Tyler's Birthday

Tyler is 4! I am having a hard time believing it. My little boy is getting so big. We started the day around 6 am with him jumping in my bed, "Mommy, its my birthday!" I made him heart pancakes with sprinkles for breakfast. We just hung out in the morning. After lunch we went to swimming lessons.

Before we could get to the real partying Tyler just had to open one present. He chose his present from Uncle Brady and Aunt Solveig. He'd been kicking it around before he even opened it. It was funny to watch him kick around a wrapped present. If you can't figure it out its a soccer ball!






Then we headed out to Chuck E Cheese's. It was Tyler's first time and he had a ball. He wasn't thrilled with his first ride. It was a bike you peddled and it went in circles and up in the air. Besides that first little glitch he loved the rest of his visit. The girls had an equally good time. They really enjoyed the air hockey table at the end.

After the tokens were exhausted we went to Red Robin for dinner. Tyler fell in love with the Red Robin himself. Apparently he comes out on Tuesday's and Thursday's. Tyler kept looking for him. At the end the staff sang "Happy Birthday" and gave him a sundae with a balloon tied to his spoon.

Then it was home for present time!!!


Batman car from Grandma and Grandpa

Batman helicopter that shoots yellow discs from Grandma and Grandpa.


A new Wii game from Grandma and Grandpa

A bat and ball set from Great Grandma and Grandpa.


A new basketball hoop from Mommy and Daddy. (Although if you ask Tyler Daddy just got it for him.) He also got the movie Bolt from his sisters.


Then it was time for cake and the blowing of candles. Tyler wanted a white cake with white and blue frosting. That's what he got.

It was a long and good day.

Happy Birthday Tyler! We love you so much!

Kids Preschool Program

Yesterday was the kids final preschool program. Tyler had a program first followed by a cookie reception. Then the girls had their graduation program. Hannah was extremely shy and would barely come out in front of everyone. The girls got to ring a bell outside to mark the end of their preschool time. They all look forward to it. Then the staff put together a very nice lunch for us. The weather was warm but very nice. It was a great day.

The video is long but has some cute stuff in it. Enjoy! (If you want a high quality copy let me know and I can mail you one on CD.)

Update on Tyler

Tyler does have pink eye and a minor ear infection. The dr. started him on antibiotics. We had a good night last night. After Tyler's blessing he slept all night and woke up happy. His fever was gone and the gunk in his eye was gone. I'm very grateful for the priesthood.

On a side note. When I told the kids we were going to see Dr. Pirkle, they all started screaming "I LOVE Dr. Pirkle!" I'm not sure why they've developed this fascination with this particular doctor but she is nice and good at what she does.

Oh and ALL the kids are taking a nap today!!!! Hallelujah for peace and quiet.

Tyler is sick again

Tyler just got over strep and now I think he has an ear infection and pink eye. We'll get it confirmed tomorrow at the doctor. He just tears me up when he's sick.

Here's why:

The girls do pretty good when they're sick. They're whiny but not too bad. They enjoy laying around and watching movies, reading books and taking naps in mommy's bed (a treat they enjoy only when they're sick).

On the other hand, Tyler is so usually full of non-stop, full-force energy that when he gets sick it stops him in his tracks and he just crashes. Its overly pitiful. It just breaks my heart. Tonight I was putting him to bed for the third time. He'd woken up twice crying and holding his ear. He was so sweet and sad. "Mommy, can I have one more kiss and hug? Mommy, can you scratch my back? Mommy, I love you. Mommy, good night." John and Grandad gave him a blessing the last time he woke up. I got him some ibuprofen and a drink of water.

I hate having sick kids, not because of the illness, but because I feel completely helpless. I do not like not being able to fix it with just a kiss and a hug.

So to conclude with words from one of Tyler's favorite books, "Firefighters to the Rescue", (I've got it memorized) I "will watch and wait and pray and then. . ."

