Itty Bitty Tidbits... And More

This evening I made shish kabobs for dinner. They were so delicious, so I will definitely be making them again soon! I had a bag of skewers that cost $.99, so Adam suggested that we use them for a craft of some sort. Of course we can't just do a fun craft as a family... nope, we have to make it a competition! ;o) So Aidin and Adam paired up, and Austin and I paired up, and we went to work. We finished after about 30 minutes, and then compared our crafts to see whose was better. Here was there's:

Adam and Aidin's Ladder

Pretty darn cool right!? If they were competing against the average team then they would have had a chance of winning! But of course Austin and I aren't just the average team...


Mine and Austin's Jet

 Here's a better picture:


Our Awesome Jet

 Adam was pretty much awestruck when he saw it. :o) I told him that, next time, Austin can be on his team so he at least has a chance of beating me! (And it would be good for Aidin to be on the winning team for a change.) ;)

In other news, we've been enjoying bonfires at least a couple times a week, and guess what that means?! SMORES!!! Here is the most extravagant smore I've ever made:

I Want 'Smore Please! ;)

Another tidbit is that Heidi will be 3 months old tomorrow! I can't believe it's been 3 months already... I can barely remember my life without her. Our bond is the strongest one I've had out of my babies, which is probably the result of co-sleeping and integrating some attachment parenting techniques into my mothering style. Heidi also just seems to be a little smarter than other babies her age too, but I know I'm biased! She's already laughing, making great eye contact, and responding so well to us, and I swear she repeats words that we say to her! Adam said, "You're just a good girl, aren't you?" and she said so clearly "good girl"! It shocked us, to say the least. I know it was probably just random, but we wouldn't be surprised if she turned out to be a genius (like her mommy - oh the ego!). ;o)

So here she is, all cute and stretchy:

Look at this chunker! <3

And here she is again:

So Happy :o)

I'm always trying to keep the pictures of my kids organized and up-to-date, so recently I've been realizing that I rarely get a good picture of Alvin! In every picture he is either making a goofy face, or he is running out of the picture! >.< But I managed to get a good one of him the other day, so I thought I would post it:

It's a Framer!

And of course I've been trying to get a good pic of all 4 of my babies, and I am very happy to say that the other day they all cooperated with me!


<3 My Treasures <3

 So anyway, I'm sick of uploading pictures for tonight. My computer is slow right now! What I really came on here to talk about is what I've been working on recently... my anger problem. That's right folks. I actually have a problem, and I have finally admitted it! :P Naw just kidding. But I've recently been seeing how it is affecting my kids specifically, and my whole family in general. Even I am sick of myself. Having 4 kids is harder than most people could imagine, but it's not so hard that I can't handle it while maintaining a good attitude, so that's something I've been working on a lot. I talked to my dad about it today and got some great advice from him. He's always saying profound things that blow my mind. I am so fortunate to have such godly, wise parents who love me very much. :) So what he said I should do is write on pieces of paper little reminders like, "Be Fun", "Stop the Dysfunction", "Be Calm", and "Never Yell" and then tape them to the doors, mirrors, windows, and walls so that I can really start to work on changing. He has had the same struggles that I have, and since he has learned how to better control his anger over the years, I know that his advice will work if I stick to it. My dad believes with all his heart that children can literally do no wrong (when they are young like mine are). I agree with him to a point, and I definitely agree with the spirit of what he is saying. Until a child reaches a certain age, I think they genuinely want to please their parents. Their motives are never out of rebellion or hatefulness - they can only mimic their parent's (or their peer's) behavior until they reach the age where their own behavior takes over (when they are well into their teens). Austin has been growing psychologically so much recently, and I can see where my anger and my problems are starting to really shape him into someone who I do not like. I've heard this before, but at this point in my life I finally understand it: If you want to see a true representation of yourself, look at your children! SERIOUSLY. Your child cannot act out of the rebellion of his own heart until he is much older... right now, at the tender age of (soon-to-be) 5, Austin is only mirroring me. (Aidin looks to Adam a lot more, and as a result he is developing more of Adam's problems than mine. Like lying. :P) But Austin is truly the male version of me right now, and if I want him to change then I can't spank it out of him... I can only change myself so that he can learn a better way to act and live. The reason spankings and time-outs aren't working and will never work for him is because they didn't work for me. His attitude is one of apathy and a guarded heart. He knows that if he doesn't care then the punishment doesn't work. I had the same attitude towards my parents, so I know what will get through to him and what won't. The only way that I can change Austin is if I first change myself. If I care, if I love openly, if I learn to forgive, if I learn to trust... then my children will inevitably learn those things as well. Boy does that humble me. I need a lot of work, but I am going to do it now - before it is too late for Austin. I will let you know how it goes... so far, so good. Today was such a good day. :)