Flowers and Frills and Puppy Dog Tails...

New Years Resolutions

2012-01-04T08:54:00.004-07:00

Every year I try to set an attainable goal for myself. I know most people do, but rather than setting resolutions that get broken and forgotten about by January 15th, I try to set goals that I won't forget, and can be met. The best way I found to do this is to set an open ended resolution. Instead of saying I want to read 50 biographies this year, I would say, I want to read more biographies, be it 2 or 200 if I read one, I have succeeded and it takes the pressure off.

Also, I think pretty hard about what exactly my goals will be. I try not to overload myself by setting too many. This year I am gonna take a spin off of my friend's blog post. (Go read it, it's awesome, also the outcome of the post... fantastic, really.) To very much sum it up, she downsized Christmas, and made it special. Each person got three gifts one thing they needed, one thing they wanted, and one thing for their body in representation of Christ's three gifts.

So my spin... I will set 3 resolutions: One frivolous one (gold). One spiritual one (frankincense). One health one (myrrh).

1. I will go on dates with my husband to do things new and entertaining... Though I love going out to dinner, sometimes dinner and a movie feels a little rut like... especially when there aren't any good movies out.

2. Going to the Temple. We have no excuses, the youth in our ward babysit for free if you are going to the Temple, so why don't I go more often?

3. I will use my treadmill more. Once my toe is no longer broken...

Now, as a family I have only one resolution in mind: We will get better at having Family Home Evening. In previous years we have tackled family prayer and family scripture study. Both of which are a regular occurrence in our house now. It's time to make FHE a regular activity too.

I think these goals are realistic, and yet they won't be too easy...

On a lighter note, I have made up some resolutions for my kids...

For Lilia:

I will not fake being sick because I hate getting up so early for school, since it's my own fault for needing to be put on A track school time. (A track, for those who don't know, starts an hour and 15 minutes before B track)

For Lacey:

I will stop needing diapers at night. I am a big girl, and should be able to get the bathroom at night. Especially now that the basement bathroom is up and running.

For Matthew:

I will stop growing up so fast since I realize I am my Momma's last baby and she is sad to see my babyhood disappearing so quickly.

Happy New Year to everyone! May your resolutions hold true.

Attention!

2011-12-07T12:39:00.001-07:00

What happens to my freezer jam when I stop paying attention...

What happens to the toilet paper when I stop paying attention... Matthew unrolled a bunch, and I couldn't stand to waste it so I told the girls we had to use it... Lilia broke the long sheet into strips of two squares or three squares and labeled them accordingly... (hahaha)

What happens on the coffee table when I stop paying attention... Look close and maybe lean your head to the left... There is a matching print just out of view of the camera... Little monkies...

What happens to your cinnamon rolls when I stop paying attention. Matthew ate the center out of all but three of them...

What happens to my husband when I stop paying attention. He fell asleep, and Matthew covered him with a blanket and gave him some stuffed animals. So cute!

What happens in the bathroom when I stop paying attention... Matthew turns his bath into a shower (pulled up the little plug thingy) and scared himself half to death. And, so no one thinks I am truly awful I was actually sitting right there, but I didn't see him reach for it until it was too late.

In the previous post I showed what happens to the Christmas tree when you stop paying attention. Well, an hour after Matthew knocked over the tree Lacey knocked over her dresser... seems using the dresser as a ladder to reach the top drawers is a bad idea... She was fine. A small scratch on her hand and a little shook up, but fine none the less...

And last and by no means least, What happens when your son pays a lot of attention at church. He was singing along with Daddy (though just as I took the picture he closed the book). And yes, I snapped a picture at church... it was cute.

Christmas Time, Once Again

2011-12-07T11:39:00.001-07:00

Every year I put up our fabulous fake tree the day after Thanksgiving. And every year I hate the tree and everything on it by Christmas morning, and therefore every year the day after Christmas the tree comes down. Oddly enough every year I then make Joe promise not to let me put it up so early the next year, and every year he doesn't remember ever promising to do that... and therefore every year, I get all excited and put it up the day after Thanksgiving, again... Do you see a cycle here? :) Maybe someday I will learn. But that wouldn't be this year, cause well, the day after Thanksgiving I had that tree up and decorated! ::sigh::

Why, you might ask, do I hate my tree come Dec. 26th? Well because of these:

Mostly just that last one though, this year... Why exactly do they cause me to hate my tree? Well, because they do this:

And then a couple days ago, the little one did this:

BEFORE (don't mind the lighting)

AFTER

It's times like that when I have to remind myself that it's just "stuff." Sure one of the broken ornaments was Lacey's "First Christmas" ornament, and another one was 25 years old, but still... it's just stuff. And in case you are wondering, Matthew was fine. He pushed it over, so he wasn't in the path of destruction...

On a happier note, when I un-decorated it to fix the branches and pearl garland, I had to redecorate it, and I think it may just look better now than it did the first time. Still- It's a good thing that boy is cute. It may be one of the only things keeping him alive. Oddly enough, though fascinated with the things hanging on the tree he is not at all interested in these:

I hope you all have a FABULOUS Christmas! For that matter, I hope we do too! :) Merry Christmas ya'll!

That no good, quiet, beefy family!

2011-11-21T19:18:00.001-07:00

Lilia has a class assignment where she broke down each member of our family and I just had to share it... spelling as she wrote it. Corrections I deem necessary are in parenthesis.

FAMILY

1 brother - Matthew - cute - funny - energetic - hansome - 1
1 sister - Lacey - no good - funny - crase (crazy) - werd (weird) - cute - 4
1 pet - Migge (Midge) - fast - prize - black - jumpy
1 mom - Pam - care - quite (quiet) - nice - funny - 30
1 dad - Joe - quite - worc - cool - awesome - value - beefy - 33
me - Lilia - nice - fun - funny - cute- quite - 7
togethr - play games - ride bikes - hang owt with family

Okay... so I was giggling when she said her sister is no good. And was wondering if she was talking about the same mom when she said I am quiet, but when she called her dad beefy I about died laughing. Man, I love this kid!

An Odd Place to Find Inspiration...

2011-10-24T16:28:00.002-06:00

So one of my very favorite TV shows is Biggest Loser. Its one of only two reality TV shows I like. The other is The Amazing Race, but that's neither here nor there... Anyway, I love watching BL. It's such an inspiring show, and I love to see the contestants whose lives are TRULY changed because of their time on "The Ranch." Now, I know I just said the show was inspiring, but the inspiration I recieved last night was not of the physical weight loss variety. It was more of a spiritual nature. And, though I love this show, its one flaw is the language... not very spiritually connected...

So I was watching last Tuesday's episode last night, and something was said about losing weight that I got to thinking about. Bob Harper and one of his contestants, Sunny, were given the opportunity to travel to Sunny's home for a week. When she got home, her family was over the moon cheering and laughing at how good she looked. Later, Bob took Sunny to a local gym for a workout, and she became upset because last time she went to her local gym some punk kids were laughing at her size. It embarrassed her so badly that she never returned to the gym. Bob pretty much called her out on that. He said (I am paraphrasing, here), "Do you remember the reaction your family had when they saw you? You need to remember THAT. Not those kids who teased you. Your family deserves you being healthy. Come to the gym for them."

This brought to mind a time a couple years ago when someone in my ward (local church group) had said some pretty terrible things about me and my family to just about anyone who would listen to her. I remember I was getting ready for church when Joe came home from his Sunday morning meeting to ask me what had happened between me and this girl, since he was under the impression we were friends. He had been confronted by the bishop (our local church leader) about something that had been said, and Joe was stuck defending himself and me about something he knew nothing about. In truth, I knew nothing about it either, and her words blind sided me since I had no idea she was saying things about me to others... I was upset, and hurt, and beyond embarrassed. Though I am sure there is a grain of truth to almost everything she said, there was also a whole lot of pure fiction. Once again, this info is not the point so I will skip ahead a bit. I was MORTIFIED by what had been said about me. I remember walking in to my ward building and wondering how many women in there had heard these stories, and thought ill of me. How many of them saw me taking the sacrament each week and thought I shouldn't have been. How many of them hated me without even knowing the real me... I was near tears for MONTHS at the thought of going to church activities and spending time with other ward members... I was so embarrassed, and for the first time in my life I could understand how someone could be too embarrassed to go to church. How someone could hurt you so badly that rather than defend yourself, you would prefer to hide.

Eventually, I got over it. It helped when the accuser moved out of the neighborhood, and therefore out of the ward. I still have no idea who has heard the rumors of me and my family, and I also have no idea how many of them believe it. What I do know is that there are still plenty in the ward... I still struggle from time to time with this, and though I have been doing my best to rise above it, I don't always succeed.

I have forgiven this girl for how I was treated, and I have worked very hard to not put myself in such a vulnerable position again. I am working toward being over this whole ordeal, and though I am no longer struggling with the embarrassment, what Bob said to Sunny struck a cord (chord?). My family deserves to be with me in church. I deserve to be at church. I can't reach my full potential without His help, and I can't get all the help I am worthy of without church attendance. I shouldn't put my church attendance on the shoulders of those who would scoff at me. I should go because my family knows the true me, and they are the ones that matter. God knows the truth. Christ knows the truth. My husband knows the truth. I shouldn't avoid church because some people who are not eternally significant might judge me for something I may or may not have said or done. I am so glad I chose to keep going, because after I heard Bob last night, I think the guilt may have gotten the better of me if I had chosen to let strangers and would be enemies keep me from my eternal purpose.

Just something to think about...

Annoyances...

2011-10-12T14:36:00.003-06:00

I was doing my grocery shopping last week (as in October 3rd) and look at what I saw on the shelves at Walmart...

NOT COOL. Its barely October!

This last weekend I made Cinnamon Rolls. I made two trays. One for us, and one I WAS gonna give to neighbors. But then Matthew (in all his cute glory) found the tray of rolls... and this is what he did:

Kinda hard to see in the first shot, but almost ALL of the rolls have the centers picked out of them. And three of them have more than half of the roll missing from the inside out... Darn cute kid. Looks like we have A LOT of rolls to eat ourselves.

Lacey!

2011-10-12T12:10:00.002-06:00

Lacey is at such a fantastic stage of life right now. Just about everything she does is funny... Or cute. Or both.

Some Lace-ism's for ya:

LACEY: Mom, where are we going?

ME: To run errands

LACEY: Oh...okay.

(at the first stop, a neighbor's house to drop some stuff off the neighbor opened the door...)

LACEY: Are you Erin?

ME: Huh?

LACEY: Mom, you said we were running to Erins!

Lacey comes to me in the kitchen

LACEY: Mom, can I have the last of the juice?

ME: No. The juice in your cup is your last. There isn't much left for everyone else.

LACEY: Okay...

Lacey returns to the backyard and yells to Lilia,

LACEY: Lilia... Mom says the last of the juice is for ME!

My sleepy girl...

Lacey loves Tangled. The other day she was eating a peach when she took two of the slices and did a little "Tangled" reenactment with them (with her own little twist). One peach said to the other, "I want to leave the tower" in a high pitched voice. Then the other peach said, " The outside world is a dangerous place. You can never leave this tower!"

Then, the first peach said, "I will go anyway!" and proceeded to leave the tower. After a minute of "walking" across the table Lacey said in a deep rough voice, "Gotcha!" and took a bite of the Rapunzel peach.

The other peach said, "Mother knows best!"

I was online shopping when a sidebar popped up with women in skimpy dresses (I wasn't buying dresses- just shoes) Lacey saw all the models wearing the dresses and exclaimed, "Oh! Look at all the Barbies! I want one of those Barbies... I want the Rainbow Barbie!" (pointing at one of the girls dressed in a multi-colored SHORT dress) Seems barbies are associated with scantily clad skinny models...

Lacey's recent hair cut... Back view before:

and after:

Front before:

and after: (the pictures aren't the best, but we added layers to give her curls and hair more body)

There is a picture of a globe in blue and white that takes you to the "Browser Properties" page online. It takes you off of your current webpage (read: game). Lacey was running her mouse along all the different programs on her desktop, naming them off one by one, and when she crossed this one she cryptically whispered, "The Evil Egg of DOOM."

I was getting ready to make jam with my niece and told her, "Okay- I will put Matthew down for his nap, crank up the AC, and we will be off!"

Lacey looked at me with a horrified face and said, "Crank up ME?! No!"

The same noodle place that our family loves, this is how Lacey eats her noodles...

Lacey: Mom, you need to fire the candle before we eat the cupcakes! (Light them)

Me: (looking at the cupcake) You're FIRED! Eat up Lacey.

(Okay so that last one was more a funny on my part- at least my neighbor and I were laughing at it...)

Matthew!

2011-10-12T11:42:00.000-06:00

I just have to share with you the cuteness that is my youngest as well as some of his funnies from the last few months...

When I sing Old McDonald with Matthew and it get's to the point where you choose a farm animal, he always says "Dog Dog!" and then woof's the rest of the song.

Now, I am not a highly politically interested person. I try to keep up with what is going on, but I don't usually voice my opinions about politics and I am not a fan of debating politics either... but I do have to share this one cause he made me laugh... Somewhere in the middle of babbling the other day Matthew said quite clearly "Obama" (or maybe oh, ba, ma)

Me: Obama? What about him?

Matthew: Uh oh

Matthew used to have a thing for Dora the Explorer...

If you ask him, "who do we ask for help when we don't know which way to go?" he will respond with "ma-!" (map!) If you tell him, Say it louder!" he yells "MA-!!"

On the show there comes a part where Dora and boots start singing, "Where are we going? (clap, clap, clap) ______________!" An they fill in the blank with their final destination for that episode (each episode is different). IF I ask Matthew, "Where are we going?" He claps three times and expects me to fill in the blank.

He used to wander the house singing, "ba- pa-, ba- pa-... ba-pa-, ba-pa-..." (backpack, backpack... backpack, backpack...")

Everytime he sees Swiper on the screen he yells "BAH!" not sure why really, but that is how he says Swiper. To go along with that, when its time in the show to say, "Swiper NO swiping!" he yells, "No Bah-bee! No Bah-bee!" and puts his hand out in a stopping like fashion (just like they do on TV). My favorite part though? If his sister's try taking something from him he yells, "No Bah-bee!" and puts his hand out to stop them.

And his other favorite TV show, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...

When he wakes up in the morning I pull him out of the crib and the first thing out of his mouth is, "Mick mouse?" or "Mimi Mouse?"

He also wanders the house sometimes saying, "Oh too-doo!" (Oh toodles!)

If he wants to watch the show he will ball his hands up into fists, do a little happy dance and say, "Dig-ee dah?" (Hot Digity Dog)

A video of his doing the hot dog dance... Don't mind me shushing Lilia :)

His reaction to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on TV:

He loves Bananas

He was mad at me and hit his head on the ground hard enough to leave a scraped up forehead and bruise.

Matthew loves his cereal in the morning. He also loves drinking the milk after he finishes.

And the stuff that spills on the table needs drinking too...

What a ham! He saw me taking pictures and had to smile for the camera.

My mother has some Polly Pocket stuff at her house for the kids to play with. One item Matthew loves is the yellow Polly Pocket chair in his right hand.

He is trying to sit on it. He puts it in place...

Backs himself into position...

And sits down! (See the legs of the chair just under his back side?) Man I love this boy!

Fascinated with the neighbor's daughter. He crawled across the table to see her a bit better.

He was eating fries and fry sauce when I went to snap this picture... just as I took it he flipped the sauce upside down for the perfect shot of him making a mess...

One of our family's favorite restaurants. Matthew sure loves the noodles!

When Matthew wants a kiss he puckers up like this:

Blowing kisses to his sister at the store...

Lilia!

2011-10-12T10:32:00.000-06:00

Lilia is getting to be so big.. I just have to share with you the adventures of this cute oldest child of mine...

Some fun Lil-isms:

Mom, I was born in your belly so that means you're my mom.

(Lilia hiked the arches in Moab with Joe)

The girls were fighting and I was trying to get them to stop...

Me: Someday you two will be best friends, you should start acting like it now. You know Lil, Lacey was born so you would have a friend forever.

Lil: No Lacey was born to annoy me.

(Lilia climbing the rope at gymnastics)

My niece Stephanie (13) was drinking a Coke and offered me a drink.

Me: No thanks, Steph.

Lilia (whispering): Yeah mom, that's good that you didn't drink it!

Me: Oh? Why is that? (Hoping for something about caffine being bad for you)

Lilia (dramatically whispering): Because Coke has you know... {ALCOHOL} in it!

And our latest adventure:

9 months ago I took Lilia to the dentist and after the appointment he announced that her two bottom teeth were loose. He also discussed with me the need to pull one of her top teeth. Fast forward 6 months to her next dental check up. Her bottom two teeth are still in her head and considerably looser, and that top tooth is finally scheduled to be extracted. Her top tooth was dead from an accident when she was a baby and had stopped growing and was not moving down with the other teeth. her adult tooth was moving around it so we had to remove it to make room for the eventual adult tooth...

So... fast forward 3 more months to last Friday. Lilia has been scared to pull her loose teeth because she is afraid it will hurt. We went to my mothers for dinner and Lilia was complaining about eating something because it was too hard to eat with her VERY VERY loose bottom teeth. When I looked in her mouth this is what I saw...

