Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Enchanted

We just went and saw Disney's Enchanted with my family last night: WE ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! The movie is so unbelievably cheesy, yet perfect. It is a great family film. The little girls loved it, my teenage brothers loved it, my parents loved it, and my husband loved it.
It has a bit of a mock musical feel to it and throws in bits and pieces of all the Disney princess movies. (Cinderella, Snow White...) Another plus, the movie was beautifully clean. Nothing you had to be embarrassed about or shield your children from, which is a real treat these days. Wonderful movie. I'm not going to say it is the best movie ever, but definitely the best family movie of the year, bar none!
Honestly, go see it! We don't usually go to the theater to see a movie (it is cheaper to just wait and buy it) but we couldn't wait and we are glad we didn't. It was a real treat to see this movie, especially to splurge and see it in the theater. Plus, the theater we went to had dip 'n dots! How awesome is that?! Of course I had to have some.
Anyway, fun times. See the movie, even if you don't have a little girl, go see it, you won't be disappointed.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate!



Tonight we broke out the chocolate fountain for our kids. It was very obvious that Cooper didn't need anyone to teach him what to do. As soon as he saw the fountain he climbed up on the table and starting dipping everything in sight into the chocolate. (I know that Gwen and Kari are just cringing at the thought of this; Gwen for the mess and Kari for the cross contamination)
Cooper loved it, and it was definitely so fun for him. It was chocolate paradise.
This last picture resulted in a whole arm covered in chocolate. We have also included a fun video for all to enjoy. Now I know for sure that all children wish I was their mother! (P.S. Just for Gwen: this really cleaned up very fast. Nothing works better than just throwing a kid in the shower. That and covering your table in a disposable table cloth. We even managed to keep all chocolate off the floor and chairs, with out any effort on our part. We just lucked out that way.)
Cutest thing: Kameryn thought we were having a "chocolate mountain" I guess for a little kid this could seem like a mountain of chocolate.

Captain Underpants

We didn't want to post this picture until everything was completely finished and successful, but here you go:Yes, unbelievers , that is our son in "big-boy undies". (I have learned that for boys they are called undies, not panties...) Go Cooper! In undies at 1 1/2! Way to go potty man!

Trash Man

Sometimes when your children's whole lives are blogged, you forget to blog key elements because you think they have already been digested by the blogging world. Well, I actually found some information that hadn't been blogged yet:
Our son Cooper loves trash. Every day, multiple times a day, Cooper either goes dumpster diving in our trash cans or just dumps our out our trash cans in their entirety. Pretty cool...but not!
I don't understand what his fascination is with trash, but it seems to compel him to be a more mischievous. Meanwhile, I have to make sure the trashes are emptied on a very regular basis otherwise my son will empty them for me.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Baby, it's cold outside

The title says it all. I have even inserted the song for those of you who will now have it stuck in your head. (Technically this isn't a Christmas song, it is a winter song. There is no mention of Christmas, or Christmas related themes. No complaining.)
Cooper's winter coats came in the mail today. He was so excited he had to but them on. (Yes, I made he bold, because he was the one who brought them to me.) Regardless, he was absolutely adorable and he knew it. The coats drown him of course but I am hoping that means he might be able to get 2 years out of them, it is a little iffy, but we will hold our breath.
Kami's coats should be coming in the next little bit, so I will be sure to post her pictures later. She, however, is a much more difficult subject to photograph.Check out that look. I'd say he looks like a regular farmer.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Journaling

