Thanksgiving Dinner and. . . Presents?

We did the Ostler Thanksgiving dinner today and it was fabulous! I did a terrible job taking pictures this year, however, and only got a few at the end. But everything turned out great: great food, great family, great fun! And our kids were very excited that they got to open their gift for the Christmas gift exchange a whole month early! Yeah!

Addie got a Tinkerbell dress which she absolutely loves! She couldn't be happier.

And Preston got a ball and two cars: two of his favorite things. Perfect!

And Ryan got to play some soccer with the other guys and the kids while the girls talked and talked. Once again, perfect. I love my family and enjoy any excuse to spend more time with them.

Our Thanksgiving Feast

We had the privilege of hosting the Rocque family for Thanksgiving dinner this year. We put up two long tables in our basement playroom and had an AMAZING feast. Ryan made THE most delicious turkey (he brined it--by soaking it all night in salt water--before he cooked it), mashed potatoes, gravy, and rolls. I cleaned the house, set everything up, and made a pecan pie. Everyone else brought the rest of the feast. It was SO delicious and so much fun.

If you know Ryan, it should be no surprise to you that he wanted to be like a noble from the Middle Ages and eat the turkey the old fashioned way. :)

The little girls' table. I'm pretty sure they did a lot more playing than they did eating, but oh well.

Boy, am thankful for these two rascals in my life. After we ate, we each took turns saying what we were most grateful for this past year. Honestly, my little family always comes out number one for me. I am so grateful for Ryan and all of the endless hard work he does for our family. Being a full-time teacher AND student has not been easy, but he still saves a little energy to play with our kids and be a fabulous father and husband. I am so grateful for Adelyn because she is my best little friend. It is so nice to be able to carry on real conversations with her and chat about anything and everything. It is also such a joy to watch her develop into such a sweet, ambitious, beautiful little girl. Preston is a little ham! He is starting to talk more and more and he is so fun. He loves to tease, kick and throw balls, climb onto everything, and be outside. He is a true boy through and through and I don't know how we ever got along without him.

I am also very grateful for our extended families and for our friends. It is such a blessing to feel loved and supported. We have been richly blessed this year! Although it is sometimes easy to focus on the trials and hardships we have faced, it is quite overwhelming when I stop to think about all the little things that have fallen into place for us. I know the Lord is directing our lives and is never far away. And that is a great blessing indeed.

"Jungle Sally"

For those of you who don't know, we have recently adopted a third child. It was kind of on a whim, but we realize now that we needed her as much as she needed us. But three kids has actually turned out to be more of an adjustment than we originally thought it would be. She is just three years old and is unfortunate REALLY wild. She just absolutely destroys our house, screams at the top of her lungs regularly, never says please or thank you, is EXTREMELY mean to Preston, and doesn't listen to a thing I say. As a result of her uncivilized behavior, Adelyn and I have affectionately named her "Jungle Sally."

During these last few weeks, I have given Adelyn the responsibility to help keep Sally tame and to clean up after her when she makes big messes. Adelyn also volunteered to teach Sally to be nice to Preston and share her toys; to say please and thank you; and to not scream or whine. It is working out quite well and I have only occasionally had to send Sally outside to sleep with her jungle friends.

Okay, so we don't really have a new wild third child. But our little imaginary family scape goat has given me an opportunity to help make my real three-year old aware of her mistakes without causing her to feel blamed or picked on. And amazingly, "Jungle Sally" really has become more tame in the process. Isn't it neat what a little imagination can do. . .

Trick-or-Treating with Cinderella

I LOVED Halloween this year! People have often told me that life is so much more fun with kids. Well, that is true, but especially when it comes to Halloween. Honestly, I can't think of any better way to spend an evening than skipping down the road trick-or treating with my giggling little girl. She was just beaming and she kept saying, "Mommy, this is so much fun!"

We decided to coordinate our costumes this year. Adelyn is obviously Cinderella, I am her fairy godmother, and Preston is Bruno. If you don't know who Bruno is, you are definitely due for a dose of this Disney classic. He is like the hero of the whole show. (Ryan was supposed to be Prince Charming, but I couldn't find a good costume for him.) I love this picture because it reminds me so much of a picture taken of my mom with my two oldest siblings on Halloween long before I was born. She was dressed as "Little Bo Peep." My mom is my biggest hero. I like to imagine that someday I will be even half the woman and mother that she is.

