Mid-life Crisis?


No, I really am not going through a mid-life crisis, I just thought it was about time for a change. I think I would have cried the first time I saw it, if only I wasn't in so much shock. Now that I've gotten used to it, though, I totally love it! It has lightened up since I washed it and was a little more drastic at first. I did it while the kids were at school and the first thing that Jayden said when he saw it was "you look weird." After I asked him if he liked it he said, "it's kind of sparkly", I'm not quite sure what that was supposed to mean. When Kylie saw it she got all excited and said, "now you look Chinese!". All you ladies know how vital it is to find a good hair girl and I've died when my last two girls have moved away, but luckily I've found a new girl that I can pretty much trust with my life--thanks Crystal! So if the Elivira hair color isn't enough, I've also decided to get extensions. Why not? I've always wanted long hair but can never grow it out and since I'm feeling a little crazy I decided to just go for it! Hopefully I can get them in the next week or two, I'm so excited!

Another Fun Hiking Trip


It's very rare to have a day where the kids are out of school and Jason has the day off. Jason has been working so much over-time lately as they were finishing up a project (one night he didn't even get home until 2:30 am, poor guy!). So he definately deserved a day off, and I'm still not sure why the kids didn't have school (Arbor day??), but we definately took advantage of having a day together. I told Jason that it was his turn to plan an outing and he was so cute to do some research and found a great hiking trail. First he scoped out a Peter Piper's that was on the way there and of course the kids had fun eating lunch there. When it came to the hiking, Kylie was so cute because she packed her back pack with a whole 72 hr kit, complete with a change of clothes, notebooks, toys, water, snacks, etc. I was trying to convince her to leave it in the car, but she was adament and we finally compromised and just took some of the stuff out. A couple minutes into the hike and she proved that being prepared payed off as she fell and skinned her knee, but immediately whipped out some Hello Kitty band-aids to remedy the injury. Between her and Jayden, they went through a total of 6 band-aids throughout the hike, so thankfully she was prepared. During the hike Jason also asked me if I had brought some chapstick. I told him that I hadn't but have no fear, once again Kylie's emergency back pack kit came to the rescue. Too bad she forgot to tell him that it was more like lipstick than chapstick :). So the hike was a little more intense than the other ones that we had been on, and it didn't help that it was so hot. Jason ended up taking turns carrying each of the kids on his back, awwww what a great dad. (Yes, I was glad that I could play the prego card and get out of carrying a monkey on my back :) We kept the kids going because we had promised that there was a cave at the top. We were excited when we finally made it up there, but were immediately disappointed to see that the "cave" had been taken over by bees so they couldn't even go exploring! What kind of bees make hives on the top of mountains?? The view was beautiful at the top and it was definately worth it. It was fun hanging out and letting the kids explore. They loved all the

(you can see the "cave" near the top where the rock changes colors)

lizards, although I was a bit paranoid about snakes and scorpions, but thankfully we didn't see any (only black widows). It's been fun to go on several hiking trips with the kids this year and I was sad to think that due to the summer heat and the new little one, we probably won't be able to go hiking again for a long time. At least it was a great hike to end on! As if planning a fun family outing wasn't enough to score hubby points, Jason also did something else that melted my heart. I am a little bit of a freak when it comes to a clean house. The kids had been playing all morning and the house was trashed but I didn't have time to clean it before we left. After the hike we went straight to our friend's house for pizza and to watch the Suns game (thanks Alisa!) and by the time we got home I was exhausted and went to bed, even though I hate going to bed with a dirty house. I thought Jason was staying up to watch tv, but when I woke up in the morning I found that he had stayed up to clean the house! If that's not romantic, I don't know what is. I love this boy! (PS-yes, Kandice, I was getting pretty grossed out always looking at that nasty worm too!)

