Water Buffalo

BFF's

2012-01-04T19:28:00.001-08:00

This is Lydia and my friend Jessica's daughter Ashlynn. She and Lydia are only 2 months apart. Today I watched Ashlynn while her mom was at the dentist and they played dress up the whole time. They are hilarious when they are together. They fight like sisters. One minute they are hitting each other and the next they are saying "you look pretty." I hope they will always be friends!

May 20th

2012-01-04T06:30:00.001-08:00

May 20th will be Lydia's 3rd birthday as well as the day I complete my first half marathon. I have been running and off for over a year now...getting side tracked with knee swelling, shin splints, colds, stomach bugs, wanting to be lazy. I never had a goal in sight other than losing weight which is never a good enough motivator for me. I have lost 10 lbs in the last 3 months which is great for me but I still have about 40 to go to where I will feel healthy. However, clothes fitting how I want is way more important than numbers. I have always thought I weigh more than I look like I do. I blame it on my massive muscles..haha. Anyway, I have a goal now that takes daily dedication. With dieting and weight loss I had no date in mind so it didn't matter if I ate like crap for 2 weeks but with this goal I will lose ground if I decide to not run for 2 weeks. I am excited to be doing something just for me again. However, at the same time I feel like throwing up everytime I imagine myself at the starting line in May.

New Years Eve

2012-01-01T07:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was by far my busiest of New years Eves....AND I have no pictures to show for it. Normally we will hang out with friends or family, relaxing at home and eating yummy treats. This year we were invited to hang out with the Butler clan. Their family consists of mom and dad, 5 kids who are spread about the country, 2 spouses and a grand baby. This year they were all home.

The Butlers are a busy active family so they ended up renting the aquatic center in Olympia for some swimming in the afternoon. I had all sorts of worries about taking our 3 kids swimming but eventually relented when I realized I am always wanting to go out and do more things as a family. It turned out I had nothing to worry about. The pool was the warmest pool I have ever been swimming in. It was a giant bath tub! There were life jackets and tons of toys for the kids to play with that they did not whine or freak out once. Ok Landon freaked out once when Kenan tried to take him away from me. I would have freaked out too though. Uncle Kenan always has the kids upside down. Anyway...our family had so much fun. This place even had a party room all decked out in beach theme decor. One we were all done swimming we had cake and sparkling cider.

That evening they invited us over for dinner and a bon fire. The kids lasted until about 9 where Lydia fell asleep in Tirsa's lap and Landon kept asking me every couple minutes what time it was. Brad and I went home and had some more sparkling cider and put a movie in where I fell asleep on him. We ended up getting in bed at 11:30 and I don't even care!

Today we get to see my brother and sister in law's fabulous new house in Puyallup. Happy New Year Everyone!

update

2011-10-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

I have not posted in awhile and am still unsure of how often I will be updating my blog. As my kids have gotten older I feel like I actually have less time to myself and less time for my blog. I originally planned on doing several posts about Laila and Landon turning 7 and 5 and some of the fun things we have done the last few weeks, but I think I will quickly say phew September sure flew by but we sure enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Landon is loving pre-k just as much as preschool last year. He loves his teachers so much I am not sure it possible to love another teacher as much. He is becoming a little more focused on his seat work and showing more interest in crafts. Last year most of the coloring pages consisted of one long slash across the page in one color. We are working on writing his name and hoping he gains more confidence in himself. He likes to say he can't do something before even trying.

Laila adores 1st grade. Having lunch everyday at school is still as exciting as the first day. She wants to know exactly what I am packing her before we leave the house. She amazes me everyday with new things she is learning. She has better handwriting than her father, is in the highest reading group at school(I know bragging) wants to be friends with everyone and the other day She completed 14 laps around the mt view field during PE. Laila loves to learn and I never have to worry about her getting into trouble.

I wish I could say 1st grade was perfect, but Laila has been having a rough time with one girl in her class. They were in the same class last year and had problems as well...mostly consisting of Laila sitting by someone else and this girl throwing a fit and having to be physically removed from class. This year so far Laila has been bit on the cheek and ALMOST bit another time. It has recently escalated into just bullying.. this girl saying that Laila smells. The teacher, recess duties and counselor are all aware of what has been going on and have been giving different punishments. Unfortunately, if this keeps happening I am going to request this girl be moved or Laila will have to be moved to a different class. I told myself in the beginning I would let them be together as long as it wasn't causing problems or inhibiting Laila learning. I am getting close to the end of my rope here.....wish us luck!

canned goods

2011-08-22T13:34:00.001-07:00

I saw this on pinterest today. This is genius! If you can't tell from the pic..it is a magazine holder holding the cans. This makes me want to go out and start buying more canned goods just so I can organize them.

feeling fall

2011-08-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

I am into headbands now...this one is from athleta

hush puppies shoes from macys
victorias secret has the best coats.

bye bye fafa bye bye babyhood

2011-07-15T13:01:00.001-07:00

This afternoon I cut the tips off of Lydia's fa fa's. We threw them in the garbage and talked about what a big girl she is and she was fine. On the other hand, I wanted to cry. She is now in bed screaming her head off. She is not asking for her fa fa but wants me to read her a book, I have read two already. The poor girl can't sleep!! I know in a couple days she will be fine. I am the one struggling with not having any more babies.

It is not that I want more babies right now it is just this looming pressure I have been feeling lately to make a decision. Brad has been wanting to "take the option off the table" so to speak for over a year now but I just can't utter the words "I am ready."I frustrate myself because every month I think what if and I feel like I am going to throw up at the possibility. Yet, I just can't seem to say goodbye to having babies for good. I could go on and on about the rationale and contemplations going on in my head but this could get really long. I just need to keep praying for peace of mind .

sand box boat

2011-06-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

My parents gave us money for Lydia's birthday to build her a sandbox. One month later it is almost complete. Brad did a great job designing and building it. We are looking for a wheel and telescope to add to it. It will be named after Lydia so we are also planning to pick up some little wooden letters...paint them and nail them on. However, before we add all the fun things we still have a lid to make. Here are some pics of the kids enjoying it.....I will post pics of the finished project....hopefully before the summer is over..ha!

Laila eating dinner in the sandbox

notice the storage area in front of the boat for all the sand toys
I will have to keep my eye on them to make sure no one gets buried

Transportation fieldtrip

2011-06-21T11:53:00.000-07:00

June 20th 2011

Laila's class got to go on a field trip today focusing on transportation. Brad asked for the day off of work months in advance so that I could go along and he could stay home watching the other kiddos. We were pretty much on the go from 8-4:30. First we w

ent on a school bus to Bremerton and took the fairy to Seattle. Once in seattle we took a round trip on the monorail. Then we had lunch in westlake center and found a cool water fall wall thing to run through. After lunch we took the lightrail to tukwila. I

n tukwila the kids were given a short presentation on safety. We hop

ped back on the bus to the museum of flight and looked around for about an hour before heading back home. Everything we did today was a first for Laila and I think she enjoyed every minute. There were plenty of chaperones so I was only responsible for one other child besides Laila. Most groups were put into boy girl pairs. Laila's "bus" buddy was Caleb. He was very easy to keep track of and listened to every word I said. I definitely lucked out. Laila has two days of school left and then she is officially a 1st grader!!

Laila in one of the jets at museum of flight

Laila and Caleb after going through waterfall

Keegan, Caleb, Laila and Morgan

Laila with her friends Zandra and Annabelle

Jays produce stand

2011-06-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

I love love that there is a produce stand within a mile of my house. Today, like most days the kids were not napping well. Lydia has never loved sleeping so she will sleep like an hour tops most days. Instead of sitting and pouting about my "me" time being ruined I put the two youngest in the stroller, helped Laila put on her twinkle toes and headed to check out the produce stand I first discovered tuesday on my way to mops. I told Laila and Landon they could each pick something out. Lydia will eat almost anything so I knew she would like whatever mom picked. Landon has discovered a new love for watermelon. Just like I had imagined he picked that out for himself right away. Laila and I won't touch it so hopefully it won't go to waste. It is huge!! We took the long way home walking the loop around fred meyer and walmart. Landon held his watermelon proudly the whole time.

Laila didn't pick out a fresh produce item but to my dismay she did not even ask for a bag of candy they were selling inside. She opted for pumpkin seeds which everyone snacked on during our walk home.

