Pizza Success

I am feeling rather proud of myself tonight. Not only did I run for 40 minutes today, go to a lunch party, run errands, and take the girls to the library, but I also made a pizza from scratch out of soy flour. I made the dough and sauce from scratch. It was a thin crust pizza and it turned out really well! The girls each ate a whole slice. I didn't tell them that it was any different because if I had they probably wouldn't have even tried it. Ha! Trickery with food never hurt anybody! Quite a successful day. It also didn't hurt that it was a beautiful day today. I had to break out all the summer clothes since it was 80 degrees today! Well, off to fold clothes!

Outside Fun

We've had nice weather the last two days and today it's sunny with a high of 53 degrees! So we are loving life with no coats! Audrey wants to be outside all the time. We went outside (again) after Alexis got home to climb the tree and she would not get out of it. She was so thrilled to be sitting in that tree! We also have an abundance of puddles around the yard which always adds to our fun!

Audrey has a little cold today so we're inside for now. I'm sure we'll venture outside after lunch though. Poor Ben is really sick and miserable (again). He came home early from work yesterday so I know he's really bad.

Last night I went to Dessert Night with some ladies from our church. I have just started this montly outing. We went to the Cheesecake Factory and it was great. There were nine of us there and we all had a good time.

I've decided (well, I decided several days ago) to run a 5K race. Okay, I'm not actually running it or a prize or anything but I thought it would be fun to enter it and run it with some friends. So far I've got two others to run it with me. It's in Brown Deer on April 21st. It's only 3.1 miles so that won't be a problem. I'm actually thinking I should try a 10K, which is around 6.3 miles, in May or June. I went for a run outside while Audrey was at her craft class on Wednesday and it felt great to run outdoors in the fresh air. That is how I first started running and it's what I really love. I don't enjoy running on a treadmill at all.

Audrey told Ben last night that he was impossible! Ha! My thoughts exactly! :)

Sunday Madness

Today was a long day for me. I started it with just four hours of sleep last night. I had a meeting before and after church so were gone from 10:30am to 5:15pm. The girls did really well considering they were gone for so long and they both got up too early too. Audrey feel asleep within three minutes tonight. As soon as we got home they both went straight for Henry. He got pulled out of his cage and onto their laps! So fun. It's actually kind of nice to have a built in activity for them.

Audrey was especially hyper today. I've noticed lately that when she gets hyper it means she is really tired. That is hard to deal with because she gets right into your face and tries to play very physical. Then she gets mad when you tell her to stop. After we read our scriptures tonight I asked her what her primary lesson was about. She said, "Um, big bears with big bottoms!" I mean, really, what am I supposed to do with that?! :)

Audrey gave her first talk in primary today. She was great. She walked right up to that podium and grabbed the microphone and started talking about Jesus. She even remembered tonight that she talked about getting baptized like Jesus did. Very cute.

Well, I'm off to relax in my bed and read!!

Henry

Okay, I've really done it now. We have acquired a guinea pig! His name is Henry. The girls ADORE him. As you can see, he and Alexis have become fast friends. She's watching a movie with him on her lap right now. There's a picture of it somewhere. We picked him out yesterday and brought him home today. He may never have to be in his cage when she is at home! Audrey, on the other hand, still needs to learn how to handle him. I will have to keep watch during the day until she understands how to be soft. :) She thinks he cute and tries to hug him with her head. Hmmm. We'll have to work on that.

Dreams

Last night after I put Alexis to bed she came out of her room about five minutes later and said she had a scary dream or thought when she closed her eyes. I told her it couldn't have been a dream since she hadn't gone to sleep yet. This was her thoughts/dream: a big gorilla was chasing her and he caught her and then threw her into outer space. She hit and the sun and melted.

I believe she has been reading a book about space and planets at night. She has a wonderful imagination! She felt better when I reminded her that a gorilla couldn't possibly throw her into outer space. :)

Well, Audrey and I are off to open gym at LaFleur's Gymnastics!