BOTH of her bottom adult teeth have popped up BEHIND her adult teeth. :S The tooth on the right was so loose it was barely still in her mouth! So Joe got mean. :) He told her Saturday morning that if she doesn't pull it, he will. So she went in to the bathroom, and came out a minute later with the tooth in her hand. She admitted it didn't hurt too bad and has decided that loosing teeth isn't too terribly traumatic. Hopefully that other baby tooth will come out soon! In the meantime, the tooth fairy is now in business at our house! (Gotta love that face... I told her to show me her missing teeth...)

Now if only I could convince THIS child that the tooth fairy will not be coming to our house to PULL all her teeth..

At any mention of the tooth fairy, Lacey runs away with her hands over her mouth. :) Poor girl! Her post is coming soon!

Personal Revelation

2011-10-03T09:42:00.000-06:00

General Conference time just ended for those of us in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Every 6 months our prophet and other general authoritieswithin the church speak to us from the conference center, and give usvaluable advice and direction. My husband and I were discussing lastnight whether we felt there was a theme to this year's talks. Usually you will hear an overriding theme mentioned in many talks,but this time round neither my husband nor I heard one. I have beenlooking at other blogs to see if anyone else caught a theme or heardsomething repeatedly, and found many different topics mentioned. It's funny to me how different people hear different things. Whatstood out to me as mentioned at least twice through the sessions wasthe concept of things being worked on "Line upon line, preceptupon precept." Not sure who it was that said that the HolyGhost speaks all truth but doesn't give all the truth all at once(Paraphrasing here). I know one of my biggest weaknesses is goingall gung ho about something and overwhelming myself with it. I havebeen working on the line upon line bit for a while now. Instead ofmaking my family perfect up front, I am working toward perfectionslowly.

A while back our childrenwere very young (and less in number) and we didn't really DO Family Home Evening or family scripture study or family prayer. Slowly Ihave worked us up to it. We started with family prayer. For about 6months I focused on us praying as a family each day/night. Once thatbecame habit, we added in family scripture study. After another 4 - 6 months that too, became ahabit, and we have added in personal prayer for the kids (we now helpthe girls remember each night before bed to pray on their own, andhelp Lacey with her prayers). Now that we have added that as part ofour daily routines, I am feeling like its time to really focus onFHE. This one is hard for me as it has never been a regular habit with Joe and I before the kids,but I know I can do it.

I also know that a lot ofthese habits are about flexibility, and doing what works best for youand your family. For example: I am well aware of the fact that manyfamily's chose to do their family prayer and scripture study in themorning. And The Church sets aside Monday night as Family Night. But neither of these options work well for us, so we have adjustedsome... My husband gets up at 5:30 most mornings, and is gone towork by 6:30. Instead of having my children wake up that early, wehave decided to do our family prayer and scripture study at night. After dinner, but before bed. For now, with kids too young to be atwork or on a date after dinner, this works for us. So that's how werun it. Also, with Lilia's gymnastics, it really makes FHE onMonday's near impossible. She doesn't get home from gymnastics (andtherefore we don't start to eat or usually even MAKE dinner) until6:45pm. With bedtime at 8pm and family scriptures and prayer, alongwith the usual bedtime routine, that leaves about 15 minutes to getin FHE. Sooooo we are moving FHE to a different night. Most likelyTuesday night.

There were two talks back toback Saturday afternoon that stood out to me. Elder Andersen spokeabout parenting, and Elder Ardern spoke on time management andtechnology. I am kind of combining the two to bring up this lastpoint for me. Elder Andersen mentioned a Christian woman's blog onmotherhood. The author of the blog said (and was quoted by ElderAndersen):

“Motherhoodis not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children becauseyou find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you cansqueeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.“

I looked up this blog andwent on to read (as not quoted by brother Andersen):

“Thequestion here is not whether you are representing the gospel, it ishow you are representing it. Have you given your life to yourchildren resentfully? Do you tally every thing you do for them like aloan shark tallies debts? Or do you give them life the way God gaveit to us—freely?

Itisn’t enough to pretend. You might fool a few people. That personin line at the store might believe you when you plaster on a fakesmile, but your children won’t. They know exactly where they standwith you. They know the things that you rate above them. They knoweverything you resent and hold against them. They know that you fakeda cheerful answer to that lady, only to whisper threats or bark atthem in the car.

Childrenknow the difference between a mother who is saving face to a strangerand a mother who defends their life and their worth with her smile,her love, and her absolute loyalty.”

Wow. Talk about a bold statement! Do my children know where theystand with me? I bet they do... Now, do they know they rank abovethe computer, above my cell phone, above my own personal needs? Isure hope so... But just to be safe, I think now is a good time forme to back off of many things I spend too much time on. Mostimportantly, Facebook. Though I am not going to delete my account, Iam going to tune it WAY down. Though I love Scrabble, (or as calledonline, Words with Friends) I don't think I should spend so much timeplaying games. For all those friends I am currently playing,congratulations! You win! I am resigning from the games and blockingthe game (to avoid being tempted back into it).

I have so many better things I could be doing with my kids. Just afew days ago I spent 30 minutes chasing my son around the house andtackling him to the ground and smothering him with kisses andtickles. He couldn't stop laughing and kept running away, thenstopping, and turning around to see if I was following him. Thatpure laughter from him was so good for my weary soul. During one ofthe conference sessions, I cuddled up with Lacey. I spent the wholetwo hours listening to prophetic council and brushing her hair, andhugging her tight. She whispered she loved me, and I whispered itright back. She makes my heart light. I sometimes am given theopportunity to watch snipits of Lilia in gymnastics. She is soamazing, and she is so GOOD, and she is so talented. And I fill withpride (the good kind) when I see her working hard and achieving hergoals. I find myself wanting to tell everyone in earshot, “That'smy daughter. The one who just did that perfect ___(fill in thegymnastics move here)_.” She brings a big smile to my face. In the car, I frequently look in the rear view mirror and catch Lil'seye. She smiles, then holds up her hand in the classic sign for “I love you.” I hold my hand up for her. Except I havetweaked it to show our own sign of “I love you too.” (The ringfinger is the only finger left down- “I” is the pinky, “Love”is the first finger and thumb, “You” is the pinky and thumb, and“too” (two) is the first and second finger”). Man my kids areamazing. And I want them to know that I know it. Here's tohoping...

Dance Class!

2011-09-21T09:26:00.000-06:00

It is finally time... Lacey got to join her sister in extracurricular activities this year. Lilia did dance classes for two years before recently moving to gymnastics. It was a good move for her, and I kind of hoped Lacey would choose gymnastics, but when given the choice she insisted on dance classes. I love that my girls have different personalities and different interests! Her class is a ballet/tap/tumbling combination class. They work on all three for 15 minutes each.

Lacey is a cute little ballerina. This is her posing all ready to leave for her first class.

Here she is sitting with the rest of the class in their tap shoes. What a cutie!

Afterward, they remove the tap shoes and do some tumbling barefoot.

Finally they do ballet.

She is beyond thrilled to be in dance classes, and I am thrilled to let her take part in something she loves to do. I hope she never stops loving to move and dance!

Old Dog - New Trick

2011-09-21T08:56:00.000-06:00

It's not true, you know... old dogs can learn new tricks! I did... see?

My first ever attempt at french braiding. Okay not totally true. I figured it out on a barbie doll first. But not too shabby if I say so myself! And the next day Lil gets the cutest curly hair! :)

First day of school

2011-09-21T08:50:00.000-06:00

I have been a HUGE slacker on blogging this year. It's partly the PTA's fault, though. OR well, my fault for volunteering with the PTA... I am in charge of this year's fundraisers and we have decided to put on a Carnival! Needless to say it's been a huge undertaking planning an event for 1200 students (700 families). But that is neither here nor there. This post is about my kidlets... They had a great first day of school. Lilia is getting so big (it is breaking my heart)! She started 2nd grade this year, and is doing fabulous! She is currently reading at third grade levels, and is just a little ahead of the curve with math. Her new teacher is a no nonsense kind of lady, and I think that is just what Lilia needs this year. I couldn't be more excited for my girl!

She got a new BIGGER bike for her birthday, but we gave it to her a week early so she could ride it to school with her friends.

And she is off! I sure love that girl!

Lacey started her second year of preschool and is doing really well! She seems to finally be catching on to letters and the sounds they make. She is a great little counter and loves seeing her friends twice a week. She is such a cute little ham!

Lilia's Birthday Wishes

2011-08-31T16:37:00.000-06:00

I have really slacked on posting lately. I am trying to do too much these days, but one thing I can't pass up is Lilia's birthday. She is such an amazing kid. I just love her to pieces! It amazes me that she has grown up so much. I look at the pictures of her first days of school and she just keeps getting bigger and more beautiful. She is truly fantastic and I am proud to be her mom.

Kindergarten

1st Grade

2nd Grade (a week ago)

Today she got to take treats to her class as well as a bag of her favorite things that she got to share with them all. Then her classmates wrote her letters for her birthday. I just have to share a few of them for posterity's sake...

Dear Lilia,
Being are (our) friend and cepeing (keeping) me happi. And have a grat (great) brethday.
From Lexi

Dear Lilia,
Yoo ar so nies (nice) I luv you. Vare (very) nis (nice).
From Sequoia

Dear Lilia,
Nise (nice) Fanny.
Starlee

Dear Lilia,
You are coot (cute). I op (hope) you have a good time at yor birthday.
From Donovan

Dear Lilia,
I hope you have a good brithday to day. I wish I can come ovre to your house.
From Madison

There were plenty more like these, but these were the one's that I thought were the best. I especially got a kick out of lilia's nice fanny and her being cute... I think Lilia liked that Donovan thinks she is cute. She really likes him too! :)

And then some more...

2011-06-22T15:14:00.001-06:00

I woke up at 3:30 sick. I asked Joe to stay home to help with the kids. He did. And now he is sick too. Needless to say we are all having a fantastic week. Back to my sick bed. Love ya all!

Family Reunion Part 5 (Tuesday)

2011-06-22T00:30:00.003-06:00

The rest of the drive home was quite uneventful. I missed the exit for lunch, and didn't wanna wait til the next city (an hour away) so I turned around at a weigh station and went back. As we were leaving again, I passed that weigh station and realized that I had NO GAS and was out of exits before the next city... so I used those little dirt roads that sometimes can be seen linking the east bound lanes with the west bound lanes. You know - the ones police cars at while waiting to pull you over? Yeah- totally illegal, but darn it- we were on fumes!

Other than that- no incidents for the rest of the drive.

I was home by 5, and mom was on her way home soon after. Did I mention she was an AMAZING help, great company, and that she is totally awesome and fantastical? Cause she was, and is.

I would love to report that this is the end of my adventure, but it isn't. Here I sit, finishing this disaster of a trip's blogs, and it's 12:30 at night. Why am I still up? Well... since starting this bloggy drama, Lacey has thrown up 10 (yes, TEN) times. At least I am home. And she is in MY bathroom. Making a mess of MY towels and our trusty "yucky bucket". Not in MY car. Or MY cousin's house. With HIS towels and HIS nice newlywed bathroom trash can... Gotta find that silver lining! It could be SO much worse!

Family Reunion Part 4 (Monday)

2011-06-22T00:06:00.005-06:00

Monday morning rolled around, and I was in a good mood. Lil wasn't sick anymore, so I could continue with my plans to visit with some friends at lunch while my niece babysat my kids. I was then gonna go visit Grandma with my sisters and get some good quality time in with her. All this while my mom visited with her friends and sisters.

When I got out of bed (at 9 - it seemed my alarm clock was broken. Or tired.) I noticed that Lil wasn't in her sleeping bag, but was across the room sleeping on just her pillow. No biggie, it was warm Sunday night. Right? Wrong...

When she woke up she said, "Mom, I threw up in my sleeping bag last night and I am going to throw up again." And then she did. I am ashamed to admit I actually started crying. I was so SICK of sickness. I was so tired of being at my cousin's house, constantly worrying about where my kid would throw up next. I was not getting to do any of the things I had stayed two extra days to do. I wanted to go home! I called my friend in tears and she took over canceling lunch for me. I then called my mom. And bawled to her. And she, bless her heart, said, "Lets go home." (Told you she was awesome and fantastical) So that is exactly what we did. I didn't get to visit with Grandma. I didn't see my friends. And for that I am truly sad. But - well, my kid is sick. You do what you have to do.

Mom drove over with a bunch of sick food provided by my aunt and my sister (life savers, they were!). We were loaded up and in the car by 11, and on our way back home. We originally hoped to make the trip in one shot. So very optimistic, huh? We made a stop at the nearest Walmart for some snack foods for us non sickies, and then got on the road. A half an hour later we stopped on the side of the road cause Lacey said she felt sick. False alarm. Drive on. 10 minutes later we stopped for gas. And to get Dramamine (in case it works for flu bugs too). They didn't have any, so we drove on. We made a stop for a potty break for Lil about 15 minutes later, and that's when Lacey threw up. She didn't cry, and she seemed fine afterward, so we were hoping it was just car sickness. We gave her and Lil a half pill each of Dramamine (this gas station had it), and were back on the road. We were already nearly 2 hours out and have made it less than 100 miles from our starting point. ::Sigh:: Not good. We had a few more stops for little things, mostly potty breaks. We weren't making good time at all, and it was seeming less and less likely that we would make this trip in one day with such a late start. To add to it, around 5 pm Matthew started to cry. I turned around just in time to see him loose his lunch, dinner, and every snack from the last two days ALL OVER himself and the carseat. We pulled over, and I cleaned him up with diaper wipes and a plastic bag. Ewww. I then called Joe and asked him to look up hotel and motel numbers for the half way point (about half an hour away) for us. He gave me a nice long list and I started calling around. I finally found a Motel 6 that had a vacancy, and booked us a room. WORST. MOTEL. ROOM. EVER. Not gonna get into the details, but lets just say my mom and I complained and earned a free night's stay sometime in the next year. I know this was not the norm for their motels, so I am fine with using them again. In a different city. Anyway- I digress...

Before we could get checked into the hotel Matthew had thrown up two more times. We managed to contain most of those two... Once in our room, I called in for extra towels and found that they had a laundromat on site. YAY. I took the car seat cover off (for the second time this trip) and all his clothes and our 5 (beach) towels and ran a load of laundry. We also set up the playpen, lined it with 5 towels and corralled Matthew. Each time he threw up we just removed a layer of towel. He used all 5 before the load of laundry was done. When I came back from the laundromat the final time, with all our dry and clean stuff, Matthew was sound asleep wrapped in a blanket on top of yet another towel. Poor little man. He was quite literally green. Eventually we all settled in to sleep. And woke up the next morning ready to finish the drive home. Lacey never did throw up again, so her initial bout was deemed motion sickness.

During the down time in between bouts of everything, I had some awesome conversation with my mom, and watched some pretty cute kids movies with my girls... All in all, though quite the icky day, I did find some enjoyment.

Family Reunion Part 3 (Sunday)

2011-06-21T23:31:00.003-06:00

By Sunday morning (as Joe was headed out the door for the drive back home) it was decided that Lil MAY have heat stroke, but since Grandma has pretty precarious health, I'd better keep Lil away from everyone else. So my (AWESOME AND FANTASTICAL) mom came and got Lacey for the day, and I stayed at my cousin's house with Matthew and a very weak and VERY tired Lilia. It was a bit of a disappointment since I was losing the opportunity to go to church with the family, as well as to spend more time with Grandma. BUT you make the most of it, and I for sure didn't blame poor Lil for landing us in this spot. Sunday was pretty boring. Lots of cartoon watching, book reading, and Matthew chasing. But there was one not so boring incident...

I had just finished changing an especially bad diaper and instead of throwing it in the trash, I chose to take it out to the garbage can. (Aren't I considerate?) Lil was asleep on the couch, and Matthew was watching a show. I was still in my pajamas and totally shoeless. But it was like, 15 steps from the front door. No biggie right? HA! As I went out the door I was careful to close the metal screen door behind me so Matthew wouldn't escape. Instead of trying to escape, as I lifted the lid of the garbage can I heard Matthew close the main door (wood) behind me. The little stinker. I went to go back inside and found that the screen (metal- not mesh) was LOCKED. And I didn't have a key! It seems the screen door is the type that only locks on the outside. The inside knob still turns when it is locked. I had no idea until I got back to the door that it was locked! Okay... no problem. I will ring the doorbell. What? No doorbell? CRAP. Okay... lets go check windows. (I know, you all think I should check the back door, right? Well I KNEW it was locked since the night before I had noticed it wasn't and I had LOCKED IT! But I did check it again, just to be sure). WELL- it turns out that my cousin's house was a bit on the older side. And ALL the windows were the kind that automatically click shut when the window is closed. You have to push the lever to unlock it as you slide it open... sorry- off the topic there a bit. Back to the point.

To recap:

Both doors locked.

All windows locked.

Both kids INSIDE. One sleeping and sick. And one (troublemaker) very much awake.

Pajamas. Barefoot. No Keys. No Phone.

Family is all in church. No one to call. And only one phone number memorized...

