Whose Life Is This Anyway?

Guest Post

2012-02-01T20:25:00.001-07:00

Hey, I'm guest blogging over here today. This is one of my best friend's blog. We were next door neighbors until my family and I moved to a different state. It's difficult not being so near to her. She is in the same stage I am with small children, in fact they are all the same ages. It was awesome having someone to relate to day in and day out. Check out her other posts. They are all inspiring and helpful and so positive! Here is another link so you can bookmark it!

www.mygreatesttreasurescallmemom.blogspot.com

Peace Out

It's about time

2012-01-11T15:33:00.000-07:00

So, wow. My blogging as of late has really been slacking! What with pinterest taking up the majority of my free time. Dang you pinterest. Why do you have to be so dang addicting? I also have a SPITFIRE little toddler, the smallest. He is into everything. He is fiesty and rambunctious and independent. So in other words... nothing like me. :) He is constantly moving from one pack of trouble to the next. But he is the darned cutest little kid. The kids and I still just adore him. So does his Daddy. And Daddy is his favorite person in the whole world. When daddy's around that kid is happy. He definitely prefers him over me.
The boy is doing awesome and growing so big. He loves going to basketball games with the man.

The girl is learning to read, and she rocks at it.

The smaller boy is making lots of friends and strengthening the relationship with his "girlfriend" that he is going to take to the temple someday.

The man and I are still trying to figure out life, but we are doing great. I love our family, even though I do miss the pooch!! It is so hard trying to be consistent in everything we do, but the kiddos are definitely much better when we are.

We are just trying to wait out the "winter". I put it in quotations because it is just pretending to be winter here. So not the real thing. Not much else has changed. I wish I had something funny to say or some great news to update you with (I'm not talking about baby announcement news- because there won't be anymore of that!!), but life has just been sailing on. Seasons change, kids grow too fast, and life goes on. Thanks for sticking with me. I'll try not to be such a slacker, but I can't promise. Here are some pics. Peace out!

This one is "The Man and his Painted Lady's" He was so excited for me to title the picture that. These were our family pets for awhile. all 5 of them floating around the house at winter time. They actually are "painted lady's".

Still Counted Among the Living

2011-11-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

Hello all. I know you are all very very concerned. I am still alive (although my precious pooch is not). RIP Shilo. We love her and know that she will always be a part of our family. It makes us happy to know that we will see her again.

Things are gonna get crazy here with the holidays. (I say that like they haven't already.) Well they have. My life is just chaotic, but I love it. I know that I am not the only one running around. I think that now-a-days everyone is busy with all their own shiz. I am just not good at managing my time to get around to posting very often. I'll be honest my biggest downfall right now is PINTEREST. Damn you pinterest. Why did you have to be so frieking awesome?

Before that my time was consumed with refinishing furniture. I still do that, but it is just so hard with 4 kids. I know it won't be long before they are all in school and I might have a few minutes to do other things. I am not wishing my time away, just putting it out there. Okay, well things are good around this house. Other than mountains of homework each night. We're squeaking by and loving it. Hope all is good out there in blogstalker land.

I know this is not a very exciting post. I'll put in some pics too. But I do what I can.

PEACE

Woman's Best Friend

2011-10-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

So I really haven't been wanting to write this post. It it just tearing me apart. This may be one post that few of you will understand. Unless you have been in a similar situation- saying goodbye to a good friend.

My precious pooch of nearly 15 years has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. She has got tumors all over her lungs that is making it hard for her to breath, and bad arthritis in her legs that makes it hard for her to get around. Her quality of life is quickly going downhill.

Although I've never wished her dead, I did hope that when the time came, it would happen naturally. I did not want to have to be responsible for choosing when the time is right. Alas, it looks like that is what it has come to.

She has been a good and loyal friend, a carefull babysitter, watchfull guard-dog, a fun playmate, and a better companion than any dog-owner could ask for. When I got married, part of the deal was that me and the dog didn't part. I love Shilo so much. We are thinking that we may put her down sometime this month. It is a hard decision, but one that needs to be made.

Shilo loved to eat fresh tomatoes, peas, and strawberries- straight from the garden. She is so cute- she would not destroy the plant, just carefully plucked off what she needed and took it to the center of the yard while she snacked. She snored while she slept. When she was younger, and had more energy, she would never wander too far, but always wait to make sure I was following. She loved to swim. She also loved popcorn. (A little known fact until we married the Man.) He started throwing it to her every once in a while. She could do many "tricks". She could give "high-five", roll-over, wait with a treat on her nose until we gave the command, and catch things that were thrown at her. She also did the normal commands like sit and lay and stay. She has been with us through all our crazy adventures, and now I know she will be in heaven awaiting our return. She has enriched my life so much, and I just wanted to write this little tribute for her.

Shilo- I will miss your sweet companionship. Thank you for loving me without restraint and being so forgiving and gentle. I love you!

Sensitivity

2011-08-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I was having a pretty crappy day. For many reasons I will not mention here, because I will be doing another post shortly about that. My self-confidence had really been shot. I was so tired from extreme lack of sleep lately. I was just feeling terrible. I texted the man at work and told him that I needed his undivided attention when he got home.

The poor man. He can never figure out the complexities of the opposite sex. At any rate, he was fine, but very quiet as I told him about my day/problems. He remained quiet because the poor bloke didn't know what to say. Well to remain quiet with me doesn't work out very well. I had to go run some errands, but before I left, I told the man, "I would have liked you to be a little more sensitive. Or just sensitive at all would be nice. And I hate asking for that." He was quiet, but just nodded his head.

When I got home, I elaborated to him about my day, and even drew him a diagram of my brain and how there are so many things that I have to focus on and think about that I don't feel like I can't concentrate on any one thing. I am frustrated and can't think straight or concentrate on anything. I am short-tempered and forgetfull.

Then this sweet man that I have been married to for more than ten years tried his hand at sensitivity in the only way he knows how: he took the page away from me and drew a pistol, a bazooka, and a tommy-gun "shooting" all my problems/worries away.

It was not the arm around my shoulder, or the quiet uh-huh-ing, or the big bear-hug that I was looking for, but it was something. Thank you the man for being everything to me. I love you and your guns!!!!!

Hey Jealousy

2011-08-13T20:37:00.001-07:00

So I think I've decided that I am a jealous person. This is not a confession of what I want to be, or that I am proud of it, but just an observation that I am finally coming to terms with. If I see other girls that are beautiful, or if I envy the way they dress, etc... I start acting all funny, and feel like I have to compete with them. Automatically in my head I decide that I do not like this person, just because they have a better sense of style or have better looks, etc. I don't like that I do that, because the girls always turn out to be nice and fabulous girls. This is actually how I have made some of my best friends.

Well I have recently decided to venture out a little and see if I can't make a few extra $$$ doing something I love. I have refinished quite a few pieces of furniture for myself and my hubby. (The first of which was horrible- looking back on it). I just couldn't stop thinking about this, and I just love older furniture. It's got so much character, and it was all made so sturdy. It's a shame to see these great pieces being taken over by cheap "mdf and/or particleboard with staples" counterparts.

I had seen a few blogs where women had refinished furniture and sold it. So I guess I got to thinking that that was something maybe I could do too. But as you know by now, what with my honed procrastination skills, and lack of desire to actually finish projects that I start, I just now got around to making a blog, and actually will be finishing up my first piece this next week to put up for sale.

Anyway, there are like 22 blogs now that I have counted (and keep tabs on) that do the same thing just in northern Utah alone. This is where the jealousy comes in. Gggrrrrrr. They are all pretty amazing and awesome looking though! So anyway, I hope the market is not saturated yet, because I'm jumping on the bandwagon. Here is the site. My new site.
www.Refurbia.blogspot.com

Put it on the side of your blog, mark it, favorite it and frequent it often so that I might be a successfull business owner (and hopefully fulfill a goal to pay off our house in less than 10 years). I will definitely need the help of everyone I know to help spread the word. And even though I am insanely jealous of these other peoples wicked refinishing skills, I will still post them on the sidebar. We all need to stick together and help each other out. I'm hoping some good Karma may flow my way! But serously check some of them out. They are awesome. Thanks in advanced- and let me know if you want anything. Peace and Love!

Summer Madness

2011-07-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

Summer has been crazy busy for me as I'm sure it has and will be for most of you too. While I wish it was a nice time to sit in the sun and sip lemonade and watch the kids play in the sprinklers that is not the case. We have started swimming lessons. And while I am ecstatic that my kids enjoy it and that they are learning to swim it seems that when we get home the day is almost over. Between this and the many projects that I have started (story of my life), and all the other projects we have planned this summer, my new obbsession, and my kids being naughty, my time is extremely limited. And my time is very valuable to me.

So if my posts seem few and far between as of late, this is the very reason.

The boys room is right next to the storage room. The man recently told me that we need to watch him a little closer. The man went into his room the other night, and whilst retrieving something from under the bed found an open box of cereal. Sneaky Sneaky!

And the other day the boy was playing in the kiddie pool with some friends. The man found them carting sand/mud in to the water. Well the man told the boy to stop that and keep the dirt out of the water. About an hour later he looked out and saw 3 buckets sitting in the kiddie pool and when he went out to investigate found they were filled with dirt. He began to get after the boy, who calmly replied, "but dad, the dirt is in the buckets, not the water!" I had to chuckle at this one.

See! These are the kind of boy things I can deal with! At any rate... here is the highly anticipated summer plan! I can't take credit for the idea, but I did modify it to fit my needs. My good friend and neighbor from Idaho, whom I miss dearly, first posted her plan here. My kids just turned into little monsters who wouldn't listen to a thing I said. And I don't really feel like they respond well to any discipline. So I decided to try some positive reinforcement. Maybe if I rewarded them when they did the things I wanted them to do, they would do them more often. I bought a roll of raffle tickets from Walmart. Then had each of my kids paint their own jar. Now when they do great things, they may get a ticket. Some things they may earn tickets for are:
making bed in morning
picking up toys without being asked
following instructions the FIRST time
sharing/being kind to siblings
finishing daily chores
doing "homework" I have planned for them
ect.

I also bought a bunch of toys that I knew my kids would want and set up a little store. I put "prices" on the toys of how many tickets it would cost to buy that item. They have really had to work hard, but I can see a difference in their attitudes. I really think they like it. So it's been working out pretty good for us. I really try not to threaten to take tickets away, because I don't want it to be another way to discipline. Also I think I would probably end up taking more tickets away then what they earn. So I decided that was not the way I wanted to go with that. I swear I took pictures of my "store" and what-not but I can't find them anywhere. So here are just a few random pictures from recently. I'll also throw a few in there of my new hobby(obsession) of before and after furniture redo's that I have been busy with.

Anyway, there is a long update for you. Sorry for the long drawn out post. Sorry also for the absence. We have some exciting events coming up so stay tuned, but don't expect it soon.

Happy swimming/sunning/biking/hiking/camping/whatever-you-do-in-the-summer!

