BufBloPoFo...

A new challenge: To blogg once a day until the ides of March. Can you do it? Will it be meaningful or just jibberish. Mine is a bit of both. I have been thinking about all the things I should be blogging and will catch up on them as I try and complete this challenge.

Meaningful part: I will go to bed in 10 minutes to stick to my other goal but before I do I will give God's book a quick glance. When is the last time you've read the good book?

Jibberish: Raine is now 18 mos and saying some more words. Some only we can tell you what she is saying but she's trying! Reece is my knight in shinning armor, wait till you hear more about that...

Leap Year

Wanted to post on leap year, but didn't get to so I am back dating so I can see Feb. 29 2008 on my blogg. I am sick as a dog and will probably need to edit this and re post it because of typos and spelling errors. Trav can you be my official editor.

A student Violet noticed at the beginning of February that we were missing number 29 on our class calendar. She reminded me again today that is was leap year and we still didn't have a heart with the number 29 on our calendar. I guess that is a priority to her huh? I really meant to make one but never took a minute to do it. :(

It was a fun leap year for the kids they got to start the day with a dance assembly, relax and read poetry for a while afterward, take a couple tests and then eat lunch outside. Is has been beautiful here. High 70's and very little wind. After lunch we finished up some work, house cleaning and then tried to get to fun Friday. Too bad they were just a bit too chatty this week to have much time for that. They made wants and needs posters instead. Interesting to see who starts with which column and what they cut out of the magazine to glue onto it.

Picked up the kids from my pinch hitting babysitters. Sadly, my son, who has been keeping his big boy undies dry during naps for the past three weeks had an accident today:( I'm going to blame it on Leap Year. I felt more sad for him than he did. Really, I felt horrible for Deidre and Melissa who had to wash sheets and deal with that mess.

My kidlets were hungry, tired and out of routine so it was very hard to get dinner ready and not just run in my room and hide. I was starting to feel a sore throat coming on and exhausted from a long week as I am every Friday. I pushed through though; disciplined the naughty behavior, got my family fed and put to bed. I proceeded to lay on the couch the rest of the night with the remote in hand. I never get the remote and always run away to the bedroom to watch TV because I can't stand the way Mo watches TV. Do all men watch bits and pieces of a million shows? Tonight I was starting to feel sick and achy so I refused. I deserve to watch the big flat screen too!

At 10 pm I started to watch yet another show and realized it was past my bedtime. I have been breaking my feel great in 08 rule of going to bed at 10 pm and now my body is suffering. Hence feeling like a sick as a dog. What does that mean anyway?

How was your leap year?

he's so funny

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about." Angela Schwindt

I found this quote today while I was scrap lifting page ideas off the internet. I think that this quote says it all. I work so hard and making sure my son is kind and uses manners that I forget that he is 3. He is so full of life that I miss out on all the quirky things he says because I tend to over correct him. I will now try to limit that to only the really necessary things and enjoy his 3 yr old isms.

For instance: A few days ago while Reece was taking bath; he was making ballcanos with a cup and the bubbles. Then he asked if we could go to Hawaii and see them this next day. He is still learning about when tomorrow is and the day after tomorrow.

At the dinner table Mo was drinking water from a SLIPPERY ROCK pint class. Reece spelled out R-O-C-K and then said dad what’s that say? Mo said Rock. Reece replied with, “Oh like don’t throw rocks Reece.” We just started laughing.

A few days later I was wearing a SLIPPERY ROCK sweatshirt and Reece read the letters R-O-C-K again. Mama that spells rock, what does S-L-I-P-P-E-R-Y spell? I said Slippery. He asked did you slip. I started cracking up again.

He is so inquisitive and smart. Yes, I know I am biased, but he is!

Elmo Obsession is back

Raine is obsessed with that furry red friend from everyone's favorite street. I love it, but last night when she was playing with the bath tub Elmo (he wears swim trunks and arm floaties) she didn't understand why he couldn't come in her crib with her. No way the soaking red guy was getting in the bed with the temper tantrum throwing 17 mos old.