I spent about 5 minutes banging on windows and the back door trying to wake Lilia up. She didn't budge. Through the back door's window, I could see her passed out on the couch, and I could also see Matthew playing with my cousin's laptop, watching TV, dancing with something on TV, and of course, yelling back at me like this is SUCH a fun game. After a while I realized it was useless to try to "raise the dead" and so I hopped back over the fence (it was locked too) barefoot. I then hot footed it (literally) across the street to the only neighbor who was home (I tried three other houses first) and BEGGED them to let me use the phone. Explaining quickly who I was and why I was standing in their yard disheveled and crazed... I called my mom's cell (knowing full well that she was still at church), and PRAYED she had not turned off the ringer. Well- I guess two miracles in one day was one too many, cause her phone was OFF. I left a message to call me ASAP. And then went back to check on the kids. As best I could. Turns out, the show on Netflix had ended and Matthew was getting upset. I was no longer playing the "Yelling game" and he wanted me. The neighbors had followed me across the street and over the fence, and we all took turns looking through the back window at the keys sitting on the coffee table, and the 16 month old crying hysterically. Finally it was decided that we NEEDED to do something - NOW. My cousin has a back porch that is totally screened in, and it was the only entrance to the house that was NOT glass or wood. I knew the door from the house to the porch was unlocked since I had stashed some not so kid friendly items on that porch just a few hours previous. With my permission, the neighbor tore away the plastic covering the screens, and then punched his arm right through the screen. He tore a hole big enough for me to fit through, and I scrambled inside to calm my poor son. I then let them in through the house since I didn't want them to have to hop the fence again. I proved to them I was not some crazy chick, but a legitimate "momma in distress" and then thanked them for vandalizing my cousin's house and bid them a good day. And sat down a cried.

I felt SO GUILTY for the damage. And bless their hearts, my cousin and his wife took it in stride (and maybe a chuckle or two). They completely understood, and shrugged off the damage. But mark my words... I WILL be paying to have that hole fixed.

Lil had a couple really terrible nightmares on Sunday, but otherwise she had finally stopped throwing up around 11 am so we felt sure she was on the mend.

Family Reunion Part 2 (Saturday)

2011-06-21T23:24:00.002-06:00

Saturday we went bowling where I finally got to see my grandparents. Grandma looked good, and she said something to me that I will treasure til the day I die. I got to chat with her for a minute (literally) and then had to go tend to the bedlamites (more specifically Matthew). After Bowling we went back to my Uncle's house for lunch and some swimming. After letting Lilia play in the pool for an excessive amount of time we called her inside to cool off and get out of the sun.

Well... about 30 minutes after getting out of the pool, Lil said, "I think I am gonna throw up!" and made a dash for the bathroom. I was hot on her heels, and when we found the downstairs bathroom was occupied I picked her up and ran for the upstairs bathroom. She sat on the floor in the bathroom for a minute and eventually she tossed all her cookies. After which she laid her feverish head on the ground and fell asleep. Poor thing. It was almost time to leave for the next leg of the reunion (a required family meeting where my grandpa gives us all some much needed advice and speaks about the importance of having a close family). Joe and I decided that Lil most likely had heat stroke, and so Joe took her (and Matthew) back to my cousin's house to sleep it off while I went on to the Family meeting and BBQ at my grandparent's house (with Lacey).

The BBQ went well and I spent another minute or two talking with Grandma. I visited with more family and had quite an enjoyable evening. Saturday night was all sorts of fun, since Lilia couldn't keep anything down. To add to it, by about 11 pm I started feeling all sorts of wonky and my stomach was not very happy. I told Joe about it, then went to lay down. I know at some point Joe came in to ask me a question, and though I was wide awake, I was very disoriented and confused. I was SO getting sick! And Joe was supposed to leave to go home TOMORROW MORNING. So I was gonna be by myself with three kids. AND I WAS SICK!

I have never prayed harder in my life for a miracle. And I am so glad to say I was granted that miracle. I woke up feeling totally normal at 6:30 (Alarm clock Matthew doesn't have a snooze button) to send Joe back home.

Family Reunion Part 1 (Through Friday)

2011-06-21T22:26:00.004-06:00

Every year my mother's family gets together for our annual family reunion. We have been doing this EVERY YEAR since 1979. That's 33 years of reunions... And this year we very nearly canceled. I take that back. We did cancel. Then we changed our mind, and the location.

I was so excited to have been part of the planning this year, and my mother and I spent months last year planning, searching, and nailing down the details for the campground, activities, etc. Reunion was only going to be 3 hours away from my house, and that alone had me thrilled! I usually have to travel more like 12 hours to get to reunion. Everything was going well until 2 1/2 weeks before reunion when my grandparent's (the patriarch and matriarch of the family) came into town to talk to my mother and her sister. The next morning, my mother called me and tearfully explained that her mom had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Family Reunion was called off. Grandma can't travel and is not allowed to be that far from her doctors (12 1/2 hours).

I was pretty shocked. And I had a bad couple days. I will admit, I am pretty close to my Grandma. She was my employer for 3 years, and I learned a lot from her. She was an integral part of my life during the bleak 4 plus months when my father was in the hospital and after he had died. She is strong and silent and amazing. And I am sad. But that's for a different post. So... two weeks later (a mere 4 days before reunion was supposed to occur) we got a call from my aunt (mom's other sister) saying reunion is back on. But we are moving it to Grandma's and Grandpa's hometown (also my hometown).

Um... Okay... ACK!

Joe had originally taken time off work for reunion. When it was canceled he rescinded the request. And now he had to ask for it off again! Which, thankfully, he got off. Mom was not so lucky. She had to work one of her original days off. BUT- she made up for it by taking an extra couple days AFTER reunion off as well. To make a REALLY long and frustrating few days short it worked out like this:

Joe and I (and kids) would drive down Thursday.

Mom would fly in Friday.

Joe would drive back with my brother on Sunday (gotta work).

I would drive back with my mom (and our kids) on Tuesday. (I wanted a few extra days to visit family and friends)

So we drove for 12 1/2 hours on Thursday. And got into town with very little incidents. Okay, okay, Matthew took a bath in yogurt (not my idea- Lacey loves to share), and Lacey kinda didn't make it to the potty in time (so she had to sit in a wet seat for a couple hours), but there could have been worse things...

{Que doomed suspense-like music now} Dun Dun DUNNNNN....

We were staying at my cousin's house during the reunion, and so we unloaded our two youngest into the bathtub and commandeered their washing machine and dryer to clean their car seat covers first thing.

Friday went well. We woke up at 6:30 (darn Alarm clock- his name is Matthew). We ate some breakfast took our time getting ready, and headed into town for a fantastic lunch at a local eatery we HAVE to go to when we get into town. We then, had a blast hanging out at my aunt's house for a few hours, and eventually met up with EVERYONE at a local (mini golf/laser tag/arcade/bumper cars and other such activities) FUN center. It was mostly okay most of the time. Matthew gave us some grief, but that's what one year old's do, so it was not too big a deal. We got to visit with most of my out of town aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was nice. But Grandma was tired, so we didn't see her that first day.

I know I do!

2011-05-26T08:51:00.003-06:00

I don't do this every week, but this week's questions are fantastic! So I am joining in the linky party with Impulsive Addict, Janette, Mamarazzi, and Seriously Shawn for their "We Wanna Know Wednesday." (Yes I know, it's Thursday)

This week's questions:

{1} What must you do before you go to bed at night?
{2} What is one thing you must snack on at the theater?
{3} Before going on vacation what must you do?
{4} What is one thing you must do every day?
{5} Is there something you do that must be done in a particular order?

My answers:

{1} What must you do before you go to bed at night?

I make sure there is a clear shot from each bed in my house, to the front door. It was pointed out to me a while ago, and I think it stems back from my childhood, but I HAVE to have a clear shot to go from my bed, to the crib, then to the front door. And of course I check my kids bedrooms too. If there is a mess in their room I will push everything to one side to make sure the path is clear.

{2} What is one thing you must snack on at the theater?

I don't really have a must have snack for the theater. Usually a piece of mint gum does the trick for me. I can't bring myself to spend half a month's salary on the stuff they sell, and I don't like the idea of sneaking food in...

{3} Before going on vacation what must you do?

Oh how Joe teases me about this one! I must make a packing list. And I mean DETAILED. I will pair up outfits for my kids and roll them up together so that we aren't left on the last day with a red shirt and green shorts, and I will also pack the bags in such a way that you can just remove a layer for the day (so I don't pack all the underwear in one area, there is a pair of underwear and socks packaged in with the rest of the outfit). I also mentally go through the trip and try to picture all the different stuff we will need (like for camping I ALWAYS forget to bring a hammer to get the tent staked down...). I also insist on packing the car myself. Which is funny, since Joe used to pack UPS trucks for a living and is REALLY good and making things fit.

{4} What is one thing you must do every day?

Besides the expected "brush your teeth and eat" stuff, I think the one thing I MUST do everyday is probably check my social media outlets... Though not necessarily for the reasons one might expect. At least not lately. I just opened up an Etsy shop, and am excited to see my jewelry selling, so I check my Facebook page, my Etsy shop, my business email (okay, my personal email too), and my website for traffic and sales. It thrills me to no end to see other people who like my creations! (That, and spending my day with children makes me a little nuts and I crave adult interaction- which is quite often found online...)

{5} Is there something you do that must be done in a particular order?

Wow - this one proved to be really hard! I wanna say yes- there are tons of things I do that have to be done a specific way in a specific order, but nothing comes to mind off the top of my head... so I will stick with the order of my shower habits... To be vague cause no one needs all the details, I always wash hair first, then wash body, shave anything needing shaving, possibly attack rough body parts with sugar scrubs or pumice stones (or both), and then I do one final rinse before drying off (top to bottom) while in the shower (don't wanna get the floor wet), and finally exiting the shower (left leg first).

And there ya have it! The inside details of me! Come join the fun! (And in case you didn't get the memo, go check out my websites!!!)

Shenanigans and other such fun stuff

2011-05-10T14:56:00.006-06:00

Oh, how I love my kids! They really are fun. I figure it's been a while- I really ought to catch you up on some of the good (and not-so-good) times we have had recently...

I got a bit of a crafty bug a few weeks back, and decided to make the girls some cute summer flip flops. I got 4 handkerchiefs in 4 different shades of pink and purple, then I bought them cheap little flip flops... combined them and got THESE:

and of course, a picture of my willing guinea pig trying them on...

Matthew got bored at breakfast the other day. When I went to check on him, I found this:

A very common and equally frustrating practice these days is when Lacey decides to make herself something to drink. Usually it's chocolate milk. And of course, she doesn't put ANYTHING back when she is done making said drink. The main reason it's frustrating?

Yup... Matthew LOVES eating the Ovaltine powder.

The kids LOVE playing with my latest acquisition.

This kid has no concept of "OFF LIMITS"... he even opened it up to push the buttons. Little stinker!

The other day I was talking with a friend in the front room when I look down the hall to find my son showing off his latest talent. He sure loves to draw!

and this is what happens when you have to clean up the (thank goodness) washable marker...

Lately my daughters have found a new love for the movie, "Pete's Dragon." Which is fine with me! I love the music- and the story... talk about good childhood memories! Until I gave my kids a bath a found THIS on Lacey!

look familiar?

For Christmas this last year my Sister In Law gave us a gift card to the local zoo good for an annual pass... we have already used it once, and am looking forward to many trips this Spring and Summer. A few of the better pictures from this trip:

Look at that! We are ALL smiling!

We spent some time in an art exhibit. The girls got bored... so they sat down to rest...

Matthew got loose for a few minutes. Lilia managed to catch him.

Hopefully things are well with you, too!

Strawberries!

2011-05-10T14:39:00.004-06:00

So one of the best things a bout my local Walmart is their inability to properly stock certain fruits. More specifically, raspberries and strawberries. A few times a year they find themselves inundated with excess berries, so to get rid of them they sell them SUPER cheap. As in .99 cheap. so instead of paying upwards of 2.00 per clamshell of raspberries or strawberries, you can get them for a dollar! And of course, I do. And then I make them into some of the yummy canned goods I love so much.

Sure enough- this last week Walmart had bunches of strawberries to off load, and boy did I help them out! Over the course of three days I bought 15 clamshells of berries and proceeded to cook them up in all sorts of fun ways!

I also, helped a friend of mine with her 9 (or was it 12?) clamshells as well... She chose to turn hers into strawberry jam to be sold at a bake sale for her daughter's soccer team (all you local yocal's out there, I think she still has some for sale... you know- in case you wanna help out a bit).

I then went on to make some strawberry/blueberry jam, and a couple batches of freezer jam, two batches of strawberry ice cream base (to be turned into ice cream at a later date), and 3 batches of strawberry lemonade concentrate... YUM!

A picture of just some of the goods I made... :D

When I had finished all this, I then went on to buy my mother 5 clamshells of strawberries and proceeded to freeze them for her to use in smoothies, and other such goodies.

I still had enough strawberries left over to make some strawberry shortcake for dessert one night. One of my family's favorite desserts...

Oh how I love Spring! Bring on the berries!

Cause I know you do...

2011-04-27T09:01:00.003-06:00

Seeing as how I don't post on here as often as I would like, I thought I would try something different. I found this totally awesome Linky Party and decided to join up! Every WEdnesday they do a "We Want To Know" Party. It's hosted by:

Impulsive Addict, Janette, Mamarazzi and Seriously Shawn

The questions this week:

{1} What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Are you an eyes or a smile person? Maybe another body part?
{2} If a movie was being made about you who would you like to see cast to play you? And would your movie be a comedy, drama, romantic-comedy, action film or a horror movie?
{3} Does your high school yearbook include a senior comment section? If so share what you said about your future goals. Have you met those goals? If you do not have a yearbook just share what your goals where when you were 18 and if you have met them. If you’re brave enough include your Senior Picture!
{4} What latest trend simply baffles you?
{5} When you walk into a room how do you present yourself? Do you walk in with confidence and command the attention of others or do you slink in and do your best to go unnoticed?

On to the answers!

{1} What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Are you an eyes or a smile person? Maybe another body part?

The first thing I noticed about Joe was how very animated he was. It was like he walked right out of a Jim Carrey Movie! The second thing I noticed was his sense of style (turns out it was his younger brother's sense of style... long story), the third was that he had a nice caboose... :)

{2} If a movie was being made about you who would you like to see cast to play you? And would your movie be a comedy, drama, romantic-comedy, action film or a horror movie?

I would love to see Jennifer Aniston play me... but lets be honest. That isn't likely to happen. I have been told I look like Jodie Foster or (ugh this is hard to admit) Kimmy Gibbler (From Full House). And my movie would definitely be a dramady. Some funny some drama...

{3} Does your high school yearbook include a senior comment section? If so share what you said about your future goals. Have you met those goals? If you do not have a yearbook just share what your goals where when you were 18 and if you have met them. If you’re brave enough include your Senior Picture!

My yearbook didn't have the future goals section- but the goals I had set for myself were pretty much: 1. Get Married. 2. Have Kids. 3. Travel. 4. Learn to make money doing something I love. I have met the first two, I have done a little of the third (though not nearly enough) and I am still working on the 4th... As for my senior picture... I don't have it on this machine, but I have a picture of me at one of the Dances my senior year... so here ya go!

{4} What latest trend simply baffles you?

Leggings on adults. I just don't get it... Skinny jeans are okay in a jean color (read: blue) but colored skinny jeans look too much like leggings to me.

{5} When you walk into a room how do you present yourself? Do you walk in with confidence and command the attention of others or do you slink in and do your best to go unnoticed?

I am kinda in between these two examples. I walk in with confidence, but I don't command the attention of others. I am fairly confident in myself, but I don't feel the need to showcase myself.

See? That was kinda fun! Now maybe I can get to posting about what's up and what's not...

Let's hear it for the girls!

2011-04-07T08:28:00.002-06:00

This was a fun week for both of my beautiful girls. On Friday of last week Lilia came home with the long awaited "Big Green Tractor!" (For those of you not in the know, this is a big construction paper tractor for them to decorate with pictures and info about themselves to then take back to class. Basically it means just this- Lilia is student of the week!) Then on Monday Lacey came peeling out of preschool yelling, "Momma! I got to be the helper today and I get to take home the show and tell bag!"

Lacey thought about it all day Tuesday and decided what to take for show and tell. So we put the object in the show and tell bag and then had to write three hints about what was in the bag so the rest of her class could guess what it was. The hints: 1. I am white. 2. I am fuzzy. 3. If I could talk I would say, "quack, quack!" Funny enough- this specific toy was an Arctic Circle kids meal toy. She just LOVES her fluffy duck. :)

As for Lil, her tractor went back to school on Monday sporting pictures of her, her family, and her favorite thing to do (gymnastics), as well as telling about her favorite color (blue), food (peaches), and if she has any pets (1 dog- Midge). Yesterday she came home with what I think is just about the cutest spotlight ever! It seems whoever is the student of the week- forgive me- FARMER of the week gets letter written to them by everyone in the class. And I must admit. These letters are SO CUTE! I, of course, being the proud momma that I am will share some of them with you. After reading them it seems almost as if each table (group of 4-5 students) shared information since she has almost identical letters in little bunches, but they are still fantastic. The letter starts:

________ is special because...

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Love,

____________

The kids fill in all the blanks.

A list of characteristics attributed to Lilia in these letters is:

Lilia is special because...

She is fun/funny.

She has a wonderful memory.

She is beautiful.

She is pretty.

She is cool.

She is smart.

She is nice.

She has pretty blonde hair.

She is creative.

She is a good friend.

She smiles all the time.

She is polite.

She is honest.

She has a nice laugh.

She is good at hula hooping and jumping rope.

She has hicups.

