El Dia del Amor y Amistad

So this may be one of the few years that Russ and I have actually gone out ON Valentine's Day.  But since his parent's invited to take us out (and for asian food, no less), I thought, "Why not!"  The only downside was that I usually make a fun dinner for the boys and do cute crafts and things, which I thought I might do on another night, but that just didn't happen.  But I did buy them a heart shaped pizza with ALL meat (which I never do) and I bought a dessert pizza (which I never do).  So I'm sure they know I love them.  Anyhow, here's our little bit of Valentine's fun:

We started out with the intent of making these hearts to give as actual valentines, to teachers, cousins, etc., but it was a little bit more time consuming than we thought and after the boys made two each - we were happily done.  Which was fine, we just decided to call them decorations (and I ended up buying store bought valentines, totally against my morals, but I survived and I'm sure their classmates could care less).  So here's the project:

A little yarn, a little corn starch glue, smoosh into cookie cutter . . .

 

 And voila! Cute little hearts.



And then both the big boys had to make "mailboxes" to receive all the valentines from their friends at school.  We looked at bunches of different ideas online and they picked out their favs.  I pulled out a bunch of old scapbooking stuff and I let the boys pretty much do them on their own.  I think they turned out pretty cute . . .

Along with his "love boat", Corbin wanted to show his little "Tuck-In Pet" he got from mom too.  Surprisingly, they all LOVED these little stuffed pets.  It makes me smile.  They will be good daddies some day.

Cody chose the monster one.  Quite fitting, I think. (at least he's a sweet one)

(This picture was Cody's idea :)

This was Cody's first time exchanging valentines and he was very convinced that all the girls must love him because they gave him all these valentines.  I said, "Maybe its just because they're your friends" and he said "or maybe it's because they love me".

I love these boys!

Holy Blog Lapse!

Yeah, so I just haven't felt like blogging lately. Weird, I know. Usually I can't keep up with all the things I want to blog about. Maybe its the cold, maybe its because we've been sick. Maybe it's because my hubby's been out of work so I haven't had my usual "alone" time. But mostly it's just been winter and maybe I just had a bit of the winter blahs and with not much going on - what is there to say? I already blogged about us being sick, which by the way, was followed with a round of strep - Colton's in the form of scarlet fever, Cody the usual and mine accompanied by a sinus and ear infection. (yes, I'm a professional whiner mom). BUT, on the upside, during all of that, we managed time for this:

[Corbin really wanted to do a science project, even though only the 5th & 6th graders compete.  He had some great questions, and even I learned something new!  Obviously, Mom helped, but he did all the thinking, testing and most of the typing.  I was very proud of him.] 

And whilst sick, there was still plenty of "fun" going on around the Jensen household:

But sometimes there was this (and if you know Cody at all, this is not normal):

So I guess what I'm saying is that yes, we are still alive (I know you were wondering) and I am back in the game.  My husband is back to work for the next three days, so don't be surprised if you see me pop out like 5 or 6 posts before he returns. :)

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

We would have if I would have remembered.  We could have if I had put it on the calender.  We should have, because now we are seriously paying for it.

The flu shot. 

Instead...

Massive headaches.  Sharp shooting pains and the constant, dull, "I don't want to move" ache.
Chills.  Waves of chills and sweats.
Clenching stomach.  The "I just ate something bad" feeling.
Whole body aches.  Back, legs, hands, neck, you name it.
Random shooting pains. Everywhere.
Sinus pressure and running nose to accompany the headache.
And of course, total lack of energy.

Corbin: Friday - Monday (but it's kind of lingering)
Cody: Sunday night - Tuesday (seems fine)
Colton:  Saturday - today (not getting any better:( )
Mom: Today - ???

I guess I knew it had to come eventually.  Even with all the vitamins and hand sanitizer, it was inevitable with kids hugging, kissing, mauling and crying all over me all day.  Any amazing remedy suggestions?  Nothing seems to work that well...

Service made easy

Martin Luther King Jr Day.  No School.  What to do? 

BYU hosts a community service day every year.  Perfect fun we can feel good about.  After hearing from the first black, female mayor in Utah and one of the BYU football players, 800+ people split to work on all different kinds of projects.  You can read more about it in this article (where we are even mentoned!).  Some people headed out into the community, but there were plenty of projects set up on campus to keep us busy.

We started off making cards for our soldiers serving abroad.  I didn't get any pictures, but Cody made a great American flag and Corbin made "Happy New Year" and "Happy Valentine's Day" cards.  Colton had fun tracing his hand for his "Thank you" cards.  It was a perfect project for any age!  (And as a side note, while we were sitting at this table, I met a family who is moving to Uganda in a few weeks.  I was so excited for them!)

Next, Grandma & Corbin worked on making dress up clothes for the Head Start Preschool. 

They ended up with a very cute tutu, which Corbin was kind enough to model for me.

While they worked on that, the little boys and I headed to a different room to make hand puppets to be sent around the world.  We made a penguin, a tiger, and a piggy.  Cody did a great job! 

Colton did help every now and then, but mostly kept busy with the all-you-can-eat donuts.  :)

We ended in another room where they were working on several other projects for different community groups.  It was a very successful day and we are so glad Grandma Jill was here to go with us! And I got some great ideas for our next summer of service!  We are so grateful for MLK and for this opportunity to serve!

I live in my car

I guess that's normal for moms, but it really is true.  In my car, I have food, bottled water, treats to keep the kids awake, books (for me and the kids), a magazine, books on tape, McDonalds toys and extra jackets.  And lots of other miscellaneous odds and ends.  And here's why . . .

After watching 3 other kids this morning, we left the house at 12:30pm to take Cody to preschool in Provo.  We got home at 1:35 and I put Colton down for a quick nap.  I went to pick up Corbin from school at 2:10 (luckily that only takes 10 min at most).  We did his homework and then left at 2:55 to go pick up Cody.  We got back at 4:10, grabbed the library books from home and headed over there for a quick visit.  We got home at 4:35 and left again at 5pm to take Corbin to theater.  The little boys and I made one other stop and got home at 5:30.  I fed Cody and Colton and we went back to pick up Corbin at 6:20.  We were home at 6:40, Corbin ate, they took showers and were in bed at 8.  Phew.

And unfortunately, this is a typical weekday.  It's no wonder I can't keep up with my house!

I Have A Dream! by Corbin

Corbin brought this home from school.  I'm not sure what the preface to it was, or what they may have talked about (besides MLK, obviously), but I thought it was interesting, so here it is:

I have a dream that there will be no more wars.  And that no atomic bombs will land in our country.  And that a fire will not burn down my house.  I have a dream that one day doctors will hav a cure for everything.  I have a dream that people will stop smoking.  I have a dream that everyone in the world will be free.  I have a dream that the whole world won't flood.