white dresses...

Six white dresses to be exact. Lots of good stuff happening here lately. Sweet Ivy- I can't type her name without putting some adjective before it :) - was blessed this past Sunday. Grandma Yost made her dress, it turned out just beautiful and must have taken quite a while. She used the same fabric I used to make Lauren and Chloe's baptism dresses. The last three white dresses came on Sunday when Grandma Yost gave Lauren and Chloe their birthday presents. She used the beaded bodice part of her wedding dress to create two white dresses for two American Girl dolls, Molly and Felicity. They were so excited and just adore them. They have wanted one for about two years. It was a special gift to help them remember their baptisms and how special this birthday is. I'm so thankful to have three daughters and be able to celebrate all these special days with them. I just realized last night that now I'll be able to sew dresses for one more little girl- Ivy. I'm also thankful for my Mom who loves these girls almost as much as I do, thanks for your help! Happy eight years Lauren and Chloe!

fun nights and not so fun nights...

First things first, little Ivy. She's the boss of my life now it seems and I'm loving it most of the time :) Between her feedings, Noah's nap and other factors it's hard to get out the door and around town to get anything done. I have to post a humongous thank you to Cody who has almost completed our Christmas shopping by himself. I think he really enjoys it and it's been a huge help to have him out and about rather than me with the kids. Ivy HATES her carseat, so this week I've nearly perfected holding her with one hand and dragging my cart behind with the other. From what I've noticed lately though, I'm not the only mom out there who has to gear herself up to do errands, and that's o.k. ! And when I happen to need both arms this lifesaver has been the best money I've spent as far as babies go for quite a while. I highly recommend it, Ivy loves being toted around and usually dozes off.

We celebrated 31 years of me on the 1st. Cody had the day off and we had lunch together then he graciously offered to go grocery shopping so I wouldn't have to with Ivy. (Remembering nursing Noah in the bathrooms mid-way through has made me a little hesitant to take Ivy yet.) A sweet lady brought us dinner then we had cake. I guess at some point in your life you realize that getting kitchen appliances for gifts isn't a bad thing, I'm there. My new waffle iron is the best, we're all enjoying it. This was just a silly picture of Noah. Don't be alarmed, the gray goop he's licking up is blueberry muffin batter. He's always drags his step-stool in chanting "batter, batter" when he knows something yummy is being mixed. Noah caught a bit of a cold last week and by yesterday I figured he should be on the upside of feeling better, but wasn't. He went to bed and woke up about 2 with labored breathing and a bad cough. We were pretty concerned so Cody took him to the hospital. He's recovering from croup for the next few days. It's tough to know with kids how bad it really is. It was a bit scary though when he was crying and so upset because he wasn't getting enough air. His discharge papers said no strenuous activity, it hasn't been strenuous, but he's been active :) I guess that means he's feeling a little bit better. I'm thankful, it was a stressful night. Looking forward to a low-key weekend, making gingerbread cookies tomorrow with the kids...

feeling thankful...

Chloe came home with a school assignment yesterday. Her teacher's instructions were to find reasons to be thankful for things that she normally might not be grateful for, here's the result:

I'm thankful there are jellyfish in the water cause it means we can't go in the wrong place.

I'm thankful there are trees in the forest so we know there's no campsites there.

I'm thankful there is sap in trees because sap helps us make honey.

I'm thankful there are dresses cause they let us look are best.

I'm thankful there are yams even thou I don't like them. But there a thanksgiving tradition.

I'm thankful we have mistakes because we can learn from are mistakes.

Well said Chloe. I'm feeling so grateful this season, mostly for family, near and far, older and very young. Truly life's most important blessings are the people we love. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

making me happy...

There's a huge pile of boxes on the curb that used to hold all our food storage and now it sits on these wonderful shelves put up on Monday by my Dad, Loren, and Cody. Amazing how it looked like so little when we got it on the shelves, but I'm hoping to start hitting some case sales and stocking up. In college I had food piled on our washer and dryer and since moving here, it's all been in boxes, making it hard for me to want to buy any extra. Now where our washer and dryer used to be is this storage room, it's a delight to walk into. So a HUGE thanks to the brains and brawn behind the work, I love it!