She is prepared.

And she is respectful.

I just loved these letters. Certain one's in particular stuck out as note worthy, and for Lilia's sake, I want to share them here so we have them recorded long after this booklet disappears.

From Drew:

She is smart. She is very very pretty. She was my partner for the dance. (They just did a first grade program where each class did dances. So cute!)

From Jillian:

She is nice to me. She is respectful for Miss S. I can't blef (believe) that she is so respectful.

From Michael (I mentioned him before as someone she likes in her class)

She is so smart. She's so fun to play with. She's so nice. She's so respectful. She's honest.

(this made Lilia smile and do a little dance. She is too funny!)

And prehaps the best in the bunch- from our neighbor Kyle:

She was my first friend I made when I moved here. She can be really funny. She is very pretty. She can be super nice.

I love how he said "can be" and not "is". Hahaha! It's totally true. These two are very good friends, and they also fight like an old married couple. I sure love my neighbors and their kids! Lacey does too-

*Funny side note* As I was reading these letters out loud I read one from one of Lil's classmates named Zach. (Kyle has a younger brother named Zach who happens to be Lacey's age). After reading the letter I read, "Love Zach" and Lacey yelled, "Zach!? I LOVE Zach!" So cute!

I am so proud of my adorable girls. They really are such good kids, and make my day to day life so much more fun.

Happy List

2011-03-19T09:51:00.006-06:00

I figure it's been a while since my last post, and since today is shaping up to be a good day, I wanna tell everyone why I am so happy! Lucky me, I ran across a blog that promotes just that! A HAPPY LIST! SO without further ado:

I am happy to see some significant change in the basement! I have painted the office down there and chosen fabric for the curtains. Now to just acquire a sewing machine to finish those curtains and all will be well! (pictures to come eventually...)

I am happy with my new couch! It's so perfect for us. And it looks nice. And it smells nice (gotta love leather).

OLD COUCH...

NEW COUCH!

I am happy with this weather. Nothing like some sunshine and a little rain. The temps have been cool, but not too cold.

I am happy to be mother to three adorable miscreants. They are so much fun!

I am happy with Lilia's report card. It was the 1st grade equivalent to straight A's.

I am happy to hear Lacey's prayers at night (where she prays to be "almost cute" and asks if she can "go to school every day" like her sister).

I am happy to see my little man, Matthew, healthy. And to see him fold his arms on demand. It's pretty cute. See?

Attempt #1...

Attempt #2 complete with bowed head.

I am happy to finally have the fabric for Matthew's blanket all ready to go! Now, to get me that much needed sewing machine...

I am SUPER happy that Joe and I have finally decided to become a TWO CAR family! After 10 years, it's about time.

I am happy to be married to such a marvelous and funny man. He really does make life that much better. :)

I am happy for beautiful things. Like the peacock at the zoo last week.

I am happy. Yup- that's all there is to it.

More of the same...

2011-02-23T13:22:00.004-07:00

My kids really do make my life so much fun! Some of the funny things my kids have been saying/doing in the last month or so (with some good pictures added in for the fun of it):

1. Lilia informed me the other day that our neighbor, Josh, has been chasing her on the playground at school. She then said, "He won't stop chasing me, so I am breaking up from marrying him."

2. Midge (our dog) was in the middle of getting her semi-annual shave, and because it's winter, we are sure to put her in a sweater when we shave off all her hair. As I was putting her sweater on her, Lacey started giggling and asked, "Mom, are you putting a swim soup (suit) on her?"

(before her shave)

(The blade was too hot to finish shaving her- Joe left her with the mowhawk and poofy feet for a day)

3. Lilia was preparing an impromtu performance with Lacey's help. She kept saying, "Lacey, it's time to rehearsal my song!" or "Lacey your rehearsaling time is over! It's my turn!"

4. I happened to catch my two youngest kids playing together and giggling, so I stopped to watch. As I was watching I started to laugh and said, "You two are so STINKIN' CUTE!" Lacey smiled at me and said, "I not stinkin' I took a bath- uh member?"

5. A conversation we had in the car:

(Sitting at a stop light)

ME: Lil, take your seatbelt off for a second and grab the pen on the seat in front of you.

LILIA: But what if a cop comes?

ME: If a cop comes I will get a ticket.

LIL: But I don't want you to get a ticket! They will put you in jail!

ME: They won't put me in jail for a ticket.

LIL: They will if they think you are an idiot driver...

6. Lacey latest favorite show, much to my chagrin, is Dora the Explorer. Except that's not what she calls it. If you ask her- her favorite show is "Do-do-do-do-do-Dora!" (If you haven't heard the theme song, than this wouldn't be as funny to you...)

7. Along those same lines- Matthew is learning to talk. His latest statement (when requested) is also, "Do-do-do-do-do-Dora." Except he says "d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-duh uh" :)

8. Lilia's Valenine LOVE story...

Day 1- Lilia: Mom- two boys in my class love me. You don't know them though. Donovan and Michael.

Day 2- (Lilia made a valentine for Donovan (It said "I like you" inside a hand drawn heart).)

ME: What's this? A love letter?

LIL: No! It's a second valentine.

ME: But what about Michael? Where is his?

LIL: I didn't make one for him because he doesn't love me as much as Donovan does.

9. Lacey got an earache a few weeks ago. Her last experience at the doctor was when we had to hospitalize her a few months back from dehydration. At the hospital they gave her an IV. Which she HATED. Fast forward to the earache...

(on the drive to the doctor)

LACEY: I don't want a shot! My ear is better.

ME: Uh-huh... Lacey, they aren't gonna give you a shot. The doctor will look in your ear and say, "EW- Yuck!" and give you some medicine.

LACEY: Ohhhh, okay...

(15 minutes later as the nurse calls us back to the exam room)

LACEY: I don't want a shot!

ME: Lacey, remember? They aren't gonna give you a shot. The doctor will look in your ear and say, "EW- Yuck!" and give you some medicine.

LACEY: Ohhhh, okay...

(2 minutes later as they are weighing her and preparing to take her temp with an ear thermometer)

The nurse gets the thermometer and steps toward Lacey, she backs behind me and says quietly, "Oh dear!"

I tell her "It's not a shot- it is gonna tell us how warm you are. They will check your good ear, okay?"

LACEY: Ohhhh, okay.

(10 minutes later as the doc enters the exam room)

DOC: Hi little Miss Lacey, how are you today?

LACEY: I don't WANT a shot!

ME: ::sigh:: Lacey, honey, they are not going to give you a shot. He is going to look in your ear, say, "EW- Yuck!" and give you some medicine.

LACEY: Ohhhh, okay.

(and like a good doctor he looked in her ear and did actually say, "EW- Yuck! Let's give you some medicine..." I love my pediatrician!)

10. Backstory: Lil and Lace have a bunk bed. Lil on top. Lace on bottom...

The other night Lil jumped on Joe while he was asleep, startling him awake just to tell him about her potty habits. I caught her at it and said, "Lil! Dad was asleep! How would you like it if I jumped on YOUR bed tomorrow to wake you up, just to tell you I went potty?" She said, "Mom! You'd break my bed and KILL Lacey!"

11. Tonight we were playing a guessing game in the car. Someone thinks of a person, and everyone else tries to guess who it is using only yes and no questions. Such as, "Is it a boy?" "Is he older than Daddy?" etc. Lacey tries to play along, but she doesn't quite get it yet...

ME: Is it a boy?

LIL: Yes.

ME: Is it Daddy?

LIL: No.

LACEY: Is Daddy a boy?

ME: (totally kidding) Nope- Daddy is a girl

LACEY: Noooo! Daddy is a boy! He says this, (she lowered her voice as deep as her 3 year old voice could go and mumbled something incoherent.)

And the best for last...

12. We were watching a movie the other night that ended with the two main characters kissing. Nothing bad- just a good, passionate, kiss.

LIL: Mom? Is that a suction kiss?

ME: A what?

LIL: A suction kiss!

ME: (trying to hide the smile) What's a suction kiss?

LIL: Well... YOU KNOW... if you and Daddy didn't suction kiss I would never have been, well... (long pause) BORN!?

Kids really do say the darndest things! I sure love mine!

Birthday Party!

2011-01-30T22:01:00.006-07:00

My family has a tradition. It started when I had my first birthday. My mother, at the time, was right in the middle of a stage in her life where she had become a cake decorator. For my birthday party she made me the cutest panda bear cake, and thus a tradition began. When I was pregnant with Lil, I went on an Ebay hunt for that same cake pan, and found it! So with each of my kids, I have made this same cake. Here are some pictures from Matthew's party.

The Birthday Boy in all his glory!

The cake in all IT'S glory- this was my fastest one yet... only 3 hours to decorate it! (That includes the 20 minutes to get Matthew down for his nap, and while trying to keep the kids entertained so they wouldn't make a mess of the house I cleaned up...)

When he got this hat as a gift, he got super excited. He thought it was a stuffed animal.

Then he found out the truth- what a bummer! Just a hat... (Mom loves it, though!)

Matthew loved the elephant rider he got from his grandparents.

He was totally mellow while being sung to.

See the chunk he took out of the toe? It's the most damage of all my kids. Lil and Lace just picked at the frosting...

After he had his fun with the cake, I handed him a cupcake. Notice the clean tray? He won't put the cupcake down.

"Oops! Dropped some cake- better get that. Wouldn't wanna waste it!"

Oh the joy of good ice cream (he won't let go of the chunk of cake in his left hand... pretty funny!)

Matthew poses with Uncle James. What good lookin' men! (Still holding that cake!)

Time to get cleaned up!

Happy Birthday Matthew! We love you!

Matthew turns 1!

2011-01-30T16:29:00.008-07:00

On Friday, my little man turned 1 year old.

It has flown by so very fast!

Matthew was born Jan 28th a little after noon.

He was a monster baby (as my belly proved) weighing in at 9 lb. 2 oz.

He gave me all sorts of trouble for the first 5 months due to allergies.

He has (thankfully) outgrown his allergies, though he has been a bit of a sick baby this year.

Matthew is such a cute baby. He is pretty mellow. And he LOVES his Momma!

His sisters love him to pieces, and are quick to come to his rescue whenever he cries.

He is pretty sure he likes dad most of the time, and I would venture to guess that Dad likes him a lot too.

His smile is so contageous, and as he gets older he is quicker to laugh.

My only complaint is his lack of sleeping through the night...

but when I look at that handsome sleeping babe, how can I not just melt?

He has quite the sweet tooth and loves candy, more specifically suckers.

In true boy fashion he is a fan of guns...

He makes my life all sorts of fun, and is quick to find trouble.

His sweet personality really makes him a joy to have around.

I love my little man, and hope he knows how very blessed we feel to have him in our family. I love you Matthew!

Even if he does make me feel like I need this:

(ALL THE TIME)

A Lesson Learned...

2011-01-28T12:32:00.003-07:00

Lil has been a real teaching tool for me over the last few weeks. Which is true most of the time, really. Being my oldest child, I learn a lot through the trials and missteps of parenting. But this last week has been a real eye opener.

Lil's teacher is amazing. Let me start there. She had tested each kid in her class during the first two weeks of school on the High Frequency words that all 1st graders are expected to know. Then, she would keep track of the one's that the kids hadn't spelled right, and turned those into their spelling words. Lilia is a fantastic reader. She is one smart cookie- though, we did notice that even though she can read all the High Frequency words, she couldn't spell them all. For example, she can read "who" but when asked to spell it, she would say, "H-O-O." So the spelling homework was 5 words that belonged in the same family (ie. cat, fat, hat) and the first 5 words she couldn't spell from the HF list. When she passed them off on her spelling test, the next week would be another 5 "family" words, and the next 5 words from the HF list. At the beginning of the school year it became obvious that her homework was too easy. She was breezing through her whole week's homework in a day, and wasn't the slightest bit challenged by her spelling. Even though she had spelled them wrong, she needed only to look at them, and be told once for her to spell them right. Her first week of spelling homework, the words were:

den

hen

men

pen

ten

her

his

have

now

they

These were way too easy for her. So I talked to her teacher. Turns out there were two other kids in class who were bored as well! So after some thought on how to handle it, her teacher set Lil and the other two kids up with 2nd grade spelling words. This was a program that one of the second grade teachers used, and the words were not the High Frequency words. Just words found at the level Lil had tested at (Level K). The first week of 2nd grade spelling, her words were:

dream

mother

noticed

happened

read

father

nothing

said

might

pictures

Talk about a difference! Lil went from getting 100% on her spelling to 30% that first week. It became apparent to me that Lil would be able to handle these harder words, but not without a little extra attention being spent on them. Soooo- I talked to my cousin (A super fab school teacher) and I went back through my childhood to some of the techniques I was taught, and came up with extra spelling assignments that would help her remember and spell her words. Though the new assignments were fun (as fun as homework can be) they also took time. Lil went from spending about 10 minutes a day doing homework, to nearly an hour (though part of this could be because she would take her time and let her attention wander). Instead of spelling the words 3 times a week (like her homework insisted) I had her spelling them 6-9 times a week. MY only concern was this: I worried when she moved to 2nd grade spelling that by skipping past all those 1st grade words on the HF list, that she would never understand spelling because she had skipped over the more basic spelling lessons. Even if they are easy and require very little brain power from my braniac kid, I think it is still important to learn those lessons. Either way, she began passing her tests. Eventually (like 7 weeks later), Lilia was moved up to the next level's spelling as she had passed all the previous level's tests. Level L spelling was (as expected) harder than Level K, and it began to wear on Lil. And though she didn't mind the extra work when it paid off with passed spelling tests, it was now too much for her. Not only was she having a harder time with the homework, but she was spending an hour a day doing her spelling and was not passing the test.

Finally- she snapped. She sat at the table, in tears, because she hated her homework, and she didn't want to do it, and "what's the point, I am not going to pass my test, anyway..." I got upset and left the room. As I was pacing in my bedroom I kept thinking how maybe I should talk to her teacher, but darn it! I didn't want Lil to get behind the other two kids doing the second grade spelling! ... ... ....

Ohhhhhhhh crap. I am an AWFUL mom! I am pushing Lil too hard! And why? Because I wanted her to be the best. I didn't want the other kids to be ahead of her... I didn't matter to my mind that Lil was wearing down. It didn't matter that she was unhappy. She HAD to keep up! They say the first step in fixing a problem was realizing there IS a problem. I was GONNA fix this. NOW.

I instantly dropped to my knees and said a prayer. Then I talked to Joe. Got his opinion on how to fix the problem, and after talking with him I wrote her teacher a letter. Than I deleted the letter, and ended up talking to her teacher on the phone. I explained how Lil was doing too much. (The teacher had said at the beginning of the year that she only expects the kids to do 40 minutes of homework a day and 20 minutes of that should be the required reading that the whole school participates in) I explained how she was doing an hour of homework, plus the 20 minutes reading. I then went on to tell her how stressful it has made my life, and how frustrated Lil is with homework and spelling tests. She completely agreed that Lilia is too young to hate her homework so much, and that she was spending too much time doing something that wasn't reaping any rewards... After a nice talk she presented us with a solution that was EXACTLY what Joe and I had come up with, and we couldn't be more thrilled.

The plan is basically, that Lil will no longer do the 2nd grade spelling program, but she will not be moved back to the 1st grade program either. She will be somewhere in between. Instead of having 5 "family words" (sit, hit, pit...) she will have all 10 words from the high frequency list. Instead of just the 1st grade list, she has now been tested on the second grade list. This way she will get a solid foundation to build on. Her words this week:

blue

around

about

know

right

every

pretty

green

once

yellow

MUCH better. And lesson learned.

The lesson I learned here?

I need to be more aware of what is best for my daughter vs. what I WANT for her.

Is there a lesson for anyone else to learn?

If we don't stand up for our children, who else will? If our kids are not challenged enough, or are too challenged, we need to be willing to talk to the teacher. And I did both. In the same year. Ugh! But at least Lil is where she needs to be. And what do ya know, she likes her homework again!

What a milestone!

2011-01-21T21:24:00.004-07:00

It thrills me to no end, and yet breaks my heart to say that Matthew is officially a walkin' baby! Last weekend he decided to take a couple steps, and I tell ya, he has been addicted ever since! In just short of a week he went from a couple steps at a time to preferring to walk from "Point A" to "Point B." Yesterday he mastered standing up without any assistance, and today he mastered the ability to bend down and pick something up off the ground without falling!

The biggest difference between Matthew and his sisters is that he is so DRIVEN to walk. His sisters were in no hurry, and took plenty of time to get up the courage to walk. Matthew, on the other hand, from the second he took that first few steps his eyes lit up and he got so excited. With the girls, I would try to stand them up and they would "melt" and slowly sit down. Matthew would get so excited he would start "dancing" and would fall over because he couldn't keep his legs still enough to hold him up! He is such a cutie! SEE?

Ism's

2011-01-07T17:27:00.007-07:00

As is common for me every few months, I feel the need to write down some of the cute things my kids say. I don't ever want to forget how cute they are at this age. So without further ado:

Matthew-isms:

Matthew has learned to boogy down. It's so DARN CUTE watching him dance along to any music. Unlike my daughters, who are notorious booty shakers, Matthew is a shimmy-er... He shakes his little shoulders like it's nobody's business!

He doesn't say much, and therefore Matt-ism's are not very plentiful. But he sure is a cutie!

