A perfect fall day?

This is the fall I know and love. Not too cold and not too wet, just colorful.

Happy Halloween!

We had THE best time trick-or-treating at the trunk-or-treat. The kids actually wanted to finish early because they were cold. I was the one who kept saying, "No, there's this whole line of cars yet to be plundered." There were a lot of trunks.

Jason came with his patrol car because he was on call. So he turned on the lights and used his trunk. I thought that was better than any decorating I could have done.

The kids loved their costumes. We have Sassy Witch Emma, Fun Fairy Claire, Saka (From Avatar the last Airbender - the first link takes you to the motion picture they just made, the second takes you to the cartoon. We loved them both. Paul wanted to be Saka because he's the funny one.), and Thomas the Train. I was so glad that Benjamin wore his costume. 1. because he looked so cute. 2. because he had been saying for the whole month of October that he wouldn't.

Pickle Party

I left the pickles out on the counter and Benjamin came along and finished off the jar. There was just a little less than half a jar.

Claire the Rock Star and Stellar Ranch Hand

Claire was so funny today. She came out of the bedroom dressed in her Stellar Ranch Hand get up and made us laugh so hard. Jason and I both went for the camera at the same time.

Just swinging her lasso

Then...she grabbed one of our extra long train tracks and started strumming her make believe guitar.

The not so shy guitarist

This stance means business

Already playing to the camera

She was jumping back and forth like the ski exercise and just going to town on her guitar. That's what she did the rest of the day. She would find either Jason or me and say, "You want to hear my song?" Then she would tweak the top of the track, like she was tuning up, and start to play. Of course we livened it up by singing along or making improvised guitar sounds - "wow-wa-wow-wow." She had the best time and so did we as we laughed and smiled all day, no joke. Paul was a little perturbed. He kept telling her that you don't use the tracks for a guitar, but we encouraged her pretend play.

Slow down 'cause you're gonna get a ticket!

Jason isn't the only one giving tickets out around here. Here's the launch of our new ticket system. The idea came from me telling one of the kids that they had earned themselves a ticket to time out. Emma caught on to that and kept telling me about their passes (tickets for our purposes) they needed to have to go to the bathroom and office at school. Her teacher also gives out good behavior tickets which allows them to pick out of the treasure box on Fridays.

I don't think that trying to give bathroom tickets would work around here, but I have something else that might make discipline a little more fun. Today I made up some Tickets to Obedience. I give these tickets when the kids do not listen to me when I tell them to stop: fighting, hitting, crying, yelling, being mean, etc. This ticket requires that the child perform jobs of my assigning until they can calm down and choose to listen and obey what I am telling them or asking them to do.

Here's Paul demonstrating how the kids might feel upon receipt of a ticket to obedience. Not very happy.

(these two pictures make me think of the primary song...If you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay quickly turn it upside down and smile that frown away. This is a real sad face by the way)

Here's Paul demonstrating how they might feel after completing their jobs and having a mini lesson in obedience. So happy! Don't we just feel so good when we obey?

Claire just wanted to have her picture taken.

I have made up a tag for tickets to time out. They get the ticket and have to sit in the designated area and then can return the ticket when we have out little talk. I haven't made them up yet because I've got to find a way to make them sturdy. I don't want to have to keep making up new tickets to time out.

Treinta y Uno

I'm 31!

Think red

This is one of the next projects - pain the front door red. (It better turn out because that was my idea too.)

Falling Leaves

The wind really picked up which made all of the leaves fall off the trees. The kids were so excited to play in them.

Emma's leaf bouquet.

Benjamin loves his Thomas.

Daddy and Lainey

A little Extreme Home Makeover

We've brought our Extreme Home Makeover Team to my mom's to work on her living room. What started out as a project to update the paint, has turned into a new paint job, new baseboard trim, crown molding, and a framed in doorway. It looks great as it comes together in the final stages. I was the one to push crown molding because it looks so classy, but I forgot how labor intensive it is to put up. Here are some before and afters.

Before

After


Before

After

Pumpkins at the Patch

I got to go with Emma's First grade class to the pumpkin patch. It was so much fun! Emma's classmate, Brianna, came with us. They were so funny in their method for choosing a pumpkin. They would flit from one pumpkin to another until they found just the right one.

Sleepy Head

Lainey's sleep routine is off a little. I found her this way in the bouncer after taking her bottle. I loved cuddling her up in my arms and laying her in her crib.

Binder Stickers

When Emma started the school year, we sent her with just a plain white binder. That's what I had on hand and I knew I could save by just giving her the one I already had. Then I took her to school and felt a little silly because all the other binders had characters on them - Tinkerbell, Disney Princesses, Hello Kitty, etc. They looked so fun and I knew that Emma would have liked one like that. What can you do though?

