URBAN HODSONS

Please don't laugh...too hard

2012-02-09T14:34:00.001-07:00

Okay I am being brave and showing everyone this scary picture of myself. One of the reasons it has been so long since I have posted is that I got sick. This doesn't quite show it, but my right eye was all pick and swollen and then it moved into my left eye too. It wasn't pink eye, though, according to the doctor. Then my throat hurt really bad and I just felt horrible. This lasted for a little over a week, the eyes and everything else. So I am finally over it, and I've just been trying to organize my life a little more.
I have decided to homeschool the kids and so I have been trying to figure out my plans in that, and I am trying to organize my housekeeping stuff. I follow a blog where the woman has binders for each aspect of her life, and so I made a housekeeping binder...I followed her plan loosely. And I have also been organizing my recipes and made a recipe/menu planning/shopping list binder. So I have been busy. If you want to check out the blog just click here. She is also doing the same Homeschooling method that I am: Charlotte Mason Approach.

Pictures of Our Life: Part 1

2012-02-09T14:28:00.000-07:00

These are just some random pictures of what our days are like...Yes the kids do stay in pjs for a lot of the day.

They are all "helping" with the dishes. Or maybe they are just dropping random things in the water. I couldn't resist this picture...I love their cute little bums.

Pictures of Our Life: Part 2

2012-02-09T14:24:00.001-07:00

We went for a walk in a neighborhood with large homes and lots of land. We found this stream and bridge with a path. The kids loved it. Spencer and Kaden enjoyed climbing the rock wall. I was a little nervous watching them but I'm glad I let them do it. They were so proud of themselves.

I'm trying to get them out into nature more...it is a lot harder then I thought it would be. Especially in the winter. It takes a lot more time getting them all dressed for a walk outside...More so since they do like to get dressed in clothes unless we are going somewhere.

Pictures of Our Life: Part 3

2012-02-09T14:19:00.001-07:00

Addy enjoying pizza. This is a recipe that my mom always used to make and I love it! Sometimes it's not the prettiest looking pizza but it is good...and messy.

Breakfast with Santa

2011-12-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

We had the best Santa and Mrs. Claus for the Primary party. It was a brother and his wife in the ward. His wife's mother made their suits...they were amazing and beautiful. I think he somehow dyed his beard or something...they were perfect. Addy didn't seem to appriate it though.

Kaden went right to him and talked and loved it! Spencer didn't even want to talk about talking to Santa. He was just happy watching...from a distance.

And again Addy. I think Santa is reaching for a candy cane as fast as he can. Poor Addy, the things we do to our children.

Preschool Christmas Program

2011-12-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

This was a cute program. There was a backdrop and costumes, music, and dancing. Miss Lori, Spencer's teacher provided all the costumes...she provided everything. It was awesome! The amazing thing was that Spencer stayed up there the whole time! I was so happy. Grandma and Grandpa Hodson were able to come too. The play was in Santa's workshop. It was of the elves making all of the toys.

Spencer was the Locomotive for the toy train set.

For most of the program...especially the singing parts Spencer had his hand over his ears.

The Caboose, Evan, was the only train part that preformed.

2011-12-24T11:46:00.000-07:00

At the end of Spencer's program...Santa came to visit. And...da da da...Spencer, yes that is right SPENCER, sat on his lap! I never thought he would do that! This was a day of miracles...it might have helped that all his friends were doing it and that Santa was handing out toys.

Samuel

2011-12-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

Charla came to visit with my new little nephew, Samuel! He is super cute! Don't you just love his dimples. I wanted to squish him all day. He is a very good and happy baby. I just so I can brag, I made that sweater he is wearing in the first two pictures!

Star K Ranch

2011-11-30T12:41:00.000-07:00

It took me awhile to find this place, but it is worth it! There are paths and trees and water...a ton of bugs in the summer. It was a gorgeous November afternoon, and we just walked. No agenda, no time slot, it was awesome. For me I think the key is to not care if we go one mile or just a couple steps. I want them to just enjoy there time outside. We collected some sticks and rocks and some branches with buds. I wanted to see if I could get them to bloom inside...no such luck yet. I read somewhere that a child should be able to walk one mile for every year old he is. So I would like to get to that point...but I am not pushing the kids to beat the clock or anything. I think I have that as a far off goal so that we keep active.

My sweet Addy...I love her smile. Most of the time she is a little ball of fun...except after shots.

November Walk

2011-11-30T12:32:00.001-07:00

We love Star K Ranch! It is free and has a lot of places for these little guys to explore. We found a big tree that they spent about 30 minutes climbing and exploring. They also loved "jumping" from log to log.

Garden, Snow, and Brothers

2011-11-12T16:14:00.001-07:00

I am pretty proud of myself. I put the garden "to bed" all by myself! I decided to try sheet mulching. We didn't have enough cardboard boxes to cover the whole garden area so I covered about half. And then I stole my neighbors leaves out of their trash pile, while the garbage men looked on; confused I am sure. I wanted to get hay to cover the top...but it is like 5+ dollars a bail...and the hay needs to be deep. So as I was driving around with the kids I was passing a church that has a pumpkin sale every year. They had been finished for a few days now and their hay had been raked up and put into bags...just sitting there waiting for....me! I did a quick...not to safe...turn into the parking lot and went into the church to ask someone if I could have to hay. I felt kind of silly, no one seemed to know, and they had to call a bunch of people. In the end they took my number and I left hayless. We went home, then 15 minutes later we got a call saying that I could take the hay. Woo hoo! I quickly loaded the kids into the car...I had to be fast, what if someone else took the hay. There where 5 BIG bags of hay. I don't know how I fit it into the car...I think I scared Addy, she was kind of surronded by hay bags. I shoved and squished them all in and then headed home to put them on the garden! Wow, that was a long story about hay. Can you tell I'm excited?

