Guess what I got for Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Honey thinks gifts are better when you pick them out yourself and I think surprises are the BEST! During the few years of our marriage I have learned that if I want a surprise I have to drop more that a few hints. They have to be more like bomb shells.

Mr. Wonderful had a very stressful month... with work and other things. So I asked if there was going to be a surprise under the tree this year or if he needed me to pick up my own gift. (Hey, its better to be prepared emotionally if there isn't going to be something under the tree for you).The blank look and stunned silence was very reassuring. Ug. So I hit the dollar store and grabbed a couple stylin' necklaces for him to give me. (They were pretty awesome if you ask me. He has good taste).

A few days before Christmas, he was acting a little suspicious. Woo hoo! That means a surprise!!! Christmas eve rolled around and he was smiling from ear to ear. On Christmas morning he gave me a box and had all the kids quiet down "to watch Mommy". I opened a large box... filled with packing peanuts. Since all the kids were waiting anxiously I started dumping the stuff into another box to expedite things. Nothing.

"You must have dumped it out," He said with a grin. Right about then I was thinking this was one of his jokes. Sigh! The kids jumped up and helped me search through the Styrofoam. We found a tiny paper... So guess what the most wonderful man in the world gave me for Christmas!?!

Dang, I can't get the photo to upload. Anyway, he's taking me to see the Broadway show Wicked! This is me screaming with excitement!!!!!!!

I'll get to the pictures of the kids gifts later. We had an amazing Christmas!

Christmas Out takes

Brooke is STILL singing about RED-olph the RUDE-nosed reindeer.

The kids have done impromptu nativity re-enactments a LOT lately. Madi keeps saying: "And the angel said, 'I bring you good TITHINGS of great joy'."

Ben told me yesterday that the real Santa doesn't wear a wig on his chin.

The kids pulled the baby car seat out of the basement and put Connor in it. They plopped a Santa hat on his head. They tied themselves to the front of the car seat with scarves and pulled him around the front room singing "Here comes Santa Clause."

This is seriously the best time of the year!

Brooke's birthday and Madi's Special Day

Happy Birthday Brooke! Things have been so busy, I hadn't taken the time to load these pictures. Brooke's birthday was just one week after Madi's. She had a family party (with a surprise visit from Uncle Jared, Aunt Lindsay and Baby Trae).
Grandma and Grandpa were able to make it too!

We really enjoy it when our family can come to visit.

And we all LOVED meeting Baby Trae. Madeline's birthday was earlier this month and she made the decision to be baptised. She has been so excited about her special day for a long time. When it finally came, she was beaming.

It was an amazing day. Her grandpa's both spoke at her baptism. Madi leaned over to me afterward and whispered, "I made everyone cry."Her grandma's teamed up to do her hair.She felt like a princess.I am so proud of the choices my little girl has made. I gave her a hug the other day and lamented about how quickly she has been growing up. She smiled at me and said, "Yeah, soon I will be going off to college. It's a good thing I know how to cook." Cue a sob from mom. It goes all too quickly!

Warning labels

You know those labels that are on EVERYTHING for babies? They usually say something like, "Never leave baby unattended while using this product." I decided that they should issue stickers (or maybe washable tattoos) that are to be applied when the child turns two. They should say something like, " Never leave this child unattended... ever."

My sweet, quiet little Connor has just entered that magical stage, transforming from angelic to tornado over night. If you haven't gone through this with a child yet... it really does happen OVERNIGHT! I follow him from one room to another just one or two seconds too slow to stop the destruction. And as I clean up, Tornado Connor is busily wreaking havoc elsewhere.

I firmly believe that the Lord blessed these little ones with the cuteness factor for self preservation purposes. Because when my little weapon of mass destruction flashes his cheesy grin at me, all I can do is laugh and clean up again.

Mom's Motto

There was a crash this morning while I was upstairs getting ready. One of those glass shattering, mom-cringing crashes. As I ran down the stairs to investigate... I already knew what I was going to have to say. It is the same thing my mother has said over and over and over again as she raised a house full of eight rambunctious, very active children: "It's a good thing I love kids better than I love things."

Sometimes it was said with gritted teeth. Sometimes it was sighed with tears in her eyes... but she always said it. When I was the child that had just broken a treasured item, I was so grateful for my mom's "motto." She would say it as she looked down at the pile of shards, and I knew that she meant it. I would still feel horrible for causing the tears or the deep sigh. But I knew that my mother loved me.

