Martha Stewart wannabe's

My mom, my sister and I threw a baby shower for my sister in law Rachel. It was so much fun but absolute CHAOS at times. Trying to keep six kids under the age of seven entertained, clean the house, prepare the food, and get ourselves ready proved to be no easy task. Luckily my dad stepped in and took the three oldest girls on a grandpa day for most part of the morning.

With about 45 minutes to go until guests arrived the kitchen looked like a tornado, I still did not have any make-up on, and we were still putting the last finishing touches on the food. Eeeekkkk!!! However, it came together like it always does and it was a fabulous day!

Need a fun idea for a party??? This strawberry topiary was a huge hit. We purchased the topiary from Hobby Lobby, then put toothpicks all over and then applied the strawberries stem first. We covered a cannery can with scrapbook paper and put the topiary in, add some tissue paper and ribbon and whaaaalllllaaaa---- Here's what you get.

Oh SO HOPE!!!

I think I lost a few brain cells while I was sick resulting in a number of almost tragic mishaps and blunders. Last week I forgot about "wear your pj's to preschool day" until I went to pick Hope up and saw all the kids in their pj's. My heart sank and I braced myself for the scene that would have followed had this been my firstborn. I bravely walked up to the door and explained to her teacher what a dunce I was and asked if Hope was okay. She laughed and said, "she was fine." "In fact, she walked in, looked around and said, "Why are you guys wearing your pajama's? Don't you know your not suppose to wear your pajamas to preschool?"

And that was that.

Hello world...I'm back.

Whew. Glad this week is over. It's been a little crazy. It all started last Saturday when I started feeling like something just wasn't quite right. I figured I was coming down with a cold but by Sunday morning I couldn't even get out of bed. I hurt all over, had a fever of 102, and had swollen glands the size of Texas. I was MISERABLE!!!! I am still claiming I caught it via the blog world :) I was down and out Sunday and most of Monday before I could drag myself to the doctor to get medicated. Troy gets the husband of the year award and was super dad while I was sick. As fate would have it he had both Saturday, Sunday AND Monday off which was a HUGE blessing. Between him and my friend Tara I didn't even lay eyes on my girls for three days. Troy waited on me hand and foot. Now, for those of you in tears of jealousy I will just tell you that it has not always been that way. The last time I was on my deathbed and Troy was less than stellar HE ended up coming down with the same thing and apologizing profusely for not being more sympathetic.

Anyway, by Wednesday I had no choice but to be better because I had to drive 2 1/2hours to judge a Region Drill Team Competition in Richfield. I left at 1pm and didn't get home until 11:00 pm. Not the best way to recover from Strep but what do you do. Thursday night I judged a region at Cottonwood and I just got home from judging in Nephi today. I judge State next Saturday and then the drill team season is officially OVER.

Well, I survived the week and owe a HUGE thanks to the many people who helped out. I am so grateful for amazing friends who are my family away from home. Thanks for the calls, the food, and all the help with my kids. YOU ARE THE BEST!

Conversations with Hope

While eating lunch at Arby's yesterday Hope noticed a table full of police officers. When we sat down Hope said very seriously. "Mom. We better not stand up while we are eating." (Usually I say, "sit down girls" at least twelve times during the meal). And then the conversation went as follows...
Me: "Why Hope?"
H: "See those police officers over there? They have guns. And if we stand up, they might shoot us?"
Me: (Laughing of course). No Hope. They won't shoot you. Policemen are here to protect us.
H: "Ya they will. If you break the rules, they will shoot you."
Me: "I promise they won't shoot you Hope. (More laughing). Then I notice that she won't take her eyes off of them for too long. Better safe than sorry right? Then she says, "See that thing on their shoulder? You know what that is for? Then she pretends like she has one and she "radios" some information.
Me: "How did you know that."
H: "I saw it on Mall Cop."

Pretty entertaining.