It all started about a week ago. She found him laying on the bottom of the bathtub. She was screaming Melmo so many times that I had to run and see what she needed. Raine was trying to climb in the tub to get him. It was the funniest thing ever. I got Elmo out and handed him to the screaming child. You would of thought I just gave her a cookie. She hugged him so hard saying Melmo over and over again.

For the past week she has been dragging that little bath tub Elmo all over the house. Raine couldn't fathum not taking him in her crib after their bath last night. Luckly, the potty training Elmo stays in the crib and was there waiting for her when I layed her down. She was so excited to see him. She screamed Melmo so loud! I finally got her to go night night and she was out like a light in a matter of minutes.

On Saturday, Raine found her favorite book. It's an Elmo Pop Up book from her Uncle Travis and Aunt Amber. She was so cute laying onher belly reading it. Reece has the same book but he tore most of the pop up pieces out. Raine tried that once and hasn't done it again. The kids will sit and sing/read their two books side by side. I need to snap a photo of that.

At dinner last night, Mo got her to eat all of her meal because Elmo was on the spoon. Tonight she refused to eat, so I found the Elmo spoon and said, "Show Elmo how to take a bite." She was so excited about that spoon that she ate her whole bowl of food; half of it all by herself, poking the pasta with Elmo! It was so great.

It looks like Elmo will be a big part of our home for the next few months. Yay for the furry red puppet with the annoying voice coming back around. ;P

Good Times!

I was playing with the camera and took some video of the kids on Saturday. Not sure why it is rotated this way. Feel free to fastforward or even stop because it is a bit hard to watch. I wouldn't keep this on my blogg but it took almost an hour to upload so here it stays. All of you on the east coast better take a look! Enjoy!

Reading Emails

Tonight I can home from a really fun night of First Friday Art Shows and BINGO!! I have never played bingo and can appreciate fine artwork but tonight my nieve lil mind was exposed to art that wasn't so fine. I did however buy a print of an artist named Jennifer Main. It will make the perfect Valentine's Day gift for my hubby! I can't wait to give it to him. I am also making him a homemade card that an awesome scrapbooker Ali Edwards created and posted on her blogg. I found the kiddos some $10.00 movies at Target and these awesome nap pads for $6.99 from Disney.com. I am almost all set for Love Day!

I got off topic, the reason I was writing was because I read this email from a parenting site:

Top Story How to:• be more loving• slow down and really listen• plan fun outings more often• watch TV less• encourage your child's spirituality• nurture yourselfand, be a better dad

Huh? I am a mom reading this email, not a dad. What about becoming a better mom? HA that's cuz we don't have to become better. Right?

Laughing Gas

As I sit at the computer checking my email, Mo is putting Reece to bed. The conversation was as follows:

MO: OK Reece time to say our Amens.

REECE: You say it daddy.

MO: Here's a fart for you first. (wafting the fart up into my sons face as they both start cracking up with laughter.)

REECE: You stink daddy! (As he laughs hysterically.)

MO: That's some laughing gas for you Reece. (As Mo laughs hysterically.)

REECE: I can't stop laughing. ( now laughing uncontrollably )

MO: Laughing uncontrollably as well.

REECE: Mommy is even laughing out there.

MO: OK, time to settle down and go to sleep. Then they both crack up even harder.

BOYS ARE SO GROSS!!

17 months & such a big girl

SUCH A BIG GIRL!! Raine is 17 months old now and I can't believe how big she's getting. Some of the fun things about her are below.

She has the best hair. We can pull it into 2 little pony tails. She only leaves them in for a few hours but she is learning to leave them in cuz then she looks "OH SO PRETTY"

She has figured out what time out is. If she is pushing her limits all we have to say is do you want time out? Then she looks down and pouts. Ahh to have the upper hand.

She is using her sign language more often. She can sign the words: more, milk, mama, dada, please, thank you, up and down.

She is speaking more clearly. A friend who babysat her today said, "Wow she is really starting to talk more."

She is as stubborn as her mommy! When she doesn't want to do something she lets you know about it.

She LOVES Melmo as she calls him! She gets very excited about him!

She has mastered climbing up the stairs and coming back down on her belly all by herself.

She loves to play with her baby dolls. She pushes them around in her lil umbrella stroller and gives them their babas.

