It's that time of year

When people have a Christmas tree that's all fancy and the ornaments match it's lovely really. That's not what our tree looks like. Every year we all paint an ornament and add it to our tree. We get an ornament when we go on vacation. So, our tree is covered with hand painted ornaments and memories from places that we've been. Painting the ornaments is one of my favorite Christmas traditions. When our kids grow up and move out they can take all the ornaments that they've painted. I know it's a cute idea, you can steal it if you want to. :) Anyway, last night was our annual paint our ornament night. We actually made the ornaments that we painted. I had no idea that salt dough was so cool! We made it and then used cookie cutters and cut out ornaments.

He's so good at painting that he can do it one handed! He truly is an inspiration to us all!

You might be thinking that I use a lot of paint. This is where K was sitting. I needed yellow and he had A LOT of yellow, so I went to use his so as not to waste paint. Especially yellow paint. Yellow anything really. I love yellow! Yellow in any form, the sun, flowers, houses, dump trucks, the list could go on and on. But, we're not here to talk about my obsession with yellow now are we? 

Of course her's is hot pink. She loves hot pink like K loves cars, which as we all know, is a lot! I love that she's left handed. I love it so much that sometimes when I write something I like to do it on the bathroom counter so I can watch in the mirror as I write so it looks like I'm left handed. I wish I had her smarts and her left handedness.

If I remember correctly this airplane was his second ornament. His first was a car. This was the first year that when he was done painting you could tell what it was. Last year he put about 1000 layers of paint on his reindeer. It's so cool to look at their ornaments from the year before and see how much better they do this year.

Poor baby was so tired! He was happy as long as his sucker was in his mouth. Once it was too little and I took it away, he was all tears. He just wanted to go to bed. But it was only 6:30. So, we tried to distract him with the camera. We're pretty sure this is what he was thinking..

"Um, folks, I'm feeling kind of tired and sad."

"Ok, it's official. I'm feeling really tired and really sad!"

"Wait! I see the camera. Do you want to take my picture?"

"Ok! I'll smile, but only a little."

Didn't they turn out awesome?!I bet you'll never guess what one B did. There is no limit to his love for that silly team. This is not the first BYU ornament we have on our tree. I think all of them are swell, just swell (the hand painted ornaments. NOT the BYU ones. Just sayin') I love our little tradition and will cry when these little ornaments are no longer on our tree all together.

Running for a cause

My sister called me a couple weeks ago and asked if I wanted to do a half marathon with her in April. I told her that I would love to. She told me that it was to raise money for cancer research. I told her that it would be swell and that I wanted to do it with her. Well,  bad news bears, the marathon is the week of our spring break. Since B is the low man on the totem pole there's no way that he can get that week off to come with us to DC, where the marathon is being run, and watch the offspring. So, I had to call her and tell her that I couldn't do it with her. I truly was so sad that I had to back out. As I said, this marathon is to raise money for cancer, so I am going to put an email on here that she sent me that talks about the sweet little two year old that she's doing it for and a couple links on how to help. I know that there are only a handful of people that look at this here blog, but if the handful of us spread the word, then maybe she'll be able to reach her goal she has set for this sweet little girl.

      Hi all!

In 2005 I completed the Honolulu,  HI marathon.  I completed it through Team in Training and raised money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  It was such an exhilarating experience I've decided to do it again.  I have set up a team and will be walking in the Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon on April 27, 2014.  My goal is to raise $3000 for the cause.
I'm coming to my family and friends for help.  With so many people suffering with cancer, including people within our family, this is a way for us to help.  "When you are in the service of your fellow beings, you are only in the service of your God."  The little miss in the photo attached is Miss Brielle.  She's my Lincoln's newest friend and has just finished her first treatment for Leukemia.  Brielle is just over two years old.  How can we, as His children, not do all we can to help find a cure?  I know I'm coming to you at the peak of the holiday season.   It's the perfect way to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas; giving to benefit others. 
Below are a couple different ways to donate and/or help. I've attached a link to my team website and I've also attached a link for a pajama fundraiser.  The link to my website will allow you to donate online.  If any of you have the tradition of getting new pjs for Christmas this is the perfect opportunity!   I've posted ordering instructions and the website to go to.  You can get three sets of pjs for $30.  40% of the money you spend will go towards my fundraising goal.   If money is tight, which I completely understand, another way to help would be to post my website on your Facebook page, Tweet it, pin it on Pinterest or forward this email to any of your friends and/or family. Word of mouth is the best way to collect money.