Random Cuteness

2011-06-08T21:13:00.000-07:00

So the girl is really started to like writing letters. But she doesn't know all of them that well yet. So the man and I help her to spell things. Sometimes we have to write the letter on a separate piece of paper so that she can see what it looks like. The man had to do this with the letter "d". As you can imagine, his handwriting is a little different from mine. So he writes a "d" so she can see what it looks like, and she starts crying and says, "Dad, you wrote that in Spanish. I am writing in English!"

The boy is really into this cartoon of a superdog (much the same idea as superman just as a dog). The dog's name is Krypto. So the boy wakes up one morning and the first question he asks me is this, "Mom, do 4-leaf clovers work if you make them?"
Me- "Uh- what do you mean"
Him- "Like if you make a 4-leaf clover will it still grant you your wish?"
Me- "oh- I don't know, maybe."
Him- "Mom, will you make me a 4-leaf clover?"

So I grabbed a magazine and shuffled through it till I found a page that was green and cut a 4-leaf clover from it, and gave it to him. He rubbed it with his thumbs with his eyes closed. When he opened them, he said dejectedly, "Oh, I guess home-made ones don't work."
"How do you know," I said. "What did you wish for?"
"Not telling"
Me- "Well how do you know the thing you wished for is not in your room,"
His eyes lit up and he ran downstairs to check. Then he came back up, disappointed again. I wished for a super-dog like Krypto and I didn't get one. I told the boy that he needed to talk to his dad to convince him to let us get another dog. He said, "well it needs to be SUPER- you know like able to fly and stuff"
I think this is one thing I just won't be able to get him.

Sure love them though.

Stay tuned for the summer plan I have cooked up for the kids...

Boys and Trials

2011-06-05T20:59:00.000-07:00

So I am totally in love with the idea of having three boys and a girl. Don't get me wrong, I love my girl- but there is a lot of drama with girls. Boys are just usually more laid back and generally easier to get along with. So I got my estrogen fill with just one girl.

And I got three boys!

I have been anticipating how life will go when they get a little older. 3 boys to mow lawns. 3 boys to collect anything creepy/slimy/crawly. 3boys to cause trouble. Now don't get me wrong I am not asking for spiders/frogs/worms/what-not to be unleashed in my home, but I just think it is so darn BOY. How darling is all the little boy stuff??? Mud, bikes, bugs, sports- I am excited for the whole nine yards with the boys.

I have also been imagining the trouble they may find themselves in, and (again) while I am not asking for it, I can't help but anticipate all the boyish messes they may get themselves into. These are the types of scenarios I have been looking forward to:
-tracking mud all over the house
-accidentally unleashing wild creatures in the house (bugs, lizards, toads, whatever)
-breaking a window with a baseball
-chipping the neighbors siding with their BB guns whilst trying to play target practice with a couple of soda cans (my bro's)
-lighting a wheat feild on fire while trying to light fire crackers (my dad)
These are all the darling albeit naughty BOYISH things I have been thinking about.

I am not prepared, however for my boys doing things like this:
-calling some overweight girls that are twice their age "fatties" and telling little kids to throw rocks at them
-trying to cause a cute little puppy physical harm by kicking or using some other weapon of mass destruction
-hitting girls with sticks
-grabbing a boy half his age round the neck and pushing him down

I can handle the mess and destruction that boys can cause, but I don't know about physical and emotional pain. I never expected them to be cruel.
Troublemakers- yes.
But never cruel.
And I didn't want to be the one with the bullies. I have done all I know how to try and teach them values and morals. I love them and show them love and attention. I want them to have high self-esteem. But I don't know what else I can do. It breaks my heart to know that the boys are just being mean just to be mean. And that the younger boy want to be just like his big brother. Tell me how to deal with this??? Any good suggestions? How can I teach my kids to make good choices simply because it is the right thing to do, and not because they will "earn" something.

Has anyone else struggled with this? Obviously talking with my children about these things is getting me nowhere. So as I'm writing this post the boy was falling asleep. I just went in to check on him and he looks so darling and innocent just clutching his stuffed dinosaur. P-I-T-A when he is awake, but ANGEL when he sleeps. (PITA is an acronym -think about it).

Here is my BEAUT of a girl!

Anyway sorry it has been so long. My life is so crazy busy. It is hard to squeeze in a few minutes, but I still will try. I'm sure the summer will fly by wicked fast. So we will enjoy the sunshine and warm weather while it lasts. You should too. In fact let's enjoy it together. Come over anytime! Peace out.

He is my Sunshine

2011-05-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

This kid is great. He is my one respite. I started potty-training him (even though I was trying to resist it)the middle part of April. He has done better than either one of the others. He rarely has accidents now. He is doing sooooooo good. I am so proud and happy that he actually caught on! Now we'll just work on him so that he does not regress. So anyway, I just thought that I'd share my ONE success story with you! Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure.

Birthday Boy

2011-05-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

This last month my BABY turned one! I can hardly believe it. It seems like yesterday he came barreling out- ALL NATURAL and turned my life upside down. We all just love him. He is so smiley. He is almost always in a good mood.
He can speed crawl, and the man and I have discussed putting him on the diaper racing track, but since it is outlawed in 49 states, we figured it just might not be that safe. But there is no doubt our money would be on this guy- he is fast.
He can stand and walk very wobbly, but he prefers to crawl. He can get into LOTS of mischief. I have found that apparently the most interesting thing in my house is, by far, the toilet brush! He certainly is a curious and inquisitive little guy who has to do and have everything the older brothers and sis has. Happy Birthday to my baby boy! How I love this guy!

Daily Quips

2011-05-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

The boy says to me today (as a jeep was passing us), "Mom, jeeps are fast!"
"Yes," I replied, "they can be."
"Ya- if they're racing jeeps"

And a little earlier today, the girl noticed a thread dangling from the smallish boy's sleeve. Rather than ripping it off (obviously the adult thing to do), she touched it and then jealously said, "you've got a string to play with!"

And the smallish boy said something so funny, but I cannot post it since it involves loads of names, and wouldn't really be funny without them.

Cute kiddos!

April Fools

2011-04-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

We just love April Fools Day around here. We're all little pranksters anyway- and it's great to have a day set aside to do just that. I made a great joke- meal for the kids.
It was a "cup-cake" meal I told them. The main dish actually looked like dessert, and the dessert looked like mashed potatoes. The main dish was meatloaf with sweet-mashed potatoe "frosting". I told the kids they were chocolate cupcakes with orange frosting. I don't think they bought this one so much.

The mashed potatoe cupcakes were real cupcakes with white frosting and caramel sauce with a yellow squished starburst. They looked real, right? And I think my favorite part was the drink. I have made jello and put it in cups earlier so it would set.

I gave them their "juice" and it was funny to see the smaller boy put the cup to his lips and tip his head back. Then again and again. My bro and sis-in-law had joined us for dinner and she finally said, "Hey, smaller boy, put your finger in it. Then we all had a good laugh. Well anyway it was fun for us. I thought I was pretty clever. Here are some pics.

Artists, Swimmers, and Cleaners

2011-03-29T22:35:00.000-07:00

Because these pics are so awesome I will caption each one!

This is a darling pic. my little artists drew of giraffes. So cute.

Smaller boy telling me (right after I gave him his goldfish "snack"), "They're whimming mommy. Whimming- see?"

Here's a close-up of the fishies "whimming"

This is the cutest little cleaner that loudly proclaims to me one afternoon (whilst I am sitting on my toosh reading a book during "quiet-time"), "Mom, I love you so much I am going to clean the whole house for you today.

She proceeds to clean the front room.

Table pushed up by couches----check. Things off floor----check. Front room cleaned-----check.

Smaller boy's bed made----check.

Smaller boy's belongings off the floor (just gander at the dresser)-----check. Smaller boy's room clean---check.

The girl's bed made------check. Girl's belongings off the floor (look at the shelf)-----check.

Once again- girl's belongings off the floor-----check.

The boy's belongings all off the floor-----check.

House cleaned--------check.

Cutest girl in the world------check.

I refinished this dresser a while ago for the boy. It is obviously chalkboard paint. I go into his room the other day and he has "labled" what goes in each drawer. This is the cutest thing. I'm pretty sure that top middle drawer is supposed to say "toys".

I love the ages they are right now. I am hating/loving that they are growing up too fast. They are growing up too fast/not fast enough. Does this make sense to anyone else out there? I love the kids and how cute they are right now, but there are some pretty rough moments when they are all screaming all at the same time for something different from me .
I am really just trying to sit back and cherish the little things though because, come on... look how cute they are! Seriously. I just love it.
"We remember moments, not days" I am just totally loving and living in the moments they create.

Birthday Girl

2011-03-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

Today was my birthday.
It was fantastic.
Here are 10 pictures to help you understand why it was so great:

And here are 10 completely unrelated reasons why it was fantastic:

1. The boy came in to wake me up today singing, "Guess who's birthday it is," and I had to "guess". How darling is that!
2. Tradition in my family is when you don't live with the person and it's thier birthday you call and sing to them. So I got sung to a lot.
3. My kids were just as excited for the day as I was.
4. The man gave me a nice long hug right after he put on his cologne, so I was smelling him on me all day after he left for work. :)
5. Seriously. Did you SEE that pile of presents. I'm just saying...
6. Peaking out of the shower this morning, I see my darling 2 year old's bare bum as he stood on his tippy-toes as he chose to "peep-peep" in the toilet!
7. My sister brought me lunch, and a plate full of goodies for me and the kids. Then we hung out and played scrabble.
8. My brother and sis-in-law came over and we totally binged on all the sweet things around the house. (Well I did anyway)
9. All the awesome birthday wishes from facebook. Makes me feel like a million bucks!
10. The snow (from last night) MELTED.

I couldn't have dreamed up a better birthday! Thanks family and friends. You guys are all great and I feel so lucky to have each of you in my life! You very nearly made me forget how old I am turning today. (I must be getting old- I like scrabble)

The Potty Train

2011-03-18T19:46:00.001-07:00

The girl has done wonderfully with no potty accidents for a few weeks. The last three days, though, she has had a few accidents. After her second accident today, I went into the bathroom to help her out and inquire about what was going on.

"So, honey, what is going on with you lately?" I asked.

She got very somber and her voice was a little shaky when she replied, "Mom, I just think it is (the boy's)(she obviously says the boys name) fault. He just took it from me and I just want it back, because it was his problem but now it's mine and I just want it back..."

Whoa.
Random rambling.
What the heck is this girl saying?
I tried to clarify- "Honey, what are you talking about. What do you want back?"

"He took it and I just want it back so I don't have accidents anymore, mom. The 'POTTY TRAIN'."

Oh, thanks for clarifying there hon.

I thought about buying her her very own toy train so that we wouldn't be worried about accidents with her anymore. But maybe she oughtta figure this one out on her own?

I just love my little angel girl.

Dropping a Bomb

2011-03-13T21:09:00.001-07:00

I've got something to tell you. I haven't been wanting to write this post, because I really don't want to alarm anyone. But I am just going to say it like it is.

I am dying.

