365 Days of Wexels

February 11, 2012

2012-02-11T21:24:00.000-08:00

HA! I figured out how to outsmart my Braxton Hicks! It took me long enough...but I think I've beat the system. At least I did for today.

The only time they get horrible is when I am on my feet for too long, so I decided that I would find a way to make myself useful without having to be on my feet.

I was going to make cupcakes this morning, but I walked into the kitchen and all I could see was how disgusting my floor and tile grout were. It was about enough to make me want to vomit!

It's so weird how the funniest things just BUG me when I am pregnant. I know full well that my grout has been dirty for a long time, but for the past week or two it's really been bothering me. I couldn't even make the cupcakes until I had cleaned the grout.

So I got my cleaning stuff out, and went to work on the tile. As I was working I was thinking...Hey! I'm actually doing something productive and still sitting down! So I kept on scrubbing away, and two hours later, my floor was clean enough to eat off of, and I had NO Braxton Hicks!

I figured I was feeling so good...I would go ahead and press my luck. Do you know how many things you can clean while sitting down?? You can clean a LOT! I cleaned baseboards, walls, toilets, and floors, all while sitting down, and all without any Braxton Hicks! I was so proud of myself!

Granted it took me FOREVER to do all of it, and sadly I didn't finish every wall or baseboard or toilet for that matter, but I finished a bunch of them, and I even though I was sitting all day, I didn't feel like a big pile of crap! :)

Maybe my house will get deep cleaned from the floors to the midway point by the time Carson gets here?

Oh..and like my picture? I was trying to show my clean grout...which you can't even really appreciate unless you saw the before, but thankfully none of you did, but as I was taking the picture, Keric ran in and laid on the floor so he could be in the picture too! LOL As you can see he was SUPPOSED to be putting his jammies on, but didn't make it that far I guess. Such a little poser! :)

February 10, 2012

2012-02-10T22:07:00.001-08:00

Seems like yesterday I had a TON of things that I could have posted about, and today I hardly have any.

I will say that I am really grateful that my picture today was NOT of a tiny baby Carson in a NICU bed at the hospital. These stupid Braxton Hicks/Contractions are really cramping (excuse the pun) my style these days!

After I took Keric to school I wanted to run a few errands by myself, because as slow as I am these days, I am a heck of a lot faster alone than I am with Keric. So I dropped him off and went to a couple of stores for probably 45 mins, and then had to come home and rest. SERIOUSLY! I mean how lame is that?? I came home and put my feet up, drank an obscene, or at least obscene in my book, amount of water, and kind of waited for school to get out.

When it was time to go get Keric I felt a lot better, so I bribed him with chocolate and went to my last store before heading home. By the time I walked in the door, my lower back hurt so bad I felt like I was going to throw up! I was pretty much done for the day after that. I laid down, took a nap and expected to wake up ready to go again, but I just wasn't. The Braxton Hicks/Contractions were still there!

I try not to get panicky when I am sick, and especially being pregnant, because I hate to be "that girl" who is always calling the Dr. or nurse and making unnecessary visits to the ER, but seriously I was starting to get a little panicked that they just did NOT seem to be going away even with water and rest!

I told Chris what I had planned for dinner and how to make it, and he made dinner while I sat like a bump on a log! FINALLY around 7:30 p.m. I felt OK, and the Braxton Hicks had finally gone away and have still not returned. Let's hope they DON'T for oh...I don't know? Another 4 or 5 weeks!?!

So my picture, although not all that exciting, is at least NOT what in the back of my mind I was freaking out that it was going to be.

I finally got my little bathroom sign and picture collage done. I haven't been in too big of a hurry because we have been waiting a WEEK for the paint in the bathroom to completely dry, so it's not like I really had anywhere to hang everything. The silly paint is STILL kind of "tacky" feeling, and if you press hard enough, it leaves a mark. So we have been using one bathroom for all of us for a week! I think we've all had enough, and the back of the can says to wait FOUR weeks, but none of us are willing to do that, so hopefully the infamous Mickey Bathroom will be all put together tomorrow! Chris is upstairs doing touch ups as I type.

Anyway, I finished my little sign, picked a few of my favorite Tubby Time pictures of Keric and had them printed in black and white, and then on my errand run today I found some really cute, simple black frames at the dollar store that I bought. I framed the pictures, and I have three extra ones for Tubby Time pictures of Carson eventually. So yes...pay no attention to the little Chinese Family in the frames, they will be leaving shortly.

I'm kind of in love with my little sign and the tubby time picture collage. The sign turned out so cute, and this is kind of how I envision the pictures being displayed on the wall. We'll see if this is actually how it happens once they get put up there, but hopefully it will be somewhat similar.

I can hardly wait for this bathroom to FINALLY be done! Wow...what a pain it turned out to be! UGH. I guess in the end it will be worth it. :)

February 9, 2012

2012-02-09T11:08:00.000-08:00

This week is flying by way too fast! I swear it was JUST Monday and I had just gone to the Dr.'s office! Now it's already NOON on Thursday and I am just that many more days behind! *sigh* the joys of being pregnant, slow moving, and exhausted!

I found this cute little craft project called "Long Distance Hug" on Pintrest the other day and decided that Keric just HAD to make one to send to my parents for Valentine's day.

So this morning while he was still in his jammies, we got out the paint, scissors and glue and made Precious a.k.a Grandma Bennion and Gampa a.k.a. Grandpa Bennion a Valentine.

It was actually kind of fun to get a little messy this morning, or at least more messy than we usually do. :) Keric kept asking where the glitter was...amazingly enough I don't even HAVE any glitter!! I guess too many bad memories of cleaning up glitter messes from my days of teaching school. :)

We did some hand prints, glued them to a ribbon, and sent Precious and Gampa a "Long distance hug". After we were done Keric said "Awww...Mommy Precious is gonna LOVE it!" LOL

My Mom does get a big kick out of cards, and especially homemade ones. Guess Keric knows his Precious! :) Hopefully it won't be too late in getting to them!

February 8, 2012

2012-02-08T20:05:00.001-08:00

I have a little sister, who is not so little anymore. In fact she is a senior in high school, and already trying to plan out where she is headed to college, and what she is going to do and be when she grows up! Doesn't seem possible that she is as old now as I was when she was born!!

I have very fond memories of her growing up. Even though I had started to "leave the nest" I still remember lots of funny things about having such a little girl surrounded by so many older siblings.

One of my favorite memories of her is watching her sit around the table doing HER "homework" after school with everyone else.

I guess things have truly come full circle now! Keric brings home a "homework" page each Tuesday and Friday and is always so excited to get home and start working on it. For whatever reason yesterday he didn't finish his homework, so today when Cam and Reag got home from school and I told them to get started on their homework, Keric immediately went and found HIS homework and sat at the table doing homework with Cam and Reag.

I guess he kind of knows the homework drill, because after his coloring was done, and he had practiced writing his 9's he brought his paper over to me and asked me to help him with his spelling words. LOL

So I made up a little spelling list for him to practice and we practiced his spelling words while Reagan practiced hers.

Keric's words for this week were: Keric, Mom and Dad. He is actually doing really good at spelling his name on his own! I'm so proud of him! The Mom and Dad...well we will keep working on that I guess. Hopefully he will pass his test this week! ;)

Next he ran upstairs and found a book in his book shelf and came downstairs to start his reading. He was totally cracking me up as he was sitting on the couch so seriously reading his book. Every once in awhile he would yell into the other room "please be quiet, I reading!"

I know that just like with Cicly, time will fly by too quickly, and before I know it, not only will Keric be studying spelling words, and reading books for real...but the filling out of college applications and mission papers will be following closely behind!

Why can't we just stop time every once in awhile and hold onto things for just a loittle bit longer? It all just goes by too fast!

February 7, 2012

2012-02-07T21:00:00.000-08:00

Keric has his very first ever "Balentimes Day" a.k.a. Valentine's day party in a week. His teachers asked that he have his valentines all done and brought to school on Friday so that they could get their little bags all put together.