As a mother now, I am even more grateful for her "motto." How easy it might be to shout or get after my children for their carelessness when something is broken. But because of my mother's example and especially her motto, I am ready with my response.

The crash this morning was one of my "somethings special". I'd received it for my wedding. It was pretty as well as useful. My daughter had the most crestfallen look on her face when I entered the room. She is a tender heart and a cross word can send her into the "depths of despair." I sniffed a little tear back, said the motto, and we clean it up.

I love you Mom!

Lets be on our best behavior

"Be on your best behavior" is something my kids hear a lot when we have guests, are at a restaurant, or entering a store. So when we invited some new neighbors to join us for dinner the other night, I admonished my little ones to dig out their rusty manners and polish them a bit. I was very pleased (and a little surprised) by how well they behaved. There was no arguing, lots of sitting quietly, and smiling and making pleasant conversation. I was wondering who had stolen my children and left these polite little clones in their place. That is until Ben's comment that reassured me my little bugs were alive and well inside these prim and proper kids.

Ben: "May I have some salt?"
Madi: "Aren't you missing something?" (Meaning the word "Please.")
Ben: "Yah, The salt!"

They never stop making me laugh!

Birthdays birthdays birthdays

This is a wonderful holiday season and even more so in the Bingham household. All four of my little sweet peas were born between the months of November and January. So it is birthday, Thanksgiving, birthday, birthday, Christmas, birthday. Whew!

Ben was really sick on his birthday,so we celebrated a little late. The girls made us all birthday hats. They made this special one for Ben. They wrote on it: "Hape Birsday Ben. We love yu."Ben loved helping decorate his cupcake. He would squeeze on the good stuff then lick it off... repeat. Don't worry, I was doing the other cupcakes... and I tried not to lick everyone elses.Ben said he wanted Cars cupcakes. I'm sure he meant the Disney ones... but he seemed just as pleased with my crazy creation. (Smarties and jolly ranchers) It's a poor picture, but you get the idea.Madi just turned eight, so that means a BIG "friends party" at our house. She wanted a storybook themed party. All the guests came dressed as their favorite book character. They were sooooo cute. I had three Fancy Nancy's, a Pinkalicous, a Alice in Wonderland, a Narnia winter queen, and a witch from Big Pumpkin. Madi was the Princess and the Pauper.

They made book marks in the Fancy Nancy room with a LOT of bling bling. And jumped on the bed in the Skippyjon Jones room (not pictured).

Dinner was food from all their favorite books: Parfaits from Fancy Nancy, Croissants from Madeline, Bean and Mice from Skippyjon Jones, Frobscottle and snozzcumbers from the BFG. It was really funny and the girls LOVED it. That is the UGLIEST cake I have ever made! But Madi just loved it... so I didn't go get another one from the store.
We had a giggling gaggle of girls!

RUDE-olph

Brooke was singing the other day:

"RED-olph the RUDE nosed reindeer,
Had a very shiny nose."

And then she paused feeling that something wasn't quite right. But since nothing stood out, she just started over and continued singing about RED-olph. I love the things they come up with!

Slip slidin' Away!

Have you ever poured a whole bottle of dish soap on your kitchen floor? Well, I wouldn't recommend it. But thanks to Brooke (who was trying to help clean up a different mess) we found out that dish soap and linoleum are just as good as an ice skating rink.

First Snow of Winter

I have no pictures yet, but we had a ball this morning... the squeals came a little before six this morning: "Yaaahhhh! Wake up! Wake up! It's snowy outside!!!" No,it was not me this time.

Madi was packed off to school, where she's sure to get her share of snow play during recess, and we went out to make a snowman. Actually I just watched. Brooke made one as tall as she is, all by herself. In my book that is a big mile stone. Some parents freak out when their kids take there first step... I think its pretty cool when they can make a snowman without help that is three times their body weight.

Our puppy was funny to watch, as this was his first snow too. (Yes, it is a boy dog after all... that's a long and funny story for another day. But for now we are all having a hard time saying "good BOY" instead of "good GIRL." The poor thing is going to have a complex). Brooke and Ben had to keep shewing the dog away because he was eating their snow balls. Connor just kept toddling around like a marshmallow with arms.

I love snow! Snowball fights, snowmen, igloo making, snow angels... there is just no end to the fun! And I love warming up cold hands with hot chocolate and marshmallows. The only down side is the half and hour it takes to prep the kids for the five minutes of fun... and the puddles of melted snow that are always being mopped up. Ah... winter is here!