And of course there's little Ivy, she's been such a pleasant gal. She does pretty well at night, waking only to eat then dozing off by me again. And I know they say babies can't smile until they're around 6 weeks, but I tell you, we've seen some little grins. And I don't believe babies smile because of gas, who smiles because of gas, nobody. She's happy with the exception of diaper changes. I'd forgotten how wonderfully fresh and sweet new ones are, so cuddly. I'm adjusting to not being able to do things on my schedule, for now Ivy sets the schedule. I know it will pass so fast, it has with all my other babes. So there may not be many posts without a picture of Ivy, she's hard to resist :)

SHE's here!

We welcomed Ivy Robenia on Wednesday November 12 at 9:58 p.m. She was a whopping 9 lb. 3 oz. and 21 inches long. We're all enjoying her, her chubby little cheeks aren't lacking for any attention. Here's a few pics, more updates later...

Do you need a paint stirrer with that?

I feel asleep at 10:30 last night and was woken up by Cody coming to bed around midnight. Finally, I got comfortable with my 2.5 pillows and went back to sleep again. I awoke with a start at 3:07, my water had broken! I turned over to tell Cody, where was Cody? I stumbled out of bed and went to open the bedroom door. The hallway was filled with people all lined up and heading into the baby's room. I hear Cody, "I'm in here." Only it's not the baby's room any longer, it's your friendly neighborhood Sherwin Williams store and my husband is mixing paint for complete strangers at three in the morning. Hmm, paint, I wonder what the significance of that is? When I tell him we're about to meet the newest little Hansen, he's tells me to hold on, he's busy. He's WHAT? Where's my attentive husband who calls from work all the time and gives me that look saying, "Are you feeling anything?" He obviously didn't make an appearance in this wacky pregnancy dream. Ahh, I'll miss all the weird dream plots when I finally have this baby.

Still waiting patiently, my due date found me waddling around Walmart, stocking up, I've been doing lots of that lately. I just don't know what to plan on. But, we're all feeling good, just hoping it might be this week. This is about my third picture of me while pregnant, just haven't gotten around to it. But I figured we'd better, since hopefully it's close. I never really want pictures, but there's something nice about looking at it in 2 years. Since I seem to forget what it's like to be pregnant and right now, have forgotten what it's like to NOT be pregnant, funny how you get used to whatever. Even being overdue :)

what kind of cook are you?

Well, this time of year always gets me in baking mode, from about now until after Christmas. I think it's how the oven warms your home and the comforting smell of something yummy baking. I just can't walk past those huge displays with the 12 kinds of chocolate, nuts, and everything else needed to make your kitchen smell delicious. Having discovered these little lovelies last year I just couldn't pass by all the supplies today at Walmart. So standing in my kitchen today baking all afternoon (because it's makes a big batch mind you) I had to ask myself what the deal was. Being almost ready to have a baby my freezer should be stocked with quick, tasty, and healthy meals. But lately it's baking that's been happening around here. I've got bread, rolls, buns, apple bars, pumpkin cookies, and a lone pan of mac n' cheese for my post-natal lineup. We'll be eatin' well in that department anyway.

Which brought me to a whole other question. What kind of cook are you? Cody teases me because I don't always measure too precisely- or at all. Not because I'm an expert by any means, just too lazy to dirty a teaspoon. Especially when it's something like muffins that I've made hundreds of time for breakfast. I would much rather make bread than dinner, cookies over lunch. I think I get stuck in a dinner rut too often, fixing the same standbys until my family is so tired of them they aren't standbys anymore :) So help a girl out, if you have an awesome tried and true dinner recipe, post it, or post a link, I'd be forever grateful! But do try the cookie recipe, I'm betting it will ruin you, other pumpkin cookies just won't stack up! Happy baking...

happy halloween...

