A day in the life.....

So yesterday Savannah came bouncing through the door from School and announced, "I just LOVE Mondays." My response, "Well, I like them too (I guess)". Her reply "You probably like everyday because ALL YOU have to do is take care of 3 kids." Really?.... Is that all? I really wish that WAS all, but this statement inspired me to grab my camera and take just a few pictures of a typical day in my life.

Well I guess this could've been worse, but I sure hope they found that 1 special book they were looking for.

Darn it! I thought I just put those train pieces away.....

Ummm, well there's the answer to my question as to why there is 2 crayons in EVERY single room of the house!"

I can see that snack time is officially over.

Caught in the act! Hey you little rascal, put those envelopes back into the drawer!

Yes this little destroyer doesn't want me.... he's after the camera of course!

After a bit I decided I didn't want to take anymore pictures.... I was just getting too annoyed. However I must note that the last 3 days have been particularly great since Lydia is officially potty trained :) That means 3 days without wet panties and cleaning urine off the wood floors, couch, and carpet. And 3 days of not trying to salvage those poopy Dora panties (tell me why are they are always out of stock in size 2T?). And why do we do it all? Because there is some fun to be had.....




Okay- party's over! Stop jumping on the bed and time to go to bed!
Now the kids are in bed, it's time to relax (but not without being interrupted at least 3 times- go to bed, stop fighting, whose crying up there), rest (but definitely NOT sleep through the night- nightmares, crying babies, vomit, etc. etc.) wake up an repeat 24/7.

Welcome little guy!

My little sister Hailey had her baby boy this morning. Skyler Burke Arvish was born at 6:31 am and was a whopping 8 lbs. 9 oz. and 20 3/4 in. long. What a sweet and cute baby he is!

He looked a whole lot like his Dad!

I brought Savannah and Paige with me to the hospital to see their new cousin. They loved holding baby Skyler.

Gidget Dress

I don't know how many of you out there follow "So You Think You're Crafty" but they have some fun things and free tutorials :). This last weeks winner made this Gidget Dress and I really wanted to try one so this is how mine turned out.

I didn't follow her pattern to the "T", but I like how it turned out. The pattern I used for the dress was Simplicity 9643 and view A without the collar. I used some nice spring colored cotton fabric.
and for the back.....

I think I might modify this pattern some and make shirts for my other 2 girls.

SIDE NOTE:
I accidentally posted this to our family blog instead of Krafty Kaleidoscope So I'll just add another picture of Miss Lydia where you can see her cute little face.

More fun in the Snow

Last week was kind of wild around here! Between sick kiddos (Abram got RSV and was sick all week) and surgery (Dan had the plate and screws taken out of his ankle) we lacked a wee bit of sleep. So when Grandma and Grandpa Malan offered to take Savvy and Paige cross country skiing Saturday we were grateful. They love the one on one attention and got quite the workout!

A shower for Hailey

My littlest sister is having a baby! It can't be, but it be. She is expecting a little boy (Skyler Burke Arvish) on March 7. To get her ready for her upcoming adventure, my mom and I threw her a baby shower on Saturday. And as you can see from the above picture, people were very generous. She got loads of gifts! Ready or not he'll be here soon!
At the shower we ate lots of yummy food- grape salad (recommended by my Aunt Faylene), Spinach & chicken pasta salad, bruschetta, cowboy caviar, and little tea sandwiches. Followed with a chocolate fountain for desserts. I know I WAY overate.

There was some socializing.....

.. and some game playing.
We played Baby Rhyme Jeopardy and The Price is Wrong. Then Hailey opened up her pile.



The shower was a great time, and Hailey got many of her needed essentials. Now we're just getting excited to meet the little guy.

Goin' to the Dentist

This week was my week for preschool with the theme- teeth. Perfect! I decided to enlist Dan as today's educator. My first task was to convince him to get out his portable dental chair (given to him by his uncle). It took me awhile to convince him, but I really felt the chair would make it a memorable experience for the kids. Well I'm not sure if the kids will remember, but I definitely won't forget! After about an 1 1/2 hrs. of trying to assemble the chair I went to watch TV- Dan woke me up an hour later :/. At this point I was grateful I didn't push getting the dental lamp out as well (maybe next time ;)). However- now that he has the chair figured out I think next time it will take 15 min. max.

And here we have the finished product. What a cutie sittin' there.

Here is Dan teaching the kiddies about teeth. I was truly impressed with how good he did with the little kids.

Of course they were super impressed with the instruments!

He gave all the kids a ride on the dental chair, and did little exams on each of them. Here we have Paige opening wide (with some assistance of course)! She said my favorite quote of the day "Dad why are you acting like a doctor when your a dentist?" HA!

And this little guy clearly needs no assistance with the mouth opening.
Day 2 goin' to the Dentist- result... SUCCESS! The kids LOVED it!

Finally five!

So sweet little Paige turned the big 5 on Sunday! The birthday adventures began on Saturday at her friend birthday party. She wanted a baby doll birthday party (despite the fact that only one little girl was invited and the rest boys). I tried to persuade her into a gender neutral party theme to no avail. What can I say, she just LOVES baby dolls. In fact she asks for them for EVERY occasion- and typically wants more than one. She always talks about her dolls (by name), and often brings up what she wants to be when she grows up... a mother of course! In fact in a recent recorded interview by cousin Breezy she stated when she grows up she wants to have 22 boys and 22 girls. When asked how they will get anywhere she stated that she would "have 3 mini vans". We'll see how that all holds up, but I can attest to the fact that she must have at least 22 baby dolls. Well the party went very well, the boys came to a princess party last year and a baby doll party this year. We'll have to see what they put up with next year.

At the friend party we had dancing, food, games, and presents.

This is Paige's very best friend. She just loves Kaden- in fact she tells everyone that she plans on marrying him. Well the good news is that for now Kaden loves Paige as much as she loves him. And he clearly knows what she likes, since he gave her this Barbie doll for her birthday.

Then on Sunday morning we did a special breakfast and presents from family.

Here is a special gift (pillowcase) made for Paige by Savannah. She loved it!

And a homemade doll from me... it is now named Jane.
Then in the evening we had a huge family party with dinner, more presents, and cake. Wow was she ever spoiled! She loved everything she was given!

Here she is with a ginormo giraffe from Aunt Hailey. That thing has already caused it's share of fights between Paige and Lydia. Sigh......

Here she is with yet another baby doll complete with grocery cart and it's own food storage (currently scattered throughout the family room) from Grandma and Grandpa Dana. Her name is Shelby.

And here she is blowing out her candles on her baby doll birthday cake (of course!). What a memorable birthday it was, and now I need a nap!