My Cure for Alzheimer's

In my old age I have developed a problem I like to call Alzheimer's. I can't remember anything. Even simple things like what I did yesterday, or what I ate for breakfast. However, my most common Alzheimer's problem is that I loose everything. Now I know it's Alzheimer's because I don't loose things on purpose, I just can't remember where I put them. (And Alzheimer's is a remembering disease) Take for instance today, I was cleaning and put my rag down in a spot I thought I would remember, on the corner of the table. Well, I went to use it and all of the sudden my Alzheimer's kicked in and I couldn't remember having moved it from the corner of the table. So, I have discovered that when all else fails (meaning my memory) I just ask my trusty "ultimate rememberer", she never fails to remember what her mother doesn't. Especially when it comes to promises of movies, baths, or Lydia's house. (That is why we've given up promising such things if she goes to bed, it always bites us in the rear end in the morning - pardon the expresion) So, my point is, if you have trouble remembering things, get yourself a two-year old. They never forget and they know all.
Oh, and by the way, my rag was conveniently located in the trash can. Which of course Kameryn knew right away. Funny, I don't remember putting it there...

Microwave

There is a new favorite toy in the Bowen house: it is called the microwave. It might not sound like much fun to the average adult, but to a two year old it is awesome. There are a lot of buttons to push that make great noises. If you push the right one, it will hum for a while and then beep. And, best of all, if you put things in it, they get hot. Take for instance, Cooper's toy. It would've been really toasty if mom hadn't stopped the fun. But that's okay, because the new item of choice is popcorn. And you can actually eat it after you put it in the microwave. That is of course if you remember to take off the plastic. Otherwise it just sticks to the microwave tray. And as a few pointers, the best time to set the microwave for is 77:77, that way things are guaranteed to get cooked and the house might burn down in the process (It's okay, says Gwen, at least you have renter's insurance...) Also, learn to mimmick mom, if she says "Don't even think about it." That is the perfect time to repeat back "don eben tink bout it" and put the item in the microwave anyways. Oh, and another fun thing about the microwave is underneath it there is a cupboard full of pop. Great for 3 am thirst quenchers, just make sure you are extra quiet or your dad might hear you getting a rootbeer. Long Live the Microwave!! (and if Kameryn has any more fun, it won't live for long)

Don't Tell Your Daughter

Don't EVER tell your daughter you are going to Grandma's house until you are there. Because, the minute you tell her this she will beome an absolute terror. For instance, she will probably say she has to go potty, then go to the bathroom, say she has gone, only to sit down on her bed and go "Oh! mommy look, I go pee pee on my bed, it's all wet." Next she will probably dump a whole big box of Christmas nerds all over her bedroom floor. Then look at you (who, by the way is getting things ready to go to grandma's) and say "I make messes mom." Which then when you ask her to help you clean up, she will purposely make a bigger mess by running her hands through the pile, sending nerds flying through the air to all kinds of nooks and crannies in her room.
You will then find yourself getting very frustrated and so when she dumps out a big bucket of toys for the tenth time after you just told her not to, you will spank her bum. For which she will immediately run away, completely devastated and humiliated, so you will feel bad, apologize for spanking her but let her know why and tell her you love her.
You will think things are good between you and so you will tell her to go play with her brother while you change the wash. A couple seconds later, you will hear a terrible scream coming from said brother. Apparantly your daughter will have taken her beef with you out on her little brother and then throw the duvet on him so as to cover up the evidence. (By the way, he will continue to scream for a good 20 minutes after the incidence)
At such point, after the brother beating, you will tell your daughter that you have had enough and she is being a very naughty girl, therefore she will not be acompanying you, or the rest of the family, to Grandma's house. Of course this doesn't sit over well, and so you bargain with the small child. "Tell your mommy you're sorry, tell your brother you're sorry and put your panties on and then you can go to Grandma's. But you can't be a naughty girl anymore or you cannot come!!"
You won't see this naughty girl for about 1 1/2 minutes until she decides to dump out the game you just told her you weren't going to play (Not a little kid game, lots and lots of small pieces; which subsequently are now all over your floor). Next, when you least suspect it, you will glance up to see her scaling the entertainment center to get to the dvd player. An entertainment center that at any moment could come crashing down on her small frame. Understandably forgivable if this was the first offense, which it is not. No movie for said child, because that is not how we ask to watch a movie, which sends her in a fit of rage. Until, of course, she notices the Balmex. Which immediately gets spread all over her fingers, bum, wall, pretty much everything. This is about the time you call your husband to come and rescue your child from the wrath of her mother. He comes and gets her at 9:05, exactly 1 hour after you first told your daughter you were going to Grandmas.
I tell you this so next time you are tempted in your excitement to tell your daughter you are going to Grandma's house to see all her Aunts and Uncles and cousins - DON'T. And, absolutely DO NOT tell her how much fun you are going to have, or all the yummy food you are going to eat. It will only create a monster. My advice: wait. Wait until you have the car all loaded up and her buckled in her car seat, so when the excitement sets in, she will be properly restrained in said restraining devise and you can arrive semi-sane to Grandma's.
(Oh, and one more thing. Don't let her see you smile when she does any number of these insanely naughty things. For instance, when she flings the camcorder on the floor and then flashes you a big cheesy grin. Don't crack a smile, it will only fuel the fire. No matter how cute or funny she might be, resist. Stay strong and control the laughter in your voice when you tell her that is not acceptable behavior. Good luck, I couldn't do it and things only got worse, now I have a whole box of Teddy Grahams all over my floor.)

