I yam what I yam

Proof that eating lots of Spinach makes you strong. So strong, in fact, that you can lift the dining table.

Christmas 2008

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Opening a book from Grandma and Grandpa after our Christmas Eve dinner with my family


Colby opening his book



Arranging the cookies for Santa




This is what I found on Christmas Eve. Colby did not want this pile disturbed so he wrote a sign, with help from Dad, I think, that says...



"This is my pile and your pile"


Sleeping on the floor together in Kara's room. Being able to tell them Santa doesn't come till you're asleep was a beautiful thing. Easiest bedtime I can remember for a long time!



Waiting on the stairs Christmas morning



Opening up her dress-ups



Modeling all 3 of her dress-ups at the same time

Trying out his new camera which he used all day. Unfortunately, it got taken away by the end of the day for some naughty behavior. It's true that Santa not only gives us presents but can take them away if we're not behaving, right?


Events not pictured:

Christmas Eve lunch at Applebee's with Cameron's family

Christmas brunch at our house

Christmas was especially fun this year as the kids start to get a little older and are starting to catch on (we hope) to what we are teaching them. Both Colby and Kara were able to tell us why we have Christmas and sort of why we give and get presents. I was even pleasantly surprised how still they sat and how well they listened as Cameron read the Christmas story and we lit the candles on our nativity scene on Christmas Eve. And the next day, the Curious George stuffed animal Colby got as a gift became the Baby Jesus which slept in Kara's baby crib, which she got as a gift. Of course most, or all, of the excitement was about Santa and the gifts, but I hopefully one day, it won't be -I'm sure not till they have children of their own! Cameron had to leave for work at 10:00 am on Christmas day and didn't end up making it back to Salt Lake till 12:30 am (instead of 6:00 pm) because they shut down the airport due to weather. He had to be at the airport again at 6:00 am this morning so he ended up just sleeping there. No fun for him, but at least we got him for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Give us a ring!

For the first time since mid 2007, our home phone works as it should! So, for all of you who have attempted to call, only to be mercilessly cut off, attempting a second call, and possibly a third if you're persistent, still only to end up very annoyed, be annoyed no longer. I never thought I'd actually enjoy the sound of my phone ringing. That doesn't mean I'll always pick it up (alright, that's pretty annoying also), but at least that's my problem and not our phone's!

Curious

Do me a favor and take a look at the polls I've got goin on. Just curious as to what I should be rooting for.

The feast and Christmas lights

The transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas is so quick, don't you think? One day I'm enjoying some fabulous turkey, the next, I'm gazing at Christmas lights and singing, "I saw mommy kissing Santa Clause." Just seems so unsmooth. But no more complaints here. I love the holidays.

Colby insisted eating a huge turkey leg and loved it

And because Kara has to do everything her big brother does, she refused to eat the turkey I gave her and had to have her own leg.

The whole crew. Our dinner was lovely, just as it always is. Have I mentioned I love Thanksgiving? Thanks grandma and grandpa for a perfect Thanksgiving feast and good company!

After our feast and dessert of pies a plenty, we headed to Cameron's dad's house where we played games and the kids spent the night. Despite the fact that Cameron had to be at the airport early, I still got to sleep in and go shopping. Hooray for grandma and grandpa!

Last night we met my sister in Salt Lake to see the lights. It was fun and the kids enjoyed it more than I thought. Thanks to a cute little granny who befriended Colby on the frontrunner going home, our trip was pretty decent, even though halfway through I had started to regret taking the kids by myself on such an outing. Thanks random granny!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

This year I am thankful for:

1. Comments like, "I love you mom. You're my best friend."
2. Being able to get a job, when I need one, even when I don't necessarily want one.
3. 2 totally healthy children
4. Parents who are still around to continue to parent me.
5. Cameron's job in an unstable and unpredictable economy
6. 5 really cool, quirky, smart brothers and sisters
7. King size beds when you're pregnant
8. Friends who would do anything for me and my family
9. Catching a hug between my kids when they don't know I'm looking
10. Food that is so delicious, you are excited to go to bed just so you can eat it in the morning
11. Feeling a tiny little baby kick inside of you

spuds and even more spuds, please

The best holiday of the year is just a short 4 days away. Each and every Thanksgiving bite is pure deliciousness. I can't think of one single thing I don't like about that beloved feast. (My poor mom doesn't like Turkey- what a very sad, sad thing). However, I have decided to rank the usual Thanksgiving dishes in order of yumminess with #1 being the most yummy and savory and good and make-me-sick-with-multiple-helpings (I'm pretty sure I have shed tears when finding that we were out of #1 before I got a second helping).

For fun. Because I'm bored. And because I like lists and this helps me to visualize how much of each dish I should take.

8. sweet potatoes
7. pie
6. fruit salad
5. corn or whatever veggie
4. turkey
3. rolls
2. stuffing
1. mashed potatoes and gravy

This year, we're headed to Cameron's family's for the big day. I always look forward to their traditional noodles and broth over mashed potatoes. It sounds odd, but is surprisingly good. What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish and does your family do anything unique? I'm thinking of trying this yummy-looking corn and wild rice dish featured on PW cooks for something different this year. Oh, and one more question. Do you save your favorite part of a meal for last or do you gobble it up first? I always thought that saving the best for last was just the natural thing to do until I married Cameron. He starts with his favorite and works his way down. This makes no sense to me. I remember making the conscious decision in preschool when given a cup full of raisins, peanuts and m&ms. I felt it wise to start with the m&ms, proceed to the peanuts, then savor each and every raisin. Alright, I see a few flaws in this procedure. By the time you get to your favorite, you run the risk of being too full to fully enjoy it or it is cold when it's supposed to be hot and visa versa (sp?). It doesen't matter. The risk is worth taking. Give it a try, won't ya? And while you're at it, don't find out the sex of your next baby. My ways are the best ways.

Ideas, suggestions, valium?....anything!

I need help from all of you more experienced, seasoned parents. Please!!

Beware- now is the time for some big-time whining and complaining and feeling very sorry for myself. I try to keep this blog somewhat positive and leave my complaining for, uh, Cameron. But I have a lot of pent-up complaining to do since we kept this pregnancy a secret during the worst time of it. Anyway, tomorrow, I will be going on my fourth Sunday in a row without Cameron. And people...I am not surviving. I just don't know if I have the courage to do sacrament meeting again by myself. Here are a few examples of incidents that have taken place in the chapel during sacrament meeting, some that have resulted in laughter, others in tears and most in smoke coming from my ears and the look of death glaring from my eyes.

1. Tug-of-war with the sacrament bread tray. Ending up very badly with a flying 4-year-old hand landing smack down in the middle of the tray with bread flying EVERYWHERE and me in a fit of laughter. Yah, what an appropriate time to laugh. Not only was it completely irreverent of me, but it reinforced my child to mess with the bread tray every Sunday. Not a shining moment for me and my family.

2. Hide-and-seek on, and under, the bench. Sadly, I actually let me children do this. Why, you ask? While it sounds like a totally irreverent practice during church, it was actually quite mild behavior for my children. After I got Kara to whisper "1-2-3...ready or not, here I come." which she previously yelled for everyone to hear, it was relatively harmless. Really. Compared to what they are capable of, this was mild. Of course, it got out of control about 5.2 seconds later when Kara couldn't remember to whisper and the hiding kept getting farther under the bench involving the family behind us. Alright, bad choice on my part. But seriously, the day my children actually sit in their seats and quietly read of color for more than 30 seconds, will be the day I am exalted.

3. Lifting a hymn book as high in the air as possible and throwing it down to the floor in a fit of anger. This is one example of many ways to cope with mom telling you you can't kick the bench in front of you.

4. The classic, "catch me if you can" game. Not in the halls of the church, but around the entire chapel.

5. Bursting out in uncontrollable tears during my 9th month of pregnancy, in the middle of church for all to witness after my 2-year-old wouldn't stop hitting me.