We have had one big snow storm this year so far. We went outside and had some fun. By we I mean Spencer, me, and Addy. Kaden is not a cold weather guy. He stayed inside. Addy sort of had some fun. She liked it until she figured out she couldn't really move well in the snow with her snowsuit. But she sure was super cute!

At bedtime after the boys are tucked in, Kaden will climb into bed with Spencer and they will look at books or do whatever they do together. Kaden will usually get back into bed before he falls asleep...but not all the time. I love these boys. It is crazy how different they are and yet they still came from the same two people.

Preschool

2011-11-07T12:58:00.000-07:00

This is Spencer's Preschool Costume Parade. They went to a park near the school to march around for the parents. His teacher is Miss Lori, she is the witch on the right.

He was a fireman...just in case there was any questions

Camping in August

2011-11-07T12:49:00.000-07:00

So I know it is 3 months too late, but I thought I would share pictures from our first camping trip. It was suppose to be for two nights...it quickly turned into one. I hurt my back during the second afternoon, and some of the bigger kids were less then thrilled with having to hang out with the little kids. I think we'll try this again though...practice makes more perfect.
There was a beautiful lake there where we got to go fishing, it was so peaceful and pretty. I think and hope that next time will be better.

Park 3

2011-10-26T12:57:00.002-06:00

Sorry, the pictures are all out of order. So if you want to look in order start with Park 1, then 2, then 3. They are not three separate parks, we were at one park the whole time. Sorry it is all confusing.

I don't know if you can see him, but on the tree trunk there is a squirrel. I had a hard time getting the boys to eat lunch, they kept chasing squirrels.

Park 2

2011-10-26T12:54:00.002-06:00

They have just discovered the joy of hill rolling. They want to do it every time they see a hill. It is fun to watch.

Park 1

2011-10-26T12:53:00.002-06:00

We have been enjoying the beautiful fall weather this past week...This picture is very different then what I am seeing now...snow, alot of snow. But anyway last week went to City Park in Denver. It is HUGE. I think I remember reading that it's inspiration was Central Park in New York. It is beautiful! Tons of trees and several playgrounds. We ate lunch there and then the kids had fun playing.

St. George

2011-10-16T18:19:00.001-06:00

This was about a month ago...but honestly, I have not been taking too many pictures so, this is what I got. I went to St. George, UT to visit my sister and her new baby boy. Samuel James...so cute! I wish I had gotten a picture of his super big dimples. It was super nice to have my mom and sister and me there to do all the house stuff...I think it made less work for all of us. (I hope.)

Hodson Happenings

2011-10-07T12:40:00.000-06:00

It is now starting to feel like Fall. I love it! I just finished canning my first ever batch of tomato sauce...not from our tomatoes though. We got a ton of, and are still getting, cherry tomatoes....but not enough to can. I have been late getting up decorations, and the house is a crazy mess a lot of the time...but I am okay with that. I love watching the kids play together. I am helping to make a childhood for them...hopefully it won't involve a lot of memories of me yelling, or sobbing uncontrollably. I feel good about life right now. I found I can't look at too many blogs or I get depressed. There are a lot of amazingly talented people out there and I think I am learning to enjoy their talents without reflecting it back on myself.

Our Nature Stroll

2011-08-23T21:51:00.000-06:00

We have church at 1:00 on Sundays. So I wanted to have a fun family thing to do to break up the day and maybe get some energy out. So I purposed a walk on a "trail" by our house. I don't know if you can call a sidewalk a trail but lets just call it that for now.

It was very very hot. And poor Addy didn't have a hat and her stroller faced right into the sun. As we were walking this cute Russian grandma walked by us and I think she was a little upset at the sight of Addy's hatless head. She kept pointing to the sun and then to her head and saying what I assume to be "hat." At least I hope that is what she was saying. I guess she could have been saying all kinds of things to us and we stupid americans just stand there and smile and nod.

Sorry, off subject. So we passed over a bridge and decided to venture under it and explore. It was actually pretty amazing. For a few minutes the only thing I could see in that river was water bugs. Then the longer we sat there and watched the more we saw.

Brian caught a cute little frog. The cutest little frog I've ever seen! I wanted to take him home with me. Then we started seeing little fish darting around in the water. And we saw a larger frog and then some birds near the water's edge. By the way in this photo Addy is not too happy. She really wanted to go crawl into the water...she was pretty mad at us for not letting her.

All in all it was a very good Sunday afternoon. I think I will repeat this in the future. Maybe it will become a tradition for us. It is kind of hard to tell from the picture, but I loved how blue the mountains looked, and the way the sky seemed painted with clouds. Sigh! I love Colorado.

Hiking in July

2011-08-23T21:34:00.000-06:00

So in the beginning of July we decided to do a family hike. We went to Devil's Head by Sedila Colorado. This is our second attempt at hiking there. The first attempt resulted in a couple hours driving...hopelessly lost...and emergency vomit clean up. (Apparently Spencer gets car sick.) This time went better. We made to the trail fine and started hiking. Zach took off immediately. I think he is at the age where being with family is not fun. So this picture is as far as we got. The boys were done. I sort of enjoyed myself. It is hard for me not to feel frustration mixed with a dash of anger when Zach takes off without even a look back. And when we do finally catch up with him, he has this, "I have been here forever waiting for you and I am so bored," look on his face. It kind of spoils it for me. I think I need to just get over it and enjoy my surroundings. So enjoy the pictures. I think I need my camera surgically attached to me somehow...I seem to loose it alot.

2011-08-23T21:17:00.000-06:00

2011-08-23T21:16:00.000-06:00

Spencer and Kaden racing up the trail.

Hello, I am back

2011-07-28T21:47:00.000-06:00

Surprise, surprise I lost the camera again. We really cannot find it anywhere....it has been almost a month. So I am taking pictures with my phone until we find or get a camera. So I apologize (grandma and grandpa) for the lack of pictures lately...to make it up to you here are some of the things we have been doing the past couple weeks.

