I am thankful!

Yesterday for our "preschool" time we learned about the Pilgrims and how the Indians saved them by giving them food and teaching them what to plant... Then we made Pilgrim hats and Indian head dresses. Never mind that Chase kept calling them Pilgrims and Aliens. lol Then he'd ask me, "What are they again?" I asked them what they were thankful for and wrote their answers on their feathers. Chase was mostly thankful for food, but other things as well to include oranges, meat, Aunt Dee Dee, Uncle Todd, and Aiden. Aiden was also very thankful. He included Charly, Aunt Lani, Dee Dee, Aiden, Chaser, Aiden, Cindi, "Me"... So he's very greatful for himself and I'm greatful for his high self-esteem! ;) I was most touched that he was thankful for Jesus Christ... TWICE. (Second only to his thankfulness for himself... not bad for a three year-old!) ha, ha








I am thankful for my two little guys and impulsive moments like this:

We were at story-time and Aiden, out of the blue, put his arm around his brother and then kissed his cheek. Chase didn't even mind! Those are moments that make my heart happy!

I'm thankful for sisters who I can call anytime (and who call me) to complain, vent, share good moments with. They are my best friends!

I'm thankful for my parents who keep me sane. (Not debatable... this is MY blog!) I don't know what I'd do without them! They are there for me for whatever I need. They rescue me from problems (like taking the boys with them when I have a migraine or forget to find a "sitter" and have a meeting or something). My dad has done SOOOOO much for me that I would never have been able to afford to pay someone for. (Fixed our fence, tiled our entry, put up the bunkbeds, fixed the dishwasher, replaced the mailbox, fixed the disposal... more than once, painted, cut wood, built a wall... I could go on and on.) I owe him BIG! I could never repay him even if I had a million bucks! My Mom is always ready and willing to go with us to the store, zoo, movie, or wherever. She has been to the e.r. with Chase and I more than once. She'll drop what she's doing just to come over and give the boys a hug or kiss if they're feeling sad and that's what they say they need to feel better. She'll come right over, regardless of how much she has to do, if Chase or Aiden call and say, "Grandma, I want you to come over." More than anything, they're both just there for me. My life would beVERY, VERY lonely without them!

I'm thankful that Karam is working (and driving back and forth to Denver each day) to allow me to stay home with the boys. I'm thankful that I can watch Brayden, which also provides just enough extra money to allow me to stay home with my boys.

I'm also thankful for the friends that I have. Especially the ones who stay good friends regardless of how often or infrequent we see each other... Like Kristy and Laurel.

Finally, I'm thankful, of course, for my Savior and that I have his true Gospel to lead me and guide me. I am so blessed and so thankful for the blessings that I have!

Ho, Ho, Ho...

My boys were playing in the spare bedroom downstairs (where they love to play all the time... we rarely have visitors, so I don't worry about keeping it "guest-ready") and I was folding laundry (or taking a catnap pretending to fold laundry) when out they come. Apparently they were going through the chest of holiday stuff. Weird that they've never done it before now. Hilarious (at least to ME), the outfits they put together!

First, we have Chase wearing my one and only Christmas (actually my only holiday-anything) sweatshirt with one Christmas stocking and one "Cat-In-the-Hat Hat" on his feet:

Next is Aiden wrapped in our Christmas shower curtain, with mis-matched Christmas stockings adorning his feet:

I guess we're getting in the spirit...Hmmmmm.... maybe Christmas photos for our Christmas card?!? :D

"You don't make friends, you earn them."

On November 15, 2008 our friend, Julia Holt, passed away. She found out she had cancer just a few weeks prior to her death. I knew her from Church. She was always smiling and friendly, but I didn't know her very well. While attending her funeral and hearing about how much fun she was, I was sad that I hadn't gotten to know her better! I missed out! She earned many, many friends and will be missed.

You found WHAT?!?!

We were at my parent's house and Chase excitedly came running from the kitchen to the family room yelling, "Liquor! Liquor! I found some liquor!" It's not something I buy or keep at MY house since I don't like it. My parents, on the other hand, are both BIG fans! Yes, my Mormon parents. Yes, my Dad who is in the Bishopric. ... Of course, if you're not Chase and you've had a little more exposure, you wouldn't leave off the "ice" at the end. That simple little ending changes the sound from "liquor" to "licorice"... ;) Funny how that works. Hopefully he won't go to church and tell people he likes to go to Grandma & Grandfather's house because they have good liquor; which they share; with their THREE year old grandsons... Then they'd have some 'splainin' to do!