I began dying the minute I was born. You see, I was born with a fatal condition. They call it aging.

I know- I know- you totally just cringed there. Well- yes it's true. I'm sorry you all had to find out like this. This condition is 100 percent FATAL. If something else doesn't kill me first, my condition will, with no exception end up killing me. This is a particularly hard year for me. I'm getting more and more aged as the years go by. This year will be rough as I reach 30.

Yes, time and modern medicine have helped tremendously. In fact- people with this condition are living longer now than ever before. But there is no cure.

Please don't shed any tears for me. But you are welcome to bring me gifts. Flowers to brighten my mood, chocolate for my soul (cadbury eggs are the best!), organizational bins from IKEA. You know- that sort of thing.

Well wish me luck as I say good-bye to my 20's and venture into my 30's (this month)...
Uncertainly.

(And in case you were wondering- Yes I AM making kissy faces to the camera while driving on the freeway with 4 children in the car. I deserve a mother of the year award.)

The Mommy Blahs

2011-03-13T00:08:00.000-07:00

I have had a bad case of what I will just call the "mommy blahs" lately. You know, it's the mommy mode 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I am actually doing better the last couple of days, but cabin fever has totally settled in, and we are trying to banish it. I hope the weather stays fairly decent, because the kids and I are finally starting to venture out. We are yelling at winter, "You can't keep us in anymore! We're not afraid of you!"
Ha!
Take that!
I will get out to start planting soon.
Strawberries (lots of these)
Fruit trees
Cold garden things like peas and spinach.
You should too. Do obnoxious things like wear flip-flops and no jacket. That'll sure show winter that we don't want it back anytime soon!

Just some pics of the kiddos and me.

Peace

Meteor

2011-02-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

The girl announced loudly to me today that she is "METEOR".
"You are meteor?" I ask just to be sure I heard her correct.
"Yes, mom," shooting a look at me like I am not so bright.
"You know, like "the boy" is biggest, I am meteor, and "the small" boy is smallest... Oh and the "smaller boy" is the smallest too. But I am METEOR."
So that was cleared right up! She is so adorable.

By the way she did she the boy's names, just in case you were wondering. But I can't post them here. I know I have way too many blogstalkers. Ha ha ha. Just kidding.

DIY

2011-02-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

Oh My Gosh!!!!! I am totally addicted to DIY blogs. I stumbled upon one the other day and she had links to a bunch of others. I was ecstatic to find people that were totally as cheap as I am. And they have cute homes and the stuff they do... oh okay so I put some links in the right column of my blog. So check 'em out if you want to.

But be forewarned. You may need a few hours. I know I have already got a few projects lined up for myself. You know- in like 5 years when I finally have some free-time again. No but seriously.

Okay remember about my new blog. Keep checking it out so I feel like it's worthwile. I guess I will have to keep putting in plugs for it every so often. Here is the link to it.

Peace Out everyone.

My New Blog

2011-02-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hey so this blog is so popular (ha) that I decided to start a new one too. I'm totally kidding about this blog being popular though. But hopefully you'll check out my new one and keep tabs on it too. I was hoping that it would help me to feel like I'm using valuable skills I have. The skills other than the ones that require one to change poopy diapers with 3 wipes or less. Or making 4 lunch sandwhiches in less than 5 minutes. You know other than those wicked mothering skills I have... Anyway just check it out and let me know what you think. I am pretty excited about it. Okay here is the link...
and also I will have it in the right hand column of this blog so you can always find it easy. Wish me luck.

Me vs. The flu

2011-02-10T19:51:00.002-07:00

Tiredness
Achy body
Fever
Tiredness
Chills
Headache
Oh so tired!
Sinus congestion
Sneezing
Did I mention how tired I was?
I think the flu is winning.
Wish me luck.

Arriba Arriba Run Away!

2011-01-20T21:32:00.003-07:00

The boy: "Mom- do bad guys speak spanish?"

Me: "Well... some do."

The boy: "Oh- but not a lot of them right, just a few?"

Me: "I'm not sure how many bad guys speak spanish."

The boy: "Well not a lot of them. Cuz if you see a bad guy and talk spanish to them, then they will turn around and run away."

Oooooooooooooooooh- okay it's so much CLEARER now. We should alert the cops! I'm sure lucky I have these kids around- 'splainin' stuff to me. Gotta love 'em!

Murphy

2011-01-01T21:25:00.006-07:00

The girl has this stuffed dog named Murphy. She is rarely seen without her (yes-Murphy is a girl puppy). The girl takes her everywhere! Murphy is the girls best friend. At breakfast time Murphy has to sit right next to the girls breakfast, and the girl occasionally "throws her some scraps" (pretends to feed her). The other day as Murphy was sitting at the breakfast counter, the smaller boy spilled his milk and Murphy was soaked. So I went and threw Murphey in the wash.

Then a friend called and invited us to go do something fun. So as we were about ready to leave, the girl was searching frantically and finally says, "Mom- where is Murphy?"

"Oh- she is in the wash. Remember all the milk that was spilled on her?" I explained.

I saw Molly- another stuffed animal very similar to Murphy. "Honey, why don't you take Molly this time instead," I tried? She then gave me the most incredulous look, like I was the stupidest person in the world, and says,

"Uh-mom... Molly is a TOY!"

Oh so cute. My girl has a REAL toy.
Here is my fav. quote about becoming real from "The Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams to explain:

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

This is Murphy ^^

This is Molly ^^

CHUBBA-BUB

2011-01-01T20:42:00.008-07:00

Well I hope everybody had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We certainly did. Thanks to our friends who hung out with us on New Years Eve. We had a blast. I just wanted to post a few pics of my Chubby-bubby. This is the smallest boy- although I am thinking that this name might not be the most appropriate for him now. He is for sure the youngest, but he is giving the smallER boy a run for his money on who now is the smallest. Just look at these rolls! Have you ever seen a baby so big before? We totally love it. I am definitely in love with each and every one of his rolls. He is so happy and smiley. We all just adore him. Especially the girl.

Okay here are some pics of Christmas, New Years, and others... in no particular order.

Isn't he so HOT?

It's a little late, but the Man's birthday was the day after Christmas. I want him to know how much I love him. But that is another post entirely. Hopefully one to come soon. Love you babe!

Something Quirky

2010-12-21T12:29:00.004-07:00

Let me just tell you that some days start out bad. Right from the moment you roll out of bed. On days like these someone usually ends up in time out-before we've even been awake for 15 minutes. I'm trying to sheild you from the truth that I usually end up yelling pretty darn quick after I wake up.
Some days.
Not all the time.
I will tell you something unusual about me. I have a pair of shoes that I love. And for some strange reason they put me in a better mood. They are not beautiful, or sexy, or even particularly colorful. But when I decide what to wear and realize that my favorite shoes will match, my heart does a little flutter, and everything seems (for a split-second anyway) like it's going to be okay. It's kind of like a sigh of relief.
Why? You ask. I have no FLIPPEN clue. But who cares. It just works! So for really bad days, you know the ones that when you find your darling 4-year old girl has just scratched up the wood on your headboard of your wooden black bed-frame, just a few short days after she scratched up the new table, I say-
It's okay. I've got my Merrells.

New House

2010-12-15T14:06:00.004-07:00

Here are a few pics of the new house. I'll post more when I get aroun to it. We are really loving it. It really is a great house. This is the front door and the steps to the basement.

Front room. Isn't the flooring great?

Front room different angle. (From the front door)

Kitchen (obviously)

Family room downstairs.

Something New and My Dear Santa Letter

2010-12-05T18:32:00.006-07:00

Yesterday the man and I got a new table! I was/am so excited. I have been looking for months for just the right one. I have been pretty much living a hand-me-down life for the past 10 years. I have had all hand-me down furniture because we do not like to go in debt for things like that. Well we have finally decided that we could work a new dining set into the budget. I finally got to pick out something for myself! Here is a picture of the beautiful table we got...

and a couple of how the table looks now, after meeting my children less than 24 hours after putting it up.

I have to always remind myself how much I love my children, and that they are just on loan to me from God. My kids are more important than a brand new table right? Sigh. Oh well. I really can never have anything new.

Here is my letter to santa this year. I would love to take the credit for writing it, but I did not. Someone e-mailed it to me (thanks mom). But I am putting my name in the "from" part and sending it off asap! I had to change a few things to fit my number of kids, but I didn't make too many changes, because it seemed to be written just as I would have written it, the exact things I want. So here it is...

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my four children on demand, visited their doctor's office more than my good friends, sold sixty-two cases of candybars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground and figured out how to attach nine patches onto my daughters girl scout sash with staples and a glue gun.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache after a day of chasing kids (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't flap in the breeze but are strong enought to carry a screaming toddler out of the candy aisl in the grocery store. I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my third pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like a car with fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use I could use a talking daughter doll that says, "Yes, Mommy," to boost my parental confidence, along with three potty-trained toddlers, four kids who don't fight, and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools. I could also use a recording of Tebetan monks chanting, "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog (on a good day).

And please don't forget the Playdoh travel pack, the hottest stocking stuffer this year for mothers of pre-schoolers. It comes in three fluorescent colors and is guaranteed to crumble on any carpet making the in-laws' house seem just like mine. If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much to declare Ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It ould be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family; or if my toddlers didn't look so cute sneaking downstairs to eat contraband ice-cream in his pajamas at midnight.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the chimney and come in and dry off by the fire so you don't catch a cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours always...Mom

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

Just Because

2010-12-02T11:06:00.003-07:00

Just some pics...

The smaller boy is a T-Rex and no-one can tell him otherwise. Whenever he wants anything he either puts the work dinosaur or t-rex in front of the word. He says "Mommy, want t-rex scream" when he wants ice-cream. When I am playing my guitar he wants me to sing dine-dine songs. Or of coarse songs about him as a t-rex. He wants his t-rex cereal in the morning, and he growls when he gets upset. So the top picture here is my little t-rex. We just love him! Keep checking back- I have some pics of the new home to post when I get a little more time.

Dire Straights

2010-11-11T21:07:00.005-07:00

I need some serious feedback on this post. I have some excellent news. My smaller boy, the one who just turned 2 over the summer, came up to me one day. He says, "POOP".

I say, "You want to poop in the potty?"

He nods his head. I take him in there and to my surprise he is clean in his diaper and proceeds to poop on the potty! He does this the next day and the day after that. One day I reminded him and for two weeks straight he does not poop in his pants!!

WooHoo!!!

I decided not to push the issue, but encourage him as much as I could. I tried to get him excited about underwear. He wanted nothing to do with them, but he liked to pick out his own diaper and give it to me to put him in when he was done. I was trying not to get my hopes up, but in the back of me head I am thinking, "Smaller boy will be potty-trained before my 6-yr-old!"

Alas, it is my children, this is my life, and of coarse it does not last. The last three days he has pooped in his pants, without a peep. I had no idea. I couldn't stop it.

I can't help thinking that I lost my window of oppurtunity with this one. I have been potty training constantly for the last 4 years, without success. So yes I have some experience, but nothing has worked for me so far.