Extra Protein

What's worse than finding a worm in your cereal? Finding HALF a worm in your cereal! This morning as I was eating my breakfast, this is what I found smiling up at me from my spoon. I about died, but instead I just threw up pretty much everything I had eaten in the past month. At first I thought it was some odd sort of grain....until I examined it closer and found little legs and eyes. I am very concerned that this may end my love affair with cold cereal. Just a word to the wise, don't ever buy Sunbelt brand granola cereal (I should have gotten my first clue when it was on sale for $1.25 a box). I bought it for the first time thinking that it might be healthy for the baby, which may be more true than I thought, considering I just got an extra boost of protein (which by the way, I didn't realize until I got home that it has way more grams of sugar and fat calories than my beloved Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I thought granola was supposed to be healthy??). I decided I better take a picture incase I decided to sue them for a lifetime supply of worm infested granola.

The Facts of Life

I had a lengthy discussion with my friends about teaching your kids the proper names to their body parts. We've always referred to them as "private parts" and left it at that, but they convinced me that it was vitally important that they know the proper names. I'm the first to admit that I have a hard time saying those words myself, I mean did the creaters of the English language use up all of the easy words like "arm, nose, ear..." before they got to the nitty gritty parts of the human body and were reduced to creating words that just give me the heebie jeebies every time I say them? Obviously I have my own issues to work out, so I guess that's all the more reason to get my kids more acquainted with those words so that they don't suffer from body-part-name-phobia the rest of their lives. So one night Jayden was climbing on the counter in the bathroom and smashed his little "private part". He immediately started crying and was very worried that "it's going to fall off and I have to buy a new one!" Since we were discussing that region anyways, I thought it was as good of a time as any to teach them the names, so I went for it and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Kylie was thrilled that she had a "China", and Jayden was too preoccupied with what store would carry a line of replacement body parts, that he really could care less what it was called. Oh well, atleast I can say I tried. Along the same lines, another friend and I had a conversation about how to answer certain questions on a child's level. One of those questions was in relation to tampons. I had always blown off that question when Kylie would ask what they were, but I had gathered my strength from the body parts conversation and decided to take the bull by the horns. I casually brought it up with Kylie while she was eating her after school snack. Yes, that probably isn't the best time to discuss topics related to "China's", but she took it well and didn't seem too traumatized. Her reaction: "Mom, don't you think this chip looks like a pirate ship?" Don't say I didn't try. (P.S. I did clear up the whole "China" thing in an effort to avoid an awkward situation at school when the teacher asks where China is located.)

Little Baby Bump

Okay, so it's not much now, but I'm definately working on it! I never did the progressive belly shots with my other pregnancies and always wish I did, so this time around you guys get to endure lots of bare belly exposure (I apologize in advance). It's funny because they say you take tons of pictures with your first and none by the third, but thanks to the blog I think I'm going to have way more pictures and journaling with this one than my other two combined! So here I am at 14 weeks and counting....

Okay, quick question for the ladies (well I'm assuming--and hoping--that everyone reading this is a lady).....I heard before of some herbal stuff that helps milk production. Anybody know of any? I've never been able to produce very much milk and I'm hoping that if I can do something about it then maybe my boobs will actually grow! :)

Manly Man Camping

The boys had enough of the sissy backyard camping, so they defended their masculinity by heading up to the mountains and braving the 30 degree weather for their first annual father and sons campout with the ward. Okay, so maybe they did wimp out a little and slept in the back of the pilot instead of the tent, but they get kudos for resisting the urge to turn the heat on in the middle of the night. According to Jason, Jayden loved every minute of it and judging by the huge smile on his face, I think that's a pretty accurate description. I guess he spent the majority of the time running around with the other boys getting nice and dirty, but stopped occasionally for some food. When I asked Jason if he had fun, the first thing he said was that the food was amazing--homemade donuts, breakfast burritos....it sounds like these boys are putting the relief society and their casseroles to shame with their hidden culinary talents. Jayden also loved the fire and the fishing and even sat through the fireside that night. When I asked Jayden if he missed me, he responded, "no, I was too busy". I'm glad they had such a fun time doing some good old fashioned male bonding. Kylie and I had fun taking advantage of some girl time. I let her play hookie from school on Friday (okay, she really was sick with a cold but was doing better that afternoon so we took advantage of having the day off) and we did a 7 hour shopping marathon. Jayden and Jason joined us for one store at the mall before heading off on their camping trip and it's amazing what a difference it is shopping with a 3 yr old compared to an almost 6 yr old. I was pulling my hair out with Jayden, but with Kylie it was actually enjoyable. We had fun getting her some cute summer clothes, grabbing some ice-cream and shopping our little hearts out. The poor girl was exhausted and finally fell asleep in the shopping cart while I was doing some grocery shopping. That night we went to a picnic at her school then came home for some fingernail painting and a movie party. She had a sleepover in my room that night and it was so nice sleeping in the next morning before going to lunch together. It was definitely a fun manly man and girly girl weekend!