Poser

2011-07-28T21:43:00.000-06:00

Last weekend after a hard morning of thirft store shopping we decided to stop and get lunch at IHOP. Addy very much enjoyed her meal and Daddy's. She is turning into a little goof ball...can you tell? How can you not love this face!?

2011-07-28T21:41:00.000-06:00

We are trying to encourage the boys to be more independent...so this summer I taught them how to make their own sandwiches. They really enjoyed this, and felt so proud of themselves. It kind of grossed me out, gobs of jelly and peanut butter...but they loved it.

Swimming Hole

2011-07-28T21:38:00.000-06:00

Addy loves to get dirty...obviously. The kids enjoy going to the local lake to go swimming.

I might be a Hippie

2011-06-13T21:11:00.000-06:00

Big House vs.

We must be backwards...I was listening to Zach talk the other day, and he was saying how his aunt is moving because they need more room. It was then that it dawned on me that we are weird. His aunt has two young boys and they live in a pretty decent size home...I thought it was big.

We have a couple more kids then her and we are looking to downsize our home. We want less home and more land for less money.

Small House

Just in case you are curious here are some other things that make us weird. We really enjoy not watching tv. It's rarely on. (If I could do it without getting caught, I would totally bust the tv!) We have no idea what goes on in the world...

I want chickens and goats. I want a food forest. I hardly buy any toys for my kids. I've started making them things. I hate credit cards. I own a skirt made out of a table cloth. I try not to buy chips, and Brian has to force me to buy pop. (What do we drink?? Water.) I have to physically force my child to wear underwear. I'm sure there are a ton more but that is all I can think of.

Peek-A-Boo Addy

2011-06-05T20:24:00.000-06:00

My Mother's Day Present

2011-06-05T19:54:00.000-06:00

So Brian built my a retaining wall to hold some herb plants. I have been wanting to post this for a while, but have been embarrased about how sad my herbs look in it.

I think I was killing them slowly. We discovered yesterday that not all of them were getting water. So another trip to the garden center and yes, my herb garden still looks sad. I am hoping against hope that they will someday grow and be big and beautiful.

Anyhow, I think the retaining wall looks great! Thank you Honey!

KCWC: Day 3 and 4

2011-05-13T14:42:00.000-06:00

These shorts took me two days to do. There were a couple of unpick and resew situations. But I got it done! Now Kaden and Spencer both have shorts. On Spencer's shorts I put the pockets too low and on Kaden's I put the pockets too high...so maybe the next one will be just right.

They are both wearing thier shorts in this picture.

My project today will be a sun hat for Addy. Although I have felt very productive this past week...I am glad this KCWC is once a year. I couldn't keep of this kind of pace for long.

Rainy Day

2011-05-11T12:03:00.000-06:00

So after a couple weeks of being beautiful spring weather...it is snow, rainy, haily, and cold today. :( I took a picture of my favorite tree in our yard. It is my crab apple tree. I love, love, love it! It smells delicious and is so pretty. I have been cutting branches off of it all spring and placing them all over the house. Now the flowers are pretty much gone and even though summer green is a nice color too, nothing beats this tree in full bloom. I loved coming out side in the morning and listening to the tree hum. That's right, hum. The bees loved that tree. The tree was usually covered in bees. I loved it! Sigh! Another year and I get to bask in my tree again!

KCWC: Day 2

2011-05-11T11:57:00.000-06:00

I don't want everyone getting use to this blogging everyday thing...it is just for this week. I wish I could be that awesome...but alas I am not, and I don't want to be. So yesterday was day 2 and I made this super cute skirt for one of Spencer's friends. (She is a girl.) Brian was nice enough to model for me. What a studdly guy I have! Today on day three I am hoping to start and finish Kaden's shorts. If I can do one article of clothing per day that would pretty much complete the kids summer wardrobe!! So you might see some more shorts coming up...maybe one even for Addy!

KCWC Day 1

2011-05-10T11:28:00.001-06:00

Kid's Clothing Week Challenge: Day 1
So I was able to make a pair of shorts for Spencer yesterday...I just finished them this morning. Next on the list for day 2 is a skirt for one of Spencer's little friends and maybe starting some shorts for Kaden. I got the pattern/turorial from Made. I love it! For Kaden's I will make the pockets bigger. You live and learn, right?

I think I need to put the pockets up a little higher too. They are kind of a reach for him. Considering that this is my first pair of shorts and pockets I did pretty good.

Sorry the pictures aren't so great...I was in a hurry when I took them. (We were late for a play date...)

Addy's Year Pictures

2011-05-07T12:37:00.000-06:00

Birthday Preparations

2011-05-07T12:34:00.000-06:00

Addy's Birthday was really simple and low key. She got the skirt and doll from us. And then a toy and clothes from Grandma and Grandpa Hodson. We loved it. I love the idea of having the kids involved with the birthday stuff. They loved doing it. I don't know if I would have enjoyed simple birthdays...I was a little greedy as a kid. But weither or not I would have liked it it would have been better. So for Addy's birthday presents...the only thing I paid for was the string and elastic for the skirt. Yea!!
Spencer and Kaden made a birthday sign for Addy, all on their own!

Here they are cutting and taping.

Here is the doll I made for Addy. I had made two other dolls for Spencer and Kaden to practice on...the girl hair is so much easier to do then the boy hair. I got the pattern from the Martha Stewart Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts.

Birthday Pics

2011-05-07T12:25:00.000-06:00

Some of Addy's Birthday shots. She was in all kinds of moods! I love that trying to be happy, but fighting the tears picture.

2011-05-07T12:22:00.000-06:00

One of my friends wanted to make Addy's cake...it turned out soo awesome. The boys were very impressed.