So after I picked him up from school today, we went to Wal-mart and picked out a few things for him to give to his class for Valentines day. I LOVE all of Wal-mart's 97cent things during the Holidays! I love even more that he has exactly 24 kids in his class, which means I only have to buy 2 packages of pretty much everything, and I have no left overs! :)

So tonight after dinner we put together his little Valentine bags. I found some really cute cellophane bags and we filled them up with suckers, smarties, conversation hearts (of COURSE!) and a tiny little bottle of bubbles. The little bottle of bubbles was the one thing Keric really wanted to put in his little treat bags, and since I'm fairly sure each child will only be able to blow about 5 bubbles out of each bottle, I figured the parents couldn't be too mad me. :)

After we filled the treat bags, I helped Keric sign his name on the Transformer Valentine's that he chose, and then we wrapped them all up and got them ready to go for Friday.

He was so cute while we were filling the bags. He kept telling me that he was having so much fun with his "Balentimes" and how much his friends were going to love them. :) I'm so thankful that he has so much fun at preschool and has such great teachers and friends. :)

February 6, 2012

2012-02-06T20:45:00.000-08:00

Today was another 2 week Dr.'s appointment in SLC with Dr. Holmes. I sort of had a feeling that today's appointment would be a little different. Not that anything "bad" would happen, just something you kind of know in your gut, but need to hear from your Dr.

I believe Dr. Holmes exact phrase was "You're growing one big baby in there aren't ya?" Yep...I'm huge!! No hiding that fact!!

I am measuring 4cm bigger than I should be right now, and even though I had lost a little bit of weight this time, Carson is estimated to weigh about 6lbs right now. It's sort of weird to think that he weighs MORE right now than Keric weighed when he was born at just under 36 weeks!

I have an ultra sound scheduled for Monday Feb. 13, and I think the results of that ultra sound will most likely determine my fate.

There of course is an off chance that I just have a lot of fluid, but I don't know? I don't have any swelling, and I haven't hardly gained any weight. I'm not sure that I just have lots of fluid is honestly going to be the outcome.

I have been having some contractions off and on. Nothing really major or consistent, but contractions non the less.

So our conversation with Dr. Holmes was basically that depending on the ultra sound, Carson may come early on his own, due to his size and the contractions that I have been having, or she may end up taking him early via C-section because of his size. She said she didn't want to risk hurting my new hip trying to deliver a 10 pound baby. I'm glad, because I really don't want to mess up my hip!! ouch!

Of course no one knows what my body would have done or will do naturally since I had to be induced with Keric, but I'm hoping that the C-section thing can be avoided if at all possible!

If that is what is best for Carson, then so be it...I of course will do it, and I will be as happy as I can about it. :) However my ideal situation, at least in my thinking today, would be that I just "naturally" go into labor around 36 weeks and deliver a half way normal sized baby on my own!

Right now I think Chris and I are trying to mentally prepare ourselves for a C-section outcome. Guess now all we do is wait. I'm GREAT at waiting as we ALL know!

February 5, 2012

2012-02-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

Some days it's hard to find one main event to take a picture of and post. Other days it seems like lots of things happen, and I just kind of have to choose the one I think best sums up the day.

Today I suppose there are lots of "pictures" that I could post. I could post a picture of us at Stake Conference and write about how excited Keric was to go to a "new church" and how excited he was to watch a "movie" and then 5 mins. later tell me how he really didn't LIKE the movie and wanted to go back home.

I could post the winning score of the Superbowl between the Patriots and the Giants. By the way the team I wanted to win did! :) That never happens! I was routing for the Giants simply because the last time they played the Patriots in a Superbowl they lost, so I figured it was their turn to win, thus my reasoning for cheering them on. I know...real great logic, but hey ya gotta route for the underdog right?

I could post pictures of all the food we ate at Mama Anne's house, and talk about how we all stuffed our faces watching a game that I don't think a one of us really truly cared about!

I could also post a picture of all the news coverage that has been happening about Josh Powell and how he killed himself and his two little boys in a house explosion this afternoon. I could write pages about how upsetting this story has been to listen to and to watch. I could write about how I honestly cried for those little boys as I read and listened to the news through out the day.

But instead I decided to post a picture of me and Keric right before I tucked him in to bed tonight. My hair is a mess, it's taken at a weird angel, and I'm sure I look like I've been crying off and on all day because...well I have, but this seemed like the picture that was best to record this day.

I'm extra thankful for my little boy, and for his safety today. I'm thankful that as I tucked him in tonight I know that not only does he have a Mommy and Daddy who love him more than he understands, but that he has a Daddy who loves his Mommy. A Daddy who would never do anything intentionally to hurt his Mommy or to hurt him, and a Daddy who will always keep us both safe!

As I get ready for bed tonight, I hope the NY Giants and their fans are having a wonderful celebration party tonight. I hope it's as big and full of confetti, cheers, and hugs as I'm sure the party in Heaven has been today between a Mom and her two little boys. My party tonight will instead be very low key, no guests, no confetti, just me, my thoughts and my quiet prayers of gratitude for my wonderful family.

February 4, 2012

2012-02-04T21:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Chris started prepping the bathroom for paint. Earlier this week he re-did the caulking and let that set and dry, and then today he started taping. The plan was that he would do the prep work, and I would paint the walls.

Well...lets be honest. As much as I honestly really DID want to paint the walls, I have had little to NO painting experience, and even though people make it look easy, I'm sure it is far from it.

When it got right down to it, me climbing up on ladders, walking around the rim of the tub/shower, and trying to kneel on the vanity was probably not the smartest of ideas. I mean we all remember the dusting of the light fixtures incident around Christmas time right? I still have a bump on my ankle from that little trip and fall.

As big as my belly is, and as bad as my balance is with and I suppose even without the belly, we decided Chris would paint the bathroom. He was willing to do the high parts, but that's just silly to do part of it, and have another person do another part. Just paint it and be done.

In true Christopher fashion, the poor guy was up until 6:30 a.m. this morning finishing up the paint! Poor guy!! I don't know how he does these all nighter projects!

The bathroom looks beautiful! I seriously LOVE the color, and again my pictures don't do it any justice! Chris took the light fixture out, so I tried to get a picture with the natural light coming in, but it still looks a little weird in the picture, sorry.

So I guess you'll just have to trust me that it's very pretty, and I'm really excited about everything coming together! I'm not the only one who is excited...Keric is beside himself with excitement! He even prays for his Mickey Bathroom every night in his prayers. Silly boy! :)

February 3, 2012

2012-02-03T19:04:00.001-08:00

I'm pretty sure that most EVERY day at preschool is Keric's "favorite" day, but he gets just a little more excited about Show and Tell day. The first Friday of every month is show and tell day, and he asks me about every other preschool day if it's show and tell day yet! So when I told him today was FINALLY show and tell, he was SO excited!

I love to see each month what he chooses to take. I've never told him what to take, I just tell him to go find something to bring to school and show the kids. I let him choose it all on his own. Sometimes I THINK I know what he will choose, but it always ends up being somewhat of a surprise when he emerges from his room with that months Show and Tell.

Today he chose his Optimus Prime Transformer that Grandma Anne bought him a couple weeks ago. He told me that it was his favorite toy! Hmmmm guess I didn't know that. :)

I wish I could be a little fly on the wall and watch him each month during Show and Tell. When I pick him up I always ask him what he told his teacher and the other kids about the various things he brings with him, but his answer is always the same "I don't know." *sigh*

February 2, 2012

2012-02-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

Keric is going through a new phase of life. One that I am trying to embrace a little more each day.

I thought that it was just little girls who liked to pick out their clothes, but I guess that is just a myth. Keric likes to have a say in what he wears every day. Some days he is more opinionated than others, but trust me, there is always something he is wearing that HE picked out, and I didn't.

Some days he asks to just keep wearing his jammies, other days, he wants to just wear his unders, and he has even asked a couple times to just be naked!! If it isn't a school day, and we aren't going anywhere, I let him decide what he wants to wear, unless the request is unders or naked!

Thankfully all of his clothes from last summer have been put away, so I don't have to have the fight about whether or not he can wear shorts! :)

This morning we woke up to snow. I guess we have had so little snow this year that Keric believes snow = Christmas. He told me several times today that it was Christmas. There is no use trying to debate this topic... I tried!

After his bath we went to get him dressed and this was the outfit he insisted on wearing! His Santa shirt...! Of course because it's Christmas! I forgot the shirt was even still in his closet!

Oh well...we don't have anywhere to go today, but if we DO happen to, I hope people won't judge me too harshly. At least it isn't his jammies!

