Happy Birthday Little Man

Dear Kimball, You're 3 now. You survived 3 years of falling down, running into walls, jumping off couches, climbing onto counters, locking me out of the house (multiple times) and escaping from the house. I don't know how you've survived it all, but I'm grateful. You bring our family so much happiness. And it's not just our family, my friends tell me almost daily how much they enjoy you too. Your smile makes all the sleep deprivation worth it! Some milestones this year would be speech. You talk non-stop and say the funniest things, like "mom, what animal you like?" Or "mom, I stink, check it!" (You need to be potty trained but it's alot more complicated than I remember it being with the girls) You love to dance and you turn on Morgan's Barbie CD player with HighSchool Musical and dance to the basketball song all the time. You seem to think your friends would enjoy it too, but they usually just stare at you in amazement. Your dancing skills are quite interesting :) You love to laugh, you love fruit snacks and "motorcycle juice" (that's water with a bit of crystal light sprinkled into it) You love your blue blanket and blue dog. You love, love, love Buzz and Woody from Toy Story and watch it daily. You're obsessed with little figurines- animals or action figues- just as long as they're little! You ask to "snugger me mom?" And I scoop you up and wish you'd never grow up! Please stay this sweet. Please let your life continue to bring others joy. Please continue to be happy and obedient and thoughtful. You are the sweetest boy and I'm so glad you're mine!!! Happy Birthday Kimball!

Back to school photoshoot

Dear chickens- it's just easier if I refer to you that way, since half the time you run around like crazy beheaded chickens. I'm so sad to see you go off to school. I miss you while you're away. Kimball misses you while you're away. But I'm glad for the next two years that you will be at the same school. Taking care of each other.

Because you girls are really good at taking care of each other. This photo is not posed. You did this on your own. Just as you do every night when you insist on sleeping in the same twin size bed together. Even though you have your own rooms and your own beds. It's so sweet how close you are. Please don't stop being best friends. Pretty pretty please with accessories on top?

Taylor- continue to be a friend. You are a really good friend. Especially to this little guy below. You never tire of playing with him and are always willing to grab a diaper or put on his shoes or help him get dressed. You are the sweetest sister and I remember when I just had Kimball, you'd referred to him as "my baby". I believe you really thought that!

Little K- As everyone went off to school and work today you told them all to "come back and play, ok?" Then you told dad to "bring home the hot dogs!" I guess that's your take on daddy bringing home the bacon. You make us laugh.

Dear Morgan, This year will be trickier than all the years before. Filled with homework, friend drama, homework, piano, playdates and homework. Don't give up. You have more talent than anyone I know. And I know talented people! You have so many strengths and are a party planner just like me. I love how BIG your heart is, you are the sweetest thing since candy apples.

Good bye my little chickadees. Go learn and play and tell me all about it!

First Day of School

Dear Kimball- I have a feeling when you learn that the girls left for their first day of school, you won't be smiling any more. It's just you and me kid. It's been a fun summer with sleeping late and swimming, lots of swimming! But now we got to get back into a routine. Naps, snack time, puzzle time, play dates, but most important: NAPS! You wear me out. You are constantly ON! You say the funniest things, like when you lost a piece of the vacuum that dad was fixing. We searched for 20 minutes until I found it on the couch where you'd been playing. You sang "teamwork!" when I told dad I found it. Where you learned that, I still don't know, but it was cute. Not overly cute though, so stop taking things and losing them! I asked you the other day if you wanted to be a big boy like dad and not wear diapers, you told me, "Nah, I'm good..." It made me wonder if you'd ever be potty trained since you sounded like a teenager when you said it! Don't grow up too fast Kimball. I've got 3 more years til I have to send you to school, until then, we've got some serious playing/ breaking things to do! Oh the things you break!

Dear Morgan- My little 4th grader! Will you stop getting so old? Every time I talk to you on the phone I swear I'm talking to an adult. You sound so mature! An old soul. I hope this year you have confidence and know that you're loved. That you can do anything you set your mind to. I hope you realize how much talent that you've been given and don't focus on the things that seem hard. You are creative, kind, thoughtful and a wonderful big sister. You are just the kind of girl I hoped I raise! Stay sweet little M.....

Tater tot- My 2nd grader. You don't walk anywhere you run! You have so much energy and your smile is ear to ear! I love how you play with Kimball. You are such a cute sister. You are also a perfectionist, something you get from your dad. You want to be perfect at everything you do, and you are! You are incredibly smart and talented and a joy to watch. I hope this year you continue to be a wonderful friend to others. I hope that you're a leader and you continue to choose the right. You are so bubbly and fun and I love to see you smile! I'm so lucky to have such a fun daughter!