Our Talk in Church- a.k.a. Good one Curty

Today, Brandon and I got called to speak in church; Dec. 3, 20 minutes a piece, on: THE LAW OF CHASTITY. Yep, a topic I thought was only reserved for the bishopric or stake presidency. But no, a topic someone deemed worthy to give to the Bowens. Someone named Curtis Clayton! That stinker! But, of course we didn't know it was Curtis. (Okay, let me just say, first of all, how does Brandon not even recognize his voice!) I was absolutely mortified (So in case you don't know, Curtis is one of Brandon's best friends from High School)
So, here us suckers had believed him, this Curtis who had proffesed himself to be one "Sterling Swarflaker" of the ward, and we were left wallowing in misery as we tried to muster up courage to speak in church on the law of chastity. (Give us a break, we are still learning all the names of our fellow ward members)
Of course, my first reaction was to get on the phone and call Gwen to tell her how mortified I was!! I was about to call my mom crying when Brandon's phone rang. It was Curtis, Curtis Clayton. Our friend, whom if he ever tries something like this again will die, was calling to ask "Brother Bowen" about talking in church. It was then that it all clicked for Brandon and he realized we had been seriously had.
Nice one, Curty. May we just say, we hope your first born child is ugly. (Just kidding, that is totally mean. We know he/she will be adorable and we don't want it any other way.)
So, let us close by saying how relieved we are to NOT be speaking in church and how funny we do NOT think Curtis is. (Once again, still just kidding. That was stinking hilarious!!) And, by the way, DON'T anyone else think that the Bowen's are fun people to take for a ride, because, while we may be way too gullible for our own good and it may be very hilarious, it is not nice to play mean tricks on your friends.

For Our Uncle Clinton

Congratulations Uncle Clinton!!! WE ARE SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!! Our Uncle Clinton just got a brand new job. He will be working for Betaseed in Oregon. We will miss visiting him all the time but we are excited for this new step in his life! We are so proud!!!

Tug of War

Kameryn has always been the perfect big sister. She makes Cooper laugh like no one else can. The two of them just seem to really enjoy each other. Well, today they made up a game to play with each other and they both absolutely love it.
Cooper was in an "I hate my mommy" mood today. Nothing I did made him happy. He screamed and screamed and screamed. So, Kameryn decided to try her hand at making him happy. She found one of my nylons and let Cooper grab hold of it. Then she grabbed onto the other end and they took turns pulling back and forth in a tug of war type game. Cooper loved it! He smiled and smiled and Kameryn just giggled. They played for a good 10 minutes. Sometimes Kameryn would win and sometimes Cooper would win.
In fact, Cooper won the last 6 rounds. the kid would just not let go of that nylon. The more Kameryn pulled the harder he held on and just giggled. He thought he was such hot stuff.
Can I tell you, on days like this, I am so grateful for my little girl. She is the perfect friend for her brother and he just idolizes her!