Lockers and Spring Weather!

It was a gorgeous day yesterday! It was 70 degrees outside with a light breeze. We played outside a lot in the water. There is so much water from all the melting snow. We rode bikes, played in the water, and found our first flower blooming! We should have a bunch of gorgeous flowers in several weeks! Enjoy all the pictures! Also, I have included the locker story and picture at the end!

Okay, a little over a week ago we were at the YMCA for Alexis' swim lessons. Audrey and I didn't swim because I had to go right home, drop the girls off with Ben, and get over to the church for Enrichment night. After Alexis' class I was all ready to go. I was picking up my bags when Audrey got into a locker and started giggling. Right as I was saying,"Audrey don't close the door," she closed the locker door. I immediately yelled, "You have the key!" I sat Alexis down in front of the locker and said, "Don't move!" I ran out to the front desk and said (probably louder than needed), "My daughter locked herself in a locker! Can I get a master key?" The lady at the desk was very kind and told me it happens frequently (which I don't believe). She called in the request and I ran back to the locker room. There was another mom, whom I see there every week, talking to Audrey and Audrey was trying to push the key out of the locker through the tiny slats (or whatever they are called). So I told Audrey that someone was coming to unlock the locker really soon and she should keep trying to give me the key. While Alexis sat looking worried on another bench here is the conversation between Audrey and I:

Me: Audrey, push the key harder.

Audrey: I can't! It's stuck!

Me: Okay, here is the key back. Now turn it around and put the silver side through first.

Audrey: Okay.

The key drops to the floor.

Audrey: It dropped!

Me: Pick it up.

Audrey: I can't! It's too dark in here!

I hear jingling and then:

Audrey: I got it! (very triumphantly)

Me: Great job! Now put the silver side first.

To my astonishment she does! I didn't know she knew the color silver.

Audrey: It's stuck!

Audrey then knocks on the door and says, "I want to come out now!"

After about a total of four or five minutes the master key comes and the door is unlocked! Audrey came out, a little embarassed, but not scared, perturbed, or anything! She was so matter of fact about trying to find solutions on getting out of the locker. Meanwhile Alexis was panicked and sat quietly the whole time. After Audrey got out of the locker she asked for the locker key back so she could give it to the lady and get my id back. She then walked out of the locker room like nothing had happened!

Ketchup

About a week and a half ago we went to McDonalds. We played ate and then played in the playplace. While we were eating Audrey saw the statue of Ronald McDonald sitting on a bench. She pointed to him and said, "Look Mommy! He has ketchup all over his face!" I started laughing and then she said, "And he has ketchup all over his shoes too!"

Just an FYI for everyone: white out does not wash out of hair very well. It has been about five washings now and there are still streaks of white on the top of Audrey's head (surprisingly Alexis painted Audrey's hair and not the other way around).

It's gorgeous outside today. We didn't need coats today. The sun was shining and it was in the mid-50's.

I am so excited! I am going to the BYU Women's Conference all by myself from May2-5. I will have four days to visit friends and attend classes. Kathy Strickler and I will be roommates! I already bought my tickets and I can hardly contain myself!

Okay, back to the enchiladas!

Tomorrow is swim class. Look for a hilarous story about Audrey and a locker!

Audrey's Activities

Audrey's activities in the past week:

During playgroup she snuck off to Alexis' room, opened Alexis' play makeup, and put blue eyeshadow on her head and then proceeded to paint her own fingernails.

While I was reading my book and the girls were coloring at my feet I looked up just in time to see Audrey giggling and holding up her completely blue foot.

While taking my shower Audrey came in to the bathroom and said, "I need my hands wiped off." She had chocolate all over her hands and face. I said, "What did you get into?" She said, "Chocolate!" She had gotten a pudding cup out of the fridge, peeled off the top, gotten a fork out of the drawer and eaten half of the pudding.