Addy was a little timid at first, but once she had a taste there was no stopping her. She had two helpings and would have had more if we had let her.

Addy loves cake...we found that out. Happy Birthday my sweet girl.

Grateful...

2011-04-25T11:04:00.001-06:00

I am grateful for...

fun, simple, natural, and yummy Easter baskets;

for friends coming over to play so Mommy doesn't go crazy;

for cute, silly, granola eating two year olds;

for crafty suns on the window when the real thing is coming out to play, and for husbands being excited about their jobs...
p.s. and for sleeping babies ;)

Egg Time

2011-04-21T20:10:00.000-06:00

Last year I didn't do eggs at all. Spencer and Kaden were 3 and 1 1/2, and I was 9 months pregnant. But this year with the boys being older and me not being pregnant, I decided to try. I wanted to try dyeing the eggs with natural stuff. (Apparently this is pretty common...I thought I was being orginal.)

I really like how they turned out...very pretty soft colors. I made the dyes in a rush so some of them weren't the color they were suppose to be. Next year maybe I can, oh I don't know, make it a little ahead of time...we'll make that a goal to reach for.

Egg Time 2

2011-04-21T20:04:00.002-06:00

Addy didn't dye eggs, but she is cute and cubby so we took a picture.

So the stuff we used was red cabbage, beets, onion skins, and turmeric powder. The smell of the kitchen was very strong with all the foods and vinegar. But we enjoyed and will diffently try again.

Spring, Spring, Garden, Spring!!

2011-04-16T15:16:00.000-06:00

So today we starting gardening! We planted some of our cool weather plants.

Here are the boys covering up carrot seeds and next to them outside of the box (that Brian built) are spinach and lettuce.

Don't get to grossed out okay...Addy was loving sitting in the garden...which right now is basically our compost strewn all over the garden area. I think she loved all the fun things that were "hidden" in the leaves. And yes she was putting things in her mouth. She is super quick so I took them away whenever I caught her investigating with her mouth. I'm sure some escaped me though.

Isn't she the cutest! I just want to grab that chucky baby and kiss her all over! It is funny how when the boys were her age they did not like the feel of grass or...compost, but Addy loves it all.

The final pictures

2011-04-07T19:10:00.001-06:00

I forgot to take a before picture...so this is a picture of the the wood underlay, that went under the vinyl. That actually was an improvement from the carpet!

These two pictures are the after pictures. Sorry about the camera reflections...photography is not a strong talent of mine. I flunked out of Photography in high school, so pardon the lack of artistic quality.

So needless to say I am in love with our floors! Thank you Dad!

Floor Project

2011-04-07T19:02:00.001-06:00

So my parents came from Missiouri a few weeks ago. And to thank them for coming and playing with our children we let my dad (and Brian) replace one of our carpeted bathrooms with vinyl. I love, love, love it! Just so that you all will be impressed with my handy skills, I helped remove the carpet and removed and stained the baseboards. (While trying to open the can of stain...I had an incident and now some of our driveway is stained as well.)

So it was a lot more work (and money) then we orginally thought. (Course it always is). Lucky Brian got a ton of new tools out of this project. But the nice thing that I found out is that it is doable. Next we are going to tackle the master bathroom. (That is all carpet as well.) I am so glad that my dad knows how to do these things and can teach us how to do them.

One thing that grosses me out a little is that now that we have wipeable floors I have noticed that not everything makes it into the toilet...ewww! So I can only imagine what was in that carpet! Gross, gross, gross!

Food Faces

2011-03-13T21:05:00.000-06:00

More Pictures

2011-03-13T20:58:00.001-06:00

Addy Crawling

2011-02-27T21:42:00.001-07:00

This is a little late, sorry. I think I recorded this maybe a month ago. It took me awhile to figure out how to post a video...I finally swallowed my pride and asked my computer genius husband to help me, he got it working easy peasy.

Hodson Happenings

2011-02-23T14:07:00.001-07:00

I know it has been forever...There was sickness for like a month and my sister, her husband, and kids were staying with us. And then I have a four year old, two year old, and 9 month old so my life was crazy. I am now back, I am so excited, I made some pants. No these are not narly 70's plaid pants, they are pajama pants that Spencer wanted to wear. I didn't have any fabric for boys pants so I made pj's instead. I used this pattern and just made it slightly larger. I am so happy that they turned out! My first pair for Addy didn't fit around her chunky thighs.
I don't know if I want to play catch up with all that has happened. I will post pictures of Spencer's birthday when I get them.
I am trying to learn to sew, with the help of books and women in my ward. I love the feeling of being able to make something if I need it. It is addictive. I got a ton of fabric from a lady in the ward who is moving and I am so excited to see what I can make with it.
The weather has been beautiful and we have enjoyed every minute of it. We are getting excited about starting our garden this year. I think instead of having more variety we will just plant maybe four or so varieties of plants, but plant a lot more then just a few plants each...does that even make sense?? We also want to do more herbs. I love cooking with fresh herbs. Addy is getting so big and saying "Mama." She is the first of our kids that said mama before dada. I am thrilled.

Kaden is potty training...before Spencer...he is doing pretty well. It is still me trying to catch Kaden at the right time so that he goes in the potty. I don't know if he quite gets when he has to go. We are thinking of selling some furniture and moving Zach down into the basement. (He is in a room with Addy right now.) The little boys don't go down there much yet. (they are scared) So maybe if we move Zach downstairs it will buy us a little more room for a while. We want to move to a house with more bedrooms, but we want to be able to have enough money to do that without a ton of debt. So we will save while we can still fit in the house. And if by chance we have another little one before we can move we can stick the baby with Addy. And Zach will still be able to have a room to himself. So that's our plan anyway. I am very specific about what I want in a house...I probably need to tone down my expectations a little...it could take a while to find what I want.
So I guess that somes up what is going on at our house...Have a wonderful day...enjoy the foreshadow of spring! It's coming!