Thank you all, in advance, for your help and support. 

Merry Christmas!  

Emily Jane Kent Green

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ntx/nikewhlf14/WomenUnited

*HOW DO YOU ORDER:  Simply go to www.pajamafundraiser.com Search items to see what you want to order.  Inventory changes daily because these are leftover material.
When ready to order, print the order form from the top right corner of the website.  Note: don’t print until you are ready to order since some items may sell out.  The order form will be updated daily as sizes, colors, and styles change.
Fill out the top portion of the form, indicating the TNT Participant name (Emily Green or the team name Women United). 
Also, enter your customer information Name, address, and a phone where you can be reached in case there are questions on your order Once filled out, email your form to (kathymerani@aol.com), and then mail Kathy a check for your order, made payable to Kathy Merani.  Address is 3729 Whitehall Drive, Dallas Texas, 75229. As soon as your email order is received, it will be entered into their factory system.  Kathy will pick up your items and pay for them up front.

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Turkey's!

In primary yesterday a little girl in my class said that they were going to kill their turkey, that they were going to go out and shoot it! That's not how we roll around these parts. Instead, we use cookies, chocolate and candy for our turkey.

 

What good is a turkey without a body? Nothing like a little frosting, a nutter butter cookie and a Reese's to fix that little problem.

 

We don't want the poor little guy to feel naked, so you must add feathers with toothpicks and mike and ikes. Just in case you ever think to put mike and ikes on to a toothpick; either get heavy duty toothpicks or just don't do it! Trust me, trying to shove those sticky little candies on to a cheap toothpick results in a lot of broken wood inside some candy and some sore finger tips from trying to wiggle them on without breaking the said 'pick.

 

Then you can add a cute little face with mini Reese's pieces. I'm glad we have so many leftovers of those because they are going to make for some good eating whilst small children are in bed or at school!

 

Let's not forget to take a picture of the fat little baby that is happily sitting in his booster seat eating whatever candy or cookie anyone wants to feed him. We found out tonight that he loves nutter butter cookies and mini Reese's pieces and mike and ikes. Who knew?!

 

This is for sure my favorite picture of our whole evening. I love that little B is so happy to represent team T! Our little turkey's didn't turn out as cute or self standing as I thought they would. But it was still fun to make them and not have to kill them and pluck the feathers off! 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING Y'ALL!!!

And the award for worst mom of the year goes to...

Me. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I haven't been able to come up with a speech yet, but let me explain why there was no competition when it comes to this dreaded award. As we all know I do not have a green thumb. It's so bad that it seems when I walk past any plant or flower or tree, you get the idea, in any store, they seem to wilt a little. About a month ago our landlord had the grass guys come and plant seed. I was a little confused as to why he was planting the seed right before winter. When the temperatures at night can get to freezing or below. I didn't question his madness and smiled at the creepy grass guys when they looked through the window. Actually I didn't smile, I tried to hide behind the wall so they wouldn't see me. Anyway, I have never tended to freshly planted grass seed, I didn't know that I was supposed to be watering it every day for an hour. The landlord came over about a week and a half after it had been planted. He asked if we had been watering it. He wasn't too happy with the no answer he received. So, water it I did. I didn't think it was great that there were puddles of water after being watered for so long. I thought that it would drown the seeds. He called about 3 days later to see how the watering was going and told us that there shouldn't be puddles. If there are puddles, the seed could get washed away. Oops! He said to only water each area for ten minutes. It went well until the hose started to freeze at night because it's cold now. One morning I went out there and could pick the hose up like a stick. The entire thing was frozen. Needless to say, I didn't water the grass that day. Well, it warmed up, the hose defrosted as so the watering of the grass resumed. You might be wondering why this makes me a horrid mother. Wait for it!