I'm a Convert!

I've seen pics of Robert Pattinson. I've seen movie trailers of Twilight. I was disappointed in the casting choice of Edward. I LOVE Edward, the character in the books. NOT so much, the actor chosen to play him in the movie... UNTIL...

The first two minutes of seeing him IN the movie. In fact I went from being disappointed to practically drooling... as long as I'm being honest. He's super yummy-looking and attractive! I also loved Bella! Whenever I read the books, I always pictured my niece, Jordyn as Bella. The whole time I watched the movie last night/ early this morning, I kept thinking "exactly like I pictured in my head". Yea! :D

This is Jordyn... the "Bella" in MY head!

I give the movie and casting two-thumbs up! I also give my "real" friends two-thumbs up for braving the cold and the crazy midnight showing time with me! Thanks girls! It was a blast!

House of mouse...

Guess who celebrated the big 8-0 yesterday?! That's right Mickey Mouse! We had big plans for his big day, but Aiden wasn't feeling well, so we didn't go "all out" like we planned. We had Mickey-Mouse-waffle-sandwiches for lunch.

After baths Aiden was feeling better and the kids reminded me that we hadn't had a party for Mickey and we didn't decorate Mickey shaped cookies or play games. So we improvised. We made a Mickey shaped rice krispy treat "cake". (quick and easy)

Then we made our own party hats and sang Happy Birthday and helped Mickey blow out his candles. Then we sang Happy Birthday and helped Mickey blow out his candles. Then we sang Happy Birthday... ok, you get the idea. Yes, everybody got a turn! :D (Nobody ever even mentioned "pin the nose on Mickey" so we got away with NO games!)

We like to move it!

Thanks, Kat, for inviting us to celebrate your birthday at Madagascar 2! My boys laughed a lot. Especially Aiden. He thought the movie was hilarious! I thought HE was hilarious. So... all good. And even though it made us late to Jessica's baby shower, we got there right after the games (like feeding each other baby food??!!??)... again, ALL GOOD! ;)

Little slice of humble pie...

My hair has always been naturally curly. Lately it seems to have lost most of it's curl, so I straighten it on most days. This past weekend I just didn't have time (it was a busy Saturday and lazy Sunday) so I left it "natural". Here's Aiden's attempt at taking a picture FOR me:

Here's MY attempt. While it's a hideous picture of me, you can get a good idea of what my hair looked like.

So, on to my story. I had just finished my hair and we were getting ready to leave and my sweet little Chase touched my hair and said, "Mommy, your hair is not wet." (I guess I achieved the "wet look"?!) I said, "No, it's not." He then asked, "Um, you want to wear it wike tHat?!" Well, now that you mentioned it, like THAT, maybe not, but what choice did I have?!!

Then that night while putting them to bed, Chase said, "I wike you mommy." I responded, "I love you." He said, "No, Mommy, I said, I wike you." I said, "I like you too." He then said, "Mommy, I wuv you too... a tiny, wittle bit." Gee, thanks Chase. ;)

serenade

I always sing songs to the boys at bedtime. Last night was a treat as Chase chose to sing to me. He sang "My Heavenly Father Loves Me" (one of MY favorite songs):

"Whenever I hear the song of a bird, or TOUCH the blue, blue sky...
He gave me my eyes, that I might see.
He gave me my ears that I might FEEL."

I like his version. It's my new favorite.

Cindi's law...