I picked out kiwi for Brad, 4 for $1 and some apricots for me(don't remember the price on those). We bought Landon's giant watermelon, pumpkin seeds(no deal...1.99 for the bag), kiwi and aprictots for 8 dollars. I am not the best with shopping for deals but it sounds good to me! I have a feeling we will be taking lots of walks to Jay's this summer.

keep on keeping on

2011-06-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

I have started a new trend...at least that is what I am hoping it will become. I have been getting up at 5:30 to get my runs in before the kids are awake. The plus side is that * I get to use my arms to run rather than have them resting on the jogging stroller.* I don't have to match my clothes or have my hair in place because noone is really going to see me anyway. *I seem to face the day with a much better attitude after working up a sweat. and finally * I don't have much time to talk myself out of going for the run. The only real downer is that it is 5:30 in the morning!!! I don't like to lose sleep. However, I am hoping to do this all summer until the mornings are dark again.

Also, I think I want a bike to ride on the days I don't run. I am trying to limit myself to running 4 times per week to ward off the shin splints.

2 years old

2011-05-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

Lydia you have brought so much laughter and love to this family. I love you boo boo bags!!

You will be officially 2 at 3:41 p.m.

parenting joys

2011-05-20T00:20:00.000-07:00

Landon had to leave school early today because he threw up 3 times. I am sitting here typing with a bucket in my lap because I keep dry heaving. Lets just get this over already!!! Oh and Lydia's bday is today and her party was supposed to be saturday:(

tweet tweet

2011-05-15T12:20:00.001-07:00

I have always LOVED turquoise! I now love pink and turquoise together. Laila painted this birdhouse that Brad made her. Originally we were going to put it outside her window but we decided it would be cute hanging up in her room. Now we just need a lil birdie :)

Happy Mother's Day to me!

2011-05-09T09:42:00.001-07:00

Brad made me breakfast and the kids brought it to me in bed. I think this is what I look forward to the most on mother's day. I had been hinting for years now about a ring that I want and even blogged on it after Lydia was born. Yesterday Brad told me that is my gift but that I needed to order it. So finally yay I get my ring. I am really excited and can't wait to see what it looks like on:) It sounds like I could be waiting up to a month though:(

Here it is..with my kids names of course.

cycles

2011-05-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

I have been working on getting back into running since about last july. As soon as I start to feel like I am getting stronger I start to feel that little twinge of pain in my shins. I run through the pain for about 2 weeks until I can not walk without cringing. After this stage I lay off running for a couple weeks until the pain goes away and then start back up again. This has been my life for almost a year now. It is annoying when you finally want to run and can't. Well....the last couple months have been painless up until last weekend. I started to feel that twinge in the shins and now I am running through the pain. I really don't want to have to stop yet again. I have reasearched why people get shin splints and have yet to figure out my specific problem. I have been a runner almost my whole life with a 5 year furlow in there and never had shin problems....Here's to icing and ibuprofen and hoping I break the cycle soon!!

hypocrisy

2011-05-02T19:32:00.001-07:00

I am only posting this on my blog because I am just so frusterated and need to get it out without starting a facebook debate. I am sooo tired of reading about how Obama deserves no credit for OBL's death and how it's an american victory. What a slap in the face. The people who claim to be the most patriotic are the ones who are bashing our president which is like the most unpatriotic thing you could do. Some of these same people are the ones who got heated when there was talk of soldiers losing their pay for awhile. How can people say that it was all Obama's fault and then weeks later say he had nothing to do with Osama's death. I don't like talking politics in general because I usually have a different opinion than most of my friends so the last few days have been so frusterating on facebook. I think I may just stay away for a few days.

AGAIN??

2011-04-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

thinking of blogging again.....I need to revamp my settings so whenever my darling husband has time to help me I will do that! What might this blog look like???

*I have found my love for running again..not sure where it had been hiding???oh yeah under all that baby weight and cozy nursing bras....but I have run as far as 6.5 miles...hoping to keep inreasing my mileage and get up to that half marathon and someday hopefully...marathon.

* My youngest child will be 2 May 20th. I have no more babies and it is looking like there won't be any more unless God has other plans. Life is changing...

* working on changing mine and entire family's diet. We have changed to organic, no hormone milk. Brad lovingly calls it my "golden milk" I am amazed at how much better it tastes. We have been eating a lot more veggies and fruit. However, I have not been swayed enough to spend the big bucks on organic. I have been researching and reading blogs for months on "clean" eating. We will never be completely clean or vegan but I would like to do the best I can without going crazy.

*We have been in our first home for almost a year and a half...we have made a lot of great changes but still have tons more we would like to make...I may blog on the little victories and big projects..we shall see...

11 months

2010-04-21T17:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how grown up my baby is getting!! She has been walking for 2 and a half months and has quickly moved onto running everywhere. Running=falling...so she constantly has bruises all over her head/face. She is a very busy silly little girl...just a little list of what she is up to:

~she waves and says bye bye

~she says momma and dadda but mostly momma

~ We have moved onto nursing only once at night but are hoping to quickly rid her of that

~ when I ask her questions now she shakes her head no...for example; when I offer her food she will either take it or shake her head no.

~ she also shakes her head no when she is told no or when she is doing something she knows she is not supposed to

~ she still would rather eat squash and peas rather than fruit(what is wrong with her??)

~ she makes the silliest faces I have ever seen a child her age make

~ if there is a blanket or anything as soft(towel, sweatshirt) she will lay on it

~just starting to get the sippy cup thing...hoping to wean her off of nursing slowly in the next month or two.

10 months

2010-03-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

9 months

2010-02-20T16:59:00.000-08:00

Lydia is 9 months old today. The last week she has been walking. She takes up to 12 steps at a time and then decides she could get there faster crawling. She is ahead of big brother and sister by a month. However, she does not like sleeping much and still loves nursing. Laila and Landon were sleeping through the night at 5 months and Lydia still wakes up at least twice a night to nurse. I am sure I could brake her of this habit if I would just allow her to cry....but she is the baby so things are different this time around. Laila and Landon were also weaning themselves off nursing and completely done by 10 months. I don't see this happening anytime soon. Yet again, she may be our last so I don't mind for now. :)

my boys

2010-02-09T15:53:00.000-08:00

8 months

2010-01-21T15:09:00.000-08:00

she is not happy when meal time comes to a close...

good thing she adores bath time

7 months

2009-12-20T20:16:00.001-08:00

This picture pretty much explains what Lydia is up to now at 7 months. She tries to stand any chance she gets. She wants me to hold her hands so she can stand and gets cranky if I set her down. She took a step holding onto a coffee table yesterday. I am so not ready for this but it is exciting at the same time. I keep wondering what Lydia will add to the mix of playtime with her brother and sister. Brad's grandpa taught her how to clap on cue this week. She has started talking up a storm. She is making mamama and dadadada and bubububub(we think she is trying to say bubba...haha) sounds. Lydia is still our happy little baby girl who always makes us smile and has a special way of calming me down when I am having a stressful day.

6 months

2009-11-20T09:29:00.001-08:00

I spotted her first tooth coming in on the bottom 2 nights ago. She is trying to pull herself up already. I want my baby to stay a baby longer:(

I want these

2009-11-05T11:43:00.000-08:00

these are so adorable. I have been wanting to buy Lydia these before she was born. 32 dollars is a lot to spend on shoes that will probably fall off at some point and may never be found again :/

5 months

2009-10-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Lydia is 5 months old today. She sat unsupported for the first time for about 15 seconds today to celebrate:) She is still rolling all over the house so I am constantly picking up things and making sure the floor is clean for her. Her older brother and sister never rolled around like this and weren't really mobile until they walked around 10 months(they never really crawled much either). She is very alert, doesn't like to sleep a lot and wants to be on the go all the time. I guess she is trying to keep up with Landon. Her hair is starting to grow back in but it will still be awhile before we will have pigtails. I can't wait! I think Lydia is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen. You just have to look at her and she will smile. I hope she keeps this up because my other two had horrible separation anxiety and wouldn't smile for anyone but me. :)

4 months

2009-09-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

Lydia had her 4 month checkup today. She weighed in at 16 lbs 15 ounces(97%perecentile) and is 25 3/4 inches long(90%)We got the go ahead to start solids but the doctor did say that her nutritional needs are obviously already being met so no big rush:)

She is rolling over and LOVES to stand. She tries to sit up when laying down and can almost sit up on her own. She is growing up way too fast..I am not ready!!

growing up

2009-09-09T16:53:00.001-07:00

first day of preschool last year first day of pre-K

what a difference one year makes. My little girl is growing up....She is going to be 5 in one week and I want to cry:(

chub chub

2009-08-20T20:01:00.001-07:00

She is 3 months old today. Chub Chub is what Brad very lovingly started calling Lydia and it has kind of caught on with me now. Luckily, once she starts walking she will lose her chub chub just like Laila and Landon did. It will be just in time to stop calling her that because I definitely don't want her having issues with her body:) We think she is just the cutest!! Lydia's personality has been developing a lot lately. She is quite the squealer. I do not remember either of my other babies squealing like she does. She smiles all the time without any effort on my part. I was just telling Brad a couple days ago what a great baby she had turned into and how she hardly ever is upset anymore. Well......later that day she started this new "screeching" when she is mad. she has been now a bit more fussy the last couple of days and has been going to town, munching on anything near her mouth. Please not teeth already!!! I feel like I am finally getting the hang of having 3 kids and don't feel like I have to constantly plan everything around her wanting to eat, which seemed like all the time.