Preston looks like he has no idea why on earth he has to wear this crazy dog on the top of his head all night long. But he was quite a trooper about it overall.

An excited little princess.

This is such a darling picture of Adelyn with her Grandma Rocque. I will never forget the day that we left her house and Adelyn said, "Mom, I just love that Grandma." I think if she had it her way, Adelyn would spend every day visiting either her Grandma Rocque or Grandma Ostler. She has such a special relationship with both of them.

Ryan's beautiful sister Heather with her baby, Abby. Her three little girls were all darling princesses this year.

Adelyn, smiling because she just ate ANOTHER piece of Halloween candy. This picture shows off the cute witch she got painted on her cheek at the ward Truck-or-Treat.

My boys, exhausted from a long and fun-filled Halloween night.

Carving Pumpkins

This past month, everywhere we went Adelyn would look at everyone's Halloween decorations and say, "Look Mom, those people are ready for Halloween. When are we going to get ready?!" I'm still not really sure what "getting ready" entails. But apparently my little group of plain pumpkins on the porch wasn't cutting it for her. To appease her a little, we made sure to carve a few pumpkins. Thank you, Grandma Rocque, for growing these beautiful pumpkins. I especially love the green one because it has personality (and it was much less slimy on the inside).

Adelyn and I decided to give the green one a silly face. Ryan took the more complicated route (as usual) and carved an impressive haunted castle.

While we carved away, Preston entertained himself by playing with his baby pumpkin. He was a pretty good sport about not getting in on the carving. I think he only had one or two tantrums where he threw himself on the floor in frustration. :) But fortunately he forgave us when he got to pose for the pumpkin pictures.

Cackling with the Witches

One of our favorite pre-Halloween traditions is to take the kids to "Gardner Village." We went over UEA break this year. We just love to walk around, browse in the little shops, and enjoy all of the Halloween festivities. The weather was beautiful and the atmosphere was amazing.

I love this picture because it captures Preston completely. He is such a smiley little guy. He loves being outside and enjoys finding new seats to sit and relax on and take a load off.

Adelyn's favorite witch was the really sparkly purple witch named Matilda. But she thought the funniest witch was the one who wasn't watching were she was going and crashed into the tower.

He's such a little angel!

Mama's boy.

Daddy's girl.

My Very Own Grocery Organizer

Grocery shopping is a bit of a juggling act with two kids. Although Adelyn has NEVER before been content to sit in the designated baby seat of the shopping cart, ever since Preston was born she has started throwing fits because she doesn't get to sit there. (Thank you, Costco, for having a double seater. No thanks to Walmart for your single seater carts, which have created a sense of scarcity in the life of my child.) Anyway, we temporarily remedied this problem by letting Adelyn hold onto the side of the cart. She would jump off frequently to get things off the shelves for me and things worked out great for awhile.

Lately, however, this has apparently gotten old. She decided to try a new solution and she now prefers to ride on the big part of the cart so she can snack on the tasty treats I put in the cart and not have to hassle with walking and trying to keep up with me. But quite honestly, there really isn't room for a kid her size in a fully loaded grocery cart. She realized this quickly when one week she found herself completely buried under a pile of groceries. I dug her out once we got to the register, but she remembered this experience because the following week...

She requested to get in the big part of the cart again, after first begging to go in Preston's spot, of course. I ran through Walmart as quickly as possible without much thought until we came to the produce section, the final area of my shopping excursion. While loading some potatoes into the cart, Adelyn said emphatically, "But Mom, there's not any more room for those potatoes!" I looked into the cart to discover that all of the food I had loaded was perfectly and strategically organized around her. She had a box of cereal behind her and two others on either side of her; cans stacked neatly under each of her arms; a loaf of bread next to her left leg; meat and cheese next to her right; yogurt and more cans between her feet. It was absolutely amazing!!

Apparently, as I was putting things into the cart, she was finding little spots for them so that she wouldn't get buried this time. And she was right, there wasn't any room for the potatoes. So after I laughed hysterically for a minute or two, I put the potatoes next to Preston, grabbed some grapes and went to the check out counter smiling and thinking, "Where on earth did I get such a precocious and organized little girl?"