What do you guys think I should do on this one. Let it go and work it out later? Try to force underwear on him because now I know he can do it? I have already tried to bribe with treats. I wish I knew what to do. Does anybody have any advise for me besides telling me that I totally screwed this one up by not doing something ealier?

Thank You

2010-11-04T19:48:00.004-07:00

Here are a few photos from the time we spent with Mongee and Grandpa J. We stayed at their house for a while when school started, until we were able to get into our house. I don't know that they have a single breakable trinket in tact at this time. The littler boy fell out the second story window one night when he was supposed to be in bed. Their poor Koi fish are now dead. I don't know if they will ever allow us into their house again, but we wanted to say:

THANK YOU!!!!!!

We love you guys and are super happy that we had that time to spend with you two! Thanks for all you do! Sorry about all the broken and/or dead items!

Where Is My Life-Raft?

2010-10-25T21:28:00.003-07:00

I have really been struggling lately. I miss my friends and my life. I think I do pretty well with big changes, but we had so many in such little time. I had the smallest boy, and then the man got a new job and me and the kids were by ourselves. Then we moved here to Utah. It is great. I love our home. And so excited to be closer to family.
But 4 kids are sooo hard.
95% of my day is spent in meeting the needs of my children.
I cook for them, clean for them, get them dressed,
tell them to go potty, tell them to change their pants when they don't go potty,
get shoes on, take to school, bring home, feed them,
feed the baby, hold the baby, let them have candy,
don't let them have candy, get them snacks, get them drinks,
let them play with friends... help their friends,
jackets on-jackets off, constantly answering questions
that have been repeated a million-trillion times-
(mom- can I play your ipod, mom can I play ratchet, mom, mom, MOM!!!!!!!).
They are just still at the age where they are so demanding- constantly needing me.
All of them.
At the same time.
All the time.
Everyday.
Where is the time I need for myself?
It is hidden back in the corner of the cupboard- in the fetal position waiting to come out for a few years. This is tuff stuff! And I don't have any friends to cry to anymore. To come over and save me when I am drowning. I love you friends and miss you!!!!
I am drowning.
In a sea of children.

From Utah

2010-10-04T13:18:00.005-07:00

she likes to dress up

The man and the girl

Me and the smallest boy

the backyard of the new house

Okay so not lots of time, but a quick update. We have not sold our home in Idaho yet, but we put an offer on a short-sale in Utah thinking that it would take a long time- and it didn't. We got a killer deal, so we took it, and now we are renting the home in Idaho. And we are living in Utah. . We are loving the new home that we are in, but we sure are missing our friends. Here are some recent pics of the kids. I want to post some pics of our new house , but it is still quite a mess from the move. Soon.

The girl says to me the other day, "Hey, can we play mommy?"

"Sure" I say.

"Okay, I'll be the mommy and you be the honey".

Isn't she cute? (I call her "honey" a lot.)

New Beginnings

2010-08-30T20:43:00.003-07:00

I guess the title is kind of redundant. Today was my oldest's first day of school.

Kindergarten.

Oh so cute. I want to say how the years have just flown by, and that there were tears in my eyes, but well there weren't.

Time has gone by pretty fast, but the boy was so ready to go to school. And I was so ready to get him there. Who knows, maybe he'll stop with all the crap. I mean literally. I am so sick of him pooping his pants. Maybe the first year of school will be the thing that does it. Maybe not but let me be delusional for just a minute and just imagine that at least ONE of my children is potty trained.

Aaaahhhh. Well that was sweet.

The imagining, because that's all it seems like it will ever be. A dream.

Oh well Hotmomma- reach for the stars. Well here are some pics of my crazy cuke anyway. Isn't he handsome? Gosh I love him. He's gonna be great in kindergarten!

Love you the boy!!!!!!!

Not Forgotten

2010-08-08T20:14:00.003-07:00

Did you all think I forgot about my blog? Well I didn't. I have been so busy and it is quite hectic taking care of all 4 kids by myself. This is dreadful and I hope someone comes to buy our house soon. I had a great time with my niece who is 8 and came to help me for a week. She was a fantastic help! Thanks niecey!!! Okay blog readers-be sure to tell your friends that there is an awesome 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom home in Idaho for sale. Okay here are a few pics of the kids. Chow.

Don't we all look happy at the dino park?

Having a sister is...

Good News??

2010-06-24T15:20:00.005-07:00

The Man just got a job in UTAH!!!! So our house is now up for sale. He put in his 2-week notice this last monday. We are moving back home. I have been excited about this possibility for the last little while, but now that it is here, it is really kind of sad. This has been our home for the last 7 years.

All our friends are here.

Our lives are here.

This is where our family began. The Man and I were a little family when we got married I guess, but not like this.

Now we are a FAMILY.

4 kids and almost 10 years later.

The Man has loved his job and his co-workers.

I have loved the friends I have made here.

I don't want this part of my life to end.

At the same time I am excited to be closer to family. To hang out more with my brothers and sister. To be able to call my mom when I am having a hard day with the kids. Living here has made me stronger and more independent and I have grown in ways I didn't know I could have. My life for sure won't be any easier, but I am excited for new possibilities and new friends.

I sure love my Poke friends- don't feel like we're done, cuz we're not! I will be back to visit. I hope that is a good thing for you. I don't think they'll miss me during sacrament, when they actually get to HEAR the speakers. Good Luck to our new ward.

Oh ya- we gotta sell the house first. I'll be staying behind by myself. With the 4 kids. Whew. OVERWHELMING!!! So tell everyone you know about this darling house that is for sale. Here are my pics. and a link to the post:

My House

Wish me luck on our new adventure. I will still be posting and all, but maybe not so much. I don't know how busy I'll be until I sell the house.

Pics

2010-06-20T22:33:00.003-07:00

One may notice the girl being conspicously absent from this slew of pictures. Well she was gone for a week with her Auntie and cousins having lots of fun for a week. Thanks Auntie!!!

Also can you spot the boy hitting his first ball in a T-ball game? We are excited that he is getting so old and grown-up. He has graduated from preschool and will be starting Kindergarten. What a great helper he is to me.

The smallest boy has gotten so big already. We all just love him.

I also have to give a shout out to the USA soccer team in the WORLD CUP!!!! GO USA!!!! We just love soccer here and the man is fanatical about it, so we know all the stats and scores of all the games. I should have thrown a big "World Cup" party, but I had a lot of other things going on at the time... more about that later. But in four years, if we are not attending the world cup matches in Brazil, then there will be a huge bash at our place for sure!!!

Dinosaur rides

2010-06-08T16:45:00.002-07:00

I deeply love my children. Everything I do, I do it for them.
I wake up hours before my body is ready, because I need to take care of them when they wake up.
I have learned how to multitask because they often need things simultaneously.
I go to the bathroom with the door open so I can keep an eye on them to keep them safe.
I spend hours in the kitchen cooking things that are good for their bodies to keep them healthy. I clean up after them, and try to teach them to clean up after themselves so they can grow to be responsible adults.
I discipline them, even when it is harder for me than for them, so they can learn right from wrong.
I serve all my children firsts -and most of the time seconds- before I can get to my own food that is, at this point, cold.
I smile and feign enthusiasm when they bring me dandelions.
Every minute of my day is spent in service to my children.
Is it easy? Heck NO.
Is it the hardest thing I have ever done? Heck YES.
Do I find myself sobbing at the end of a day because it can be so hard? Often!
I sacrifice who I am and everything I have so that they can grow and be healthy and happy.

And who is the first one they ask for and miss when they are away staying with their cousins for a week?

Daddy, because he gives the best dinosaur rides!

We love you and miss you The Girl!!!!!

cuties

2010-05-26T12:11:00.004-07:00

So the other day I am sitting on the couch feeding the baby while The Man is in the bathroom bathing the kids. They all happened to be in the bath this particular night. They have a squirt-gun that they play with in the bathtub. The Man had told The Boy if he squirted his sister one more time he would take it.

So I hear a loud squeal from the girl. Then I heard The Man calmly grab the squirt gun throw it to the floor and step on it, splintering it to pieces. Both the man and I waited for the elicited response, which was crying or throwing a fit.

SILENCE.

Then both The Boy and The Girl at the same time shout out, "Hey Dad, will you smash this next?" I'm sure both holding up different bath toys.

Still sitting on the couch, I started laughing and loudly told The Man- "Guess THAT backfired on you!"

Ha ha

And one more...

My darling boy and girl think for some reason that they are going to be married when they grow up.

To each other.

I think it's really rather cute, and don't correct them. I figure I'll let them love each other while they will, because there will be plenty of years of fighting and what-not. They'll figure the whole marriage thing out on their own eventually. (They even play a cute game called MARRY where they roll out a table runner and hold hands while they walk down it.----awwwh!)

Well The Boy really wanted The Girl to play with him this one day. She didn't want to. After trying to convince her for a while, The Boy states, "If you don't play with me, I won't marry you!"

To which The Girl responds, "Oh yes you will. You have to!"

Dejected and sighing, as if succumbing to the inevitable The Boy says, "Fine. But I won't buy you flowers!"

Hey The Girl- it's okay. Get used to it. You most likely won't get flowers from your real husband either!

Aren't they cute!!

Short Update With Pics

2010-05-12T10:04:00.004-07:00

So life is pretty hectic so far. It will take a while to get back into a routine. Maybe I'll never get back-- I don't know. The smallest boy cries. A lot. He is fussy all the time, but I am really hoping he'll grow out of it soon. Here are some pictures from the last time I uploaded my pics.

Yes- believe it or not, this picture was taken this month. In May. GO AWAY WINTER!!! We don't want you anymore!

This is a darling girl and her dad.

The man and all the chitlin's. What a great daddy!!!

The boy is so great with the smallest boy. He is great with the smallish boy as well. He just loves his brothers.

Here is the smallest boy.

baby pics

2010-04-18T18:00:00.006-07:00

Here are some pics of the new BABY BOY. He was born April 15, at around 10:00 pm. I guess this one will have to be named SMALLEST BOY for purposes of this blog. I don't think I mentioned in the previous post... I had this one all natural. No epidural. I'm pretty proud of that, even though I wasn't really given much choice in the matter. He simply came too quickly. Well things might be a bit slow for a while. I don't know if I'll ever have time again...

2010-04-17T20:28:00.002-07:00

It's a BABY!!!! 7 lbs 12 oz and 21" long. I had the baby with no epidural. It was scary. I will post more when I get more time. And add some pics!

By the way...

It's a BOY!!!

2010-04-06T09:40:00.002-07:00

Just some random pics. I feel a little quilty I haven't posted in a while. I am getting way too tired. This pregnancy is almost at an end. I don't know whether to shout HOORAY or cry. Probably a little of both. I still feel extremely overwhelmed at the prospect of 4 children, but I am totally excited as well. I hope the kids transition okay. Ta ta for now. I'll keep you posted of baby news.