I'm sure most or all of you have experienced all of these and worse, and maybe you haven't. And maybe you have 6 kids during church that you have to juggle yourself and you somehow do it without wanting to poke your own eyes out, I don't know. All I know is, I cannot handle my 2 children. And please, don't remind me of the fact that in 5 short, ever so slim months, I will be attempting this with a new baby in my arms.

Before asking for suggestions, here is what I currently do. When my kids cross the line (which in my ward kinda takes a lot since there are about 2 million kids under the age of 7- remember, I let them play hid and seek), my routine is to take them outside, usually kicking and screaming and make them (well, usually it's just one who's been very naughty) sit on my lap till they can calm down and swear they will behave. At which point we try again. I usually sneak a bribe of some sort in there as well (maybe this is where I'm going wrong). I don't let them just run/walk the halls because I feel like that reinforces their bad behavior, even though I want to SOOOOO bad. Last Sunday, we spent 75% of sacrament in a room with a ballistic child on my lap. Obviously, this is not working because it has been my method since Colby started getting into trouble. And last week, my sweet friend tried to help me out by taking my 2 year old who, in turn, freaked out, quite audibly, because she refuses to go to anyone else these days. Oh so fun. I don't bring snacks because my kids end up fighting over them, spilling them and then freaking out when they are gone. I'm pretty sure snacks aren't the answer.

The bottom line is, I know I need to continue to take the kids to church every Sunday because it's important to show them that that's what we do on Sunday, even though we get nothing out of it. But really, most Sundays end up with me on the verge of tears, incredibly angry and feeling anything but spiritual. I'm HORRIBLE at acting like everything's okay and gracefully attempting to discipline my children. Instead, I seem to draw more attention to us, by handling it so poorly. I know, because I get comments all the time like, "Had a rough sacrament, huh?" or, "Bet you're glad you got to pass off your kids to their teachers!" Which, by the way, I can't tell you how awesome that is. I literally have given my child to his primary teacher with tears of happiness, thanking her profusely for giving me a break. I bet they're glad to know that their calling on Sunday is to give us mothers a break. Probably not entirely appropriate on my part, again.

So, after that lengthy explanation, I am desperate for suggestions. I've never been closer to ditching out on Sacrament as I am right now. I need some help. What has worked for you? Maybe I need to slim down my church bag? I really don't know what else to do, I feel like I've tried everything. If you have something that has proven effective, please share it with me, preferably before 8:45 tomorrow morning. Thank You!

Lovely Lady Lump

18 WEEKS and counting! This is my first official blog announcement that we are expecting and due in April. I'm not even half way and I'm fully into maternity clothes. However, I am past the icky sick stage, I'm feeling the baby pretty regularly, and I'm even starting to get my energy back. I love this stage of pregnancy! And food. Ohhhhh baby. Welcome back my long lost, even hated and dreaded for 3 months, delicacy in life. Bring on the Thanksgiving Feast. I can tell this little one loves to eat too.

And here is a picture of Kara's baby in her tummy. She tells me several times a day that her baby is crying or to be quiet because her baby is sleeping. The other day, she even pretended to grab the baby from her tummy and give it to me. I know she's two and all, but can you blame her? Her belly looks as if something's living inside of it...




Because we're, well...awesome, we're not finding out the gender on this one either. Seriously, before you think we're crazy and try to talk us out of it, let's have a chat about all the benefits of waiting to find out the sex of your baby until you lay eyes on him/her for the first time. Labor and delivery, calling everyone, etc. It's sooooo much more exciting. Plan, schmlan. Planning is for boring people. Okay, I'm going to stop before I offend someone. And, I probably won't get induced this time either, even if it means Cameron might be in the air, on his way to Canada while I am frantically trying to call SkyWest Headquarters to let him know in the cockpit that his wife is in labor. I get gitty just thinking about all that excitement and adventure.

Day-after Election

Wow. We have a new President. Mr. Barack Obama. For once on this blog, I am speechless.