Knit Socks

2011-01-07T11:39:00.000-07:00

These are my first pair of socks that I have ever knit! They are for Addy...because she has small feet and it makes them quicker to knit. I'm excited...they are not as hard as they first looked. I doubt she will be able to wear them long, she is growing like crazy. I had started a pair when I tried one on her and her feet had grown since I had last measured them, so I had to start over. Hopefully these will fit for at least a few weeks. I never thought that I would be able to make socks! I am so proud of me! Is that okay to say? Because it is true.

Zach

2010-12-30T15:35:00.001-07:00

So I have to brag a little bit...Zach is the most thoughful kid ever! He went out and got everyone presents for Christmas. I think he will be an exceptional man when he grows up, when he hears something he remembers it. I had said something about not having a certain size of knitting needles and he went out and bought me the size I needed and some yarn to go with it! He also spent the last few days before Christmas making presents for his mom and stepdad. If I am stressed out he orders me to go and take a bath or something else relaxing. I love how he still is a child though. He loves to play with Spencer and Kaden and has not lost his imagination one bit. Most of the time he was staying with us last week, he spent up in one of our trees make a fort with rope and sticks, and playing with his homemade bow and arrows. We are so blessed to have him in our family.

I hope I live through the Holidays

2010-12-18T17:02:00.000-07:00

These past couple weeks have been painful for me. Last week I went to the dentist to have a cavity taken care of. It was just one small one so it was no biggy. HA! As my dentist was giving me the shot I could feel this achey sharpish pain in my jaw, where I think the needle was. I didn't say anything because I figured he would be taking the needle out soon. (He kept it in a little longer then I wanted.) Everything was wonderful and numb hours after I had my cavity taken care of. Around the kids lunch time my jaw started to ache. And then around nap time it was killing me. I could hardly talk...the more I moved my jaw the more it hurt. I finally got the kids down, took some meds and tried to sleep. More like I cried myself to sleep. I couple hour nap actually helped with the pain a lot. I didn't talk or eat much the rest of the day...my right side of my face was swollen and extremely tender. So it continued to get less and less painful everyday after that, and about three or four days later, my pain was replaced by a giant bruise on my right cheek. It looked like I had gotten into a fight.
So on to my next story: Earlier this week I was walking down the stairs with Addy and as I took a step my heel slipped off of the stair and in trying to keep Addy from getting hurt I landed hard on my tailbone and left funny bone...NOT funny! My whole left hand went numb for a minute or two. This fall wasn't my most dramatic fall off of those stairs but it was the most painful. Addy was fine, just scared...I called Brian and had him come home...luckily it was close to dinner anyway. By bedtime I needed help getting undressed and dressed...I couldn't bend my elbow, it would tingle painfully and then send numbing tingles to my fingers. Now my elbow isn't too bad, there is a big bruise and my pinky and ring finger still have a fall asleep tingle to them, and by tail bone is bruised and is not fun to sit on. This is the fourth time this year that I have fallen down the stairs. Brian is nervous that people are going to start thinking there is more to my stair falls the just me...he is probably right, with my bruised cheek and fall down the stairs...it does sound suspicious. But to put everyone's mind at rest...it is all my cluztiness Brian has nothing to do with it. Maybe I getting old and my body is falling apart...I just need to get one of those elevator chairs.
So anyway that has been my week and a half. Sigh! So I wish you all a Merry and accident free Christmas!

REAL Wreath

2010-12-09T20:00:00.001-07:00

So I decided to be ambitious...I made a wreath. It turned out to be a lot simplier then I had thought. And it cost me 0 dollars!! I used a wire coat hanger, branches from my trees, and yarn, and about 40 or so minutes. I could probably do it faster now that I have done it once. It is not the prettiest wreath that I have seen but I am quite proud of it. If you want to make one yourself here is the blog. I love it...I'll probably make one next year too. I do have a confession though...for some of it I used a glue gun. When I finished one side looked very sparce and it was dark outside so trying to gather the cut branches was very hard. So I grabbed what I could and I hot glued them to the wreath...they weren't staying otherwise. I probably could have got them to stay but I was impatient and I wanted to show my fabulous hubby my creation when he got home. So there it is, my holiday wreath...I am so proud!

Nauvoo

2010-12-03T13:28:00.001-07:00

I kind of took an untentional "vacation" from blogging. I feel like things have be a little crazy since Thanksgiving...anyone else feel this? A few weeks ago we (Brian and I) took a trip to Nauvoo to go through the temple with my brother and his wife Abbie. It was a lot of fun! Brian and I got to be the witness couple and it was an experience that I will always remember. Thank you Abbie and James for choosing to go to the temple. It will be one of the best choice you ever make.

Nap time

2010-11-13T14:39:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when Spencer doesn't have a nap. He slept like that for about 40 minutes...he was supporting himself with his hand. Suprisingly he didn't fall off. I love this kid!

My first leggings!

2010-11-10T10:35:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I made leggings for Addy out of a pair of my socks. It was so stickin' easy! I'm excited to go and buy more socks for her. I have knitted a pair for her but I actually like these better...and they took 2 minutes instead of 2 weeks. I like the knitted ones for an extra layer over tights or something, but on her bare legs they just come off. But these babies stay on! When I took the pictures she had been wearing them the evening before and all night. Yes, I am in love. Here is the link incase anyone is interested.

Snow!

2010-11-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

It snowed for the first time yesterday! Colorado is crazy! On Monday it was 70's and very warm and then on Tuesday it was overcast and 40's and SNOW! Well I guess it is about time, it is November. Spencer is funny his smile for pictures lately has been more of a grimace. I'm not sure why. The hats they are wearing are ones that I made out of two sweaters. I didn't have a pattern so I just winged it...they are not very attractive but they do their job.