Well, here are our little spooks, some spookier than others. Cody's family came up and we went to dinner then to the mall. It wasn't too crowded and would be perfect for cold weather, although yesterday seemed pretty mild. By the end, Noah was saying "trick or treat" and "thank you."
Chloe is the vampiress and is still sporting the dripping blood a bit today, that stuff has staying power! I was a bit worried as to how her cape would turn out, but I think we pulled it off. I'm not terribly fond of masks, but Lauren wanted to be a skeleton. At the mall she had to take it off, we eventually ended up cutting between the teeth so she could actually breathe. :) Noah finally decided on the clown costume, it was a bit big, but he makes a sweet-looking clown.
For all those wondering how gynormous I am there's an excellent picture for you. WAY past the cute baby bump stage, and more into the large and waddling part. Crazy to think my due date is only 10 days away! Exciting!
Lauren and Chloe reminded me so much of myself at their age when they got home. We put Noah to bed, he was completely wired and strung out on candy. (Cody keeps reminding me to let kids be kids- I struggle with the sugar highs and lows that invariably strike the entire week following Halloween-but that's a WHOLE other post.) L & C dumped out their entire night's collections and sorted and traded. It was fun to just sit back and watch, I remember doing that with my siblings, comparing and trading, not wanting to eat anything quite yet, just reveling in the quantity and that it was all mine! Well, we can't get our costume groove on for another year, but I'm sure there will be enough other sugary holidays to tide us over. Hope it was happy for all of you!

what witches eat for lunch...

tuna, pears, and yogurt?! Little Noah has completely enjoyed Halloween. I'm not so sure he knew what was coming, but every day all week he's been dressing up as either a witch, clown, pirate, bee, or whatever else he could scrounge out of the dress up totes. He wore the hat for several days, during lunch and naps, what a funny man!

super savers...

Lauren and Chloe have always had a creative imagination and still like to dress up, just not as princesses anymore! Tonight found them engaging Noah in a loud and wild version of super heroes- the super savers, yes, they made up the name. They tore around the house "saving" people from fires and all sorts of disasters.
It's funny how the things we did as children that tormented our parents have a way of making a second appearance with our own kids, home layouts in this example. Before my parents remodeled last year they had a fantastic loop that circled through the formal living room around to a TV room and through the kitchen. As kids we used to whip around the loop chasing, yelling, being extremely obnoxious I'm sure. I remember Mom saying, "Quit running around the circle!"- more than once. Fast forward 20 years and here I am with a loop in my home. It circles through our sitting room and through the piano room. Although it is much smaller and doesn't boast those awesome swinging doors that we would bang so hard on my growing up loop, something about it screams to kids, "Run, run around me as fast as you can making as much noise as humanly possible!" It was fun to see them all play together, Noah loved wearing a dish-towel cape. I'm afraid we haven't seen the last of the super savers. Hmm, wonder if they could save my tomatoes? So I suppose in life what comes around goes around, literally, around and around and around and around and.......

making me sad...

but not sad enough to actually try to salvage or cover the poor beauties. In my almost ready to give birth state the garden has kind of fizzled. I did dig out the carrots today though. Maybe looking out the kitchen window and seeing all the plants ruined by frost will motivate me to get out there and clean it up. The not-so-fun part of gardening, it's hard to see the season end...

earrings!

Yesterday was supposed to find Cody and I at our childbirth "refresher" class, but two women went into labor-the nerve- so it was canceled. My Mom was already in route to babysit so instead we all had lunch and then we girls went to the mall and boys went home to nap :)
I'm not too much of a mall-girl, I just get my business done and leave, but it was fun to mess around since it had been so long. We passed Claire's and the girls were again begging to get their ears pierced. We'd discussed it earlier, but the topic always seemed to not be brought up again and life went on. But this time I thought it might be time, good timing too since Noah was home, since we waited in line forever. They both said it hurt worse than they'd expected. I believe Chloe's words were "it hurt like your ears were being cut open." Such drama. Such drama.
It was just another one of those moments when as a mother I saw them grow up just a little bit more before my eyes. Like their first official haircut when they were 2, or seeing them chat on the phone with a friend. It's exciting and hard to take all at the same time. The bottom two pics are cell phone pics, (thanks Mom!)
That night we went to the symphony which performed Saint-Saen's Carnival of the Animals. I love that they're old enough to go with me and that we have a symphony here in town. Thanks for the fun memories Lauren and Chloe!

fire and wedding gifts...