I was thinking about something the other day and hopefully this isn't taken wrong but you know how some people like having a really nice car or something flashy to wear to show off to people. This is how I feel about my children. I feel like they are what make me stand out and they are what I feel like showing off to people. Anyone else feel the same??

someday

2009-08-05T14:19:00.000-07:00

I want this ring!!!! I have often thought a lot of mommy necklaces, bracelets, etc were kind of cheesy, but I love this. I love that it is one ring but looks like three intertwined.

2 months

2009-07-20T16:04:00.001-07:00

Lydia had her 2 month checkup today. She is happy(mostly)and healthy. She weighs 12 lbs 12 ounces (95th percentile) and is 23 inches long(75th percentile) I can't believe how much she is growing and how strong she is. We think she is pretty special. :)

swimming lessons

2009-07-06T12:06:00.001-07:00

Laila loved swimming lessons. I was nervous about how she would do because she does not like Brad or I to help her swim but of course she listened better to the teacher. She was mostly smiles through the lesson and said she had a lot of fun. She won't let us talk about it though because she says it is embarrassing:) Maybe because I was the mom sitting there with my camera out the whole time..haha. I was also the mom with the little boy who desperately wanted in too so settled for throwing mom's empty coffee cup in. awww the memories I will have.

oh and that picture of Lydia is just cute!

Strawberries

2009-06-30T08:12:00.000-07:00

We took the whole family strawberry picking for the first time Saturday. As I suspected Landon loved picking them and eating them and was a big help most of the time. We left only after he started to pick up handfuls of dirt trying to bury mom's feet. Laila wasn't too impressed with anything. She is in the phase where she is worried about bugs and she was too afraid of what was lurking in the plants. I am hoping this is a short phase because some of my fondest memories growing up were playing outside in the woods of terrace heights and getting dirty.

We had fun. I wish we would have gone a little earlier in season as we did not have a lot to choose from but I did make plenty of jam for my girls pb&j sandwhiches.

Life update and photos

2009-06-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

oh how I love my Lydia. She will be 4 weeks old on Wednesday and time could not be going by any faster. She is a champ eater and pooper. I had to take her to the doctor last week at 3 weeks and she weighed 9 lbs 3 ounces. She was born at 7lbs 6 ounces. That is some good growth. She is also a good crier..meaning she likes to cry. She cries when naked; so undressed, changing diaper or taking a bath. She cries when she has gas which is all the time. She cries when she needs to get that burp out which she has trouble with. She also cries(screams?) every night before falling asleep. BUT.....she is a good sleeper at night. She usually eats at 2 am and 6 am which I think is great. I know her crying won't last forever. I cherish those smiles and content moments where everything seems perfect with the world. It's amazing how you marvel at your children and every little thing they do. Even with the third, everything she does is amazing and adorable.
Landon is doing so much better with her now. He ignores her much of the time which I prefer to him trying to push her off my lap or pick her up. He likes to come up in the chair with us when I am holding her and point to her and say "It's cute" with this big grin on his face like he knows he is saying something really sweet and mommy should be so proud of him even if he refers to his sister as "it."
Adjusting to three is a lot like adjusting to two so far. However, when mommy is nursing I have two kids taking advantage of that fact, getting into stuff. I asked Brad what am I supposed to do? Landon doesn't listen when I tell him to go to time out. I have to physically put him there. So I could say, ok Landon in 15 minutes YOU ARE GOING TO TIME OUT! hahaha
Laila is done with preschool for the summer. On to Pre-k next year. This is a picture from the end of the year "show" they put on at Kneeland Park last Thursday. She did sing most of the songs but I could barely hear her because she definitely was not the most excited and outgoing. It was probably one of the cutest and funniest things I have seen in a long time. Oh and the picture only shows part of the class, there are 13 kids.

Junior jog

2009-06-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

nervously biting her nails
I like to tease Brad that he was running with the wrong girl
this was how she showed her excitement

This Saturday Laila ran her first race with Brad by her side. It was 1/4 mile starting at the Shelton Inn and finishing at the post office. She did great, stopping only momentarily to wave at her mommy. She seemed so excited and proud of herself when she was done. Each child received a Paul Bunyan book and a medal. Laila wasn't too excited that everyone got a medal. She didn't quite understand that. Anyway, I didn't get the best pics of her running because they started the race 10 minutes early so I wasn't ready and I was on my phone with Brad's mom explaining where I was. Also, my daughter is lightning fast. :)

the only way to relax

2009-05-28T22:28:00.001-07:00

Lydia 8 days old
Landon 8 days old
Laila 10 days old

The birth story

2009-05-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

We arrived at St. Peters at 7:30 am to be induced. I was checked to see what kind of induction they would try. I was only 2 cm but they were going to try and brake my water and start pitocin. After about a half hour of poking at my bag they were only able to poke a hole in it. Therefore, during labor every time I had a contraction I felt like I was peeing myself:) They started off slow with pitocin and it took about 3 hours for them to get me going with regular contractions so at about 11. They were having a hard time reading my contractions and the baby's heartbeat kept dipping so I had to have a monitor placed on her head and on my uterus to monitor both of those. I had wires everywhere it felt like. I was told that they were very busy that day with c-sections so if I wanted an epidural I would have to wait until after 2. I was a little worried because it seemed that my contractions were constant and I was unsure how I would cope. I was having back labor and Lydia was posterior which meant they were a little concerned she would come out nose first. The nurse told me back labors can take longer which was not encouraging. I progressed pretty slowly until about 2:30 when the anistesiologist came to give me my epi. He was able to do it pretty quickly and they gave me another dose of poticin right away as well. Unortunately, I felt no relief. They kept saying oh just give it 5 more minutes and we will give you some more and see if that helps. When that poticin kicked in things got intense. I was 5 cm dialted about 3:10. I knew things were going fast so I told them to check me a few minutes later and I was 8 cm. About 5 minutes later I said I need to push NOW and they checked again and I was complete but they told me I had to wait. I went from 5 cm to 10 in 15-20 minutes. The anistesiologist actually walked in while they were setting me up for pushing to readminister the epi and he was shoved out the door. Lydia was born at 3:41 so I pushed for 5-10 minutes. My doctor never made it to the hospital. There was a resident doctor and a midwife they called in later that delievered Lydia. I was planning on getting into more details of the pushing stages just because they might make people laugh but I will just say that Brad was in a headlock the entire time and his butt kept cramping:) You can ask him about that!

Lydia was born with her cord tightly wrapped around her neck and body. She was blue and not breathing so she had a bit of a rough start. They took her to the nursery to see the specialist but was quickly brought back to me. She seems perfect to me now:)

This was by far the hardest of labors, but most exciting. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did but I got a beautiful little girl out of it.

Lydia Isabelle

2009-05-23T09:22:00.001-07:00

Born May 20th at 3:41pm
7 lbs 6 ounces
19 inches long

waiting......

2009-05-08T10:24:00.000-07:00

I had my doctor's appointment yesterday. uh oh Landon just came in the room clapping his hands together saying "I'm making a mess" .....luckily it wasn't too bad. Anyway..yesterday my OB was all ready to strip my membranes for me if I wanted but she coudn't. She could barely fit a finger so we'll see for next week. She did a lot of stretching and making me say ouch! I was crampy alllll night with lots of contractions which made me realllly nervous. I thought I was ready but turns out I am not!! :) I have no real predictions but feel like it could be any time which has driven me to turn into a nut when anything is put out of place or messed up that I had just cleaned. Fun house for the kids right? I feel way more anxious and psychotic with this pregnancy than with the others....not sure why....anyway....hopefully I will be posting pictures of the beautiful Lydia soon.