Birthday!

2010-11-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

So for Kaden's birthday we took a trip downtown to the Fire House Musuem. It was tons of fun! There was hardly anyone else there. There was so much to see and play with. The boys had a blast. We even got to go to story time...we were the only ones there. We will definitly be going back soon!

I went simple this year with the cake...cupcakes!! Kaden loves the book "The Very Hungry Caterpiller" we read it like every day, so I decided to make the caterpiller out of cupcakes. My first thought was to try and make a butterfly cake, but simplicity won...and I am very happy with it. Most of it ended up under Kaden's chair anyway. He loves to shove things in his mouth but keeping it there is another story.

Kaden is 2!!

2010-11-05T17:13:00.001-06:00

Warning: This will be short, I don't know how many seconds I have before kaos erupts again...we have a sick baby. So I'm a couple of days behind...on the 3rd Kaden turned 2. It was a great day. We gave him a couple of books and some bubble stuff. I also made him a little book of his 2nd year. It didn't turn out quite like I had wanted but it was pretty good for a first try. And here is just a happy picture of Addy that morning...yea for cute babies!

Charla, Brayton, and Ellie came to visit!

2010-10-26T12:35:00.000-06:00

Contemplating Boxes

2010-10-18T13:44:00.000-06:00

Aren't boxes wonderful! They are probably the cheapest and most loved toy ever! We got a new dishwasher (and my studly husband installed it himself...and it works!), anyway, we got a new dishwasher and the boys love playing in the box. They dump all their toys and books into it and play! When I took this picture Spencer was reading a book to Kaden...it was super cute! I think we should have a national box day...HORRAY for boxes!! They make my life a little easier.

Hurray for mom's!

2010-10-13T15:28:00.002-06:00

So on Monday night Kelli bent over to pick something up and ended up on the floor in pain. She ended up tweaking her back somehow and could barely walk. So in my massive, well shaped arms I carried her upstairs to rest. Since she couldn't really stand\walk I took Tuesday off to take care of the kids while she continued recovering. I don't think I ever under appreciate how much my wife does, but when you don't experience it first hand sometimes you can become a little complacent. Do know how difficult and stressful it can be to tend to 4 kids by yourself? I think I did pretty good but when it came time for dinner I punted and ordered pizza. At the end of the day I was pretty spent, but Kelli was able to get some much needed rest. So "Cheers" to all the mom's out there for all the amazing things you do.

The So...

2010-10-11T17:00:00.000-06:00

Today, I did something either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid...I cut the tip off of the So. The "So" is Kaden's pacifier. After several failed attempts to do away with the "So"...which resulted in an even greater attatchment on Kaden's side; we (by we I mean I) decided that we were finished with the "So". Hmmmm....maybe next I should start cutting holes in all their daipers. Maybe cutting holes in all things that are annoying or undesireable would be the answer to many of life's problems. I'll have to think about this...maybe first I'll see if I survive tonight without a So. Wish me luck!

2010-10-07T15:50:00.000-06:00

So I know I just posted pictures...but I am so excited to share my first completed crafty project on my new sewing machine! It is not perfect and I'm sure it looks like a beginner made it...but I love it, probably because I made it. Yeah! Mom, I bet you never thought that you would be reading something like this on MY blog. Oh and the top picture is another one of my amazing creations ;), Addy, eating cereal!

General Conference/Zach's 11th Birthday

2010-10-07T14:12:00.000-06:00

2010-10-07T14:10:00.001-06:00

Some Things

2010-10-02T20:42:00.001-06:00

Okay so I've been a slacker...sorry! We haven't done any school recently because the weather is so beautiful and I want to be outside and enjoy Fall as much as we can. (And I'm feeling a tad lazy!) So during "D" week we made D-D-Doughnuts! They were so yummy! I used regular flour, but my cheif sister suggested trying pastery flour...I'm going to try that next time...O week, or S for shapes (circle), or Y for yummy, F for fancy baking...the possibilities are endless.

Here is the recipe for those interested.

I have also been on a knitting kick...I find it very fun and relaxing. I have progressed beyond the dishrag, but this one was soo cute I had to do it. I love it, it is probably my favorite dishrag that I have done. (Wow, that sound kind of pathetic...) So, I made Addy a pair of leg warmers (sooo cute), I'll post a picture of it later, and I'm going to make Zach and Addy hats and when I'm all finished with that I am making myself some lond socks! I also made the kids stuffed bunnies...I'll have to post pictures of them later too.

So I don't know if anyone has any advice but Spencer is talking back like crazy. And he is becoming more stubborn...he gets this "come over here and make me" look in his eyes. Maybe it's the age...But I have really been struggling with this one. I guess it doesn't help that Kaden has deceided that he can be stubborn too. And poor Addy is just as sweet as can be...it is only a matter of time before I am tempted to sell her to the circus with her brothers.

I guess the only thing I can do is pray! I have seen miracles result from prayer...now more then ever I feel in need of several miracles!

Princesses and Pirates

2010-09-20T16:07:00.002-06:00

Spencer and Kaden went to a birthday party on Saturday. It was a Princess and Pirate party. They had so much fun making treasure chests and going on a treasure hunt. Kaden especially liked the cake. After he had eaten his he helped himself to the birthday girl’s cake!
Spencer still doesn’t know quite what to do at birthday parties. He does participate very much with the other kids as they play games. But I guess as long as he is happy watching then I’ll just let him do whatever he feels comfortable doing.

C Week Collage

2010-09-15T12:15:00.000-06:00

B Week

2010-09-13T11:18:00.000-06:00

Last week was B week! Sorry I am behind...I wanted to post these earlier but, well...life happens. For B week the big activity was a Birthday Party! So that week we made a sign and invitations and then at the end of the week we had a Birthday "Party"!! Since it was noones birthday we decided that Puppy needed a birthday....any excuse for a party right? It was short and simple and we all had a lot of fun. Happy B week! I'll try to post pictures tomorrow of our C week activities so far.