My babies are going to Kindergarten

I registered Hannah and Karena for Kindergarten today. Its hard to believe this was only taken 5 short years ago. My babies are getting so big.

Today's Shopping Trip

I did pretty good shopping today and thought I'd share with you guys all that I bought.

Publix
Ziploc Bags (2)
Nabisco 100 Calorie Packs (2)
Danimals Yogurt Drinks 6-pack (4)
Kellogg's Raisin Bran (5)
Special K (2)
Smart Balance Butter (2)
Smart Balance Butter sticks (2) Free
Mitchum Deoderant (4)
Chinet plates (2) Free
Electrasol tabs (2)
Brown Rice
Bags of Apples (2)
Pace Salsa (2) Free
Tomatoes
Bananas

Total OOP (out of pocket): 32.47
Total Saved: $86.00

Target
Kashi Waffles (2)
Quattro Razors (5) Two were free
Quattro Electric Razor
Kraft Mayo (4)
Fiber One Cereal (2)
Fiber One Muffin Mix (2)

Total OOP: $28.30
Total Saved: $51.48

So for a grand total OOP: $60.77
Total Saved: $137.48

Pics from today

Karena tied her shoes today all by herself today!

She was so excited!

And then, after the kids went to bed John went out to the garage to get ice cream from the freezer. This was waiting for him on the landing on the top of the stairs into the garage.

Apparently he just waddled down the stairs and went and hid in a corner in the garage. John had thought the cat had been getting into the garbage but now we think its this opossum. Isn't he just the creepiest of critters?

Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap

I've never done something like this but I'm excited to try it out. I send a box of my favorite things to someone and they send one back to me of their favorite things. How great does that sound! Come see what its all about here.

Typeless Thursday - I missed Wordless Wednesday

I wanna be like you-ou-ou

I told Karena this morning I was going to get my haircut. She almost started crying and said, "Mommy I want you to have hair like me." It was just precious and sweet and if I didn't hate the way my hair has been acting lately I might have decided not to cut it. BUT ... cut it I did.

Before I get to the pictures that I'm sure you're all dying to see let me just tell you that I found my hair heroine!!! Beth Bell at The Hair Doctor in Smyrna is amazing. She not only cut my hair really well but took lots of time showing me different tricks and tips to making it style right. I will definitely be going back to her.

Now for the moment you've all been waiting for. Pictures of ME!!! (taken by me so don't make fun of the pitiful quality)

untucked

tucked

Day Two in Indiana

Today was fun. We went to the park with Uncle Brady while Solveig was at work. We parked at another park that had a short path that led to Olcott park where we were headed. Karena started bawling as we were getting out of the car. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "This park is dirty!!"


I reassured her that this was NOT the park we were going to play at. We went on a nice walk up to the park. There was a pretty bridge over the stream and a interesting looking tree. See if you can find the face.


The park was lots of fun. The kids slid and played on the see-saw. They had a jungle gym with sliding poles. Hannah was the pro at that. She even proclaimed that she was going to be a firegirl because she slid down the pole so well.


Everyone was also excited to see the speaker pipes. They all announced that "We have these where we live."

The see-saw and the little airplane were fun. Especially when the grown-ups got on.



Then we had pizza at this little place called Mother Bear's pizza. It had the best pizzas!!! The kids had pepperoni. The adults had this loaded meat pizza and one called Spinoccoli. It had Spinach and broccoli and this amazing alfredo sauce. It was also reasonably priced. We definitely need one of these back in TN.

Day One in Indiana

We left for Indiana on Thursday morning. We stopped and picked up Mom and were headed on our way. The kids were pretty good the whole way. Thank goodness for portable DVD players.

We got to Brady and Solveig's around 6pm. The kids had to see the whole house and were quite excited to finally see a basement! After a great dinner of spaghetti and garlic bread (no sauce for Tyler) it was bed time for the kids. Let's just say if I ever repeat that night it will be too soon. Everyone was too tired, wound up, and excited to be here that they couldn't settle down. It was too dark for Tyler, too light for Hannah and too uncomfortable for Karena.