Interesting

2009-05-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

I copied this from my friend Rachel. I am not sure about some of these answers but I had fun asking Laila all of the questions.

1. What is something mom always says to you? No
2. What makes mom happy?getting obeyed to
3. What makes mom sad?when I don't obey
4. How does your mom make you laugh?making faces and telling jokes
5. What did your mom like to do when she was a child?play with dolls and chew on toys(what???)
6. How old is your mom? I don't know 2 or 3 or 5 or 6 or 7
7. How tall is your mom?really tall
8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV? deal or no deal(we have watched this together just the last couple nights)
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? just lays around(how did she know)
10. What is your mom really good at?playing games
11. What is your mom not very good at?kinda like driving(Brad likes to joke that I am terrible at driving...I have had 1 ticket and no accidents)
12. What does your mom do for her job?watching her children
13. What is your mom's favorite food? fruits and vegetables and healthy stuff to make you strong(that's what she thinks I wanted her to say im sure)
14. What makes you proud of your mom?when she does something right during a game
15. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? a pony(hopefully not my little pony)
16. What do you and your mom do together? sometimes crafts and go shopping and sometimes play games
17. How are you and your mom the same?sometimes we both wear jeans
18. How are you and your mom different? our hairs are not the same on our head(mine used to be like hers)
19. How do you know your mom loves you?Because I was born
20. What does your mom like most about your dad? loving him
21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?shopping or the shower(so true!)
22. What is one thing you wish you could change about your mom?eating candy for life???
23. What would your mom do with a million dollars?buy me a moving car to drive around the garden or the road
24. What do you wish you could go and do with your mom? go swimming
25. What is one thing you hope never changes about your mom?loving her(short and sweet)

The count down is on

2009-05-01T08:23:00.001-07:00

I had my 37 week appointment yesterday. She checked me and I am sad to say nothing is happening...yet. Not that it really means much since some people are dilated for weeks before labor. I was a little surprised though because I have been having lots of contractions and was actually contracting the entire time she was examining me so that she was never able to estimate a size or really get a good idea of her positioning. Head down is all I know which is a good thing:) I predict at 39 weeks when I go in she will strip my membranes and I will be good to go within 12 hours of that. This is how Laila and Landon both arrived. However, I think Lydia might want to mix things up a bit and make it interesting.

Depending on my mood comments about me and my pregnancy can either totally piss me off or just make me laugh. I have had some interesting comments from people mostly about how I look ready to go. Last night was no different but maybe more amusing. I was at Safeway buying a container of pineapple before heading to a friends house. I have heard some people say it helps ripen the cervix so why not. When I was checking out HE held up the container of pineapple and said, " oh is this like your last meal?" All I could say was hopefully...yeah she should be here soon. I think I might miss hearing stupid comments. I guess I will still get people asking me if I curl my children's hair.

where is my baby?

2009-04-22T01:54:00.000-07:00

I prepared the best I could...I had no idea how his first haircut might go. The milkshake worked wonders. This is Landon smiling when Brad walked in.
I had no idea Landon liked to look at himself so much. He just smiled and stared at himself most of the time.
His curls are gone for now but I am confident they will be back
Landon's first hawk. I think he looks pretty darn cute
By the very end of the haircut he had enough and was ready to get out
With the loss of hair came a loss of babyness.

I was a little nervous before the haircut because typically Landon does not sit still for anything and is pretty shy about people touching him. However, every so often he blows mommy and daddy away and shows us what a quiet, well behaved, patient, calm, sweet boy he can be. Maybe he was scared stiff but he just sat there and let her do her thing. Everytime she asked him a question he would say, "ohhhh ok" his classic response. He did wince a few times when she was cutting next to his ears. People kept commenting on how well he was doing and I was pretty much speechless...haha:) Oh how I love my Landon.

Broccoli

2009-04-14T12:47:00.001-07:00

Is it sad that I was ecstatic that both of my kids ate all of their broccoli for lunch today without tears, bribes, or threats? I have always had problems with my kids eating veggies and fruits since they first tasted candy. I also think it may be sad but also really funny that when I praised both of them for doing so well Laila told me I should take a picture. Apparently she doesn't plan on doing this often?? Anyway, when she told me to take a picture I quickly thought she was right...this must be documented. :)

Big bellies

2009-04-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

I went to my cousin's baby shower in Portland on Saturday. We took a few pictures of our prego bellies but this is my favorite. We are both supposed to be having girls. She is Due May 1st, almost 3 weeks before Lydia is due to make her entrance, or should I say exit?

the first of many

2009-04-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

I have been looking forward to being able to be outside more for like....months??:) Brad made a space in one corner of the yard where they are trapped. They can play and I can run inside without them disappearing since the entire yard is not fenced fully. we played outside all morning and had lunch and played some more. The kids are now sleeping peacefully. I hope there will be many more days to come like this.

First we sat around being cute
then we had lunch
then we played with chalk
then we spotted deer in the backyard and stared at them

Never again

2009-03-30T11:57:00.000-07:00

Never again will I take Landon with me to a doctor's appointment. He has been tolerable to have around up until today at my OB appointment. For whatever reason it was a nightmare. I HAVE to keep him in a stroller because he does not sit nicely and does NOT listen to his mommy. He threw the biggest fit I have ever seen him throw. He not cried but screamed for the entire hour and half I had to be there. I saw the OB for about 3 minutes. By the end of it mommy and Landon were both in tears. Just so you know Laila was there too and she always does great. I am not sure about this boy. I have never seen him behave so terribly as he did today. I took him out of his stroller even to console him where he proceeded to pull my hair and slap me. I don't remember a time I have felt so helpless. I almost walked out of the office.....

bye bye fa fa

2009-03-27T08:52:00.001-07:00

fa fa is what Laila named her pacifier when she was a baby and it stuck with all of us. I made Laila give hers up cold turkey pretty much when she turned 2. Landon is 2 and a half and I did not see an end in sight. He is way attached to it and I have been having anxiety about him not getting to be the baby anymore. I kept telling myself ok today we are taking it away but when he would cry out fa fa! I gave in.

Well, yesterday during nap time I could not find a fa fa anywhere so I put him to bed without and he did just fine. I decided if he could do that he could go to bed at night without one and he did last night. This shall be the end of fa fas for my little boy. I hope I find the lost ones before he does!

what's up?

2009-02-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

February has kinda sucked! Everyone in my family but me got the stomach bug immediately followed by colds. Landon had a fever from last Sunday until yesterday evening.....this caused little sleep and most of the days with him attached to me like a koala bear. I took him to the doctor yesterday and she diagnosed him as having bronchitis and gave him some antibiotics. She said they don't usually do that but she thought Landon was more sick than others. yay! I am pretty sure Brad and I have bronchitis too because we have the same exact symptoms.

I guess all of February didn't suck. The couple days in between stomach stuff and colds Brad and I had 3 days to ourselves. This was to celebrate our anniversary. I am so glad we did it when we did because I was sick on my birthday and on our anniversary.

To add to the fun I have had to wear an "event" monitor. Basically any time I start to feel my heart skip beats I have to stick on stickers to my chest and record it on a little machine and then send it to my cardiologist over the phone. It's kind of silly because I feel like I could be sending them messages all day long because pretty much my heart skips on average every 5 beats. At it's worst it is every couple and that is when I start to feel really dizzy and panicky. This could go on for a month, however they are supposed to let me know when they have enough data. I can't believe they haven't called already. I am not really sure what they are looking for that they haven't found.

I cut the back of Landon's hair the other day and then Laila decided she needed a trim too. I got up to go to the bathroom and found a chunk of her hair and scissors sitting on the counter in there. You would think she would try to hide the evidence. Luckily, it was just a small chunk in the front. It could be worse and her curls help hide it. When her hair is up it is actually kind of cute because it is a little tendril that hangs down. Don't tell her it's cute though...she was in big trouble from her mommy.

Brad and I are still pretty much decided on Lydia for baby girl's name but she has no middle name.

I think that is about it! time to go pick up the healthy one from pre school

That's inappropriate!

2009-02-20T10:08:00.001-08:00

Laila likes to point out to her mom and dad when things aren't appropriate. Somehow she can tell by facial expressions used and tone at times when I am pretty sure she has no idea what things mean. However, I don't think I give her enough credit sometimes for how smart she is. This morning I asked her to tell me what things are inappropriate. This is just a small list she gave me......