February 1, 2012

2012-02-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

So my picture for today doesn't look like much, but this is the beginning of another project that I have in mind for the Mickey Bathroom.

I found a Walt Disney font that looks like Walt Disney's handwriting, and I am planning on cutting the words "Tubby Time" out in vinyl and placing them on the little sign. I also have some Mickey ears that I want to put on there as well.

Around the sign I want to hang black and white pictures of my boys during "Tubby Time". I have a ton of pictures of Keric in the bath at various points in his little life, and plan to have just as many of Carson when he gets here. I guess it will be a project in the works for a little while seeing as how half of the models aren't here.

My hopes were to finish the little sign today, but I ran out of White vinyl, and I'm not sure I want to do the letters in Black. So...there it sits...unfinished. Hopefully it will be done tomorrow!

January 31, 2012

2012-01-31T19:48:00.000-08:00

Yea!! I made it an entire month with this project! :) Only 11 more months to go. :)

Today we officially bid farewell to the Froggie bathroom. All decorations have been taken down, water has been turned off, patch work has been done, and caulking is in the works!

I'm so excited to get this project going, and done! :)

The bad news is that the kids bathroom is officially off limits, which means the only working shower is in our bathroom! That will most likely make for some interesting mornings the next few days! Yikes!

Oh well, it will be well worth it! :)

January 30, 2012

2012-01-30T20:40:00.000-08:00

I had such grand plans for today, but they didn't all come together like I hoped. I figured since last week I had gotten so behind with being sick, that I would get the laundry going and done, along with some serious cleaning!

I need to get this house "Spring Cleaned" before Carson's grand entrance! I was doing pretty well until about 1:00 p.m. and then I started having really bad Braxton Hicks. :( So NOT in my plan for today!

So instead I sat and watched "Octonauts" with Keric, ate lunch, took a nap and actually scrapped a page for Carson's baby book. It's been awhile since I've had the motivation to do so, but I figured I had to do SOMETHING more entertaining than watching another episode of Octonauts.

Is anyone elses child obsessed with this silly show??

It drives me crazy, but Keric loves it! I guess the good thing about it is that they teach them about real creatures that live in the sea. I think he knows more about crabs, seals, and cookie cutter sharks than I do!!

I found this kit a few weeks ago, and I just HAD to do a page about Year of the Dragon babies. I've been reading all these articles about how "lucky" this year is, and how people actually have planned to have babies during this year because of the Zodiac sign. LOL I don't care what Zodiac sign year he is born in, I'm just thrilled that he is finally almost here!

January 29, 2012

2012-01-29T19:09:00.001-08:00

Keric LOVES his cousins! In fact, he calls them "his friends". There is no use in trying to correct him, because he will just tell you that they are not his cousins, they are his friends.

When Grandma Anne invited us to Brunch after church, I'm not sure what Keric was more excited about. The waffles and sausage or playing with his friends.

I wish we lived closer to ALL of his friends, but I'm glad we at least live close to a couple. They do get a little wild at times, but all in all they are good kids and always have lots of fun together! :)

January 28, 2012

2012-01-28T22:23:00.000-08:00

One of the big moves that will happen when Carson is born is the multiple changing of bedrooms. Keric will move into Cameron's room, Carson will have Keric's room, and Cameron will move down to the new bedroom down in the basement.

I am not sure how thrilled Cameron is about his move because he doesn't say much about it, but I get the idea he is a little nervous about it. Chris and I have tried to involve him in the move and get him excited about his new room by having him help decorate it. This may or may not have been a great idea, but he seemed excited about the possibilities of paint colors and "themes" for his room.

Right off the bat Cameron was insistent on having a blue room! No other color was going to do. We went to Home Depot so he could look at paint swatches, but the only ones he brought home were blue. They ranged from Navy blue to a Turquoise blue. To say I was frustrated would be an understatement. We tried to explain to him that a bedroom down in the basement would look BLACK with such dark colors, and that the Turquoise would just plain be a disaster.

We went back and forth with him for weeks, but he wasn't going to budge.

Well now we are down to the wire, and his room NEEDS to be painted. When Chris brought them home last night we sat down again to discuss his room. I finally decided to suggest the route my Mom often takes when she decorates rooms. She picks the accessories first, and the paint last. So I suggested we go into SLC and look for a bedspread.

So we did, and Cameron found a very NAVY blue bedspread that had really pretty grey/silver pinstripes and grey/silver sheets that matched. It was a bedspread I probably would have walked right past had I been picking it out myself, but in the end I really do like it and I'm glad we were able to find something that HE liked and that he picked out himself.

We decided to try and match the paint more to the sheets and pinstripes rather than the dark Navy of the bedspread. We went to Home Depot again and together found a color we could all agree on. I'm actually getting really excited about the finished product.

Chris has been down in the basement all day long painting and as expected, it is perfect and looks so pretty! The picture doesn't really do it justice, it hasn't fully dried yet, but I'm happy with it, and so is Cameron.

I guess in the end we all got what we wanted. Cameron got his dark Navy blue, and I got walls that were NOT blue! :) Yea!

January 27, 2012

2012-01-27T22:05:00.000-08:00

For the past several months, I have wanted to do an overhaul on the kids bathroom upstairs. When I found out that we were having another boy, I thought it would be fun to have more of a "boy" bathroom for my two little monkeys.

I've had this re-vamp project in the back or my mind for awhile. I looked on the Internet, and kept my eyes open for decorating ideas, but nothing really ever jumped out at me. The ideas that I was seeing just seemed like they would be cute for a couple of years, but would quickly become a little to "baby like."

One night I was browsing Amazon and found a Mickey Mouse Shower Curtain. A light bulb kind of went off in my head. As many times as Keric has changed his favorite TV show, or favorite movie, he has always kept his love for Mickey. I also love the colors of Mickey. The reds, and blacks, and yellows don't scream "baby" but are more timeless in my mind.

When I was growing up we had a black bathroom, complete with a black toilet and sink and I always LOVED that bathroom. I used to say I was going to have a black bathroom when I grew up, so I thought...this is perfect! I can sort of have my black bathroom, and also have a fun "boys" bathroom that will last my boys for many years.

After lots of searching on line I found some fun accessories and decided to approach Chris with my off the wall idea. Surprisingly he liked it. He really got into getting on line and finding other things, and better prices of different things. It was kinda fun to plan our bathroom project together.

We started ordering things on line, and looking at paint colors and planning out our time line for when the bathroom would get done. Keric is fit to be tied that his Mickey bathroom is not done yet!

Well tonight we drove into SLC so that Cameron could pick out a bedspread for his new room. Our first stop was Target. As we were heading over to the bedding section, I walked through the bath section and to my total shock and dare I say horror was a whole section of Mickey Mouse Bathroom accessories!!

Are you kidding me!?!! I thought I was being SO ORIGINAL!! Who started doing Mickey Bathrooms, and WHEN???

I guess the good news is, I found some things that I hadn't found on line, and now I have everything I need to finish my bathroom project. The bad news is...someone besides my boys has a Mickey Bathroom, and I'm not as original or creative as I thought. Oh well... it may not be an original bathroom, but it will be a CUTE one!

January 26, 2012

2012-01-26T20:34:00.001-08:00

It's kind of hard to have a bad day when you are woken up by a half naked 3 year old flying his remote controlled helicopter into your room, but that aside...today was still a very good day.

I woke up and actually felt much more like myself! My head wasn't pounding, and my stomach wasn't upset. I crossed my fingers that the headache and stomach ache were gone for good, and headed downstairs for breakfast. I had some toast, and not only did it stay IN my stomach, it tasted soooo good!

As the day went on I felt more and more human! I washed all my bedding, and blankets that I snuggled up in the past few days, put nice clean sheets on my bed, and decided while I was at it I would catch up on the rest of the laundry!

One thing about being sick and especially being pregnant and sick is I think your mind starts playing funny games with you. Over the past couple of days I was feeling really sorry for myself. I was feeling bad because I was so far away from my family. I was feeling bad that I couldn't just call my Mom and ask her to come and help me. I was even thinking, I would be satisfied just having one of my sisters around the corner if I couldn't have my Mom. It wasn't logical, but it was how I was feeling.

I didn't feel that way today, but Heavenly Father still saw fit to show me that I didn't need to live by my Mom, or my sisters, in order to feel like I had people around me who cared about me or who were willing to help me. I already DID live by people who loved me and cared for me, and were basically at my beck and call if I needed them. I guess I always knew that, but I was humbled by the reminder that I got of that today.