FRUSTRATION

2010-03-19T09:03:00.004-07:00

I think that sometimes my children's whole mission in life is to frustrate me. Small example of daily occurences:

So my house has been littered with "stuff" (mostly toys) the last little while. Mainly because I am so huge and it gets so uncomfortable to bend over. And not to mention it's usually a bigger battle than it's worth to get the kids to do it. Anyway, the mess is making me crazy!!!!

So I employ my childrens help to pick up everything and help get our house back in order. (I say back in order like that's the way it usually is. It is. I promise. Okay not really) It takes time and prodding and energy (which I am pretty short on these days). But we finally get it to the point that I can vacuum.

So the boy turns to me as I am ready to turn the vacuum on.

the boy: "mom, can we use the cusions of the couch to make a fort."

me: "not right now, the boy, I am going to vacuum."

the boy: "well, we'll just do it in the hallway."

me: "later, the boy, I am going to vacuum the hallway."

the boy: "are you going to vacuum the bedrooms?"

me: "yes. I am vacuuming everywhere. Just wait until I am done vacuuming."

the boy: "well are you going to vacuum on the wood part of the floor?"

me: "yes"

the boy: " no, I mean the part of the floor where the WOOD is." (pointing)

me: "yes I am vacuuming everywhere. Wait until I am done."

the boy: "well mom, the smallish boy needs a fort."

me: "then it will have to wait until I am finished vacuuming" (voice elevating at this time)

the boy: "well can I just use two cusions then?"

me: "NOOOOOO"

the boy: "okay"

me: Start vacuuming sequence. About one minute into it I look up and see all three children carting the blankets we just folded and put away, out of the closet and to the site of the "fort". Have mercy on me!!!!!!!!!

Maybe it doesn't seem as bad to you. But to a hormonal pregnant woman who has become insane by demanding children and a messy house it was pretty dramatic.

Preggo Pics

2010-03-07T21:16:00.004-07:00

Because I know you all just can't get enough of my beautiful face, here are a few pics of me. Actually I thought you might want to see my big belly. I took one on Valentines day... hence the heart. But I do love you all.

Also I just wanted to mention that the other day the boy (my hillarious 5-yr-old) was sitting at the table as I was trying to squeeze myself between it and the counter during lunch time. Would you like to know what the little smart-mouth said to me?

"Mom, your belly's getting so big it's becoming a household hazard."

Yeah, thanks 'the boy'.

18 Month Old Jargon

2010-03-07T20:49:00.003-07:00

I know I know. There are a lot of recent posts about the smallish boy. But he is just so dang cute (as are my other kids) but he is small and growing so fast. And next month he won't be my baby anymore so let me dote on him while I still can.

This is a video of some of the many "words" he speaks already.

Zsa Zsa ................. Fish

Waaaa waaaaaa (you gotta say it with the accent of "scuttle from the little mermaid")..........water

Buuuurrr.............bird

Weeeo weeeo...................butterfly

Enjoy.

Brackets Out

2010-02-18T22:24:00.003-07:00

Here's the girl in her "sock-pants". She won't wear anything over the top because they're "pants".

Sorry no brackets, but just vote for your favorite. I like to keep a few names handy. We'll see which ones come out on top. Thanks for all your input. I really enjoy hearing names from you all and I think that your ideas have been fabulous. Keep 'em comin'.

Don't have too much time to devote to bloggin' lately. The girl has a strep bacterial infection and the smallish boy has croup. So I've just been holding babies lately. Cranky one's I might add. But still I hope they get better soon. You all know how you hate to see your kids sick and miserable.

Girl Names

2010-02-10T19:55:00.003-07:00

So I am officially frieking out. I haven't been able to come up with a girl name in the past 8 months, I don't know how I am going to come up with one in the last 8 weeks. All your suggestions were very good by the way but for some reason or another we can't use them.

One of my best friends name is Talea (ta-LEE-uh).
Kelli, nice try but that is too close to the girl's name.
I loved the name Cambria but shortened it to Kambree, but the man didn't like it as much. Jacee is cute and it has been on our list of names we like.
The man's great grandmother's name was in the running for our first girl, but since then, too common. There are 3 Addies in our ward and I know quite a few others.
Jaybird... those names are uhmm... interesting, but I think we were headed in another direction.

So thank you for all the help. We have a few girl names pick out that we both like, but I am finding that I don't really just LOVE any one of them. I don't want to settle on a name. Oh well. I don't normally like to share the REAL names we are thinking of, but why don't we put it to a good ol-fashioned vote. Here are the candidates:

Danni Marie (Marie is for my grandmother)
Marie Quinn (We would just call her Quinn)
Kacey Jean (Jean is for my other grandmother)
Jett _____
Harley Jean
Jane _____
Luci Mae (Mae is for a grandmother as well)

I know the last two aren't super unique, but they are classics.

Okay Well I will have the man (who happens to be the king of brackets) make a bracket voting plan and I will post it on the side when he does. If you all hear of any other names, let me know.

What's in a name?

2010-01-27T22:21:00.002-07:00

Need Names

Help. It is time for all my followers (hi mom) to weigh in with some suggestions of girl names. I don't know whether we are having a boy or girl, but I have a few boy names in mind that we kind of like, but we are still struggling with girl names.
I like to have a few to choose from because I don't want to name the baby without even seeing him/her. I want a name that is unique, but not weird. Any name in the top 10 list is out.

I really loved the name HADLEY, I thought I was so unique coming up with that, but I've heard it a few times and now I'm not sure. I thought I was so original. Plus we have some friends that just named their baby girl that. I don't know, tell me what you think?

You Might Be An 18 Mo. Old If...

2010-01-07T11:03:00.004-07:00

10. You think a picture of a dinosaur biting on a letter block is the funniest thing you've ever seen.

9. Your main source of communication is a series of shaking and nodding your head- and an occasional outburst of MaaaaaaMaaaaaaaaa, or Daaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

8. Your 5-yr-old brother is your most favorite person.

7. You can throw your food on the floor and laugh with almost no repercussions.

6. You still think it's fun to help with the dishes.

5. You can be a big part of making the mess and a very small part of cleaning it up.

4. You scream and cry and throw yourself down on the floor, and possible add in a few jabs to your own head if refused to have candy.

3. You can wear a rats-nest hair-do all day and everyone still thinks it's cute.

2. Need an older brother or sister to take the fall for something? No worries- simply scream louder than they do!

1. You can:

hit mommy with a dinosaur,

spill an entire mug of hot chocolate on yourself,

torment your older sister,

hit mommy with a dinosaur,

throw your cup of chocolate pudding on the carpet,

ruin your brothers fort repeatedly until he cries,

growl at mommy with a dinosaur,

overturn a bottle of ranch dressing on the living room carpet,

feed the dog your lunch,

hit mommy in the head and laugh,

scream at the top of your lungs

and pretend that mommy is not there after daddy gets home,

and still get smooches and loves and cuddles,

and rocked to sleep with a sweet lullaby

by a mommy who loves you dearly

and wouldn't give up that special time for anything in the world.

Morning Workout

2009-12-30T15:57:00.003-07:00

I have decided that I need to start working out in the mornings. I know it would improve my overall health and help with many areas of my life. (Not to mention I always feel so guilty each month when my doctor asks me what I do for exercise, and each time my reply is the same. I give him an incredulous look and ask "Um, are you serious? Did you remember I have 3 young kids?- Isn't that enough? Each time he tells me I need to do something else to build up my stamina for labor.)

So Monday I got my workout clothes on and the girl got so excited and started jumping up and down and ran to get her "workout clothes". After she got on some cute little shorts she came down to exercise with me. Then the boy decided he wanted to exercise too.

If you've ever tried to work out with two preschoolers- it isn't so effective. They are all over the room, no matter how many times I told them to stay in one place. After they finally got sick of exercising then the smallish boy started crying and holding on to my legs wanting to be picked up and comforted. Still with all this, I feel like I still got a decent workout (I'm sore enough anyway).

On to today. The girl again wanted to workout with me. Okay fine. During my workout, the boy finally decided to take off his pull-up to get dressed and discovered that he had underwear on under his pull-up. YUCK. They were soaked all over, and he had pooped in them.

Leg-lifts, and one and two and....

Then the girl loudly shouts that her bum is itchy and she needs medicine. So I told her I would help her when I was done helping the boy. So I helped thy boy pry his underwear off and rinse them in the toilet and got him in the shower (while trying to run in place).

Then realized it was real quiet and the girl was nowhere in sight. Fearing lest she had tried to vaseline her own bum I ran up to see where she was.

Up the stairs and one and two and....

Alas she had not gotten into the vaseline, but the desitin ointment. Then back downstairs ( one and two and...) the smallish boy had overturned the handsoap on the floor.

You see, I don't work out for a reason!!!!! It shouldn't be this difficult! But the kids really do keep me on my toes. So I guess I'll just count that...

Happy Birthday

2009-12-27T19:27:00.005-07:00

Happy Birthday to the man (yesterday).

He is the awesomest, and I just want him to know how much I love him. The kids are crazy about him. Here are some things that I just love about him.

1. If he doesn't know the words to a song (which is most of the time) he makes them up, without skipping a beat!

2. He calls our van "the truck". I think it makes it feel more "manly" to him.

3. Since I have been pregnant, I think he has made it his mission to see that I don't have to do the dishes. He really is great about keeping up with the kitchen. (Although I still do them- we have a family of 5 they need to be done often)

4. He is great about helping out with the laundry. He can not get the whole color separation thing right, but no matter how much I complain about how he does it wrong, he still helps. I need to keep my big mouth shut, because I really like him helping out.

5. He is great to help other people when they need it. He loves helping his dad with whatever his dad is doing, mainly because he loves to be around his dad, but he is so generous to help others whenever they are in need.

6. He is so great to me, and is always looking for ways to make me smile.

7. He makes super cute babies!!! (even though we may not have planned them all)

8. He is a hard worker and believes in the value of work.

9. He is just so dang fun to be around. Most of the time.

10. He has a great listening ear and will listen to me ramble on and on (which I tend to do). This is excellent, because I really love to talk. He seems to never get bored about what I have to say. (unless there is a Jazz game on- I've just learned to not talk to him during these times.)

Happy Birthday the man, I hope it was great for you. Your family sure thinks the world of you.

Holiday

2009-12-23T13:14:00.003-07:00

Merry Christmas

everyone!!! I have been so lazy this year. I never threw my annual holiday party. I didn't send Christmas cards. Not even a family picture. So this is your Christmas card. Sorry I didn't get them out. I have been so tired lately. And this Christmas really just crept up on me.

The boy gave me a really great early Christmas present yesterday. I had just got through cleaning the bathrooms when he came in to wash his hands. He looked left, he looked right, then stated, "Mommy, the bathroom looks nice!"

I know it doesn't sound like much, but to me it meant a lot. A non-observant 5-yr-old boy noticing that the bathroom is clean is a big deal. (Although it could have been because the bathroom was so dirty in the first place- but pretend you didn't just read that)

Oh well hope all your holidays are joyful and full of family and friends!