* To talk about people's poopie diapers

* To be at people's houses naked

* To look at people's boobs

* When you draw pictures of people's butts(yeah she did this once and guess what she was told)

Beautiful day

2009-02-18T08:08:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was one of the first times the kids have played outside in awhile for more than 20-30 minutes with snow. Our camera had been broken and then I lost the battery for awhile. I have it back now so I took about 90 pictures. :) Here are just a few

mom pillow

2009-01-28T23:33:00.000-08:00

I don't remember the last time this girl fell alseep on me. Her sister sure made a good pillow though! You may notice the bite mark on her arm. That was a gift from Landon yesterday.

Landon

2009-01-22T01:59:00.001-08:00

He plays hard and crashes hard
I think he is looking so grown up lately
he started out using the cookie cutters and being neat
this was short lived before he dug into it
if you my kids still have blue lips or hands next time you see them this is why

new nightgown

2009-01-21T22:17:00.001-08:00

I started this nightgown in October I believe and have been needing to finish the neck and wrists ever since. I finally finished it tonight!! It is big but at least it will last awhile.

for my girl

2009-01-20T12:21:00.000-08:00

My mom and I went shopping this weekend to babies rus and motherhood maternity in the Tacoma mall. I was in desparate need of maternity pants. I had already bought 2 pairs of old navy maternity pants which are both unwearable with holes in the crotch and waist band. I came home with two pairs of jeans and khakis and my mom bought me a few shirts.

Our new baby girl basically needs nothing. It is just nice for her to have something of her own. I was in search of her own coming home outfit when I came across this onesie with the tu tu attached. Not exactly nice and snug for a newborn to wear home but it was too cute to pass up. I bet I will have cute pictures of her in it.

Update on the pregnancy: So far this has been the most challenging pregnancy for me. I have been really tired(I blame that part on having two kids to take care of), hearburn for the last month nonstop, lots of aches and pains I never have had before, My irregular heart beat has been kicked into high gear lately. I have heard that is common when you add a pregnancy to the mix and I have been having contractions since 16 weeks. I think I have decided I got off easy with my first two children. I also think God might be saying this is it! :)

Thanks Cindy for telling me about Papaya tablets. They haven't taken away the heartburn and indigestion but it does take the edge off enough to function.

Also...no name yet!

Laila's little sister

2008-12-31T09:25:00.002-08:00

yup we are having another little girl and we couldn't be more excited! Laila refers to her only as HER little sister. I told Landon he was going to have a little sister and Laila said no that she was only hers. I hope she realizes this means she is going to be sharing all of her things for a really long time. This is the first time I have been wrong about guessing the sex. I knew with Laila and Landon but this time I thought boy again. Actually Brad and Laila were the only ones who thought it was going to be a girl.

I could go on and on about all of the cute things Laila did that day because of her excitement but there is one cute story I will share. My mom bought Laila a pink heart balloon that says it's a girl to tell Laila she was getting her sister. Laila asked why it was a heart and I said something like oh because it's cute(lame). Laila said, " I think it's because they knew how much I would love my little sister."

Is it weird that through all this excitement I felt a little sad? Sad for Landon. I guess I would probably be a little sad either way. At least he doesn't know what it means to be surrounded by girls yet. :)

well now we need a name.....

a little bit of snow fun

2008-12-15T07:57:00.001-08:00

Yesterday morning the kids went out for a little while. Laila has been crazy about wanting it to snow and when she saw the very first flakes fall she was ecstatic. There was just enough to make this little snow man. It sounds like he will be around for another week or so.

Then last night we headed over to a friends in Hiawatha and went sledding down a hill nearby. Laila and Landon both loved it. It was too dark to get good pictures of the actual sledding but I am hoping we will get another chance to go and take video. Laila went flying down the hill all by herself over and over. I don't think I have been more scared and more proud of her all at the same time :)

She is wearing Brad's gloves. That is why they are huge! Hers were soaked within minutes.

looking forward

2008-12-04T07:11:00.000-08:00

I am excited for......

*taking my kids to the parade this saturday(except I hear it is supposed to rain...so that could put a damper on the fun)

* hopefully seeing zoo lights in the next couple weeks

* finishing my Christmas shopping...I actually really like this part of the season

* finding out if I am carrying a boy or girl just before Christmas

*getting to see my brother and sister in law this Christmas

* making Christmas cookies and candy

* finding my christmas cds( I think my husband threw them away)

* January 11th

My 4 year old daughter is AMAZING

2008-11-22T13:24:00.001-08:00

Yesterday morning Laila and I were reading some of her bible stories which of course always leads to questions and a big discussion. She pretty much always asks so God knows everything??? I said yes and then I went on later to how he has a plan for all of us and how he knows what she will be when she grows up and who she will marry. (sidenote:Any other parents feel any panic when they think of their children getting married?) Anyway, Laila said "but mom I am not going to get married for a long time. " I said oh of course not...and Laila says, "I need to find love first." AWWW yeah that pretty much made me really proud. Now I just need to make sure that my daughter is taught exactly what love is.

Later when Brad got home I told him the story with Laila sitting right there. Brad said...uhhhhhhh? and then "that is scary"....Laila got all huffy and said "no it's beautiful!!!" hahaha......my girl cracks me up.

Hair

2008-11-17T15:47:00.000-08:00

I was just looking at old pictures and found these in our camping ones from last summer. I think it's pretty funny that Brad and Landon have the same hair style.

What's new??

2008-11-05T11:58:00.000-08:00

Here are some of Laila's latest "funnies"

* she told Brad the other day when she grows up she is going to drive and eat candy for breakfast like mommy. (oops..I thought she didn't notice)

* The other morning I was snuggling with Laila and I told her she smelled good and she scowled and said.." mom! people do not smell good in the morning"( I dont' know why I think that is so funny...apparently we stink in the morning)

* Today she told me she is going to get married so she can go to Disneyland( I am assuming she heard Uncle Derek and Aunt Alyssa got to go there on their honeymoon)

Landon is starting to talk more and more..little by little...his new favorite saying is "are you ok?" I was pretty nauseous the other day and had a lazy day of sitting on the couch and he came over and said "are you ok?" and then kissed my hand.

My house is finally becoming presentable. I spent a week sitting in my chair reading all day long the Twilight series. I couldn't put the books down. Now that I am done with them I can get back to my normal chores:) I am looking forward to the movie Twilight coming out November 21st. I think Brad is looking forward to the movie coming out too so I will stop obsessing and talking about it.

I am finally 12 weeks pregnant. yay! Nausea is decreasing but not completely gone.

Thank you God!!

2008-10-23T15:00:00.001-07:00

I got a wonderful surprise today. I had my OB appointment today. I am only 10 weeks 3 days so I wasn't expecting them to hear the heartbeat. With both of my other kids they didn't hear it that early. However, my doctor tried just in case, but assured me most of the time they can't find it. She tried really hard for me. It was almost as if she knew I really needed to hear it. With everything else going on in life right now it was just what I needed. Thank you God!!

Name names names

2008-10-15T10:48:00.001-07:00

One of the best parts of being pregnant is thinking of a name for the new baby. I have been thinking ever since we decided to try for another. I can't usually make any kind of decision until I find out the sex. Narrowing it down helps me a lot. Anyway, I am still thinking...but nothing feels like the one yet. People keep asking if it will be another L name. We don't know. If we really like a name we won't ignore it because it doesn't start with L. These are my thoughts so far......

BOY:

I really like the name Finnley. We would call him Finn. I guess I shouldn't say we because Brad really doesn't like this name at all. However, I can definitely picture a little Finn Hanson running around.

The only name Brad has come up with is Wade....I vetoed it before he could say another word about it..ick! sorry dear. Like I told him, I picture a 40 year old man in khaki shorts and penny loafers, hitting on younger woman and likes to drink too many beers.

So I thought of L's...the only boy name I like that starts with L is Lucas. However, it's not feeling right.

GIRL: I always seem to have a list of girl names. The first two are my favorites.

Tove(was on our list before we knew landon was a boy)....it's pronounced Tova if you didn't know.