Another favorite conversation....
H: "Hey mom. Who are you in love with?"
Me: "Dad."
H: "So you want to kiss him?"
Me: "Ya, I like to kiss him."
H: "I'm in love with Cody (boy down the street that she talks to once a year).
Me: "Really?"
H: "Ya, I'm gonna kiss him and marry him someday."
Me: Speechless. Okay. Speechless with a lot of laughter, and a little concern.

Conversation with Hallee

While dropping Hallee off at dancing yesterday the conversation went something like this....

"Mom, you need to go get ice cream while I am at dancing so dad can make us shakes tonight."

Me: "I'm all over it Hallee. I already picked some up today."
H: "What kind?"
M: "Vanilla."
H: "No, I know that but the kind in the box or the kind in the bucket?"
M: "The one in the box."
H: "MOM!!!! You need to think this through better. The one in the box only lasts like ONE time. It's a total waste of time and money!"

Me: Speechless.....

Junk Food Junkies

Houston...we have a problem. My children are addicted to treats. Mostly Caymbree and Hope. You know it's bad when your 18 month old starts to flat out refuse dinner and cries for candy and treats instead. It only takes a matter of seconds for her to hear the pantry door open and she is right there at my feet crying and pointing in the direction of anything containing an absurd amount of sugar. Then there is Hope. Hope asks for a treat (snack) at least 15 times a day and by the ninth or tenth time it becomes more of a whine then a request. Things have gotten out of control.

So here we are on day three of my junk food nazi routine. The girls are allowed a SNACK around 10:30am, 2:00 pm and again when Hallee gets home from school at 4:00. So far the withdrawal effects have not been near as bad as I expected but we do still have the occasional throw yourself down on the floor, roll and thrash around at the base of the pantry door from Caymbree and a few whiny tears from Hope. The great side effect has been that it has made me re-think the snacks that I buy and even makes ME more aware of when and what I am snacking on.

Wish me luck. I'm gonna need it.

Oh, and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Happy Birthday Jessica!

Jess - Can I tell you again how glad I am that it is your birthday! Last night was a much needed-long overdue- girls night out of shopping and dinner. I got the giggles after we dropped you off thinking about the Neil kidney stone story, Tara's barfing birthday story, Josie's unbelievable memory and my lack thereof about my own child's birth. Thanks for a great night out girls!

Random Happenings

Just a few random happenings at the Hodges Home....

Hanna Montana came to visit. Yes, Grandma Larsen the Christmas money you gave her was well spent. She has not taken off this wig since she bought it and even went to play at her friends house tonight ....WITH the wig on.

Hanna Montana on drugs????

And for those of you with weak stomachs...look away now. Troy just about cut off his thumb working on the basement. We were minutes away from walking out the door to head to Logan and he thought he would go kill a few minutes downstairs. Next thing I know, I see blood and a white faced husband. No need to worry. It's super glued together. :)

Happy Birthday Hallee!!!

Hallee scored big time this year with not just a birthday but a weekend worth of birthday celebrations. A few months ago when we were trying to decide what to do for her birthday she said that all she wanted was to go to Logan to celebrate with her cousins. So the day after Christmas I loaded up the car and headed to Logan for the THIRD time in seven days. We met up with some of her cousins at the Fun Park in Logan for a rip-roaring impromptu party. She had a blast playing on the soft play and the arcade games and watching her grandpa and uncles try to win "tickets" for her playing Deal or No Deal.

Also while we were there my dad invited her to go shopping with him to pick out a birthday present for my Grandpa at Cal Ranch. While they were there he told her she could pick out anything she wanted for her birthday. I'm pretty sure he didn't know what he was getting himself into. After carefully scoping out each and every isle she still wasn't sure she had found the perfect thing. He suggested a pair of pink cowboy boots to which she replied, "Na, my mom always makes me match. If those don't match, she would never let me wear them." Nice.

After some deliberation she decided just to wait. As they were driving home one of them (not sure on who) suggested Old Navy. Now, this may not seem like a big deal but have I mentioned how much my dad HATES to shop. Like break out in a cold sweat and get a stomach ache, HATES it. So he walked into Old Navy for the first time in his life to let Hallee pick out something. Apparently, she even knows her size. Too funny. What I would've given too see the two of them shopping at Old Navy. Dad, you're the best!

