Motherhood at it's finest

My Dear Children:
You owe me.  BIG.  It is 9 in the morning and I would like to paint a picture of the scene I have just endured on your behalf.  In an attempt to cut Tyces hair, which, I hate to point out, but it must be done, Tyce, you were screaming like a banshee and running away from me...hence the uneven jagged edges of hair around both of you ears.  Hali was in the bathtub because she wet the bed, again, and had just emerged sweet smelling and clean when a royal fit ensued over the wrong color of towel I brought to her highness.  I was then sentenced by her to the dungeon, but luckily, Madi swept in and saved the day (love her).  Although Madi, you did wet the couch last night that you were sleeping on, I have no idea how to clean that thoroughly and may have to donate it to some unsuspecting victim at goodwill (it is old anyway), it's the circle of life people.  And now you Kylie.  Well, you weathered the hair cutting and towel storm fairly well but I noticed a particular stench emanating from you and took you in to change you in the midst of tyce rinsing off in the shower from all the hair that he was telling me through his tears were itching him.   Can I just say right here that changing you is more like roping a tornado than  changing the diaper of a 10 month old.  And how is it that I feel like you are stronger than me? In the midst of this diaper change, I hear an  ear curdling cry from the shower.  Over and over.  I would have come sooner son, but I was up to my elbows in poo.  I was fairly sure that someone was doing you bodily harm, by the intensity of your yelling.  With the last strap of a diaper in place on a baby turned bucking bronco, I ran into the shower hopping mad.  You wanted the shower head lower.  I should apologize now for the fit I threw at that point.  Needless to say, I am keeping track of all of this and I am not raising you out of the goodness of my heart.  When you are older and successful I am sending you a very large and detailed bill.

Sincerely, and with love forever,
your mother

Halloween

 This year for halloween we had quite challenge deciding on costumes.  In fact, Tyce decided to change his at the last minute ( amid a major meltdown) from a cowboy to a hamburger.  (why can't I get a decent picture with everyone all looking in one direction??)

 Madi was a beautiful snow white who stayed away from ALL apples that night.   kylie was a BYU cheerleader ( no indoctrination going on here whatsoever!)

 This is a random picture I took of Kylie after a nap.  I want no more criticism that I am not posting enough pictures of her!

My parents had a little halloween dinner before some serious trunk or treating at the church with my sister and her family.  Hali was tinkerbell, if she had had a wand there is no telling what we all would have been turned into that night.  Tyce is now the hamburger at this point in the evening, he looks delicious don't you think?

Madi is 6!! No Kidding!!

October is the month of birthdays for us.  Exactly two weeks after we celebrated Tyce's birthday, we had the same crew over to our house to celebrate madi turning 6.

 Here she is on her birthday heading off to school.  I wish time would slow down so i could take in these years more completely, but man, ever since Madi started school it has been a whirlwind of busyness that is making my clock run on super speed!

 Madi asked for this 3 layer pudding cake for her birthday, well that's not totally true, she wanted some whiz-bang princess cake like I have made for her before, but with a newborn and mark working like crazy, I pleaded for an alternative.  Thank goodness she loves this too!  I should have taken a picture of ME smiling by it, knowing the mess and stress I avoided by doing this instead!

Oh Madi.  Did you know, that I sometimes come into your bedroom at night and kiss your cheek?  Well I do.  I have missed you while you are at school, but am so proud of the things you are learning and how well you are doing.  I new you were ready, even if I wasn't.  You are such a big helper for me especially with hali and Kylie.  You love school and any kind of art, coloring, painting, drawing.  You also like to do craft projects and read.  You are writing all sorts of words and even making up some on you own!  You really are growing up and the only downfall is that you understand the world better and don't say as many funny quotes, but you love to laugh and have started telling knock-knock jokes at the dinner table.  We love you Madi!!!

Tyce is 4!

Tyce turned  4 in October and we celebrated at a nearby park after school.  I can't believe how old he is getting right before my eyes!  He wanted some type of cowboy party so I made him these cowboy hat cupcakes that he thought were pretty snazzy!

We had cousins, friends and aunts and uncles there to celebrate and had a great time.  Tyce's big birthday gift was a bike!  He loves it and can even ride without training wheels (some of the time).  Can you guess who picked out his bike helmet???  I sent Mark to the store the day of the party to get the helmet and this is what he came up with.....awesome.

