Rock Star Toes

This past weekend we had the pleasure of having Darin's sister, Janae over for a brief visit. The kids love to have visitors and they sure enjoyed her company. They referred to her as Sant Sanae.

While she was here, we went to the local salon and got our toenails done. I don't indulge in this very often because it is hard for me to justify spending money on something I can do myself, but it was fun.

We had them do "Rock Star Toes" on us. I chose a color that looked really pretty in the little cup, but is a little garish on my toes. I usually enjoy red and pink polish, but this is so very blue that it makes me a little sick, but I enjoy the sparkle! Janae got the prettiest coral red/pink. I was a little jealous afterward.

Ten Little Fingers, Ten Little Toes

We are so excited to announce that another baby will be joining our family.

And guess what?

It is going to be....



A Boy

He is scheduled to arrive somewhere around July 14.

We are absolutely excited.

As well as somewhat nervous.

God Bless Baby Boys

Church

I really love going to church each week. I look forward to becoming spiritually "recharged" and also being able to socially interact with people other than my immediate family (even though I love them so much).

Everything has changed since the kids have come into our family. Now everything has changed again since the kids are so active and know how to throw tantrums.

I used to look at certain families and think, Why cant they control their kids? And Why are they always taking their kids out into the hallway?

There were also families that I would look at and think, I want my family to be like that, their kids are so well behaved!

Well, God did not give me meek and mild little children.

In between balls ricocheting off of pews, goldfish being stomped into the ground, a near dumping of the sacrament tray, a crawling-under-the-pew getaway, a few screaming tantrums, and an accidental pulling up of mommy's skirt, the eternal hour finally ended.

Needless to say, ours were the first kids to nursery. They played in nursery while we cleaned and vacuumed the pew and hunted down their toys.

I am not the kind of woman to give up so easily. Next week I plan to come prepared for battle with some new ideas and strategies.

If only I could think of anything.

Television

Darin and I decided to get rid of our TV last summer. It was a very liberating experience. There are a few reasons why we got rid of it. Some are:

1. Our nights are no longer scheduled by what was on TV, rather by what we need as a family and a couple.

2. We paid around $50 a month for dish, and DVR. We figured that if we didn't have cable for a whole year we would save around $600. Who doesn't want an extra $600 a year?

3. It seemed like a lot of the programs were showing materials that aren't in line with the values that we wanted for our family.

4. We don't want our kids to be reliant on television for entertainment.

There are other reasons that we decided to get rid of television. But it has been good for our family. We do still watch a few programs off the computer and we do let the kids watch things like Sesame Street clips a couple of times during the week, but we can closely monitor that. For Christmas Darin got a small projector and we will project videos on the wall to watch as a couple every now and then.

People have had various reactions to learning that we don't have a TV. One person thought that our kids will not be well rounded since they can't watch TV. Another person even offered to give us one of their old TVs to use. Others try and get our kids to watch all sorts of videos since they feel as though they are deprived of entertainment.

The bottom line is this: kids don't need television to be well rounded individuals. My kids will not be deprived in any way because they don't have a DVD player in the car to watch whatever on the way to the grocery store. I really believe that the programs we watch are reflective of the opinions of the world and not always the best for our families. There are still some good shows. There are still some positive ideas and values reflected on the television. Kids who do watch television can gain a lot of good knowledge and be well rounded. I am not saying that TV is evil, but our family has decided that we will not have TV.

Changes

Cameron and Dallin are sure growing up. I haven't updated what they are up to for a while, so here is a taste of what they are doing.

• Last week, Cameron figured out how to open doors. Dallin isn't tall enough yet, so he waits for Cameron to open the door, then they both descend on a room and "rearrange" it.
  

• They have begun to love Sesame Street characters, especially Elmo. They love the ABC song and can even say some of the letters!

• They have begun going to nursery. I love that they aren't crying for Darin or I anymore and play until we go and get them.

• We gave them their first buzz hair cut, because it seemed like every hour, someone had messed up hair or food all through it. Sometimes I miss their long locks.

• They got a new set of blocks for Christmas and have been stacking them up and playing with them.

• They have begun playing with each other before their afternoon nap. They have a great time chasing and teasing each other in their separate cribs.

Announcement!!!

What began last June is finally finished! The fireplace is now so beautiful!

It only took us seven months to complete this little projects, but I believe that Darin and I have learned a lot about ourselves and about home improvement projects. Here are a few things we learned:

1. If you can afford it, get a professional to do tile.
2. Never work side by side with chisels during high stress times.
3. If something is not completely secure with liquid nails, the kids will find a way to pry it off.
4. Do not blame your spouse for accidentally hitting the new mantle with a hammer, when you discreetly did it moments before.
5. Do not try to take shortcuts ahem Darin.
6. Do not be a perfectionist ahem Meredith.

Well, even if it took us so long to finish this little project, we really love our new fireplace.

Merry Christmas!

Don't you love how our kiddos look mad, well this was after church last week and at this time they were clean and all spiffed up, but hungry and tired. I guess you can't have it all can you.