Silly bugs

I love when kids get hit with the giggles. That uncontrollable kind, when their faces turn red and their bellies jiggle. We've had that a lot these days mostly due to Zachary. His personality is really showing and he is a bit of a class clown.

This is him trying to escape get thing dressed

And this is him pretending to be a roller coaster,sounds and all.

He's really becoming a little boy and we are all enjoying every minute of it

30!!

This week I will turn 30!! No, I am not asking for birthday wishes nor am I looking for condolences. This week I will reflect in the past 30 years and all I have accomplished. The saying "you are only as old as you feel" really rings true. Some days I can't believe I have a husband, 4 kids and a mortgage, other day I wonder when retirement is and fantasize about the days when I will miss "these days". 

Now to lay it all on the table... When Darren and I got married, I weighed 107 lbs. when I got pregnant with Michael, I weighed 111 lbs. Now, 10 1/2 years and 4 kids later... I weigh 138 lbs. (keep in mind, I am 5'2" and small boned) I realize that many of you will look at these numbers in disgust, for me, I do for an entirely different reason. There will not be another baby in our future, I have finished nursing Zachary and I am anxious to have my body back. Darren and I talk regularly about having a healthier family and what we can do to achieve this. Michael has a mild weight issue that is fueled by "fries chicken". This saddens me since we were so cautious about his food intake as a baby and it now has gone out the window. I feel like someone is always sick and rundown. I know this is because our eating habits (personal hygiene is something I am already very adamant about) Today I vow to change this for my family. 

My personal goal... Next year I will weigh 110 lbs. I am going to take hideous pictures of myself and post them monthly for the blogosphere to see. We will only eat out once a week at a non "fast food" restaurant. We will eat more fruits and veggies and less packaged foods. Juice and soda will be a treat instead of a staple. And we will act as if Hostess never returned. TV and video games will be replaced with family outdoor games. This time next year, my family and myself will be happier and healthier. 

Crazy hair day!!

Our favorite spirit day of the school year!! 

Michael wanted pipe cleaners in his hair too, but lets face it, even with some creativity, there was no way they would stay in his hair. So mike has blue hair. i chased him around the car in the morning to apply it because the second it came out of the can he ran. It was so cold outside and the can was pretty cold too. We could see the steam coming off his head. Our neighbors had fun watching us circle the car laughing. He was the only one in his class with crazy hair aside from his teacher.

Lily got crazy braids in a side pony. Yes it was time consuming and she was a total trooper. We used pipe cleaner to make it twisty and colorful. It was tricky to braid around, but after the first one I got the hang of how my fingers needed to move. Then we twisted the braids around a pencil to make them curly and stick all directions. This picture was taken at the end of the day and most if them had fallen. As we walked up to her class line, all of the moms and kiddos ooo'd and aah'd. One mom said, "uh, Lily wins!" They had a lot of crazy hair, or bed head in her class.

Evening swim

Zachary is crawling everywhere and fast these days. He crawls on tile flooring all day long, so concrete isn't a problem. While the kids were playing in the backyard last night after dinner, Zachary was chasing this giant green ball. When it hopped in the pool, so did he. It had been a nice day and the pool was in the sun long enough that the water was warm. He thoroughly enjoyed himself and we had fun watching him. This also then made the older kids think they might like an evening swim as well. Ahh, summer

What!?

This is awesome! I just found the blogger app! Yes, sad but true I didn't know it existed until now and not for a lack of trying. I thought there had to be an app to be able to post via mobile but each time I searched for "blog" in the App Store it wouldn't come up. Now you are all going to hear too much from me. So get ready cuz this is awesome! 

I started another new blog called "Bitty Bug Crafts" at bittybugcrafts.blogspot.com Yes it is a craft blog. I will put a link to get to it on this site when I am not mobile (squeal!) it may sound dumb, but I love to craft and have been sadly unable to do so for some time. I haven't made it a priority and when I did have the time I didn't have the desire. I don't know what changed, but I am now into over drive. This is all I think about that is all I dream about. I love having this creative side back! It is so therapeutic for me. So I created the blog to showcase all of the things I have and will be doing. Lets face it, if I become a craft blogger and make money doing so, that wouldn't be so bad either. ;) 

For now, just check it out and enjoy. I am going back to bed. ;)

Sugar Rush

This morning as Zachary woke up for his final "feeding", (that's me trying to extend my sleep) we heard a crash from down the hall. Darren started to get up and I said "just sleep, it wasn't breakable." The kids always get up around 6, Michael usually gets up earlier. So if it isn't breakable then it isn't totally worth it. Then about 20 min later Michael and Liam came running in. Liam asked "Me want cake, please?" it was very cute and while I was tempted to just say yes, I asked "is that what crashed?" Michael was very animated as he said "Yes! I wash my hands and my face, see, feel it!" So did he eat the cake, my guess is only a little that Liam said he had to ask mommy first. This is usually how things go. Liam is good at asking mommy first even though he knows mommy might say no and he will cry, it is better than getting in trouble for not asking. I got out of bed then, Zachary was awake and trying to get to the boys anyway, might as well go see the damage.

This is the cake from Lily's birthday last Wednesday.