We will be spending Christmas here and both of the grandparents should be coming to visit. We are all excited.

Poopy dayz

2009-12-09T14:19:00.004-07:00

I am so sick of poop. I quess I just need to vent. I am constantly cleaning up poop here. The girl just pooped her pants, which she has been doing on occasion lately.

The boy, yes the boy, is STILL not potty trained and has at least one poopy accident a day. Most likely 2 or 3. Yes, believe it or not he is over 5 and still can't make it to the toilet. He pees in his pants 5-6 times a day on top of the other accidents.

I don't know what else there is to do. I am seriously considering pysciatric help. For him. (Maybe for me too). You would think he can do this by now. I have been potty training for nearly 3 years now and I am so sick of it I could slit my wrists! I just feel like I am at the end of my rope here and I don't know what to do.

Positive reinforcement- check.

Negative reinforcement- check.

Sticker charts- check.

Prizes- check.

Money bribe- check.

Cold showers- check.

Spankin's- check.

Taking away privelidges- check.

Spending quality one on one time with him and him alone- check.

Treats- check.

Potty watch- check.

Dr. advice- check.

Timer- check.

He cleans out his own underwear- check. (I accidentally turned him into a germ-a-phobe by this one. Oh well, just like his mom I guess)

Frieking out- check.

Pulling out my hair by the roots- check.

Seriously I don't know what else to do. What if I have the baby and none of my kids can go poop in the potty??????? AAAAUUUUUUUGGGGHH!!!!

Help me.

Somebody just take him and give him back when it's done! I love my kids to death, but I am having such a hard time right now.

By the way, this morning the girl was trying to convince me to let her go to Jesus' house.

"I promise I will be good mommy. I won't have any accidents today. I will be so nice to him, because I love him."

I really had to beg her to stay with me. Don't you just want to eat her, she's so cute!

Some pics

2009-10-29T21:00:00.005-07:00

Here: I know I am behind on adding pictures so here are a few from the summer

This is at antelope island with the man's parents. This is about as good a family picture as we get.

This one is at a cute little fish farm,also with the man's parents.

The following pics are of my sweet little birthday boy who turned 1 this summer. You're right. I am a horrible mom for not blogging about it sooner. But at least we didn't forget to celebrate the birthday. Hey I gotta set the sights a little low for a while. Just look how stinkin' cute he is!!!! I just love him.

And some more random summer pics...

ENJOY

Days like these

2009-10-18T21:14:00.002-07:00

So let me tell you what my bliss is.

The boy is home red-eyed and fevered on the couch resting. The girl has just announced that she has peed on the floor in her bedroom (for the 3rd time today). I get a rag and the carpet cleaner and go to inspect the damage, and right about this point, a thought pops into my head,

"Gee, I think I forgot to close the bathroom door after retrieving the cleaner".

Knowing my 14-month old, I leave the urine puddle on the carpet and rush to the bathroom, just in time to see the smallish boy "dunking" his goldfish in the unflushed toilet and popping them in his mouth.

YUM YUM.

Who doesn't want some urine-soggy crackers for a snack? I wash the smallish boys hands and resume the job of the puddle in the girl's room. I'm sure that many more things happened immediately following this but I think I went brain-dead for the next hour. (And now you're all very reassured of my super parenting skills at this point.)

At any rate my bliss after a day like this is BEDTIME.

My kids sure look adorable when they sleep.

I'll be sure to put some pics on soon. They are currently not accessible and I'm too lazy right now to switch computers.

Have a good one and remember to pace yourselves on the soggy fishies!

Oh Happy Day

2009-10-09T10:45:00.002-07:00

On the paperwork for the Nuvaring birth control, it states "The NuvaRing is 99.7% effective. This means that with perfect use, less than 1 out of every 100 women who use the ring will become pregnant"

Apparently I am in the less than one percent.

Don't worry about me, I'm already insane, so I guess I'm not going anywhere!

Warning may contain explicit material

2009-10-08T21:41:00.002-07:00

99.7 Percent Accurate.

Bull Shit

just so

2009-09-15T19:15:00.001-07:00

Far too busy......

Detergent

2009-08-23T21:03:00.003-07:00

Thanks to my super sister in law, I have just made my own laundry detergent. I know, I know, you all are sooooo jealous. It is great. It is so cheap and easy. My clothes come out of the wash clean and fresh. No dyes, perfumes, or harsh chemicals. Just clean. Heres the recipe if any of you are dying to try it:

equal parts soda wash and borax

equal parts powder mixture and grated fells Naptha Bar (or Ivory soap)

for example: I used:

1 cup borax
1 cup soda wash
2 cups grated ivory soap

Use 2 Tablespoons per full load.

Ya, you're jealous.

Kids say the cutest things

2009-08-18T21:06:00.003-07:00

So the girl comes out into the dining room where I am eating my lunch. I have been hearing the boy and the girl arguing in the bedroom, but could not hear the words. She had the saddest little expression on her face and with tears in her eye's told me:

"Mommy, the boy called me a lemontine!"

LOL

Then the other day the boy says to the man in the middle of the day,

"Daddy, when I am done with my daydream I will tell you what it's about"

About an hour later the man asks if he can tell him about it yet,

"Nope, it's not done yet"

Man they are cute.

When the boy wears shoes, but no socks, he calls it "going commando in my shoes"

When the girl doesn't want to wear shoes she says, "Mommy, I just wanted to wear my feet today."

MUTTON BUSTIN'

2009-07-24T15:58:00.003-07:00

Here is my little boy mutton bustin'. Isn't it friekin' hilarious. Ya, he is getting so big. All it cost us was a few hundred dollars after a trip to URGENT CARE. Yes that's right. My boy got hurt mutton bustin'. Who does that?

Well as you can watch in the short clip, the sheep tried to go through the gate (that wasn't supposed to be open). Ooops little slip up on the part of the people in charge. I was a little frustrated at the way things were managed, but all in all the boy had a good experience and some pretty bruised ribs.

Way to go the boy!!!

Just Because

2009-07-21T20:44:00.003-07:00

The boy: "Mommy I am stronger than anything on this earth"

Me: "Wow, that's pretty strong. Even stronger than an elephant?"

The boy: "Ya, mom if we could go to Africa and find an elephant I will show you how I can push it over"

He's 4.

For Me

2009-06-10T05:35:00.004-07:00

I've never been good at doing much for myself. I used to try and have a weekday that I would go out when the man came home so that I might get a break from the kids every so often. I usually feel too guilty to go. My kids are still so small and need so much from me that they take all I've got and there is none left for me. By all means it is not my children who are to blame, it is me. I know I should take care of myself. But knowing it and doing it are different things.

So what I'm really getting at is this: I am attending a conference on writing children's books this week. It is great. I finally feel like this is something I am doing for no one else but me. Whether or not the lectures are great doesn't really matter. What does matter is that, for once since the last 4 years, I feel like more than a mom. Being a mother is important but I was somebody before I was a mom... I think.

Anyway, I'll just include a little blurb of some creative writing that I did during the conference. I know I just need to practice more and I'll get better so I am really going to try and write a little every day. Okay that is really a big goal given my circumstance and my personality. At least a few times a week.

"I startled as I saw a spider creeping up the wall. I waivered as I stood there deciding whether to leave him or take care of him. He was too close to my room to leave. I hurried to the bathroom to retrieve some toilet paper. When I came back I lost sight of him. I scoured the wall searching for any sign of him and caught him moving out of the corner of my eye. I had to do this quick or my nerve might fail me. My hand pounced and then smashed hard and in all directions to make sure there were no legs twitching when I pulled the crumpled piece of toilet paper back to look at it. There was no twitching, because he wasn't there. Dang. I looked everywhere, searching for the sly devil.

I knew two possible scenarios for what happened. Either he had jumped aside to escape his impending doom and was stealthily waiting on some part of my body or clothes, until I finally let my guard down to make his move, or he had found some crack or fissure in the doorway that I couldn't see, in which case he was waiting until I went to bed to recruit his aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and neighbors to mount a counter attack on me while I slept.

I stood there for another good minute, still, quiet and waiting. I walked back to my room. I turned the light on. Ha. That would show him. I knew that spiders are nocturnal. I went to my bed, put my right arm under my pillow, laid my head down, brought my knees up to my chest and pulled the covers tight around my shoulder. That spider won't get the best of me!

Around midnight I had to get up and turn the light off, due to the pounding headache from the light. And from the kids and lack of sleep, but mostly from the light.

But I told myself it wasn't over with the spider."

Anyway, we sure miss the man. We love you daddy! And a big thanks to my mom for watching the kids.

Mothers day

2009-05-11T19:58:00.002-07:00

Okay so I hate to mooch off someone else, but that is exactly what I am going to do. So here is my mothers day post.

http://wardlefam.blogspot.com/2009/05/you-might-be-mom-if.html

I read this laughing. It is totally true. This is my cousin and she is super talented. Thanks for the laugh Erika.

BackPacking

2009-05-05T19:19:00.005-07:00

The man and I recently went on a 40 mile backpacking adventure. It was difficult, although I didn't expect it to be easy. We visited a canyon called Grand Gulch down by Blanding Utah. There were loads of great anasazi ruins. It was great. We had a really good experience. Here are some photos.

On a side note: I'm in a bit of a blogging slump. Sorry. I just don't have it all together quite yet. But it's coming. Any day now...

This is the man and I and my bro and sis-in-law before

This is called "Big Man Panel"

This is the whole group of us. Thanks guys-we had a great time!

Look at those packs- Man were they heavy!

This is the path we traveled. A total of about 36.6 or something miles.

P.S. Kel, the shower when I got home was totally awesome. I got in washed, rinsed and then washed again. Then I got out, dried off, and then got back in and washed one more time. Just to make sure. Ha Ha. No joke though.

ReJeCTEd

2009-04-20T20:19:00.002-07:00

Hey I just got my first rejection letter. Woo Hoo. It doesn't get me too down...yet.

new post

2009-04-16T21:45:00.001-07:00

I was going to post a new one, but you can all thank my brother who kept me chatting too long and now I don't have time. We were chatting about the trip we are about to take. So when I get back from the trip I'll have lots to blog about. And hopefully lots of pics.

Question

2009-03-27T22:32:00.002-07:00

I was wondering if I should reveal the names of my children. What's the fun in coming up with cool names for the kids if I just call the the boy, the girl, etc... But I know I have at least one major blog stalker, but it's just mongee. And only yesterday I was talking about that nice man with the red slits for eyes and the little black horns that has been an avid weirdo blog stalker who has really taken an interest in my kids, but other than those two really. What do you guys think? I have a poll going on so vote in it.

Update

2009-03-19T19:27:00.004-07:00

Just a quick update for our families.

The boy has learned to tie knots. Great. I find knots everywhere. Knots are set-up as booby traps when I open my master bathroom door. Knots are trying to keep me from opening my drawers on my dresser. You'd think he was a boy scout. Soon enough.