Here are some of the days highlights:

• Listening to Tyler sing songs like a broken record - over and over and over again
• Being amazed at the damage the ice storm did in KY and how far north the damage went
• Talking to Mom on the way up
• Not hitting any rain the entire drive
• The kids freaking out when we drove through Nashville, Indiana (30 minutes from Uncle Brady's) and we told them we were back in Nashville
• Hearing the beginning to Barbie Mariposa 3 times because it kept getting restarted
• Having the kids talk to Daddy before bed on the cell phone

• Seeing Uncle Brady and Aunt Solveig!

Shopping Show-off

I was featured in The Obsessive Shopper blog for a recent shopping trip to Publix! Click here to see the post.

Bowling

Last Monday was President's Day. Dad and John both had it off so we decided to all get together and do something fun. We had planned to go to this awesome playground up in Gallatin but the weather turned a little too cool to enjoy a day at the park. So we went to plan B - Bowling.

The kids had never been bowling before and it had been years since John and I had been. I was pitiful. Apparently Wii bowling does not prepare you for actual bowling.

<---Karena

Hannah--->

The kids did a great job.

Tyler was terrified of getting close to the line and making it buzz. We eventually got a ramp for him to use. The girls did a great job.

I think Tyler was more excited about watching the ball come back into the ball return than actually rolling the ball down the lane.

Final Scores:

Me: 47
Tyler: 51
Karena: 54
Hannah: 56
John: 69
Dad: 103
Mom: 115

Tyler's 1st Scripture

Tyler was asked to read his first scripture in Primary today. He wanted John to help him. I was very impressed with how well he did. He spoke clearly and not too loud into the microphone. He didn't appear nervous at all. Here is what he had to read:

"That the ^arights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be ^bcontrolled nor handled only upon the ^cprinciples of righteousness." Doctrine and Covenants 121:36

Notice the hard words like "inseparably" and "righteousness." He did fine with those words. Want to know the word he struggled with? Upon. He kept saying dupon. He was too cute.

I am so proud of him. He can't wait to do another one.

Thanks Mindi for the link to the abc video.

ABC did a news piece on temples and interviewed Elder Holland and Elder Cook. It was well done.

Click here to watch http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6616644.

If you tried the link before I've fixed it so hopefully it will work now.

Food Storage

I'm so excited to FINALLY be getting into food storage. It still slightly boggles my mind but I'm learning. This week on http://funwithfoodstorage.net/ they are helping you get into food storage by having a week long food storage party. I've visited Crystal's website, http://everydayfoodstorage.net/, for a while now and love it. I've told so many people about it. We just ordered and received our first real order of food storage. You know the kind with large buckets of wheat and oatmeal. I also got a wheat grinder for Christmas!!!! Thanks Mom and Dad! My goal this year is to really learn how to buy, rotate and use my food storage. I'll keep you all posted on how its going.

PS: My two favorite food storage recipes are Crystal's bread sticks/pizza dough recipe and her blender wheat pancakes. Thanks Brady and Solveig for the blender!

John

Yesterday a little before 9 am John was fixing a roof vent when the ladder he was standing on fell. He went down with the ladder and landed on his feet. He was taken to the ER at Stonecrest Medical Center by ambulance. After 2 CT scans we learned he has a compression fracture on his L1 vertebrae of about 20 - 25%. Thankfully he has no other serious injuries. The CT scan showed no internal organ damage and no herniated disk. He is in a lot of pain and will most likely be out of work for a month. He is not allowed to twist or bend or lift anything heavier than a coffee cup. He spent the night in the hospital to help manage his pain. The pain medicine is helping to make him as comfortable as possible. He's been able to get up and walk around a few times. He's eating and drinking well. The Physical Therapist came in and fitted John for a back brace. He said that helped the pain more when he was sitting and standing.