I'm Re-thinking twins

This one's for you mothers out there who the Lord knew were amazing enough to bless with twins.

A little background: My younger sister and her husband asked me to take care of their two darling little girlies while they hit the beaches of Hawaii. Our two youngest children are close in age... and in that stage of getting into EVERYTHING. And now I am getting a little taste of what it must be like to have that heaven sent "natural disaster" they call toddler-aged twins.

Sample 30 minutes of my day:

Toddler Bingham: 9:30 am, found flushing things down toilet.
Toddler Raiger: 9:31, refused to miss the fun and was screaming to get up from her morning nap.

Toddler B: 9:39, While I was getting Toddler R up, Toddler B had scooted a chair over to the counter and was making some kind of concoction with the syrup I had forgotten to put away after breakfast. There is now a huge puddle and sticky foot prints all over the kitchen and a Toddler B is in his second outfit.

Toddler R: 9:50, is crying because she can't get down the stairs to join the fun.
Toddler B: 9:52, Once again playing in the toilet

Toddler B: 9:53 screaming because his mom said no to playing in the toilet
Toddler R: 9:54, Has unloaded the baby wipes for the tenth time and has scattered them all over the bedroom.

Toddler B: 10:01, while looking out the back door at the puppy, his fingers got stuck in the BACK of the sliding door.
Toddler R: 10:02 Fingers got squished in the FRONT of the sliding door while trying to get Toddler B's fingers out of the back.

10:03, Two screaming toddlers with packages of frozen peas on their owie fingers.

10:10 I am all for it when Toddler B brings me a Baby Einstein DVD case.

My friend Denae who has two-year-old twins wrote: "The next time someone tells me that they always wanted/want twins, I will offer to let them take mine to the store. That should enlighten them on the real joys of having twin toddlers." http://houseofkannely.blogspot.com/2010/09/double-trouble.html

Well, consider me enlightened! But I've loved the fun parts too... like how they play so well together. Snuggling them both on my lap for stories and seeing them make each other laugh. Dancing to silly music and listening to two squealing, delighted children... And then checking on them after they've fallen asleep and seeing two perfect little angels. It's been and adventure to say the least.

God Bless America

I have never been really excited about politics, but I have always LOVED history and along those lines comes my intense interest in the history of our country and the development of its government. It breaks my heart to see how far our country has deviated from the principles it was founded upon. My great respect for many of our founding fathers and what their lives represented is a stark comparison to the discouragement I feel from seeing some of the elected leaders of today.

Many Americans believe that their vote won't make a difference so why even bother. Well, one voice alone may be small, but history has proven that many great events have been the result of just one voice that is joined by another and then another.

I love the chorus from "God Bless America! "

God Bless America, Land that I love.

Stand beside her, and guide her

Thru the night with a light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans, white with foam

God bless America, My home sweet home.

There is a sign that I drive by every day that makes me chuckle. "Don't just complain, vote."

I love my country and I thank the Lord daily for the freedoms we enjoy. I continue to pray that He will bless this land that I love!

Trick or Treat

The saddest part about the day after Halloween, aside from putting away cute decorations... is that all the chocolate is gone. Sigh.

Punkins' and Pumpkins

We carved our pumpkins this week. Each child got a marker and went to work on the pumpkin face. Brooke looks very focused.

Ben was have a grand time with the marker. He even colored hair ALL OVER his pumpkin. (That was interesting to carve).Connor got a kick out of the face Daddy carved for his pumpkin.
Brett made his look like Hopper- the villain grasshopper from "A Bug's Life."

Madi's favorite part was pulling out all the "gick" from the inside. She even volunteered to do it for everyone else too. Yumm... that looks good.

They aren't fancy, but they were really fun!

You do the math

Happy kids with smiling faces

+

Loving and indulging parents

+

"Free puppies" sign at the grocery store

=

This is Tobi. She is a lab and miniature Australian shepherd mix. It's one of those stories: We went to the store for pumpkins and came home with a puppy. Both start with a "P" and make a mess... except one you can't throw out after Halloween. Hee Hee

Getting a dog has been one of those things on the back burner for a while. We all love dogs (Mom and Dad love OUTSIDE dogs)! Nights have been long with a whining, lonely puppy but it's already getting better. The days have been a little more crazy trying to potty training ANOTHER "baby." I did say she is an outside dog... but we are trying to get her to do her duty in ONE spot so I don't have to keep washing children's shoes or find surprises in my gardens.