Avanlee( I made this name up, I think. I have never heard it anywhere or see it in books or websites..but I love it...Brad isn't sold though)it's pronounced a van lee

Tessa, Skylar, Ashlynn

L names have been vetoed by Brad but I thought of Lydia and Lacey(my middle name)

Let me know what ya think? We won't obviously base our choice off of others though. Noone in my family liked Laila before she was born...now they do!

fire drill

2008-10-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

Around 7:15 this morning I was in bed, Brad was in the shower. Beep Beep Beep, 2 smoked detectors started going off. I wish I could say I didn't lay there in a daze half asleep when Brad yells from the kitchen for me to get up now!!!His direct demand got me right out of bed and into the kitchen where the kitchen was aglow. The stovetop, toaster and nearby countertop items were on fire. The entire house was full of smoke(due to its smallness), while Laila was screaming in her bedroom. Luckily, Brad was able to get the fire out with water. He lost a stack of folders and a binder of CCI papers, our toaster and some other insignifant things.

Everything is fine now. I am so glad our smoke detectors worked. I don't know when I would have woken up or when Brad would have gotten out of the shower otherwise. Our house smells like a campfire and we need a new toaster but the house is in tact. Laila thinks I need to buy a pink toaster...I am not so sure.

Wondering how this little fire started??? I don't want to name names here but someone got up and turned the stove top on to heat some water before they went into the shower. They meant to turn on the front one but accidentally turned on the back one which the toaster was way to close to. Basically this wouldn't have happend if our counters weren't so crowded.

See dear it pays to be paranoid sometimes and vigilant in checking to make sure smoke detectors work:)

noteworthy things

2008-10-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

Yeah this is about my kids.....

Landon shocked me the other night at my parents house. He still does not have a very large vocabulary. I have a feeling he knows a lot more than he lets on. My parents have little blocks with letters on them that Landon was looking at. He pulled about 7 blocks out one by one and said each letter correctly. Maybe Super Why is good for something??

Laila was brushing my hair this morning and told me to "keep my eyes closed like doors" (where does she come up with this stuff)

I think Landon is going to be a great big brother. He has been playing with Laila's baby dolls a lot lately. He feeds them with her bottles and the other day I watched him put one baby in her bed, kiss it and say night night.

cravings

2008-10-09T11:26:00.000-07:00

I have a bunch of apples that are in need of eating. Lately, it has been making me feel ill to eat them plain so I decided to go to the store while Laila was at school to get some caramel dip for them. Also on my list was a pepsi. I know some people think caffeine is a no no during pregnancy. I have tried to stay away but for some reason pop(only pepsi or coke) works wonders for settling my stomach.

Well......the cravings have started to kick in pretty good. Remember I was getting caramel dip and a pepsi. This is what I ended up buying...it's sickoning..

2 pepsis
the caramel dip
a bag of doritos
creme filled chocolate cup cakes(lil debbies)...why?!? I have had like one in my life
peanut butter M&m's

After I bought all of this junk I got into my van, opened the bag of doritos and drove around for a few minutes before it was time to pick Laila up. I had a mouth full when my wonderful husband drives by with his tour guide for work. I was caught!! We smiled and waved at each other and were on our separate ways. Seeing him at such an unexpected time made my heart happy.

I'm officially prego!

2008-10-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

I say that I am officially prego because I think it has finally hit me. I guess it is kind of hard to ignore that fact when I am nauseated pretty much all day, pee every 20 minutes, cry at the drop of a hat, and seriously look like I am 5 months pregnant already. All this and I will only be 8 weeks on Monday. I have a feeling this is going to be a long pregnancy but I want to enjoy every last bit of it in case this is the last time.

Today I came across two great finds in the Tacoma mall at Motherhood Maternity. I found a pair of jeans on sale that are actually cute. They are so comfortable that I am going to wear them tomorrow and maybe every day after that. I think I may never wear pants with buttons again. Due to my nausea I decided to test out the preggie pop drops. They let me test one before I bought any and they are actually good. Tastes just like candy. I am not really sure why they work but the lady swore by them. We will see I guess.

a random thought by Laila

2008-09-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

Laila is always thinking and she likes to tell me pretty much everything that pops in her head which sometimes I love and sometimes I could really do without. Anyway, this morning on our way to school :) Laila goes, "we are small mom"....I think I just kinda went ummm??? She went on to say "God must have really big eyes to be able to see us all." haha. I love it when she thinks about God/Jesus and says things where I can explain the truth. Although, it is very difficult to explain the concept of Heaven to a 4 year old. Also, that God is everywhere we are and knows every move we make and thought we have. Everytime I attempt to explain this the lyrics to the song about Santa comes into my head..."he knows when you are sleeping..he knows when you're awake." However, we all know there is no comparison between God and Santa. I'ts unfortunate I feel like I have to say that on my blog so people don't start rumoring that I tell my kids that God is like Santa.

the perfect wedding present..according to Laila

2008-09-21T14:46:00.001-07:00

This afternoon my brother in law Derek called to talk to Brad and we briefly discussed Alyssa's(his fiance) shower next weekend and how Laila would be coming with. When I got off the phone Laila asked where she was going. I explained that we were going to a bridal shower for Alyssa because once her and Uncle Derek get married they are going to need a lot of stuff for their house. I asked Laila what she thought we should get them.....she thought for a moment before she blurted out.."I know..nails. " I dont know why but my first thought was that she meant fake finger nails. So I was like what? nails? Laila matter of factly responded by saying..."yeah mom..nails to keep their house from falling apart." Isn't she thoughtful?? :)

Puyallup Fair

2008-09-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

Brad stayed home today so we could all go to the fair together. I think Laila had fun. What do you think? :)

4 years old!

2008-09-16T08:08:00.001-07:00

Laila Mari was born at 4:42 am 4 years ago on September 16th.

Awful two's?? what's worse than terrible

2008-09-09T14:06:00.001-07:00

This morning I was going to write about Landon's terrible two behavior lately. He has been acting like this for a couple weeks not just magically two days ago on his birthday. He throws himself on the floor in fits, hits, bites, screams and cries because his mommy doesn't know what drink he wanted. He is getting into EVERYTHING, making messes constantly with anything he comes in contact with. I wasn't really going to give any examples of this. I was just going to complain to everyone and ask for prayers. However, then this happened.This was all Landon. There was also an egg under the door. I guess he opens the fridge now. NO strike that...he won't leave the darn thing alone!!!!!!!!!!!

This incident was RIGHT after mommy was being so nice and gave him his left over milkshake from daddy last night. Guess what he did with the milkshake??? any ideas?? yeah it was all over my floor..every last drop.

I am off to walmart now to hopefully buy something to baby proof our fridge. I wish that were like a break from destruction on the house but lets face it..he hates the cart now and is Superman. No matter how tight I put the belt he busts them open. NOT KIDDING. Oh and once he busts them open he stands up and jumps on mommy. Then I have to carry him through the store while he leans over to play with the buckle on the cart....why can he not play with the buckle while in the cart?????!!!??

By the way..I do love my little boy. He is just such a pain sometimes. I know we will get through this and before I know it, he will be going to school too:(

Hanson!

2008-09-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

So everyone keeps talking about the New Kids on the Block tour. I was never a fan..maybe I was a little too young or maybe I had better taste:) You will laugh then when I say I am going to a Hanson show tonight at the Moore Theater. I was majorly obsessed from about 6(?)th -11th grade. I have been to two of their concerts and even met them while shopping in Portland. Brad would say I was probably a crazy fan but I promise I never squealed in their face or cried. I shared my love for them with my best friend Steph. Her cousin heard on the radio a couple months ago that they were coming to Seattle. Steph's mom was amazing and decided she wanted to buy tickets for us to go. It's an acoustic show so hopefully it will be a lot more mellow than past shows. They all are married and have children now so hopefully there won't be crying, screaming fans. Anyway, I am excited. Too bad my t-shirt doesn't fit anymore......

First day of school

2008-09-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

Today was Laila's first day of pre-school. We showed up a little early in case Laila had any problems. We got out of the car and she immediately grabbed a chunk of my pants in her hand and held on from the car into the classroom. She wasn't wanting to talk once we got in but she quickly started playing with Hannah. I quickly said goodbye and was on my way....she barely agknowledged me leave, which was encouraging.

Picking up Laila wasn't quite as smooth as droppping her off. Once Laila saw me come in she immediately ran over to me, I think she was excited to tell me about her first day. Unfortunately, I had to tell her to go sit back down because she had not been dismissed yet. They are very careful about dismissing each child one by one to their parents to make sure noone slips by. This upset Laila and she started to cry. Luckily, Julia was able to explain to her the rules and she was fine. On our drive to McDonalds for lunch she told me everything they did and how much fun she had. She told me that not all the kids listened to the teacher but that she did. I am not sure about that one:)

eeeeek!