John received a blessing from my Dad yesterday saying he would have a full recovery. We have faith that all will work out for the best. The next month will be hard for all of us but it will also be nice to have John around. Thank you to all who have offered help and prayers. We are deeply grateful.

I will keep you posted as the days go on and let you know of John's progress. We meet with the Orthopedic Specialist Monday Dec. 29.

I feel like I've been very neglectful of our blog but NOTHING has been happening here. Its just the daily routine. We've had some colds and stomach bugs circulating through the house. Turkey day was good. I made the dinner - by myself except for the turkey which John fried. Yummy! We had John's sister, Sarah, her husband, Jeff, and the missionaries over to eat with us. John's been hunting a couple times. No successes but hopes to go again before the years over. And that about wraps it up folks. Maybe something will happen soon.

Update on kitty

Rock Star is a boy not a girl as we had originally thought. Apparently we didn't look too closely. Good thing the name Rock Star fits either way.

Ever wanted a rock star in the family?

We can now become rich and famous because we have a rock star in the family. Well, actually she's a cat.

<-- John

She hitched a ride home with John last night from work and has stuck around. She's been wandering around his work for a little while now. She's pretty skinny and ate a lot last night. We've (Tyler) named her Rock Star. We've all taken to her. She's very loving and cuddly. She lets the kids pet her and pick her up. So far no scratches or bites. She's going to be an outside cat. John and I have allergies and John doesn't want animals in the house. We made her a bed out of a box and an old towel.

She slept in the box last night and some during the day. A neighbor let us have some cat food (Thanks Lisa!) and she ate a lot of it. If she stays around until next week I'm going to try and get her to the vet for shots and see about getting her spade. One cat is enough for me.

Primary Program

Yesterday was our ward's primary program. Its my favorite Sunday of the year. All the kids did an excellent job. Karena and Hannah both had their lines memorized and they did them without any problems. Unlike last year they both sang most of the songs. They are getting so grown up. We had several visitors that attended. Aunt Sarah, Uncle Jeff, Grandma and Grandpa and the girls pre-school teacher Ms. Darlene. Thank you all for coming. We finished up the day with a pancake dinner that Daddy cooked for us. It was super yummy!

Lately we've been working on not interrupting. The kids have a bad habit of every time someone starts to talk trying to butt in. It really bothers John especially. So again last night at dinner we were talking about it again.

Here's what Karena had to say about it: "Mommy its not good to erupt."
Mommy: "No, Karena, its not a good idea to erupt." (trying desperately not to laugh)

Grandad: "Can I go to school with you today?"
Tyler: "No, you don't have a lunchbox."
Hannah: "You don't have a backpack either."

Playgroup

Playgroup was at our house today. It is a group of women who's kids all go to my kid's preschool. Most of them all go to the same church (except for me). There are usually about 8 regulars with 13 kids total. The women talk and have a great time discussing everything from kids behavior to the "Biggest Loser" episode from last night. Its really been an uplifting experience for me. The kids get along fairly well. As well as any large group of kids all trying to play with the same stuff for 2 hours can get along. I really like socializing with everyone. They are strong Christian women. Its been good for me to make some new friends. Plus I think its important to have at least one adult conversation a week.