I went downstairs to switch the laundry and found all my pens, scissors, and office accessories all over the floor. I proceeded to the laundry area and found dirty clothes on the floor and a pair of pants all wet hanging out of the basin that the washer water drains into.

She colored her hand all blue with marker. I washed it off as best as I could but there was still some blue left on her hand. She was sitting on Ben's lap and he said, "Audrey, is your hand all blue?" She looked at her hand very thoughtfully and after 20-30 seconds said, "I think it might be green."

What will she do next?

Gymnastics, Swimming, and Snow

We went swimming at a YMCA yesterday that had a mini waterpark in it. It has a zero depth to 1 foot kiddie pool with water spouts and a turtle slide and then it had a bigger pool for Alexis to swim in with a basketball hoop. It also had two slides, one covered and one uncovered. And to top it all off, nobody was there! It was so much fun and wore the girls out. They had also played outside in the snow while I shoveled our eternally long driveway earlier in the morning.

We have been getting lots of snow again. It had all but melted and we saw our green grass again. That lasted for about two days and then we woke up to 7 or 8 inches of snow. It was so beautiful. It makes me want to go outside and jump in it.

Audrey was all decked out in her snow clothes and she rolled down our storm gutter area at the bottom of our yard and she couldn't get up. It was just like Ralphie's little brother in "A Christmas Story." Too funny.

When I went out to shovel this morning, which only took 40 minutes today instead of an hour like yesterday, she found some candy I had hidden in the pantry. I came inside and she was parading around with a sucker and had empty candy wrappers on the floor of her room. She is such a sneak!

Alexis decided to make an office in her room a couple of days ago. I think she was trying to imitate her Daddy since he's been at his office 16 hours a day. I thought it was pretty clever of her.

You might be wondering why Audrey has fallen asleep on our purple chair! This is not something Audrey usually does. In fact, she's all but given up her naps and if I try to get her to nap becomes especially mischevious. But I have found a way to tire even Audrey out!

I took Audrey to open gym at LaFleur's Gymnastics on Friday. It is from 12-2pm. I pay $3.50 and for two hours she can play on all of their equipment. They have two trampolines, one a long one for running, balance beams, bars, a swinging rope that drops into a pit full of soft blocks, and lots other things to play with. She particularly loved the trampolines and balance beams. I couldn't get any satisfactory pictures on the trampoline though so here are other ones:

Rolling Along

It is so warm here! Today it got up to 42 degrees! I didn't even a coat! Plus, we have all been healthy for about a week now so life for us is rolling along. We had a lovely Valentine's Day. Audrey had a great party at her pre-school the day before and loved it. She talked all day about having a "birthday valentine party at school." Alexis had an all day celebration at school because not only did they celebrate Valentine's Day but they also celebrated the 100th Day of School (which is still a mystery to me why they even celebrate it). Ben surprised me with two dozen roses, chocolates, and 24 Season 5 to watch together. It was a most enjoyable evening.

Alexis came out of her room tonight and said, "Mommy I want to say something to you. I have told you lots and lots of lies and I've been keeping it a secret." Wow! How do I respond to that appropriately? It was funny and sweet. We had a nice little chat. Kids are so funny sometimes.

We went swimming tonight. Tuesday night is the girls favorite night of the week. Alexis loves going to her swim lessons and Audrey loves spending 45 minutes jumping into the pool to Mommy. Audrey gets positively giddy before, during, and after swimming. And the best part of it for me is that afterwards we shower at the Y and then both girls come home, eat dinner, and fall asleep without a word! A lovely evening for me!

Still cold and sick.

Well, it is still pretty cold here. Our highs are still around 12 degrees every day. When I drop Alexis off at school it is about 4 degrees. I actually don't mind the cold. As long as I can get into the store and back into the car or house I am fine. And really, as long as I have gloves, scarf, something to cover my ears, etc., I am fine. I was really shocked that school was cancelled was for two days but such is life. What is driving me nuts is being sick. I think it's been two months of sickness for me. I have a sinus infection right now. I got some antibiotics yesterday night. Today I finally got some relief. All the pressure and pounding in my face has subsided, thankfully. Yesterday I was in so much pain. I could barely function. My ears hurt today but at least I can function.