My sweet visiting teachers brought me over some shower gel which was SOOOO nice to take a long hot shower with to get rid of all the "sickies" with. And then my sweet neighbor Christine, who has WAY more to deal with than I ever will in a day, brought me over some Vitamin water, and Popsicles to eat today. So yummy for my tummy!! I know to them it probably wasn't a big deal, or anything that took a lot of time, but to me it meant everything! It reminded me how blessed I am to have such wonderful friends who are truly just like family to me!

Thank you to ALL of you for your sweet text messages, phone calls, and e-mails to check on me and to offer your help! I truly do appreciate it more than you each may ever know!

January 25, 2012

2012-01-25T21:12:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning feeling somewhat better, but still not 100%. I figured I was over the worst of it, but then I made the mistake of drinking a big glass of water, and well...all bets were off at that point.

I was so frustrated. It's hard to be so tired, thirsty and hungry, and not be able to do much about it. I worry about Carson, but everything I read says that my being sick and throwing up really doesn't effect him unless I become too dehydrated.

Well...I went the rest of the day, trying to eat and drink, but continually failing. Finally at about 7:30 p.m. Chris told me to call my Dr. So I called, and talked to her and she recommended that I head over to the Insta Care and get checked out and get some fluids in me.

So Chris and I went down to the new IHC Insta Care here in Tooele. They checked me out and everything looked OK. My blood pressure as always was kind of up and down, but honestly lots lower than it was on Monday when I went in. Carson looks fine, his heart rate was a little elevated, but they thought that could be to the lack of fluids I have been getting to him. They gave me some anti nausea that dissolves on your tongue since I couldn't hold the pill form down. Then I drank some water and actually kept the few swallows I took down.

Despite my Dr. wanting me to get some IV fluids, they told me that I was doing pretty good at keeping somewhat dehydrated and since I was pregnant, they didn't feel comfortable giving me IV's without monitors for the baby! OK...?

So now we just wait I guess. I came home and drank some juice. So far so good, and it feels good to have something in my stomach again.

January 24, 2012

2012-01-24T20:55:00.001-08:00

The theme for today is Dogs, however somehow Chompie escaped this post, because he actually didn't do anything too horrible! :)

I found this really cute fabric at Wal-mart and I want to make Carson a blanket with it. For whatever reason, I have really wanted to start sewing again. Well...I say again, but I think the last time I did any sort of sewing was in 7th grade Home Ec. and a few times with my Grandma.

I blame Pintrest, and all of my incredibly talented friends who make sewing looks so easy, but the point is that I really want to sew! So I've been finding tutorials and patterns on line, and I think I may take the plunge and buy some doggie fabric and see what comes out! :)

The other part of our theme for today is the fact that I am "Sick as a Dog". I thought I was in the clear from this nasty flu bug that has been going around. Keric has been over it for about a week now, so I thought I had dodged a bullet, but I guess not.

I truly have never been this sick before! I mean I probably throw up more than the average person, but to not be able to drink WATER without keeping it down, that is a new one for me. I spent most of the afternoon and evening locked in my room hoping that I could just fall asleep and it would go away!

Hopefully this will pass, and it finally STOPS with me! No one else needs to experience this!

January 23, 2012

2012-01-23T21:39:00.000-08:00

This two weeks seemed to go by MUCH slower than the last two weeks!! Today was finally the day we went into SLC for my 30 1/2 week appointment with Dr. Holmes. I love Dr. Holmes! She is seriously the easiest Dr. to talk to, and she never makes me feel like I'm just a big complainer, even though I know I probably totally am!

I told her all about my trouble sleeping, the horrible pain I have in my pelvis and back, and all my many many mood swings. I love how she can laugh at me, and also make me feel like I'm not alone, and every one goes through this, when I know darn well they probably don't! :)

Carson's heartbeat sounds great, my blood pressure was good, Carson's head seems to be down and I may have "dropped" a little. He is still a very BIG baby. She felt around my belly and kind of estimated by feel that he is around 4 1/2 - 5 lbs right now! Considering that Keric was born at just about 36 weeks and weighed in at 5lbs 9 oz...this baby is going to be HUGE!!!

She did tell me that we would do a couple more growth ultra sounds and if he got too big, they would take him a week or so early via C-section. Not the greatest news, or even really anything that I wanted to hear...but I trust her judgement. She told me to watch a little more what I eat even though I don't have gestational diabetes, to watch my sugar intake and carb intake and see if that helped with the growth at all. I guess I can do that for 9 more weeks...especially if that means not having to deliver a 12 pound baby!

After the Dr.'s appointment, Chris had a meeting with one of his bosses who is in town for a few days, so we went to his office for a half hour or so, and then we decided to get some dinner at Red Robin.

For whatever reason, Red Robin was pretty dead tonight. I guess we either missed the dinner crowd, or were too early for them?? Anyway, we basically had a whole section to ourselves. It was kind of nice because Keric could be as loud and silly as he wanted to be, and no one cared!

He loved his "BIG" french fries, and even put on an impromptu dance show for me, his Daddy and our waiter! I was a little embarrassed at first when he jumped down from his chair and started bustin a move to what apparently was his favorite song, and then the waiter said "Where's your video camera! He's got some killer moves" DUH!!!

I wish I had gotten more of it on tape, but we did get some of it, and I guess that's all that counts.

I can't wait for life with 2 little boys! I have a feeling it is gonna be a TRIP! :)

January 22, 2012

2012-01-22T18:58:00.000-08:00

This will undoubtedly be one of those pictures that Keric will make me sleep with one eye open over, but it was just so dang cute, that I HAD to take it.

Keric was SUPPOSED to be changing out of his church clothes into his "cozies", but when he came back downstairs he had his unders on, his church sweater still on, and my boots! hahaha

I'm a little biast, but I think he totally pulls this look off! :)

January 21, 2012

2012-01-21T21:41:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: My intention was NOT to have every single picture this year include Keric's little face, but he INSISTS he be in every single shot. I think I tried taking this picture 3 times, before I just gave up and let him stand there!

Last night Mama Anne called and told me that she was taking me to SLC to buy me some new maternity clothes! My initial reaction was, I only have a couple months left, I don't NEED new clothes, but she insisted that she wanted to buy me some pants that fit. I have to admit, I love new clothes, and when you're pregnant, new clothes are kind of one of those things that just don't happen! I mean who wants to spend money on clothes you are only going to wear for a few months!

I do still have all my clothes from when I was pregnant with Keric, but my belly is so high up this time around that my maternity pants just don't stay on. I basically walk around all day pulling my jeans up, hoping I don't let my belly show, and just looking like a moron!

I figured it might be kind of nice to have 2 months of not pulling my pants up every 5 mins, or 2 months that had a day when I didn't forge the too big pants and just put on Pajama pants instead.

Mama Anne came and picked Keric and I up at noon, and we headed into SLC for a shopping day. Chris stayed home and put the second coat of paint on the basement ceiling.

It was really fun to spend the afternoon with Mama Anne! :) We always have great conversations, and find all sorts of things to laugh and sometimes cry about. She bought me 2 pairs of pants and a new shirt and even bought Keric a new Transformer for being a good boy. Then she took us to "Five Guys" for lunch. I had never been there before. It was really good, although it was really hard to eat the entire thing!!

I am so grateful for a Mother in Law who feels more like a second Mom. It's hard to live so far away from my own Mom, but it's nice to know that I can always count on Mama Anne to step in when my own Mom can't. I hope that when my boys grow up and get married, that I can take a page out of Mama Anne's book and be the kind of Mother in Law who loves her Daughters in Law more like her own daughters!

Thanks Mama Anne for the new clothes, lunch, and for being such a great example to me!

January 20, 2012

2012-01-20T21:26:00.000-08:00

Some days I get a big 'ol slap in the face reminding me just how BIG my "baby" is getting! Today was one of those days!

I took him to school this morning, and when I picked him up he told me all about learning the number 4. They had a big Number 4 Birthday party at school, and got to decorate cupcakes. He also had a little "homework" page that he brought home with him.

When we got home, he insisted that we light the yellow candle on his #4 cupcake and sing happy birthday. After he blew out his candle, he gobbled his cupcake up and then said "Mom, I have to wash my hands, and then hurry and do my homework". I said OK, let me get your lunch ready, and I'll help you with your homework. He quickly replied "No Mom, I do it myself!"