Lacey-ism's:

Oh the funny things this girl says! Mostly just mispronunciations like:

Chock-lik (chocolate)

Lervis (nervous)

Bravey (gravy)

But occasionally I get a good story out of her.

Today she came up to me and told me it as Halloween! She was in her costume and ready for trick or treating fun. But she was sure to tell me we had to go trick or treating before dark because "the ghosts and bats will come out and scare me." I asked her how and she said, "The ghosts will say 'Oooo!' And the bats will say... um... 'BATS!' Yeah- bats say, 'BATS!'"

Yesterday Lilia brought how a bunch of silly bandz from school. (Click here to see what Silly Bandz are) They were sports silly bandz and so she had one of a guy playing football, a guy playing golf, etc. One of them was a soccer player. Lacey brought me all the different bandz and asked me what each one was. When she showed me the soccer player I said, "that's soccer." She looked at me confused and said, "He eats a sucker?"

Me: No honey, he is playing SOCCER

Lacey: He is eating a sucker?

Me: No- the game he is playing is soccer- not sucker, SOCCER. suck, soc, suck, soc... see the difference?

Lacey: (after a bit of thought) Okay. Soccer.

Me: Yeah!

Lacey: Mom, can I go eat a soccer, right now!?

Me: {sigh}

Lilia-ism's:

Lilia loves first grade. She especially love eating lunch at school. She came home the other day and told me all about her lunch.

"Mom- at school the have the most AMAZING nachos! I love them! The cheese on top is like a mixture of cheese, milk, and a little bit of ice cream! YUMMY!"

This last week as I was driving her to gymnastics Lil was telling me about her day. She was telling me how the playground was really icy, and they had to be careful at recess. She said, "So I almost slipped and fell at recess, but GOOD HEAVENS I didn't! " (I am assuming she meant "thank goodness")

Lil was telling me on that same drive about how her class has earned a party. And how "this party is gonna be great because its a popcorn and shoelace party!"

Me: A shoelace party?

Lil: Yeah! Orange Shoelaces.

Me: Orange Shoelaces?

Lil: Yeah! It's my teachers favorite drink! It has oranges, and milk, and ice, and sugar...

Me: Huh? OH! Orange JULIUS'

Lil: Yeah- Orange Shoelaces! It's gonna be great!

I LOVE MY KIDS!

It's 2011 already?

2011-01-06T22:06:00.002-07:00

This year I actually talked to Joe about making a resolution. Oddly enough, we were both on the same page! We both felt the need to work on the same thing. Even more odd? Seems EVERYONE else feels the same way. I swear, I am being hit left, right and center by MANY people with the same resolution as me. (Is the suspense killing you yet? Probably not since the chances are good that it's your resolution too...)

The #1 Resolution for the new year:

Charity. I admire those who are naturally charitable. To an extent I believe most people are (myself included). BUT- I feel like I should be doing more. A couple thoughts on this.

I was reading quotes the other day and came across one that struck me just right. Keeping in mind that I am paraphrasing here, it said:

It's not Charity to give a hungry dog a bone. Charity is sharing your bone when you are as hungry as the dog.

What a fantastic way of putting it... I want to focus on giving of myself until I can FEEL the pinch.

On a much funnier note, I was tuning out Glenn Beck the other night (Joe was watching), and he too has resolved to be more charitable... his motto for the year:

"To the government: I've upped my charity, now up yours!"

hehehehehe!

A couple other things I wanna work on?

-Appreciating my children when they are awake. (Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate them- but I wish away half my day just WAITING for naptime... I don't wanna be like that anymore!)

-Eat healthier and start running.

-FHE. Gotta be better about that. My kids are getting old enough to notice...

How about you? Any plans for 2011?

Matthew's Latest and Greatest Adventure...

2010-12-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

Matthew sure keeps us on our toes. On Christmas Eve, we managed to start yet another adventure with our little man. He managed to crawl, undetected, all the way over to the glass covered fireplace and place his right hand on the hot glass. It was so sad listening to him crying. It happened as we were preparing to leave, and he ended up extending our stay for an extra hour and a half while he screamed and cried over the pain of the burn. It was 9pm, on Friday night (not to mention Christmas Eve) so we knew there was no doctor's office still open. I called my pediatrician's office (our pediatrician happened to be the doctor on call), and asked him what we should do. We told him that his hand was blistered and that he had been crying for over an hour, and he told me (this is almost word for word), "If you can't get him to stop crying by the time you get home, I would get him in to the ER so they can give him something for the pain. You might also want to get him in to be looked at sometime early next week." I told him that we were leaving early (like 5am) Monday morning to take a family trip, and that we wouldn't be back until Thursday night. He said to keep an eye on his hand, make sure it stays clean and wrapped, especially if the blisters pop, and to play it by ear. Soooo... that's what we did!

He eventually stopped crying once we gave him Tylenol and put his coat on him. His coat is a size 18mos, so it was VERY large on him and kinda made it so he couldn't move his hand or arm... When we got home that night, rather than take his coat off, I just let him sleep in it. On Christmas morning, we wrapped his hand up with a little bacitracin on the already popped blisters, and continued with our celebratory events... I did manage to snap a picture before the bandages went on.

Each finger had a blister on it's tip as well. Poor little guy. He wasn't too fussy, and it didn't seem to bother him much, but I kept him doped up on Motrin and Tylenol. We had a great Christmas day, and once again, he fell asleep with his coat covering his hand, so we left him in it to sleep that night. The day after Christmas was Sunday, and once again- no doctors offices were open. I ended up having to take a trip to the store to buy more gauze and bacitracin for his hand. I figured, while I was out I ought to see about getting his hand looked at, so I checked the instacare on the way by. It was closed as well. I really wasn't interested in taking a second trip to the ER in two weeks, so we just kept doing the same thing. Cleaning it, and wrapping it up with bacitracin.

Monday morning we left for Disneyland, and once again, his hand was fine and didn't seem to be bothering him. At this point we weren't even giving him anything for the pain. He wasn't bothered much at all. We drove all day, and had a fantastic dinner at Medieval Times, and got to our hotel, checked in and went to bed. Matthew had a rough night and just kept waking up. I gave him some Motrin, and let him sleep in our bed with us for part of the night, but he just never settled in and slept well.

Tuesday we headed in to Disneyland and Matthew was just being fussy. By around 2pm Matthew was not doing well. His hand was really warm to the touch and had started to smell kinda funny, so Joe and I talked about it, and Joe decided to take him to a local instacare in Anaheim. He left the park and took him in. They instacare doc's took one look at his hand and said, "That needs to be treated at the ER." They sent him to a children's hospital nearby, and Joe spent the next three hours winding his way through three triage rooms, before finally having an ER doc look at his hand and refuse to treat it. He referred us to a burn specialist in the area, an then started RIPPING into Joe about how bad his burn was and how we should have taken him directly to the ER when it happened. He told us it was at the very least a severe 2nd degree burn, maybe 3rd degree, and that because it had been 4 days since it happened, Matthew might have permanent nerve and tissue damage to his hand. He went on about how we may need skin grafts and he will need physical therapy for weeks, etc. And that it was infected. Needless to say, Joe and I felt AWFUL! It takes a lot to get under Joe's skin, and this doc did a great job of it! Joe felt terrible for waiting so long (as did I). It doesn't help that hey were talking to him as though he was a negligent idiot. Talk about awful bedside manner! So- they rewrapped Matthew's hand and sent us with a phone number to a burn center, and strict instructions to call first thing the next morning. They also gave us a prescription for an antibiotic to fight off his infection.

Wednesday was SUPER rainy so we opted to extend our trip by a day and spent the day NOT in the park. Joe took the girls to see Tangled, while I took Matthew in to the burn specialist. I told them the whole story, including what the ER doc said to Joe, and I could see the alarm on the specialist's face. But, once he saw Matthew's hand, he was very nice, and very reassuring. They removed the blister on his palm, and took a good look at it. Yes- it is a second degree burn. Yes it's pretty severe, but no there was no nerve damage, and most likely no tissue damage. He told us that we did a good job keeping it clean and there was no sign of infection (so either the ER doc was wrong, or the infection was cleared up after a single dose of his antibiotic). He then took me through the steps to care for his hand. We had to leave his dressings on until Friday, but then could change them when we thought it necessary. He really wanted me to come back Friday morning to be seen at the burn center there, but when I told him that was when we were leaving for home, he said we could leave as long as we got Matthew in to the doctor (or if necessary, the ER) to have it looked at as soon as we got home. He also suggested that we find a local burn center to get him checked out at early the next week. They wrapped his hand up so much that I had a hard time getting his shirt off that night! Boy does he look bothered, huh? :)

I ended up cutting the sleeve of his pajamas so that I could get him dressed for bed!

We finished our trip to Disneyland without event (unless you count Matthew managing to swing that club clean off his arm- he swung his arm and the dressing came off and flew about 15 feet!).

The drive home on Friday was longer than we intended due to weather and traffic, and we didn't get home until about 9pm. When we got home I dropped Joe and the girls off and took Matthew in to the ER to have his hand checked out. Luckily, it was a slow night. The ER doctor unwrapped, checked it, and re-wrapped his hand, Gave me further instructions on caring for his hand- they told me to change the dressings every day, and I was finally given permission to BATHE my son! He had been bath free since the day of the accident (so it had been 7 days). Until it is fully healed, I can only give him showers since they don't want his hand resting in standing (bacteria filled) water, but I will take it! After giving me the local burn center's info they sent me on my way home. Matthew may still need some skin grafts, and they are going to check for tissue damage, but his hand is doing SO MUCH better! (I know- the picture looks awful, but trust me, that looks good!)

They "re-clubbed" his hand and Matthew has since learned the trick to getting his arm out of "the club" (running his arm along any rough surface will eventually pull the club off his arm), so we had to scale back his wrappings to only cover his hand so he couldn't get it off...

We now have an appointment to have Matthew's hand checked Wednesday morning. I will be sure to keep you posted!

10 years!

2010-12-31T08:47:00.001-07:00

On December 27th Joe and I "Celebrated" our 10th Anniversary. I put that in quotes because technically, on the 27th, Joe and I drove all day, across multiple states with three children. It wasn't really what I would consider the most romantic and wonderful day of our marriage... But the reason for the trip was worth the drive. We decided that rather than spend our anniversary away from the kids, we would, instead, take them to Disneyland!

The drive out was actually quite smooth. Not much traffic, no problems with the kids, and a general air of excitement...

The plan was to spend Tuesday the 28th and Wednesday the 29th in Disneyland and CA Adventure. But due to our little man and his medical adventures (see the next post) as well as the weather, we ended up changing the plans a bit. We extended our stay an extra day, and spent Tuesday and THURSDAY in the park. Wednesday we recouped, took the girls to see Tangled, and took Matthew to the doctor.

Without further ado: The many MANY pictures...

It was too sunny to get them facing me, so I had them look up at Sleeping Beauty's castle.

I honestly think that the merry go round was Lacey's favorite ride on the whole trip... obviously not Matthews. (see the background)

This is as close as we got to the Dumbo ride. WAY too long of a line!

Joe and the girls stood in line at Pixie Hollow for 45 minutes to see... TERRANCE! He was the only fairy there. Not cool! But he did a good job, and the girls loved him.

After Joe had left to take Matthew to the doctor, I took the girls to Toon Town. They had so much fun playing and posing for pictures!

This was the beautiful tree outside Minnie's house.

This was so cute watching Lilia give Lacey a hug... even if the reason for the crying was Lil's fault...

Make a wish!

Inside Mickey's house

A little heavy lifting...

I wish Joe and Matthew had been in this picture.

Just a small sampling of the wicked crowds at Disneyland. Ca-RAZY!

After Toon Town, I took the girls into The Mad Hatter's hat shop and let them play with all the funny hats. Here are a few of the hats.

A nice lady offered to take our picture in the teacup.

Waiting in line at the Finding Nemo Submarine Ride.

Chillin' at the hotel on the Rainy Wednesday morning.

Thursday we started out on the Winnie the Pooh with Matthew and Lacey while Dad took Lil on Splash Mountain. Lacey loved it so much we went three times in a row!

Matthew wasn't impressed after the second time through...

While on Splash Mountain, Joe told her to duck so she wouldn't get wet... Lil ducked so low her head was resting on the seat and when they hit the bottom of the drop, she bumped her head and walked away with quite the goose egg!

We took the kids up through Tarzan's tree house. They thought it was cool.

The girls standing on the "L" at CaLifornia Adventure. They were soooo funny!

Not my most flattering picture, but the only one we got as a whole family...

We wore out those little ones... Lacey is barely awake, and Matthew is sound asleep... sitting up. :)

About 10 minutes later...

I tried FOREVER to get a good shot of Sleeping Beauty's Castle all lit up with Christmas lights... this is the best one. My nighttime setting on the camera requires a steady hand, and well... yeah- that's not my forte.

Due to my "familial tremor" (read: constant shaking) THIS is what the rest of the pictures looked like, so really- that one shot was PRETTY DARN GOOD!

Matthew on the train...

The girls checking out the lights at Small World from the train.

The drive home was pretty long. Our portable DVD player broke while at Disneyland, and we didn't have anything to occupy the kids attention for the 12 hour drive home (gotta love traffic and bad weather... that was a LONG drive).

I did get a good pic of the kids as we were starting out on the drive, though!

Gotta love Lacey's Sunglasses!

My grump in the back seat. I love her!

A Christmas Post...

2010-12-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

I am trying something a bit different this year. Instead of posting about all the goodies we got and gave this year, I am gonna post a little something more.

Something I learned this Christmas:

That spending money and a lot of gifts under the tree is not necessary to make your children happy. Due to our after-Christmas-trip, we didn't have a bunch to spend on gifts. We let the kids go to the dollar store and buy each other (and us parents) a gift each. Joe and I bought them a couple board games (it's about time we got our kids Chutes and Ladders and Candyland). And Santa brought them a few new movies... It was pretty sparse Christmas Morning, and I honestly don't think the kids noticed, or cared. It was surprisingly pleasant.

Something I will do again next Christmas:

Though it was all sorts of chaotic, it was so much fun (and very cute) taking the kids shopping for the first time at the dollar store! This was the first year I let the girls get each other gifts. I helped Matthew choose their gifts, and Grandma helped them buy gifts for me and Joe. It was pretty funny trying to keep Lacey from telling her sister what she was getting. I do love these little munchkins!

The Worst and Best parts of this Christmas:

Worst: Matthew burning his hand on Christmas Eve. Poor little man!

Best: Spending one night with Joe's Dad's family, the next night with his mom, and then the next with my mom. Family really does make the holidays wonderful!

Sick and tired...

2010-12-19T23:11:00.004-07:00

A favorite saying of mine at this time of the year. "I am sick and tired of being sick... and tired. "

Boy how this fits this year! My house has been a teeming pool of illness for the last 2 1/2 weeks. It's been quite the event. Luckily, it seems there may be an end in sight (knock on wood).

Between Matthew and Lacey I have had my hands full. The short version:

Lilia got the flu. Matthew got Rotavirus. They both gave their bugs to Lacey. At. The. Same. Time. Poor Lacey was so sick for so long. She was throwing up every morning around 2am, followed by her first trip to the bathroom. She would then spend most of the morning, and into the early afternoon making frequent trips to the bathroom. Her evenings would be mostly fine, she would be tired, and lethargic, but hungry. She would go to bed then start the cycle over again. This went on for about 10 days. Not fun. About a week into it, Lacey woke up around 11pm complaining of pain in the right lower quadrant of her abdomen. After talking to the on call doctor, I decided to play it safe and get her to the ER. We were afraid it was appendicitis. Luckily, it turned out to just be dehydration. After a very traumatic IV incident, they rehydrated her and sent her home. Thank goodness for my dear friend for coming with me and keeping me awake and sane at the hospital.

During Lacey's craptastic week (pun intended) Matthew was also suffering from Rotavirus. He eventually got over it with little trouble, and was feeling better. Just as Lacey got over her bugs Matthew woke up with croup. My experience with croup is pretty vast. Lacey has had it MANY times in her short life. In fact, for the first 2 years, every time she got a cold, it would turn into croup. It seems Matthew is taking after her. This case was different though.

Typically, croup is bad at night. The child will wheeze when breathing, sound like a barking seal when coughing, and will only be relieved by cold, moist air. Once morning comes, the croupiness goes away. Most parents who haven't dealt with it before would think it's over, but it comes back the second night- usually worse than the first night. It's usually over after that second night, and the third night is pretty well back to normal. But those first two nights can be very very scary. WELL- this time was different.

Matthew woke up at 6 am with a huge gasp and then instantly started wheezing. By 10 am I realized his croup wasn't gonna clear during the day like usual. I called the doctor to get him in for a decadron shot (a long term steroid) and a epinephrine breathing treatment (immediate relief). The appointment was set for 3pm. I kept taking trips outside with Matthew all bundled up to spend some time in the cold air to help him breathe. Around 1:30 he fell asleep on me, and I sat holding him watching TV. He woke up with a gasp half an hour later in a panic. He was really struggling to breathe, and his lips were turning blue. So I instantly got in the car and headed for his appointment early. They couldn't get him in at the clinic closest to me, so I drove to the next closest one (still closer than the ER) and they got his treatment underway. The epinephrine worked well, but after it wore off the croup came back. The decadron didn't seem to have any effect on him at all. That night, Joe and I took it in turns wrapping Matthew up and taking him outside. We sat on the porch swing watching the snow fall and listening to our poor little man struggle to breathe. The next morning, I set up another appointment with the after hours pediatric clinic (it was Saturday) and got him back in because his breathing and coughing was still awful. They gave him another breathing treatment, and put him on an oral steroid (Prednisone) to see if that would work. Luckily, this time, the steroid worked. He was kept under observation for an hour, and they told me they would feel comfortable admitting him into the hospital, but since Joe and I are croup pro's, they were fine with us taking Matthew home under strict instructions to get him to the hospital if at any point his stridor and blue lips come back into play.

