My FALL favorites!

This is my favorite time of year! 

I love the chill that is in the air

and the breeze that comes through my house. 

I love, love, love, FOOTBALL!

what's your favorite team?

I love hoodies and sweaters. 

I love hot chocolate!

I love when the colors start changing.

Please excuse a very old picture.

I love visiting apple orchards (unfortunately we don't have them in Utah).

I love driving through the mountains.

I love decorating for holidays.

I love holiday cooking. 

I love Halloween and seeing my kids trick or treat.

Kids 2012

Most of all I just love that when Fall hits, it means more holidays 

which means lots of family time and closeness.

Saturday is a Special Day!

Its the day we get ready for Sunday. 

In our family we try to attend church every Sunday. It doesn't always happen unfortunately, but we try. 

Saturday's usually consist of sleeping in, eating breakfast together then starting the day. I try really hard to clean the house better than I have during the week. Bathrooms get cleaned. The furniture gets dusted. Vacuuming and sweeping happens. Laundry is almost always done. The kids help to clean their rooms and wherever I need them too. Because we live in a small apartment we can usually get the whole place cleaned in under 2 hours. 

Next we maybe will run some errands, figure out what to make for dinner for Sunday(something easy,so I am not in the kitchen all night). We have some fun in there whether it be a new park or our own playground. Daddy usually goes to work around 4, so after that we just stay in doors and hang out. All the kids will get baths and we will just relax the rest of the night. 

We are members of The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and as such we believe in keeping the Sabbath day Holy which is why we do all those things on Saturday. Sunday's are meant to be sacred and for rest. When my house is clean and organized I am a much calmer and happier mommy. I will have less to stress about and it makes our time together much more enjoyable. 

I am thankful for the teachings I have had my whole life. My mother was a really great example of how to treat the Sabbath day; with love and dedication. We spend this day learning of Christ and his teachings and how to be better human beings. 

After all it is a commandment. "thou shalt keep the Sabbath day holy"

I am truly grateful for my membership in the church and the love I feel from my Savior. I am not a perfect person and not even close but I know that Heavenly Father loves me and is rooting for me to be amazing. The least I can do is obey his commandments and "keep the Sabbath day Holy" I just hope I am setting a good example for my children like my mom did for me. 

If you want to learn more about the LDS church, go here

Bed Time Routine?

For all you moms out there, I would love some feedback. 

As you know I have 4 kids ranging from 8 months to 4 years. I live in a small apartment which means all the kids are in the same room. When it was just the two older before the babies were born it was really easy, we had a routine with books, songs, prayers and snuggling and they went to sleep like champs. 

Now that the twins are in there it is a nightmare. We have tried everything. First we tried putting the twins to bed and an hour later putting the older two to bed. That led to the other two wanting to act out or talk and giggle, which led to the babies waking up. Next we tried putting the older two to bed first which works sometimes but that means we have to put them to bed at 7-730 because the babies are tired around 8 p.m. That didn't work. Next we tried putting the babies to bed and then letting the older two basically just fall asleep in the living room and we transfer them to their bed. I hate that. It isn't a routine and it isn't good for the kids. 

I am out of ideas. I don't know what to do or try anymore. 

Have any of you experienced this? Do you have any advice for me? Any suggestions?

Maybe there are others out there struggling just like me and we can help one another. 

Season Premieres!!

It's that time of year again. All of our favorite shows will be starting soon. 

One of our favorite things to do is after the kids

go to bed we hang out watching our shows. It is time together

that we don't usually get during the day. So what are your favorite shows?

Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m.

Thursdays at 8:00 p.m.

Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m.

Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m.

Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m.

Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m.

My husband also watches The Following and he loves The Walking Dead 

but I am kind of a wimp and can't watch those shows. Sorry bud, You 

are on your own. :)

Friends.

I had a reassurance today. I need my friends. For the past month the kids and I have been keeping ourselves so busy with classes, playground excursions (we try to find a new one each time we go), visiting Daddy at work/school, being sick or just having lazy days at home. Not once in the last month have we hung out with other kids or my friends. I didn't think it mattered because we were together as family which is the most important thing. Right?

