Your mommy is beautiful....

Today I was getting ready to leave the house. I was in my bathroom getting ready. The girls were playing in their room with a friend named Macie. I am hearing them play on the monitor that is in my room. I over hear this conversation.
Macie: Tara your mommy is sooooo beautiful.
Tara: I know she is really pretty.
Macie: yeah, I really like her.
Tara: me too.
the conversation kept going on, but I was beaming. Birds were chirping above my head, I felt like Cindarella. Not only do my kids think I am beautiful, but so did my girls friends. Way to make a mom feel good. After I brushed my teeth and decided, since they already thought I was beautiful I would really show them and put some mascara on. So I went over to their room with my head high, birds still chirping and said "hey girls, I am just getting ready to leave, are you having a good time? What are you playing?"
Tara: "We are playing house, Tori is the mommy"
Just then, the birds that were chirping over my head pooped on it.

Laundry Update.

Well, remember my post regarging sorting the kids laudry into their own laundry basket, well here we have it, before and after! (so yes, I am airing my laundry on my blog, its just not dirty, its clean) So this is JUST the kids laundry and towels after being gone for 5 days and working for Jim. Thats right folks, 5 loads here!
So Before... And after!!!

From left to right you have Elijah, Jacob, Tara, Tori, and towels and sheets. Plus a few straglers on the couch of random items that had no home in the baskets. I am really liking it, it really streamlines the process for everything. The girls baskets are both exactlly the same, as they go up to the same room, so I washed their stuff together, and I washed Elijahs stuff on its own, and Jakes stuff on its own, and the towels and sheets by them self. I really like this, if I could keep up with it (which I have up until last week) it was so easy, just wash the load, then fold and give to the kids,or bigger kids as Tara and Jake dont put their stuff away, but Tori and Elijah do...well, Elijah throws the entire basket into his room and hopes it lands in an open drawer, as all of his drawers are always open...and his room is always a mess (seriouslly post on its own), but Tori VERY neatly arranges everything just perfect, color coordinates, then carefully puts it away in the right drawer, then closes the drawer, and checks to make sure everything else in her room is put away, as with Tori everything has a place and order (like OCD style...)

So there you have it, airing my laundry on my blog! I like the process, it works for us!

color coded kids.

I have read LOTS of organizational tips for having multiple kids. One of the main things that keeps coming up is color coding your kids. Like for when they are all in sports, just put the sport time on the calender marked in their "color". Everyone knows their color, so if they see something on the calender in their color, they need to be ready. Well, we are not there yet...my kids need to learn the date first. But keeping on that same theme, I like the idea. No fights over cups, no whining that one gets the blue cup when they got the orange cup...it could work. Well, I have started applying some of these ideas into my life...and I like it. The chore I hate the most, is folding laundry. I hate it. Its never done, and my love seat in my family room has a never ending pile waiting to be folded, or needing to be put away. So I have gotten each of the kids their own laundry basket. When its full, its their responsibility for them to bring it down to me (Tara needs help, but Tori and Jake can do it on their own (they are pretty small baskets). Yesterday was the first day it was brought down to me. Well, I washed the laundry (all 4 baskets fit into my washer at the same time), then folded it and put it into the appropriate basket for the child, pink for Tori, blue for Elijah etc. I like it. I think it really streamlines the process of putting it away. I think it also has great potential as the kids get older, and closer in size I can was their basket separate so I don't confuse whose is whose clothes. Now, I still don't like doing laundry, but I think I like this color coding thing. Hmm, maybe I should get Jim a laundry basket? Next step, markers in 4 different colors, and cups...baby steps, baby steps.

Tidbits

Jake "mom, I dont want to take a bath, I already changed my undies today"

Tara after her telling me what she wanted about 10 times and me not understanding her and her getting frustrated "I pookie" Pookie is one of Taras books that she loves, Pookie doesn't tell his mommy what the matter so the mommy has to guess. Tara likes me to guess... still have no idea what "anano" is.

Tori last night "goodnight mom, goodnight Tara, goodnight Mac, goodnight Elijah, goodnight Jake, goodnight American girl where ever you are." Tori lost her American girl at the house here last Wed. Last place it was seen...Tara walking to the kitchen holding her. We have searched. I feel bad, she really misses her.

Jake "I am not being mean, I just hit her with my toy, she was not being patient and loving"

Tori after praying for a "big pool with a diving board" every night for dinner for months a few night ago said "Dear Jesus, since you dont have enough money for a big pool with a diving board just any size pool thats big enough for a diving board is fine...and bless this food even though I want steak."

Elijah "pretty good report card huh mom"...hmm maybe he just doesn't understand what "good" means....1 B (in PE) 2 C's, 2 D's and 1 F. Hmm, pretty good compared to???? "Yes Elijah, I am very proud of you for getting a C- in Social Studies...this is much better then the D plus you squeked by with last report card...However the F in Science that you were getting a B in last report card I have issues with...isn't Science your favorite subject?"