I went ahead and got the crayons down thinking he could color while I made lunch, and then I could help him with writing his numbers.

He sat quietly at the table, coloring away while I made his lunch. Pretty soon I realized that he had finished coloring, and was working on his numbers! I walked over with his lunch and that's when I saw it! Little 4's all along his page!

My "baby" wrote a whole bunch of little red and yellow 4's all along the bottom of his page ALL BY HIMSELF! I was so proud of him! They looked pretty darn good for a 3 1/2 year old too!

I was so proud of him, I had to quickly wipe away my tears! I gave him a big hug, and then we hung it proudly on the fridge for everyone to see. When did he get so darn big?!

January 19, 2012

2012-01-19T21:25:00.000-08:00

Today marks the start of week #30 of my pregnancy! In so many ways it seems like time has just FLOWN by, and in other ways I feel like there is no way I am going to survive the next 10 weeks!

The last week or so I have had trouble sleeping. If you know me very well at ALL, you know that I LOVE my sleep! There is nothing better than curling up all toasty warm in your bed and falling asleep! Well ok..ther is ONE thing better than that, an afteroon nap!! Thankfully that was one thing I passed on to my little man. I think he is one of the only 3 1/2 year olds I know that not only loves his naps...but actually asks to take them! :)

So a week or so ago when I laid wide awake trying desperately to fall asleep, I realized THIS is what all those books were talking about when they mentioned having trouble sleeping during your third trimester!!

I don't remember this being a problem for me when I was pregnant with Keric, so I was kind of at a loss as to what I should do. I thought I eventually would be so tired that I would HAVE to sleep, but I fall asleep for about an hour, and then I am awakened by jabs and kicks and just plain old ordinary back pain.

I talked to some of my friends who swear by Body Pillows when they were pregnant. I've never had one, and never thought I would own one, but I'm desperate! So on the shopping list for Wal-mart tonight was a Body Pillow and some "Unisom" which my Dr. recommended I try.

I found a Zebra body pillow! And seriously...if I'm going to HAVE a body pillow, it really should be a Zebra print one. :) Yes, I love my animal prints...as tacky as some animal printed things are...I still love them.

So I brought my very first body pillow and my "Unisom" home anxious for bedtime to arrive to see if my tricks will work or not. Of course like most things...Keric immediately thought that this big soft Zebra pillow was something that I needed to "share" with him. Share...yeah, he understands the phrase, but not really what it means! To him sharing my pillow means... you may THINK this pillow is yours...but really it's now mine. :)

I managed to get him to give it up tonight, but we'll see how long that lasts! I guess if it doesn't work, then it won't be money wasted. :) I'll just give it to Keric! LOL

January 18, 2012

2012-01-18T19:21:00.001-08:00

They say that women who are pregnant with girls, often have a harder time emotionally because of all the extra hormones. When I found out that I was pregnant with boy #2, and after the shock of that wore off, I started going through all the "pros" of having two boys vs. having a boy and a girl.

One of those pros was that I and my poor husband would not have to deal with all the extra raging hormones that would come from being pregnant with a girl. Skip ahead 2 1/2 months later and here I am, sobbing in my room, with my head on my husbands shoulder telling him that I can "No longer do it" and that I think "I just want to run away!"

So I guess this leads me to believe that a). Carson is actually a girl, and all three ultra sounds have just been wrong. (Yeah right, cause that totally happens!) b.) it doesn't matter what you are having, your hormones are still way out of whack, and you are still just a crazy person when you're pregnant. or c.) I'm just simply a HOT MESS and an even HOTTER MESS when I'm pregnant.

I'm guessing...the correct answer is C!

I pulled myself together somewhat for the rest of the day, but was still having to stop myself from doing bodily harm to anyone who dared crossed me.

Thankfully I have been blessed with an understanding and caring husband who controlled his laughter, didn't get upset with me, and instead simply picked up all the kids, threw them in the car and took them to Wal-Mart so I could have a much needed break!!

Bless that man...I truly do love him for putting up with me, for knowing what I need and WHEN I need it, and for not making me feel guilty about being such a hot mess. Like I said, the man probably should have RUN when he had the chance, but I'm so glad he didn't!

January 17, 2012

2012-01-17T10:02:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago Keric asked me "Mommy...Why DADDY no take me to school?" I told him that Daddy had to work during school time, so Mommy was the one who took him to school. For awhile after that, he would ask his Dad if he could take him to school, but sadly...Daddy had to tell him no. Dang jobs! ;)

Since Keric has been feeling much better the last few days, I let him go to school today. I never did tell him that he actually MISSED school on Friday! I knew if I mentioned missing school he would have a melt down for sure, so I just used the fact that he doesn't remember what day it is to my advantage. :)

As we were getting ready this morning, Chris said that he needed to go and pick up Mama Anne's car from a friends house in Stansbury so he thought he would just drive down with us and we could run to Stansbury from school.

While I was giving Keric his bath I told him that today Daddy was finally going to be able to take him to school. He was so surprised! His eyes got really big and He said "Daddy don't go work today?" I told him he still had to work, but he had to help Mama Anne for a little while this morning, so he was going to come with us.

When we pulled up to the school, he looked a little concerned that I was staying in the car and not coming with him, but when he saw his Daddy come around the other side to get him he quickly told me goodbye and then ran up the stairs with his Daddy. I thought it was so cute watching them walk into school together!

I'm so glad Keric is still at an age where little things like Daddy taking him to school is such an exciting treat! :)

January 16, 2012

2012-01-16T21:05:00.000-08:00

Some days are just...well days! Nothing exciting happens, nothing terrible happens, the only thing that really happens is just normal every day life. That was basically what our day was today.

We woke up to snow, which wasn't surprising with the horrible wind storm that was going on last night. It was also freezing cold! I was glad there wasn't anywhere that we HAD to be today, so we just stayed home and didn't have to go out in it! Since it was a National Holiday today, we didn't even have to go out to get he mail! :)

Monday's and Thursday's are always my laundry days, but with Keric being sick all last week, I only did the entire families laundry on Monday, so this weeks laundry piles were HUGE! So that is basically what I did today. Played catch up on the laundry!

Thankfully Keric seems to be on the mend. He has more of an appetite today, and seems to be much more himself! Not quite a 100% yet, but I was happy to take the 80%+ he was! :)

January 15, 2012

2012-01-15T17:41:00.000-08:00

Last night after the kids were in bed, Chris went out and got the mail. Guess we sort of forgot to get it with all the painting and being sick going on! :)

In the mail was the shirt that I ordered a couple weeks ago. Honestly it couldn't have come at a better time, seeing as how I have had a couple MORE people ask me the twins question this week! UGH!

So after we came home from church I proudly put on my new shirt, and yes I WILL wear it in public! :)

January 14, 2012

2012-01-14T20:42:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe it myself but I promise it's true! Chris FINALLY had a day where he didn't have a million things to do, so we got some ceiling paint and he has been painting the ceilings down in the basement!! I know it's not much...but I'm SO EXCITED!

I offered to help, but I'm a little balanced challenged and Chris didn't think me reaching up over my head and painting was a good idea. Wonder why??? ;) So I "helped" by being down in the basement to keep him company in between checking on poor STILL sick Bubby.

It's small progress, but I don't care! It's progress...which means that we are closer to getting Cameron moved downstairs, Keric into Cameron's room, and then Carson will finally have a room to come home too! :)

Of course no one knows what will happen between now and when Carson decides to arrive, but the point is is that we have ceiling paint!!

Yes...it's the little things! :)

January 13, 2012

2012-01-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

I guess in keeping with the Friday the 13th theme, this day was certainly filled with tears, but also lots of laughing.

Poor Keric is still fighting off this flu bug that he picked up a few days ago. It started out with just some yucky tummy problems. I had to go and buy some Pull Ups because he simply wasn't making it to the potty on time!:( Sadly he started throwing up last night too, so now he literally has it coming out of both ends! Not a fun time for Bubby or Mommy!

I'm so grateful to Chris for helping me find the humor in cleaning up poop and puke, especially when what I truly felt like doing was sitting on the floor and crying!