Raine brings so much joy to our house! We are so blessed God gave us her!

Daddy's home

YAY! Daddy is home from the Dominican Republic! He had an amazing trip full of memorable experiences. He said it was one of the hardest missions he'd ever been on. We missed him so much. Reece & Raine made him a huge welcome home sign. I cut out the letters at school and Reece glued them on the paper. Then we added some color and details. Reece kept on saying Daddy is gonna love this. He is going to be so proud of me! When we were finished I asked Reece where we should hang it and he walked around for a minute looking for the perfect spot. It was quite cute. I told him we should hang it right where Daddy would see it. I had him stand near the door and walk in pretending to be Daddy. He said we should hang it on the pantry. So we did. Then he said let me be Daddy. "Welcome Home Daddy" he read on the sign. Then he pretended some more saying, "Reece did you make this? I'm so proud of you. It is beautiful." Can you hear Mo's voice saying this to him?

Back at work

AHHHH ~went back to work this week. Hubby left for his mission trip to the Dominican Republic Monday night and I have been a working single mom ever since. It has gone surprisingly well. Reece went off his antibiotic and his ear infection never went away. In fact it is now worse than ever. We went back to the doc on Thursday. The lil guy is now on a different med and hopefully his ears will clear up. Since daddy has been away, Reece has been extremely afraid of the monsters in his room and needed to sleep in daddy's spot in my bed. Lucky me! I pick my battles and climbing stairs in the middle of the night gets really old by the 3rd time. I've actually been getting ok nights of sleep with a tossing and turning 3 yr old in my bed. None the less I am ready for my hubby to return.

Christmas in Las Vegas

Wow, we actually stayed in the desert for Christmas this year. It was very different. No hustle and bustle of flying off to the East Coast. Drove home from Utah on Christmas Eve, ate a yummy southwestern style dinner and then wrapped presents for the kids. It was a long day since I sat in the back seat with the kids for 6 hours. Then tried to get us unpacked, straightened the house and got it ready for Santa to come. I think I was more excited than Reece. I wrapped all of his presents while Mo put together an ABC animal toy. One present from Santa and the rest from family is how we tried to explain it to Reece. He must have woken up 4 different times during the night, he is cutting his 2 year molars and hasn't been sleeping well. I was so nervous he was going to see all of his gifts that I would wake, race up stairs and try to settle him back down to sleep. He was up for good around 7 am when he came running into our room shouting, "Mommy come look at the presents. Look at the tree. Can I open them?" We got up and started the 15 minute process of opening presents. I swear, he ripped through them like a wild fire. We would slow him down and try and explain that Santa brought this gift from Noni or Uncle Travis but he didn't care. He was very excited about his piggy bank from Grammy Myers, his Elmo sweatshirt from Uncle Matthew and his Thomas the Train stuff from Uncle Travis, Uncle Jim and Aunt Jaime. Raine sat on my lap and watched all of the chaos. Christmas afternoon was spent with The Castillo Family. We enjoyed a delicious meal with good friends.

Day 7 sure isn't Heaven for the lil people

As I tidy up my house while my family sleeps; I hear coughs coming from all 3 bedrooms in the house. Mo is coughing away after swigging a good amount of cough syrup. Not much I can do for him. I check on Raine, give her a drink of water and lay her back down. I go make sure my son isn't freezing to death since he kicks all his covers off during the night. He wakes as I am covering him up and says, "Mama, will you lay wif me for just one lil tiny minute." My heart melts as I lay down with my sick 3 year old. Poor guy has the start of a double ear infection and quite a wicked cold. Runny green boogies and an awful cough.

I woke to him asking if he could crawl in bed with us. It was 7:30 am which is late for Reece to wake. He climbed in and chatted our ears off. We asked hm to go play with some of his new toys, he said he wanted to snuggle with us. Can't pass that up. So we snuggled a bit then he wanted cartoons. I'm sick of Disney so I asked for Sesame Street. He obliged. All three of us hung out in bed until about 8:30 when we heard lil Raine thumping away in her crib. Reece heard her and asked if we could go wake her up. I went up to get the baby and Mo made coffee. He makes a mean cafe mocha with a splash of vanilla creamer.