I am: mom, wife, friend, teacher, caregiver, babysitter, cook, maid
I think: an organized home will greatly reduce my stress levels
I know: how to digitally scrapbook
I want: to learn how to be a good knitter
I have: intelligent, happy children who like to do things their own way
I dislike: people who drive below the speed limit
I miss: the clean, good sitcoms when I was a kid
I fear: heights with no railings
I feel: good about not watching so much TV lately
I hear: my kids dancing to Imagination Movers
I smell: pancakes with syrup
I crave: chocolate
I cry: at sappy movies and when I am truly upset by something
I usually: have a book I'm reading
I search: for stuffed animals before bed way too much
I wonder: what we're having for dinner tonight
I regret: not taking more advantage of the opportunities I had growing up
I love: my family
I care: about who gets elected President
I always: get frustrated with my kids too easily
I worry: how my kids will ever survive public school
I am not: someone who loves to clean
I believe: that if you really want to change you can
I sing: to my kids before nap and bedtime every day
I don't always: kiss and hug my family enough
I argue: with my FIL too much
I write: more now than I used to
I win: at card games
I lose: every tickle war with John
I wish: I had our upstairs renovation done and not just in the planning stages
I listen: to way too many kids songs
I can usually be found: in the blue room on the computer or in the kitchen
I am scared: for the future of our country
I forget: to make important phone calls and put things in the mail
I am happy: when my kids are laughing and getting along
I am.......tagging you.

Our Fall Break Stay-cation

Sunday we went to Conference up at Mom and Dad's ward building. The kids did pretty good. Tyler fell asleep during the last hour of the first session. We had a pot luck lunch there. Tyler was done after that so John took him back to Mom and Dad's house. As he was leaving he said, "Good, I don't like this place." I guess 4 hours is enough for any 4 yr old boy to be asked to be quiet and still. We should have sent the girls home as well. They couldn't sit still or be quiet for anything. I ended up letting them go play in a side room while I sat nearby in the foyer listening to conference. Tyler took another nap when he got back to the house. When informed that he would have to go to bed that night he told us, "I slept two times. I don't have to sleep ANYMORE!"

Monday we went to the Frist art museum. They have a kids area called Martin Artquest. Its a hands on experience for the kids to paint, sculpt, make prints, color, draw and imagine.


Here's some of the art the kids created while we were there. Tyler, as is his usual style, took about 10 of the stools you can see in the picture above and made a train track/tunnel with them. I guess art comes in many forms. (Tyler's are the 1st in each row, then Hannah's, then Karena's)

I think they all did a great job. We will definitely go back again and again.

Tuesday we planned to go the zoo. As we arrived it started pouring. We ducked into the gift shop to stay dry. Mom bought us all ponchos. The girls thought they were great. Tyler wore it because we told him to but was quick to take it off as soon as it stopped raining. We went to the indoor creepy crawly house. It has all the snakes, fish, bats (Mom's favorite, not really), spiders and my favorite the frogs. The only reason we got Mom in there was because of the rain. By the time we got done it had stopped raining. We were able to see the rest of the zoo without any more problems. The elephants were great. We got to watch one of them ripping branches and leaves off the trees and eating. It was pretty neat! The kids played on part of the playground for a little while. The rest was too wet. I promised them a return visit to play on the playground and go on the merry-go-round. It was under repairs this week. I think the kids had more fun climbing on the rope fences and climbing and trying to see through the observation telescopes like these:

I successfully convinced the kids I didn't have any money so I didn't have to drop a fortune into those things. They have them everywhere at the zoo.

We had a great stay-cation with Mom! Thanks Mom! Can't wait for the next one.

She's so full of it

Hannah has been complaining for a few weeks now that her tummy has been hurting. Its not been consistent just every once in a while. She's not been sick or running a fever but since it had been so long I took her to the doctor today. They did an x-ray of her tummy. Karena and Tyler both wanted their picture taken too. I told them I would take their picture at home. Hannah turns to a lady in the waiting room and says, "Mommy doesn't have a tummy camera though." We took the picture on cd back to the doctor. The x-ray definitely told us what the problem is. Here's the picture. See if you can figure it out for yourself.....









She's full of POOP!!!!

All that black and white pebbly stuff is poop. No wonder her little tummy is hurting. We've been dealing with constipation for so long its just ridiculous. I thought she had the least problems with it. I guess I was wrong. Now we get to clean her out. I think I'll be sick of the bathroom by the time this weekend is over.