P.S. Sorry about not posting pics. My computer's been ill lately.

For All You Parents Out There...

Okay, so I admit it. I am definitely not a perfect parent and thus am quite an avid reader of parenting books. In fact, I read about one book every month, usually immediately following an extremely rough day of motherhood. You all know those days--the days that leave you feeling powerless and miserable. I've found that the only way for me to overcome those terrible feelings is to find some solutions. Not that I think all parenting books have the answers I am looking for. But I figure if I read enough books, chances are I will stumble over some great ideas. Well, I think I have hit a gold mine! "Positive Discipline" by Jane Nelsen is an amazing book. The author is a marriage and family counselor and...mother of SEVEN (my biggest pet peeve about parenting books is that too many of them are written by doctors who have no children!). This book is loaded with great principles and solutions that work.

Just a few principles I learned from this book:

1) Children misbehave for a reason. You can lessen and even eliminate certain misbehavior by understanding why children are acting up and taking steps to fill the need they are trying to fill by their misbehavior.
2) Guilt is not a necessary part of parenting. Where did we ever get the idea that in order to get a child (or anyone, for that matter) to act better, we first have to make them feel worse?
3) Punishment, although sometimes producing a temporary fix, often generates negative long-term results: resentment, rebellion, revenge, and retreat.
4) Children need to be allowed to experience the natural consequences for their actions (within reason, of course). This is the way they learn. For example: if they don't eat, they get hungry; if they stand in the rain, they get wet. As parents, we don't have to always shield them from these things. It is too much work for us, and then they never learn responsibility and accountability. It is important to allow children to make their own choices, then be a resource for them to help them make a better choice if they made a mistake. Teach children that mistakes are wonderful opportunities to learn and grow!
5) Logical consequence are appropriate when children make choices that interfere with the rights of others or are potentially harmful. All consequence must be related, respectful AND reasonable. If we leave out any of the 3 R's, it is a punishment and will probably produce negative long-term results.
6) Giving children age-appropriate chores helps them feel a sense of belonging and importance.
7) Spending regular quality one-on-one time with each child builds strong relationships and helps children misbehave less frequently.
8) Having weekly family meetings to solve problems helps keep a home running smoothly. These meetings help children learn self-discipline, responsibility, cooperation, problem-solving skills and accountability.

Well, there you go. A great book and like I said, it is founded on excellent principles. Already, it has proved to make a huge difference in my little toddler's behavior and in my sanity. By the way, I don't know if this book will be of much help until children are about three years and older, but I have another favorite book for younger toddlers, "The Happiest Toddler on the Block" by Harvey Karp (he also wrote one for infants). I also love "The Potentially Sane Mother's Guide to Raising Young Children" by Tamara Fackrell. What are your favorite parenting books?

Corn Belly's

We went with some of our friends to Corn Belly's at Thanksgiving Point. It was even more fun this year because Ryan came with us and Preston was actually able to enjoy it too (last year he slept in the Bjorn the whole time).

Preston had a blast digging in the corn kernels. He loved that little fake squash that he's holding. Oh, and the "ouchie" on his head is when he had a run-in with the cement a couple of days before. Poor little guy.

Our little princess Adelyn in her carriage. This may have been what inspired her desire to be Cinderella for Halloween.

"What am I supposed to do with all this hair!" (Fortunately, Cinderella has shorter hair.)

Ryan took Preston on the cow train through the pumpkin patch. It was really bumpy and fun.

Adelyn rode with her good friend Jaron.

Corn Belly's "Rocks," or so this HUGE rocking chair tells us.