Happy Birthday Lily!!

Thats right, its my little Lily's birthday! The big 6. We started the morning at the donut shop with a "sparkly" donut (that's sprinkles), then off to Chuck 'e' Cheese's for games and pizza, now to The Habit for burgers and shakes. (as i look at this, I realize I look like an awesome mom that doesn't cook for my kids and while we do eat out a lot, I do cook) I am so excited to watch her grow and love all of the new things she learns each day. She is my princess and I love her very much.

Happy Birthday Lily!

No fly list??

Darren is out of town. I feel comfortable telling everyone now that it is the last night and no crazies can show up in the middle of the night after announcing this. :) The week hasn't been terrible. He left on Monday night after the kids went to sleep.

Tuesday was like any other "school day". The kids were a little confused by daddy's car being here and him not. He is in Kentucky, Liam asked if daddy walked there. Too cute!

Wednesday, Liam woke up with a fever. We were already running late to school. The kids haven't been sleeping well and Zachary has started waking up every 3 hours to feed, that is something he has never done. So I was tired and we were running late. Lily dropped to the floor after I told her she needed to hurry and get dressed or we will be late and started whining about how she doesn't want to be late... get off the floor then! So, rushing the kids out the door, I carried Liam and grabbed my keys from the bathroom (that is where they belong, right?!) and he puked all down my back. I heard it coming... sigh. Now all may think this is the worst day I have had or will have this week, wrong! I hate when my kids are sick, but there is something to be said for the hours of sleeping they spend! I got so much done!

Thursday, today... normal day, but I was reminded that there is a talent show at the kids school and I had promised Lily a while back that we would go. It was May 3rd but then the fires canceled it and it was rescheduled for tomorrow. Now I realize it is last minute, but I have contacted 4 girls in my ward to babysit or attend with me and have been turned down by each of them. Not because they are already babysitting another family, but because they are hanging out with friends, or working on a project or one is in a play (can't fault her, I did know about that one, but had forgotten)

So this brings me to the title of my post... am I on a "no fly" list in my ward? I was hesitant to call anyone else in fear of more rejection. I know my boys can be a handful, but it hits hard. :(

Ready, Set, PEE!!

That's right! We are potty training this week! I have 3 boys in diapers. Zachary, I am doing cloth on, but either way, he will be in them for a while. Mike has had a behaviorist coming over the past month and has set up a program for him to start training. Liam is ready, I just have to be more firm about it. Saturday is the big day... Wish us luck.

Appreciation

Darren started school tonight. Yes, that makes for a really long day. The great thing for me, he gets home about 8:30, so we do get to spend some time together. So, mom of the year over here, I swung thought Jack n the Box for breakfast, Taco Bell for lunch and finished it off with Little Caesars for dinner. Hey if your gonna be bad, be bad all the way. While at Little Caesars, the kids were super well behaved. Yes, I did take them all inside, even though it would be easier to leave them in the car, the law is the law. Gathering everything, handing Lily the 2 liter bottle of orange soda, Mike a crazy bread, Liam a crazy bread and me about to grab the pizzas, a lady that had gotten her pizza 3 people ahead of me came running back in and grabbed my pizzas (before you think "What the heck!") and said "I am going to help you with these. Even the kids were shocked, Mike saying "hey, those are mine!" and Lily with the panicked look. She then told my kids "I am going to help your mommy with your pizzas, sometimes mommy's need help and don't ask for it." I was torn, cry on the spot at this ladys kindness or smile and hurry before she changes her mind. I chose the latter of course. I decided in my car on the way home, I needed to give more than a mere "Thank You". She doesn't know me, and we will most likely never meet again, she doesn't read my blog (many people don't) but I wanted to express my gratitude, my appreciation for her simple kindness. It made my reasonably long day feel a lot lighter. 

I thank you...

New year!!

Happy new year everyone! Couple of updates... Baby Zachy is here! (No pics till i can upload them) That's what Liam calls him, Mike says he is Zachary Cole and Lily is in the correct everyone about everything stage and calls him Zachary. He was born November 16 at 9:15 pm after an excruciating 24 hours. He weighed 8 lbs 5 oz and was 21.5 inches long. Yes, he is my biggest baby. And has the most hair! He was taken by cesarean after some scary stuff. He was stuck too and couldn't come out. The spinal tap was beautiful... My epidural gave out after 12 hours and I had been in so much pain, I just fell asleep. Any one who does natural deliveries can just keep to themselves, you don't know my pain compared to yours and it isn't a tolerance level, some people just drop babies like nothing, I don't. ;) he is beautiful and healthy. He has grown so fast already. I feel like I haven't really been able to enjoy him. He will be our last though. Darren goes for the "big day" this month. It is bitter sweet. I love babies, it is the toddlers that make me gray. :)

In the mix of baby and holidays, I decided life wasn't crazy enough, so we moved too. We closed escrow on our new home December 7th. My goal was to be closer to school, but we landed close to the wrong school. We stayed in our ward and only moved 6 block closer to Michael and Lily's school.  I truly couldn't be happier though. We were blessed to find this. It was an answer to not just our prayers. We were ment to find this home, I am sure of that. The kids love it, we love it.