The girl is totally the "POTTY PRINCESS". She has done such an awesome job being potty trained. She hasn't had an accident for almost a week and will just run in and go when she needs to. Wow is this what potty trained means? We are still struggling with they boy.

The girls favorite shoes are her sunday shoes. She wears them everywhere. She even wears them all day around the house. It's pretty cute.

The smallish boy has become a crawling vampire. On Sunday we discovered that his eye teeth have broken through. Not his top front teeth. Yep just the "vampire" teeth. I will try to get a pic of that soon. He also started crawling last sunday. He is still ever so slow and still working out the kinks, but he crawls! and he can get to where he wants to go. I really have my hands full now. Wish me luck and enjoy the pictures! PEACE.

Drawings

2009-03-19T18:45:00.003-07:00

Here are some pictures that the girl drew of our family. She's quite the little artist. I'm not so sure why daddy has three legs here? Any wild guesses? Ha.

Not to be outdone, the boy draws a picture on the aquadoodle. Can you see the hands and feet? Not quite so adequate, but he doesn't enjoy drawing as much as the girl. He'd rather be in the mud or something like that.

Busy Busy Busy

2009-03-07T20:58:00.002-07:00

So no joke this is how 10 minutes of my day goes yesterday.

I've been trying to potty train the girl the last few days.
I make the smallish boy a bottle and sit down to feed him. In the middle of the bottle, the girl stops dead in her tracks and gives me a sideways look that I really don't like.
"Mommy, I think I peed in my underwear," she says. Well either she did or she didn't. So I ask,"Well, did you pee?" silence. "Did you pee in your pants?"
"Um, I dunno," So I tell her to run to the bathroom as I follow her, holding the baby who is still eating.
We get to the bathroom to discover that the dog has been in the garbage and rubbish is covering the floor. I tell myself to calm down and I can clean it later.
So I tell the girl to take her pants off and sit on the toilet. Much to my dismay, the issue about why she was hesitant about the pee issue becomes clear. She didn't pee her pants, she had pooped in them. It was fairly runny so I can see why she thought it was pee.

So I scream out in alarm for her not to move a muscle. I yell for the boy to come in and help me, "QUICKLY". I have him sit on the floor and laid the baby on his legs and told him to hold the bottle. I sit the girl on the toilet and get my rubber gloves to start washing out the undies. When I return the baby was on his belly on the floor playing in a pile of spit-up (on my carpet).

I am wrist deep in poop. And cue the timer in the kitchen to go off saying my dinner, which is in the oven, is done. 'Why oh why couldn't the man be home from work on time today," I think to myself. This is a daily at my house, except it doesn't always happen in this particular order, or sometimes the events are a little different, but for the most part, this is how I live my life.

Lovin' it!

GO ME

2009-03-01T22:39:00.002-07:00

Hey just because I am excited about it, I thought I might post something I did. I just submitted my first children's story to 5 different publishers. It might not go anywhere, but it might and I am really stoked. SO PEACE OUT EVERYONE!!!!!!! And wish me luck.

Kings!

2009-03-01T21:56:00.005-07:00

So the boy tells the man the other day,

"Daddy, I am the king of T.V.

"The girl is the king of the toys.

"You are the king of books.

DRUMROLL PLEASE........

"And Mommy is the king of the house!!!!"

I don't know why the man shared this with me, but he did. I don't think I'll ever let him forget it. (wink wink) I LOVE YOU THE MAN! And thanks to the boy for sizing things up around the house!

Haircuts

2009-02-17T13:24:00.003-07:00

Well, the girl cut her own hair (as mentioned earlier). The man got his hair cut (it looks fabulous babe). And I decided to get my hair cut as well. I had to do it the day I decided or I knew I would talk myself out of it. Here are some of our latest pics. Sorry the man and the boy have been camera shy as of late.

Frumpy is SOOO out

2009-02-04T09:51:00.005-07:00

Today I am putting make-up on. I am doing my hair. And I am wearing a pretty sweater. Not a T-shirt. I am not going anywhere. I don't have any plans. I am not trying to impress my friends. I am not doing this for my husband (although, I'm sure he won't mind). In fact, I probably won't see anyone today at all.

I am looking good. And I am doing it for me. I am an aging ponytail, and it feels nice to wear something other than a t-shirt. As soon as the baby wakes up I know it will get spit-up on, but until then, for a few minutes, I will feel beautiful again.

The little things

2009-01-29T09:15:00.006-07:00

So, really I was working on a big and exciting post called "a day in the life", but haven't had enough time this or last week to finish it. If you're wondering why, let me show you a few things I've been dealing with this last week (and for that matter, the last 4 years).

So cute from the front!!

Not so much from the back. Yep you guessed it, she found the scissors.

In case you were wondering... Desitin is very hard to get off. It took about scrubbing and rinsing 5 or 6 different times. Then I started on the hair. Yep there is still some in her hair, but that's just going to have to wear off.

This is all in addition to the baby spitting up every 5 minutes, so lots of changes of clothes (him and me), and my not-so-potty-trained 4 year old boy who is still having many accidents a week. Yuck. Plus our washer broke. It was out for a few days. (The man fixed it by the way. Yes he is amazing. No prior appliance fixing experience).

I really don't have time to mention EVERYTHING.

Of the many many times my children decide to do things like this, every so often I take a picture. Here are a few of them for the last few weeks. Mind you I don't take pics of everything.

Fingernail polish. Luckily none got on the floor.

First experience with desitin. Guess she liked it enough to try it again (see top of page). You think I'd learn to put it out of reach.

Yep I am one busy mom. Life is hard. I think when I get to the end of this stage in my life I will feel like saying, "It's been real. It's been fun. But it hasn't been real fun." And clap and HOORAH, and then cry because they're not little anymore. But the crying will come later. Much much later...

quote of the week

2009-01-19T17:20:00.003-07:00

Mongee (our name for grandma)(to the boy): Do you love your mommy?

The boy: yes

Mongee: How much do you love your mommy?

The boy: I love my mommy, but I don't love her the muchest. I love DADDY the muchest.

There you have it. Hours of slave labour. HOURS! Daddy comes home from work helps with bath and it's off to bed and BINGO- he's Mr #1.

Nevermind hours of slavelabour.

He loves DADDY the muchest.

Catching up

2009-01-08T10:10:00.006-07:00

We had a blast on Christmas. Here are a few pics. We went to Colorado to visit my sister for the new year and that was fun too. I didn't want to do a huge post telling you every detail, because nobody would read it. So I'll try to make up with extra pictures.

Christmas Morning

Our real live snowman

Sledding at Grandpa J's

She loves her Grandpa J

Making candy houses

Surprise!! We woke up one morning to find a couple o reindeer in our house!

Short Note

2008-12-23T21:04:00.003-07:00

So I know it's been a while. During the day I am usually running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. In the evenings I don't feel like I even get a chance to breath a deep sigh of relief when the kids go to bed before it starts all over again. Three kids and the holidays are really working a number on me. There is still a sink full of dishes and a few baskets of laundry to fold, but I am leaving it and am going to bed early tonight. For once. I need it. I haven't been on the computer at all lately. I just spent a very few minutes trying to catch up on some blogs, but I really just wanted to go to bed. But I thought I'd drop you all a note and let you know I'm not dead. Just REALLY REALLY alive. Hope all your Holidays are KILLER and
Merry Christmas to everybody. I'll try to post again soon. With pictures even.

Mom

2008-11-22T22:25:00.003-07:00

So I was looking for a nice quote to fit into this cute book I was making at snapfish, and found a bunch of quotes on mothers. It was actually quite nice to read them, because it made me feel a little bit better at what I am doing every day. Sometimes it seems like you'll never make a difference and all the hard work of motherhood is shoved under the rug and not recognized. Well some of these quotes just really struck me, and I hope they do you too. So I will post them here. I would love to post more, but the small boy is sick, and I really need to tend to his needs. Poor little boy.

Enjoy:

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field, since the payment is pure love. ~Mildred B. Vermont

Women's Liberation is just a lot of foolishness. It's the men who are discriminated against. They can't bear children. And no one's likely to do anything about that. ~Golda Meir

The real religion of the world comes from women much more than from men - from mothers most of all, who carry the key of our souls in their bosoms. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

The formative period for building character for eternity is in the nursery. The mother is queen of that realm and sways a scepter more potent than that of kings or priests. ~Author Unknown

Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that suppose to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing. ~Toni Morrison, Beloved, 1987

Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children

It's not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it. ~From the television show The Golden Girls

AMEN

Halloween

2008-11-06T21:58:00.004-07:00

This halloween we got to learn a cute little poem that the boy learned at preschool. You know the one:

"Five little pumpkins sitting on a fence".

Well when the girl heard it she was all over that. Although she changed it a little. So we have heard a lot about "Five little Mumpkins."
It has been extremely cute. Unfortunatly I don't have any new pictures, because my camera broke, but no fears, it has been fixed and is on it's way back. So here are some randomly chosen from the last download.

Little Spooks

2008-10-27T07:49:00.007-07:00

Well it's about time I post again. Life is crazy at this time. We just had a couple of halloween parties. Here is some excellent footage of the one we hosted. Yes this is the man getting busted. They finally found his stash. Just kidding, we have a cop friend that was invited to our party but couldn't come because he was on duty. So he came with lights and sirens and all and crashed the party. Then I told him he should handcuff the man. It was actually very spontaneous. They both started running and this is what happened.

Here are the darling kiddos (at another party- one more suitable for children)

Man Tag

2008-10-10T18:58:00.003-07:00

Man Tag

A. The rules are posted at the beginning.
B. Each Person answers questions about their sweethearts
C. At the End of the post, the person then tags 4 people and posts their names; then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged

What is your husbands name? The Man

How long have you been married? 7 1/2 years

How long did you date? 8-9 months

How old is he? 31, this year

Who eats more sweets? A close call, I would say me, but he says he eats a lot while at work, so I'm not sure...

Who said I love you first? Him for sure. I had commitment issues, still do (although I am completely committed to him)

Who is taller? The man

Who can sing the best? I'm not sure. We can both carry a tune, but I wouldn't say either one of us are dynamic.

Who is smarter? I totally take the cake in science and math, but the man knows everything about anything technological. Yes he is my techie. Plus I trust his advice on almost anything, he sure has a lot of good common sense.

Who does the laundry? I do most of it, and complain way too much if he tries because I guess my color schemes are way too complicated for him. He does help though and I am grateful for it.

Who pays the bills? It depends. We both do at different times. The man is currently doing most of it, but I used to be in charge. When he starts getting too ornery I usually take over.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? We don't have sides. It changes every night. (How exciting, eh?)

Who mows the lawn? The man did it while I was in my last trimester, other than that we both take turns. Because I like to.

Who cooks dinner? I do

Who drives? Take turns

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Both of us are very stubborn, but I am more so than him, so he admits to being wrong, sometimes even when he's not. Oh how sweet. Yes he is the best, I love him so

Who kissed who first? He kissed me first, although you'd hear a different story if you asked him

Who asked who out first? He called me. Thank goodness. I did think he was super hot. Still do

Who wears the pants? On sundays he does. Most of the rest of the time we take turns. Yep the pants get pretty dirty by the end of the week. Pee You!

