Randomocity

This was from a couple days ago....

- Levi and Max are spending the night at a friends house (both pretty much their best friends who they play with all the time) and Levi keeps telling me 'we need to get ready for the sleepover!' Oh, and Max is insisting on taking an apple to eat in case he gets hungry.

- For preschool today instead of going to regular class their was a field trip to the westside music school which both boys seemed to love. I'm so excited to teach them more about music. We love to listen, sing and dance but it's so fun when you can actually play something or know how to do things with it. We've been kind of working on highs, lows and doing some things with rhythm but sooner or later they'll do piano. Not sure when to start but I confess, I'm going to be the mean mommy and make them learn it.

- I'm in the process of making braided bread which I've never done before. So far not so great, I let it rise while we were on the field trip and it rose (and fell) too much I think until it became as flat as a really fluffy pancake, but it still should be good. I am not the best when it comes to baking, I don't have much patience for it all. post note: I stayed up super late one night and finally got it right, yea for fresh bread!

- My mom just went off to Utah to visit my brother and see the play his class is doing. I wish me and the boys could have gone but Pegi's coming for the week so it all just didn't work out. Hopefully this summer we'll be able to head on over. Oh, I've got lots of fun ideas for the summer time and I'm antsy for the sun to shine.

- Our plants are growing well so far, I'm excited to see what will happen with them all. We planted 3 raspberry bushes in the back yard with a few more strawberries, some peas, green beans, tomatoes, lettuce, hopefully soon corn once I finish digging them and peppers which are inside growing. And speaking of plants I really want to tear down some huge bushes in our front yard and replace them with blueberry ones because the front yard gets the most sun. Jason said he talked to the neighbors weren't really a fan of that (the bushes are in between our front yard and their driveway) but we might just do it anyways though once they get going. We'll be sure to share the berries though. We LOVE berries. So much. I picked a ton last year and froze them and we're almost out. They make a great snack.

-This morning the boys played so well together it amazed me. There were a few skirmishes but not like normal so I just let them do it all morning. I had some things planned but I loved seeing them actually getting along and playing together for such a long time.

- Last week we actually had some sun so both Jason and I took advantage of things and worked in the yard. He worked on digging so he could put a drainage pipe where the fort will be, it's a really wet swampy area, but he did it, filled it with gravel and now it's ready to level. We just need things to dry out a little more. We live in the swamp lands. But we're loving how everything's coming along and the boys have been enjoying going outside more and more.

From today:

- We went to stake conference. It was good, I think. I don't know because it was pretty tricky keeping the boys occupied for so long. I wish they would do the stake president first instead of last, my boys were pretty good for the first half but by the end I was glad it was over.

- Aunt Pegi and cousin Addison have been over the past couple days (more on that and pics to come) which has been fun. She has just as much, if not more energy than her cousins and the boys are loving having her over.

A Blessing

Last Sunday I went and took some baby blessing pictures for our new cousin Miss Abigail. The boys helped me and were my models as I did some practice. This is what they did when I asked them to pose for the camera.
I had Levi stay with me for the most part because he's a little better at following directions and staying still. So we let Mr. Max off to do laps around the buiding. Say 'cheese'!
He got a little tired of staying still so I told him to be silly so he decided to bust a move outside the church.
And he's back (after 3 or 4 laps with dad following)
What a cute face.
Ummmmm......that's not my kid.
While all the group pictures were being taken Emily played with the boys. They would be so much fun to have around here!

And without further adieu, the Christensen family.
I don't know why but this is one of my favorite pictures of Abby. She's going to be so much fun to have around!!!! Levi and Max are already scheming about teaching her to crawl, walk, do somersaults....

Goo

For one of our science days the boys and I made and played with some gak/goo stuff. They were enthralled for well over an hour.
Ahhhhh......goo.......................

A Grandma Visit

A couple weeks back we had a visit from Grandma Tami. We had lots of fun and the boys were really excited to see her all week long.

It was a great visit dispite the fact Levi (and Max) had colds and of course gave it to grandma who was pretty good natured about it. For the most part we had lots of chill hang out time because Levi sounded like he was hacking up a lung.

Levi insisted on showing her his favorite scripture movie, Stripling Warriors along with some others.
We watched a number of fun shows and she read lots of books with them coughing all over her.

During the week we all went to visit Krista at her in-laws house on a small farm with lots of animals to feed. Afterwards for some reason we decided to have a french fry face off, meaning we got fries from 3 different fast food places and judged which we liked best. I preferred Burger King first, Carls Jr. second and McD's third. For any who was wondering.

Oh, here's everyone asleep in the back of the van after the farm. Levi's faking it but he was still pretty tired.
It was great to hang out with grandma and I wish I got more pictures, but alas, maybe next time. Thanks for the visit Tami, we had lots of fun and the boys are still talking about it!