 

Look at this face! What's not to love about it? He's such a good baby. This picture is actually a couple months old. He now has six teeth. Four of which he got at the same time. He weighs 20 pounds. Sleeps like a champ and has started to laugh when K acts crazy. Enter the dreaded account of horrible mothering. On Friday he had woken up from his nap. I gave him a bottle and changed his diaper. He had rolled over to his toys and was playing as I went outside to throw his diaper away and move the stupid water. Keep in mind that it was cold outside so as I walked to move the sprinkler I kept thinking,"this is so stupid! Why not wait until spring to plant grass?!" Anyway I moved the water, got sprayed in the process so then I was really annoyed because I unintentionally ran through the sprinkler when it was 50 degrees outside. Anyway, I get to the house and start taking of the muddy shoes before I go in. I try the door handle and it's locked! I remained calm for about.01 seconds. I don't even remember locking it. All I know is that this cute little baby is on the floor inside the house while I am locked out. I ran around to the front and opened the garage hoping that by some miracle I had left the door to the house unlocked. I already knew I hadn't. I lock all doors as soon as I am inside the house. I tried the front door too hoping that M and K had unlocked it for some reason before they went to school. It was locked too. I was totally locked out and the baby was inside all alone. B has a key to the front door on his keys, but he was at work. I had no phone, all of our neighbors work during the day. I thought to myself, "stay calm. What do you need to do?" A name popped into my head. There is a family in our ward that lives in the same community that we do. They live up the hill and around the corner. I was wearing B's yard shoes that are about seven sizes too big, but I took off running. I don't think I have ever run so hard and fast in my whole life. Truly, if I had run like that in high school I could have been #1 in the country if not the world! I made it to their house in lightning speed. I had prayed first that Heavenly Father would keep my baby safe. Then I prayed that she would be home. She home school's her boys and she told me that they like to be done by lunch time so they can eat with her husband when he comes home for lunch. I prayed and prayed that today would be a normal day for them and that they would be getting ready for lunch. As I rounded the corner, I saw their car in their driveway. Tender mercy! I got to their house and pounded on their door. When she answered I was breathing so hard that it feels like it took me close to a minute to tell her what was going on. Through huge gasps of air and the tears that had caught up with me I told her what had happened and asked if she could drive me to the hospital to get the key from B. She is an angel and an answer to my prayers. She told her boys to get in the car and she dashed us to the hospital. It's a seven minute drive but it felt longer than that. I don't know where the O.R's are at in the hospital. I didn't know where to go. I just ran into the first door. I'm sure the lady thought I was having a heart attack. I told her that I needed to find my husband. That he was doing surgeries. She sent me down the hall to another desk. I told the lady there that I had locked my baby in the house and needed to get a hold of my husband so that I could get his keys. I've never seen the 100 year old ladies that work at the desks at a hospital move so fast. She was on the phone and talking to B almost before I finished telling her his name. He told me to stay where I was and he would bring the keys to me. I don't know how long I stood there, maybe a minute, but I felt like he was never going to come. I just kept thinking of our sad little baby that was undoubtedly crying alone on the floor wondering why no one was picking him up and loving him. I saw B running down the hall, I ran and got the keys from him. When Jess had dropped me off at the hospital she told me that she was going to go to our house and see how the baby was doing. I hadn't even thought to ask B where he had parked, thankfully his car was right outside the doors. Another tender mercy! I zoomed home and prayed for no cops along the way. As I pulled into the driveway, Jess's boy's were walking across the driveway. I asked if he was freaking out. One of them said yes and the other one said,"No, he's just laying there motionless." Jess heard him say that and said,"He's fine, he's sleeping." As soon as I put the key in the door I heard him start to cry. It took me a minute to get the door opened in my frazzled state. I finally got in and ran and scooped him up. His cry was truly heartbreaking. He looked at me and just kept touching my face over and over as he cried. Jess gathered her boys and as she left she said that her oldest had said to her as they drove back to our house,"That baby's going to be fine. I said a prayer for him." When he said that her youngest said,"I want to say a prayer for him too!" I said thank you and even held it together until the door was shut. I cried and cried and cried after she had left. She and her boys really were an answer to my prayers on Friday. How do you thank some one adequately when you feel like they were your guardian angels for the day? You can't. When I told her thank you I felt so lame because I felt like what she had done to help me deserved so much more that a thank you. I am so thankful that little B was safe. That even though Heavenly Father controls the entire universe, he knew that there would be a baby that needed help. That he would send angels to sing him to sleep so he wouldn't be alone as he laid on the floor. Needless to say I now carry the spare key on my person and when I go outside to throw a diaper away,(I haven't watered the stupid grass since then. It can die and be replanted next spring. Not to mention the hose is frozen again.), I leave the door standing wide open.  