ARRRRRRRR or more accurately, AWWWWWW

HAPPY HALLOWEEN (YESTERDAY) !!

Our scary little pirates. Kare refused to put on her costume and finally conceded after some heavy bribing. I was going to snap a few pictures no matter the cost, dang it.

the cousins

Colby and his few die-hard trick or treater cousins. They lasted for probably a good hour! Kara lasted about 3 houses and in her own words, "I go back home. I sooooo scared." Thanks to Auntie Stef's crazy work (where I took the kids trick or treating earlier in the day), she is now scared of anything and anybody dressed up as anything or anybody. But since Cameron was gone, my parents hung out with us to give out candy and stay with Kara so I could take Colby to obtain massive amounts of cavity causing sweets. I'm thinking the pumpkin fairy might make an appearance tonight...

I have mad pumpkin carving skills. Please come over and see my skull and cross bones jack-o-lantern- I am very very proud.

Gross. No wait. Good.

EYEBALL PANCAKES

Crack open some monster eye balls...

then add some mummy dust...

some ghost juice (not pictured)...

and some slime...

as many eyeballs as you can stomach...

a handfull of dirt...

and mix all together. Then cook to blend flavors making sure your pancakes run into each other because your pan isn't big enough...

then slather with witch's saliva or blood.

Pre-Halloween Festivities

COLBY'S PRESCHOOL CLASS GOES TO PACK'S PUMPKIN PATCH

GARDNER VILLAGE TO SEE THE WITCHES







HALLOWEEN PARTY AT JASON AND KELLY'S

Mummy dogs. Delicious and Nutritious

Fun with Liquid Nitrogen. Jason entertained everyone by freezing flower petals, racket balls and marshmallows.

And this picture is for everyone who made fun of me for taking it. See. I told you it would turn out perfectly. A clear picture of a Liquid Nitrogen droplet on the floor.

The kids' sticking their hands into spider eggs, eyeballs and intestines

PUMPKIN PALOOZA AT POND'S PARK

COLBY'S PRESCHOOL HALLOWEEN PARTY

Pin the nose on the pumpkin

Thank you Colby...

...for saving me a couple bucks at the Salon. What you see is indeed, a pile of hair. Kara's hair. It's a little hard to see since it blends in with our carpet. One of the many strategic maneuvers by Colby in accomplishing this task, I believe.

Here's a close look at the amount of hair

I've known for quite some time that this incident was inevitable. Every kid does it, right? Especially if they have a little sister? Colby's cousin Mia beet him to it 3 times I think. I was beginning to believe that maybe, just maybe, Colby might spare me this little bit of grief since he's given me my fair share of trouble. But it's not like him to skip such an important step in child development. The good news is, Kara's hair was in piggies and he just gave them a little trim. It's actually not half bad. When I saw the evidence, I screamed twice and put Colby in his room. When I surveyed the damage, I realized that it could have been SO MUCH WORSE. And I was actually going to take Kara in soon to get her first trim anyway.

He did manage to get a little bit of her bangs that I was working really hard to grow out. I have to say that it actually looks a little better than when her bangs were constantly in her eyes, but now we gotta start all over.

I think he's been planning this for a while. Maybe by catching a few "E" TV programs, or flippin' through a few hair magazines.

Cameron came home about 10 minutes after it happened and as we were both laughing about it, Kara started laughing (Colby was still in his room) and saying that her new hair cut was funny. Probably not the best move on our part. I have a feeling Kara won't wait quite so long to take her turn...

Sardine and Logan Canyon

The last three years, my mom and I have made it a tradition each Fall to drive up to Logan to see the changing colors. This is another thing I look forward to to all year and this year we weren't disappointed. We drive up Sardine Canyon, eat lunch at Juniper Take-Out (my very favorite place to eat in Logan- their stuffed baked potatoes are to die for), make our way up Logan Canyon, and then back down with a quick stop at Gossner's cheese factory for samples, icecream and a stock of economy cheese. Love it. And here is what we saw.