2008-09-02T11:08:00.001-07:00

Brad's parents called us last night and told us they wanted to pay for Laila to go to pre-school. We had really wanted to send her to the Christian school for pre-school but couldn't afford it right now so needless to say we were like yes!! I called the school first thing this morning, then went and met with Mr. Roller and got Laila registered, went to Walmart to get her school supplies and now I am sitting home feeling all excited/sad that my little girl is beginning a new part of life.....It's sad that her dad is going to miss her first day of school due to work but I am going to make it special and take lots of pictures. :)

My first sewing project

2008-08-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

Today I used a sewing machine for the first time EVER! My mom and I made Landon a pair of jammy pants. My mom guided me through each step and it took about 2 hours. Luckily, everything went smoothly. I think this was a fairly easy thing to start out with. Monday I am planning on making Laila a gown. So far I feel like this is something I could get into.

Laila was very proud of her mommy...she is holding up the pants for me
monkey pants for my monkey
I had to add a picture of my exhausted little boy napping today
pure joy!

Our new thing

2008-08-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

Soo I have mentioned in previous posts how my mom and I love shopping together. Ok so it's not just the shopping it's the spending money, buying cute unnecessary things. It's a problem..seriously. Anyway, we have decided that we are out of control and need something else to do together. Luckily, there is something I have always wanted to learn how to do and it just so happens my mom knows how. SEWING!! My mom used to make my clothes as a young child, doll clothes, curtains, pillows, you name it. I wouldn't say she does a professional quality job but good enough that it shouldn't fall apart after a wash.

I know I am way behind on times here. I know practically everyone else makes amazing things already. However, I am tired of drooling and wishing. I don't have a sewing machine or anything yet. Like most hobbies go, this could be a wash and not last long for me so I will wait and see how it goes before spending money on my own stuff.

Today my mom and I went to Joann's and I bought a couple patterns and some flannel. We are going to make some monkey pj bottoms for Landon and a couple gowns for Laila. I'll post pictures when finished.

note to self

2008-08-14T10:30:00.001-07:00

Liz,

I know you are feeling very sorry for yourself right now; thinking about all the things you want. Get off the computer and enjoy what you do have. You have a husband who loves you for everything you are(which is awesome) and everything you aren't. You have two of the most beautiful children whom you are LUCKY to have to listen to scream and pick up all their messes. You have a roof over your head which you don't have to worry about it crashing down or not being able to pay for next month. You have TWO families which are easy to love and fun to be around. You always have enough food for your family. You are healthier than most, get over the small stuff. You have many friends who you could talk to anytime because they have probably felt the same. You have a deep desire to have a relationship with Jesus. Most importantly you have been saved.

me

he makes me smile

2008-08-03T18:17:00.000-07:00

I would argue that Landon is the snuggliest little boy ever...he fell asleep sitting in dad's lap
I believe he was upset that his trains wouldn't stay connected
he knows he has been caught playing with our computer mouse
at the park..of course he has dirt on his face......and in his teeth
I just think this is cute
he saw his big sister playing on the monkey bars..thought he would give it a try...soon...he is a strong boy

growing up

2008-08-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

a couple weeks ago Laila made it from one bar to another by herself for the first time....
not that putting chapstick shows her growth..I just think she looks so old in this picture

this morning she wrote her name all by herself...well with me telling her what letter came next..but she wrote them herself..pretty good I think.

School Daze

2008-07-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

School Daze anyone??? I LOVE LOVE this store. It is located on the westside of Oly next to Dollar tree. Both of my parents are teachers so I spent lots of time in this store as a kid. I had not been there in years because once I was old enough to stay home alone, I didn't go on such excursions. I didn't appreciate the awesomeness as much until now. I have been wanting to start some kind of preschooling fun for Laila at home and this was the perfect store to get EVERYTHING. I bought a fun calendar that comes with all the different clippings to change monthly, some cutsie pencils, pencil grips(to learn how to hold a pencil correctly..I had to use these growing up..I still don't hold it right), some tracing paper to learn to write her letters, chalk for our easel that has a chalk board on one side, a dry erase letter book(to trace with marker) and some other random odd and ends. I am excited. We have decided to get rid of our dining table(if you can call it that?) and move our bookshelf to create a special space just for the kids. I am excited!! I suppose I will post a pic soon of that. While Brad was in South Carolina he met a guy who owns an apple store and he is going to hook us up with a computer around 5o bucks just for the kids to use. He also gave us a new keyboard for half price. Our keyboard had been randomly not working. Anyway...I recommend this store and I can't wait to go back kidless!

a little late

2008-07-24T11:24:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago I think I mentioned the wedding we went to in Montana. Laila was the flower girl for my cousin Aaron and his bride Melissa. Laila did awesome when it came to walking down the aisle and sprinkling flowers. I sat in my chair, a nervous wreck, wondering if she would walk down at the right time or just plain refuse to do it. The song butterfly kisses began playing and Laila slowly walked down the stairs with her basket of petals. She began sprinkling the flowers at just the right time at the bottom of the stairs, and I never even explained how to do that. Brad and I both teared up, completely unexpectedly. I think it was a combination of the song that was playing and seeing our little girl do something all on her own and perfectly. We were so proud! :)

The wedding was in the most beautiful location. It was pretty much in t

he middle of nowhere Montana, about a half an hour outside of Missoula at

meone's house. It was peaceful and quiet and pretty much perfect. I didn't get the best pictures of Laila walking down the aisle because my card became full just as she came down the stairs. I had to quickly delete some pictures and try to snap a few of her. Also, she was not the biggest fan of the posed pictures. I am not sure we got much of a s

mile out of her for any of the professional pics.

This is about the most expression I could get out of her
Laila is really good at ignoring people...Everyone was trying to get her to crack a smile.
Here she comes!

My cousin Aaron(the groom) is the man you can see standing and smiling up front

She had a long day and was exhausted once we got back to the hotel. She slept in her dress and sunglasses all night.

1st pedicure

2008-07-13T18:13:00.001-07:00

Everyone had pedicures for the wedding..even Laila..she did great!

Quack!

2008-07-13T15:11:00.000-07:00

We were in Bozeman , Montana most of the trip. This is where my brother goes to school right now where he is working to receive his phd in physics . The campus has this great pond where there are always a ton of ducks. They are very friendly and people feed them all the time. We gave them quite the treat with our bread. See how close they got to the kids? Don't worry..we were careful.

Vacation=over

2008-07-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

Well we got home from our vacation to Montana yesterday afternoon. I had such a great time visiting with family and just being in my favorite places. We were busy pretty much each day and I ended up taking over 300 pictures. I am kind of sad to be home but I am already planning all the things we will do next time that we didn't get to do. I think I am just going to blog in order of events so that I don't have one really long blog.

In order to save money I packed breakfast, lunch and snacks for the trip. We left about 4 am on Sunday(july 6th) and arrived in Bozeman around 4:30 pm.

We hit one of my favorite stops along the way; the 50,000 Silver dollar bar at lunch time so we ate in the back of the van and then went and looked around the gift shop.

Laila played soccer(kind of)

2008-06-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

Brad led a mini soccer camp wednesday, thursday, and friday at Loop field. They ranged from ages 4-12. This was run through the church but there were a few who did not attend our church and I am not sure if they do at all. It seemed like the kids loved it. I took Laila down to play on friday. I think some of my pictures are deceiving because they look like she was actually playing. However, if I am being honest she would barely tap the ball and then run along to either Brad or I. I left for a little while and apparently she loved the part where they practiced throw ins. OF COURSE she likes the part where she gets to throw things:)
Landon was there too cheering

Laila looks like she is fixing her hair while going for the ball

First day of summer

2008-06-20T15:04:00.001-07:00

obviously excited about playing outside and getting to have a Popsicle
Landon had similar reactions as Laila
testing out the new table
just having fun with black and white

Apparently I have a shopping cart obsession

2008-06-19T21:25:00.001-07:00

So today it dawned on me..why aren't their brakes on shopping carts like there are on strollers where you can lock it into place so it doesn't roll away? Actually the problem I am facing is my lovely monkey of a daughter. If I stop the cart in the isle to grab something off of a shelf, Laila takes the opportunity to send Landon off with the cart. In other words she pushes the cart down the aisle, which I swear she is aiming for other shoppers to embarrass the crap out of her mom:) I suppose I could whip her into shape(not literally).. which I try...but we are in the phase of her not listening to a thing I say, regardless of her punishments. Anyway..I was just thinking today it would be nice to be able to lock the wheels.

well it's begun

2008-06-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

My kids have been having little fights for awhile now. Usually it is if Landon knocks down something she is building. A few minutes ago they were throwing slaps at each other and Laila says, " put him back in your tummy" My first thought was awww how sad. I know she adores her brother but I can tell she is upping the anty with her blows. Good thing Landon had no idea what she said.