Oh Man!

Kameryn has a new favorite phrase: "Oh Man!" She just started saying it this morning, but believe me we have already heard it enough to know its her favorite. It seems like everything said to her has to be accompanied by an "oh man!".

Kam, it's time to take your medicine. - Oh man!
Where's Cooper? - Cooper is asleep. - Oh man!
Kameryn, put that string down or mommy will put you in time out. - Oh man!
Kameryn it is time for breakfast - Oh man!

Well, apparently we have Lydia to thank for this. I called Gwen this morning to see if maybe Lydia was where she picked it up. "Oh yeah, Lydia says that all the time." It is funny how kids pick things up. I'm just glad Lydia is a good girl and we don't have to worry about Kameryn picking up bad habits while at her house, just funny new sayings.

All Dressed Up

Kameryn has started this new phase in her life, it is called dressing herself. Every morning she wakes up, picks out what she wants to wear, and wears it. Mommy never gets a say. Like today, she was in a tights mood. So, because she wanted to wear tights she had to wear a dress. (Kameryn's reasoning not mine) So she picked out what she thought was her prettiest dress (which of course means a Sunday dress). Next she had to pick the tights. She picked the pink ones that are a size or so too big because "dees are my baborate" She completed the look with a "bow" and a "bracelet" and as always, her daddy's cheeser! But, I've got to say, every time Kameryn dresses herself she gets pretty close to matching quite well. I actually think she might understand the concept of matching (unlike her mother who is constantly asking "does this match?" Now of course Kameryn has come up with more unique arrangements of apparel; its just this morning she was so proud of all the pretty things she picked out that we had to take a picture. 

Our Wurtz Baby?

See a resemblance? We sure do. Cooper is so uncanningly familiar to J.T. It must be the big blue eyes and bald white head. J.T. of course has a little more meat on him, but other than that, pretty similar huh? Coop's even got the stick out ears! Unfortunately Cooper is in a bit of a mood today and so we can't get him to smile. But, if you're wondering what it looks like, just look at J.T.'s its pretty much the same.What I am wondering is how my child looks like Gina's child who looks exactly like Dave, her husband? Hmmm... Maybe this is what the Hatch gene looks like?

My Thankful Turkey

This afternoon we decided to prep Kameryn for Thanksgiving. (We are trying to make up for totally blowing Halloween) So, we made a thankful turkey. Kameryn picked out all the feathers and she did all the gluing. She even helped mommy write what she was thankful for on the feathers. This is the list: daddy, grandpas, grandmas, mommy, aunts and uncles, friends (Addie and Lydia), cookies, and Cooper. 

Grandpa Tractor

Kameryn is too young to know the different names of her grandparents. all she knows is she has about 5 pairs of grandparents (this includes great-grandparents because we just call them grandma and grandpa as well). Well, this morning, she discovered a new way to distinguish her grandpas.
We had spent Thursday visting Brandon's parents and Kameryn had spent the whole day driving Grandpa's tractor. She had so much fun and hasn't stopped asking about going to Grandpa's to help him drive his tractor. She has been saying things like: I know how to drive a tractor. My daddy knows how to drive a tractor, and grandpa, and Clinton. Mommy, do you know how to drive a tractor?
Apparently this trip has left a huge impression on her little mind for first thing this morning she found the baby monitor and was using it to talk on the phone to her Grandpa; Grandpa Tractor.
This is the conversation we heard: "Pompa Tacta how you? Me go your house Pompa Tacta? Helpy you dive tacta? ...." and so on for about 5 minutes. We thought it was cute. So, Kameryn now has a Pompa and a Pompa Tacta. We just wanted to share that, especially with Grandpa Tractor whom we knew would be looking at the blog.