My little fashionista's headed to their first day of school. Gonna miss you girls like crazy!

Sicky in the house

Dear Riches,
I got sick this weekend. Like really really sick. Puking every hour, all night long sick. But you were sweet. I didn't want you to see me that way, but you were by my side anyway. I didn't want you to get near me because I didn't want you to get sick too, but you held back my hair for me. It wasn't pretty, but you pretended not to notice. I would've gagged had it been you, but you know me...... and you still love me. Why? I wonder. I didn't leave the bed on Saturday and you played with the kids for hours. You made science experiments, put together dinosaurs & took the kids swimming. Sunday was still a bummer day for me, but you restled through church without me. You made dinner, which I finally felt like eating. Yum! You let Morgan make lemon bars (which is so much more work with "help"). You finished my Mom's Mother Day gift and smiled the whole time while doing it. Thank you, by the way. The laundry was out of control, but we folded it together. The dishes were piling up, but you pitched in. The kids were crazy, but you didn't lose your patience. It was a very unproductive weekend. It should've been miserable, since I felt miserable. But it wasn't. I knew it would be ok. I know it will always be ok. You'll still be here, when I'm at my best (which is pretty much ALL the time) or even at my worst. You'll be by my side.

xoxo

single mom-ing it

Dear Riches,

I missed you this weekend while you worked & visited your parents in Arizona. These are some of the things you missed around here: I had to plunge a toilet & you know how I'm ridiculously bad at doing that. I had to vacuum up a fly the size of a BIRD and it was not an easy task since I was gagging the whole time. And just so you know, I am not exaggerating the size of this fly. CREEPY! Kimball helped me though. He kept calling it a bird too, even though fly is almost his favorite word. That should confirm it's size! My friend was sweet enough to drive the kids to school in the morning (just like you usually do for me) and then brought me over a bag of chocolate. She didn't even know that you left me alone with no chocolate for 4 days. You did however leave me with diet coke, so I shouldn't complain. The bag of M&M's slept on your side of the bed, just so I wouldn't feel so alone. Wasn't that nice? We had a crazy windstorm here that blew shingles off the roof and made the fence "wave" according to the kids. I didn't get as scared as I normally do, so I guess I'm growing up while you're away. I dropped the kids off at babysitting group and went to my favorite burrito joint, FreeBirds, and ate all by myself. I normally feel sorry for people who eat at restaurants by themselves but maybe they have been single mom-ing it too and just needed a break. I wished you were with me but didn't feel sorry for myself either. I'm really a big girl now! I went to Ikea and thought of how much you'd hate being there. My shopping course made no sense and I went the wrong direction and had to ditch my cart for awhile to go upstairs and shop some more. You would've shaken your head and swore to never set foot in Ikea again, if you were here. On Saturday I let the girls invite friends over for a Sprinkler Party. I baked pizzas and we froze lemonade to make slushies. They thought I was the coolest mom ever. I am you know. I decided that I can do alot of things without you, I'm not as afraid anymore. But I also decided I don't want to. So please come home already. Taxes are due on Monday and we haven't finished them & the wall paper in the office is a bit overwhelming to take down myself. Life is just nicer with you...... and just so you know, I missed you more than the ipad. And that says alot!

Tater Tot is 7!

I can hardly believe it. SEVEN! SEVEN whole blissful years with this cutie. We had a packed day of fun and by 8pm I was beyond wiped out. We started the day with Taylor seeing her first gift. A swinging (from the ceiling) chair in her bedroom. Am I the coolest mom or what? I always wanted one as a child and knew T would think it was amazing. And she did! She even tried to get dressed for school while swinging in it. Let's just say, it was tricky! I surprised Taylor by bringing her friend who's homeschooled for lunch & stayed for M's lunch too. After school 5 little girls headed to Sonic for shakes, followed by nail painting at the salon, and then on to Sam Moon for accessory shopping. The girls loved it & it was shopping, so you know I loved it! After we took the girls home, we had pizza, corn & fruit. That was the exact dinner Taylor wanted. Odd? Yes. This girl eats corn like it's cotton candy! Aunt Mandy sent a darling package with all the things to make a cake, she called it "birthday in a box." The girls made their own cake with the help of their babysitter on Saturday night. They even made their own purple frosting and decorated it all by themselves. Taylor was so proud of herself! Making a wish...... I hope it was for a house keeper & a chef! Oh, right...... her name's MOM. I'd like to explain this picture, but honestly have no idea what's going on here. This is typical Morgan..... Nail salon getting all dolled up to go shopping! The cake the girls made together. Isn't she purty? Morgan was so cute and for Taylor's birthday she did a bunch of jobs around the house to earn money. She earned enough money to take Taylor to the movies to see HOP. It was a good movie & even Kimball enjoyed it. Success! Kimball was pretty excited about Taylor's birthday. By the end of the night he could sing Happy to you. Did you think I forgot to type Birthday? I didn't. It's just Happy to YOU when K sings it! And yes. That's a GIANT hula hoop. Can you believe she ended up getting two? It's pretty fun, so I may steal one!

don't take the last coke, ok?