The Basement Playroom

Since we moved into our new house, Ryan and I have always planned to make our unfinished basement into a playroom. But with winter well on its way, the project had been on my mind more and more. And I confess I have a bit of a problem with becoming slightly obsessed when I get my mind set on something…

Saturday: I was running down the road and I spotted a brand new Thomas the Train table at a yard sale. I stopped, asked the price, and then ran home as fast as I could. Between gasps for air, I explained to Ryan where he had to go and what he had to get. He was back in 20 minutes with the table, and he had even bargained them down $10 extra dollars. Yeah! But now we had a train table in our front room. I stewed over that fact for a day or so…

Monday: First thing that morning, I was on the phone with several carpet stores. Then I dragged Adelyn and Preston around to four of these stores with a mission to find myself the perfect carpet remnant for my unfinished basement playroom (see Addie’s quote to the right for a laugh). After shopping around, the first store of the four ended up having the best deal (of course), so I went back and paid for the remnant. I got a great deal; it was less than $7.00/yard and is perfect!

Tuesday: I waited all day for it, but the carpet was finally delivered around 3:30, while both kids were asleep. The delivery guy just left it in my garage, saying that because of the tight corners, it would probably take at least three people to get it down to my basement. I watched the garage door close while he drove away and I thought, “What was he thinking leaving this carpet in my garage? Does he have any idea what kind of person I am?!!” The roll was 12 feet wide and 22½ feet long, much too big for me, it was true, and seemingly impossible to get around the corners alone. But honestly, how could I wait around? I was on a mission! With a little elbow grease, lots of grunting, and a few times being pinned between the carpet and the stairs and having to somehow lift it over my head while I wormed my way back under to the other side (good thing I learned how to do power cleans in my track days or I would’ve been pinned for good!), the carpet was downstairs.

The kids woke up from their naps and helped me unroll it. Then they ran back and forth like little maniacs while I vacuumed. They were so excited! I was so excited! It covers all but just a few feet to either side of the room and is soft and warm. It will keep my kids’ feet warm and their heads free from bruises (well, relatively speaking). Ryan came home and I showed him the fruits of my four-day obsession. He was so amazed and pleased. (I didn’t give him too many details about my fateful installation job.) We brought all the toys down that evening and…

Wednesday morning: The place was ready for little visitors. Adelyn and Preston LOVE it and I am so happy to have a place where they can run around and release some energy without the rest of my house being torn apart at the seams. It is perfect! And because our basement already has plastic-covered insulation, they can literally bounce off the walls and not get hurt. I even bought a table and a chair so that I can scrapbook while the kids play. I am so thankful it all worked out. In fact, I think we should go play down there now.

Good Ol' Joy School

So, as of the beginning of September, Adelyn has officially become a "Joy Schooler." Me and four other moms rotate houses every week and take turns teaching our five toddlers about all of the many joys in life. It has been tons of fun so far. Adelyn comes bouncing home everyday holding her latest craft project and singing a new song, and tells me about all of the wonderful things she's learned.

I got to teach two weeks ago. The theme was the joys of nature. We went on an awesome nature walk at Adventureland Park. We fed the ducks, went on a nature walk and looked through our "viewers" (Adelyn calls them "telescopes," but really they are just decorated toilet paper rolls), played on the playground, and had a snack complete with flower-shaped PB&Js, carrots and trail mix. It was so much fun. Here are some of the pics:

All the kids in a row. From left to right, Vaughn (Zachary's brother), Zachary, Rebekah, Dallin, Adelyn, Hollie (Dallin's sister), and Amy. They are all so cute and fun!

The kids using their "telescopes" to look at the world just one thing at a time. Of course Adelyn's is pink, her favorite color.

Adelyn loved playing on the playground. She's always loved to climb on things.

Each day the kids rotate jobs on our helper chart. They get to help with the snack, the calendar, the weather chart, or the music, or they get to be the wake-up fairy and wake all the kids up after they have their "nap." Zachary did a fabulous job being our wake-up fairy at the outing. Here he is waving his magic wand.

Girl Time

It is always nice to have some girl time to balance out the hours and hours of Mommy time in my life. Here is a quick glimpse of some of the latest outings:

My good friend from high school, Lis (far left), is expecting her first baby (a boy) around Thanksgiving. Her sisters threw her a shower, which was a lot of fun. Leslie and Heather are some of my high school friends who came to celebrate as well.

We had a BYU cross country/track reunion hosted by my track buddy Anika (she's the one on the bottom in the center). It was so much fun to catch up with everyone's news and have our kids play together. Oh, and the home made pizza was excellent too.