I don't know if you mothers ever find yourselves doing this, but it happens to me all the time. You look down at your children and for no particular reason you find yourself so in love with them you could burst. This happened to me tonight; I glanced down at my kids and thought "Man I love you guys!" It is not that they did anything particularly cute or endearing - they are just themselves; going about life doing the things they do. (I do admit, I have extremely, if not unnaturally, cute and endearing children. Maybe that is why this happens to me so often...)
This is one of the things I love so much about being a mother. The love never stops, it just keeps growing. It is often puzzling. I am not puzzled by why I love my children, there are millions of obvious reasons. I am puzzled by the amount and intensity of the love I feel for them. Honestly, motherhood is the greatest gift I have EVER been given. It is a blessing and I find more joy in it than in anything else I do, or anything else I am. I wouldn't give it up for anything.
I wanted to share a couple "updates" for our family. (I am using this post as a journal of sorts, so if you don't want to know, just skip)
We'll start with the youngest: This little one inside me. He still doesn't have a name, which concerns and bewilders me. My other two were named before conception. This one is well past that point and still lacking an identity. He is a mover and shaker, constantly kicking, rolling, hiccuping, you name it. I don't remember my other two being nearly this active. I like him though, think I'll keep him. I definitely starting to show A LOT. There is no doubt that I am pregnant. He is growing big and strong, due date right on target and everything running smoothly, if not a little fast, it seems. The months are skipping by.
Cooper is more than adorable. He has an attitude that he mimics from his older sister. He absolutely loves music and dancing and anything that makes an insanely more than reasonable amount of noise. He is really into the dishwasher right now, especially the silverware tray. He thinks he is such a big help. He is especially drawn to knives...fun! Cooper is my randomly affectionate one. For no apparent reason he will walk right up to you wrap his arms around you and give you a kiss. He likes to climb up on you when your sitting in the recliner just to give you a hug and a kiss and then he climbs back down. Randomly, blissfully, affectionate. Cooper is still our people person. At church he hops from person to person, dishing out his characteristic koala hugs. He is a man's man. The young men absolutely love him and he loves them, he always has to go everywhere they go. I think it is because he is usually surrounded by women. (that of course is all about to change) Last, but not least, Cooper loves his sister. He loves to do everything she does. They are the best of buds.
Kameryn is going through a rough discipline phase right now, we don't exactly know how to take care of her tantrums and spitting. But, despite the bumps we can't get enough of her. She is so delightful. Kami loves cartoons and computer games. She also loves to help me cook. She is becoming quite the little chef and probably knows how to make more than a lot of college students. She loves to mimic me, everything from having owies like mommy, to a baby in her tummy. She likes to pretend she teaches piano lessons, which is actually quite cute to watch. She loves to be a mommy to Cooper, Lulu and every stuffed thing we own. Kami is still big into playing puppy, which drives her dad insane, but she is very good at it. She loves to go out with her dad and knows so many things it astounds me. She is an incredible help when she wants to be and she is such a sweet and loving little girl. She still prefers being alone to being in big groups, and scowls as opposed to smiles at most people. She is growing so tall. Most people think she is a year or two older than she really is because of how tall she is. Kami still loves music and art. She loves to turn the music on my piano up the blaring levels, dance to it, and then leave the room. Overall, Kami is a very sweet, loving, and smart little girl.
Next it brings us to me, mine won't be as long, more a medical update than anything else. I just had a Dr.'s appt. where I found out that the pain and bleeding I am experiencing are normal, for a stint. I also found out that instead of having the stint replaced the end of January, I have to have it replaced the beginning/middle of December to avoid a more serious surgery. Not fun, but better than the alternative. I have passed 2 kidney stones (GO ME!!! Honestly, the awesomest thing ever) We aren't sure how many I still have left to go, but we know it is at least 1. I am still on serious pain killers, but the dosage has dwindled down. I feel guilty about still needing them, but unfortunately they are necessary if I want to be able to function. My Dr. also feels that they are a necessity, and you know my husband feels the same way. Baby is still due middle of February and I don't have to be induced. (Which I am truly excited about)
Brandon's schedule has wound down, but they are making some changes to contracting beets and so it is about to pick up again. He just had a root canal, which left him in a little discomfort, but after his dentist appointment here in a week he hopefully won't have to go back for a while.
This post is REALLY long so we are going to stop. Sorry for the journal excerpt. It will come in handy for me later.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Belly Laughs


Today this is one of the things I am most grateful for: laughter. My children both have these incredible laughs that are only ever let loose when they are playing with their daddy. I must warn you, this clip is pretty loud, there is a lot going on. Also, the camera shakes a lot because Lulu wanted to get in on the action as well and she kept tugging on my camera cord.
But despite all the noise, wiggling, etc. we wanted to share with you a slice of heaven from our house.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Happy Helpers




Yesterday Brandon was finally able to help us rake up our leaves. (I've been a lazy bump on the log lately) Kami was a good helper to her daddy while I tried to shovel out the mess in Brandon's pickup. We gave our daddy a detail job for his pickup for his birthday, and yesterday we tried to follow through on it. Unfortunately, the leaves became a much bigger job than expected and Kami, as much help as she was, got worn out. So I left my detailing job and went to help Brandon with leaves.
So, we have a lot of leaves in our yard. Take a look:That is 36 lawn bags full of leaves. And, yes, those are still leaves on the ground! We only got half of our backyard raked up before we ran out of bags...sad. You can't really tell, but there is a huge pile of leaves (6'x10'x3' deep) behind the pile of bags. From our experience yesterday, we probably still have about 12 bags to go. But you know what? I really enjoyed it. It was such a beautiful day yesterday, the weather was perfect (I can't believe it is Nov. in Idaho!) It was also really nice to spend the afternoon with my husband taking care of OUR place. Home ownership is the best!
(I apologize for the blurry pics of Kami. Our camera was dirty and I didn't really realize it until I went to take the pic of all the bags.)