Turkey disguise

K brought home an assignment this week. Due to the upcoming holiday, all the turkey's are worried that they are going to become someones dinner. So, he had to come up with a disguise for his turkey so he won't get eaten.

This is what he came up with. how awesome is that?! I helped with the design, but he cut it out and glued it all together. If we could have a real live minion in our house, we would. They make all of so happy and they make for a great turkey disguise!

For your information: Due to some research that was wrapped up within the last week we have learned that if a pair of underwear is dropped in a flushing toilet at the exact right moment, it flushes down without causing the toilet to become clogged. Don't ask how we did the research, but I bet you can guess who was in charge of the study!

Let's have mexican

What do you get when you lay a baby down on a blanket to have a bottle and go to the kitchen to put dinner in the crock pot? You get a baby burrito!

He had finished his bottle and then started to roll around. He had held on to one of the sides of the blanket as he rolled. He was very content inside his little shell and when I unwrapped him, he held tight to the edge of the blanket. When I picked him up he squawked at me and lunged towards the blanket. I guess next time I'll just leave him wrapped up and finish dinner without a baby in my arms!

Ok, that's odd.

Two nights ago I was thinking that M and K had been going to bed so well lately. It truly filled my heart with so much happiness and joy. I didn't dare say anything about them going to bed good out loud. I figure that's like saying that you hope to never be called as a primary teacher at church. If you say it out loud, you'll for sure get that calling. So, I didn't want them going to bed good to change so I kept my joy to myself. I guess I shouldn't have even thought it. Last night did not go so smoothly. B had a scouting thing so I was on my own for the bedtime routine. I had them all tucked in snug like bugs in rugs and had gone downstairs. I knew they weren't sleeping when I heard the awful sound of little feet jumping. I take it as a personal attack when my personal time at night is interrupted. There's no starting to get annoyed, as soon as I know they aren't sleeping, I'm already bugged and have to remind myself to stay calm and ignore them. I listened to the little feet landing on the floor upstairs over and over and over. I felt like it went on forever, when it actually was probably only ten or fifteen minutes. Which, if you're interested is far too long to hear jumping above ones head. Anyway, the jumping stopped and the blessed quiet that comes from sleeping children ensued. The time from when all the kiddos are sleeping and us going to bed always seems to fly by. All too soon it was time to check on them and go to bed. When we walked into K's room I noticed his closet door was open. I cannot stand when a closet door is open, unless of course you're getting something out of it. But once you have retrieved the item, the door should be closed! Everyone that lives in this house knows that. Just thinking about leaving the closet door open gives me a little bit of anxiety. When I saw his closet door standing open I knew something was amuck. Then I saw the hanger hanging on a knob on his dresser. B made it to K's bed before I did and started to laugh. I looked up and asked what was funny. he pointed to K and this is what we saw.

 That would explain all the jumping I heard. His life jacket was hanging in his closet, so he had to jump over and over to get it down. I don't know why he didn't just get a stool, but whatever. This is one of the times that I wanted to be in his head so bad! I want to know what he was thinking and playing. I also want to know what made him so tired that he laid down with his life jacket on and fell asleep. I asked him this morning why he had slept with his life jacket on. He got a huge smile on his face and just shrugged his shoulders. The smile made me want to be in his head even more to find out why. M sleeps in leotard's and socks and K sleeps in life jackets. As long as they sleep, I truly don't care what they wear!