Fairy Princesses

So, I think these pictures are so cute! My sister Camille took these when Adelyn came to visit her in Phoenix back in March. Adelyn and Eliza just love each other. According to Camille, Eliza says that Adelyn is her "best friend." What a huge blessing that Adelyn has so many cousins her age to play with!

I'm still not sure whether Adelyn will be more of a girly-girl or a tom-boy. Maybe neither. She definitely loves to run around and doesn't mind getting dirty at all. But as you can see, she also absolutely loves playing with dress-ups and dancing around. I guess only time will tell.

Big cheesy grins all around.

Although Eliza and Adelyn have almost opposite coloring, her brother Isaac looks a lot like Adelyn to me. You can definitely tell that they are cousins.

Silly faces!

Nostalgia and Resolution

So, maybe it's the change in the weather; maybe it's the start of another school year; maybe I'm just crazy. But I am finding myself wrapped up in a fit of nostalgia lately. Why am I wishing to go back to the days of an 800 square foot condo, hauling two kids up the stairs with 20 bags of groceries, a train blaring passed my house 50 times a day, having little privacy? It seems that although I have lived in my new house for over four months now, my heart hasn't totally surrendered the memory of my old life yet. Strange?

I miss the familiarity of my surroundings and knowing everyone in my complex. I miss Provo Library story time, the Bean Museum, and taking Adelyn to the kids' playground at the mall. I even miss my crazy ward, with all the insane happenings and my multiple heavy callings. But mostly, I miss my good friend that lived just two buildings down. Our two-hour walks, sharing in one another's projects, showing each other our latest decorating additions, sharing stories and trying to make sense of our world, trading recipes and secrets to sanity. Two years passed by like it was minutes, and it all seemed to be gone before I could fully appreciate it.

Why is life like that? Do I always have to take everything for granted, never fully appreciating what I have until it's gone? Why can't I just live in the moment. Back then, I was always thinking of the future: what was next. And even now, while I pine away for the "good old days," I am most certainly overlooking and under appreciating everything I currently have. Once again, I find myself forgetting to be grateful and to just live in the present.

New resolution: I will look to the past with joy, will look to the future with hope, but will live in the present with gratitude, seizing every moment and cherishing it with my whole soul. Life is far too short and fleeting otherwise.

Orem Splash Pools

If you live somewhere near Orem, you've got to try out the splash pools at Nielson's Grove. We were regulars there this summer because they are so safe and fun for kids. They also have a playground and HUGE swings. My good friend Heather and I always took a little picnic lunch and stayed a couple hours. It's always a great all-around experience.

Adelyn, with her best friend Jaron. Heather and I joke that this will be one of the pictures in their wedding video someday. :)

Preston didn't swim much, but she sure had fun hanging out and playing around. I love this picture of him.

A big cheese for the camera.

Preston attacking Tayson, Heather's baby. He'd better be careful though; Tayson is five months younger than Preston, but I think he may have already passed him up in weight. Fortunately, Tayson is a very mellow kid and is used to being picked on.

Wheeler Farm

I'd imagine that most 3-year old girls' favorite animal is either a cat or a dog, maybe a rabbit. Not my 3-year old! She LOVES farm animals, cows and horses in particular. Yep, they are her absolute favorites. I can't really explain it. "Old MacDonald" is STILL one her very favorite songs. Since she could talk, maybe even before, she's always loved to make all of the animal sounds. Needless to say, Wheeler Farm was quite a treat, both for Adelyn and for her parents because the experience is nearly free.

Adelyn can never pass up a pony ride. I bet it won't be long before she'll be asking for a pony for Christmas.

She also loves to feed the cows. She stood there waiting for 10 minutes or more, holding out some grass and "moo"ing at this cow before it decided to take her up on her offer. (I wish she were that patient with me. :)

FHE: Bowling Night

We had a great time taking the kids bowling for family home evening the other night. They loved it!

Look mom! Bowling balls! Too bad they're too heavy to pick up.

With bumpers and this nifty bowling rack, I'm pretty sure Adelyn bowled better than I did, as usual.

She loved her bowling shoes and was so mad when we had to give them back. She didn't understand that we just rented them for the game. They were sure fun to dance in though.

Preston didn't miss the opportunity to drive. He loves pushing buttons, so this was a real treat!