Thankfully my Mother in law has her very own rug doctor that we can borrow at anytime! Plus my house is getting deep cleaned one random room at a time, which needed to be done before the baby gets here too. :)

Here is hoping tomorrow is a better day!

January 12, 2012

2012-01-12T17:03:00.000-08:00

Today we had a house full of "sickies."

Poor Keric has had some kind of stomach bug for the past 3 days! Poor little guy doesn't complain, but he just isn't interested in eating anything, and once in awhile he will say "My tummy just not feel good Mom." He hasn't thrown up at all, but it seems to be the kind that comes out the other end, which is hard when your trying to be such a big boy and go to the potty. Poor little man! Makes me so sad.

Chris got his second migraine this week. He doesn't complain either, and I know he gets them really bad. I'm such a wimp when it comes to headaches especially migraines! I usually spend at least a half an hour just crying because of the pain, but not Chris. He just quietly went up to bed and tried to get some sleep.

So this afternoon we had an entire Napping House. Keric actually ASKED to go to bed, so he and Chris went up to bed and Chompie followed. Chompie loves his naps about as much as Keric and I love our naps! Silly dog!

I had a couple hours of just quiet time to catch up on a few things, and then I laid down and took a nap too. I'm not "sick" just in my third trimester! I've never been someone who just had lots and lots of energy when I'm NOT pregnant, but I seem to have less and LESS energy as the months of pregnancy go on. At this rate, I may be lucky to get myself out of bed and showered at 39 weeks! UGH!

Hopefully everyone will be feeling MUCH better by the weekend, and we won't have anymore "sickies".

January 11, 2012

2012-01-11T17:30:00.000-08:00

To quote Chris... "Happy Pioneer Day!" "Here's the flashlight, go take a shower."

This morning we woke up to no electricity, and a rather FREEZING house, which made for an interesting time getting ready for school!

Apparently sometime in the very early morning hours all of Tooele County lost their power!

I have some recollection of this happening I think. Carson likes to throw dance parties in my belly starting around 11:30 and ending anytime between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Last nights dance party was a doozy and lasted for a really long time! I was having trouble sleeping, and kept waking up all night long! One of the many times I woke up I heard my alarm clock making a funny beeping noise, and then it went blank. At the time I thought, we must have somehow put it on battery mode, and it ran out of batteries?? That was around 4 a.m.

Not real sure how we all lost our power, but we were told over 17,000 of us were without it, but that school would still be going on. My initial reaction when Chris told me this was: How Stupid! It's freezing cold, the school's are going to be freezing cold, and they are telling us the power wont even be back on until around 11:00 a.m. which is an hour and a half before school lets out on Wednesday's! I thought seriously about leaving them snuggled in their blankets drinking hot chocolate, and just calling it a day...but we went ahead and got ready and off to school they went.

It's probably a good thing, since the power DID come back on around 9:30 a.m. :) We still had fun snuggling in our warm blankies, drinking hot chocolate in front of the fire place for a couple hours. Man am I ever grateful for electricity! My life would be SO different without it!

January 10, 2012

2012-01-10T12:41:00.001-08:00

Today was Keric's turn to bring treats to pre-school. This month they have been talking about snow and winter and snowmen so we decided to make snowman cookies for his friends.

We worked really hard all morning yesterday rolling out dough, cutting circles, frosting and decorating. OK...well that's the parts I did, Keric kept busy eating M&M's and chocolate chips, and watching the cookies bake in the oven. :)

He was so excited to take his cookies to school today. He proudly walked in with his pans and handed them to over to his teacher. :)

When I picked him up, his teacher said that all the kids loved their snowmen, and since most of their little faces were covered in icing... I guess it was a success. :)

January 9, 2012

2012-01-09T19:40:00.001-08:00

Today we went into SLC to the Dr.'s office to check on Baby Carson. Everything still looks good. I've gained a total of 9 lbs for this whole pregnancy, which is I guess a good thing...although I would have rather LOST 9 lbs, but I suppose I shouldn't complain. Better than the 25 or so pounds I GAINED with Keric! :(

I also had to get my Rhogam shot. I hate that shot! It HURTS, but I guess Chris and Keric got a good laugh out of Mommy getting a shot in her bum. :(

A trip to SLC also means a trip to Costco. Poor Bubby didn't get his nap today, but he was still a good sport about being dragged all over! By the time we got to Costco, I think he was kinda done. We did however convince him to sit in the cart and play games on my I-phone. Thank heaven's for I-phones, and food samples at Costco. It makes the time go by much faster for "busy" little 3 1/2 year olds! :)

January 8, 2012

2012-01-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

Today we had Keric's Potty party. Yes...I said POTTY party. Are we a little over the top? Probably. Do I care? NOPE! Not really! This whole potty training experience has been an uphill battle for over a year! I honestly have to say that this part of motherhood has been the MOST difficult for me. It has tried my temper, patience, and self control more than anything else that I can remember in the past 3 1/2 years!

I'm just so thrilled that the days of diapers are finally gone, the "fighting" and screaming are over, and life seems to be back to "normal" for the time being. All of those reasons seemed like a GREAT reason to throw a party!

We had originally talked about having a Pirate Potty Party, but Keric decided he wanted a Mickey party instead.

So I made him a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting in the shape of Mickey with red sprinkles on it, bought him some little Mickey plates and had a PAR-TAY! :) Nothing fancy, but he loved it anyway, which of course is what counts!

January 7, 2012

2012-01-07T18:23:00.000-08:00

I realize that technically it IS winter, and therefore I shouldn't be surprised at snow on the ground, but it's been so LONG since we've had any, that I had almost forgotten it was kinda supposed to be there.

When Keric woke me up this morning the first thing he wanted me to do was look out the window. I kinda had a feeling where this little game was headed, but I was still a little taken back. I was even more surprised when it actually stuck to the ground and stayed there all day long!

Welcome back Winter! Please don't overstay your welcome! :)

January 6, 2012

2012-01-06T21:14:00.000-08:00

For the past two days, my little big man has worn his "Big Boy Unders" and has gone potty all on his own, including pooping in the potty! He even wakes up from his naps and in the morning totally dry!

As promised, his Daddy bought him a remote control helicopter, just like Daddy and Cameron got for Christmas.

Keric requested that his helicopter be Yellow (His favorite color) and thankfully they had a yellow one!

After Keric's nap the UPS man brought him his Yellow Helicopter and he and Daddy have had all sorts of fun flying them around the house!

Good job little man, Mommy is so proud of you!

January 5, 2012

2012-01-05T21:17:00.001-08:00

Today is the first day of my THIRD Trimester! Holy cow... I can't believe it's already here!

This morning when I checked my e-mail and found my weekly "Baby Center" e-mail I was a little taken back! Only 12 more weeks?!?! How can that even be!

I have WAY too much stuff to get done, least of which is moving kids out of rooms and into new ones! Poor Carson isn't going to have a place to stay when he gets here, and I'll be honest...that really bugs me. I mean come on, we've known for 7 months now that he was on his way, he should at LEAST have a room.

So here is my Third trimester belly picture. Isn't it beautiful! *gag* I have had people tell me how "cute" I look, and how "cute" my belly is, but I just don't see it! I'm MUCH bigger than I was with Keric, which I suppose is to be expected, but come on...I still have 12 weeks of "growing" to go!! I hope I don't explode!

January 4, 2012

2012-01-04T18:21:00.000-08:00

*Caution* This post may contain TMI

The daily potty training "fight" continues. It has been several months now that we have tried to potty train Keric. He has pretty much figured out peeing in the potty, and can successfully wear under ware throughout the day, but the OTHER part of potty training is a daily "fight".

We have tried literally everything! Honestly...there isn't a suggestion you could give me that I haven't done!

He hasn't pooped in 2 days now! This afternoon he asked me if he could play his Wii game. I told him he could play but only after he at least TRIED to sit on the potty. It didn't go over very well AT ALL, as you can see! His tantrum lasted a good 30 mins, and he only calmed down after I started taking pictures of him. He didn't find me funny. Of course he STILL hasn't gone, but I'm happy to say that he has also NOT played the Wii.

**January 4th 2010 update**

While the kids were getting ready for bed, Chris decided to try the potty thing with Keric just one more time today! To my total and UTTER amazement...Keric did it!! He FINALLY pooped in the potty! I was so proud of him I was near tears! We all clapped, and cheered and jumped up and down for him. He called both Grandma's to tell them the good news, and looked as if he were walking on air for the rest of the night!