Not familiar with it? Perhaps you're familiar with Murphy's Law- If something CAN go wrong, it WILL. Well, Cindi's law is similar, but with a twist. If Cindi says something out loud that can go wrong, it will. True confession... When I was young, REALLY young (like 6) we still had afternoon primary (yes, I AM that old, and that's not even my confession!!). We always picked up other kids and there was one girl in particular that I didn't like and didn't want to pick up. Well, one day I told my sister (in secret in the back of our station wagon, not buckled in or anything!) that I wished the girl would get run over by a car so that we wouldn't have to pick her up. Well, my sister, my confidante (I could write a whole blog about how she's proved NOT my true confidante over and over... Not a whole post. A whole blog. But that's another story...) shared my wish with my mother! (Yes, I got the lecture about not saying mean, threatening things like that because if it really happened then I would feel very bad.) Just seconds later we pulled onto the girl's street and surprise, there's an ambulance in front of her house. She had been playing ball in the street and a parked car started rolling down the hill behind her; HIT her; then rolled over her (with her in the center between the tires, luckily). She had a concussion from getting knocked down, but otherwise she was ok. MY FAULT? Who knows, but I did learn at an early age to be very careful what you wish for out loud. (If it's bad, anyway. The good things NEVER come true.) Sadly, I didn't learn my lesson. I have had other bad experiences like that, but I figure one REALLY bad confession is enough for one post. Fast forward to a few days ago. We were at the zoo. (It's what we do.) Brayden (the little boy I watch 4 days a week) wanted my dad to help him get on top of a wall. My dad told him that he'd have to climb himself. I informed him that I already told him he couldn't climb because "It's bad enough when my OWN kids get hurt, but I don't want to be responsible for someone else's child getting injured." Then we went into the little building they call "the loft" (I learned this when the paramedics were talking to me). Brayden was just sitting down on one of the little log bench-type things, but he lost his balance and fell, hitting his head on another log. Why, oh why did I have to mention out loud the whole not wanting to deal with another kid getting hurt?! His head swelled up quite a bit. It bruised almost instantly, and he had a cut across the bruise. After putting an ice pack on it and cleaning it and bandaging it, he was like new. You can't even tell from the picture that it was as bad as it was! Hopefully I'll be more careful with my words in the future! :D Besides THAT mishap, it was a fun day at the zoo. We got to pet a skunk (de-scented) and feed carrots to the hippos. Surprisingly enough, I didn't have my camera! The cell phone pics will have to do. :D

Ask me no questions...

Call 650-388-1117. Then comment back with your reactions. ;)

No more whining

Who? Me?!

Well, like most mothers, I hate whining. It's just annoying. So whenever my boys start whining, I pretend not to hear them and remind them that I "don't understand whining". They miraculously adjust their tone so that I can understand them clearly! Well, my voice has kind of been scratchy the last few days and I was informed by a stern Chase, "I don't like it when you talk like that Mommy. Use your big-boy voice!" ummmmmm... I'll have to work on that!

Sweet nothings

Tonight when I was putting the boys to bed, Aiden called out, "WAIT!" Then in a whisper, "I has to tell you someping. I wuv you, Mommy. I has-a kiss you." As far as good mommy moments go... that one ranks WAAAAYYYYY up there! :D

Talking tummy

Today Aiden lifted his shirt and leaned over a bit and said, "What? You're hungry?" Then he straightened up and said, "Mommy, my tummy just told me it's starving!" I said, "Ok, we better get your tummy some food." Then up came his shirt again as he bent forward and said, "What, tummy? You're firsty? What? You want chocolate milk?" Then he said, "Mommy, my tummy talks to me." ;) So off to the kitchen we went to fill his tummy's desire.

shameless 60 second plug...

So, the length of time really depends on how long you take to read and how long you admire the pictures of my super-cute boys! (I'm not at all biased, of course) And (unfortunately for me) I'm not getting paid or anything for this free advertising. ;) My boys love "nac-stics" (in their words) or doing "my tricks" as they also call it. I've been wanting to take them to gymnastics just to try it out. (I do have a little hangup, though. I'm afraid if I let them do too much tumbling and such, it will stunt their growth. I guess because most gymnasts are soooo short. Is that silly?!) My boys love Pump It Up, but they claimed to like Aerials gym even better! Imagine that! It really is a great deal (only $5 per kid for 2 hours of playtime!) and a lot of fun! If you live in the Springs or have an Aerial's gym near you, you should check out their open gym time! I'm so glad we found out about it and gave it a try! Fun, fun, fun!

This is my favorite: Aiden and Chase both trying to climb UP, but finding it difficult.

So Chase, the smaller of the two, gives his brother a little help. That makes my Mom-heart happy! :D

We now return you to your regularly scheduled life. ;)