The End.

Backyard Camping

I always loved camping as a kid, but am not much of a fan now that I'm older (there's something about being alone in the woods with nothing but a thin material protecting us that doesn't really appeal to me. Not to mention the comfort issue). But I would love to go camping for the sake of my kids because I know how fun it is to run around exploring and getting dirty. I thought camping in our backyard would be a great compromise. It was a success in the eyes of the kids, they loved sleeping out there and have begged to do it every night since. It was fun to see them so excited about it, but now it's my turn to complain. We bought this tent when we first got married and I can't remember the last time we used it and I swore it shrunk. We put the twin sized futon mattress in it and there was about 2 feet left. Jason was nice to let me sleep on the mattress, but after about the 10th time waking up with both kids on me, I decided I would have preferred the hard ground. I woke up exhausted with a sore back, but the fact that the kids loved it made it all worth it!

A couple other side notes....I had my first appointment and I loved hearing the heartbeat. It's just as exciting the third time around as it was the first. I'm feeling so much better now, yay!

Jayden has been very preoccupied with what he wants to be when he gets older. He'll find inspiration in the oddest places. It doesn't matter where we are, he'll see somebody interesting and start contemplating his future. A few of his aspirations include, "maybe I be Miss Andi" (his teacher), "maybe I be a worker", "maybe I be a girl", "maybe I be a fireman", "maybe I be a mom". We'll be driving down the road and he'll spot something outside and ponder, "maybe I be a tractor", "maybe I be a bird". I'm glad he's keeping his options open (although he informed me that the only thing he would "neber, eber be" is a booger. Good to know that I won't have to worry about that anymore.), but I have to admit that my favorite so far is "maybe I be Jesus, Jesus Young". The innocence of a 3 year old, I love it!

Life's a beach.