Birthday Sign

2010-09-13T11:11:00.000-06:00

2010-09-08T18:00:00.000-06:00

This is just to tide the grandparents over until I can make a better blog entry. Hope you enjoy!

New School Year

2010-09-01T17:16:00.000-06:00

Today was the first day of "school." I am going to be doing school three days only three days a week...last year I tried to do it everyday, and that was a little stressful. Each week we will concentrate on a letter, going from A to Z. Since today was the first day, hence the first week we are on A. So basically all our activities or games or stories have something to do with the letter A. Next week is B some of the activities are bubbles and a birthday party (for a stuffed animal).
I hope this plan goes well, I think I put too much into it last year so this year it is going to be low key and not as stressful...I have a four month old for crying out loud! Today went well and I am excited for this "school year."

2010-08-18T20:10:00.000-06:00

So a few weeks ago we were able to get some family pictures done by a friend's daughter. I love love love them! They are super cute. The best thing of all is that she is mailing me the cd so I can print off as many as I want and any size that I want! I love that I don't have to buy a "package."
I feel like the last few weeks have been hard...I have been crazy, impatient mama. I'm not sure why, maybe I'm going through a faze (just like the kids). Addy is super cute. She is gaining some chub, and she is smiling and laughing so much more. The boys are super helpful...sometimes. I love all my kids sooo much, I adore them...but sometimes I just get tired. I know they deserve better then what I am giving them right now. I wish I could remember these sweet smiles when they are testing my patience. I must remember that I only have them at this age for a little while. Patience Kelli, patience...

Our GARDEN!!

2010-08-16T14:54:00.000-06:00

Homeschool???

2010-08-09T21:45:00.001-06:00

So I'm reading this book called "Homeschool Your Child for Free" I actually really like it. I've been thinking about homeschool for a while. I feel selfish but the main thing is that I get some time to myself when kids go to school. I have some time to try and figure this out (Spencer is not even four yet). I would like to know if anyone has any opinions or ideas on the subject...Mom, I got your email...though I haven't read the article yet...Is the school system really getting so bad that it would be better to teach my kids at home? I guess the only one that can make this decision is me, but I was curious about what others thought? MaryAnn, does Brian have an opinion from a teachers' point of view?
And I'm not at all worried about the social part...they will and do get plenty of social opportunities.

Hello My Friends

2010-08-04T14:30:00.003-06:00

So I'm sorry about the almost month absense. Who knew that three kids could be so time consuming! So this month I have been very busy trying to learn how to live more self-sufficiently. Our garden is growing like crazy...but the only things that we have been getting a lot of are squash. So much squash! We have one carrot growing and I am hoping to let it get huge and then it might make up for his other carrotity friends deciding not to show up. I have also learned how to make jam...not as hard as I thought. (I've been doing a lot of peach jam). A good friend also has been teaching me how to knit and I am working on some stuffed knitted bunnies for the kids for Christmas...(not Zach, I don't think he would enjoy a stuffed bunny...). So I have been ultra busssy. I do have a reason behind all this homemaking madness. It is a book called "Radical Homemakers" Love, love, love this book. I'll have to get on my soap box and explain why on another post. (It could take awhile.) Right now I hear talking kiddies who are suppose to be napping! Being a mother never stops does it?

2010-08-04T14:30:00.000-06:00

2010-08-04T14:28:00.000-06:00

Book Blog

2010-07-08T15:07:00.001-06:00

Check out Kelli's Book Blog for a fun book and new activity!

Addy Update

2010-07-08T12:20:00.002-06:00

Adalyn had her two month check up today. She is 25% in everything. Her weight is 9 lbs 13 oz., and her length is 21 and 3/4th long. She is such a good baby! She is waking up about once a night and is smiling and talking. She is very low maintance, she cries when she is hungry and fusses when she needs a diaper change. The boys love her so much...I am really enjoying being a mom to all these wonderful kids. I love the looks I get a the grocery store...I have the two boys in the cart and Addy in a pack on my chest. I guess maybe to some people I remind them of a rabbit...but I love my kids!

Our Garden: June 2010

2010-07-02T10:49:00.002-06:00

These are our sunflowers, peppers, and potato plants.

Here is an artistic picture of our peas...we have gotten a few pods already and they are yummy!

And here is our lettuce and spinach...they exploded this year! We had far more then we could eat.

I'll post some more pictures later this month...so you can see the progress. It may not be exciting to everyone else, but as for us, we are stoked!

Cousins

2010-06-17T11:14:00.000-06:00

My sister in law came to visit and brought her "little" girl with her. So from left to right is Addy, Mabel (Tiffany's baby who was about 6 months), and Racheal (Brian's cousin Katrina's baby, who was born a week after Addy). It is amazing the size differences.

More Adalyn Pictures

2010-06-05T12:49:00.000-06:00

Little Addy with Grandma Garvin.

She's just chillin'

Addy and Her Brothers

2010-06-05T12:45:00.000-06:00

Ready, Set, Go!

2010-05-22T18:28:00.002-06:00

The baby is here!

2010-05-05T22:55:00.004-06:00

This morning at 7:40am we added healthy baby girl to our family. She weighed in at 7lbs 5oz and is 19.25 in long. Staying true to our naming routine we have yet to settle on a name. Kelli is doing awesome. This was a c-section, so she and the baby wont be home for a few days. I can pretty much promise that there will be may pictures to follow but here are some to tide you over.

Our Garden

2010-05-04T09:08:00.000-06:00

My New Years!