Thursday, November 8, 2007

"I Don't Like You!"

We have a dilemma at our home right now, a parenting dilemma. Kameryn has started becoming very defiant and moody (yea!...) Our two major dilemmas are the spitting and the constant declaration of "I don't like you"
Lets start with the spitting. When Kami gets mad at you she spits. Actually it is more like drool or spittle, but it is frustrating for us as parents. I'm sure it is not appropriate behavior, but what do you do? We have tried time out, unsuccessfully. Spankings make her even more upset, plus I am not huge on the idea. So, parents out there, any suggestions?
Next comes "I don't like you!" Always, whenever she doesn't get her way. Whenever she gets reprimanded or we tell her not to do something she immediately shouts out "I don't like you!" We have tried taking a passive approach by saying things like we don't care, it doesn't matter, etc. We have also tried reasoning with her letting her know that it is unkind to say those things, it hurts peoples feelings, etc. No avail.
How do you reason with a 3 year old? How do correct inappropriate behavior in a 3 year old? And how many of you mothers are laughing at me now for even posing these questions? Shame on you. Help us out. We are open to suggestions. Realize that spankings and slapping the mouth aren't exactly the way we prefer to do discipline. We would prefer to use reason and logic, with a 3 year old...don't laugh, just help.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

All Done

Last night at about 9:00 Brandon took in his last beet truck of this harvest. YEA! I'm not quite sure what he will do now, but I'm sure he'll find some way to pretend to be busy. We really couldn't have asked for a better harvest. With the six weeks of harvest we only had about 1 1/2 weeks of absolute torture (5 am mornings - 12 am nights), I guess the hours weren't much better the other 4 1/2 weeks (5 am -10:30 pm) but the stress wasn't as bad. Weather was wonderful, just 2 days of "too wet" weather, and 2 mornings of "too cold to dig". What a fortunate man. I think I am most excited to have my husband home for good come 5:00 at night. He will probably still get phone calls at all odd hours of the morning and night until all of his beets are off his beet dumps. But, you can't complain about that. Either way, we are excited to have our husband and daddy back. He has been quite the man this harvest, not only managing his crews at work, but also managing his crews at home, what with me being pretty much out of commission these last 2 weeks. He is definitely the man who can do it all. Congrats hunny!

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Birthday Wishes!

Kami made this special happy birthday for her daddy. More birthday festivities to come.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Double Waste

You know my post a while back that stated how I had spent an entire day almost trying to get my template to work because of a background paper? Well, come to find out, no one can see that background paper but me! Frustrating.... So, I reverted back to my old favorite template (minima stretch) and now I am happy. We are also back to our brown page color, which I know won't please my husband, but I am happy with it.
It probably doesn't mean anything to anyone else but I also made some changes such as putting bigger borders around my pictures, changing sizes of fonts through the html, etc. I guess I am getting a little better. Anyway, just thought I would vent. I am much happier now though and I totally do not miss the striped background paper (it wasn't worth the hassle)