Want to know what they were fighting over??

I bought this today for the kids to play with outside. They were fighting over who got to sit on the box it came in.

I am pretty excited about this table. My kids always make a mess when they eat anything and I have to vacuum after each meal if I want the house to look decent. My plan is for them to be able to eat lunches outside on the table...minimal cleanup..yes!! This will be good for their art projects and Play dough too I think!

Jan Bennett is on her way over to drop off the check for our jeep...I am sad...but feel like our prayers have finally been answered. Be sure to honk(or wave) when you see me driving my new purple mini van.

Father's day

2008-06-15T16:50:00.000-07:00

Today we had my parents over for lunch and then played ladder ball, which was Brad's father's day present. We played about 5 games and then it literally fell apart. I will be calling Target tomorrow to hopefully get our money back or get a new game. We resorted to playing with the hose and making a mess. It was fun!

just because

2008-06-10T11:06:00.001-07:00

in case you wondered what he is eating..it's banana

Mt. Rainier

2008-06-08T18:26:00.001-07:00

Brad took this picture from his parents house. I think it turned out pretty well. Just wanted to share!

Bedtime yet?

2008-06-02T16:34:00.001-07:00

I haven't felt like blogging lately. Maybe I should have just waited until I had something interesting or fun to post. I guess I could tell how I just spent my last hour.

I took apart our vacuum because either Laila or Landon had put one of their plastic spoons in it. They love to play with the vacuum and since we have basically no closets in this house I can't keep them from messing with it.

I am kind of proud of myself because usually I will just wait for Brad to get home and make him fix things. However, we had bagel crumbs all over the house that needed to be cleaned up. I found a screw driver and went to work. I took apart way more than I needed to and didn't realize this until the end where I popped off two screws and the spoon was free. Oh well.

Then while I was vacuuming Laila thought it would be a good idea to go in her mom and dad's room and pee all over the floor. She has been peeing in her pants a lot lately just at home. She is making me crazy.

When I turned the vacuum off Landon was in the kitchen on a chair playing in our butter dish(with butter in it).

I got him cleaned up and found Laila coloring with purple crayon all over her bookshelf.

I am so done with today.

LOTS of lake fun!

2008-05-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

Due to our mini heat wave we decided we better get out in the water tonight. We were on Spencer lake at my parents house.

So I couldn't nail it down to 1, 2 or even 3 pictures:) Obviously I do not use flickr

Make a wish!

2008-05-16T15:58:00.001-07:00

a glimpse of my joy

2008-05-15T11:37:00.000-07:00

* Landon has started laughing like the Count on Sesame Street. eh eh ehhhh....it is hilarious to hear him do this. he only does this when the count comes on the tv but still. I may have to do a recording of this because some people probably don't have a clue what I am talking about.

* I made a card today for my mom with the kid's picture on it and wrote rara(this is what Laila calls her grandmas) on the front. Then I gave Laila some colored pencils to decorate and draw a picture. Usually Laila just scribbles but today she was trying to copy what I wrote..rara..and she drew a PERFECT a. She also drew a wonderful sun. It is exciting to see more than squiggly lines for a change.

* Walking into the grocery store this morning we walked by a truck who's driver was sitting in it with the window down..probably waiting for someone. It wasn't really that dirty that I noticed but apparently Laila thought different. As we walked by Laila said "someone needs to wash that dirty truck." Let the embarrassing statements begin. I just hope she never calls someone fat or questions someone's complexion.

*I get 100 dollars of our stimulus check to spend on whatever I want....any ideas??

*My son just started saying mom FINALLY!! Almost every morning he walks into our bedroom and says mom, mom, mom??

* My daughter has been...well the nicest word I can think of is a stinker. But..the other day I put on a new shirt that I was not happy about because it was bigger than I have ever had to buy before...and she said "you look pretty in that shirt mom" it soo made my day.

good times

2008-05-10T19:47:00.001-07:00

My mother's day present from my sweet husband. I have been asking him to throw away his old recliner for a long time. It has holes, stains...just gross! Now I have this new awesome one that is sooo comfy. We just got a new couch last weekend from Brad's parents(so new to us) too that they have taken fantastic care of. So now there is pretty much no eating or drinking going on except at the table. There were benefits of having nasty furniture:)
My parents breed Norwegian Forest Cats. One of their cats had seven kittens recently. It is always so much fun when they have a new litter of kittens but we always have to be careful not to get too attached to them because they do leave around 3 months of age. Laila's favorite kitten is the cream colored one looking at her. His name is Loki.
Landon wanted to pick up the kittens and play with them so badly. Landon somehow was able to snatch one up but my mom quickly noticed and took him away. However, Landon was able to give the kitty a nice kiss which he is about to do in this picture.
My cousin Julia and her mom came to Shelton today for a visit. They live in Portland and we had only seen pictures of Anthony since his birth April 1st. He is such a sweet baby and Laila was thrilled to be able to hold him.
Landon is officially in a big boy bed. NO MORE CRIB!!! He was in his crib with no railing since February which was going fine..but.....Landon tried to get into Laila's bed every chance he could get. I think he liked that hers was bigger and the mattress was much more comfy. He is using our old double we had before getting a new bed at Christmas. He LOVES his big bed. We are letting him use some of our pillows for now and he just loves it!! I am looking forward to being able to cuddle with him, reading before bed.

HOT STUFF NOW!

2008-05-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

Last night was the 2nd game of the season but the first game with their snazzy new uniforms. Many thanks to their sponsor; Sentry mini storage. :) The uniforms have to be why they were so awesome and WON their game!

I like how this picture turned out...It is hard to take pictures with the fence in the way.
My dad is the pitcher. He has awesome reflexes by the way! :) If you were at the game last night you would have witnessed him in action.

Two fans(I mean hecklers??)Brad's brother Jared is the one on the right. It was nice of him to stop by for awhile.

Laila enjoyed following this boy around. She is in the phase where everyone is her friend. I guess this is a nice outlook to have in some ways. Sometimes I wish adults could look at each other all as friends. Unfortunately, this is not easy when there are some real fruits out there.

Push pops, jelly sandals and a swing

2008-05-04T17:48:00.001-07:00

We haven't been up to much lately. Brad has been gone 2 weeks in a row for work; first to Nevada and then to South Carolina. Now everyone is recovering from colds. I hope this is the last of them for awhile. It was a long winter and hardly has seemed like Spring until the last few days.

Do you remember push pops? I used to love these as a kid. I seem to remember them being flinstone ones. I realize they have been selling them all along but I haven't thought about them, let alone bought them until the other day. I bribed Laila(yes BRIBED) into being good at the store by letting her pick out whatever kind of Popsicle she wanted. I think Landon was happy with her choice!

How long have jelly sandals been around? I never had these as a kid but always wanted them. I am not sure why I never got them. I think I was more of a salt water sandal kid. Anyway, Laila saw these at Target and said "ooooo PINK! my favorite color!! these are soo cute mom." Yes, yes they are Laila. However, I am not sure how long 8 dollar shoes will last on this girl.

Brad got this chair/swing in Honduras for the family. He finally took it outside today and found a tree that works perfectly.

I have an idea

2008-04-29T12:41:00.001-07:00

Every time I go to the grocery store I try to park as close as possible to a cart return. My grandma engraved the need to return carts to the return and it bothers me when people do not. However, when you have children with you and you are forced to park away from a cart return, you face a delimma. Do I lock the door with my kids and quickly run the cart back? Do I put the groceries away while both kids stand there..hoping they don't run into the road and take them with me to return the cart? OR do I leave my cart sitting in the parking space next to me? Lately, I have been choosing the lock the kids in the car and run the cart back method. However, I always end up pulling away from the store thinking what if..................

I have seen expectant mother parking at the mall and maybe a couple other places. What if they had some parking spaces on each side of a cart return designated for people with children? Does this exist anywhere? I haven't quite thought through all of the possible difficulties with this plan. Maybe no one else thinks this is a big deal. Maybe it's too discriminatory to others?? I am not quite sure...Thoughts anyone?