Tyce, you are a fun guy to be around!  We love how you get so excited for new things and activities we do as a family. I smile every time I hear you laugh because you laugh with your whole body and it cracks me up! You are sensitive and cautious, slow to warm up in a crowd but friendly to everyone.  Madi is your best friend, hali, is the thorn in your side taking all your toys.  You love to cuddle with me and go to work with dad.  I often find you "building" something with your tools.  You love to climb trees and play outside but usually you want someone to play with you.  You love tractors, cars and popsicles   We love you and are so happy for all the things you are learning to do and be.  I can see you becoming more independent and wish I could keep you from outgrowing your cuddly self, but I am excited for you and so blessed to have you in our family!

This is a picture of a sleeping kylie around the same time, she would have been about 2 months old.  I am so in love with her!

Inspire Me

A few months ago I picked up an old picture frame at goodwill that hit my fancy, and the makings of a chalkboard took shape in my mind.  For a while now I have wanted to have a place I could write quotes on that inspire me, or make me laugh, or make me want to do better, and in a place I would see it all day.  I wanted my children to read these quotes, or scripture or whatever I chose to write on it, knowing that if I had it up long enough they might just memorize it.  So I turned this picture frame into my chalk board and put it up in my kitchen just about a week or so before I had Kylie.
That week, I wrote one of my favorite sayings  "you can do hard things.  Do something HARD this week!"  That week I had my baby.  I think I accomplished that one!!
Then, I changed it to "Keep Calm, and Carry On!" in the weeks following the birth of our 4th child and mark's absence from our lives during harvest, by far one of the most challenging experiences of my life to do a new baby, start school for Madi,  and lose my husband's help for 2 months!!  My next quote was by Dr. Latham in his book Christlike Parenting, "Act the way you want to be, and soon you will be the way you act".  Then there was, Make life harder in order to make it better".  Last week it was this:

I LOVE that!  This week my inspiration came from this  talk by Henry B Eyring  called "Choose this day"

So that is what is on my chalk board this week.  Anybody have any quotes that inspire them or make them laugh "I dearly love to laugh" (what fictional character said that, anyone know???), I would love to hear, I am always looking for new ideas!

Madi's first Day of School!

Well, it happened, Madi had her first day of school.  She was beyond excited, I was beyond terrified.  How did she grow up so fast?  And how is it that I have 4 children??  

 It felt like a big day, we were all a little excited and nervous.  It was a beautiful day.

 Driving her to school I couldn't help but get a little teary eyed.  When I took these pictures my eyes were watering a little (she is obviously having no problems with this transition)

 At this picture my throat started to get tight

 I had tears running down my cheeks when I took this picture and said goodbye in her classroom.

When I got to the car I was sobbing.  I ran into my sister Carly dropping her kids off for the first day and she  reassured me that it got better with each child.  I do not have a picture of myself leaning over the steering wheel of my car sobbing, although my mother -in-law caught me at this point and said she would take of picture so Madi could always remember how much her mother missed her on her first day of school!  I declined the offer, but now I wish I had taken her up on it.  Keep in mind, I did just have a baby, I think that may have played a role in the sob fest.

When I picked her up after school this is the conversation we had
me: madi!!  how was your first day of school?!!

madi: It was the awesomest day of my life!

Yeah, she obviously didn't have the same reaction I did to her first day of school.  Afterwords i took the kids to Ted and Jean Christensen's little kid pools for the afternoon with some homemade chocolate chip cookies.  It would have been un-american not to have chocolate chip cookies on the first day of school.

She's Here!!

Kylie Camille Christensen
Born 8-14-12
weight 8lbs
height 19 inches
 We are so excited she is here!

Madi loves having another sister and is becoming the "little mother" asking to change her, feed her, whatever she needs madi wants to do it.  So far, we let her hold her and she feles pretty satisfied with that...for now!

Hali is SUPER helpful as you can see.  She wonders how we ever had any children without her help and constant attention!!  I need to get a picture with tyce and kylie but he is surprisingly infatuated with her!  He thinks she is so cute and wants to hole her as much as the girls do, though not for as long!  We are doing well, and loving the new member to our family!