Last night I layed my head on your chest while you watched tv, just like I always do. You played with my hair and scratched my back, just like you always do. And I pretended I was asleep, just to see if you'd keep playing with my hair if I didn't coax you. You surprised me. Instead, you gently said in almost a whisper.... "after I drop the girls off to school, right after I've kissed you goodbye, I sometimes just feel alone & I miss you."

Oh, you're good.......Just when I feel like there's nothing new to know about you, you surprise me. And after you left for work this morning, when I went to the fridge to get a diet coke, I found an empty box. And instead of being sad you took my only link to sanity for the day, I'm remembering how cute you are when you thought I was asleep. And I missed you too.

Fun is exhausting

Fun is exhausting. Hence, Kimball falling asleep at the counter. I had to capture this photo quickly before he fell off his bar stool. This Spring time change is no good for little ones.

We had two small miracles occur this week, which I feel so grateful for.

- One is that during a home fix-it project that went wrong every step of the way, Rich found a MAJOR problem. The hot water vent wasn't ever attached to the flute. Hence, we could've had carbon-monoxide poisoning over the last 5 years without knowing. I'm making a trip to Home Depot this weekend to make sure we get some Carbon Monoxide alarms.

-Second miracle is my Mason Jar Chandelier wire got pretty close to catching on fire. It's a nice shade of black, when it should have been clear. We will be finding a new light fixture this weekend as well and putting in new smoke detectors too. I am grateful for not dying of a fire or carbon monoxide poisoning!

A funny thing happened though that I found quite hilarious. Rich helped a friend late one night who was stuck downtown with a broken car. Without many stores open that late for car parts, Rich was able to chomp on Tums and spit on a carroded battery. Amongst other things like pulling out many manly tools, the crisis was averted! I guess Tums comes in handy to keep in my purse! Thank you MacGyver!

Morgan's Art Award

Morgan has mad skills when it comes to her artwork. Once again, she managed to be showcased in the annual Art Gallery for our community. She had two pieces awarded this year! Yay Morgan! We were thrilled for her and celebrated with Sonic floats afterwards. Here are her masterpieces.........

"A Starry Dallas Night". Morgan and her art teacher Mr. G. Someday I'll learn what the G stands for.


And her second piece is some kind of scary mask. Should I be worried that she opted to put a nose ring on her creature? Hmm, we may have to have a talk about piercings girl!

Taylor's version of giving M's artwork "2 Thumbs UP!" Kimball is too fast to be pictured. That kid is a runaway train wreck. Seriously.

first oreo's

I was hoping to get a really cute photo shoot of Kimball eating his first oreo's. No such luck. Once I handed over the cookies & milk, there was no way I was directing the show! This kid knew what to do & I simply had to stand back and laugh!
He seems a little concerned that his hands are getting messy. But only for a BRIEF second!
Kimball's thought process: "that was awesome, let's do that again!"
Yep, it's official. He's an addict now.

Will you be mine?

Valentines. Sigh. It should be fabulous right? A romantic dinner, flowers, chocolates. That's what's expected anyway. To me those are just things. I wish I had spent more time getting into Valentines Day this year. I could've made it a 2 week experience but I was just so busy with the flu, Rich's 40th birthday and Joe coming for a visit that I didn't get to spend a whole lot of prep time on this holiday. Even so, we had a blast.

The night before Valentines Day, I had to try out some chocolate dipped fruit. Usually I do a chocolate fondu pot, but this microwave version was so easy. All the kids wanted to make this a Sunday evening tradition. After I dipped strawberries, black berries & blue berries in chocolate I set it in the middle of the table and everyone went at it. If you notice Morgan's expression, it was obviously a BIG HIT!

On Valentines Day we dipped strawberries for our neighbors and the did the same for us. Their's looked prettier and next year we'll have to up our game!

Morgan and Taylor set the table with printed napkins. Mine said "you rock" cause I do!