Now to make good on all our promises...or at least the ones he remembers! ;) He has requested his "Pirate Poop Party" and remote control Helicopter. Thankfully he doesn't remember the I-pod or I-phone we promised him! ;) I told ya...we were totally desperate!

Good Job Buddy!! Let's hope this is the last hurdle to a fully potty trained BIG BOY!! :)

January 3, 2012

2012-01-03T15:57:00.001-08:00

Last night when I put Keric to bed, I told him that he needed to get to bed because he had school in the morning. He looked a little confused. I think their 2 week break was so long that he forgot he even WENT to school, but he was sure excited to get ready and go this morning when he woke up.

I'm so glad that he loves school so much, and loves his teachers and his new friends. He's learning lots of new things this year, and I'm so thankful that he has the opportunity to go this year instead of waiting another year.

January 2, 2012

2012-01-02T17:47:00.000-08:00

Our family started the year off with our very own rendition of "Hoarders!" If you've never seen that show, it's a GREAT motivator to throw things away!!

We actually started on Friday cleaning out closets, drawers, cabinents and anything else that opened. It's been a LONG process, and we still aren't totally done, but I feel so much better with the progress we have made!

The biggest thorn in my side was my kitchen. We have so much STUFF that just never gets used, and takes up so much space. So one of my big projects was the pantry, cupboards and drawers. I may actually enjoy cooking now that I can FIND things in there.

January 1, 2012...Let's try this again

2012-01-01T17:56:00.000-08:00

I took the challange of taking a photo every day for a year in 2009, and although somedays it was a hard challenge, in the end I LOVED the results. Since then I have half-heartedly tried to do it again, but with little to no success.

Since this is the year our 2nd baby will be born, I thought it would be a great year to take on the challenge again! I keep thinking how fun it will be to look back on each day of this exciting year someday. :) So hopefully I can keep it up!

Today was Keric's first day in Sunbeams.

It was a bitter-sweet day for me. I'm so proud of him for going to Primary and for loving it, but also sad that he is just growing up way too fast! He even looked older today! *sigh*

November 26, 2010

2010-11-28T19:10:00.001-08:00

November 25, 2010

2010-11-28T19:08:00.001-08:00

November 24, 2010

2010-11-24T19:47:00.001-08:00

November 23, 2010

2010-11-23T22:22:00.001-08:00

November 22, 2010

2010-11-23T14:52:00.001-08:00

November 21, 2010

2010-11-21T19:41:00.000-08:00

November 20, 2010

2010-11-20T20:07:00.001-08:00

November 19, 2010

2010-11-19T23:20:00.001-08:00

November 18, 2010

2010-11-19T23:18:00.001-08:00

November 17, 2010

2010-11-17T22:11:00.000-08:00

November 16, 2010

2010-11-17T21:25:00.001-08:00

November 15, 2010

2010-11-17T21:24:00.001-08:00

November 14, 2010

2010-11-14T21:51:00.000-08:00

November 13, 2010

2010-11-13T22:37:00.001-08:00

November 12, 2010

2010-11-13T21:26:00.000-08:00

November 11, 2010

2010-11-11T21:06:00.001-08:00

November 10, 2010

2010-11-10T21:44:00.001-08:00

November 9, 2010

2010-11-10T21:04:00.000-08:00

November 8, 2010

2010-11-08T19:03:00.000-08:00

November 7, 2010

2010-11-07T21:23:00.001-08:00

November 6, 2010

2010-11-07T20:46:00.001-08:00

November 5, 2010

2010-11-05T22:18:00.001-07:00

November 4, 2010

2010-11-05T19:10:00.001-07:00

UGH! I had this DONE yesterday, and didn't post it here! Oh well...this is my "Thankful for" November 4.

November 3, 2010

2010-11-03T22:31:00.001-07:00

November 2, 2010

2010-11-02T20:41:00.001-07:00

November 1, 2010

2010-11-01T23:19:00.000-07:00

I have failed miserably in keeping track of our lives each day this year, but I am going to attempt to take on the challenge of finding something new to be thankful for everyday this month. :) Hey...it's SOMETHING right?

Here is day 1:

March 3, 2010

2010-03-13T18:35:00.000-08:00

Bubby has been sleeping in his big boy bed lately. He doesn't necessarily SLEEP the entire time however. He gets out of his bed quite often, and at times we have had to resort to locking him in his room. The other night, he was jumping on his bed, and fell off. This was the result. A really horrible black eye! Poor Bubby!

February 25, 2010

2010-03-13T18:33:00.000-08:00

Guess we DIDN'T get all of the tulips dug up and re-planted! :(

February 15, 2010

2010-03-13T18:31:00.001-08:00

Keric has had what I like to refer to as "a pregnant woman's taste buds" lately! He eats some really odd things! Things I would not expect a kid his age to like!

He has all of the sudden become kind of a picky eater, and a kid who doesn't eat much at all! However this does not seem to slow him down at all! He still has MORE than enough energy! I told Chris I thought maybe he was Solar Powered, and he said he thought he was more Laser powered. Laser Powered?? He thinks that maybe the radiation from watching Manny on T.V. is absorbed into Bubby's cells which in turn creates energy, kind of like the sun does with plants. I don't know? I guess since he watches so much flippin Manny, if this indeed is the case, then this would be why he has so much flippin energy!

Anyway, my point is when he WILL eat, I am more than happy to give him what it is he wants no matter how odd it sounds to me! Lately he has been asking for Pickles, or as Bubby says it "Gickles" a lot! Every time I open the fridge he runs up, swings the door open wider, and yells "Gickle! Gickle!" I think he ate almost an entire jar of Grandma Hopkin's pickles almost all by himself. I will admit that I helped some, but honestly not a lot! He does come by his love of Gickles honestly! I LOVE my Grandma's pickles, and every time I go home I con her out of a jar of two to bring back with me! :) Guess he got the Gickle taste bud from me!

Today for his snack after his nap he asked for "Gickles" and "Shish" (translation, pickles and gold fish) Really!?! Yuck!

After I put it on his tray it just looked so gross! It sounded gross when he asked for it, but yet I have to admit that I too like Gickles and Shish especially if they are my Grandma's Gickles, I just don't know that I would eat them together. Just not so appetizing if you know what I mean! He did however eat every last one of them, so I guess it must have been good?

Who knows what goes through that little head of his! All I know is that he cracks me up more and more every day!

February 14, 2010

2010-03-13T18:26:00.001-08:00

Our Valentines Day! Chris always makes sure it's a special one!! :)

February 5, 2010

2010-03-13T18:21:00.000-08:00

Keric loves his "hooptie" ALMOST as much as he loves his Puppy!! He has to take Puppy on rides with him, and since he can't hold him and drive, we have come up with an alternative way of taking Puppy on rides. Silly Boy!

January 23, 2010

2010-03-13T17:00:00.000-08:00

Chris and I went out with some friends from the ward. We went to dinner, and then went to a Stake Dance. It was SO MUCH fun! It felt like being a teenager again, and we certainly acted like that too! haha

I can't wait to hang out with all of them again!

January 19, 2010

2010-03-13T16:23:00.001-08:00

Keric found my sunglasses today, and walked around with them for most of the morning, but he insisted that they be on UPSIDE down. He's such a dork sometimes! :)

January 10, 2010

2010-03-13T16:22:00.001-08:00

Playing with Daddy's hat. Maybe he really will wear a hat one day?

Week 2

2010-01-16T11:23:00.001-08:00

Week 1

2010-01-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

December 31, 2009

2010-01-02T22:42:00.000-08:00

My last post for this year! I brought in the New year with my in laws, and I saw the year out with my family in WY. We had a great time!

Happy New Year! Thanks for taking this ride with us...365 pictures taken, and posted, not always posted on the correct day, but taken every day none the less! I love it when I set a goal and accomplish it! Feels good! YEA ME!!!!

December 30, 2009

2009-12-31T15:54:00.000-08:00

My Dad built a little play school outside in their back yard for the grand kids to play in. It seriously is about the cutest dang thing I have ever seen!

We took Bubby outside to play in it. Sadly he was quickly expelled from school by Principal Mommy! Too many pencils and crayons in there for one little man to be tempted with. We all know his history with pencils and walls, and I wasn't about to have history repeat itself in the cute little school!

Maybe when he is older he can return to the Bennion School.

December 29, 2009

2009-12-31T15:49:00.000-08:00

Thankfully we all made it through the night with no one else being sick, so we were up bright and early...or at least bright and early for us...and on the road to WY.

As tradition dictates...or as I guess I aka Mom dictates...we stop at Rock Springs to eat lunch at Taco Johns. No one understands why this is such a treat for me, except those of you who may have grown up in WY. Taco Johns is a "legend" in WY and for some odd reason, when you leave WY and go to a place where there is no such thing as Taco Johns you really crave it.

So I insist that I get to have it at least twice a year, and thankfully my family is nice enough to humor me.

December 28, 2009

2009-12-31T15:35:00.000-08:00

We were supposed to make the long trip to WY today, but poor Mae Mae was so sick last night, that even though she said she was feeling better, we opted to stay home an extra day just to make sure.

There is nothing worse than being sick in the car, and there of course were no guarantees that the rest of us weren't going to come down with it too.

Chris worked in the basement a little, and I was able to take all our Christmas decorations down and the kids just kind of laid around and watched cartoons.

I love this picture of Bubby because he watches T.V. EXACTLY like his Dad does! I wish I had a picture of Chris watching T.V. next to it. He is such a funny boy!

December 27, 2009

2009-12-27T23:37:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day part 2. Cam and Reag spent the week at their Mommy's house, so all their Christmas gifts were here waiting for them when we picked them up this afternoon. It was kinda fun to do Christmas all over again. Bubby had a great time playing in all the wrapping paper, and "helping" them open their gifts. Ya gotta love it when you get to have Christmas TWICE in not only one year, but in one week!

December 26, 2009

2009-12-27T13:19:00.001-08:00

We got to go to lunch with Collin, Jen, baby Violee and Jen's sister Kat. It was so much fun to see them!

I hope the next time we see them, Keric will be a little nicer!

December 25, 2009

2009-12-25T23:13:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure who enjoyed Christmas more this year...Keric or Mommy! I understand now what my parents meant when they would always say that Christmas is more about your kids. I had so much fun this year watching Keric, and seeing his little face light up every time he saw or found something new! Santa may have gone a little overboard, but it was TOTALLY worth it!

Merry Christmas little man! I love you!!

December 24, 2009

2009-12-24T23:56:00.002-08:00

We went up to Mama Anne's house tonight, and Keric got to open his gifts from her. She knows that he LOVES Handy Manny and that he also loves to help his Daddy down in the basment, so he got HOOKED up with everything Handy Manny! I swear she bought every toy and book that had Manny on them!

He was MUY Happy with all his Handy Manny tools! :) Thanks Mamma Anne!!

December 23, 2009

2009-12-24T23:56:00.001-08:00

Watching his Morning Cartoons. He gets so happy when he hears the theme song to Mickey, Handy Manny, and Charlie and Lola! I love watching him stare up at them and just laugh away.

December 22, 2009

2009-12-24T23:47:00.000-08:00

Someone in Utah decided to dream of a White Christmas...and not only was it not me, it came a few days early!

I still had not got my neighbor gifts delivered, and I was waiting until the snow stopped. Sadly, it still hasn't. I thought maybe Keric and I could just walk around and deliver them, but we only got down the walk way and I realized I would at least need the stroller. So we walked in the snow and handed out neighbor gifts. I will admit that it's beautiful, and I love the trees covered in snow, but I hate the roads. I hope it clears up before we have to make the long trip to WY.

December 21, 2009

2009-12-21T23:48:00.000-08:00

Good Grief! Is it seriously already the week of Christmas? I feel like I haven't even enjoyed the events leading up to it yet! The years just fly by faster and faster.

December 20, 2009

2009-12-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

This boy LOVES his Goldfish! When they were all gone, he just walked around with the package in his mouth, occasionally throwing his head back. I guess he was hoping to get more crumbs to fall in his mouth!

December 19, 2009

2009-12-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

We took the kids Ice-skating at the Olympic Oval in Kerns. We took Cam and Reag like 3 years ago, and they ask to do it every single year now. Obviously Bubby and I really couldn't skate, but Chris did take Bubby around a little on the ice. He LOVED it. Maybe next year he'll be old enough to actually put on skates.

December 18, 2009

2009-12-19T14:16:00.000-08:00

My sweet husband humored me YET again! I went to Home Depot and picked out a new kitchen faucet. We really did need one. The one we had was totally on it's last legs, and Chris tried to repair it, but it had lived a good life.

So on his day off, he installed my new faucet which I LOVE. Of course to make matters just a little worse...he had to put up with "Handy Manny" too. Keric LOVES to be where ever Chris is, and if there are tools WITH Chris, the kid is in absolute Heaven!!!

Hopefully Santa read his letter and will bringing him a set of his own plastic tools! Little less dangerous! ;)

December 17, 2009

2009-12-17T21:22:00.000-08:00

When I found out that I was having a boy, people would tell me "Oh...little boys LOVE their Mommy's, they are such Mommy's boys".

Well...not MY boy! This kid is a TOTAL Daddy's boy! He cries when he leaves, he stands at the door and throws tantrums when he can't go with him somewhere, he follows him around like a little shadow when he is home, and is always wanting to do exactly what Daddy is doing.

Yes, this kid is definitely NOT a Mommy's boy...he's a Daddy's boy through and through!

December 16, 2009

2009-12-17T10:04:00.000-08:00

Keric loves to be one of the "big kids". Awhile back Chris made the mistake of taking Keric along when he took the kids to school. Now he wants to go every time! This usually isn't possible, because Chris often has to go to work after dropping kids off, but some days he works from home, so he can take him.

This morning the kids went downstairs and started getting their coats and backpacks. Keric picked right up on what was going on, and ran over to the coat closet and started reaching for his coat. It's kind of hard to tell him "No" when he is so cute about it.

So even though he was still in his jammies, I put his coat on, and he got to go to school with Cam and Reag.

December 15, 2009

2009-12-16T22:48:00.000-08:00

I guess Keric liked his dinner tonight! I caught him licking his plate after he was done. Silly little boy...I have no idea where he learned that, unless it was from Chompie.

December 14, 2009

2009-12-14T22:48:00.000-08:00

Obviously I can no longer take a shower when Keric is awake!! Today I found him with my lipstick and a very nice "mural" all over my floor.

To his credit...I DID tell him No more Pencil's and No more writing on Mommy's Walls! Guess technically he did "obey" me.

December 13, 2009

2009-12-14T22:44:00.001-08:00

Oh how I love this little face...but WOW, is he a mess during church!

Today while I was out in the hall with him putting up with is "I hate church" tantrum that he throws every week he did something I have never seen him do before.

It's not un-common for him to be upset with me and immediately start calling for his Dad, which he did, but what I was surprised about was he he started calling for to come rescue him after he had used up his Dad card. He wanted Handy Manny!! I couldn't help but laugh, I mean really? Handy Manny? I guess he does "fix things" but sadly he could not fix Keric's dilemma yesterday.

Sorry Handy! Maybe next time!

December 12, 2009

2009-12-12T22:19:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is that time of year again already! Today was Reagan's Christmas singing recital. Seems like we just went to that a few months ago! She is becoming a good little singer, however Keric is not becoming much of an audience member. Poor Chris spent most of the time out in the hall with him! Well...I think poor Chris. Maybe he was out in the hall for a reason?? :)

December 11, 2009

2009-12-12T22:13:00.000-08:00

We went to SLC tonight and did some Christmas shopping and furniture shopping. We really need some new couches, and YEA we bought some! I am so excited to get them. They may be here before Christmas which would be really nice! :) Anyway...we went and grabbed some dinner at Red Robin. One of the waiters brought Keric a balloon. I didn't realize until afterwards, that Keric has never HAD a balloon. I know...what kind of mom makes her kid go a whole year and a half without a flippin balloon?

He LOVED that thing. It was his own floating "ball". It was hard to get a very good picture of him, he kept throwing it up in the air and watching it float to the ceiling...so this was the best I could get.

Guess I'll have to get him a balloon more often. I think he would have been entertained with that thing for an entire day!

December 10, 2009

2009-12-12T22:10:00.001-08:00

"Handy Manny" is becoming quite the little climber! If it is "stationary" he climbs it! He is becoming somewhat of a hazard to himself I'm afraid!