That title got your attention right? I guess it's time to end your sewing session when your iron starts sparking and the cord falls off in your hand. I've had issues with this iron for awhile now, it's burned a few holes in several pieces of fabric so I wasn't too sorry to see it croak. They-whomever they are- say deaths happen in threes. The first to go was my tea kettle last week. Every morning I brew a big pot of pregnancy tea to sip on all morning. Had Noah not lost my whistle I would have heard it when I went downstairs to paint. TWO hours later the phone rings and for once I decide to race-as fast as my pregnant belly can- upstairs to answer it. (It's always a toss-up, an important call or another "who are you voting for this election," blah.) It was a counselor in our R.S. Pres. Luckily nothing worse than "Oh crap!" came out since she and Noah were hearing my discovery. Poor little thing, I couldn't detach it from the burner. The whole conglomeration went into the trash. I'm now the proud owner of the shiny kettle you see here, with a built in whistle I might add for us multi-tasking folks who forget we're brewing tea.

The second mishap was also just not paying attention. After making a delish peach pie which leaked all over the bottom of the oven and then not cleaning it up and turning on the oven and cooking the burned remains a second time, I reached inside to lift up the hot coil??!! (mental lapse) with a hot pad of course and completely burned the pad. Noah screamed "fire" and I quickly dunked it into the sink. Very disturbed, he wouldn't even touch the torched thing.
And then this morning, he again had to see the iron incident and has been telling and re-telling how the iron "shoots fire." Hope I haven't scarred the guy.

And how all this relates to wedding presents... Cody and I registered at a local small town furniture/appliance store. Among our gifts were this $10 iron. I could wax sentimental and think about all the cute dresses and other things made with it's help, but I'm just mostly glad I can get a new one now! Anyway after nine years we finally got a new TV stand last week also. I thought I might try to re-purpose it somehow as a night stand for Chloe, but at that point I just wanted to see it gone, terrible I know. It got me thinking of all the gifts that have come and gone sooner that others. Our can opener for instance, died the first month. Is that a bad omen for your marriage? I've been through several mixers and blenders also, maybe I'm just a brutal cook, or are things just not made like they used to be? I do know where my mentality stems from however, and that is my childhood. My Dad, bless his mechanical skills, was able to fix anything. I grew up using my parents green wedding mixer, a wired together toaster and an old yellow can opener. When each one died the phrase, "Didn't we get that for our wedding?" always seemed to follow. So I knew my parents had either been married a super long time, or the long life of small household appliances was somehow equated with a successful marriage. Well, Cody and I bombed out in that aspect, but I think our marriage is successful regardless! So here's to using it up, wearing it out, but hopefully not burning it up!

welcome October...

Happy fall, happy halloween, happy conference weekend. The girls have been out of school since Thursday and it's been enough days that we're almost all back to sleeping in, good thing school starts tomorrow! It's been nice to have them home, although they have needed something to keep them busy. Every year we go through the same issue. Lauren and Chloe would love to have a yard with tons of holiday decor for EVERY season of the year, me, not so much. We found a few fun crafts to do that I thought actually look cute. I know where they get there craft itchy though, so I can't complain too much, plus it's always fun once we get going. They still want to do a witch out front on the tree, we'll keep you posted.

I took less than 10 pictures in September, how pathetic. The camera didn't have batteries and I was seriously too busy to even worry about it. Our basement has been upgraded to "functioning" status. The first night we all rolled around on the new carpet like pigs in mud. It's been wonderful. The girls are back in their rooms and just a few details are left here and there to truly finish it. I feel like it's such a race against the clock, or this baby's clock! We pulled up carpet in the baby's room and will finish painting baseboards and getting a nice rug on the hardwood. Noah finally has a bed and he loves it. At bedtime after reading he says, "cuddle me Mom." Man, melting my heart like butter! That little guy is sweet.