We had mashed pototoes, roasted turkey breast, & sauteed sugar snap peas. And dessert, well, you know we liked our dessert!

What does a green shirt and a horse vest have to do with V-day? We'll never know, but that's Morgan for ya. She picked it out special just for dinner!

Here are the valentines that we attached to our sweetheart boxes for a classmates and friends. We had great intentions of mailing them out to our friends and family, but they're still sitting here on my desk. Another long sigh. Happy Valentines my little family. I hope you know that I adore you!

Rich's 40th

I know Rich's birthday has come and gone. And I didn't take many pictures of it. Kicking myself now, but really I was just so busy planning all the fun that I didn't think of picking up the camera. So now you'll just have to imagine that as the nicest wife in the world, I planned an amazing shin-dig! We had a wonderful evening with friends and food. We played a "Who knows Rich best" game and found some interesting facts about him. For instance, did you know that he was arrested for suspicion of smuggling drugs? Or that he's seen Titanic 7 times in the movie theater but never once since its come out? Or that he was offered a music scholarship to BYU but declined since he had no desire to major in music. He also did a book report on the dictionary once. Oh yeah, he was a favorite among the ladies with that one! I was really impressed with how creative people were on the gifts. One couple made an AARP poster with some great slogans on embarrassing products you might need when you get older. And there were men's diapers a plenty! I put them in the car to exchange, but was too embarrassed to actually return them to a store. Then Rich took my car into the shop for an oil change only to get into the car and realize that the guys working on it, had to move the diapers to get into an electic panel. Rich doesn't get embarrassed too often, but he was RED after that!



The evening was fun and Rich felt loved so mission accomplished! His brother came in to town to visit and one night while I was tucking kids in bed, I came downstairs to find this site. Too cute! They sat like this and talked for over an hour.


Happy 40th babe! I hope you feel loved and adored and too young to use most the gifts you were given! Although you're never too young to be excited about your new 55 inch LED 3-D Sony TV from your stinkin' awesome wife. "Toot Toot!" (That was just my own horn!)

reasons I heart him

Since this is our family's personal blog, I guess it's ok to get personal. More like cheesy. And if you know me, I like cheese. It's Valentines and the reason I love V-day isn't just for the chocolate covered strawberries. Although, they're stinkin' awesome! I love thinking about the fun people in my life & I like that one day of the year it's ok to be sappy, cause the Hallmark cards are pouring it on as well! We've been married 14 years. That's just crazy. It doesn't feel that long! Over those years, I've had strangers comment to me about your love for me. Once on an airplane a little old lady leaned over, (she was sitting directly infront of us in those backward seats that face the other seats & you had gone to the restroom) she said to me. "What I would give to have my husband look at me even ONCE! the way your husband looks at you! That is LOVE!" Then, she looked sadly at her husband snoring next to her. It was funny, yet so beautiful that she had noticed how you look at me. Another time a person, who I didn't know very well at church, commented that "he lights up when you walk in the room. It's like you're the only one there!" I've had one other friend tell me something similar, and since then, I try not to take it for granted. The way you look at me with sparkly eyes. I do love it! I began thinking about all the reasons I heart you. So without further interruption, I bring you the reasons I heart him: (that means you babe)

-Your laugh. It stops me in my tracks. It's almost sweeter than a baby's giggle.

-Your sparkly eyes. They get me everytime.

-I love that I can't stay mad at you because you're so stinkin adorable, how could I be mad at you when you look at me with your sparkly eyes?

-I heart seeing you hold our babies.

-I love how excited you get over a new gadget. I think you have sparkly eyes for everything at the apple store. I'll try not to be jealous.

-You make the best shortbread on the planet & my hips can prove it!

-You drop everthing & are willing to upset the people you work with just because I need you. I try not to have you do that very often, but I appreciate that you're willing!

-You would, and have, driven an hour out of your way to pick up something for a friend. No complaints, you just do it because!

-You jump at any opportunity to help anyone, not just friends. Especially if it requires using your tools!

-You never complain about me or criticize me in any way. Is it because I'm perfect? Or are you just that nice? :)

-You are an adorable father and our children feel close to you.

-You take the time to go on walks or bike rides with the kids.

-You can fix anything and EVERYTHING! Seriously, you got mad mad skills!

-You never get annoyed at all the home improvement or furniture projects I give you.

-You never complain about my crazy decorating ideas or the garbage art I bring home for you to hang on our walls. I think you secretly know that I'm a brilliant decorator. :)

-You support me in all my "girl's trips" or girl's night outs.

-You never ask me how much I spend.

-You'd give up everything for your family.