As we were eating breakfast, I told MO I think I should take the kids to the doctor. I called a girlfriend to confirm, sometimes I need to get the encouragement from a fellow mom since my hubby was indifferent. I knew in my gut that the kids noses were only going to greener and their coughs were only going to become more frequent without some antibiotics. I have been nursing semi-cold symptoms for too long; especially in Reece.

At 9:45 I call and get an appointment for 10:45. Plenty of time an hour to get ready and out the door. Nope, we were running out the door so we weren't late. It's hard to get ready with two lil people underfoot; plus they needed to brush teeth and hair too. I ran back in the house for Raine's blanket I knew she would need it, we don't go any where with out it! Oh and I had to grab some bread for the ducks. I bribbed Reece with feeding the ducks if he was a good boy at the doctors office. So we made it through the appointment no problem. Raine is fine it's just her allergies with all of the wind kicking up and she hasn't had her singular for a few days so that doesn't help. Reece on the other hand has a very high threshold for pain. He must take after his mama. He's quite congested, coughing alot, lots of running boogies and don't forget those pesty ear infections. He never told me his ears were hurting. What a trooper. After the doc we fed the ducks super fast since Raine was so cranky and tired. Came home put Raine to bed and headed back out to fill the scripts. $90.00 later I have Raine's singular, a cough med and an antibiotic for Reece. I got home for Target just in time to fill Reece's body with meds and put him down for a nap. Once he finally fell asleep; he was out for almost 3 hours. Raine slept almost 5 hours. Think my kids need some rest or what.

I should have been more productive during their naps but once again I was sucked into the computer. Oh well, I got a few things done. Mo brought home take out again since we are on vacation and were blessed with so many gift cards. Reece didn't want to eat so he watched Ice Age with his daddy. I gave Raine a bath and put her to bed while the boys played on the computer, practiced writing their letters, showered and went to bed. It was a hectic morning but a reasonably lax afternoon, hence the reason I am up straightening up my home while my family sleeps. Better go get a few more things accomplished...

Day 6 of winter break

Day 6
Thursday, Dec 27th and I am still not planning on going any where any time soon. I was able to chat with friends on the phone while the kids slept. I spent way too much time cleaning up my emails; reading over 200, well deleting those darn shopping ones. I am proud to say my inbox and files are condensed. I uploaded and edited more pics of the kids from Christmas. I spent the remaining $100.00 on my CCSD gift card. Paid my scholastic book orders and ordered books for Reece & Raine's Leap pad. I rather play on the computer than pick up clutter. Plus who can pick up when lil bodies just take more stuff out!

Reece and I played ABC puzzle cards, ABC Bingo, painted and opened more new toys. He is getting very good at recognizing his alphabet. Mo also taught him how to make an R. He is pretty good at it. Now he can write all the letters in his name. R-E-E-C-E spells Reece he signs as he writes. He loves to write on the lil dry erase board he got from Grammy Rosie. The marker already died since he wouldn't put it down. Thankfully, Erin gave him an ABC dry erase book with a new marker for Christmas.

I convinced the DeRusha family to come over for a take out dinner so the kids could open their presents and we could see them one last time. We saw our friends 3 times while they were in from Cali. That may be a record. I had to hurry and clear off the table so we would have a place to eat but it worked out. They didn't care about the piles of clutter that are still growing around my home. They realize it is Christmas and my home is very well lived in!

All in all~a wonderfully relaxing day!

Christmas break has truly begun!

It is day 5 of my winter break and I finally feel like I relaxed all day long. Don't get me wrong, I have been somewhat relaxed on days 1, 2, 3, 4 but there was always something I needed to do on those days. Today however I had nothing to do, no where to go. Nothing but feed my kids and play with them. We played a lot. I looked at several piles around my house and ignored them all. That is very hard for me to do. When I ignore them they seem to grow. I have a forest of clean & dirty clothes growing on a chair near my bed.
Reece and I played Chutes & Ladders for the first time today. He was enjoying it. He didn't like having to slide down the chutes but loved when he was able to climb a ladder. I had to explain that when he was in the middle of a chute or ladder it was a safe spot. He would become very excited when he would land on a "safe spot". I won the game. Reece was not very happy about that. I explained to him that if he didn't cheat and spin the spinner two times instead of once; he wouldn't have lost his turn and maybe he would have won!