We are now on the third night of croup, and I was an hour late getting him his prednisone and could hear the stridor coming back. He is currently asleep, and his breathing, though labored, is not too awful. Hopefully he will continue to improve and we won't need to take him to the hospital. We aren't out of the woods yet, but we do hope he continues to get better...

Now... if we can just get all of us better in time for our trip to Disneyland next week... :) I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas! For that matter, I hope we do too.

Halloween

2010-10-30T22:27:00.003-06:00

This year has been a bit of a doozy... first off, Lilia was sick on Friday. Poor kid. She missed her Halloween party at school. The interesting part? She missed it last year for the same reason. And she got sick the year before that right after she did the trunk or treat but before we could take her around the neighborhood... Quite the odd coincidence, doncha think?

Luckily she was feeling fine by Friday night so we decided she would be fine to go trick or treating over the weekend.

Second, this was Matthew's first Halloween. YAY! But due to him being sick with an ear infection and a cold he sat out most of the night... BOO! I took him trunk or treating (where he slept in the car almost the entire time). But decided to not take him around the neighborhood. Mostly due to all the RAIN.

Lilia was Cinderella. She is so darn cute! She loved the dress I got her. Lacey was a vampire bat. The costume had wings, a headband with ears, a tutu, tights, and little fingerless gloves. She looked super cute, but refused to say she was a bat. If you ask her she was "a black Tinkerbell!" Matthew was a vampire. I was gonna paint his head to have the classic widows peak black hair, but decided against it when we saw the rain and chose to keep him home.

The picture of the kids for trunk or treating...

The trunk or treat was quite the ordeal with the weather being so bleak. There were a lot of people there, yet many neighbors I didn't see. So we went home and I made some totally delicious stew for dinner. WHILE I was making the stew, Lacey realized she needed to go potty- NOW. Unfortunately, she couldn't get her tights and tutu off in time and had an accident on the bathroom floor. All over her costume. :S Not two minutes later, while I was attending to Lacey, Matthew crawled into the kitchen and decided to go for a swim (or sit) in the dog's water dish. He was SOAKED from the waist down. Good grief! So Matthew was stripped down to nothing but his shoes and a diaper, and was dubbed "the modest streaker." (Or maybe I was too lazy to re-dress him- you may never know...) For Lacey, we decided to just pull out one of the dress up dresses, and sent her as "Sleeping Beauty." She wore a pull up this time. :) I did get a picture of my two youngest miscreants, but my camera is dead. I'll update this with pictures once it's charged.

I took the girls for the first half of the neighborhood. Lilia had a great time, except for the need to stop for a potty break... Lacey was not faring so well. When we finished the "top loop" of our neighborhood, I took the girls home so Lil could go potty, and then I convinced a frozen wet Lacey to stay with me and Matthew while Joe took Lil back out to finish the "bottom half" of the 'hood. All in all, a crazy hectic night. We didn't quite give out all our candy this year, but I totally blame the weather and the fact that Halloween is really on Sunday so we may get a few stragglers tomorrow night.

To give you an idea of how much candy we go through in this neighborhood...

For the trunk or treat I gave out a REALLY large bag of Smarties, and about 3 large bags of Livesavers.

For trick or treating we gave out:

1 bag of Twix

1 bag of Snickers

1 bag of Almond Joys

1 bag of M&M's and Skittles

1 bag of Baby Ruths

1 bag of Crunch Bars

1 bag of Starbursts AND

1 bag of Dove milk chocolates

I would say of all of that we have about 1 bag of candy total left... (we always save the best candy to be handed out last, can you tell?)

How was YOUR Halloween?

Talent comes in MANY forms...

2010-10-22T22:26:00.002-06:00

I read a blog a few days back that made me smile...

For those not in the mood to check out the link it was all about talents. Lemme sum up for ya! Everyone is blessed with talents. Some of these talents are musical (be it piano, vocal, or some other instrument). Some are physical (like sports). Others are blessed with talents for teaching, or learning, or speaking, etc.

Take my sweet husband for example. He is overly blessed (in my opinion). Not only is he a computer WHIZ. But he is smart. As in straight A's with no effort, smart. He can play almost any sport well (not golf- he sucks at golf). He can look at an item, de-construct it in his head, and know how to fix it (like garbage disposals and the likes). He is quite the handy man (he has framed our basement, laid all the electrical, and put up all the sheet rock with only a few hints and tips from professionals), and he can play a musical instrument! The man is AMAZING!

When asked about my talents I usually draw a blank. I don't necessarily feel like I am all that talented when it comes to music. I mean, I can sing, but not solo. I used to play an instrument, but not anymore. I have absolutely NO talent in sports. I guess I am marginally blessed in the area of learning. I have a pretty good memory, and did well in school without too much effort. But still- no common talent really stuck out for me. But here's the truth of it... no one said talents had to be so cut and dry? I have talents! For example:

1. I can pick things up with my toes. Now some don't see this as a talent. I beg to differ... ever have a fussy baby in your arms, you are on the phone trying to take a message and you drop the pen? TOTALLY easier to use your toes to get the pen than to bend over with the phone on your shoulder and a 20 pound child on your hip.

2. I can read in the car. I am the family entertainer because on long car trips I will pull out a book and read to the fam. (Ask me what book I am gonna read for our drive to Disneyland in December... go on, ask! It's fantastic!) I have this insane ability to not get car sick. I lose my voice before I lose my cookies! :) (And yet- a shaky camera scene in a movie makes me motion sick- go figure!)

3. I can wake up seconds before my children. This one is odd but I swear to it! I am RARELY woken up by my kids. I almost always find myself wide awake just a mere minute or so before they start getting up. When my kids are sick, it's nice to be alert when that first child makes a mad dash for the bathroom...

4. Along those same lines I have this insane ability to wake my kids from their naps by announcing publicly that they are still asleep. Yup- every time I comment to someone that my kids are all asleep, they slowly trickle from their beds all bleary eyed and confused... :) (Okay- maybe this one isn't a talent so much as a curse, but whatev!)

5. I make good chili. Just ask Joe. He says its better than his mom's... (shh- don't tell her!) It's the ONLY dish he says that about. And I will take claim to it! YAY! I make SOMETHING better than my awesome cook of a mother in law! :)

6. I can quote movie lines like nobody's business! Problem is, I don't always remember what movie it is I am quoting... That's when it's nice to have Joe around. He can usually supply me with the movie title. Unless it's Disney. Though I KNOW when I am quoting Disney...

7. I have this THING with numbers... I remember my first phone number. I remember my bank account from when I was 14 and opened my first account. Heck I remember all of my phone numbers. And most of my friends phone numbers from my childhood... If I do struggle with the number all I need is the first two or three digits and then it floods right back.

8. I make cute kids. Yup- takes a BUNCH of talent to create the cuteness that has come outta me in the form of three adorable children. Now if only I made cute, PERFECTLY-OBEDIENT-AND-WELL-BEHAVED-AT-ALL-TIMES kids... THAT would be a true talent!

9. I can pack the car for a camping trip. This is a killer skill when you have as little trunk space as I do. Seriously! I am proud of my puzzle piecing abilities!

How about you?! Feel free to post a blog with your awesome talents, I would LOVE to read it!

Random Goodness (and maybe a touch of naughtiness)

2010-10-06T11:58:00.004-06:00

Oh how I love my children! I love them when they are cute- when they are silly, when they are sleeping, and especially when they are naughty. Heaven knows they keep me busy!

Lil-isms:

Her latest favorite sayings:

"What the heck?!" Always used properly- if not a little too often. Last night she was reading a school book about silkworms and it mentioned that when silkworms become silk moths they don't eat, and eventually die (odd fact, but true) and she said, "They don't EAT?! What the HECK!?"

"That's LAME" Don't you just love all the wonderful sayings children bring home from school?

Lilia is loving 1st Grade. She is also a natural at gymnastics. She is kicking some royal booty in her gymnastics class! She loves her teacher and loves being in the same class as one of her best friends (Kyle). In gymnastics she says her favorite thing is the bars (the uneven bars) and the vault. Unfortunately she practices the vault flips at home on our couch... Not good. :S

Lace-isms:

Favorite sayings: "I nuh-no" (I don't know). Anytime I catch her doing something she probably ought not be doing I will ask, "What are you doing?" and she will look at me, ring her hands and say "I nuh-no..." with a very sad kind of lilt in her voice. It's pretty cute.

"Maffew" and "she" she is quick to call her baby brother a she. "Mom- Maffew is awake! She is awake!"

"kuh-zurt" as in my favorite kuh-zurt is ice cream. She doesn't get to eat kuh-zurt until her dinner is finished. She is too cute!

Lacey has lately gotten herself in all sorts of trouble due to her artistic tendencies. She was supposed to be taking a nap at my mothers house a few weeks ago. When Grandma went to check on her she found a tube of hydrocortizone cream spread across her carpet (finger painting) and Lace had taken a ball point pen to Grandma's newly painted dresser... we never did get all the ink off and now we have to sand and repaint the drawers. And then there is last night... She was supposed to be sleeping (again). And eventually she really did sleep... but when I went in to check on her and her sister, this is what I found.

And then I found MORE this morning in the daylight... though I think this is the work of the older sister... the letters are too neat to be the writing of a 3 year old. And besides, the equasion is not something Lacey would know how to put in order...

Ugh children... It's a good thing they are so darn cute!

Matt-isms:

Favorite sayings: "uh daa!" or "uh daa?" Like the other day when I was nursing him and he tooted. He stopped nursing, sat up said, "uh daa?" and then went back to eating... it was pretty cute!

I commented to someone the other day how I was amazed that Matthew had yet to fall asleep in odd places. I have many pictures of Lil and Lace asleep in high chairs and bouncers, but Matthew only ever sleeps in his crib. Sure enough, the next day he fell asleep in the bouncer, then the day after that he fell asleep in his high chair... I guess I spoke too soon!

Randomness...

It blows my mind that I can give Lacey a fruit roll up, or an ice cream and then put cheerios in front of Matthew and she will STILL ignore her treat to eat his cheerios.

Nectarines are likely the best fruit ever created and I wish I could live in a place that grew them year round... Anyone know of a place that does?

Joe and I are taking our kids to DISNEYLAND for our 10 year anniversary and I am SO EXCITED!

Lilia has an insane fear of automatic toilets. Seriously petrified.

When I read in a fantastically cool book about Disneyland that ALL the DL toilets are automatic (yes, there is actually a book so detailed about DL that it talks about their toilets) I told Lilia and she said, "What the HECK?! That is LAME!" and then pouted about it. I asked if we should cancel the trip and not go because the toilets were automatic and she actually seemed to WANT to do that! Ca-RAZY!

My son has this amazingly cute outfit on today and I can't stop looking at him and thinking that he has GOT to be the worlds cutest little boy ever. And I really do believe that. He is so stinkin' handsome. And he has such a cute little smile, and such a funny little crawl. I could watch him all day and not get tired of him.

Lilia was playing with her daddy's tennis racket last night and totally biffed Lacey in the FACE with it! Poor Lacey has this monster goose egg on her head now. It's bright blue. I took a picture.

My mom and my aunt got in trouble as children for playing with some blue eggs they found in their chicken coops as children. It still makes my grandpa mad to think about it.

Over the last 6 years or so, my cousins send my mom random blue eggs (like marble eggs or easter eggs) as a joke. I think I will give my mom or my aunt the picture of the blue goose egg on Lacey's head...

Lilia is such a smart kid. She is amazingly cool! Tonight she was rattling off all of our birthdays and whose birthday comes first in the year and whose is last, etc. Joe looked at her and said, "I am glad you know the dates, then I don't have to remember- I can ask you!" Lilia looked at Joe and said, "Dad- you aren't so smart!" (I seriously didn't expect to hear THAT until she was in high school!)

Lacey's Latest Adventure

2010-09-17T07:13:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was a quite the adventurous day for Lacey...

To preface the incident, I gotta tell you a couple things...

First off, Joe and I only have one car. In our nearly 10 years of marriage that has always been the case. We are too cheap to get a second car, though we are finding that it is quickly becoming a necessity. All in good time, I guess... ANYWAY- We only have the one car, and yesterday was Joe's day to have it. So I was home with the kiddo's and no vehicle. Not too big a deal, I am used to it.

Second, our good friends went out of town for a few days and I was watching their two sons all day yesterday. Their boys are the same age as my girls, and they get along really well so it was really not a problem to have the extra kids. If anything, it keeps my two girls occupied and keeps them from getting into trouble. Now- on to the story:

After the older two kids got home from school yesterday afternoon, I had them help the younger kids clean up the front room. With the promise of a snack after the room was clean. Lacey asked if the snack could be peaches (Really- they were nectarines, but Lacey doesn't know the difference). I told her sure- we could have peaches AFTER the room was clean. I then handed her a spoon that had migrated to the front room and told her to take it to the kitchen. I doled out a task to each of the other kids as well, and was changing Matthew's diaper when I heard Lacey start to scream... She came running into the front room with her hand COVERED in blood! Now- I am pretty proud of myself for not TOTALLY FREAKING OUT at that point. I grabbed a diaper wipe (not likely to stick to a cut, and cleaner than a towel) and cleaned her hand off. Problem was that I couldn't keep it clean. It was bleeding too much to uncover the wound. So I got a second diaper wipe (cause the first was already soaked through) and held it over her palm with some significant pressure. I then called Joe and told him that I was pretty sure Lacey needed stitches. I then went to the kitchen (with Lacey's hand firmly pressed in mine) and found a nectarine and a STEAK KNIFE sitting on the table. Seems she didn't want to wait for a clean front room before getting herself a "peach."

So, I called my next door neighbor (who happens to have a son Lilia's age as well) and asked if she could watch Lilia and the two boys while I took Lacey to get stitches. Matthew would come with me and Lacey. I then looked around and realized two very BAD things. One: Matthew's car seat was in my car. With Joe. CRAP. And two: So was my purse (including my insurance card). CRAP CRAP CRAP! My next phone call was to the boy's parents. They had left their car at home and I wanted to ask if I could borrow it to drive Lacey to Instacare. Well- I couldn't get them on the phone, but I DID have their house key so I went for a short walk to their house (with Matthew on my hip, a phone on my ear, and Lacey's hand still firmly grasped in mine). Once there I realized that THEIR baby car seat wasn't in the car (duh- they took it with them for their baby girl). Well, never mind that idea- besides, I can't drive while holding Lacey's hand, and if I let go of her hand, it would bleed profusely. UGH!

So my next phone call was to another good friend whose husband works odd shifts and he MIGHT be home. Sure enough, her husband was home and so I BEGGED her to come drive me and Lacey to the doctor, AND bring her baby seat for Matthew. She was quick to respond and was sitting in her car in front of my house 10 minutes later. (Have I ever mentioned that I have fantastic neighbors and friends? Cause I do...) While waiting for this friend to show up I got all the kids in their shoes and herded them off to the neighbor's house, managed to get shoes on myself AND Lacey (all one handed since I was still putting pressure on Lacey's hand).

We made it to the Instacare, and had to wait about 20 minutes for another poor kid who needed stitches on his head. Luckily, I had taken the kids here before so they already had my insurance info on hand and because of Lacey's previous stitches incident (the day Matthew was born), my insurance out of pocket premium was completely maxed out so I didn't have to pay anything. I guess you could call that the silver lining... Throughout the wait, Lacey kept insisting that she felt fine and wanted to take the diaper wipe off her hand. Um, nope... Once we got in to the procedure room, the nurse cleaned her hand up as much as possible, and put some numbing cream over the wound. As soon as the doctor appeared he got to work numbing her hand (which was by far the worst part- Lacey was screaming and trying to move her hand, but between the nurse and me she was pinned down pretty well). Once her hand was numb it was easy going. She needed three stitches, and will be able to get them removed in 10 days. The cut was really deep, but I guess kids heal pretty fast! The whole time they were stitching her up she was whimpering to me that she wanted a peach. Poor kid never did get one!

All in all, she is quite the trouper. It turns out that the doctor who stitched up her hand was the same doctor who stitched up her head back in January! He looked at her forehead (he had forgotten where the wound was) and was not thrilled with how badly it had healed, until I told him that the scar he was looking at was from her incident a few weeks ago with a boy and his hot wheels car, NOT from her stitches back in January. When I showed him that scar he was much happier with it's healing. Poor kid has mom's accident prone tendencies...

(You can see the beginning of her cut, but the stitches are covered up to keep them clean...)

Milestones

2010-09-01T08:23:00.003-06:00

This last week has been chalk full of new milestones.

Last Wednesday was Lilia's first day of first grade. Her first FULL day of school. She loves it so far, and she loves her teacher.

Then on Saturday, Matthew turned 7 months old AND got his first tooth! I have yet to get a picture of it, but here is a cute one of him chewing on this mesh baggie of apricots...

