Thinking about Christmas

Yep I am thinking about Christmas over here.  I love kids, and I love kids toys.  I love shopping for my kids.

Honestly the only reason for this post is because I wanted to talk kids toys, write out a few of my thoughts/plans for Christmas, and share a few toy ideas.  This is purely a "fluff" post :) 

So here are our plans for Christmas this year (I am always interested to hear how other people do it so I thought I would share our method)...  McKay's goal is to buy the kids as little of toys as possible (Lets call him the Grinch just kidding!  He keeps me grounded) and well... I like to buy toys.  So in an effort to compromise we came up with our current plan.  This year our kids will get one gift from Santa, one gift from Mom, and one gift from Dad.  They will also have a stocking filled by "Santa" with one new book in it, a new ornament for the tree, and a few treats.  They also will get one group family gift (we bought an annual pass to Kids Town this year for their group gift) as well as 1-2 new movies (a Disney classic or two).  That is the plan.  We did a similar plan last year and liked it so hopefully it goes well this year too.

Buying kids toys is always a guessing game with a little bit of trial and error.  Especially with little kids who can't exactly tell you what they like to play with.  Hopefully we luck out this year with some good ones to help get us through the cold winter months here in Idaho. 


These are some of the gifts that I am thinking of getting this year...

source: amazon

-Nerf Guns.  Jensen loves them.  He has a few smaller guns and we might upgrade him to a larger one.  This is my favorite one that we have currently.  I personally like the red mega bullets over the smaller ones for younger kids.

-Neo Tracks.  Jensen has been our easy child to shop for this year.  He has played with these cars and tracks at the dentist and friend's houses and seems to really like them.  They seem pretty user friendly and kids are able to set them up on their own. 

- Remote Control Car.  Jensen has wanted one for a VERY long time.  I said no last Christmas because I really don't like toys with batteries.  But Jensen seems to only like toys that run on batteries (of course).  I think I am going to give in this year and let him have one.  I may have him do chores or something to help pay for the batteries.  We will see.  I still don't know exactly which one to get.  The one I linked had good reviews, so it may be the one we end up buying.

-Dress-ups.  Adalyn loves dress-ups and Jensen enjoys wearing costumes as well.  Our favorite dress-ups are Little Adventures and Melissa and Doug (especially for the boys).  Both hold up well and are comfortable for the kids to get them on and off easily.

Source: Amazon

Play Silks.  These have been on my Christmas list for several years, but I haven't bought them yet.  They seem so fun and colorful.  I think Adalyn would really like them so this might be the year we decide to buy them.

Little People.  Currently we don't own any Little People because Adalyn and Jensen weren't really interested in playing with them.  But I think Declin and Magnolia would like them.  We may start with the Little People Home for Mganolia this year.  We shall see.

Doctor/ Vet kit: All of my kids love stuffed animals.  Forget baby dolls.  They want the adorable puppies and kitties.  A new vet kit might be fun.

source: Amazon

Folkmanis Puppets.  We are going to start a collection of these awesome puppets.  We have one little one and I can tell they are going to enjoy playing with them.  They go along with my kids love of stuffed animals.  These puppets look so real and a super soft.  Magnolia is getting a few of them for her birthday and we might add in a couple for a Christmas present for her too.

Expanding our sets: Currently we have Magformers and Duplos.  My kids really love both sets and play with them daily.  I want to add to add to our collections with a few more sets of each one.  I am thinking of getting this duplos set since Declin loves superheroes and this magformers set since Jensen likes to build cars with the magnaformers.

source: Amazon

Ride on Car.  When Adalyn turned one my parents gave her a ride on princess car for her birthday.  She loved riding that car, but not as much as Jensen and Declin have loved riding that car.  They LOVED it for many years until they have learned to ride a bike.  Our princess car has held up well over the years, but after 3 kids riding it daily we are ready for a new car.  I am thinking of getting this one since it looks durable and doesn't have any batteries or light up toys (yeah I am boring).