I tag Tracey, Sara, Kristin, and Emilee

My Girl

2008-10-09T20:10:00.004-07:00

My girl is just the most darling little spitfire ever. I just have to say a little about my girl. If there are no other girls in my family she will be spoiled.
The man claims that she already is.
She loves to find trouble.
Her smile can light up a room, and is super contagious.
She is currently potty-training and she is doing OkAy. Not great, but OkAy.
She seems to think that she has to get completely naked when going potty.
Every time.
She also thinks that everything that is pink belongs to her.
The phrase, "I want my pink one mommy," has been completely worn out in this house.
It doesn't matter what it is, if it's pink, it now belongs to her.
A library book.
A piece of candy.
A blanket (to be fair, most of the pink blankets are hers).
I took her to the store today. She was standing at the end of the cart hanging on and grabbing random pink things from the shelf and throwing them into the cart.
They were pink so they were hers. Right?
The world revolves around her.

Yes it does.

Whenever it's not revolving around the boy...

We sure love you, the girl!

Random Spiders

2008-10-06T09:31:00.002-07:00

This is Derb. He is a cat-spider that lives in our tree in the backyard. I actually named him Herb, but the boy REnamed him Derb. I guess that's much better.

This is a dead spider corpse that I found in my basement. Eeeewwww. Thank goodness it was dead or I woulda hadda heart attack!!!

2008-10-06T09:24:00.002-07:00

UNCLE BEANIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Big GRoWWWWL

2008-10-05T08:40:00.003-07:00

Maybe I just don't have what it takes. That's all I can say. I am soooooooooooooooooooooo sick of potty training. I have been doing it for the better part of a year. Sure there were a couple of months during the last few weeks of my pregnancy where I gave up on the boy, but then I started back up with the girl. She has been at it for over a month now and every once in a while she wants to go. Every once in a while she kicks and screams as I take her. Every once in a while I take her without incident, and every once in a while she has an accident. The man claims he forgets that we're potty training, so I am the only one that does it, and I don't want to any more. I have a super overwhelming desire to quit, but I don't know if I should. I'm already a month into it, would I be undoing it all? I just don't know how to deal with this potty training thing. Why can't it just be easy for me? I read about and hear about it being easy with so many. Why can't I be so lucky? Don't get me wrong, I consider myself very lucky to have such "spirited" children. It is just so much work and so taxing on me. That's okay. The smallish boy and I had a talk. It's all going to be much easier with him.

Let me know what you think, or if any of you are dying to potty train more children, because I can send them right over...

A Couch Makeover

2008-09-24T21:00:00.003-07:00

I think that it's a good thing that people don't know what it's really like to be a parent BEFORE they have children. I don't know if anybody would do it then. Am I a totally bad mother for saying that? I would absolutely never give up my kids or anything, but you really just have no idea how hard it is until you have them.

I've been canning pears the last couple of days. I was in the kitchen today and I could see the boy- he was sitting on the couch quietly (first clue). He looked at me a little funny and quickly looked away (second and final clue) . I don't need to be told again, so I rush over to see what he was doing and found a good 1/3 of my red couch cover was covered in scribbled pen. The boy. I expect it from the girl, but not him. I was so frustrated. He's really been acting out the last few days. He just really hasn't been himself. I think he might need some more attention or something. I am just at a loss.

The girl has been having a few accidents a day, but I have been so good and have not put her back in diapers. I ROCK. I still think she will do fine if I just keep at it. It's just so time consuming. Story of my life...

So no pictures. Probably for the next year since I am far too busy with 3 kids. But I'll try to get one on here of the new couch decor.

Flashback

2008-09-16T21:01:00.002-07:00

Everybody together now...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

How DaRLinG!

This is the man when he was about the age of the boy. Isn't he precious? Remind you of anyone?...

Potty Training

2008-09-14T08:46:00.005-07:00

Having 3 in diapers is horrible! The boy has been back in diapers for some time now. I just couldn't deal with all the pooping accidents. He was going through4-6 underwear a day. 3-4 of those times it would be a poop accident. I got so sick of it in my last trimester that I said, "forget it. I can't do this anymore."

So I went to my next best hope. The girl. She has started out well. She has had quite a few accidents the first week, but that is to be expected, right? Hopefully this works out well. I was thinking maybe if I showered the girl with attention and completely ignored the boy, he might think to himself, "wait a minute, this isn't fair" or something like that. We'll see.

I am really struggling with 3 kids ages 3 and under. My mother told me that the transition from 1 to 2 was harder than 2 to 3. Yeah mom, well when you had your 3rd your first was in Kindergarten. I am so busy now, I don't have time to stop and think. Multi-tasking has really come in handy, although I am too scatterbrained to really multi-task well. I am confident that it will get easier, probably just not for a long while. I have to believe that or I would go insane. Who am I kidding- I'm already there!

A little update (and quote of the day)

2008-09-01T19:54:00.004-07:00

So tonight the man was getting ready to take a shower, and the boy was going to shower with him. The boy got his cloths off and so did the man. The boy then shouted with excitement and exclaimed,
"Oh, Daddy! We match!"

The novelty of having a baby around the house has not yet worn off. I would have thought that the kids would have enough of him by now, but as it turns out: not so much. They are still wanting to hold him every chance they get. The boy more so than the girl.

I have now got the tired mom eyes. You know, the ones that are bloodshot and have the big bags under them? Yes this is the new look that I am sporting around. The man has been great to help with those middle of the night feedings. This is the great thing about not nursing. The man now has no excuse not to help out. He will usually get one feeding for me. Thank you the man! I think he is feeling the effects too. He has been working hard (as you can tell by the picture). Although think he was having more fun working this backhoe than he would be doing actual work. Boys will be boys!

I think that we will be able to sleep through the night sometime within this next decade. By that time, I know I will be saying to myself, "Self, where did the time go?" They just grow up so fast.

A cute pic

2008-08-27T21:44:00.001-07:00

Okay, it's late and it's a super-quick post. I wasn't going to post anything at all tonight, but I just found this picture and had to share. It's too cute. The boy LOVES the smallish boy. He is always wanting to hold him. He always asks to let him sleep with him. This is one of the times I let the smallish boy lay next to him for a while. Oh so precious...

A New Journey

2008-08-24T18:30:00.003-07:00

Wow. A HUMONGOUS thank you to my angelic mother who came to stay with me to help out after I had the baby. Where would we be without our mothers? I still have not gone solo yet, so tomorrow is the big day. I'm sure there will be a few tears. I will really need all the help I can get so wish me all a good luck with that.

3 Kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just still can't believe it. I remember thinking that I would never be at this stage in my life. I always knew I wanted children, it just seemed so far away. Now I am a mother of 3. Let's hope by the end of the week I still have 3 children (in tact). I am starting on this new road in my journey through life and it's exciting, but a little scary too. How the heck am I going to handle it? I know I'll get by (sometimes just barely), but it will all work out.

I am just so glad I have the most fabulous man in the world by my side. The Man is so patient with the children and so good to help (I just need to point out what needs to be done). I couldn't dream of doing this with anyone else. My heart totally belongs to him.

I still don't know what to call this new baby. I like Amber's idea of calling him "boy2". I've also thought about "smaller boy". So let's put it to a vote. Weigh in everyone. By the way, his is so great. He only really fusses when he is hungry. He has just been such a peaceful baby. Maybe the man and I really are going to catch a break and get a calmer version of the other 2. There's always hope right?

Well, here I go...

New Boy

2008-08-16T09:20:00.002-07:00

Here are some pics of the new boy. I am kind of at a loss of what to call him here. Maybe smallish boy, since I already have "the boy". I don't know, but anyway here they are:

New Arrival

2008-08-13T15:01:00.002-07:00

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He arrived this morning at around 5 am.
He weighed in at 8 lbs and 8 oz.
He was almost 21 inches.
Short light colored hair.
Cute cute cute.
Pictures to come shortly.

Quote of the day

2008-08-09T10:58:00.002-07:00

The boy has taken to calling me and the man by our first names. Not a big deal really. Yesterday out of the blue he says to me,
"Mommy, I won't call you Suzy anymore" (assuming my name is Suzy)

"Oh good," I thought, "he's finally going to start calling me mom again."

His next words were, "I am going to call you RICE"

?????????????
Where did that come from?

A Whale of a Belly!

2008-08-06T20:55:00.002-07:00

Can I just say that I am huge. My belly pokes out far enough to reach to China. The baby could possibly be resting easy in a different zip code than the one I am currently in. I hope the baby decides to make an appearance soon. I don't know how much longer my skin can stay this stretched out. I am getting super excited.

For those of you who don't know...

I got a guitar for my birthday this year. I have always wanted to learn to play. I am totally stoked about it too, but as of late, I have had to put this on hold, because I can't even hold the guitar properly in front of my gargantuan midsection. I will be starting right back up just as soon as I can though. Wish me luck, this is not an easy talent to obtain!!

So there's my update. No baby yet, and the kiddos are doing just great.

Waiting, waiting, waiting

2008-07-30T21:32:00.003-07:00

So I am a little over two weeks away from the actual due date. I have not come early with either of my other 2 children. I don't know why but I just wish I would. Chances are not likely though. Here's hoping! There is no candy in my house right now. So the man is on a mission. He should be coming home with root beer, circus peanuts and skittles. Aahh. Good man. I know this doesn't sound like a nutritious diet (especially for a prego woman) but peanuts are protein, right? and the root beer will help me to stay hydrated? Okay whatever I just won't eat them all in the same sitting. Maybe. Anyway, thank you to the man!!!

The boy I think will be great. Today I could have ate him alive he is so adorable. Out of the blue he just came up to me, at the perfect height to be placed just under my outie-belly-button. He lifted up my shirt just enough and kissed my belly. Aaahhhhhh, how sweet, eh? Yes he will be a charmer.

The girl has her moments too. She has started randomly telling me she loves me. I don't even have to tell her first. And she is starting to "love" a lot of things. She says "I looove it mommy, I loooove it". And she loves to sing. She does this by singing loudly "sOnGing, oh sonGing, sOoOOnGiNNNNG" It's the darn cutest thing.

REGRESSION

2008-07-23T09:22:00.002-07:00

I am back to the stage of pulling out my hair. I don't know what happened but the boy has regressed in his potty training. I am back to cleaning 3 or 4 underwear a day and this time I am 37 weeks pregnant! I am so tired of it I could scream. I just don't know how to deal with this. I have read lots of articles online and all of them say how I shouldn't discipline for this or even show any emotion. Do they realize how hard it is for a hormonal pregnant lady to not show emotion after cleaning potty accidents all day? I have been taking his toys away. Each time he has an accident, I take something else away. I don't know if this is working, because he will still look the man right in the face and pee on the floor. Luckily it's only been the wood floors. AAAUUUUGGGG!!!

Anyway if there are any suggestions, please enlighten a frustrated mother!