Friday

I am not sure why but I've been a little down in the dumps for the past several weeks. I think part of it has to do with the fact that I was sick for a week, then Levi all last week and Max for a lot of this one. That on top of a ton of rain has kept us home bound. There were several bursts of sun and we tried to take advantage of them when we could despite the constant flow of boogers and hacking coughs. In the bits of sun we did have we were able to weed a lot of the front yard, fill up a couple grow boxes and plant some plants. The boys are really excited about their bean plants which got really tall, really fast.

Tonight I got to go to a quilting night and get some work done on a project that has been in the process for no joke, almost 3 years. Yipes. I need to finish it up and will. It was a lot of fun getting together with some gals from my ward who enjoy sewing and crafting. I'm slowly but surely getting to know everyone, they're all pretty neat-o ladies.

Today we also went to kindergarten round up for Levi. I wish I had brought my camera but I wasn't even thinking, we were all so excited about the whole thing. Taking a tour was a lot of fun and reminded me how awesome elementary school is, so sweet and innocent. I still can't believe he's going to be in school soon. I had fun reading all the info and am very excited to get to volunteer in his class and have him be around some fun kids. He thrives being around others. My little people person. He's pumped. Also Max is excited about possibly going to preschool. But that all hinges on him being potty trained. Today he took off his diaper and said "I don't wear 'oday". So I asked if he wanted to go on the toilet. "No". We've got the wanting to wear underwear down, just have to help him want to sit on the toilet. We'll get it at some point.

Today we also watched a couple videos, one of William Bradford and the other George Washington. Levi loved learning about George Washington because he was a general and Levi loves all things battle related (his and Max's other favorite video is the stripling warriors because they have swords! They'd watch it 10 times in a row if they could) . We then somehow got to talking about the American revolution and what that was all about. It was fun explaining it in a 4 year old way what happened. I love history. He seemed to get it and kind of understood what happened. We ended up talking about kings and queens of England and I even showed him pictures of Queen Elizabeth and Buckingham palace. He loved it. That kid loves to learn and I hope he always will.

Speaking of learning, we talk about pretty much every subject, Levi's very inquisitive. A while back I realized I needed some sort of big map to help him and Max get an idea of where states and countries are located. I was just going to get normal maps but found these great fabric panels so I ordered a world and US one that I will make into a quilt. I got them today and showed it to them and they freak out loved it. I showed them where we live, where Jason and I served our missions and some of the big countries that Levi has heard of. It's fun teaching my boys.

One of the things I've been loving, and what woman/mom wouldn't, is the boys tell me I'm pretty basically everyday. For some reason a couple weeks ago Levi started notice I was wearing perfume and now asks every day if I am and when I do, paired with some makeup and jewelry he makes sure to say I'm pretty. I love it. Jason could be coaching him on all this but whatever it is, it makes me smile every day. Some days they even help me pick the perfume and what jewelry to wear. It fun even if it doesn't match. I'm sure in several years they will care less and think of such things as 'icky' but for right now I'm enjoying it.

While I'm writing this I got to thinking that I tend to write to the positive, and not so much the hard stuff. But I think this is because I do want to be positive, not because hard stuff, annoying stuff, pull my hair out stuff doesn't happen cause it does, all the time. So just to set things straight for any who might think life around the Goodrich's is all fun, learning, and crafts, it ain't. It gets stressful being around my kids all day long, from the moment they wake me (which is usually crying or fighting, and anything but a gentle, whispered 'wake up mom') all till the time when they've finally gone to sleep, which is normally an epic long battle, at least with Mr. M. It's tough.

Max has been in a super whine mode lately which has been extremely hard on my ears. When I went to preschool to drop Levi off, the teacher even said 'well he's in a whiny mood!' and we weren't even there for that long. Super whiny. I love the kid, but I can definitely do without the whiny sound. He's gotten slightly better over the past several months since he's been able to communicate more. I've found one of the only ways I can get him to do things is threats. I hate to say it but it's true, I've tried incentives and sometimes they work but most often not.

Levi is so different. He is a complete people pleaser. He wants to do things because he wants to make people happy, he wants their approval. There's good and bad to this. He does a lot without bribery or threats but at the same time he likes to do things right. Like drawing and writing he says it's hard and can't do it 'good' because he can't do it as well as me or someone else. But we're working on getting over that. Max could care less. He doesn't care what you or anyone else thinks. Good and bad too. He's actually very good at drawing and tracing even though he's not even 3 but I think that's partly because he doesn't care if its right and just does his thing. All and all I love those two, the good, the bad and the ugly.

What else.......hmmmm. Jason has been working at his new position and seems to be liking it. It seems like a very good company to work for. A few perks with discounts and Max even will be able to do a fit test where he'll wear a new design so they can see how they fit and such. I hear they have a great cafeteria but we have yet to visit. One of these days.