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday we woke up to fog. We considered it a very ooky spooky beginning to our Halloween fun! Our festivities were rather mild until trunk or treat time. I don't have pics of my kids yet because we had planned to take them at the trunk or treat but we got swarmed the second we stepped out of the vehicle. Unfortunately, Kameryn wasn't as excited to trick or treat once we got there. I passed out candy, but Brandon said she kept her head down the whole time and just held out her bucket. She wouldn't say trick or treat, thank you, or anything. Brandon was very frustrated with her. Even the idea of more candy wouldn't lure her out. Cooper, of course, enjoyed it. But he is our people person. Both kids looked so adorable, but Cooper was my favorite. His caveman costume fit his little barbaric personality perfectly.
After trunk or treating we ventured over to the library - where Kameryn finally managed to say trick or treat. Dinner was supposed to be chili and donuts, unfortunately I had a little, well big, kidney stone pain, and so we nixed it for enchiladas from the mexican restaurant. We of course went of to see Brandon's scale ladies and our children got progressively worse. (It was like Christmas excitement syndrome, only for Halloween) However, cutest comment from Kami; Kathy, one of B's scale ladies, had given Kami chocolate dipped tootsie rolls. She came running back to me with the candy in her hands. I asked her what she had and her eyes lit up "CHOCOLATE!" It was hilarious! (My kids LOVE chocolate)
However, on our way home we had some of Brandon's old young men (young men from the 2nd ward) call us to "come get candy". Come to find out, they only wanted to stop by because they had saran-wrapped our entire house! They had left a note saying "welcome to 1st ward" and then on the back it said "watch it rocket!" It was the funniest thing I had ever seen. It definitely made my night. (Greg got it too, so check out their blog....of course, we are the ones who sent them over to the Andersens'...what are good friends for?)

Big Holiday Plans



Every year I have such big plans for the holiday season. I look through Pottery Barn catalogs, BHG.com, Family Fun, etc. and come across all these cute holiday decorating, project, and activities. I save the pictures and make a mental note to do them ALL. Then harvest happens and I inevitably get nothing done...nothing. So, here is my new plan. I am going to plan my things in advance and get them done before harvest even starts, or at least get all the supplies gathered so all I have to do is assemble come this time of year. Halloween is usually the worst because I have so many fun plans and it is exactly in the middle of harvest so it always gets slacked on. (Such as last year when I was calling Gwen Halloween day asking for a costume for Kami...)
So, here are my pictures for next year's Halloween projects, crafts, and decor. Of course, there were more...but me being an endless procrastinator, I waited until the day after Halloween to download my pics...no such luck.

My Puppy

First of all, I don't want any snickering or laughing from my mother, father, or Gwen. But lately, I have had the strong impression that I hate my dog. She is completely puppy, always into things, making messes, disobedient, plus, my children are so ill behaved around her. I have often harbored the thought that if she was run over, I wouldn't care. (I know, I am evil) Saddest thing about it, she is absolutely in love with me. I am her favorite person and she follows me around everywhere (which is annoying...not endearing) This only adds to my feelings of "evil person"-ness. So imagine my surprise when the following "event" took place last night: I had a dream about Lulu.
Maybe I am the only mother who does this, but I often have horrifying nightmares of my children being in life or death situations and it is up to me to save them. I used to only dream about Kami, until Cooper came along and now I dream about him as well. Well, last night, neither one of my children where in my dream/nightmare, but my dog was...
So, quick dream run down, Lulu and I were stuck in an RV type vehicle, filling up with carbon monoxide, which I had to protect us both from by covering our mouths. Suddenly the gas in the RV exploded and sent the RV plummeting into a raging river. I was screaming for my dad to save us, but he couldn't hear us. Finally he heard me and reached down and pulled me out of the RV and then I remember screaming for Lulu because she was still trapped and was going to drown. Well, Lulu was saved just as I woke up in a panic.
So, I guess I do, subconsciously, care about my dog, I guess. I don't feel so evil now, but I kind of do, because even as I am typing this out I am thinking that my dream was probably wrong and Lulu was a metaphor for someone/something else or it was just because I can't stand for another living thing to be harmed.... I don't know. I'm pregnant and I was on serious pain killers last night, that is probably the real analysis of my dream.

WASTE!

Can I just say I have spent way too much time trying to change this blog! Never again. (Okay, I will be doing it again) Here is my desperate plea for anyone out there who reads our blog that knows anything about HTML: Help me next time! I have spent hours (sadly, yes, hours) trying to figure all of this nonsense out. My fingers are cramping from scrolling down on my touchpad... I really wish I knew more about HTML because than this wouldn't have taken so long.
It all started with wanting a background paper, which meant I had to change my template, which meant I then didn't know how to add my blog header image....it has been a disaster! I finally think things might be okay. This template isn't my favorite (I prefer "minima stretch" for any fellow bloggers) but it will have to do because...just because!
Guys, seriously, this is so pathetic. I hope you really enjoy my attempts at being festive. Keep in mind, I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY want to add Christmas music to my blog, but I am waiting so as not to totally irk those who prefer Christmas celebrating to be held off until after Thanksgiving. I'm going to keep my eyes and ears out for good thanksgiving music.