Girl's Day

 

Today we headed out to Gardner Village for lunch and (mostly window) shopping with Emilie and Karaia.

We loved looking at all the witch displays.

Some of them are very funny...

It was fun to hang out with our girls, and they were really very well behaved. Especially when you consider that we made them hang around in the quilting store for over an hour while we looked at fabrics...

A few of my favorite things...

Cool, crisp weather.

Warm woolen mittens, or socks, sweaters, hats, yarn, roving... pretty much anything woolen.

I love fall and winter.

It's good knitting weather.

It's good curling up by the fire with a book weather.

It's also good snuggling weather, and snuggling is a big thing in our house.

(As long as it doesn't involve a Snuggie... just don't even get me started on the Snuggie.)

I just cleaned out and organized my yarn stash, so I have plenty to knit.

I just went to the library, so I have plenty to read.

I have three cuddly kids who love to be snuggled and plenty of assorted blankets, quilts and afghans to snuggle them in.

Bring on the fall... I am so ready!

*edited to appease Brian who complained that he was conspicuously absent from the above post.

 I also snuggle with my husband.

So there is that to look forward to as well.

Puppy Love

I know a lot of my neighbors have been wondering if we got a dog. 

We did not.

Caite and Patrick got a dog, Brandi, who now visits us on a fairly regular basis with Caite.

I like it.

 The kids get to have a taste of having a pet without any of the inconvenience of owning an animal. 

(I'm still holding strong on my position of everyone in the house being able to take care of all their own bathroom needs before we even consider getting a pet... I figure that's going to buy me at least another two years.)

Plus watching Lila interact with Brandi is hilarious. She is constantly trying to call the dog and get her to obey, and since she can't whistle yet we hear a whole lot of, "Brandi! Ooo-wooo!" (The Ooo-Woo is how Lila whistles.) Lila loves it when Caite lets her walk Brandi. Although you can probably tell from the above picture it is usually a toss up as to who is "walking" who...

I had to share a close up of the outfit Lila put together today. Yes that would be her church slip on over some leggings, a sweater, her cowboy boots and a hat. This was her third outfit of the day, by 11 am. She had on a different dress, but decided it wasn't twirly enough to suit her mood. She would have been happy to just put on her slip, but mean mom insisted on layers because of the change in the weather. It was just a happy outfit though. I noticed on the way home several people smiled as they drove past and caught sight of Lila racing after the puppy with her twirly skirts flying in the breeze.

It was quite a long walk. Once we got home Evie and Lila went into their room to take off their jackets and shoes. They flopped on the floor and Evie said, "Whew, I am exhausperated!" And Lila agreed, "Yeah... exhaustipated!"

Stubborn

I see a whole lot of this face lately...

And it's usually followed by, "Mom, don't tell me what to do!"

I don't know whether to feel more sorry for her or me, because that's a fight that I can't afford to lose. 

Druggie baby...

Lila has been having these break outs of hives for the past four or five days. She woke up with another one this morning, so I decided that enough was enough and took her in to see the pediatrician. We have no clue about what she is reacting to, but the treatment is a two day course of benadryl to help calm down her system and hopefully clear out whatever is causing the hives.

The hives seem to respond well to the benadryl... and Lila is definitely on a mind altering substance. She has been "model walking" around the house and singing made up songs for the past few hours. She was sitting on our bed and sang, "One...two...three...four...five...underpants!" Then she paused and and said in a tone of confusion, "underpants?" She came into the kitchen and started singing about cinnamon rolls and that she can make them and eat them, which then turned into a song about rock n' roll and a wicked air guitar solo.  She has had us laughing so hard tonight.

Now if the benadryl will just knock her out help her sleep through the night!

She listens so well...

When Brian got his wheelchair we sat the children down and explained that this was not a toy. In fact it was strictly off limits to them. The only way they were allowed to be in Daddy's wheelchair was if he gave them permission.

Tonight we looked up to find Lila coming back down the hall. She can barely reach both wheels at the same time, but yet she manages to maneuver around the room pretty quickly.

I'd be impressed if I wasn't irked at her for playing on it in the first place...

A pretty perfect day...

Woke up to find all three children cuddled on the couch and excitedly waiting for Conference to start. (I know they were mostly excited to get candy playing bingo, but I'll take it.)

Ate cinnamon rolls for breakfast. (Yum.)

Went and took some family pictures for my sister-in-law's family. (I am not a photographer and lay no claim to any skill, they just needed someone to push the button on the point and shoot so they weren't waiting around to set up each shot with the timer.)

Came home and watched the first session of Conference with my family. (Spent a great deal of that time shushing my children as they asked, "Did he say Holy Ghost? Did he say temple?" and so on...)

Spent the two hours in between sessions cleaning up the upstairs. (Not everyone was thrilled about this plan, but at least everyone helped.)

Made lunch just in time for the start of the second session. (Tuna fish sandwiches, I make really awesome tuna fish sandwiches.)

I took Lila in to lay down on my bed for a nap because she was beyond ornery. (The next thing I knew it was 5 pm. Downside, I missed most of the second session. Upside, I got a much needed nap.)

Brian went to the Priesthood session with Greg and his boys. (My cousin Cecily's husband, Justin, led the choir for this session. Brian said that the choir sounded great and it was neat to see someone we know getting such a unique opportunity!)

I took the kids to my Aunt April's and played games with family and friends. (Thanks for letting us come hang out April, We all had a great time!)

We got home and a few minutes later we were surprised by a visit from Grandpa Dave! (He played some games with the kids and then read them some bedtime stories. We love his surprise visits.)

Now the kids are in bed and I'm ready for some one on one time with my husband. (That means watching a couple of  TV shows until one of us crashes and the other one has to wake them up to drag them to bed... I got a nap so the smart money is on Brian tonight.)

Tomorrow we get to go over to Grandpa Dave's and watch more Conference and play more bingo and eat the yummy dinner he's making. (I love Conference weekends!)