Now. I must go to bed. I've really been trying to make my bed time earlier but without much success. I will forever be a night owl. If it was my way I'd go to bed at 2 and wake up at 10. But not at this time in my life. Asi es la vida.

Pure Randomness

It's late and I don't feel like I can go to bed with all this stuff in my brain, sometimes I just need to write and get it out.

This week we have Jason's mom over which has been nice. I feel a little bad because Levi has a horrible cough and I'm pretty sure he gave it to her. She's taking it in stride and still comes around despite the fact he's coughing all over her. They're loving having her over, especially since Levi's missed preschool all week, which he's bummed out about. Today when there was a brief knock on the door, then it opened they both knew immediately who it was. I wish all our family lived closer. But at least we have a portion of them are which will do I suppose.

Speaking of being sick, since he has been, Levi's been watching WAY more tv than normal. Usually it's just a little bit every day but for the past few days it's been a ton. Luckily he's been watching a lot of our Living Scriptures DVD's which I feel less guilty about than something like Cars (not that that's bad or anything because we've watched a number 'fiction movies' as Levi calls them). He told me his favorite ones are the ones with the battles! Because of that he's brought up a lot of different scripture topics out of the blue or asked me something from what he saw at a random moment of the day. It's actually pretty nice and we've got to have some good talks about whatever it is. He's asked me if rocket ships can see heaven, asked why is Heavenly Father invisible, what was the darkness that came before Joseph Smith prayed.... I love it.

I want to say how much I love Jason. He's amazing. The other day I went on to a mom blog, which I normally don't do but I did for some reason and actually looked at the comments section which I almost never do and there were SOOOO many mom's saying how their husbands think they don't work at all because they are stay at home moms and that they expect food on the table, the house cleaned, laundry done and want time to sit and play video games uninterrupted when they get home from work. Jason has never made me feel like I do less work than he does because I stay at home with the boys. In fact he's said a number of times I do more work and that he couldn't handle what I do. He's never made me feel bad if the house is trashed, dinner isn't done, there is a pile of laundry on our bed, or even if the kids are still in pj's (it's happened before). Usually I apologize profusely about whatever and he just let's me know it's ok and helps out. I think him working from home for a year or so gave him an idea of what I do in a day.

Along those lines he mentioned that one of my posts where I was talking about some parenting thing being so hard that it sounded like I was a single mom or something, but I am definitely not. It seems a little harder lately because since we've been in Oregon he, for the most part, has either worked from home or been home earlier than normal, like 3:30 or so. Now it's 5:30 and I'm just adjusting to it all. It's different but that's life I suppose. Anyhoo. Not a single parent in any way. He's so awesome and many a day he'll see I'm stressed, grab my hand and put me in bed while he takes over. I just love him. I could go on and on about how awesome I think he is but it's getting late.

Since I was sick last week and the boys were this week I've had a lot of indoor time and been working on some fun baby projects for friends. I love making baby stuff, they're just so cute. I wish my hands worked as fast as my mind did, but balance in all things I suppose. It's no lie I like to make things, there's just such satisfaction in seeing something in your mind then actually making it happen.

Even though we've been sick this week we actually had a full sunny day. It was amazing and made me wish for more. Despite all the germs we played outside most of the day and I worked on weeding out some of our grow boxes and strawberries while the boys searched for worms and we talked about bugs, plants and weather. That day we also planted a bunch of seedlings (corn, beans, and peppers) and started a compost bin. We'll see how it turns out. I'm so looking forward to the spring and summer and all the fun things I have planned to do with those boys.

Well I'm tired. I stay up too late, and I was getting so much better at going to bed early. By early I mean before midnight. But I'm enjoying it while it lasts because some point soon school schedules will rule and I'll have to actually set my alarm instead of waking up to two boys jumping on top of me.

Buenas noches!

3 out of 4

Conference with kids is still something I'm trying to figure out, I think all parents are like that though. It's a difficult thing to get an adult to sit through 8-10 hours worth of speaking in 2 days, let alone a 2 and 4 year old. But I thought I'd try something new.

I felt Levi was ready to pay more attention and be able to participate more with the whole thing rather than play around while we attempted to listen. So I found this idea where you have a bag for each of the apostles and first presidency with a picture on the front for the kids to identify and with activities inside. Also I had a small square of paper in each bag to briefly write what they talked about.