After today I don't think so. 

I was able to get the twins to sleep and had Daddy kept an eye on them before he had to leave for work so I could take the two older kids to our community playground. My two closest friends were out there with their kids. I was so excited, like a kid in a candy store excited. It showed too, because my mouth started pouring out words like diarrhea. I couldn't stop talking and it hit me....I missed my girl friends! And they missed me! I missed adult conversations. I missed sharing parenting stories and experiences. I missed laughing and crying. I missed the togetherness. I missed being a friend. 

We were only out there for a little over an hour but it was the hour I needed. 

We as adults need that relationship. Don't get me wrong, I love my children and they are my everything but in order for me to grow and be a better mother I need my friends. They are my sanity. They are my confidants. They are my shoulders and my comforters. They are my cheerleaders. 

The rest of the night was bliss. The babies were adorable and giggled a lot! The older kids got along and we even did a small act of service. It was a wonderful evening, all because I was able to get some adult interaction and renew myself. 

So for all you moms out there, do not ever make yourself feel guilty about having some "me" time. Enjoy each others company. Lean on one another. Grow from each other and it will strengthen your ability to serve your family better. 

I am so grateful for my friends.

My Favorite Things

Ikea High Chairs

. These gems are only $25 total.

 They are practical and so easy to wipe down. 

For crazy dry nights like the ones we get in Utah we always

have a humidifier in the kids room. We use this one that is cool mist. 

My kids are hot blooded like me so we are always warm, so it wouldn't 

make sense for us to get a warm mist and this cool mist humidifier works

really well in our apartment. Its a ReliOn brand from Walmart.

Our ReadySetGrow stroller. We got a twin discount from Babies R Us

and it has been awesome so far. We already had Graco carseats so they fit in this 

stroller. It has 12 different positions. It's not heavy and folds up nicely. 

I love the Lavender bath soap for babies.

Lavender helps them relax and it is easy to put them 

to bed after their bath. 

If at times you are struggling and you think it's over or it's the end of the world? This is for you. 

I feel like that often. Having 4 kids isn't easy sometimes and it really gets to me. Like when they all decide they want something at the same time. Or when the 3 youngest all need diaper changes at the same time. Like when it is 9:30 p.m. and the older two will not for the life of me fall asleep and eventually wake up the babies because they are screaming, laughing or talking. (all my kids share a room) Or when it feels like I have been feeding all 4 of them all day because they are all going through growth spurts at the same time. Like when I am making dinner and they come and say "mommy, I am hungry". Or when I am having a meeting for church at my house and my 2 year old decides to take off her poopy diaper right in the middle of my meeting and say "mommy, POOP!". How about when they are all not feeling good at the same time and you only have 2 arms to hold and snuggle so 2 get left out? 

All of these have happened and maybe happen on a daily basis in our house but then we have days where our homeschooling gets done, they house is cleaned up by everyone, the older 2 play with each other nicely, everyone is happy and we get along, the babies are content with playing on the floor and the older 2 don't mind them playing with them. We have days where breakfast, lunch and dinner were a success, we have no poopy messes, everyone goes to sleep when they should and all is well. It is on these days that I step back and think "It is all working out." 

We are parents, we are children, we are HUMAN! Why as parents are we so set on our children being perfect all the time? Why are they not allowed to have crummy days? Why do they have to be quiet? Why can't they cry, or make messes, or be sad? 

Don't we as adults have days like this? I know I do. We can't expect our children to not have emotions and express them. Sometimes we are just not feeling up to par and we don't know why. 

I can honestly say we are working on it. I am allowing my children to live. I am allowing them to make messes (but also learning they have to clean it up). I am allowing them to be sad if they want and try to figure out why. I am allowing them to express how they feel whether it be anger, sadness, frustration or happiness. But most of all I am allowing myself to do all of those. Life is too short to worry about the petty things. Let my house be messy, let my kids eat cereal for the 3rd day in a row. It is our togetherness and love that matters. 