I took Alexis to an allergist on Friday. We're trying to find a better way to handle her allergies since they have been giving her a lot of problems. We found out two things. One, she is super allergic to grass. Within two minutes of the test she got great big welts on her arm from the grasses. She actually wasn't allergic to dogs, cats, mold, bacteria, grass, ragweed, and something else I can't remember. Very interesting. She was good about the testing. The doctor was great! He also discovered that she had an ear infection! I really shouldn't be surprised anymore. Really. It's been so long since we've all been healthy.

I had a rough day yesterday and my funny girl Audrey managed to put a smile on face in the afternoon. We were at the table making a valentine bag and Audrey just started singing the following song (sing to the tune of Hello, Hello, Good day and how are you? I'm fine, I'm fine, and I hope that you are too. It's a song from pre-school).

"I'm not, I'm not, I'm not gonna take a nap. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not gonna take a nap!"

It was just so funny. Then a little later I was talking on the phone with my friend. I hung up and she said, "Who's that?" I said, "It's Cynthia. She's going to come over later and babysit you while I go to the doctor." Audrey looks at me with that mischevious smile of hers and says in a very silly voice, "Do you have a baby in your tummy?" And then starts laughing hysterically. She spent a week asking me that question about a month ago because I was babysitting my friend's kids while she went to her pre-natal checkups. So then she started asking me all the time and thought my responses of NO! were amusing. Apparently she still thinks it's funny!

Anyway, tomorrow is a new day and I am hoping for some more improvement in my health and the girls health too. Plus, it's the start of a new week and I get to start it with a healthy and needed dose of church!

Kids Gone Crazy!

Okay, I realize it is cold outside. So it's only around 8 degrees outside. But I really think the schools are trying to kill the parents. This is the second day school has been cancelled because it is apparently too cold to go to school. Ben and I disagree but oh well. They will for sure have school tomorrow because the high is going to be a whopping 12 degrees! Yipee! To be completely honest though, it has been good for the girls to be at home since they are still recovering from our latest round of sickness. But obviously they are feeling better today, as you can see through the pictures posted. I think my kids have gone mad from staying home for almost an entire week! Anyone care to disagree? :)

Sickness continued.

Well, it has been a challenging two days for me. Once I got sick with whatever the girls have I just felt way in over my head. I had a fever that made me wear pants, long sleeved shirt, seater, two pairs of socks, and a robe. It was awful. I thought the girls were getting better but now Audrey has a high fever again and both girls are coughing all the time. Alexis threw up three times yesterday because she couldn't stop coughing. Blah. It's gotta pass soon, right?

Here is what Ben heard on the phone today. He called from work to check on us. This is what he hears:

Audrey: I want to put the cheese in!
Emily: Okay, but it's not time for the cheese yet.
Audrey (gleefully): Look! I can open it myself!
Emily: Wait! Don't open it yet.
Audrey: But I can do it myself!
Emily: I know but you need to wait until it's time to put the cheese in the pot.
Audrey (giggling): I got the cheese!

This continues for at least a minute or two until I somehow manage to get the packet of cheese from her. At least there was one crisis diverted! I really don't want to clean up a cheese mess today! :)

I included a picture that Alexis drew during church last week. Ben and I thought it was really good. So much detail. She drew the bowl first, then the fruit, and then everything else around it. Pretty cool.

Well, I've got to get Alexis out of the shower and into bed. Hooray! Bedtime!

Breaking in the new rug.

