Their stockings were hung by the 'TV' with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.I finished them! Thanks to my Mom and lots of caffeine, my children will have stockings for the first time in their lives...sad I know. Aren't they so cute!

My brother Dave doubted my vision, but I didn't let it stop me. Aubrey said I needed to post instructions on how to make them if I was going to post the finished product. So here goes.

Step one: You must have my mother go shopping with you for fabric. She has an amazing eye for great contrasting fabrics once you have picked your staple. (She's pretty busy, but if you bribe her she might find time to help you out!)

Step two: Stay up 'til midnight trying to draw your own pattern on a brown paper bag, and debating with my Mom on how you would make the pattern for the cuff. Finally convince her that we have no clue what we are doing and with a limited supply of fabric, it is probably best to buy a pattern.

Step three: Wake the next morning to find that my early riser Mom has been to the store and found the perfect pattern already. Do a happy dance. (This is crucial.)

Step four: Follow the pattern exactly...and walla! Four darling stockings! They are still missing little bells that will hang from the cuff and toe, but they are up and I am still doing the happy dance! Thanks Mom!

All you really need, to have an amazing Thanksgiving in Hawaii...

prepare yourself for a long post First, you need a very special Grandma who is willing to stay home with your twins over Thanksgiving and give them more love then they can stand! Thanks you a million times over Mom!

Second, you need wonderful Grandparents who are willing to take you.

Thanks Mom and Dad Garn!

Then you say goodbye to your baby girls and jump on a plane!

Next, you need cousins/nephews to play with. Since you opted to leave your babies at home you need other babies to hold. Conveniently, they can also be given back to their Mom when you have had your fill, and want to hit the water slides, or sleep through the night! (Sorry Court and Beth!) Corbin and Ashton. (Technically they are brothers.)Kinzlee and Jayston. (He let me snuggle with him by the end of the week! Thanks Jay-bay!)

Now you are ready to have an amazing vacation. You can try the zip lines... The two Kevin's win the "most photogenic while riding the zip line" contest. You can ride the slides from sun up to sun down...You can jump around in the cool splash pools until your fingers and toes get wrinkly...You can ride the waves like a "real surfer"... Or just jump over them because you hate getting salt water in your eyes...You can take your small children on the boat ride from h#@!, during which you honestly think they are going to fall over board and die, and they are screaming and crying like they are dying. Even a week later you are still wondering how you all survived. The captain was a maniac, but the snorkeling was amazing, and living through that ride has made for some good laughs.

This picture was obviously taken right before we got on the boat, because we are all still smiling! The kids don't know yet the terrors that are in store.

(Side note, Kinz and Corb both tried snorkeling during the boating adventure. I was so proud of them. I wish I would have gotten a picture with them in their snorkeling gear, but I was too busy holding on to the boat and my child for dear life, planning how I would rip the caption's eyeballs from his sockets if one of my kids fell out, and trying not to throw up on my sister-in-law.)

You can then forget all about the boat ride and have lots of fun getting buried in the sand...

Uncle Kevin buried Corbin and Ashton.

You can enjoy fresh fish with your hubby...

play with your kids all day...

and enjoy the company of a really great family!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

"ME!"

Jordan's family has a fun tradition of playing the "Who loves" game during family dinner. Someone in the family begins the game by asking "who loves..." and everyone else raises their hand and says "me!" after each person in the family is named. We have passed the tradition down to our kids and they have so much fun thinking of things and people that we love. Tonight at the dinner table Adley started saying "me!" and raising her hand without being prompted, so I pulled out the camera to video our little game. Enjoy!

AND, the winner of the giveaway is...

Katey!

You can thank Kinzlee for picking your name out of a hat! Congrats! Thanks for all the fun embarrassing moment stories! They made me laugh out loud. I hope you all want to Heart-it-forward, even if you don't do it on your blog!

Heart it forward!

I know I am slow! A month ago I won the heart it forward giveaway on my friend Katey's blog! I received these very spooky blocks in the mail which I adore! Thanks Katey! I have had so many people ask me where I bought them.

So, according to the rules of heart it forward, I needed to have my own little giveaway. I have been thinking and thinking of something I could make that would be of interest to anyone, but the only thing I am really good at making is a baby(or two). So without further deliberation, I put my first born up for grabs. Ha, ha! I am only kidding. Seriously now, I have come up with a giveaway that I hope is acceptable.

I was cleaning out my storage room when I finally found this flag wall hanging that I never finished and promised to Aubrey . It is a little bigger than an 11x14 picture, and when complete it will be hand quilted and framed in an old rustic wood frame. Very festive for the Fourth of July, or if you are patriotic enough, for the entire year. This one of course is yours Aub, but if anyone else is interested, here are the rules of the giveaway.

1-Leave a comment saying you want to enter. Tell me something unique about yourself or an embarrassing moment! (Please make me laugh!)

2-Here's the catch, if you agree to receive this, you promise to then create something yourself, from the heart, and gift it on your blog. The giveaway will close on Sunday at midnight. All names will be put in a bowl and one of my children will pick a winner. Don't worry, your flag will be delivered before July 4, 2009. :) (or in three weeks if you are lucky!)

If you are interested in some professional quilts, I just entered this giveaway that I found thanks to Aubrey! This lady is amazing. You should check her out! I wish I could post a picture of one of her quilts, but alas, I am not talented enough to figure out how to steal others pictures. I'll leave that to the professionals...you know who you are.

Honestly!

Today I was able to volunteer for an hour at the elementary school book fair. If you have never been to an elementary school book fair during the lunch hour, they are intense. So intense I was blasting my AC the entire way home, and it was 54 degrees outside. Of course it didn't help that I took the twins. I was hoping that they would last for an hour in their stroller with a PB&J sandwich, a bottle, and books. No such luck. The sandwich bought me about a minute, the bottle, 30 seconds, and the books, a whopping ten seconds. All three entertainment items ended up on the floor where masses of children trampled them. I am not exaggerating. It was complete chaos! Kids where pushing right and left. The woman running the register even started screaming at her daughter because the daughter was trying to talk to her while 50 thousand kids were waving money and books in the Mom's face. That's another story.

I was in charge of crowd control and helping kids find items they were looking for. As I was helping a group of kids with books (mind you I was also holding Adley, who was trying to fling herself from my right arm by doing repeated back bends, and Brecklyn, who was either hitting me in the face, or pulling children's hair, with her death grip, as they innocently passed by).

I started eavesdropping on a conversation between two young boys. The first was showing the second how to hold his eraser and walk out of the fair with it without being seen. I kept my eye on them as they continued to browse, and then push their way to the door. Of course I reached out and touched one of their shoulders (actually, I think Brecklyn grabbed one of their shirts!) and gently reminded them that they could not leave without paying for the erasers. The first boy broke free and said "whatever" as he continued to push his way out the door encouraging the second to follow. I reminded them again, and while the second boy lagged a bit and was embarrassed at my accusation, the first glared right at me as if to say, "I'll do what I want" and then he disappeared out the door. The second boy stood in the crowd migrating toward the register and continued to look over and see if I was watching. When I finally was distracted and then looked back over he was gone, but I noticed his eraser had been put on the table beside me.

I can't stop thinking about this experience. Although stealing to me is a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE thing, the part that bothers me most is the way the boy was so openly defiant and willing to carry it out even when an adult had caught him. I am still very troubled by the whole thing.
Of course I immediately came home and sat my children down. I wanted to review honesty with them. I began to tell the story and I barely got past the part where the boys were beginning to leave without paying and my Corbin gasped. I asked him what was wrong, and he said, "He was stealing!" Kinzlee chimed in, "That is so bad." What a relief to know they understand such a basic but life determining principle. I hope they will remember when they are encouraged by their own friends to steal. Maybe Brecklyn can teach them the death hair grip and Adley can contribute a getaway plan.

That ought to make those thieving friends think twice.

Happy, Happy (late) birthday my little miss Kinzlee!

Kinz you were sent to me first to give me confidence in my mothering abilities. You are so good that you could convince even the worst mother that she was a pro. (if I'd had the twins first, there would be no more.) You were such an angle baby and are still such an obedient and loving little girl. Thank you for your helpful demeanor. Thank you for making me stop my busy days to dance to your favorite songs and thanks for reminding me to not get so frustrated with the babies, because they ARE babies. I love you Kinzer!

Kinzlee posing before school on her birthday!

Kinz wanted to celebrate by taking her friends to see High School Musical 3. Here are the girls...
and the boys...

I sat in the middle of eight children! They were so excellent! My very favorite part was the car ride there and back. The kids wanted to listen to "had a bad day" over and over, and they were all belting out the words. On the way home I turned my camera on to just record their voices. It was too dark to see them. It was so funny! I attached the video at the bottom of the post!

Because she didn't get a cake on her birthday we had a little "Fancy Nancy" tea party with a few girlfriends on Friday. My niece Lindsey came and helped me do all the girls hair and paint their toe and finger nails. They were in heaven!

Here they are showing of their beautimus dos and nails!

Very darling girls!

Concert pianist in training.
Kinzlee had her first recital (a costume recital) last week. Poor girl had the flu the night before and although she wasn't barfing anymore she still hadn't eaten all day. She really wanted to go however, and I am so glad she did. She had only had TWO lessons before this, and I think she was amazing!! I was so pleased that she stood with confidence to share her talent. I never would have been so brave at her age.
Sorry for the rough footage. Jordan was in the back with Adley, Brecklyn was trying to steal the camera from me, and Corbin as you will hear was nagging for my immediate attention.
Good job Kinzlee, you were awesome! Thank you Heather...you are the best piano teacher!

As if going out in public in my garments wasn't good enough...meet Adam and Eve. I know...it's filthy, but also very funny.

Thanks to Ammie and John for inviting us to a killer Halloween party and letting us win the costume contest (six year old Madie said "Gross, you guys are naked!" Parents were busy shielding their children's eyes). Thanks to Angie and Jim for hooking us up with hysterical costumes, and, in the process, robbing of us of what little dignity we had.

Our kids however, were adorable. Kinz was Goldilocks and Corb, Ad and Breck were the three bears.

Kinzlee playing the "mummy" game.

Corbin really wanted to go as a pirate but being the good mom that I am, I threatened to take away his pirate costume unless he went as a bear for the first twenty minutes...then I let him change. Worked like a charm. I must admit though, he is the cutest pirate I have EVER seen.

Is your sanity accounted for?

Have you ever had that nightmare where you show up in public somewhere in your underwear and then you wake up mortified? I had that nightmare this morning, only I still haven’t woken up and as it turns out, it wasn’t a dream at all.
I am pretty sure that the part of your body that controls your sanity is stored in your stomach. Mine I know was accidentally removed with my c-section last year. That would explain why more women than men loose their sanity. Right? Makes sense to me. (But, I am the one with the a-wall sanity.)
If you know me well, you know that if I get interrupted while getting ready in the morning and have to leave the bathroom, then I usually forget that I hadn’t finished the process of beautifying myself. I find out as I am walking through a store and pass my reflection in a window or something. “That poor lady,” I think. “It looks like she didn’t even brush her hair. Agh! It’s me!” Such is life…or my life at least.
So, today I jumped out of the shower and realized as I glanced at the clock that Corbin was going to be late to preschool. I threw some clothes on, hucked my kids in the car, and we were on our way. Corbin and I battled when we got there over whether or not he would wear his hat. I didn’t have time to do his hair and I insisted he wear the hat. I, however, gave in quickly as cars were lining up behind me, but by this point he didn’t want to go to school at all. So here I am, standing by the side of my car, waving others to go around me, talking to Corb’s teacher, and trying to convince my child to stay at school. Then, I look down.
I think, “That’s funny, I distinctly remember deciding to wear my grey shirt today, why did I put on my white one?” Then it hits me. I put on my white tank top, but no shirt. I am standing here in a very tight, very see through, tank top with my garments hanging out as sleeves. I voiced my horror out loud and Miss Amber burst into hysterics.
Do you think it is possible to have a sanity transplant, you know, like a heart transplant? Sign me up…

Adley was found this morning in her crib with a bare bum. Yup, she had pulled her diaper off. Luckily it was only wet. We have had worse cases in the recent past...
I was taking a much needed nap while Dad was over seeing. I woke with a start as I could hear Jordan yelling, "Emergency, Emergency! Melissa, come quick! It's an emergency!" Now for most of you this might make your heart stop for a moment and then pick up at ultra-rabbit speed, as you jump from the bed expecting to find a child half dead, or something to justify your husband yelling, "Emergency!" in a panic voice. I, however; have been married to Jordan for too long to fall into such a state of shock! I know when the word emergency is used with Jordan it involves one thing...poop!
I reluctantly got out of bed and approached the scene. All the while Jordan is still yelling, "Run! Emergency!" Brecklyn had been put down for a nap (by someone other than myself) without pants over her diaper. When she woke up poopy, she decided to change herself...I guess. Her diaper was on one end of the crib and the former contents of that diaper were all over. Even on my little Breck's face. YUCK! Of course Jord b-lined it out of the room as fast as he could. So while I was trying to take care of the poop queen, I heard a little swish, swish, which could only mean one thing! Adley was fishing in the toilet. That was a long day.

My little Corby-man is FOUR today!

I wish I could freeze that boy at every age he has been. He is such a good boy.


We love you Corb! Happy Birthday!

OK, enough is enough! If I can't post new pictures, I might as well post old ones. Today I decided to post a few of my loves...

First off this crazy boy. You'd think only a mother could love that face...'tis not true. I adore it. Not a person in the world understands me the way he does and loves me despite it all. He makes me laugh and he makes me cry, but at least he lets me punch him as hard as I can when he makes me cry. I couldn't ask for more.

Next, content children. They aren't this way for long, so you've got to LOVE it when it happens!
See what I mean...
Then, snuggling babies! I love babies! They snuggle, and sleep and eat and you can just kiss their cheeks and tiny baby toes all day. (There's that boy again...yummy!)

I love Christmas, and having kids makes Christmas SO much more than it ever was!

Enjoy!

Sawyer Trent Jensen is here!!! Congratulations Tara and Trent! Thanks for letting me be there! He is such a handsome little man and looks a lot like his uncle Jon. He sure surprised all of us by weighing in at 6 pounds 7 ounces because he was five weeks early! What a stud!
Blogs are so boring without pictures, but until my husband bucks up and forks over some money for a new computer, our blog is picture-less.

JILL AND NATE'S TWINERS ARE HERE! (DETAILS ON JILL'S BLOG!) THEY ARE SUCH HANDSOME LITTLE GUYS! PRAY FOR THEM TO COME HOME SOON. CONGRATS JILL AND NATE, AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE NO NAMES! WE LOVE YOU!

Remember when...

Remember when you were little and you were positive that your parents knew EVERYTHING. You were just as certain as you could be that your parents were the smartest parents in the whole world. Well, apparently that bubble has burst a little early for my almost four year old son. Corbin said to me this morning, "Mom's and Dads aren't smart." I asked him why that was and he said,"Because they forget everything. Just like you forgot to take me on a mother-daughter date."
I guess I forgot you were a "daughter" too. Looks like I'm not that smart.

Are you a sneaky mom too?
Adley and Brecklyn have each been having their own eating issues as of late. Brecklyn decided after our Florida trip that she preferred nursing ONLY, thank you very much and no other milk will do. She started refusing to take bottles and wouldn't even touch sippy cups with milk in them. I was very frustrated by this as I was wanting to begin weaning. My pediatrician recommended I try chocolate milk! I thought, I'll give it a try, but if I can't even get her to put the bottle in her mouth, why does it matter what's in it?
It took me a minute to finally hold her thrashing head and force the bottle in, but as soon as she tasted the chocolate milk it was gone in about fifteen seconds flat! I was floored. So I hurried and made some more. Of course this time I was holding her and she saw me mix the formula. Can you believe she wouldn't touch it. She is too smart for her little britches. The next day I secretly made another bottle and she took it! With only three days of chocolate milk I tried a bottle with regular milk and she downed the blasted thing! Hurray! Problem solved.
Moving on to Miss Adley. She has decided to be very picky about the things she eats. She loves certain foods, but only if they are pureed. I had ground up some casserole the other night and tried to get her to eat some. She lets you put the first bite in, but then she spits it right back out. I knew she loves baby food sweet potatoes, so I formulated a plan. Without her seeing I filled a spoon with casserole and then dunked it in the sweet potatoes! She fell for it. She made a funny face like something might be different, but in the end she swallowed. Yippy Skippy! She ate her entire meal! I love being sneaky? Any sneaky mom tips you have would be greatly appreciated! Have a sneaky day!

Ramblings...
We have had Internet trouble for the last three months and have not had it working at all for the last few weeks. Turns out my laptop (our only computer) is on the verge of crashing because the memory is almost completely full. This explains my downloading pictures problem. So, I have spent the last few nights deleting old files, programs, pictures, etc. I have put hours and hours into this and would you believe I have only freed 8% of my memory! Very disappointing. I think I need at least 15% to finish installing my new Internet start up. Do I really have time for all of this?
Moving on.
Kinzlee sat on Jordan's lap tonight and read him the entire book, The Giving Tree. She had the first couple of pages memorized, but it was all sight reading from there. She is an amazing reader and every time I hear her I am just floored. She can't wait to start Kindergarten, and keeps telling me she wishes it was Corbin's birthday because then it would be time for her to go to school.
Corbin changed his first diaper tonight and it was so entertaining. He had to wrestle Adley to the ground to get her to lay down. He is such a great big brother. The twiners both followed him and his friend around the house while they played today and he made sure they both had a car so they could play too.
Adley is a mover and a shaker! Man that girl can go! She literally skids around corners. She wants to be where the action is and will follow the older kids anywhere they go. Often they get tired of her wrecking their things and will put her out of their room and shut the door. She bawls like she is dying and won't stop until she is let back in. She finally had her second top tooth break through this week and her bottom two are almost here.
Brecklyn is very content, but in a feisty sort of way. I think of all my children she is showing the most characteristics of her mother. Although she did finally pick up crawling, she is still content to sit in one place and play. However, if you mess with her toys, you are going to get a scratch, pinch, or poke in your face and a yell that will let you know who's boss.
It's so fun to watch them all become their own little person.

Our tiny twiners are ONE! Happy Birthday Adley and Brecklyn!It's hard to believe that they started out so little.
We had a great big birthday bash a week before their actual birthday while visiting Grandmas in Layton. Here they are not even knowing what a wonderful thing a sugar high can be!I was so thrilled about how the birthday cakes turned out. HUGE thanks to my sister Shelly who is the cake queen. Moment of silence inserted here. I could never have done it without you! Also thanks to www.familyfun.com for the idea! (Can you tell I love that website?)They each got to eat a top off of one of the small cakes!Yep! That's blue jello in the middle. The best part was when you touched the duck's head, he jiggled in the "water".
We sang to each of the girls separately. Happy Birthday to you Adley.
Happy Birthday to you Brecklyn!
Brecklyn picked up her entire cake and had at it. She knew exactly what to do and she wasn't going to mess around! She was smearing it all over her face. So cute!
Adley as you can see took it a tiny bite at a time. She is turning into a very "informed" eater. She wants to know what is going into her mouth, and if it goes in and she doesn't care for it, it comes right back out. Funny girl.

Brecklyn loved all the attention she was getting while eating her cake and she clapped for herself over and over. It was so much fun to watch. Adley started to notice all the attention as well and started to put on a show. At one point she was throwing her cake in the air with both hands like it was confetti.

On the girls actual birthday,(a few days ago) we had a quiet celebration here at home with just our kids. Because my computer is being temperamental about downloading pictures, those pictures will be forthcoming in The Birthday...part two!

We love you Adley and Brecklyn. We are so glad you are part of our family!