Trains.  We got a wooden train set a few years ago and while it was touch and go about whether they were going to like playing with it they have finally figured it out and are loving it now.  I think they will love it even more once the basement is done and they can use it with the train table.  We have all of the regular trains that come with the set, but I think they will like a few more specialty trains from Thomas the train.  By the way, I don't recommend the Melissa and Doug train set.  It is too challenging for young kids to keep set up and put the bridges on.  I wish we would have chosen a different one.

source: Walmart.com

Camping supplies.  Last year the kids got the cutest camping chairs from my dad.  They are so fun and the kids have played with them while they are outside a lot this summer.  This year we are getting Magnolia a sleeping bag for Christmas because she will need one next summer.

Puzzles.  I love puzzles.  Well kids puzzles, not the 1000 piece kind.  My kids have really been into clocks lately and I am thinking of getting them this clock puzzle to help them learn about time, clocks, numbers, etc.

Those are most of my ideas for this year.  I wish I had time to talk about all of my favorite toys, because I could go on and on.  But I guess I better go make dinner for my family.  Happy Thursday! 



 



 
 
 

 



               

End of Summer 2017

The last few weeks of summer vacation were spent in Idaho doing activities around home.

We prepped for back to school.  I took Adalyn on a little mommy-daughter date and let her pick out a new outfit to wear on the first day of school, picked up her the supplies on her class list, and got a treat at the end.  I think this will be a new tradition for us and I am excited to take Jensen on his first back-to-school date next summer.

On August 21 we watched the solar eclipse 2017.  It was epic (yes I just used that word, and it truly was incredible).  Idaho Falls was lucky enough to be able to be in the path of totality.  Idaho Falls geared up to host a crowd and they encouraged those of us who live here to try and stay home for a few days to help keep the traffic down on the roads.  So we did.  We all stocked up on groceries and then hunkered down for the weekend.  In the end the crowds were a bit smaller then they expected and town was eerily quiet the Saturday before.  The only crowds that we noticed were extra visitors at church on Sunday who were visiting with family in our ward.  So luckily our power didn't go out, we still had running water, and our oh so important wifi was functioning at normal speed (all things that they had warned us might stop working).  Monday, August 21st McKay took the day off work.  We had a yummy breakfast and then headed out to the backyard.  About 10:15 am we put on our special eclipse glasses from the library and we could see the moon beginning to cover the sun.  About 30 minutes into it you could tell the light was getting dimmer. Especially if you went inside the house for a few minutes and then came back out.  It was getting dimmer in a unique way.  It definitely didn't feel like a normal sunset.  The whole neighborhood was out in their yards and you could just feel the excitement and the kids running around screaming and chatting about it.  Honestly up until a few minutes before totality it was cool, but not amazing.  It was colder and dim, but not amazing.  Then totality came.  It was surreal almost spiritual like experience.  It felt and looked like nothing I had ever seen before.  I loved seeing the kids excitement as well.  They were fascinated by it and were all smiles and lots of ohs and ahs!  We all took off the glasses for that minute and a half of totality.  The street lights came on and you could see a horizon line 360 degrees all around.   My favorite part of the whole thing was the diamond ring effect which only lasted for a few seconds but it was gorgeous.  It looked like the biggest most beautiful diamond ring you had ever seen before.  This world is beautiful and I am so thankful that it was created for us to enjoy.  

After being a part of the Idaho Falls temple open house this spring and the eclipse this summer I am definitely feeling all the good feels about Idaho.  We have loved living here and I am impressed daily by the kind and humble people that live here.  Plus we love the beauty that surrounds us in this part of the country.  Grateful to get to experience it and share these experiences with my family.