Ah, nothing like breaking in your new rug with throw up! Such was the case yesterday, twice. We all have a second round of sickness, except for Ben luckily. Alexis started it with a high fever for two days followed with a croupy cough, inability to sleep, and general tiredness. Audrey then followed with the same symptoms two days later, adding the throwing up into the mix. Then I got it one day after Audrey and got a sore throat with lots of muscle aches and stuffy nose. Alexis stayed out of school for three days. She went back today and four of her classmates ran out of the the classroom to hug her. They were so excited to have her back and they kept saying, "I'll show Alexis what we're doing!" It was so cute. I really must say that this class she is in is one of the most sympathetic and considerate of each other that I have every seen. It's really sweet and Alexis felt so loved! She's still not eating much but I'm sure she'll get over that soon enough. Audrey just wants to sit on my lap all day. She won't nap and was up last night from about 12-6:30am. So the plus side is I've gotten to read a book the last two days. That at least has been fun. Well, I don't have any pictures to add yet because all we've done is sit around watching movies the last three days. Plus it's like 9 degrees outside and with the wind chill it's like -5 or something awful like that. Anyway, I guess that's enough rambling and complaining for today! :)

Oh, I forgot to mention our great morning. From 8-9am this morning Audrey cried continually because "Alexis is looking at me!" I tried explaining to her that I can't stop people from looking at her but it was of no use. It was a really good thing Alexis went to school today. Audrey would have bugged the heck out of poor Alexis.

A conversation with Audrey

Last night Alexis, Audrey, and I were relaxing and watching ET. Alexis had come home from school with a fever and was feeling poorly so we were trying to relax. After watching the movie awhile Audrey looked at me and said:
"Mommy, I have powers."
Emily: "Really, what kind of powers?"
Audrey: "Green powers."
Emily: "What do your green powers do?"
Audrey: "They shoot."

I thought this was so funny so I called Ben at work to share the news with him about our daughters new powers. So he had Audrey get on the phone to talk to him. She heard me talking to him and said, "Nope. I don't have powers anymore. They're gone." So I had her get on the phone with him. Here is what I heard:

"Yep. I have powers."
Pause.
"Green powers that shoot."
Pause.
"They're on my back."

Then Audrey handed the phone back to me.
This girl has such an imagination!

Well, it is cold again here. Although not cold enough to not go anywhere so that's good. Alexis is home with me today because of her fever. She woke up at 4am saying she was really cold. Well, that statement alone is odd for Alexis because she is never cold, always hot. She was wearing sweats too. She got in bed with me and shivered for ten minutes. She had a raging fever so we're at home today. She would have slept past eight except Audrey woke up around 7:30am singing at the top of her lungs. She was singing, reading, and laughing for 15 minutes before she came in to see me. She has had the sunniest disposition for the last two days. Just saying and doing the funniest things. Well, I'm going to tackle some projects this afternoon so that's all for now.

Fun pictures!!

I just wanted to post some really fun pictures. Audrey put a pull-up on her head and wore it as a hat for awhile. Alexis has recently been reading to Audrey a lot. It's so cute. Audrey sits and listens for so long. I caught them last week before bed all snuggled up together and reading. So precious. They can play so well together. Most of the time they do.

Alexis' 7th Birthday Party

Alexis turned 7 on Saturday and we had so much fun! We had a great birthday party for her with 14 kids total! We played the limbo which the kids loved. Then we had mermaid racing. This involved duct taping each childs legs together and they had to race down the hall and to the living room rug. It was hysterical! The two kids racing would pull each other's legs, arms, and anything else to get ahead. The other kids lined up and cheered them on. After the mermaid racing we had a treasure hunt. Ben was in charge of this and he came up with the idea that the kids were trying to find the baby's treasure. The catch was that they had to whisper and tiptoe around the house to find all the clues so they wouldn't wake the baby. If they were too loud the baby might wake up and they wouldn't get any treasure! All the kids thought this was great. A couple of times they had a hard time whispering and the others would quickly say, "SHHHH!" It was so funny. I didn't think you could get 14 kids to whisper and tiptoe around a house but Ben can! After the treasure hunt we opened presents and then ate cake and cupcakes. The kids then begged us to have more mermaid racing so we then taped them up with a partner and we timed them to see who got to the carpet first. A lot of the kids stayed taped up until their parents came! We had so much fun.