-You make me more confident in myself.

-I love that I can give you any problem and you find a way to fix or solve it.

-You put up with me.

-You support me ALWAYS.

-You rarely get mad.

-You are the most patient man I'll ever know.

-You let me dress you and will even wear purple and pink!

-I know I can always count on you.

-I've learned to relax more because of you. I'll never be as relaxed as you though, I'm not even sure it's possible!

-You are a hard worker and no job is ever beneath you!

-I heart when you kiss me on the side of my eyes.

-You are loving.

-You're the best NON-complainer EVER! I need to takes notes, I know.

-I love when you cook and bake for us.

-I love that when anything breaks, the kids say (including our 2 yr old) "daddy fix it".

-I love that our children adore you because you make them feel confident and loved.

-I love that I get to spend forever with you Mr. Sparkly Eyes.

Happy Valentines my love!

Legacy

Legacy. It's a big word. What kind of legacy am I leaving my children? What kind of mother am I? I've slowed down a little lately, just so I can really decide what kind of mother I want to be. What kind of memories will my children have of me? Will they remember how impatient I am when making dinner and have 3 little ones crying at my feet that they're STARVING? Will they think I spent too much time on the phone or computer to listen to them? Do they think I'm mean? Or do they think I'm fun, nice & approachable? I'm hoping the latter. I'm writing this blog entry so my kids can one day look back and understand, that I wasn't just a rule enforcer. I wasn't just a taxi driver, chef (a bad one at best) or the maid. In case they get the truth a little scrabbled, I would like to brain wash, I mean, REMIND them that I was the mom who:

-Sang songs to them at bedtime while scratching their arms.

-made peanut-butter popcorn for after school snacks & had friends over.

-loves to dance and watch their dance performances.

-who tries to make tedious jobs a game.

-who likes suprises and always has one up my sleeve.

-am a sucker for pleases and thank-you's.

-always planning the next party or the next vacation and always has fun planned on the weekend.

-really good at Boggle, I myself don't even understand why.

-encouraged you to "not be self conscience", embrace who you are.

-stayed positive, always focusing on the blessings.

-tried to be a dog family. I'm mean, really, really tried. Just ain't gonna happen!

-can see you get super embarrassed when your dad kisses me, but loves it anyway.

-never wants you to feel alone.

-made the cutest valentines for your class at school.

-would drop everything just to hug you and make sure you're ok. (still working on that one)

-taught you how to be a friend. The good kind that you remember for life.

-let you eat cake & ice cream for breakfast every now and then.

-made up songs on the way to school & sang them at the top of my lungs.

-encouraged creativity and allowed you to dress yourself, even though you ended up wearing dress up shoes and pajamas to Costco.

-loved you more than anyone knew was possible.

I just thought you should know that.

Snow day

This is my first blog entry and I feel like I need to buy some balloons or a cake or something to celebrate it. A blog just for me, or my family anyway. No requirements. No deadlines. No one to impress. Just a simple journal of our every day chaos and laughs. I want to be able to look back without regrets (too many anyway) and see what we accomplished. How much fun we had. I want PROOF to show the kids that "See! I'm a stinkin nice/fun mom!" I've had this desperate need for awhile to journal for my kids. The not so glamorous and perfectly done hair, moments that slip by too quickly. I was extremely frustrated looking around at all the clutter that 3 little ones accumilate when the thought came to my mind, "some day this house will be empty and you'll ache for a nose to wipe and little clothes to wash." While I don't know if that statement will ever be really true, it saddens me to realize how much I wish away my life. I wish they were older so we could do more things, have more help, throw less tantrums, be potty-trained. You name it, I wish it. But I'm missing out on enjoying the chaos. So I quit my photography business that I worked so hard on for the last 1.5 years and I feel no sadness about it. Instead, I'm taking the few skills I learned and giving them to my family. Happy b-day kids, you've got your mom back! So here is the beginning of our journal, starting off with a perfectly mundane day where the weather is exceptionally bad and school has been cancelled for the 5th time in 8 days. We already have a two hour delay scheduled tomorrow morning so we'll see if we have another snow day coming our way. In the meantime, here is how completely unproductive we were today. Don't ya love unproductivity!

Movie with our neighbor Anna on my bed. Special treat!

The snow shoe mess I've come to dread........

This is what I turned around to find while I was making dinner. Apparantly I'm not fast enough!

Note to self: Need more peanut butter. Put on higher shelf!

We did manage to do a 30 minute pick-up of the whole house without much complaint. And we made a decent dinner of teriyaki salmon and rice. Go us!