The other day Emma, in her ever searching need for projects and activities to keep her busy, wanted a box to decorate. Long story short, she got it decorated so that it could be our mailbox. She would draw me pictures after school and put them in the mailbox, and I could draw her pictures during the day for her to check when she got home.

In an effort to play along, I came up with this kit of binder stickers. I knew that she had this plain white binder, mind you she hasn't complained, but I thought it would be fun to spruce it up. So I cut some vinyl and helped her discover her mail without actually telling her to look in the box. She was so excited and a little incredulous when she saw the vinyl., but she knew just what to do. She got to work immediately.

Paul has been leaving me lots of mail too. I've been thinking of getting him a plain white binder...

Scones

Yesterday I tackled another one of the monsters in my closet, pies being the first. This time it was homemade bread. I made rolls from scratch for the very first time...and they turned out. And it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. And it was actually a LOT of fun. Who would have thought you could feel so much pride over a batch of perfectly browned rolls. Mmmmmm! Jason tried to get in on the roll making to steal my thunder, but I wouldn't let him. No way! (Only because he'd probably do a heck of a lot better job than I would.) It went so well yesterday that we made some more dough today for scones. MMMmmmmmmm! again. Heidi, we used your mom's recipe in the ward cookbook. Thank you Vicki!

What's for dinner?

Triplets

Emma had the great idea for her and Claire to match after church. Then they wanted me to match too. Here's our triplet picture.

A bunch of monkeys

dipping is the best part

Little cousin Warren is turning two this month. We went to Grandma and Grandpa E's to celebrate with him. It was really a lot of fun. Aunt Heidi made a really cute monkey cake and my kids enjoyed helping Warren open his presents since he wasn't too interested in that. He loved the helium balloons that were on display. They didn't last long as a decoration after we got there. The kids were chasing each other around like a bunch of monkeys.

Yellow Jackets...not the wearing kind

Over the last week and a half or so, we have found about 10-12 yellow jackets/bees in our house. And they weren't just coming in through the doors being left open. They were in Emma's room, the bathroom, and even in our master bedroom - all rooms which are at the back of the house. We also noticed that outside by the crawl space, which is right outside Emma's room, yellow jackets were swarming in there. So Jason sprayed the area early one morning when he got home since it was nice and cold. We also contacted the owners of the home and they swung by today since they were in town.

And I am so grateful that they came by today. I did not like the idea of yellow jackets in my house. I can kill spiders and I am even pretty good at catching mice, but I do not like flying, buzzing, stinging insects in my house. They got down in the crawl space and pulled back the insulation. The yellow jackets had made a huge nest up in between the insulation and the side of the house. AAAHHHH! Now would be a good time to scream. And when they held up their hands to demonstrate how big the nest was, it was to the size of a medium pizza. No, I am not kidding you. The above picture is what they scraped off the inside of the side of the house. See the white larvae? So the yellow jackets were coming up through the vent. There was a hole between the duct work and the wood framework. OOOOOOO! It gives me the creepies to think of it. So they sealed up the holes around the vent in the bedroom and bathroom.

When they sprayed (they went through two+ cans), all the lovely yellow jackets came up into Emma's room. So we quickly took out bedding and clothing and whatever else we could. Jason was in there swatting them down and then they used the shop vac to suck them up. They also sealed up the outside. Hopefully the yellow jackets can't get back in.

Needless to say, all the kids are camping out in the family room (because the girls couldn't do it without the boys, come on!) and Lainey is in the office.

A little potato angel

That bag of smiles was on top and that's exactly what I was doing the rest of the evening because our neighbor shared with us.

We had a neighbor stop by this evening and ask if he could share a box of various kinds of french fries. He works for McCain Foods - a potato plant here in town. We haven't met this neighbor formally, just said hello in passing. But as he stepped off our porch after sharing this box with us, I just felt so good inside. I couldn't stop commenting on how nice he was and what a thoughtful thing it was for him to do. It just reaffirmed to me the importance of getting to know our neighbors. I love to be in his shoes, giving and sharing what I can with our neighbors. What a great neighbor!

a little candy corn

My friend Heidi made me this little candy corn jar a long time ago - maybe college? Well, I love it...and so do my kids. I'm seeing many happy refills in the days ahead before Halloween.

Our Spooky Bats

Every time I look at these bats, I think of that part in Goonies where they pull the grate away from the fireplace and all the bats come up from underground. Good thing ours is just vinyl! Emma had the great idea to put these up. I really like them! They're just too cute to be really spooky. You can purchase a set of ten here for $5.00.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Erickson

We celebrated Grandpa E's 68th birthday today with fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob. My kids ate it all up...and so did us adults! Grandpa requested pie for dessert. They were wonderfully delicious. We love you Grandpa!