I really loved what Pres. Monson was saying this morning, loving your children and all their messes because they grow so quickly. I see that just a little bit already in my life, eight years has flown by. I laughed and then felt kind of shocked when he talked of the elusive time of life when we can do whatever we want, it may never come :) I sometimes think how nice that will be, but as I look around me at people from all stages of life I realize that no matter what age or stage you're in, life is just plain busy in different ways. So I guess the challenge is to find a little bit of time now and then when we can do whatever we want, or life will march on and will be over before we know it. Good stuff in conference this weekend. I appreciate a refreshing weekend, home, with family, no church :) and uplifting messages. More later, hopefully not so much later...

guest author...

(Corrected for grammatical errors-which were few I might add :)

"Once upon a time there lived a girl named Katie. She loved to tell stories but no one liked them. Once day she decided to make a wand. But the wand could only take her places. So one day she made a wand, it took her to the mall. Why she made the wand was so she could find someone who liked her stories. One day her pet dragon came and said that he had found someone who had always wanted to hear one of her stories. So she got on her broom. The girl had yellow hair and freckles. When the girl saw her coming she ran inside and came out with her family. Her whole family looked like there dreams had come true." Ms. Lauren Hansen

not too many days like this left...

A chill is in the air, but this last Saturday found us outside once again. The bare feet and T-shirts won't be done until it snows I think, that's my girls. I was making apricot syrup in the kitchen while L & C were letting Noah spray them with the hose. Cody came upstairs and I told him to watch them out the window, it was a funny sight. Well, no such thing as watching for him, he had to get in on the fun. I knew it had been a truly memorable time for them when they asked Dad to come out and spray them the next day, Sunday :)
What a big kid he is, although I think he had a bit of an advantage with the huge bucket versus the girl's plastic bags!
This month has been such a busy one. I was hoping after school started that things would slow down just a bit, but it seems to have just gotten crazier in different ways. Between canning and the ever present house project there is always something to do. But I am beyond thrilled to write that we will have carpet installed next week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That deserves a whole post of exclamation marks, we as a family will have a serious party when this is all said and done. Being seven months pregnant and painting nearly every day is not what I'd envisioned, but hey, it will be worth it and it is coming to an end.
Just a short post to put me back on the blogging map, it's all I can manage tonight. Did you see the huge harvest moon tonight? Loving the fall time...

things to be glad for...

-a new dryer, I gave away our old one on Craigslist about two weeks ago, I am a fan of the clothesline, but not THAT big of one. Still working on getting the pipes working for the washer, it overflowed today...

-BBQ with the R.S. Presidency and our families, I love those ladies, we're friends, as only you can become in these callings

-beautiful apricot trees, and a friend who shares her fruit!

-fudge sauce that hardens in the fridge that can be eaten by the spoonful when the moment calls for a little emotional eating

-pregnancy pants-they're so much more comfortable than squeezing into what were my favorite jeans

- cooler days and garden tomatoes, and less mowing and watering of the lawn

-Noah coming to the the crowded couch of girls and saying, "room for me Mom?" Of course little man.

-2 good second grade teachers and the chance to get to meet them tonight

-hummingbirds feeding outside our bay window

-fixing dinner that four out five eaters gave a thumbs up, let's say Noah wasn't hungry and give it a perfect rating- chicken curry, mmm.

-Cody, who graciously puts up with my ups and downs whether he feels like it or not.

-big but not too big of a baby that can still do somersaults inside me.

- fabric stores- I'm sure I've saved loads of money having my machine packed away. But today I busted it out for the first time in months and sewed a bar stool cover, felt so good to make something again.

-family in all its forms, my first little nephew Parker

-quiet calm of late nights

I've been a tad grouchy and irritable this past week, just needed to remind myself that life IS indeed good and there are good things happening everyday, even to me :)

safely delivered...

another year started, another pose by the maple tree. It's fun to see how the girls have grown each year. Hope we live here long enough for many more tree pictures. If you can't tell by Chloe's pose, to say they were excited was a huge understatement! Would that everyday of the year could be like the first day. Lauren and Chloe bright eyed, bushy tailed, dressed, beds made, all that jazz, with backpacks on at 6:45 this morning. After removing the backpacks, reading scriptures, family prayer, and a good breakfast they still would've had time to walk. Although today they wanted me to drive them and make sure they made it to where they needed to be.