Since Reece is just learning how to play games we had to create a cheating rule. When he decides he wants to go two times or look at the cards in memory and CHEAT he has to lose his turn. He seems to be learning from it. He only cheated 2 times during Chutes & Ladders.

Raine loves to dance so when Reece napped we played with everything musical. She loves to play her piano and today she was doing some ballet moves while she played. Her friend at the babysitter goes to dance classes and teaches Raine how to dance. It's always an adorable sight. I guess she will be headed to some dance classes some day.

I better go get something accomplished today. Maybe I will read the letters I had my second graders write to me. That will give me a good laugh! Or I could start a new book and finish my fun filled day of doing nothing!

Merry Christmas to all

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas! It was super relaxing! We woke to Reece stirring in his bed at about 5:30. I ran upstairs so he wouldn't come down and see all of the presents. He was still pretty sleepy so I layed with him for a bit and then he fell back asleep. I crept back down to my bed and woke at 7:30 to the sound of a lil one playing under the tree. I kicked Mo and said I think Reece is up. We peaked in on him and he was playing with the Chutes & Ladders game I had set up under the tree. We ran back into the bedroom to grab the video camera and sneak up on him.

We said, "Reece what are you doing up?" He was afraid he was in trouble. I then said, "What is all this?" "PRESENTS," he shouted. We asked him who brought all of this and he shouted SAAANNNTTTAAAA! He was so cute. He wanted to open more presents but we told him we needed to go get Raine first. When we walked into her room, she was up playing with her baby doll. It was the perfect way to wake for Christmas.

The morning was awesome! It took us an hour and a half to open presents, and we didn't have all that much. Reece loved opening the toy trains, games and books. Raine pushed her cabbage patch baby around in her pink umbrella stroller. Mo liked his shirt and tie from the kids but liked his tie rack even more. Who knew my mountain man would enjoy getting all dressed up for work each morning. I was busy with the video camera and regular camera. We would set up for some great camera moments only to realize we were working with a 3 year old and 1 year who wouldn't conform to our ways. I don't know where my children get their stubbornness from?

When we were all finished I started making breakfast. Reece & Mo played Lincoln Logs. They built our future log cabin on the table, way far out of Raine's reach! She was not happy and wanted to help. I stuck her in her chair to eat and she was happy as can be. She went off for her first nap of the day and we enjoyed our eggs, sausage and hash browns! It was delicious. Mo and Reece watched Jungle Book while I cleaned up and downloaded our Christmas pictures. It was such a slow paced morning.

The afternoon seemed to fly by. I showered, made crescent rolls and got the family ready for Christmas dinner at the Castillo's home. We were a little late since my kids love their beds and napped a good long while. I felt pretty bad showing up late for dinner with the salad and rolls, but everyone seemed to be fine with it. The Castillo's had a delicious spread: chicken, lamb, rice, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing and the best pumpkin cheesecake. We also had a birthday cake for Jesus. We lit 5 candles for each of the kids and sang Happy Birthday. It was so fun. The evening was so relaxing. I love hanging out with our west coast family/friends. They are the best.

We drove home, put the kiddos to bed and hit the sack ourselves. I was pooped. All in all, it was a fantastic day; extremely memorable! I hope you all had just as nice a Christmas as we did.

Anxious

Have you ever felt anxious for events to come and then you wondered why your were so worried? I feel that way a lot and I am always so glad when they are over. They were never as bad I thought they would be. The event always goes better than I thought it would. I know that is because I work better under pressure. I wish I could be that person who plans and prepares. Don't get me wrong, I do to some extent. Seriously though, I work best when something is due tomorrow. Is that due to genetics or personality? Are my kiddos doomed to the gene of procrastination also? Just some random thoughts...

Thanksgiving in Utah

We are so Thankful for our get-a-way to the mountains.