In the end "it will all work out"

Utah State Fair

It's that time of year!! Utahans time to check out all the fun that can be had. 

It's running SEPT 5-SEPT 15, 2013. Go check it out. For more info go here. 

Let's Play Music

Every Wednesday my son attends this class. It is wonderful. It was created by a woman who attended BYU. 

It teaches the children musical aptitude. Through playing, dancing and singing they will learn how to read music, sing in tune, melodies and harmonies, skills to play piano, chord progressions, staff reading, keep a steady beat, identify scales, identify note names and many more. It is a 3 year program that by the time they are done they will be able to play the piano and ready for advanced piano lessons. 

This class is unique because Parents  are required to attend every other class. 

Today was the class I got to attend. It is so neat to see Jackson interact with the other kids and participate. This is something he is passionate about and he gets so excited when Wednesday comes because he gets to go to class. 

If you want to know more, you should definitely check it out. letsplaymusicsite.com

About Me

My name is Holly. I am a stay-at-home mom with 4 little ones.  All my life I knew I wanted to be a mother but once I started working and realized I enjoyed working I figured I would do that instead. I was working my way up to management and felt like life was good. When I was 26 I felt empty and lost. A friend invited me to move to Alaska to work for the summer so I gave up my job and went! It was the best decision I ever made. While up there I met my wonderful husband. Only then did I feel full and alive. I learned what was missing and it was the thing I knew all my life. I was meant to be a wife and a mother. SO it began! 

 My wonderful husband and I had been married only a few short months when we decided it would be okay if we got pregnant. We had our first child (Jackson) 1 year and 10 days after we got married.

 Life was grand. We had it all. We were living in Alaska enjoying the military life. Little did we know that plans were going to change. My husbands time was up in the Army and we didn't know where we wanted to go. We decided to move to South Carolina to be near his family. It turned out to not be as grand as we expected so to Utah we came and have been here for 4 years. In May 2010, we got another surprise! Pregnant with baby #2. I would love to say this was a pleasant surprise but I would be lying. At the time my husband was working in Alaska for the summer and we were strapped for cash so another baby didn't seem like a smart idea. OH WELL! It all worked out and we were blessed with our second bundle of joy (Madison) 2 years and 9 days after our first child. See a pattern?

Easter 2012

We were set. Our family was complete. Or so we thought. Inspiration came to us while we were watching LDS General Conference and we knew we had another child out there. So.....we got to it and 3 weeks later we were pregnant. At 9 weeks we went to the Doctor for my first appointment. Already this pregnancy was different than my first two so I thought maybe something was weird. I was hoping they had some answers like "you are anemic", "you have high blood pressure", you know the things we worry about while were pregnant. We were not expecting this.

9 weeks gestation.

After a lot of laughter (nervous), shock from my dear Richard and reassurance from my Doctor, we were actually excited. I mean we didn't really know anyone that had twins and it sure as heck doesn't run in our family. (not that that makes a difference) So we immediately text all our family and friends. How cool is this?!!!!

The next 9 months were crazy, excited, full of anxiety and nervousness. Were we going to be able to care for these babes?

Were we going to be able to care for 4 kids?

YES!!!!!!

On January 6, 2013 our sweet babies came on their own to this world. 

Our angels Logan and Savannah

Is our world upside down? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Is our world crazy? DEFINITELY. But we love it and we can't imagine a world without these two babes in it.

Busy Busy Busy

This is my life. These angels bring me the most joy and pain all at the same time. I am sure I am not alone in this ride we call motherhood. 

I am a mom of 4 kids under 5 as the blog states, it could actually say under 4 but that sounds scarier.  I thought we were doing it right by spacing the kids every 2 years or so and then Ta-Da, I got pregnant with twins. Now we had 2 newborns, a 2 year old and a 4 year old. 3 kids in diapers!! AHHHH!

Let the Fun Begin!!!