And as they both ran back one more time to where I was standing to give me one last hug, I couldn't help but just cherish this time when they want me to be there until the very last second. I know that one day I'll hear something like, "Mom, just drop me off here, you don't need to park and get out." And then I'll remember this day and once again wonder where the time went. And these blasted pregnancy hormones-as if I don't cry enough at things too embarrassing to post anyway. But seeing them grow up, so tall they could've passed for 3rd graders, really gets me, such a sentimental sap I am...

On the other hand, it's nice to have a schedule again. I think Noah was most disturbed by the whole day. He usually comes into our bedroom around 7:00 and climbs in bed with us to sleep after asking, "Noah visit?" This morning we were already up and at it and he groggily stumbled into the kitchen. After we all said good morning he grumbled, "Noah not good!" He missed those sisters too, as I knew he would. But we kept busy with exciting things like grocery shopping and a visit to the midwife today. Poor little man, he gets to go on all the fun errand trips now. We did see some tractors and motorcycles though, so maybe it was all right in the end.

All is well and typical with my pregnancy, 29 weeks this week. I feel like we're in a rush against time, trying to finish our basement before I can't do much to help. We're getting so close. I'm logging in a few hours painting almost everyday and getting mighty sick of it, glad you asked. Cody's finishing with trim and other odds and ends, but there's an end in sight and it's going to be beautiful. We'll love it, once it's done :)

still here...

Just been ignoring the blog. I know I'm not the only one who is going to miss seeing these three sitting out on the grass eating popsicles. Lauren and Chloe spent most of last week visiting Cody's mom and her family. Noah missed them like crazy! Everytime we headed out somewhere he would ask if we were picking up sissies. Poor guy, he has no idea school is about to begin. But at the end of the summer it seems the squabbles are sometimes a bit more frequent so maybe some time apart will help us all appreciate our time together? Maybe?! I forget how much less work it is with just one child around, even though I missed visiting and hanging around, Noah and I had some good bonding time. He helped me cook and we played in the water several times. Glad to have those two back, four days was long enough for me!

We celebrated Cody's 31st birthday when his family came up on Thursday. Hard to believe we're THAT old :) We had the traditional birthday BBQ and then he hit a few golf balls with his friend Paul. I have to include the obligatory-full-cheeked-blowing out of the candles pose. I'm so good at getting those shots, everyone hates them though I'm sure. And I have to be commended for actually getting a gift that surprised Cody. I have the hardest time shopping for him. The toys are either too big or too costly, whereas women, the little gadgets and fun items are always popping out at me. Anyway, he had new running gear to wear for his first triathlon yesterday. He did great as far as I'm concerned. Nothing like just jumping in and doing it, now he knows more what to expect should he forget the misery and do another one sometime :)

I think we're ready for second grade here, all the new school supplies, backpacks, shoes, clothes, can't believe it's almost here. I remember being a second grader, maybe that's the mind-boggling part of it for me. My gals can't possibly be there yet. So many good things coming their way. They start piano lessons in September with the teacher I had hoped to get, she miraculously had just two openings left for the fall. They've met once with her and I think it was a good match for them both.

A little off the subject, whatever that was, but the cutest thing Noah is asking these days is, "Are you happy Mom?" Today in Sacrament meeting he spilled Cheerios all over his lap and looked up and asked if I was happy. He did the same thing to Chloe when she hurt herself, that definitely cheered her up quickly. Sweet guy, he's really into how he feels these days, telling me "Noah mad!" or "Noah not like it!" So endearing in the third person :) He also picks up on how Cody and I are feeling, especially those feelings of frustration and irritation, he's right there reminding us to be happy. And all is well in his world when he can say "Mama happy girl?" And of course I answer yes, how could I not be? I'm a blessed and happy girl...