Next up was our ward campout. We went up to warm river campground and stayed there from Friday afternoon until Saturday afternoon.  It was the one and only time we attempted camping this summer and it did not go well.  Probably our worst camping experience so far in our married life, but lets not dwell on that fact. ;)  Magnolia is just at a rough stage to take camping, and her nervous/easily frightened personality didn't help.  All the kids did fantastic at falling asleep.  No one cried and the older 3 were thrilled to be sleeping in the tent.  Magnolia fell asleep great since she was exhausted from staying up way past her bedtime.  But then at 1:00 am she woke up and was totally freaked out about where she was.  McKay and I could both tell by her cries that there was no way she was going to calm down anytime soon.  She wouldn't cuddle in our bed and even standing and bouncing her was not going to work for very long since she was still so scared about where in the world she was.  There were other people camping in tents all around us so we had to act fast.  I told McKay to just drive her home, and at 1:00 am I was serious.  Haha!  Totally not thinking clearly.  McKay ended up taking her to the car and she slept on and off in her carseat where she felt a little more secure then in the tent.  She wouldn't even let McKay hold her to sleep she had to be in a familiar spot, so the carseat it was.  In all of the commotion Declin woke up and of course started whining for some milk (he still wakes up a lot in the middle of the night at home).  So I put my brave face on and headed out to the car by myself in the middle of the night (yes that scared me because hello, there are wild animals like scunks out there) to get him a cup of milk from the cooler.  Then I came back and he snuggled in bed with me for the rest of the night since it was pretty chilly.  I proceeded to wake up every 30 minutes the rest of the night out of worry for Magnolia/McKay and because Declin was kicking me.  Such a fun night!  We were grateful for morning to come.

The next morning after breakfast the kids made little boats to race down the river and then we decided to go visit Mesa Falls which was just up the road from where we were camping.  We had never been before and it was fun to check it off our "things to see in Idaho bucket list" (not a real list just some mental notes that I have in my head).  The falls were beautiful and we loved the rainbow that shows up when the sun is out.  We did a little nature walk after and I wish we had packed a lunch so that we could have stayed longer.  But everyone was getting hungry and tired so we didn't stay for too long.

Whenever we take a little family trip out in nature, it always gets McKay really excited about hiking/camping and makes him want to go back soon.  So the weekend after the camp out we went to Harriman state park.  We didn't stay the night it was just a day trip.  We had free state park passes from the library and wanted to use them before the summer ended.  This was our first time there and it was a fun day, but maybe not my favorite place we have been, but still enjoyable.  We walked around on a trail and made it about 2-3 miles.  The views were pretty, and it felt peaceful and quiet there.  We ended up singing some fun primary songs to help keep Declin and Magnolia happy which brought such a sweet feeling as we walked along.

We had a few family nights at the park.  One time we grabbed some dinner and had a little picnic and then played at the park.  I remember we used to go to the park several times a week, but these days with the small park we have in our backyard we haven't made it to the neighborhood parks as much.  The kids always enjoy it when we do go.  Especially when McKay comes with us.

 

Another Saturday McKay planned a little canoeing adventure for us.  McKay's uncle was kind and let us borrow their canoe and we headed out on the Snake River.  The first time we went out in the canoe all six of us went together, but that was a tight fit and the kids were getting wiggly so we headed back to shore. The kids played in the sand while McKay took smaller groups out for rides.  McKay loves canoes/boats and loved getting to get out on the water again.

Finishing up our garden for the year.  We had a small garden this year, but it was a really enjoyable activity to do with the kids.  They were excited about the plants and watching them grow.  They loved picking the raspberries and tomatoes.  They are watching the pumpkins and talking about Halloween.  They even helped pick the weeds a few times with the neighbor kids which was one of the reasons that we want a garden is to have the kids help work in it.  I am happy with how things turned out this year and I hope we can add even more plants to it next year.

    

The kids officially started driving me crazy the last two weeks of August, which really helped me be excited for school to start again.  haha!

Back to school up next!

    

     

      

Finally Letting Go of the Baby Weight after Baby #4

I don't really want to write this post.  I really don't know why, but I haven't been super open this time around as I have worked on loosing the baby weight.  Probably because I have struggled a bit more then I did after Jensen and Declin's pregnancy.  And who wants to talk about things they are struggling with?  Not any woman I know.

I am sharing my story today, because I love reading/hearing other peoples healthy journey's.  I am motivated by them and think "if they can do it, so can I."  So here is my story to add to the rest, it is always a work in progress, but here are a few more things I have learned.