We drove up Wednesday afternoon to arrive in Park City around 7pm. The kids did fantastic. They fought falling asleep but finally did so a couple hours before we pulled into my brother's place. They were wide awake and ready to play with their uncles & aunt. Raine found all kinds of things to play with. She is teething and was a bit grumpy at times.

Reece had so much fun playing outside with whoever would go out there. He got cold quick but still had fun kicking the soccer ball around. We were sad there wasn't any snow but enjoyed the crisp fresh air and gorgeous mountains.

Reece, Brian & I went on a walk to this great playground. On the way we spotted a perfect tree for a photo.

Thankful

With Thanksgiving 2 days away I was sitting here counting my blessings! November has been a very hectic month. As I have said before, I sure am being stretched this fall. My parents were here for a week and are now in Park City, Utah with my brother Brian. We are headed up there tomorrow and instead of doing the dishes and packing I sit here thinking.

I am blessed. I have the best friends in the world. I have needed to ask for more help than I like to and no one has turned me down. I don't know what I would do without my life savers. Reece and Raine have so many Aunties that love them and look out for them. Thank you again for all of your help Jessica, Jennifer, Melissa, Deidre, Kristi and Amy.

I was able to cook alongside my mother. We made some yummy lasagna that we will enjoy over the weekend when we are sick of Turkey. I was finally aloud to write down the recipe for her sauce instead of just watching her make it. It was a long afternoon and evening but so much fun.

I am Thankful my hubby can stay with us in Utah and not come back to Vegas to landscape. Also very appreciative to all of you who use him to make your yards pretty. You help us pay our debts; with the weather getting cooler I know those jobs will come to an end.

Most of all I am so thankful for my hilarious munchkins who bring me such joy!



No matter how hectic your Thanksgiving will be; stop, take a look around and be so grateful you are part of that group you call family. Relax and enjoy your holiday. I will be!

A few Halloween pics

We had a great time on Halloween. The four of us headed over to our friends house for some trick or treating and good food. Reece dressed up as a Spiderman and Raine was a little Indian Princess. Reece ran around from house to house collecting as much candy as he could carry. Raine wasn't far behind her big brother. She toddled right after him; trying to catch up with the big kids. When I did pick her up to cross the street I noticed she was chewing on a bag of m&m's. A few minutes later Mo asked what is Raine eating? Well little did I know, she had chewed her way through the bag and was now eating the chocolate. She had blue m&m all over her face and hands. This picture says it all. Raine was pooped!

Reece was wanting to eat every piece of candy he got. He finally caught on to the fact that you just collect it and then eat it later. The minute we walked into Baldwins home he asked for a piece of his candy.

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Saturday, October 20th
These next few pictures are from a Halloween party at our friends house. Raine drank way too much fruit punch flavored Gatorade on the way to the party. As we were driving down the 95, she decided to christin my new car. Red Gatorade was spewing all over the place. I am helpless. I'm in the middle of a 3 lane highway with traffic all around me. My kids have never thrown up before but within one month of purchasing my new Saturn Vue, they teach me a new lesson in parenting. When we finally arrived at the Castillo's house; I carried Raine right up to the bathtub carseat and all. She seemed to feel fine the rest of the night.

Boycott the movie The Golden Compass

A friend was telling me about this and I just got this forward. Please forewarn all of your friends and family!

There is a movie coming out December 7th, during Christmas season, called THE GOLDEN COMPASS. It starts Nicole Kidman and it is directed toward children. What is disturbing to me is that this movie is based on the first of a trilogy of books for children called HIS DARK MATERIALS written by Philip Pullman of England.

He’s an atheist and his objective is to bash Christianity and promote atheism. I heard that he has made remarks that he wants to kill God in the minds of children, and that’s what his books are all about. He despises C.S. Lewis and Narnia, etc. An article written about him says “this is the most dangerous author in Britain ” and that Pullman would be the writer “the atheists would be praying for, if atheists prayed”. Each book gets worse and worse regarding Pullmans hatred towards God. As I understand it, in the last book, a boy and girl are depicted representing Adam and Eve and they kill God, who at times is called YAHWEH. The movie may seem mild, on purpose. They are hoping unsuspecting parents will take their children to see the movie, then they will want the books and decide against God and the Kingdom of Heaven.

Check out the link http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp