Gingerbread Houses

Tonight my parents came over to make gingerbread houses with my girls. It's a tradition that they do every year and it's something my girls look forward to! So my parents came over right before Brian left for mutual, armed with a house, icing, and a bucket-load of candy to decorate with. Then they went to town! They would tell my mom where they wanted the icing and they each contributed to a fabulous house. They had some creative ideas. They made a sled from candy canes and then Eliza broke one of the gingerbread cookies in half so it looked like he was sitting down on the sled. It was cute. Hattie snitched the candy most of the time and had a blast doing that. It was a fun time!

Today I took Brian to work, then did a few errands before my visiting teachers came over. This afternoon, Eliza, Libby and I went to Karolyn's for a mom/daughter cookie decorating and gumdrop tree party. So cute. We added gum drops on toothpicks to a Styrofoam cone to make trees. She is always so creative.

Tonight I worked on a little album for a baby who passed away. Becky called me today to see if I could put one together. Of course I said yes, but I was grateful to help out. It actually came together pretty quickly and I was able to think of page designs rather quickly, so that was a nice blessing.

Coming Up For Air

I feel like I am coming up for air before heading back into the busy-ness of life. I wish I would have documented what I did so it's not so hard to remember! Some things I remember:
We went to the annual Pribyl Christmas party on Saturday night. We had arranged for Libby to be with my parents that night so we didn't have to worry about any problems with her and a babysitter. Eliza ended up joining her. They had a blast and a day full of fun. They went to DI and bought lots of books to read in the car. They also went to Casa Grande to see Emma in their town's electric parade. They froze but had fun! Then they got to spend the night.

We had fun at the party--Italian food for dinner and the anticipated gift exchange. We took a purse and a nice leatherman tool I had gotten at Cabelas. We went home with a pair of iPod headphones and a Subway gift card. It was a fun time and fun to visit and catch up with some friends.

Last night I had a training for the YW presidents. We had to train them on the 2010 theme so they could teach their class presidents. Then they'll teach their classes at ward conference. I had to speak about how they could work with their girls in creating an engaging lesson based on the new theme. I also worked all weekend, making these visuals that the wards could use to go with the theme. I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to make them. They took forever!!! I am glad last night is over.

Now I can focus on getting ready for Christmas. I can't believe it's only 2 weeks away. That makes me stressed out. I have too much to do before then.

Last Friday Eliza and Libby participated in the fun run at school. Brian and I were holding our breath that Libby would actually do it. She knew we were coming to watch and she wanted us to come. When we got there, she said, "I'm scared." We thought oh great--here we go. But before we knew it, she was running off to the starting line. She did great! Ended up getting 5th place out of all the 1st grade girls. Eliza ran next. Her race was a fun one to watch. She ran well but one little girl was in front of her the whole time. I thought, "Well, it looks like she'll get 2nd this year." The mom and some of the mom's friends of the girl in the lead were standing next to me. I was cheering for Eliza and they figured out I was her mom. They asked if we thought about putting her in club track and we said yes but that they don't start the kids until they are 8 years old. They went on about how this little girl in the lead was in club track, etc. etc. But in the last lap about 3/4 of the way around, Eliza zipped past her and won the race. It was so fun to watch. I know this is just a fun run--not the Olympics--but it was still fun to see her win that.

Here is Libby running. We didn't dare make a big deal of taking pictures or we thought she might just run off the track! LOL. She is in the red shirt and gray pants--she even let me put a ponytail in her hair before she ran.

Getting ready to start...

Pulling ahead (might need to click on it to see her)

Winning!

I hope I can keep up better this week!

Pictures and Glendale Glitters

On Friday I had good intentions of heading out early for some shopping. But the need for some sleep prevailed. I didn't get out of the house until about 7:45. I went to Target, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Old Navy and the Quilted Cactus. I was surprised that Old Navy and the fabric store were the worst of all of those places. The lines at ON were crazy long--I decided to leave just as quickly as I went in. The fabric store had 40% off their fabric and I was in line for about 45 minutes. It wasn't that crowded but they only have one register and it went slowly! After I got home we hung out at home before getting ready to get our family pictures taken. Terri took them and I can't wait to see how they turned out. I snapped a few pictures, too, while Terri was busy with the other girls. I love this one of Ruby...


It also happened to be the night of Glendale Glitters when they turn the lights on. We decided to just stay for that. It was fun. We split a couple of hamburgers from a vendor, then walked around for a bit waiting for the official flip of the switch! We enjoyed the lights a bit, then headed home.

Teeth

Libby lost two more teeth this week. She lost one of her top teeth on Wednesday I think. She lost that one out back and we couldn't find it! We search and searched on the patio but couldn't find it. Then on Thanksgiving, she was riding in my parents' car to the park and as they were getting out, my mom noticed something on the seat. She picked it up and it was a tooth! Libby had pulled out her tooth and just quietly placed it beside her. Funny girl! She looks so cute with her toothless grin.

Thanksgiving

We had a fun Thanksgiving this year. In the morning, Brian went to the Turkey Bowl, but only like two people showed up, so he came home. Our ward sure is different than it was last year! Not as many younger folk! When he got home, I went walking/running. It's been too long! Then we got things together for lunch. We had lunch at my parent's house this year. Dan and Chris were just at their house and Brian and Kamille were at her brother's house. We had a delicious lunch! We had smoked turkey. Every year they take it to a long-time friend's house who has a pit in his yard and each year he smokes several turkeys. It tastes so yum! My mom made her yummy stuffing along with squash and those scrumptious rolls we tried last week. I brought mashed potatoes (a good recipe from The Pioneer Woman), vegetables and a butternut squash puree. It all tasted so good and it was all over too soon! After lunch we played Scrabble Slam--which is a really fun card game. While I fed Ruby and my dad cleaned up lunch, everyone one else played the Pictureka card game.

Doing the wishbone

After a bit we loaded up and headed to Ahwatukee. We met up with my brother and his family at a park. The kids played and the rest of us visited. We also had our dessert there--yummy pies! It was a lot of fun!









From there we went to Scrapbooks Etc. They were having a special sale and cookies and Santa. We actually got a picture of all our girls with Santa. Libby didn't want to then we told her she got a sucker after, then she zoomed up to stand by him. Ellie and Hattie were a bit hesitant, but they did it! I can't wait to see how it turned out. They gave out the yummy big suckers that they sell there, so they were loving that. They also had sugar cookies, which they liked, too.

We got home way too late but it was a wonderful day.

4

Ellie at age 3

Age 2

Age 1

Ellie at 5 days old

Yesterday was Ellie's 4th birthday! In the morning, she got to choose between Lucky Charms or Pop Tarts. Two healthy choices, I know! She went with the Lucky Charms. I let her open two of her presents before church--a new dress and new church shoes. She looked so darling in her new outfit. (Blurry picture but you get the idea.)


After we were all ready, we headed to church. After church, in the car so Brian could watch, we let her open another gift--the new Tinkerbell movie. I knew they would like to watch it after church, so we did it then. She was excited. We came home and they ate lunch and watched the movie. She also got to open her final gift--a new pair of tennis shoes. She has really needed a new pair, so she got some. We went to Brian's parents' for dinner. The kids had fun picking up pecans from the ground, chasing the chickens and playing out back with each other. For dessert, Chrystalyn brought cake and ice cream. Earlier Ellie had helped Sara frost the cake with pink icing and purple sprinkles. She was in heaven!


Overall I think she had a great birthday. She is so funny...Ellie has sucked her thumb at night as she is getting to sleep. We have tried to get her to stop, but she would always say, "I'll stop when I am 4." She was doing it the other day and I asked her to stop. She said, "I'm not four yet." Since yesterday though, Brian and I haven't noticed her sucking her thumb anymore. Hopefully it'll last!

Here are some favorites of Ellie right now:
--loves clothes. She changes her clothes a few times a day. She loves to put together some fun outfits--pants under dresses. I think she is going to be a fashion diva like Eliza.
--loves to play with dolls. LOVES them.
--she is a pack rat!!! We'll find stashes of toys and books and stuff everywhere around the house--in corners, in backpacks, in strollers, in the car, etc. She loves to have lots of things in one place.
--she is such a little mom. She loves to help take care of Ruby. She knows what might be wrong when she is crying. She loves to hold her, doesn't care if she gets spit up on or if Ruby dirties her diaper while she is holding her, etc.
--she missed her terrible twos--they started when she was about 3.75 years old. I am hoping by age 4.1 she'll be out of it!