The braids.

Tori has a friend at Chruch, Camdyn. Tori really likes Camdyn, she talks about her quite often. Not about how nice she is, or how nice she dresses (which is a very Tori thing to say...she is vain) but how beautiful her hair is. She always has more then 5 "ponies" in her hair...they are "twisties but not braidy, but twisty, and there are a lot, more then 5 twisties but not braidys". Its a big deal. She asked the other day if I could make Taras hair like Camdyns. Twisty, but not braidy...I tryed....At least I got the more then 5 ponies down.

Bonus though, when we saw Camdyns mom at church she said she would teach me how to do the twisties, but not braidy, but twisty. Tara liked the twisties, (that ended up being braids), she kept them in for a full day...Note to self, remember the ringlets I showed you a while back...she has body in her hair, if you leave braids in for 24 hours, it might not ever come "down". Tori liked it...she said it looked like Elijahs "fro" which he was really sporting a few months back, It did...

Dinner is in 10.

I love Costco...

Right now, I love Costco even more. Really, what other grocery store can you go to, spend $400, and still not have anything for dinner...

Right now, we are in baseball, to say we are busy is an understatment. I like quick and easy meals for baseball season. McDonalds is our friend during baseball seaon. We literally have 20 minutes between getting Elijah home, and off to baseball practice. Not a lot of time for dinner...until costco!! they have this fantastic Teriyaki chicken there. It said on the package ready in 6 minutes. Really, how good can it be if its ready in 6 minutes, I figured proubably better then McDonalds, and cheaper. A family of 6, $30. We tryed it, and we liked, we liked it, because we tryed it (Ok, maybe we have been watching Yo Gaba gaba to much...) I made the chicken, (stir fry style) made some minute rice (ready in 5), steamed some "trees" (broccolli), and made my favorite again from Costco, Cherry Almond Bleu salad. Thats right, from the moment I decided I needed to get dinner made, to it being on the table, 10 minutes. That left us 10 minutes to eat....not bad!! Dishes...Well, those will still be there in the morning. So next time you go to Costco, pick up some Teriyaki chicken...Try it you'll like it, you'll like it because you tryed it...actually you will like me because I told you about it.

Wow!!!

Ok, proubably not note worthy at all, but since its my blog, I can do what I want!! Yippee! I love my new computer. My old (brick) I mean computer was dying a slow and very painful death, taking the hard drive, and my sanity with it, so Jim bought me a new one. (I did have my last lap top for 7 years, so I guess it was time) and we noticed a few things....1. WOW, computers are a lot cheaper then they were 7 years ago, 2. there is a lot of cool things that new computers can do, 3. maybe it wasn't our internet connection at all, but rather my old computer, 4. did I mention how pretty it is?, 5. I LOVE putting new pictures on it now. Its so easy to store the pictures, it practicully does it for me! My old brick I had to pretty much go one by one, and it took oh I don't know years to upload :) . Ok, maybe a bit of an exageration, but really I think I just uploaded more pictures in 1 time in about 5 seconds. LOVE MY NEW COMPUTER!
Oh, and on a side note, Jim had computer envy once he saw all the cool things mine could do (and I was totally not willing to share yet!), so the next day he bought one for him too...(well, the fancier version, because he like to roll like that!) Copy Cat.

Ok Lets get this thing going!!!

so with many days (and nights) of playing around with this I might (very big might) have this thing sort of figured out! Well, at least I have a picture on here!!!

We had a great day today, played on the slip and slide (even mom) ate PB&J sandwiches, and played in the little pool. I had some friends come over, and it was really a blast!

As for life, everyone is doing great. Elijah spent the last few weeks with Grandpa in Havasu, and came home down town brown, and with lots of exciting stories!

Tori and Jake have just been playing the summer away, and Tara is just being Tara!!!

big news here at the Carlson house is.....drum roll please.........TARA MOVED OUT OF OUR ROOM!!! Thats right you heard me, we finally moved Tara in to Toris room where she is suppost to be. She has had her crib there, with her name on the wall since she we moved in, but its been hard to get her out of our room. Its still tuff...The first night was HORRIBLE!!! She was really restless, and that hallway never seeemed so long until I had to walk down it 10 times between midnight and 3 am!!! Her monitor just kept going off with her being so restless. Not to mention the 6 am wake up call with her screaming Mama! Thats right, my room gets after noon sun, where Tori and Taras room gets morning sun. So with the help of some sheets on the windows the next night was a lot better! Thats my 9am wake up girl!! I have not been able to take her other crib out of my room yet, I think I might leave it in there for a bit, I would like to have it for when she gets sick.

I will (hopefully) leave you with some pictures from the last few weeks! (ok I think they are at the beginning, but you get the message!!