Washing Our Hands

Here comes another reminder. My little ones need to be reminded to wash their hands after using the bathroom. I hereby launch Operation Hand Wash.


And while we're at it...Operation Flush as well!


My little secret to preserving these tags made of paper? I slip them down in a sheet saver and then trim off the three holes, leaving the stitching to keep the pocket in tact. I trim off the excess at the top, starting just a little bit above my tag. Voila!

Shredded Cheese: Round Two

We shredded some more cheese and froze it. I am determined that Benjamin will not repeat his cheese bandit escapade. It was nice of dad to let them help. They thought it was so cool and none of them lost any fingers. :)

Designs by {M}

Emma was bugging me for a craft to do and decided that using my beads would be the best thing for me to let her do. She made this one and calls it her Sunday necklace since it's all white. It's her favorite one. I told her I was going to steal it and wear it to church myself. She made several other necklaces and a bracelet while she was in her studio. I told her she could use Designs by Em or {M} as her label.

My Little Helper

What? Benjamin still awake after the others have long since drifted off? Benjamin venturing out of his room to find me and/or put his mischievousness into action? Well, tonight I put him to work. He helped me put away all the Winco groceries. (Yes, I do love a good Winco run.) Then he helped me restock the toilet paper. We do not want to be running out of that. No sir!

Reminders

Ok...I'm done customizing. Here's my post.

Lately, I have really noticed how hard it is for me to remember what it is I'm doing throughout the day. I make breakfast for the kids and then I remember that I need to send an e-mail. To the computer room I go. On the way, I pick up the piles of yesterday's discarded clothes and head back the way I came to the laundry room. I put the clothes in their appropriate baskets and then I start a load of laundry...I might even stay to fold a little. And then, it hits me, I didn't send that e-mail. Back to the computer room I go. When I get there, I remember that I needed to cut some vinyl for a set of blocks, and..."Oh yeah! I need to cut that vinyl for xxxx. They need it right away." So I cut the vinyl and take it to the kitchen table to weed and tape. Then I see the dishes from breakfast and start to load the dishwasher. As I'm placing the dishes in the rack, I remember that I need to send an e-mail...

I know some of you may be laughing. I hope that a few of you have felt like this and I'm not the only one. It seems that lately this is how I spend my day, going back and forth from one end of my house to the other. It's a wonder I get anything done, I know! In an effort to help me remember things, I've made some little tags.

The first is for the Laundry Room. I hate it when I dry clothing that I want to hang dry. Absolutely hate it. Good shirts have been ruined because I have forgotten to take them out of the load as I transferred the clothes to the dryer. Or someone else will come along and change the clothes over, thinking to help me out, and unintentionally dry my non-dry-able shirt.

My solution: A magnetic tag for my washer. I store the tag on the side of the washer and whenever I start a load with non-dry-able articles included, I place the tag on the top of the washer. That way whoever changes the laundry, mostly me, will remember not to dry all the clothes in that load. Cool, I know!


Next, forgetting to brush teeth (I know you're thinking "who forgets to brush their teeth?) Well, I have the hardest time remembering to brush my kids' teeth in the morning, aside from Emma who goes to school. It's probably because I get started in this back and forth game I play all day and brushing teeth is something I start, but never finish.

My solution: A tag for the bathroom door. This way I will have a visible reminder to brush their teeth. And, they have a visible reminder to remind me. I showed them the sign tonight before they went to bed. Claire even read it back to me. :)


I know that I really need to reduce the rush in my life as President Uchtdorf talked about in conference (look for that on a tag or in vinyl soon hehe!). And...I need to make some visible reminders.

I can't wait to go to bed and wake up to my reminders.

The Best Mom Award

At our Relief Society Meeting last month, Elaine Risenmay showed us how she made all sorts of cool shapes with the pancake batter for her kids. So we tried it out this morning. The kids were beside themselves with excitement. Emma gave me a great big hug and said, "You're the best, Mom." I know that all mom's earn this award at some point in their mothering. It just made my day to have Emma dub me the best mom this morning.

Relegated to the Garage

Jason gladly gave up his parking spot this time...I have been banished to the garage for the set up of my craft central. I guess he didn't like me working on the kitchen table or on the card table I set up while my console table is in the shop. Oh well, now all my craft chaos is hidden and I can leave everything out. Love it! Imagine having a place to cut wood and paint blocks/signs other than our front room. We were routing boards in our front room and painting signs in our kitchen in our Ellensburg apartment. Aaaahhh! Those were the days.

Our Family Tree

Our living family tree! The kids thought they were so smart for thinking of that.

Nothing like a Conference Weekend

We've had so much fun at my mom's watching General Conference and making chex mix and toffee chocolate chip cookies.

A Perfect Autumn Day

We've been having just the best of days that Autumn has to offer lately. I love this time of year. The temperature drops and the breezes start...love, love, love it!