I just have a few things to say

1. I am pretty sure there is no other smell in the world that is better than a baby right after a bath. Why is it that nobody else smells like that? I use the same soap on my bigger kids (yes I still use baby soap on them, I like to live in my own little delusional
world where my kids will never grow up. Or leave me. Or kiss boys. Or girls. Ever), and they still don't smell the same. This baffels me. I think this is why I have so many kids. They get big and loose that new baby smell, and that, my friends, is when I know it's time to have another baby. Or two. It could also be te fact that we just happen to produce the most beautiful babies in the history of mankind. Or maybe it could be that I am just certifiably insane. Either way.
2. Laundry is the second best smell in the world. How can something so dreadful smell so good?
3. Jace feed the littles this morning (all five of them), and let me sleep in. I like him. A lot.
4. There was a point in my life that I said I would never wear flare jeans, because "they are ugly."  Now they are a go-to style of jeans for me. I also said I would never wear skinny jeans, because, "they are ugly." They are now a staple in my wardrobe. This is partially due to the fact that I pretty much live in boots from september-march. Speaking of boots, I just got a new pair of over-the-knee boots that I am in love with. I think I will marry them. I digress, sorry.  I also said I would never wear leggings, because "they are so ugly."  Wouldn't you know that I now also own a pair of leggings. Or two. I mostly wear them around the house, but I own them, and wear them. And like them.
5. When Kambell is being sweet, I just want to bottle him up, and keep him forever. When he is acting like a two year old, I kind of want to sell him on ebay. For 79 cents.  Or throw him out the window. But I would never do that. Because that would be wrong.
6. I try to keep my house clean, I really do. Most of the time it seems futile. This makes me cranky!
7. After having a baby, your body is never the same. Some things are bigger (not he RIGHT things), some things are smaller (once again...not the right things), and some things are just softer. This also makes me cranky.
8. My kids are SO worth this bigger-smaller-softer body.

That is all I have to say. So glad I got that off my chest...litterally :)

Sleepy Head

So this has been a rough week for the Martin kids! Payton, Kam, and Presley all got croup this week! It was awful. And scary. And I don't want to talk about it! Luckily they are all on the mend, but Miss Press sure was tired today! She fell asleep in her bumbo. That little round face is so scrumptious, I just want to eat her up! The end.

Guess who?

Just for fun. These are post-bath so they aren't wearing their bracelets (for those of you who don't know, Presley always wears a purple bracelet, and Reese always a red bracelet). I am making it easy for you, they are easy to tell apart in these pictures.

Fancy

These girls and their fancy ensambles crack me up! And Riley and her poses...I have no words :)

Can you say blackmail?

I think I might be in trouble!

Riley put together this little getup and told me, "We are pretending we are rock stars!"

Snow Angel

This is the first time Kam would let me put on his snow pants! He wanted to go out and play with the girls when we had the last snowstorm, but he was not about to let us put his snow pants on. So he was a sad little boy because he didn't get to go out. Yesterday, when R and P went out to play in the snow, he was ready to give those funny pants a try. He just looked so cute all bundled up. You know me, I couldn't resist taking a few pictures :)

Kam

I absolutely adore my girls, but I don't know what I would do without this silly little man!

Randoms

A few random pictures from my camera.

My Kids Love Each Other!

My Kids love each other! I have proof :)

Projects

So, we are always working on projects around here. I think we are kind of addicted to working on our house. I will post pictures of all of our upgrades sometime. These are a couple of our more recent building projects:

I don't know who builds a house without a coat closet, but for some reason, our house doesn't have one. Lame! This is one of the first things you see when you come in to our house, and it was a huge eyesore. Especially in the winter, when it gets overloaded with coats, hats, gloves and scarves. So we decided to build a coat cabinet. It has been so nice!

Before                                              After

I am also in the process of re-decorating our bedroom. Okay, so maybe I am decorating it for the first time since we have moved in. This is our new headboard.  It is the first step in the process, and I have a lot more to do. This one was a joint effort. Jace built the frame and attached everything together, and I did all of the upholstering and tufting. I think it turned out great. It has been finished for a couple months, but I haven't taken a picture because...my bed isn't usually made. Don't judge! Next on the roster is some small side tables. At some point, I will paint the walls (a slightly darker gray) hang pictures, art and some new curtains, and add some throw pillows in my accent color. It doesn't seem like a lot, but, let's face it...I have five kids. It's hard to get things done around here ;)

Sleeping Beauties

This is a picture of the twins just being twins. Love these little sleeping beauties!

Big Boy Bed

Kam started climbing out of his crib a while ago, and we decided that instead of buying him a toddler bed, Jace would make one. I know, you are jealous of my handy husband, it's cool. He made it out of scrap lumber from some of our other projects (more pics to come of that), and it ended up only costing us $6 dollars because he had to buy a box of screws. Pretty amazing considering that the one I had him design it after was $100. Oh yeah, and you might not be able to see the wainscotting very well, but he did that too :) It turned out great. Now I just have to finish designing the rest of the room.

In our Family...

It is very rare that I do a post that doesn't include a picture, but today I am making an exception. I am constantly telling my kids things that either end or begin with  "In our family." For example, I might say, "We don't talk like that in our family, " or "In our family, we make good choices." Like if we see someone making a bad choice, I try to use it to teach them that even though others make bad choices, "in our family," we do our best to always do the right thing. You get the idea. It is just my way of letting them know what is expected of them. This got me thinking about some of the things we "do" in our family. Some are good, and some...not so much. I wanted to write them down, for myself more than anything. Here it goes!

In our family we :
We try new things
We lick the beaters
We Jump in the leaves
We cry
We Say "I love you"...a lot
We help each other
We Play in the mud
We are grateful
We snuggle
We Scream when we are excited
We Scream when we are upset
We color on the walls
We have fun
We sit on the counter
We tell the truth
We dance in our underwear
We say our prayers
We frown
We play dress-up
We say "please" and "thank you"
We "be nice"
We take lot's of pictures
We play on the floor
We get frustrated
We do our best
We keep our promises
We do second chances
We do LOUD really well
We share...sometimes
We are silly
We fall down
We get back up
We forget things
We laugh
We "look both ways"
We make big messes
We kiss goodnight
We say I am sorry
We do hard things
We make mistakes
We color outside of the lines
We hold hands
We have big dreams
We never give up
We stick together
But most of all, we love each other, ALWAYS

So, what do you "do" in your family?

Kam's Brithday Video

Yesterday was Kambell's birthday. It has been such a fast two years! There are no words to describe how much I adore this little guy. He has an infectious laugh, gives the best hugs, the sweetest kisses, and I just love his mischevious grin when he is doing something he knows he is not supposed to. We love our Kam Bam!

Pumpkin Painting

This year we decided to paint pumpkins instead of carving. It was fun for all.  Here are some of the pics. 

Payton discovered you could use an "eraser" (a wet wash rag) and start all over! This is her second design.

Typical Twins

This is typical of R and P. They say twins don't really "discover" each other until they are about six months old. I suppose that what they mean is that they don't really start smiling, jabbering and laughing at each other. That will be fun for sure. You definately can't tell me they aren't at least "aware" of each other. Can you imagine non-stop cuteness like this all day?! My life is pretty awesome!

Cookies

We decorate haloween cookies every year. We typically do it with a crowd, but this year we went low key, and just did it while Ava was over playing with the girls. It was fun, and yummy! I think that Kam was more interested in decorating his face :)