Then Yesterday was Lilia's 6th Birthday. :) She is such a big girl!

Today is Lacey's first day of preschool. She chose her own outfit and asked me to give her pig tails. :) She is pretty excited!

I sure love my kids- it blows my mind how quickly they are growing up!

What an oddball day!

2010-08-20T15:01:00.003-06:00

Some of the highlights (and/or lowlights) of my day...

* Found out which class my daughter is in for 1st Grade. Miss Southard- who we hear is FANTASTIC!

* She shares this class with one of her very best friends (and according to her- her future husband) Kyle.

* My basement passed it's first inspection yesterday (go Joe!) and so we could set up getting it insulated- which I set up for this morning.

* The insulators were 2 1/2 hours late arriving, but they did eventually get here.

* The insulation sales rep had told us all about the rebate program that would get us some 80% of the cost refunded to us, all we had to do was fill in a few vital pieces of information on the forms.

*I was given the forms about the time the insulation was finished... the forms are ONLY for customers of Questar Gas and Rocky Mountain Power- which covers about 90% of the state... unfortunately we are part of that other 10%.

*We just paid full price for the insulation with no promise of any kind of rebate :(

* On a whim I called the city to ask their gas and power company if THEY participate in the rebate program. They gave me a big fat "YES WE DO" then told me to go to Utah.gov to find the proper paperwork to fill out.

* I went to Utah.gov- can't find it.

* I call Utah.gov get the run around before being told to call the city

* Call the city back get the run around before being told to call the state.

* Call the state- they don't know what I am talking about.

* Call Questar just to see if they can point me to the proper department... they can't.

:: SIGH :: to be continued (maybe)

* Get a call from the phone company- we have set up a free internet upgrade install for MONDAY, but he has an opening... can he do it today? I say, "SURE! The house is already under siege from the insulation guys- what's another person?"

* The phone dude comes, and in no time at all has the upgrade done!

* He then lets slip that he is the son of one of my all time FAVORITE LDS Authors (Anita Stansfield)!!!

* I just LOVE his mom- and I tell him so. He laughs and says, "I do too!"

* Then I call a friend- phone is SUPER choppy :(

* Call my mom to figure out if it is my phone (most likely) or my friends phone (not so likely)... it's my phone.

* Get on my cell phone (which is rapidly running out of minutes) and call the phone company to find out what the problem is...

* Turns out we shouldn't have gotten the upgrade until WEDNESDAY of next week because the new upgrade is wreaking havoc on our phone, and the fix for it is not set to be done until Tuesday...

* MY home phone is too choppy to use

* My cell phone is nearly out of minutes

* But I can text message! :) Don't call us til Wednesday people!

* On the plus side, the phone company is giving us a free month of service because of the mix up...

And how was YOUR day?

Vacation Part 3

2010-08-17T14:57:00.005-06:00

Sorry for the long delay between posts... It's been a busy couple months.

We ended up going to Lake Tahoe for my Family Reunion this year. It was all sorts of fun- like usual- and we had a GREAT time.

My grandfather decided to make a point (though I don't remember it now) and dressed the part of a cowboy to teach his lesson... IT really got our attention, and we all had a good laugh watching Grandma trying to get my cousin's boots (easily two sizes too small) off Grandpa's feet.

Yes- Grandpa was threatening to kick her in the behind... hehehe

In the afternoons, Lacey needed to take her nap, and Joe and I traded off who got to lay down with her. Joe won this time, and they both took a nap together. Cute!

We got our family reunion shirts, and had our picture taken (as we do every year)... both as an individual family

And as the HUGE extended family! (I know- small picture- but wow! There are a lot of us!)

I have three very awesome cousins that are near my age and growing up we referred to ourselves as the 4 corners (as in: Where we all end up with our noses to the wall in timeout). Growing up, they were my very best friends, and as we have grown to adulthood we have all drifted our separate ways, though I would venture to say that we are all still very good friends. Due to our changes in life, some of us have missed quite a few of the more recent reunions. THIS year was the first time in 9 years that all 4 of us were at reunion, so of course we got a picture! I can honestly say these three cousins are still my very best friends. I JUST LOVE THEM!

And one of the funniest moments of our reunion... Lilia had been naughty, and Joe called her over to talk with her. The whole time they were talking, Lilia was holding her bum as though Joe was on the verge of spanking her... I couldn't help but get a picture! It's just too funny!

Vacation Part 2

2010-07-11T21:56:00.007-06:00

Once we left Jason's house (see last post), we headed to San Ramon to visit Joe's grandmother. Grandma Q had never met my kids, so this was a pretty awesome opportunity to introduce my kids to their great grandmother on Daddy's side.

Joe's grandma lives with her daughter (Joe's aunt) Bonnie. Bonnie has a pool. Lacey saw the pool and instantly did this...

Matthew was pretty tired when we got to Bonnie's house. Oh how we love nap time!

Lilia visiting with Grandma Q... Lilia told me later that she really really loves her Grandma Q

We spent the night with Joe's family, then headed on our way to family reunion. We stopped for one night in Modesto to visit with some friends I grew up with, and spent the night at my aunt's house. She had her grandkids over for the night, so Lilia and Lacey were in heaven with other kids their age to play with.

Joe got tackled by all the kids...

I was tired- and got tackled by just one little kid... Matthew decided eating my shoulder would be fun.

The next morning, we headed out for Family Reunion... Stay tuned for part 3!

Vacation Part 1

2010-06-28T09:35:00.007-06:00

Back in early June we went on a family trip to California. It was quite the trip- one I wouldn't necessarily suggest for those parents of a 5 month old... but we did have a good time apart from all the driving.

We decided this year we were going to rent a car to save on the wear and tear of our only family vehicle. We were in the market for a full size car that could seat three car seats/boosters on the same bench. We reserved a car almost a month in advance, and when we got to the rental car place, they didn't have the car we were promised. SO- they "upgraded" us to a Jeep Patriot. Yeah- it gets good gas mileage, but it was a VERY tight fit getting three seats on the bench. Besides that, it didn't have cruise control or any power locks or windows. Ever take a 14 hour drive with three children with no cruise control (cramps in the leg) and no power window locks ("Lacey- stop rolling down the window or I swear I will BEAT you!")? Totally not cool. But still- glad to not have to worry about putting so much mileage on our car.

Our first stop on the trip was to Joe's friend, Jason's house in Los Gatos. He is a California State Park Ranger in the Santa Cruz mountains, so his home was in a pretty secluded forest setting. It was gorgeous, and cool without ever being cold. We spent some time hiking, and eating some killer food (prepared by Jase) and just relaxing. We went into downtown Los Gatos and did some touristy shopping and dining. Then, on our last day with Jase we went to The Monterey Bay Aquarium.

I didn't take too many pictures, but did get a few good shots...

The girls really liked Uncle Jason (aka Uncle Jase or Uncle J) They were constantly fighting for his attention.

It wasn't cold, just trying to keep Matthew's head from burning. Joe got a good feel for how miserable pregnancy can be while wearing the sling.

Gorgeous view- and a pretty cute kid too!

Blows my mind that my girls were totally cool sitting on this rock with Jason. Pretty awesome view though!

Matthew being exactly what he is... a boy. Gotta love the Nerf gun!

Lacey sitting in front of some anchovies at the Aquarium. I couldn't get her to look at the camera...

Lil sitting in front of the same anchovies... And also not looking at the camera. Can't remember why she was laughing. Probably at Daddy and Uncle Jase being funny, like usual...

Lilia playing in the Touch Pools. She liked the sea stars.

Lacey looking at some pretty gnarly fish.

Stay Tuned for part 2...

Respect the note!

2010-06-28T09:28:00.002-06:00

Lil found out we were babysitting some neighbor boys tonight. This is what she put on her bedroom door. Gotta respect the note boys- she was pretty polite, doncha think?

Updates.

2010-06-04T12:48:00.009-06:00

First off, Matthew has officially been tested for food allergies. The day of the test he had a pretty crappy reaction and projectiled all over me and our couch. The rash was in full bloom, and he was super congested. I was kinda glad (sorta) because it meant being able to take him to the doc MID REACTION. So we took him in, the doctor agreed that he looked like he had an allergy, but then... ALL the tests came back negative! UGH! So there I was trying not to cry, because I was SO SURE he was allergic, and if he ISN'T, as great as that news is, it puts me back at square one with what exactly is WRONG with my sweet boy?! The doctor said it might be FPIES- which is basically a step between an allergy and intolerance, so he gave me some specific instructions to check for a reaction. Oddly enough- this test was almost a month ago and he has had NO REACTIONS WHATSOEVER since the test. My guess is that he had allergies, and has outgrown them (which was always a likely possibility).

Second, my kids are super cute.

Third, Lilia graduated from kindergarten last week, and we couldn't be more proud of her. She got nearly perfect grades (all 4's and one 3), and she was given a certificate stating she is the most athletic kindergarten girl. Um, news to me! :) She then proceeded to tell anyone who would listen that she "has to stay home for three months before [she] can go to first grade."

Fourth, my kids are awesome and amazing!

Fifth, Matthew has officially tried solids. Yeah- not much of a fan. We are still working on learning to pull food to the back of the throat... He still spits it out (and makes the cutest little "PBBT!" sound every time...). All in good time!

(The rash on his face is the only sign of a possible skin allergy, but we haven't been able to pin point what is the cause yet)

Sixth, my son's chub makes me giggle. He is so cute!

Seventh, we are leaving for vacation in San Fran, Mo-Town, and Tahoe next Saturday. If you are interested in getting together with me lemme know!

Eighth, my middle child is very determined. When she wants something she can't reach, she just builds steps... albeit very DANGEROUS steps...

(that would be to reach the play dough on the top of the bookshelf)

Ninth, I like this picture- not sure why...

And finally, my cousin reminded me that what WAS in this spot is still a secret... to be updated later...

I think I am gonna be sick...

2010-05-23T10:10:00.005-06:00

What happens when Mom is busy feeding the baby and big sister is in the other bathroom taking a bath...

I thought there was only minimal damage, then I looked a little closer at her and saw the clumps of cut hair still on her head...

I combed her hair out and this is what came off on the brush...

after I blew it dry...

Mothers Day 2010

2010-05-09T09:50:00.005-06:00

This year was a good one for me. Unlike last year, I KNEW what I was getting for Mothers Day from the get go. Why? Well- because I took my husband to Home Depot, walked him to the right department, pointed and said, "THAT had better be my Mothers Day gift!" And he took the hint! :) In fact, he took it one step further and said, "I like this one better (the upgraded model)." (To be fair, we were there to buy HIS early Fathers Day gift- tools for our basement, so I felt justified telling him exactly what would make me happy.)

And THIS is what he got me!

Now, my husband, whom I truly ADORE has some of the worst luck ever, as proven by his 30th Birthday Party, as well as our Wedding Flower stories (ask me about it sometime and I may have to tell ya about it!). And of course, this story is no different! The actual door Joe was wanting to get was THIS ONE. And when he got to the store he called me to double check the door size. I measured it and told him it was 36" X 80". He was glad he called because he had written down 30" X 80". Soooo- an hour or so later he came home, and began installing the door. He got to the point where he had the door ready to put in the door frame and as he lifted it into place he realized that the door was WAY TOO narrow! Even though he had gotten the correct measurements from me, the employee that got the door for us gave him a 32" X 80" door! So he spent 30 minutes taking apart the door he just put together, and drove the 20 minutes to Home Depot, traded in the door for the correct width, drove the 20 minutes home, pulled it out of the box and realized that though this one was the correct width it was the WRONG STYLE! But since the door he brought home was the original one I liked, we decided to keep it... bless his heart! He was NOT in the mood for a third 40 minute drive to get the right door!

Either way, I now have a storm door, and can talk to people at the front door without needing to worry about my dog escaping! AND I can leave the door open to get some air in the house this summer! YAY!

This morning, Matthew gave me a mothers day gift. Lately he has been fussing at around 3 am, he isn't waking up, just making enough noise to wake me up and put a pacifier in his mouth. TODAY- he didn't fuss or wake up until 5:30! What a good boy! And after I fed him, he went right back to sleep- as did I. Lacey sorta gave me a gift by waking up and laying quietly next to daddy so I could keep sleeping. Joe finally got up with her, and they let me sleep an extra two hours! Give or take the 2 minutes when Lil came in and LOUDLY announced that I could FINALLY have the Mothers Day gift she made in her Kindergarten class. It was super cute, but it had been sitting on our kitchen counter since Friday and she kept insisting it was NOT a gift, and that if it was a gift it WASN'T for me, and it WASN'T for Mothers Day... hehehe. I am so glad she is not good at lying. Long story short- I woke up at 5:30, fed Matt, went back to bed and slept til 8. I then woke up to hash browns and scrambled eggs w/ham for breakfast. What a great start to my day! I love my family!

Ever try getting three kids to look at you at the same time? Yeah- not easy... Oh, and Lacey had spilled water down her front and had just taken off her pajamas, but Matthew was in a good mood so I begged her to come take a picture quickly before Matthew got fussy. :) I love my cute kids!

200 Posts?!

2010-04-23T14:59:00.012-06:00

Wow I have written 200 posts! How many of you have been following since I started this blog?

Okay- enough about that :) I am in the mood to reminisce a bit. Show some cute pictures of me and Joe and our ever growing family through the last 10 years of marriage and dating...

Dating Us

Newlywed Us

Us after Joe's graduation

Us plus 1

Us plus 2

And then we added a third- still no picture of all of us together.

My first picture with my kids...

Lilia

Lacey

Matthew

Here are some side by sides with Joe and the kids...

Lilia

Lacey

Matthew

And a picture of Lil counting Lacey's fingers:

And Lacey counting Matt's:

Some cute smiles from my kids:

Lilia

Lacey

The Girls

Matthew

And a few funny pictures worth sharing...

Lil drawing her own bath

Lacey getting in the bath by herself

Newborn Lacey- sound asleep

Buttered up Lacey

Sleepy Lilia

Lilia blowing bubbles on Lacey

Matthew thinks he's SOOOO funny...

Now- it's late and it's past my bedtime. Time to take the advice of the following pictures.

Had a good nap?

2010-04-23T13:33:00.003-06:00

Joe and I couldn't bring ourselves to kill a sleeping creature. Soooo- Edna is awake and back in full swing! And we are still trying to decide how to dispose of her...

She has dug herself a new hole, and I managed to get a few pictures of her.

Standing up... kinda hard to see from the angle I got the picture of.

She's kinda cute. Too bad she has GOT to go!

She was pretty good at posing for me, and didn't run away until a car drove by and scared her.

A few things to catch up on...

2010-04-22T16:14:00.005-06:00

First up- Lacey...

Lacey has been all sorts of cute lately. Her favorite saying is, "Just a second." She says it on an hourly basis, and it makes me smile almost every time I hear it.

She also loves going to church, though she says she likes "Going to Jesus."

She and I are about to try round two of potty training. The first one was a total bust when I went into labor and all thoughts of potty training went out the window.

The other day, she decided to make a peanut butter and jam sandwich, and after making it, she came up to me, placed her hand on my back and asked me if I wanted to eat her "sammich." The sweetie! What makes it even better? This is what I found when I took off my sweater later that afternoon...

(this is the back of my sweater... and two little hand prints from the jam...)

Then there is my Lilia. She is such a sweetheart most of the time. She is well behaved, and so darn cute.

She has learned to tie her own shoes, and does so for ANYONE who walks through our door. First she shows them the left shoe being tied, then the right! To celebrate, we bought her a pair of shoes that need tying.

She is going on her first elementary school field trip tomorrow. They will be going to the zoo. (Speaking of- I should probably finish writing my post about the zoo trip we took a few weeks ago)

She is a great reader, and a smart kiddo. She likes doing her homework, and delights in making Matthew smile.

Yesterday I asked Lil to go get the mail outside. When she was getting her shoes on, the dog got all excited, thinking she was going out too. When Lil left without the dog, this is what our dog did.

She just sat there, staring at the door, until Lil came back. It was pretty funny.

Finally, Matthew.

He is such a sweet baby. He has started laughing a little, and is getting so big! He is almost 3 months old, and is a whopping 14 pounds!

He is such a happy baby, but just like my other kids, he has a very pronounced frown. And unfortunately I can't help but laugh every time I see it! What makes it even better is that he will frown, which makes me laugh, which makes him smile. Until I stop laughing, then he frowns again, so I laugh and he smiles, and the cycle continues...

See?

We recently had pictures taken. And though I can't post the pictures on my blog without the watermark on it, I figure its safe to post a picture of the pictures hanging on my wall, right? Well I hope so, cause I am gonna... :)

Hope you are all having a fantastic spring! I know ONE CREATURE that is... (stay tuned to hear more about this...)

How'd I manage THAT?!

2010-04-08T21:50:00.003-06:00

I think I have hit a new level in mourning... Two days ago marked the 12th anniversary of my father's death. And I didn't even realize it until today when I read a blog about the importance of April 7th to this friend, and the date sounded familiar to me. After thinking about it for a few minutes I realized why. April 6th (though a VERY important day in the history of my church) was marked 12 years ago by the saddest day of my life...