We LOVE having Ellie in our family. She is so much fun and very loving.

Eliza and Libby put on matching PJs from some hand-me-downs we got a while back. The thought it was fun to be match-y!

Slight Change

We found out on Wednesday night that our wonderful bishop--Bishop Purtymun was going to be released. And Brian was released as the second counselor and called to be the first counselor. So today we got a new bishop--Bishop Nally--and Brian was sustained as 1st counselor and Tyson Hintz was put in as the second counselor. I don't think it'll be much different for us other than Brian will just have different responsibilities.

Survived

This weekend was the big multi-stake youth conference that we were in charge of and have been planning ever since we were put in back in August. It was a LONG weekend, but it went well and I think it was a success. On Friday, I went early to help set up. We had it at the ball field at one of our stake centers. The theme of the whole conference was "Power of Believers." On Friday night we did a "Carnival of Power." Each stake did two activity booths and one food booth. We had everything from a rock climbing wall, arm wrestling, bottle ring toss and a pie eating contest to team challenges, swing dancing and jousting. The food was fun, too. There was kettle corn, hot dogs, nachos, lemonade and hot cocoa and caramel apples. We had over 400 youth there and it seemed like they had a fun time. Brian had the oldest four girls, and my mom came to help me with Ruby. I knew Brian could handle all of them, but I didn't want her to have two bottles in a row, so my mom came to sit with Ruby so I could feed her when needed. Because it was so cold, my mom ended up sitting in the car holding Ruby the whole time. She woke up long enough to eat, then she slept the rest of the time. I think she likes snuggling with Grandma! My dad came at the beginning, too, until he had to leave for work. My dad got finagled into helping set up a little bit, too, which was much appreciated! After clean up that night, I got home around 10:30, then I had to be back at the stake center by 8 the next morning. The first activity was for the youth to go around to nearby houses to collect canned food and to give out flyers for the Christmas lights at the Mesa Temple. That was done individually by each separate stake, then everyone met back at our stake center to hear the mission president--President Beck--and his wife speak. Then they ate lunch, heard another speaker and had a short testimony meeting. That part was over around 2:30, then the last part was a dance last night. So by the time I got home from that, I was ready to crash!

Brian survived the weekend, too. On Saturday, Eliza had a soccer game, so they went to that. She scored a goal, so that was fun. Then they went on a picnic and a little hike.

Post-Traumatic Swine Flu Mist Syndrome

This week has flown by so far. On Monday we hung out at home. My visiting teachers came over in the early afternoon. My neighbor Heather was nice enough to let Ellie and Hattie come play while they were here. When people come over, for some reason, they think it's time to run around like crazies! I was not up for that, so they played there for a bit. After school, we went to Brian's office. Aleeda and David needed help moving a dinette set they bought, so Brian took three of the girls and I took Ruby and Libby to gymnastics. Libby was really excited to go and she had fun. Yay! Glad she is enjoying it. We came home, had family home evening and got everyone to bed.

On Tuesday my mom came over and we made bread. Actually I made bread and she made rolls. We have been wanting to try these rolls from Our Best Bites. They are indeed a lot more work that bread, but oh my...they are delicious. And incredibly delicious fresh, warm out of the oven. I will definitely make those again. We made a run to Target to get a few items, them we came home. My mom went home and I picked up Eliza and Libby from school. I went into the school because they were offering the swine flu shots at the school. Let's just say it was one of the worst experiences ever!!! After school wasn't too bad, it's when we went back later. After school we waited for our turn and I had to really coerce Eliza into getting into the chair just to do the swine flu mist. Not even the shot! She did it and was a little embarrassed about how easy it was. The whole time Libby was saying she was going to do it, etc. She cried and I couldn't get her in the chair. I didn't push it but figured we'd come back later when Brian could come with me. I went back and forth for how important it was to do it, but I figured with Ruby, I wanted everyone to have at least the swine flu vaccine. So we came home and did the normal after school stuff--chores, homework, etc. We had dinner and then decided to try the vaccine again. I wish we wouldn't have. When it was our turn, Libby wouldn't come. She walked off and Brian had to chase her around. He finally got her and held her (while she screamed) and sat in the chair (while she screamed) and held her down (while she screamed and cried). That went on for a bit. She held her nose, etc. etc. And it wasn't even for the shot! Then a another nurse came over and wasn't very nice, unfortunately. She was talking very stern to Libby (she actually kept calling her "Liddy" even after Brian corrected her several times). I should have told her to stop talking to her like that, but I was having a hard time as it was. Libby said she wanted me to hold her, so we switched, but she was just as difficult for me. She still screamed and tried to get away. We got her to the point where the nurse could get it into her nose--but not without Libby totally fighting it. But they got it in. By the time it was over though, Eliza was crying, Libby was crying and I was crying. I was sad for Libby that that is what happened just to get it in and I was quite embarrassed. The principal was there, the vice principal was there, another teacher we know was there, etc. I felt like I couldn't win. I was like--do I look like a TERRIBLE mom for forcing her to get it or would it be worse if I didn't make her and made it look like she walks all over me? It was just not a very good experience all around.

