Carter's on TV

So about a month ago I get a call from a friend from church. Her brother in law has a small production company that is just starting to really take off and they needed a little boy for a commercial. She instantly thought of Carter and called me. Of course Carter was thrilled that he'd get to do it and make 80 bucks. He spent several hours but had a good time and the money was a good incentive too. Maddie was extremely jealous being the little actress that she is.

We just got to see the video tonight and it turned out so cute! I think he's so adorable but then I am his mom! (I guess it is airing in Arizona and going to be in other states that have Cox)

Halloweentime at Disneyland

We had another great Wednesday afternoon at Disneyland. Since we've gone there 3 times in the last month its all running together!

I have always been a huge fan of Disney and Maddie takes after me. The boys love it too but Maddie and I have a special place for Disneyland in our hearts. Chris is coming around lately. When the kids were really little and I'd want to go to Disneyland he'd ho and hum. He'd eventually go but he'd definitely drag his feet. Its so cute to see him get excited to go lately. You'd think he would be O.D.'d on it but he's looking forward to our next visit. I'm not sure if I've just shoved it down his throat enough or if its that the kids are now older and can go on all the fun rides with him. They finally aren't scared of fast rides anymore so it's a blast. Either way I LOVE that Chris loves Disneyland and I think its adorable.

Here we are riding in on the tram. I think I may have successfully got a picture of them all looking and smiling.

I had to snap a picture of this cute thing. Don't I have the best point of view!

As soon as we got inside the park we saw Minnie and Maddie had to go visit her and let Libby see her.

Maddie made a special request to take a picture in front of the Walt statue. I love this statue, it really brings Mickey to life. Ever since Grandma Faye told us that we are related to Walt Disney, Maddie has been very proud and can't understand
why we don't get to have lifetime passes!

I found a great way to get a picture in front of the castle without all the people in front of it.

Can you resist this adorable face? I can't!

The kids after riding Thunder Mountain Railroad. They LOVE it!

Vote for Maddie!

Maddie is in fourth grade now and with that comes some fun privileges. She's officially considered a big kid on campus and gets to eat lunch with the 5th and 6th graders. She also had the privilege of running for student council. I love how she is such a go getter, it makes me so proud. I never have to encourage her to do anything at school, she always wants to participate in anything she can. So naturally she came home so excited about running for Publicist. We made this cute poster together (Thanks for the slogan Uncle Chris)


Grammy helped her prepare an adorable rhyming speech which she gave in front of all the 4,5 and 6th graders. When it was all said and done, Maddie did not win and was pretty disappointed but I'm glad she tried and I think it was a good experience for her. She's already looking forward to next year. (We'll just have to make sure she doesn't run against the most popular girl in 4th grade.)

A Disney Evening in September

We have really been taking advantage of using our passes at Disneyland lately now that Summer is over and the crowds are gone. We've already gone 3 times in the past month. It has been fun to take the kids after school on a Wednesday afternoon since they get out early. On September 15 we had a wonderful evening at Disneyland. As usual I had a mystery shop so the kids were able to get some fun things.

Maddie got some cute clip on Mickey ears.
I'm sure Libby will get some use out of them too.

Libby got her first Minnie hat complete with her name on it :)
Libby also had her first Sucker which she thoroughly enjoyed and got extremely sticky, which explains her outfit change in the next picture.

We went on some fun rides, including the Jungle Cruise. Libby loved looking at all the animals.

We had dinner at the Thunder Ranch BBQ, and as we were waiting for our food one of the cast members came out playing his guitar and brought Carter up on the stage. Carter was so cute and really had fun doing it. Chris was impressed and said there is no way he would have done that at Carter's age.

The kids stopped and posed for a cute picture during dinner

Here's the video of Carter up on the stage

On housekeeping and motherhood

Because I look at my blog as a sort of Journal or Scrapbook I'm always feeling the need to catch up. I feel I've been a pretty good blogger since I started blogging a couple of years ago but lately I've been getting behind. The folder in my brain of events that need to be blogged about is getting bigger and bigger. I'm going to attempt to get caught up over the next few days.

Life has been getting crazier and crazier over the past few months. Our days are just plain full and at times it seems there is no down time and if there is any I'm too exhausted to do anything about it. I feel like I'm constantly behind on laundry. I just folded 4 loads last night and there's already 4 loads of dirty clothes waiting to be washed! As I sit here at my computer the kids bathroom has toothpaste smeared on the counters and the mirror has fingerprints and splashes of yesterdays teethbrushing all over it. I won't even mention the toilet, I purposely avoid using their bathroom. Did I mention we only have 2 bathrooms so its our guest bathroom as well? Don't worry I clean it before we have any guests over. I think just about every cupboard, closet and drawer in my house is in need of some organizing. I do try to clean my house but usually only 50 percent of its clean and I always tell myself, "I'll get to the rest tomorrow and it will all be clean" but life gets in the way and it never gets ALL done. I've been struggling with this lately and it's been making me feel overwhelmed when I don't need to be. I think the last time my entire house was clean from top to bottom was January 10, 2010. The day before Libby was born. I nested so much that I had every nook and cranny clean and organized. You couldn't find a dust bunny in my house if you tried. Well along came baby and a huge chunk of my time and attention goes to those adorable chubby cheeks and chunky thighs. Not to mention the other 3 kids that need me to help them with homework, take them to soccer or dance, make them costumes, take them to school, make them lunches, break up their fights and the list goes on and on. So I've had this unsettled feeling about my life being so busy and not being able to keep my home organized and clean. I came to a realization today. This is the most wonderful time in my life and it will only be here for a fleeting moment. When my kids are all grown up and I'm no longer the center of their universe, I can be certain I will not remember how my cupboards looked or whether the bathroom was clean every night when my head hit the pillow. So I paused. I laid on the bed and played with Maddie and Libby for I don't know how long. I don't care. I enjoyed every moment of it and I want to have as many more moments like it as I can spare in my busy life. I want to take the time to stop and enjoy my children because each and every day they grow bigger and bigger and I'm constantly reminded of it. I love my life and I love spending my days as my kids mom. I can honestly say it is truly the greatest feeling in the world and feel so thankful that I have this opportunity!

Overheard

Carter: If you become a teacher you'll be Mrs. Nielsen.

Maddie: No my last name will be my husbands not Nielsen.

Carter: When I get married will I have my wife's last name?

Maddie: No just the girl takes the boy's last name.

Carter: I wonder who I'm going to marry.

Maddie: I am only going to marry a Mormon because I want to get married in the temple, the most romantic place in the world.

Carter: Romantic? That word makes me feel weird.