And here I sit, and I am glad to see that April 6th no longer seems to hold that pain for me, yet I find myself a bit sad that it doesn't. I guess time does eventually heal all wounds, doesn't it? Just last week I was talking to a friend who has recently lost her father, and I was telling her that the pain will slowly ebb, it will get better, it will get easier, and as it gets easier, it is sad to look back and realize that it doesn't hurt as much. That, though you miss him, you are no longer in pain over the loss, or at least that the pain is lessened...

I didn't expect to prove my point so easily. But I guess that is life. It keeps going, and going.

I miss you Dad.

Matthew's Blessing

2010-04-02T09:48:00.003-06:00

Last Sunday was Matt's baby blessing. About 2 hours before church started, he decided to have an allergic reaction to SOMETHING and threw up ALL over himself and his swing. Luckily, his blessing outfit was still safely tucked away, and wasn't anywhere near the accident... Also, we were lucky to not have a repeat incident. So- about 15 minutes before church started I got him dressed, and off we went! Joe gave him a beautiful blessing (at least as much as I could hear of it- Lacey was being a pill), and afterwards we came back to our house with the family for some good food, and family fun! There were about 53 people here, and lemme tell ya- the house was PACKED! But I do love my family, and am so grateful they could all make it! Honestly though- if EVERYONE in the family had made it, we would have numbered much closer to 75 (since with Joe's and My immediate family alone we have 67)! Still- we had a great time, and I was glad to be able to share that time with the family.

Here are a few pictures of Matthew in his blessing outfit and with his blanket- made for him by my mother.

Letters from my children... and Lacey being funny!

2010-03-25T09:40:00.001-06:00

A couple days ago Lil got herself in trouble. She has been neglecting one of her chores- more specifically, her bedroom. She is supposed to clean it every day, and she hadn't cleaned it for the last 4... SO- I sent her to her room. She was not allowed to leave for anything except bathroom breaks and meals. About an hour and a half later, as I was preparing dinner and had spent most of the afternoon trying (without success) to get her to clean her room, she came into the kitchen and very sweetly said, "Mom, I wrote you a letter." She then set it on the table and took off at a VERY brisk pace. I went and looked at the letter, and though I was tired, and frustrated, and annoyed at her still being in her room because she was refusing to do a 10 minute job, I couldn't help but smile at her note.

For those who don't have a 5 year old and can't decipher her writing... "Mom I Do noT love U HATe Lilia" (Instead of "Love, Lilia") hehehehe. I love it!

So when she came back out a few minutes later she said, "Mom, did you see my letter." And I said, "Yes! I loved it!" She looked at me like a nut job and said, "Did you read it?" And I said, "Yes! And Lilia, your hand writing is getting SO GOOD! I LOVE it, and I am SO proud of you!" Her response? "UGH!" and off to her room she went madder than ever! It was pretty funny!

The next day, after her room was finally clean, she gave me this note:

"Dere (dear) Mom I Rele (really) love U mom you ARe The BesT evRe (ever) Love Lilia"

Yesterday, Lacey drew a picture (on the back of my insurance paperwork) that was really REALLY cute. So of course, for posterity's sake, I HAD to post it here. I asked who the two people were, and she informed me that it was Grandma (my mom) and Uncle David (my brother- not one of the other two Uncle David's she has).

(I typed the names on the picture so you would know who was who)

Earlier this week, I caught Lacey playing in the kitchen. Seems she wanted to provide baby Matthew with some more food...

That would be a manual breast pump- and she has it upside down and no bottle attached, but well- it's a good start! She cracks me up! SO FUNNY!

Love!

2010-03-23T09:22:00.004-06:00

I realized today that I haven't posted these pictures on my blog yet- I had the kids pictures taken a while back, and these are the proofs I was sent... they turned out so cute!

Also, I haven't said it in a while, but...

I LOVE my children! They are all amazing, and wonderful, and challenging, and sweet... They keep me on my toes, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

Big hugs for Lilia, Lacey, and Matthew!

Random pictures and stories...

2010-03-18T09:20:00.004-06:00

Just some random stuff I pulled off the camera.

I love my boys! Such handsome men!

Lilia loves holding Matthew. She is especially helpful at calming him down when Mom is unable to come to his rescue. I just send Lil to hold and cuddle him until I am available.

Lacey making her own peanut butter sandwich... of course she doesn't want to get her clothes dirty, so she used my tank top as her outfit of choice when making her PB&J masterpiece.

So the biggest mistake I keep making with my Matthew safe diet is accidentally using food items that contain dairy in them. Take for example, two days ago. I was CRAVING meatloaf for dinner. I have been wanting meatloaf for a week or more, and I went in search of a recipe that didn't have milk in it. I found one that sounded promising, so I made it. As I was putting the raw meatloaf in the pan to cook it, I decided to double check all the ingredients, just to be safe. Good thing I did, because the meatloaf had breadcrumbs in it. Those breadcrumbs were a store bought brand and sure enough... they contained milk! UGH! I had just made a 2 lb. meatloaf that I couldn't eat! I was so mad! I ended up giving the meatloaf to a family I know who was having a really hard/busy day, and made a new meal for dinner... But because of this little mistake, I decided to reorganize my pantry. NOT the easiest chore with a newborn around. It took me all day, but I did it!

Here's all my food out of the pantry and spread throughout my kitchen...

The empty pantry before I reloaded it...

And the finished product. I now have two "Matthew safe" shelves one "Matthew can't eat it" shelf, and one "keep out of the kids reach" shelf

And this is the laundry basket full of food I am getting rid of since it all contains milk products that we won't be eating anytime soon.

To clarify that last part- just because Matt and I can't eat it doesn't mean the rest of the family is off dairy- Just at dinner and dessert time. My kids can still have chocolate milk or cheese sticks with breakfast or lunch. They can still have quesadillas, or cheese sandwiches. But I am making our dinners dairy free so we can all eat together as a family and so I only have to make one meal (not two). As for dessert- if they wanna buy something already made with milk in it- I am okay with that- but don't expect me to make them dessert I can't touch. Call me mean... I know. So yeah- we are doing a service project at church involving donations to the food bank at the end of the month, and this basket will be my donation! :)

An unexpected and UNWANTED surprise...

2010-03-16T15:40:00.003-06:00

Look what I pulled out of my head on Friday morning?

And yes, I know everyone tells you not to pull them cause two will grow back in it's place, but I wanted to blog it, and didn't want it on display on my head anymore! Oh, and since it isn't totally easy to tell- it was not grey- it was WHITE. :S I hate getting older...

Matthew Drama...

2010-03-12T13:28:00.005-07:00

I am sorry for not posting a little more often. I have found myself completely wrapped up in parenting... more specifically, keeping my youngest charge alive and getting him healthy.

Back at the end of February I came to a startling realization. My newborn had been sick for a whole month! He was constantly congested, and his jaundiced look wasn't going away... I remember waking up one morning and it hit my like a ton of bricks. Something else is wrong. Something serious. A thought formed in my head, and I brushed it away. It kept popping back up, and I kept ignoring it. Finally, I listened to that little voice and made a call to one of my friends. "Cynthia- how did you know that Brian (her son) had allergies? What were his symptoms?" You see- Cynthia's son has been struggling with some pretty hefty and very serious allergies since he was a newborn... As Cynthia listed all the signs her baby had shown, I mentally checked them ALL off my list. Matthew was showing EVERY sign of having allergies.

Around that same time, he really did get sick and woke me up at 2am with a NASTY (scary) bout of Croup. So I sat up with him all night in the bathroom with the humidifier running (to keep his airways open), and waited for morning. When the doctors office opened the next day, I got Matt in for an appointment. He was pretty seriously ill with Croup (which, I now know is extremely dangerous in newborns- it can turn deadly very quickly). I mentioned to the doctor who treated him (not our regular doc) that I suspected that he had allergies, and though she seemed to dismiss the idea, she did say they would look into that once Matthew was healthy. To treat Croup, they gave Matt a steroid, and wanted me to bring him back the next day. Within an hour of that shot my son was a completely different person! His jaundiced looking skin paled out to a healthy looking creamy complexion. His "baby acne" that covered his chest, back and face was completely gone (it was a rash- not acne), and for the first time in his short little life he was breathing easy with no signs of congestion. The steroid shot- which SHOULD have helped with his breathing- fixed all his other health issues too. It turns out that by opening up his airway with the steroid, it helped him to breathe easier and boosted his immune system enough to clear his alleged allergies up as well!

Here is a couple pictures of the reddish color of his skin before the shot ( I know they are newborn shots- but his skin color never changed... he stayed that red until the steroids)

And now a picture I took 2 hours AFTER the shot.

So the next day, I took Matthew BACK to our regular doctor for a follow up from the croup. The steroid was well on it's way out of his system, and his skin was starting to turn red again, and the rash was back... When I talked to my pediatrician, he confirmed that Matthew absolutely WAS showing signs of a food allergy. He then went on to explain that it was most likely cow's milk since that was the only food allergen to truly manifest itself in breast milk. Most other food allergens wouldn't show up in high enough doses to cause a reaction.

Since that diagnosis I have completely cut all dairy out of my diet. And lemme tell ya- the difference in Matthew is astounding! Not only is he pale enough to actually look like he belongs to me and Joe, but he is mostly rash free, has stopped projectile vomiting, isn't congested as much, and is sleeping better. I keep slipping up with the dairy, so he isn't completely free of the rash and congestion, but as I become more accustomed to the diet, I think it will get better.

Now- in my own defense, I am not purposefully eating any dairy products. My "slip ups" are with things I was not aware HAD dairy in them. Things like bread crumbs in my meatloaf recipe, or butter in my syrup, or dehydrated milk in the seasoning packet for Ramen noodles, etc. It is RIDICULOUS how many store bought products have milk in them! But- I love my little man, and therefore, I will continue to go diary free.

Oh, and in case anyone is interested- if you wanna drop some weight quickly, cut out dairy. Works wonders, I tell ya!

The beginning of a new chapter...

2010-03-06T10:03:00.002-07:00

Joe and I were married December 27th 2000. It was going to be in my hometown in Modesto CA, and it was sandwiched between Christmas and the celebration of my great grandfather's 100th birthday (the 29th). We had a HUGE turnout from my side of the family because of that. It was not super easy to plan our California wedding from Utah, but we managed, and it turned out well. We were married in the Fresno CA temple (I would have preferred the Oakland Temple, but it was closed for maintenance...). After the ceremony, we headed back to Modesto for our reception later that night. There were a few mishaps, but all in all a fantastic evening, with plenty of family and friends to celebrate with. After the reception Joe and I stuck around town "honeymooning" until the next evening when we made a quick stop in at Grandpa's party to wish him a happy 100th birthday. Then we left to head back to Utah, honeymooning along the way in Vegas. When we got back to Utah, we had an Open House for those of our family and friends who lived in UT. It was not as well attended, but it was beautiful and The important people came. Both Joe and I felt extremely blessed to have such amazing family and friends, and their support was greatly appreciated!

This year we celebrate our 10th anniversary, and I am more in love with him than I ever dreamed possible. In the last 10 years Joe graduated from the U of U with a bachelors in Computer Engineering. We have moved from U of U student housing, to our first house in Layton, followed by our current house. We have had three beautiful children. Lilia was born in August 2004, Lacey in July 2007, and Matthew in January 2010. I was able to quit working for the bank and become a stay at home mother. All in all, we have had a fantastic 10 years, and look forward to MANY MANY more!

The Big Question

2010-03-01T11:00:00.002-07:00

I move to Utah in late June of 2000. After a week or so, I had secured myself a full time job at a local bank, and was moved in to my aunt and uncle's spare bedroom. Joe lived about half an hour away. He worked a part time night job, and was a full time student, so I wasn't able to see him much- only on the weekends, really. But it was good to be able to spend more time with him! We spent a lot of time on the phone during the week. I was introduced to all of his siblings, and their families, and I got to know them all a lot better. Within a few months we KNEW we were ready to make the next step.

During our months of online dating, we had plenty of opportunity to discuss many things. One of those discussions was on how talented my family is in the wedding department. My mother makes wedding cakes, my aunt is a seamstress and makes wedding dresses, my other aunt owned a party supply store and had an eye for floral arrangements, and most importantly to Joe- my uncle (who lived a mere hour from Joe) was a jeweler...

Sometime in late July or early August, we made a trip down to Provo to visit Joe's sister ( a most uncomfortable trip on the back of his motorcycle might I add!). While we were there we stopped by my uncle's jewelry shop. Joe and I perused my uncle's ring selection, and lemme tell ya- there were HUNDREDS to choose from! My uncle makes custom jewelry, so he had many MANY molds for me to look at. I remember choosing a bunch of different ring styles, then I excused myself to go visit with my aunt, leaving Joe with the final choice and leaving me with some semblance of a surprise at not knowing which ring he would choose for me. From there, I knew it would be a while for my ring to be finished, so I knew not to expect the proposal anytime soon.

A few weeks later, I called Joe on a Friday to ask what our plans were to be that weekend. Joe and I made plans for Saturday, but he told me he wasn't able to come see me on Sunday due to plans he had made. I asked what his plans were (sheer curiosity, people) and he said, "Oh, it's a service project for church." I left it at that and went about my typical Friday evening. Later that night, I talked to my mom and happened to mention how bummed I was to not be able to see Joe on Sunday because of his service project... I then asked her what kind of service project he would do on a Sunday... that's SUPPOSED to be a day of rest in the church. My mom (quick thinker that she is) said, "Oh! Well maybe he is taking the sacrament to elderly people in the ward who can't make it to church!" Well that made perfect sense to me, especially since Joe was currently living in a ward CHALK FULL of elderly people. So Saturday rolls around and Joe and I have a very enjoyable day. At one point I asked Joe what kind of a service project he had

the next day and he said offhandedly, "Oh, I am taking the sacrament to the elderly in the ward." I completely and totally believed him... (Seems my mom and him were in cahoots...) Before he dropped me off that night, he asked for my mom's phone number. Now even though this might have raised many a red flag for most people, it wasn't a big deal to me since my mom had been emailing Joe almost as long as I had been. She talked with him regularly, and I knew it, so to have him call her wasn't a big deal. I handed over my mom's phone number and all was well.

The next day, after dinner, I gave Joe a call. I talked to him about my day, he told me about his. I asked how the service project went, he gave me some pretty convincing details about it, and we made to get off the phone. Just before I hung up I said, "Oh, how long did you talk to my mom today?" His reply- "Oh, about the time it takes to drive from my house to Provo..."

... ... ... "Um..."

(At this point, Joe knew he totally blew it. The ONLY people he knew in Provo were his sister and my jeweler uncle. AND his sister was out of town!)

I said, "Soooo... what were you doing in Provo?" I swear I could hear crickets, before Joe said, "I am proposing on Saturday okay?!" And with that he hung up the phone. The poor guy! He had tried so hard to surprise me, and had come SO CLOSE! But then he tripped up on an unexpected question. To hear him tell the story, is agonizing. He had planned and schemed so long with my mom. He had come up with not just a fake service project, but DETAILS of the project to throw me off... He knows the kind of person I am (was- I am better now) and knew I knew he had the ring. Since we had plans midweek, and he wasn't proposing then, he told me when so I wouldn't be upset when it didn't happen the next time I saw him...

Saturday, Joe, in all his sweet glory spent all day taking me all over the valley reenacting many of our earlier dates... we went to Marie Calendars for lunch (our first date), he took me miniature golfing (many dates since then), and we sat in the parking lot talking for hours like we used to when he would pick me up from work in CA... He eventually drove up to the Bountiful Temple, and dropped down on one knee. I was all sorts of smitten, until I realized he had proposed with a keyring. I was so angry I hit him square in the chest with his keys, and he attempted to laugh (and catch his breath) while he pulled the real ring out of his pocket. I can honestly say, I didn't remember ever choosing the ring style he put on my finger, but I absolutely LOVED my ring! Almost as much as I loved my guy!

Stay tuned for Installment 6: The Beginning of a New Chapter

Thank Goodness for Modern Technology

2010-02-26T20:51:00.002-07:00

After Joe left, we continued to "date." He would call on his cell phone every Sunday and we would talk for 2 hours (his phone plan was pretty archaic). We would send each other emails every day, sometimes more that one a day. We would chat online any chance we got... It was ALMOST as good as being near each other... not quite, but almost. I flew down to visit him around Valentines day (and my birthday) and he flew me down on his spring break... It wasn't long before we both realized we were in love, and though I said it first, he was not too far behind in reciprocating it.

It wasn't long after his move that my mom confided in me that she KNEW the moment she met him that he was my future husband. Let's just say that I was all sorts of surprised and a bit taken off guard by my mom's comment... I mean, I was 18! I was barely out of high school! Say WHAT?! To add to it, not long after he left, Joe told me in a phone conversation that "if things keep going the way they are now, don't be surprised if I ask you to marry me." (Remember- subtlety isn't his THANG...)

It wasn't easy being in love, but being separated by two states. We decided that the only solution to this problem would be for me to move to Utah. We talked it over, talked with my mom, and got her feedback, and then I started planning the move. It would be a somewhat "temporary" move. Neither Joe nor I felt comfortable moving our relationship past dating until we lived close enough to actually get some REAL dating in. Not the over the phone dating, but to actually spend time with each other. So after 6 months of dating online and over the phone, I moved in with my aunt and uncle in Utah to see what would happen. If Joe and I didn't work out, I had every intention of moving back to CA. Betcha can't guess what happened next...

Stay tuned for Installment 5: The big question