Our good friends, Matt and Elizabeth Beetz stayed at our house all day with their two kids, Alexis and Brandon. So we had a complete party day. We were tired by evening but it was all worth it. Tomorrow will be my day to get the house completely back in order again. I don't do any house cleaning, arranging, or organizing on Sundays so it has to wait! :)

Family Picture

We just got our family picture back! It was taken right before Christmas and I think it looks pretty good! Also, believe it or not, it was done in one take. That's right, Alexis and Audrey were so good it only took one shot! They are such good girls. There is also a picture of Alexis and Audrey with their cousins, on Ben's side. There are nine grandchildren, all girls except one. The first grandson was born just a couple of months ago. The picture shown here is of the six oldest. The three babies were left out of the picture. Enjoy.

Fun in the Snow

We have gotten some great snow in the last two days. The girls have been outside playing a lot and we're enjoying our fire everyday and having hot chocolate. I am really enjoying winter so far because we have gotten to spend a lot of time as a family. I love having fires too. It is so cozy and really warms up our family room!

Ben and I got to go to the temple yesterday. We ran into a friend, Jeanie Evans, that was at Stanford with us and now her and her family live in Chicago. That was really fun. We're definitely going to get together!

Alexis had Friday off of school so we went to Rein Dance Farm, a place that gives horseback riding lessons. My Mom and Dad gave her two riding lessons for Christmas and her birthday (which is this Saturday!!). I really liked the place. The teacher is very nice and relaxed. There are ponies, horses, donkeys, goats, cats, and a dog. The girls had a blast walking around and seeing all the animals. They told me I could even ride if I wanted to. How fun would that be? I would love that. So I am thinking I will sign her up there. It's 25 minutes away so it's not super close but none of the riding places are. Anyway, the lessons teach her how to care for the horse and how to ride with the eventual goal of learning to jump the horse. It's English style. Sounds like fun!

Well, I am off to get some other things done while Audrey is napping. She only naps about twice a week now so I really have to take advantage of that time!

More Updates

I am determined to get caught up today with my blog! I have a few more pictures to post. One is of Audrey with her stuffed unicorn named "horsey." She got a target gift card from her Thomas grandparents and I have been waiting to get something perfect. As soon as I saw it I knew that was it. Sure enouch, she drags that thing everyone. She makes beds for it, rides it, drags it with her everywhere. She even rides it making mean neighing sounds when she's mad at me. It's very funny.

The picture of Audrey sleeping was just too precious to pass up. She has had an ear infection for almost three weeks. She now seems to be getting the better of it, on her third anitbiotic, and she fell asleep at 5pm one day. She has never done that. It was so cute. I was trying to give her quiet time with a movie and bed on the floor.

The third picture of Audrey is her sitting by a fireplace at Grandma and Grandpa Thomases house with one of her tails on. I got six animal tails and masks for her and Alexis for Christmas and she loves them. She wears them occasionally now but mainly they stay in her crib. She loves to sleep with them and she notices if any are missing! It's so funny.

Alexis has lost both her front teeth now and the new ones are growing in nicely. At Christmas she loved playing with her cousins and there is a picture of her playing Joseph and Mary with her cousin Lily. Alexis is doing great in school. She reads and writes wonderfully. She really loves to read and spends at least 20 minutes reading every morning before school, then reads more after school, and we read together before bedtime. She's also a whiz at spelling. She recently learned that the tooth fairy is not real. She didn't seem upset about it at all and in fact is convinced that Daddy is the tooth fairy. I can't believe he gets credit for that! :)

Alexis is taking swim lessons again and is doing great. She can swim at least 25 yards by herself in the deep end. She also loves to go off the diving board!