After we got home, I took off to a presidency meeting. We met with the camp directors, so that with all the normal stuff we needed to talk about made for a long, late meeting. We will all be so glad when this upcoming youth conference is over.

Today I couldn't get us out of the house for the life of me. (I mean to do some errands with Ellie, Hattie and Ruby.) Finally we left around 1 I think. It just seems like I feed Ruby, then get myself ready, then I don't want to leave because she'll need to eat while we are out, so I wait and feed her again...etc.

Tonight was our last YW in Excellence we had to go to. Terri graciously watched our girls again. I came home myself with the girls as Brian had to stay for a meeting. Bedtime was late unfortunately, but at least everyone is sleeping now. Now I need to get to bed!

Pics

I downloaded some pictures off my camera tonight finally...

Where have a I gone wrong!?! I have some teaching to do. LOL. I thought it was funny though.


One night, Ruby got to lay by Libby while she got to sleep. I love her arm protectively over Ruby. I had to sneak in to get a picture before moving Ruby.


After school one day...


The night Ruby got to go to sleep by Eliza. Had to sneak another picture!

Hattie loves to hold Ruby. (Or "Ruba" as she has been calling her the past couple of days.)
In a darling outfit Brian's on-call assistant gave to her.
OK--this needs some MAJOR explanation before you freak out. I was helping with Libby do her homework one afternoon. I forget what the assignment was, but I think she had to count pennies and pinto beans and put them into groups. She wrote the headings on the top and when I checked it out, I gasped! I guess that is the new plural form of "penny".

The rest of this week has been pretty typical. I guess Wednesday was a little different since the girls were off for Veteran's day. I ended up watching my niece and nephews for the afternoon while my brother did some shopping. They all seemed to have fun playing. That night I went to a another ward's YW in Excellence. Terri was nice enough to watch my girls since Brian had to go to mutual, too. I even left her house with a plate of these apple dumplings. They are so sinful and delicious!!

Thursday night was hectic. We had to drop our van off at the mechanic--it needs the timing belt changed among a few other things that we have noticed is wrong with it. The sliding door on one side quit working a couple of days ago and yesterday the check engine light came on. We are a little nervous what this repair job will cost. We are a little bit expecting to realize maybe it's time for a new car. We'll see. Then we had to do the chickens at Brian's parents and Eliza had soccer. We all went and watched. The parents played with the kids, so that was fun. Brian had a good time.

Friday was Ellie's sleepover with my parents for her birthday. That morning she told me she didn't want to go. I was like what?!? I guess she was nervous about spending the night by herself. So I took her over there in the afternoon and my parents brought her home to sleep, then they took her out again on Saturday. On Friday night they shopped for her gift--she picked out a few things--a Sleeping Beauty Barbie, a Cinderella tea set and a sleeping bag. She had a blast my mom said. They ate dinner at Elephant Bar and I guess she was in heaven and had a wonderful time.

In Ruby news, happily she has slept through the night three nights in a row (knock on wood). I am not sure how we've gotten so lucky, but I feel very blessed that she is sleeping well so soon. She loves to be swaddled--none of my other girls liked it at all. So it's fun to have one who does. Here is another picture from the ones Terri took a while back.