37 weeks with Magnolia, and this picture makes me look way skinnier then I was.  Haha!

I finally feel like I am in a good place these days.  I feel like I have reached a healthy weight (although I don't actually know how much I weigh, I just go by how I feel and how my clothes fit) and while I am far from perfect I am happy with where I am at.  I could definitely get more extreme about things but I am not really wanting to be more extreme at this stage in my life.

Getting rid of the weight this time looked a bit different then it did the first couple of times.  I am busier at this stage of my life so I needed to find tips and tricks that fit into our current lifestyle.  When I was pregnant with Jensen and trying to be healthier for the first real time in my entire life I experimented a ton.  I honestly made a new recipe every single night for dinner during the last half of his pregnancy.  I seriously have no idea how I had the energy while pregnant to try so many new things, I think I was just craving health and loved the way the fresh/healthy food was making me feel.  Also I had the time back then since it was just Adalyn and I at home all day.  Truly I am so thankful everyday that I had the opportunity to experiment and learned a lot during that year.  Several of those recipes that I found back then are still in rotation today.  The foundations that I layed are still there and while we aren't perfect everyday or every month at eating healthy, we know how to get there and are often able to reset ourselves to get back to eating right again.

3 months after having Adalyn.  A few months before getting pregnant with Jensen.

 One thing that I did do shortly after finding out I was pregnant with Jensen and feeling depressed about the sad state of my health was, pray.  I didn't loose any weight after having Adalyn.  I honestly didn't know how to help myself out of that situation.  I didn't know what I needed to do.  Heavenly Father answered my prayers and pleas for help.  Slowly over the next few months I found the answers that I needed at that time in my life.  I read and read everything I could find and I found tips and tricks that worked with *my* lifestyle.  Honestly they were little things like a blogger sharing healthy recipes that fit perfectly with my family's tastes, friends around me that were inspirational examples to me, etc.  But I knew all those little things were blessings in my life.

19 Weeks pregnant with Jensen- A few weeks into eating healthy   

The biggest blessing at that time was finding my fun Zumba class.  Guys I love it.  It was exactly what I needed at that stage of my life.  I needed to move my body and I needed exercising to be fun.  I needed friends and others around me with positive attitudes.  I needed to dance and work out the frustrations of the day.  My Zumba class will always have a special place in my heart.  It got me through the oh so exciting, yet crazy years when my kids were all toddlers.  Staying at home all day with small children by yourself are some... lets just say interesting years.  :)  Zumba helped make them a little more fun.

June 2012 The week after this picture was taken I decided to work on changing my health.  I guess you could call it my "breaking point"

I started changing my diet when I was 14 weeks pregnant with Jensen.  I gained less then 10 lbs through his whole pregnancy and delivered a full term healthy baby.  Which still kind of amazes me.  The weight just shifted around as I changed my diet and started exercising regularly.  I had more energy the last couple months of his pregnancy then I did at the beginning.  This just stands as a reminder to me that we can choose to have a healthier lifestyle at any moment.  We don't need to wait for the "perfect" time.

On Christmas Eve 2012- Jensen's due date.  Feeling much better at 40 weeks pregnant then I did at 14 weeks pregnant.  

This time around after having Magnolia I tried to get back to my normal weight, but I struggled.  I would do really well for a few weeks and then crash and burn big time.  The after dinner desserts would start up again and my body would crave the sugar.  Finally after a few months of the ups and downs I could tell I needed some more help.  Life was getting busier and I needed to know how to fit my workouts and healthy eating into our daily schedule.  So once again I prayed for help and slowly over a few months I was given my answers.

The biggest answer that I found this time was connecting with a friend on Instagram with similar goals as I have.  She has a few more years of experience in the whole "healthy eating while being a mother to a large family" life then I do so she has been a good example to follow on how to find a way to fit in exercise and healthy meals.  She was even kind and sent me her Modern Mom healthy eating program that she created a few years ago.  It has some great tips that help me stay motivated and had several cheap large family dinner recipes that I now use in our dinner rotation.