Ahhhhhh. That is the only way I can describe my girls trip to Florida this past weekend. It was a blast getting together with my best friends from high school (and Tasha brought a friend along too, so it was great to meet her. We missed you, Kelly, if only you weren't busy giving birth soon then you could have joined us too!). We're spread out all over in New York, San Francisco, Utah and Phoenix so it's not very often that I get a chance to see them. It was especially fun because 3 of us were pregnant so it was great swapping stories, sharing Tums and complaining about pregnancy sickness and exhaustion together. We decided on Florida because the weather would be great (which it was), but we didn't want to go someplace to "Spring Breakerish" (the wet T-shirt contests just really aren't our thing), so we picked a beautiful beach front resort in St. Petersburg which is by Tampa Bay (the view was gorgeous, but I think that the pictures on the internet of the hotel were a little deceiving). I knew we wouldn't have to worry about the party scene as we were driving through the town and the corners were filled with funeral homes, retirement centers and a place advertising "colon therapy". I asked my shuttle driver if they saw much action during spring break and he replied, "only if the kids are here visiting their grandparents". We didn't mind being the youngin's on the beach and we always got a kick out of everyone's response when they found out that we were pregnant. They all thought we were so young and it was always entertaining to see their reactions when we told them that most of us had multiple children at home as well. When Jason asked what we were going to do the whole time I told him that we were going to be laying on the beach (or for a little variety we might go pool side) reading, sleeping and doing absolutely nothing. He thought it sounded kind of boring, but boring is something I don't get to experience much in my life, so I welcomed boring with open arms. It really was sooooo relaxing and I loved every minute of it. We did venture off the sand a little bit and had fun renting bikes and riding down the beach (okay, so the boardwalk was really like only a half mile, so we mostly ended up dodging traffic and trying not to get lost through the back streets of the city); going to a chick flick (we saw "Miss Pettigrew lives for a day". You can't get any chickier than that. We all agreed that our husbands would have walked out after the first 2 minutes); going souvenier shopping for the kids (and husbands :) and making sure we ate our share of ice-cream atleast every day. We packed so many fun memories into those 4 days like: the magic chocolate pill, staying up all night laughing about anything and everything (my favorite is still Nicole's story about the little "surprise" waiting by her desk), the Blue Fugu and the best fried rice ever (I've eaten lots of fried rice, I should know :), Wes' sparatic sunburn, Wes covering up every square inch of her body when she got in the sun, Nicole dropping the towel on someone else's balcony and then trying to retrieve it, eating breakfast on the balcony and watching the sailboats, the ATM guy, baked potatoes, Tasha's obsession with the sunset (me throwing up in the bathroom during the only sunset we saw), and so many more. It was definately a much needed and relaxing vacation (although I could have done without the nauseating, turbulant filled, long delayed flight home), I totally missed my kids and Jason but I came home feeling refreshed, rejuvinated and re-energized. Thanks girls for an amazing weekend and thanks so much to everyone that I pawned my kids off too--Mandy, Chelsea, Sheba, Andrea, Nicole and Julie, I totally appreciate it!! Thanks also Jason (I feel like I'm giving an Oscar speech or something), I know the kids had a blast hanging out with Dad. He did an awesome job playing Mr. Mom after a full day of work and managed to get homework done, get them to bed at a semi-decent hour, feed them somewhat edible meals (I'm sure TV dinners have some nutritional value?), get them off to school and church on time (it makes me smile trying to picture Jason picking out Kylie's clothes and doing her hair), keep them entertained with neighborhood carnivals and Chuck E Cheese and even had the house cleaned when I got back. What a man, what a man, what a mighty fine man!

Happy Easter!

I love Easter. It is such a happy time with beautiful spring weather, lots of bright colors, oodles of candy and of course, a wonderful opportunity to teach my kids about the spiritual aspect. All of the holidays this year seem to have snuck up on me and Easter was no exception. I found myself scrounging through the few remaining bags of jelly beans at Wal-mart on Saturday night at 10:30. There were VERY slim pickins. I walked away with 2 bags of jelly beans and one bag of miniature candy bars. I found a bag of my favorite Robin's Eggs tucked away on a shelf, but when I got to the register I realized that half of them were smashed and sadly we had to part ways. I definately learned my procrastination lesson, but I justified that they really didn't need more candy.
They went to the ward Easter egg hunt and another egg hunt and carnival the day before. I would have gladly been finished with the candy altogether, but for tradition sake I figured I better have something for the morning Easter egg hunt. After finishing all of my grocery shopping I had zero energy left to find presents, so I opted to just stick with just candy for the hunt in the morning. I didn't even get around to buying them new Easter outfits. I didn't think that the kids would remember that I had gotten them a gift last year. I was wrong. Last year I had put clues inside of the Easter Eggs that led them to the shower where I had a present for each of them. That night before Kylie went to sleep she told me that she couldn't wait to find the special eggs with clues in them to find her present. Oops. The next morning Jayden ran straight to the bathroom shower in search of the presents. Double oops. I simply explained that sometimes the Easter Bunny brings presents and sometimes he brings candy and we're just grateful for whatever we get. I was happy to see that they understood and weren't too disappointed. I've also decided that I really like the simplicity of not over-doing it. The kids enjoyed the egg hunt, but it also didn't distract too much from the real purpose of the holiday (atleast that is what I'm telling myself so that I don't feel too guilty :). It was so nice getting home from church at 10:30 (although it made for a very hectic morning) and having a yummy Easter brunch on the back patio. The weather was perfect and we had fun just being together as a family. We also dyed eggs then that night we had our Easter Family Home Evening. We watched the "Finding Faith in Christ" DVD that came out a while ago and it made me happy to see how the kids were so absorbed in it and asked alot of questions. I love seeing their little testimonies grow. What a fun holiday, even if we'll be eating jelly beans for the next year....