Gymnastics

Libby started gymnastics yesterday. We really have wanted her to be involved in something and since she won't do soccer or things like that, we tried gymnastics again. She would say she wants to do it and other days she doesn't. We decided to sign her up and see what happened. On Sunday on the way home from church she said, "Tomorrow is g-y-m-n-a-s-t-i-c-s." She tried on her pink leotard and wore it around. So yesterday after school, so got ready and even let me put her hair in a pony tail! She went right in and had a great time. She said she didn't want me to watch her though. I took a couple magazines and I told her I would be reading those. I ended up seeing a friend I hadn't seen in a while, so I visited with her the whole time. I peeked at Libby a few times and she was having fun. On the way home, Libby said that I could watch her next time. We are glad she did it and had fun!

Today was my six week postpartum appointment. It's already been six weeks since Ruby was born!

Barnum and Bailey

First, here are a couple pictures from the stake musical.

Today I felt like a circus act at church. We walked in about a minute late. Ruby needed to eat around 7:20 and I wasn't ready yet, so that threw everything off. Brian had saved us a seat, but I didn't see it and neither did Chrystalyn, so we had two rows of the hard seats in the back. Ruby needed to be held and she thought she needed to eat, so Chrystalyn fed her. Ellie was back and forth between the rows. The wooden box of wooden magnetic dolls fell to the ground. Even Brian heard it from the stand. He thought we were playing a game of Jenga in the back! LOL. Ellie's bag of books fell to the ground (she brought enough to start a library--several board books). Some crayons fell, Libby wanted me to read with her, Hattie was chatty and loud, etc. It was a nice circus act. I think we entertained several people.

The rest of church went well. Eliza gave a talk in primary. Last night after the musical, we were trying to get everyone to bed. It was a little stressful, then Eliza says, "MOM! What about my talk for tomorrow?" Ack!!! She said she would write it. She wrote most of it, then Brian helped her finish. She even drew a picture to go with it and found two pictures from her Gospel Art book to hold up.

Tonight we had dinner at my brother's house. It was my mom's birthday dinner. Kamille made pork and cheesy potatoes, my dad did a salad and I brought dessert. I tried the pumpkin crumble from Our Best Bites. It was delicious! Everyone loved it. I will make it again for sure.

Saturday

Today Eliza had soccer pictures and a game. She did great--even scored a goal. I think it was her first one. She kicked it far and over her opponents' heads. After soccer, we went to Brian's parents' to feed and water the chickens and collect our eggs. We hung out there for a bit, then I took Ellie and Hattie with me to the grocery store.

Tonight was Eliza's final performance of the musical "Legacy of Faith." My parents were able to come tonight along with Brian's parents. I enjoyed it again! Ellie came with me, too. I was really touched with how much the pioneers endured and all they went through. I enjoyed the rendition of "Come, Come Ye Saints." There was also a very touching song that three younger youth sang called "Prayer of the Walking Child." The girl who sang the last part was amazing. I think she is about 12 or 13 and her voice was out of this world. But the song really made you think about what the kids went through as they were crossing the plains. I'll post some pictures when I can access Brian's computer. It's not working tonight.

Week

This week has been rough! Sunday night after Libby got to bed, she started coughing. And it didn't end! She wouldn't take any cough syrup, so it kept her up and Brian and I took turns sleeping in her room. When I wasn't in with her hearing her cough, I was feeding Ruby. Libby didn't get to sleep until after four in the morning. I knew school wouldn't be happening with her that day, so I just let her sleep in. She didn't wake up until noon!!! I was glad she got her rest but for the next two nights, bed time for her was unpleasant. But we are managing. She had a good two nights, so hopefully she is on the up and up.

We've been busy this week with Eliza's stake musical practice. The performance is tonight and tomorrow. Last night they had me take pictures at the dress rehearsal, so I got to see it. It's good and touching about the pioneers.

I'm trying to think what else we had this week. Tuesday night I went to West Wing Ward's YW in Excellence. They did a nice job--decorated in golds to go with the new virtue value. They served soup and had some leaders speak. Terri did a really neat slide show of the girls as babies, then their current photo. It was another great meeting.

Today here is a conversation between me and Ellie:

Ellie: sadly "I don't like the name Ellie."
me: You don't? What do you want your name to be?
Ellie: Barbie.

ha ha! I think I'll stick with Ellie!