Good Things

Life is lovely isn't it? This is Luci jumping on our new trampoline on Christmas morning. Her grandma captured a perfect moment of pure bliss from this little 3 year old. Since this very moment the noisy little toy has been one of my best allies this winter. Especially since one of Luci's new favorite phrases is "I'm bored", and "what are we going to do now". Placed strategically in the basement, the trampoline is a perfect place to send the kiddo's for a break. I think I love it almost as much as the kids!

Some other good things in my life are..

The Pandora Toddler Radio Station. If you have kids and haven't tried this station yet, it's about time. It's a great mix of Disney classics, ABC's, Old Mac Donald, and fun dancing music that I love like Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl, and The Coaster's Yakety Yak.


Candles. My kids behave 10 times better when we light the candles at dinner time. They use their manners, stay at the table until they are excused, eat at least some of their food, and then.... they get to blow them out! It's the little things right? They love it, we love it. I wish I could remember to pull them out every night.

Chunky Monkey Pancakes. These are Jacob's specialty. He made two batches yesterday just for me and put them in the freezer. I love them because they have nuts, mashed banana, and chunks of banana, and of course chocolate chips. The kids and I eat them for breakfast, snack time, and lunch sometimes :)

Tide with Bleach. Why haven't I tried this magical formula sooner? Yes, it's expensive. And that is why we do half store brand and half Tide :) The clothes smell amazing, and the stains come out without all the extra work. Time my friends is something that I can't spend hours doing laundry with. Well, I could I guess... but I don't. So, Tide is my new friend.

Reading Time. I have been doing reading time with Luci since she was about 2 and Elijah is loving it just as much as she always has. We do it first thing in the morning, well after the crazies have been fed of course. We learn a new song each month from the LDS hymn book or the LDS Children's hymn book. This month we learned Love at Home, since February is all about Love :). Then we say a prayer and we read from Book of Mormon Stories or Doctrine and Covenants Stories. And then finally they each get to choose about 2 books each that we read together. I am so amazed at how interested my kids are in the scripture stories! They learn so much! Tonight Jacob showed a picture of Joseph Smith to Eli, and Eli knew exactly who it was! Luci can recite long and complicated stories at the tip of a hat. Who knew? Also, reading time can get forgotten in the business of a day and ever since I read this cute little diddy on my friend Marissa's blog I have tried to make sure to read at least 20 minutes a day.