From the Mouths of Babes

So, I decided my daughter says way too many funny things and I needed to start blogging them every week or so. Today was a good one, I was in the kitchen cleaning and I could hear Kameryn in the family room talking. As I listened closer I was able to make out what she was saying. "No mommy, top dat, top it, you wan me to paint yo bum" (Meaning spank your bum.) Anyway, I thought it was funny. Brandon is always saying "Stop, stop, stop, Do you want me to spank your bum?" Well, apparantely Kam has caught on. I don't know why it was directed at me, I wasn't even where she could see me. I am assuming she was role playing. Anyway, I thought it was funny. She never really gets her bum spanked, it's just empty threats but apparently she has realized that those are the words you say when you have had enough. (at least if you're the daddy, that is.)

My Beautiful Boys

I just took this picture this morning and could not wait to share it. Look at my boys! I think they look so handsome. Every time I see this picture I just love them more. Enjoy! 

Fall

 

FHE

So, we've been wondering about fun ideas for FHE for little kids. Well, when browsing we found these fun websites with great ideas fun lessons and such. So, if you're wondering like we were, check out these websites. http://www.mormonchic.com/mommy/FHE.asp
This one gives printable FHE lessons for each week. http://deseretbook.com/mormon-life/curric/index?area_id=7
This one offers all kinds of things, including fhe in a jar http://www.jennysmith.net
The church website (located in our sidebar) also has tons of ideas for FHE

Let us know if you find any other great ideas.

Princess Cooper

Kameryn was playing with Cooper today. Inevitably he ended up wearing the princess crown. But he looked so cute, so naturally it ended up on the blog. And, just speaking from experience as an older sister to brothers; I am sure this will not be the last time he is "dressed up" 

Happy Birthday Daddy! (Brandon)

So today (actually the 4th but this won't post until then) is Brandon's birthday. We thought we would honor him here on our blog and tell him some of the reasons we love him so much. 1. He loves his kids more than anything in the world
2. He is crazy goofy when he plays
3. His fairy leaps
4. The way he is always right
5. and how he is so patient with the fact that I am always wrong...
6. His total cheeser smile
7. How he is so geeky about tractors and farming
8. He is so selfless, everything he does is for us
9. He is thoughtful in the most surprising and meaningful ways
10. He looks like he is about 15 (it's only 11 years off)
11. Watching a funny movie with him, it is impossible not to laugh. After all, he is laughing so hard he's crying. (If you've never had the opportunity to watch a funny movie with him, find a way too. Once you have, you'll want him around for every funny movie. He just makes it 300 times more hilarious.)
12. He always helps without being asked (and always above and beyond the call of duty)
13. He is a very friendly, fun-loving guy. You can't not love him. People just want to be around him.
14. He makes us laugh (down right giggle and snort- if you're KamBam)
15. He has incredible work ethic
Now, for the sake of not embarassing him we will stop. But as means of a "public" love letter I would like him to know the I love him beyond belief. His love and consideration for his family never cease to amaze me. Every day I find more reasons why he is perfect and I am the luckiest girl in the world. I never in my wildest dreams imagined a more perfect father, husband, and best friend. Thank you, Brandon, for all you do for us. We are the luckiest "kids" around. WE LOVE YOU LOADS AND BUNCHES!! Happy Birthday. - Love your family

Oh, and #16 just from me: He is so smokin' HOT! Check out these pics of him. Way too cute. 

Big Girl

We have got some great news for the Bowen family. Kameryn successfully made it through the day with no potty accidents! We are trying a new technique: rewarding her for dry panties with stickers. Sounds simple but it is working. Every time Kameryn had to go potty, she hopped right up to the toilet no problems. We've known she's understood the concept for a while but we haven't made a big deal about it. We don't want to count our chickens before they hatch, but wouldn't that be awesome if stickers potty trained our child. We'll see. But, more than anything, we wanted to post this on our blog so Kameryn could see how proud we are! Go Kameryn!!