Today

Ella had fun spelling with Scrabble Cheez-Its. . .

Aubrey went to a Fancy Nancy birthday party and got all fancied up. . .

And Cali made us laugh with her new eye roll. . .

Its been a good day.

I have 3 lil girls. I should do more with their hair!

From the moment Aubrey got hair long enough to clip or put it a pony tail, I tried. But that girl is tender-headed(much like her mommy) and it has always been an ordeal to do her hair. And now that Ella's hair is nice and long, she is the same way. I've got tender headed kids! And I understand because I am still that way. My mom has even told me how she has memories of crying when her mom did her hair, so I guess this is genetic:) So, instead of crying and tears, I have always just kept the girls hair simple. Half up, simple braids, clips, pony-tails, headbands(my favorite-so easy and cute!), nothing fancy. Well, I have been inspired by a few hair blogs to step it up a notch. I still will not attempt anything too difficult(I'm a simple girl:), but I've decided to try and do a few new things with the kids hair. First, I decided to organize the hair thingies and rubberbands by color using an over the door shoe organizer (Thanks Hair Today for this awesome idea). I had the kids organize it themselves one day and I think they did a great job! They spent an hour digging through our mess of a drawer and actually had so much fun doing this. They couldn't wait to show Joey and I when they were done! This has already made my life easier, having everything organized by color.Then I put all of the bows and headbands in drawers. It just feel so much more organized in the girls bathroom now! I love it. Then one morning, I decided to try a new hairstyle on the older girls for school. I did one of those rubberband zig-zag things in their hair. I know most of you think this is a basic easy hairstyle, but I've never done it before! I really liked it! I'm still an amateur:) I have a goal to try new things with their hair this year. They both have gorgeous hair and I need to do better! And heres some news, Cali's hair is actually long enough for a clip to stay in now-yea! Now, if I can just get her to leave the clip in, that would be nice:)

A visit from Aunt Terror, I mean Aunt Tara

Sorry Tara, I couldn't resist! When we were younger, I remember teasing Tara by either calling her "Terror" or reminding her of how her name spelled backwards is "A rat." I was such a sweet big sister!!! :)

So, my sister came to visit us Sunday and Monday and it was so nice to have her here. It had been too long since we had gotten to hang out. We had a great time! We watched HSM 3, ate lots of cookies, sang and danced, hung out and even busted Aubrey outta school for a couple of hours to go out for lunch (Yep, I'm a cool mom:). Tara always makes me laugh so hard that I cry or almost pee. She is a crazy fun chick. The kids always love having their aunt around too. When they found out she was coming, they cheered. Even Cali clapped her hands and said, "Yea!" We love ya Tara. Thanks for visiting! Here are pics of just plain "togetherness" while she was here. .

And she even left a piece of her heart behind for us to cherish. . .

I ate it yesterday.

No eating drinking or painting in the living room

One day Ella created a little something that she wanted me to put in the living room.

Here it is....according to Ella, this is a "No eating, drinking or painting in the living room" sign, complete with cups, plates and a sheet of paper she had finger painted. She used about 20 pieces of tape to bind it all together(she actually does something like this just about every day-she loves tape!) Thanks Ella! You are a great little helper. It is one awesome sign and a good reminder for everyone:)

Cake in a Mug

I saw this idea on my friend Melissa's blog a little while back and had to try it! We did this a couple of weeks ago and had fun with it. Its cake you can make in a mug with just a few ingredients in the microwave. See this post for recipe and directions. The kids loved it! It was fun, easy and yummy.

The only problem we encountered was this. . .

What happened was the cake rose so high that it hit the metal rack, which knocked the cup over. At first I didn't get what happened. We heard this loud bang and then I opened the microwave to see the cup knocked over and the cake almost completely out of the cup. I just thought it exploded and popped out. Duh, Holly-the rack! It actually took me a minute to figure that out. . .cuz I'm slow sometimes. :)

Here are the kids enjoying their treat, along with icecream on the side topped with whip cream(because I believe in packing in the sugar!) It was heavenly. Thanks Melissa for the idea!

A way to keep the baby...out of the way.

We have quite a collection of books-thanks to a few rummage/estate/garage sales over the years. There are so many we don't even know what we have! We recently found a book about American Indians entitled,"I Can Read About Indians" written by Elizabeth Warren, copyright 1975. As you can tell from the above excerpt, this book is a classic. Instead of reading "What to Expect In the First Years," I will now turn to this little gem for all of my parenting questions and needs.

Valentine exchange

My favorite part of Valentine's Day is exchanging Valentine's with the family. I love to read the things they have written and see the cards they have decorated and "glitterized" for us. I also love to see their faces light up when we give them our lil gifts(this year was books and some candy). Its so fun to share holidays with children! Here are pictures of the smiles from Valentines. . .

Daddy and girls read a Valentine together


Mommy reading her card from Aubrey

Cali trying very hard to bust open her box of chocolates

I had to take a picture of one of Aubrey's valentines. I am just so impressed with how neat her handwriting has become this year. I'm so proud of her!

Here is one of Ella's valentines. Notice how she is starting to write really well too. She wrote "Mom Cali Dad Aubrey I (heart) U Ella" It was so precious.

And here is Cali excited to finally eat her candy!

Valentine's Day was really nice. We did end up going out for lunch to our traditional Macaroni Grill(our romantic/kid-friendly Valentine's spot:). We had no wait at all and we had a nice time together. No melt downs, no order mess-ups, no arguing kids, nothing. Just love baby:) The kids enjoyed coloring on the tables and Joey and I enjoyed being together with our 3 sweet little ladies. In the evening, before bed, we took turns telling each other something we love about each person in the family. I will never forget the feeling we had that night as we reflected on the love we have within our family. This is definitely something we'll do every year now-Joey and I talked later about how nice it was. There was special feeling in the room. One of my favorites was what Ella said to me, among other things, "I love Mom because she takes care of us. And she always turns the light switch on for me since I can't reach it." :) Gotta love that kid.

Hope your Valentine's Day was filled with lots of love!

P.S. I'm done posting Valentines stuff now. And I bet you are glad:) What can I say? I love "love!"

Valentine's Styles

I thought I'd feature some of our Valentine's styles from this week.

Here is Aubrey sporting the ever-so-popular red ruby slipper look, complete with pink "Be Mine" monkey tee. . . You can't see the clothes very well in this picture, but here is Ella at her preschool party decked out in a sparkle heart tee, pig tails and a blue jean skirt. . .(I have to include that her mommy made a fool of herself at this party. They had these icecream cups for the kids. For some reason I thought the lid was already off of Ella's icecream(its a very white lid!). So I poured syrup and sprinkles on top and gave it to her. Well, I look over a minute later and I see her struggling to get icecream out. Thats when I realize the lid is still on-with chocolate syrup and sprinkles on top. Wow. I bet Ella was proud I was her Mom.)

Here is Ella's look complete with a stylish heart hat. . .

Cali had to model the hat as well. Sorry for the blurry picture, but it was still cute enough to post:)

And last but not least, the older girls and I all dressed up for the school Valentine's Dance. Joey stayed home with Cali because he knew I needed out of the house! I had fun dancing by myself-the kids were very shy:) No one can stop me from doing the cha-cha slide. No one.Side note: I put on my makeup in the car. I didn't look quite so pasty once I got glammed up:)

Valentines Eats 'n Treats

Our family likes food. That ain't no mystery. And when it comes to the holidays, we like to have fun! I love to incorporate hearts and red and pink in everything when its Valentine's Week. Its basically a Valentine's explosion.

While I went to Ella's preschool party on Friday, Joey graciously stayed home with Cali(she wasn't feeling good). I have missed a lot of things at Ella's school either because I was sick or out of town, so I REALLY wanted to go. Joey was so sweet in staying home for me. I considered it one of the best Valentine's gifts-thanks honey! And not only did he stay home with Cali, he went all out to create a little fun for her too. . .while her sisters were at school partying, she had a little sandwich party of her own! Joey took this adorable sequence of photos. . .

Thanks Daddy!

One night we had our traditional Papa Murphy's heart-shaped pizza for dinner. . .

Daddy and his girls about to enjoy. Mommy behind the camera. She enjoyed too...probably more than her share.

One day when the kids were all home sick, we made these Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies(idea from the lovely Bakerella). They were super easy, yummy and fun!

Then, on Valentine's Day, we made and decorated the traditional heart-shaped sugar cookies. The kids worked hard and did a fantastic job! The older girls made candy faces on their cookies. They were really cute.

Even Cali got to enjoy some of the action this year. She was so good spreading her icing and carefully placing her candy on. She was also good at taking off all the candy and eating it. Then licking the icing off the cookie. She was all about the toppings. Forget the darn cookie!

Oh yeah, and after she was done she decided to put the plate, frosting side down, on her head. And instead of telling her no, we encouraged her with a "Say cheese!" Dumb parents:)

Here is my pretty cookie. I was only able to snap a shot of mine(I was last finishing) because everyone had already started eating theirs before I got the camera out again! Oh well, I know Aubrey used her camera to take a few shots. She'll post theirs soon. :)

One other thing I did was "consider" making heart-shaped pancakes again this year. They were a hit last year. But then I woke up yesterday really tired and decided-naaah. I'd rather not have a bazillion dishes to do! So, I got out Eggo waffles, popped them in the toaster, used heart-shaped cookie cutters to cut out waffle hearts and topped them with strawberry syrup. The kids were just as happy as they would have been with homemade pancakes, but without all the work for Mom. Hooray! Just an idea I thought I'd share!

And no, I'm not done posting Valentine's pics yet. . .more coming. . .oh yeah, lots more. . .you've been warned.

To Joey. . .

This was too hilarious not to post! Bring it Joey... I want to make some girl somewhere cry:) Of course I'm kidding...we are having a lowkey Valentine's Day this year. We have agreed to just get something small for each other and the kids. We will more than likely spend most if not all of the day at home(even though Cali only had a fever Thursday night and hasn't since....so we may sneak to a restaurant for lunch:) Either that or I'll get McDonalds and bring it home(oh, the romance!) :) I'm looking forward to today, even if we don't go anywhere, don't buy expensive gifts, and just sit at home all day-thats what its about right? Spending time with the ones you love most and expressing that love for them. I love you Joey, Aubrey, Ella & Cali! You are the sweetest Valentine's I've ever had!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

BINGO winner!

On Tuesday, (when I thought Aubrey was better, which she wasn't, oopsie-long story) I took Aubrey to her school's Bingo Night and she was a winner! She was very excited to win this cute little package of bracelets and candy. It was a fun night...and then back to sickness the next day...

Update: Aubrey & Ella are doing much better. Cali started running a fever today. Good times. Please pray that I don't get this. I gotta take care of these little ones!

American Man?

I called the American Girl magazine yesterday(not because I actually subscribe to this magazine, but I had a question about the "free" magazine I requested. Yes, I'm cheap). So, anyways, I call, expecting to hear this snobby dumb blonde
sweet girl on the other end of the line, and who answers? A man. Not just any man, a manly man with a husky voice. I almost laughed as soon as he answered and I heard his deep, "Hello. American Girl magazine, what can I help you with today?" Wouldn't you have thought a female would answer? I mean, this is American Girl Magazine! I guess they can't discriminate against gender when hiring, but I kinda felt bad for the dude. Then I thought he must be in it for the perks-maybe they give free dolly shoes to the employees. I mean, who wouldn't love that?

A girl and her purse

Cali has just recently discovered purses. She LOVES to walk around the house with one(or two or three) on her shoulder with her little hand in the air... so they don't slide down her arm of course:) She also loves to take them in the car and to the store. Its really pretty darn adorable. And she is lucky, being the third daughter, she has several different "styles" to choose from.

It doesn't take long for a little girl to know that purses are where its at.

Here she is at the table with a Hello Kitty purse. See that mischievous grin? Theres a reason for it.

Ta-da! A can of vienna sausages. Sneaky girl. We purchased a lock for the pantry and yet she still finds a way. . .

Lets see what else do I have in here. Oh, the possibilities of what I can find and cram into my purse are endless!

See Joey, I'm not the only one. Girls are genetically programmed this way. It starts early. And it doesn't stop.

David After Dentist

I saw this on my friend, Aimee's, blog just now and laughed so hard I cried. I feel kinda bad for the kid because obviously hes not feeling very well(and maybe the dentist slipped him some acid or something), but its just so hilarious. Laughing at someone elses expense...yes, I'm a good person:)

What to do when you are stuck at home with 3 kids on a school day

So, we've had some sickness in the house lately. No fun. Kids home from school, runny noses, coughs, high fevers, missed church two Sundays in a row. No fun. Well, missing church ain't too bad...j/k :) I have to admit I'm getting a little bit of cabin fever here. To keep busy, I've tried to entertain the best I can. . .

We've watched movies, tv, and infomercials....oh, how I love Qubo's infomercials(said sarcastically). Ella is always telling me things I HAVE to HAVE. Qubo is evil. They intermix childrens cartoons with very convincing infomercials all morning long.

Cali tried her hand at some finger painting. . .

"Ewww! Yuck!"is what she kept saying.

And not all of it stayed on the paper. . .but I didn't mind because, seriously, look at this face! :) Oh, and not only did it get on her cheeks, she kept sneaking little tastes....good thing its non-toxic.

The older kids have played with their Moon Sand from Santa. Here is Aubrey packing it in.

And Ella dropping a pile in her lap.Other activities have included:

• making Valentine's using glitter. Now we have very sparkly floors.
• bubble baths(One of which wasn't for fun. It was to bring down Aubrey's 104 fever. Scary!)
• missing Daddy. He has just had a million meetings for church lately. And on top of that, school work. Poor Daddy. Poor us. We love that guy. :)
• reading lots and lots of books with Mommy making up silly endings. Aubrey LOVES it. Ella gets mad at me and says sternly, "Mom, stop being silly! Read it right!" When she tells me that I just say, "Okay. I'll be serious from now on. No more fun." And then I am serious and boring until she begs me to be silly again:) Serious Mom just isn't as fun!
• manicures.
• eating chocolate. Because chocolate just makes you feel better!

Hopefully everyone gets better soon. Until then chocolate, silly stories, crafts, and infomercials non-stop!