2010-04-28T13:01:00.004-06:00

I always feel more motivated to change, make goals, and better myself in the spring then in January. So I have decided that Spring will be my New Years.
So I am learning how to knit. So far I have completed one washcloth. I actually really like knitting. I think I did pretty good for my first project. (I'll post pictures later). I am knitting another washcloth but I am doing it with a purl stitch. This helps me pass the time (7 more days until baby girl comes), and it helps me feel productive if I'm just sitting around watching Spencer and Kaden play.
I have had this sudden urge to be more self-reliant and frugle. I'm going to start making laundry soap (we'll see how that goes), Kaden is in cloth diapers most of the time (we haven't had to buy him diapers in two months!), I'm thinking about trying to figure out how to sew, and we are on our third year with a garden!
I'll have to post pictures of our garden plot. Brian rotatilled (not sure if the spelling is right??) last night and it looks great! Is it normal to get so excited about dirt? We used our compost and some cow manure (though I have heard that sheep is better), and it is beautiful dark brown dirt...we didn't find any leftover food in the compost. That means it worked!!
We'll have to figure out how planting is going to work though. The baby will be coming right in the middle of when we usually plant. So that means I will be no help...So it will be Brian by himself with an occational Zach.
I love Spring...I always feel a sense of renewal, of starting fresh! I know I won't accomplish all that I wish, probably not even half but I will enjoy what I do accomplish and not worry about the rest.

2010-04-13T16:31:00.000-06:00

These are just random pictures. My two baby boys are so cute! They make me extremely tired but I love being with them anyway...I'm kind of nervous what adding a girl to the mix will do.

Growing Peppers

2010-04-01T21:18:00.000-06:00

Spencer and I planted red and green peppers. It was a fun short activity...we talked about colors (red and green), looked at some real peppers, counted seeds, and talked about what the seeds needed to grow. So far Spencer has asked everyday if the seeds have grown. I'm glad he is excited. I thought that this would be a very messy activity, but it actually wasn't at all. He handled the dirt very well, and he was so proud of himself afterwards.

Happy Easter Outfits!

2010-03-26T17:13:00.000-06:00

Sneaky Book Reader

2010-03-26T17:11:00.000-06:00

We caught Spencer one night with the light on reading! It was so cute...but of course not okay...but it was soo cute!

Miracle

2010-03-25T20:39:00.003-06:00

A small...very small miracle took place in our house just now. Spencer sat on his potty!! I told him if he sat on it, (he didn't have to go) he could get a "potty chocolate." He avoids anything potty related...except books, for some reason he loves to read books about going potty. So tonight after seeing Kaden sit on the potty, running back and forth giggling nervously, and after a few false starts he sat on the potty...for maybe a second...with his diaper on. (We all have to start somewhere, right?) So he got a "potty chocolate." I'm not sure if this is a start to something wonderful or if he is just playing with our hopes and dreams. I guess only time will tell.

Pillow Fun

2010-03-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

Since I really can't sit anywhere comfortabely unless it is soft we have not been going outside as much as we should. The boys needed to run off some energy sooo...we dumped all the pillows we could find on the floor, covered them with a blanket and they jumped, ran, crawled and rolled for over 30 minutes. I sat on the soft coach and watched! Sigh! I can't wait to be able to moved normal again!

School Days

2010-02-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

These are some of the activities we have done for "school." We "wrote" in flour, and sprayed colored water in the snow. Spencer really liked spraying the water.

Third Birthday Picture

2010-02-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Spencer!

2010-02-17T13:43:00.001-07:00

So I'm pretty proud of this cake. My sister got me a Bigtop Cupcake Mold for Christmas so I was going to use that for his cake. I think I did something wrong because the cake totally fell apart as I took it out of the mold. I had a little bit of batter left over and made two thin circle cakes, I then piled a broken piece of cupcake on top and called it a mountain! I used Spencer's toy train set to make it more believeable.

We had Grandma and Grandpa Hodson, Michelle and Jared over to celebrate. Spencer had a good time....although I think next year we will open presents in the morning. He wants to play with them but if it's night then he has to go to bed. Hopefully doing it in the morning with space out the excitment throughout the day and there will be less melt downs.

Preschool??

2010-02-05T10:17:00.000-07:00

So Spencer is changing from being stubborn and throwing temper tantrums to being super sweet. He will just randomly want a hug and kiss and say "I love you Mommy." Or he'll sigh, and say, "I so happy." I love it but the mood swings are hard. So I'm trying something...I am doing daily "preschool" with him. We have a schedule and so far I think he is pretty happy doing it. It has only been one week so we'll see what next week brings. Here is our schedule: 9:00- Prayer, Scripture, Reading Readiness
9:30-chores/playtime
10:00-Writing and Math (shapes and numbers)
10:30-chores/playtime
11:00-Health/Science, Social Studies, Music, and PE (the first three are not done every day)
11:30-lunch and tv time
1:00 or 1:30-nap time
and then after naps we sometimes make a treat or do arts and crafts. And then around 4:30 or 5 I put in a movie for them and I start dinner.
Some days have worked better then others but that's what I like about this things is that I don't have to follow everything exactly all the time.

Book Blog

2010-01-11T14:17:00.002-07:00

I have added some more stuff to my book blog. I have a ton of books that I have read for my class...i'm adding them a little at a time. Check it out! Click on Kelli's Book Blog under Friends and Family!

Kaden Walking

2010-01-06T13:48:00.001-07:00

2010-01-05T19:13:00.001-07:00

8 weeks

13 weeks
21 weeks

Isn't it amazing how much babies change while they are in the womb! The last picture is kind of hard to see. It is her profile...and her face is squished up against the placenta. So much tragedy has happened in the past 5 months that this pregnancy is bitter sweet. But one thing I do know is that this little baby was meant to come to us at this time. I am grateful that she is a girl...I am scared, I don't know what to do with girls! I am so happy, I hope she is not like I was as I kid...I get tired just thinking about it!