On the morning of her actual birthday we woke her up and surprised her by taking her to IHOP for breakfast.

During breakfast we told her about her second surprise! After years of begging, Troy had finally agreed to let her get her ears pierced. She was SO excited and a little nervous.

While unwrapping her presents she got her third surprise. Tickets to go to the Broadway musical WICKED with mom and dad. She has wanted to go ever since Troy and I went in California but we kept telling her she was too young. Aren't we tricky!

We ended the evening with a sleepover with her friend Trinity. They had fun playing High School Musical Dance on the Wii, making, decorating and eating cupcakes, and texting on the text messagers that Trinity gave her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HALLEE!!! WE LOVE YOU!

Christmas 2008

Ya. Santa did it. He brought the girls a CUPCAKE MAKER. Ya, the one's that were advertised day and night on television, in every single add and in every single store. It even made the top ten toys of the season. DUMB, DUMB, DUMB. One attempt at the cupcake maker and both girls said, "Uh...Mom? These do NOT look like the picture!" Now, that's an understatement. Not to mention that they pretty much taste like cardboard. Good thing Walmart has agreed to take returns from Santa. :) But he wasn't the only one that got suckered in. I ended up buying Hallee a "as seen on tv" nail polish mechanism that got the same response. "uh, Mom? These nails do not look like the pictures on the box!" Again, a complete understatement.

However, Santa did redeem himself on the music systems for the girls. Hallee got an I-pod, Hope got a stereo for her room and Caymbree got a kid-tough portable boom box. They were a huge hit and the girls have not stopped listening to them.

The extended family also scored big time with the gift of a Wii and all the accessories. We will be busy for the next few months playing Guitar Hero, Mario Cart, High School Musical Dance Edition and more. So much fun!!!

Christmas Eve party 2008

Christmas eve just wouldn't be the same without new jammies!

Christmas Dance Recital

Proud Parents

Scary how grown up they look isn't it?

And now for your entertainment, may I present Hope and Hallee's Christmas performances. Hope you enjoy! (remember to pause my playlist music first)

Keeping the tradition alive

For as long as I can remember Grandpa and Grandma Larsen have taken the entire family up to the USU training center each December. With the passing of Grandpa the possibility arose that the tradition would end. After some discussion and the generosity of some, the annual family gathering was made possible once again. Not having Grandpa with us this year definitely felt different and it was next to impossible to get him out of my mind. But nothing would have made him happier than to see us all together laughing and having a good time.

Sorry Rob but this picture was too funny not to post. Just thank me that I didn't post the picture from the gangster rap" .

It was a kids paradise with lots of crafts, yummy treats, the Wii, and a custom made sledding hill in the back yard.

The Christmas Jar

Last year my parents gave us an empty jar and a wonderful book called the "Christmas Jar." They asked us to read it and then start collecting our spare coins in our jar. I'm embarrassed to admit that in all the post Christmas chaos I only read half the book and the jar got shoved on the top shelf. So this year when they asked us how much we had collected I had to walk the hall of shame and admit my mistake.

My mom then told me about a family in her ward that were in need of a few items. Both parents are blind, they have a four year old daughter and the mom is pregnant. My parents have visited multiple times and had witnessed the challenges that come with a young child and two parents that can't see. (Like trying to find your mittens before you go to school.)

On morning while doing Hallee's hair I passed on the stories to Hallee and Hope that my mom had told me about the family. At one point I looked down and Hallee was sobbing. Being the sensitive mother that I am I angrily scold her and tell her that I couldn't possibly be hurting her hair. (In my pathetic defense - tears are not uncommon while doing hair.). She then told me that it wasn't about her hair but that she felt so sad for this family and especially the little girl.

I asked them if they wanted to give some of their allowance to buy some Christmas presents for her and both of them hurried off to their rooms to collect some money. Hope came back with ONE PENNY. I asked her if she wanted to give a little bit more and she said, "no, this is good."