We are all having a ball with Tobi. I am doing a lot of training... well, trying to. Our lives once again takes on another dimension.

In a daze

The world around me has a beautiful haze about it today. Alright, things are downright blurry. At first I thought, "Aw shoot, I'm getting old." But then my "youthful" ego was comforted with the thought : Putting one's contacts in the wrong eyes might have something to do with it.

My husband just laughed and wondered how in the world you can do that... The large R and L on the contact case usually mean something to most people. I knew he wouldn't understand my explanation... he wouldn't understand because he was snoring at 11pm while I was still madly working with a glaring computer screen. (No, I was not blogging... sheesh). He doesn't get it because he was again snoring at 4:45 am. Suffice it to say, I was not. He can just laugh because, unlike me, he was able to take a regular shower and not try to get ready at warp speed, all the while hoping our offspring hadn't eaten each other.

Why am I still squinting at 4:30 in the afternoon? Because the four point five seconds it would take me to switch my contacts just didn't seem to be available today, and because it was kind of charming not to be able to see all the spots on the carpet and crumbs on the floor. So here's hoping that this is legible. I'm going to switch them NOW.

Halloween is coming!

We ALL love Halloween at my house. SQUEAL!!!! The kids and I can't wait to get out the decor and costume ideas have been flying for weeks. I was just checking out all the fun crafts for kids that you can find on line. Hmmm... what to do. So many fun things and so little time.

This one has some great ideas: http://familyfun.go.com/halloween/halloween-crafts/

What are you going to be for Halloween?

The Love of Learning

The little boys and I are going to the girl's school today to help out. This was a conversation between my 3-year-old and my kindergartner:

Brooke: "You get to come to my school today."
Ben: "Do I get to come inside?"
Brooke: "I think so."
Ben: "DO I GET TO LEARN?! Will your teacher let me LEARN?!"

Do you remember that feeling? Coveting the chance to learn. I cherish that in children.

Project... check!

I have so many projects on the shelf. Some partially done and some still in the "thinking about it" phase. My husband teases me that I am the queen of half done projects. I wish I could say he was wrong... but it's true. Remember these bottles? I'd picked them up at a garage sale earlier this summer with yet another project in mind. And I am so happy to say that I have check at least one off the list. I was so excited about how these turned out. (You know how you have a picture in your mind about something and how it seldom turns out as you'd pictured it? Well I finally got one to turn out). I did six of them and they go perfectly with my Italian Kitchen theme. I used this web site http://whatscookingamerica.net/HerbVinegar.htm (Thanks Katie for the suggestion). I'm not sure they will taste all that great, but I really only made them for decoration anyway.

I did smell like garlic for a week afterward. Ewww! But It was really fun to make and I guess the smell was a happy reminder that I had actually FINISHED a project. Hooray!

MY old man!

Brett turned 30 on Thursday. Yes, he is feeling old and has counted six gray hairs (one from each child and two from his crazy wife). As you can tell, Ben was a great help when it was time to make the cake.

I got Brett a rip-stick for his birthday. (Its like a skate board, only with two wheels, not four. And it pivots in the middle. You propel it by moving your feet back and forth on the board). Not a very practical gift, but he was an amazing snow boarder and I thought he'd like this. We took it into our unfinished basement (don't mind all the storage in the background) and within five minutes Brett had it down to an art. Dang he is HOT! I totally wiped out trying his new toy. ouch.

His party was so fun. We played "A minute to win it" games, had great friends come and good food. It was a great night!
Happy birthday Sweet heart!

Busy Busy Busy!

My life has been absolutely insane lately... hence no blog posts. I will get some pictures on here soon. In the mean while I am coaching two soccer teams, teaching piano, running kids hither and yon, just had a really fun slew of company, threw a party for my THIRTY YEAR OLD HOTTY HUSBAND, am trying to get the rest of my fruit canned, and then do all the rest of the mommy things on my "short" list. I'll get back to you.

Funny little Sweet Pea

Nice shoes man!
Cheese!

Thirsty?

What's up mom?

My latest project

I live in an apron on most days. I think it started when I was pregnant, and a slob and spilled all over myself all the time... I just never recovered. I usually wear those very manly, plain butchers aprons. But since I really do wear them ALL the time, I thought it might be fun to add a little style. K-Mart had some really cute aprons but wanted twenty to thirty bucks for them. Sheesh! So I went home and had some fun. (I really hate patterns so I made it up as I went).#1. This was my first try. It went home with my sister.

#2. This was my second creation. This one went to my mother.