All and all they worked really well. Levi did a great job identifying a number of them, he has a good 6 of them down pat since we've been working on them for a while now. And they enjoyed all the quiet activities which were some coloring pages, online printables, apostle matching game, simple puzzles, making collages from the friend, play dough, stinging beads and a bunch of other things, small quiet reverent activities with a couple treats in some random ones.
Here they are hard at work with their necklaces. Levi made one for his cousin Sienna and Max, upon finishing, promptly destroyed it. I love this activity and so do they.
They did great for all of Saturday and the Sunday morning session but by that afternoon it fell apart and they were just tired and done. Not bad if they made it that long though. I was very proud of them. And Levi really seemed to listen to a number of them, especially in the Sunday morning. Maybe not the whole talk but enough for a 4 year old. He asked a number of great questions too and I think that they both understood the importance of listening to our prophet and apostles.

I particularly liked the 'notes' ( the slip of paper I had in each bag) because I would ask them what they were talking about and a number of times Levi could kind of say. But I also got to write some of the points that I liked as well which helped me a lot. Before kids I was able to take notes but not so much anymore, it's more trying to keep my kids from going crazy and now getting them to listen for a bit, so much that I can't do much more than pay attention myself, but with it I was able to write down some of my favorite things or impressions I had. It was nice.

All and all it was a success, a lot of prep work but will be easier next time and I really hope it helped them understand conference isn't just a day we don't go to church.

A Week Early

This weekend we went to our cousins house to celebrate easter a little early. All the kiddos were there and they love it. The boys got to dye eggs and of course pick through all the awesome toys they haven't seen in AGES .

I love Max's sweet face, he looks so grown up here! I can't believe he's my baby boy.
Say cheese!
Levi enjoyed dying eggs, but he wouldn't let go of a cool new toy he'd found, some sort of spy thing with lots of buttons. I finally had to take it away to get him to pay attention.
Max was a little more into it, but if you'll notice, he still kept a firm grip on the Luke Skywalker figure he found.
Levi finally gave up with the whole egg thing and just wanted to play, I let him.
Then the kids played and played, we ate, then the easter bunny dropped off some eggs around the house. It was pandemonium!
Max did a way better job than he did last year and I'm pretty sure he got more than Levi did.
All and all a success and glad we got to see the cousins again.

Spring Break

For part of spring break we wanted to have friends over and go do some fun things we normally don't do. So for part of this we had our friends Cameron, Jackson and Finn over for a 'water day' where we were going to do some fun water activities, kind of like our science day.

The boys (and girl) had lots of fun running around playing and eventually they water colored. KJ stayed at it the longest
but Max was pretty into it. Levi? I think he finished in a minute flat before he ran off with Jackson. Gotta play while you gotta play I suppose.
I didn't really get to do any of the water experiments I wanted to try with them. At the beginning Max had a time out that lasted a LONG time. I had to put him back in that stool for 150 times at least, though I was surprisingly calm about the whole thing.

As we had an epic long time out session I kept thinking that to do this I must really love him. I know, love him by punishing him? But I don't know if I would spend that long, probably 35+ minutes, putting a kid back on their time out stool, I just wouldn't, but I know what it's will help Him. I wish I had been more consistent with Max on time outs but we were good for a while then I let it relax and he wouldn't have to do it as much even though he'd clearly done wrong, like hit someone. This time he had BIT Cameron really bad. It was his second time out for the day because earlier he bit Levi. What's the deal with that? He's never bitten. Well, that was almost a week ago and he hasn't so guess it worked and time outs are much much shorter, but I'm going for consistency.

Anyhoo, after all that it was a fun day with the boys. I sure love them, pointy teeth and all.

Boy Party - Spring Break Edition

When I asked Levi what he wanted to do for spring break, he exclaimed "A boy party!!!". Now I don't know what a boy party is, but I figure it has something to do with boys being there. We talked a while about it until we finally figured out what to do. We finally settled on doing pizza for lunch, playing, watching a movie and having some ice cream.

Part of the rules according to himself, "No girls allowed, and no baby brothers, at least until the end." "And everyone needs to bring a toy".

So we planned a good day and time, we even did a little shopping for it. He was counting down the days because some of his absolute favorite people, ahem, boys were going to be there.

Max had a few issues at the beginning, we've been working on timeouts. This time it only took him a half hour to stay on his stool. It's getting shorter and shorter.
First order of business? Toys. By the end of the afternoon pretty much every toy in the house had been taken out and they loved it.
This is Braden, Levi's best friend in the whole wide world. He has lots of other friends but this is the one he talks about multiple times a day.
After a lot of play time and running around they got to pick a few treats for the movie. They were so excited to get their own stuff.
Then sit down to watch Kung Fu Panda, Levi's pick, while they all practiced their sweet kung fu moves to the opening credits. He was so excited! They didn't end up watching the movie for more that 20 minutes because it kept skipping and being weird, but they were more than happy to go play again.
Then pizza. You'd think for running around the whole time they'd be hungrier, but they weren't.
Guess they were saving up for ice cream after.
What cute boys. I love being a mom to boys and wouldn't have it any other way.
After it was all done Levi asked if we could do another one the next day. While it was fun I think we'll wait till summer for the next one.