Hallee came back with her ENTIRE piggy bank and said she wanted to give it all. When Hope saw her generosity she went back to her room and came back with one penny, one dime, one nickel and one quarter and beaming from her own version of generosity. We added our money to the collection of other family members and they set off to do some shopping.

When we went to Logan we were able to deliver the Christmas gifts to the family. The little girl was SO gracious and just kept saying "Merry Christmas!" and "Oh, thank you!" Allowing my children to witness this special moment was a gift I hope they always remember and truly allowed the spirit of Christmas to be felt.

And just in case you were wondering....the Christmas jar already had a few coins in it for next year. :)

Christmas Dresses

Holiday Happenings

So much stuff...so little time to blog. Here is just a little recap of the HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS at the HODGES....

A holiday favorite...DECORATING THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE. I think I could kiss the inventor of the pre-made kits. Bless you!

All the stockings are hung, the tree is up and the smell of Christmas is in the air. Okay, I'll be honest. I pooped out about half way through. Half of my decorations are still out in the garage, the kids tree never made it's appearance and you know what. I am okay with it.

A date night with dad....not to this movie but to High School Musical 3 again. I think they had described the entire movie to Troy in detail but they INSISTED that he go see it with them while it was still at the theatres. Putting Hallee in a boring red shirt and realizing I didn't have a hair bow to match led to the creation of these fun little things...

So fun that I ended up getting together with my girlfriends to make some more!

And I've even managed a little time for a few craft projects. My mom came up with these fun Christmas blocks that we made over Thanksgiving.

And a fun little project I copied from a friend. Thanks Krista!

Davis Valley Classic

Six years ago my cousin and I, at the request and input of some of our coach friends, decided to start a drill team competition. We held our first competition at Woods Cross High School and looking back now it was somewhat of a comical disaster. We really didn't have a clue what we were doing. We only had six teams and our "staff" pretty much consisted of us, our husbands and our moms. Our mom's ended up being our door bouncers, the welcoming committee, concession stand workers, and just about everything else. It was during the Christmas holiday and the heat in the building had been turned off. Needless to say, we FROZE!!! At one point we even had to go out to the cars to gather blankets to try and keep our judges warm. Nice hu? The school provided us with three janitors, all of them teenagers who I swear were smoking weed during the competition.

But, we survived!!! And each year we grew (and yes, we switched high schools). This past weekend we held our sixth annual drill team competition at Davis High School. We now have over 25 teams from around the state that compete in our event. Who would have thought it would have turned into this? Troy is amazing and spends two full days in the thick of judges and coaches as my trusty tabulator. I'm sure it is quite enlightening for him :).

I've been judging dance and drill competitions for over ten years but it is fun to be on the other end of things once a year. I'm just glad it's ONLY once a year. I think I am still trying to catch up on my sleep and mentally wind down and it's been over for more than 24 hours!

Walk with Christ

December is CRAZY. Believe me. I know first hand. It's sad to think that the one time of year that we should be most focused on Christ is the time of year when He is most easily forgotten. For our December Enrichment we started a 14 day "Walk With Christ" program with the sisters in our Ward. The Enrichment Committee made 80 of these booklets for containing stories, questions and journal pages to read and ponder each day.
in the middle of our fourteen day journey we had a Progressive Dinner. We met at the church for hot chocolate and then each sister was given a set of three homes to visit. One for salads and rolls, the next for the main course (turkey, potatoes and veggies) and then a final home for dessert. (We had seven homes running at one time so that our group sizes would stay under 10 people at a time.)

It was a logistical nightmare to get it all coordinated but in the end it was worth it. We live in a ward that has divided three times since we moved here and we finally have small enough numbers that we all SHOULD know each other. This dinner gave people an opportunity to sit down in small groups and really get better acquainted.

Yesterday we had the priesthood and the Young Women help us out with the primary and nursery so that we could have all the sisters together for a special lesson and testimony meeting to close our Fourteen day walk. It was a wonderful time to reflect on our blessings and the joy that Christ brings into our lives.