#3. This one is my favorite. I added the little rosette on the shoulder strap and a ruffle on the pocket for a little femininity. (I couldn't handle the ruffle on the bottom, like I did on the other two aprons. It was just a little too girly for me). Remember, I am weaning myself from the really manly aprons I used to wear.

Cleaning the bathroom AGAIN!

My friend once told me that whenever she cleans her bathroom, her husband always cuts his hair that day... leaving the newly cleaned bathroom not so lovely. Well, it seems that at my house, when I clean the bathroom it is a signal for all those who are potty training to just let loose. (Sorry for that mental picture). A clean bathroom is also an invitation for the flu and kids to throw up all over the sparkling toilet. And lastly, it is a huge temptation for my 18-month old to go swimming in the toilet. Well, at least it's clean. Sigh.

Boys will be boys

My boys found the pile of stuff I had brought upstairs to take to Deseret Industries. They entertained themselves for a good twenty minutes as they smashed things and flattened paper in the George Foreman. Who needs toys?

"Yes? Can I help you?"

Decorating. HELP

Hey there all you decorating guru's. I need a little help. I found these nifty bottles at a yard sale (six of them) and now I have to figure out what to put in them. I'm still trying to beef up my Italian style kitchen. So going with that theme, what would you suggest? (I think those bottles of vinigar with herbs floating around in them are really cool... but how the heck do you make your own?)

Split personality

Totally, really, absolutely don't want to clean my house today!!!!! Unfortunately, I don't have a maid. Kind of wish I did. No, today I REALLY wish I did. Or maybe just a couple more "me's." Actually, I'd need a small army of me's. The real me could go lay in the sunshine, read a book or something lazy and delightful. The other me's would take care of the children, clean the house, organize, make delish meals, run the errands and everything else. Mmmmmm that sounds so nice!

The only problem would be when Brett comes home. I'm not sure the poor man could handle more than one me. Hmmm, that comment could go two ways.... either I am a pretty big handful of girly emotions and wifely craziness OR I am so dang fabulous Brett just wouldn't know what to do with more wonderfulness. Please don't tell me which one is true. I'm just going to pretend its the second one.

Well, now that I have wasted about ten minutes that I really should have been cleaning a bathroom or something more productive... I'm going to clean and just pretend its the other me and that I am really at a spa for the day. (I've never been to a spa... sigh... scrub, spraying Windex... scrub, scrub... sigh).

Pioneer Children... walked and walked and...

Family home evening last night was pioneer themed. We invited some friends to join us on our mini trek. We read a cute children's story(When Pioneer Wagons Rumbled West, by Christine Graham), sang pioneer songs, and then ventured forth. I had rigged up our garden wagon with hoola-hoops and a little sewing to make a covered wagon. Brett left some "challenges"hidden along the trail. The kids had to find them, read a little about the trials the pioneers faced, and then try the challenge.

The one that tugged at my heart was challenge #2: "Sometimes ma's and pa's died along the trail. Try going a little way with out our help." My friend and I handed our babies to our oldest girls and stood back. As I watched our two seven-year olds daughters hold their baby brothers and struggle to keep hiking, I could see it - feel it - how it must have been for those families. How those parents who had "gone ahead" must have hovered near and tried to strengthen those children who had to carry on without them. Good grief, I sobbing as I write this!

The kids got to dress up a little. My son and his little bud getting all cowboy-ed up. I was laughing when Ben came down dressed like that... check out the plaid and the overalls. Madi and her friend. I told each of the kids to bring one special toy. One of the challenges later was that they had to leave the toy along the trail. (Don't worry, they didn't really have to leave it behind).
I whipped this skirt and apron out for Brooke a the last minute. She LOVED being a pioneer in her new duds.

These little pioneers seem to be excited to "leave their homes behind." The wagon in the back was my afternoons labors. Unfortunately it didn't last long.

My friend's little guy really had fun riding in the wagon.

If you ignore the buildings, it really looks authentic. Cool place for a mini trek huh? Yup, this is a block from my front door.

This was another one of the challenges. These three pioneer "got sick"and had to ride in the wagon for a bit. Daddy made it easy on the others and was the "oxen" the whole time. Poor guy. Well, at least this challenge was when we were on flat ground and not on one of the monster hills we hiked.

The kids had to hop on one foot for a few minutes... Challenge #3: "some pioneer children didn't have any shoes... pretend you just got a thorn in your foot."

We made it! And what do you know, "merry and happy where they," the whole way.