One of the newer goals that I have had this time around was lowering the cost.  For a few years I spent a lot on organic foods, specialty items, and other programs.  Now with more kids, I really can't be spending the extra money on those things.  I feel like I have found a good inexpensive healthy lifestyle plan that gives me the results I want without all the extra costs.  

The basics of what I have been doing are these... I am doing HIIT workouts 6 days a week.  They are 15 minutes long and done in my living room which is perfect for this stage of life.  I get them done as soon as I can in the morning so I don't have to think about it the rest of the day.  I drink a lot of water all day long.  I try to only eat between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm no more late night eating!!  I eat eggs with fruit for most of my breakfasts.  I eat salads or leftovers for lunch.  At 3:00 pm in the afternoon I make a protein shake with bananas and almond milk to avoid afternoon cravings and get me through until dinner.  I try and make our dinners healthy and have lots of veggies available at the meal.  I usually add in homemade muffin/bread item at dinner time for the kids, but I don't usually eat them.  

McKay has also been a huge help in keeping me away from the sugar.  Together he and I eat way less desserts/sugary things then we have in years past.  It is definitely a blessing for me to have his support.  Because I know it is really hard to avoid the ice cream when your spouse is eating a big bowl of it!

I am grateful to have found a happy place after having Magnolia (even if it took longer then I wanted it to).  Finding what works for myself at each stage of my life is really important to me for my mental, emotional, and physical health.  There are lots of ways out there to have a healthy lifestyle.  Every person is different, has different lifestyles, and need different things.  Don't compare yourself to others.  Just listen to your body and find the things that work for you. The effort is worth it!    



                

          

10 Months Old- Magnolia

Busy busy busy!  This month Magnolia can be described as busy!  She is SO interested in learning how to move.  All day long she wants to practice crawling, rolling, climbing, scooting.  She isn't really interested in toys much and when you hold her she is really wiggly.  No walking yet, just crawling and climbing. 

She loves stuffed animal dogs and real dogs.  She gets nervous yet excited over cars, people, basically much anything that is new to her.  She kicks her legs and wiggles her arms when she is excited or nervous.  It is too cute!

She is a great eater and sleeper still and this mom is very grateful for that.  She is a daddy's girl and loves when he walks in the door.  After a child like Declin who is a huge mama's boy (he cries when McKay gets home) I love that she adores her daddy (just like me :)

Her monthly pictures were a challenge this month and we got a total of one non blurry picture.  We love our busy baby!

 

Alpine Days

Like I mentioned in my previous post.  We spent the weekend of Adalyn's birthday (August 10th) in Alpine, UT.  My aunt and uncle live there and they invited us to come to Alpine days with them.  Normally we get together with them over the 4th of July in Idaho Falls, but this year we weren't available on the 4th so we mixed things up and we came down for Alpine days instead.

We got there on Thursday afternoon and celebrated Adalyn's birthday that evening.

Currently they are working on fixing up their basement studio apartment for their renter and so McKay volunteered to help them tile their bathroom.  If you know McKay, you know he loves projects so his weekend was all set.  He literally tiled ALL weekend except when we forced him to come to the parade with the rest of us.  haha!

Friday everyone Heather and McKay were working on the basement and everyone else was at work so I took my kids and Dayton to the Museum of Natural Curiosity.  We had a great afternoon running around and playing with all the fun toys there.  Dayton was a big help with my little kids and it made me excited to have an 11 year old some day.  :)

Friday night the kids had a movie night in the family room.

Saturday was full of Alpine days activities.  We started with the parade in the morning.  Their house is close to the park that everything was at and it was nice to be able to walk back and forth as needed.  After the parade the kids played on the bounce houses and games at the park.  They loved the water slip-n-slides and hanging out with Camden and Dayton.

Later that night, after taking a break back at the house we headed back to the park for a few more games, dinner at the food trucks and then fireworks really late that night.  BUT the fireworks were amazing and worth keeping the kids up late for.

Sunday we went to church and then headed home Sunday afternoon.  This mini trip to Utah was our last one for the summer and we enjoyed trying something new.  Thanks for the invite Brent and Heather!