a home of joy, a child does not have to behave perfectly to love and be loved, and every moment of life does not have to be perfect to be of value. Too often, I realize, we fail to see the glorious reality of the simple joy that abounds in the seemingly mundane routine of day-to-day living. Instead, we tend to idolize the past, idealize the future, and devalue the present.... What better way to show our appreciation to Heavenly Father for what we have than to embrace our lives, albeit 'ordinary' and 'unexciting,' with joy?" --Winnie Dalley; Ensign, March 1998, page 59

I am a lover of quotes! I always have been. There is something about that little nugget of truth or wisdom, or humor that feeds me, lifts me, and inspires me. I haven't taken the time I used to take finding quotes that do that for me. Today I did find some while searching the Internet trying to find a few quotes I could share with the YW next week at girls camp. Maybe this quote will touch you!